Click this picture to go to our NEW platform!
Hi all, yes, we have decided to make a move. We love both platforms, but there is always some gives and takes in life. It’s never perfect and complete (that’s the fun part about it!). We will be blogging on a new platform. Please do support us! All things are (almost) the same, the same nice feeling, the same beautiful pictures and the most awesome luminous things that we will be sharing more with you (there). Will miss this space very much, nonetheless. It has been a great journey here. Will chart a new course over the other side *_^
So, please visit us NOW! See you all and happy blogging!
The LUCKY consolation prize winner is 
This is not my first hair show. I have been to and worked on one many years back. Nothing could have prepared me for something this EXCITING! From the time LUMINNEJ received the invitation (thanks Shiseido Malaysia!) to the event day, I have been waiting, anxiously, can’t wait to set foot at the fabulous Royale Chulan Hotel. The night was finally here. It was Shiseido Professional’s Beauty Innovator Award 2013 – Artistry of Inspiring Creativity! It is the largest cross-cultural hair design photo competition of its kind, bringing together the top hairstyling talents across eight countries – Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Impressive indeed.
The crowd was sizzling, the food was tantalizing, the wine was dreamy, the prized car (a very colourful one) was definitely tempting! I even had a chance to meet up with some old industry friends like fashion designer Khoon Hooi and fabulous make-up artist, Monica Lee. The work of the top 11 semi-finalists were being displayed. It was interesting to see, how some of the top nation hairstylists came up with their creations, the concepts behind them and what actually influenced and inspired them.
The competition was steep, to say the least (from over hundreds of entries nationwide). The competing hairstylists had to impress a panel of esteemed judges who are talented professionals from the industry. This night, the top 5 finalists will be selected, and will be making their way to an all-expense paid trip (thanks to Mayfair) to Japan to attend the Shiseido Professional Beauty Congress to be held in Tokyo this coming February 2014! (How I wish LUMINNEJ can be there too *_^)
These top 5 winners will be judged, again, by the panel of Grand Jury comprising of Shiseido Beauty Top Specialists, Mr. Masa Otake, as well as renowned photographers and designers. Only 
We were invited to be seated inside the Grand Ballroom as the show was about to begin. The moment I saw the stage, I was absolutely mesmerized by it. Such simple elegance. It has that very clean, simple, old kyoto-Japanese feel, yet being juxtaposed by intriguing visuals. Two big screens on stage, at each side, displaying some of the most vividly colourful and beautiful images of everything Japan – the food, the culture, the city, the landscapes. Extremely beautiful! I was immediately transported to a whole different dream world all together already.
Thanks to a dear friend and The Gardens Club, I spent a beautiful Friday morning recently with the internationally renowned brand of cosmetics (skincare, body & bath and fragrance too), Laura Mercier’s global make-up artist, Luis Soto himself, all the way from New York in what they called 
Once all participants have arrived and seated, Mr. Luis swiftly moved on with the workshop by introducing himself and the brand (which I believe need no elaborate introduction already!). For more than 15 years, the creator, Laura herself and her make up industry has won critical acclaim among models, celebrities and photographers alike. Luis explained that Laura Mercier creates looks that are both flawless and accentuate one’s natural beauty. Immediately, he requested for a volunteer from the participants for the morning, and a sweet lady in bright orange top stood up and risen to the occasion. I was excited to see how Luis Soto transform her bare face into a natural beauty.
Luis emphasized the importance of Laura Mercier’s 4 simple steps to create that flawless face (am sure we are all excited about). Of course, before any make-up application, skincare regimen is crucial to prep the skin well. Some basic skincare range was introduced and products were passed around for us to try and check out their textures. With great ease, he started to prep her face, with Laura’s famous foundation primer. That he said, would be the first step to flawless skin. Since her skin is already fairly good, Luis continued to apply Laura’s signature and award-winning tinted moisturizer, instead of foundation. Instantly, her face was transformed and evened out even more. Luis revealed another secret weapon to flawless face is their concealers (one can choose either the moisture-riched secret concealer or the two-toned iconic oil free and long wearing secret camouflage). That would be step three. The final step would be applying the ultra light-weight, sheer and silky setting powder. With that, a flawless face would have been completed.
Next, Luis introduced to us their latest festive holiday collection 
All in all, it was an informative workshop. I secretly wished that they would have structured the workshop to be more hands on so that the participants can actually try the make-up on ourselves! Then, I believe it would have been more experiencial and fun *_^
Have always loved Elie Saab’s creations! Love the way how his designs are very timeless, with elegant dresses that celebrate the feminine side of women, using the finest fabrics and intricate embellishment, it is dresses that women would fall in love with over and over again.
When such a beautiful fashion brand collaborate with an esteemed water brand like Evian, one can imagine something beautiful and pure would be created – the Elie Saab Evian bottle! Derived from naturally filtered water of the glaciers, Evian water emerges as pure as nature would have crafted it. Both brands share a similar philosophy. The delicate Elie Saab lace and the refined silhouette of the Evian bottle combine to create a common vision of purity. Just love the lace motive designs on the bottle. Now, this is bliss in every drop!
If one is at the other parts of the world, it should be autumn now! Of course, Malaysians rarely get a chance to even put on a trench coat or thick fur clothes walking under such hot Malaysian weather (or get ourselves dripping wet in the rain these days!). But always good to see how others dressed it chic their own ways in such outfits.
Spotted here are some celebrities in Burberry womenswear, which I absolutely adore (even the first lady of US Michelle Obama is looking pretty cool).
My personal favourites? That long black trench outerwear that Jennifer Lawrence is rocking (with that purple fedora hat) in (shop 
Haven’t decided how to spend your coming new year? Why not countdown at one of the best seats in the region, move your feet and dance to the beat of this South Korean superstar who has been in a two-year hiatus? Suave hot dance moves and sexy vocals, who am I talking about? Who else but RAIN (one of my favourite Korean singers!)! He will be headlining his first performance in Singapore (no luck Malaysians, you have to travel down south) at Marina Bay Sands! Two shows, New Year’s eve and New Year’s Day itself. (My heart is racing now, my hands are a little shaky hitting on these key pads ^_^).
So, what are you waiting for? Tickets are ON SALE now starting today! There will be firework viewing with hospitality after the performance for those who purchase the “A” Reserve. You can book your tickets online 
I was actually counting down the days the moment I got my invite approved by NARS from USA (via NARS Malaysia), to the opening party by this cult cosmetics brand! Blessed indeed that LUMINNEJ is a part of this special occasion. I was real excited, to say the least. Thanks a million.
Very quickly once the registration for the guests was opened, the invited guests were slowly arriving. It was still a breeze for me to check the new boutique out upon my arrival, but MY OH MY, in less than 10 minutes, the nicely lit and decorated brand new outlet (just next to Topshop at Pavilion KL) was soon swamped with guests all dressed in BLACK, looking so chic!! Suddenly, the place was jam-packed with NARS enthusiasts (from fashion editors, actress, celebrities, beauty queens, make-up artists, hair stylists to ardent supporters of the brand and many others). Such a happening event.
Till my next adventurous beauty or fashion adventure, stay luminous and happy, always *_^
The past few weeks had been great! At LUMINNEJ, we were invited to a few events – h2O+ ambassadress and ambassador/new product launch, NARS very first boutique opening at Pavilion KL. For my production work, we got a chance to work with the hip hop rapper Joe Flizzow for a music video of the latest installment of local director Brando Lee’s film, Kisah Paling Gengster. Personally, my sister-in-law came back from UK for a visit (and I got my early X’MAS present delivered!) and we had a good time (mainly eating >_<) with the family. Everyone came together.
Life is short, I have learnt it the hard way recently, after losing someone I loved very deeply and dearly. I made it a point to tell myself, to do the things that make me happy, or get me one step closer to my dreams, no matter how small that step maybe, or how insignificant it may seem. The rest, the universe will take care of itself. Surround myself with good company and enjoy the time. It is always a blessing to be able to live, just another day.
Thanks h2O+ Malaysia for inviting LUMINNEJ to be a part of the recent brand spokespersons’ media launch! I arrived at One World Hotel with enormous anticipation, wanting to find out who are the ambassadress and ambassador for this leading global skincare brand in marine science, h2O+. Well, I was in for a surprise!
It kick-started with some light refreshments for the morning and quickly moved onto the lovely emcee of the day starting off the event by introducing the brand. I am aware of the brand for it has been around in Malaysia since 6 years ago, focusing on marine science based in a wide range of skincare that can be personalized to suit individual needs.
h2O+ recently combined its water concept of sea science with its revolutionary technology to introduce the latest range of Total Source. Now, they have even introduced their latest consumable product called h2O+ Collagen 8000 to help achieve a more hydrated, firmer and younger looking skin inside out as the collagen content is pretty high (8,000mg of hydrolyzed collagen extracted from high quality deep-sea fish, and it is 100% formulated and produced in Japan).
So, the eagerly awaited moment has arrived. The spokespersons were unveiled. They are none other than the popular Hong Kong TV travel host and actress, 
Both bonded very quickly during their previous TVC shoot for h2O+ while she was here in Malaysia. Priscilla’s natural beauty and approachable personality did shine through and is quite infectious. Both artistes kept the media entertained by answering all the questions skillfully. It was a pleasant event after all. We even walked away with a token of a goodie bag with some samples of the h2O+ products *_^
h2O+ skin and body care including the latest Collagen 8000 are available in all h2O+ outlets throughout Malaysia. For more updates on these two celebrities and their marine conservative programme activities, one can follow them on facebook H2OPlusMalaysia 
We were heading for the movie premiere of Kisah Paling Gengster the other day. Hubby was hungry already, so we decided to head over to BMS Organics at One Utama to have a healthy dinner (we have been eating heartily for the past one week since Pat’s sister was back from UK! Too much of “good” food *_^).
This was my first time dining there. I ordered the Vegetarian Vermicelli Soup with soy milk, black sesame healthy drink and hubby ordered the fried rice with ginger tea. Main course comes with a small shot of ginger tea and two spirulina tablets. Interesting!
I must say the ginger tea was superb! The aroma of the ginger was exceptionally strong but VERY good! It hits you hard. The fried rice tasted much better than my vermicelli soup I must confess. Perhaps the soup was quite light. Nonetheless, it was a great meal as my dish was filled with lots of mushrooms and cilantro (which I love). They also sell a great deal of organic produce and products, which is worth checking out! After all that series of family dinners recently, I guess it’s high time I go back to my simple meals, eating more healthily from here onwards *_^
I have been eager to share with you my Christmas gifts experience since I have received them. Yes, both 
First impression, very simple packaging, nothing fancy (which is actually part of their brand philosophy – no fancy packaging frills). I have always been someone who is more intrigued by the content of the product itself, and of course, its efficacy. I tried Perfect Gel. It is white in colour (like what the brand promises, no artificial colouring (which is good), and it has no specific smell too (which is even better!). A make-up remover that does do what it says, thoroughly removes make-up and skin pore impurities. After applying and massaging the product onto my face for a while, I removed it with a tissue. Surprisingly, my make up came off pretty easy (thanks to the smooth micro-oil in the gel). It feels gentle on the skin. The other way to use the product is to rinse it off, which I tried as well. I personally prefer wiping it off as it feels cleaner. But knowing myself, I love double cleansing, so, I would still wash my face off with a liquid cleanser during shower *_^
Both products work on different levels for me, and I find them equally effective, and I have to admit that I am pretty impressed by their performance. I am sure any of the products (or a combination of them) from this 
luminnej by JennLiew 