Whole Food's Store

Today is the first time that I ever shopped at the Whole Food's store. I do have to say that I am very impressed with the items they carry. When my baby girl saw the cute little cookies in the bulk bins, she immediately pointed to it, and wanted one. So I grabbed one on a wax paper, and proceed to pay for it in the register. Marcus at the Whole Food's register saw the one cookie,  waved his hand and said " don't worry about it. It'll probably come up to like 9 cent or something."

He didn't have to do that, but it totally made my day. It made Sophie's day at the Whole Food's store, and it definitely helped my shopping trip to be more pleasant. The little things nice people do, they have no idea the impact they have on others. This Marcus makes me want to go back and shop at Whole Food's again! I hope I get him again at the register, so I can thank him.

I did bought a pound of mussels, they looked fabulous and fresh. I can't wait to try them tonight.

The Best Make-up Is Your Own Face

Cosmetic and health companies will always have some doctors be on their medical board and/or their spokes person, and some clinical studies will always show that their products are the best on the market. Along with the marketing strategy guru and the creative teams that comes up with the most appealing name, and the most eye catching packaging to get your attention. The truth is, these companies, doctors, and the lab that does the studies all have one similar goal. To make money!

Hey, there's nothing wrong for making money. We all want to make money. This is just giving you a simple observation, and see if you agree.


So, after spending thousands and thousands of dollars to develop a product and have the clinical study to back them up (to say that that it works), and then having a "doctor" tell you that it works. Does it really work? You are the best judge of that.


Have you notice the people with the most flawless skin wears the least amount of make up? The best make up is not to cover up your flawed skin, it is to take care of your skin. No matter how much money you spent in buying foundation that says will cover up your redness, zits, dark circle and etc. If you have a face full of pussy zits, people will notice it, even if you "try" to cover it up with whatever miracle make up you have.

Have you seen some people with mismatched foundation color CAKED on that HUGE zit they are trying to cover? Doesn't it just make it as obvious as the one black sheep among all the white sheep on a snowy day? You get my point.

Here are some tips that have worked for me.
1. Love yourself more
2. Always take off your make up properly before you go to bed ( You age like hell when you don't take them off)
3. Daily cleanse, tone, treat, and moisturize
4. Regular mask, scrub, facials
5. Make sure you are hydrated
6. You are what you eat.
7. Beauty sleep!
8. Exercise and/get regular massages - detox your body. My ancestors believe that your face reveals the malfunction of your body. If you don't get rid of the toxin regularly, it'll show up on your face.

For example: If you have rash, zits, bumpy stuff on the side of your mouth, and around your chin, that could indicate something is wrong with your ovary/sexual organs, it's hormonal.

My Chinese ancestors could be b-s-ing, but check out your friends who are having crappy periods, and maybe having trouble having kids.

Back to the skin. Next time you think about spending huge amount of money for the "miracle" make up, maybe spent sometime to understand your body a little better. Love your body, it'll love you back. I promise.

There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.

Unity in Marketing - Victoria's Secret

If the product marketing is based around looking sexy, shouldn't they hire sales associates look the part to have unity in marketing?

If Victoria's Secret is marketing their products by using their beautiful sexy angels models like the ones on the left, I assume that they are trying to tell the consumer that ...

" If you buy VS products:

- you can look like this too!
- you will feel better about yourself
- you will look sexy
- you can have ______ (fill in the blank)

I get the sex appeal, telling women that they can look like the models in their ads. Looking at their sales, what they are doing in their ad campaigns is definitely working in their favor.

From the sexy models, sexy bras with pink tags, pink shopping bags, pink gift wrapping paper and boxes, pink stores, little pink details on all of their lingerie products to everything else they sell, you can see a unity in the marketing of the Victoria's Secret empire. Everything speaks "sexy".


 It is working! It makes me want to go in the store. Because I do want to look skinny and sexy in those lacy under underwear, and have my breast looked plumped up and fighting the natural gravity. We all know in reality no one looks that perfect. Thanks to the invention of PhotoShop and airbrushing. But we don't care if the image is not real, we still like the illusion that VS ads shows us. We refuse to admit to ourselves that no one has perfect smooth skin like that. CLICK HERE to see an example from Dove

I walked into a Victoria Secret in an outdoor shopping mall. The first thing I noticed is that the lighting wasn't as enchanting as the bigger VS stores I usually go to. It looks like a Macy's that hasn't been updated since 1984, it looked old. Second, one of the sales associate hollered across the store " we have 75% off on all Love Spell sprays".

Instantly, I felt the store was cheapened. I am not sure why I felt that way, maybe it is because I was not expecting a VS sales associate holler across the entire store to tell me about their sale. Don't they usually walk up to you and tell you in a normal voice?

The normal enchanting VS store that lures you in

The store is there to sell products, and creating a good feeling experience to the consumers. If the product marketing is based around looking sexy, shouldn't they hire sales associate look the part to have unity in marketing? This particular VS sales associate is on the heavier built (ok, she's what most people would consider overweight), and part of her lower back was showing from a size too small shirt. Not professional, not pink, not sexy at all.

I walked into the VS store hoping that I might feel more sexy (even if its temporary) when I walk out with my pink VS shopping bag. That was not my experience today.

Maybe I am insane, but I imagine the VS angels sexy and graceful. I doubt they holler.

This VS store manager really need to do something about the lighting in the store. Don't they have some sort of guideline they have to follow? Lighting is so important in stores, it sets the mystique mood, and creates illusion of a halo glow of the product. Making it so temping, that the consumers have to have it.

Com'on VS! You spent so much money on the models and the stores, hire the right people that look the part. Make your marketing a successful sexy circle!

At the end, VS is just all cheap junk that are sold for more than it's worth. We still buy them anyway.

Why I Love Shopping at Nordstrom

After couple hours of shopping, my feet are tired, and the babe is hungry. Where do I go to solve the  fatigue and the hunger problem? Nordstrom!  

You see this here? 

 

This is the Nordstrom's Women Lounge. This is where I nurse my baby when I am shopping in the mall. The women's lounge gives you some privacy, and the peace and quiet you need for nursing.

Look at those comfy couches! Usually you will be in there alone, but once in a blue moon another nursing mother would be doing the same thing as you.

I am glad that I don't have to sit in the middle of the mall, and whip out my "nursing gears". I don't mind if people see me, but I don't like to offend people who might find nursing distasteful.

 

While I was nursing my starving baby in the Nordstrom Women's Lounge today, another mom with 2 of her kids came in. We were both nursing, and we started talking about how we would never shop in a mall without a Nordstrom.

I prefer to shop in malls with a Nordstrom. Because I know that if my baby has to be changed, I have a nice, safe, clean place to change my baby.  There is a sink right next to the changing station for you to wash your hands afterward.

It was nice to shop at Nordstrom before I had a baby, everything is well marketed, even the sales associates. Products are well displayed, and the lighting makes the products even more appealing. The sparkly shoes that you have to have look even more heavenly under those magical lights.You know you are getting good quality stuff if you shop at Nordstrom. The return policy is unbeatable. You can return anything, even if you have already taken the tags off, worn them, or even putting them through a wash.

Well done Nordstrom's !