With everything sort of digitalized these days, you will be surprised that there are a majority of us who do not fully utilize the convenience. And I am talking about online shopping. I realized this when I constantly received emails or comments left in my blog that they do not know how to shop online. That got me thinking. Online shopping is as easy as (1) pick the item you want, (2) add into ‘shopping cart’, (3) make payment, (4) wait for the parcel to arrive. Yes it may seems as simple as what I just mentioned for people who have done online shopping before but not to those who have yet to try it.

Today I am going to share with you my Top 5 Simple Online Shopping Tips. This basics will breeze anyone through online shopping easily and smartly. I did not want to do a step-by-step online shopping guide as each online shopping site has their own procedure or sequence so it does not make sense for me to refer to just one site. However fret not, as online shopping site nowadays has a pretty good step-by-step navigation which will guide you through payment . Just click ‘next’ all the way! lol

1. Do Your Research Before Settling With The Right Online Shopping Site

This is where Google is your best friend. Get the full use of Google to look for reviews. Go through and read at least 2-3 pages of all the Google search result. You will never know. I had the worse experience even with the biggest online shopping site i.e. MySale for countless of times. Through Google, you will be surprised to find stories on stolen parcels, counterfeit products and many more.

You may be interested to check this link for updated online shopping experience at iHerb.com.

2. Consolidate Your Shopping List

We all been through the phase where we feel the need to go for a quick online shop but only to find just one item to buy. Why risk paying for a full shipping fee if you could ask around or wait for your shopping list to grow longer before shopping?

Online shopping is so easy that even when I am working on my computer I feel the urge to click into one of my favourite site to check out what’s new, what’s on sale or what’s the on-going deal. The problem is when you are doing this on a daily basis, you may ran out of things to buy sooner or later. Some site do offer free shipping with any amount, however that is rare nowadays. Every site now has a minimum purchases requirement in order to be eligible for free shipping. What I like to do is to wait out for a few days. If you have a few friends or colleagues who are going to buy from the same site anyway, hitch hike onto their order! This way you save out on shipping fee. Or you could just consolidate your order and get everything at one shot. Having said that, please be reminded that any oversea order from RM500 and above INCLUSIVE shipping fee are taxable. Keep the total amount low if possible.

3. Read Product Reviews For Signs of Counterfeit Products

Most online shopping site now offers product reviews to help other shoppers in making the right choices. Now, these reviews are equally important as you get to read about the product efficacy, delivery issues (sometimes), and most importantly if the product is a fake product. What I like about this review section is everyone just rant on EVERYTHING! When I mention about fake products, I do not mean the site itself is selling fake products. Some site offers reseller program where anyone can register to the site and sell their products. This is where the quality control went downhill as there is no way these online site can filter everything out. Sites like Lazada, 11street or even Zalora are all sites with various resellers. Zalora is the most trustable of all as Zalora keep all the stocks and do the fulfillments. This is also where you need to do a little more background digging on who is doing the stock fulfillments.

4. Register For Online Banking / Paypal Account

Again, you will be surprised to find out that some people do not believe in doing any monetary related transaction online therefore they do not have online banking facility. I am not kidding! I have been told before by numerous readers that they are always stuck at payment page. When I ask why, the reply I get was “I do not have online banking, credit card or Paypal”. I have known people that do not carry credit card at all but because they needed to buy something online, they got a card just for the purpose.

Most local online shopping site offers a few payment method – online banking, credit / debit card charge, and Paypal. I personally prefer to use local bank online transfer for local shopping site and Paypal for international. It will be charge to my credit anyway. So before you even embark on this online shopping journey, you got to make sure you have online banking enabled for your bank account at least. All you need to do is one-time off authorization with your bank and that is it!

5. Look For The Best Deal and Discount in Town

I always, ALWAYS tell my readers and friends to Google for discount codes or deals first before clicking Place Order. I am a bargain hunter which means I do my best research before purchasing anything to get the best out of the money I paid. Sounds like kiasu but it is not. It is the matter of maximising . Before this I have recommended quite a few deals site I personally used for my online shopping. As you know I have been an active shopper at Zalora for their killer heels lately and so I found a new coupon site – CupoNation, my.collectoffers.com and www.couponkoz.my.

Sometimes when there are no discount deals available for the online shopping site you want, another way around it is to look for FREE SHIPPING . Why pay for shipping when you can find a code to slash it off? This is the most basic of all with coupon site.

There you have it! These are the simplest basic online shopping knowledge that everyone regardless long time shoppers or newbies should do before any online shopping. Once you have identified the right shopping site for you that you find reliable and you feel comfortable spending money at, stick to it.

Until the next tip post! <3

The post 5 Simple Online Shopping Tips: Breeze Through Online Shopping Easily and Smartly appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Sometime end of January, I was approached by CompareHero.my, a financial comparison website in Malaysia on contributing my thoughts to their upcoming Valentine’s Day article. Now, usually I do not do this but this time round I agreed with no promises as I wanted to see the questions in advance. You know, just in case I have agreed and I was not able to answer the questions properly? lol

So the article was out a few days ago

I could not copy the whole article into this post although I wanted to as I would be deemed as plagiarizing. Here is a snippet of a quote from me. It is interesting how they quote me throughout the whole article. Love it!

You may read the whole article including other blogger’s contribution to the feature at this link. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all Street Lovers!

The post CompareHero.my Feature – We Asked Malaysian Bloggers: “Is Valentine’s Day Worth It?” appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

As you know I am a huge hugeeee fan of beauty box subscription. I still remember my very first beauty box. It was Fabulous Finds. Fabulous Finds left a fond memory to me as they are the first beauty box in Malaysia and who can forget the ever so bubbly, inspiring CEO and Founder, Hui Ling. I can remember how sad we were when Hui Ling decided to discontinue Fabulous Finds due to health reasons. Throughout the past years I do bump into Hui Ling and we kept in touch through Whatsapp. But can you imagine how happy I was when Hui Ling called last month? The good news is, Hui Ling now has a new venture called The Chic Initiative. It’s an online retailer of women’s dinner clutches and evening bags, with pieces curated from abroad. We met up for coffee and the rest is history!

Why dinner clutches, evening bags, and minaudières (mee-nor-dee-yers)? Hui Ling said that it is hard to find the right evening clutch. I could not agree more! Yes there are some shops that has clutches but it s never the right one. Personally, I find it hard to find even one single clutch when I needed the most. And there is also lack of online retailer selling evening clutches. Since Hui Ling are very much into fashion, she thought why not she do this as a passion project to fill the market gap? I say that is a brilliant idea!

Each and every piece of clutch from The Chic Initiative are handpicked and brought back from oversea. You can be assured of the quality as Hui Ling personally triple (and more) check each clutches to make sure they are perfect before putting it out for sale.

I had the rare opportunity to see, touch, and feel some of the clutches over coffee. I was wow-ed. I have seen such clutches on magazines or from live red carpet show but I have never seen any in real. These clutches are so exquisite. I can tell you that no other retailer carry such clutches. I had my eyes on one particular clutch that night. It caught my attention immediately as it reminds me of the Alexander McQueen knuckleduster clutches. The McQueen clutch in Bronze looked similar to Alexander McQueen knuckleduster clutch but this one from The Chic Initiative are more subtle and wearable. At one glance, you would not think that I would want this style of clutches. But hey, it is Fiona we are talking about and I am known to be different

The Chic Initiative brought in three colours for the McQueen collection. Gunmetal and Champagne Pink were sold out immediately as soon as the stocks were in. That is how HOT these clutches are! Bronze is just as beautiful. Even more beautiful in real. The picture doesn’t do it justice. The clutch itself comes in a hard textured case, with heart-shaped knuckleduster gold hardware clasp. The noob me do not know how to get the clutch to open at first. I later learnt that in order to open the clutch, just tilt the clasp back slightly and voilà!

One thing I did not expect is a little tag of The Chic Initiatives inside the clutch. All the details put into the whole concept is amazing. I would not have thought of this myself. The inside are all lined and protected with black velvet fabrics.

The clutch measures at 18 cm (L) x 12 cm (W) x 6 cm (H). One would think a clutch is small or mini in size but not this one. It is actually quite roomy on the inside. It fits a phone but not iPhone 6 Plus ya as it is too huge, a small wallet, car key, a packet of tissue paper, lipstick and a mini powder (and more). Each clutches also comes with a shoulder strap so you can choose to sling the clutch on your shoulder as you like.

Now let’s talk about their signature packaging which was meticulously designed and thought of. From the paper bag to the outer brown box to the dust bag. Every single details such as the material, design, and even the yellow colour are carefully thought of. As The Chic Initiative is an online retailer, every parcel will be send out using courier. Oh did I mention it is FREE SHIPPING for Malaysia and Singapore? Now you know . The actual box will be protected with a brown carton box, something you would remember from Fabulous Finds days. Nothing fancy according to Hui Ling but even the brown carton box looked so chic! And no, you do not get a paper bag due to the odd size. It does not fit into the box.

The actual signature box for the clutch is AMAZING. It is made from thick and sturdy cardboard, sealed with a signature black ribbon. If you are a box collector like I am, this is one box that you should collect . I like how The Chic Initiative gold logo imprinted on top of the box. The logo is simple and yet stood out prominently. I had forgotten to open up the box for photo *facepalm* but fret not. It’s empty inside hehe. I was told by Hui Ling that there will be black tissue paper on the inside around the dust bag.

Each clutch will be placed in a dust bag before placing in the signature box, which will be sealed with a signature black ribbon, before putting into another brown carton box. I like the dust bag as much as the box. Reason is that the material is thick. The gold TCI initial on the dust bag makes everything better don’t you think so?

Are you impressed yet? I am! I never imagine all the details that needed to be thought of and put into consideration when it comes to being an online fashion retailer. This is how ‘premier’ retailer should be. Every single details defines the brand and the retailer itself.

I brought my McQueen clutch out with me for The Face Inc launch last month at Ruyi & Lyn. I figure the venue and ambient was just perfect. The clutch is a stunner, not me lol.

Just three more days to Christmas and you can still make it for Christmas if you order now . A clutch from The Chic Initiative makes a good Christmas present for yourself or for your loved ones. And they just launched their Christmas Collection too.

The post The Chic Initiative: Premier online retailer for clutches, evening bags and minaudières appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

‘Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’ is a popular saying. But, hardly people believe on this proverb these days and try out most of the beauty products that rule the market. A lot of brands are popping out each day with new and new products that promises to make you look beautiful and glowing. Truly speaking, a lot of these products are highly expensive as they are of high quality. But, people hesitate even to try them once due to the high price.

Now, you can buy them at cheaper rates! Wow! That sounds really cool isn’t it? Purchase your favorite beauty products online and that too at much discounted price. There are many online stores in Malaysia that sells high quality beauty and makeup products and that too from top notch brands at the lowest possible rates. Have a look at these top Malaysian online beauty stores from where you can get your products at the best rates.

Luxola

Luxola is one of the best online stores in Malaysia that caters to the various beauty needs of the people. It is one of the most well rated beauty stores online. Order your favorite product just with a few clicks and get them delivered at your doorstep. Shop at this online store using Luxola Coupons and ensure that you get your beauty products at the cheapest rates.

Buy beauty products by spending less now only at Luxola. Grab up to 60% off selected beauty products at this store. The offer is valid only for the selected range till June 7. So, grab this opportunity and buy the product while the stocks last.

Lazada

Lazada is also one of the most preferred online stores that sells anything and everything including beauty products.Check out this amazing stores for all your beauty needs. It has listed products from all the popular and ruling beauty brands including Omron, Maybelline, Calvin Klein and much more. As part of special promotion, buy beauty products up to 60% off from the store. Look for Lazada Coupons while making your purchase and use the coupon code while making your payment. Enjoy unbeatable price discount on your purchase that will leave you awestruck for sure!

Now, look more beautiful with beauty products from top brands and which are of the finest quality, by purchasing them online and that too at the lowest price. Apart from beauty products, you get to explore and buy many other products online and that too at the lowest price possible. So, shop more spending less!

The post Buy Beauty Products Online At Cheaper Rates appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona