Happy Birthday Jeff!

Here’s the birthday video production for my boo. Put together while he’s away in Malaysia.

Life’s good when you have friends to do life with…

Pamper Night 08

21 July 2008 - Pamper Night 2008 in its seventh year running.

Two thousand women who have been dealt a tough hand in life - those who suffer abuse of violence, street workers, Women’s Refuge residents came together for a night of pampering at Life South Centre. It was a night of fun and celebration - with free gifts and prizes, chocolates and nibbles, karaoke contests and dancing. It was the ultimate makeover party - where they get their makeup, hair-do, nail treatments, shoulder and foot massages, and facial done!

Thumbs up and shoulder pads pats (and of course, bountiful rewards in heaven) to Debbie Baker, manager of Streetreach who headed this huge huge community project. It’s definitely a tangible way of saying “You are beautiful!” “You are special!” “You are worthwhile and you matter!” to those women of whom Debbie said some have never heard such praises from anyone before.

*******************************

Miss Susilowati and I was privileged to have been involved in this project; Susilowati did nails and I did the makeup. We were doing it non-stop from 7pm till 10pm and time just flew us by. I felt truly grateful for the experience and it’s my one way of using my skills to bless others and glorifying God.

There were probably around 35 makeup stations to accommodate the mass. In total I probably did around 10 women’s makeup in that 3 hours and girllll, that was fantastic practice for me! I get to do makeup on different features and work the colors on different skin tones. So really, it was exciting for me. The women were just lovely and I was greatly encouraged by their compliments. One of them actually said “Hey, I’m gonna wait in line for you to do my makeup. I went around and I liked yours best!” Wooo!! I just flew to the moon and back. HA HA HA! One lady got hers done and brought 3 of her friends back to line up at my station. Aww… how sweet is that?? It was also fun when they were trying to guess my nationality while I work the brushes on them. And ohh, they said I’m real preeetty too… Awwww! Look who’s pampering who now.

*Ponder mode*

"hmmpphh..."

I felt really good that night. In giving and in receiving. I felt good that I was able to do something for those women. I felt good that it put smiles on their faces when I hold up the mirror to show them how they look like. (Wait till they get home and see the makeup in fluorescent light!! Wahaha, okay let’s not go there!). I felt good that they can see themselves beautiful. Soon, they will know too that they are beautiful because they belong to the Most High.

How nice. This is my idea of an ideal work. When my passion is combined with compassion.

Work = Passion + Compassion

*No pics as we were busy bees that night… and my usual photog is not around. Will see if I can grab it from somewhere.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

Auckland Malaysian Society

I’ve recently joined the Auckland Malaysian Society (AMS) just to feel a little connected with ‘homeland people’.  If you’d like to join up, scroll down to ** for more info.

It is with pleasure to say that yours truly is the beauty editor for AMS newsletter. (Okay, it’s not some glam fashion magazine but I gotta start somewhere eh?). Here’s my maiden article I wrote for the up and coming newsletter on the AMS website; which I think would be ready by 1st August. Yay! Feel free to give me your thoughts on this article… but be nice. RRrrrr!!

C'est Moi! - 'dorinranee'

It’s Style Culture…

Style is never about fashion, it transcends it. It is more than simply the clothes you wear, style is timeless. It is a feeling, a look – a certainty of image. Thus, it’s a Style Culture; where individuality, persona and life are cultivated in a person’s style.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Developing your own personal style takes into consideration your personality, your lifestyle and last but not least, your budget. And of course, the most important factor is…your body type; which we’ll broach in this article.

Although there are many variances in body types, it can be classified in these 3 types; the apple, pear and trunk (or shapeless).

Pear shaped type bodies have noticeably smaller upper bodies and full lower bodies. The shoulders are round, the waist tends to be defined and small, and the hips, legs and backside are full. It is considered the classical female shape. Pear-shaped women may or may not be overweight. Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are examples of pear-shaped women.

An apple shape refers to those with a high hip to waist ratio. Apple shapes have wide upper bodies, slimmer legs, backsides and hips. This is more of a barrel shape and excess weight tends to be in the abdominal or back area.

The trunk shape resembles more of a noodle. Sometimes they’re referred to as shapeless. They are straight up and down, the waist is not defined and the backside tends to be flat. It is a more angular shape; neither the top nor bottom is curvy.

So what body type are you? Whatever it is we cannot change the body that we are blessed with but we can always work with it. A style sin is committed when we buy a clothing item we know that doesn’t suit our body type but because we saw it looking good on Ms Trunk we just got to have it on our Pear-shaped body; and end up frustrated looking not half as hot as Ms Trunk. That’s a no-no!

Dressing yourself according to your body shape can greatly enhance your assets and downplay whatever is unflattering. It is about identifying your best body features and drawing attention to it with the right clothing cuts and styles. For example, a person with a short neck should avoid wearing shirts with turtle neck but with a low V – neckline instead. That way it will give an illusion of an elongated neck.

Anyone can look good with the right clothes on. When you feel good you would reflect that in your self confidence and your self-esteem would naturally be on a high. Hey, who needs to look like Kate Moss to feel good? Gone are the days (and the idea!) that skinny and stick-thin equates to looking good in your clothes.

Knowing your style would definitely serve you a lifetime and is absolutely worth the investment. It will save you heaps of money on shopping because you no longer invest in wardrobe “white elephants”. Let’s admit it, we make clothing mistakes sometimes, if not most of the time; when we buy with our emotions and tend to end up with items that do not really go with the existing wardrobe. We collect what I call the wardrobe “white elephant” – an unprofitable investment. Something you bought but never got to use because it just doesn’t go with the rest of your outfit or doesn’t suit your body type! Remember, looking your best and being presentable could be your ticket to that next job, that hot date or the best gift you can give yourself.

In the next newsletter, I would be writing about makeup and grooming. What would a cake be without the icing decoration? Find out more soon about giving more attention to style details in the coming newsletter. You could also get more style knowledge on www.dorinranee.wordpress.com.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to find out more about defining your style, feel free to get in touch with me as I would be more than happy to work it with you.

*Dorin Ranee is a qualified Image Consultant. She is also a freelance Makeup Artiste for weddings, special occasions and portrait photography. She will be launching her workshop some time later in the year.

**If you’re Malaysian (or perhaps you’re not but still interested), head on to the AMS website and sign yourself up. This year is going to be a promising year full of social fun. And it’s only $20 and you get heaps of member’s discount for events and access to FOOD!!! Glorious F-O-O-D!. Malaysia Boleh!!

Peace out.

Miss Susilowati

Meet Miss Susilowati a.k.a. ES. One of muh favourite buddies. She’s also the first girl friend I met at Life Church while helping out at Loft cafe. Girl with a big heart; she’s warm and friendly and she’ll fuzz you up instantly.

Did her makeup (plus 3 other colleagues of hers) for their company’s ball on the 12 July 2008.  As usual, the RM boys; Jeff and Matt was around to make this a memorable event. This marks my first time working on 4 people in an afternoon doing both hair and makeup. Woo, the adrenalin rush. I’m beginning to think I need an assistant! Wahaha…dream on… @@~~ next time, next time.

Here are some glam pics of ES… courtesy of Jeff Chan.

Looking gorgeous!

Come hither...you.

V-O-G-U-E mama!

I absolutely love her gold dress! It’s just uber-hot-hot-hot!!!

Ohh, by the way, ahemmm, I give really good deals for makeup and hair up-do now till October 2008 (that’s when I will be done with my makeup course working with MAC makeup! Yes!! I’m esctatic about it!  Muahahaha :P). We have special winter packages for photoshoots as well. So drop me a line if you feel like you want to be a model for a day. Trust me, you’ll love it!

 

My Isabella Anselmi

ES: Thanks for the opportunity & $$ girl. Love you to bitssss!!!! To the future and beyond.  Yes, I will remember to treat you to that lobster dinner when I become Tai Tai dorinranee. LOL! :) 

 

Satya on Sandringham

Hailstorm and gusty. That was the weather all day for Auckland last Saturday but despite that, the day was fruitful with Eden’s photoshoot. Hungry and cold, JC suggested Satya for dinner. Something spicy to spice up the weather. Hooray! Just the mention of it brings wonderful salivacious memories of Dahi Puri; that’s Satya’s specialty and a must try!

Dahi Puri - An absolute-must-try mouth watering appetizer!

Okay, let me try my utmost best to describe it. (Yah, my food vocab is quite limited because it’s all about moans… the louder the moan, means the better the food). Hmmphh…

Anyway, it’s a serving of 6 bite-size crackers with mashed potato and drizzled with yoghurt and some chutney sauce. It’s reaaaaally good and literally melts in your mouth with all that potato and yoghurt… plus all the other different taste from the spices (if you let it sit in your mouth for a while!).

There are others like the Bhel Puri and and one more… I forgot what it’s called. We decided we’ll leave that to try next time.

For mains, we had the Gongurra Lamb Curry - medium hot to share. We thought we’d try something different from the norm. It also had a note on the Gongurra Lamb saying it’s only available on certain days. Oooo, must be something about it then!

Gongurra Lamb Curry

But when Gongurra meets the palate, the sparks weren’t flying. It tasted sour and quite salty for my liking actually. And it’s not even close to spicy. Quite a let down but the lamb was tender though. We also had garlic pratha to dip into the gravy and the pratha is p-u-n-y! Sigh… but it was good!

So head on to Satya on Sandringham Road (Auckland lah!) for the highly recommended Dahi Puri! And don’t forget to give me a buzz!

Satya South Indian Restaurant - 515 Sandringham Road, Auckland.

Photos by Jeff Chan. (The oh-so-talented photog!)

Eden’s Photoshoot

We finally got down to have a photoshoot with Eden. And thank the Lord, what perfect timing because she was leaving for Queenstown this Thursday for studies! We initially planned for an outdoor shoot at Auckland Domain or Devonport for this one but the weather was crappy so the RM boys set up the ’studio’ at Keith’s and Matt’s nest.

Eden is a natural and she’s just got this amazing connection with the camera. We all had a good time at this shoot; everyone’s pleased with the results and was just feeling so pumped for future projects. The RM photogs did a great job with the lighting. 2 thumbs and 2 toes up to you guys! I was terribly pleased with my makeup this time as well. Truly a progress and still more room for growth though.

RRrrr... Totally love this!

That’s a belly dancing scarf, I really like the vibrant blue color. Eden could kill with this look.

Working the brushes…Eden’s blessed with great bone structure.

**Note: All these pics are raw - unedited…as far as makeup is concerned.

There’s more to this shoot but I won’t be posting it up here. Check out Rightmind for the rest.

Claudia’s Photoshoot

CB was our first ever project done in April. Our first step in building a portfolio for dorinranee and Rightmind Photography. I tried doing a natural look and an Amy Winehouse eye-liner inspired look which didn’t really take off. Oh well, never despise your small beginnings. Overall it was fun doing the makeup, seeing the RM boys setting up the studio, getting the lightings right and Keith was even spinning some funky-model-music to set the atmosphere.

Day Look

CB...with an attitude! Very nice.

The Amy Winehouse Inspired Look. Hmpphh...

Thanks CB! It was good fun working with you that day. You’re a gem!

Tammy’s Photoshoot

Farewell to Tammy; she left for Korea just yesterday. *sniff sniff*

We had a photo-shoot for her last Sunday at Parnell Rose Garden.

I was the Brawly Girl aka Umbrella Girl aka Flash Girl. I was also the glamorous makeup artiste who did Tammy’s natural look!

Glamorous Brawly Girl with Nikon SB-600 Speedlight! *Wateva*

Here’s some pics of Tammy for you to feast on.

A natural look for the garden...

Chilling out after the shoot at Starrybuckeyes Cafe.

Gismos & gadgets & newspaper stare...

Tammy: All the best in your future undertakings in Korea. Was absolutely lovely to have met you and I hope one day our paths will cross again. May God bless you abundantly… Keep in touch!

Salsa Days

Here’s a clip of being part of Latinissimo Performance Team 2007. Looking back, I’m glad for the experience despite the feet-dragging rehearsals and the most “wonderful” dance partner.

Salsa started when I was looking for something to do in Auckland in 2006. Bored with no friends and practically plucked out of my life in KL, I decided to take up some form of dance and chose salsa.

Anyway, it started off with Kingslander on Wednesday nights; then Skycity on Sunday nights and then Mexican Cafe on Friday nights. That was salsa for me 3 times a week… And salsa was wonderful.

Anyway, I don’t have the time for it now. But perhaps one day you’ll see me back on the dance floor.

Homa Cafe

The day that Sam, Jeff and I wanted to go horse-riding at Warkworth. The ride was canceled due to bad weather so we were just chilling out at Homa Cafe with Claudia. Homa Cafe is Cindy and Peyman’s second cafe project which just opened its door in April 2008. Recently sold their first cafe in Orewa to a family friend, they’re looking for buyers for this second one as well. Yea, after 4 years in the hospitality industry they are thinking of taking a break. Business is fantastic and the location is perfect. Take a drive up to Whangaparaoa one fine weekend and enjoy some good cafe food. It is only a 30 min drive and while you’re there, have a stroll at Shakespeare Park and enjoy the picturesque breathtaking view… but watch out for that peacock that attacks when you’re not looking. Apparently you could collect buckets of cockles there too. Big Fat Cockles! Then later in the evening, you could bring a blanket and cuddle up on Manly Beach with hot coffee (yes, it’s winter now) and enjoy twilight and the clear night sky with twinkling stars. Awww… Make sure you have your wishlist ready with you because you really get to see some awesome shooting stars!

Homa Cafe

T6, 15 Karepiro Drive, Whangaparaoa, Auckland.

Phone: 09-428 4488

Updated on 20 August 2008: Cindy & Peyman finally sold the cafe business to an Iranian couple. All the best in their future undertakings.

Poachy Salmony - Claudia's

Mushroom Fettucine - Sam had this one!

I had this one... Yumm!