Perfume Shopping in NY!

A friend of mine is heading to New York for a vacation next month. Firstly, of course I'm envious at the thought of her enjoying the Big Apple and all its grandeur! Lucky for me though, when I was studying in Chester, Pennsylvania many years ago, New York was just a short drive away, so I've been there more than 10 times during my 2-year stay in the US. Once, my Financial Management class organized a day trip to New York. There were about 25 of us and our Professor acquired the services of New York Bus Charter to get all of us happily driven around New York city. While the rest of my class was touring the Financial District, I made a slight detour with two other friends to have lunch at Hard Rock Cafe NY instead! :)

Those were some wonderful memories I shared during my university days and sometimes I really long to go back to that moment in time, when all I had to worry about was studying and getting good grades, with a whole lot of FUN on the side of course. If and when I get that much-needed scanner, I'll surely scan some of my old pictures to share with you here, but for now, all the wonderful memories of me and New York will remain only with me. :)

Anyway, the good news about my friend's trip is that I get to pass a short but very important shopping list to her so she can do a little perfume shopping on my behalf. I've just spent more than an hour shopping online for what I really want from her NY trip and I have my heart set on this lovely Must-have Eau de Parfum Gift Box from Victoria's Secret! Isn't it lovely?

This beautiful set includes 7 different scents namely Dream Angels Heavenly, Dream Angels Wish, Very Sexy®, Sexy Little Things™, Body By Victoria® The Fragrance, Sexy Little Things™ Ooh La La and Victoria's Secret Pink™! I love this miniature fragrance set so I hope my friend will be able to find the time to make a quick stop to Victoria's Secret on her vacation. I already have the normal size bottle of the last two scents on my scented list here so their miniature versions would make a great addition to my perfume gallery, don't you agree?

If all goes well, you might just see more pictures of my new Victoria's Secret perfume set soon. In the meantime, I shall continue my shopping and see what else I can possibly add to my list. Isn't it great to have friends who travel overseas often? That way I'd still be able to enjoy all the perfumes that I love so very much even though they're not available here in Malaysia! Thank you T and have a great vacation! :)

Happy Birthday MPG! *

Just like it did on Mariuca's birthday, it is also raining heavily here today while I write my Birthday Post for Mariuca's Perfume Gallery! Yes, today is MPG's birthday and since I neglected to celebrate her big day last year, this birthday will be celebrated with my first ever contest for MPG! Read on to find out more. ;)

But first allow me to give thanks to all my readers and fans here, who have stood by MPG when she went through a phase of non-posting, and to the newcomers who have made MPG one of their favourite daily stops. THANK YOU very much for all your love and support! Mariuca will continue to do her best in maintaining MPG as your chosen blog when it comes to EC advertising, captivating content, awesome songs every Monday, perfume reviews, daily banter and even fun-filled memes and quizzes!

As you all know, I've been preparing for MPG's birthday with much gusto. First, I got a makeover for MPG, followed by a new banner and just two days ago, I finally moved her into her own home by purchasing a new domain just for MPG! And now, for the biggest celebration of all - my very first contest here at Mariuca's Perfume Gallery in conjunction with my 2-year anniversary here YAY! I just love contests, especially when it involves an adorable MPG Teddy Bear like the one you see here! :)

Some of you have already entered the Mariuca Teddy Bear contest over at my other blog, but worry not because you are still eligible to enter this contest as well! For those entries already listed, you may use the same reason for wanting to bring this adorable MPG Teddy Bear home, but I am asking for a new name, that's all! Simple right? You would also need subscribe to MPG first before posting a new entry at your blog (same content is fine with me, so long as you come up with a different name) and let me know here once you are done with your post!

Please read the rules carefully

RULES

In order to be eligible for entry to the Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 2nd Blogversary Contest, you need to:

1. Be a true Mariucan and Subscribe to Mariuca's Perfume Gallery. Leave a comment once you've subscribed.
2. The MPG Teddy Bear needs a name so get creative and come up with the coolest one you can think of.
3. Post your entry at your blog, linking back to this post (and picture if you like) and tell Mariuca why you'd love to bring the MPG Teddy Bear home.
4. Leave a comment here with the link to your post once you've posted your entry.
5. International entries are allowed.
6. Contest runs from 18th November - 18th December 2008 (12 midnight Malaysia time).

The winning entry will be selected by me, based on the BEST NAME and REASON for wanting to bring the MPG Teddy Bear home! :)

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So what are you waiting for? You have a whole month to think of a special name and reason for wanting this adorable MPG Teddy Bear, to stand a chance to bring it home for YOU, a friend or a loved one! Don't forget to read the rules carefully; defaulting on any of the mentioned rules above will not qualify you to be listed as entries.

I can't wait to find out who will be the owner of this lovable MPG Teddy Bear so have fun and good luck! :)

* The MPG Teddy Bear was specially ordered by me from the creative Emila!

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

Music Monday - Once in a Lifetime by Gregorian *

Before I reveal my choice for Music Monday, I'd like to inform all my friends here who are on MPG's blogroll that I have finally moved to my very own domain YAY! :) You can read all about it at my other blog, but in the mean time, I would much appreciate it if you could change my old URL at your blogroll to the new one, which is http://www.mariucasperfume.com. PLEASE kindly change my current URL at your blogroll to the new address mentioned above, it will hopefully help me get back my PR by the time Mr. G does another round of PR update! THANK YOU so much for your time and cooperation peeps, MPG loves ya! :)

Okay, for this week's MM, I am going to feature a number especially for my good buddy Hans! See, Hans and I pretty much share the same taste in music, although I secretly think he doesn't like to admit it! So a lot of "My Songs" will surely end up being his as well. Whenever we're in the car or listening to the radio and one of my songs comes out, I'd immediately say Hey that's My SONG, and he'd follow with No, that's my song and we always end up arguing about why this song should be ours, with B as the referee ha ha! :)

Last week, on the way to the hospital, I was in his car and a particular song came on the radio, which just so happened to be MY song! So naturally I said Hey that's my song and turned up the volume, and as expected he said no, it's his song! As usual we debated for a while, trying to ascertain just whose song it was, with yours truly ending up as the winner of course! ;)

So for this week, I told Hans that I'll be featuring one of MY songs and will graciously share it with him, just this once! I fell in love with this song by Gregorian the moment I heard it! Yes it was hot during my disco dancing days and yes it holds so many memories and yes I once recorded this song over and over again in a cassette (way back when CDs were unheard of) and yes, I still do love this song just as much as I did back then! So for Hans, sorry dude, but no matter how you spin it, this one is definitely MY SONG! A song that's very hard to find and rare in almost every possible way, Once In A Lifetime remains as my all-time fave song. I hope you will enjoy my pick for this week's MM, the way I kept on playing it over and over again when I first fell in love with this hauntingly sweet and sexy love song! ;)





Once In A Lifetime

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are strictly for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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Emila Visits MPG! *

Like I mentioned over at my other blog, the lovely Emila paid me a visit several days back! She also brought along the leather notepad and handmade pencil from Tioman Island, which I won in her last contest, thank you Emila! :)




Aside from finally meeting my fluffy kids, it was also her first visit to my home office, which is where Mariuca's Perfume Gallery is located. I happily gave Emila a "tour" of my perfume gallery and I daresay she was pretty impressed with my collection too YAY! Now all this just makes me feel like going on another perfume shopping spree to add some new scents to my gallery. I'm still searching for a Black Jeans miniature by Versace because as you can see in the picture below, that is the only one missing to complete my Versace Jeans collection. Oh and I'm still missing a Yellow Jeans too! Apparently, these two minis are rather difficult to find. Anybody feel like contributing their Black Jeans or Yellow Jean mini to add to Mariuca's Perfume Gallery here? LOL!

It was FUN having Emila visit my home office and MPG too. She quickly hopped over to Wishing On A Falling Star using my new pink laptop and even commented on my latest post, from my workplace ha ha!

And now, let me give you a visual update on my latest purchase or rather gifts from B. Ahhhhhh so many new mini perfumes to add to Mariuca's Perfume Gallery! I seriously think that perfume is the best gift choice for me because no matter what perfume you decide to give me, I'd surely love it, especially if it comes with a miniature version to add to my gallery! :)

So after arranging my new perfumes at my perfume gallery, the final count to date is a whopping 118 miniature perfumes YAY! I wonder what the figure will be on my next update. Until then, enjoy the heavenly scents you see here and have a scent-sational weekend! :)

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

Music Monday - Underneath the Stars by Mariah Carey *

My participation in Music Monday will not be complete if I neglect to include at least one number from my all-time fave singer Mariah Carey! Anything that comes out from Miss Diva herself will definitely sound awesome and despite the many wonderful tunes by Mariah, I am choosing one that though is not as famous as Always Be My Baby, is still just as beautiful to yours truly. :)

One thing about me and my music is that I love songs with lyrics so beautiful it makes you swoon and sigh and say Ahhh I wish... So don't forget to check out the lyrics to one of my favourite numbers from way back then. You can see it in the scroll box down below. And now, I'll let Mariah take centre stage with her absolutely amazing rendition of Underneath the Stars, live in Tokyo! I'd like to dedicate this song to all the young ones out there, currently basking in the wonders of LOVE so true. Enjoy! :)

Underneath The Stars Lyrics

Come join us in Music Monday and share your songs with us. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and we will all go and visit you. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are strictly for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

October's Top 10 Mariucans! *

Before this busy week comes to an end, I promised myself that I will get my Top 10 Mariucans post for October published! That's because next week will be another hectic one for me and I don't like the idea of having to put off giving recognition to my Mariucans longer than necessary. Besides I also have an announcement to make here at Mariuca's Perfume Gallery, which I'll do so at the end of this post so read on! ;)

October was a chaotic month for me and I guess for some of my friends here too. I know many of my Mariucans flocked over to Wishing On A Falling Star in order to compete for the much-coveted number 1 spot on my Top 10 Mariucans list there. I had a wonderful time entertaining your comments there but there were some of you who stood your ground here and continued to ensure you remain tops here at MPG, so thank YOU for that. Though MPG is probably not as lively as Mariuca, I ♥ her just as much and with her birthday coming up sometime this month, I am excited at what another year will bring for me and my MPG fans.

But first, let's get to the Top 10 Mariucans list over here at MPG for the month of October!

THANK YOU very much to my Top 10 Mariucans here at MPG! As always, my Top Mariucan will be featured at my sidebar for one month and will also receive 1000 EC credits, while my #2 and #3 will receive 500 EC and 250 EC credits respectively. And since you guys worked real hard to maintain your spots here for October, I will be rewarding my Top Mariucan for November with yet another sponsorship! :)

For the month of November, LadyJava has kindly offered to sponsor 1000 EC credits! This means, on top of the usual 1750 EC credits offered by MPG, an extra 1000 EC credits will be allocated for my Top 3 Mariucans at MPG. The creative Emila has also sponsored another wonderful prize for the month of November. If previously she sponsored 3 RSS Dollies for my Top 3 Mariucans at Wishing On A Falling Star, this month will see her sponsoring a brand new BANNER for my Top Mariucan here! Oh I know some of you have seen the wonders that she can do, just like the new MPG banner you see below, so I'm sure you will be happy to win this awesome prize! Good luck to all competitors and happy commenting! :)

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

Music Monday - Rylynn by Andy McKee *

I really enjoyed my first week of joining Music Monday, so I'm back again this week with a brand new song! I have a feeling we'll be getting more new bloggers joining us this time around simply because MM is really cool and so much fun! Last Monday I got to check out all the other song choices of my MM friends and I have to say, some of the picks were really awesome.

This Monday, I will be featuring B's choice! When I first told him about LadyJava's MM segment that will be a permanent feature here at MPG, he was quite intrigued. Being a non-blogger, he didn't really comprehend the concept of Music Monday, so I had to explain it to him twice. And immediately after that, I was amused to see him running to his PC to start making his selections for me to feature here as well ha ha! He loved the idea of Music Monday, so thanks LJ! And since B has been quite depressed these last few days, I am gonna cheer up my Depressed Darling by featuring his pick for this week's Music Monday.

The two of us don't really share the same taste in music; B happens to be more into contemporary jazz whereas me, I'm more an R&B and pop kinda gal. Nonetheless, he happens to love some of my fave tunes and likewise for me too. So it really did not come as a surprise, that when he excitedly told me about Andy McKee the guitar wonder, I was quite captivated myself!

Andy McKee totally rocks and he does it with a mere guitar and pick in hand. I think he can play just about any song and make it sound oh so amazing. This number is called Rylynn and I think it has such a hauntingly beautiful melody. Every time I listen to this song, I feel almost nostalgic yet so very serene at the same time. Take a listen and watch what he does with his guitar to make this one-man show complete with total harmony and music perfection!

Come join us in Music Monday and share your songs with us. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and we will all go and visit you. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are strictly for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

Depressed Darling

My darling B has been down for the past two days and I can't blame him. About two weeks back, he got a new toy, courtesy of his office - a brand new Blackberry! We both don't know much about this fancy handheld device, so B took his time in learning how to use it, while I ooohed and ahhhed whenever he discovered a new function LOL!

Last Thursday I received a text message from B saying he'll be having a working lunch somewhere. So it was almost 2 PM when I gave him my daily love call and the first thing he said was that he was upset! He did sound frantic and worried, so I quickly asked what's wrong and he sadly told me that he had lost his Blackberry! :(

What happened was B accidentally left his Blackberry at the place he had lunch! He only realised that about ten minutes after driving away and quickly rushed back, hoping to retrieve his Blackberry, safe and sound. Unfortunately for him and like most lost then stolen cases, his beloved brand new Blackberry was gone. The waiters claimed that they did not see anything at the table, so there was really nothing he could have done, poor B!! Now wouldn't you too be depressed if this happened to you?

He barely had it for two weeks and was just learning how to use his Blackberry and this had to happen! Not to mention the frustration of losing some important data inside and having to fork up almost RM2,000 to replace the missing one! And when B is down, Mariuca feels down too and that's no fun so I've been trying my best to cheer him up since that fateful afternoon.

Like for the past few nights, I've been giving him the freedom to watch all his favourite football shows instead of watching my sitcoms. Tonight is also football night and I even suggested buying him the Nexus21 TV Lifts for greater viewing pleasure! Earlier today, I made him a special lunch and planned to get him some yummy cup-cakes for tonight. Or maybe I'll make him the mug cake he loves so much. Alas nothing seemed to cheer up my darling B for I can clearly see the sadness in his eyes! :(

And that's when I figured a great solution to his depression - a nice long massage! See, B and I have this massage game where he and I will exchange massages for 30 minutes. I'll do his feet and legs and he does my hands and shoulders, which is usually where we need a massage most! What with him running around at the office and me busy typing away or dropping EC the whole day, we do look forward to this little game of ours. We always end up so relaxed albeit unfulfilled whenever our 30-min is up cause half an hour is never enough. No matter how long of a massage we give to one another, we just want more! By the way, we also have a nice comfy massage chair at home, but nothing beats a good old-fashion massage with human hands to knead away your stress and worry right? ;)

So when late afternoon came and B was still moping around the house, I quickly placed his cell phone in his hands, practically pushed him out the door, kissed him good-bye and told him to enjoy a nice long massage LOL! Hopefully he'll come home feeling better and more cheerful. It's been depressing for me too not seeing B's usually smiley face so I hope this massage will do the trick. If it does, then B will be in a good mood and if he's in a good mood, yours truly just might get a free massage instead of having to play the massage game to get me some back rub! ;)

New Banner for MPG! *

MPG will turn 2 really soon and as I mentioned at my other blog, I have been busy preparing for MPG's birthday since I neglected to celebrate hers last year. I was fairly new to blogging then and I admit that I sorta neglected this lovely perfume blog of mine. I am however improving in my posting and have been quite consistent in updating MPG this year. So this birthday, I have to make sure she looks absolutely perfect!

I first did a makeover for MPG back in July but after my recent template makeover for Mariuca, fickle me was set on turning MPG into a 3-column template as well, which I successfully did with the assistance of LadyJava. I must say I made an excellent decision; my new layout was so inspiring that it got me back to posting regularly here! Thank you to all MPG fans who have been quite patient and supportive of MPG, this year especially.

The latest change I made to my perfume blog is...can you see it?? Yup, I got myself a new "refreshed" banner for sweet MPG! I didn't want a change so drastic so I settled on a more subtle look. The thing is I loved my old header and saying good-bye was pretty hard, but I figured my new template needs a new banner and I couldn't possibly leave MPG out in the cold especially when Mariuca herself got a new look!

Naturally, after much thinking and changing my mind, I turned to the Amazing Emila for some header-tweaking and boy, I am so very pleased with the outcome! The new MPG banner looks totally fabulous and though I was sad to bid farewell to my old banner, I can't help but glow in pride staring at my new banner every time I come here! :)

Let me refresh your memory with my previous MPG banner.

And now, let's take a look at the new banner for MPG! I think Mariuca looks even sweeter and demure in this new banner. The content expression on her face is clearly depicted by her wandering eyes that just had to linger over my Perfume Gallery! Oh and I so love my hair here LOL!



I also have more perfume bottles added to my new banner and you can see some of my favourites here like Samsara, White Linen Breeze, Bvlgari Rose Essentielle and Champagne! The bottles look even clearer and real and all this just makes my whole banner complete perfection, thank you Emila! As always, Mariuca is one happy customer whenever it comes to any of Emila's creations.

Now that you've seen my new banner and got a glimpse into the wonder that is Emila, I'm certain some of you out there are dying to get a new banner for yourself right? And if you're like me who doesn't even know how to insert my own banner at the top of my page, worry not for Emila will gladly do that for you; adjusting everything until you are completely satisfied with your new banner!

If you'd like to have Emila's creative touch at your blog with a brand new banner, click Emila's Dolly below and give her a visit! For a very reasonable price, you too will soon be on your way to being all happy and smiley like me when you see your new banner! Oh don't forget to tell her MPG sent you okay? :)

Below are more samples of banners from the creative Emila. Can you honestly resist getting one now? ;)

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES

Music Monday - Say by John Mayer *

Ever since I decided to join LadyJava's Music Monday, I've been so excited thinking of all the songs I can feature here for my listening pleasure and yours too! Now that EC doesn't allow autoplay music on blogs, I really miss my old music box that used to entertain me here at Mariuca's Perfume Gallery.

I was torn between the many songs that I'd like to feature for the very first time for Music Monday. It has to be a really good one, sufficiently so to get me going with this weekly affair, so it was important to chose a great number. Should I go for a more recent tune, or should I go back in time to when a particular song moved me to do something totally out of character? Or how about one of my favourite 80s tunes? So many picks and I do love music, so after being torn between songs for the whole night, I'm going to go with a tune that's been playing in my mind over and over again these last few days. ;)

Taken from the movie The Bucket List (A story of two terminally ill men who escaped from a cancer ward and ventured on a road trip with a to-dos wish list before they die), this song makes me HEART John Mayer even more. His vocals sound absolutely awesome here, soulful perfection at its height! With a laid-back performance and utter simplicity in delivery, Mariuca can't help but be hopelessly lost in those pleading eyes and adorable chin cleft as JM serenades with his beautiful words! ;)

Take all of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all your so called problems
Better put 'em in quotations

Say what you need to say (x7)
Say what you need to saaaay...

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you'd be better off instead

If you could only
Say what you need to say (x7)
Say what you need to saaay...

Have no fear
For giving in
Have no fear
For giving over
You better know that in the end
It's better to say too much
Then never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open... wide...

Say what you need to say (x7)
Say what you need to
Say what you need to
Say what you need to say...

Join us!

* The first person to leave a comment on any post title that ends with a star will receive a link back to his or her blog for being my first commentator!

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MPG LOVES