The team at L’Oreal have come up with a groovy little self-massage gadget and clinical tests have been conducted on 100 women under the supervision of medical expert. It is a lipo-kneading treatment designed to combat visible cellulite. The bottle features 2 kneading rollers, as shown in the photo below, to intensively massage the skin and body contouring draining concentrate to tone the figure and smooth orange-peel skin. The massage is based on the kneading and squeezing concept used in professional salons for lymphatic drainage.

Here’s a demo on how to use it. Couldn’t find an English version.

Cellulite appears on the parts of our body where we are most likely to store fat – thights, bottom, tummy and sometimes upper arms. It’s estimated that 90% of women will have cellulite at some point in our lives, which is caused when fat cells grow with age and start pushing through connective fibers, creating the dimpling effect.

So now, they claim the Co-caffeine Cx will immediately make your skin look firmer and supple, and the most amazing thing is, you will see improvements after 2 weeks! The self-massager is simple to use, my skin becomes slighly red and warm after use, proof that blood is getting to the surface. It has a lovely holiday smell too! Use only 1 or 2 times a day after bath. Always use the rollers in 1 direction: upwards from bottom to top and do not move it back and forth.

I’ve been told by at least 3 friends that this cool little gadget is very effective, so I though I would buy one and have a try. It’s kinda expensive in Shanghai, cost me RMB220 for a bottle. You can get an additional refill bottle for RMB180.

I bought the pro-massager at Watson and the L’Oreal girl gave me a membership card with some samples.

Here’s how to use it:

• Step 1 (Prepare): Cellulite-kneading massage – The massage rollers actively massage the cellulite area in kneading strokes. The skin is squeezed and rolled. This intensive massage helps to stimulate micro-circulation and encourages tissue drainage. The skin is prepared for step 2.
• Step 2 (Post-Massage Firming Concentrate): The concentrate, enriched with stimulating Co-caffeine Cx, is specially formulated to act effectively post-massage and helps to improve the appearance of cellulite.

Apply on the areas of stubborn cellulite and you can now massage like a pro!

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Ron has been thinking a lot about sponsoring a child lately. We have been thinking of having a baby sometime next year and it probably triggered this thought.

We always see this old lady sitting on the pave way and begging for money. While I faithfully try to give her whatever small change I have, Ron is more skeptical. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he always tells himself that they are “fake” beggars or that they are part of some scam organization. Once, he did witness a “blind” beggar running to his favourite spot at a busy bus stop. It kinda reinforces his notion of “fake” beggars.

The thought of having our own child coupled with a moving article about the Bill Gates Foundation forced him to think and reflect again. It made him realize how lucky we are. It does not matter if they are really real or fake beggars. So what if we give some of our money to a fake beggar. It should not stop us from donating at all. There are people out there that really need our help, however small it is. It may mean a world of a difference to them.

Ron started to do some research on sponsoring orphans in 3rd world countries. We are really impressed by the stuff some organizations are doing to help orphans. www.childfundinternational.org and www.worldvision.org are 2 excellent sites. He hopes to start sponsoring a child by this year. Ron has also made a mental note not to pretend that beggars are invisible and donate some money whenever possible.

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The surveys are conducted based on cost of living expenses in US dollars. For example according to all the surveys, the cost of living in cities outside the US dollar zone becomes more expensive if the dollar weakens against local currencies even when prices remain unchanged or indeed fall.

Moscow, Russia.

In June 2008, based on cost of living survey, Moscow ranked the world’s most expensive city 2 years in a row for expatriates, followed by Tokyo. This costliest Asian city, overtaking London due to appreciation of the Yen against the US dollar over the past few months. Many China’s second tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai (ranked 20 & 24 among 143 countries around the world) has moved up the Asian ranking because of a combination of stronger currency and relatively high price increase.

The report measures the cost of 200 items such as housing, clothing and food in 143 cities on six continents.

The most expensive place to rent a luxury 2 bedroom unfurnished apartment was Moscow, USD$4,018 per month, and the cheapest Karachi, at just $412.

And while a coffee in Moscow will set you back $6.13, but in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, it will cost less than $1.70.

Top 25 Most Expensive Cities In The World.

Source:
Most expensive cities in the world
Most expensive cities in Asia

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