Friday, June 5, 2009

How To Dress On A Job Interview

The low-cut shirt, fishnet stockings and tattoos won't work here. You have to be a little conservative but sometimes you might not have to wear a suit depending on the job you're going for though you have to consider what you are applying. A pensil skirt with a button -down shirt and nice heels at least 2 inches high will take you almost anywhere.

If it is a fashion magazine or an art studio you can be and allowed to be more creative so you can throw in a trendlier top. It is about mixing and matching but make sure there is a 'wow' factor to it not 'whoops' factor. And the level of polish in elegance between top and bottom must be of the same quality.

At the law firm or a finance or corporate office, you have to toe the line a bit more. Wear a suit that is well tailored and it has to look sharp and amazing. Invest your money here. My favourites will be Zara, MNG or Armani but G-2000 and Nichii might have some nice ones too.

As a general guideline: Choose a conservative base and then put on a piece of personal jewelry, something that says you are alive and not a robot in a suit! Create your personal style and be CONSISTENTLY GROOMED- please.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

How To Dress On A First Date

It should be about mystery. It's about making them wonder. A slow reveal is more intriguing than a full reveal. Not a Pamela Anderson but more of a Mischelle Pfeiffer you know..

Focus on the fabrics and not exposing too much skin. Silk, cashmere or anything tactile work well. This is the time to pull out your favourite lingerie [ not for him, for you!!], because even if the date is a disaster.. at least you will feel happy.

Be at ease, be superfeminine and roll with the awkward pauses. Don't reveal too much of your personal background on the first date and never pour all your problems and weather report to that poor guy. It will be your first and your last to see him.

Be happy and interesting and act as if you don't care but at times show deep interest in what he's saying [if you like him!!]and maintain eye-contact at all times.

Remember keep it slow and steady. What's the hurry?

Quote:'Is not the most erotic part of the body wherever the clothing affords a glimpse?' by Roland Barthes

How To Dress On A Plane

This is something I truly agree and I read it in a book by an interesting writer named Nina Garcia.

Do not wear a sweatshirt.Not even an expensive one because let me tell you if there is a girl in a sweatsuit and a girl in a cashmere sweater ..and there is the possibility of an upgrade, cashmere beats sweatsuit everytime. The way you present yourself matters.

The nicer you look, the nicer you will be treated. The smile gets more than a frown.

There are some ladies out there who get on the plane in perfect attire, perfect hair, full-on make-up and sunglasses. When they got off the plane, not a single hair out of place! I am not saying that we all need to look this perfect but we should meet halfway between perfection and sweatpants.

One tip I can share with you is that never to sleep with your back of the head lying flat on the head rest.. coz when you get up it will be so flat and not a very good site from the side view. What you can do is to lift up your hair and pin it up before leaning on the head rest. Get your hair blowed curl at the salon and pin it up on the plane. When it lands just let go the pins and you'll have very natural curls and ready to face the world!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Emotional Intelligence

Every time when i meet a group of girlfriends there was never a time I didn't hear any complains about someone being treated badly by the opposite sex either it's their husbands or boyfriends or some are just by their 'casual acquaintances'.

Sometimes the stories seemed so peculiar that it got all of us thinking that these guys must be reading a standard book of 'Guides To Lure Them Then Leave Them...'.
They say the same things, use the same tactics, same words, same modus operandi.It's like the same script but different casts.

The worst thing is women never learn and keep falling for these guys.Why? Aren't there enough nice guys around or we're just not giving them a chance? Another girfriend pointed out that, bad guys are more challenging and fun to be with. Well then who to be blamed for this coz you knew very well what you're in it for so you must be prepared to face the consequences.

This is the reason why we should all have the Emotional Intelligence. The word 'intelligent' means being able to make a smart decision and Emotional Intelligence means being able to make wise decision based on emotions. Have we consciously asked ourselves why did we 'allow' it to happen?

Why did you 'allow' them to treat you in a bad way? Why did you 'allow' them to dump you or why did you 'allow' them to make you cry? The best way to do it is never to 'allow' anything that's below what you deserve.If you don't 'allow' nothing will happen ..at least not the way you didn't want it to be.

So I would suggest for women to set a 'benchmark'[setting a certain standards] in choosing the guys they go out with. NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS and NEVER SELL YOURSELF SHORT! You must remember this! And if they leave eventually , say to yourself ' so what..we had some good moments and I don't really care coz I deserve better and I am worth it'.

Being able to switch your emotions from sadness to psycho-ing yourself with happy things will make you more productive and more attractive. Believe me ,do this and you'll be a happier person.

This is what Emotional Intelligence is all about and all women should master this capability. Another important habit for you to master is the art of being silent.
'Practising silence means making a commitment to just be...' by DEEPAK CHOPRA 'THE 7 SRITUAL LAWS OF SUCCESS'.

Ladies we can do it and again remember set your 'benchmark'!

Monday, May 18, 2009

SYNCRONICITY

Just want to share with you.

Some say, things happen for a reason and some may say that our life journey has been orchestrated by god. My best friend who happens to be a very spiritual person will normally say that 'we owe it to our past lives'and that sometimes someone from the past might come into our lives so suddenly because we have an unfinished business with them in our past lives. Well she does read a lot of Deepak Chopras.....

Nevertheless I did find some truth in what she said after much thought given to it.This is because a person whom I met on the job many years ago came into my life again and initiated something I never thought possible.Then when things started to progress suddenly it turned bad and I was left very dissapointed. If i could recall I did turn the offer down a few years ago and maybe this is the time to get back at me.. but then again I take it as another valuable lesson in life and I thank god for making my life so interesting and colorful!

For the past few months a lot of interesting and wierd things happened to me...some are happy and some are not too happy. I normally would like to just focus on the happy ones and move on. However this time I took the time to ponder a bit on what caused the 'not too happy' ones. I realized that it's all about being able to adjust ourselves in the situation that we're in and be in 'sync' with our environment and the people around us. When I try to relate to 'The Law of Atrraction' written by Michael Lozier again and again...it does make sense and now I believe that it's all about this new word 'syncronicity'. Everything has to be on the same 'frequency'. Like attracts like. If not don't push it.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Utusan Write Up 4th May 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

RSVP

This word RSVP is a french word that means 'responde seevou plei' [spelling not sure but thats how it sounds]or in english 'please respond'.

This word has been widely used and printed in invitation cards but not many understand or choose not to understand or pretend not to understand what it means.

Most oftenly the invitation card also states 'RSVP before...the date but most oftenly what happens is that either the invitees reply the last minute on the day of the function itself and expect to be given a seat or never reply at all but just turn up at the function or replied to turn up to the function but never came!The most common one will be 'I was not well'. This is the culture in Malaysia.

By doing all of the above we are showing disrespect and being inconsiderate to the host. It means that the host is not important and you can't be bothered with whatever inconviniences that will happen to her as a result of your doing.Unless you are really genuine then your conscience is clear. Ask yourself how would you feel if it happens to you at your function?

Lets start making a conscious effort from now on.

My Book Launch 18th April 2009 PWTC!

My dream came true finally. It's true what i believed that it's not God's denial but God's delay. My mom always say to me that whatever you wish for just ask from god and he'll give it to you. And he finally did.

I started writing four years ago about my experiences and then I took up a course in Image Consulting in Singapore & London. I found that the techniques and what they have taught me would be a waste if not documented. I owe it to Ms Christina Ong the Principal Consultant from Academy of Image Mastery, Singapore. A very charismatic lady full of grace and a person with a big heart who's willing to share with me her knowledge an expertise in this book as my guidance.

I finished all the chapters 2 years ago but could not publish it because I could not afford it. I looked for sponsors from individuals, companies, ministries and also entrepreneur development organizations but there were only empty promises.
There was a time when I just wanted to give up on the book and just forget about it. I felt as if there was no point initiating anything good in this country. People will only give you the attention if you are somebody important to be associated with...like the Prime Ministers wife...etc.

One fine day I was invited to do a talk for a bank organized by Karangkraf Publication house in Kuala Lumpur. It went really well and after that I was approached by the publication house Buku Prima a subsidiary of Karangkraf . She asked me if i was interested to write a book on Image as there is a demand for it in Bahasa. So far there wasn't any book about Image in bahasa. When i heard that, my heart was pumping really fast and of course I said yes and we got into a discussion and i signed the contract right away!

We started the project right away because I had completed all the chapters and did the shooting in October last year. The lay out was completed only in early March because Buku Prima had to finish up their novel books first. There were many postponement on the date of the launch due to Umno assembly that was going on.
And also it was also due to the change of My vvip guest to launch the book.
Call it ambitious..but if don't try you'll never know... I wrote to the Permaisuri Agung to invite her to launch it and was supposed to be in a hotel..but of course she couldn't make it because she was supposed to leave to Argentina. Then I wrote to Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen the Womens minister then but she too could not make it due to her travelling schedules.

I tried my luck to invite Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and without much hassle or delay her PA Dato Yasmin called me to confirm that she agreed to launch my book. I always knew I could count on Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz. She is a woman with high integrity in everything she does and I truly respect her for that. After all it was also she who launched my salon Adamaya 5 years ago.

The launch went really well and Tan Sri Rafidah was the perfect choice. Everybody loved her and her speech was awesome.!We took the opportunity to launch it at the same time of the book fair that is being held in PWTC. We also have a booth there.I was told that the book is currently selling very well by the publisher thank god!!

It was indeed a memorable day for me and what more all my family members were there to support me. Most of my close friends turned up.

On top of that i consider myself very lucky to have a team of committee members who were so dedicated to make the event a successful one. I am also grateful to my BFF Marianne Liow for her endless effort to assist me and be there for me in my most trying times and happy times.

As a conclusion, i believe that you have to have faith in whatever you do and never give up. Stay away from toxic friends because the are just.. well toxic to you. Never forget your family and of course the almighty -God.

Anyway we are giving a 20% discount on the book from 17th - 26th April during the book fair. So get a copy for yourself now!

Thanks for sharing my joy!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

'Thats mean' ?

What's with this 'thats mean' thing?

That's it . I've been hearing too much of this 'thats mean' and i can't stand it anymore.

To my amusement the people who used these words were from the high ranking post in an international organization and nobody dares to correct them.

I think it's about time these people are told and corrected because it reflects on your Image and the company that you work for. I mean.. here you are smartly dressed in your most expensive suit but you are not being 'Congruent' with your corporate Image when it's not in sync with your verbal communication. So I am suggesting that , all the top people in the company must attend the Image Workshop on Communication Skills first before sending us their staff.

I believe if you want change then you have to change first.

Yes , clothes do communicate messages but how you communicate and the choice of words you use tells a lot more about you - educated or not?

So for goodness sake it is 'that means' not 'thats mean'.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

What is Image Consulting?

'So you're an Image Consultant...interesting...but what actually do you do?'- this is one of the questions frequently asked to me at social functions and gatherings. I had to keep repeating myself over and over again untill i get to the last person I just said 'Oh I dress naked bodies!' and they go 'ooooohh' with mouth wide open. Hahahaha love doing that sometimes..

You can't blame them because even though Image Consulting services have been around for quite some time but not many people understand what it is all about and the importance of potraying the right image for individuals, companies and organizations.

In the United States, Image Consulting has gone beyond recognition. Almost everyone in various industries admit that a professional image that represent oneself and an organization is crucial as far as branding is concerned.

I would like to quote Donald Trump for saying ' in order to be successful you have to look successful first', in his book 'Think Big and Kiss Ass'. He managed to close a deal just by dressing the best that he could be. First Impression is very very important.

Yes  clothes do communicate messages. What you wear says a lot about you in the first 15 seconds. After that , what you say, your topic of discussion, your body gestures, the verbal and non-verbal language, your posture, your manners, courtesy ,etiquette ...all will create a significance in peoples minds. You can control what they see but you can't control what they feel.
To control what they see, you have to play the part but to control what they feel you have to have the right tools and knowledge.

This is what Image Consulting is all about. We coach you to have the right attitude, tools and skills to build the right image that potrays professionalism and finesse for individuals and organizations.

When we teach you about Body Language, you will be able to connect with the people around you effectively just by reading their body gestures . This is especially a very important skill in Marketing, Public Relations, Customer Service Industry and Job interviews.

Then we teach you about Social Etiquette ,Dining and Networking. When you are entertaining your clients, do you pay or you make them pay and who orders first? As a lady is it graceful for you to extend your call card to a man first? For the men out there, is it ok for you to ask a woman her age? Simple things like this could represent your mentality , social and education background and lack of sensitivity to the other party.

And for the ladies do you wear mini skirts at the workplace and expect to be taken seriously?

There is more to it than i could explain but what i can tell you is that it is very important to have the right image and potray it the way you want to be perceived by others. A professional image could lead you to a higher level in your life be it your career advancement or personal relationships.

If everyone in the community is being 'CONSISTENT and CONGRUENT' with their image then we will be able to increase the standards of professionalism and be more relevant and effective in what we do.

All the topics that constitutes to Image Building are all incorporated in my book 'IMEJ- DIRI ANDA ASET ANDA'. It is a an interactive reference coffee table book that gives you tips and guidelines towards self-branding and knowing your self attributes. Through this book I would like to share with you my experiences and knowledge towards recognizing your best asset which is -yourself.

If you would like to get a copy of the book please kindly place an order by emailing to adamayaconsultancyservices@gmail.com.or by ordering it at MPH bookstores.

Thank you for reading!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Basic Courtesy- What happened?

I took my son Adam and daughter Letisha to have dinner at Pizza Hut. We were given a table of five. There were another group of family of which i notice this particular lady was very immaculately dressed seated next to our table.

While we were enjoying our dinner suddenly that lady stood up from her table and crossed over to ours to grab a napkin from the unoccupied seat at our table. Stunned.. i just looked at her and she looked back at me without saying a word. At this time my daughter was having a funny a funny grin on her face.

So she wanted a serviette. Perhaps she could have asked one from the waitress or she could have politely asked my permission to take the napkin away from our table! Still I think it is so unethical of someone to just invade other people's privacy like that. It's called invading a 'personal space'.

What happened to the word 'excuse me', 'may i' , 'sorry'or 'thank you'? I thought it is our culture to be polite.

Then my son whispered to me, 'Mom why did that lady take the napkin from our table and she never asked you first?'. So I said to him maybe she forgot her manners....

This is what I am really concerned about. How can we expect youngsters of today to have tact when they are being brought up by parents like that. We have to lead by example and i believe it starts from home.

You can be so immaculately dressed from head to toe but if you don't have the manners you don't have a good package.

That is why Image Building is essential to everyone and it is crucial to have it nurtured from an early age.

Lets think about it.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Me,

Left school in 1986 and did part-time modelling for fun. Fashion is my passion . I had fun though money wasn't that great but i learned a lot about posing for the cameras, grooming and was given the opportunity to choreograph the fashion shows . Eventually I wanted a steady job and something more challenging.
I joined Malaysia Airlines as a flight attendant and joined a government TV station called RTM as a newscaster. I have always believe in multitasking and had no problems juggling two exciting careers plus the four figure income of course! I can still recall the times when I had just landed from a flight and had to rush to RTM with my uniform and trolley bag to read the prime time news at 8pm. Those were the days... but i treasure every moment of it. Malaysia Airlines taught me about discipline, responsibility and preserverence.
After 7 years of flying, [7 year itch..]I felt that i had a lot more to offer and was deeply inclined to explore seriously in broadcasting. I left MAS & RTM to join TV3 as a full time Anchor NewsPresenter & was hosting live talk shows. It was different when i was Rtm though we were all like a family and was ever willing to help each other , I was just reading the news. I had no training or journalism background.
Tv3 was a good training ground and i gathered an indepth knowledge in every aspects of broadcasting. I was ajournalist, scriptwriter, editor , producer and presenter. Another interesting experience that can't be bought.
I've always love beauty and i have kept a promise to myself that one day i would set up my own beauty centre. Through the years i did my networking with various people in the industry who eventualy became my close friends. After almost 8 years I decided to follow my dreams and left TV3 to set up Adamaya Salon, my own hairsalon. I believe in investing in knowledge so i took up a long distant learning course on Busines Management and got my Bachelors Degree. Then took up a course in Hairdressing got my Diploma after 8 months to fully equip myself in my new chosen field. Now we have diversified our business to Image Consultancy.
I took up a course in London & Singapore on Image Consultancy and have been certified as an Image consultant & a proud member of the Association of Image Consultants International, AICI. I have so much passion in my job that i really feel the need to document it and my vision is to help raise the standards of professionalism of the people of this country . I am hoping that schools and colleges could start a new syllabus specifically on Image Building among the students to cultivate good habits from an early age. My latest project is authoring a book called 'Imej- Diri Anda Aset Anda' [Image-You Are Your Best Asset]. It is an interactive referrence and motivational coffee table book about Image Building & Self Branding for career, relationship & personal development towards enhancing professionalism & effective individuals in the community. Through this book I hope i could collaborate with the government ministries such as the Ministry of Women & Community Development to organize workshops targeted to teenagers, single mothers and working individuals to become more relevant and effective.
Well thats just sharing with you what i have in mind.
Thank you so much for reading my blog. If you are willing to listen, I am more than happy to share with you my experience and knowledge about style , fashion , etiquette & lots more!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

I now have a blog!!!

Photobucket

It's about time.

There are a lot of things and new information that I would like to share with the world from the wonderful world of fashion, beauty and style. And this blog will be my window to the world.

Cheers...