Thursday, May 26, 2011

ESSENSITY THE NEW SCHWARZKOPF GREEN SHAMPOOS!

kee@fswmag.com
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ESSENSITY THE ‘GREEN’ SHAMPOO

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The greenies; left; Peter Theodoulou, Matthias Gelber, Kelvin Tan and Toh Tee Shien.

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Peter Theodoulou, the boss of Schwarzkopf Southeast Asia, giving a talk.


WANT YOUR CROWNING GLORY TO LOOK DIVINE WHILE SAVING THE EARTH OR AT LEAST NOT DAMAGING OUR PLANET?

THE NEW SCHWARZKOPF RANGE OF HAIRCARE CALLED ESSENSITY IS THE SOLUTION AS IT USES ONLY THE BEST AND 'CLEANEST' NATURAL INGREDIENTS WITHOUT SACRIFICING PERFORMANCE!

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Joeay and I will now have lustrous locks while saving the planet!

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The essential Essensity family; left; Kelvin Tan Professional Partners services manager for Malaysia and Singapore, Peter Theodoulou Schwarzkopf Professional general manager for Southeast Asia, Toh Tee Shien brand manager of Essensity, Vincent Chen, Schwarzkopf country manager for Malaysia and Singapore and Joyce Lee, Schwarzkopf Professional marketing manager and of course the lovely models.

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Toh Tee Shien, brand manager of Essensity, giving a pep talk about the new range's efficacy at Bridge Bar in G Tower. I think 'G' stands for 'Green' and not 'Gay Tower' as some pundits have claimed. Nothing wrong in either I guess.

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Three pairs if hands made light work

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Tee Toh Shien, Joyce Lee and Peter Theodoulou revealing the Goji berries and soya beans (among other natural ingredients) that make up Essensity

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Here we go

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More Acai berries were added

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Done!

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The finished products!

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Nice, green, eco-chic and eco-friendly Essensity!

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Tee's locks looked great as proof

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Essential eye-candy led by Zack Tan the thorn among the roses

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Even eye-candies can work

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Good lookers

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Closer..

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Another hunk from Persia

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I was the Greenest-Dressed down to recycled bag given by Schwarzkopf! Marketing manager Joyce Lee had to make do with green scarf and admit defeat.

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Matthias Gelber aka Greenest Man on the Planet (awarded from 3rdwhale of Canada) with fellow greenies.

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Chuah Jay Mee with friend

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Green is the only way to go! Kee Hua Chee with Chuah Jay Mee



YOU MAY NOTICE MY HAIR IS NOW SUPER SHINY AND GLOSSY...ESSENSITY IS THE ANSWER!

I SPENT A GREEN AFTERNOON WITH ESSENSITY'S LAUNCH AT THE G TOWER AND HOTEL, KL'S 'GREEN' BUILDING AND CAME AWAY A BIT WISER!

Schwarzkopf launched its new eco-chic and environmental-friendly range of shampoo and haircare on 10 May that featured an inspiring talk by Matthias Gelber aka Greenest Man on the Planet and Elke Wollschon of Eco-Oasis who provided guilt-free chocolates.


When is a shampoo not of the shelf variety? When it is the new Essensity range by Schwarzkopf! Essensity is Schwarzkopf’s first colour, care and styling range combining natural ingredients without compromising performance as occasionally one has to be sacrificed for the other!

Names and image are so important so I always wondered why Henkel, which is based in Dusseldorf, Germany and owns Schwarzkopf, has not changed the name of this highly popular and famous shampoo. I mean, I am a super genius and smarter than everyone I know have to think (for a nano-second but still have to think!) how to spell 'Schwarzkopf' I shudder to think how the rest of humanity have to suffer and cope! I suggest they change the name to 'Henkel' which is impossible to mispronounce and easy on the brains!

America's top beer is Budweiser but the whole world and his wife call it Bud and you wonder why? Heineken just about manages to romp home with its mouthful of a name as to call it 'Heini' is worse since it reminds folks of 'hernia'! Or maybe not as people may think of 'Heidi' the sweet Swiss girl.

Then after spelling the name carefully alphabet by alphabet, you will again have to suffer another trauma---how to pronounce 'Schwarzkopf'? If this word is not a tongue-twister designed to torture non-Germans, I don't know the meaning of the word.

Finally, the silhouette (another minor tongue-twister and spelling torturer!) of Schwarzkopf shows what seems to be a cut-out of a sedate Grandmama with a bun rather than that fatal femme fatale Medusa!

Even 'Essensity' is a bit of problem according to my other journalist friends. Moans one, "Why not call it 'Essentials' or 'Essences' or 'Natural Essence' and get on with it. Even if 'Essensity' is an amalgam of 'Essential Necessities', a simpler, easy to pronounce name is better. Why not 'Essence City' instead of 'Essensity' as our hair gets grimy due to city living?"

'Essensity' also reminds me of 'SimplySiti' the cosmetic and skincare line founded by Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysia's top songbird! This name makes sense as 'SimplySiti' is a play on the word 'Simplicity'!

Why not call Essensity 'Essentially Gorgeous' as its press release was titled? But I am not running Henkel!

Having said this, I have been using Schwarzkopf off and on over the years as my German friends and lovers all declare they have been using Schwarzkopf which is why their locks are so lustrous and I can run my fingers through their locks without getting my digits stuck midway. Yes, this has happened on various occasions and I had to extricate my fingers from their hair before resuming lovemaking which was a bit of a bummer!

Of course herbal shampoos are nothing new (remember the well named 'Clairol Herbal Essences Shampoos' which I used to like too for their smell?) and many claim to bottle Nature’s efficacy, Essensity turns your crowning glory into a guilt-free coiffure triumph.

I am now using Essensity Colour Shampoo Organic Essence of Aloe and Repair Shampoo Organic Essence of Goji Berry. There is one more called Moisture Range with Aloe Vera and Olive Oil but I ran out of money since a 250ml bottle of shampoo or conditioner costs RM 59.The fixing spray is RM 64 and Natural Shine Serum is RM 58. The most expensive is the Colour Leave-In Mask at RM 77. You cannot accuse Essensity of being cheap but it is worth every sen.The fragrance alone is divine! Whatever they say, smelling good in the shower is important and Essensity smells like a garden of Eden. Not only do I feel good each time I shampoo but my hair bounces like a basketball too. And of course I know I am not damaging the environment as even the suds and water draining away look less nasty than the run-offs from cheap shampoos that resemble detergents which can probably be used to wash dirty laundry also!

I feel good each time I use it as I love natural stuff and the green bottles brighten up my bathroom. It is a Salon Exclusive so you may have to buy at leading hairdressers or at some highclass outlets. They avoid active use of aerosols and unnecessary packaging and their formulas are biodegradable while the packaging is 100% recyclable! Already I feel like a saint...

“With health and sustainability taking precedence, Essensity offers beautiful hair without sacrificing scalp and environment,” said Bangkok based Peter Theodoulou who flew in for the launch. “Essensity replaces synthetic ingredients with certified organic, biodegradable essences and 100% recyclable packaging. Essensity is Schwarzkopf’s first colour, care and styling range combining natural ingredients without compromising performance. Essensity is the world's first ammonia and fragrance-free lightening system for lasting highlights. There are no parabens, silicones, paraffin wax and mineral oils. So the great smell you get is completely natural!

Hence the launch at Malaysia’s first internationally green-rated building, The G Hotel. To reinforce the importance of going green, Schwarzkopf invited the ‘Greenest Man on the Planet’ Matthias Gelber who wore a suitably green batik shirt. Gelber is not given the epithet ‘Greenest Man on Planet’ by some obscure organisation but by Canada’s 3rdwhale that promotes a green, environmentally friendly lifestyle.

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Two greenies; Elke Wollschon and Matthias Gelber


Gelber, originally from a rural village Lippe in Germany, has lived in Malaysia for 7 years under the Malaysia My Second Home programme and recalled how he used to ski for 3 to 4 months as a child. “Now due to global warming, my nephew and niece get a few days of skiing in winter if they are lucky!”

He advocates a green lifestyle and lives the part. “I don’t own a car as Kuala Lumpur has good public transport. I take the LRT, bus or taxi. Trim waste, buy essentials only, recycle, carry a reusable canvas bag for supermarket shopping to avoid using plastic bags that take years too disintegrate and save energy.” His name cards are of course on recycled paper.

For instant gratification with no personal sacrifice to creature comfort, he recommended using energy-saving bulbs. “I cut down a few hundred percent in electricity bills when I switched to low-energy consumption bulbs. Such bulbs cost five to six times more than normal bulbs but after the second month you see the huge savings. They generate the same amount of light but at four to five times lower wattage.”

As less heat is produced, your room’s ambient temperature is lowered which means a cooler, more pleasant environment with less usage of air conditioners! A Phillips 5-watt low energy bulb with no filament or mercury is equivalent to a 25 watt incandescent bulb or fluorescent lamp. Some LED bulbs boast a life span of 50,000 compared to a normal bulb’s 1,000 to 2,000 hours!

To keep body and soul together, Gelber runs Maleki which produces high performance Green Building materials. Maleki works on green cement replacements as cement production is responsible for 7% of the world's carbon monoxide's emissions and a major cause of climate change and global warming.

To help turn its guests from meanies to greenies, Schwarzkopf gave everyone a Megaman energy saving bulb. Since our appetite was whetted, Schwarzkopf rolled out Elke Wollschon, another blonde German who runs Eco-Oasis restaurant at Jalan Riong, Bangsar. This multi-tasker is a nutritional consultant, hypnotherapist, NLP master coach and holistic colour consultant!

Most assume organic, healthy food is akin to cod’s liver oil or taste ghastly but Wollschon distributed prettily packaged boxes of pure, chemical-free chocolate to be embellished with various garnishing. However, most dispensed with the plastic gloves (reusable of course) and simply guzzled the comestible instantly.

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Richard and Winnie Loo of A Cut Above looked rather sexually erotic with gloves and raw chocolates from Eco-Oasis. I ate my chocolates with bare hands to save the earth from plastic earthfills!

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Incredibly delicious, pure, raw, chemical and guilt free chocolates from Elke Wollschon's Eco-Oasis restaurant in Bangsar


Lectured Wollschon, “We are all exposed to harmful, toxic chemicals daily, in the air, food, water, surfaces we touch, everywhere! These toxins, accumulated over time, can cause ill-health by slowly poisoning our body leading to premature death. The key to better health and longevity is detoxification.”

She should know. As a teenager she nearly died from life-threatening asthma and she sought an alternative to allopathic medicine. Her unbreakable conviction in the body's ability to self-heal led her to explore other lesser known healing methods.

If this sounds too serious and unappetising, Eco-Oasis offers a RM 1,500, 7-day Life Food Programme. “It is the first of its kind in Malaysia and is convenient as participants come once a day for dinner and pick up breakfast and lunch for the entire next day. I prepare the food personally which is very tasty yet nothing is cooked! These are vegan, gluten and lactose free food containing all the vitamins and enzymes. These are the food Mother Nature intended us to have! Yet they are delicious and tasty and everyone can enjoy it as they do not require an acquired taste.”

Each evening for a week, participants will eat with Elke Wollschon who will teach and preach about the joys of healthy living. “I dine with them as I need to explain what and why they are eating these specially prepared meals which can be customised. I also teach Vibrational Energy Medicine, Super Foods and Power Mental Techniques to aid and detoxify your lifestyle.” Eco-Oasis is a restaurant, organic shop, spa and events centre so you can anti-vegetarians can enjoy cooked organic chicken and seafood. They don't serve organic nasi lemak yet but I have asked Elke to look into this but their noodles are delicious to the core.

Such healthy living will doubtless lead to more lustrous hair using Essensity which will shine even more alluringly under low-energy lighting!

THE END



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