Free Sunscreen Lotion in Support of World Cancer Day on 4th Feb

World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. It is led by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), a global consortium of more than 350 cancer-fighting organizations in over 100 countries.

The UICC initiated the World Cancer Campaign in 2005 in response to the Charter of Paris of 2000. The Charter of Paris chose 4th February as World Cancer Day. Since 2006, UICC has coordinated World Cancer Day activities, supported by members, partners, the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international bodies.

The campaign emphasizes that 40% of cancers can be prevented through these healthy behaviors:

• Provide a smoke-free environment for children
• Be physically active, eat a balanced, healthy diet, and avoid obesity
• Learn about vaccines for virus-related liver and cervical cancers
• Avoid over-exposure to the sun

From 2008 to 2011, each year will focus on a different issue:

• 2008 – give children and young people a smoke-free environment
• 2009 – encourage an energy-balanced lifestyle based on healthy diet and physical activity
• 2010 – learn about vaccines against viruses that cause cancers (e.g. HPV vaccines)
• 2011 – teach children and teenagers to avoid UV exposure by being "sun smart"

Source: Wikipedia, ‘World Cancer Day’

In support of this meaningful cause, customers who make a minimum purchase of $20 at GreatValueBuys.com from now to 4-Feb (Fri) will receive a free 15ml tube of sunscreen lotion (SPF 30+). Customers will be able to choose from three types of sunscreen, including Toddler, Sensitive, and Family.

Hurry up, get your free sunscreen lotion… while stocks last~!

Full Grain Leather vs. Genuine Leather

Ever wondered what exactly is a “Genuine Leather” belt, and how is it different from a “Real Leather” belt? Want to know how to differentiate synthetic leather from real leather?

We'll try to shed some light on this mystery through evaluating the difference in Price, Material, Texture, and Appearance, as well as performing a Scratch Test and Fire Test (don’t try this at home~!) to distinguish synthetic leather from real leather.

It's almost impossible to create a table in blogger, so I've done it in Excel and saved the comparison table as a picture. Pardon the blurry text:



We believe in educating our consumers so that they can make informed decisions.

Hope you learnt something new today~!

Video Guide on How to Alter the Length of Your Leather Belt Yourself

This video will show you a step-by-step guide on how to alter the length of your leather belt yourself.

I’ll be introducing to you 2 methods of alteration suitable for belts with removable buckles. The first method can be used if you have an existing belt that fits you, while the second method can be used if you need to get a new fitting for your belt.

Here’s what you need for Method One: Your existing belt, your new belt, a removable buckle, and a pair of pruning shears or a pair of sharp kitchen scissors. For ease of illustration, we will use a brown belt to represent your existing belt, and a black belt to represent your new unaltered belt. 

Lay your new belt flat on the floor, alongside your existing belt. Decide which buckle hole you will be using for your new belt, and match your preferred hole to the one you are currently using for your existing belt. In this example, my preferred buckle hole for my new belt is the middle one, while the hole I’m using for my existing belt, is the second one. Ensure that the length from your buckle hole to the end of the belt is the same for both belts, and use your fingernails to create a marking on your new belt to indicate the cutting point. Just to be safe, you can add 1cm to the cutting point before cutting.

Try on the belt with your buckle. If you feel that it’s too loose, you can always remove the buckle and trim away the additional 1cm. An ideal length will be when the prong fits the third or middle hole of the belt, so that there is some leeway for weight gain and loss.

For Method Two, you’ll need to put on your business shirt and pants to get a good fit for your new belt. Slot your leather belt through the belt slots of your pants. Fix the buckle on the preferred buckle hole on your belt. Adjust your belt such that it fits snugly on your waist. Bring the end of the belt to be cut close to the buckle. Use your fingernails to create a marking on your belt to indicate the cutting point. Do note that the cutting point should not be at the tip of the buckle. Rather, it should be somewhere towards the end of the belt slot. Again, to be safe, add 1cm to the cutting point before cutting.

Try on the belt with your buckle. If you feel that it’s too loose, you can always remove the buckle and trim away the additional 1cm. Please note that there might be minor differences in fitting when you use the same leather belt for different designs of removable buckles. Ideally, each removable buckle should have a leather belt that is fit for it.

Different Types of Cufflinks

As most users of cufflinks know, cufflinks (aka cuff-links aka cuff links) come in different types of ‘backing’. Some common types are as follows:

Double-faced Cufflinks: Considered the most formal type of cufflinks, these cufflinks have two similar faces joined together with a metal bar.

Chain Cufflinks: These cufflinks are similar to the Double-faced Cufflinks, except that a chain connects the two faces instead of a metal bar. Other accessories (such as the wearer’s initials) can be hung from the chain.

Snap-on Cufflinks: Also with two similar faces, the two (separate) faces are snapped together through the cuff hole to secure. This type of cufflinks are easy to wear, but also has a higher chance of sliding off.

Push-through Cufflinks: The backing of the cufflinks is a rounded end, and is pushed through the cuff hole to secure. Again, it’s easy to wear, but also runs a high chance of sliding off.

Swivel-bar Cufflinks: These cufflinks have a swivel bar as its backing, which is aligned with the post when pushed through the cuff, and locked at an angle that is perpendicular to the cuff hole to secure. This type of cufflinks runs the least chance of sliding off.

We have definitely done our research before purchasing our stocks, which is why all the cufflinks we offer at GreatValueBuys have swivel-bar backing. J Some push-through cufflinks may look good, but buyers should be informed about the ‘risks’ of wearing such cufflinks. I go through much distress when I lose one side of my earrings, and I certainly do not want my customers to experience what I went through when they lose one side of their cufflinks~!

Gold Snowflake Cufflinks – The Perfect Gift This Christmas Season

Today, I would like to feature a pair of cufflinks from the Classic range - Gold Snowflake Cufflinks.

This design is one of my favourites, because it looks really exquisite and expensive! It is especially relevant during the Christmas season, for personal use, or as an affordable and presentable gift below $20. Nonetheless, the classic design and plain gold colour allows great ease of matching with almost any shirt colour.

A tip on choosing and matching your cufflinks, is to match your cufflinks' colour to other smaller pieces of accessories. This pair of cufflinks particularly matches gold accessories, watches, and belt buckles; and/or any shades of neckties, bow ties, and shoes; formal occasions.

Dress to Impress - Pay Attention to Your Cufflinks

I’ve been distributing GreatValueBuys promotional flyers at Market Street Food Centre @ Golden Shoe for the past 2 days, and here are some of the reactions from people who received our flyer:

-       “This is a good idea!”

-       “Don’t need to use tissue anymore”

-       “Hahahahaa…”

-       (Initially rejected, but turned back) “This looks interesting, can I have one?”

-       (I handed one to her colleague) “Can I have one too? Thank you!”

-       (looked at the flyer, then turned to me and gave me an “amused” smile)

Some curious uncles and aunties saw people taking the flyers and came forward to get from me too. They’re not my target group, but I’m still thankful for their interest. J By the way, I distribute mainly to guys, so be happy if you got one, coz the women don’t get it~!

There are quite a number of guys who wear cufflinks at Raffles Place, more than what I initially thought. Cufflinks were traditionally designed especially for the upper class, and was a symbol of the elite. Today, cufflinks are a staple accessory in any man’s wardrobe. Indeed, from my observations, men no longer don cufflinks only when they are in suit and tie. Many men wear cufflinks even when they are not wearing ties.

Another observation I made was that more than 50% of the guys whom I spotted wearing cufflinks, were wearing plain, silver cufflinks. It seems to me that they do not view cufflinks as a fashion accessory, but are donning them simply because they have taken a liking to French cuff shirts….!? Guys…. BIG Mistake. Classic Cufflinks enable the wearer to exude an aura of self-confidence and success, while Novelty Cufflinks express the playful personality behind your polished style. Cufflinks are one of the few accessories you can use to stand out from the crowd, and your unique cufflink design can even be a nice talking point! For example, a pair of Novelty Smiley Cufflinks can brighten up your (and someone else's) day, and a pair of Bullseye Cufflinks can bring out the go-getter attitude in you. This Christmas season, why not don a pair of Gold Snowflake Cufflinks to get those around you into the festive mood!

Dress to impress. Make a statement with your choice of cufflinks. Limit your choice to the selection at GreatValueBuys.com. =p

I’ll be updating GreatValueBuys.com this weekend with some new photos on how our cufflinks can match your shirts and ties. Stay tuned~!

Launch of Leather Belts

Our shipment for genuine leather belt and semi-full grain belt arrived last Friday~! I call it “semi” full grain because the front/black portion is full grain leather, but the back/brown portion is genuine leather. Even though we've seen a sample belt before placing an order, we were still anxious about the quality of the product we will be getting. It was an exciting moment, the moment of truth, to see the actual stocks we paid for.

We started with the boxes containing the genuine leather belts, and the quality was not bad at all! Well, we sent the actual product of a popular belt brand to our supplier for reference, so the outcome is that the belts we ordered are definitely comparable to major brands in department stores.

When we opened the boxes containing the semi-full grain leather belts, we were not really prepared for what we were about to see. There was no uniform texture, some of the belts had scratches (which we later realized were actually “healed scars”), and some parts of the belts were “wrinkly”. We nearly fainted, because these belts cost 50% more than genuine leather belts! How is it possible that they had delivered the quality for genuine leather belts, but messed up for this batch of belts which is supposed to be more premium?

We decided to read up more about full grain leather online, and came across the definition of full-grain leather from Wikipedia:

“Full-grain leather refers to the leather which has not had the upper "top grain" and "split" layers separated. The upper section of a hide that previously contained the epidermis and hair, but were removed from the hide/skin. Full-grain refers to hides that have not been sanded, buffed, or snuffed (as opposed to top-grain or corrected leather) to remove imperfections (or natural marks) on the surface of the hide. The grain remains allowing the fiber strength and durability. The grain also has breathability, resulting in less moisture from prolonged contact. Rather than wearing out, it will develop a patina over time.”

The “imperfections” we saw were actually insect bites, healed scars, wrinkles, and worn pitted spots from the original hide, which form the “natural beauty” of the leather. There was no uniform texture among the belts due to grain differences between each hide. In fact, each belt is truly unique~! I’ve taken some pictures to illustrate my point.

Surface of Full Grain Leather 

 

Surface of Genuine Leather Belt



After reading up and having a deeper understanding about full grain leather, at least we are assured that the full grain leather belts we received are genuine! We painstakingly inspected and wiped every single piece of belt. Not unexpectedly, there are some belts with minor scratches and stains, so these belts are put aside for price markdown in the future.

We have launched our leather belts~! Smooth and sleek genuine leather belt, or all-natural and super-durable semi-full grain leather belt, it’s your choice.

Note: Your satisfaction is our priority. If you would like to get our semi-full grain leather belt, but do not fancy the “natural beauty” of the leather, please email us at order@greatvaluebuys.com after you submit your order online. We will try our best to find a “smooth” belt for you. J