Hello from Taiwan!

If you have been following my tweets/ Facebook, you’d know I am off for a vacation in Taiwan I brought my laptop with me since I’ll be here for a while, what’s better entertainment than the laptop should I decide not to go out for a day or two? The weather’s here a little mad, cold yet hot at the same time!

Here’s a short review for something which I randomly picked up at Cosmed (康是美) and I thought I’d share with you whilst I am here.

My Beauty Diary Blooming Garden Lemon & Verbena Body Lotion

Picture has been edited due to the yellow lighting in the hotel room, and there’s no decent sunlight for the past few days, and I doubt I’ll be seeing any sunshine right till the day I leave. It’s winter after all

Back to this body lotion.

My Beauty Diary started off with their sheet mask and has received really good reviews for them. Then they branched out and introduced skincare products and now, body care products. I think it’s a newly launched range specially for this winter if I am not mistaken. Lucky me to chanced upon this body lotion on a quick trip to Cosmed and got it for NT99 (~RM10).

They have 3 variants, Cassis & Rose and the other one Peach & Apple Blossom. I picked up Lemon & Verbena just because I love it’s sunny yellow packaging and the scent sound very refreshing. It feels more summery than winter!

Cute packaging aside, it’s the content that counts. Flip it open, you get a soft whiff of the scent. It’s lemon alright, but it’s the kind of lemony scent that usually comes from dish washing liquid. Luckily it’s not very strongly scented, and you need to really put your nose close to dispenser to sniff it.Does it dissipate fast? I’ll tell you that in a bit.

It’s very easy to spread and absorbs easily. I use large amounts of it and there’s no greasiness. It might be due to the cold weather here, that my skin is drier than normal. So far my skin hasn’t give me any problems with drying or anything, so it’s safe to say this lotion is doing it’s job. I can’t say if this will work as well once I am back to Malaysia though, as the weather is rather different

About the scent, though it does smell like as though I slap on dish washing liquid all over myself, but after 5 to 10 minutes, the scent smells more like a soft floral scent, I’m not sure if it’s the verbena (don’t own any scent of it so can’t say), but it’s light and refreshing and the floral scent is really comforting. Reminds of me the cool sunny days we have in Malaysia. The scent lasted a good 4 to 5 hours I think. Maybe because I was wrapping myself up in thick clothing? Not that I mind hehe.

It’s pretty travel friendly too, at 100ml. I am suspecting I’ll be finishing this off by the time I leave Taiwan. Hoho. I love sizes like this as I can try out more items and never need to worry of “hitting pan”. Hehe. I guess you know what I mean.

Overall, at approximately RM10 a pop, I think the body lotion is quite good for it’s value. Even if you don’t like it, chucking it aside/ throwing it out doesn’t hurt as much, right?

Repurchasing? Not sure yet, I still have time to think!

I have always associated bright red cherries cheery happy days, hence the weird title. Maybe because it’s red and bright and look oh-so-happy! Don’t you think those cherries look yummy?

It smells sweet, but not the cough syrup kind of fake-cloying sweet. The smell’s like cherry, but with a mix of something else. I don’t know, my nose detected the scent, but my brain can’t tell me what’s that. It has this little grains/ kernels (spot the black dots in the picture above!) which isn’t abrasive and does a good job in scrubbing. The texture reminds me of strawberry jam, a bit goopy a bit runny, maybe even a bit of a jell-o.

It’s a little oily, but it washes off perfectly fine. It doesn’t dry out my skin and I love the subtle cherry scent. However, due to it’s being such a soft scent, I find that the scent doesn’t last as long as I wish it would. But then again, if it had lasted, it might give me major headache.

I’m happy with this body scrub, it’s pricey but it does last quite a while, but still it doesn’t beat my favourite body scrub of all time, the pricey but awesome The Bodyshop African Spa Wisdom Body Scrub. Exaggerate much? You have no idea how much I adore it!

Till then, Happy Monday everyone!

This was a gift from Kimoko from a while ago.

I never gotten around to using it until a long while back, bringing around with me wherever I go, and I actually never gotten around reviewing this, because it’s actually a bedtime staple for me!

Now this runny lotion smells awesome.It smells crisp and fresh when I squirt it out, it’s a good mix of Calabrian orange, which is actually bergamot after doing a quick Google search and some floral scent which I’m not very sure of, but the combination is just nice. And when I warm them up, it smells warmer, a bit more woody or musky, and a faint trail of lavender could be detected. The woody scent might be the cypress essential oil, but I’m not sure, since I don’t have anything that smells of cypress.

In terms of moisturizing power, it’s good enough for normal skin, but not meant for those really dry areas like the heels.

The only reason it’s a bedtime staple is because of the scent. True to it’s name, it really does help me to relax. I do try to use this sparingly, but then I love the scent so much so that I can’t stop putting it on! It’s addictive, I tell you. And it makes me smile every morning just because I can still smell a very faint trail of the body emulsion.

It’s a gift, the scent is awesome, does an okay job, what’s there not to like?

I wonder if there’s any fragrance that smells like this? Hm…

I certainly haven’t!

But work’s work, without it, I got no money to feed myself, or even have a life!

What’s a girl gonna do when you’re feeling a little blue and have absolutely no idea what to do?

For me, I’d take a shower. With a lovely scent to drift me off to lullaby land. And I really wish I got a bath tub to have a real good soak Well, hopefully, the house that I will own (in future) has one! Gotta have some faith aye?

Johnson’s pH5.5 Nourishing Body Wash with Almond Oil

And this is exactly one body wash which is as cheap as chips, smells totally delicious and totally makes me happy.

Lathers well, even better with a shower puff! All you need is one pump with shower puff to have lovely suds all over your body. I have used the Almond Oil and the Honey variants, and both smells sweet. But not sickly sweet. Never tried before the 2 in 1 variant though.

Both of my sisters uses this body wash and both of them repurchase it over and over again. It’s quite the staple body wash in our family, and lately I put a bottle in TheBf’s place too.

Now everyone smells nice with nice soft skin.

And why won’t Johnson & Johnson make a lotion with this scent? I don’t mind Almond Oil or Honey! As long as you make a lotion, or a hand cream… or er… facial wash? Anything!

I’m so out of my mind. Just because I really do adore the scent of this body wash!

For those who needs the ingredient list:

By the way, Syen of So Loverly written about this too! Click here to read!

Excited!

Anyways, here’s a bit of something that I really love using to brighten my day!

St. Ives Energizing Citrus Moisturizing Body Wash

It isn’t expensive (snag it during a sale) but it works oh-so-well and the lovely citrus scent! I am addicted to it!

Definitely stay true to it’s claim!

Moisturizing? Somewhat, at least it doesn’t dry out my skin, but my skin isn’t overly dry to begin with. But hm, after washing, it does make my skin feel somewhat smooth.

It lathers up into a nice foam when I am using my shower puff, but not so much when I use my hands. It does give enough slip for me to use as a shaving gel, I always forget to bring my FOTE Aloe Vera into the shower with me, so this comes in handy.

I love this shower gel, to be honest, and I think even at RM16 I will still pay for, use it up, make myself happy and my whole bathroom smells pleasantly citrus-y whole day But hm, am not sure if this is still in stores? Ideas, anyone?

Ingredient list:

And Kahani, the grapefruit/ citrus mad woman also love this! Check her review HERE!

It’s been a bit rainy and cold lately, I hope everyone’s doing alright in the health department.

Had been wanting to write, but I keep procrastinating (so sorry!), and the workload isn’t helping much either, especially month end.

Anyways, without further ado, shall blab bout my thoughts on the item below.

Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel

Am pretty sure it isn’t something foreign or unheard of, a very common item, yes? But the slow poke in me, I only manage to try this gel out about a month ago, because I was desperate. YES, you heard me. DESPERATE.

I had sunburn, no thanks to the Kapalai trip and I had no access to my other lotions and what nots, I head to the nearest Guardian and bought this.

And did it live up to it’s claim?

I’m sorry, it didn’t. It didn’t give me the relief I needed from the sunburn I had, it didn’t help with my flaky, dry skin then either. I nearly throw this away, because it was useless.

But I gave it a second chance. Because I think it deserves a second chance. MUA were raving about it, giving it good reviews, there must be something good about it, right?

I read this, did a check on MUA, and told myself, okay, I’ll use it.

As a shaving gel.

It works like a charm, since I shave and I am really liking this inexpensive gel as a shaving gel. Does the work nicely. Except that it does clump but it’s a small matter. My shavers are cheap anyway, can throw away without feeling the pain

But as a hair styling gel, not for now. Don’t think I’ll ever do that. Blemishes, hm maybe, but I hardly have them.

Guess I’ll just stick to it as a shaving gel.

Oh, I know they have 1 with rose scent and another with Vitamin E! Might try those out, but it does seem pretty elusive…

I have adored Johnson & Johnson’s products for as long as I can remember. My baby stuff are all from Johnson’s. My dad gave me and my sisters based on Johnson’s product. If my memory serves me right, heck, my first moisturizer was from Johnson & Johnson! My mom used it since her teenage years and when I started my skincare, she introduced this to me. I think it was called Johnson & Johnson Baby Cream, and it comes in a peachy pink coloured tube? It’s packaging is very similar to the ones sold in departmental/ drugstores now, but I am not sure if the formula still stays the same. Man, it has been years since I finished off my very last tube of that Johnson’s cream.

Anyway, I digress.

So a long while back, Johnson’s brought in a new line of body product, and I have been itching to try ever since then. It was only when I was in Penang with Kimoko and Luna a few months did I bought the lotion.

To be honest, I didn’t really love this lotion that much at that point of time. Not sure why, but I wasn’t loving it.

It was lately, say about a month ago, I decided to dig this up from my stash and is very determined in using this up for good. And that’s when the surprise came in.

Now as per the picture above, I am not sure if my nose detected the scent of chamomile, lavender or even moonflower! I am sorry, but my nose isn’t behaving really well, and all I could smell is the warm smell of vanilla? Weird, yes? But surprisingly, I like it very much!

I have got no complains about the texture as I think it’s good enough to moisturize my skin without the stickiness and the scent that comes along with it, is something I would love to wakeup to each morning, though more often than not, the scent has pretty much dissipated by then.

And I think the lotion works up to it’s claim of melting stress away and promoting better sleep. If you are sleeping with a scent you love, it does help you relax right? For me, it does.

With an affordable price tag, which is about RM6+ for 100ml, there’s nothing bad to say about this lotion. And yes, I repurchased because I love the warm fuzzy scent!

And Johnson’s Malaysia, if you are reading please, could you please, pretty please bring in Melt Away Stress Daily Moisturizing Wash? And if you could, maybe the other Johnson’s Body Care range too? *big wet puppy eyes*

Ingredient list:

Finally I am writing again! Aren’t you glad? I hope to resume my blogging pace, fingers crossed aye?

I shan’t blab any further about work and all, I think I have attained the Nirvana state of almost everything work related, so yeap, I think I just wanna chill and relax. Haha.

Wokie. Now where was I?

So yeap, work, stress, late nights out with friends and lifestyle-went-haywire issue left me with very very very little and very very very poor sleep quality.  I wake up feeling like I haven’t gone to bed at all and I get super cranky and I’m almost always in a foul mood. Betcha had that moment too huh? Or sometimes I dream so much that it’s so tiring like as though I really did those somersaults in real life, which is equally bad. And not to mention, I am a rather light sleeper, which the slightest noise and light makes me wakeup, although sometimes it doesn’t. I am weird just like that.

Anyways.

Here’s a little something that I bought and didn’t break my purse.

Yups, I cave in after reading Paris’ review and I was further enticed to purchase it after Xin said it works on our Twitter conversation. I was hoping it was something that can make me want to fall asleep immediately when I use this but sadly, it doesn’t work that way.

This waxy and slightly oily stuff smelled quite strongly at first, and needed quite a bit to get used to it. The smell is a mixture of lavender and bergamot, not something that I am used to, so I didn’t quite like it at first, but the smell kinda grew on me.

Now what I do with this is I rub some on my temple, behind my ears, under my nose and around my wrist, and also on my palms! I know it’s a bit too much, but I just feel weird if I don’t do so. And then I go grab some magazine and start reading a bit before I feel like sleeping and then I doze off.

I have used this for quite a while and I can say that on days when I use this, I sleep much better and feel more rested the next morning compared to when I don’t use it. I actually sleep deeper and have lesser dreams too if I use this.

Ingredient list:

Now this item has earn it’s place on my bedside table permanently and I actually take it out with me when I travel. And on days when I feel like it, I do use it together with The Body Shop Quiet Night Dreamy Pillow & Body Mist. Works pretty well together I’d say.

Badger balms can be bought at The Body Bar in Sunway Pyramid and in Tropicana City Mall. It retails for RM32.80. Not sure if the price has gone up or not though.

Connie has actually reviewed 2 other balms from Badger, so perhaps you can click here for some reading. Paris also reviewed the Foot Balm so maybe you might wanna hop over too?

Now before I go do anymore reading, I think I am ready for bed… thinking of lavender and bergamot makes me drowsy

Mid May already, where when how my time flew by and I didn’t know?

OMO! DOUBLE OMO!

Sorry, am in a Korean boys craze, so erm, yeah, you’d be seeing a few Korean phrases or sentences or words in here… LOL. Bear with me, will try to get better soon? Ye?

Okay, back to my review.

3 months ago (Gasp! That long already!), lovely people from SkinMD Natural contacted me, wanting me to try out their star product, and of course being the skincare junkie, I definitely said yes!

And then after waiting for quite a while (The postal system sucks when there’s a big celebration, IE Chinese New Year), I thought I won’t be getting it, so I emailed SkinMD telling them I think it’s lost, and oh my, they send out another one immediately without questions asked! OMO! The service they provide, seriously, Malaysia’s PR/ Customer service should learn from them.

Anyway, I received my 1st bottle which I thought was missing after 2 months of waiting, and then my 2nd one came in shortly after the 1st one came. =_= Weird postage system my country has.

Anyway. To the main story.

A delightful item awaits me! The SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion!

It comes with samples too! But I haven’t gotten around to using them…

Ingredient list (Sorry for the blurry pic)

The how-tos…

And finally…

It’s claim of what it can do…

I won’t go on blabbering too much about this item as reviews on the Net are abundance. Just Google and you’ll know what I mean. To cut a long story short, I have been using this for 2 months and I have used up half a bottle.

I’ll summarize what I think.

It lives up to it’s claim about “regeneration is fully realized within a few days”. It really does. I got picture to show you! XD

Look at that dry patch on my feet, and after using SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion for 4 days, day and night application, you see the difference!!! Awesome yes?

While on my face it didn’t show drastic results like how it does on my feet (I suspect Hada Labo Lotion is working way too well), but it does help around the eye area. I love patting on Hada Labo lotion and then apply a bit of SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion around my eye area, and it does help with fading the lines under my eyes. Yes, my undereyes is super dry and kill me for not using an eye cream.To my defense, my eye cream ran out and I haven’t gotten a new one but now I do. But that’s another story for another day. So it works as a light eye cream in a pinch!

I take this along whenever I go travelling, because it’s great as a light face moisturizer and body lotion. The small size and the non leaky packaging makes it an ideal travelling companion, plus it gives me a tiny bit more of space for shopping! Talk about multitasking

Yeap, so that’s what I think about this lotion. I may not be experience awesome results like other people do, but bear in my mind I don’t have really that dry of a skin to start with, rather just problematic skin now and then.But I love it for being able to multitask and it’s not just some product that claims a multitude of stuff but never fulfill any of it. This one does. It really does XD

If you’re residing in US, click HERE to know which store is available nearest to you to purchase this awesome bottle of lotion!

If you’re like me, in Malaysia, no choice for you but to purchase it in online or from Singapore, at least that’s what I heard! Thank god for the world wide shipping!

Thank you to the lovely people at SkinMd Natural for providing me such a lovely product to use!

Scented stuff = Lush = Lotsa love from Plue

Nothing’s wrong with the equation, because I really haven’t come across anything from Lush that’s not scented!

Yeah, you know what I am writing next.

From Lush, it says…

Guilty Pleasure… A creamy soap with olibanum, bergamot notes and a fruit topping…

One of our creamiest soaps, it’s soft and delectable with the deep fruity and floral fragrance of olibanum and bergamot oils. We top it with dried apricots, dried currants and dried cranberries for luxurious soft exfoliation and rich nutrients. Sultana is a type of raisin and also means the wife of a Sultan; although this soap doesn’t actually have any raisins, it does have a lot of other dried fruit, and it’s rich enough to be the wife of a Sultan.

I had been eyeing on this for ages, but never gotten around buying it, I know I have too much body stuff which I should be using first but then… Th sweet darling Jenn, picked this up for me as a gift when she came back from India! Thanks sweetie!

And hoo boy, did she pick me something that smell of yummylicious berries! I’m super duper fond of berries! Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, you name it, I love them all!

It’s a bar of soap that doesn’t dry your skin and yet leaving it soft. It has a little bit of scrubby bits (most likely because of the dried apricots and currants) and gently cleanses your skin, leaving it nice and soft.But bear in mind, this soap is so creamy that it melts really fast, so don’t use it under running shower, else you risk it slip and fall from your hands, and of course the soap melts off even faster with so much water.

And of course, how can you forget the oh-so-sweet scent?

And because of this scent, I currently have a love-hate relationship with this soap!

I consider the smell a bit on the cloyingly sweet side, if i use this on a humid day, I figure I’d go dizzy almost immediately. So I usually use this at night when I get to sleep in an air conditioned room. At least the smell won’t make me go nuts in a cool temperature! Although it’s sweet, but because it’s so strong, it last for quite a while. I remember that I woke up from bed with a faint smell of sweet berries, the same scent that this soap carries.

The smell definitely takes a bit of time of getting used to, so if you like your smell strong and sweet, you might like this, otherwise, smell and use it at your own risk!

This doesn’t get as much love like it should be getting from me, because I had thought I love such sweet scent but actually I don’t. But still, I like it for being such a creamy soap, but of course minus the slipperiness it gives!

Repurchasing? Highly doubt so. Way too many stuff and this smell isn’t exactly something I really like. It’s quite a shame really, since I love pretty much how berries smell

A peek of the ingredient list:

Water, Propylene Glycol, Grapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Dried Apricots, Dried Currants, Titanium Dioxide, Dried Cranberries, Oilbanum Oil, Bergamot Oil and Sodium Chloride