January 2016 Haul

Been awhile! 2016 has passing for one month... (too early to feel that 'time flies' sentiment?). My beginning of the year has been doing good -- at least so far, and now I'm happy to showcase here, the stuff I bought in January :D

So, there are changes in my hair care and facial products that I'm using in my routine. I bought new shampoo and conditioner, moisturiser and cleanser from Good Virtues Co., a relatively new Malaysian brand, (if I'm not mistaken, they were just out on sales in 2014), and they're offering something else: every product in the range contains organic black seed oil, aside from having no parabens and harsh chemicals.

Black seed? Okay, a short herbalism lesson here. After I took time to browse, black seed is a common name for seeds from Fennel flower (Nigella Sativa), where the flower is a native to Southern and Southwest Asia.

This beautiful flower, produces seeds that contain powerful properties: from anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory all the way to anti-oxidant. And of course, to make use of what nature blesses the seeds, we then extracts the oil, hence we got the name black seed oil (Arabic: Habbatus Sauda).

Traditionally, the black seed oil is used for various health cures: acne, toothache, fungal infection, asthma, as well as to nourish your hair and skin, as it will make them smooth and supple (reference).


Wonderful. So for every bottle of Good Virtues Co. product you use, you'll get drops of organic black seed oil. And what I love about GVC is, it's quite affordable for a total organic skincare brand, like, really! Organic products are usually expensive... But most of what I come across is Western brand. Probably because GVC is Malaysian, it's quite near from where I live, so it doesn't cost much. Hmmm make sense.

So these are some of the GCV products that I bought:

Aren't the packaging look pretty! For me, if you want to attract customers, you have to wrap your product in a nice design, and beautiful enough for the eyes to see. In fact, this is why all the Good Virtues Co. product ranges are very eye-catching in the store shelf :) Like you can't help but noticing how colorful and flowery they are... So feminine. When I looked through the ranges, I notice not a single product packaging has the same design.Good job on paying attention on the artistic matter.

I bought a few hair care products (the basics -- just shampoo and conditioners).

If you visit the website, you're going to see that the shampoo bottles displayed there is a bit different than the ones I bought, but I like what I got: the size and bottle cap is perfect for travelling!

I bought: 

Anti-dandruff care conditioner with nourishing hair fall protection, 

Anti-dandruff care shampoo + hair fall protection

and Healthy Hair and Scalp Conditioner, for all hair types.

If you wonder why I bought two conditioners and one shampoo, it was because I picked the two conditioners accidentally (I wanted to buy an anti-dandruff shampoo, with a conditioner suits for all hair types; but I didn't notice the label, so I accidentally bought the anti-dandruff conditioner!). 

So to anticipate this, I tried the anti-dandruff conditioner first, paired with my previous shampoo (I was using Dove Silky Hair shampoo). 

The back side of the anti-dandruff conditioner bottle.

All things are possible when you believe. Our Anti-Dandruff Care Conditioner, with purifying Organic Habbatus Sauda Oil (Organic Black Seed Oil) deeply nourishes and controls dry scalp irritations and flaking. Our protective formula intensively hydrates, detangles and locks in moisture, while natural Maca Root extracts and Vitamin B5 help prevent hair fall and breakage. So seize every moment.

I've finished the bottle, and I think I'm going to repurchase it if I want to. I never wear a conditioner on my scalp, only on my hair just below my head, but surprisingly, GVC anti-dandruff conditioner gives me this menthol-like sensation to my scalp! I love it!

Oh, one thing I love about GVC: they insert motivational quotes with bold letters their product description.

Happy people are beautiful on the inside and out. So smile on with our Anti-Dandruff Care shampoo, infused with purifying Organic Habbatus Sauda Oil (Organic Black Seed Oil) to detoxify your hair. Our protective formula helps eliminate and prevent the reappearance of dandruff, while a blend of natural Maca Root extracts and Vitamin B5 strengthens follicles to reduce hair fall. 

Love much. Laugh often. Live happy!

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just that little bit of “Extra”. 

That’s why our Healthy Hair & Scalp Conditioner with purifying Organic Habbatus Sauda Oil (Organic Black Seed Oil) nourishes with extra care, to leave hair feeling extra light and manageable. This protective formula locks in moisture for softer, smoother hair, with natural Maca Root extracts that strengthen hair follicles to reduce hair fall. You can make every day special in every way.

I haven't used the anti-dandruff shampoo and healthy hair conditioner yet, but they smell nice I think I'm going to love them too.

Then I bought the facial cleanser... 

How others see you is never as important as how you see yourself. Feel at peace with 

our Brightening Facial Cleanser infused with purifying Organic Habbatus Sauda Oil (Organic Black Seed Oil), which gently removes impurities without stripping your skin of its natural moisture. Natural Himalayan extracts also help lighten and even out appearance to reveal the real you.

 Because you are bright and beautiful, inside-and-out.

See! The motivational quotes always make me smile when I read them again everytime I'm taking a shower. It's a cute way cheer you up if, let's say, you're taking shower when you're under stress, and you hold a GCV product and read the backside again, you'll be cheered... Showering can release your tension (do you know that?), just like swimming :)

Right, anyway. For me the cleanser is almost unscented, which I love. And it feels light to your skin, a prove that GVC is an organic brand. 

To pair it up, I also throw away my old moisturiser to replace it with GVS's:

Do what you love and love what you do, for days filled with love will always shine through. 

Our Brightening Day Cream with purifying Organic Habbatus Sauda Oil (Organic Black Seed Oil) is a lightweight, fast absorbing formula that intensively moisturises. It also has natural Himalayan extracts which gently lighten your skin for a brighter, fairer, more radiant complexion. 

For an extra glow, just add a smile.

I bought it for less than $10, and it has SPF 30. My old moisturiser is more than $15 and it only has SPF 18, lol. Thank goodness, I've found GVC ♥

I've been using it for few days, and just like the facial cleanser, feels very light and not sticky and absorbs quickly on my skin, without making my face oily at the end of the day; could it be that wonderful black seed oil? Surely there's a particular scent that I sense everytime I apply the moisturiser. Maybe it's the scent of black seed oil.

I'm thinking to buy more of their products, like hair serum and shower cream, but at the moment, let me just finish what I got first :)

Now let's move on! I also bought a new hand sanitiser from Bath and Body Works in Cocoa Mint.  

Very mini size! Only 29 ml and it's really fit in purse, perfect to carry around. I don't why they made it into red colour as it doesn't represent the color of cocoa and mint (lol), but once I squeezed a tiny drop to my palm, it really smells so delicious like a fresh mint chocolate!

Well. I don't mind the red colour at all because it's my favourite colour. In fact, it's a must for me to buy a pair of new red flats when my old ones had worn off. The lucky pair of red flats I bought this time is from 8th Avenue (they have a pretty shoe box too!):

They're made from velvet! As soft as the red velvet cake; and how they look great for my skin tone! Love love LOVE!

And I also bought another pair of flats, for this one I want to try rocking different shade of colours other than red, nude, black, white/cream or brown (I call them neutral colours for me, because they suit to every clothes I wear!), so I picked blue and yellow:

Hmmm. They don't really look too bright, don't they? In fact these are pastel colours... I think the blue shades assemble to jeans colour, and jeans has this kind of magic that, no matter what colour you wear for your top/shirt, it always goes well with blue jeans! And the yellow shade looks slightly nude. So I guess, these shades of yellow and blue are my new neutral colours.

And also, I'm a boots lover! I stumbled this killer boots in Cartino Sonea store, and I just couldn't resist to buy a pair (thank God I have membership in Cartino Sonea, so yeay!), so before someone else buy them out, I came back to the store the other day just to pay for these babies, and now they're MINE ♥♥♥

They look like army boots, aren't they? But in a very feminine version... Nevertheless, they give you a 'strong' and confident impression when you wear them. Now I have 4 boots in my wardrobe, and this pair, is my most favourite ♥♥♥

Right, last but not least... I got myself a box of Parker, a prestigious pen brand.

Just a box... I don't know where the pen gone, perhaps my dad had used it 'til it ran out of ink, but I kept the box and made use of it as my new pencil case:

Not bad, yes? Lol. The last time I used pencil case in box was during my... lower primary years hahahah :)) but hey, it's so fun to use one again. It feels different, new but nostalgic... You know? :)

xoxo