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).

Summer 2015 Haul

I thought I had completely lose interest in beauty-blogging since I'm getting reluctant to update about whatever the new stuff that had gone through, under my skin... Oh wait, how long has it been? *checking the archives*

Doesn't matter. Long story short, I found inspiration to write again. I have always been a lazy blogger, I know, my hands and brain only want to synchronize when I'm in the real mood to write. 

But anyway, since this blog is about showcasing things... I'm going to show you some of my latest, favourite purchases this July (it's a month of Summer, right? You tell me, I live in a tropical country). To add new twist, I'm not just going to include beauty product, but food/drink related, such as my new favourite...

 It's Eid Mubarak here, so someone gave my family a parcel full of junk food and drink, but this one really caught my attention since I'm a chocolate lover; Swiss Miss Classics in Rich Chocolate Flavour. Says it has hot cocoa mix and added with real milk from Wisconsin. 

The sachet inside. It's quite large, I have to serve it in a big mug! It comes in paper sachet (not plastic!) so I can tear it off easily... Nice print-out, the graphic has some sort of classic looking. Best thing about this cocoa drink? Unlike Milo or Cadbury or Hersey's, it tastes less sweet which I love most, since I don't like sugary drinks. 

I got another product from cocoa... In lotion bottle. Found this is in Guardian drugstore:

Fruit of the Earth Cocoa Butter lotion, made in USA. It's surprisingly cheap... I got this around $3. Thought I need this for my stretchmarks. 

The back side of the bottle: Cocoa Butter, Aloe Vera, wheat germ and sunflower seed oil... Right. Full of natural bliss, minus the paraben and mineral oil, though; but still I would like to give this a try! Love the smell, it's very subtle, almost unscented (currently I'm into unscented skin-care products, but I shall write about that in different post).

Kleenex tissue special edition. Yea... I only bought this for the pretty vintage design (I LOVE vintage and I'm a huge of Victorian era!). Three packs in one plastic, comes with different design. I think they also got this special edition in box package, which could be a better display to cheer your working desk, dining table or your grandmother's grooming table. The texture is ultra soft, quite feather-like on your skin :)

Kleenex vintage edition also comes in pocket size, 8 sheets per sachet.  Do you know what the graphics remind me of? The Victorian silhouette images! 

Next, I also bought a couple of my favourite fragrance from The Body Shop:

  

Red Musk perfume. Been planning to buy this avant-garde creation since last year... Composed with tobacco, pepper, cinnamon and musk notes. No flower or fruity notes at all. Some say this could be a men perfume based from the note composition. Well, it does smell like a men perfume, but it's more subtle and I found it rebelliously feminine, I guess because of the musk note, so... it's much more suitable for ladies ;) 

I bought Red Musk in oil (30 ml). This is the first perfume I got in oil form; contains no alcohol so the fragrant doesn't smell that strong and sharp, and the best thing -- lasts longer.

Also bought Smoky Rose fragrance in 10 ml EDT (so I could carry it in my purse). Before the Red Musk was out, I was eyeing on Smoky Rose. The rose and tobacco note make it smell seductive, mysterious... It's beautiful. It reminds you with rose and tobacco. The best from White Musk series IMHO. 

Well, actually I think The Body Shop is the best big name perfume and skin care, because they dare to explore beyond the limit. They got products from absinthe and hemp, and perfumes composed with tobacco... Like you see -- alcohol, cannabis and smoking are the things your parents never want to let you try, but The Body Shop creatively infuse those three composition in their products. Genius.

Last but not least... I tried something new for my hair:

These are hair capsules, if you're not familiar with these beads... Well, you don't crush it to your hair and wipe it off, you have to cut it to extract the liquid within: hair oil (so the term hair capsule is not really accurate, huh?). 

I bought black Miranda hair capsules (eucalyptus alba + argan oil), perfect for my thick, black hair... And oh my, argan oil smells damn amazing. I use it about one hour after I wash my hair in damp condition.

Sure, the smell is great but having the oil in sealed latex capsule is so impractical, but I guess they've packed it in right amount for one-time use. Well, I prefer to purchase a bottle of hair oil anyway. You don't need cutter or scissors to open, or worry the precious hair elixir would spill off your hands *grin*

For the love of lingerie

I happen to love lingeries. And just recently there were sales in some of the local malls here, they were selling 3 bras for $48, and it's considered cheap because normally for a branded lingerie, $48 is a price of one bra!

Along with a little haul of makeups, I bought...

It's from Triumph, from their Eco-chic collection. Who doesn't know Triumph brand? One of the best lingerie international brands in the history. I really love the designs! They're so pretty and chic! ♥ This collection is entirely made up from natural materials.

The bra that the model wore in this photo is exactly the same like I bought (the second one in my picture). It's in plain creamy white, but oh -- I really love the lacy design on the cups!

I love to wear them so much! The cotton feels so soft against my skin and the material just feels light. 

As you see from their tag labels, these bras are made from organic cotton and natural floral print, free from harmful pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

Eco-Chic collection is targeted young women to promote the fun of being eco-friendly and going green without goes out of fashion ;) 

July Haul! Sariayu + Mustika Ratu

Just bought some local beauty products, and I really want to write reviews of them, which mainly consist of...

 Sariayu products, and one Mustika Ratu product that I'm just trying now!

From left to right:
1 Acne face mask

2 Acne care lotion

3 (i) front: (small bottle) Breast firming massage oil

3 (ii) back: breast mask

4 (i) back: Mustika Ratu olive oil

4 (ii) Lulur kencana body soap

4 (iii) [White Aromatic] Harmony body lotion

Actually at first, I went to a nearest Sariayu counter only to buy essential items because they're running out soon: my face mask and acne care lotion, but turned out that I used the chance to buy some new products!

Let's start with the essentials first, before I begin reviewing the newly-tried products. Please note that that both  Sariayu and Mustika Ratu use traditional ingredients a lot in their skincare products, so if you're non-Indonesian, bear with me if you find a lot of strange names in my reviews below. Now let's get ready for another long post!