Biore Pure Mild Facial Foam

Part of my Hong Kong Samples Series... based on the stuff that I packed for travelling to the country recently! :) First up - a small 15g bottle of Biore's Pure Mild Facial Foam.

I'm actually pretty impressed with this product. For one, it lasted me way longer than I expected even though I washed my face multiple times a day, and because this is "pure mild", there were occasions when I had to wash my face twice in a row because it couldn't take off all my make-up in one go. I know I've said that my key of a good facial foam is how fast it can take off my make-up without make-up remover, but I forgive Biore because :
a. this product is actually pretty cheap. I don't know the exact price (since this is a free sample), but Biore products are not high-end. It's lower end drug store pricing. Hehehe;
b. it stated that this is mild already, so I shouldn't expect it to be so powerful in removing my eyeliner. Actually, it can remove it in one wash if I keep scrubbing away purposefully at my eye area, which is what I DON'T want to do.

The white, runny liquid also smells nice - not overpowering floral / saccharine sweetness, but just a very clean fragrance. Hard to explain, but it will remind you of freshly-bathed babies. =) It also doesn't dry out the skin, but leaves it feeling soft, supple, CLEAN and nicely moisturised.

All in all, an unexpectedly lovely product. Too bad that I didn't finish it in the 5 days (my plan is always to use finish the samples so I can throw it away and I don't have to waste luggage space bringing it back again), but I felt very sayang to throw it away, so I carted it back after all. -__-

Anyway, according to the product, the secret lies in the Natural Rice Extract that helps to soften and lighten skin to reveal pure and even more supple skin. Thumbs up from me. :)

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Weird Skin Reaction!

... and I don't know what it's caused by, because I used so many funky samples while I was in HK! Lol! This is how I bring disaster to myself. To be honest, I don't even know if it's actually caused by the products I used while I was there, or that I broke out because of the change in the weather after I came back + hormonal changes (am on the rag now -__-) . Cos I didn't encounter the breakout DIRECTLY after using whatever I *did* use while I was in HK. I'm now feeling very dubious about blogging about what I've used, cos I don't want to praise the stuff, and then later find out that it's the cause behind my breakout!

I am having small little pimples (it's not really pimples, just spottiness I suppose??) over my forehead, nose, and the inner cheeks (nearer to the nose) and dry skin all around my mouth. The dry skin around my mouth makes me feel like I have a beard! I rarely have such bad skin, so this is REALLY REALLY making me pissed, and I practically painted OXY all over my face. Lol!

Now I'm going to have to start wearing FOUNDATION to work again. Previously, skin was in good enough condition to get away with moisturiser and occasionally, primers like Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl. Now going to have to layer it on THICK.

Geez!

Anyway, products update :
Just finished my Free & Free Damage Aid hair serum. Have started using Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Anti-Frizz serum (as recommended by my hairstylist in Kimarie).

What am I going to do with the empty bottle? Going to pour my Liese Juicy Shower REFILL into it! :D Buy the more worth-it refill pack if you have empty spray bottles you can utilise!

Just finished my Palmer's Olive Butter fomula mosituriser (Which I started using sometime mid-July, which means it lasted me for 2.5 months. Not bad!). Going to start using my Fruit of the Earth Body Cocoa Butter with Aloe & Vitamin E.

Also finished my Boot's Protect & Perfect Beauty serum. I had good skin while I was using it... til the massive breakout at the moment. But I can't blame this product for it because I stopped using it when I was in HK, and I only use this on weekdays. Still lasted me pretty long as I started using it early July. You only need a very very little bit for full moisturisation! My new daily work moisturiser will be my Dr Feelgood. :) Maybe this product will grow on me if I use it more consistently.

Lots of new stuff to try! Am excited! (But not so excited over my face. Still angry! But the OXY seems to have reduced the itchiness and the area around my mouth not so dry already.)

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Lush Haul 2011

Came back from HK and the first thing I wanna show off to you (among all the beauty products that I bought..!) is my Lush haul! To be honest, it's not much of a haul because the Lush store in Langham Place is not as big as any random store I went to in London, but I'm definitely NOT complaining because I've been so deprived of Lush goodies for so long! A lot of my favorite products seemed to have been discontinued - e.g: Mirror Mirror, but there's also a lot of new stuff to try!

The Langham Place store is considered one of the biggest on HK Island already (if I'm not mistaken) as the rest are just kiosks. This one is located inside Seiibu in Langham Place. Just follow your nose and you will get there. The salesgirls are friendly and nice, and despite some slight communication problems (I'm not that good in cantonese, she's not that good in english), it was allllll good. The place mainly stocks up on soaps, bath fizzies and bath bombs. Just two mini shelves for the shampoos and shower gels (sacrilege) and another mini shelf with the skincare stuff. There was really not much choices for shower gels and shampoos - they only stock the really really best of the best bestsellers. So this is what I wound up with :

A lot of soaps this time around! All in all, I bought :
a. Happy Hippy shower gel
b. Dirty Springwash shower gel
c. Dream Cream moisturiser
d. The Godmother soap
e. Honey, I Washed the Kids soap
f. Miranda soap

... and got a free bottle of Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo and two soap samples - Demon in the Dark and Noubar (I think it's Noubar? I don't know the name since the girl said it in cantonese, but this is the only soap that matches anything else on the website). Actually, the Demon in the Dark soap is for my boyfriend. He kept sniffing at it, but refused to buy some, even though I said it was nice (tried it before!) AND offered to pay for him. So the salesgirl gave him a slice. He was so happy, and shy. :) Hahahhaa.


I was especially upset that they didn't have American Cream - my favorite strawberries and cream conditioner. Apparently it completely sold out in HK. Arghh! I was also looking forward to trying Gorgeous / Imperialis / Celestial (you can check out my old lust list here), but they didn't have it. Don't know if the store is small, or if it's also another old and discontinued range. What I was REALLY happy with was the huge range of soaps on display and the salesgirl was happy to let me sniff as much as I want.

I wound up getting The Godmother because it's got a really sweet yet fruity scent that isn't overpowering, but memorable. In contrast, Rockstar is like The Godmother on steroids... it's soooo overwhelming. Cannot take it. I got Honey I Washed The Kids because I've been lusting for it for soooooo long. Got a huge mutha chunk of it! Can't wait to use it. And I got Miranda as well because I like the fruitiness of it, though to be honest, it's not very strong smelling or memorable, so I'm kind of regretting it now. *Oops*

I didn't get Sultana of Soap after all because it didn't smell as good as I remember it to be. On the contrary, Karma, which is one of the bestsellers (and I never knew why - cos I hate the smell!!) is suddenly growing on me! I suddenly quite like the scent (on the soap), and I'm tempted to get it. However, all this while I've NEVER liked it. So I think I'll withhold for the moment. Anyway, 3 huge bars of soap will take me some time to go through. :P

Ooh, was also super tempted with the Ice Blue soap! It really does smell super minty and refreshing and tingly! However, since I got the Dirty Springwash shower gel, I thought that I shouldn't overload on the minty feeling. Besides, minty feeling duplicates are easy to get from other brands, but I don't think you can duplicate the luscious scents of The Godmother and Honey I Washed the Kids so easily. :)

Was disappointed in their latest shower gel though - Grass. It really smells TOO much like grass! It made me think of the ((insert race)) gardener trimming the cow grass for my neighbour... bleh. Overload! Do not want! Forgot to sniff at the Flying Fox though. And I thought that I didn't like the way Happy Hippy smelled the last time I was in Lush... but now I love it!! How could I not love it?? It smells so fruity and yummy! And look at that oozing golden liquid! Can't wait til I jump into the shower stall with it. :)

I think I got quite a sizable amount of stuff to try out, so no major bitchfitz about the place being poorly stocked up. Besides, my boyfriend loves Hong Kong so much that he wants to make this an annual thing, so it probably won't be long til I'm back to restock. Hee hee! :) *heart*

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Yuberactive Review : Sally Hansen Hard As Nails XTreme Wear in Blue Me Away

When I got this nail polish from Yuberactive, I was really thinking - WOW, that's a REALLY vivid shade... definitely not something I can wear to work! But it looks so fun, and I think it's really in trend now. I mean, smurfs are the in thing right now, right? And the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear's "Blue Me Away" is such a smurfalicious color!

I was really curious about the "Xtreme Wear" tag. Was it referring to the color or to how long it would last? Anyway, I still had very high expectations of the nail polish, simply because it's Sally Hansen. Come on, who HASN'T heard of Sally Hansen? If anyone were to name the top 5 nail polishes on the market, I'm sure Sally Hansen would be one of them. I've always wanted to try their nail polishes, but I had the notion that it's really expensive. Apparently, this bottle only costs RM19.90 for 11.8ml. That's actually really cheap compared to some other drugstore brands!

The "Blue Me Away" shade is really fun, very vivid and just gives a very chill, summery feel to it. Maybe it's because the blue is like a cartoony shade for the sky or the sea... I think it would look great with flip-flops! Me and my lounging on the beach ideas!

The large brush and the good quality nail polish made painting my nails a cinch. However, the brush also ensured that each application came on quite THICK, and this meant that one coat was really all that you need. Anything more is pure wastage IMHO. A big MINUS for me for this nail polish was that it took so long to dry. I have no idea if this is due to how thick it came on, or that this is just the way it is. After all, it didn't guarantee me fast-drying, did it? But it was so so bad that after 10 minutes, I reckoned it was done, and I went out in my slippers. When I came back, I saw that the nail polish from some of my toe nails were smeared! Argh!

Not exaggerating, but after 30 minutes, my nails still didn't feel completely dry. It had that rather unpleasant "sticky" feeling, like if I pressed my nail against something too long, it was surely going to leave a mark there. -___- Very big thumbs down here.

But I was right, and it looks really cool with my flip-flops on. And I wore it the whole time I was in Hong Kong, just to see how long the nail polish would last. :) And guess what? A lot of gals in Hong Kong were spotting this shade too! I'm telling you, this smurfy blue is really gonna be the new "it" color. :P

The verdict on how long it lasts? Well, after a week, there was VERY little chipping. I would say, almost negligible. I love that about this nail polish, but the fact that it look so long to dry is a bit irritating. Otherwise : the price, the color, the durability and the fact that I only need one coat with no need for a top coat is totally stellar. I guess I should invest in one of those nail-drying machines, huh? :)

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Yuberactive Review : Max Factor Earth Spirit Eyeshadow in Ultra Aqua

Thanks to Yuberactive, I managed to score the chance to review the Max Factor Earth Spirit eyeshadow in "Ultra Aqua". This product is part of their Earth Spirits range that features mainly light, soothing shades in a compact case. I have to apologise beforehand - I retrieved this product a little late from the post office and then I was off for a holiday in Hong Kong, so I didn't have time to experiment with looks that I could get from this shade as much as I want to. However, I DID toss it in my make-up bag to take to Hong Kong, and I didn't regret it one bit!



Love the small, compact case, which meant that it didn't take up a lot of space. It was also my "go to" color whenever I wanted something simple, sweet yet striking. Don't underestimate the light, shimmery blue-green - there are some gold flecks in it that really help make your eyes stand out. No need to worry so much about what to blend it with, it already looks good just by itself. :) I also like that it's striking enough that when I wear my glasses, my eyeshadow still stands out.


For me, I felt that the color was pretty long lasting - wore it on the plane until I could check-in to my hotel. That's about a good 12 hours there, though I have to admit that it was losing it's lustre by the end of the day. No primer needed, but then again I don't have oily skin. My main complaint about this eyeshadow would be it's screw-top covering. Really, is that necessary? It would be so much more of a breeze to use if I could just flip up the cover and swipe away.


Talking about swiping, there isn't an applicator with this eyeshadow either, but for us who still love using our fingers, it ain't a problem. :P Going for RM11.90 at your local drugstore, this seems like a steal, and I would love to check out the other shades they have on offer. ;)

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Packing for my trip!

I know I haven't been updating much. I used to update almost daily (forcing myself, really). However, recently I have been trying to rush as much work as possible because I would be going for an overseas trip. And ... it's tomorrow! In fact, I have to be awake in roughly 5 hours time to catch my cab to the airport, so I really shouldn't be blogging!

I only have 15kg going there, but I have 20kg coming back, hehe. As always, I try to bring sample-size stuff over to HK to use, so probably will have loads to blog about when I come back!

Aside from all the above samples, I also owe reviews for Dove's Go Fresh shower gel (I know I wrote that the previous one made me break out in rashes, but then I remembered I used the Water lily one for gym before with no untoward result. I'll be reviewing the lemongrass and grapefruit one), Sally Hansen Hard As Nails nail polish (sent to me from Yuberactive), Max Factor eyeshadow (ditto). I also just finished (sob!) my awesome Free & Free Damage Aid hair serum, so I'm looking forward to using something new. ;)

I'll also be posting more make-up and perfume stuff later (also using some samples during my trip, lol!)... so I'm really looking forward to posting more here. See you guys on Tuesday! :)

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Benefit's Dr Feelgood

Finally managed to bring myself to use my Dr Feelgood from Benefit Cosmetics! I'm usually such a hoarder --- I can't bring myself to open up the packaging, take that first swipe that ruins the perfect surface of a cream... but I really needed to find a new face cream after I got a bit sick of Hazeline Snow leaving white marks over my skin. -___- Dr Feelgood is described as a "velvety complexion balm" and helps to mattify your skin while leaving it feeling silky soft. It also contains Vitamins A, C & E to help smooth away the appearance of fine lines.

I just love the packaging! And this product only costs RM 87 from Benefit's Online Store (buy above USD$150 and shipping is free WORLDWIDE), but I think it's about RM130 when you buy it from stores in Malaysia.

At first I thought that this is how the cream looks like, with that cute flower detailing in the middle! So cute! But then I found out that it's actually a translucent sheet used to protect the balm. You can't throw it away, because it's actually used to protect the balm from getting into direct contact with the sponge (yup, you have to apply it on with a sponge). Also read from some other online comments that the sheet is used to protect the balm from drying out and getting crumbly on the skin. Eegads, that sounds like my Hazeline Snow problem part 2.

And.. this is how the balm actually looks like. Taa-daa!

After using this for a while, I'm actually wondering why I bought it. As a "complexion balm", I don't feel like it actually improves my complexion. Yes, it does feel velvety and silky smooth gliding on, but I feel that the effects doesn't last that long. I won't even say that it lasts half a day. Since it isn't being marketed as a moisturiser, I would say that it is doesn't have any moisturising qualities, that is, at the end of the day, this will act like a "mask" for me, but has no active benefits for my skin.

It does smell ok, but not my most favorite scent in the world. I was expecting something that would cover up pores and minimise fine lines... but I guess that was expecting too much, hmm. It really is like wearing nothing at all. One thing I would say - it doesn't leave you feeling greasy and oily like some face creams do. But hmm.. yeah, still wondering what is the purpose of this item as :
a. it doesn't change how my skin looks
b. it doesn't moisturise my skin
Which was what I was mainly going for.

Some say that it's a face mattifier, and an excellent face primer, helping set make-up straight. HOWEVER, I personally like wearing this ALONE, so as a face primer it does nothing for me. As for mattifying my face, I don't have a terrible issue with shiny-ness / oily-ness, so I can't see a big difference there either.

Will probably not repurchase this, but checking out the POREfessional instead.

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Clairol Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Shampoo

Remember when my Clairol Herbal Essences with Camellia Oil spilled all over my gym bag? I blogged about it here. As luck would have it, the same thing happened to my Clairol Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship shampoo even though it has a different bottle shape from the other one. I think Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo + my gym bag is just a disaster waiting to happen. When I saw the mess in my gym bag this evening, I was reminded that I haven't actually reviewed this shampoo yet. -___- Maybe I can't blame the shampoo bottle design (although *koff* the spillage only has occured for this brand so far), maybe the gym locker is just too tiny and I have more things to stuff in now. Sigh. Why doesn't my shower gel spill over? Or my face wash? Sheesh.

Anyway, the Long Term Relationship shampoo is made specially for long hair, hence the name. It has a fusion of red raspberry & satin. It smells fruity and sweet, but kinda synthetically so. Since I just got an overload of it this evening, I am leaning more towards "sickly sweet" than "refreshingly sweet". -___-

The bottle says - "Get lost in your length with my velvety fusion with extracts of red raspberry nad satin. It lavishes every inch of your hair, helping to protect against damage and leaving it so luscious, you'll love it upand down, all around town." I just love the quirky description, but sadly I don't feel much difference in my hair after using this shampoo. However, I have to say that it is MUCH BETTER than the Follow Me shampoo I use at home (I have one in my bathroom and one in my gym bag). When I shampoo with the Follow Me shampoo, by the very next day, I start getting an itchy scalp. I have no explaination why. And I'll have this burning itch to shampoo my hair again and scrub my scalp to within an inch of its life. But with Clairol, at least the CLEAN and non-itchy feeling can last for 2-3 days. It can probably last longer, but in this humid weather, I have not tested not washing my hair for that long.

I really love the whole Clairol Herbal Essences range, and I think I've tried almost all their shampoo in the range too. I'm just so pissed off that the packaging is so crappy that it keeps spilling in my bag! I hate laundering my gym bag, and it's just icky to reach into your bag and find your hand all sticky. I was thinking of going to a Body Jam class after Body Attack, but once I saw the mess, I just didn't have the mood anymore.

I know I'm ranting a lot and not talking about the shampoo, but what the heck, it's somewhat related!

And if you're wondering if the shampoo is effective... well, after using it for a few weeks, I got my hair cut yesterday and the hairdresser said my hair is darn frizzy, considering I just got rebonding done 4 months ago. -___-

Perhaps - there is no hope for me. T____T

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Watson's Whitening & Moisturising Facial Mask

After the swim at my boyfriend's place, I decided to further pamper my skin with a mask & a nose pore strip. Pore strip is just the usual Biore pore strips, but have I mentioned that I ADORE the Aroma Collection's "Happy Grapefruit" scent? So darn nice. I think I'm going to have to stock up on it!

Anyway, as always, I'm not picky about the masks I use - after all, this is Drugstore Beauty. I decided to be really drugstore and use the Watson's Whitening & Moisturising Facial Mask. Price is around RM5.90, but they sometimes have 10% off promotions.

As the packet says - it is for fairer, more radiant looking skin. It also goes on to further elaborate : " ... helps brighten your skin by enhancing skin metabolism and reducing the appearance of dark pigmentation spots. It also aids the improvement of moisture retention by the skin via accelerated hydration of the epidermis. In addition, collagen helps restore skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines. Leaves your skin moisturised, looking fairer and radiant." It also recommends that you use the mask 6 days a week to renew your skin and improve the texture. As I only bought 1 packet, I wondered how effective it would be.

One thing I have to say though - the Watsons face mask beats the Guardian face mask hands down. There is so much essence in each packet... dripping with essence that the mask easily adheres to your skin. It is also more ergonomically designed compared to Guardian face masks, so it fits better on my face. IMHO, at the very least. For those who are sensitive to scents, this is also scent-free.. or as scent-free as it can get. I couldn't smell a thing. But for me, I love my masks to have soothing or fruity scents, so it was neither a pro or a con for me. :)

After 20-25 minutes, the mask was still soaked with essence, and I felt like I could continue using it forever. ;) But had to take it off as boyfriend was rushing me to go to 1U. My skin definitely felt more supple and moisturised, but in terms of radiance... nah. Just about the same. I wonder if it would really make a difference if I used this mask 6 days in a row?

Anyway, my main grudge about Watsons and Guardian masks are that they do not price it competitively enough. It's about the same price as the Taiwanese masks, and I do prefer brands like My Beauty Diary. So why would I choose their masks over MBD? They should price it at about RM3 per mask, then I would consider using theirs more frequently. Instead, by pricing it at the same level, I would continue to choose the Taiwanese brands over them...

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Crabtree & Evelyn Aromatherapy Refreshing Body Lotion

I went swimming at my boyfriend's condo over the festive period, and though I love swimming as an exercise (no impact on the knees + you get to wear your sexy two-piece out + full body work out), it can wreck havoc on your skin and your hair. Chlorine for your hair is always a no-no, and you can feel how dry your hair is when you step out of the water. As for the skin - aside from getting tanned (if that's not your thing, and it isn't my thing) or sunburnt, sometimes I feel the chlorine is stripping the moisture from my skin. Maybe that's me being dramatic, but seriously, after coming out from the pool, I feel like there's so much I need to "preserve" again properly. Tch.

The worst part about going swimming over at his place was --- I forget to bring my body moisturiser! Argghh. And after shampooing & conditioning, I still felt my hair was a bit dry. Could've used a little bit more hair treatment or something. Sigh. My boyfriend already helped me solve the hair problem by giving me a swimming cap (but it'll make me look soooo funny). For the second item, he loaned me his moisturiser..

Yes, it is his moisturiser. He has more Crabtree & Evelyn stuff than me (I'm Drugstore Beauty, remember?), and he's the one who buys me my Crabtree stuff. Hahaha. The reason? Because he has a Crabtree & Evelyn membership. And he bought a few bottles of this "Refreshing Body Lotion" from their Distallations series because he wanted to get RMXXX in one receipt in order to get the lifetime membership. Sigh... what a metrosexual boyfriend. :)

This lotions is made "with purifying eucalyptus and lime essential oil" and is said to clear the senses while purifying the skin. "Our unique purifying blend of essential oils helps refocus your senses as cucumber and lemongrass extracts help clarify and condition your skin."

Well, from reading that, you know those key notes of "lemongrass" and "eucalyptus" is going to give you that invigorating lift to awaken your senses, and you can already feel the tingling cool sensation from the essential oils and the cucumber on your skin. This lotion does feel delightfully refreshing, especially after a hot shower after your cold swim. The only problem that I have with it is that though it IS refreshing (and that IS its main selling point), it is hardly moisturising at all. I thought it's a MOISTuriser, that is what I was expecting, can heardly blame me right? Does this mean that body lotions do not equate to moisturisers? Hmm... why would I use a lotion that doesn't moisturise?

My boyfriend says he just likes the uplifting sensation and he slaps it around his neck and arms randomly after a shower. -___- Sigh...

Though nice to use, I would definitely not purchase this... there are much nicer stuff in Crabtree & Evelyn that beckon me...

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Skinz Haul

Again, not really a haul because this is what I got for free from Cleo Magazine, thanks to a contest that I won! *heart* What I won is this hamper from Skinz Infinite. I didn't expect so much products - all from the Skinz Infinite UV White Radiant-Gene Activator range! It's really everything you can think of for your skin.

I got (L-R) :
a. Eye Brightening Essence
- to lighten dark circles and revitalise delicate eye area
b. Purifying Facial Foam
- Deep cleanses impurities and reveals white translucency
c. Intensive Whitening Serum
- Increases skin's radiance and reveals glowing transparency
d. Whitening Day Moisturiser
- With SPF20PA++, whitens & moisturise, reinforced UV protection
e. Intensive Night Moisturiser
- Boosts whitening process, intensive hydration
f. Purifying Facial Scrub
- Gently exfoliates & whitens to reveal deeper skin clarity
g. Clarifying Toner
- Deeply tones, purifies and whitens. Enhances clarity & translucency
h. Instant Radiance Rinse-Off Face Mask
- Enhanced exfoliation & whitening, intense clear radiance

A bit of drama trying to collect this prize, actually!

I took time off during lunch to go to Uptown, which, on a good day will take me 15 minutes from my work place. Since it was a Friday, it took me 45 minutes. -___- The Rothman's roundabout is the shittiest thing ever at the moment. Once I arrived, I realised I parked at the wrong place - Uptown 2 instead of Uptown 1. Luckily I had the sense to take my umbrella with me, cos barely after walking 2 minutes, it started to rain!

The ACTUAL prize collection went smoothly, but when I went downstairs --- it was pouring cats and dogs. -__- Proceeded to walk to Uptown 2 for lunch (since it was the nearest), and my jeans still got soaking wet. Subway at Uptown 2 was soooo packed with all the people who can't go out for lunch anymore. Another 30 minutes wait to get my sandwiches. I only persisted because I had a buy 1 - free 1 Subway coupon (1 ended up for dinner!). It was STILL raining when I walked back to my car, and another 25 minutes before I got back to the office, only about 40% of me was dry.

Thus, the Skinz Infinite bag also looks a little bit worse for wear.

No regrets though, wanted to collect it ASAP so I can show it off here. ;P

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