Crabtree & Evelyn Verbena & Lavender Contest Winnings

My 2nd Facebook contest winning ever! I don't usually take part in FB contests because usually they ask you to post a picture and get the most votes for it. Such a popularity contest. And since I don't have THOUSANDS of fans at my disposal, I obviously won't be able to win, and I don't plan to lose so shamefully. So I end up not bothering. -__- This Crabtree & Evelyn contest involves some Flash game (spotting some hidden objects in a picture), a slogan, and then you just share the contest with some friends. At first I thought I won't be able to win (maybe the person who shares the most will win), but I reckon no harm in trying since whoever takes part in the contest will get a coupon to buy a Verbena & Lavender hand cream at a discounted price. Something like that (forgotten already).

Was so surprised that a few days before I was due to give birth, I got a call from their marketing peeps saying that I won the contest! Asked me to go the next week to collect the prize. I was so stunned that I forgot that I was due to give birth and won't be able to collect the prize, and didn't ask if there's a time limit in prize collection. Fast forward the story, and now it's already November, about 1.5 months since they last asked me to collect the prize. I guilted my husband into collecting the prize for me, but he only agreed to brave horrible working day traffic to go to Pavillion IF I called in advance and ask them if my prize is still there.

Long story short, when I called they said if someone from marketing called, the prize is allocated for me already. When my husband went, they were blur... but in the end... I got my prize! Thank you so much Crabtree & Evelyn Malaysia!!!!!

 

Check out the beaaaauuuutiful bag! So colorful! 

 Even the box looks so beautiful. FYI, this was the picture in the Flash game that had some hidden objects for us to click and find. Hahaha. =)

 And this is what I won! The Crabtree & Evelyn Verbena & Lavender cologne and bath & shower gel. I opened up the shower gel for a sniff (it's a screw-top bottle packaging) and OMG, it smells as nice as I imagined it would be! Very soothing and uplifting at the same time. I think it would be a wonderful pick-me-up after a long day at work AND a great way to start the day in the morning.

Can't wait to review it... but meanwhile, give FB contests a chance. If I can win, anyone can, hahaha. (I'm not active on FB, you see.)

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Friday Cheapies : Modbox Beauty Box

I've blogged about Vanity Trove's personalized trove collection... and it seems that another beauty box on the market is catching up and having the same concept. Here's my take on VT's personalized trove, and today, I want to share with you the cheaper alternative - the Personal Modbox.

Of course, there's pros and cons for each item, and no way am I saying one is better than the other. As a savvy consumer, we always wanna know more and choose what is suitable for us based on what is available on the market. :)

VT's personalized trove costs RM50 + shipping, and you get to choose 6 samples out of a possible 30 choices. Wide range of variety, and there are full-sized items to select as well!
Modbox's personal box costs RM9 (!!!!), but does not include shipping. I paid RM6 for shipping within West Malaysia. Think it's slightly higher to East Malaysia. You get to pick 3 samples out of a possible 6, and you can only select a specific combination. E.g: for the first sample, you can only select between a Crabtree & Evelyn Lavender Hand Therapy cream OR a Ronasutra 2-in1- foundation powder.

VT's personalized trove is still delivered to you in their classic, drawer-style box. Modbox has shrunk their box to the height of an iPhone 4S, and definitely does not look as attractive or as sturdy. If you don't plan to keep your boxes, it's no biggie for you, I suppose! Because of the smaller box, Modbox is able to arrange the items nicely & make everything look "full to the brim". This was something that I noted was a problem with VT's personalized trove, as the random selection that I got meant that everything couldn't be arranged 100% perfect.

Another mini complaint that I mentioned about VT was also overcome by Modbox - the lack of product card with VT. Since it is now "random selection", VT is not printing out nice product card on nice paper. What Modbox did was to print each product's description individually on smaller pieces of paper, and then tie them together with a piece of string. It looks very DIY, but heck, it does the job of telling us what the products are about.

Enough talking, here is what I chose for my 3 products in this round's Modbox personal beauty box:

Doesn't it look full to the brim?

I chose Crabtree & Evelyn's Lavender Hand Therapy (25g tube, RM30) against a 1g tub of Ronasutra's 2-in-1 mineral foundation powder. They have a great promotion of a free Crabtree & Evelyn Tarocco Orange skin refreshing body lotion sachet and a 0.5ml vial of Somerset Meadow EDT. So worth it! The price of the lavender hand therapy is already double of what I paid for this box, and I already took a sniff of the Somerset Meadow. It smells soooooooo good! If I really want to buy full-size perfume, Modbox has kindly included a 20% voucher with the Crabtree & Evelyn stuff. :)

Second item I chose - 30ml tube of Privia U Perfect Pure Cleansing Foam (RM43 for 150ml) instead of a 7g tub of Unico UV defense cream. The cleansing foam is a perfect travel-size, perfect for me to bring on my short holidays. :) The Pure Cleansing Foam is now sold out though, you can only select the Unico defense cream...

Last item was kinda a crap toss-up between a 0.44ml sachet of Murad eye lift illuminator, 3ml sachet of Privia U magic peeling gel and a 5ml tube of Juice Beauty antioxidant serum. The Juice Beauty serum is sold out, so I chose the Privia U magic peeling gel coz it's something to get rid of blackheads. Honestly though, the 3rd choice is really kinda crap coz it's all sachets. You can barely test a product out with sachets! I would feel bad writing a review based on just sachets, especially if it's something that you really have to use in the long run in order to see a difference.

All in all, it's super worth it for just RM15, although I still think the selections at VT are better. I'm looking forward to seeing what else is available for selection in the next personal beauty box!

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Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Bath & Shower Gel and Body Lotion

Previously mentioned that I couldn't believe that I haven't reviewed the Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Bath & Shower Gel yet, so here I am to do it justice. :) I really do bring along my Wisteria bath & shower gel + moisturiser set on ALMOST every holiday that I go to... and during my last staycation, the shower gel finally bade me farewell. I've used it so often that the scent of Wisteria will always remind me of holidays...

In the bottle, the bath & shower gel is the prettiest, pale lavender color.  However, when it's poured out, the light purple color cannot really be seen. It just looks like pale, see-through liquid.

You don't need to use a lot --- just that small amount on my palm is enough to have you smelling like the wisteria flower for AGES. The entire shower will be filled with the scent, enough to make you feel giddy. Initial thoughts about this scent is that it is a really "old lady floral" type of smell. The kind of smell that your mother and grandmother will like. However, it really grew on me (not because I'm getting older too.... -___-) and I started appreciating the overt floral scent as well. Maybe (as I've mentioned) it's because I keep associating this floral scent to being on holiday! It really makes you feel very girly and feminine!

There's no super squeaky clean feeling after using this, nor a very moisturised feeling. I believe his bath & shower gel is purely for perfume "layering", so if you love this scent - go all the way! Get the moisturiser and perfume from Crabtree & Evelyn as well! For me, I can say that with just the shower gel & moisturiser, it's enough to last you at least a few hours!

I haven't finished using the Body Lotion, have about 40% left. It is a lovely moisturiser - only need to use a bit (just a dollop per limb) and you get this nicely moisturised feeling, with no oily residue. It sinks in fast to the skin and only leaves you with the lingering floral scent.

Quite a nice travel set all-in-all, and my only complaint would probably be the packaging. It's a screw top bottle and you directly pour out the contents. It's very hard to control how much comes out (especially with the shower gel!). The size really is perfect for travelling though! Might consider this for a repurchase because I've grown to like the smell so much, but I do have other unused things from Crabtree & Evelyn that I would like to finish first.

Sorry my dears, I don't remember how much this set costs, or even how I got it! I think it was a gift, so I am not sure how much it would cost outside.. ^^

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Freebies from Crabtree & Evelyn [2]

Got more freebies again! This time it's thanks to Tron's mom who invited us to this neighborhood gathering thingy. All their neighbours grouped together to organise a "family day" for a section of houses where they live. They had lots of free food, fireman demonstration and giftpacks and lucky draws! Every house gets this gift pack from Crabtree & Evelyn, but Tron's mom was so generous to give me and my mom each a gift pack as she won lucky draws that afternoon as well and got extras. =) My mom seems quite shy to use it (maybe looks nice all wrapped up, she doesn't want to spoil the wrapping!), but for me I'm eager to try it out!!

This is the goodie bag:

It's from the La Source range, which I have the 60 Second Fix For Hands thanks to Tron. I love the soothing scent from this range! It's neither floral or sweet... not sure how to describe it, just that it reminds me of the sea. This 4 piece gift set consists of :
a. La Source Relaxing Body Wash
b. La Source moisturising soap with shea butter
c. La Source shampoo
d. La Source body conditioner

Cool huh? :)

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Freebies From Crabtree & Evelyn

Got a free gift from Crabtree & Evelyn thanks to Empire Shopping Gallery. If you buy above RM500 worth of stuff in a day (non-electronics!), you get this surprise gift bag full of vouchers, and this lovely giftset from C&E. I thought of giving it to my mom for Mother's Day, but (unfilial daughter!) the scent of the Lily of the Valley was so nice that I plan to keep it. :X

It's a pretty travel set which contains bath & shower gel, perfumed body soap, body cream and body lotion. All between 30ml - 50ml in size. I'm a bit confused between the body cream and the body lotion --- isn't it the same thing? Hmmm....

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Crabtree & Evelyn Purifying Clarifying Body Scrub

Did I ever mention that my boyfriend is a Crabtree & Evelyn member? He has tonnes of Crabtree & Evelyn stuff, and his love for the products have spilled over to his mom and myself. All the free stuff that he gets after buying 2342343 of their products end up in our hands. *evil laughter* If you must know, he has actually been buying their scented sticks (don't know what it's called - my bf is more metrosexual than I am feminine) by the truckload. He puts them in his bedroom, living room, TOILET.

Anyway, whenever I do shower at his place, it's like fun bath times because I can use his stuff, and he always has yummy shower stuff. Today, I got to try his Crabtree & Evelyn Purifying Clarifying Body Scrub!

At first, I was a bit disgusted, because obviously Mr Bf did not care enough to be careful about not getting any water into the tub. The top layer of the body scrub was water! Omg! So grossed out. But I dug in deeper, and got to the scrubby goodness. The scrub is VERY rough. The exfoliation beads look like what is huge grains of salt. It also smelled so mild that I was so sure that I wouldn't be able to feel thoroughly cleansed after it that I was looking for his shower gel.

However, as I kept scrubbing against my skin, I started to feel this BURNING sensation. Not a horrible one of course, a pleasant, warm feeling that tingled! I started to really enjoy myself, and got a great exfoliation. When I washed everything off, I felt SUPER refreshed and SUPER clean! Now I'm really loving this clarifying body scrub! :)

Am really thinking of buying it next time (after all, we are Crabtree & Evelyn members... hehe. We get a 10% discount!). Oh, and it really feels nice using the Clarifying moisturiser after the gorgeous scrub. FYI, this refreshing scrub contains citrus peel and sea salt granules, and the clean scent of eucalyptus and lime essential oils helps clarify and focus the senses.

Costs about RM100 for a 450g tub.

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A Handy Birthday Present

I bought a present for my friend Fuzzy! Her birthday was yesterday, and when we were younger, we always said she's the first to turn older. :P She doesn't appreciate it that much. She has to wait 9 months before it's my turn to "become older", hehe!

Although not really drugstore products, but hey, it fits into the theme of taking care of your skin - I got her the Hand Therapy set from Crabtree & Evelyn!

There were two sets available - Pomegranate or Lavender, and each set contains :
- shower gel
- body lotion
- hand therapy scrub
- hand therapy moisturiser

The pomegranate scent is a bit sharp, but quickly turns out fruity and very invigorating. The lavender scent is just too weird! It doesn't smell like your normal lavender scent! It took very long for the smell to fade off to something more bearable. But regardless of whether it is pomegranate-scented or lavender-scented, it left my hands feeling oh so soft and touchable. Crabtree & Evelyn's hand therapy stuff really works! :)

Anyway, I reckon the pomegranate is more suitable, as I think hand creams are so nice to be used while at the office. The invigorating scent will help you be more alert at the desk too! :)

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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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Scrub Scrub Scrub!!

Aside from body scrubs, there are 3 other areas that require "special scrubbing" from me! Get your mind out of the gutter--- they are my lips, feet and hands! Each of these body parts require a special product to cater to their problems. For lips --- a really gentle scrub. For feet, I'm going to need some heavy duty scrub and really go to town with them. For my hands, something gentle and soothing, not too harsh.

These are the 3 products that I'm currently using :

(1) Lipscription
I've written about them before under my Friends with Benefit series, but here's a more detailed look on this product (currently discontinued from Benefit - I think). When I first used it, I thought it's not a necessity... until one day when I was using the scrub and I found out that even when I THOUGHT I had removed my lipstick, when I scrubbed with Lipscription, I saw the bits of skin that got exfoliated was slightly tinged with pink! No.. it wasn't blood! It's just that for SOME lipsticks, even when we thought we have removed it, there will still be some traces that require more thorough removal.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you need a lip scrub to take off your make-up. But I think that the lip scrub is a something good to incorporate with your usual skincare routine. Especially for someone like me --- I have really dry lips! I know you people think I should be drinking more water, but I don't know why.. it doesn't really help? Maybe it's because I have this really bad habit of licking my lips... apparently it's very bad! It makes your lips even drier.


Start off with the buffing lip beads. The solution looks a little like this. You can't really see the buffing beads because it's really small so that it can be as gentle as possible on your lips. By the way, the product has no significant or noticable smell... I think it'd be cool if there was something minty... I like minty stuff!


This is really not such a good look for me :
Anyway, it's quite idiot-proof. You just keep scrubbing and scrubbing way at your lips until you feel all the dead skin cells have been exfoliated. After that, you will see the residue on your fingers. Just gently wash and wipe away any remainders after you are done.

Icky residue! At least this time there's no lipstick remnants...

My lips after the buffing beads have been used. You can see it's not as dry as the first picture.

Follow up with the silky lip balm which has a really "waxy" kind of consistency. This is how it looks like :

And then we are all finished! Really much better than the 1st pic, don't you agree?

(2) Foot Scrub
This is my awesome "Running to the Embassy" foot scrub from Lush :
I am ashamed to say that the product, that initially looked like this :

Has now melted into this hot mess :

But no worries... it's still extremely usable. Just spread some green goop over your leg, and then scrub scrub scrub til all the grains have disappeared! Your feet will feel instantly smoother, though I think you can't expect miracles --- you might still need a pumice stone for those really problematic areas... What I like about this scrub is that it has a really cooling sensation. Must be the spearmint and peppermint. Your feet feel like they've been totally rejuvenated after this scrub. I think I've mentioned before that there was one time that I used it after walking around A LOT in Hong Kong (where I bought this). After one scrub, I was ready for another day of being a tourist around that island! But let's be honest --- after a few hours of walking the next day, I was really, really tired. Lol! It makes you feel better, but it doesn't physically strengthen you or anything after all.


(3) Hand Scrub
Thanks to my boyfriend for getting me the 60 Second Fix from Crabtree & Evelyn. I didn't ask him to, it was a random surprise sweet gift. :)

Start with the La Source Hand Recovery Treatment...

You only need a little bit of the solution. As with Lipscription, you can't really see the buffing beads in the solution, but as you keep rubbing your hands together with the solution, you start to see the "grains" forming. Keep rubbing them until the beads have disappeared. While you are rubbing your hands together, the grains seem to be excreting some kinda oil, because I can already feel my hands feeling softer already! Also, as with Lipscription, this product also seems to be fragrance-free.

Finally, finish off with the Hand Therapy tube. It's just like moisturising cream... But guarantees silky smooth hands that last quite a while. :)

Are there any good scrub products that you are using? Care to recommend any?

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Stuff I Rarely Use (But Still Use!) Pt Deux

1. Boots "The Power of Plants Botanics" Firming Body Gel - I bought this from Thailand too.. on one of my usual sprees where spending money was the goal, lol. It's supposed to help you tone up your body, using all natural extracts and what not. When my colleague found out I was using this, he was aghasted because he thought I was using it for my boobs. Lol! Cos when you say "firming", most people think it's to firm up sagging boobies? ;) Well, I actually use it on my triceps and triceps only.

Anyway, my rant on this is that I really don't think that it works. Hahaha.. duh. After putting it on my skin, I do feel a "tightening" effect, but it's those kinda "tightening" effect like when you put egg white on your skin. It's temporary. I don't know if there's any benefits from prolonged usage, because my triceps don't look tight as heck. Then again, I've only used 1/3 of the bottle. Didn't continue because it feels funny to use this, and then I have my usual body moisturiser all over already too. So it's like... weird to have so many different types of lotions smeared all over your arms.

It also smells rather... distinct. I would actually say it smells kind of bad, but not totally obnoxious. In fact, the whole "botanics" range from Boots smells bad. Sometimes it's good not to be so natural. Hahaha! XD

2. Crabtree & Evelyn La Source 60 Second Fix for Hands
This shouldn't be considered as drug store beauty, but C&E is one of my fave brands, and I got this for free, so ok lah. =p [Tron gave it to me]

So basically this started off annoying because the instructions were all in French, and since this item is sold in Malaysia, did they think we speak French? Though they had some nifty diagrams, I had to figure out which bottle was for exfoliation and which for moisturising. The reason why I was so particular is because I didn't even want to waste one drop of the item "experimenting"... lucky for me after I failed to Google out any results, I got it right the first time. Hahahha. =p So drama, just over hand cream...

Anyway, so use the one on your right for exfoliation, and the one on your left for the moisturising.

This product really works! Your hands definitely will feel softer and smoother after applying it. The little exfoliation scrub really gets rid of hardened skin, so I really spent my time continuosly rubbing and rubbing this product over hardened spots and to get rid of peeling skin. (My hands are in atrocious conditions). After washing off the residue, you already feel like there's a distinct "oily" kind of feeling over your hands, like it's already super smooth because of this "oil" coat. After that, you put on the moisturising lotion to make it even more softer and and baby smooth.

The results only last for 1 day though... and at £22.50 for the full size set (I'm using the mini 25ml kit), I don't think I'l use it again when I'm finished... :(

3. Dove Fresh Mint & Water Lily "Go Fresh" shower gel
I rarely use this because this is another shower gel that it is in my bag, and at the moment, I rather use the Original Source one. ;P But in fact, this shower gel is also really good as an "after gym" shower gel thanks to the cooling & refreshing feeling you get from the fresh mint.

I bought this during a promotion at Guardian, whereby I could get 2 bottles for the price of one, so it was really cheap. Like RM3+ per bottle only, which can last me for nearly 1.5 months (I'm generous in the shower). The scent is crisp and fresh, but it isn't really my thing. There are no exfoliating beads, so it's good for a quick shower.

I might get another bottle from the "Go Fresh" range, but probably not this scent. :) The lemongrass and grapefruit one looks promising. And as mentioned before, since I have sensitive (ish) skin, it's hard for me to find good shower gel at this kinda price. Another no-no for me is Follow Me. I stupidly bought a 1 liter bottle from their new aromatherapy range, and halfway thru, I started getting rashes again. NO no no!!

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