Uriage Guardian Promoter

I was browsing Guardian / Watsons as I always do on Friday nights date nights with my boyfriend. Just minding my own business. Checking out what's new in the drugstores of Malaysia. I especially love it when they package different products (of the same brand) together, and throw in a free gift & discount. That would really make me want to buy the product. Anyway, as I had purchased a lot of things recently, I was actually willing myself not to be suckered in by cute packaging as always. But looking can't hurt you, right?

There was a new brand of masks, with cute packaging.... caught my eye so I checked it out. Then an old lady (past menopause, as I soon found out) sidled up to me and asked me if she can help me. I found that she could speak english well, and she looked so cute and harmless, so I said, "Nah, just checking out what's new." Then she said that it was good to keep updated on the new stuff in the store, cos it shows initiative. I asked her about the mask with the cute packaging and she said she didn't handle that brand, had no idea about it.

Since she seemed friendly and I was free (Tron was poking around, looking for medical supplies stuff for his paintball war games the next day), we started chit-chatting about masks in general. Then she started the sales pitch, said she don't know about all these Taiwanese brand masks coming in, but she said instead of paper masks, have I used masks that can wash off before? I said of course, stuff like the MJ masks. She looked at it disdainfully (broke my heart) and said, have I tried stuff that is not so drugstore brand before? LMAO! I'm in a drugstore right now, aint' it? Anyway, she has a good product to introduce to me, which is this:

Uriage Express Mask. It is only a small tube (don't remember the exact size, but I *think* it was 40ml) but it costs RM80. I had not heard of the brand before, so I asked her more about it. She said that it is a mask that you can wash off or you can leave it on overnight. She said that it's very refreshing and she said she introduce it to me seeing my dry skin that really needed rescuing. I was like.. wtf... if only you had saw me when I just stepped off the plane from HK, after using the crap Biotherm stuff. She don't know how much my skin had improved since then k! But since she doesn't know my sad history, I forgive her. It's normal for sales people to curse the client's current condition and make them feel bad enough to succumb to an expensive product.

Anyway, based on what she said --- you can either wear it and wash off after 10 minutes OR LEAVE IT ON OVERNIGHT, aren't you curious what is it? Canyou completely understand this statement? I didn't lor. I had no idea what it was like, and since she didn't open the box to show me, I was wondering - is this a cream? Hence wash off? Or is it like a reusable mask that you keep soaking in new serum? How can you leave it on overnight if it's a mask. I guess I asked a dumb question, which was, "Leave it on overnight? Er... you mean when you sleep? Isn't that going to like, dirty your pillow?" And she shouted so loudly that I think the whole Guardian can hear her. "OF COURSE NOT! WHAT YOU TALKING! This is a transparent mask which can be absorbed very quickly, etc etc."

Huh? Absorbed? Is it a moisturiser? Then if it can be absorbed "very quickly" then why need to be left on overnight? Exactly how quick is quick? So many questions to ask, but she is so weird and defensive. At that point I made up my mind, even if I wanna buy the product, I'll buy it from another Guardian! Lol!

Anyway, after gently probing her, I found out that it's totally a gel-based kinda product, which can be used as a quick mask before you wash off and continue your make-up, etc. Or you can apply on your face, and then sleep it til next morning. You wake up with no residue whatsoever on your face, it's completely absorbed! This is so weird and strange, but I think it would be interesting to try? I don't know how comfortable you would feel wearing it to sleep, because won't you feel like it's resting thickly on your face? And if it's so fast working and absorbing, WHAT is there to wash off if you're just doing a quick 10 minutes mask? I wish she would give me some samples instead of shouting loudly at me. :P I was honestly quite surprised because we were chatting friendly-like before that.

She also said she uses the mask 3 times a week and it's good for menopausal women. Like WTF are you telling me that for? Do I look like I belong in your gang of menopausal women? -___-" And kept repeating key words like "older people" and "dry skin" to me. Really fan to the max.

Looks like I have to amp up my quest to heal my skin.... *sigh*

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Have Yourself A Lovely Lush-Filled Christmas

I just love browsing through the Christmas specials that my favorite brands have during this festive season. You might say it's a way to wring us dry during the holidays, but I think all the limited edition stuff that they come up with are so irresistably cute, so worth the price, has both function and form... and I like buying myself Xmas presents anyway. =)

Plus, Lush is having a very exciting "Willy Wonka-esque" experience this Christmas! Whenever you buy one of their Xmas giftsets, you will see get a code (scratched from some barcode thingy inside the gift). You log in to their website and you get to see what you've won! The grand prize is really something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory --- a Golden Ticket to the Lush Factory in Vancouver! There are 10 Golden Tickets to be given away! If you don't get it, fret not as there are 500 other "instant prizes" to be won. Oh my, I wish I had a Lush store just next door, I would be buying and scratching the codes throughout November and December! You can find out more details here.

As this is not happening, I will content myself with lusting over the Lush Christmas innovations for 2011. Keep in mind that most of these gifts are only good for friends who love to take a soak in the bathtub. If they don't own one, it's pretty darn useless. :( I wish they had more soap sets and less bubble bar / bath bomb sets!!

1) 12 Days of Christmas - USD79.95
A Christmas bonanza for sure! "Inside this bountiful box is ten of our limited-edition bath treats and two of our seasonal soaps. We included three of our latest inventions, Superstars Bubble Bar, which produces mass amounts of strawberry-scented bubbles, The Melting Snowman Luxury Bath Melt (he has the same almond-icing fragrance as our Snowcake Soap) and Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, which is full of surprises. If you know someone who loves to bathe, get them this one! Enough bath treats to get you through the holidays and into the new year. Golden Wonders Bath Bomb is a gift in itself; a shiny gold bomb with a present inside."

This insane gift contains : Cinders bath bomb, So White bath bomb, Christmas Eve bubble bar, Satsumo Santa bath bomb, Snow Globe soap, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, The Melting Snowman Bath Melt, Superstars Bubble Bar and Candy Cane soap.

2) The Golden Collection - USD$59.95
I love the classy gold and black tin that is part of this gift set! The fact that the box is golden and the contents are also similarly colored makes it a visual treat. :) It contains "eight shining, gold products to delight friends and families alike. We put in three Bath Bombs and three Bubble Bars, a bar of our almond-scented Snowcake Soap and the Ultimate Shine shampoo bar so you'll be sparkly clean from hair to toe."

Contains : Three Gold Rings Bubble Bar, Cinders bath bomb, Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Snowcake Soap, Sunny Side Bubble Bar, Superstars Bubble Bar and Ultimate Shine Solid Shampoo.

3) Billy Bonkers Bathtime Favorites - USD59.95
This one contains sweet-sounding favorites like Candy Cane soap, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Gingerbread House bubble bar, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Ma Bar Bubble Bar, MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt and is also one of the few giftsets to contain the Magic Wand re-usable Bubble Bar. The tin is also kooky, cartoony and most Willy Wonka-ish of them all! So sweet it could give you diabetes!

4) Christmas Bathtime Favorites - USD49.95This one is for the bath bomb lovers! "Three of our year-round favourites are paired up with six limited-edition, seasonal Bombs so you've a bath for every mood." The bath bombs, in no particular order, are : Avobath, Big Blue Bath Bomb, Cinders, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Honey Bee Bath Bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Rocketeer Bath Bomb, Satsumo Santa bath bomb and the So White bath bomb.

Personally, one of the most meh gifts on the list because I don't think the tin is interesting enough either, haha. Oh gosh, packaging really *is* everything, innit?

5) Happy Christmas - USD$44.95
Contains both bath bombs and bubble bars for a fizzly good time. Instead of a tin, it comes in a shiny, reusable box. (IMHO - meh!) Contains Christmas Eve bubble bar, Cinders bath bomb, Candy Cane soap, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Three Gold Rings Bubble Bar and Snowcake Soap.

6) Christmas Star - USD$39.95
If you're thinking of getting Lush sets, I really do recommend you get the ones in a tin. It just looks so much better, and is definitely more reusable than the cardboard boxes one. No doubt it still looks lovely, but I think for a few dollars difference --- just get the cute limited edition Christmas tins! "Six bathing beauties are to be found inside this gorgeous, re-usable gold box. Christmas Star is a gift we've had for many Christmases here at LUSH, but it's always so popular that we keep bringing it back! This year's incarnation contains three of our returning Christmas favourites, and three of our newest inventions. It's sure to brighten up the holidays for the shining star on your gift list. "

Contains : Cinders bath bomb, So White bath bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, The Melting Snowman Bath Melt and Superstars Bubble Bar.

You can check out the rest of the stuff here, but I really have no idea how long they'll keep them in stock! Probably going to yank them off the shelves once Xmas is gone! *negative nancy*

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Delias - Graphic T-shirts For The Win

Delias is one online shopping site that I've always been interested in. Max interested in. Cos the stuff is cute, and when there's sales... hoo boy! Red blooded woman here! I also LOVE their graphic tees, which are witty, cute and just look oh-so-comfy. Sadly, they don't accept payment from credit cards which are outside the US. Darn irritating. They could ship it internationally, but they won't accept your non-US card. You can try to pay through PayPal, but they can detect that your PayPal account is linked to a non-US card too. Sigh...

And if you insist on wanting their stuff, they say, sure, we can make exceptions. But you have to provide them a LOT of paperwork from your BANK and stuff like that. I don't know who ever commited credit card fraud against them to make them so distrustful, but I'm just left on the lurch.

Since ASOS has started accepting payment + shipping to Malaysia, I wondered if Delia's policy has changed. I stopped by recently, and saw all their cute graphic tees and fell in love all over again... only to have my heart broken when I saw that they STILL only accept payment from credit cards within the States. *sob*

I wanted to just buy a few t-shirts. Just these shirts... is that so impossible? Each shirt has about 20% off, and if you buy another one, the 2nd one is slashed to 50%.

Giraffe Wrap Tee

Save the Drama for your Llama!

Giant Hello Kitty Face crop top

LOVE (I just think it's uber sweeeeeet!)

Hogwarts jersey (it doesn't look cartoony, but like a real college jersey... loving it!)

This is my ULTIMATE FAVORITE!! The Nyan Nyan Cat shirt!
I don't understand why it's a test to "withstand" the nyan cat as much as possible, because it's so cute.... it's nice background music! Cat flying through the universe with poptart body and shooting a rainbow from its ass... what's not to love!

The shirts will average out to about RM50 per piece, and at the moment, they have free shipping within the States. Still... how am I going to get it, unless I have a friend who trusts me to pay for me first? =D

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Weekend Haul~!

I succumbed to "it". Sephora.

I finally got the Naked palette from Urban Decay! It's going for RM175 in Sephora in KL. I had heard about the Naked palette a long time ago, but the first time I went to Sephora, it was completely sold out. Well, now they are well-stocked again! But go quick because it is selling like hotcakes! When I bought this, the girl right behind me was holding one too! :D

Actually, I was really debating over whether I should get it or not, since I just got sooooo many eyeshadows from Coastal Scents recently. But Tron said that the colors were really versatile and suitable for work.. which I agree! I find the Coastal Scents ones can be TOO sparkly and shimmery for work. I think the colors in the Naked palette are more office friendly. In fact, that's what it says right on the box. ;)

I haven't used it yet, but I already have some grouses, lol. Mainly that I don't like the Naked palette packaging. I find it cheap & flimsy considering that it is so freaking expensive. It is also covered in velvet, which may sound so luxurious, but I don't like it because it's just going to get so dirty and grotty.

Oh, and I don't use the primer potion, but my friend Dull says it's so awesome, so I'm just going to pass it over to her. =p

The eyeliner pencil next to the palette is my Majolica Majoca cream pencil liner in BR611. Bought this because I wanted a more natural pencil liner (I'm using the Maybelline Hyper Sharp in black) for work. Read that the Majolica Majoca cream pencil liner is voted the best pencil liner or something...

Reviews come later! :D

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Dirty Springwash Shower Gel

I took my DIRTY Springwash Shower Gel from Lush along with me to Singapore recently, and it was a really good choice for a travel companion. For one thing --- the DIRTY Springwash Shower Gel is actually both a shower gel AND a shampoo! Yay for travelling light! Plus, the minty fresh shower gel appeals to both men and women - yes, my boyfriend finally indulged in a Lush goodie! (He still hasn't used the free soap the Lush lady gave him!)

The only thing he complained about was why I bought something that is called "Gorilla Perfume". So unappealing, he says. Haha!

The main ingredient in this shower gel is SPEARMINT OIL. Spearmint is refreshing and cooling on the skin, and is used in the product to cleanse and naturally deodorize. That tingly sensation in your toothpaste or when you're chewing gum? Well, imagine it all over your body!

Personally, I didn't like this as a shower gel as much as my boyfriend did. He used words like Refreshing! Rejuvenating! Squeaky Clean! But for me, it really felt too much like rubbing toothpaste all over myself. It was disturbing and though I did have a refreshed, clean feeling at the end of the day, I still felt odd. Thankfully, the spearmint fragrance fades off to a very subtle hint after the shower, otherwise I would feel like a walking toothpaste commercial.

On the other hand, I think that this product performs WONDERFULLY as a shampoo! The sensation of spearmint on your scalp --- oh God... it's so orgasmic! It really feels like you are lifting up every single bit of dirt from your scalp and it can finally BREATHE again. You feel like singing, "A WHOLE NEW WORLD"... so wonderful is the feeling! Plus, when your hair is dried, I feel that it gave my hair more "weight" than usual. Definitely did more for me than "Strong & Weighty" shampoo from Clairol Herbal Essences!

I think this shower gel would be a lovely gift for your man --- you know how "practical" they are, wanting to double up their shower gel and shampoos. ;) Plus, if your man is like Tron, he will definitely love it. Tron said he would get this the next time he sees a Lush store, as it is more worth it than a similar two-in-one product that he saw in Kiehls. Lush sells the 250ml bottle for about RM50, which I too think is a good deal. The Kiehls one was more than RM100!

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Fruit of the Earth Vitamin E Skin Care Oil - Skin Saver #3

My final part of the Skin Saver series... and it's Fruit of the Earth's Vitamin E Skin Care Oil! As I've mentioned about the benefits of Vitamin E before, I knew that it could help with the scarring from the skin inflammation.

Basically, what was happening to my skin :
a. gets rid at areas which never got red before
b. small bumps will come out
c. flaking around my mouth area --- kinda made me feel like I had a beard!
d. I would rub the flaky bits from my mouth, until they became raw... hence the scarring..

And because of the scarring, or at least the very raw red bits of flesh on my face (wtf), I got the Vitamin E oil, in order to aid drying of the skin, etc etc. Why did I get this brand? Well, for one, it is freaking cheap. For 28,000 I.U per ounce of PURE VITAMIN E oil, it was only RM14. It's ridiculous, especially when there are brands that are selling it for almost double the price. I quite enjoy their cocoa butter skin lotion (that I blogged about earlier), so I reckoned that this brand is a cheapie but goodie type.

The box said : "Pure, full strength 100% Vitamin E (dl-Alpha Tocopherol) contains 1,000 international units per gram or 28,000 international units per fluid ounce. See what a marvelous difference this precious oil can make on the tiny lines around your eyes and corners of your mouth, nose, lips, throat. Use lightly as a day moisturiser, a few drops more at night."

It further informs us that the 100% concentration of Vitamin E is for MAXIMUM HEALING POWER. Healing what, you ask? Well :
~ the ability to sooth dry & cracked lips
~ moisturises tiny lines around eyes, nose and throat
~ helps promote healing of scars, burns, blemishes
Or so Fruit of the Earth tells me!

Personally for me, the oil is REALLY thick and weird. And it is VERY hard to flow out of the bottle. I thought Vitamin E oil is going to be stinky, but in fact this has no odour whatsoever. It is quite sticky and it rests uncomfortably on the skin. There is no way that it gets absorbed and la-dee-da you forget about it later. The stickiness remains, so you will definitely know it is there. If you know what is Zam-Buk --- this feels like Zam-Buk, but x100. It is very very sticky!!

I also disagree with the box when it says that I can use it as a DAY MOISTURISER. Unless this is meant to be mixed in with something else (I can't imagine what), you don't want to walk out with this on your face. You know why? Because there will be one nice and shiny patch right on your face, visible for all to see! I should know, cos I wanted to heal my blemishes ASAP, so I wanted to put it on the affected areas and go to work. It looked like I drank some oil and forgot to wipe my mouth after. Lol!

Having said that, this product really did help to heal my skin. Not only did the rawness dry up quicker, but the scarring faded off faster than usual as well. The scarring isn't 100% gone, but it's much better than before. Basically, I'm just thankful for this, the tea tree oil and my Blooming of Beauty masks. =)

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Blooming of Beauty - French White Lily Mask - Skin Saver #2

I bought a box of "Blooming of Beauty" masks, just because it looked so inviting! Seriously, I keep telling myself not to be suckered in by cuteness / attractiveness, but I guess I'm a "man" that way - a visual creature. It also gave me confidence to buy the product when I saw that it is actually under My Beauty Diary, and I love MBD masks. I find that MBD masks encompass the 3 vital things of a mask - smells good, good fit, and actually works!


Although a lot of the other "Blooming of Beauty" masks looked more attractive than the one I got - French White Lily - I got this one because I felt that it was most suitable for what I want. Others were more specific for whitening, or for dry skin. The French White Lily mask is suitable for moisturising and for sensitive skin. Actually, I don't have THAT sensitive skin, but after my incident with too many skin care samples (I honestly believe that it is the Biotherm Skin.Ergetic that gave me horrible rash as other bloggers have reviewed that similar things occured to them), I thought it was a suitable mask to use for exactly this kind of occasion.

One box contains 5 masks!

After using this mask, I was really amazed by the effects! This was just after ONE use, mind you. I had very dry skin around my mouth & nose area, and it was immediately much more moisturised. No more peeling after that! I also had a lot of peeling, dry skin at the edges of my mouth (that made me look like I had a very dirty mouth), and though it didn't disappear, it did look much more faded. And after using the mask, it started to heal quicker than before! A week later, I used back the same mask, and I can say, it really hastened my healing process back to normal skin. It had been nearly a month of dealing with bad skin, and I'm so happy that "Blooming of Beauty" helped me get back on track.

It's hard to believe, but I'm smiling when this photo was taken. Masks always make you look like you are frowning, lol.

I'm not a 100% back to normal yet (darn you Biotherm!), but thanks to this and other products I had been using (which I will blog about too!), I can feel that things are getting better and better.

Really, big lesson learned --- no more trying out crazy amount of skin samples one after another!

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