Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R & Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) and Thayers  Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera are two very different kind of toners. For one thing, Aqualabel Moisture Lotion was made in Japan and the Thayers Witch Hazel Toner was made in USA, and on the label, it specified that "with only American Ingredients". Kind of funny, I think. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) is called アクアレーベルモイスチャー ローションR （しっとり）化粧水 in Japanese, until now I couldn't understand why toner is called 化粧水 in Japanese, from the kanji, maybe it was meant to be used before any cosmetic is applied to the face. Anyway, for me, before I buy any Japanese skin care products, I will look for the word "しっとり", which means moisture. For Thayers toner, I bought this because I read a lot of good reviews for the witch hazel toners. Plus, it was in discount when I browsed the online store, so I bought my first Thayers product then. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) and Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

By the time I took the photo, the Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R is finished, I used it until the final drop. This lotion R is good enough for me, I think it is quite moisturizing for me. However, although I didn't like the smell, I didn't hate the smell either. I used this by dropping a few drops (the instruction mentions around the size of 500 yen coin, so it is slightly bigger than the old version of Malaysian 50 cents) of the liquid to the cotton pad and after that, applied to my face. I didn't feel stickiness on my face after I used this, so I guess it's all right. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R)

For the Thayers Witch Hazel Toner, number one thing that I noticed was the texture of the toner, it is so fluid. The second thing was the smell, I really dislike the smell. I still use it though because although it didn't improve my skin, it didn't make it worse. In terms of ingredients, I think the most interesting item is the un-distilled witch hazel. On the label, it even mentions that "THAYER'S proprietary Certified Organic Witch Hazel (derived from the bark) is not distilled, thereby maintaining all the beneficial natural tannins. Assay of hamamelitannin shows that Witch Hazel bark extract is 21 times richer in hamamelitannin than the leaf extract and 87 times richer than the stem extract (Resource: Vennat, Bl, "Tannins from hamamelis virginiana" Planta Medica 54(1988):454-437)". Hahaha, extract from a peer reviewed journal. I am not sure what is the use of hamamelitannin, but it certainly didn't make miracles on my skin. Too bad, I was hoping it can help tighten pores. Like the Aqualabel Lotion R, I applied this with cotton pad. I never tried to use with only hands though. I used this very generously to finish it fast, still I took nearly six months to use it up.  

Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

In terms of packaging, both plastic bottles were very sturdy. For the opening nozzle of the two toners, the opening of the Thayers is smaller than the Aqualabel's opening. It might be due to the viscosity of the toners, the Thayers has lower viscosity than the Aqualabel Lotion R, hence the smaller opening, since it is easy to flow like water. The Aqualabel has a bigger opening but still ok, it has higher viscosity, so I didn't face the issue of over dispense of the lotion. 

nozzle size of the bottles

As far as cost is concerned, Thayers is cheaper by volume wise. However, I think it will be in my not going to repurchase list. For the Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R, if it's in discount, maybe I will repurchase, there are so many selections outside!

Empties For First Half '16

The time flies, so fast and I am reviewing the empties for first half of 2016. Actually, I grew tired of keeping the empty bottles, so after collecting some, I took photos and discarded the bottles, tubes, etc. 

The empties were mostly repeated items. 

Empties by March 2016

1. Guardian Ultra-Hydrating Velvety Rose Hand Cream 

Well, although it's just a 40ml tube, I felt that it's very difficult to finish this. When I kept this at home, the volume barely changes, it only started to decrease after I brought this to office and applied every working day. I used this not only on my hands, but on my legs as well, a portion of the skin on my leg is scaly and sometimes, I would feel itchy on that portion, so I would apply hand cream on my legs during office time, hahaha! A moisturised skin can contribute to a job well done too, an itchy leg can really mess with the mind, cannot concentrate on the work. 

2. Exuviance Hydrating Eye Complex

My first eye skin care was Etude House Vanilla Moist Eye's Cream, I think it made the skin under my eyes more wrinkly. Maybe my method was wrong. This Exuviance Hydrating Eye Complex was my second eye skin care. Truth to be told, I don't think that it helps me to stay young too (around my eyes). I couldn't see the effect after I applied this, maybe I am growing older and it only helps to maintain the skin. Or again, my method is wrong or I applied too little because I felt that it's quite expensive, it's RM190 for 15g (I bought it a few years ago, it must be more expensive nowadays). Anyway, luckily I finished it around this time, it will expire on July 2016.

Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie

A children's book by Salman Rushdie. At first, I thought it would be like the Arabian Nights, it's not and it's actually set in a modern world, surprise!

In the story, Luka was the young son of a story teller, Rashid, The Shah of Blah. Unlike the "Big Fish" where the son didn't believe the father's stories, Luka believed and embraced the stories his father told him. They had a very good father and son bond. As a teenager, Luka went to school, played games and upset with his left handed hand. The way the mother comforted Luka was a very good word play. She said "maybe you are correct to believe that the left way around is the right way, and the rest of us are not right, but wrong. Let your hands take you where they will. Just keep them busy, that's all. Go left by all means, but don't dawdle; do not be left behind." Hahaha, left and right, wrong and right used beautifully. Initially, I thought the author wanted to highlight Luka was different from other kids from the left handed point of view. Then, at the final part of the story, I realized that it's a foreshadowed plot. 

Luka and the Fire of Life

In the story, Luka cursed the not ethical circus owner who abused animals and somehow the curse worked. The circus animals stopped obeying the owner and a fire destroyed the tent. The owner of the circus, Aag fled. Then, two animals from the circus showed up at Luka's house. They're a dog named "bear" and a bear named "dog". So, the dog and bear stayed with the family after Luka's father agreed to it.

Nivea Creme (My lips' Savior) & Other Lip Balms

My current favourite cream is an old classic product, which is Nivea Creme. It helps me battled the dryness effectively, I used it on my feet, body and face. Very versatile and cost effective cream. 

I first knew about Nivea Creme from Naver Matome (a Japanese website which let users summarize or curate any contents and post it on the website, and the person who published can earn some money based on the number of page views). Normally I would only go to the girls and recipe section. Hahaha. I didn't go and buy a bottle of Nivea Creme after I first read about this, but it certainly stayed in my mind. Finally I bought one in 2015 when I was browsing in a pharmacy. I was thinking that if this Nivea Creme was not suitable for my face, then I would treat it as body butter.

I applied this after my moisturizers, to my surprise, I didn't feel sticky or greasy after I applied this on my face. It's a decent face cream and didn't break me out. I think the star ingredient "Eucerit" must have some benefits since this product remains in the market for so many years. However, I wanted to try other creams too. So, after awhile, I stopped using this on my face and occasionally I used it on my feet before I sleep.

Nivea Creme

Buyer's Remorse? Not Really. But I Should Have Spend More Wisely

I do consider skin care is one of the needs, not wants. So, I spend money on the skin care, although not excessively, I spend within my means and I think a lot before I put an item into my cart (online or offline). Yesterday I went to the Guardian Pharmacy and I was thinking whether to buy a lotion or not, so I walked around the shop for few rounds to clear my head until the staff asked me thrice what I was looking for. So, sometimes I like to shop online, no one to following me around, but online shopping also have another problem, after one searches for certain item in certain online shop, for the next few days, in whatever website one goes to, the side bar advertisements will show all the items one searched before, sometimes it's quite annoying. 

Most of the time, I think too much before I buy something. But, sometimes (not so often though) I bought something on impulse. Although I would end up using most of the items, I felt that if I have a cooler head when I saw those items, I might not even buy the items.

1) Heavily discounted near expiry date items
I am ok with near expiry date food items, sometimes I even bought the expired food items (it's cheaper) as long as the colour, taste and texture remained the same. I don't remember I had any stomach discomfort from the expired food. However, if the any of the colour, taste or texture are different, then it's not worth to put our own health to risk. Time to toss it. I am not so brave with the skin care items though, what an irony right? I am taking more risk with something that will go into my stomach then something applied on my face! Anyway, finally I bought two skin care items online when both were having huge discounts. I didn't even try the brand before. It's around 60% discount from the original price and the expiry date was eight months away.
So, I just bought it. I started to use these 2 items right after I received it and I was overly generous with the amount. So, I finished both in two months time. Certainly a record for me. To me, it is not a money saving tactic. Due to the pressure to finish it before the expiry date, I applied much much more! If the items were not near expiry date, I would apply the necessary amount of cream and not waste any drop of the cream and I would finish it in a longer stretch of time. 

Conclusion, buying hugely discounted near expiry date product will not help me save more money. Plus, to use these two items, I stopped using temporarily my half used cream and serum. It's quite annoying to see so many not finished bottles on the table. It's better to employ the first in first out method to ensure no wastage and have a less cluttered storage!

near expired items (manufactured in 2013)

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Another book from Terry Pratchett. 

This book covers the origin of Carrot joining the night watch and how Captain Vimes met his future wife, Lady Sybil, so interesting! In this book, Lupine Wonse (the secretary of the Patrician) summoned out a noble dragon using a book stolen from the Unseen University. Since it's a noble dragon, the people of Ankh-Morpork would have to make it into a king. In his plan, a man (arranged by Lupine Wonse himself) would kill the dragon and claim the throne, and Lupine Wonse would become the advisor to the new king and controlled everything from the back. 

Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett

Pandan

My house has a pot of pandan shrubs.  It didn't grow symmetrically. When two of the branches became to heavy and started to slanted to the left, I thought that it will die eventually, but to my surprise, after it slanted to the left, it started to flourish and grow towards the sun. Hahaha, a very good example of plants grow toward the light, can be shown to a primary school student as one of the examples of phototropism for science class.

See, in order to capture as much light as possible for photosynthesis, it defies gravity and grows upwards to the sun to survive. It's just like human beings, against all odds, we will try to make it and survive!

pandan

Safi (Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip & Pure Olive Oil)

I use olive oil as my hair care product. I do not have a specific brand in mind, normally when I need it, I just choose the cheapest one available in the shop. 

Coincidentally, my latest two olive oil came from the same brand, which was Safi. I bought the Safi Minyak Zaitun Plus Ros Hip (Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip) from an online shop called Soukai (now changed to Hermiso) because I didn't want to pay for the shipping, I needed something to make the bill above RM99 to qualify for the free shipping, and this Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip was the perfect candidate, it's less than RM10 and it's something that I will use eventually. I did use it and it's almost empty now.

I bought the Safi Minyak Zaitun Sejati (Pure Olive Oil) from Guardian Pharmacy when this exact item was having sales, I forgot the price though. I felt funny everytime I saw the "sejati" on the bottle, why didn't Safi just use the word "tulen", instead of "sejati". To me, "sejati" is for "cinta sejati (true love)"! Hahaha!

Safi Minyak Zaitun Sejati & Minyak Zaitun Plus Ros Hip

AMPM 10X Peptide Ultra-Light UV lotion SPF30

Sunscreen, a very important skin care item not just to prevent ageing, but also to prevent sun burnt and prevent skin cancer. On every working day, the final step of my morning skin care steps is to apply sun screen. On weekends, if I don't wish to go out, I don't apply. If I go out, I will apply too.

My previous sunscreen was from the Shiseido Aqualabel range and it's pretty good. I bought this AMPM 10X Peptide Ultra-Light UV lotion SPF30 when I was travelling in Taiwan because I was looking to buy some Made in Taiwan stuffs. AMPM is a brand by Naruko and the review online was quite good. However, after I bought this, it's kept inside a drawer for a long time until I ran out of my Aqualabel sunscreen and I didn't manage to get a replacement fast enough. So, I started to use this AMPM SPF30 sunscreen.

Frankly, since the sun damage is difficult to see on the face immediately, it's not easy to gauge whether this sunscreen works or not. I just keep the faith that it did help to prevent the UV damage on my face.

AMPM 10X Peptide Ultra-Light UV lotion SPF30

Special Biomedical Repair Cream (New Version With Eucalyptus, Rose Germanium And Lavender Essential Oil)

This is the only cream that I repurchased from the beauty salon although the beautician didn't keep suggesting me to buy it. As a person who had suffered from acne since adolescent to adulthood, I value anything that keep my face clear. Over the years, I tried so many creams, gels and although some provided temporary relief, this is the only one that gives the consistent result until now, more than one year. It might due to the fact that I use more hydrating products on my face. Anyway, I like this!

The Special Biomedical Repair Cream I bought recently is different from the previous one I bought. The newer version repair cream has Eucalyptus, Rose Germanium and Lavender Essential Oil. And of course, the price is different, it is 14% increase compared to my previous purchase. Probably due to the GST and foreign exchange rate.

Special Biomedical Repair Cream (old and new version)

Bye Bye Rakuten Malaysia

Rakuten Malaysia has ceased operations from 1st March 2016. I am quite sad with the news. I started to use Rakuten Travel in Japan. I didn't have a credit card then and all the airlines that flew from Fukuoka to Malaysia (transit) then required a credit card to pay for the airfares. So, I researched around and found out that I could pay for the airfares in convenience shop if I bought the air ticket through Rakuten Travel. So, I bought a return ticket from Korean Air though Rakuten Travel.

Apart from air tickets, I booked bus tickets, hotels, dormitories, etc in Rakuten Travel. It's very convenient. A Malaysian friend of mine even asked a Japanese friend to help pay for her bookings in a convenience shop in Japan first and she paid her friend back after she reached Japan. Like the Rakuten Malaysia, for every payments done in Rakuten Travel, points would be added to the account and it could be used for the next payments. Although I booked a lot of travel related items in Rakuten Travel, I have never bought anything from Rakuten Japan. I did buy from Amazon Japan though.

Back to Malaysia three years ago, I was still not a fan of online shopping. However, one time, when I needed a bathroom rack and couldn't find it in the hardware store. Finally, I decided to go online. My first non travel related purchase online was a bathroom rack from Rakuten Malaysia!

Since then, I bought groceries, skin care, bags online. What a progression! Hahaha!

Before the CNY, I joined a Rakuten Malaysia "Count the Monkey" contest and won some Rakuten Super Points. It's not much, and I didn't have anything to buy at that moment. Since the points would become obsolete by the end of February, I decided to spend it on the UNICEF Inspired Gifts. I topped up some money and chose Polio Vaccines. The vaccines will be sent to those who needed it the most according to the UNICEF website. It's so convenient and that marks my final purchase from Rakuten Malaysia.

final points!

final purchase!

Rakuten is promoting the Rakuten Global Market now and gives out 3000 yen coupon for a 10000 yen order as a welcome offer. Well, I think I will give it a pass. There are so many online shops out there to explore!

Hand Creams (Fascy Moisture Bomb Hand Cream - Milk, NARUKO Peptide Nourishing & Smoothing Hand Cream, Holika Holika The Moment Perfume Hand Cream - Cotton Bebe)

Before I went to Japan, hand cream was something alien to me. However, after I went there and experienced winter, my hands started to dry out, I never had chipped hands though! Touch wood! I started with Nivea Soft and I only applied it when I remembered. Compared to the body lotion that I applied diligently, hand cream was not a must-have for me. Sometimes, I just use the body lotion on my hands.

However, strangely, I started to like applying hand cream on my hands after I came back to Malaysia. Maybe it's due to the scent! Hahaha! So I started to buy and use it. I don't consider myself a hand creams hoarder because currently I only have 3 tubes. I put one in office, and two for rotating use at home. It's not much actually. Hahaha!

All three are affordable hand creams priced less than RM20 each, very tempted to buy the raved L'Occitane hand cream but couldn't justify the price tag. All three are from different brands and my first from each brands.

1. Holika Holika The Moment Perfume Hand Cream - Cotton Bebe 30ml
2. NARUKO Peptide Nourishing & Smoothing Hand Cream 胜肽滋養抗皺護手霜 30g
3. Fascy Moisture Bomb Hand Cream - Milk 80ml

my current hand creams

Souvenirs from Japan 3

A dear friend from Japan sent me a small package with some matcha sticks and a box of biscuits. I felt so warm with the gifts. I was familiar with coffee sticks, but for tea, I thought it's either in tea bags or loose tea leaves. I never thought it could come in powder form, further more, it came with milk! I didn't know the meaning of Au Lait before this, googled it up and found out that it means "served with milk".

This Hoshino Matcha Au Lait 八女抹茶が薫る『星の抹茶オーレ』is made from Matcha produced in Yame 八女市, Fukuoka. Inside a box, there're seven sticks and can be served cold or hot.

Hoshino Matcha Au Lait

On the packaging, there is even instructions on how to brew the matcha hot or cold style. Not bad huh!

Hoshino Matcha Au Lait

Hoshino Matcha Au Lait

I like hot drinks. So, I just made it hot.

matcha powder

Mr DIY Adhesive Wallpaper For My Bedroom

After much procrastination, finally I decided to buy the wallpaper and redo my room. However, for the first few times I went to Mr DIY, I couldn't get the desired quantity of the wallpaper I needed. It's always a few rolls of particular design only. When I asked the staff, the only reply was "There's no stock in the store room, the one on display is all the available stocks!" To be fair, the display of wallpaper in the shop was getting more and more tidy. I guessed I went to the Mr DIY the wrong time, I should choose to go on the day they restock their inventory. 

wallpaper rolls in Mr DIY

Anyway, I got the quantity I needed on December 2015. I think I bought around 20 rolls of 5m wallpaper of same design. I chose that design due to the fact it's the only one with the most quantity. I think I took it all. Then, on a long weekend, that Friday was a public holiday. I started my project. The first thing was to clear all the furnitures in the room. However, it was too much. So, I just removed the mattress and the bed beam from the bed frame, for the cupboard and study table, I just moved it around as needed. 

Then, cleaning time. First, I took care of the spider web, then I scrubbed the wall and cleaned the floor. It took almost half a day. I did all the cleaning by myself. However, to stick the wallpaper, I engaged my family members to help me. Although it's a self-adhesive wallpaper, it's very difficult to stick it straight from the top of the ceiling to the floor. After I failed to get it right for a few times myself, I just called my brother to help positioned the wallpaper near the floor while I stood on the ladder and adjusted it on the ceiling edge. 

Buying More Skin Care Online In 2016

Finally, I registered for Gemfive, The Body Shop and Hermo as well at the end of 2015. Many websites were having year end sales then. My little brother's birthday was around the corner and I planned to buy him a pair of New Balance from Gemfive, however, when I was going through the final process to pay for it, something went wrong, and when I return to the same item few minutes later, it was sold out. Ouch! So I abandoned the plan to buy the shoes. At the end, I gave my brother the money and asked him to buy himself! 

Then, my NRK Rosehip Perfecting Elixir finished in December 2015. I planned to buy a replacement bottle. However, it was sold out. So I looked for other rosehip oil instead. Well, for me, I was willing to try any face oil. There are many types of face oils listed in Gemfive. However, I was choosing base on discount instead of what I really wanted. So, at the end, I bought the Real Nature Rose Essence by Nature Republic instead. It's so bad, not the product, but my greed. Hermo was having a buy 3 free 1 promotion where the cheapest among 4 items was free. So, instead of the original two items that I intended to buy, I ended up with four items.

Well, Since I bought the items during the huge promotion period. I received the items after one week plus. Luckily, it was not something I needed urgently. It came with a huge corrugated box, a bit overkill, I think. Anyway, it's better than a trending on Twitter where a guy in Japan got his one and only persimmon in a huge box from Amazon. 

The items from Hermo came with a very big corrugated box

Empties For Second Half '15

Happy new year! Time flies, it's 2016!

I have been keeping all the used bottles and jars for my skin care products. Now, it's the time to summarise the empties for second half of 2015 and toss it. Hahaha!

Empties for second half 2015

1. St. Ives Daily Hydrating Vitamin E Body Lotion

I bought this body lotion because it was cheaper than Nivea, price per volume wise. I chose the Vitamin E type because well, Vitamin E should be very hydrating. True to St. Ives claims, it is fast absorbing and non greasy. The texture is quite watery and the smell is ok. I applied this right after the night time bath everyday, I had to wipe my body dry first before I applied the lotion, or else it would stay on my skin and not absorbed into my skin. It is a OK body lotion, however, I think it's not moisturising enough for me, sometimes my chest area was itchy, I think the itchiness was due to the dryness of my skin, so after this body lotion, I will go back to Nivea or try other brands. 

2. Veet EasyGrip Ready To Use Wax Strips - 20 Wax Strips + 4 Perfect Finish Wipes (Shea Butter and Berry Fragrance for normal skin)

Well, I don't normally get rid of the hair on my legs. But, when I needed to wear dress, I would do it. I don't want to become the odd one out. I would trim the hair first, then only I used the wax strip to strip away the hair. It's so painful! After that, some adhesive would stay on the skin, so the finish wipes became useful then, I used it to wipe away the adhesive. After waxing, normally the hair will grow back to normal in around three to four weeks time. If I didn't have any functions to attend to, I would left it until the next event.（*^_^*）!