Monthly Archives: August 2012

Trigger-Happy Thursdays: Postman Affair

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Today, I’m battling a very severe case of cramps. Then the lovely postman decides to place all my parcels (three in total) under a dustbin lid. Note that this has also been something I have battled with over the last two years.

Let me talk you on a walk down the cherry lane….

Two years ago I placed a Cath Kidston order online. Cath Kidston’s floral prints are their strongest selling point and they even have their own special floral print postal bags! A few days after I discovered the dustbin lid was right at my doorstep, with the instantly recognisable Cath Kidston print sticking out from the bottom of the lid.

I was furious. What if some passerby saw the package and decided to walk away with it? We don’t have gates here so anyone could simply walk up to my doorstep, nick the package, walk away and I wouldn’t even know that the package was at my doorstep!! O.o

Another incident. I bought some Mario Badescu stuff from Beauty Bay and thought the parcel went missing as it’s been a good two weeks since I received it. Out of frustration I accidentally kicked the lid one day when I was about to enter the house. No guesses as to what I found under the lid. A dusty Beauty Bay package.

I brought this matter up to Royal Mail. They promised it wouldn’t happen again….

Until now.

Good thing is, I do not need to arrange for a redelivery. Or go through the hassle of heading to the main post office to collect the parcel.

The bad? Losing the package, of course! I’m really lucky I live in a good neighbourhood *touches wood* and all my neighbours are lovely people! Which brings me back to when our wheelie bin used to be overflowing with rubbish (usual uni student house trait) and one of our neighbours would always move some of our rubbish bags into his because he was worried that the rubbish collectors wouldn’t empty our bin because it was too full!

 

Again, I digress.

I did not manage to take any Trigger-Happy worthy photos this week as I have been preoccupied with a sudden decision, or opportunity as I should call it to uproot myself from here. The house is currently in a mess as I ponder on whether to keep, to ship or to throw many of my belongings. I’m such a hoarder! :s

Anyway, I have collected quite a substantial amount of Boots Advantage Points and I just had to use it to redeem something of use to me =p

 

The answer to what I got is in the other tab I’ve got on my browser. ;)

Yep, I did indulge in a bit of late night shopping on my day off. =D I am now wondering what the postman has in store for me tomorrow. Till tomorrow, my lovely readers! Much love to all of you. =)

 

 

The Scrubbing Diaries: Purity Organic Skincare’s Facial Exfoliator

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After a long hiatus, my weekly Scrubbing Diaries column is back! Today I present you one of the more unique facial exfoliators I have used – Purity Organic Skincare’s Facial Exfoliator.

 

This is a grainy facial scrub where the grains are made of rounded, ground coconut shells! When I first read this I immediately went

‘Oh dear I sure hope this wouldn’t smell of coconuts!’

Do you think it reeked of coconuts? Read on to find out! =D

I’ll cut the chase and head straight to the point. No it doesn’t. In fact, it doesn’t smell of anything! Formulated for sensitive skins, this product deeply cleans the pores with those ground coconut shells as well as a concoction of softening and moisturising ingredients such as Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Aloe Vera!

I have always used facial exfoliators that leave my skin feeling slightly stripped of moisture and rather tight but this one leaves a smooth film behind, which I initially found slightly uncomfortable. The smooth film-y feeling goes away after a while but as I’m very much used to the taut feeling left by regular scrubs I wasn’t too impressed with the product but I decided to give it another go, this time using less product!

Purity Organic Skincare’s Facial Exfoliator is slightly runnier than the other scrubs I’ve tried, which is why I accidentally squeezed a tad too much onto my palm (about a £2 coin sized blob) and wasn’t too pleased with the results after!

Next time I tried, I only used a pound coin sized amount and the filmy sensation didn’t feel as bad! The scrubby bits of coconut shells are really gentle on the skin but still gritty enough for you to get a good scrub!

I have been trying this out for nearly a month now and even used it when I suffered from that really bad breakout of mine to no adverse effect, which is good as I usually stay away from facial scrubs when I get breakouts as they simply aggravate my skin!

The Facial Exfoliator helped rid me of flaky skin left behind thanks to some really strong zit-busting gel I’ve been using and it did not aggravate my already painful pimples.

This is what the Facial Exfoliator looks like! It does not foam up and just feels really soft and soothes the skin:

The coconut shells are rather sparse and are not chunky at all so rest assured you won’t be getting the scrub of your life with this product!

Retailing at £5.99 housed in a 100ml tube, this is one of the products that I will always have in my shower as I’m glad I stumbled on a gentle exfoliating product that my sensitive skin is happy to use twice to three times a week.

You can check out Purity Organic Skincare’s website here should you like to find out more about their products. This product receives two thumbs up from me! ;)

 

How do you exfoliate? I am a little tempted to give the Clarisonic a go but am worried that my skin would go bonkers!

 

Skin-saving supplement – Vitamin E capsules!

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Just slightly over a week ago my skin was in a terrible state. I rarely suffer from breakouts this bad and this one was the mother of all breakouts I have ever suffered over the years. Thankfully, I remembered a tip given by my dermatologist when I was diagnosed with Impetigo a good 7 years ago. I remember waking up one day with a boil-like pimple and over the next 2 days my entire face looked like it’s covered in pus. Not pretty. I remember it was exam season too and I had two teachers come up to me asking if I was under too much stress. +__+

Thankfully I haven’t suffered from any other skin ailment since but I have some information to share with all of you on how to help our skin heal from a bad case of breakouts, or any skin problems!

 

 

 

I always keep a spare bottle of Vitamin E capsules at home as these capsules can either be ingested or applied directly to the skin.

When applied to the skin, Vitamin E helps to to diminish the appearance of scars as well as hydrate the skin. According to my dermatologist consuming Vitamin E capsules will help accelerate the healing process should our skin decide to go nuts.

I do not consume Vitamin E capsules on a daily basis because I find larger sized capsules rather difficult to swallow. =p So I only force this down my throat when needed and doing so results in the pimples healing faster.

This is just a little tip I thought I’d share with you! I am not sure if this will work for you but if you happen to suffer from a sudden outbreak of pimples and you have run out of ideas, do give this a try! I have read online that you can prick the capsule and apply the oil to scars and this is meant to lighten them. However, I myself have not tried this out as I don’t really like applying oil to my face.

Do you take health supplements? Another supplement I consume is Peppermint oil to help sooth my tummy as I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but that’s a story for another day! =)

 

SK-II Skin Rebooster

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Today, I would like to share one of my favourite ‘lazy’ products: SK-II’s Skin Rebooster. This product is meant to be used as an intensive daily wipe-off gel mask which immediately hydrates the skin, resulting in clear and translucent skin.
Housing 75g of product and comes with a slightly hefty price tag, I do not use this everyday but twice a week!

When Mum purchased this for me, we were advised to apply this onto damp skin whilst having a warm shower and the warm steam will help the mask absorb into the skin. I usually leave this on for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how long my shower takes and then gently rinse with water after.
This product comes with some cotton sheets and you can wipe the mask off with those sheets to gently lift dead skin cells off the skin surface. I personally prefer massaging the mask into my skin and adding a little bit of water in the process of doing so as my skin feels really soft and hydrated after! Must be SK-II’s miracle Pitera ingredient at work! ;)
This is what the product looks like:
Clear, gel-like consistency that feels comfortable when applied to the skin. Some gel-textured products feel a tad tacky when applied but this one simply tickles my fancy!
The best bit of this product is that you can use it all over your eyes and even lips. Be careful not to lick your lips though! I tried it once and let’s just say it’s not something you’d want to try. Ever. =p
I only ever use one pump of product per use because it is pricey and I feel one pump is more than enough for the entire face with some remaining product for the neck! You do not need to slather on a thick layer in my opinion as I doubt our skin can drink such a thick layer of Skin Rebooster in such a short amount of time anyway. ;)
Perfect for lazy days when I don’t feel like putting on a sheet mask! Also, adding this into my shower routine means I am not wasting time, hence more time to procrastinate read!
Any face mask fans out there? Let me know! =)

SK-II Advance Eye Treatment Film

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Eye cream has been a part (or I’ve been trying, at least) of my daily skincare routine for over 5 years now. Over these 5 years, I’ve only ever used up 4 full-sized tubs / tubes of eye products. No, this is not because the products I used really went a long way. It’s simply because I was too lazy to apply them on some days and I would go without using eye creams for weeks at an end. Bad, bad Sukie!

Now that I have started to develop fine lines around my eye area, I take every single step in my skincare more seriously, although there would still be days when I am too much of a sloth to go through the entire routine. ;)

 

SK-II’s Advance Eye Treatment Film has been a staple for me for over 3 years now and I have used up 3 tubes of this over the years, with the other one being Clinique’s All About Eyes cream, in case you were wondering!

This serum is oil-free and is meant to nourish and revitalise the eyes. It is also meant to reduce the look of dehydration lines, according to the official SK-II USA website.

As regular readers will know, I suffer from eye sacks of ginormous proportions and this can be seen in my many FOTDs if you take a peek at my older posts. =p So I have to admit that this product does not work well in the eye sack reducing department. However, I am a huge fan of the texture. It comes out clear and the texture is rather runny but when applied to the eye area, my eyes feel refreshed it absorbs into the skin really quickly which is an added plus.

As much as I love this product, I have a sinking feeling that I have outgrown the SK-II Advance Eye Treatment Film as I find that my eyes need a little more moisture and something more potent as fine lines are starting to develop around my eye area and I am in dire need of a product that will make those sacks disappear.

Do you have any favourite eye creams / gels to recommend? =)

 

News Flash: Blogsale prices reduced! BB Creams and Guerlain!

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Hello lovelies, I hope all of you are having a lovely weekend! I have just reduced the prices on the items in my blog sale as I would really love for each and every item to go to a new home!

As a thank you to all of you who will be supporting my blog sale, I have decided to add in little extras so please do check the sale out at:

 

www.s-blogsales.blogspot.com

 

Thank you all so much and Happy Bank Holiday Weekend!! xxxx

Saturday Meme: 5 Favourite Foods

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Hello, who doesn’t love food? I do, and I love any type of food (some exceptions apply, of course) and I found it incredibly difficult to narrow them down to only 5! I wonder if Stephanie found it tough too. ;)

 

 

1. Bee Hoon / Rice Vermicelli


This photo was taken in September last year, on my birthday itself. My parents send me a love package which consisted of my favourite things! My Auntie and Uncle who live here in the UK think my parents have lost their marbles, sending me Bee Hoon all the way from home when you can get it over here! Thing is, I am a little picky when it comes to rice vermicelli. Some can be really starchy but this particular brand my family has been consuming for over 10 years is really firm and has a really good bite to it. I’d have Bee Hoon over rice anyday. Love my noodles! =D

 

2. Jaffa Cakes


photo source

Hehe I’m terrible aren’t I? Instead of presenting you lovely readers with a nice, enticing photo of Jaffa Cakes I thought it would be funny to show you a screenshot of the Jaffa Cake website with me having to install Flash on my ‘machine.’ ;) I love Jaffa Cakes. At 44 calories each, you get dark chocolate (yay), some cake (although I would love to say it tastes somewhat like a soft biscuit) and zesty Orange jelly in the middle! Downside is that I always eat more than one the minute these come into contact with my mouth a.k.a The Bottomless Pit.

 

3. Butler’s Chocolates

photo source

 

Looks like yours truly is on a roll with screenshots. ;) Okay I promise this is the last! Ever since Mum and I discovered Butler’s Chocolates in Dublin, we are hooked and did you know you get a free chocolate when you purchase a drink at Butler’s Chocolate Cafes? =D

 

4. Roti Canai / Paratha

 

photo source

A Malaysian delicacy. This stuff is cheap. You could get a plain one for approximately 20p. Cheaper if you have this out of town. Check out what Wikipedia has to say about this cheap and yet delicious Indian flatbread. O Roti Canai, I miss you so! This is sold in one of the Malaysian restaurants in London for £4 a piece. I will never fork out that much for something that’s made out of flour and a lot of fat. Never.

 

5. Stir-fry Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion

Yum yum!! I made this a little while ago and this is one of the dishes I will never fail to order should I be having Chinese with my family. Another variant would be Venison with ginger and spring onion. *drools*

 

Being the glutton that I am, I obviously have a lot more than just 5 favourite foods but the lady behind Beaute Fabuleuse was adamant that I only choose 5! =( Now please head over to her blog to see what the ever lovely Stephanie has to say about her 5 favourite foods!

 

Psst!! We both have a little surprise coming up for your readers in next week’s Saturday Meme but we both are still working on it!! It involves a bit of filming which is something we both have never done and we are really shy creatures (yep, creatures) so if you would like to see a video come to life, please give us both a shoutout in the comment box below!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone and I do have more giveaways coming up so stay tuned! xxxx

 

Project Find-A-New-Home Day 3: Some Kiehl’s, Origins and a little extra!

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edit: This has now gone to a new home! Yay! =)

Hello lovelies! I have yet another bunch of goodies to giveaway today!

 

 

On the left we have Balance Me’s Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm, followed by Kiehl’s Calendula Toner and Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief.

All product are brand new and unused so if anyone would like to have it, it’s yours! Please refer to my first post to find out more about this little project of mine! =)

Again, I hope these products find a home! Both the Guerlain Lip Gloss and the Mario Badescu Cleanser from Day one and two have not found a new home yet so do let me know if you would like to have them! xxx

 

Project Find-A-New-Home Day 2: Mario Badescu’s Glycolic Foaming Cleanser

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edit: This has now gone to a new home! Hurray!

In Day 2 of my Project Find-A-New-Home, this 2oz. Glycolic Foaming Cleanser from Mario Badescu is looking for a new home!

 

 

 

Brand new and unused, this product deep cleanses the skin without drying the skin out! I have the full-sized bottle of this and a little goes a very long way so I felt I should give this away to someone who would perhaps benefit from using this! If you have congested skin and wear makeup everyday, this helps clear the skin and rid it from any blackheads! The instructions on how to use the product is printed at the back of the product anyway so I shall keep this short and sweet!

If you are new to Project Find-A-New-Home, hello there and please read this post to find out more about the project. Anyway, the gist of it is that the product is free for anyone who would like to have it and you only need to pay for Postage and Packaging, which will cost £3 (UK residents) for the above product!

Let me know if you would like to own this!

Have a lovely day, everyone! xxx

 

Project Find-A-New-Home Day 1: Guerlain Terracotta Gloss 03 Grenade

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edit: This has now gone to a new home! Hip Hip Hurray!

Currently, I am in the process of de-cluttering and I have found quite a few items that have not been used by yours truly in quite a while so I thought why not give them away?

Read on to find out more!

 

I’m very against throwing things away as these items that I will be giving away can still be used and no, they have not gone rank! These are just some items that I no longer use and simply do not see the point of putting them into blog sales as I only ever place brand new / scarcely used products into a blog sale. So yes, these Find-A-New-Home items would have been used perhaps between 5-10 times but no more than that!

All items that will be under the Find-A-New-Home project are FREE but as I am giving them away, I would appreciate it if the person who wants it would pay for P&P as Royal Mail charges quite a bit for postage these days and I would have to purchase envelopes / bubble wrap and so on as well! I am thinking of capping the P&P charges at £3 for small items such as this Guerlain Terracotta Lipgloss and between £4.50-£5 for heavier items and the above charges will be for delivery within the UK only.

Should you live abroad and would still like to have the product, do let me know and we can work the postage fees out!

P&P can be paid via PayPal as a ‘Gift’ as I’m practically gifting this to you! This giveaway works on a first-come, first-served basis so all you have got to do is leave me a comment and I will e-mail you the details!

Finally, I would really appreciate it if you could help me spread the word around and I would be ever so grateful if you can follow me via GFC / Bloglovin / E-mail / Hello Cotton / Twitter as all good things must be shared and I really want all my less loved items to find a happy home! ;)

Now for the giveaway bit! I’m firing off this project with a Guerlain Lipgloss that has been used between 8-10 times, never used on the lips as I always swipe lipgloss on the back of my hand (which I always wash before applying any product) and apply with a lip brush! The doe foot applicator has never touched my lips so don’t worry about having drool-bacteria running about inside this product! =D

What are you waiting for? ;)

xxxx