Sunday, August 10, 2014

My Sweet Tooth Story - Nadeje Mille Crepe

During the last couple of weeks, I went to Malacca with my family! On our second day, we stopped by Nadeje to try out their Mille Crepe cakes! I've never ate a mille crepe cake before in my life, although somewhere in the town near to my hostel, there's a cafe selling mille crepe as well, I've still never tried any of them before. Maybe I wanted to save the first time for the best? Haha. People always say "save the best for the last" but this was totally the opposite. 

A crepe is a kind of thin pancake made of wheat flour, while "mille crepe" means French cake made of many layers of crepe. The word "Mille" means "a thousand", pointing to the numerous layers of crepe that make up the cake itself. Between the crepe lies layers of cream, flavor depending on the cake itself. 

It sounded so much like a guilty pleasure, but I just can't resist trying them out! Even if it breaks the screen on my bathroom scale! :P I have a sweet tooth and an extra stomach just for dessert purposes, so I definitely cannot miss this!

After reaching the cafe, it was literally flooded with people! Seriously, I felt bad making my family and my brother's girlfriend waiting for us to be seated. There was so many people in the waiting line until I wondered whether should I just order take away. The take-away line was so empty, there was no line whatsoever. In the end, I decided to queue up and wait no matter what. We can't just leave without enjoying the ambience for a little bit, can we? 

The cafe was so considerate for the waiting line, they even provided long benches for customers to sit and rest, while the others lining up. After waiting for about 15-20 minutes, we finally get to enter the cafe! Also because we chose to sit outdoors rather than indoors. That's when I realized so many people preferred to sit indoors. For the air-cond? Haha. Just joking!

The cafe itself was decorated, I can say, kind of luxurious. It felt expensive, and the furniture in the cafe were tasteful. I can see they made the effort to make the cafe look like a high class cafe where people go and enjoy some hi-tea. Too bad I didn't take any photos of the interior, I was too busy rushing to our seats outdoors and grab the menu as fast as I can! *stomach rumbles*

Well, I don't really know what to order, but anyhow we ordered Mango Yogurt and Tiramisu Mille Crepe. Along with some drinks to refresh ourselves!

Mango Yogurt Mille Crepe
I love mangoes, that's why I ordered the Mango Yogurt Mille Crepe after flipping through their menu. Honestly, it was hard for me to even choose one because I had the urge to try every single cake in the house. I told myself, "Self control!" and just ordered one.

On the other hand, my brother ordered Tiramisu for no apparent reason. I guess it looked tasty. Haha. Btw, it's alcoholic. I even worried I might sleep on the table itself, because I get knocked out whenever any alcoholic stuff exceeds my tolerance level. Luckily, this one wasn't so strong (?) haha. This cake had high quality of Mascarpone Cheese from Galbani, Italy. I don't really know what is that cheese, I mean, I don't even know the place Galbani. Still, I was super excited to try it out! *Gobble gobble*



The cakes were all so yummy! They have numerous layers of crepe interlacing between the cream. Since there was a generous amount of cream in one piece of cake, it wasn't too yucky. The cream was soft and smooth, not too sweet. I can see that each layer was made with their best effort. They were so even and pretty, I even stopped eating to admire the cake itself for a while. Before it gets complete devoured by us! Mwahaha! Om nom nom!

Nadeje has branches at different locations now, even in Klang Valley! The one I visited was in Mahkota Parade, though. They are so heavenly delicious .. I would so revisit again in the near future, if possible! <3 <3 <3



Thursday, August 7, 2014

Mothers Day GIft!

Today I'm gonna post about something I completely forgot, some skincare stuff I bought for my mum months ago!

It's about a bunch of Laneige skincare stuff I bought for my mum as a gift for Mothers' Day! My mum saw the remarkable whitening effects that Laneige had done to my skin and was awed by it. She herself wanted to use Laneige products as well, but buying it here was too costly. She wanted me to buy it some time later, since she still have some expensive skincare stuff in her beauty stash. However, since it was Mothers' Day, I wanted to give her a surprise! I bought some products from the Laneige White Plus Renew line in Qoo10 without letting her know. Mwahahah. Also, I've checked that the products can be kept for 3 years unopened. So my mum can keep this in her beauty stash. Haha.

I bought this from a different seller (Pretty Shop) since I wanted to buy full-sized product instead of sample-sized ones. Full-sized products are definitely much more expensive than samples, so I spent RM300+ on 3 items! But it's definitely worth it (and the most expensive gift I've ever gave to my mum). When I start to earn my own money, I will surely buy more things for her! Hehe.

I received the parcel in a good condition and the items were well-wrapped by bubble wraps.
I was very satisfied with the seller's service and the shipping took about 2 weeks.



This time round, I bought a total of 3 Laneige products from the White Plus Renew line. They are the Original Essence, Skin Refiner and Original Cream.

The seller was extremely generous and gave me a huge bunch of samples! I was really surprised by the number of samples, I mean, there were like 10 of them! Most of the samples were from Laneige but there were also some miscellaneous ones given. I appreciate the "culture" of giving out free samples when we buy skincare products! It gives us more opportunities to try out different products and discover new stuff! We might even find out favorite skincare/makeup products from trying out various samples. The best thing is, they are FREE!! God save my wallet :D

My mum was almost overjoyed to see what I got for her. Of course she mentioned again about endless beauty stuff and skincare products she already own and wanted to stuff these 3 back into my stash. But it's certainly a NO NO! I bought it for her and I wanted her to use them, not me. :D 

I was very glad with the service and delivery and everything done by the seller. The products are not imitation stuffs, either! That's already a good thing because a lot of people sell fake products online. I'm just glad I bought them for my mum. And I got a whole lot of samples for myself too! <3

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Review - L'Oreal Series Expert Absolut Repair Cellular Masque

Wow, it has been a week plus since I last posted anything. I was too caught up with outings, random shopping and of course, sleep. My favourite thing in the world. SLEEP! Oink oink!

Well, time for another review. This time round, it's a hair masque by L'Oreal!

I rarely use hair masque except for times when I visit the salon. Sometimes I get the chance to use them when I do hair treatment, but I barely do treatments. Heck, I barely care for my hair. That's why it ended up totally dried up and super damaged. And the color changed from black to brown. My mum always said my hair did not obtain enough "nutrition", but I don't really pay attention in taking care of my hair. Since I got this repairing masque from The Lilac Box 7, I might as well try it out! :D


Product Description:
L'Oreal Series Expert Absolut Repair Cellular Lactic Acid Repairing Masque 
(75ml / 2.55 fl.oz.)

Repairing masque for very damaged hair.

Lactic acid is able to create saline bonds between the keratin chains exposed in the cortex of damaged hair fibres. As it transformed, hair is left soft, supple with a natural-looking shine.

Usage Directions :
Apply and work into shampooed hair or towel dried hair. Leave on for two minutes. Rinse.

Ingredients
AQUA/WATER, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CANDELLIA CERA/CANDELLIA WAX, AMODIMETHICONE, CETYL ESTERS, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, GLYCERIN METHYLPARABEN, TRIDECETH-6, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, LACTIC ACID, LINALOOL, SODUM HYDROXIDE, CHLORHEXIDINE DIHYDROCHLORIDE, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, LIMONENE, HEXYL CINNAMAL, 2-OLEAMIDO-1,3-OCTADECANEDIOL, CL 19140 / YELLOW 5, CL 15985 / YELLOW 6, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE

Made in Spain

Review :
My first impression of this product is that it felt almost like cheese. It's kind of slippery to touch, but more solid than a gel at the same time. Not to mention that it's yellow in color. Yep. There's no mistake. Definitely cheese in a jar.

After using it, my hair did become soft and smoother. More manageable too. I did not see any split ends on my hair after using this product, so I would say it's pretty effective in repairing my damaged hair. Maybe because it wasn't that dry anymore, I see some shine(?) when I observe my hair closely. But it's not super shiny until the other galaxy can see me, nothing like that. 

One pleasant thing I noticed (and I'm really glad) is that it did not have the sticky effect like the shampoo from the same Lactic acid series. At first I thought the sticky effect was because of the LACTIC ACID, in which it's not a common ingredient in hair products. But I guess it wasn't really because of that, as I did not experience any stickiness after using this product. 

Overall, I'm pleased with the results! But I'm still getting used to adding this "hair masque" thing into my hair routine (I don't have a hair routine, really. Just shampoo and conditioner, the most). To be honest, I was quite lazy to wait for another 2 minutes in the bathroom, but I will continue to do so until this product finishes. :P I'm a lazy bum. That's my nature.

My Verdict:
Pros:
  • Makes hair soft and smooth
  • Repairs my damaged hair and split ends
Cons:
  • Shine effect is not obvious

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Book Haul!

Before July ends, I want to post something different!
Well, I received my book vouchers of RM 250 before my holiday started. 

At that time, I was contemplating whether to use it to buy medical books a.k.a my textbooks, or just spend them on some good books that I've been dying to read. 

Whenever I pass by Popular bookstore in Sunway Carnival Mall, I will get tempted again and again to buy their books. Because, they keep having this RM 8 promotion. It's like each book cost RM 8 or above. The most expensive I think will only be RM 20. 
At first there were a bunch of thriller and mystery novels on the shelf, but when I finally decided to buy some books there, those books just went "poof!". They were replaced by romance novels *which most of the books look kinda slutty* Goddamit, I should've bought them earlier! I was always hesitating to buy non-academic books because I'm worried that they will just sit at my home and collect dust. I super regretted that I hesitated for so long. Nevertheless, I still went on a book haul with my book vouchers! 

At first I went to The Roof at First Avenue for some event, together with my parents. We were bored during the event, so my mum and I left The Roof for a while and went to get some fresh air in 1 Utama. We planned to do some window shopping, but our shoes wouldn't let us. I was wearing a pair of new flats, which was "eating up" my legs and I was beginning to get boils around my ankles. My mum, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of heels. 

After 30 seconds of entering 1 Utama, we decided to just find a place to eat some snacks and rest (most importantly, to SIT. Haha.) We first saw Pizza Milano, which is an Italian pasta restaurant. I was not in the mood for any pizza, of course, so did my mum. Well, anyway we just sat there and ordered DESSERT. LOL. While my mum was having fun with her Ipad, I finished up the dessert and went to Popular Bookstore, which was just right opposite Pizza Milano. All the books I bought was mostly related with music. I know it will take me a million years to just learn a song, still I splurged RM150 onto 4 books. Two on piano, one on guitar, and one crosswords book. 


Ultimate Piano by Nick Freeth and 
Play The Piano Made Easy by Alan Brown and Jake Jackson

The Complete Guitar Course by Tom Fleming

Crossword by Parragon
Something to improve my vocabulary :P 
or a "copy answer book"


After a few weeks, I went to Sunway Pyramid with my secondary school buddies, and from Popular Bookstore again, I bought an ENCYCLOPEDIA!! It's about animals. AGAIN, of course, the encyclopedia took me 30 minutes to decide on it. Until one of my friend *who was waiting for me* ended up sitting on the floor at the magazine section to update herself about celebrity gossip news. Haha. My other friend was also hesitating with me, just that her "target" was comic books and others. She's a all-time major hardcore anime fan. Hehe.

I'm really glad I bought this Animal Encyclopedia! I kept pondering on which encyclopedia to buy, as under the Highlights section there were 2 encyclopedia on display. One was about animals, and the other one was about science discoveries. The books were sealed and I didn't know that I can actually go to the counter to rip them off, so I kept hesitating. In the end I chose the animal one, because after studying the "science discoveries" book COVER carefully, I found out that I already knew some of the stuff included in that encyclopedia (I mean, I already studied science for so years, those were the people who invented some stuff, bla bla, microscope, etc)


Animal - The Definitive Visual Guide To The World's Wildlife by DK

The book cover is SOOO COOOL! Absolutely diggin the cover, you know why? It looked like a zebra with an INTENSE stare *or maybe a sleepy stare* and I thought that was it. 

But it wasn't. 

When I touched it, I was like "Whoa! Hold your horses zebras!!" The black stripes of the zebra felt like popped up fabric on the cover. Haha I wasn't expecting that so it came to me as a surprise! 

At the end of the day, I'm really happy that I bought these books instead of medical books. I guess I need to have a life outside textbooks, after all. :D

Friday, July 25, 2014

Review - Nivea Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Oil Control Foam

Today I'm going to review about a cleanser I've just started using recently. I've had this cleanser since forever, I wondered why I haven't been using it? Also, my skin started peeling/flaking off again since the weather is getting super hot nowadays. So I stopped using my Melaleuca cleanser which is too drying for me. It was already running out, anyway. Hehe.

While going for a vacation a couple of weeks ago, I brought it with me since it's of a smaller size and is travel convenient. I'm glad I started using this because it's definitely one of the best cleansers I've used!

Product Description :

NIVEA Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Whitening Oil Control Foam (50 g)
Skin looks its best when it's flawless even without makeup and with less visible pores.
New NIVEA Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Oil Control Foam with innovative White Acne Prevention Technology and toner ingredient that is 2x smaller molecule does not whiten but also deeply cleanse to purify 5 impurities for that perfectly refined & fairer skin from all angles. 

DOES NOT CLOG PORES.
Skin compatibility dermatologically approved.
Free of colorants.

Usage Direction :
Apply gently to wet face, neck and decollete by massaging in small upward circles, avoiding the eye area. Rinse off with lukewarm water.

Ingredients
Aqua, Potassium Myristate, Propylene Glycol, Potassium Palmitate, Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Potassium Laurate, PEG-150, PEG-8, Glyceryl Stearate, Carnitine, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Lactate, Aluminium Chlorohydrate, Cera Alba, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Potassium Arachidate, BHT, Trisodium EDTA, Potassium Oleate, Alcohol Denat., Polysorbate 20, Parfum

Packaging :
The scent reminded me of the fragrance that always emanates out of the Lovely Lace shop. It also sorta smelled like baby powder. A calming scent, I would say. :D But those who find Lovely Lace's fragrance annoying may think that the aroma is a little bit overwhelming. For me, it's still acceptable :) It has a soothing effect on my mind, just like aromatherapy.

Review :
It forms a rich foam lather that's rather thicker and creamier than the usual foam cleansers.
After rinsing off, my face feels squeaky clean and all the oils on my face are washed off completely. I really like the feeling of having an extremely clean face, but I heard that it's not good if a face wash leaves your face squeaky clean as it removes all the oils on your face, including the natural oils that prevents skin from drying out. Even so, my face did not become overly drying nor skin flaking off. So, I guess this product is less drying than my previous Melaleuca cleanser. 

My pores, especially those on my nose, definitely became less visible and my blackheads were reduced. One thing I realize after using this cleanser was that my nose became shiny! Haha. Is it weird? It's not shiny because of oily, but it's because my nose is just so clean after rinsing and drying my face! 

Well, I didn't really notice any whitening changes, they may be masked by the effects of my whitening skincare routine! :D Anyway, I myself really like this cleanser! I should have started using this a long time ago, since it also has acne prevention technology. For now, I seldom have acne except for the time of the month, so I can't really comment about the acne prevention effects. But I can say that my acne definitely pop out less often after using this product! I absolutely love this cleanser, especially the scent!

My Verdict :

Pros :
  • Leaves skin squeaky clean and oil-free
  • Pores visibly reduced

Cons :
  • None


What do you think about this product? I'd love to know! :D


**This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are honest and the product(s) are bought with my own money.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Review - L'oreal Series Expert Absolut Repair Shampoo

Time for another hair product! I've finished up the Schwarzkopf Bonacure Oil Miracle Shampoo (read my review here) and it was awesome! But I will need to finish up all my "pending" shampoos before buying a new one. 

Today's product is from the famous brand L'Oreal! I've never tried any L'Oreal hair products before. I'm very glad that I got one of their hair products from The Lilac Box 7! From the box, I received a repairing masque from the same line as well. But that will be in another review! Shampoo review for today!

Product Description :
(from their website)


L'oreal Series Expert Absolut Repair cellular Shampoo 100ml

  • Repairing shampoo for very damaged hair
  • Nourishes the fiber and repairs very damaged hair

Série Expert, a complete haircare system with exclusive home care regimens and in-salon treatments, features innovative molecular precision technology. The advanced technology behind this range allows formulas to target specific parts of hair to help deliver long-lasting results. With a range for every hair type, Série Expert provides the nourishing protection needed to achieve beautiful, healthy looking hair.




Healthy hair is hair where the cell structures and ionic bonds are intact and strong. In sensitized and damaged hair, cortex cells are disconnected, weakening the internal structure and leaving the hair dry, rough and dull.
Very dry, damaged hair needs intense repair from the inside out. And for solution comes your Date: with the new Lactic Acid Technology has the power to reach to the heart of the hair fiber to repair broken bonds while simultaneously working at the surface of the hair to smooth the cuticle for a shiny, glossy finish.
Just in 10 days of daily using of Absolut Repair Cellular Shampoo and Masque, your hair becomes 74% stronger and 83% softer and more conditioned.

Hair type : 
For very dry, damaged hair

Benefit : 
Damaged hair adores this fabulous shampoo. Enriched with Lactic Acid technology, the formula gently eliminates residue while protecting the hair fiber for regained strength and shine.

Application : 
Distribute evenly through wet hair and lather. Rinse thoroughly. Repeat process if necessary.

Ingredients :
Aqua/water, sodium laureth sulfate, coco0betaine, glycol distearate, sodium chloride, amodimethicone, disodium cocoamphiodiacetate, polyquaternium-6, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, sodium benzoate, salicylic acid, carboner, sodium glycolate, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, trideceth-6, lactic acid, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, cetrimonium chloride, limonene, 2-oleamido-1,3-octadecanediol, Cl 19140/yellow 5, Cl 15985/yellow 6, sodium hydroxide, citric acid, parfum/fragrance C45171/1
Made in Spain

Packaging :

I got a smaller sized bottle of 100ml. It's quite solid upon holding it, but you still can squeeze out the product. It might get harder to squeeze as the shampoo becomes lesser, but I absolutely love the packaging of this shampoo, especially it's golden hue with a beige undertone. Maybe it's just me, but the golden color made it looked classy. :P

This product smells amazing! Its scent resembled a mix of lemon and aloe vera. At first "sniff" it smelled just like Nature Republic Aloe Vera Gel, but slowly a lemon scent radiates out of the bottle. It just smells so good! :D

It works into a rich lather without effort! It felt refreshing with it's lemony scent. 

My hair is dry and pretty much damaged by the sun instead of hair dyes. I never dyed my hair in my whole life, but I ended up having brown-colored hair .. The only explanation is sunlight! (or some genetic change zomg!). According to The Lilac Box, this shampoo rebuilds the ionic junctions which ensure cohesion within the fibre. Means, it is able to make your hair stronger and reduce split ends, since it enhances cohesion within hair fibres. It is also able to form saline bonds between keratin chains exposed in the cortex of damaged hair.

After using it, my hair did became softer and easier to manage. It didn't leave a super wonderful magical shiny finish, still my hair ends looked much better and healthier! It's appears as if I never had dry/damaged hair. Split ends was also gone too! (Suddenly my hair looks so good) However, it doesn't solve my dandruff problem as I still can see some "snowflakes" on my scalp. My dandruffs are "permanent residents" of my scalp, so I wouldn't blame this product for not doing anything in getting rid of my dandruffs.

One major thing I realize from using this product was that my hair becomes stiff and sticky after one day. It was fine on the day I washed it, but the day after felt like hell. It gave me the feeling of "I didn't wash my hair" and was hard to manage. But the odd thing was, it only occurs around my "frontal hairzone" - around my loooooong fringe. I did not have sticky hair at my hair ends. Weird. Maybe it's the lactic acid technology or whats not.

My verdict :

Pros :
  • Lathers up easily
  • Nice scent
  • Makes hair softer, manageable right after wash
  • Scalp less oilier, healthy hair ends
Cons :
  • Doesn't leave a shiny finish
  • Doesn't work on dandruffs
  • Hair becomes sticky after 1 day
Have you ever tried this product? Does it work in repairing your hair? Let me know! :D


**This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are honest and the product(s) are bought with my own money.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Review - Oriks Gemstone Nano Platinum Aqua Watery Cream

Time for another review! Today's product is gonna be Oriks Gemstone Nano Platinum Aqua Watery Cream!

I got this from the Vanity Trove months ago (read the post here) but haven't used it as it was tucked away in my beauty stash. Now that the weather is all HOT HOT HOT and my face is playing tricks on me again. My T-zone gets oily fast, and my U-zone dries up even faster, it's time for some hydration stuff!



Product Description :


Oriks Gemstone Nano Platinum Aqua Watery Cream (1g x 3ea)
Our NP Gemstone Soothing Cream protects and repairs your skin. The fresh texture and the aquatic scent and the formula provide vitality, freshness and hydration that lasts all day long.

It contains Recoverine which are Patent Nano Platinum particles surrounded by Ginsenocide.

Made in Korea

Suitable for all skin types and makeup use.

How to use : 
Apply evenly on face after using toner and serum/essence.

Ingredients :
Aqua, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, PEG-32, Glycerin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Colloidal Platinum, Fragrance, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, imperata Cylindrica Root Extract, PEG-8, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Potassium Sorbate, Diamond powder, Nephrite Powder, Pearl Powder, Amethyst Powder, Amber Powder, Tourmaline, Coral Powder, Ruby Powder

Packaging :
The box contained 3 capsules of cream in cute pink packaging. The box itself is so shiny and deflecting that even I myself had a hard time shooting it. Haha. At first I thought I will need to cut the opening of the capsule, but turns out it was conveniently designed for opening in the packaging itself. I just pressed down the top part of the capsule and "pop!", a small opening comes out! Cute, right? The flatter side of the capsule can be teared off, just like how you would open a new contact lens container. It reveals the cream which is a translucent gel-like cream. 

Review :
I was surprised by the amount of minerals contained in this product! It contains seven minerals in total that boasts different functions :

Nephrite : Improve on blood circulation
Coral : Hydrating
Pearl : Anti-Ageing
Amethyst : Exfoliating
Diamond : Skin Renewal
Amber : Soothing
Ruby : Calming

As you can see, that's a lot of functions in one product!  It's is in gel-like form, but upon application, it becomes watery and melts away easily. However, after application, my face looks shiny/oily. It was somewhat sticky, and still remain so after having it overnight. To be honest, the stickiness was a little bit annoying. Even so, my skin felt smooth and appeared matte after washing it off the next day. It didn't cause any breakouts throughout all three times of using it. I didn't feel any calming effect though, maybe because I kept getting bothered with the stickiness. Since I've only used it several times, I can't really comment about the other effects like anti-ageing, skin renewal, blood circulation improvement etc.

My Verdict :

Pros :

  • Leaves face moisturized and smooth
  • Face becomes matte after washing off
Cons :
  • Sticky after application
  • Skin looks super shiny/oily
  • Contain lots of paraben

Have you tried this product before?


**This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are honest and the product(s) are bought with my own money.