Back blogging

I have took some time off the blog.
Life has been really hectic ever since I have started work about 2 months ago and that I have been neglecting this blog.

I have moved from the city to a sleepy small town for work.
I am still trying to adapt the life of a small town and I have been a little homesick. I just miss the bustling and busy lifestyle of the city and the wide array of entertainment that it offers.
There's no shopping malls right here which is a real bummer for me.

My life here have been the most uninteresting. My schedule is pretty much wake up, work and sleep.
I always try to go back home if I get a long break from work aka 2 days off straight.
It has been a little tough to adapt to this new environment, to live up to everyone's expectation and pleasing people, be efficient and fast but not making any mistakes.
It does take a toll emotionally but thank goodness I do have good support around me and retail therapy always does it for me.

This month is my birthday month. I guess it's a great month to return back to blogging.
I will try to keep this blog alive with content.

Stay tune for some past and new content

Around Malaysia : Day 3 : Ipoh : Food, food, food

The third day in Ipoh started out with food hunting.
Most coffee shops open at 7am and by noon food will sold out. If you want to have a taste of Ipoh's finest delicacy, it's a must to wake up early. As they say, early bird catches the worms.

Our first stop is Thean Chun Coffee Shop.
This coffee shop is fame for their Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun which translates into Ipoh Chicken Strands River Noodles.
It is a soup based dish served with flat rice noodles, strands of chicken and chives.

If you see red in the soup. Fear not, it's not chili or anything spicy.
The colour comes from prawn shells which serves as the stock of the soup to give the soup a rich and sweet flavour.

A lovely bowl of kai si hor fun, the flavours in the broth is very rich.

We are told that the Popiah from this coffee shop is great too and we ordered a wet version and a deep-fried version to try out.

I prefer the wet version better as I am not into deep fried popiah but both taste equally good.

A cup of Ipoh White Coffee and Caramel Custard.

This shop is not the shop for white coffee but we are already in Ipoh, we wanted to try it out to compare it to the fame Ipoh White Coffee shop that we will try later on.
The Caramel Custard is great, the smell of eggs is very strong and fragrant in this little custard. They didn't skim on the ingredients while making this sweet dessert.

After breakfast, we visited Concubine Lane.
It is said this place used to be the place where tycoons hid their mistresses thus the name Concubine Lane. Today, this place has turn into a tourist attraction.

There are lots of street arts around the place. You just have to hunt for them.
There's a map stating the locations of the street arts. If you still can' decode it, ask the locals, they would be happy to tell you the exact locations.

This piece of Street Art depictates how Ipoh used to be a tin mining town before it become the Ipoh we see this very day.

Time for more food. You can't just get enough food when you are out travelling.
This time around we stop by this shop called Xin Quan Fang for their curry noodles.

The dry curry noodles.
It's good but I am more a fan of Penang style curry noodles. So any curry noodles other from Penang is just alright for me.

The wet version.

Finally we stopped by Nam Heong for the fame Ipoh White Coffee. This is the moment I have been waiting for, this is my purpose for visiting Ipoh.
This has to be the best cup of coffee I have tried. It's rich and aromatic. The coffee leans acidic so it might not be for everyone but I really don't mind the acidity. In fact, the acidity is what gives this coffee its flavour.

This is our final food stop. It's the Mapo Wantan Mee Restaurant.
Wan Tan Mee is egg noodles.

At time point, I was too full to even eat. I left the tasting to the rest while retiring from eating for the day.

Dried Wan Tan Noodles.

Dumpling soup.

Our trip in Ipoh ended with this food journey all around Ipoh 

Tips & Tricks : Saving money when buying makeup.

On this very post, I am going to share my money saving tips and tricks when it comes to makeup shopping or how I save money when buying makeup products.

Couponing is not a thing in Malaysia nor big clearance discounts. When I was in Moscow, I had the luxury to get high end makeup at a much discounted price during seasonal clearance or 50% off storewide sales. 

Since being back here in Malaysia this has not been an option, so, I have found myself searching high and low for other methods and ways to save money or get money back through my shopping addiction. 

The first tip is a no brainer, that is participate in sales. Sephora has a biyearly 20% off storewide and sitewide, this is the best time to stock up or fulfill your wishlist. Even other e-commerce websites like Hermo.my do always have sales going around, do often check their website to keep track of sales. The last big sale they did was a 70% off L'oreal, Maybelline products. Doesn't that sound so tempting? So, do check on the website daily or subscribe to their e-letters if you can't bother but I recommend you to check in daily and click on attendance to collect points. 500 points is RM5 off! Starting this year Qoo10.com.my (one of the places I shop for K-beauty) always have coupons to be claimed on the website which is going to give you discounts when purchasing from the website.

Find cheaper options online.Like for K-beauty, the markup prices in stores can be astronomical. Do look around on online websites for cheaper prices. I often purchase my K-beauty from Qoo10, Hermo.my, Ebay and Roseroseshop.
Another tip, is to shop on UK websites, UK websites are very international customer friendly, they ship almost to everywhere. The good thing when you shop from UK websites, when you are outside the UK and European Region, you get VAT excluded. That is as good as shopping from the duty free.

This tip is from me and you are going to thank me. Shop on Carousell. You never know what treasures you might come across. Carousell is a platform to sell or buy preloved or brand new stuffs. I have encountered a few sellers who sold their brand new untouched luxury brand makeup products for more than 50% off market price. You can also get preloved makeup products and the prices are way cheaper than market price. Ofcourse it's not for germophobes or fussy buyers but certain products spraying or dipping in alcohol will do the job. I am very careful when I buy preloved products, I usually go for foundations or if it's others, it's either swatched once and never used or used once and never. Look at the pictures provided carefully or ask for extra pictures if in doubt.
I have bought a few gems from the site. Also, becareful when shopping on the site, do read the description thoroughly and if there's any unanswered question, do not hesitate to contact the seller and enquire. And, check on the seller's feedbacks!

I hope I don't get backfired by this because I know it is shady but buy tester units. Sometimes you just wanna try that luxury brand so badly but you just don't have enough money to spare or you just don't want to spend that huge amount of money on that particular makeup. This is when tester units will do the job. Much lower than market price, exactly the same product.

Also in Guardian or Watsons, never buy anything in full price.Wait for discounts or sales. It will come. 

Shopback.my. At first I thought this website is a dud bit after trying it myself it works and I got my cashbacks. It is sort of like the Ebates of Malaysia. You have to click on the websites you wish you to shop on the shopback page and if you shop using the particular page, you will get cashback. The referral links won't bring you to any sketchy websites. It will bring you to the official page of the website you wish to shop.
Sometimes, they do have some promotion like higher percentage of cashbacks and they will advertise any sales going on on online shopping sites.


Hope my tips and tricks is going to help you all to save money when buying makeup.

Also, I am not sponsored in any shape or form to mention the websites I have mentioned in my post. 

Around Malaysia : Day 2 : Ipoh : Sunway Tambun at night

The second day in Ipoh, we ended our night with a hot spring bath in Sunway Lost World of Tambun.
They had some sort of promotion going on that time, it was like buy 1 free 1 for the hot spring bath at night.
I was really excited as I never tried a hot spring bath before eventhough I visited Iceland and never went to the Blue Lagoon or there's so many hot springs just across the mountains near my house.

I did not take as many pictures during our hot spring session because I thought it won't be really polite to take pictures of people bathing in hot spring and we looked like we were ran over by the train at the end of the day.

The hot springs.
There are many temperatures for the spring ranging from 39-45 degrees. I kinda forgot on the temperatures available but there were 5-6 pools available. So there's enough space for everyone.
Different temperatures for different people. Different people? More like different human adaptation.

At first the spring water just felt too hot for us but after adaptation, we found it really relaxing. It's like being wrap in warm cotton wool.
I did tried the hottest spring but I felt it's still too hot for me. Guess I couldn't adapt to that temperature.

Aftermath of hot spring. I guess I did not look too bad with my wet hair and makeup into hot spring.
I would not have done any makeup if haven't I came to the hot spring from somewhere in the day.

That's how we ended our second day in Ipoh.

The next day I woke up really sore and tired as if I have hiked 12km the day before. Is this the effect of a hot spring bath? 

Beauty and consumerism.

With the constant releases and introducing of new beauty launches and trends and glorifying of them by beauty youtubers or "gurus", it can be said that the beauty world has taken a tremendous step in the promotion of consumerism.

Beauty world is not like the beauty world we used to know. Where brands will only be releasing their latest collection every season and Vogue magazine will be the front liner in filtering and introducing the products in their publishes. As opposed to what we see now. New releases every week.
Beauty youtuber and "guru" hyping high and low on new products before they are even launched to create the great hype. Also that "limited edition" trick that has been overused that you don't even know which is limited edition and which isn't.

When I  first started following youtube, I was one of those girls who got swept along the wave, I caught on every hype and I was spending big money on items that youtubers rave and hype about, but as time goes by, I find everything to be really overwhelming and suffocating.
Trends changes and new beauty releases come out so fast that you can't catch up with it and also, you do not have the disposable income to be hoping on every single "trendy" product.
Beauty launches are getting more and more gimmicky and some launches are the same old things over and over again.
How much innovation and creativity can be put into a launch when the turnover is lightning fast. Every few weeks there are new launches, new releases.

With this trend of consumerism, it's definitely great for companies, they are earning the big bucks.

But for us, the consuming end, we end up with truck load of untouched or barely used makeup product because they are not 'trendy' anymore, they are something you would not reach out on a daily basis, you have the similar shade or they are just not practical for everyday use.

If you take your time and slowly calculate through the amount of barely used/untouched makeup, the amount of money spent is large and imagine how much money you would have saved if you practice smart consumerism and not get swept by trend or hype.
Also, imagine how much waste we had produced.
Take a moment and imagine what if there are a million of girls like you with the same amount of barely touched/ untouched makeup. That mountain of waste, how many gallons of waste will that be equivalent to. 

I was going through my vanity and I was woken up by the fact that I have so many items but how many of these items I actually use or will reach out to? I myself know that I would only probably use 10% of the items I own.
The rest? "beautiful trash". That's what I call them.

I know it's very contraindicating for me to do a post as such, since I do do and post a lot of haul. Mindless haul post I would say.
Haul post that I have been posting are my past haul that I have saved in my draft for ages and forgetting to post them.
I have been cutting down massively on my hauls and I have been controlling my purchases.
I am really thriving to be a smart consumer. Purchase things that I really need or really love. I do not want materialistic items to overtake my life and drown me in. 

Storytime : Criss cross parcel

Just not too long ago, I experienced what people would call horror if you are an avid online shopper. A criss crossed parcel. Receiving a parcel that's not yours and someone else receiving your parcel.

It started out with me ordering an item from a website called Qoo10.com.my on one very fine day. I have ordered from this site for as long as I have known this site, maybe almost 4-5 years and I have never experienced any bad service from their courier service which is Qexpress and Skynet (in Malaysia). It is my first time experiencing such a mistake from them.

Actually I am not even frustrated because mistake like this do happen.
When I knew the parcel was not mine. I contacted the seller and Qexpress as there were no invoice in the parcel so I could not contact the owner. The seller and Qexpress did reply me very promptly on the issue. Later on, they diverted the issue to Skynet.
So after that Skynet did all the investigation and they did enquire me about the parcel I was holding in hand. They asked for pictures of the condition of the parcel and how they are finding the other person who was holding on to the parcel and they will the one incharge retrieving the parcel back and sending it back to the respective owner.

I kept the parcel I received in order.  Yes, I did open the box because the name on the parcel was to me and I thought it was mine till I open the box up and saw the items were not mine. I did not remove any bubble wrap or packaging from the parcel and kept it the state as how I received it.

What had angered me the most was when they found the person who was holding my parcel.
So, let's call her Mrs. N and her daughter.
Mrs N. called my mum to deliver her parcel back when we already had Skynet involved in this and she has the nerves to call my mum to deliver her parcel her?
My mum was involved in this because I got the parcel sent to her office.

We ignored her plea and we said we are going to let Skynet collect the parcel from me to be delivered to you. Simple as that.

So, when I got my items in a plastic bag instead my box, I wasn't too happy. When I opened it, to my disgust, my items has been opened. It's pretty obvious to tell that a foundation has been used.
I contacted Mrs. N telling her why was she using my items. I did it out of frustration but I don't think anyone could keep their chill.
I was disappointed that Skynet did not check the items thoroughly too. They did ask me for pictures regarding the condition of the person's items and I wondered why couldn't they do the same to mine.

Mrs. N replied that on the day she received the parcel, she gave it straight away to her daughter before her daughter left to other states and she confirmed that her daughter did not touch the items. She kept defending her daughter.
If her daughter did not touch my items why was it opened and used? It can't be the delivery man trying to open and use my stuffs while returning it back to me.
Why did she removed the bubble wrap and threw the box away because you could already see the item is not yours?


I know how protective mothers can be but it is wrong to defend her daughter for what she has done.
Maybe I went overboard with accusing her daughter but all I wanted was an honest apology and maybe some solution.

If the item is not yours, do not alter any shape or form of the condition you have received the item and leave it as it is and get to the the courier company.
Also, to parents, do not defend your child if they have done anything wrong, tell them to apologize, teach them the right way. 

Skin talk : morning routine

I am going to get close and personal with you guys about my skin
In this post, I am going to talk about my skin condition and also my skincare routine. What I do to take care of my skin.

My skintype is dry/combination.

I am gonna insert a HD picture of my skin over here. Taken with my Samsung Camera and also my Iphone 7 camera. No filter no edit.

My skin condition looks way worse on pictures. Thanks to the ultra UD Iphone 7 camera.

Definitely not perfect skin.
Occasional blackheads and breakout on my chin and cheeks (usually during the time of the month). Huge pores and lots of blackheads all over my nose and slightly extended towards the sides of my nose. Slight pigmentation here and there due to me popping the blackheads which I know I should not do. Also very very slight freckles.

Freckles/hyperpigmentation is something I am worried about because my mum has freckles, my skintone leans fair and I live in a tropical country where we are exposed to sun almost daily. Thanks to my skin advocating on me about sunscreen since I was a child I did not get visible freckles.

So my skincare routine has many steps. I use about atleast 8-10 products for my routine.
This might be too much for some people but this is what works for me, And, I have stuck to it ever since.

I used to have acne circa 2013 and since then I keep experimenting with products and changing up with skincare and I have stuck with a 10 step skincare and it drastically cleared up my acne.
I will link my acne post here.
I have changed some of the products I have used since. Have been adding and removing products in search for things that are more beneficial to my skin and works on my skin.

Morning routine.
1) First step involves cleansing. Currently I have two cleansers in the bathroom the A'pieu Milk Moist Foaming Cleanser and Eucerin Dermo Purifier Cleanser.
I am not too particular with cleansers, as long it doesn't strips my face off all the oils and making my face feel tight and dry afterwards. Cleansers are meant to be washed off, so I don't see fancy or expensive cleansers infused with so and so ingredients beneficial to the skin. You will wash it off before your skin has time to absorb any nutrients.

2) Toner.
 I have a lot of toners on my vanity but in the morning, I will reach for a milder toner that does not contain exfoliating agents or acids.
This step I use a cotton pad to apply, it is to clean off any excess dirt or debris and to soften my skin for the next step.
I am currently using the The Body Shop Vitamin E Toner, Secret Key Milk Brightening Toner and Eucerin Dermo Purifier Toner.
The Eucerin Dermo Purifier contains 2% Lactic acid which with that percentage, does not do much in exfoliating, so for me, it is okay to use it in the morning.
The reason I avoid using exfoliating agents or acids in the morning is because of photosensitivity. The thing with acid is that you are removing away or exfoliating away the top layer of your skin, your skin loses a protection barrier from the UV rays and if you are not careful, you might get hyperpigmentation. Which no one wants.
It is recommended to apply sunscreen after all the exfoliating agents and acids but I feel it is not enough to protect my skin. So I won't use them in the morning.

3) Lotion.
Lotion are technically also toners, hydrating toners to be exact. For me, this step is to replenish the moisture I have lost during the cleansing and toning process.
I will the use the Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion. Just pat pat pat.
I have been using the Hada Labo lotion eversince it is brought into Malaysia. My favourite lotion, so affordable and does its job well.

4) Then eyecream. I am not very particular about eyecream since I do not have bad dark eye circles or eye bags. I just need one to keep my undereye area hydrated so they won't develope too many fine lines. I am currently using the Superdrug Vitamin E eyecream.

5) Whitening fluid/water.
I usually apply my Sulwhasoo or History of Whoo whitening fluids or water during this step. It does not make a big difference but it does help slightly fasten the lightening of my hyperpigmentation and brightens my skintone. No product is a miracle product when it comes to whitening. All takes time.

6) Here comes the Essence/Serum. Currently I am using the COSRX BHA Pore Minimizing Serum in hopes of making the pores around my nose area smaller. So far, I have been through half a bottle and I do not see any difference.Not impressed with it. I will switch up to the BHA Skin Returning A-Sol after I am done with this.

7) This step I will be using my La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. This is my HG. I have been using it eversince I found out about it. It has really help in clearing up my skin when I had acne. I still use it till this very day to keep my skin under control and it does its job.
This is not available in Malaysia so before coming back, I did stock up a ton of it. When I run out I will switch to going to Thailand to stock up or maybe purchasing it online.

8) In this step, I will apply the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel. This product is made up of snail mucin, it promotes cell reparation, whitening and wrinkle care. I just threw this in my skincare step because I have bought a few of this gel and I wanna use it up. I do not know if this gel did anything but It did not hurt my skin adding this extra product in.

9) I will end my morning routine with a SPF containing moisturizer. Currently I am using the Kanebo Freshel UV Whitening Gel. I love how cooling and light this cream is and it contains SPF too. Just a SPF 20, definitely not enough if you are out but if you are going to spend your whole day indoors. It's sufficient.

Some of the products in my morning skincare routine. I did not have all products in this picture as some products were laying elsewhere and I was just too lazy to retrieve it.

Stay tune for my next post with my night time routine and more talk about my skin.

I have been trying and testing out more skincare products because I am searching for better products for my skin. As I get older, my skin changes and I start to find other products to cater my skin needs.
I will be posting a skincare haul with products I have recently picked up from the internet and in stores.

What's in my bag : Beach Holiday edition

I went for a beach holiday at Tioman Island last week and I am going to share what makeup I brought along with me on the trip.
I am quite proud of myself with packing my makeup. Those days I used to bring like my whole vanity along with me, my makeup bag would be so heavy and full and I know I won't use everything I bring along with me.
Now, I just pack the bare minimums.

Since I am going to the beach. It's going to be hot and wet. I did not bother with too much.

What I brought along :
L'oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint
Givenchy Le Prisme Blush in Vintage Pink (**tester)
Vivienne Sabo Voyage Powder Bronzer
Essence The Velvets Eyeshadow in Taupe Secret
Max Factor The Falsies Mascara
Eva Mosaic Lipliner in Flirt
Innisfree Gel Liner in #9
Maybelline Brow Satin in Dark Brown
Yves Rocher Gloss in Soleil Cuivre
Nyx Mega Gloss in Beige
L'oreal Color Riche Matte in 131 Mistinguette

I packed everything light. I opted for a liquid to powdery finish foundation like he L'oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint so that I would not need for a powder and it provides a light and natural finish which is great for a hot and wet environment.
Left my highlighter at home. Of late, I don't reach out to highlighter as much as I used to. I am just having a highlighter exhaustion.
I brought 1 lipstick, 2 lipglosses and a lipliner which is a lot for just three days. I could had just went with one lipstick but me being indecisive. I just went with all these. 

Gunung Nuang hiking experience

Gunung Nuang is the tallest mountain in the state of Selangor. It stands 1,493m from sea level.
Comparing to many mountains in Malaysia, it is considered a tiny mountain. Even so, this is one unforgiving mountain to hike. It requires a lot of stamina and most important, mental strength.

There are two hiking trails to the peak from what I know, via Pangsun and Janda Baik, the latter being the easier trail.
This time I am hiking to the peak via Pangsun which is much nearer to where I live it's about a 30 minutes drive from my house to Pangsun.

So, the things I prepared before the hike are just 3L of water, towel, bread.
Also, before the hike, my friend had warned me about leeches, so I wore a knee length socks under my training pants and another shorter socks over it. All are so tight fitting, so now I can hope leeches don't find their way into my pants.

7am, I started my hike.
There are 4 important check points, Kem Lolo, Dataran Pacat, Puncak Pengasih and Peak.

The first part is the "never ending road", this stretch is nothing hard, just some steep up and down hill walk with lots of greens surrounding but you definitely will need the mental strength to push through this 5km. This stretch took me about one and a half hour.

From this part to Kem Lolo is 1.2km. It is no more a flat road but it is still considered quite an easy hike up. Took us about an hour to get to Kem Lolo.
This stretch has four river crossings. There are ropes to cling on to if you are afraid of falling into the river. The rivers aren't deep and the current is not strong. Just that, we do not want to get our shoes wet.

The last river crossing, is the route to the 2nd checkpoint, Dataran Pacat. This is where the adventure begins, it is about climbing up and up. This stretch is 1.2km. It took forever. I took about an hour and 45 minutes up.
While climbing I was more worried how I am going to descend down later, because the incline is pretty steep and the red clay ground is pretty slippery. I am terrible at descending, I can climb up and it is easy for me but descending feels like a nightmare to me and my poor knees.  At this moment, my towel was so drenched.

Finally arriving at Dataran Pacat (Leech(, I would name this place Dataran Lebah (Bee) instead. There were so many bees and I dislike them. We stopped by this place to take our breakfast to give us more energy for further hike.

Everyone who stops at Dataran Pacat took a picture with this tree. So, I guess I will just follow.

Okay, the next push is to Puncak Pengasih. This moment , nightmare behinds. It was rocks over rocks. I was basically rock climbing my way to the top. It was huge boulders and steep inclines up.
Let's not think how am I going to descend later. I think I rather tumble down at this point.
1.2km feels like an eternity. I took about an hour and 45 minutes at this point.

Puncak Pengasih aka False Peak. Too early to be happy, now it is time for a downward hike over mouldy rocks. I love the trail along the false peak to the peak. All the mould covered rocks gives a mysterious and ethereal feel. I could like imagine suddenly Totoro appearing out of nowhere.

This stretch isn't anything too hard since there isn't much not a steep incline. Felt like an obstacle hike, crossing over fallen trees and big mouldy rocks (not a huge as the ones at the route from Pacat to Puncak Pengasih).

Before reaching the peak, there's a literally vertical rock. To me, it looks very vertical and gosh I didn't know how to get up. If you asked me now how I managed to get up, I can't explain. Just used some 'magic' called willpower.
I am so close to the top, I can't just give up right now.

Finally I have reached the peak.
We rested for about 15 minutes before we start our descend. We hope to reach the parking lot before the sky turns dark. Not much time to waste.

Too early to be happy because hell awaits after this. Descending is a total nightmare.
This is the time where your legs are already killing you, you are already exhausted from hiking all the way up. Now, you have to go down.
The slopes are more slippery descending, so it adds more burden to your knees.
It took me about 4 hours 45 minutes up but 6 hours descending.
At the end of the descend, I couldn't even feel my toes and knees. RIP.
I was beyond hungry and dehydrated at this point. All I wanted to do is to have a huge jar of isotonic drink, a big fat meal and sleep.
I burned a total of 4900 calories with this hike which is an impressive amount of calories with this 21km journey.

Oh yea. I didn't encounter any leeches during my hike. Maybe because it was a dry day.
Try to hike this mountain on a dry day, it's much safer without the extra slippery muddy clay grounds and also leeches.

Will I do Nuang again? Sure! but not so soon. I still need to recharge.
Easier hills for now. 

Around Malaysia : Ipoh, Day 1 + 2

Ipoh bound to visit a friend who is currently posted there. 

Drove all the way there. 

It took us about 3 hours to get there, so it wasn't too bad of a drive. 

We started out journey at 9am, arrived about 12pm.

The first day there was basically eat, eat and eat. 

We didn't do anything really interesting besides eating. 

Our first stop is Lou Wong restaurant. It is a famous Ipoh bean sprout chicken rice shop. 

The restaurant is so packed despite it was late afternoon-ish. 

I totally forgot to take picture of the chicken. 

We were totally famished. 

I think that's all for day one. 

We ended the day with a movie. We watched Star Wars : Rouge One. 

The next day we started our day with food again. 

Half boiled eggs on toast. One of favourite type of breakfast.

Yoo tiao with Coconut jam. 

After awhile we went for Dim Sum.

I wasn't joking when i said it is going to be food overloaded. 

We went to this oh so famous dim sum restaurant called Foh San. 

To be honest, I find the dim sum to be totally average. It's so overrated, not to mention it is pretty pricey. 

'

After our quick morning tea/lunch, we headed down to Kek Lok Tong. 

It is a Chinese temple inside a limestone cave. 

After visiting the cave we had this crazy idea and we drove to Cameron Highlands which is about an hour drive from Ipoh. I will keep the post about Cameron Highlands in another post since it is not Ipoh. 

At night, my friend took us to a nice American pizzeria - MichelangelO's Pizzeria. 

This place serves nice oven baked pizza. Hot from the furnace. 

Definitely one of the best pizza I have tried in Malaysia. 

The pizza is so flavourful, there is so much topping (they aren't stingy with their toppings) and each bite is so cheesy. 

We ended the night by visiting the hot spring at Lost World of Tambun since our friend lives nearby. 

We did not pay much for the hot spring since there was an offer for it if you go at night. 

Travel Diary : Italy : Day 1, Rome

We started out Italy trip in Rome. Then from Rome we will head our journey all the way north.

During my stay in Rome, I did very typical things tourist will do when visit Rome such as visiting the Colosseum, Roman Forum and eating gelato!

Got my Roma Pass.
It includes 2 free museum/archeological site visits and free transporation.
Since we will be in Rome for 3 days and doing much visiting, it is more economical for us to pick up the pass.

The Colosseum.
Sadly it is under restoration at one side of the building and you can kinda see the construction thingy (I forgot what it is called) at the left side.

A sneak peak inside the Colosseum

After visiting the Colosseum, we took a stroll opposite to the Roman Forum.

It just amazes me to see how people of the ancient times without the help machinery and technology could build such a magnificent town.
And some these structures still stand majestic till this very day.

It is really big , you could spend hours and hours strolling in this ancient city.

It was a rainy night at Fotana di Trevi. So, there was not too big of a crowd. If not I guess one could not expect to get too close to the fountain without squeezing your way through.

Honestly, the fountain is much smaller than expected. It looks way more majestic in pictures I have seen.

It is Gelato time!
This is a small family owned gelato shop called Valentino near Trevi Foundation.

I swear the gelato of this gelateria is out of this world. Every flavour so smooth and rich.
The owner is very friendly too.

My favourite was the Ferrero Rocher flavour. It taste richly of Ferrero Rocher. Who doesn't love the world's famous chocolate snack in gelato form. 

a random post on tips on saving money

First things first, I am going to say that I am not the best at managing my own financial status and I am a spendaholic.

Why am I doing this post then? 

As I get older, I do have more responsibilities and commitments and I can't go around spending money as freely like during my college years. Those days, we know some people do do this. When we are out of cash, we could just give a phone call and super dad or mum will come to the rescue and pump in cash into our accounts. 

When you are around a quarter age, it is really embarrassing to be out of cash by almost the end of month and going out borrowing money from family or friends. It just shows how irresponsible you are as an adult. How are you able to manage your own life if you can't manage your own finances. 

I have been trying to curb my spending habits and trying to save money over the years. There are some moments that I fail miserably but there are also successful moments. 

What has actually saved me from being a broke by the end of the month or being drowned by debt, 

are : 

- never to use a credit card unless it is really necessary. 

- make sure there is a certain amount of cash in my bank account. 

So, here I am, sharing my tips on saving money and not be a total broke by the end of the month. 

The most important thing that you really need to do and know is differentiating between WANT and NEED. 

Every day there are releases in the market may it be clothing, jewelry, makeup, electronics etc.
Especially in this time and day, with the availability of online shopping and aggressive marketing strategy. It is hard to not get caught into it.

Before coming to the point of purchasing, you have to think whether you really need this item, how will it affect your everday life without having this item. Will this item be a great help to you?
Will you ever use it?

Buying items you WANT just for the sake of owning it, high chance is, you are probably going to forget about it after awhile and dumping it aside once the the "feeling of satisfaction" of owning it has gone. Which means, you end up wasting money.

So before purchasing something, remember to put aside a minute or two to think whether you really need this item. You might stop yourself from purchasing a "useless" purchase and save money.

I realized a big difference in my savings when I started this method. That is to create two bank accounts. Create one account for normal daily spending use and one for savings.
Every month once you get your salary or allowance. Immediately transfer out the amount you aim to save per month (Let's say 1/4 of your allowance or salary.) into the saving account.
Don't do it at the mid or end of month because we know there won't be any money left.
Also, a reminder, if possible, have no credit card or debit card for that account. Minimal access to it is ideal.

Online shopping is the devil.
It's so easy to put things into cart and click the purchase button. I realize that it is so much easier to purchase something when doing online shopping rather than physically shopping in shops.
Things just look so much nicer online, with all the attractive pictorials and perfect swatches.

Try going to the shops to see the actual product first instead of purchasing it online straight.
Swatch it and test it out and see if you really like it.
The risk of buying online is that you don't know the actual texture, colour and even how the product actually looks. There's going to be some chance you will be disappointed or you don't like the product enough when it comes in the mail.
If it is not available in shops, try to search for detailed reviews and swatches before purchasing.

Also, never ever practice impulse retail therapy. Don't shop online when you are sad or stress just thinking it is going to wash your sadness and stressful feeling away.
You will start buying things that you would never expect to buy or buying items you had put off buying.

Try to not follow instagram shops.
I used to follow many instagram shops and my feed would be filled with preorder post. Trust me, it is really tempting to place orders and want everything seeing all these post all over my instagram. In the end, I will place orders because I can't hold back my temptation.
If you follow many instashops, slowly delete them off your follow list one by one. If you don't see it, you won't want it. If you really want it, you will search for it.

I know food is an essential but I do not see the point of eating out everyday. There is where your money go without realizing. On that premium salad or expensive cold brew coffee. It's okay to go out and eat maybe once or twice a week but it should not be a daily habit.
Try to pack lunch to classes or work. You can also pack your own coffee in a thermos.
It will save a lot money on the long run and also it is much healthier.
Don't make time as an excuse, you can always prep meal during the weekends or spend a little more time at night to make yourself next day's meal.

Here are my few tips on saving.

Skin update

I did talked about how bad my skin reacted when I was in Bangkok. There were small little bumps all over my left cheek, slightly on the right and the chin.
I did tweaked up my skincare routine and after about one or two weeks my skin pretty much cleaned up.

I hated my skin when I had the bumps. It isn't very visible unless you are under lighting that creates shadow but to the touch, my skin felt very textured and rough.

This picture was taken the 2nd day after I came back from Bangkok. As you can see that my skin was very textured with tiny tiny bumps.

What I did for my skincare is switching and adding a few products.

So, instead of using my usual toner which is either the Son & Park Beauty Water or Eucerin Dermo Purifier toner or Secret Key Milk Brightening Toner ( I do switch up between using these three toners), I went for a stronger exfoliating toner which is the Alpha H Liquid Gold.

This toner contains glycolic acid, which works as an exfoliater that assist in removal of dead skin cells and accelerate the renewal of new skin cells, leaving smoother and glowing skin.
For further benefits of glycolic acid you can click over here for a read on glycolic acid.

This toner really helped in clearing up my skin, I can see a difference overnight and I am not exaggerating. I can see the bumps getting lesser day by day. It is such a miracle worker.
Even so, I do not use it everyday since I do find the toner a little but strong. It gave a tingly effect on my skin.

Other than switching up my toner, I have been using Aloe Vera Gel to soothe my skin. You can use the Aloe plant or if you do not have one, you can buy a tub of aloe vera gel and it's quite affordable.
I would slather a generous amount every night before going to bed.
Aloe vera contains anti-inflammatory and healing properties.
It helped control my skin from any further reactions. Also, I do like the cooling feeling of the gel on my skin.

The other steps in my skincare routine has remained pretty much the same. I continued using my serums, moisturizers etc.

Here is my skin about 10 days later. Can you see the vast improvement.

Up till now I still can't figure out the cause of the tiny bumps.
I have since returned to my usual skincare, using the same makeup I have applied in Bangkok. My skin has still stayed okay, no reactions or bumps.

Back from hols and skin is acting up

First week of February has been a busy week with Chinese new year visiting, my Bangkok trip and also job interview. Now that I am done with then, I will be back full force on this blog. 

I came back from Bangkok with terrible skin texture. I am sure they are not breakout or whiteheads because if those feel really bumpy and rough on the skin. This does not feel anything to the touch. Just really really bad skin texture. It just looks really blotchy, rough and bumpy. 

I know it does not look very visible in the photo. Actually it does not look too bad in person. You need a lot of sunlight and shadow to be able to see. 

I know it is not a big deal to some but for someone who spends a lot of money and time on my skin, I can't take it if my skin acts up. 

I am not too sure about the cause of it. It might be the bed linens of the hotel or I had hot air literally blowing against my face in a hawker stall or I did not bring along my usual cleanser or it is just too dusty. Many possibilities.

I am trying to calm my skin down right now by adding a few things to my skincare. If it works I will post a skincare routine post. 

2017 High End wishlist

high end 2017 wishlist by suzannelsx featuring nars cosmetics

New year new high end beauty wishlist. Here we go again.

I think the Dior Nude Air Serum foundation has been on my wishlist last year but in the end, I did not get to buying it in 2016. So, 2017 is the year to get it.
I am all about the serum foundation. I have gone through the reviews on it and I think it is one of the foundation I should try out for my dry combination skin.

The Guerlain Lingerie de Peau. I have been wanting to try this foundation for ages. Now, they have revamped the formula and I heard it has became even better. Hoping I could try it soon.

I have swatched Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer in Sephora a few times and oh boy, I love the finish of it. It's so smooth and silky. I am looking forward to getting myself a bottle to try it out since I am still looking for a great primer.

2016 is the year of stick foundation but I have yet jump on to the bandwagon. One stick foundation that has been gathering great reviews is the Hourglass Seamless Stick Foundation. I have swatched a few times in Sephora and I am quite liking how it feel. The price tag is a little eek! Let's see I can save enough to get it.

When YSL released its own take of the cushion foundation. I already had my eyes on it. YSL is not available in Malaysia. I am waiting the day I go overseas so I could pick up one myself.

I have gotten myself the Chanel Rouge Allure Ink just right before the new year as a welcoming 2017 treat and oh boy, I love this liquid lipstick. It is just what I wanted in a liquid lipstick. I am kinda over the overly matte type. I am looking to pick up shade 140 which is out of stock over the counters currently.

The other lip product I have the NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Bound. Everytime I step into the NARS counter, I just have my eyes on these lip products and I just keep swatching them but never got to buying them. I think I have been annoying the sales assistant by doing this.

I own the Charlotte Tilbury The Dolce Vita Luxury Palette and I love that eye palette very very much. The texture of the eyeshadows are so buttery and smooth, pigmentation is spot on and the shades are just so easy to use. This just makes me want to expand my Charlotte Tilbury palette collection. I am eyeing at the shade The Vintage Vamp.