Saturday 25 January 2014

You want to do what to my face?!

Ola~~~
This is my first facial experience at Skin Renew, Kota Kemuning!

We all know the basic rules of healthy skin:
  • cleansing twice daily, when you get up from bed and before you get to bed at night
  • moisturize with a moisturizer that suits your skin type. Eg: gel based moisturizer for oily skin, cream based for dry skin 
  • ALWAYS slather on SPF before you leave the house even if you plan to just walk under the sun for a second 
But no matter our best intentions, the truth is that the perfect combo of stress, pollution, sweat & makeup or hey, we've all skipped that nighttime wash a time or two, can leave our face looking dull. 
The right facial can cleanse your face well, clear up skin problems and help you moisturize your way into a healthy( sun-free ) glow. But the bottom line is that turning your most precious skin over to a stranger can be intimidating.(I don't know about you but I know at least that's for me).

What on Earth are extractions, anyway? How much should a facial cost? What's normal? And what's not?
We'll go through these questions a step at a time. 

I've talked to the esthetician, and this is what I know about my skin now: 
  1. I've always thought I have oily-combination skin, which means my nose and my forehead is slidely oilier while my cheeks and chin(T-zones) are dry, but the reality was my entire face was in a desert condition, like honestly. It was indeed jaw-dropping to me because for over 4years at least, I've been using skin products for combination skin, here let me show you :

     I've spent months and months doing research online & through trial and errors,
     I think these products should be featured here. From my favourite sleeping moisture pack, facial wash, moisturizer, toner, sunscreen and exfoliant. 
  • The Face Shop Rice Water bright daily cleanser
  • The Face Shop Raspberry Roots sleeping water pack
  • The Face Shop daily moisturizer 
  • ZA milky moisturizer recommended by XiaXue
  • Etude House Hyluronic Acid Face wash
  • POND'S deep cleansing wash with tiny exfoliant beads 
  • HADA LABO toner
  • HADA LABO moisturizer
  • HADA LABO gentle exfoliant
  • Shokubutsu mild face wash
  • Biore facial wash for "V" shape face

  • Biore Aqua rich SPF 50+
  • Neutrogena Moisture SPF 15+ (perfect for school) 
  • Biore UV protection SPF 48
  • The face shop natural sun sunscreen SPF50+
  • ZA true white power block UV SPF50+
I know I've spent a lot on these, thinking I've spent it right, but only until today I found out that I didn't. lol. effin sad. 

      2. Not even my face is dry, my whole body is dry even I always put tons of lotion on my body but body           lotions don't work if I still shower in super hot steaming water thrice a day until my washroom mirror             forever able for me to "vandalize". You know how the stress and problem kicks in everyday, a hot                 bath is really relaxing. Guess I'll have to get rid of this bad habit or forever no nit think of having really           smooth and that bouncy "toing toing" skin. 

      3. mmmm brows, there're so complicated that I've never been a good mother taking care of it & I'm so             bad at shaping it. I used to pluck my eyebrows however shape I like, okay after talking to this                       esthetician right, I realize you have to go along with your eyebrow, instead of going against it. Different           eyebrow shapes might look pretty but it does not mean that it's the one which suits your face shape.


Booking your first facial can be intimidating, with an incredible amount of options(wait, what is this package for again? ) If you're so happen a first timer, I'd suggest you to get a basic facial. 

Before you go, there's actually not much you need to prep for a facial. Also, feel free to leave your make up on because the facialist will remove it during the first part of the facial. And you may want to take a few notes before you go in, like questions about your skin. Your esthetician is there to answer all of your skin questions, so ask away!
& about what to wear, you really do not need to wear anything special to your appointment. Most spas ask you to change into a robe or remove your shirt and slip under the covers. Just like --->

I felt like I was wearing a typical type of black rubbish bag but with elasticity at the top part. behind also damn sexy open one like the wings of a cockroach, lol. 









A basic facial typically has four steps: cleansing, exfoliating, massaging of neck, face, shoulders and applying a mask for your skin type. 
Depending on the type of facial and the amount of time booked, extractions may be a part of your facial experience. OooooOOoohh if it is, I'm telling you here that it is Ouuuchhh-y! During the extraction, the esthetician removes whiteheads and blackheads from the skin using either fingers wrapped in gloves or a tool but either way, he or she should always be wearing gloves. Despite the painful process, I may now say bye bye to my strawberry nose! 

Anyways, here's how it looks like. There're plenty of small rooms like this there in Skin Renew Kota Kemuning. Clean & comfortable environment. 



My face looks slimmer in the pic coz she did a face massage to me and I think the most vivid change you can see from the picture is the shape of my eyebrows. My skin is indeed x10 smoother and x4 brighter than before. My mom and sis both agreed which left me feeling very "hehe" inside! lol. 

Now to the price, the package I did was skin renewal, as I've mentioned earlier
It's RM1600 for 5 sessions. Each session is 1hour+, recommended time is every 3 weeks as your skin renews every 21days. 
I've heard of the herbaline one too but I've yet to try that out. I will soon when I find the time for some relaxation. :) 

Remember, a good skin care regime is essential for beautiful skin, free from oil, blackheads and blemishes! And this is especially important for teens, as we're more prone to these kind of problems. Not to worry though, an effective skin care routine is easy to implement. Just make sure of your skin type and choose the right products for them!

Also, don't wash your face more than 2 times a day girls! Many of you are surely to think that washing your face dozens of times a day will get rid of the oil and reduce pimples, but that's actually a false statement! In fact, washing your face more than twice a day will actually cause it to produce MORE oil to make up for the lost natural oils. So girls, washing your face more than twice a day actually backfires!


P/S: Drink LOTS of water as CNY is drawing near. Drink as much water as you can ( you're supposed to have 8 glasses a day). Water will leave your skin looking hydrated and rejuvenalized!
Your skin will thank you - promise! 





Friday 24 January 2014

Uncle Jang Korean Restaurant

haiiiii ;Dtoday's blogpost will be about a Korean Restaurant which have opened for business in Bukit Rimau yesterday(23/1) but I've went to the SOHO KL's branch for lunch, I'll be having dinner at the Bukit Rimau's branch tonight with a different group of friends for lou sang & celebrate my friend's victory for cross country! Imagine having to eat the same food for lunch and dinner... but it's okay la, accompany different group of friends :)

UNCLE JANG SOHO KL BRANCH


This is the signboard you'll be looking at when you first enter the small stairs entrace, which has a lif inside so don't worry about climbing up the stairs until the third floor as if you're at school or tuition lul.
It shows the business hours for the shop, I'm not sure if it's applied to all the branches anot la.




On the right side of the lif, it shows the nutritional values of their food and there's also a simple menu on the right but that part of the place was sorta messy so I didn't snap a picture of it.


 Voila voila~
 their well-known dak-galbi & HOW to ORDER IT 

  1. Decide the number of portion - Minimum order 2 people portions- One portion for one adult - Basically there are boneless drumstick of chicken(200g), cabbage, sweet potatoes and korean rice cakes with homemade Dak-Galbi sauce
  2. Decide the flavour either normal, spicy or mixed.
    -Normal taste is recommended for the first try
    -Spicy is super spicy (WARNING) *
    - It can be mixed. Ex: 3normal & 1 spicy
  3. Choose add ons.
    - I recommend adding ramen & cheese. Heavenly!
Below are the menus




The small dishes served before the main dish was served. That bottle is for us to drink(it's cold) & the cups are behind the bottle in aluminium.

 The chao(adjective) mian place


This is the ma lat lou frying the dak-galbi in front of us, it'd be much more entertaining if it was a hot chef lolll 



 goreng goreng~



&the final product! 
Looks yummy right? tastes even betterrrr. (at least x3)
The white thing you see is not mould, lol, it's cheeeeesee :3


As modeled above, ahem, you'll also be given a red apron to wear so that the spicy hot chili will not get onto your clothes. 
Totally advisable that you don't wear white there okay or don't blame me if you go out with red polka dots design on your white shirt 
come to think of it, it's kind of cute, tag me on instagram @jiahui0901 if that just so happens to you hehe.

Saturday 11 January 2014

72 Heritage Cafe Kota Kemuning

Can I see a show of hands of Kota Kemuning residences who've been tired of eating at the same old 
restaurant in Kota Kemuning for breakfast, lunch & dinner? I've came to find out that there's actually this restaurant at the last row of the shop lots in Anggerik Vanilla, it's 72 Heritage. 
I bet this restaurant is a hit and miss for everyone who've passed by it because of the not so visible sign of the restaurant at the front. I had a problem finding for it too, went into several shops at the last row to ask, fortunately there was an uncle customer at bookmark.edu whom overheard what I asked one of the staffs there & he pointed the directions to this place, phew, or I would've brought my cousins to Holand. 

Picture of the front of the shop taken from inside the car 


Organized menu of the day displayed on the counter with their specific prices

Antique decorations were everywhere in this restaurant

An old lady came to take our orders after she took the table before us, she was honestly so down to earth!
The way she talked was like Pn Anna, haha. Which was good! cuz we were sesat, didn't know what to order so she introduced their signature dishes to us, I wanted to order their well-known sagu melaka(something like abc) but it was sold out that day. 
Then, we just decided to try a different food for each of us so that we could try everything. 

After we placed our orders right, we chatted for like 20-30 minutes only the food was served, but almost all was served the same time coz the food was cooked right on the spot, the lady owner said she likes everything fresh. 

Voila ~~~

This was the Chicken Pop from the menu above! 
We ordered two plates of this coz she told us that we might need more than just one. The chicken was palatable but as served with the other dishes shown in this picture, the taste was a little bland. maybe coz 我比较重口味.. It wasn't oily so that was a thumbs up & the bowl on the left, was tomato mixed with some spices, while the one on the left was 冬粉 with carrots & taofu .. 
6.9/10


Butter Chicken Rice 
I didn't like this very much but as for butter lovers out there, this very buttery chicken & rice, a delicious irony. I didn't like it coz it's a bit too greasy for me lah but everyone got different taste what. who knows you might like it? :) 



 my favourite dishes from 72 Heritage!!!!


SEEEEEEEE!!!! Look also can feeel how pleasant it'll taste like in your mouth!!

AYAM MASAK MERAH  9.3/10

 The dish you're probably hoping it'll come out from your ipad/phone/laptop screen was actually chicken drenched in a sauce that's soooooo delightful, it's not too spicy as well! just a mild of spicy & sour taste. If you ever drop by 72 Heritage for a meal, this dish u MUST ORDER k!!!!  

Next up.... it's 

SOTONG MASAK HITAM 

or in English it's black squid rice? Just tell the owner a black exquisite dish if you can't remember what's called and she'll know what you meant.

!!!!!

It's basically squid served with this some sort like squid ink sauces... I don't really know how to describe the taste but it tasted heavenly, a taste I've never tasted before in any other food I've eaten for the past 16years of my life. MUST TRY! 

& this is the plate of rice served together with the ayam masak merah & the squid ink rice :) 


72 Heritage is open everyday except on Sundays & public holidays.
Business hours: 12-3pm, 5-9pm. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

Address:
72, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla Z 31/Z,
Kota Kemuning,
40460 Shah Alam,
Selangor

Contact Number: 03-51316162

Friday 10 January 2014

HABA Lift-Up Serum Review

Hello hello
I've received a sample of this product in my doorstep few days ago and I've tried it this morninggg before school as my friends and I have an interview by The Star on English Literature Drama best performances and I was of course hoping for obvious "V" shape face.. It also claims to make one look 7 years younger. 10y/o skin leh who don't want. Though claims like these make me laugh a bit, but I was curious about the product as it contains one of the newer vitamin C derivatives, APPS or trisodium ascorbyl phosphate, also known as Apprecier. It basically means it's both water and oil-loving & this serum will be absorbed into the skin better.


This product is called the Haba Lift-up serum.  
This sample was more than enough for both my face and neck, I even smoothed the leftovers on my hands. 
You're suppose to apply the serum  immediately after you wash your face. Smooth it over and you will feel that it moisturizes your skin and there'll be no sticky feeling left. 

It claims to: 
  1. Lifts-up and firms the skin
  2. Increase the firmness and elasticity 
  3. anti-aging serum
  4. Restore the firmness and definition of the face line. 
To me, besides than moisturizing my face, I didn't see any other effects it claimed... strange huh? I think it's because my skin is still young and wouldn't be needing this product to help improve it yet.. & the price is a little jaw dropping as for a bottle of 30ml, it's $79.80 on Amazon.