rinnah's consumer views|a straight talking, tell-it-as-it-is consumer lifestyle blog

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In conjunction with my earlier review on the Back To Basics “Flower Power” 3-in-1 Cleansing Powder, I also trialed Back To Basics “Rescue Me” Precious Oils Intensive Face Serum. I’ll have to admit that I approached this oil-based serum with some trepidation, having had a previous experience with facial oil from another organic brand that irritated my eczema breakouts.

This special blend of the purest natural oils and essential oils is formulated to nourish, rejuvenate, heal and fade scars, soothe sensitive skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

I found the Rescue Me serum was quite gentle, but I noticed that immediately upon application, the patches of eczema on my face would turn red and feel warm. This would dissipate after a while, but it was slightly uncomfortable while it lasted. This is not unique to the Rescue Me serum though, as I have come to the conclusion that my eczema does not play nice with oils.

Leaving my eczema problems aside, the Rescue Me serum does a nice job of moisturising my dry cheeks, but I found it to be too much for my oily T-zone. I would wake up feeling that I needed to wash my face and after a couple of days, the over production of oil resulted in the formation of one or two pimples at my nose. I found that I needed to experiment to find the right number of drops to use (around 2 drops) and areas to apply (on my dry cheeks only). I also found that my skin was happiest when I used the Rescue Me serum every other day or so instead of nightly.

I think those with dry skin would benefit the most from this serum.

Yes factors : Does a good job of moisturising dry skin, organic ingredients
No factors : Might be too rich for oily skin, not compatible with certain types of eczema, short shelf life, only available online at the Back To Basics Naturals website

Ingredients : Organic argan oil, organic pomegranate seed oil, wild crafted sea buckthorn berry oil, essential oils of rose, sandalwood, rosewood and lavender.

Packaging : 10ml / 3ml

Recommended retail price : MYR 180.00 / MYR 60.00

Note : This product was provided to me for consideration. This does not affect my review in any way and do refer to my disclosure policy for further details.

Is it a cleanser? A scrub? Or a mask? How about all three? An intriguing concept no?

The “Flower Power” 3-in-1 Facial Cleansing Powder was the very first product I gravitated to when the good folks at Back To Basics Naturals sent me some samples of their products for testing and review.

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A description of the product on the website says :

Free of synthetic ingredients, your skin will show remarkable improvement within a few days. The skin is left refined, toned and purified. The gentle action when applying and removing the cleansing powder helps to remove any dead cells from the skin, thereby promoting a younger and clearer looking skin.

A product in powder form, all you need to do is add water to it and apply the paste-like mixture to your face. Keep it thick and let it dry naturally to use as a mask. Make it less thick and use it as a scrub. Add more water and use it as a cleanser. It’s up to you how you feel like using the cleansing powder.

The Flower Power cleansing powder comes in a small glass bottle that has a nice heft to it and fits comfortably in your palm. It also adds a touch of luxe feel to the brand. Although the instructions say to measure out approximately half a teaspoon of powder per use, I found I could get by with tapping the powder gently out of the bottle and estimating the amount needed each time.

The powder doesn’t look all that awesome as its natural shade is a bit grey-ish. It smells a wee bit herbal-ly, being a natural product and all, but nothing so strong that you’ll take a step back. In fact, I had to sniff closely to detect the scent. Having said that, once I got to the mixing stage it was a bit messier than what I’m used to so I would recommend that you use this over a sink. It’s not exactly pump and go so I had to take my time to get the paste to the right consistency that I wanted before applying it to my face and neck.

The first time I used it I was skeptical, but I’m not a skeptic anymore. I recently had another round of my facial eczema breakouts around my eye and mouth area so I had a number of red patches all over my face. I was really surprised that using the facial cleansing powder didn’t sting and it really did calm the red patches on my face. I could still feel the itch but when I looked in the mirror, the redness was gone by more than half. This wasn’t a fluke reaction because consistently over a week, I would go home at the end of the day with a slightly inflamed face, wash and have redness calmed and halved after. I believe this is due to all the anti-inflammatory busting ingredients in the powder. My skin also looked a tad brighter after use as compared to my regular scrub/exfoliator so I was quite pleased with its effects.

The only drawback for this product would be that because its completely natural, it won’t last forever like all the other manufactured products out there. If kept in the fridge, it will last up to a year. If kept at normal room temperatures, it will stay fresh for 5 months.

Yes factors : Calms irritated skin down a treat, works well as a scrub
No factors : A bit messy in application, shorter shelf life, only available online at the Back To Basics Naturals website

Ingredients : Lavender powder, rose hip powder, calendula powder, hibiscus powder, pink rose powder, white kaolin clay, dead sea black clay, rice flour, organic oats, sandalwood powder and tea tree powder

Packaging : 50g / 15g

Recommended retail price : MYR 68.00 / MYR 25.00

Note : This product was provided to me for consideration. This does not affect my review in anyway and do refer to my disclosure policy for further details.

Lingerie sure has come a long way from the days of bloomers and underpants, hasn’t it? Because now you can find lingerie in almost every color and material imaginable and in many different cuts and looks. And while I do love doing my lingerie shopping in the flesh (you get to see, touch and even try on!) there are times when you just can’t or don’t feel like doing so. Like when nothing catches your fancy – that happens to me a lot because I don’t like local lingerie designs. Or if Aunt Flo comes for a visit. Or maybe you’re a guy who wouldn’t be caught dead hanging around the lingerie section in the department store. That’s where Lace Petals comes in.

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My first ever indulgent lingerie purchase was from Lace Petals. Why do I say indulgent? Because for the first time ever, I bought myself some lingerie that made me feel sexy and not utilitarian. Talk about bringing out your inner sex kitten!

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As far as online shopping goes, shopping with Lace Petals is very much a pleasant experience. It’s super easy to browse through the website’s varied selection of babydolls, camisole sets, chemises, bustiers, corsets and teddies. In fact, I spent many minutes going from page to page trying to figure out which type of lingerie I would treat myself to!

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After some indecision on my part, I thought I should *ahem* throw caution to the wind and settled on this Stretch Lace Bustier from Elegant Moments.

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For guys who are thinking of gifting something for their wife, girlfriend, significant other, I like how Lace Petals has come up with a Buying Guide to help make a decision and make the process less stressful and traumatizing. (Just kidding about the traumatizing part!)

Once you’ve selected your lingerie, it’s a breeze to check-out and pay as Lace Petals gives you the option of making payment via several channels – PayPal, MasterCard, Visa or online bank transfers to Maybank or CIMB Bank. Convenience rules because it means I can make my payment without having to move from my home!

There is also the option of gift-wrapping your purchase, but I found the standard Lace Petals packaging to be already very much a present in itself. The purple box discreetly hints at the contents, which is delicately wrapped in soft tissue paper and artfully displayed so that the moment you open up the box, you know exactly what you’ve just gotten.

Oh, and did I mention that shipping is FREE to anywhere in Malaysia? Awesome.

If you’re on FaceBook, you can also join the Lace Petals page to receive updates on new lingerie arrivals and promotions.

Read other blogger reviews here :
Paris B
Pink Elle

Disclaimer : Related links in this post and on this site are affiliate links. However, this does not compromise my review in any way.

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It’s the perfect jewelry organizer that I could ever dream of. A full-length dressing mirror that opens up to reveal a jewelry cabinet inside.

But…

It’s out of my reach! Gah!

It’s I wanted this for my room back in Malaysia so badly that I actually checked to see if Ross-Simons did international delivery. They do, but you’ll have to add USD 40.00 to your total bill. Even then, I still wouldn’t be able to get this for my room because items that weigh more than 5 pounds cannot be shipped internationally.

Guess I’ll have to console myself with putting this in the Style File for future reference and keeping a look-out for a similar type of mirror cum jewelry cabinet in Malaysia.

In case you were wondering, this nifty jewelry storage case idea retails for USD 299.95 on the Ross-Simons website.

I’ve never been one to really hanker after Longchamp bags. What with the current fad of every Jane or Ah Lian carrying one of those Le Pliage totes around (whether it is real, an A-grade replica or even your flea market variety knock-off) I vowed I would not be suckered into liking the Le Pliage.

Well, this baby below from the Veau Foulonne line proved me wrong.

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It’s your usual Le Pliage design, but crafted in a beautiful brown leather that I assure you, looks better in real life than this photo I took from the Longchamp website. It’s very classic and different from all those multi-colored Le Pliages that are a dime a dozen on the streets right now.

In a nutshell, I wants!

Retails at USD 355.00 online at the Longchamp website or HKD 2,880 at the Hong Kong International Airport (which is where I saw and handled the real thing).

Now, is it time for me to own a Longchamp?

What comes to your mind if someone were to talk to you about shape wear? What pops into my mind will be something like the picture below.

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I think about the hot, stuffy, steel lined corsets of yore that genteel ladies wore on a daily basis to get that perfect hourglass waist. Updated versions of said corset-like design still exists nowadays, just well camouflaged with nice lacy patterns to make it more lingerie-like (like the picture below). I also think about girdles that hold your tummy in but squeeze the excess fat elsewhere, resulting in muffin-top that just ruins the whole look of your outfit. I also shudder at the thought of having to squash myself into such restricting garments, because I know that I won’t have a comfortable time as long as I wear those garments and also when I take them off – because my sensitive skin will show its violent protest by becoming red and itchy.

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And if you are a vain female like I am, chances are you know what I’m talking about, right?

Now, what if that someone talking to you about shape wear told you that you didn’t have to suffer those indignities and tortures to look good in your clothes? This is where Marena ShapeWear comes in.

Marena claims to give you impressive results of up to 2 inches of instant reduction. This could mean difference of up to 1 – 2 sizes, which means that you can now get back into those clothes you were about to discard. Even if it’s not as drastic as fitting back into your old/new clothes that were a size too small, there’s always that benefit of looking good in the clothes you currently wear. Just think – no more dreaded camel toe or visible panty line – the shape wear smooths out every unsightly line and bulge to give you the perfect silhouette.

But enough about all of that. How did I find my Marena ShapeWear experience to be like?

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I had the Mini Shorts with High-Waist (MYR 469.00), same like Xin of Pretty Beautiful except that mine came in a nude-y skin tone. The ShapeWear material is really very good – thick and good quality. It won’t rip and tear even with abuse and it is said to stand up to repeated wear and washing.

But one does not get ShapeWear solely for the material (even though it is good material), right? We get it for the slimming effect! To tell you if it really works – I give you some of my vital stats before and while using Marena ShapeWear (no pictures since I was by myself and had no one to assist by playing photographer).

Before Marena ShapeWear :
Waist – 25 and a 1/2in
Hips – 34in
Upper Thigh – 18 and a 1/2in

After putting on Marena ShapeWear :
Waist – 25in
Hips – 34in
Upper Thigh – 18in

Looking at the results, I guess I have nothing much to compress around my hip/butt area? Haha.

I found that the ShapeWear makes me sit up straighter by preventing me from hunching (a bad habit of mine!) but it doesn’t feel so restricting as to stop me from moving about. They say you can even wear your ShapeWear for exercise (they have capris and leggings that look perfect for yoga or dance class and some people even wear it for performance training) but I personally cannot imagine attempting exercise in it! Standing up was a whole different story though – I simply loved the shape I saw in the mirror because it really does smooth out all the little waves and ripples of fat a woman naturally has.

Comfort-wise the ShapeWear doesn’t really move about – except that the waistband felt lower in the back than it did in the front – like it was dipping downwards. And while it didn’t roll up at the thigh part, I found that the material tended to bunch slightly at the hip crease, which meant I had to surreptitiously tug it down sometimes when I stood up after sitting. For once, I didn’t feel hot or sweaty while wearing shaping garments and there was no redness of skin after I took it off. It was a bit of a struggle to get it on and off when I was not in the comfortable environment of my room though – so toilet breaks were a wee bit longer than usual.

For the measuring test, I took a light tea break and re-measured myself again after and there was no gain in the measurements, just that I felt slightly more squeezed in my ShapeWear.

Would I recommend Marena ShapeWear? Yes, for the lovely silhouette it gives you when you have it on. But I wouldn’t go as far as to wear it every day (not unless you are really in need of it or ultra-vain). Instead, I’ll save it for those dinner occasions or excursions when I want to wow people with my curves.

If you wanna give Marena ShapeWear a go, you won’t find it in departmental stores but you can get it online from the local distributor Active Shape Sdn Bhd. Prices range from MYR 299.00 onwards.

Read other blogger reviews here :
Huei
Paris B
Pretty Beautiful

I’m not really one to follow fashion trends or latest collections but this preppy look from Mango’s Sheer Minimalist (February 2011) collection caught my eye immediately.

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This look is so close to my own personal style that I can very well imagine myself living in an ensemble like this on the weekends. In fact, I have a V-neck sweater vest in the same shade as the one on the model above!

And since I’m in the middle of slowly revamping my wardrobe (no thanks to continued weight-loss over the past year) I’ll be keeping an eye out for styles that I favor and suit my personality to be showcased here in the category labeled Style File.

I’m absolutely drawn to beautiful, elegant jewelry. Sparkling gems, pearls and all sorts of metal always get my nod.

So you can just imagine how delighted I was to hear about Sweet Contemplation Accessories!

Image credit to Sweet Contemplation Accessories

Designed and hand-crafted by Australia-based blogger Christine Wang (who happens to be a friend of mine), each piece of jewelry from Sweet Contemplation Accessories is made with love and an eye for the tiniest details that make each piece so special; in line with Tine’s vision of designing jewelry for the modern woman who encompasses femininity, strength, charm, style and grace (just to name a few). All the designs from Sweet Contemplation Accessories are so wearable, I’d reckon that you could take any piece from day to night with ease!

I heart the little extra touches that Tine adds to the packaging. Like the little robin-blue (some would say Tiffany blue!) and black handmade boxes all tied up with black ribbon. Simply tres chic! And stamping the Sweet Contemplation logo on the inside of the box cover. Finally, inside the box, carefully tucked away in a layer of robin-blue tissue paper is a little velvet pouch containing your treasure!

Personally, I was immediately smitten with these two gorgeous designs which I picked up recently – Call Me Old Fashioned (AUD 30.00) and Byzantium (AUD 30.00) – and I already know how I want to wear them and which clothes they’ll match in my wardrobe, which is just about everything!

Image credit to Sweet Contemplation Accessories

Shipping is free anywhere within Australia and international shipping is charged at a flat rate of AUD 10.00 (or free if you purchase above AUD 100.00), no matter where you are in the world. In case you were wondering about the efficiency of the Australian Post and the local mailman, I’d say it’s pretty good, considering that the package arrived in good condition and relatively fast too, within 1 week from the date Tine shipped it off till I received my goodies.

Once you’ve been converted into a Sweet Contemplation Accessories fan, it can be pretty hard to resist treating yourself to just one more piece of pretty jewelry. *wink*

Read other blogger reviews here :
Beautifully Glossy
Beetrice
Connie
Elle
Giddy Tiger
Indulgent Reviews
Nikki
Paris B
Ponikuta
Pretty Beautiful
Sesame

It isn’t all that often that I find a store or brand of clothing that I really, really like. (Because my mother claims that I am a fussy shopper and which I admit to being. Heh.) Most of the time my wardrobe comes from a variety of places and brands, although like any other shopper, I have a tendency to keep on going back to where I know I’ll find clothes that I like and that fit me well.

And I never thought the day would come when I would actually find a local blogshop that I would repeatedly patronize!

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It’s called Cocktails & Martinis (don’t you just love the elegant sounding name?) and I think I first discovered Cocktails through a link on Frocking Around. I liked what I saw so much that I put myself on the email subscriber list straightaway so that I wouldn’t miss out on the latest offerings. (Good for my ongoing retail therapy but not so good for my pocket! LOL.)

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What I like most about Cocktails is the selection of clothes. If I were to open a boutique of my own, these are exactly the styles and fashions that I would pick, which explains why I keep on coming back for more, over and over again. If I were to describe the style of Cocktails I would say : elegant, timeless, flattering, feminine and tasteful.

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It’s all fine and dandy to have a great selection of clothes, lots of blogshops have that too. With Cocktails, what you see is what you get. The photographs are accurate representations of the real item itself, if anything, when I get my hands on the real thing itself I find the quality to be as good as, if not better than the pictures and the details.

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When you’re an independent blogshop, it’s important that you can offer your shoppers with quick and good service too. This improves the chances of satisfied customers and repeat sales, especially since it’s all about trust in the world of online shopping. I’ve had nothing but prompt and efficient service when dealing with Cocktails, thus my number of repeat purchases!

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There is also a Cocktails Sales blogshop where you just might be able to pick up a bargain or two that was originally featured on the main site.

Oh, and the pictures you see in this post are pictures of clothes I’ve been tempted into buying from Cocktails.

Cocktails & Martinis
Email : kayc[dot]cocktails[at]gmail[dot]com

All images used in this blogpost are taken from the Cocktails & Martinis blogshop.

I like to think of myself as a savvy consumer. Make no mistake, I don’t mean being a stingy consumer, just a smart consumer who knows value when she sees it. So, how can you ensure that you end up with the best deal that is just right for you, the savvy consumer? Let’s have a little demonstration of what I mean.

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Sometime last month (in January), I knew I was running out of my Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief. And I definitely knew that I needed to repurchase this staple in my beauty routine. Instead of waiting till the very last moment to repurchase, I decided I needed a plan of action. I would use the time I had between when I decided to repurchase and when I would run out of my moisturizer to ensure that I got the best possible deal.

I already knew that the regular sized jar (50ml) retailed for MYR 160 at all Clinique counters. Was there any way that I could get a better deal? I was willing to pay the full retail price of MYR 160, but yet I wanted assurance that I would get the best possible value for my MYR 160. Let’s see what I did.

Firstly, I checked out the price of online retailers. From friends’ recommendations and good experiences, Strawberrynet seemed the ideal place to start with. Unfortunately, they were having no special promotions and it would have cost me MYR 166 (with free shipping) when purchasing from them. Strawberrynet was a no-go.

At the recommendation of another friend, I checked out BestBuy World. Although the prices there are much cheaper, the product is not the full sized product, but rather travel/sample sizes as a discounted rate. The different type of packaging did not bother me, but unfortunately, they had no ready stocks of Moisture Surge then.

So, at that point of time it seemed as though I would need to pay the full retail price for my moisturizer. No problem, since I was already prepared to pay MYR 160 for the product. The next question was : Where to buy it? I decided to make my purchase at Parkson, since they have a retail program with Bonuslink which allows you to collect reward points for all purchases. In this way, I could be assured of accumulating reward points for future redemption against shopping vouchers. At least there would be some return on my money spent.

Then, as luck would have it, I received a flyer from Bonuslink informing me that there would be a members’ day at Parkson, which would allow me to collect 5 times reward points on any purchase. Even more value for money, right? So I deferred my purchase for a few more days while waiting for the members’ day to roll around.

During the time between the Bonuslink flyer and the members’ day, I received an email from Clinique, informing me of their latest promotion to redeem a sample of their new anti-aging moisturizer. I decided that I would redeem my free sample at the same time when I made my purchase.

When I visited the Clinique counter, I was able to accomplish a number of things at the same time – restock my moisturizer, redeem my free sample and I also asked the consultant for another sample of Clinique’s best-selling All About Eyes eye gel. Even though I did not purchase enough to meet the Gift-With-Purchase limit, I’m satisfied with getting samples on top of my purchased item.

Better yet, since I made my purchase on the members’ day, not only did I get the 5 times reward points, I also got MYR 20 worth of Parkson vouchers for spending above MYR 150 in a single day. Can you say score?

Total haul on that day :
Moisture Surge – MYR 160
Youth Surge sample redemption – free
All About Eyes sample – free
Parkson vouchers worth MYR 20 – free

Wouldn’t you say that’s a good deal? And all that for just waiting 1 week extra.

You might think that I unnecessarily spent a lot of time comparing prices and still ended up paying the full retail price for my moisturizer, but when I look at all that I managed to get for just one trip, to me that’s worth much more than randomly going out shopping.

So, plan your purchases ahead of time and save money.
Getting additional satisfaction in knowing you got a good deal? Priceless.