Banking On Water to Hydrate Skin!

I was invited to the launch of a new range from a Korea brand called Laneige, that was held at the Gardens Lifestyle Store & Cafe last week. Their new range is called the Water Bank series, which is Korea's latest and hot skincare in the market! I've heard about Laneige brand before, but I honestly haven't tried it before. But now that I've have tried it, I really think I should explore more of this brand because I love most of their products! Especially their Water Bank range, which is totally new with its ingredients, benefits and packaging!

 This Water bank series is targeted for hydration. We were told that this is one of Laneige’s bestselling ranges

Four bloggers were there to try out Laneige products too.

 Ashley, Daphne, Yuyu and me!

The fundamental of Laneige skincare line is to replenish the skin with moisture. So if you have dry or dehydrated skin then their products are extra-worthy for a try.

The new Water Bank range with the new and improved 5 SKU has 8 times stronger moisturizing power compared to its previous Water Bank range. Plus, it can penetrate into the 20th layer of skin and activates the 4 dormant moisturizing genes with its new moisturizing Biogene™ Technology and Hydro Ion Mineral Water

Anyway, today I'll be reviewing the Water Bank Essence_EX and Water Bank Moisture Cream_EX, which I would consider to be the most essential steps in your skincare regime if you have dry skin. If you're always keen to try new products/brand but not sure where to start, then this essence and moisturizer would probably be the best products to test and determine how much you like the line!

The Water Bank range is not really that new in the market actually. They're already famous in Korea for their awesome result! I always envy those Koreans celebrities who have flawless skin despite putting on heavy makeup for performances each time. Oh I want flawless skin too! T_T

For me, the brand and the products are quite new because like I said, I've never explored this brand before...but having tried, touched and tested more than 5 of their products, I think I'm gonna love it for it's uniqueness!

Beautiful decorations which makes me want to try these products even more! =)

This is the Water Bank Essence_EX

I have only started using this for 1 week for now, but this has worked quite well for me. My skin was flared up red and started to flake due to some medicines I took from my doctor a few weeks ago. I also had stubborn cystic acne on my cheeks for days now, but after a week of using this together with my DIY Manuka honey spot treatment for my acne and the Water Bank Moisture Cream, I can see that my pimple has started to come out faster and my skin felt smoother and less redness! I use this at night before bedtime and woke up with a happy face because my skin didn't look and feel oily at all!!! Amaaazing!

The essence itself is sheer white and very runny and liquidy! It's very easy to be absorbed by the skin. It has a very fresh scent too!  One thing I love about this product is that it absorbs very fast on my skin (within 30 seconds) and it doesn't feel sticky at all!

The Water Bank Moisture Cream_EX

The texture of this product is light and creamy, which I love it as if it's not sticky at all. 

This cream is ideal for normal to dry skin, as the package indicates. If you have oily or combo skin it is recommended to apply their Water Bank Gel Cream_EX instead. I use their set cream during day time and Water Bank Moisture Cream_EX during the night as it is more moisturizing and suitable for my dry flaky skin inside air-conditioning room.

Next, introducing the NEW Brightening Sparkling Water range which includes Brightening Sparkling Water Whipping Cleanser, Brightening Sparkling Pop Essence and Brightening Sparkling Water Capsule Mist

The Sparkling Water found in this range is obtained from the volcanic regions of South-Central France. It helps to promote the turnover of dead skin cells and stimulate blood circulation, which in turn makes skin looks brighter, clearer and more radiant. This bubbly range is so unique and sounds very promising at the same time, like this Brightening Sparkling Water Whipping Cleanser for example!

The texture is amaaaaazing! It's like putting whipped cream on your skin! This cleanser is infused with sparkling water, which is known for its effect on health and skin! Korean women showed great interest in sparkling water. They drink with it, cook with it..and even splash it on their skin for facials! 

Here's benefits of sparkling water

Other things that I would definitely purchase for more would be this Water Drop Tint lip product! Seriously, I'm in love with this lip tint!!

This is the first time I tried a really different kind of lip product! Water coating + Synergy Glow Effect, a new technology I suppose! It gives you a beautiful natural tint for your lips and left your lips moisturized with shiny effects! Smells great too! 

Comes in 10 beautiful shades!

I feel like collecting all colors now! Definitely my favourite lip product so far! I kinda addicted to apply this to my lips every now and then! I gave my sister to try it the other day, and she loved it too!

Natural pink lips! I'm using the color code Neon Pink in this picture.

By the way, in conjunction with the launch of this Water Bank range, Laneige also started a local CSR program, an initiative called the "Waterful Sharing Campaign" to raise awareness on rainwater harvesting. Laneige Malaysia is partnering with Malaysian Environmental NGOs (MENGO), targeting to raise RM 60, 000 through a 3 month campaign to facilitate the installation of rainwater harvesting systems in selected children shelter homes. To support this campaign, Laneige is launching its "Waterful Charity Kit" featuring limited edition packaging design where every RM 10 from the Charity Kit sold will be contributed towards the targeted fund.

The "Waterful Charity Kit" will consist of Multi Cleanser (30ml), Power Essential Skin Refiner Light/Moisture (50 ml), Balancing Emulsion Light/Moisture (50ml), Water Bank Essence EX (30ml), Water Bank Gel/Moisture Cream EX (20 ml), and Water Sleeping pack EX (20 ml) together with a limited edition mineral water specially designed for this campaign 

Available at Laneige beauty counters nationwide starting July 2014. - I think it's very reasonable price for a trial pack! Great for traveling too!

Also, Laneige will be having their Water Bank Promotion at Pavillion KL, Level 3 Entrance from 30th june to 6th July 2014! It’ll be super affordable, so those who are interested should head over and grab them while you still can!

XOXO,
Shazzy.

Silk Scarves For Sale!

My dad went to Turkey for a meeting a few weeks ago..and he bought me some lovely Turkish scarves while he was there knowing that I love scarves so much! They are super comfortable to wear. Very silky and breezy! So recently he went there again and I asked him to bring more of the Turkish scarves since many of my readers/followers love the scarves when I posted them on my Instagram a couple of days ago.

So here's some of the scarves available for you to purchase! Size: 100cm x 100 cm. They're slightly bigger than the typical TieRack scarves (90cm x 90cm). So I prefer to wear this scarf like the Turkish style! It's 100% pure silk. Very soft, comfortable and lightweight. Price RM 120 per piece including postage. They are very limited in quantity! So place your order to my email at: emailme@shazwanihamid.com to make a purchase!

Happy shopping!

Code Name: FL 001 

Code Name: FL 002 

Code Name: FL 003

Code Name: FL 004

Code Name: FL 005

Code Name: FL 006

Code Name: FL 007

Code Name: FL 008

Code Name: FL 009

Code Name: FL 010

Code Name: FL 011

Code Name: FL 012

Code Name: FL 013

Code Name: FL 014

Material: 100% Pure Silk

Size: 100 cm x 100 cm

Price: RM 120 including postage

I will upload more designs/patterns soon. My battery died while I was taking these pics and I couldn't find my charger yet! haha. So I'll upload them once I find my charger okay?

Please place your order to my email at: emailme@shazwanihamid.com to make a purchase! Thanks! :)


XOXO,
Shazzy.

Eat Fats!

Since I was diagnosed with this one little health problem by my doctor 3 weeks ago, I had been reading and buying all things natural and healthy. I need to watch over my diet and start eating clean food if I wish to stop the problem. I admit, all my life I have never really bothered about my health, especially since I was 19 years old, being away from home cooked meals. I used to be one of those people who don't really like eating out - My mom taught us well on eating good food and vitamins, etc. But then living in a hostel just made it kinda hard to eat healthy meals somehow. And until today, I got so used to eating out, and having fast foods, greasy meals and so many other junks that I put into my mouth...that got me into this little health problem today. Sigh. (Thank God it's nothing really alarming, but it's just something that I need to take care of)

Anyways, I find myself going to the Jaya Grocer spending 200 to 400 bucks every week now, buying whole foods and natural/organic products. I hate that healthy/organic foods are quite expensive..but I do love seeing my fridge having lotsa fruits and vegetables!

I have also starting to buy lots and lots of pure essential oils for the skin and body! I need the healthy fats in my diet. Well actually.. WE ALL DO. Our bodies need fat, not just me. It's just the way our bodies were created to function. And that means consuming real, whole foods the way people used to consume, a hundred years ago! So one thing I learned throughout my nutrition and health research is that, one of the most dangerous fads to hit the media is the “low fat” and “fat free” way of life! 

Our minds have now become so programmed to view the fat free yogurt, fat free milk, egg whites, and margarine are the healthy alternatives to their natural state-fat and all. A misguided fallacy that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart attacks. Guys, this is simply just another myth that has been harming your health for the last 50 years!  Pfft. The truth is, healthy saturated fats from high quality minimally processed animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances. The health of our bodies is determined by the balance of essential nutrients we give it, fat being one of them! So with not enough healthy fats in our diet, could make our bodies suffering the consequences! Like I do now... I used to buy so many fat free butter spreads, yogurt, milk, etc etc thinking that they're healthy! T___T

Stocking up some healthy oils/fats in the kitchen! Virgin Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Oil, etc! These are the essential food I take every day now..

When you hear healthy fat, think of balance, stability, and total nourishment. Healthy fats give you incredible energy, they keep the appetite regulated, and they make cells strong and healthy. It is the raw material that is needed to produce and maintain proper hormone function! So ladies with the hormone problems, eat more fats okay? Because hormones are produced using good fats and cholesterol, so if your bodies are not getting these nutrients, hormone problems arise simply because the body doesn’t have the building blocks to make them. The body needs fats for rebuilding cells and hormone production. This is especially important for the female reproductive system. - Foods like butter and coconut oil are full of short and medium chain fatty acids that our body turns directly into energy, and does not store as fat. Eating these fats actually speeds up your metabolism and balances the hormones! ^___^

Healthy fats are a key component to healthy, glowing skin too! Hence, when I found out about this, I quickly purchased a lot of pure essential oils for my skin and hair! Like Hemp Seed Oil, Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Argan Oil, etc! I love using coconut oil especially! (I am completely obsessed with all things coconut!) I eat with it. I slather my skin with it. I shampoo my hair with it..and many more! Why? Because it has SO many beneficial things in it! 

I have started incorporated coconut oils into my cooking and food...and even in drinks! I love the fragrant and the taste of it! 

If you ever wanna start buying coconut oil, make sure you buy the organic, unrefined, extra virgin and cold-pressed forms yeah! They're the healthy ones. You could also buy some other healthy fats like butter from pastured or grass-fed cows (I like Kerrygold brand), organic full fat goats milk, olive oils, nut oils like macadamia, walnut, almond, etc, avocado oil and cod liver oil. 

Take a listen to this doctor!

So the next time when you wanna go for some grocery shopping, leave the margarine, or the butter spreads, or those hydrogenated oils, the canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil and rice bran oil!! They're the evil oils! They're toxic to your body! Buy only natural, healthy fats, ok?! I will share more of the healthy things that I know in the next post..

P/s: When you think saturated fat, think glowing skin, balanced hormones, and a healthy body!


XOXO,
Shazzy.

The Nikah Hantaran

This took me a long time for me to write. Really sorry for keeping you guys waiting.. Reason being, because of my crazy schedule mostly... and partly because my wedding subject kinda involved more details and a lot more pictures to share here! So after looking at the length of the details of my wedding, I decided to split them into few parts. So here's the hantaran part first. 

I don't know about you, but I think the exchanging hantarans are one of the most interesting part in a Malay wedding, that no bride should miss! I mean, everyone loves getting gifts right? At least I do! hehe. I love getting, anddddd giving them! (Remember this Santa Claus post? haha :p) So naturally buying the hantaran gifts for him has been such an exciting experience for me, being a shopaholic that I am! :p 

Okay..actually it was more like buying all gifts for myself! - Cuz I get to decide everything! haha. Well...actually I wanted to sort of "synchronize" our gifts. You know like same type or product or same brand or something like that to add in the cheesiness some more, cuz it's a wedding! haha. xD 

So my then-fiance-now-husband, gave me the privilege to choose whatever that I want for his trays from his side, and whatever I want to give him for my trays, because he's cool like that.  ^__^ 

Anyways.... so one month before the wedding, we went to Pavilion and Starhill malls to have a shopping spree trip in one day, to check off our hantaran list, and bought the for him and for her gifts together. Gosh...it was such fun times for me! 

For my non Malay/non Malaysian readers, hantarans are actually some tray of gifts from the groom in an odd number, which will be exchanged during the matrimonial ceremony. The gifts in the hantaran list are not fixed, although there are certain must-have items, like the daun sirih (betel leaves) and bunga rampai, a sweet-smelling mixture of daun pandan (screwpine leaves) that have been shredded thinly, mixed with some rose water and sprinkled with some jasmine flowers. This is like the signification of the Malay hantaran tradition, which until today...I still don't quite get it why do we have to have this in our hantaran list! haha.  I mean I could just replace the sweet-smelling tray with some bottles of toiletries or perfumes, right? You know...something practical and useful! hehe ;p

Anyway, the bride side will give back at least 2 more of the gifts/trays than the groom's side. So the number of trays could be from as little as 5-3, or 7-5, or 9-7, or 11-9, or 13-11 and more! The gifts are always in odd numbers, but there are no minimum or maximum total of gifts/trays that should be given from both parties. It's really entirely up to the couple/family to give how many and what are the choices of the gifts to be given. The hantaran will be decorated with ribbons, pearls, flowers and whatnot, following a colour theme of the respective families’ choice. 

The exchanging hantaran is not an obligatory custom, but it's our Malay wedding tradition, which I personally find it as one of the interesting parts in the ceremony! :) 

The Malays basically exchange the wedding gifts during the ceremony to foster good relations between the two bridal families.