Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub with Micro-fine Cocoa Beans

I had been using the Exfoliant Doux Aromatique aux 3 Roses by Nuxe and didn't like it, so when I was browsing at Guardian, I decided to look out for a nicer one. The requirement was that it had to be a 2-in-1 face wash and scrub for the sake of convenience, which basically meant that it had to foam.

I have only heard of Palmer's Cocoa Butter being associated with pregnancy and stretch marks and hence this facial scrub caught my attention. So did the fact that it uses micro-fine cocoa beans as an exfoliant. Although I don't like the smell of cocoa butter, this scrub is perfumed with a white lily fragrance, which is strong enough to mask much of the cocoa butter scent and make it acceptable to me.


The scrub uses walnut shell powder in tandem with cocoa beans as an exfoliant. The amount and size of the scrub particles is just right, neither too plenty not too sparse, too gentle nor too harsh on the skin. Best of all, it cleanses really well without leaving my skin taut.


The scrub contains soybean oil, cocoa extract and cocoa seed butter to moisturise, aloe vera to soothe and calm, vitamin E to nourish. It does however, contain parabens and EDTA, but I'm not too concerned, as it does not remain long on my skin.

Lunch @ Nyonya Memories

I have been wanting to try the peranakan food at Nyonya Memories ever since they opened. Located at Heartland Mall, Kovan, it's just within walking distance from my place. However, since the boy and I usually travel further for our nights out, we had never managed to have dinner here till we recently decided to lunch together.

It's located on the second floor of the mall, near Pizza Hut.


The interior has been decorated to give the place a homely feel. Floral curtains frame mirrors, making the place seem bigger than it actually is.


The kitchen where our food was being prepared.


The dishes cost under $10 each and the portion is just nice for two, maybe three if you pick at your food.


The boy wanted to order Chap Chai but I wanted something I hadn't tried before and decided to get the Hor Pow with Pork. It's basically fried beancurd filled with sweet roasted pork, cucumbers and cut red chillies. Although it felt more like a simple snack, I wasn't disappointed with this dish as I did with the Beef Rendang.


The Beef Rendang was hard and dry, and none of us wanted to finish the dish. We just wet our rice with the curry.


The Ayam Ponteh on the othe hand was pretty good. The chicken was tender and the sauce was sweet with the crunchy taste of nuts.


I would like to try more peranakan food, but we'll probably not be eating here again. The staff are friendly though and they have daily promotions, so if you are staying or working nearby, you might still like to give this place a try. I do see quite a number of people at the restaurant whenever I walk pass the place.

Ichikami Hair Treatment Gel Essence

As I have an aversion to using a wash-off hair conditioner, I was on the lookout for a leave-in type conditioner which would help my dry and slightly frizzy hair. I decided to try the Ichikami Hair Treatment Gel Essence, as it was a relatively new product, and being around $10 or so, wasn't that expensive. It didn't bother me that the black tube with a pink screw-top cap contained only 40g of serum, as I hardly finish any product I buy.

The gel is actually a very light white-colored lotion. Half a dollar-sized amount absorbs nicely into short hair and tames flyaways. I don't notice a sheen using this gel, but too much will leave hair sticky. The scent isn't as strong as the Venus Spa Fragrance Hair Oil, and it somehow smells like pear to me.


It contains a number of plant oils such as castor oil, camellia oil, rice germ oil and walnut seed oil. It also contains glycerin, squalane and Yoshino cherry leaf extract. Unlike the Venus Spa Fragrance Hair Oil, this isn't 100% natural. It does contain sulfate, triethanolamine and EDTA.

Arezia Nail Polish #726 - Olive Gold

A beautiful muted brown-olive-bronze-gold color that I got together with a rather similar but darker shade #960. Arezia has some really nice colors, though some take quite long to dry, and others chip rather easily. Not complaining :)


Classy yet understated enough for work.

Venus Spa Fragrance Hair Oil (Ayurveda Herb)

I got the Venus Spa Fragrance Hair Oil when it was going for 20% off at ALT's clearance sale. Sasa also carries it. What I liked about it was that it came in a solid glass bottle with 50ml of 100% natural goodness.

It contains mainly plant oils such as safflower seed oil, sesame seed oil, jojoba oil, olive fruit oil, and apricot kernel oil. It also contains pormegranate leaf extract, neem extract, and rose apple leaf extract. The scent is rather strong, sweet, and fruity, and does linger.

The oil leaves a lovely sheen and tames flyaway hair rather well, with a pump for short hair and two for longer hair. Being a heavily-textured oil, any more will weigh your hair down and flatten it instead.

Japan Electric Ore Peptide Firming Duo Lifting Mask by LoveMore

The Japan Electric Ore Peptide Firming Duo Lifting Mask by LoveMore is selling at Watsons at a discounted price of $8.90 per box of 5 individually wrapped masks.

The masks contain fish collagen peptide and palmitoyl hexapeptide to aid in collagen synthesis, palmitoyl pentapeptide-3 and copper acetate to smoothen wrinkles, nonapeptide-1 to fight against melanin deposits, coenzyme Q10 to conbat free radical damage, hyaluronic acid to boost moisture levels, and grapeseed oil to tone the skin.

Each mask is well-saturated, but not overly saturated such that you'd have the serum drip all over the countertop as you remove the mask from the packaging and fit it onto your face.

The masks have a honeycomb pattern on them.

The unique feature of this mask is not the chemical lifting effect, but the physical one. This comes about due to the extra piece of connecting mask for the area under the chin, the ends of which are to be hung from the ears, thereby providing the lifting effect. There are also 'handles' at the sides of the main piece which are to be hooked around the ears, which makes it so much more convenient to go about your daily activities without the constant threat of the mask falling off.

Watsons is also selling the masks individually at $2 a piece and liking the convenience of being able to multi-task with these, I got the Rose Crystal and Tourmaline from Scotland, and the White Crystal and Platinum from Brazil to try.

The Rose Crystal and Tourmaline Mask contains rhodochrosite to stimulate metabolism and cleansing, tourmaline to energise, hyaluronic acid to boost moisture, amino acids to stimulate collagen production and smoothen the skin.

The White Crystal and Platinum Mask contains collodial platinum to maintain the skin's electrical balance, smithsonite extract to heal and protect the skin, ellagic acid for its anti-oxidant properties. All the above masks have a slightly chemical and artificial fragrance.

Lierac Night Peel

I was looking out for an AHA skincare product as I had run out of the Reviva Labs 10% Glycolic Acid Cream, and it so happened that Lierac was having a 50% discount off its Night Peel Serum. The white opaque glass bottle with a pump (no cap) contains 30ml.


Although it is being marketed as a treatment for fine lines and wrinkles, I bought it for the exfoliating effect as my skin is prone to uneveness and blemishes.


The serum is clear and watery, and contains 8% glycolic and salicylic acids to slough off dead skin cells, urea to provide natural moisturization, and orange oil to promote circulation and balance the skin. It does leave a sticky film on my face, and the smell is strong and soapy, but it does work to keep my skin clear and smooth so I'm not complaining. Sensitive skins might find that this serum does sting a little.


It is recommended that the serum be used daily for a 6-8 week period, or throughout the year. I prefer to use it daily for a week, followed by twice or thrice a week thereafter.

After Dinner Greed @ Desserts First

There are a number of dessert stalls in the area just behind Bugis Junction, where the eateries and steamboat restaurants are. So one evening, after pigging out at a yummy and rare porridge steamboat place (which didn't allow me to take any photographs and which has closed down anyway), we popped over next door to complete our meal with dessert.


The boy almost always orders something with mango in it for dessert, and this time it is the Mango Snow Ice, which is basically shaved mango ice cream with mango pieces, topped with mango syrup and nata de coco. I stole a mouthful or two and it was delicious.


As usual, I had a Bobo Chacha, partly for the huge colorful sago chunks which are so difficult to find hese days. The quality of the desserts here is pretty good and this was no exception. It is a pity they have stopped serving it hot, which I much prefer over the usually diltued cold version.


Another of the boy's favourites is the cold mango sago with pomelo. The sweetness of the mango balances the bitterness of the pomelo, and there's a mountain of sago in there.


If you like glutinous rice balls but not the spicy ginger or sweet peanut soup they usually come in, you might want to try the Homemade Taro Skin Tang Yuan (Red Bean/Chocolate). Four balls in a sweet soup, two filled with chocolate sauce and two with the more common red bean paste. We both found the chocolate tang yuan rather weird, but the red bean paste was thick and pretty good.




As for the yam cake (they have pumpkin too), it wasn't bad. We still prefer the one from Dessert Story though.

Kracie Naive Makeup Remover Sheet (Green)

I noticed the green and pink packs of Kracie Naive Makeup Remover Sheets at Watsons a couple of months ago and decided to get the green one, which claims to remove waterproof makeup.

Each sheet contains castor oil and olive leaf extract. It also contains alcohol, glycols, parabens and fragrance. The scent is light and similar to regular freshening wipes.

The flip top does a good job in keeping the sheets moist and two months later, my pack of sheets are still as moist. However, there isn't much moisture in the sheets to begin with. Partly because of that, it does not work really well in removing waterproof mascara. Even though the sheet is pressed onto the lashes for a while as instructed, it still takes more tugging than anyone would like, to get all the mascara off. If you have a habit of piling on mascara, you're better off with an oil cleanser. It works well in removing the rest of the makeup though, both base and point, although I need at least two sheets to get the entire face clean, as each sheet is a tiny 8cm x 20cm.

* As I get to the bottom half of the packet, I notice that the sheets are wetter than those that were at the top! Perhaps you could store the packet upside down to solve the problem. I still use an oil-based eye makeup remover for waterproof lashes though.

Majolica Majorca Pressed Porecover Powder 2011 Limited Edition

The Majolica Majorca Pressed Porecover Powder 2011 Limited Edition was going for 20% + 10% off at the recent Watson's Members sale, which priced it at close to the Japan retail of 1700 yen for 10g of face powder. I had never desired any Majolica compact previously, but on that particular day, the shiny jade green case with the popout design looked like a combination of mint and hard candy to me.

Sugar craving abated, it is a plasticky compact, reminiscent of a contact lens case. A very basic pressed powder with neither shimmer, nor coverage, nor scent. It comes with a sponge and a mirror under the cover. Convenient for touch ups on the go, I still prefer using loose powders as pressed powders seem to give me a whitish cast or in this case, a slightly grey cast which dulls the complexion, though it makes my skin smooth.

There are no beneficial plant extracts or vitamins except for tocopherol which is more likely added as a preservative. Keep for the novelty.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir (Eau de Beaute)

It was a day before Valentine's and I was browsing at Sephora itching to get something. I was, and still am, in my 'cooling menthol' phase, and when I saw that the Caudalie Beauty Elixir had peppermint oil in it, told the boy that I would get the 30ml bottle and that would be my Valentine's Day present. In return, I baked him Nutella Hazelnut heart-shaped cookies and he loved it. Lol.

I loved my present too. It is one of those rare instances where I actually used up the entire product and in triple-quick time. The bottle lasted me 3 weeks and served its purpose of perking me up on sleepy mornings and draggy afternoons. Any effect of smoothing and a glowing complexion was too subtle but I did find that I broke out less. This is not a product which is suitable for those with sensitive skins as the stinging effect is rather strong.


The Beauty Elixir also comes in 100ml, in the exact same glass bottle with a spray nozzle. It contains alcohol and the scent is rather strong, mainly of peppermint and rosemary. It also contains bitter orange flower water to tone, grape fruit extract to prevent aging, myrrh extract to detoxify and heal, and damask rose oil to calm amd soothe the skin. Free from parabens with 100% naturally-derived fragrance.

Anna Sui Oil Control Mask

I have a liking for Anna Sui products mainly because of the rose-themed black and purple pakaging. Not many of their skincare products I find effective, but I do like the Eye Makeup Remover WP, the seemingly out-of-production face gel cleanser, and the Oil Control Mask. The mask comes in a 135g purple tube with a black flower-shaped screw-top cap.


It contains witch hazel extract as an astringent, lemon fruit extract to control sebum production, raspberry fruit extract to heal blemishes, lavander water to calm irritated skin, peppermint leaf extract and menthol to cool, rosemary leaf extract to aid circulation and soothe inflammation, salicylic acid to exfoliate, and grapeseed oil to tighten and tone. It does however, contain triethanolamine, EDTA, glycols and parabens.


A translucent gel with white speckles of synthetic beads that provide exfoliation, the mask has a minty floral scent which I prefer over the signature rose scent. It is a 2-in-1 scrub and mask, the convenience of which was what attracted me. I apply the gel onto a damp face and use it as I would a scrub, then leave it on for 5 minutes to work as a mask. The cooling sensation is refreshing, lasts the entire 5 minutes, and if you want to heighten the sensation to an ice-cold feeling, you could sit in front of the fan. A very nice treat for hot tired days.