Category Archives: Food & Drinks

[SR] BeautyKeeper

I’m back from the long hiatus! Have been busy being a mama to my cutie girl. During this time, I had to reject quite a few review requests as I was breastfeeding. It hasn’t been easy trying to juggle my own leisure time and looking after a kid (even though I have help from my in-laws), but I’m determined to get back into the pace of things. I’ve already got quite a few things lined up that I want to share with you guys.

So, here’s the first review from my long hiatus…it’s from the good people of BeautyKeeper and The Sample Store!  BeautyKeeper is a platform that originates from Taiwan and brings to you, all the trendy and fashionable Taiwanese skincare, make up and beauty supplements. They offer premium products and not cheap, low quality stuff to fulfill all your skincare needs.

I’ll be introducing two products which you can purchase from BeautyKeeper. First up is the YOHO Power Probiotics Collagen which gives you the power of youth and enhances the effectiveness of collagen. It has a blend of 12 different natural phenol (acai berry, cranberry, mangosteen, pomegranate, wolfberry, strawberry, chilean fruit wine, blackberries, grapes, raspberry, blueberry and cherry) to give you radiant skin and French-made elastin to bring the firmness to your skin.

YOHO Power Probiotics Collagen gives you the:

  1. Power of Youth — to look beautiful even without make up
  2. Power of Collagen — helps your make up to last longer
  3. Power of Mobility and Flexibility — keeps you energetic and strong
  4. Power of Berries — gives you the radiant look
  5. Power of Firm and Elastic Skin — so that you’ll always be photogenic

Each box comes with 20 sachets. According to the instructions, you can take 2 sachets per day for general well-being or 4 sachets per day for intensive care. You can either consume the powder just like that or mix it with food/water. It smell and tastes very strongly of berries so I had no problem consuming it directly.

The next product is Vitalab Perfecting Revitalizing Elixir which refines the tone and texture of the skin, and rapidly reduces the appearance of fine lines. Due to the needs of post-cosmedermatology care in recent years, Vitalab was established to serve clients with extremely sensitive skin. Thus, its products are safe, effective and hypoallergenic.

I use it as a moisturiser. The cream is light and not too oily. It has a nice rose fragrance which is not too strong and overpowering. Just 1,5 to 2 pumps (2 small mounds) is enough cream to cover my whole face.

I’m the kind who needs to use beauty products for a longer period of time before I can see results thus I wasn’t anticipating much. However, when I went for my facial session this month, my facial therapist said I looked fairer and my skin was in a much better condition than last month, I was pretty surprised because I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary except used both products for about 2 weeks or so. I had even gone swimming the day before my facial and thought I would be darker! I’m not making all this up; it really is a true story!

BoxGreen: July 2015 Box

Yikes, I have overdued posts for all my blogs. Just bear with me as I play catch up alright?

So here’s my comment post on my second BoxGreen snack box. The squirrels were feeling a little generous this July and added a little surprise in the box: a TEAISM wand. I wrote a review on the tea wands much earlier. If you want, you can check it out here.

I suppose it’s a cue to enjoy the snacks while sipping on some tea. 🙂

I forgot to make some changes to my list of snacks so I got another packet of Cranberry Fusion in this box. Well, but I found a use for this rather sweet snack. I add some of it to plain yoghurt. I’ve been trying to stay away from sweet food for the fear of getting gestational diabetes, so I’ve been eating plain yoghurt instead of flavoured ones. However, plain yoghurt is a bit unbearable for me who has 1) a sweet tooth 2) a dislike for food with a strong dairy taste. So I add a little sweetness to my plain yoghurt to make it taste a little better.

Other snacks in this box…

Berry Nut Mix: A nutty and fruity mix of walnuts, peanuts, cashew nuts, sultanas and cranberries. The sweet fruit kind of balance out the mild taste of the nuts. Also, I don’t know about you guys, but my jaw kinda hurts after munching on too many nuts. The fruits kind of give my jaw a break.

Original Soya Crisps: These need a bit of getting used to. They are a little hard if you’re used to the kind of light crisp in potato chips, but they can get a bit addictive. They remind me a lot of Sun Chips in terms of taste.

Onion Macademia Garlic (OMG!): OMG! indeed. These were what attracted me to BoxGreen in the first place. I crave the taste of garlic macademias ever since the first time I had them in Hawaii. Unfortunately, these don’t taste as good as those I ate in Hawaii. The ones bought in Hawaii under the Hawaiian Host brand, were a lot more light and powdery in taste. These were slightly buttery and heavier in taste. Good try though…they are still rather addictive.

There’s no special promotion going on now, but if you sign up for your first box with my special code, we both get $5 off. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a BoxGreen subscription and start snacking healthily.

BoxGreen: June 2015 Box

This is a rather late post. I was supposed to review the June box earlier but didn’t get round to it until now…when the July box is already here. *yikes*

I’ve got another subscription box to introduce to everyone. Nope, it’s not a beauty box. It contains food…healthy snacks to be exact. It’s started by a college acquaintance and his two other partners.

Ever felt hunger pangs at weird hours where you end up munching away on potato chips, only to think about the calories and regret later? Well, these guys from BoxGreen understand the feeling. That’s why they’ve come up with this great idea of supplying healthy snacks on a monthly basis.

The subscription plans are:

  • Monthly — $19.90/mth
  • 3 Months — $18.90/mth, $56.70 charged every 3 months (save 5%)
  • 6 Months — $17.90/mth, $107.40 charged every 6 months (save 10%)
  • 12 months — $15.90/mth, $190.80 charged per year (save 20%)

The good thing about choosing a higher plan is that you get some savings. The bad thing is that you commit yourself to receiving a box for the specified number of months. So you can’t quit halfway if you really get sick of it. The payments are set up to deduct regularly on Paypal.

There’s a whole load of wonderful snacks to choose from. All you have to do is choose eight snacks to begin with. Each box will contain four chosen snacks, so you’re really listing for two boxes. The list is totally customisable. You can choose what snacks you want to receive, in any order you like. If any of your chosen snacks are sold out, the squirrels at BoxGreen will replace it with a surprise snack. Or if you really like surprises, you can just not pick anything and let the friendly squirrels do the picking for you. It’s that simple.

I’ve known about BoxGreen for some time but was just hesitating a little over the price. But but but…they have garlic macademias… That was it. I gave in to the temptation and started my subscription.

The box has arrived!

Open the box and what do I see, my snacks carefully wrapped in brown paper. Mmmmm…the going green and earthy feel.

Two of my choices were probably sold out and they got replaced.

Shitake Mushroom Chips: I love mushrooms but I was a little curious and skeptical about this snack. Dried shitake mushrooms have to weird salty smell, so how would the mushroom chips taste like? Sure hope they didn’t have the same smell. Well, they didn’t! They had this nice soy sauce flavour and were totally crunchy. Very addictive.

Cranberry Fusion: This was one the replacement surprise snacks. Really not complaining because I love cranberries. This snack is a mix of cranberries, raspberries and blueberries. Raspberries…really? I don’t remember tasting any. Haha. This snack is a little on the sweet side though.

Berry Dark in Here: I’m not too sure why I chose this snack. Haha. Probably because I was drawn to the sultanas. It’s a mix of golden raisins, dried strawberries and dark chocolate buttons. I was pleasantly surprised that the dried strawberries tasted sweet here. The ones in this cereal that I bought, tasted sour.

The last snack is Lightly Roasted Pistachios. I didn’t take a photo of it because you do know how pistachios look like right? I opted for Rosemary Pistachios, but apparently those were sold out. Ah well. *shrugs*

I know, you must be thinking why no garlic macademias in this box when that snack was the one that tempted me into starting this subscription. Erm well…apparently the bottom four snacks in my list of eight got sent first.

So there you have it. My review of my first BoxGreen snack box. The snacks are really good so they’re are worth a try.

Right now, there’s a cool promotion going on. If I refer 10 friends, I get a chance at winning a free box. So help me out guys, by clicking on this link to get started with your own BoxGreen subscription. Then refer 10 friends to get your chance at winning a free box too!

Purr-fect Sweets

Not really a beauty-related entry, but a review nonetheless…

If you haven’t noticed yet, Swensen’s is having a Hello Kitty dessert promotion! Couldn’t resist it, had to go try! (Would have been better if it were My Melody, but oh well…)

There are four desserts on the menu. Two parfaits, a waffle and ice-cream, and cake.

SO PINK! <3 SO MANY ICHIGO! Ichigo flavour? Thought so but nope. It’s either strawberry cheesecake or bandung flavoured ice-cream.

The menu

My sister, friend and I wanted to try all, but we were too full from our lunch to stomach more than two desserts. So, we decided to try the Merry Berry Kitty parfait and Purr-fect Waffle Dream.

Merry Berry Kitty

The parfaits come with an original Swensen’s Hello Kitty coaster. It’s really just a collectible card. We didn’t want it wet and soggy so when the waiter put the coaster on the table, my sister immediately grabbed it away. Shocked the waiter a little. Haha.

This parfait is made of strawberry cheesecake ice-cream with blueberry sauce and topped with whipped cream, strawberries and a chocolate Hello Kitty. It’s really cute! I found the ice-cream a bit sour though, not quite to my tastebuds.

Purr-fect Waffle Dream

We were a bit skeptical of the bandung-flavoured ice-cream that came with this dessert. Our last encounter with bandung ice-cream (not at Swensen’s) didn’t go down too well. However, Swensen’s bandung ice-cream was surprisingly good. It tasted more of rose syrup than milk, which was a good thing for me since I dislike anything with the strong dairy taste. It wasn’t too sweet too. The waffle was a little disappointing though. It wasn’t crispy. 🙁 Nevertheless, there was strawberry sauce drizzled all over the waffle and there was a cute chocolate Hello Kitty.

The other parfait that we didn’t try, comes with the same bandung-flavoured ice-cream and is topped with anko  (sweet red bean paste). The cake is a red velvet layer cake I think.

This promotion began on 1 February and will go on until 30 April. Each dessert is $12.50. So, if you love Hello Kitty, you cannot miss this!

Black Box Beauty Boxes

Haha, I like how the title works out to be an alliteration.

As promised, I’ll tell you a little about the beauty boxes I got from Black Box. Yes, I have itchy fingers when it comes to beauty boxes (whether or not I actually use the contents of it), but my self-control is pretty good. So I end up with boxes of contents that I’ll use at least 70% if not all.

Black Box launched three exclusive beauty boxes for Christmas 2014 after their revamp, and I purchased two of them. Each box comes with a snazzy name.

The first one is ‘Bare my Soul, Sweetheart’. It was the cheapest at $9.90 and came in a plastic pack.

As usual, a card is included to tell you more about the products enclosed.

  • Biore Micellar Cleansing Water (1 sachet)
  • Klarity Lasertox CC Miracle White Lotion (5ml)
  • Nivea Fruity Shine Pink Guava Lip Balm (1 stick)
  • Ocean Health Buffered C-500 Chewable Tablets (60 tablets)
  • Nivea In-shower Skin Conditioner Body Lotion (1 sachet)
  • L’oreal Extraordinary Oil Sublime Hair Enhancer (3 sachets)

I thought the contents of this pack were pretty worth it for the price since two of the items are retail sized.

If you’re interested, I did a review of the Biore Miceller Cleansing Water earlier.

On to the next beauty box, ‘Hey Betty, I’m on a Vacay!’ This box costs $19.90 and comes in a neat little shoebox.

  • Za x Betty Boop Killer Volume Mascara (1 tube)
  • Aqualabel White Up Emulsion (20ml)
  • Aqualabel Aqua Enhancer (20ml)
  • Aqualabel Reset White Mask (1 sheet)
  • Ma Cherie Moisture Shampoo (50ml)
  • Ma Cherie Moisture Conditioner (50ml)

At first glance, I was thinking “The contents of this box is really little. That’s pretty expensive.” But after careful consideration, it really isn’t so. The mascara is retail sized and worth almost the cost of the box.

A note about Aqualabel. I’ve been using their enhancer for a few years now and love how it keeps my face moist. Aqualabel has two (or more) series. The common ones are the whitening (blue) series and the moisturising (red) series. I have been using the enhancer in the moisturising series, but lately they don’t seem to be on the shelves anymore. Maybe they have discontinued it. Oh well, I might as well try the enhancer in the whitening series since I have the sample now.

Another tidbit about Ma Cherie. People probably don’t remember or don’t know this, but Takki (Hideaki Takizawa) used to endorse Ma Cherie when it wasn’t available on our shores yet. I still remember a friend going gaga over it and all set to buy home the shampoo and conditioner when she went to Japan.

The third exclusive beauty box is ‘Love, The Alter Ego’ and is priced at $29.90. The last one is ‘I Kissed the Knight Goodbye’ and is priced at $39.90. I didn’t purchase these two as I didn’t fancy the contents and felt they were a bit too pricey.

The second, third and fourth boxes are still available at Black Box. Do check them out.

[SR] MU MIEUX Collagen

Thanks Mary Chia and The Sample Store for sponsoring the product.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body that is needed to maintain the structure and density of your skin. As time goes by (around our mid-30s), our skin loses the ability to produce enough collagen. That’s why at ages 35-55, the skin is less firm and wrinkles start to form. While you can get collagen from daily food intake like eating fish, that may not be enough.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with collagen supplements. Well, Mary Chia has come up with the MU Nutrition+ line of dietary supplements which includes the MU MIEUX Collagen beauty drink.

The MU Nutrition+ line of supplements addresses common concerns such as:

  • Pre-mature ageing dues to loss of collagen and key vitamins for skin and organs
  • Improve body’s detoxification abilities
  • Enhance gastro-intestinal health by introducing beneficial bacteria (Probiotics)
  • Improve  overall metabolism and blood circulation
  • Block/displace excess fat, sugars and carbohydrates consumed through daily diet
  • Enhance overall organ functions
  • Increase energy levels and vitality
  • Improve immunity

Each little bottle of MU MIEUX Collagen beauty drink contains:

BHN (Marine) low molecular collagen is proven in laboratory tests to be best absorbed by the body. In addition, Co-Q10, Ceramide and Vitamin C and E enhance skin hydration, elasticity and luminosity.

One bottle of MU MIEUX Collagen beauty drink per day before bedtime is all you need to maintain your skin’s optimum collagen levels. It is recommended to chill the drink before consumption. Shake the bottle well and consume all the content once opened.

The taste of the drink is actually very pleasant because of the apple extract. Yup, no fishy taste at all, just sweet sweet apple. It leaves you wanting more, but all you really need is one little bottle. Dang.

There’s a promotion for MU MIEUX Collagen beauty drink that’s pretty sweet. Get ONE box of MU MIEUX Collagen beauty drink at only S$88 (UP S$108). Each box has eight bottles of drink. BONUS PERK: Receive a complimentary collagen facial worth S$145 per session for the first 100 readers. All this is kindly sponsored by Mary Chia.

So what do you need to do to clinch this exclusive promotion? Call 1800 250 2001 and just quote ‘Sample Store Exclusive’ and my name (Elisia Phua). Remember that this promotion is only valid from 1 February – 31 March 2015 at any Mary Chia or Urban Homme outlet.

A bottle a day for youthful and supple skin! Good luck and cheers!

TEAISM

I love drinking tea and this special ‘tea bag’ piqued my interest. It’s not even a tea bag. It’s a tea wand. Haha.

TEAISM is a product by Eu Yan Sang, and it stands for three things: healthy, functional and convenient.

All you need to do is just dip the wand into your cup of hot water, stir it a bit and you’re good to go.

Each  TEAISM wand is a high-tech recyclable diffuser that keeps the tea within, fresh and fragrant. The tea is  made using premium grade tea leaves from the best Taiwanese tea gardens in the world.

There are five flavours to enjoy:

  • Balance — green tea
  • Energise — fancy black tea
  • Protect — blueberry tea
  • Restore — osmanthus oolong tea
  • Comfort — ginger black tea

The tea wand is quite a cute thing. Aside from that, it actually lasted a couple of brews. Normal tea bags last for only about two cups. With TEAISM, I actually could drink four cups with one tea wand.

You can get TEAISM at Eu Yan Sang or my LIFE INC. Right now there’s an online promotion going on. $9 for a box of 15 tea wands. Usual price is $15. That’s 40% savings!

SkinnyMint Teatox Programme

Tadaa! I’ve completed the 28-day SkinnyMint teatox programme.

There are tons of testimonials on the website but before you get bought into it, you must know that the product works differently for different people. Do not treat this like some miracle slimming medicine. As stated on the website, you still need regular exercise and good sleeping/eating habits.

My experience with the product:

Did you lose weight?
I think I did lose a little weight. No drastic changes, pooh bear stomach is still there…slightly flatter perhaps? I don’t have a weighing scale at home so I can’t be too sure, but I do know by feel when I wear different pairs of shorts. To be fair, I also did pick up jogging again from no exercise at all. Only jogged a few days (can count on one hand) out of the 28 days.

Did you feel less bloated?
Yes. I think I saw much improvement in this aspect. I used to get a bloated tummy quite often for God knows what reason. After going on the teatox programme, had no trouble with a bloated tummy.

Were you cured of your constipation?
Yes. The Night Cleanse tea really worked wonders. So well that I had diarrhoea every other day. Enough said.

Did it reduce your appetite?
Yes. Not like I totally had no appetite to eat at all (that would be real bad), but I noticed that I needed to eat slightly less to feel full. Perhaps that also helped in the slight weight loss?

Would you continue with the programme?
The website recommends to go through the teatox programme as and when your body feels like it needs a good detox. There should be at least a month’s break before starting on a new 28-day programme. Personally, I’m kinda terrified of the diarrhoea part. It’s good that I’m cured of my constipation problem, but having diarrhoea like that is not good either. Now that I’ve finished the programme, I am trying to up my water intake to see if my body is able to detox itself naturally (meaning that I can go to the loo regularly without the help of supplements).

So there you have it. My honest take on the product. Those who have just started out the programme, good luck. Just don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get the results you wanted (which is pretty much that awesome flat tummy everyone seems to have after drinking the tea).