Ifthor With Them Usuals

Successfully organised yet another group iftar session this year! Though, as expected, a few couldn't make it, but I'm glad all turned out well. Thank you to high commitee of the program (Pau, Amir, I'zaz, Bedol and Lala). The ones who went out after sahur just to buy chicken and onions - you guys are the bomb, and to everyone for coming and helping out! Loads of love, x.

Despite being all over the world - times like these make you realize how happy it is to be home. Have a splendid last few days of Ramadhan, everyone! x

Borobudur Temple, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Decided to do this edit in black and white. Haven't experimented with actions and textures in awhile, so instead of making it RGB, might as well have a change. Borobudur Temple is just - amazing. To think of how the people back then were able to craft and build such a huge building despite having cranes or any modern equipment. I'm not really in the mood to type much, but I hope the pictures suffice. I don't think I'll even blog about Yogyakarta, because the highlight of my trip was just the temple. Pictures taken using GoProHero3+, edited using Photoshop CS5. 

LUSH Review: Rosie Wrapped Gift Set

I love LUSH products. In fact, through out my degree life, I've based three major assignments on LUSH (lol). Before Amir came back to Malaysia, he asked me what I wanted. I gave him a looong list of things I needed and a few of them were products from LUSH. Him, being typical 'him', didn't have any clue what LUSH was, so the thought of him buying anything from the store was already gone from my mind.

Today, he came over and surprised me with a perfectly wrapped box and a LUSH tag. I was over the moon!!! I thought it was just one product, but little did I know, when I opened the box, there were five LUSH babies waiting for me! Huhu.

A B O U T  L U S H

LUSH is a cosmetics/beauty brand which focuses on making organic products. Sadly, they do not have any physical or online stores in Malaysia. I used to get my LUSH fix from either the States, Singapore or Europe but with shipping and currency exchange - it's pretty expensive. However, out of all the places I've been to, I think Amsterdam sells the cheapest LUSH goods compared to the rest. I love LUSH stores! All the stores I've been to have really nice and helpful workers, plus they let you test the products.

R O S I E  G I F T  S E T

The set consists of five items.

Like the name itself, the Rosie gift set basically consists of products which are all rose based. Trust me, when I first got the box, the smell of roses was so intense. The box is wrapped with pretty paper and sealed with a pink bow. Inside, they put the foam stuff (which Jungfrau, my deaf cat ended up having a party with) so the products stay in shape and place. No leakage nor were any of the products deformed despite going through a long-haul flight. The five products inside the box are; Rose Jam, Rose Jam Bubbleroon, Ro's Argan Body Conditioner, Amandopondo and Tisty Tosty. 

R O S E  J A M  &  R O ' S  A R G A N  B O D Y  C O N D I T I O N E R

Ro's Argan Body Conditioner (B) and Rose Jam (A)

Rose Jam is a shower-gel made of rose oil, rose absolute, argan oil and geranium shower gel. Since it is a shower gel, it can be used for both your hair and your body (duh). In this gift set, its a small bottle of about 100g. This was the first product I tried and I didn't try it as a soap (yet), but I've tried it as a shampoo and it makes my hair feel amazing! It softens the hair and it makes my hair feel healthy and breezy. However, one thing I do not fancy about this product is it lacks foamness. I had to use a lot of the product in order to make sure it goes through all of my thick hair. Other than that, I'm pleased, huhu.

Next is Ro's Argan Body Conditioner. Again, in a small 45g package. This is an in-shower body conditioner. LUSH didn't clarify what oils when into this product (they just said many, lol) and yes, its somewhat of a body butter as well. No complaints with this one though. My skin definitely feels softer and way more fresh after using this product. Not only that, the smell really sticks with you overnight.

B U B B L E  B A R S  &  B A T H B O M B 

Amandopondo (L), Rose Jam Bubbleoon (B) and Tisty Tosty (A)

I think the product which has the most poignant smell of all is the Amandopondo. Not sure why the name is Amandopondo though, but I loved it. The description states that the product is 'a romantic, relaxing bubble bar to take you away from it all' - and it sure does. Not only did it make my bathroom smell all lovely but its smooth to the skin too. 

Tisty Tosty is a bathbomb. Since our bathtub got demolished during renovation a few years back, I have yet to try this one. Its the heart shaped product. There seems to be dried flowers inside of it, so I'm expecting a flower power explosion in the bathtub (lol). Will link you a video of the product being experimented here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7VCZiCE38.

Rose Jam Bubbleroon is another rosy bubblebar. Unlike the rest of the products which have a really poignant rose smell, this one is a bit sweeter - which I love. It's made of rose oil, rose absolute and Fair Trade shea butter (not even sure what that is). Like the rest of the products, it definitely makes my skin softer. However, I would recommend to put it in a cool place (I think room temperature is okay).

&&& that is all that's in this box! I seriously would recommend LUSH products mainly because they don't test their products on animals, and they are organic which means less chemical intake towards your body - especially your skin! You can also watch videos on how they make their products (yes, all of their products are handmade) on their YouTube channel as well.

Till next time, x. 

Vlog: Exploring Yogyakarta!

I introduce to you, my first ever vlog! Hahaha.

I was in Yogyakarta, Indonesia for four days last week. It was one of the most random decisions I've ever made. I went with a few of my ex-officemates. I'll be doing a proper post soon - that is, once I'm not lazy to edit the photos but till then, enjoy the vlog!

Shot using GoPro Hero 3+, edited using Final Cut Pro. 

Another Round of Catching Up!

Taken using my iPhone, edited using VSCOcam.

Taken using my iPhone, edited using VSCOcam.

The weather was nice today so I decided to have a lovely girly date with one of my favourite twins, Najwa. It was her first time driving me around which was a pleasure, really. I'm slowly getting bored and tired of driving especially with the uneven oil prices and having to get out of this isolated hill I live in is a hassle. Therefore, the only solution to bring me out is either a) pick me up or b) if I care a lot about you to want to make a trip for you, ahaha. 

Wondermilk finally opened a branch near to home so we decided to go to IOI City Mall (which is my new favourite mall, considering its only 7-8 minutes from my house - no joke). I love the design and interior of the store! Like most Wondermilk stores, they still have the ala-picnic concept but most of the colour palette was pastels and white. There were also chevron walls, I'm so addicted to chevron walls these days!

Food wise, it was similar to any other Wondermilk branch. Fun fact though, I don't go to Wondermilk to eat cupcakes, I go there only for the baked potatoes because they make one of the best baked potatoes I've ever tried (the ultimate best baked potato which I've tried is in Switzerland.. aha how am I ever going to taste you again?!). Though I was a bit disappointed since the branch which I used to go to in Publika had turkey slices but they didn't have that in this branch. So I settled for a chicken baked potato. It was so-so.

I'm planning to get a small compact camera which can easily transfer pictures to phone through wi-fi and is able to blog as well. Not a Go-Pro though since it's pretty much fixed wide angle. Any suggestions? Till next time, x.