QV Face Purifying Mask

Ever since I got pregnant I had to do a total overhaul of everything I used, from skincare, haircare, to bodycare. Somehow the moment I hit "5 weeks" suddenly my sense of smell went 100X stronger than usual. Even slightly scented product smelled horrible, making me feel sick. Had to do a super quick shower and had to hold my breath everytime I washed my hair, otherwise I might puke in the shower due to the "super strong" smell. I couldn't (and still can't) wear my favourite perfumes since.

My combination skin went really oily, I had tiny bumps on my forehead and my chin, which was upsetting, as I don't normally get them. Plus pimples around my cheeck and nose. Must be due to those pregnancy hormones!!!! So I went on the hunt for a mask with kaolin in the ingredients list, hoping to draw all those impurities out of my skin. I was attracted to QV Face Purifying Mask mainly because it has kaolin and because it was supposed to be "fragrance free".

I'm glad I got it, the mask is one of the best I've ever used. It seems to settle my skin, doesn't cause more breakouts, and feels gentle enough on my sensitive skin. It doesn't give me the tight-skin/moisture-sucking feeling that normal mud mask gives, leaving my skin feeling smooth and comfortable after application. It's not totally fragrance free in my opinion, as I can smell a soft scent whenever I use it. But it's mild enough not to upset my pregnant nose. I was pleasantly surprised with it, especially considering it comes with a very affordable price tag.

Verdict: yes, yes, YES! for me. It has become one of my newest best friends. Definitely buying more when I run out of it.

Ingredients: Aqua (water), kaolin, pariffinum liquidum, butylene glycol, cyclomethicone, panthenol, carthamus tinctorius (safflower oil), magnesium aluminium silicate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, cetyl alcohol, tocopherol (vitamin E), xanthan gum, methyparaben, propylparaben, citric acid.

I'm Back... with a MUCH Bigger Tummy

Hello everyone!! *waving*

I've been away for sooooo long I can't really remember the feeling of blogging.... I hope someone is still around to read this.

I have been unwell in the past few months. Reason being: I'm PREGNANT! The early trimester was just terrible, the "all day" morning sickness hit me hard and fast, the nausea, the dizziness, etc. I couldn't do much, couldn't eat much, couldn't drink much, couldn't sleep much, couldn't get out of the house for 2 months. Everything smelled and tasted terrible. I know I should be happy but I was so upset as life seemed to pass by very slowly. A couple of times I cried when I thought I couldn't put up with the sufferings for much longer, the sickness totally cripled me. Example, it took me 3-4 hours just to get out of bed (yeah, and normally I'm the "up and go" type). And for someone who LOVES eating and cooking it hurts when I couldn't eat & cook because the smell just made me feel sick. Thankfully dear hubby helped out with daily chores. Our expenses shoot up through the roof as he has to get takeaways because most days I couldn't deal with cooking smell. Otherwise he had to be content eating baked beans on toasts.

I'm  much better now that I'm in my 5th month of pregnancy, 4 more months to go, yay! I still have bad days and good days, the nausea is still there. BUT I can eat now, which is a huge relief, as I LOVE my food! Most importantly, I can do most things again now, which makes me feel a bit more "human". Hurrah! I've managed to help out playing music at my local church a few times and I'm hoping I could start blogging more regularly again.

Please drop me a quick note if you're reading this, I need all the encouragements I can get! :) Thanks. 

Natralia Nourish Naturals Shampoo & Conditioner

I like to use "natural" products, the kind that says "FREE FROM sulfates, parabens, artificial colours and fragrances..." But I only like them IF they work. Which can be a quite rare occassion in the hair department, as in general those "natural" products  aren't just as good as the ones with "bad chemicals"....

Meet my newest best friends: Natralia Nourish Naturals Shampoo and the matching Conditioner, both for "Normal Hair". I was lucky enough to win them from Inspired Wellbeing. I've been using them regularly (every 2-3 days) since I run out of my Charles Worthington supplies about 5 weeks ago. 

It was love at the first smell - the scent is soooo refreshingly yummy, I caught myself smelling my hair every now and then. Must be the Mandarin Orange extracts. I also love how they make my long hair smooth, shiny, bouncy and feels light as feathers. No frustrating tangles at "in between" moments (when I've shampooed my hair, before I apply conditioner), no weighing down rich conditioner that weigh the hair down.

I really like them, I've been asking hubby to try it. You know, so we can have a "family shampoo" - theoritically having only one bottle in the bathroom, no need to buy 2 different brands. No joy so far, blokey hubby said he's happy using his cheapo shampoo. I'm not kidding, his shampoo costs less than $4 for a huge bottle... though it's probably for the better, as he likes to use a liberal amount of shampoo. Very liberally, it's a shocking waste of products. Though not as shocking as the amount of skincare products and other "beautifying things" I've collected over the years.... hahaha...

Anyway. One drawback with using these: I have to wash my hair more often. Which isn't a problem, it's as expected. I mean, I've used A'kin and other "natural" shampoos and conditioners before, they seem to require more hair washing to keep the "benefits" and to keep my hair feeling clean.

Verdict: "naturally" in love (pun intended). LOVE, I said, in case you haven't heard me the first time I said that. Super duper highly recommended. Especially for those of YOU who loves natural products! I'll be buying more in the future.

Now, over to you, my dear readers. What's your "natural love" of the moment??

Shampoo Ingredients: Aqua (purified australian water), cocoamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (coconut), disodium cocoamphodiacetate (coconut), coco-glucoside (and) glyceryl oleate (coconut & glucose), sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (palm), lauryl glucoside, (coconut & palm), citric acid (citrus fruit), guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (guar), sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (plant protein), hydrolyzed what protein (protein), keratin (and) hydrolyzed keratin (plant protein), silk amino acids (plant protein), saccharomyces/zinc ferment (minerals from natural origin), panthenol (provitamin B5), methoxy cinnamidopropyl hydroxy sultaine (cinnamon), vitis vinifera (grape) seed extract, citrus nobilis (mandarin orange) fruit extract, saccharomyces/copper ferment (minerals from natural origin), biotin (vitamin H), retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), linoleic acid (vitamin F), oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, tocopherol (vitamin E), limonene, geraniol, citral, linalool.

Conditioner Ingredients:  Aqua (purified australian water), behentrimonium methosulfate (rapeseed), cetearyl alcohol (botanical source),  citrus nobilis (mandarin orange) fruit extract, glycerin (botanical source), guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (guar), cetearyl olivate (and) sorbitan olivate (olive), ethyl macadamiate (macadamia), hydrolyzed wheat protein (protein), methoxy cinnamidopropylhydroxy sultaine (cinnamon), saccharomyces/zinc ferment (minerals from natural origin), saccharomyces/copper ferment (minerals from natural origin), keratin (and) hydrolyzed keratin (plant protein), silk amino acids (plant protein), oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), tocopherol (vitamin E), linoleic acid (vitamin F), biotin (vitamin H), vinis vinifera (grape) seed extract, panthenol (provitamin B5), citric acid (citrus fruit), phenoxyethanol (and) ethylhexylglycerin (derived from plant), limonene, linalool, geraniol, citral.

Book Fever

Today is all about books. Just because I'm still having fever on and off this week. This "Woman Flu" is worst than what I had before. Thank God for books!

Here are the ones I've finished in the past few weeks. Look away if you don't like reading...

"A Healthy Place to Die" by Peter King - It's one of his Gourmet Detective series. I love the mix of murders and culinary adventures. There are some real cooking hints in there, and the way he describes food made me salivate sometimes... Overall a fun book to relax with.

"The Shakespeare Curse" by J.L. Carrell - Honestly I don't really like it. It has some good ideas, but I found the settings too creepy. I prefer her first book "The Shakespeare Secret". Basically both her books are historical fictions based on speculations about Shakespeare's life and how his plays came to being, peppered with quotations and historical facts about (who else) Shakespeare. I've never read nor seen any Shakespeare's plays, so in a way her books are quite "educational" in nature. Her endings are terrible though, she takes the easy way out of the complicated premises she has dangled throughout the books... not satisfying enough for this bookworm (= moi).

"Mozarella Most Murderous" by Nancy Fairbanks - I haven't read her books for ages, so it was good to be reminded of her sense of humour. Good adventurous fun, she is spot on in her descriptions of different nationalities involved. I had lot of LOL moments while reading it. Love it. The recipes included are fantastic, too.

"The Edge of Apocalypse" by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall - For those of you who are fans of LaHaye's Left Behind series, don't expect this to be similar. It's different. In a good way, in my opinion. I found some parts in Left Behind books made me cringe at times. Not this book. To me the style is like a more sedate Grisham. Good, but not as engrossing as Ted Dekker's thrillers. What to do, I'm bias, I'm a huge fan of Ted Dekker. And not just because we grew up in the same country - Indonesia! :) And no, I've never met him. Not yet... hehehe... Btw, I've ordered a new Ted Dekker book from the library. Can't wait - his books always made me burn the midnight oil... (um, perhaps better not to have it before I get better...)

"Poirot Investigates" by Agatha Christie - I've read some of the short stories in this collection. Nevertheless, I still find Poirot irresistible. His grey cells are just amazing. I like reading Hasting's familiar blunders, too.

 

Yesterday I started reading Agatha Christie's play "Witness for the Prosecution", written as the original manuscript for the stage play, with instructions for stage direction, decor, and theatrical props. I found it a bit overwhelming at first, blame it on the fever. Once I started to get the hang of the manuscript, it's actually quite enjoyable.

 

So those are my recent book adventures. What have YOU read recently?

"Woman Flu", Anyone?

The famous "Man Flu" was over in 2 days, helped by endless amount of "Magnum P.I." on dvds. Until I hummed the theme song in my sleep...

Then "Woman Flu" attacked for 2 solid weeks. Sore throat, fever, body ache, swollen sinus, followed by itchy hives caused by allergic reaction to something - possibly the mosquito spray.

Thank God for online grocery shopping, internet connection (patchy service but useful regardless), heaps of books and newspapers. Kept me entertained while being stuck at home.

I'm supposed to trial something soon, hopefully it doesn't get lost in the post. I'll let you know what that is when I got it. Please don't nick my product, postwoman! :)