Wednesday 11 August 2021

Coffee Review (Part 2)


Back with yet another coffee review compilations. I make black coffee on most mornings just to establish a routine in what seems to be a separation-less day after lockdown days. It's been like what? More than 500 days after the start of the first lockdown and things only seems to be getting worse (road to 25k/ daily cases?!). I'm staying in more and work, break, meals, exercise, sleep activities are done in like four walls...


In this post I'll be sharing the coffee I've tried the past months and the options have gotten more interesting because I need more excitement in life WTF.


1) Boncafe Mocca

Coffee Beans


Let's begin with Boncafe Mocca (ShopeeMY) is my usual go-to brand of coffee beans (okay, besides Starbucks) before I got more adventurous. Available in whole beans and ground coffee. Retailing about RM20 per pack, I remember trying most of BonCafe's coffee beans a long while back but eventually settled for Mocca.



Oh if you remember, I bought Kapal Api ground coffee a while back. I  did not brew it for a while because I didn't know how to prepare it_ I accidentally got it in super fine powder and they are terrible for drip coffee because the water won't pass through the coffee mud! Had a lightbulb moment one day to prepare it as a cold brew and *chef kiss* it is so-o-o good! Perfect for the recent hot weather too! I like it so much I've been trying cold brews with different blends of coffee just to taste how they'd turn out.



2) Starbucks Veranda Blend & Cafe Verona




The Veranda blend produces a very light and smooth, with almost unnoticeable acidic or fruity-ish.





The darker version of the Veranda Blend. I'm starting to think Starbucks coffee isn't so interesting to comment on. At least the ones I've tried, they don't have very adventurous notes but simply coffee beans in every level of bitterness. That's it. Except the Starbucks Premium Instant Coffee in Dark Roast because it's dark chocolate-y.



While we're on the subject of coffee, I thought of including 3-in-1s and convenience store coffee. I'm not kidding when I said I bring my adventure to the supermarket. Been trying random new stuff just to spice up lockdown life, I'm grateful for the privilege.



4) Chek Hup Hokkaido Milk Latte





There's been a boom of instant coffee choices in the market from brands like  Frenche Roast, Mamami, Richboy, Alor, Kanu wahlao I kenot keep up. Even Aik Cheong, and Chek Hup offers several range now. I try not to go for 3-in-1 since the lockdown but the packaging caught my attention. Also, Japan obsession *cough* This turns out to be very light, milk coffee. Would go for this if I run out of coffee or lazy to brew but otherwise, I'd stick to beans.



5) Delatte coffee packs



These are some of the packet drinks from CU Mart which you probably see a lot of people trying. They come prepacked, ready-to-drink in those sachets rather than the usual can or bottle. If you takeaway from the store, they actually have plastic cups with ice you can grab to prep your drinks. Would say the selling point is the experience you can't get this elsewhere. Also 'cuz Kpop craze hitting all time high?






The Delatte Hazelnut Flavor is a medium brew black coffee with tons of sugar. Not for those coffee drinkers who likes their coffee in their original taste. I find it OK but can't drink often 'cuz very sweet. I cannot recall any hint of hazelnut in this even though I've tried it twice.





This next one is the Delatte Americano that tasted like kopiko sweet, liquid version really leh. I have heard that CU Mart's packet drinks are sweet and best diluted with ice but I find it OK on its own. Not coffee, I have also tried the Blue Lemonade which tasted like lime 7up or Sprite with blue coloring that stains my bamboo straw.


And those are it for this post! I just restocked my coffee pantry with more fresh beans and will be sharing what I think about them when I've tried them all. Till my next posts!

Sunday 8 August 2021

EP14 trying out new recipes & obsessing with cold brew | 🇲🇾 #whatieat



 

Wednesday 4 August 2021

The Ordinary haul | updated beauty routine

 

New beauty hauls!


The Ordinary Retinol, Niacinamide and Peeling Solution



Recently emptied my HadaLabo Hydrating Perfect Jelly and so it's time to decide on which beauty finds to experiment on! I want to change my lotion initially (it is a favorite!) because I saw one with ingredients I'm super like and super curious about. At the same time, a friend introduced me to retinol. As I researched about it, I find there's quite a hype about it and in many reviews, The Ordinary being brought up.



My curiosity got the better of me and so I decided to get The Ordinary 1% Retinol in Squalane (Shopee MY),  Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (Shopee MY) and The Peeling Solution (Shopee MY). These all came up to RM116.95, with some Shopee Coins. 



Because I want to see if they work, I decided to maintain the Hada Labo Hydrating Perfect Jelly (Shopee MY) as an experiment constant. The lotion is a steal at RM59.55 (RP RM93.50) after discount + Shopee Coins redemption on Shopee Mall! Together with these are my unfinished Hada Labo Japanese Green Tea Extract face wash, Wahadabisen Gokujo Fermented Sake Yogurt Face Pack, Melano CC Essence and Thursday Plantation's Tea Tree Oil.



Interlude: I shared my recent beauty hauls in this video. Tell me what you think by commenting or clicking the like button. Lotsa love!





WHY Retinol & Niacinamide?


While checking out reviews on Retinol, many times Niacinamide is mentioned together. YouTubers like Hyram, Dr Maxfield and Dr Shah (their channel is called Doctorly), Anthony Youn and many others rave about them on and on! To put it in layman terms, they're active ingredients targeting specific skin concerns. The benefits of using it includes reduces sebum production (they can be drying if you have dry skin), have anti-aging properties, assist in treating acne, helps reduce pigmentation and even improves skin texture!


My target is mostly on my adult acnes and pigmentation & scars due to that. Perhaps its the lockdown and more time staring at myself in the mirror (vain LOL) that I have been considering another laser treatment. I don't like the uneven texture and yes, it is partly due to my itchy fingers. DO NOT pick on your acne if you don't want to fork out $$$ to fix your skin! But obviously, clinics isn't operating now so that got to wait. So what better time than now is to experiment with these supposedly holy grail of the beauty industry.



WHY The Ordinary's Peeling Solution?


For the above reasons and because I'm extra curious, I also got this Peeling Solution to try. There's quite a lot of hype about it with many TikTokers (yeah I doomscroll TikTok a lot!) applying this blood red liquid on their faces. Many too have a lot of great thing to say about this. 



HOWEVER, use this with care! This is an ACIDIC SOLUTION which means you SHOULD NOT apply on skin with active-slash-inflamed acnes or broken skin due to recovering acnes or whatsnot. Besides that, applying too much and leaving it on over the recommended 10-minutes is a NO-NO!! The brand recommends using this only up to twice a week, but many say once a week is enough. It is recommended to do a patch test on the sensitive spot in your arms to see how it'd react to it.



The precaution is important because people over-abused this a lot and that lead to many issues like sensitive skin and even first degree burns. I know it sounds like a very dangerous thing to use on your skin, but use it properly and it should be good. No need so kiasi. Still, keep it away from children!



WHAT's my new routine like?


There are RULES to follow with the addition of these active ingredients. Some of the common rules include:


  • Retinol is to be apply every other day. I'm starting with twice a week since I'm introducing a high concentration retinol.
  • Retinol + Niacinamide combination is OK
  • Vitamin C + Niacinamide combination is a nope. Because of this, I'm alternating them.
  • Sunscreen is a must when introducing Niacinamide into the routine.
  • Use the Peeling Solution once or twice a week. Starting with once a week, on the weekend for myself. 
  • Finally, I'm using the Hada Labo Hydrating Perfect Jelly and Tea Tree Oil daily as usual.



As always, starting with cleansing. Sometimes I just use the Wahadabisen Gokujo Fermented Sake Yogurt Face Pack. 






My post-cleansing regime will be as follow:


The Ordinary



I'll be documenting my new skincare journey with The Ordinary and update y'all about the result. Until then, stay tune!


Sunday 1 August 2021

lockdown updates, being adventurous with food & getting my first shot

 

Sharing excerpts of my life since the start of the year until now. Most of them are spent at home with the supposedly "Full Movement Control Order (FMCO)" aka "strict lockdown" in place. I'm getting more stuff online just to stay in. And then after months of wait, I finally received my first jab *tears of joy*




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