Chic Cottage Scam

Really really REALLY got to rant here, and it's regarding this $30 grab bag with Chic Cottage I've bought in August last year. A very backdated complaint? Nope, in fact I've just received their replacement package last night! 

First up, let's start with my initial order with my options listed very clearly to them.

Top UK 8

Bottom UK 10/12

Request for Skorts, long tees, suitable for office wear.

NO TOPS BEARING MIDRIFF

 When my parcel first arrived in the smartpac, I was so excited. But imagine my horror when I pulled out the clothes sent to me.

The first 4 are all short tops that ends way above my belly button. And really, Mickey Mouse? They still dare to send these together with the invoice stating: NO TOPS BEARING MIDRIFF, suitable for office?

And here goes the email story.... 

 I first decided to order the grab bag not only because there's so many reviews saying they got exactly what they stated for, but also because of CC's promise to refund if it's not up to my liking.

Somehow the refund became an exchange. And here's how the nightmare started.

Never even inform me of her self shop event (she doesn't own any physical store), expect me to drop by. Drop by where? 

Eventually she promised to resend me a parcel (without even asking me to send back the 'wrong' one, which was still with me at that time)... which obviously didn't happen. Invalid tracking number given, need I elaborate?

Then she just went MIA on my email chains for 1 month, and conveniently claim she didn't receive any emails before the 'follow up' email I sent, and she has no idea what is happening. Wow!

And she even more conveniently told me no exchange/refund allowed for grab bags, and only relented when I reminded her that she has agreed to it before.

 

And so yet another self shop was arranged, half arranged actually. Location given, but NO TIME. Never bothered to reply even when I asked, and only replied to ask if I had turned up after the blardie event was over. 

And then she conveniently just ignored my email reply until I 'poked' her again. However, all plans for a meet up fell through because our timing hardly matched and her level of responsiveness on both emails and text messages were friggin slow.

Texted her and waited for 1 month, no reply. Emailed her again and claimed to lost her phone and just so nicely she got a new phone hours before I emailed her. 

But then, her phone got no sim card why she never say?????

Just to prove that my complaints of her serious lack of responsiveness is not me being difficult....

She never ever bothered to check what's truly happening, just randomly replying just to shut her customers up. When I asked for the refund, she obviously haven't sent out any exchange parcel at all. She was trying to get my address to send out the parcel then, so she need not refund me. 

(For the record, I once again asked her for a refund instead of resending me another parcel while I gave her my address. She obviously didn't want to return me the $30 and want to give me more junks.)

Why I say so? Because she only checked back on me (for once) on the 17th, asking if I've received my items. Obviously not, because she could only mail them out after I gave her my address on the 10th. 

Texted her once again on the 25th, asking for refund. Ignored.

And on the 26th, the nightmare finally turned into this ridiculously huge joke as I received her exchange parcel. 

Remember why I asked for exchange/refund?

Top UK 8

Bottom UK 10/12

Request for Skorts, long tees, suitable for office wear.

NO TOPS BEARING MIDRIFF

And see what she resent me...

Yes, this lacy nude shorts is pretty...

But WTF, SIZE S! How is a UK10/12 equivalent to a local size S?

This look pretty decent (though really terrible quality) on photo, but come on. It's a friggin short top.

And erm, Minnie Mouse kid's apparel, a bad quality bra top, a fake nike crop hoodie.... suitable as office wear? No tops bearing midriff?
ARE YOU F*CKING SERIOUS?

With that I gave up, treat it as I've donated $30 to charity. My mum was saying it's obvious this blogshop seller is out to con me, making me give her $30 for her to clear her junk. That horrible bra top and minnie mouse top, even if they're FOC, I also wouldn't want them.

With all these said (and ranted), go get a grab bag from Chic Cottage at your own risk.
And if anyone of you are interested in any pieces of my 2nd parcel, do drop me a note and QYOP for it.

Till then,
Mia

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Sponsored Review: 2B Into Arm & Body

Was really excited to be chosen to do a sponsored review for 2B Alternative Into Arm & Body slimming gel, especially after reading so many awesome reviews on them, be it on magazines, blogs or forums.

Imagine my excitement when I find 2 boxes of 100ml tubes in my package, and one tube is meant to last for 2 to 2.5 weeks! :)

As you can see from the packaging, Into Arm & Body targets flabby arms and tummy, using a new Heat Deep Penetrating formula activates EGF, HCA, Caffeine and Liporeductyl to reach our fat cells and then cut it fast by a high speed burning. This product also has a high 2Base (license by Germany and Japan) concentration, helping to tighten our skin and avoid cellulite after slimming down. There is no addition of chilli or ginger extract into this slimming gel, so there's absolutely no worries of skin irritation or prolong burning sensation left over on the hands after application. 2B also uses microwater molecule G2, which has smaller particles that are easily absorbed by our skin. The heat of the product goes into deep adipose layer for optimum results will not leave a sticky sheen after usage. 

With that short introduction, let's get on with the review of this product. 

Here's a series of my before pictures, showing my horrible flabby arms and fat tummy. :(

My stats were as follow:

Left arm - 27cm (yikes!)

Right arm - 26.5cm 

Upper waist (my slimmest part of the torso) - 73cm

Lower waist (right below my belly button, at my lower abdomen) - 83cm

The gel is really easy to use. Basically you just apply it to cleansed, dry skin and massage gently for 3 to 5 minutes, for best results, or until product has been absorbed fully by the skin. 

As you can see, it is a clear soft and rather watery gel and spreads across the skin effortlessly. The first minute or two after application will leave a sticky film on the surface of the skin, but after the product is fully absorbed, the skin feels fresh and comfortable with no sticky residue at all. 

After which, you will experience a warming sensation, which normally last for 10 to 15 minutes for my case. There's nothing to be worried about, as the warm sensation is mild and comfortable, not 'prickly' or 'spicy' at all. 

And after applying the gel diligently every night after my showers since 13/03 till now, let's see my results. 

You might not really see much from the upfront photo, but sideways you can see that my tummy muscles are more defined. 

Oh, I used to have abs from dance and pilates and laziness has allowed a thick layer of fats to accumulate on top of them. But do take note that I've coupled 2B with my usual toning exercises. I did not live my life as a couch potato and expecting the gel to do all the work. 

The arms results weren't as satisfying, as seen from the photos.

My stats were as follow:

Arms - no changes.

Upper Waist - 72.5cm

Lower Waist - 82.5cm

In just barely 2 weeks, I've experienced a 0.5cm reduction in my waistline! Those raves online weren't over nothing, obviously. Somehow, the results was not that surprising (as long as you expect this highly raved product to work) as it always seems to be the case that the tummy slims down much quicker and easier as compared to other problematic areas such as arms and thighs. Even though there's no slimming effect on my arms after 2 weeks, I did notice that my skin feels smoother to the touch, and hopefully by the end of 1 treatment (3 tubes) there will be visible results on my arms as well. 

All 2B Alternative products are exclusively sold at Guardian Pharmacy. For more information, visit 2B Alternative's FB HERE

Till then,

Mia

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Mia's Review: Burger VS Wings + Bar (BwB)

 Earlier this year (or was it late last year?) Orchard Central has a new tenant at their 11th floor. I remembered walking by while finding my way to Tung Lok, and was instantly attracted to this place. 

 

Aptly named, you can expect yourself to find burgers, chicken wings, and a bar (the outdoor area beside the restaurant) at this restaurant. On top of that you can get some fries, pizza, and top up ($4.90 for lunch and $7.90 for dinner) for a tapas buffet with every main course ordered. 

 The restaurant is really big and spacious, and that's the tapas buffet bar at the side with some really interesting look tapas. Didn't have a chance to try them out, though.

And of course, with Happy Hour going on until 8pm, with their draft beer at about $10 cheaper per jug, I definitely must share one jug with my fellow beer-fanatic friend. Yup, 2 ladies to a jug and it's not enough. We drink beer like plain water. HA HA HA!

First order for the night was this vegetarian friendly Margarita Pizza - Price forgotten
For a vegetarian friendly pizza, this surprised me. The generously amount of parmesan cheese added more than sufficient savoury flavour to the thoroughly baked till crispy thin crusted pizza and the addition of tomatoes and pineapples just further spiced up the entire flavour by giving each bite a pleasantly sourish taste.
It'll be a good idea for sharing with friends as an appetizer.

 

 Hot Buffalo Wings (mild) - $15.80

Their hot buffalo wings come in 3 level of spiciness - Mild, Medium and Suicide. For an average spicy food eater like me, mild is more than enough for the 'kick'.
Even though I love the spiciness of this well flavoured and relatively tender chicken wings, I'm pretty disappointed that the coating of their hot sauce has totally soften the battered skin, which has been fried till golden brown and crispy.

Herbs Butter Injection Wings - $16.90

As seen, these wings are skillfully deboned and stuffed generously with a combination of cashew nuts, fresh herbs, butter, mustard seeds and lemongrass.
My verdict? Nayyyy.
Even though the wings are fried till golden brown and crispy on the outside, and the meat remains tender and relatively succulent on the inside, the filling is really not satisfying for my taste buds. I was looking for some crispy wings with buttery herbs fragrance but got none. I didn't even know what filling I was chewing on until I re-read the menu to find out about the ingredients. Quite a head-scratching moment for me.

Finally, someone among us ordered these fries (I reckon it's truffle fries) and we were all unpleasantly surprised when it was served. You can easily count the number of fries in this tiny, hand sized basket. And yes, I used the word 'reckon' up there because I could hardly taste any scent of truffle oil in them. Oh well, at least they weren't soggy, you know?

BwB is located at Orchard Central, 11-03/04.
For more information, visit their FB HERE

Till then,
Mia

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