Mia's Review: New Jergens Body Lotion [Sponsored]

Even though I suffer from oily combination skin on my face, the rest of my body are actually pretty dry, especially my legs.

It once got so bad that I developed patches of 'spider webs' on the front of my shins and when I went for my weekly tui na massage, the therapist even 'complained' to me that my skin was really dry, the oil she applied for the massage just get sucked dry by my skin almost immediately.

So naturally, I was pretty excited to receive the New Jergens body lotion from SampleStore.

According to Nielsen Retail Audit- MAT Nov 2014, Jergens is the number one body lotion brand in USA. The JERGENS® moisturising collection offers a range of products that transform skin for a noticeably improved look and feel. Every moisturiser in Jergens' collection is designed to enhance how our skin looks and feels, to leave us total-body beautiful. Each JERGENS® product is specially formulated to smooth away dryness and bring out glowing, healthier-looking skin. Jergens' moisturisers go beyond the ordinary to help our skin look its best, so our unique beauty can radiate from the inside out.

With the new formulation, New Jergens goes beyond just moisturizing, giving our skin a beautiful, envious glow (luminous skin). The range has been reformulated with a breakthrough Hydralucence blend with superior moisture that penetrates into five skin layers that provides long lasting luminosity, hydration, and continuous smoothness of the skin. It also helps eliminate dullness and dryness by creating a continuous layer of moisture on your skin to prevent hydration loss. Its long-lasting luminosity effect stems from the microscopic serum droplets in the product that forms a shield on the skin, giving it a healthy glow.

Catering to the different skin needs, the new body moisturiser range comes in three variants- the Daily Moisture for visibly smoother skin, the Soothing Aloe for visibly more refreshed skin and the Ultra Healing for visibly healthier skin.

First up, we have Jergens Soothing Aloe with pure aloe vera and cucumber extract to revive the skin for visibly more refreshed skin.

This lotion comes with a very slight greenish tinge and has the nicest scent among the three, with a sweet floral scent. It's also the lightest of the three, that leaves a refreshing sensation on the skin after application with no sticky feeling at all. Personally, I'll like this lotion best as a day use body lotion.

Next, we have Jergens Ultra Healing with vitamins C, E and B5 to repair the skin for visibly healthier skin.

Out of the 3, I feel that this has the thickest formulation and takes much longer to get fully absorbed into the skin, as compared to the light formulation of Soothing Aloe. The scent wise, Ultra Healing is also my least favourite of the three, with a pretty strong soapy scent that may get to your head (giving you the woozy feeling) if you're not a fan of strong soapy smells.
However, this worked the best on my horribly dried out shin (those patches with spider webs), leaving my skin feeling well moisturised and supple.
I actually applied a generous glob (1 press) onto the wet skin of my shin right after stepping out of the showers and massaged the lotion in until fully absorbed. Somehow, I find that applying lotion on wet skin gives a lighter and more matted finishing as compared to applying on dry skin, just that it takes a little longer for the lotion to get absorbed in.

Lastly, there's Jergens Daily Moisture with silk proteins and citrus extracts to improve rough texture for visibly smoother skin.

Out of the three, this seem to come right in the middle in every aspect and is my favourite pick for an all over body lotion. Scent wise, it's a slight perfumey smell which is more pleasant than Ultra Healing, albeit not as nice as Soothing Aloe.

The formulation is definitely much more moisturising than Soothing Aloe, yet lighter than Ultra Healing. The lotion spreads over the skin effortlessly and gets absorbed to a smooth, non-sticky feeling in matters of seconds, which makes it a good choice for both day and night use body lotion.

And now, please pardon my unshaved legs...

Before using Ultra Healing.

As you can see, the 'spider webs' are all over and 'densely' packed. T.T

 After using Ultra Healing.

Even though I've squeezed the skin together more tightly, the dry and crackly appearance is actually much less obvious than before. And as you can also see, my skin remains 'matte' with no oily and shiny residue.

The new Jergens body moisturiser range is available from mid February 2015 and comes in 400ml bottle packs, retailing at S$ 8.90 each at leading supermarkets, western pharmacies and personal care stores.

For more information, visit their website HERE.

Till then,
Mia Foo

Mia's #BlogMeetSg Review: Hediard French Cafe

During the #BlogMeetSg bloggers' networking event held at Edit Lifestyle last week (my blog post here), we were not only pampered with free flowing yummy french macarons and iced tea from Hediard, but also given a SGD $25 dine in voucher at the cafe, that ties in with a bloggers' instagram contest. 

And so, I decided to drop by for a CNY eve lunch with A and D after we knocked off!

Located at Tudor Court (Tanglin road), it was quite a far walk from Orchard Mrt Station, but it was still worth it! 

Touted as a French gourmet gift boutique cafe, you can find a variety of yummy sweet treats in gift bags, tea, condiments and etc at the gourmet gift boutique section. 

Even though the cafe section isn't exactly the biggest cafe you can find, it can still house a good 20 to 30 pax comfortably. The whole place exudes a sense of elegance with the red with dark oak colour theme, and yet remains spaciously cozy. 

And now to our orders for the day.

Flower Blend Herbal Iced Tea - $6

Mix of hibiscus petals, dried apples, rosehip and orange peels, cornflower and marigold, mango and tropical fruits

Unlike the other iced tea served at #BlogMeetSg event held at Edit Lifestyle, this ice tea turned out a little more to the bitter side, probably due to the herbal infusion, so I added about half the vial of sugar syrup for taste. Even so, the sweet fragrance of rose and fruits were still pretty strong and made the drink both refreshing and palatable. The slight herbal taste also made this tea a good pair with the sweet macarons we had for dinner later. 

Eggs Benedicte - $16

2 poached eggs on toast with Parma ham, shaved parmesan and hollandaise sauce 

The prettiness of the dish aside, the toast was really toasted till crispy and crackly, the way I like it! It may be a little bit of a challenge to slice and eat using knife and fork, but for those who love your toast crackly and crispy beneath the runny yolk of a poached egg, this is the Eggs Ben for you! 

Despite getting drenched in the liquid yolk from the cut poached egg, the toast remains crispy and with just the right amount of saltiness from the parma ham to taste, this is definitely a simply delicious choice for breakfast or brunch! 

Look at that yummlicious goodness of the runny yolk!

Next up, what else will I order for desserts when there's a fine selection of yummy french macarons?

Hediard "Bar a Macarons" - $15

6 Hediard's exclusive macarons served on a "bar" plate for a macaron's tasting on your own or to share at anytime of the day: 3 macarons "Les Fruits" (randomly picked from our 15 flavours box) & 3 macarons "Les Saveurs" (randomly picked from our 15 flavours box)

Although the macarons are supposed to be served randomly picked, we asked the friendly server for a favour and were allowed to choose from the available flavours for the day, with 1 of each flavour. 

From left to right: Cherry Pistachio, Chocomel, Vanilla, Rose & Lychee, Praline, Rhubarb & Tarragon (not matching the colour on the menu). 

We were also lucky to have visited when V-day wasn't exactly over yet, so we got 2 flavours in heart shaped! How lovely! 

Chocomel and Rose & Lychee. 

Didn't get to try the other flavours (pretty curious about rhubarb & tarragon) but I'm so glad I chose Chocomel. As the name suggests, it's a layer of caramel filling sandwiched in between two chocolate meringue shells. Imagine that!

As for rose & lychee, the rose flavoured shell is a little too strong in taste and almost completely covered the sweetness of the lychee filling. A good choice for rose flavoured macaron lovers who wants an extra complexity and oomph in the overall flavour. 

Hediard French Cafe & Delicatessen Boutique is located at 123-125 Tanglin Road, Tudor Court. 

For more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

Mia's Review: Mi Band

Decided to skip another week of #wellnesswednesday and put up my review of Mi Band instead. Well, it's still fitness related though. 

Was initially eyeing a gadget that can track my calories burnt when I spin, but after a small research and asking around, it seems that most of the fitness trackers available in the market aren't capable of tracking that accurately, and I wasn't eager to spent hundred over dollars on a gadget that probably won't perform to my expectation. Then, I found Mi Band, an exceptionally inexpensive fitness tracker, which you can get at just less than $20 on qoo10.com.sg

Do note that Mi Band comes with a default black band. All other colours are to be bought from 3rd party seller at an equally inexpensive price. 

To start using your Mi Band, all you have to do is the download the MiFit application from your GooglePlay store and get the gadget fully charged. That's all!

With every start up of the application, you'll automatically be prompted to switch on your bluetooth such that the data on the Mi Band can be sync over to your mobile phone. 

And yes, even though I've set my target as the 'recommended minimum' of 8000 steps a day, on my normal days I usually walks over 10,000 steps. 

Not doing very well in the sleep factor, though. :(

And apart from just tracking your steps (and work out, which I'll get to it later on the accuracy), the Mi Band can also help to track your running route, which they seem to have removed after the latest software update and I don't know why, sit-ups and jumping rope. 

And as you can see, under the tab of vote for more sports...

There's a whole list of exercises 'coming soon, out of which I've voted for riding. And after the latest software update, the voting system was removed with nothing new added to the previous list of just sit-ups and jumping rope. 

Err, meehhhhh...

And as you can see, Mi Band also has a alarm clock function, which you can set the time for the band to vibrate. The vibration is more than enough to wake me up, though if you're an extremely heavy sleeper, it might not work for you.

Now, to the accuracy of Mi Band. 

IMO, it's pretty bad. Haha, but of course you can't expect excellent accuracy with the amount of money you paid for it. 

I've tried tracking the tracker and to my horror, I took a hundred over steps when I visit the loo in office, when in actual fact the distance from my desk to the washroom is barely 30 steps. 

And so I further test it out.

Turns out, as long as you shake your hand (with the Mi Band on) hard enough, it'll track as steps. So I've probably took a a good 50 'steps' just by washing my hands thoroughly after visiting the loo. 

And if you go back to the screenshot of my daily steps taken, you can see that the Mi Band tracked that I've 'worked out' at different times of the day, when in actual fact, I'm really just walking around. Perhaps it was the walking speed that has done the trick, but IMO I've hardly worked out at all. Sometimes, it'll even track as running. Like, whatt?

And previously when I cycled from ECP all the way to Changi Village (1 hr 15 minutes ride) and back, it was counted as just a short while of 'working out' plus some 'steps' and with a meagre 90+ kcals burnt. Okay, really?

So my verdict is simple. You pay peanuts, you get peanuts. 

For just barely $20, it'll probably be a pretty decent daily steps taken estimator (note that I'm not calling it a tracker anymore). But if you're hoping for a good gauge of how many calories you've burnt on a day to day basis, this basic fitness tracker is not for you. 

And with that, I'll also like for you to share with me on what fitness tracker you're currently using, if any. I'm still looking around for one that can track (or gauge) how much calories I've burnt when I spin or do other form of exercises. 

So just drop me comments down below and let me know your recommendations!

And lastly, a very Happy Chinese New Year to all and Meh the Huat be with you! 

Till then,

Mia Foo

#BlogMeetSg at Edit Lifestyle

Earlier this mid-week, I was really honoured to be able to take part in the first ever #BlogMeetSg, a networking session for bloggers in Singapore, made possible by fellow lifestyle blogger, Lucy Waring . The event was held on a Wednesday evening at Edit Lifestyle, a boutique located at Tanglin Road, which carries a vast array of interesting products, ranging from fashion, beauty, homewares, stationery and etc. 

 Made arrangement with Andrea and Oyhz to head down to the venue together. It's a pity Dresden  couldn't join us due to last minute work commitments. 

The very first thing that caught my eyes when I stepped into the boutique is the oriental decoration display put up by their display window. It's like a special corner, probably dedicated to the theme of Chinese weddings, which doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the boutique's clean and chic decor-style with the whitewashed flooring and an overall bright and airy feel. I reckon the fact that it 'stood out like a sore thumb' was what made it so attractive to me. Totally in love with that big red bird cage. 

Another corner of the boutique that I absolutely adored has to be this sofa lined with pretty bright pink cushions and a coffee table full of flowers. 

From fashion, to beauty, to books, Edit Lifestyle carries brands from all over the world, many of which are actually pretty new to the ignorant me. 

And of course, I can't possibly leave these out. Be sure to get entertained by these (pretty crude, yet) humourous stationery. This 'WTF' stamps actually reminded me of the 'Fucking Urgent' stamp YS got me from Aussie. 

And now, to the sponsors of the event.

Hediard - The French Gourmet Gift Boutique, which was just a few shops down the street was really generous to supply the bloggers with free-flowing french macarons and hediard blend iced tea, both of which are so yummy! The iced tea was both tangy and sweet on its own, there's absolutely no need to add in any sugar syrup. 

And the macarons looked so colourful and cute that I just had to snap 2 photos, and grabbed a couple more bites. Haha, I think I had 3 or 4 that night. 

And as if the yummy macarons weren't enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, there's also these mad pretty and yummy handmade chocolates from Leela's Fine Chocolates. 

Really, how did chocolates ever get this pretty?

Some of Leela's awesome flavours include pineapple tarts (can you even imagine it?!), rosemary & olive (another interesting one), mandarin orange, red wine, ginger, and salted caramel (YES, my favourite!). 

However, as I'm still having a really bad cough, I didn't dare to indulge much that night, so I only had a taste of mandarin orange and red wine, and both are so good! I can totally imagine their best seller, salted caramel, to be addictive. 

One of the generous sponsors that night was no other than Hat Of Cain, an accessories shop located in Joo Chiat that offers the largest selection of genuine Panama hats, bringing every blogger a hand woven panama hat each.

And there's Andrea getting her panama hat in her size and learning how to take good care of it. 

The night of networking eventually progressed into the other highlight, lucky draw! Congratulations to all the lucky ladies who walked away with those awesome prizes!

And the rest of us didn't go home empty handed either. This has to be one of the best goodie bag I've ever received!

I really like these two handmade cards from JustMyType, which carries handmade cards and other personalised artwork. With the rising popularity of instant text messaging, our day to day communication has gotten so quick and convenient and yet, grown so distant. 

Why not get a handmade card this coming Mother's/Father's day and surprise your parents with some heartfelt words? 

Another one of my favourite item in the goodie bag has to be this Equilibrate Re+Focus aromastick from Havaroma. Using organic rosemary, laurel leaf, frankincense and siberian leaf, this aromastick helps to perk me up in mid-day when I feel tired and sleepy at work!

There's also a handful of pretty arm candies from Simone Irani (silk thread bangles) and Jasper Living (bracelets), both labels, which also carries many other pretty apparels. 

And from Nakka Enterprises (email: rameela@naakkaenterprises.com), we have a bundle of 100% cotton muslin from Appletree Childrens Clothing, that comes with adorably colourful lining, and a leather keychain from KRave Jewellery.

This pretty handmade Jungle Animal Ornament comes from Tamarind Living. And I'm pretty excited to get a fuchsia monkey!  

Last but not least, we got a set of awesome skincare samples from Katharos Organics and I can't wait to try out that raspberry eye masque!

Once again, a big thank you to Lucy for putting all these together and it was a great evening spent with both the familiar and new faces.

Till then,
Mia Foo