Sephora Beauty Night Out: The Biggest Pucker in Town and Soap & Glory Smooth Star Breakfast Scrub Review

This will probably be my shortest post ever.

First up, I was really lucky to be able to attend Sephora Beauty Night Out last week, all thanks to my colleague, A, who is a total Sephora-fan and decided to bring me along as her BFF for her invite. :)
Next up, this will probably be the shortest post ever because....
We left before the actual show started. xp
Yes, there's some famous faces like deejay Jean Danker and blogger Dawn Yang and Rosanne Tang, together with a group of male models serving you finger food snacks and drinks, and another cute girl handing out Magnum ice creams... But oh well, not a big fan of crowds. And after getting what we want to at 20% discount, there really wasn't much attraction left for both of us, plus the crazy crowd with constant jostling from strangers is a huge frustration. Merp.

A was basically on a shopping spree, picking up things rather randomly (she got a grab bag of 4 or 5 lip products and then went on to get another 2 lippies from Shu Uemura... and some other stuff.
As for me, I only had body scrub in my mind and was getting disappointed that I couldn't find any when I finally came to this section

And then I was totally spoilt for choice.

Finally, I decided to get this Soap & Glory Smooth Star Breakfast Scrub - RTP $25

And tell you what, it's probably called Breakfast Scrub for a good reason. It smells so yummy, I felt like eating it when I twisted the cap open to use it for the first time.
It smelled like sweet honey, maple syrup mashed up with some bananas and some buttery crumbly biscuits.
Oh, I don't know how to describe the smell but it smelled so delicious. It might just turn some people off, eg. my mum. But if you're a sweets person, chances are, you'll love this scent.

The scrub is pretty creamy with bits of (probably) oats and sugar inside to act as the exfoliating beads. There's a high concentration of the scrubbing beads to satisfy those who loves the feeling of having the exfoliating beads rubbing against your rough skin, and yet mild enough to not create this 'raw' feeling even if you scrub on with all your strength's worth.
The end result?
My skin felt moisturised and baby smooth, even though I didn't follow up with any form of body lotion.

And then, let's move on to the door gift for the night.
Guess what is contained within this super cute tin?

Some adorably pretty kisses butter cookies!

The strong whiff of buttery fragrance already made my tummy rumble the moment I lifted the tin and my mood totally brightened (was kinda lethargic after all the squeezing in the crowd) upon seeing these pretty cookies.
But it would have been a lot better if they've used a thin layer of royal icing rather than a thick slab of fondant.
Yes, this pink (and red at the bottom) fondant is what made these cuties so attractive, but let's be honest. A piece of fondant is probably the last thing you'll want to put inside your mouth.
But a good thing is that fondant can actually be easily pluck off the top of the biscuit (and chucked away) so everything is still awesome. :)

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Skinnymint Teatox

Yup, I jumped onto the teatox craze bandwagon 1 month ago and started my own 28 Day Teatox with SkinnyMint! 

In case you still haven't heard of SkinnyMint (only possible if you're not on any social networks), they're a 2-step natural tea programme that helps achieve the best natural cleansing, energy boosting and detoxifying effects. 

I've purchased this product with my own money, so this is not a sponsored advertorial. I have followed the regime (of drinking the tea only, not a clean diet) closely and I can say that I've achieved what I want to achieve. 

Per set of 28 days ultimate teatox, you'll get 28 teabags of the Morning Boost blend and 14 teabags of the Night Cleanse.

-credits to skinnymint.com-

The Morning Boost blend helps to boost our metabolism and give us higher energy level throughout the day while the Night Cleanse blend helps to clear our poop-congested tummy and reduce bloating. 

And the main reason why I decided to try SkinnyMint out was due to my horrible bloating at one point of time. It was so bad, I was experiencing pain and patting on my tummy resembled hitting a drum, no joke. 

My measurements before I started SkinnyMint:

Waist (above belly button): 75cm.

Abdomen: 91cm (yikes!) 

And after my first day (or night) of Night Cleanse, I woke up to a visibly flatten lower abdomen! Yes, the bloating reduction effect is THIS quick. Or perhaps I was too bloated after my crab feast, which was why it showed effect so quickly. 

Anyway, my measurements now after completing 28 days of SkinnyMint:

Waist: 72cm

Abdomen: 88cm (Huat ah!)

As for my weight, they remained the same with my usual fluctuation of ~1kg. So yup, I did not lose any weight at all. But that's because I never saw this product as a slimming tea, and my motive was to detox (clear my constipation) and reduce my bloating, so I didn't bother to put myself on a eat-clean diet at all. 

Now, on to my review of the products. 

-credits to skinnymint.com-

I simply love smelling this Morning Boost blend! It smells so yummy, of pineapples and strawberry with a hint of grapefruit. 

But taste wise, it's just a normal, unsweetened Japanese green tea taste. 

It's stated on the back of the package to leave the teabag in hot water for 4-5 minutes. But it's actually not long enough for the tea flavour to come out at all. What I did was, I left it sitting for 15 to 20 minutes because I start to sip at it, with the teabag still left sitting inside my mug for another 5 to 10 minutes before I throw it out. 

And as for that boost of energy level in the day? Nope, sorry, I didn't experience that. My usual morning coffee (which I omitted while on this 28 days teatox) did so much better for that morning wake up call. 

So throughout the 28 days, I was pretty miserably doing my paperwork in office, trying desperately not to doze off at my table (bosses seated right behind me), all the way from 9am to 6pm. 

Ended my teatox on Thursday and revert to my usual morning coffee on Friday. Whoa, I felt so much better typing away at my desk. 

Gym sessions after my work didn't get any better either, and in fact, on bad days, I felt even more lethargic after exercising. 

So yup, I may continue drinking Morning Blend, but only because I love drinking green tea and I love the fruity scent of this tea. But for the effects that it boast to give? Nah.... I'll rather stick to my trusted coffee. 

-credits to skinnymint.com-

And drinking Night Cleanse blend is actually not as enjoyable, all because of its taste. :(

Smelling and tasting strongly of ginger and lemongrass, drinking this tea every other night became more of a chore. I was hoping that the peppermint and hawthorn berries tastes will mask up the ginger-lemongrass-licorice root combination, but it turned out otherwise. I have no idea why it's stated as an earthy-lemony blend, but it's not lemony at all, unless you add in your own lemon slice to it, which I've seen other ladies doing so. 

Nevertheless, in return for the not so pleasant taste, you get a good efficacy of this product. The morning after the first night, I visited the loo for up to 4x! I wasn't really diarrhoeaing, even though I did experience some loose stools, but was passing out all the toxins I've accumulated in my body. 

I shall spare you the details here, but you'll know you're being detoxed once you observe your own stools, won't you? 

A small (gross) tip, better to find a more private toilet whereby you can clean up the *cough cough* sticky, black mess *cough cough* easily. Or, if you're not that considerate enough to leave a clean toilet for the next user, then so be it. 

For more information on SkinnyMint, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Unboxing: August Black Box & SampleStore Box

Yes, I've not only redeemed some samples from the Sample Store, but was also very lucky to be able to ballot successfully for the August Black Box. 

First up, let's take a look at my Black Bos.
I was pretty surprised when I received the package in the mail. It's no longer literally a black box, but a black.... bag? 

Not that it matters, though.

Look at all the goodies I received this month. For zero dollar! 

L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise EverSleek Shampoo and Conditioner, 59ml

KLARITY Lasertox V-Line Slim Up Mask, 1 sheet

Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Lotion, 20ml

Dettol Skincare Body Wash, 10ml

Zappy Antiseptic Wipes
FrG Instant Stain Remover Wipes
FrG Instant Shoe Wipes
FrG Leather Polish Wipes
(1 pc each)

To find out more about Black Box, visit their website HERE

And this is the 2nd time I'm receiving their limited edition box. :)

At SampleStore, we can redeem up to 4 samples with a delivery fee of $5.99.
Let's see what are the 4 samples I've gotten this time.:)

Neogence Deep Pore Cleansing Mask

Klarity Lasertox CC Miracle White Lotion

GoodSkin Labs Z-Pore Instant Pore Refiner and All Over Pore Reducing Serum

Rachel K Stem Cell Purifying Cleansing Gel

To find out more about Sample Store and start redeeming your free samples, visit their new website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Slimming 101: Signature Meridian Therapy [Sponsored]

Some time last week, I attended the press conference for Slimming 101 Blogger Challenge and launch of their latest Duo Advance Body Define treatment.

And I'm really glad to be offered a chance to try out their Signature Meridian Therapy! 

Upon reaching the outlet, I was served a huge glass of their detox tea. 

Concocted from rosehips and a blend of chinese herbs, this tea doesn't taste herbal nor bitter at all. It does have a distinctive smell of chinese herbs but as you drink it, it just taste like a softer, more wash down version of Oolong tea. 

And unlike a typical detox tea you find in the market, this tea is a lot less harsh and will not give you any laxative effect too. 

When the consultant was ready, I was ushered towards the body analysis machine and got my in depth body analysis taken.

Yup, that's a pretty complicated machine. 

And after stepping off the machine, I was ushered into this pretty cute consultation room to go over my analysis results. 

One good news is, I'm actually metabolically 3 years younger than my actual age! Almost everything is in the acceptable range, but of course my optimal body fat content should be the lowest at 21.5% and not my current of 27.6%. 

And my visceral fat count is a little too high as well. Oh no, must diet!

 After the consultation, I was ushered to the locker room and asked to change out of my clothes and into the brown silky robe and disposable underwear provided before I was asked to take my weight again.
200g of the robe was taken off from the scale reading to get my actual body weight at 63.9kg.
(I've lost substantial amount of body fat but also gained muscle mass through gymming, hence my weight actually increased a little)

And after jotting down my body weight, I was ushered into this sauna box-room and asked to sweat it out for 15 to 20 minutes at 49 to 50 degree Celsius.
And yes, I really perspired like a horse and even the consultant (who should have seen more than enough of sweaty ladies) sounded surprised when she commented that I perspired quite a bit.
And after my first sweat-out session, I was then ushered to the treatment room with a pretty big TV hanging on the wall, showing some korean show, and started my Signature Meridian Therapy.

Slimming 101's Signature Meridian Therapy is an acupressure body therapy using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) principles. Via stimulation of my acupressure points located at my legs, back, hands and stomach, the treatment helps to clear any blockage I have in my body and help balance the flow of qi and blood. It not only helps to break down stubborn fats and also increases drainage for my lymphatic nodes.

A point to note was that this acupressure therapy didn't hurt for me at all, which is a good thing as it meant that my qi and blood flow is smooth and there's no blockage. However, if you have blockages in our body, this therapy will definitely hurt. But of course, no pain no gain (or lost?) right? There's definitely a price to pay in return for beauty and wellness!

And so, after the acupressure therapy, the consultant first wrap me up in a sheet of plastic before covering the hot blanket over me and setting my treatment bed up such that I can watch a bit of the korean show while sweating it out for the 2nd time.

And let me tell you, if I had sweated like a horse in the sauna box-room, then I've had sweated like.... TEN horses under this hot blanket. I literally flooded the plastic sheet with my perspiration and was desperately twisting and turning my head all over the place in a super unglam attempt to dab off all those perspiration that has gathered around my lips (eew, salty!) on the towel left covering my shoulders.

After 30 minutes, the consultant returned to check on me and very thoughtfully dabbed off the perspiration off my face before shutting off the heat from the hot blanket. But as my pores are all wide open after the treatment, I had to remain under the blanket for another 10 minutes in order to let my body cool down and my pores shrink back up.

And in spite of me sweating a river, I actually felt refreshed and rejuvenated, not lethargic and half-dead with aching muscles after my gymming sessions.
And so, I was brought to their shower area and asked to get a good shower, using their sister company Beijing 101 shampoo and conditioner. And to side track, they're really good! I actually skipped my usual argan oil hair serum (because I didn't bring it out) after the hair wash and yet my hair still dried up soft and tangle-free!

And after blow-drying my hair with the hair dryer and hair brushes provided, I was made to take another body weight measurement in the same brown robe.
And guess what? I weighed 63kg! A whopping 900g lost just after 1 treatment!
And if you're thinking that it's all water weight from all the crazy perspiration, think again. Is it really possible to lose 900g worth of water through a barely 1 hour worth of perspiration?
The water weight lost aside, a substantial amount of toxins was also purged out of my body via the water lost, which explained the high amount of weight lost after just 1 treatment session.

With frequent treatments, the Signature Meridian Therapy can not only helps to reduce water retention and increases our metabolism rate (lose weight!), but also reduces the size of our actual fat chamber and significantly improves our body contour.
More importantly, it helps with regulation of body hormones and improves our immune system, boosts our kidney functions, protects our stomach and gastric, and improves our bowel movements.

And a small tip to note, as the therapy helps to boost our metabolism rate, it is highly recommended to not eat any food for up to 1.5 hours immediately after the treatment, or risk more weight gain due to hiked up absorption of food nutrients into our body system.

For more information on Slimming 101, visit their website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Thye Moh Chan Teochew Mooncake, Baker's Well Snowskin & Raffles Singapore Snowskin

As mentioned previously, this shall be part 2 of my 2014 mooncake review. If you haven't read my review on Crystal Jade and My Bread mooncakes, do check them out HERE.

Initially I had wanted to buy the mini snowskin from Raffles Hotel but since they do not have a stall at the Ngee Ann City roadshow, I decided to go for Baker's Well instead. 

Assorted Mini Snowskin - $59

Flavours include: Champagne Truffle, Salted Black Sesame, Green Tea and Yuzu.

Look at these pretty cuties!

Needless to say, my favourite of the lot shall be Champagne Truffle, followed closely by Green Tea (my forever favourite flavour for anything, other than chocolate).

One thing is really care about for snowskin mooncakes is their skin, even more so than their actual flavour. And these mini mooncakes has done it perfectly for me! Thin, even, soft and yet not mushy and gooey, you can just bite into it upon taking them out from the fridge, no thawing really required! And neither does they 'melt' into a sticky, gooey mess after sitting at room temperature for a while. Their flavours strong enough for a distinctive, pleasant taste yet not overpowering, and the sweetness just right to make this a tasty sweet treat.

Baker's Well is located at 35E East Coast Road.
For more information, visit their FB page HERE

Thye Moh Chan Teochew Mooncake - ~$26 for box of 4.

I got these for home, as requested by my parents this year. (Last year they requested Tai Chong Kok, haha!) And for variety's sake, I chose 2 sweet and 2 salted, even though my mum told me she prefers sweet. And I'm glad I did! I believe, so did my dad! :)
The skin was pretty thin and flaky, which is like somewhere in between a bey teh soh and the Tau Sar Pneah AKA Dragon Balls. Unlike the traditional Orh Nee Teochew mooncakes, which are fried, these green bean paste mooncakes are baked, hence not oily at all.
As for the filling, I'll prefer the salted ones. Although the sweet green bean paste is a lot smoother and finer, I just felt that it lack the oomph of their salted counterparts, with the latter having a much crumbly grainy texture.
And of course, compared to the usual baked skin and snow skin mooncakes, these teochew mooncakes won't make you feel sick of the sweetness even after eating a substantial amount.
What's more, they're so much more affordable!

Thye Moh Chan is located at Paragon B1-11/12 and Chinatown Point #01-45/46
For more information, visit their website HERE

And lastly, Raffles Singapore Mooncakes.

I didn't want to add this in the list as I only had 1 bite of the mini snow skin (and almost wanted to spit it out) and can't even be sure of its flavour.
But a google search and picture comparison told me what I've eaten was their Champagne Truffle & Ganache.
I do agree the Champagne Truffle centre was nice, it tasted like a champagne infused rich creamy white chocolate. But everything else, and especially the skin, were MEHHHH....
I don't get the hype about this mooncake, really.

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: iPrice Shop [Advertorial]

Saw that cute bracelet from Cheap Monday somewhere online but have no idea on where to get it?

-credits to http://iprice.sg/products/cheap-monday/-

Saw that hot pink luggage from American Tourister in store and wonders when will they be holding a sale?

-credits to http://iprice.sg/products/american-tourister/-

How about getting them all with a few clicks of your mouse?
Sounds too good to be true?

Well, iPrice Shop has made this literally a dream come true, bringing all your 'fashion must haves' together in one place and making them easily available with just a few clicks of your mouse.

Just do a search on the item you're looking for, and let iPrice Shop do the rest of the work to scour out the best deals you can get in Singapore, either online or offline, and let iPrice redirect you to your best choice!

It really is so simply.
And yes, there is really a sale going on for some of American Tourister's luggages right now.

Slowly moving towards an affiliate store, iPrice Shop has added quite a few of our popular brands, like Nike, River Island, Coach, Michael Kors etc to their list, with more to come (such as net-a-porter!) soon.

With their HQ located in Malaysia, iPrice Shop is not only available in Singapore and Malaysia, but also available in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

And so, how does this iPrice Shop really works?

Let's say the MK Hamilton Large North South Tote caught your eyes when you went by their boutique store earlier today.

-credits to http://iprice.sg/products/michael-kors/-

But it's going to set you back by almost $700! 

Noooo.... T.T 

And so you head over to iPrice Shop and search for: Michael Kors Hamilton Large North South Tote

And there, you found it, with 4 colour variations to choose from!

And just another click will bring you directly to the shop (online or offline) which gives you the best deal, and we're looking at a savings of $167 from Pink Orchard!

And of course, if you just want to do some aimless browsing to see if anything catches your eye, you can also check out all available items via their brand labels listed under the BRANDS section.

And you know what, that's not all that iPrice is offering you!
Apart from iPrice Shop, iPrice also has a coupon page , bringing to you the best coupons, discounts and voucher codes available in Singapore.

And as you can see, their featured stores includes: Zalora, HighStreetLabels, Foxysales, Zuji, Bebe, Luxola and more!

So what are you waiting for? Head down to iPrice Shop and iPrice Coupons and start saving money on your online shopping now!

Till then,
Mia Foo

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