I do not believe it. My telephone number was changed mysteriously. I do not know how. When I called from my hand phone, my fixed line phone does not ring although I get a ringing tone. When I called my hand phone from my fixed line I get a new incoming number.  When I call this new number from my hand phone, my fixed line phone rings and I am through.  So I now have a new number !!!

My call to the dearest  customer complaints:- 100, I have the standard reply: ” Repot ini kita hantar ke bahagian teknikal”  Tunggu dia orng panggil. So I am waiting and will update you when the mystery is solved. I just hope I do not get a hefty phone bill for making calls to Kazakhstan.

body shop compact

Many of us are often guided in the wrong way when it comes to looking for a suitable compact powder that matches our skin tone. The trick here is to do some research on which compact can blend with your skin tone without leaving any flaws. After a few researches that i have done, i found Bobbi Brown to have some of the best compacts that blend perfectly with our Asian skin, which is the Bobbi Brown Sand Moisturizing Compact Foundation.

It has both the mosturising base and foundation in one. For those with oily skin, it is advisable to go for the Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact. To choose the right compact, its always good to choose a deep bronze colour for tanned skin or a rosy pinkish colour for fairer skin. “Never” choose white! And make sure that the colour of the pressed powder is ALWAYS one shade darker than your own shade. This way, the powder on the skin will not be obvious and if you wish to pull off a natural look, it will be a lot easier.

The price of the Bobbi Brown compacts ranges from RM150-RM160. But the price is worth paying for. For those who think Bobbi Brown is a little too pricy, you can always depend on The Body Shop. I love the compact powders available there. The All-In-One Face Base is my personal favourite, as it contains all foundation and base in one. It is suitable for both oily and combination skin and contains marula oil which locks in skin moisture barrier.

The price is reasonable, it ranges from RM70-RM80. It has an attractive design and can be applied on-the -go. The powder is fine and smooth which can blend beautifully with the skin texture, and the sponge is suitable for gentle usage on mild skins. Just use a simple  moisturizer, apply one of these powders, and you are good to go for the day, looking great and flawless. The Body Shop also has Flawless Skin Protecting Foundation, Loose Face Powder, Bronzing Powder and Pressed Face Powder which are equally compatible and it has the same price range.

[ratings]

I badly needed a holiday, and as all holidays go, they give us women an excuse to shop even more. This was going to be a beach holiday, so I decided to shop for a sundress, flip-flops, a new pair of shades, and some travel-sized skincare. I de-cided to try Simple’s range for skincare and tested it before going for my holiday (who wants breakouts while sunning on the beach?), and lived to tell the tale.

Simple’s Refreshing Facial Wash Gel lathered well, and lived up to Simple’s core positioning of all products having no perfume and no colour, mainly to cater for sensitive skin. However, I personally would have preferred a light scent during use. Simple’s Soothing Facial Toner with chamomile and witch hazel was great as there was no whiff of alcohol when I was applying it on and it left my skin feeling fresh. As for Simple’s Hydrating Light Moisturiser, at first application it felt a little rich, and after a couple of hours, there was a slight sheen on my face making it appear slightly oily. The bottle was also not very user-friendly — I couldn’t squeeze out the moisturiser as there was no nozzle, and the only thing I could do was to thump it hard upside-down and risk dispensing more than I needed.

Each product was 50ml, and the 3-step travel kit was packaged in a transparent pouch for the price of RM23.90, which I feel is a little pricey if all I was looking for was travel-sized alternatives to my skincare regime to last me a week. However, the plus-point about Simple is that the products are tailored to sensitive skin, and I didn’t experience any skin problems like breakouts, etc. after use.

Apart from Simple’s Travel Kit on the three products above, I also decided to try out their range of disposable cleansing wipes. There were three types of cleansing wipes in the range—Cleansing Facial Wipes in green packaging (RM17.90), Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes in blue packaging (RM19.90) and Age Resisting Cleansing Wipes in grey packaging (RM21.90). All three packs had 25 cleansing wipes each, and while primarily used for the face, can also be used on other parts of the body especially to freshen-up when travelling.

The cleansing facial wipes smells fresh and is advocated for normal skin. This range claims to be able to remove waterproof mascara among other make-up items, and doesn’t disappoint. The oil balancing cleansing wipes is primarily for oily skin with a natural antibacterial as one of its primary ingredients, whereas the age resisting cleansing wipes is targeted towards more mature skin, for example, women above 35 years of age, as it fights premature aging.
I personally find that the oil balancing wipes does the best job of removing make-up, oil and impurities from the skin, but the age resisting wipes smells the best, probably due to the fact that one of the ingredients includes green tea extracts.

I would definitely take a pack with me when travelling as it is very convenient to store and keeps moist as long as the package is resealed after use.

By : Kohilam Kalimuthu

[ratings]

Kohilam Kalimuthu compares one of the latest food trends in the market—yogurt drinks— and comes away feeling more than a little hydrated

Yogurt drinks have recently been making headway into our supermarkets’ chilled sections, in different brands and even more diverse flavours, and I decided to see what the hype was about. I am not a big fan of yogurt; when I was a kid, my mother used to have a bowl of tairu beside her whenever we sat down at the dining table for lunch, and I used to push the bowl as far away from me as possible as it stank of high hell.

Over the years, I got used to the idea of flavoured yogurt as it was sweet and didn’t stink as much as mom’s tairu (and also because one of the tubs had real strawberries which got me hooked as a teen)!
A little background on one of the world’s fastest growing beverages, yogurt is a dairy product produced by the bacterial fermentation of milk. To offset its natural sourness, sweeteners or flavouring was added to it. Strawberry and orange flavoured yogurts are popular choices. Yogurt is also touted as having medicinal uses, especially in terms of gastrointestinal conditions such as diarrhoea or gastritis, and is believed to promote overall health.

Most types of yogurt contain “live cultures” or “active cultures”, a term referring to living organisms used to ferment pasteurised milk into yogurt. These “live cultures” break down milk lactose, giving the lactose-intolerant among us a chance to gain nutritional benefits from a milk product without having to suffer the side effects.

With this in mind, did the yogurt gurus decide to come up with yogurt drinks, an alternative to yogurt, which would be healthy and convenient, while being a hit with kids. And with the ideas people at Nestle, Dutch Lady, Nutrigen, Sunglo and Marigold joining the bandwagon, it would be in my best interest to try out their yogurt drinks as well.

I had the opportunity of trying out 5 different brands of yogurt drink and some had me vowing that I would take care of my gastrointestinal functions from this point onwards by having a bottle at least once a week.

MARIGOLD’S YOGURT DRINK, 1 litre, RM4.19
The packaging itself wasn’t very attractive, as it didn’t catch my eye like some of the other brands did. I chose the Pome-granate flavoured drink, which came in pink packaging with a green screw-top cover. The packaging also advertised that this drink was cholesterol and fat-free, contained live and active cultures, and was fortified with calcium.

I have a penchant for smelling food before having it go down my throat and into my stomach, so as I soon as I opened this, I took a whiff of it, and the first thought that came to mind was the smell of children’s antibiotic. It didn’t taste much better either, there was a lingering sensation on my tongue, somewhat unpleasant, which I could only wash down with water. The texture was a little thin. In its defence, maybe another flavour would have tasted better.

NESTLE’S BLISS, 700ml, RM4.65
This one caught my eye right away. The bottle was dark blue with pictures of fruits in front, advertising Bliss as a low-fat yogurt drink. I decided on Tropical and Mixed Fruits with real fruit juice. The front of the bottle also advertised that there was no artificial colouring in this drink and that it contained live cultures that would aid digestion. The side of the bottle contains a tiny box entitled “Good to Know”, with information on one of its ingredients (Inulin), and how it aids and maintains a good intestinal environment.

However, it wasn’t exceptional in terms of taste. Maybe fruits shouldn’t be mixed-up and blended together to form a drink! I dare say that another flavour of the same brand would have been better, as the texture of the drink was quite smooth. Unfortunately, it didn’t smell too good as I could get a whiff of sour milk, like tairu all over again. However, I would probably give this drink another go, but only if it was of a different flavour.

DUTCH LADY’S SHINE, 750ml, RM4.49
This was my favourite. The packaging was clean and attractive—the bottle was white and light green and the layout was simple but eye-catching. This drink also advertised zero percent fat and I chose to go with the Apple Aloe Vera flavour with real fruit juice and green tea extracts. It also contained active live cultures.

My choice this time tasted great and I almost finished the drink in one go. It tasted a little like apple juice, only thicker with a slight yogurt base and a hint of aloe vera. The texture was smooth and it was absolutely refreshing. I would definitely rank this as the best among the five.
NUTRIGEN’S LITEYO, 750ml, RM3.49
This bottle was attractive too, it was curvy, making it easier to hold, and stood out on the shelves as it was bright orange with a yellow screw-top cover. This drink was advertised as fat-free, with added collagen and active live cultures. The one thing that got to me about this packaging was that the writing, while already minuscule, was in white (and imagine white against a yellow background!). I had to literally squint to read the fine print like ingredients, etc. and only when I took the bottle under a fluorescent lamp and strained my eyes, could I make out what was written.

I chose the Mango and Peach flavoured drink this time around, and I wasn’t disappointed. When I poured some out into a glass, the colour was a little like children’s liquid medication as well (this one looked like it was for a child who was having a terrible running nose!), but it tasted good. It was slightly sour and the hint of mango was stronger than the peach, but the overall effect was satisfactory. The texture was smooth and it smelt great too.

SUNGLO’S LASSI, 750ml, RM4.50
This was my least favourite. The bottle was unattractive and plain—it was shaped like one of those olden-days bottles when the milkman left one at your doorstep. It’s actually a transparent bottle which looks orange because of the colour of the drink. This drink is advertised as “the original yogurt drink” (whatever that means), and claims to be low-fat. It contains flavouring and colouring, but nowhere on the bottle does it mention that it contains active live cultures.

I chose the orange flavoured version, and when I opened it and took a whiff, it smelt absolutely fabulous and my mouth started to water in anticipation. However, when I took a sip of it, it put me off straightaway. The texture was too thin and it just didn’t taste good. There was no hint of yogurt, it was just like an orange drink into which unsweetened condensed milk had been added sparingly.

This is one brand I would not bother trying again, unless they came out with new flavours and gave away free testers at the supermarkets.

Overall, each and every one of these drinks had nutritional information on some part of the packaging, but only Dutch Lady, Marigold and Nestle had a customer service number at which they could be contacted. Also, all 5 drinks compared had the expiry date prominently displayed on the bottle or the cover, as well as the ideal temperature at which it should be stored.

As for me, I’ve had enough yogurt testing to last me a while, but you can be sure which choice I would go for if I was ever shopping for a health beverage again!
Cheers!

[ratings]

When my toothpaste had finished i went to the stores with my mom to buy another toothpaste. When we reached the oral care section my mom realised that she had to buy groceries as well so she told me to go for a cheaper toothpaste. That is when i noticed the Fresh & White Apple mint toothpaste. The whole rack smelt of green apples. The packaging said “250g + Free 50g” which cost only RM 5.95 which i think is a very reasonable price compared to other toothpastes. I think that that it is a great offer and it practically has the same ingredients like the other toothpastes. My breathe smells really good and it feels fresh after brushing my teeth with this toothpaste.

Fresh & White

• Fresh Applemint Taste Toothpaste
• A family toothpaste with special blend of “Apple” flavor and mint gives you cool, refreshing & healthy taste
• Cal-shield formula with Extra Whitening Power for stronger & whiter teeth
• 2-Fluoride & Calcium for enamel protection against tooth decay
• New, exciting Apple taste, so healthy & refreshing!
• Pack Size & Price
• Pack Size West M’sia East M’sia
• 75g RM 2.50 RM 2.50
• 175g RM 4.50 RM 4.50
• 250g RM 5.95 RM 5.95