My Beauty Diary Strawberry Yogurt Mask review

My Beauty Diary (MBD) originates from Taiwan and their facial sheet masks are a huge hit in Asia. I started using MBD masks when I was in the UK and always have several boxes as back up as I haul them all the time.

Today I'll be reviewing the Strawberry Yogurt Mask.
Functions: Brightening, improving fine lines and oil control

 [Pic credit: yesstyle.com]

Pros:
I think the biggest plus point of this mask is that it smells SO good. I guess the name is perfect because it does remind me of strawberry yogurt/milk! Even after removing the mask, the scent lingers around for some time and really is quite lovely. Don't worry, the scent is pretty subtle so you only get the occasional whiff and not walk around as if someone drenched you in head to toe with strawberry milk (although some people might like that, I don't know).

On a more practical side, it's really moisturising. My skin feels really hydrated after using this. The mask is pretty much soaking wet, but at least it doesn't drip all over the place when applied.

After removing the mask, you'll notice there's plenty of essence on your face. I massage the leftover essence into my skin and it absorbs pretty quickly and doesn't leave a sticky feeling. It completely sinks into my skin.

After application, my skin definitely feels cooler, softer and definitely smoother! It also feels very refreshed. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help touching my face after using this mask.

No break outs.

Cons:
Although this mask offers immediate brightening effects, it is only temporary. It was great to see my normally dull skin look so bright and healthy, but I wished it were more permanent. I wasn't hoping for a miracle, but after using a whole box (10 sheets), my skin didn't appear brighter nor did my scars and blemishes seem lighter. The effect lasts for a couple of hours at most.

This mask also claims to tighten pores. This, I can't vouch for. I observed the pores on my nose very carefully and didn't notice any tightening effects. However, I reckon it did control sebum secretion, but this is also only a temporary effect until you wash it off the next time you shower.

How I use it:
1) Cleanse face
2) Apply sheet mask for 20-30 minutes
3) Remove sheet mask
4) Gently massage the remaining essence on my face until fully absorbed
5) Apply moisturiser to seal in the essence
6) Use the sheet mask to give my arms and legs a wipe so I will smell like strawberries

Niu Er Lao Shi recommends this mask in his beauty book

Please note that there are plenty of fake My Beauty Diary masks (and other cosmetics and skincare items for that matter) out there. So do get them from reliable sources as you don't want to be messing with your skin. In case you're wondering, I got my box of masks online from Sasa.
Here are two very good posts on how to spot fake My Beauty Diary masks:
Rinny - How to: Spot Fake v. Real My Beauty Diary Face Masks
Sunnanz - How to spot My Beauty Diary fakes

Instagram images 002

A closer look at my multi-layer cross necklace from this post*click*

Some of my jewellery on my new clothes jewellery hook

Received the stuff I purchased from a fellow blogger. She has a bit more stuff left on her blog sale here*click*

Unpacking my tea chest which took nearly 3 months to ship over from the UK.
*To clarify, these are my belongings which I shipped over because I'm now back in Malaysia*

Was rummaging in the fridge and found this from when my parents went to Hokkaido last year. Mine! hehe

What I saw at the supermarket

You're always encouraged to bring your own recyclable bags, but incase you forget, feel free to use their boxes. Reduce the use of plastic bags. Save the earth!
I think this initiative is great! I never saw this in the UK...

Hello Kitty toilet paper haha

Fresh clams of all sorts

@joey_wongby

By the way, does anyone know how to search for the photo app, Mei Tu Xiu Xiu? I tried the pinyin, but couldn't find it :(

LensVillage GEO Grang Grang Choco review

Today, I'll be reviewing the GEO Grang Grang Choco HC-246 circle lenses.
Disclosure: These lenses were sponsored by LensVillage, a Malaysian-based online store that sells circle lenses. However, this review is written based on my own honest opinions.

With flash

With sunlight streaming in through the window

Under very dim lighting

Item details
Origin: Korea
Diameter : 14.2mm
Water content: N/A
Base Curve :8.6mm
Life Span : 1 year disposal

I have been complaining about how circle lenses these days are getting ridiculously large in diameter. We're talking about 17mm here and personally, that is not the look I'm going for. What about girls like us who like to keep it simple, yet have a bit of fun with colour and a tiny bit of enlargement for our eyes?

Circle lens manufacturers, y u no make new circle lenses with smaller diameters???

Well, someone must have heard us (me) lamenting, so they introduced the new GEO Grang Grang series! (Funny name, I know. I wonder what it means in Korean) With the new series, you can choose between 14.2mm or 15.0mm. YES!!

Comfort: 4/5
I had no problem wearing these lenses for hours. I even wore this to a smokey Japanese BBQ and didn't experience any discomfort. However, I wouldn't recommend wearing it for longer than 6 hours.

Enlargement: 3/5
The diameter of these circle lenses are 14.2mm, so they do have a little bit of an enlarging effect. Moreover, the dark chocolate ring around the lenses further contributes to the enlargement. I must say that even though the dark ring is pretty obvious under light, it doesn't look too harsh.

Colour: 2/5
*note that a 5/5 score would mean that the colour's very obvious even while indoors*
Indoors, these lenses don't look like they offer much colour change. The brown is more obvious in daylight or when I use flash. I think this pair blends really well with my natural eye colour (dark brown).

How much do I like them? 4/5

 

If you want to check out the new GEO Grang Grang range, head over to their website now!

If you're interested in making a purchase from LensVillage, they have kindly offered a discount code to all my readers, so remember to use my code '10everydayoutfits' to get 10% off.

Blue skies and white clouds

 Lace cut out back oversized shirt: Topshop (eBay)

Multi-layer cross necklace: Singapore

Destroyed denim shorts: River Island

It's so sad
Babe don't look so sad
I've got it wrong today
Wrong today

And if she doesn't go your way
Look up to blue skies and say hey
It's ok it's ok

- Crumbs by Disagree

Job-hunting can be pretty stressful. Still, I'm not giving up. I know it's only a matter of time. Heads up :)

Instagram images 001

In my last giveaway, I asked for feedback on what you'd like to see more on my blog. Many of you voted for personal life with some of you specifying that you'd like to see how life is like in Malaysia. I'm delighted that so many of you are interested in my mundane life, but I hope you don't imagine that I lead some sort of glamorous life with lots of exciting events happening on a daily basis. The truth is, eating a heart-shaped Krispy Kreme doughnut is pretty much as exciting as it gets. Still, I've taken all your suggestions on board and will slowly incorporate them into my posts.

To get the ball rolling, I'm introducing a new feature uncreatively labelled 'Instagram Images'. I will try to make it a weekly thing, but the day of posting may vary. I'd like to say that the reason I'll be posting photos instead of words is because a picture paints a thousand words, but we all know really, it's just 'cause I'm lazy :P

Enjoy!

Heart-shaped Krispy Kreme doughnuts

Chocolate-filled...yummmsss

ABC/Ais kacang (shaved ice with syrup and toppings) - a very popular Malaysian dessert

February issue of Ray magazine (Malaysian edition, English)

Newly sponsored GEO Grang Grang circle lenses

Bangle I wore to an interview

Oh, if you're interested in following me on Instagram, it's @joey_wongby
Please note that my Instagram is pretty personal and I intend to keep it as such. I don't want it to be another social media account where people just keep asking for follow-backs
xx

Keeping fit with pretty shoes

For the past few months, with all the travelling I've been doing, it was inevitable that I've piled on a few pounds. A few is an understatement, actually. I mean, I just couldn't resist trying out all the local delicacies!

Frankly, I'm quite upset about it, but I'm determined to lose the extra weight. You might have noticed that I've purchased some slimming tools from Sasa to help me along. I know these things don't really work, but I figured I could still use it for massaging. Massages help improve blood circulation and hopefully, reduce cellulite *hopeful*

I know I will need to start exercising regularly, too. The best thing is, we actually have a treadmill at home, so I wouldn't have to pay to join a gym or jog outside. What I'll need is a good pair of athletic women sneakers. Having good jogging shoes is very important as you don't want any added stress on your knees. However, I personally think that a lot of jogging shoes, while functional, have no form whatsoever.

Now I'm not saying that one has to dress to the nines to go to the gym, but given a choice, I would definitely try to pick prettier shoes. I'll admit exercising is a chore to me, so I'll do anything to make myself more motivated. If I had pretty jogging shoes, I'd definitely be more willing to put them on more often.

Here are a couple of jogging shoes I think are really pretty.

[Pic credit: Macy's]

Bloggers Do It Better...Red

I quote Kristina at Pretty Shiny Sparkly,
"Bloggers Do It Better is a movement. An initiative to showcase real girls, with real style, wearing real trends. Think of it as inspiration from the girl next door."

The latest instalment is simply entitled, Red. Bloggers were asked to interpret it however they wished to. Here is my interpretation of it.

Red shirt: Bugis Street, Singapore

Paperbag skirt with heart prints: H&M
Ladybug ring: Random market

While this colour is really apt for today, Valentine's Day, I actually wore this one day while visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year period. Red is of great significance to the Chinese and it is tradition to wear red during this festive season. It symbolizes good luck and is the colour for celebration and happiness.

This was actually the first time in 5 years I've visited my relatives around Malaysia and collected angpaus (red packets). Chinese New Year in the UK is a sad affair and it can feel terribly lonely, though I've gotten used to it. Still, it was a delight to be counting and spending my lucky money.

This is where some of my money went.

My 1st blogiversary giveaway is over. I've randomly selected a winner and the winner is...

Alexandra

CONGRATULATIONS!!

My new iPhone4s

So I've had my first ever iPhone for a little over a week now and still trying to get the hang of it. I've never craved one before because to be honest, besides being put off by its exorbitant price, I always thought the iPhone was a bit erm...ugly (still do!). For me, it's always form over function :P

However, since I'm back and need a new phone and SIM card anyway, my parents decided to reward me this for completing my Master's (some of you call it grad school?). It would also be useful and more practical for work next time. I feel a bit embarrassed that my parents paid for it when really, I should be using my own money, but I'm quite literally penniless at the moment (I exaggerate. Just a bit). I hope I get a job soon, so I can at least pay my own monthly bills.

These are the apps I've downloaded so far. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Wong Fu Productions in Malaysia

I Heart Nice Guy T-shirt: Wong Fu store
Polka-dotted skirt: H&M
Bangles: ASOS.com

I first found out about Wong Fu Productions when 2 American friends of mine showed me Yellow Fever more than 5 years ago. Yeap, I've been following Wong Fu Productions before they were on YouTube and before they were even Wong Fu Productions. I know, I'm quite smug about that fact :P

When I heard they were coming to Malaysia, frankly, I was in disbelief. Really?!

After getting over the initial shock, I immediately contacted a friend (as I was still in the UK at the time) to arrange for ticket-booking. As he could only make it for one session, we went for the Mini Symposium. It was more for budding filmmakers and fans who were interested in dabbling with video-making. It wasn't really relevant to me, but I just wanted to see them in person.

Judging from the people who turned up, their fanbase in Malaysia is pretty young. Some came with good questions on film-making and how to make it big on YouTube, but many were there, like me, just to see them. I was a bit disappointed that during the Q&A sessions, many people asked simple questions where answers could easily be found online.

I wanted to go for the Meet & Greet and the Wong Fu for Lyfe session, but oh well, maybe next time. Besides, I think I'm much too old to be queuing up for such things. I believe the term is fan-girling? Back when I was chasing Taiwanese stars, I wouldn't mind waiting for hours just to get their autograph, but these bones are not what they used to be lol. I noticed that my friend and I were quite possibly one of the oldest in the auditorium (besides the event organizers and media).

Phil and Wes are really humble in real life and though given the star treatment, they weren't in the least bit snobbish or anything. They're pretty much like how you see them in their Wong Fu Weekend episodes.

I think what they've done is truly inspiring and I hope that more Malaysian youngsters would come out and make videos or even shorts.

Unfortunately, Ted couldn't make it, but he made a very funny video which was broadcasted on the day. I'm sure it's on YouTube somewhere :)

Graduation outfit

So I was sitting here trying to churn out an outfit post, when I remembered that I hadn't blog about my graduation outfit.

As you can see from the pic, I wore a red shirt, a pencil skirt, a belt to cinch in the waist, tights and heels. I also wore a long black cardigan over my red shirt (hidden by the robe). I think bare legs would have looked better, but I couldn't do without. My graduation ceremony was right smack in the middle of the winter months, you see.

I think in some countries, the girls would wear cocktail dresses underneath their robes. Although there were some girls at my Uni doing that, in general, it was the norm to wear something more formal; a shirt and skirt.

If like me, your University adheres to a smart dress code, here are a few tips on how to dress for your graduation/convocation:

1) Do wear a buttoned down shirt if your hood comes with a loop that needs to be secured on to a button. A pin works, but it's a bit more tricky. You will be needing good, strong pins.

2) The hood may force your shirt to ride up which is terribly annoying. Wearing a blazer helps or you can try pinning it down. I look a bit sloppy in the pic because the hood was too heavy and the tiny pins fell out.

3) If you graduate during the summer months, you may feel quite hot wearing the robe. So try to wear something light underneath. Have a think about the fabric. Sweat patches are not attractive.

4) Do not wear a white shirt unless you want to look exactly like the other 5645689143 graduates.

5) Do not wear jeans. Please.

6) Heels. Heels. Heels. The robe is bulky and will overwhelm us, making us look shorter. Any added height helps. I only managed a 3-inch pair of heels, but I'm telling you, the girls who wore 3 and a half to 4 inches looked way better.

7) Do practice walking in your heels. You really don't want to trip on stage in front of a few hundred people with cameras.

8) Do check the weather report. I checked it religiously the days leading up to my ceremony incase I had to wear thicker clothes.

9) You will get hat hair, so leave the hat on until the end of the day. The hat is not really one-size-fits-all so secure it with bobby pins.

10) Since I don't believe in fashion rules myself, feel free to forget everything you've just read and just wear something you're most comfortable with! Do note that the above were just some personal observations and by no means "rules" :)