Malaysian Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger

Neal's Yard Remedies - Going Beyond Being Organic

Introducing Neal's Yard Remedies, the Ethical Organic Skin Care.


Why 'Ethical'? Read on to find out!



Founded in the UK in 1981, it has established quite a reputation overseas but is still relatively quite new here. The company is against synthetic chemicals, genetically modified ingredients and animal testing. It advocates safe cosmetics, usage of recyclable and biodegradable materials as well as organic farming.

The products DO NOT contain parabens, synthetic fragrances, GMO ingredients, silicones, phthalates, nano, mineral oils, EDTA, propylene glycol, carbomer, DEA, acrylates and BHT.




What's up with all the blue bottles?
They're made from Scottish sand, Yorkshire limestone and soda ash from Cheshire and are 100% recyclable. NYR has a CarbonNeutral status too which means they offset their carbon emissions.



NYR is certified by The Soil Association - maximum organic ingredients, no GMO, environmentally-friendly and minimal processing. Good for the environment and you ;)




Enough with the intro, let's move on to the products! Each range is targeted for different skin types so you get what's best for YOUR skin. There are also body products and hair care, all with different scents x_X They use essential oils instead of parfum to give users a natural aromatherapy experience. You can view the award winning products HERE.








Especially like these Bee Lovely products because they smell just like honey!



Create a relaxing environment at home by dropping these essential oils into a diffuser~




Baby safe products available too!



Be beautiful inside with NYR tea xD 



Hand pampering session! Kelly taught me that I should exfoliate more on my elbows as the skin is rougher there.



The Seaweed Salt Scrub is a must try.




Fiona with a brighter looking left hand after the hand pampering! Scrub scrub scrub all the dead skin away~ 




Was also treated to a mini facial session using 8 NYR products. If you're interested in the product but not sure if it'll suit you, you can drop by the outlet any time and try it on before purchasing. 




(Click to enlarge)



The difference is not major in photos but the brightening effect was quite evident IRL, especially after the facial polish and mask. Skin appears to be smoother, more even toned, brighter and glowing.



Went there totally bare faced, even without lip balm so urghhh.. chapped lips! Applied this Shea Nut & Rosehip Organic Lip Formula (lip balm) and Rejuvenating Frankincense Eye & Lip Serum. My lips were immediately soothed and not so dry.




Huge 1 litre bottle! Bigger bottles are always more environmentally friendly and better especially for products that we use so often.




Guess what? The paper bag I'm holding is bio degradable as well! That's how much they value the environment. Picked up some goodies so I'll be posting a review soon~ After testing them out, I admit I'm pretty tempted to grab a few more =x You won't understand until you try them so do check them out:


Gardens Mall ( 03-22019099 )
Isetan One Utama ( 03-77266199 )
Isetan KLCC ( 03-21619799 )



P.S. There's also a giveaway going on at their FB page!


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Guide to Bangkok, Thailand

Sawadeeka~

If you're following me on Instagram (@TheIsabelLee), you might have seen these photos already. I was in Thailand! It was my first time going out of the country as well as being on an airplane. Nervous like shit but surprised it's not as scary as I imagined x_X


Our AirAsia flight stopped at Don Meaung airport, where we took a bus (right outside the airport) to Mo Chit BTS (kena con by the lady who took more money for 'fare' from tourists), which happens to be REALLY near Chatuchak Weekend Market (walking distance) so we went shopping a bit first. It was still rather early (9 am) and many of the stalls were not ready yet. This was my haul within 2 hours.


Shorts, skirts & skorts 150 baht each. They are available in SO MANY colours I went a lil crazy.



Shopping at Chatuchak Weekend Market Thailand

These 200 baht (RM 20) lace dresses are of pretty good quality and you can find the same ones for the same price at Platinum Mall.



Lace dresses from Chatuchak Weekend Market

Also got myself a packet of Mango Sticky Rice 50 baht because everyone was raving about it. Meh.. Nice but it's just santan rice with mangoes. Mangoes go for 20 baht.



Thailand mango sticky rice

My whole stay in Bangkok can be pretty much summarized to : food, shopping, massage and.. TRAFFIC JAM!



Traffic jam in Bangkok

Getting around is not a problem at all even if you don't have a car as there are super many taxis, tuk-tuks, mini bus-tuktuk hybrids, motor-taxis and buses.



Mini bus tuk tuk in Bangkok Thailand

In order to avoid the jam, we stayed near a BTS (LRT / sky train) station which is pretty convenient. It's also much easier to tell your taxi driver which BTS station you stay nearby instead of addresses.



BTS sky train in Bangkok Thailand

Buying a BTS ticket is really easy. Just look at the map, look for your location and the fare needed. Press the number on the ticket machine and insert coins. Price ranges from 15-52 baht. They have a 1 day pass for 130 baht but it won't be worth it unless you really travel on BTS a lot.



BTS Bangkok Thailand routes

Walked around on foot whenever we're not on the BTS or in a taxi. Within the first day.. I got pickpocketed =_=" I was wearing a pouch and left some Strepsils and a packet of tissues on the outer rubber-netting pouch and they disappeared. Impossible that they dropped out as the rubber held them in. It was made of netting so the contents are visible. My sister commented "Thailand must be short on tissue" LOL


Rough conversion (and for easy counting), 10 baht = RM 1. Arrange all your notes so the numbers are all on one corner so you can spot the value immediately.



Thailand baht money

We were famished so we bought sausages from a roadside stall. OMG SO SALTY! We encountered the same thing with 2 other sausage stalls elsewhere so.. Don't buy sausages in Bangkok!


Buying sausages on the roadside in Bangkok Thailand

Hailed a cab to Minburi because le Bf wanted to custom make his snooker cue from the O'Min factory. The 1-2 hour journey (depending on traffic) costs only RM 20! Taxis are much cheaper there compared to Malaysia. Walked through a wet market and bought some food.


Wet market in Minburi Thailand

In the middle of the city, you'll find a river =/


River in Minburi


Wooden houses along river in Minburi

I was bugging le Bf about trying out Mango Sticky Rice for a whole week before our trip. So he challenged my packet with this which he called 'authentic Thai mango rice', from the Minburi market. Sorry but.. this tasted gross! It was kinda smelly and I just couldn't eat more than 1 bite.



Thai mango rice


Proceeded to eat some more with our 'haul' from 7 eleven & Family Mart LOL They're across each other on the main road at Thong Lor BTS. Quick Serve Takoyaki that the cashier will just reheat for you. 29 baht only for 5 and they have tako chunks inside. Yum!


Takoyaki from Family Mart

The 'M-150' which I thought was called Miso is SO GOOD! It became my 'water' for 6 days. Priced at only 10 baht a bottle, I had about 3-6 bottles a day =x


Oishi tea from Family Mart

Roselle juice and cherry flavoured yogurt 19baht. There are real cherry chunks inside and the taste is really strong. 


Roselle juice and cherry yogurt from Thailand 7 eleven

Kena con by le Bf who convinced me that this egg in 7 11 is 'melty egg' but it was actually just normal hard boiled egg!
1) He cannot read Thai
2) Melty eggs belong in Taiwanese & Japanese food

So why did I still buy it!??! Zzzz... But anyway, the soy sauce it came with was quite good LOL 


Hard boiled eggs from 7 eleven in Thailand

2nd serving of the yummy squid from Thong Lor Night Market.


BBQ squid from Thong Lor night market

Along the main road at Thong Lor, there are several massage parlours. I don't have the name of this one but here's a photo of the interior lol! Average price is 250 bath an hour and 35-45 bath for 2 hours. This shop is not bad and their traditional Thai massage is good! Really relaxing, we fell asleep halfway.


Cheap massage parlours in Bangkok

Random woman offering sewing services on the streets lol


Woman sewing clothes in Bangkok

People in Thailand are generally really friendly and helpful. The streets are clean and you are not allowed to smoke at most places.

Summary : Avoid sausages anywhere, food in Thong Lo night market is good, explore Chatuchak for cheap clothes, accessories, bags, shoes and souvenirs.

We're off to Hua Hin in the next post! ;)
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My Beauty Diary Arbutin Whitening Mask

After my streak of TT Masks, I'm back to MBD cos I saw a variant I have not tried yet.


"Whitening Supreme"



Cute lacey design!




Not sure what's with the chemistry pic haha.. The lace would have been just fine..



Better fit, my ass! Maybe I'm too used to TT Masks.. Has a nice light floral scent. Like the other updated sheets, it is more hydrating than the thicker ones and adheres better. Despite their claims, I did not notice any whitening nor brightening effects =/



I am not impressed with this variant. You should probably try the Black Pearl instead for brightening/whitening.
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