Shopping and beauty products i found in Taiz, Yemen

A while ago (when i started to write this ne blog), i read in lovely cosme blog about indonesia cosmetics-lulur paradise, you can read here , she remind me of  how i love indonesian products, specially body scrub/lulur, and how i ordered one box of lulur bali all varians when i first came to Yemen, because i was afraid that there would be no lulur here in Yemen. hehe.. I left a comment on her site, and she replied, asked me about yemen local cosmetic brands or beauty products..well, i swear i was gonna write about that on my first post but i was so excited writing reviews about korean cosmetic brands at that time.

Anyway, now i decided to write about shopping in Yemen and beauty products i found in Yemen. First, Yemeni women like to go shopping in Souq. What is Souq? well, if you watch sex and the city 2 where they travelled to Abu dhabi, then you know what souq is. It is more like traditional market, you can found everything there. Here in Taiz don't expect a mall like pondok indah mall or plaza senayan. There is no such thing like that. We shop in the souq. The souq in Taiz is located in 26 street, it is a loooong street. you will get tired walking and shopping here. My mom asked me what is it like, and i told her, well, maybe you can imagine Blok M behind melawai plaza or pasar mayestik, but it is a looong road with shops on your light and right. The main street is always crowded, and there are some alleys with air conditioner, one you enter, there is another long alley with shops. there are also some 3-4 storey building like ITC, cafes, Bank, restaurants, and at one end of the street is spice and foods market.

i copied this picture below from www.ycmes.or, it is a picture of souq in Yemen.

When i first came to Yemen, i bought my beauty products from Al furais supermarket, that i wrote a post about it before. I found some familiar products, like l'oreal and clean&clear for my face, sunsilk, garnier, herbal essence for my hair, dove, lux, nivea, johnsons for body. For baby&kids products, what familiar for me is only johnson&johnsons. the rest are new for me.And for your information, there is no unilever, or P&G in yemen. so all that products i mentioned are not made in Yemen. They are all imported.
For me who like trying new products, it was interesting to found many new products i never heard before and not available in Indonesia.

After a while i met some new friends here, then i started visiting souq and found my self enjoying my time in souq. Beauty stores in Souq are intersting. i was surprised to found many brands from all over the word. The seller always sell by saying, oh, this one is made in germany, this one made in france.. this one made in USA.. bla bla.. i wanted to try foundation or powder but never found a right shade for me. so i just bought lipstick, lip gloss, eye liner, eye brow pencil, from various brand i have no idea.lol
There is this interesting story, when i wanted to buy dove soap bar in the souq. I told the seller, i wanted dove soap. And the seller asked me, Dove made in germany or Dove made in UAE? i was like what? what's the difference? then the seller gave me both to compare, and yes they smell different even though they are the same dove variant. and the other day i heared a woman asked for dove made in USA. the seller said sold out.Then i heard they offered her dove made in germany and made in UAE, but she didn't want. she insisted she wants only dove made in USA. wow. then i heard they were talking about dove  made in usa is a favourite here. well, that's a new thing for me..

anyway, let's jump to some products i found here. Here are beauty products i have now;

I checked the packaging, most of them made in germany, some made in france, uae, UK, PRC..

This is my fav line products at this time.shampoo, conditioner and body cream shower. the name is "Dulgon", under the company Mann & schroder, made in germany. and of course the first reason i bought them is because they smell good..i got fade up with shampo, conditioner and soap with cosmetic-artificial smell, so when i found this i was so happy... the shampoo and conditioner i bought 3 varians. Acocado&mango, apricot and olive.

look at this. cream shower with coconut flavor? it smells yummmyyy,, i love it a lot! it smells like coconut milk (santan).

and this is Dulgon for kids. the lotion smells soooo girly and sweet. The other bottle is a hair mist, or like zwitsal hair lotion.

My fav body creams!!! the name is "soft colors", made in PRC. There are so many variants, and these are my 4th, 5th, and 6th tubes. i finished my first 3. I keep buying them because they are good in moisturizing my skin, and they smell niiiiceee...

.. while this one is my husband's fav lotion from johnson's. it is made in france.

scrubs.. the left one is from farmasi, made in turkey. Farmasi is quite famous here. not just body scrubs, they have also body spray and make up. I saw one farmasi counter in one of the shop here. the website is www.farmasi.com.tr . the right one is beauty formula, made in UK.

another products for baby,, the name is sanosan, made in germany, also under company mann & schroder

 Vaseline jelly!!! vaseline jelly is a must have here. it is a "weapon" for women here. all women in yemen have at least one in their house. hehe,, well, at least that's what i got from all my Yemeni friends here. It is like a multi purpose cream here. for your lip, very dry skin, crackes heels, etc. i am so happy that now they have varians, not just original. now they have varians in aloe and shea butter.

and this is the dove soap made in germany i mentioned before..

now for hair care... in Yemen you need more than just shampoo and conditioner, as the weather is extra dry here and your hair will become dry too. seriously, my hair was so smooth before and i have no problem brushing my hair, not it's dry and hard to brush smoothly. so you need extra treatment. you can choose hair cream, hair oil, or anyany other you like. At this time i have l'oreal elvive nutri gloss sine masque.this one is made in UK. then i have sunsilk hair fall solution hair cream. this one is available in indonesia too. and for another hair cream is eva honey hair cream, made in egypt.
I also have Vatika cactus hair oil. Vatika is one of the middle east famous brand. it is product of UAE. they have also shampoo and conditioner with many variants. oh, and hair oil is also very popular here. mow women use hair oil for their hair.. the next product with ginseng inside is banana leaf hair crystal, made in PRC, and garnier fructis oil replacement, the same function like hair oil, only in cream texture.this one is made in france.

fiuuuhhhh this is a loong post!
almost finish.. for yemeni local, they have some lotion or cream perfume. so it is actually a fragrance/perfume, but the texture is cream, it is home made, and smells oud or some arabic fragrance.They have also in oil texture where they put them in some fancy perfume bottle. But for soap, shampoo, lotions, make up, all import.

Haul from Al-furais

I wanted to write this post together with my last arhab haul, but then my daughter woke up and started crying, so i couldn't write another post.

Anyway, Al furais is not a beauty  store. It is a supermarket, in fact my fav one in Taiz. It is also favourite for foreigners, because they sell import food. Yup, mostly they sell food and beverages, and of course some house cleaning supplies just like other supermarket. They also have beauty corner, where they sell bath and body products and of course make up.

my haul last saturday :

 left to tright : Dulgon cream soap milk & honey, soft colors body cream in pure seduction, soft colors body cream in vanilla lace,garnier fructis oil replacement, vatika cactus enrich hair oil, banana leaf hair crystal ginseng formula

i'm so excited trying this product. as you can see, there is a real ginseng inside the bottle.cooolll... can't wait to try this one!!

i want to write about all beauty products i found here in yemen. i hope i have time to write today or soon..

Haul from Arhab part 2-> shawl, hijab, accessories

As i mentioned in my previous post before, Arhab also sells shawls, pashmina, hijab, inner hijab, accessories, almost everything women need. Normally i bought hijab from souq, but yesterday i saw they have new collections. i wanted to buy 2 or 3, but i couldn't choose, so i just took 7. lol

what i am so happy about it is that they are cheap! around 500-800 YR only, or around Rp.25.000-Rp.40.000. Last week i was browsing hijab from online seller in Indonesia, and browsing about hijab style and trends from muslimah bloggers, and i can see that now the trends is arabic style,or they call it "kerudung arab" and pashmina, no longer "jilbab paris". Kalau yang aku lihat sih sekarang lebih banyak yang pakai kerudung segi panjang ala pashmina daripada kerudung segiempat yang dilipat dua jadi segi tiga. bener ngga?
well, here in Yemen the trend also with this kind of hijab, not "jilbab paris" style. anyway, when i was browsing hijab shops on the net, the price is around Rp.45.000-Rp.80.000 for this kind of hijab. So yes, i am so happy i can get them cheap..

ini yang disebut "selendang/kerudung arab brokat" oleh para online seller yang aku kunjungi.

kalau yang ini yang para online seller bilang "crumple shawl"

untuk yang ini macem2 sebutannya. ada yang bilang kerudung turki, ada yang bilang kerudung arab motif..

motif hitam putih dan polos warna krem.. kok difoto jadi kaya warna abu abu yah?

jepitan, bros, dan pin-pin/klip sebagai pelengkap berjilbab..

overall,,, i'm so happy with everything i bought yesterday.. but i can't found inner jilbab that cover the neck too, in Indonesia some call it ciput ninja, ciput syria, ciput leher.. apa lagi yah? di sini belum ada yang jual tuh..  so i will still do some online shopping soon..

Haul from Arhab part 1-> beauty product

I have been wanting to write about shopping or products in Yemen, but somehow i always got busy or distracted, and until now i didn't write yet. besides i still have soo many beauty products to try and review.
 
anyway, yesterday i went out for shopping. On the way to grocery store, i stopped by in "Arhab", it is a 2-storey shop for ladies, they are selling make up, perfumes, beauty products, bags, shawl/hijab, accessories, and fancy jewelries (not gold). it is one of my fav shop here in Yemen. I used to come here to buy gifts for my family in Indonesia, but yesterday i went there to shop for my self.

 beauty products i bought..

for my hair, i bought garnier color naturals by nutrisse in black, and as i asked the seller to give me this, he offered me Katrina, the one in green sachet. this is new product, he said. it is a shampoo coloring. Ha? yup, i got confused at first, thank God there is english written in the packaging, it said, " a new breakthrough in dyeing. Perfect color will be presented after shampoo" hmmmm.. ok, it sounds cool, so i just took one sachet.
at home, i checked this item, o ow.. the instruction at the back is in arabic..lol..not a problem anyway, since i can always ask my hucband for a translation, and thank God there is a picture on how to use it, and it seems really just like you apply shampoo.

    

the next item i bought for my hair is L'oreal elvive nutri-gloss intensive shine masque. I finished my l'oreal serum, and i need some other treatment for my hair. It said shine masque, but from the directions it seems like any other conditioner. apply after shampoo, wait for 1 minute, rinse. well, i hope it is good product.

next, i bought lip gloss, eyeshadow pencil, lip care, and nose pore strips.
the first lip gloss is M.n splendid honey lip gloss. i don't know this brand, never heard of it, and there is no explenation on the lip gloss, not even written where it made.lol
the second lip gloss, VOV. really? wow, i was surprised that i found vov here in yemen.
then i bought eye shadow pencil and lip care vanila. i like the eye shadow pencil. it has 2 colors, gold brown and pink-maroon.I think they are made in turkey, i recocnize from the language written on the back of packaging, it is written in turkish. but i don't know about this brand before.
wait. i just checked the website. it is started in Milan, but then the production moved to turkey, and the distribution is all accross the europe and middle east. they have some other interesting products too. too bad that they don't have a store here in Taiz. They have 1 in Sana'a
the other item is skin doctors nose pore strip. it is like biore nose pore strip, but since there is no biore here i just bought any brand available for nose pore strips

That's it for beauty products i bought in Arhab. i will post part 2 haul from Arhab soon.

review : skin food vita-c cream & mist

 

I saw this line on skin food website just a day or two before i submitted my pre order list. I was almost confirmed, but then i thought, ok, let's check skin food website for the las time, and taraaa...!! they were new products at that time. I was like wow, skin food face mist. this is new!! i need face mist, and replaced my order for face shop mist with this.

I doubted this line at first time. First, their packaging is not eye catchy, not like other skin food products. Second, the line is not complete. I mean, they have varians of vita a, vita b, vita c, but only mist and cream. no serum, no emulsion, no toner. I mean, look at avocado skincare line. toner-essence I -essence II-emulsion-eye balm-cream-lip balm..now even they have the essential oil-multi balm.wow.

while this one, it is like they are not serious about it.. (ngga niat gitu) haha..but i bought them anyway.. i thought, for back up, just in case my fresh juice line and peach sake line finish before i come back to jakarta. who know that... they turn out great and in fact saved me from the hard time,very bad dry-winter season.

 The cream
from skin food website :

A facial water cream that instantly fills thirsty skin with vital hydrating energy of Vita C complex and Alaska glacier water.
[Vita C Complex Story] This complex delivers revitalizing hydration with effective ingredients from vitamin C-enriched berries-Rasberry, acai berry, cranberry, and strawberry.     
[Alaska Glacier Water Story] Alaska is on initial source of water covered with over 20,000-year-old glaciers. Alaska glacier water is fresh water at mildly alkaline pH, enriched with oxygen, minerals and ions.      
     
*To Use     
Use after mist or essence application. Apply an ample amount onto the face and pat gently until the cream is absorbed completely.          
Refrigerate before use to enjoy a cooling skin treatment. When you experience unusual exhaustion and stress, apply liberally and use it as a hydrating mask pack.      

my review :
the cream is gel-type, and easily absorbs. as i mentioned before, i bought this for back up. but then there was this time when my skin became so dry.. well, it was winter, very very dry here in  yemen. emulsion or lotion will not be enough. you must use cream day and night!! and then.. i saw dry flakes.. and even though i put my skin food fresh juice c cream, after 2 hours or so my face already dry and it was realllly bad..
so i decided to open this cream.

i was surprise, it worked!! it worked reallly good. this cream in fact worked like magic. my face kept moisturized and no more dry flakes.. even when there was this time when my face became extra dry, irritated, sting when i put toner, and as i read on their website to put this cream in the fridge for cooling skin treatment, i did, and yes, it worked to cool down my face that felt burning at that time.

so i set aside my fresh juice line and continue using this cream for the rest of the winter. since there is no vita c cream toner, i spray the mist instead toner before apply this cream, and it was even better. no toner, no serum, no emulsion, just this mist and cream, and it worked great!!

Facial mist

A facial water mist that fills thirsty skin with vital hydrating energy of Vita C complex and Alaska glacier water.            
[Vita C Complex Story] This complex delivers revitalizing hydration with effective ingredients from vitamin C-enriched berries-Rasberry, acai berry, cranberry, and strawberry.            
[Alaska Glacier Water Story] Alaska is on initial source of water covered with over 20,000-year-old glaciers. Alaska glacier water is fresh water at mildly alkaline pH, enriched with oxygen, minerals and ions.
            
*To Use  
Mist over face after washing or whenever skin feels dry. Refrigerate before use to enjoy a cooling skin treatment.      


my review :
I like to use facial mist before make up and to carry around, to use everytime i need some refreshment. My fav facial mist that always in my purse before was mustika ratu green tea facial mist/spray. well, mustika ratu still my fav though, since it is much much cheaper. i just like to try new products so i bought this.
it is just like any other mist. well, what can you expect from facial mist anyway? it is just for refreshment and keep your skin hydrated.
this one smells nice, fresh-fruity scent, lovely one.i use this before make up, or in the middle of the day when it was hot outside, or whenever i feel my face dry, dull, and need some refreshment.

the bottle contain 145ml, which is quite big to carry around, so i bought this cute small bottle, and pour some of the mist into it.now this pink cute bottle always inside my purse.i don't have to carry the big bottle around.

L'oreal elseve re-nutrition night hair serum

today i'm gonna write my first review of hair product! I have 3 hair-creams/serum at this time, and this is my fav.

what's written on the bottle:
innovation enrich with royal jelly
royal jelly, a rare and precious natural ingridient, is a balanced complex with an exceptional concentration of combined elements (glucids, lipids, proteins, amino acids, vitamins,oligo-elements).
for the first time, the L'oreal laboratories have incorporated royal jelly in a caring leave-in night serum with a fluid texture. it bathes the hair in nourishing ingridients overnight, without weighing it down. when you wake up, your hair feels intensively replenished and revitalised.

proven result: bouncy, silky hair. as you awake, rediscover the sensation of bouncy and incredibly silky hair.feeling full of life, your hair regains suppleness.

directions for use : apply 1 to 2 pumps of night serum throughout your hair when it's dry or damp, before you go to bed.its fluid and non-greasy gel cream texture melts instantly into your hair to intensely nourish without heaviness. no need to rinse.it won't mark your pillow.in case of contact with eyes, rinse them immediately.


My review :
I got this on my last holiday in Jakarta. It's available in most of supermarket. L'oreal has this range of royal jelly; shampoo, conditioner, and night serum. I bought all of them, but i wasn't really impressed with the shampoo and conditioner, they were just so-so, nothing special, so i just left them in Jakarta, and i took the serum with me. I used to buy some stocks of creambath creams that i ordered from the net, but last time we were so busy that i forgot to order them. I was hoping that this would save my hair from all the damage (hair dryer, not friendly weather. etc).

the product itself, the texture remind me of etude house sleeping pack. gel-cream type.

the scent, well.. it's kinda weird. when i sniff from the pump, it smells just like cosmetic products. but once i pump into my hand, then my hair, it smells.. sour. Sour? lol.well, at first i couldn't compare to anything to describe the scent, now i know.. it smells like eggs!! yup, i feel like i put an egg on my hair. haha, i know, i am bad describing the scent of it, but for sure it doesnt smell fruity, floral, herb or anything nice.

First time i tried this serum, at night, of course, as the name is night serum. i didn't like it. it made my hair oily, and i just don't like to go to bed with an oily hair. i thought, maybe i applied too much, because it supposed to absorbs and melts into hair like it's written on the bottle. i tries again the next night, other nights, still it didn't absorbs or melts into my hair. my hair was greasy, oily, and i didn't feel any effects. so i left it in my drawer.

For months..maybe 6 months? i forgot that i have this product. Then my hair started getting dry. The weather in Yemen is not so friendly. even my daughter's hair is getting dry too. Yemeni women love hair oil products when their hairs become dry. but i can't imagine apply an oil-type product to my hair. my hair is thin, not thick like their hairs. anyway... i looked into my drawer to find some hair products, and i found this.
Then i started using this in different way. I didn't use this as a night serum. i use this in the morning. as i woke up, i apply this to my hair, then start to make breakfast, eat, take my daughter to shower, then time for me for shower, the moment water rinse this serum, i can feel my hair sooo soft and smooth. then i apply shampoo and conditioner. Now i am impressed.

so now i use it before shampoo.. it's like a conditioner for me, but use it before shampoo, not after. this product save me these days. i can really feel the difference if i apply or i don't apply this serum.I almost finish this product, when it is finish i will look in the market here in yemen. i hope it is available here. i am not sure.

other hair treatment products i have tried that i like is makarizo hair texture. it is like a creambath cream. i tried coffee cinnamon, and not just it smells wonderful, but also it worked good! i just googled the image as i finished mine loooong ago.

Dessert : Cappuccino Brownies

I am not good in the kitchen. Seriously. When i first came to Yemen, far from my family, no maid, i had no idea how to cut chicken, how to bake, the only thing i can make was rice. and indomie. lol.
My husband never pushed me. We ordered foods from restaurant everyday, until we had enough of yemeni street food, and the thing is... i missed indonesian food!! the only way to eat indonesian food is that you have to cook it by yourself! i kept telling myself that. There's no way you can get indonesian food here. Then i started cooking. from the simple one, nasi goreng.

Then now i know what people say "learning by doing". That's how i learned. with books and internet, i collected recipes, and starterd "working" in the kitchen. OH, and there's no brownies in Yemen. So, yeah, brownies was my first choice to bake. First time, of course, failed. i don't know how many times i failed, until finally i baked real brownies that we can really eat and enjoy.haha..

and of course, as a beginner, i chose simple and easiest recipe always. when i saw this recipe, first i thought this would be complicated as it is 3 layers. brownies, cheese and chocolate topping. But when i read the instruction, i was surprised that i seems easy, so i gave it a try.

the recipe i got from www.recipegirl.com. She has lots of recipes, all kind of foods. and for this one i didn't modified as it was perfect that way and the recipe call for 8-inch pan, which is my favorite size pan of baking. not too much, enough for my little family.

Cappuccino Brownies

BROWNIE LAYER
4 ounces fine- quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
¾ stick (6 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 Tbs instant espresso powder, dissolved in ½ Tbsp. boiling water
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
½ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
GLAZE
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 Tbs unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
2¼ tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in ½ Tbsp. boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour. (Or line the pan with parchment, letting the parchment come up the sides and hang over- then spray the parchment.- this is recommended as it’s easier to get the brownies out of the pan cleanly.)
2. In a heavy 1½-quart saucepan, melt chocolate and butter with espresso mixture over low heat, stirring, until smooth and remove pan from heat. Cool mixture to lukewarm and whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, whisking well until mixture is glossy and smooth. Stir in flour and salt until just combined and stir in walnuts (if using).
3. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake in middle of oven 22 to 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownie layer completely in pan on a rack.
4. Make cream cheese layer: In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and beat until combined well. Spread frosting evenly over brownie layer. Chill brownies 1 hour, or until frosting is firm.
5. Make glaze: In a large pyrex measuring cup or glass bowl, place chocolate, butter, cream and espresso mixture. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth. If glaze is steaming hot, let cool a little bit. Pour glaze carefully over cream cheese layer.Chill brownies, covered, until cold (at least 3 hours).Yield: About 24 squares

and this is how it looks like;

all this time cooking and baking, i'm still not good in "presentation". seriously. sometimes my husband has a doubt to try my cookies, cakes, brownies, because they look weird, not "pretty". haha..
This one, trust me, they taste good.and easy.
yummmmm

Let's try out some samples!

I mentioned in my previous post that i have finished my skin food fresh juice c cream.Before i start using my peach sake skin care line, i decided to try samples i got. I still have my fresh juice toner so i used the toner and then for the cream i tried samples and decided to make short review each one of them.


tony moly vita vital MX7 cream
i'm not familiar with tony moly. In fact this is the first tony moly product i have tried. i don't know what this cream for. is it for oily sking, dry skin, anti aging/wrinkle care? i have no idea.. First impression for me is always the scent. i always put the cream close to my nose to sniff it before apply on my face. this one smell ok. Something medical-herb, but not strong. The cream it self, i was surprise that it kept my face moisturized all day. so it is rich, good moisturizer, but i don't like the scent.


beauty credit coenzyme Q10
same like tony moly, i'm not familiar with beauty credit and this is my first. i read on the net that coenzyme Q10 is one of their popular product. It smells just like regular cosmetic brand in the market., nothing special. the serum itself, i like the texture of this serum. in fact the texture is just the way i like it for serum. creamy but light, absorb easily, and good moisturizer.


Missha all around safe block soft finish sun milk spf 50+
SPF 50+ ??!! wow. i wish i knew this product 10 years ago when i was still in school and used to swim on sunday! lol. anyway.. i forgot when was the last time i have sun block! ever since i was in college, office, i always choose make up base or foundation with spf, until now that i use bb cream everyday. i just can't be bother to put another sun block cream. back to this cream, i was surprised that the texture is soo watery. what i remember sun block texture is a thick cream. or nowadays all sun block texture like this? anyway, it is watery, so it absorbed easily. very light scent, almost no scent for me. i used this before my bb cream, and it was just ok.nothing special

Missha cream
what cream? seriously, i don't know the name of this cream as nothing written in english. all korean. Ok, first impression, the scent. it smell herb, and the strong one! smells like natural medicine from herb. i don't like the smell of it. But the cream itself is quite good. just like the tony moly.not too rich, doesn't make your face oily.

The face shop arsainte eco-therapy serum and cream.
first impression, of course, the scent. o my God.. it smells weird.. i can't describe it. herb-medicine smell, but imagine the 'not nice' one? i don't know, maybe it is just me. the cream it self is not rich enough to keep me moisturized all day, and the serum is very light.

next, skin food! what i like from skin food samples is that they are big size!! not like other brand samples. with skin food samples i can use them 3 to 4 times sometimes. this 2 samples in fact i bought them. yup, for skin food samples i don't mind buying them.

skin food green tea milk cleansing foam (fresh)
what i love about skin food is the scent, how they smell wonderful and yummy! and this one is dissapointed me. first, it smells just like regular cleansing from supermarket. no green tea or milk scent at all. second, this is the first time i experienced drying effect from a cleansing foam. i read many reviews about how cleansing foam can give you some drying effect, but i never felt that way, until now i know how it felt. When i rensed with water, i can really feel my face drying, i can even hear the squeaky of my hands rubbing my face.oh no...
or is it because it is fresh type, and they have moisturizing type?


skin food black sugar mask wash off
This is my second sachet of black sugar mask wash off. First time i tried it was 2 years ago when i got it for free from my purchase. i liked it, so when i saw this on chic princessa samples folder, i just clicked buy. it smells yummy, and feels good too. my face feels so smooth and moistured after wasf off.

My favourite breakfast ; Baked french toast

As this will be my first posting about food/recipe, i will start with my favourite.
about 2 months ago i was browsing recipes, and i found some great food blogs, one of my favourite is the pioneerwoman . i found many great recipes there, and what makes it even better is that she also posted step by step, so it's like tutorials.

My favourite recipe from pioneerwoman is cinnamon baked french toast. Now i have it printed and stand by in my kitchen. Now i am enjoying breakfast even more.click here for the link of the recipe.

 

 Cinnamon baked french toast

Ingredients 

FRENCH TOAST

• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

My review & version:
this recipe is for 12 servings. I have only my husband and my 2 year old daughter here, so i have to cut the ingridients.
for frensh toast:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1Tbsp cream (sometimes i ommit this if i don't have one at home, and it's just taste the same for me)
1-2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
topping:
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp cold butter

Ever since i have this recipe, i have it for breakfast at least once a week. sometimes twice. i've tried many other way or some variations with this. i tried to replace sugar with brown sugar (for the french toast mixture), and the result is more caramel taste, which is nice. Once i tried to melt the butter for the topping. It worked too, but with cold butter it's more crumble and crunchy, which i like.I tried to make it in the morning and put in the oveb straight away, and i tried a night before so the next morning i just put it in oven, and both ways taste the same for me. i I also tried with different kind of breads. french bread, slice bread/toast bread, and burger bun. And you know what,, my favourite is with burger bun!
here are some pictures from my breakfast this morning;

burger bun and the milk-egg mixture

chunks of burger bun

enjoy!!

i like to eat this with mapple syrup and butter. But for my husband it's just perfect and sweet enough so he didn't add any topping.

last comment:
This is really easy to make and you can make it one night before. great for weekend breakfast. You just put in oven, then go have shower or other morning routines, by the time you are finish, breakfast is ready!!
the recipe calls for 45 minutes in the oven, but for me 30 minutes enough.
worth to try!!
oh, one more thing, after browsing many recipes, the topping they called it streussel topping. you can use this topping for muffin, cupcakes, cakes (new york cake topping).

Posted by Ree on May 9 2010

review : skin food fresh juice toner

I didn't use toner regularly until 2 years ago when my husband introduced me to skin food toner (yup, it was my husband who first bought me skin food from his business trip to china). since that i looove toner, specially korean brand. Before that, i was a fan of clinique toner. i forgot the name.. clarifying lotion something? but then when we moved to Yemen, somehow it was too harsh for my skin. my skin became more sensitive here. so i stoped and skip toner.

Ever since i tried tomato toner, that's it. now i can't live without it.lol. i bought this fresh juice toner to match my fresh juice serum and cream. the smell is of course, same like the cream. fresh fruity-summer..more citrus i guess. This toner is so refreshing. for me it has a cooling effect a little bit. it was ok, but when my skin became dry it sting me, irritates me a little so sometimes i have to skip this. i prefer more moisturizing toner like skin food gold caviar toner and avocado toner.

i have been using this for 3 months and i was shock that it's not even half the bottle. wow. then it is worth of money!

review : skin food fresh juice c cream

i know, i have this posted already here, together with the toner and serum, but as i told you before, that was only after less than a month of using. i left the set as i thought it wasn't good and moisturize enough for winter.

Now i finished the cream after 2-3 months using. well,i didn't finish all actually.. my daughter helped me.you can read the story here.

The packaging comes with a plastic jar. i was wondering why it is plastic, not a glass jar like vita c cream. this is more expensive, the range of fresh juice so stand out, this should come in glass jar or pump bottle.
what's written in packaging:
a skin lightening cream with vita c fruit complex and nano-engineered vitamin c derivative. Adds radiance and vitality to dull skin.

the cream itself, it's a gel texture. not too thick, so it's easy to apply and it absorbs quickly. i can't show you the picture of the cream because it is finish!! hehe

it claims as a whitening product. I don't actually believe in words or promises of "whitening". i do believe in "lightening" or "brightening". "whitening" seems impossible, since it is genetic. But lightening or brightening is more acceptable.it is how you feel when you have a full day, tired, dull skin, then you put a great mask, and somehow your face "shining". And i don't really need whitening effect, as my skin is yellow-javanese tone, ot they call it "kuning langsat", and i am happy with it. i bought this because sometimes i feel my face look dull, specially after i went out. Yemen is sooo dusty. even i washed my face, sometimes it still looks dull. So i decided to choose this fresh juice line. I was happy with skin food tomato line so i thought this would make me happy too.

the fact is... for me, not as good as skinfood tomato cream. tomato cream is more creamy, more moisturizing, so i guess for my face creamy type is better than gel type. this cream also not enough for this very dry country. sometimes after 2 hours i can see dry flakes.. arrrgggghhh. from skin food, i have tried tomato cream, gold caviar cream, and this fresh juice cream. for me, this one is the last on the rank.

The jar contains 50 gr. as you can see above, the cream is finish while the toner is not even a half way!! and i always use them together!! maybe that's why you should also buy the emulsion with the same size as toner, and just use the cream at night. I knew this would happen, so i bought vita c cream to use after this one finish. but what can i do.. my daughter dipped her fingers into both jars.

however, the smell is nice, fruity-summer scent. a little bit similar with etude house moistfull range.
After i finish this cream, i don't see any whitening effect, of course. Brightening? no,not really. Overall, this product is just ok, nothing special, and i will not repurchase.
Maybe if you live in a hot, humid country like indonesia, this will work. yeah, maybe i should have tried this one when i was in Jakarta. Or maybe it will be good for summer.

who finished my skin food cream??!!

face cream is my weapon to fight winter and its dry weather in Yemen. I used cream day and night, not just for a night treatment, because emoulsions or lotions are just not enough. i bought skin food fresh juice c cream and skin food vita c cream on my last visit to jakarta.

now the fresh juice c cream is finish and vita c is almost finish.. whattt??!!! i didn't use them all!!! who did?!!!

and the answer is...... my 2 year old daughter!!!
we were in the room, and i left her to the toilet just for less than 3 minutes, when i came out, TARAAAA...!!!
there she was, with my skin food cream on her hand, opened of course, and from what i saw i knew that she just dipped her finger, no, not a finger. three fingers!!, into my skin food jar, and some cream also all over the face.
i was standing there, speachless, didn't know what to say. i took the jar from her to check.. sigh.. not much left..it was all over her hand and face..she left me only a little.. oh my dear.. i wish you knew that cream cost me more than rp.100.000... lol
in that situation, i have no choice, right.. i can't just shout or be angry with her.. afterall she is just a kid, she didn't know and she didn't mean it, and i left her alone for 3 minutes. i am sure i put all my cosmetics far enough from her reach but somehow she could reach it.
when my husband came from work, i told him the story, i told him, oh.. at that moment i felt like i just wanted to cry.. because nothing else i can do.. my husband laughed and he said, i should have taken a picture of her with that cream all over her face. yeah,, i didn't think of that... i was too shocked!

and you know what.. it was only her first time. she did it again!! she did the same thing to my skin food vita c cream and missha m bb boomer. when she applied missha m bb boomer all over her face, loootts of it, her face was glowing all day!! lol

so, for all the mothers in the world.. please keep away your cosmetics/skin care from your children if you don't want this happen to you.. lol.