Let's exfoliate our body!

Do you like to exfoliate your skin? Be it your face or your body? I think exfoliation is important in order to get a healthy looking, radiant and glowing skin. It also maximises moisturising effectiveness making our skin feel softer and younger.

I used to have acne prone skin and because of my skin condition, I must and could only exfoliate twice a week. Now that my skin is clear from blemishes (although I am left struggling with post-acne scars), I normally exfoliate my skin once a week or even twice a week if I am travelling. I will blog about my facial scrub next time. With my body, I exfoliate once a week focusing more on my upper arms, thighs, heels, elbows and bottom.

I have been using Clarins Smoothing Body Scrub all this while. It is gentle for my sensitive skin and rinses away easily without leaving a residue. I first got this body scrub as a gift from a friend about 3 years ago and I completely fell head over heels with the smell that I had to buy a bigger one myself. I also like the fact that it has micro beads and not granules as I found that granules are quite abrasive. This body scrub is thick and non greasy which leaves my skin feeling clean and silky smooth. The only downside is the price. It is not cheap (I think I bought it around £27 for 20ml at Boots) but it is worth every penny!

Unfortunately I ran out of it a month ago and I decided to try something new and cheaper. I got myself Boots Botanics Moisturing Sugar Scub costing only £5.87 for a 450ml jar. What a bargain!

But I was so disappointed when I first used it. It was too greasy and too thick that it was almost water-resistant. I had to take another shower to get rid of the grease although my skin did feel smooth after that. So the next week I tried it again by using a small amount - same thing! It was impossible to get it off my skin without taking another shower. The worse thing about this scrub is that it gave me blemishes on my chest! I don't know if I scrubbed too much or it is because of the grease. But whatever it is, I am not going to use this let alone repurchasing it. What is your favourite body scrub?

How should I treat a burn on my arm?

Something not nice happened yesterday. I burned my arm on a hot steel rack in the oven. My arm literally touched the steel rack for just a second and look what it had done to my skin.

I don't know how you treat burns but for me ice do not work at all. Infact ice would normally make it worse by giving me painful blisters. And if you leave the ice for too long, you can get frostbites *yikes!* I am no expert in this but from my research, this is due to extreme temperatures (too hot and too cold) which can irritate the skin. So instead of using ice I just ran my arm under cool water. No blisters whatsoever!  Then I applied Palmer's Cocoa Butter onto the burn as I do not want any scarring. I don't know if this will work but I do have faith in Palmer's Cocoa Butter. They are awesome stuff. I will definitely keep you posted!

I love Palmer's Cocoa Butter

Apart from the smell, I love Palmer's Cocoa Butter! I loathe the chocolate smell (any food smelling lotion/masks/lipgloss make me feel sick) so I got the fragrance free one. Despite it being fragrance free it has quite of an unpleasant smell but I think I got used to it already after using it for quite awhile. I use it everyday without fail and the result is just wonderful. My skin feels so soft and it makes my skin glow too. Definitely my all time favourite cocoa butter!  Now that I have burn scars, let us see if this stuff help reduce them too.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

I can now say that I am a fan of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley! I don't know if you noticed but she looks like a  mix of Cameron Diaz and Gemma Arterton. Her eyes are just so sexy and mesmerizing, nevermind her lips. So what do you think of her replacing Megan Fox in the Transformers 3?

The dress that she wore at the London premier was so beautiful too although I liked her dress at the Berlin premier more. Well, regardless what she wears I think she can basically pull anything with that body and legs. So lucky! Here are some of the dresses that she wore at her premiers.

 Sapphire Gown by Burberry 

 My favourite dress, by Naeem Khan

Black dress by Michael Kors, Gucci, another dress by Michael Kors (From Left to Right)

Which dress is your favourite?!

Lawyers Looking Glamourous

If you haven't guessed yet, I am a law student. I finished my LLB Law last year and currently doing the Bar. It used to be called the Bar Vocational Course (Bar) but they have changed it to Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). If I were to summarise this whole course, I'd say it is extremely intense! If you are not ready to sacrifice your social life, think twice! I do not mean it to be bad altogether but I have to say you must be ready to dedicate most of your time to this course. Do you remember when you were a full time student in your undergraduate? Well, that was just a playschool dear friend. This course is extremely hardcore and if I were to compare it with something, I'd say it is like being in a military camp! But on the other hand, this is what I'd like to become one day - a barrister.

Towards the end of my course a few months back, we had an annual dinner at the Crown Plaza Hotel. I like annual dinners or black tie events because it is the time that I could dress up! Now, being a lawyer ( I am not one yet but will become one very soon, fingers crossed), you have less time for yourself. Your shopping is limited to white shirts and black pencil skirts, your hair will be tied up in a bun all the time or covered by a wig (it is a lifesaver on bad hair days!) and of course, red lipsticks all the way.

This was one of the many days when we had to go to court at 8.30 am!

But that does not stop lawyers from being glamorous and becoming celebrities on special events! At the annual dinner event, I was so excited to see everyone dressed up in their best outfit and who would have thought that the ladies can do their own make up as if they are a make up guru!

Here are some pictures of my colleagues and I at the annual dinner. 

Me in a black dress!

Do you have make up tips for special events?

I am happy to say that I have finished my course but still waiting for my results. I really hope that I pass all my exams *fingers crossed* so that I can become a full time shopper and make up junkie, before I start practising as a lawyer. I really miss having fun with make up, dressing up, watching make up gurus on youtube and of course reading people's blogs. So let's hope for the best and if you are waiting for your results too, I wish you all the best! 

Home is where your story begins...

It has been centuries since the last time I blogged. One may think that I probably have left the blogging world for good! Surprisingly I am still going to write, at least I will try!

Speaking about leaving for good, I am leaving the UK for good soon! It feels so odd saying that - suddenly it feels so real! In just a few months time, I will be home wearing flip flops and shorts 24-7 all year round. Home is Brunei and it is a hot tropical country. You're talking about 30 degrees and humid! You can't walk from one building to another without sweating like a pig. That is why we don't walk and everyone is do dependent on their cars - very bad, I know. Anyway, despite it being so hot and humid (which is probably not a good match), it is home. Due to that reason, I have been busy packing my stuff to ship back home. Gosh! Who would ever thought that stuff can actually breed faster than the UK's population! So far I am 80% packed and I already have 11 big boxes. Crazy!!

I am going to miss the United Kingdom so much and it is a place that I will always call my second home. I always complain about the gloomy and cold weather but I guess it is true that you do not appreciate something until you lose it. Now that I know I will never have winter again (Brunei has one season only i.e summer) I wish I enjoyed and appreciate winter more than I did.

So these are some pictures of my humble flat.. a home that always gives me comfort, shelter and happiness even on gloomy weather and bad days.

I love chess! 

My Lazy Couch!

As a student, I hardly cook proper meals so oven was definitely my bestfriend in the kitchen

The view from my room, at least during the summer.

This was taken during winter. It was foggy but yet so beautiful.

 During winter

So serene

Where I normally have my hot bubble bath

I am so lucky to be able to see beautiful green trees from my bedroom windows

A beautiful scene from the 7th floor

Bed v Rocking Chair? Rocking Chair!!!! 

I will definitely miss this home so much!

``The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.'' - Maya Angelou