Monday, March 31, 2014

Review: Crazy Rumors Orange Juice Lip Balm & HibisKiss Breeze Lip Color


The people behind The Love Jars sent me their Crazy Rumors Lip Balm and Lip Colour.


SO WHO ARE THE LOVE JARS AGAIN?

Well, I'd mentioned the women team of beauty junkies behind The Love Jars here when I'd reviewed their wonderful Yes! Nurse Hand Cream, but now I would like to highlight some things.

The Love Jars team had re-focused their website as an organic and natural beauty care retailer, focusing on high-quality paraben-free, sodium lauryl sulfate-free and non-harmful synthetic ingredients products.
They started to concentrate on only natural products because they found that many products available locally still contain harmful ingredients due to the lack of transparency on what goes into their beauty care products.

I love their tagline which says 'Discovering Natural Beauty'.



ABOUT CRAZY RUMORS

Crazy Rumors is not your typical, run of the mill lip balm range. Founded by a fun loving, creative couple, Edie and Brien Himmel, this fun brand have over 50 different flavours of lip balm, with funky flavours such as Red Velvet and Root Beer.

The Himmels' effort paid out in the form of all natural & vegan, indulgently clean, flavoured lip treats made with certified organic ingredients. Infused with only the best naturally derived flavours and pure essential oils, Crazy Rumors lip treats not only smell amazing, they taste great too!



PRODUCTS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I was being sent a Crazy Rumor's Lip Balm and a Lip Colour.
It arrived in a large bubble wrapped brown envelope. Upon opening it, I saw the 2 Lip Balm/Lip Colour tied neatly together in a red ribbon. 
I love how The Love Jars always add a nice little touch the their packaging, which is simple yet elegant. (remember the gorgeous pink ribbon packaging in the hand cream they sent me?)






A) CRAZY RUMOR'S ORANGE JUICE LIP BALM
Their Lip Balm came in a small tube with a Net Weight of 0.15oz (4.2g).
On the tube has their brand logo and also a description of the chosen flavour - Orange Juice.
I like their clean and clear packaging.
The twister is at the bottom of the tube, and the top of the tube is the cap that reveals the stick of balm.
It is also printed that it is a 100% Natural Lip Balm with Moisturizing Shea Butter
 

Their ingredient list is also being listed out there, which I like of their transparency

And do you know that their Lip Balms are also animal cruelty-free and Vegan? Good news for all Vegans out there!


The tube is safely sealed. In order to use it for the first time, you need to tear open the dotted strip at the top part of the tube, like below.
Or you can just twist the cap left and right in order to break the seal. 
 


In it revealed a moisture stick of yellow/orange-y colour. 
 

It was smooth when glided along the back of my hand, and shows a sheen shine.

And when I applied it on my lips, the texture is as good - very smooth with no lumps
And I like that it is not sticky. I hate sticky lip balms that make you feel you just glided oil on your lips. 

As for its scent, it has a very refreshing orange juice scent, which I felt that a fresh orange juice had just been extracted into my lip balm that very morning!

I also had a small part of chapped lips at the top part of my lips, due to some allergy. I applied this natural Lip Balm on my chapped lips every night before I sleep and not sure if that helped, but my chapped lips are gone! Yay! 

I'd recently just came back from Hong Kong with my kids and the weather was pretty cold and dry there. So it was just the perfect time to use this on myself, and even on my kids!
Every morning before we left our rented apartment, my kids would line up for me to balm their lips (is there such a word?). 
This Lip Balm saved us from having dry or cracked lips throughout our week stay in Hong Kong! Cheers!

Look at our full and plump lips which turn into lovely smiles in Hong Kong, all thanks to Crazy Rumour Orange Juice Lip Balm! 


B) CRAZY RUMOR'S HIBISKISS BREEZE LIP COLOR
This HibisKiss Breeze Lip Color is actually a tinted lip balm.

Their Lip Color came in a thinner but longer tube with a Net Weight of 0.09oz (2.5g).
This is the length and width of their tubes when placed side by side.

On the tube also has their brand logo and also a description of the chosen flavour - HibisKiss Breeze. I actually nearly missed out the small printed word Breeze and had to hunt for it. However, I still like their clean and simple packaging.
 

It is printed that it is a 100% Natural Lip Color with Enchanting Hibiscus Flavor. 
You know, Hibiscus being Malaysia's national flower, I realized I know nothing much about its flavour. So I was rather intrigue with this flavour.

And just like the Orange Juice lip balm, this HibisKiss Lip Colour is also animal cruelty-free and vegan.

And this is their list of 100% Natural Ingredients.

You also need to tear open the strip of paper in order to remove the cap, or just twist the cap left and write to break the seal, as it was safely sealed just like the Orange Juice lip balm. 
The strip of paper reads 'Sealed with a HibisKiss'! Cute!
  

The twister is at the bottom of the tube, just like other normal lip balms/lip sticks.

Remove the cap, and it revealed a very prominent shade of rouge on the naked eye, which initially scared me a 'lil, to be honest. 
 

When glided the colour on my hand, it looks like in between red/rouge and brown. 

But surprisingly on my lips, it looks just nicely tinted, and not too heavy or red
They added a tint of colour to be otherwise dull lips, and it was just perfect for Chinese New Year when I was dressed in all red or reddish tones.

As a mum of 2 young kids, I was extremely busy during CNY, dressing the kids up and preparing them, and I had not much time for myself. So usually I ended up not wearing any lipstick because I hadn't the time to draw the lipstick properly on my lips.
Now with this HibisKiss Lip Colour, it only takes 5 seconds to glide it over my lips, and hey presto, I've got some nice tinted lip colour! 
Perfect for busy mums, or busy people!

Besides that, it feels very smooth and very moisturizing
As for the scent, it has a pleasant flowery scent which I'm not sure if that is the Hibiscus.
And as for the tase, I couldn't taste anything which is fine because I would probably lick n eat it all up if it tastes like food!



VERDICT

Overall, I am really impressed with Crazy Rumor's range of Lip Balm and Lip Stick. And I think I'm now more gamed to try out other flavours, as now I'd found a natural solution to my lips!
No more using lipsticks which may contain lead or other harmful ingredients.

My personal favourite is still the HibisKiss range, as like I said, it brightens me up without taking much effort, which fits my lifestyle so well!

The Love Jars website now has over 10 natural brands on board, (this is the second brand/items I'd reviewed. Read about my review post on their Yes! Nurse hand cream here)

It's fun and only the best all natural & vegan ingredients make their way in. And you can practically have a different flavour for each week of the year! Check out their all different funky flavours of their Lip Balms!

And also check out the HibisKiss range.


The Love Jars are currently actively working with a number of other good quality brands to bring them on board as part of their effort to consolidate the organic beauty care industry.
Their product range now not only consists of products catering only to women, but to babies and children as well -  as these groups are particularly fragile to synthetic ingredients due to their delicate skin.

This is very good news to me because we don't have many choices on natural products here locally. And with The Love Jars, we Malaysians certainly have more choices!
Yay, kudos to The Love Jars!

OK, now go browse their fabulous website! (Psstt....Read below for their Discount Code!)




TO PURCHASE

Please visit The Love Jar's Website to purchase these Crazy Rumors Lip Balms . Browse around as they have quite a wide selection of other natural brands listed on their website. 

There is FREE SHIPPING for orders over RM70.


TO PURCHASE WITH DISCOUNT CODE

More good news! Thanks to the kind people at The Love Jars, you get: 

- RM15 off STOREWIDE for purchases above RM100  at their Website valid until 14th April 2014, using discount code opening15 upon checkout. 
- This is on top of the opening sales discounts* they are having currently (*for limited time only)
- FREE SHIPPING still applies for orders over RM70.



For more info, you can also visit The Love Jar's Website or Facebook Page. 



* Disclosure: I received a tube of Crazy Rumor's Orange Juice Lip Balm, and a tube of Crazy Rumor's HibisKiss Breeze's Lip Color for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Cousins Meet At Last!

My sis' baby Ethan is here in Penang.

Baby Ethan is looking a bit shocked at the cameras flashing at him, thus this facial expression.
In actual, he is a beautiful baby, with big eyes with double eyelids, something which I look in envy. lol.

Ok, so here are the first few photos of my kids with their cousin brother, Ethan.


Shern was smiling at the camera, while Khye was laughing non-stop as we adults were trying to make Ethan smile. I guess only Khye thought we were funny, but not Ethan. lol.
 

 


Precious moments indeed. The 3 kiddos together. ❤ ❤ 

Friday, March 21, 2014

Hong Kong With Kids: Day 3 (Ocean Park)


I'd visited Australian Dairy Company a few times in my previous trips to Hong Kong, and I always wanted to go back. This long queue was proof why this place is so, so, so good. And this place is not only frequent by tourists, but by locals as well.

But with kids around, queuing this snake-long queue wasn't such a good idea.
And since this place was just around the corner where our apartment was, we decided to do a take-away this time.

Take-away was pretty easy. 
I walked past the snake-long queue and told one of the waiter in Cantonese that I wanted to do a 'take-away', and he just flipped out a note pad and a pen in his hand and said 'ok, order now'.
I gave him my orders, and he handed me a small slip of paper which he has written down the amount I needed to pay, together with my orders in chinese. 
Hubby then headed to the cashier for payment. He returned with no receipt or any paper slip. Hmmm..

But in less than 5 mins, someone came out and shouted our orders, and we went to collect our food.
Wow, most efficient and fastest take-away ever experienced!

Let me tell you this, their Scrambled Egg Toasts were to-die-for!!
It was really, really, really good, even eaten as a take-away.
The scrambled eggs were milky and yet not too soft. Salty and yet not too salty, and was not too egg-y. And the toasted bread was not soggy. Just perfect!
Usually Shern eats this with ketchup, but with these he ate without complaining because it was too delicious. This is a MUST ORDER! 
 

Mum loved their Steamed Milk Custard. Very soft and smooth, with a hint of ginger taste, and not too sweet either. Delicious as well. 

I ordered their Ximut Milk Tea and it was good, but nothing spectacular.

Their French Toast was super delicious as well, try this too. But for takeaway, they cut this into small pieces. But still tasted good. Not overly fried and non-soggy. 

Australia Dairy Company  澳洲牛奶公司

G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan
佐敦白加士街47-49號地下
2730 1356
Mon to Wed & Fri to Sun: 07:30-23:00
Closed on Thu



With very satisfied tummies, we headed off to the MTR station to catch a train to Admiralty Station to head to Ocean Park.When you get off, take Exit B and then turn left for the Bus Stop. 
Just before heading off the exit, we saw a Tourist Booth there selling Ocean Park tickets at 10% cheaper, so we bought our tickets from there. 
At the bus stop, take the Bus 629 to Ocean Park. (HKD$10.6 for adults / $5.30 for child) You can also use your Octopus card to pay. 

Shern was happy that this Bus 629 is a double-decker bus again!


 At the Ocean Park entrance. Some kind soul helped us take a group photo.

 These lovely dolphin balloons and erm..Mr. Shark greeted us. Is that a shark?
 

At Ocean Park, Khye was on the stroller while Shern walked about to see anything he fancied, and to go on rides.

Here we were, queueng up for the Carousal Ride. 

Daddy rode with Shern.

While I rode with Khye.

Look at their facial expressions while waiting for the carousal to start moving. Like father, like son. LOL.

It was a pretty carousal with all the different sea creatures. But as it moved and the sea creatures bobbed up and down, Khye got a little scared as it felt like the other sea creatures were headed towards him.

So I moved him to a safe little carriage. haha.


 In the carriage, Khye was ok, though still a little unsure of what was going to happen.

A nice friendly gentleman helped us take a photo of the 2 of us.

We spotted this vintage double decker bus near Old Hong Kong. 
 

 A nice spot for a photo with the cable cars hanging on top.
 
 

Then time for more kiddie rides. The Mini Train ride.
 
 

And this Bugs Flight ride. Ok, I made up all these ride names as I don't remember their actual names. lol.
 
 

 And all 5 of us sat in the Ferris Wheel.
 

Ocean Park has these 'money-sucking' booths where you needed to pay extra to play, which I find it "cheating" as we paid so much already for the entrance fees.
Anyway, I think this Fire Fighter water shooting booth costs HKD10, if I am not mistaken.

Shern had fun shooting down those fire flaps, and Khye had fun aiming too. And I like that they provide these Step Stools for kids who are not tall enough. It really helps Khye to be at the correct height for aiming.
 
 


Another "money-sucking" booth hahaha...the Motor Racing booth, which both kids loved.
Another HKD10 for a quick spin for Shern but he had fun.
 
 

Khye had fun too by just turning the steering wheel all by himself.


We saw some blackboards with chalks and my kiddos became artists.
Such simple things and yet give kids loads of fun and rev up their creativity.


And then Shern got on to this Frog Hopper. 

He rose higher, and higher, and higher...
  
 

And when it jerked and dropped down slowly, the kids squealed and they had so much fun.
Shern said it was a little scary too.


Then the kids spotted this playground nearby. 
It was not very big, but spacious enough and it looked so much fun. Of course they wanted to play in it at once!

The big brother was busy hopping between sticks expertly,
 
 

Shern scaled a mini wall climbing,

And also slid down the longer slides,

As for Khye, once he finished going through the tunnels and had a taste of sliding down the slides...
 
 

that was all he wanna do. To slide down the slides again and again. I think all in all, he went down the slides 50 times.
He slid down, and then I heaved him up again, and then he slid down it again. Repeat. 50 times.
He is one heavy baby you know. 
 
 

Have a look at this very short clips of him sliding down and him having so much fun.





Yes, Khye is one happy baby on slides.

A photo of both of them enjoying the slides side-by-side.

There was also a Bouncing Castle next to the playground, which Shern went in again and again. He even made some friends there. I did not take a photo of him there because I was busy keeping an eye on Khye on the slide.

Shern requested for a photo with this stationary train.

After the playground, we had the worse ever lunch in Hong Kong, inside one of the restaurants in Ocean Park.
First of all, choices are limited. Secondly it was freaking expensive. What you see here, excluding a hot dog and baked spaghetti and 2 diluted drinks costs us HKD400.
The baked spaghetti tasted so horrible I couldn't eat it at all.

After lunch we rushed to take the cable car to the other side of the Ocean Park to catch the Dolphine Show at 3.30pm. 
By then, Shern was so sleepy and tired he konked out while queuing for the cable car. 
 

So left us to enjoy the view of the cable car ride.
 
 

Lovely views of the many cable cars huh? 



Once reached the other side of the park, we rushed downhill to get to the Ocean Theatre to catch the famous Dolphins Show. We were panting even by walking downhill. Couldn't imagine if it was uphill!
We were late so we ended up standing all the way behind to watch the show.
Nevertheless, the show was good, though a bit too short. Or was it so good so it felt short? lol.

Then we met another 'money-sucking' booth. We went near one to watch the other people playing it. It was expensive. HKD50 for a basket of balls. 
And the lady was so good that she passed one of the balls to Shern and asked him if he wanted to throw it. Of course Shern wanted to so he asked me if he could. My mum and my heart melted and seeing how much Shern wanted to we decided 'okla, we are here to enjoy and spend money' lol. 
So that was how we wasted another HKD50.  
 

The coloured holes you are supposed to land your ball in are actually smaller than the rest of the holes. So the odds are biased in the first place. So of course Shern didn't win, and he got a bit disappointed. lol. That was why I called it the 'money-sucking booths'

And then we decided to just go back the other side for pandas and then call it a day. We were all tired and we wanted to catch the last bus back to Admiralty Station which was at 5pm. 
And that was when we needed to walk uphill to get back to the other side. Boy, it was really hilly and quite a climb to get to the Cable Car Station. You can sit the Ocean Express back (kinda like an MTR), but since Shern fell asleep and didn't enjoyed the cable car ride so we decided to take the cable car again).

This time Shern was happy and alert.
 

Then we walked past Old Hong Kong again.


Shern saw a vintage 'ding ding' / electric tram there and wanted to explore inside it.
 
 

And then we went to see the Pandas before we left.
Saw both pandas out from their 'cave'. One was eating some bamboo leaves.  

The other was resting. 


We took some photos with the sleeping panda as the background. 
 
 

And this was Shern trying on a Panda hat. haha.

And then it was time to say bye-bye to Ocean Park. Thank you for a fun day!

Then since we were in Hong Kong Island, we took the MTR to Causeway Bay, Exit F to get to the shopping district at Causeway Bay for dinner.
Took mum to see the said busiest traffic intersection in Hong Kong.

It was crowded with people on a weekday evening, and the whole road's buzzing with people and flashing lights from the billboards. There are also many people carrying billboard signs as there is a strict 'Stick No Bill' law on the walls or so I heard.
 

Then we went in search of 'dai pai dong'-s to have dinner. I remembered a street there having many of these but could not find it. In the end we found it. I forgot to see the name of the street, but once you exit the MTR Exit F, turn left and then is the street on your right.
Saw this busy dai pai dong and ate one of the yummiest dinner. Beef Brisket and Intestines Noodles, and also Wan Ton Noodles. The Beef Brisket was so yummy, we ordered another plate of just Beef Brisket (forgot to take photo. sad.). HKD80 but so worth it!
 

Then just nearby there was this stall and we saw many people queuing up to buy the snack.



We bought one in the end together with a soya drink. It was good. But it was too big and the chunky size of the glutinous rice gave me quite a shock if I eat the whole thing all by myself. But it was really good. There was a crispy 'yau char kwai' with meat floss inside and it was salty and sweet at the same time. Delicious if you eat in moderate portion to my opinion.
 

After that it was time to go back to our apartment. 
I really appreciate how much space and privacy we have staying in an apartment.
 
 

And how Khye could just play on the floor with his train and having a good time while the adults chill. 
 
 

Ok, good night for Day 3. 
ZzzzzZzzzzZzzzzz....



Click for Hong Kong With Kids: Day 1 (Ocean Park)  
Click for Hong Kong With Kids: Day 2 (The Peak - Star Ferry, Open-Deck Bus, Tram, MTR)

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