Review & Discount Code: Gaston Luga Backpack a.k.a My Stylish Mum Bag

12 June 2018 - Me carrying Vern and my Gaston Luga backpack

SO WHO AND WHAT IS GASTON LUGA

Gaston Luga is a Swedish brand specializing in backpacks. Its design is minimalist yet chic with clean, simple lines. Gaston Luga believed a backpack is the optimal companion when discovering the world. Their backpacks are of classic elegant style and practical details.

(Source: https://gastonluga.com/en/our-story)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

I was so impressed as my package arrived my place only just 3 business days after it was being shipped. It was shipped to me via DHL and boy, it was fast!

It came in a brown sturdy box.

Upon opening up the brown box, the backpack was wrapped in a dust bag.

 

This is the dust bag that it came with, with the Gaston Luga logo. 

This is the Gaston Luga Classic - Navy & Brown backpack that I chose.
I love this colour as the brown leather straps contrasts with the dark Navy Blue canvas and so can really see the leather straps detailing.
I also love the strong durable canvas which I know will practically last forever.
And I read that the leather straps are actually made of vegan leather. I don't even know that vegan leather exists! ;P

There is a side ring which you can hang your own keychain or anything to personalize it which is such a nice feature. This is also the place to hang the leather address tag if you wish to purchase it along with your backpack.
Love the steel metal of the Gaston Luga logo at the front pocket of the bag which gives it a luxe feel.

 

At the bottom of the backpack are 4 small metal legs. This is a very useful and practical feature as it enables the backpack to "stand" on its metal legs. This is especially useful when I have the need to put the backpack down on the floor or somewhere a little wet.
The metal legs gives the bag the extra protection and also makes the bag looks chic. ;)

One of my favorite feature is the front pocket. 

It comes with strong magnetic straps and also a zipper underneath, which makes the pocket quite secure. I usually keep some of my small change there or my keys. 

 

One thing to note though is that this backpack comes with a strong durable drawstring opening in the main compartment.
So is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Firstly, I am so used to using zipped backpacks. So initially I felt a bit insecure with this drawstring opening. But after using it for some time, I find that it is actually more secure with this than just a zipped backpack.
This is because after the drawstring closure, there is still a flap over that secures it with a strong magnetic lock. This extra magnetic flap closure works as a second layer of security.

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This strong durable drawstring opens the main comparment, which contains an inner 13-15" laptop comparment and also 2 smaller pockets for smaller belongings such as wallet or phone. 

This inner lining is made of a soft and luxurious 100% cotton fabric. 

Or if you use it as a kids day out back, I keep wipes or toy cars or stainless steel straw container in there.

 

On the back of the backpack is the unique Gaston Luga pocket meant for keeping passport/travel documents etc. 

This unique pocket that I haven't seen in other backpacks is really tight and snug so it can keep your passport or documents secure yet easily accessible. 

I also do keep my iPhone there as well sometimes. 

This backpack is really spacious.

I mostly use it for the day out backpack to put my 3 kids stuff and it serves me pretty well. 

Let me show you roughly how many items I put into my Gaston Luga backpack. 

- 3 bottles of water bottles

- 3 small books

- 1 slim stationery case

- 1 cards wallet

- 1 toy car

- 1 change of clothing for Vern; a shorts and a top

- 1 diaper

- 1 packet of wipes

- 1 case of stainless steel straws
- 1 rubbber bib (not shown in photo below)

Yes, these are the things that I usually put into my Gaston Luga backpack. And yet it doesn't look too bulky nor does it feel really heavy.

Stuff In My Gaston Luga Backpack

My Gaston Luga Backpack and the stuff inside. 

One thing to note though, the shoulder straps are not padded. 

But somehow even with all the things I lugged into my backpack, it does not feel heavy at all. Maybe because the straps are wide enough or maybe of the ergonomic design. I'm not too sure. 

When I bring my kids out exploring, this backpack is really useful for us.

The colour Navy & Brown is also unisex and thus no problems for either me or hubs carrying it. 

 

It's also no problem for me to carry Vern while back carrying the Gaston Luga backpack.

 

And best of all, I can even babywear Vern in front while carrying the backpack! Double yay!

All in all, I love my Gaston Luga backpack.
It is stylish yet practical and serves its purpose. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wish to bring it for travel use or to use it as a kids day out bag (or you can call it a Mum bag) just like me!
Or you can also use it as a gym back or even for the photography enthusiast to keep all its gears.

See Vern's happy faces below with our Gaston Luga backpack!

TO PURCHASE WITH DISCOUNT CODE AND FREE SHIPPING

Why not purchase one for yourself or for your family. Get one or more of this stylish Swedish designed backpack which is practical yet luxe and chic!

Thanks to Gaston Luga, you get 15% off upon purchase from their website. Just enter discout code shuyin15 upon checkout.

Shipping is FREE (DHL Delivery) to Malaysia!




For more info, you can visit their Website or their Instagram page.

* Disclosure: I received a Gaston Luga's Classic Navy & Blue Backpack 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).

Review: Happily Grazing on Amazin' Graze Granolas, Nuts and Nut Butter

Firstly, let me tell you all first who is the #1 fan of these awesome granola and nuts in the house - baby Vern! Yes, he fights with me for the food! haha.

Well, before Amazin' Graze contacted me to do a review on their products, I am already their loyal customer. I first tried their granolas during a food fair held in Gurney Paragon last year. And as I loved it so much, I started buying from them online and I kept going back for more.

So I am very happy to do a review of the product because I was already "bragging" about them in my personal Facebook/Instagram pages. :)

SO WHO AND WHAT IS AMAZIN' GRAZE?  

Amazin' Graze's mission is very straightforward - to change the way people snack. They want to encouurage real food only (none of the fake stuff or empty calories).

They really believe in eating right, not less.  (hmmm.....so in tune with me, as I can't do with eating less haha)

So they are obsessed with creating healthy alternatives, using great quality, raw ingredients with fun combination that taste amazing - and that is Amazin' Graze!

(Source: https://www.amazingraze.co/about/)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCTS

The package was delivered by Ninja Van, which is one of my preferred courier because I always have good experience with it so far!

Package was wrapped in a normal plastic package, which initially I was a bit apprehensive because I knew I had a glass tub of nut butter inside.

Took them out and saw that they granolas and nuts were in another plastic bag while the nut butter has another layer or protection to it. Phew.

This was how they packaged the Nut Butter Glass Tub.
It has something like a giant egg carton protection and wrapped in layers of sticky tape.

 

And when I opened up the carton box protection, there was another layer of thick bubble wrap surrounding it. And lastly, another plastic shrink wrap on the bottle itself!

Great indeed to ensure the customer received the tub in perfect condition! Thumbs up Amazin' Graze on the secure packaging!

 

  

So these are the products I chose from Amazin' Graze website. 

For the 2 granolas, I chose the Hazelnut Blackforest and the Blueberry Goji Coconut.

For the Nut Mixes, I chose the Berry-licious Trail Nut Mix.

And for the Nut Butter, I chose the All Natural Almond Butter. 

Let's talk about their Granolas first.

So what is a granola?
Granola is an oat-based cereal commonly eaten at breakfast or as a snack. Amazin' Graze's granola contains rolled oats with nuts, fruits and other superfoods baked into crunchy clusters.

Their granolas has no preservatives, free of any refined sugar, is all-natural and free of any artificial additives.

I heard that these two granola flavours are one of their bestsellers, so I couldn't wait to try them!

For the Blueberry Goji Coconut Flavour, it comes in a 250g packaging with a zip-lock resealable opening to ensure freshness.

You can see that the ingredient list are listed at the front of the packaging.

Almonds, Organic Chia Seeds, Wild Blueberries, Goji Berries, and Coconut. 

Wholly awesome good!

 

The Blueberry Goji Coconut Granola tasted amazing. My 2 elder kids like this one. They can munch on them just like that! 

It is overall a much healthier snack than many others, so for that I give this a thumbs up even if my kids wanna snack on this whole day!

I, on the other hand loves to add these to my bowl of yogurt. 

On a bowl, I scooped some natural yogurt, then top it with half an avocado, some fresh blueberries and then sprinkled some Blueberry Goji Coconut Granola on  it.

The granola added a crunch and some sweetness into my otherwise rather tard yogurt. Love it!

I also lke to add them to my bowl of smoothies. 

The left photo, I blended some frozen dragonfruit with a little yogurt, and then topped it with some bananas, blueberries and the Granola! 

On the right photo, I blended the frozen mango with some frozen bananas and some yogurt, then just topped it with the granola.

Super yums and refreshing indeed. I could eat them ALL DAY EVERY DAY 24/7 haha!

 

Even Vern couldn't help but to steal some spoonfuls of it from me!

As for the other flavour, the Hazelnut Blackforest Granola, it also comes in a 250g packaging with the same resealable zip-lock opening to ensure freshness. 

For this Hazelnut Blackforest Granola flavour, the ingredient list consists of dark cocoa powder, buckwheat, organic chia seeds, hazelnuts and cranberries. 

 

And because of the dark cocoa powder, the colour of this granola is dark black in colour. And for that, I love it and my kids loved it too. Look at Vern enjoying it and refusing to pass the whole packet back to me haha!

  

I also loved to eat the granola as it is because the dark cocoa makes it so choc-aromatic.
But then I did try pairing it with my fruit salad and it tasted amazing as well.

Now to the Berry-licious Trail Nut Mix.

Well, this one a keeper of you like all things naturale! There is no sweet taste to it.

It comes in a smaller packaging of 120g.

The ingredient list shows just walnuts, almonds, mulberries, cranberries, and black raisins. 

 

Because there is no oats or such in it, this is also a gluten-free option!

Baby Vern loves this as a snack. I bring this out for him to snack on whenever we dine out. I break them into small pieces and he loves snacking on them while waiting for our food to come. 

(Besides the rather hard Almond, the rest he can eat them just like that!)

This is a unsweetened option and is really a great snack for everyone who don't have such a sweet tooth!

And lastly, their nut butter. 

Their nut butters are 100% stone ground to preserve the nutrients and flavours of the nuts while mantaining a silky-smooth texture. 

I chose the All Natural Almond Nut Butter.

This All Natural Almond Butter is just purely almonds lightly roasted and stone-ground into a silky-smooth butter. That's it - there is no added salt, sugar or any other oil!

  

There are actually many ways to eat this. 

The most common is to spread it on toasts, swirl some onto your oatmeal or even use it as a substitute of butter in baked goods! 

I haven't tried the last suggestion, but maybe I should!

Firstly, I spread it on toast and make it into a Beary Toast for baby Vern!

But to tell the truth, he ate the blueberries, then threw away the avocado and banana slices and the side and just ate the bread! haha

 

So these are the masterpieces that I managed to create for this review post.
I actually have more but I think these photos are enough to make you hungry for Amazin' Graze's awesomely delicious granolas, mixed nuts and their nut butters!

 

 

So what are you people waiting for?

Just hop on to Amazin' Graze's website to get your hands on their amazin' products!

I think it is a great way to start eating healthily by eating right, and not less!

And just like they always sign off with, Happy Grazing people!

TO PURCHASE & RM10 DISCOUNT OFF FIRST ONLINE PURCHASE

Please visit Amazin' Graze's Website and register to receive RM10 off your first online purchase. 

You can also visit their Facebook Page for more info. 

* Disclosure: I received the Amazin' Graze products mentioned above 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).