Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Hermo.my's Response To Hairball In Beauty Package

This isn't so much an update as a rant and a reminder (to myself) to wait a while before buying from Hermo again, or preferrably just not buy from them anymore.

I wrote them a private message about how their product was unprofessionally packaged with an extra helping of furball.

Here's the response:

Hi Amy, Noted, thanks for your feedback. We will take note for this issue & improve for it.

It's not a feedback. It's a complaint. When I pm'ed Althea's facebook to let them know they mistakenly wrote 30% instead of 15% on their facebook page, they apologized even though it wasn't a big deal.

Hermo's response to sending me hairball was an equivalent to a 'thanks. k bai.'

My experience with Hermo has been disappointing, frustrating, disgusting, and now to add to the list of negative comments, unprofessional.

Next time I feel weakness and want to buy from them again, remind me to check back to this post.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Hermo.my To Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia - Disappointed Beauty Haul (Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner, The Face Shop Aloe Vera, Nature Republic Argan Essential Deep Care Hair Pack, Skin Food Black Sugar Strawberry Mask Wash Off)

I made a purchase with Hermo.my last weekend and I gotta say, the shipping is phenomenal seeing as it arrived today! Order made on May 14th and arrived on May 17th. That's pretty amazing.

As a new customer, I was given an RM15 rebate, bringing my order of the RM183.40 down to RM 168.40 but that was charged an additional 6% GST and I ended up paying RM178.50 for it. *Shrug* I'm not happy, but what can I do? 

Delivery was free to East Malaysia since I reached the RM150 treshold, but if you didn't reach that, it would be an additional charge out of your pocket. If you're in West Malaysia, you're in luck cause you get free shipping as long as you buy two items from them.

The products were fairly cheap, as is with most online stores. I've been on the lookout for a better smelling (or even non-smelling) toner since my unscented Thayer's Witch Hazel smelled like death. I'm excited to try out the Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner. This product contains a fair amount of alcohol. so if you know your skin is sensitive to that, it's best to stay away. The Skin Food Black Sugar Strawberry Mask is for my sister. I purchased two Nature Republic Hair Pack so that I could try one for myself and gift the other to my sister.



As I said, the shipping was amazing but sadly, that's the only nice thing I have to say about this order. I had planned to make the order earlier, but there was a deal going on about giving a free Nature Republic face mask as long as I buy anything Nature Republic. Like the freebie hoarder I am, I wanted that mask. It was a game of 'out-of-stock' and 'back-in-stock' as I put items into my cart that continued for two days before I just made the order regardless, which was really infuriating for me. If you want to give it, then give it. Don't play games with me. Gah. 

The packaging was so-so. Big brown box with their logo printed on it. I suppose I was lucky that the sticker stayed put, because as I was reaching for a knife with my left hand, it came off my right hand without a fuss. 


Still, everything inside was in perfect order, so I really shouldn't be complaining at all. All the items were bubble-wrapped and there was an additional plastic bubble to off-set the empty space in the box. 

I think the packaging disappointed me because it just gave the impression of not-giving-a-flying-fuck. 


And they really, truly did not give a flying fuck. Because there was hair in my order. 

My satisfaction level went from a disappointed, but meh 8.5 to minus 10 in a nano-second. If this was something else, like furniture, or handphone covers, I wouldn't give a flying fuck either. But these are beauty products, and as such, I expected some level of finesse. 


Even with my potato-quality handphone camera, you can sort of see the clump of hair, fur, dead mosquitoes, and whatever germ-filled grossness stuck to the Skin Food Strawberry Mask. How long had that mask been in the warehouse? Whoever packaged this probably have cats... or dogs. I'd really rather not think it. 


The products themselves were unharmed though. I have used The Face Shop Aloe Vera Gel before, which is why I bought 3 of them. They're really light-weight moisturizers that help with the humid, hot weather in Malaysia. I smear this on my skin instead of on my face though. 

As soon as I made my order, I sent Hermo.my an email telling them about my obsession with samples. Mini trial-sized travel packs that stores give out if you make purchases with them. I love them. They're good for travelling and perfect for patch testing. They're great for deciding what my skin likes and doesn't. 

I received an email from them today about samples being decided by the supplier, so they really can't do anything about it. 

So, yeah. No samples. For RM178, I expected at least some samples. Like that face mask you kept dangling in front of my face and then not giving to me. Or foil packets. Anything. 

I have to admit, I'm more disappointed about the lack of samples than the hairball in my box, seeing as I specifically mentioned wanting them. I might purchase from Hermo.my again if they have a phenomenal sale coming up, but the RM150 treshold for free shipping would probably make that unlikely. And it will take awhile for me to get over lack of samples. 

Shipping: 10/10
Packaging: 5/10 The products were safe, but it also arrived with extra hair, fur and whatever it is that was in their warehouse. I'm not happy. 
Product: 10/10
Price: 8/10 The GST charge kind of took me by surprise and it made the RM15 discount almost moot. 
Sample: 0/10 I'm so upset right now. T.T 

Thursday, May 12, 2016

RoseRoseShop To Sarawak, Malaysia [Mizon Snail] More Beauty Haul!

Guys, I have a problem. My bank account isn't unlimited but my yearning for more beauty products is. So, here you have it. Yet another beauty haul. When I told my mom and sisters I'm getting things from this store they requested a copy of everything I'm getting, which means 3 additional sets of all my Mizon gels.

So, RoseRoseShop is a site that sells Korean beauty products for korean prices, which is amazing~ The company is located in South Korea and it began as an eBay shop (rubyrubyshop or rubyruby76). Business there was good enough for them to branch out of eBay and open their own shop, but they do continue to sell things on eBay, albeit it's a little more expensive there. It does ship for free on eBay though, so if you're only buying one or two products, it makes more sense to go for free shipping.



Since this is my first Mizon buy, I've only chosen two products: Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream & Mizon Good Night White Sleeping Mask. All Mizon products ship for a flat shipping rate of $2.55, so I thought I might as well get everything in one go (And this is why I have a problem).

4 Sets of each product brings my total to a reasonable $34.68. Here's a breakdown of the price. The Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream was priced at $4.32 and Good Night White Sleeping Mask was priced at $3.94. Even with shipping, this was pretty cheap.

In comparison, eBay rubyrubystore is selling the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream for $5.40. So if you're only getting one, it's actually cheaper to get it from eBay, since $4.32 + $2.55shipping = $6.57 > $5.40. :)

I made the order on April 28th and it arrived yesterday, on May 5th, which is pretty incredible considering it flew all the way here from Korea.

The Snail Recovery Gel is a multifunction hypoallergenic cream that works to treat darkened and redened skin tone (making skin brighter), encourage skin regeneration, and heal skin rashes and scars. I'm really excited to try this out.

The Mizon Good Night White Sleeping Mask has a brightening effect and lauds to improve skin tone, & build protection for night time. It's the last step for the skin care routine so it also works to keep all the wonderful products you've already slathered on your face and if you sleep in an airconditioned room, it'll keep the moisture in as well. XD My mom's super excited about the brightening effect, so we'll wait and see if this works. I like that in order to claim it has whitening effects, Korean skin care products needs to have certain products that actually do whiten. Yay for quality assurance.


Everything was packed in thick bubble wrap and the individual boxes were inside another box, which kept them in perfect condition. I was too excited to open the box so I didn't manage to snap a picture, but it's just a nondescript brown box.

In addition to my complete order, I also received 10 Neulli samples. Neulli is a cosmetic brand that's launched by RoseRoseShop. I'm kind of disappointed that instead of sending me different samples, it ended up being 5 anti-wrinkle and 5 whitening serum. Nevertheless, yay samples! I'm excited to be trying these out.

The reviews for the product will have to wait, since I've just gotten the products. My skin's not picky when it comes to facial products (*touchwood*), but I don't want to take it for granted. Patch testing will need to wait till I'm done patch testing my BHA. :)

Two sets will be going to my two sisters and my mom. My mom's tried out the gel and the night white mask. I'll let ya'll know how she likes them once it's been a few weeks/months for the magic snails to do their thing!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

[Review] The Saem Vivacity Kuching Natural Gold Kiwi Mask Sheet

My mom, sis, and I went to Vivacity, Kuching the other day and walked into The Saem sell completely unplanned. I am a mask hoarder. One of these days, I'll show y'all all the masks I've bought but for now, I'll just rant about this particular mask.

They have a variety of these masks and at first I was wary since the mask is made from cotton I never really liked how cotton felt on my face. Cotton masks feels more stiffling and it tends to make me feel like I'm slowly suffocating. They were having a buy 5, get 5 free sale though and I could never resist a good sale.

My mom and sister were very quickly convinced that we should get 10, since it will be RM24.5 for 10, which means RM2.45 per sheet mask. It's a good deal, I'll give you that.

I finally came around to using this mask early this week and the smell from opening the pack was glorious... at first. Like all my masks, I banished this to the fridge half an hour before I applied it so that it would be nice and cool by the time it was time to put it on my face.

While it wasn't hot and suffocating like I had expected, the smell quickly became too much. All I could smell was the fragant, sweet, somewhat-kiwi-like scent on my nose and *shudders* even just thinking about it is giving me residue-smell memories. This was perhaps the first time I took a sheet mask off as soon as it reached the 20-minute mark because I couldn't wait to stop smelling it. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely overbearing for me.

My face felt... the same after applying this really. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fabulous either. I felt moisturized, but I could easily feel moisturized from my moisturizers too. If anything, I felt like my pores were clogged and I need another wash after putting the mask on. :( Very disappointed. Thankfully, I bought a variety pack, so I hope the rest would be better. Now, to hide them before my mom and sister finished them off.

Love it? No.
Repurchase? Definitely not.

Scinic Honey Ampoule All-In-One (LionGroupKorea - 11Street) To Sarawak, Malaysia -Mini Review

I bought this on the 21st April, 2016 and it arrived on May 4th, 2016 in a box that was fairly ugly to be completely honest. It was taped together with brown cellophane tape that circled the brown box from the top to the bottom. One I pulled the whole tape out, I no longer had a box. It pretty much fell apart. After being pampered by NattaCosme's beautiful box design, I gotta say I was fairly disappointed by LionGroupKorea's lack of their own customised box. 
 
Luckily everything inside was intact. I bought two Scinic Honey All In One Ampoule since my research found that it was highly recommended as an ampoule and since I had none to begin with, I wanted one that was all-in-one. It's humongous at 250ml per bottle. I purchased two since it was cheaper per bottle that way, at RM128.51. I had another 30% discount coupon, so it came down to just a little over RM100 at RM102.81 with free shipping.

The shipping was a little disappointing, since I expect it to arrive fairly quickly. The truth was, it didn't even ship until the 28th! But, the free samples made up for the delay!
The bottles were wrapped in bubble wrap and the samples - ohmygod the samples. I was given two travel-size samples which arrived just in time for my trip to West Malaysia at the end of the month and another trip in the beginning of next month.

The Laneige Perfect Pore cleansing oil smells like a dream and managed to get my sunscreen off without a fuss. It emulsifies beautifully once water is added, leaving my skin clear and plump. I'm gave the Mamonde age control to my mom and am saving the coconut oil sample packets for the trip as well. 

The Scinic Ampoule comes with a small scoop but I decanted it into a smaller jar to reduce contamination nevertheless. I've been using this twice a day for a week and I love this stuff to death. Everytime I put this on, I feel like eating my face. It has a honey-like scent that isn't too overbearing and spreads easily on my skin. I do have fairly oily skin though, so it also left me with a somewhat sticky residue. I'm probably putting on too much but overmoisturized >> not moisturized enough. 

The texture is a little sticky and goey, so a little goes a long way. I've been decanting this to my friends and family left right and center and I've still barely made a dent in it. This goes after my Hada Labo Lotion and before Sunscreen at night or is the last step of my nightly routine if I don't feel like putting on a night mask. I slather on a thick layer at night and wash it off in the morning. 

My morning routine: 
Hada Labo AHA/BHA Foaming Cleanser -> Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel Toner -> Hada Labo Hydrating Lotion (Rich) -> Scinic Honey Ampoule

It hasn't made drastic changes on my skin so far, but I do feel like it's more plump and my face hasn't been doing it's usual 'ohmegerd oil spill' in the mornings, which is amazing. 

Love it? Yes!
Repurchase? Yes! But I doubt I will ever run out of this stuff! 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Malaysia Watsons Tencel Facial Mask (Nourishing Olive)

This little thing is the catalyst that caused my descend into madness ascend into beautiful skin. Watsons Tencee Facial mask is a line of affordable Watson masks made in Korea. I enjoy the simplistic design and straightforward packaging. There are a few different types of this particular line: Red Wine, Double DHA, Black Pearl, Brown Rice, Natto, Olive, ect.

I bought four of them during a Watson masks sale a few weeks back and I haven't looked back since. It costs RM6.90 per mask, but Watson does a lot of buy one get one 50% off so you could probably get them cheaper. :) This was the last of my Watson Tencel collection. Olive mask: Nourishing.
#
Picture from Watson Malaysia
The mask is made of tencel fiber, which I prefer a lot more to cotton masks given Malaysia's ridiculously hot and humid weather. It's slightly more transparent compared to cotton or silk. The texture is more airy and adheres to the skin better. Best of all, it doesn't feel like it's slowly suffocating my skin cells. Tencel has a higher absorbent rate compared to cotton and feels soooo much better.

There's 21ml essence per piece and the material doesn't quite soak up all 21ml of that, which means there's a good few (~6ml) left in the package after I removed the sheet mask from the packaging. I just smeared the rest of the essence on my neck and chin.

I put this on for a little more than 20 minutes and it was still wet when I removed it. More essence for my arms and legs. Muahaha.

Verdict: So, is it nourishing? Heck yeah! My face felt like I've just had a soak in magic water. It also doesn't leave behind that annoying sticky residue like some masks, so I didn't even need to wash my face afterwards. Yay.

I enjoyed using this a lot more than some other masks I've tried (reviews coming up shortly) and I would definitely be re-purchasing these if Watson happens to have another sale. I try to get sheet masks for RM4.00 or less since it's one of those buy and throw away things. Spending too much on them just isn't all that worth it. If you have money to burn though, you should definitely be getting these.

Love it? Yes!
Repurchase: Yes! But I'm a broke person, will buy during a sale.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

NattaCosme (11street) To Sarawak, Malaysia (Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion Twin Pack)

Hada Labo seems to be all the rage in Malaysia right now. Or maybe I'm the last of the sheep to find out about it. Either way, I'm not complaining. After I grabbed the Hada Labo BHA/AHA Cleanshing foam from Guardian for RM27 during a 40% sale, I was itching for more.

Picture courtesy of Amazon
The cleansing foam in a pump bottle feels like clouds on my face and while I'm aware that the actives (BHA/AHA) would not have enough time to work it's magic on my face, I was using it for it's lower pH (~6.5) and amazingly soft bubbles. BHA and AHA needs a lower pH to work, so I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve by adding that in the cleanser. In addition, the soft foams meant it won't be helpful for you if you have sunscreen/makeup on that you need to wash away. This is my morning cleanser though, and seeing as there aren't any dirt/makeup/oil on my face that early in the morning, I find it perfect. <3

Since I've found the right cleanser, I was hunting for the perfect moisturizer. Specifically, I was looking for a moisturizer that isn't cream-based and wasn't going to cost me my kidney.

In swoops 11street.my. This Malaysian online shopping mall features a good deal of vendors from all over the world and with a billion 11% bonus coupons every few days, I was hooked (like a fish ready to be sushi-fied... not in an altogether good way). While my bank account wept, my skin sung happy songs~ It was a necessary exchange.

I did my research on good lotions and this one comes highly recommended. Technically lotion = toner in Korea, but I have lotion-abhorrent skin that turns into a bp oil spill on contact, so the lighter the lotion, the better. There's another type (Light) that's supposedly more suitable for combination skin, but I wanted to try this first because it was cheaper. The Hada Labo Super Hyalronic Acid Hydrating Lotion (Rich) is a toner that is moisturizing enough to be a mostuirizer, and I intend to layer this with a moisturizing gel, so it's all good.

I digress. I managed to find myself in the midst of a dozen sellers selling the same Hada Labo lotion for a dozen different prices. An exaggeration, but you get my drift. With so many different sellers, I opted for the smartest choice. That is to say, I went to the cheapest seller. I did make sure that the seller has a good rating on 11street first though. I'm not completely gullible.

Screencap from 11street
It looks reputable enough, and at a satisfaction rating of 99%, I couldn't go wrong. The store is based in Malaysia, which means delivery won't take as long. What caught my eyes were the reviews singing phrases about the good packaging. I've had packages delivered here that was a little smooshed and the contents a little leaky because it wasn't boxed right, or there simply weren't enough cushioning so the reviews about the nice packaging had me curious.

So, I bought the lotion from Nattacosme. It was discounted at 30% off RM114.89 for RM79.90 and I had an additional 30% off coupon from 11street so I ended up paying only RM55.93 for two Hada Labo lotions + 1 free 50g cleanser. I know, I know. I'm in awe too.

I made the order yesterday, on the 3rd of May 2016.

I shit you not. This arrived today at 11:30am. It took a day to get to Sarawak.

Picture taken on 4 May 2016 with my jaws on the ground
Holy crap on a cracker (but in a good way). To say I'm impressed doesn't even begin to cover it. Did they see my order and immediately drove to the post office with my products?! This is amazing!

Everything inside was protected 100% since the box is made of adamantium. I'm kidding. But it was sturdy and kept everything inside perfectly. I'm definitely keeping the box to store my extra lotions and products. Anyways, Ive tossed it, but there were bubble wraps around the lotions to keep it save, and the two samples were stowed neatly in a plastic cover.

I've already opened the lotion up to patch test on my entire face. It has a mild scent that I can't quite place (or maybe no scent at all and my nose is merely picking up the plastic. The texture is waterly but spreadable and it sinks into the skin so well.

Anyways, Hada Labo is great, NattaCosme is also great. I love everything about this order. Thanks! :)