I had a good year with my blog in 2024. It has yet to reach 1K views per month but I am pleased with the statistics. Of course, big-time bloggers or influencers have way more readers per month. They worked hard to get their numbers by crafting beautiful posts and jumping on trends with their unique online presence. It is something that I plan on learning for this coming year. Writing in better sentences and capturing beautiful photos.
Wish me luck in 2025.
We’ve always known Farm Fresh as a local company that produces milk products. Despite being local, the price tag is astonishingly more expensive than Dutch Lady, the leading brand in Malaysia. Even then, Farm Fresh has a distinctive taste which is delicious, light and seemingly fresh. It is a very nice milk product to add to my coffee and tea to give it a milky taste.
It was only recently that I found out about Bright Cow. I was doing a search on Shopee for ‘fresh milk’ when this brand emerged as one of the options. Based on the reviews I read, consumers seem to love it a lot and the price is a tad lower compared to other milk brands on the platform. Bright Cow has a dairy farm in Linggi, Negeri Sembilan and they have a range of products from milk to yoghurt and kefir.
I thought I’d give it a try and bought 2 sets of white and chocolate milk in a mini pack of 6 from Shopee. My children loved it. The chocolate drink was not excessively sweet and the ‘normal’ milk tasted nice. It is almost like Farm Fresh but at a lower price range. A set of 6 cartons (200ml) only costs RM10.80. That is less than RM2 per box. Turns out, they are also selling at certain retail stores. I am glad my local Family Store has them too. At least I can buy some for my son. He should have more milk than all those sweet boxed drinks the dad packed him earlier.
So a big thank you to Bright Cow for emerging as an option to moms like me. I wish that they would start selling their yoghurt at my usual aisle.
This year alone, I have had at least 2 or 3 significant episodes of horrible mask acne. I thought the problem is solved once I re-embraced my SKII essences. Turns out the acnes are not giving up. Furthermore, they are happily fueled by the fact that I was having stress on top of lacking the proper nutrition and sleep. I realized that the trend of acne eruptions tend to happen near my assignment deadlines.
Encroaching 2022, I feel that I need to elevate my skincare regime. I will after all be turning 40 in a few years time. As of now, I have two different regimes for AM and PM. Skincare goal? To look great like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez for their age. Ahahaha.
I decided to stick with SKII facial cleanser. If I had to use an alternative, it’ll probably be Natural’s aloe vera cleanser. I don’t get frequent breakouts with these two. Bought this as a combo with the Pitera essence on Lazada at its official store.
Goodall Vit C toner. It is so refreshing to use this in the morning as I prepare to go to work because of its strong citrus scent. The toner comes in this plastic tub with cotton pads inside. Even the last one is adequately soaked with the ingredient. You can get this between RM50 – RM60 at Shopee mall. The full price is about RM70 for at least 70 pieces.
This is then followed by a gentle tap on the face with SKII Pitera Essence. It has a fermented smell as you first applied it to the face but it doesn’t linger. I don’t use cotton pads to apply the essence.
I super-love this new product I discovered on Shopee. I like the cooling gel-like texture of the formula. It is supposed to help calm down the active spots and blemishes on the face. Indeed, I feel that my skin’s temperature is a lot cooler after application. In fact, I love this so much that I began to moisturise more frequently than before. It has a cooling effect even though you don’t keep it in the fridge.
Applying sunscreen is also a new habit I am taking with me to the year 2022. Although I have seen lots of Reels and Youtube videos emphasizing this part of skincare before, the action never sticks. Until I discover this Apieu product. I bought 2 types from this brand. Daily and Pink Tone. I like the daily formula better as it is not sticky. The pink one has a more matte finish to it. I thought I wouldn’t be bothered by that but since I don’t wear much makeup at work, the matte finish does make my face appear a bit white-casted after using it. Hence, I’d only use it when I intend to use makeup afterwards. Or on the weekend t home where it is ok to look weird. Otherwise, I prefer using the ‘daily variant’ sunscreen on my bare face. The scent is nice too – smells trusted but not medicated. Almost similar to Natural’s sunscreen product.
I tweaked certain steps in the routine using a different product. In the evening/night, I still use the same cleanser and moisturiser.
I use Wardah Lightening Toner. Wardah is an Indonesian product with good reviews so far. I trust that his brand would know what will work best for South-East Asian skin. I chose this product because it has Niacinamide in it. Niacinamide works synergistically with other skincare ingredients that I incorporated into my routine. I apply the product with a cotton pad and gently wipe it on my face. It is so refreshing to do this PM. After that, I would apply the same moisturiser I use in the morning.
This is another new routine to my skincare regime. I am using The Originals 0.5% Retinol in the squalane product. I keep the product in the fridge and the holy advice has always been to apply it at night as it is photosensitive. Retinol helps with skin turnover thus improving acne scarring and hyperpigmentation. When I first started, I only use it twice a week as I fear that my skin would peel terribly or experience purging. My skin responded well and I was able to use it every other day. I am happy to say that my skin texture improved after consistent application for 2 months.
Skin experts recommended that we start using retinol in the late 20s. Not to be mistaken with its stronger cousin, retinoid – retinol are easily available over the counter as any other skincare product. There are concerns about using retinol-based products in pregnancy. I feel this is something that one should discuss with their physician. Those with really sensitive skin are advised to a retinol sandwich where you apply moisturiser-retinol-moisturiser in that fashion.
I decided to give the eye mask a try and bought this Gold Collagen Eye Patch online. When I first used it, I could feel my under-eyes burning. Weird though because it was cooling (even though I did not put it in the fridge) and yet it stings like hell. I use these masks rarely – once a week.
This is a wow product and very easy to use. They practically heat up once you remove them from their packages. You put it on the eyes like a pair of sleep goggles and soon you’d feel this warm, steamy sensation on your eyelids which is so relaxing especially after a tiring day using your electronics. If only they could consider making them recyclable items instead of disposables. I use this every Sunday night as I prepare for work in the new week.
I saw a few adverts which show how the skin of the foot would peel off after a few days using the masks. Mine however does not have the same effect. But it does moisturise and brighten the foot instantly. My foot was a few shades lighter when I removed the mask – it’s like I am wearing socks!. Callus was easier to remove as I run my foot under the running water. I have yet to have smooth baby feet but with a few more weekly foot mask sessions, it would get better.
I am currently trying a few brands and there are at least 2 brands that I super-love at the moment. Will elaborate on that much later. Maybe next year? I am also taking a particular supplement to help with my skin. If it works, I will give my review in another blog post. That too will have to wait.
Minci Moss 