[Monthly Project] #1 What's in my travel pouch? Skincare + Makeup

Monthly Project (December 2016)

#1 What's in my travel pouch? Skincare + Makeup

"Monthly Project" is a new segment whereby I will be writing about different topics related to skincare and/or makeup end of each month - to bring more content in a dynamic way, which hopefully could be more applicable and relate-able to you.

Unlike "Weekly Product Review" which only features one product, "Monthly Project" will cover multiple products either by brands, categories, favourites and etc.

Hope you enjoy reading!

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Hello there! :)

For the very first time, I am going to reveal my travel pouch and to share with you what items do I actually carry while travelling.

Well, the items I am bringing with me differ according to the place I am heading and the duration of the stay. Usually I will bring two travel pouches to separate skincare and makeup products. One of the reasons is simply because my pouches are rather small in size - not enough to stuff everything in one (heh). Besides, of course it will keep my stuffs more organized and tidy this way.

Alright, what we have here today are the items I brought along during our recent trip to Penang. Chap chap chap, lemme show you what's in my travel pouches now, shall we?

What's in My Skincare Travel Pouch?

To avoid bag-drop traffic, we usually do not check-in our luggage for domestic flights. But there is a weight limitation for hand-carry luggage - not more than 7kg (for instance, AirAsia). So, I will try not to bring unnecessary stuffs in order to stay within the weight limit.

In this case, travel-size bottles and product samples come in handy. Here are the 11 skin-and-body care items in my travel pouch:-

1. Nature Republic Snail Solution Emulsion (sample)
2. Benefit Instant Comeback Facial Serum (sample)
3. Innisfree Canola Honey Lip Balm - Smooth Care
4. The Saem Healing Tea Garden Cleansing Water - Green Tea (travel bottle)
5. Bausch + Lomb Contact Lens Holder
6. Complete Contact Lens Holder (left-Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Silk Essence; right-Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Watery Cream) (see photo below)
7. Bausch + Lomb Renu Fresh Multi-Purpose Solution (120ml)
8. Innisfree Broccoli Clearing Toner (150ml)
9. It's My Cleansing Foam (150ml)
10. Tony Moly My Sunny All-In-One Sun SPF45 PA+++ (100ml)
11. Enchanteur Paris Parfum Anti-Perspirant Deodorant 72H (50ml)

Note: Skincare travel pouch is by Innisfree X Chris Uphues "Fall In Love" series.

As the original packaging are too heavy to carry, I scoped-out the solution into unused contact-lens holder, which are far more easy to carry. Plus, I didn't need much, but just the amount enough for 5 nights.

Left-Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Silk Essence; Right-Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Watery Cream

The idea of packing travel pouches is too keep items that are essential only. Besides, I am rather lazy when it comes to skincare, so I will try to keep it as simple as I could. Hence, my morning and evening routines will look like this during travelling:-

a. Morning - cleansing foam > toner > serum > emulsion > suncream

b. Evening - cleansing foam > toner > essence > watery cream

We can always do intensive skincare when we are at home - where things are at our easy-reach and we are at our comfortable environment. Basically, that's my philosophy. Shall we move on to makeup pouch then? :3

What's in My Makeup Travel Pouch?

During travelling, I would like to look stylish and glamorous as I could for photos. To achieve that and at the meantime to avoid bringing much products, I would prefer to have an eye-palette which has a few basic colours which are easy to mix-around. My favourite is Aritaum's Fatal Burgundy (below) consisting Brown and Burgundy as the main colours.

Below are the 15 makeup items in my travel pouch:-

1. Witch's Pouch Selfie Perfect Concealer No.21
2. The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow Pencil 05. Dark Brown (0.3g)
3. Missha The Style 4D Mascara (7g)
4. VDL Cheek/Contour/Highlighting Slanted Brush
5. Abba Mart Flat Definer Liner Brush B053L
6. Innisfree Medium Eyeshadow Brush
7. It's My Base Eyeshadow Brush
8. Olive Young Make-up Sponge
9. Daiso Multipurpose Compartment (Earrings Travel Box)
10. Aritaum Styling Eye Palette No.2 Fatal Burgundy
11. Missha M Perfect Cover B.B Cream SPF42 PA+++ No.21 (50ml)
12. Tony Moly Backgel Eyeliner 01.Black
13. Chateau Labiotte Wine Lip Tint RD03 Merlot Burgundy
14. The Saem Saemmul Luminious Multi-Shading
15. The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Angel Skin Powder Pact NB21 (10g)

Side note: I was wearing Taiwanese-brand Solego (舒力康)'s Cosmetic Disposable Fort-weekly Soft Contact Lens (Gray) (see photo below). The lens were lovely, but probably because my eyes are more sensitive, I felt quite uncomfortable if wearing for long hours. Thou, it may differs for others.

And that's all for now. I hope this could serve as a reference for you while preparing for short travelling.

Please do look forward for next Monthly Project where I will be sharing "November. & December Empties".

'Til the next time. Cheers! ^_^

[Penang] Penang 6D5N Year-End Trip 槟城年尾之旅 Day 2.2 Ka Bee Cafe●Chew & Lim Clan Jetties

Penang 6D5N Year-End Trip 槟城年尾之旅

December 20, 2016 (Tuesday)

Our parents didn't join us for the 3D Trick Art Museum earlier. So they went on to an Indian restaurant across the street to have lunch. When we are done with the museum, we took our car and parked at Lim Clan Jetty. An uncle, who is riding motorcycle, came to us as soon as we stopped our car. He asked for RM5 parking fee per entrance. Since there aren't much parking choices nearby, we just go with it.

Ka Bee Cafe - Fresh Seafood Noodles 佳味餐室（鱼头米粉）

- Address : 49, Pengkalan Weld, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
- Phone : +60 4-261 5659
- Operating Hours : 11AM–2:30PM, 5PM–10:30PM

From Lim Clan Jetty, turn left and walk straight down, walk passed Shell Station, walk passed Chew Clan Jetty, you should see the restaurant on your left-hand side.

Their specialty is non-other than the fish head meehoon soup. Many people recommended to try this restaurant, if you are visiting the clan jetties.

So there are 3 steps to follow while ordering: (1) choose the soup base; (2) choose the type of noodle/porridge; (3) choose the type of meat/seafood; *additional* (4) choose add-ons.

Write down your cooking preference on the ordering paper prepared. The kitchen will prepare it accordingly. They should serve it shortly as they have all the ingredients ready beforehand.

We ordered 2 bowls of mee and 2 snacks. Check out below:

- A1 Signature soup + N2 Thin rice noodle + F2 Fried fish meat + E1 Fish ball - RM10.50

- A2 Tomyam soup + N3 Cintan mee + F2 Fried fish meat - RM8.50

- S2 Fried mantis prawn (small) - RM7 **recommended**

- S4 Fried fish skin (small) - RM7

This meal costs RM33 in total. Personally, I thought both soups are just so-so. Tomyam soup base has stronger sour taste than spicy. The cintan mee tastes like maggi mee (slightly harder to chew). Their seafood are delicious. Fried fish meat is very fresh and the fried mantis prawns are exceptional. However, the fried fish skin is also so-so.

Clan Jetties (Chew & Lim) 姓氏桥

Clan Jetties have formed part of the Penang Heritage Trail. These clusters of wooden houses were built by the Chinese poor immigrants who work near the port during the 19th Century. These immigrants came from the South-Eastern coast of China - Fujian Province, due to the hardship they face in their homeland during that era.

This waterfront society is composing of various Chinese clans. Each jetty is named after a Chinese clan. There used to be seven jetties until one was demolished by fire. Particularly, the Chew Jetty is the most tourist-friendly with the most stilt-houses and the longest walkway.

- Address : Pengkalan Weld, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

- Chew Clan Jetty 姓周桥

Oh well oh, and here we found our first street art of the day! The grandma and grandson (as shown above). Follow the wood walkway on the right-hand side to enter Chew Clan Jetty.

Have a good nap, doggy.

With tourists flowing in, locals are turning their houses to shops, selling various of food, beverages and souvenirs. I thought it is a peaceful village to live in. Or, an ideal place to open a sea-view cafe (idk just saying).

- Lim Clan Jetty 姓林桥

Lim Jetty, on the other hand, is less happening than Chew Jetty. Basically well-known for its Chinese temple located at its entrance.

Lim clan jetty is situated closest to the Penang ferry terminal. Fun fact pointed by Asia Web Direct, none of the families from the jetties pay any tax as they are not living on land until today.

It was 3 o-clock that time. We can hear clearly music coming from the clock tower; the music repeat for 3 times. It's about time to leave now. Off to our next destination.

---stay tuned---

[Cafe Hoping] Gathering @ Haru Café, Kota Kinabalu

2016년12월30일 (금요일) Gathering @ Haru Café, Kota Kinabalu

Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil

It's a blessing to have a bunch of friends who have known you for 10 years (and still counting) and still keep in touch. Year 2016 have been a year full of surprises and changes: we are getting jobs, some are getting engaged, some are getting married (soon!), and etc. 

Life is getting tougher from now on, no doubt. When it gets tough, we get tougher. We have to take charge of our own life, after all. But I truly hope things will turn better in the years to come... I guess, all we have to do is to trust in Him.

Haru Café @ Kota Kinabalu

- Address : 7, Lorong Gunung Juo, Taman Far East, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

- Operating Hours : 8:30AM–10:30PM
- Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cafeharukk/

This is my first time here at Haru Café. Recently cafe business became popularized in Kota Kinabalu. I not a big fan of coffee, but these places are certainly good places to hang out with friends.

The cafe is quite modern vintage style. It is spacious, clean and comfortable. The idea of using small plants to decorate the space is refreshing. It feels like you're in a green house, but you're not.

It is much brighter as you see from the photos here, but it's slightly dimmer in fact, which gives you a cozy warm feelings.

Environment wise, it is no doubt excellent. In terms of food/drink pricing, I thought it is slightly cheaper than other cafes of its same category. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not quite a "cafe-person", so I might be wrong by saying this.

My friends, Belinda, ordered Soy Latte (left), Amber ordered Green Tea Latte (middle) and I ordered Grain Latte (right); they are all non-coffee drinks actually. 

Mine taste a lot more like sunflower seed drink in milk, if you asked. Quite a refreshing taste, but I rather unexpected it would taste like so. Shall try their coffee drinks on my next visit then.

Vivienne and Rico ordered their French Toast Waffle with Maple Syrup and Roasted Nuts. Both texture and taste are good, but it hardly go wrong when it goes with maple syrup (personal thought).

I saw their menu - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Blueberry Cream Cheese Sandwich. Gotta try on these next time!

Happy New Year Everyone!

[Penang] Penang 6D5N Year-End Trip 槟城年尾之旅 Day 2.1 Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower●3D Penang Trick Art Museum

Penang 6D5N Year-End Trip 槟城年尾之旅

December 20, 2016 (Tuesday)

Buffet Breakfast @ Sun Cafe, Sunway Hotel Georgetown

The buffet breakfast serves from 6:30AM to 10:30AM. It has a good range of food variety, both local and Western. I really enjoy its Nasi Lemak with Sambal sauce, one or two sliced-boiled eggs. We Malaysians really enjoy eating rice (if you haven't notice).

The buffet breakfast is RM20 nett per pax, and it is included in our room package.

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower 维多利亚女王纪念钟楼

- Address : Lebuh Light, George Town, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

First day in Penang. First, we decided to visit the town center, and get used to the road a bit. The truth is, driving in Penang and Kota Kinabalu is two different thing. Not only the roads here are much narrow, but also drivers here are mostly less tolerable. In just a difference of seconds, car drivers or motorcyclists will sound their honks impatiently (the fact is, Penang is the second state which suffers bad traffic after Kuala Lumpur).

Side track a bit. There were so much annoyance causing by its traffic. Its such a shame that drivers nowadays have such bad road etiquette: honking, cutting roads without signaling, bad temper, and etc. In addition, as Penang is getting more and more tourists to visit annually, the roads here are not even pedestrian-friendly; for instance, insufficient zebra-crossing line and over-head pedestrian bridge. Like seriously, there are much for improvement. (purely my thoughts...)

We parked our car at a private car park near to Fort Cornwallis. About 5 minutes walk down the road (towards the entrance of Fort Cornwallis), you won't miss the Clock Tower which is erected on the roundabout.

The Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower (a.k.a. Jubilee Clock Tower), is a Moorish-style Jubilee clocktower built by a local millionaire, Cheah Chen Eok, to commemorate Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee (60-year). The tower is sixty feet tall - one foot for each year of Queen Victoria's reign. However, the clock tower was only completed in 1902 when Her Majesty had passed away. It is much unnoticeable that the clock tower is slightly tilted, as a result of bombing during the Second World War.

As it started to rain, we didn't spend much time at the clock tower.

3D Penang Trick Art Museum

- Address : 10, Lebuh Penang, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
- Operating Hours : 9AM–6PM
- Phone : +60 4-263 1628

If you are a person which enjoys taking photos, this place is definitely recommended. You can pose whichever you like. Just ask the staff to help with the angle.

With MyKad/IC presented, entrance fee for adult is RM15 per person. For children/senior citizen, RM10 per person. Foreigners/visitors are RM25 per person.

Nevertheless, there is a 20% off on entrance fee by downloading the e-voucher here. Note: The e-voucher is valid for one (1) redemption. There is a unique redeem code for each download and the staff will need to record the code. Make sure to download the e-voucher separately for each person before purchasing tickets at the counter. Valid until 31/12/2016.

Below are the photos taken inside the museum:


***Spoiler disclaimer : If you don't wish to be spoiled by what's inside the museum, don't scroll down!***





- Travel back to time

- On the trishaw

- At the water village

- C'mon get onboard!

- Can someone tame the monkeys?

- Aladdin and the magic carpet

- Now, scream!

- Don't let the shark out!

- Superstar on the red carpet

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- RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

- The...earth is moving!

- Fly me to the moon

- The friendly creature, orang utan

- The mummy has awaken

- Snow-skiing

- The magic trick

- Catch the sadako!

- Careful, careful...

Overall, we thought the 2-storey museum was a fun place to take crazy photos and share them with your friends. If you have time to spare, do come and have some fun! :D

---stay tuned---