My daily skincare regime and my bare face!

Dome, KLCC. For the first time, I found myself blogging from a different spot, away from Home. With my 18 months old climbing onto every other furniture in a split second, I could hardly sit and scribble these days. So I took sometime off from my daily routine, left my little teddy under Andrew's care, drove to KLCC, did some window shopping for good 2 hours, and now chilling in Dome with a glass of Fruit smoothie and a bowl of fries. Ahhhh how I missed doing this but at the same time am already missing my little teddy at home. He must be having his evening nap with his dad at this hour! :)

While waiting for my page to load, I actually snapped a picture of myself, kononnye candid la. It has been really long since I posed in front of my own camera. Now, let me showcase the vain me in Dome KLCC.

Well, today's post is in response to SacReDsea clients' requests to share my current skin care routine as well as the products I use.

My #1 rule is, I don't change my skincare products. *I'm very loyal when it comes to good stuff, including good husband :p* I started off with SacReDsea DeepPore, MudMask and Regenerating Whitening Cream 2009. I started using these products prior to my engagement ceremony in Sept 2009, my skin was bad..pimples and marks all over my face. I marched into the engagement hall with thick foundation and concealer. But I didnt give up, neither I whined much about my skin nor the product. I continued. Sometime in Dec 2009, when I went for make-up trial for my wedding, the bridal person, Shobida was worried coz there were still marks on my skin. I still continued with SacReDsea. In Feb 2010 when she came over to beautify me, she flipped coz she couldn't spot any marks on my skin. My skin was CLEAR. Since then I  have definitely added on more to the list but I'm loyal to the brand. Photos?? Yes I have...

Sept 2009: Engagement: The thick foundation and concealer made me look yellow and OLD! Yucks! Can you also spot the uneven skin tone? :(

Feb 2010: Wedding Dinner: Less Foundation. No concealer.  Very natural make up do. Thanks Shobida!

Dec 2012:No foundation. No concealer. SacReDsea + colors

Rule #2, I do it religiously...every day and night without fail. I renew my Deep Pore and Firming Serum every month ok, beauty comes with a price nowadays.
Rule #3, I don't use foundation or powder but I love playing around with colors. Without colors I look like a glowing mayat, you'll see later.

Morning skincare routine:
- cleanse my face with SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- apply 2 pumps of SacReDsea Deep Pore, more on areas which are prone to whiteheads and blackheads eg. my nose and chin
- 3 pumps of SacReDsea Firming Serum (very greedy me, but when it finishes I'll cry through my nose)
- a pinch of SacReDsea Regenerating Cream. I'll dab a thick paste of it on pimples marks, if I have any and if I'm not going out.

Deep Pore; Whitening Cream; Firming Serum; Refining Essence; SPF 30

Night skincare routine:
- cleanse with SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- 2 pumps of SacReDsea Deep Pore
- 3 pumps of SacReDsea Firming Serum
- massage upwards with 2 pumps of Refining Essence for 2-3 minutes

Special weekly care:
- cleanse with SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- scrub with Dead Sea Salt Scrub + Refining Essence
- massage with 3-4 drops of SacReDsea Calming ampoules
- SacReDsea Mud Mask (to leave on for 20-30 min)
- rinse and follow on with the morning or night skincare routine

Ampoules

OR

- cleanse with SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- scrub with Dead Sea Salt Scrub + Refining Essence
- massage with 3-4 drops of SacReDsea Lightening ampoules
- apply a thick paste of SacReDsea Regenerating Whitening Cream (to leave it on for 20-30 min)
- rinse and follow on with the morning or night skincare routine

Acne care
- cleanse with SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- apply paste of SacReDsea Mud Mask on affected areas
- massage with 3-4 drops of SacReDsea Calming ampoules - 3 days once ONLY
- rinse and apply SacReDsea Mineral Aloe Gel on affected areas
- apply a thick paste of SacReDsea Regenerating Whitening Cream on affected area until the marks disappear

Cleanser; Deep Pore; Aloe Gel; Mud Mask; Regenerating Cream

For Outings
- SacReDsea Mineral Cleaning Gel
- SacReDsea Deep Pore
- SacReDsea Lifting/ Collagen                    
- SacReDsea Firming Serum
- SacReDsea Regenerating Whitening Cream
- SacReDsea Cover-up
- *colors*

Ok, since I have shared with you what I'm using, it's only fair if I show you how my bare face looks. This is how I look at home, after shower, before going to bed and after a long day of babysitting.

My very mayat look :)

Hey not too bad kan if you compare with some famous celebrities out there. Hehehehehe, I very kiasu so I found one of their photos without make-up. I purposely took the terok one, hehehehehe so that you all can vote for me! Can vote for SacReDsea! LOL

Btw, I went for my facial with Dermalogica a day ago. The last I went there was 2 months back but prior to that I missed it for more than a year. I was too busy with my son and I didn't have a real need to go for facial, since I had all the products in place at home. The last 2 rounds were actually to get myself pampered and to finish up the course that I've paid 2 years ago. To be honest I like the way they pamper my face and neck, but I don't like their day-to-day products. During my facial session yesterday, I threw a question to the lady who was doing it for me.

"Irin, do you put on foundation?"
And her answer made me smile ear to ear. "Yes I do, if not very dull la my skin..."

I wanted to jump out of the facial bed and tell her all about SacReDsea, how she can glow and shine without using foundation. But no, I kept it all to myself. Come on, she'll think am a kuku lady who's comparing some unknown brand to a world known Dermalogica!

Since I don't have eye cream, I asked them about the eye serum which they applied below my eyes during the facial session. And guess what they told me la "Owhhh this one is only for professional use, we dont sell." Woahhhhhhhh!! Look at how they earn money these days!

Now, it's 7pm and my butt is aching coz I've been sitting too long. Am gonna bid goodbye to Dome-thanks for having me here for the last couple of hours...and to all my readers, may the force be with you!

Signing off from Dome KLCC @ 19:11

p/s: For new readers who wanna know more about SacReDsea, add us at http://www.facebook.com/sacredsea.skincare

Ta...
A SacReDsea Addict..

Cancer! A must read...

Hey readers, hope yall are keeping well. 

Although I do have some unpublished "personal" blogs which I would love to share with readers like you .I want you to take few minutes to read the article below which I "stole" from a beautiful, awek muda friend of mine. (Yes Jenifer Fernandez, its you..Thank You!)  Reason being, I have lost many wonderful people to this killer named CANCER, and one of them is my mom. Ahhhh as I'm typing this out, I can feel gallons of tears waiting to rush out from both my eyes. That's how special she was and she still is. 


I was 16 when she left. I was so naive that I didnt know what was happening around me. Dad never told us what she was suffering from, but I knew she was fighting so hard to stay on. She was on chemo-therapy...she lost her hair..she became an addict to Coke and on the night of June1st 1997, she left us while lying on my dad's arms. *tears* It has been 15 years since. 


After reading this article I knew that everyone around my mom did all the wrong things with good intentions, to help her survive. Let's dont make the same mistakes over and over again. Lets learn and change our eating habits and living style to make a better living. Happy reading folks!

Latest Cancer Information.

After years of telling people Chemotherapy is the only way to try eliminate Cancer, Johns Hopkins is finally starting to tell you there is an alternative way...
[Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins ]

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiple.

What cancer cells feed on:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note: Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.

Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Please share this with everyone around you. And you know what, I'm changing my diet after my delivery this Oct. Till my next blog...

Ta...
Mom's gurl...

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After good 6 months!

3rd April 2012

October, November, December, January, February, March..6 months and thats like half a year now since I last blogged.  Now, where do I start from? What about? So many things happened and I can't even keep track of most of them. My bad. No, am not gonna put the blame on my little one this time as he has given me all the time I needed. A piece of wooden spoon and nice baby-friendly plastic pans and saucers are all that he needs to keep himself entertained in his wooden crib.

My last blog was about me starting up my new skincare business right, so I shall start from where I left. SacReDsea, that was what I named that little skincare business which I started in Oct 2011. I wanted my son's initial to be apart of the brand name, hence the capital R and D which stand for Raoull and Darshan. This means my second one has to bear the same letters or I will have to open up another business under his/her name, can you imagine.

How is business so far? Honestly, I am happy with the growth and looking forward to more. I have taken back most of the cost we pumped in and looking at profit hereafter. Thank you God, I wouldn't have done it without Your blessings. Back to business, I wouldn't say it's easy running a business when you have a 1 year old toddler under your care 24/7.  My time management gets messed up all the time and the little time that I have is often wasted with lots and lots of beauty-sleep :D. Yes I still love to zzzzzzz and I have a little mate to join me these days. Peacefully we spend our days sleeping and dreaming big. Lol. But to be honest, I get very tired these days...ill tell you why shortly. Well, whenever I need more business, then I'll lock myself in front of my iPad to do some catchy advertisements in FB. Orders get locked  in every month and as long as I have money to cover my expenses, I'm happy. Like someone dear told me,

 "...at least you have started something on your own at this age Vaani. Its ok to struggle a little now. By the time your son hits his teenage years, your business will be earning millions for you!"
How motivating can some beautiful souls be. Customer satisfaction? No I can't quote 100% :( . 92% maybe, but definitely nothing less than that la. Hope the percentage increases from time to time...let's see.

Raoull Darshan, my garden of hope, dream and happiness! This little one turned ONE last December and gonna turn 16 months in few days time. How gracefully time flew right in front of all our eyes. It feels like only yesterday I took my first glimpse at this little child who greeted the world with his loud cry in the labor room. Now, he's up running, climbing, dancing, singing, laughing, chatting and occupying most of my time. He made our little  world so beautiful.  He keeps me sane. He keeps me on my toes. His thoughts make me smile all the time. His milestones? He can say more that 30 words and that include the sounds of nearly 10 animals.

He loves balls. The moment you scream "goal" when he kicks the ball, his hidung will automatically kembang and he will start running faster towards the ball to score more "auta" goals. And I'm always there to cheer and clap hard even when the ball hits right on my face. He enjoys dancing and loves Vijay, just like his mummy. He calls his dad "Drew" or "bi". In short, he's a parrot and he imitates whatever I do. He's the only soul who enjoys all my nursery rhymes, so am trying so hard to get better in it. I love him with all my heart as I  always do.

News news news! Well this news is gonna hold me from publishing this post for time being. Yes, I'm carrying my second child :). I'm 12 weeks now and my due will be sometime in October this year. I don't know why but my heart is not letting me to broadcast this to the public yet. Perhaps because its still too early. Or maybe because I like this new feeling of being a little secretive when I need to. Or it's just my age, am I getting there? Well, all I know is I'll publish this when I'm prepared, mentally and physically. Truly I wasn't prepared to have my second one this soon. Well, Raoull just turned 13 months when I knew I conceived. It was an ACCIDENT, and you have to believe me!This is how it happened...no no, am not gonna explain how his sperm met my ovum, but how a wish became a spontaneous reality.

Being a Feng Shui freak, I hardly missed any of Lilian Too's monthly magazines. As I was going through the magazine issued in January this year, I caught this one interesting article. Now, let me share this with you.

Being a kiasu rooster myself I told Andrew that I'm gonna try for a Dragon baby. I laughed out loud at his muka terkejut and told him that we have another 4 months to think and consider, and that is till the first week of May. Life went on as per normal after that while this rooster's mind was all stuck to that one article. How auspicious can a Dragon baby be? Can the Dragon baby make mummy's business bloom? Will mummy buy a landed house after the arrival of the baby? So many exciting dreams were already residing in my mind. But at the other end of my head, I had this set of questions. Will I be able to cope with 2 young babies all by myself? Will Raoull be ready to share our attentions and love with his new sibling at this young age? Am I really ready to go through all the sleepless nights all over again? Am I ready? Arghhhhh feelings were mixed up in a bowl of excitement and fear. I couldn't make up my mind and the least that I know, I was already carrying at that point of time.  A Dragon baby was already in the making while I was reading that Dragon baby article. This is how fast sincere dreams and wishes can come true..don't pray pray wor.

So like that la. I am curious to know the gender. Although I love to have another boy, Andrew wants a girl..and I wanna close shop after this. 2 is more than enough. Phewwwwww. So I'm silently hoping for a girl coz if its gonna be another boy, another accident will take place in a few years time and I'll  look more like a baby-making machine then.

And you know what, am tired of membebeling. I'll catch you all at some other good time once my morning sickness dies off completely k. Till then, let the good force be with you guys.

Ta,
God's favorite

...as pretty as you are!

Being the youngest girl to the most beautiful woman I'd ever known has injected a lot of vanity into me. I grew up listening to stories about how beautiful my mom used to be as a young woman and if I remember clearly, at the age of 6 I used to sit at one corner inside her room to secretly admire all her photos. Oh how I used to parade around the house wearing all her house coats, just to look like her. She was beautiful and all I wanted at that age was to look like her when I grow up. 

My Mummy..

Pimples started popping out when I reached puberty and they built a nice home on my skin, creating marks and blemishes. Just like any other young gal out there, I wanted flawless skin; I didn’t like black marks; I was tired of saying NO to nuts, chocolates, caffeine; my skin became dull. Media diverted my admiration from my mom to Hollywood and Bollywood stars. I went out searching for skin care to heal my skin and cosmetics to hide all my marks. I tried everything in the market, from Clinique to cheap peeling products. Name them, I’d tried them all.

“Vaani, what’s wrong with your skin? What’s with the thick layer of foundation and patches on your face? So ugly ok, be natural la..” 5 years ago. That was a hard-slap and a loud alarm for me. And the worse part of all, it came from a GUY! Double triple slaps I call.

At that moment I knew I wasn’t on the right track. My skin needed help. I looked ugly. I couldn’t march out from my house without layers of foundation and powder.  In desperation, again I jumped into the wrong lane. With a friend’s recommendation, I started using a very high-level peeling product. I paid RM 450 a month just for the morning and night creams. My skin became flawless and I walked with my nose and chin high up on the sky once again.  

2 months prior to my engagement, the production of the so called high-end-brandless-peeling-product came to a stop due to the high dosage of acid hydroquinone. My long-lost acnes made a come-back. Skin became dark, uneven and dull. I went “kuku” I cried and prayed so hard that my product will be back in the illegal-market. It didn’t!

My engagement came and I walked in with layers of concealer and foundation again. I hated my skin. I hated my face. Confidence was nowhere to be found. I searched for products again.

October 2010. A beautiful, well-hearted lady walk passed my work station. How pretty, I whispered to myself. Least that I knew, she was a God sent.

During my break time, I told her how depressed I was with my skin. I needed help and I was not shy to seek advice from her. She shared with me what she fed her skin with and in no time, I found myself bringing the products back home.

I stopped all my cosmetics. I stopped using other skin-care. I religiously did what I was told. With a blink of an eye, 4 months passed. My Big day came. My complexion cleared. My skin glowed. I was glued...to the product and my groom! :)

11 months later, my son was born. As I welcomed my son and visitors, I also welcomed compliments.

“You are glowing after your delivery woman! How strange!”

I was in pain after my C section and wasn’t in the right mood to share the secret with the people around me. My skin continued glowing.

I made decision to quit my job 5 months after my delivery. I wanted to take care of my son.  That also means, I have to stay at home; I can’t be putting on any cosmetic on my face; I have to be natural; I have to look pretty for my husband and son.  I bought more boosters from the same salon and became a total make-up free person. My husband loved my complexion. I became a natural like my mom.

Along the way, I started helping ladies around me. I recommended the product so they can look pretty without cosmetics too. No chemical; no peeling; full of dead-sea minerals and plant extracts; beautiful end results. The product didn’t fail anyone. *touchwood* They are happy and so I am.

The only drawback is the product was soooo expensive. The salon was making so much of money from the consumers. I found it unfair. Being a resourceful person myself, I hunted high and low for a way. God was indeed kind to me once again, He showed me a path. I found what I was looking for and we invested.

Looking beautiful without layers of foundation or powder is all that I wanted. My idol, my mom was a natural. I wanted to be like her. I don’t want to look “cakey”. I don’t want to look “white” in photos. I want to look beautiful when I wake up in the morning. I want to feed my skin with “good food”. I want natural glow. I want my husband and son to kiss my cheeks but the powder. I want my face to look like “skin” and I love being comfortable in my own skin. I don’t want people to think that make-up has made me into who I am today, no...it was my mom. I’m blessed.

My products, mainly boosters like sebum, serum and essence for oily and dry skin will be down in Oct 2011.  If you would like to explore this with me, please feel free to PING me ok, I don’t eat people :p I’m doing this out of passion. I love to share...let me help you. You are pretty so let the world see you for who you really are!

Ta...

Fathers' Day!

12th June 2011, one week more for Fathers' Day and I've done nothing. Panic mode was on. My sister-in-law was back for a short break, so her brother's car became her's. Since Andrew was driving the Vios around, I became immobile. I hate being dependent.

"What do I get for the 3 fathers?"
" How can I do it without Andrew's knowledge?"

Tadaaa! A brilliant idea came to me. Shaubashini aka Shubie! A very close buddy of mine, all the way from  Penang. A queen of all crafts. A loving soul. A happening mother! I raced to my lappy. Typed out http://shubiemohan.blogspot.com/. I found what I was looking for..pretty hand-made cards!

I grabbed my phone and sent her a text message, although I knew chances were very slim because she was at the midst of preparing stuff for her daughter's 3rd year birthday, which fell on Fathers' Day too. I wrote to her telling that I was just testing my luck and I'll be completely fine to take on any rejection coz I knew how busy she was at that point of time! Luck was on my side. I jumped out of joy when I saw her reply. Told you she's one loving soul :) Didn't want to miss the chance, I placed my orders right away. 3 cards: 1 for Papa; 1 for FIL; 1 for Raoull's Daddy.

Within the same hour, I received sample cards from her. I picked and selected 2. I wanted something different for Andrew. Something fun. Something very baby'ish. I told her.

Thursday morning came, and my cards were delivered to my doorstep.

Papa's card

Card made for FIL

Raoull's Daddy's

Very pretty right? I loved Andrew's card the most although I couldn't stop staring at the rest of them. I was overjoyed. All cards came with her very own signature OK, don't pray pray! So buy original friends :) If you see any of it without this little signature thingy, then you know I pirated it *evil laugh*

All the cards were left empty inside, so that I can bla bla bla in it. I let Andrew write both my Papa's and his Dad's cards simply because he has this very unique hand-writing. But I did the inner part of Andrew's card. Wanna see? 

Btw, RD stands for Raoull Darshan :)

Yeah, I donated a pair of Raoull's mittens to his dad. I can be creative too OK, although I am no where to be compared to that crafty Siamesecatz. So if you are lazy and immobile as me but want something nice and customized for your loved ones, you know where to go. http://shubiemohan.blogspot.com Not only hand-made cards, she has many more interesting stuff inside there.Price is very reasonable, and guess what I got as a complimentary from her? Please be jealous!

Thank you Shubie. I love it! 

Saturday came, a day prior to Father's Day. I had a prayer to attend in the evening so I rushed out to the saloon leaving Raoull behind with his dad. I can hardly manage my own hair nowadays. I stopped by at Jusco to get a gift for Andrew. Andrew got my papa's and his dad's gifts ready, so it was my turn to get him one. These are some of the little things he does which makes me fall for him over and over again. I can definitely count on him for anything and everything! 

Fathers' Day! Andrew and I took turns to tidy up the house while keeping both our eyes on our little one. By 7pm, all was done. Presents were all wrapped; dinner was ordered - Dominos Spicy Sambal set and KFC; cake was baked by my very own sister *we missed you ka*; pretty party lights were switched on; Raoull got dressed and finally guests came pouring in. 

I had to take off my photographer hat and put on the hat of a host. So this was the only picture I could capture that night *sigh*. Nevertheless, the party was GOOD and hope everyone had a good time with us, although it was a very simple one. 

From left: Steven, my BIL, my Papa, my Fil, my Husband. Our little sunshine, Yoshan was the guest of honor. 

The clock was at half past 12 when everyone left. After cleaning and putting Raoull to sleep, the 2 of us crashed on the bed. We were tired but our eyes were filled with happiness alone.

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~Clarence Budington Kelland

Happy Fathers' Day All!

Ta...