Category: Review It!

Review of anything under the sun except food.

Elba Stand Mixer E3030(WH) Unbox & First Impression

December 7, 2023December 10, 2023 sweet surrender 2 Comments

Got a new stand mixer last week as I need to get a replacement for the broken PerySmith 5 in 1 Hand Blender 850W Easy Cooking Series PS850. Initially, I just want to get a basic and cheap hand mixer that was on sale at AEON. It was out of stock and I almost wanted to get a more expensive one which was also on sale.

Then, the sales assistant informed me about the stand mixer, it’s cheaper than the second-choice hand mixer (RM89). The stand mixer was only RM69! The initial one I wanted to get was RM68. With that, the stand mixer with 3L bowl was the winner. It’s not just simply any brand, it’s Elba, a reputable brand.

Actually, I did go to survey the price and model first before I decide. I saw the stand mixer but it was out of stock that time. Second choice was the RM68 hand mixer, also Elba but smaller in capacity. After I did my research, I decided to go back to AEON few days later to get it. Who knows when I went back, the hand mixer was out of stock. So a stand mixer that was only RM69 came home with me. It’s a very good deal. A lady also bought it earlier.

Quite satisfied with it. I haven’t use it yet but the look and feel after the unboxing wasn’t bad. I hope it will last for at least a decade or two. My first stand mixer lasted for over 30 years before I tortured the motor to death by kneading the bread dough. *LOL*

Where to get online?

Feel free to check out the video on the unboxing and decide whether it’s something you want to get. The normal price of the stand mixer is RM140+. You can get it from Shopee if you want. Here’s my affiliate link https://invl.io/clkdhxm

My Kitchen, Review It!, Vlog

A Compilation of MH & EK In-flight Meals (KCH<->NCL)

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

This is the compilation of the in-flight food I got when I traveled from Kuching to Newcastle, UK. Left Kuching on 13 August 2023 and left Newcastle on 30 August 2023. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 31st August 2023. We were lucky to be one of the last batch of passengers to experience proper in-flight meals by MH before the catering fiasco.

I’ve not gone on an MH flight for ages! The last time was in 2019 from Kuching to Newcastle. This time, we were also flying with MH to go to Kuala Lumpur for our transit to Dubai and then to Newcastle.

Kuching to Kuala Lumpur (MH)

Malaysia Airline in-flight meals (KCH-KUL)

They had chicken rendang and sweet and sour fish on offer. Truth to be told, we didn’t like them. The chicken rendang was spicy. We didn’t expect the sweet and sour fish was also spicy. I suffered a gassy tummy all the way to Newcastle after eating the rendang. Hmm…

Anyway, I guess these were some of the last from Brahim’s. So must commemorate it hahaha! We used to take it for granted ;p However, I love how the water was served in a bottle. That way, I didn’t have to worry about water spills and I could drink it anytime I wanted.

WAH! Wooden cutlery… Gone were the days when you got proper cutlery in MH economy class. Oh well… Anyway, let’s see what Emirates had on their economy in-flight meals.

Kuala Lumpur to Dubai (EK)

Got a chicken sandwich as supper (I guess…). Not a fan of sandwiches. Then, for breakfast, I opted for potato. Not too bad.

My parents went for the curry-looking rice dish. I don’t remember what it was though. Didn’t get good feedback from my parents. However, it’s good to see proper cutlery used on Emirates. No plastic, no wood. So much better of course.

Dubai to Newcastle (EK)

Next, these are for breakfast (I guess…). Two options, egg sandwich or apricot pie. Didn’t like any of them. Just not a sandwich/pie person. Nevertheless, I still finished the food.

This tray came with the sandwich/pie. There’s muffin and blueberry yogurt. At least these two were not too bad. Why do they serve blueberry yogurt on every flight? Do you know some people are allergic to blueberries?

Before we reached Newcastle, we got lunch. Went for potato again. The taste was OK. The other option was rice which we didn’t want to get anymore. Couldn’t stand those spices. I was still having a gassy tummy from the rendang that I ate on Kuching to Kuala Lumpur flight. ARG! We’re given proper cutlery in this sector too. I really don’t like those plastic or wooden ones.

Newcastle to Dubai (EK)

After spending over 2 weeks in England, it’s time to go back home, Kuching. Of course, it’s Emirates again.

Went for a potato dish again hahaha! This time with beef meatballs. Not bad. I also asked for red wine. I forgot to tell them to just give me a little. They gave me a full cup. Aiksss… I didn’t finish it of course. Only had 1/4 of it then I poured the rest away into the toilet bowl. Didn’t like the wine.

Then, we got shortbread and pastry for snack time. The former was nice, not too sweet. In fact, I had this before at home. It’s not cheap selling in the airport. Meanwhile, the latter was not of my liking and I didn’t finish it.

Dubai to Kuala Lumpur (EK)

This time, I had thoughts of getting white wine with my meal. Instead, I opted for orange juice. Didn’t like the snack on this flight. I only ate half of them. Then, for lunch, we opted for the omelet option. Something lighter to eat than having rice. Was quite exhausted and in no mood. Didn’t really get to rest well on the flight even though we were on an A380 with spacious seats compared to the B777 that we’ve been flying in the previous sectors. That was because we were seated next to the galley. Oh well…

Kuala Lumpur to Kuching (MH)

Finally! Back to Malaysia! Waited for quite a long time for the flight to Kuching. We arrived in the afternoon while our flight was in the evening, that’s why. It was 31st August 2023.

So, here’s the food for the last leg of our flight. The wooden cutlery was back hahaha! As usual, I didn’t go for rice. I went for potato again! LOL!!! It looked spicy but not spicy. Not too bad. While the other one was fish. Luckily I didn’t go for that. My parents said that it’s not nice hahaha!

Anyway, we’re lucky to get a proper in-flight meal on this flight. Phew… Imagine you paid for full service and got snack items for your meal. Surely won’t be happy with that. Even though the in-flight meal wasn’t the tastiest, it’s still part of what we paid for. Hopefully, the fiasco will be over soon. Good thing I won’t be flying MH anytime soon.

If you would like to follow me on my trip, feel free to go to my Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok. I will also update it here but it will be slower.

Driving All the Way - England, Food Porn, Going Places, Review It!

Affordable 7-Compartment Polo Hill Sling Bag

April 23, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

It’s time to get a new handbag aka sling bag. The one I got back in 2020 had served me well. The exterior had suffered enough wear and tear but the zippers and the interior are still good as new. It’s still very much usable if you don’t mind those peeling on the exterior but I just cannot unseen them. It’s too obvious already. Need to get new one. This is my daily handbag.

I’ve tried looking high and low for months on Shopee. At the end, I decided to go back to the same one when I saw that they have “coffee” colour available. After the purchase I made at the end of March, I was told by Polo Hill that they couldn’t send that to me as they found out there’s QC problem to that colour. So, I ended up getting the black one. It is really black and shiny. Here’s the unboxing that I did on YouTube.

Lots of compartments!

The 7 compartments are awesome! I couldn’t find any in this size [24cm (L) x 5.5cm (W) x 18.9cm (H] with so many compartments. Since the material of the bag is soft, it’s quite flexible in expanding. With the many compartments available, I don’t need a wallet. Fitting a long wallet is not a problem actually. My favourite part of the bag is the two spacious zipped compartments outside. You can’t get this on other bags. It’s great for phone and keys. I get to access them easily. Also, I don’t have to worry about the keys scratching my phone.

Adjustable strap length

Aside from that, this bag does not only make a sling bag but can be adjusted to be a shoulder bag. Just adjust the length of the strap to your liking.

In case you are looking for other colour such as pink, here’s the unboxing of it. The pink is quite subtle. I personally feel that it’s not a problem to match any garments. If I’m not mistaken, the blue one isn’t too bad too, it’s more on a grayish tone based on photos from other buyers in the review section.

Where to get?

I highly recommend this bag. You can get Polo Hill Sling Bag Umpteen Compartments from its official store on Shopee (https://invol.co/clazw2f). There are also other colours available aside from black and pink.

Fab Fashion, Review It!, Vlog

A Reliable Web Hosting – Hostinger

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

I subscribed to a new web hosting back in May 2022. It took me months to scout around for the one. In the end, I decided to sign up with Hostinger. All the transfers and setup were smooth sailing. I officially move my blog here in June 2022.

Throughout the setting up, I only encountered one issue and it was fixed promptly. It’s actually not really a big problem and not their problem too. It is simply having one link not updated as the database was copied from the previous server. All I need to do was to change the link manually in PhpMyAdmin which I totally forgot. Fortunately, the support was helpful. They helped me with it. It was done promptly even though it was already midnight.

The communication was easy. While I was waiting, they had a shift changed and I was informed of it. When the new support took over, I didn’t even need to repeat the problem. It was handover properly. They knew what was going on. Then, they gave me two options. One way was that they guide me through it while another was to let them do it. I told them I need to go off and couldn’t go through the fix with them as it is late already. They assured me that they will fix it and update me via my email.

When I woke up in the morning, it was fixed. They even sent a copy of the chat and what they had done to fix the issue. The support was phenomenal! I’m impressed.

I highly recommend Hostinger if you are looking for new hosting to move to.

From My Angle, Review It!, Tech Stuffs

Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara Simple Review

February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

I’ve always heard of Max Factor but have never used its products before. I got the Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara as one of the products in its Christmas cracker. It was given as free gift when you fulfilled a certain purchase requirement from Boots UK. Here’s the unboxing of the Christmas crackers for 2022.

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A post shared by Irene Law – Sweet Surrender (@lovebellbelle)

OK, let’s start with the review. The Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara is being marketed as high-volume and definition mascara. The mascara is formulated with a volumizing formula that is able to provide your lashes 4 times their volume. It is also smudge-proof and provides a clump-free finish.

Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara Review

I’ve not used mascara for God knows how many years because I’m just being lazy haha… My makeup routine is very basic now. Quite excited to have mascara now and will try to use it as much as possible so that won’t waste it. It’ wa’s not cheap. In the UK, it’s selling at £11.99. I’ve seen it in Watsons Malaysia before but I’m not sure about it now. I tried looking for it on Watson’s website, but there’s none.

Anyway, I’ve used it twice since opening it. It has the typical mascara smell.

Big Wand

I’ve never seen such a chunky mascara wand haha! Look at the brittles. It’s rather sharp, hard, and the design isn’t that ergonomic. It’s painful when it touches the rim of the eyes. This is my first time experiencing such an unpleasant mascara application. I don’t have big eyes, so the brush isn’t that user-friendly for me. It’s too big for my eyes making the application quite difficult. Furthermore, the fear of having it touch my eye isn’t making it any easier to use.

I read people’s reviews on their official website and found that the majority are not happy with the new wand design. Apparently, it was different back then. I do agree with the badly-designed wand it’s having now.

Comparison

Left: With one-layer application. It’s fast-drying.
Right: Original lashes.
It does look promising. Can see my lashes clearly now.

I applied it to both eyes in the photo above. Two coats of mascara. Nothing dramatic. Great for those who want a natural look. It does curl the lashes. It’s not too obvious in the photo below because I have hooded eyes.

It does add volume but definitely not 4 times for me. Maybe if I apply more layers but I dislike applying so many layers. 2 is the maximum for me.

Smudge-proof, Waterproof, and Easy Removal?

I used it for over 8 hours. I didn’t get any irritation. There were no smudges. However, it’s not waterproof. I tried to apply some water to my lashes and it stained the tissue paper. In other words, it can be removed with water but you’ll need more effort I guess. Just use a makeup remover to save all the troubles. It is very easy to remove. There is no need to pull and tug your lashes or eyelid to clean it.

Conclusion

Pros	Cons
Smudge-proof Smooth formula Adds volume Easy removal Curls the lashes Dries fast No irritation	Not waterproof Big wand Not ergonomic Sharp and hard brittles Expensive

If the wand is not this big, not painful to use, and waterproof, I would say that it is a good mascara to use. I won’t buy this for sure because I need a waterproof one. However, for now, I don’t mind using it until it’s time to toss it out. Don’t waste. Not cheap ok? Besides, I can always get a cheaper mascara that performs better than this that I used last time (Maybelline Volum’ Express Hypercurl is no longer in the market but the Hypercurl is still available, should still work the same).

Girl Stuffs, Review It!