Sweet Surrender (Lovebellbelle) - Based in Kuching, Sarawak

Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher

July 17, 2018December 12, 2018 sweet surrender 2 Comments

I’m currently using Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher. The packaging is so cute. Can easily get it from any Etude House or online from Althea or Hermo. I bought mine from Althea simply because I was running out of blusher and was buying other items on this website which entitled me to get free shipping if I shop for more than RM99 even though I’m based in East Malaysia.

The puff looks cute but a bit disappointing because I was expecting it to be very soft and fluffy. However, it still does its job.

I bought the colour known as Grapefruit Gelly which was the only colour available that time on the website. I do like the colour. Very pigmented and smooth blusher, you don’t need a lot. No shimmer in this. Can you see the pink on my cheek? The colour is light, just a flush of blush is what I like. If you want it to be more obvious, pad more.

According to the product descriptions, it has sebum control powder and coating pigment. This means it can absorb oil and sweat as well as preventing oxidation. I’m not sure about this part as I do not have oily cheek but I figured it also means it can last a long time as oxidation is prevented. The colour on the cheek can be quite lasting, I did not do any retouch. When I remove my makeup at the end of the day, can still see it on the cotton pad.

The price is reasonable, I bought it for RM26. It weighs 7.2g. I think it can last me for years! Hahaha… My last blusher before this lasted me for about 3 to 4 years I think… ;p

Do I recommend it? A yes from me.

As for repurchase, I don’t think I will because I want to try something else after I’m done with this because it can last me for years hahahaha!

Girl Stuffs, Review It!

Japan Shiseido Neuve Oil-controlling Pressed Powder

July 10, 2018July 9, 2018 sweet surrender 2 Comments

Japan Shiseido Neuve Oil-controlling Pressed Powder is now my current face powder. Been using it for almost half year. Even restock it when I went to Taiwan in May. I purchased it in Taiwan when I went there in October last year for work assignment. After conversion from New Taiwan Dollar, it’s about RM18. You can buy it online but it won’t be that cheap. I don’t think I’ve seen it in Malaysia.

I got to know about this from the Taiwanese beauty show, Queen(å¥³äººæˆ‘æœ€å¤§). The pressed powder is 3.5g, very compact with mirror and easy to carry around. The powder is quite translucent. If you are looking for coverage, this product doesn’t do that.

It claims that it can smooth out your skin and eliminate shine; absorbs excess oil to prevent clogged pores and pimples; protect skin against UVA and UVB. It is made entirely from natural ingredients and unscented.

I do not use foundation. My routine is after sunblock, face power will follow. As simple as that.

It does smooth out my skin, no discomfort. The powder is so fine that you do not need to worry about having it trapped in fine lines especially under the eyes even when you apply a lot of it. As for shine elimination, it could last me for about 5 hours. I don’t use thick layer, just a thin layer, dabbing it on with the puff provided and no retouch throughout the day. As for UVA and UVB, I’ll just take it as what it’s claimed. I already have sunblock under it anyway.

I’m quite happy using it. I do recommend it. Nothing fancy, very basic and does its work.

Girl Stuffs, Review It!

Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen

July 4, 2018July 4, 2018 sweet surrender No Comments

On our second last day in Taipei, we went to Shifen Waterfall, Shifen Old Street, Jiufen Old Street and Keelung Miaokow Night Market. Did quite a fair bit of research on where and how to go to somewhere in and around Taipei, not really keen to take a taxi because there were 5 of us. Decided to save all the troubles of arranging and we did not have the luxury of time to get lost too. So we purchased Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen from Klook.

Here’s the itinerary:
9:50am meet up at GaKuDen Bakery (near exit 4 of Ximen Station)
10:00am depart for Shifen Waterfall
It happened that we stayed in Ximending and it’s only 5 minutes walk to Ximen Station Exit 4 from our hotel. It is not a guided tour, you are free to roam around the attractions. Just be sure to get back to the bus on the said time.

11:00am Shifen Waterfall (60 minutes)

It was such a hot day, hotter than in Kuching. By the way, be sure to have insect repellent with you, you don’t want to be mozzie’s feast.

Walked across the bridge to the other side…

You’ll be greeted with food and souvenirs.

Be sure to have comfortable shoes with you. It’s a bit of a walk if you want to go further up for a different kind of view. Don’t worry, the road is paved, average slope, and some staircase. Don’t worry about tracking any rugged paths. This is the view that you will see. We had only 60 minutes, so can’t stay too long there. However, it’s enough for us, it is just too hot. The main thing to see is this waterfall.

12:10pm Shifen Old Street (80 minutes)

Our next stop is to hunt for lunch. This is where you can decorate and set off a sky lantern along the historic railway tracks in Shifen. The street made up of two rows of shops and the railway track dividing them. The track is still used, you will have to clear the track when the train is coming.

We did not set off any sky lantern nor written anything on the bamboo. Just strolled the old street. Many shops selling sky lanterns, souvenirs(edible and inedible), and street food.

We had our lunch at Shi Fen Qie Zai Mian at the far end of the row of shops at the railway track area. All the pork dish you can get. Seating is limited, so be sure to act fast. Don’t bother about queuing, just sit when you see one.

Can’t quote remember what was ordered, there’s some parts of pork, dumpling, and noodle. Food price range from NT$30 to NT$300. By the way, no English in the menu.

Next stop, we hop on the bus to Jiufen Old Street.

2:10pm Jiufen Old Street (120 minutes)

It’s an uphill walk when we reached Jiufen. On weekdays, you do not need to worry about needing to fork out extra for get another shuttle to get in, the bus will be parked nearby and you can just walk. It will be tricky on weekend as certain road will be closed and you need to get on a shuttle to get into the old street which is not included in the package.

It was such a hot day. We had to climb up so many staircase… Oh man… Torturing. There’s crowd but not as bad. Weekend would be sardine packed!

We had not much mood at all, we just walked around and went to the meeting point half hour before the departure time. Ate nothing there too even though our bus driver told us that there’s more food here than Shifen.

Hearing so many people said Jiufen is a must-go and so on. Well… This one time is good enough for me. Not really my kind of place. Too touristy, things aren’t really cheap. Same goes to Shifen. Oh well… What do you expect? These are tourist attractions hahaha…

4:40pm Keelung Miaokow Night Market (90 minutes)

Time to hunt for dinner! So much to eat and didn’t know where to start.

All you need to do is walk around, buy and eat or takeaway. We had combination of both.

Be sure to head back to the pick-up and drop-off area to get back to XiMenDing.

7:10pm arrive and disembark at Ximen

Overall, this is suitable for those who don’t want to worry about planning and wasting time getting lost. Very convenient.

You can book it from here if you would like to go for this tour or just to have look at the details:

Klook.com

Food Porn, Going Places, Review It!, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan

Mushroom Paradise in Taichung, Taiwan

June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 sweet surrender No Comments

After we visited Zhongshe Tourism Flower Market, we went to A-Liang Mushroom Farm aka Ah Liangâ€™s Mushroom Garden é˜¿äº®é¦™è‡åœ’(131, Xiezhong St., Xinshe Dist., Taichung City 426, Taiwan (R.O.C.) ) to see and learn a bit about mushroom. Of course, bought some mushroom products too. If you love mushroom, you should visit this area.

You’ll get to see and touch different types of mushroom. They will explain and have a simple tour around the farm. The place is not big but compact enough. The climax is of course the shopping. Mushroom chips, dried mushrooms, and all other mushroom products can be purchase there. Spending one hour here should be good enough. You can also have your lunch here if you want. We did not have our lunch here.

We headed to Master of Mushroom è‡ç¥ž(287, Xiezhong Street, Xinshe District, Taiwan 426) for hotpot lunch. Really love mushroom! The bowl of soup here isn’t the hot pot yet, it’s just a bowl of chicken mushroom soup which came as part of the set.

This is the specially concocted meat sauce which went well with plain rice. There you go… You get Taiwan Ru Rou Fan æ»·è‚‰é£¯. This is also part of the set.

Don’t underestimate the portion, it’s huge. We ordered for 4 pax even though there were 6 of us which is priced at NT$1880 per set. We had problem finishing it. It was summer, it was hot, luckily the place is air-conditioned. If the weather is cold, having hot pot will be heavenly.

Big bowls of fresh mushrooms and vegetables, a plate of assorted mushroom balls, and a plate of pork slice. Hahaha! Don’t get too excited with the pork, underneath is cabbage!! We finished everything except the cabbage. Too full…

Our hot pot with mushroom stock. We waited for at least 15-30 minutes for the hot pot base to come as it’s freshly prepared. It can be bland but it was just nice for me. With the goodness from boiling the mushrooms and vegetables that we put into the hot pot, it tasted better, not overwhelming, it can still be bland for some people.

I do recommend coming here if you are around Taichung. Again, don’t be silly to do a day trip from Taipei.

Klook.com

Food Porn, Going Places, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan

Zhongshe Tourism Flower Market, Houli, Taichung

June 19, 2018June 21, 2018 sweet surrender No Comments

Our third day, we headed to Taichung to visit Zhongshe Tourism Flower Market (No.469-13, Sanfeng Rd., Houli Dist., Taichung City). Again… Don’t be silly to do a day trip to Taichung from Taipei, it’s just too far and too tiring, you’ll be wasting all your time on the road. Stay a night or two in Taichung would be a better idea. Besides, there’s many places to discover in Taichung.

Klook.com

If you like flowers and photography, why not visit Zhongshe Tourism Flower Market. It’s opened all year round. Every season has different flowers(can check out their website for flower updates). You can also BBQ at this place. There’s a little corner where you can learn about bees and buy its products such as soap, honey, bee pollen and etc.

By the way, entrance isn’t free. You have to pay, the fee changes based on season. Do be sure to check the website again.

The flower market is a fun place for the young and old. It can be really hot in the summer as shades are scarce. If you are allergic to pollen, be sure to take some measures to avoid or at least lessen the allergy reaction.

These are just some of the flowers, there’s so much to see.

You can easily spend the whole morning there, maybe about 1 to 2 hours. Then you can have BBQ lunch there if you want. Guests having BBQ there are exempted from entrance fee.