Blogger Archives - Almost Diplomatic

Beauty: Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon Review (4/6 shades)! Plus: Get your own at a DISCOUNT with this code!

June 3, 2015

Burt's Bees, Lip Crayon, Lip Colour, Makeup, Beauty, Natural, Organic, Cosmetics, Review, Blogger, Recommendations, Diplomat's Wife, Swatches, Lipstick, Hydrating,

It took a while but finally – Burt’s Bees’ Lip Crayons have finally reached our side of the world! I was lucky enough to be invited at the launch, held at Marini’s in Suria KLCC a couple of weeks ago.

Afternoon tea + blogger friends + makeup. What more can a girl ask for, right?

Burt's Bees, Lip Crayon, Lip Colour, Makeup, Beauty, Natural, Organic, Cosmetics, Review, Blogger, Recommendations, Diplomat's Wife, Swatches, Lipstick, Hydrating,

Six colours were introduced – Hawaiian Smolder, Napa Vineyard, Redwood Forest, Carolina Coast, Niagara Overlook, and Sedona Sands.

My friends and I had fun swatching the colours during the event but since the lighting at the venue was way too yellow, getting you good pictures that are true-to-colour was quite impossible. But fret not! I took some just yesterday under natural light. And there will be a review of 4 out of the 6 shades that they came out with in this post. 😉 I made the extra effort because you know I love you guys, right? *virtual hugs for my readers*

Burt's Bees, Lip Crayon, Lip Colour, Makeup, Beauty, Natural, Organic, Cosmetics, Review, Blogger, Recommendations, Diplomat's Wife, Swatches, Lipstick, Hydrating,

in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty: ISKIN New York’s LipAddict Voluptuous Lip Plumper Review

May 27, 2015

ISKIN, ISKIN New York, Lip Gloss, Lip Addict, Lip Plumper, Voluptuous Lip Plumper, Makeup, Skin Care, Review, Blogger, Diplomat's Wife,

Kylie Jenner lips are all the rage these days. But let me just put this out there: There’s a fine line between plump, healthy-looking lips and channeling Daisy Duck. There, I said it. Hit me, Kardashian/Jenner fans. 😛

I’m a fan of healthy-looking lips with just the right amount of plump. 😉 And speaking of plump lips, I was given a tube of ISKIN NewYork’s LipAddict Lip Addict Voluptuous Lip Plumper a while back to try and review.

It did take me a while to actually give it a whirl as normally, I’m more of a lipstick than a gloss kind of girl. In fact, I need the proper mood and hairstyle (all braided up or tied so it won’t stick to my lips when KL decides to be windy) for trying glosses. 😛

ISKIN, ISKIN New York, Lip Gloss, Lip Addict, Lip Plumper, Voluptuous Lip Plumper, Makeup, Skin Care, Review, Blogger, Diplomat's Wife, So on a bright, windy, and busy day in KL, I decided to braid my hair and see whether this gloss will live up to its promise of ‘plumping’ my lips. The info sheet it came with even discouraged women from getting lip injections since you can get the same effect with the product. Wow. That’s a pretty big promise and I was actually curious whether the gloss can live up to it.

I was given the shade ‘Sexy Seductress‘. Hmm. Sounds rather flirty, doesn’t it? *side glance* And the colour is actually rather seductive – a cross between a sexy pink and a bright red.

ISKIN, ISKIN New York, Lip Gloss, Lip Addict, Lip Plumper, Voluptuous Lip Plumper, Makeup, Skin Care, Review, Blogger, Diplomat's Wife,

ISKIN New York is quite known in the skin care department so I was quite surprised when I was given this product to review. I was told, however, that this gloss is also good for my lips as it has anti-ageing properties and even hyaluronic acid and marine collagen to keep my lips hydrated throughout the day.

The LipAddict also contains peptide which penetrates the top layer of your lips to create new collagen. Continued use of the gloss promises to make your lips smoother and look fuller.

With that said, here’s a quickie review on ISKIN NewYork’s LipAddict Lip Addict Voluptuous Lip Plumper:

in Expat Life, KL Food, Kuala Lumpur

Foodie Adventures: Parents’ Day Dinner @ Sky 360

May 26, 2015

So sorry for yet another short hiatus! I was in Siem Reap over the weekend getting my Tomb Raider on with the husband. But that will be for a different post on a different day. 😉

Today, I want to share with you guys an awesome deal I was lucky enough to get to try last week! 😉 And it involves oh-so good food for a good price!

I was invited by a couple of friends to try out the latest menu that Sky 360 especially curated for Parents’ Day. Since my folks are not in KL, I brought my husband along to help with the taste testing and we were practically blown away. (And I don’t say this lightly)

So, without further yapping to get you bored, I’m gonna dive right in and share with you the goodness, shall I?

Parents' Day Meal, Parents' Day Set Dinner, Sky 360, Subang, Restaurant, E-City Hotel, Dining, Fine Dining, Good Food, Where To Eat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Lamb, Chicken, Aglio Olio, Pasta, Malaysian Food, Western Food, Dessert

My absolute favourite and the star of the show is the Grilled Lamb Shoulder with Black Pepper Sauce. The lamb is grilled to perfection – charred on the outside and extremely tender on the inside with the prettiest hint of pink. The sauce is thick and tasty with the right kick of spice along with the savoury. It comes with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, corn on the cob.

The lamb even passed the ultimate test: my husband. He normally doesn’t eat lamb because of the smell it comes with when it’s not fresh. But that night, he actually loved the lamb and gave it a rare thumbs up! 😉

If you’re more of a white meat kind of person, there’s also the Grilled Chicken Chop with BBQ Sauce. It also comes with the same side dishes as the lamb – mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and corn on the cob. The char-grilled chicken chop is also tasty, perfectly grilled, and comes with smoked hickory BBQ sauce that is not short on the flavour at all.

Normally, I’m not a fan of aglio olio pasta as I find it too oily for my liking. But this seafood variant that they served us totally changed my mind. First, it’s actually to pretty to eat. Look at that presentation! When you actually do get over how awesome it looks and you finally dig in, you are surprised with an explosion of flavours in your mouth. I would have to admit that I had quite a lot of this pasta that night and I had to go to the gym the next morning to burn all the calories. No complaints, though! It was worth it!

in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Beauty: Korean Skin Care Brand Belif Opens First Store in Malaysia

May 12, 2015

Belif, Korean, Skin Care, Beauty, Blogger, Opening, Launch, Belif Store Malaysia, Belif Store Kuala Lumpur, Belif Store Selangor, Korean Skin Care, Korea, Korean Wave, K-Drama, My Love From Another Star, Korean Skin, Clear Skin, Skin Care Products

For someone who never really dabbled with anything Korean before moving to Kuala Lumpur for our first posting, the recent effect of the Korean wave on me is just crazy.

From skin care, to makeup, and even on our television. It’s starting to hit me pretty hard albeit quite late. But you know what they say – better late than never!

My friends here in Malaysia even introduced me to K-Drama – something I ignored as I never imagined I would like it. And here I am, all done with My Love From Another Star in just a little over 2 days of marathon-watching. (Don’t ask what time I slept last night. LOL.)

The Korean influence is even stronger in Filipinos back home, I must say. (K-Pop has a very big and quite loud fan base there) However, it’s here in Kuala Lumpur – where their products are much more accessible – that I decided to really open my door to it. Not that I refused to like it before. I was just used to sticking to my overly-Western preferences and I thought that everything about it was too cutesy (from their beauty products’ packaging to the way their actresses behaved) for me.

But now, after trying out their skin care, makeup, and even their drama shows, I actually have more variety in my life. Don’t expect me to act cutesy and do baby-talk in public like Korean actresses do or blast K-Pop in the car, though. I seriously doubt that that image would suit me and my in-between-features the way it looks good on my friends who actually do look Asian.

And speaking of Korea and everything that’s so awesome from their country, another Korean skin care brand decided to set up shop in Malaysia. Woohoo! I’m pretty sure we don’t have it in Manila – yet. But I’m hoping they open there soon as well as I am sure they will be as big of a hit there as in KL.

Belif is a skin care brand that marries apothecary traditions and cutting-edge Korean skin care technology. Their first store in Malaysia is located in Sunway Pyramid Mall and I fell in love with the interior right away.

in Expat Life, KL Food

Foodie Adventures: Mono Coffee Opens at Publika

May 10, 2015

Mono Coffee, Publika, Cafe, Expat Dining, Foodie, Food, Cafe, Coffee, Coffee Place, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Solaris Dutamas, Diplomat's Wife, Recommendation, Laid Back Cafe, Cosans Coffee, Review, Opening, Launch

I love Publika and I notice that a lot of expats do too. I guess it’s because of the fine selection of restaurants, cafes, and shops in that mall. I often go there with the husband for tapas, actually. 😉

Recently, another cafe has opened in Publika to add to the place’s list of establishments. Mono Coffee is yet another place for people who want to hang out, enjoy a cuppa, and meet up with friends in the Solaris Dutamas area.

But one thing that’s really nice about the place is the atmosphere. The lighting, the unfinished and slight industrial feel of the cafe also makes it quite relaxing.

The cafe was opened by the Brandker Group – the company behind one of Klang Valley’s most well known cafe chains: Cosans Coffee.

You can say that Mono is Cosan’s hipster brother. With Mono specialising on serving artisan brews. It’s for coffee aficionados and those who actually appreciate the proper process of getting your beans into your cup.

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Personal Musings

Random Thoughts and Happenings 2

April 15, 2015

Things that have been happening lately compiled into one blog post. Get ready for the word vomit! 😉

Home Alone

The husband is off to another work trip and this time, he’s going to Davao, in the Philippines for a couple of days. I’ve always been an independent person but I don’t think I will ever be used to him going on work trips and being gone for days. Knowing that he won’t be coming home for lunch and at around 7pm (yes, the people at the Philippine Embassy in KL work long hours) feels weird for me.

Also, I do tend to worry and I’m not that used to sleeping alone anymore. The teddy bears on our bed are actually there for a reason, you guys. 😉

in Expat Life, KL Food, Kuala Lumpur