I really wanted to do 'The Bloom' post but due to some technical complications it won't be blooming just yet. But I do have something else for you guys. Here's my third last exciting lunch before Saturday comes. Talk about being dramatic, I mean it's only going to be a month. But hey there's still exciting dinners ahead. *laughs*

I dropped by TWG Tea Salon and Boutique at Pavilion for a nibble. For mains I decided to try the Normandy Apple Tart (RM18). It's a delicate, flaky pastry filled with stewed apples served with a scoop of homemade Vanilla Bourbon Tea ice cream topped with an unctuous caramel coulis infused with Pomme Prestige Tea.

This was pleasantly delicious and I love the decorative arrangement of the thinly sliced apples. Pretty! It's like edible art. Unlike the usual extremely sweet apple tarts or pies I usually get here this one was just nice. I really don't understand why some places just make them so darn sweet. With this one, I could taste the apples and what gave that bit of sweetness is the rich caramel. The ice cream balanced out the flavours beautifully. What I like best is the flaky pastry base, it makes this dessert so light that polishing it off on your own shouldn't be a problem. Or maybe that's just me. *grins* There's no better way to end a meal with macarons for dessert. Does that make sense? :P

No pot o' tea this time, just dessert. Hopefully the plan to bloom materialises next week. So while you guys enjoy the sight of that yummy apple tart I'll be planning out the coming week. :)

Fasting month is just around the corner. In fact it's this Saturday. There's nothing Malaysian's love more than going for a buffet for iftar right. Well, I'm more of the nibbling sort myself but some of my friends are really into buffet hopping. So here's one for you to try, the Balik Kampung Buffet Dinner at Eccucino Prince Hotel & Residences KL from 20 July until 18 August.

There are over a hundred kampung-style dishes to choose from as well as specialties from across Malaysia. The buffet is priced at RM108++ per person while children under 12 years of age receive a complimentary dinner. Special offer for early birds booking are also applicable for dining between 20 to 26 July, priced at RM75++ per person.

 

Specialties from Malaysia includes bubur lambok, kerabu pucuk paku, beef rendang with lemang, rendang tok, nasi kandar, roti canai, udang goreng berlada, satay, ais kacang and loads more.

 

There will also be Eccucino's specialties which includes their Signature Hot Pot Soup, whole roasted lamb kuzi, sizzling Shawarma grills and a Malaysia laksa stall featuring five different flavours of laksa.

 

 

Your choice continues with chilled prawns and smoked salmon, kerabu and salad, freshly prepared Chinese, Indian and Western dishes, Malay kuih, ice cream, pastries, fresh fruits, kurma counter and the list goes on. There's something for everyone.

The menu will change everyday, so you get to experience a variety of dishes through out the month. You will definitely be spoilt for choice. The 'Balik Kampung' buffet at Eccucino is available every night from 6.30 to 10.30pm daily for the next month. It's best to call ahead for a reservation: 03-21708888. For more information on Eccucino visit www.princehotelkl.com.

Next up: It has something to do with that which blooms... ^^

 

Hey guys, Thimble is having a Late Night Shopping this Thursday 19/07/12! I was first introduced to Thimble some time in March when they held a Bloggers Party with Lancome. Click here for write up and photos. The lovely ladies of Thimble, Sandra & Ching are just brilliant hostesses.

This is their first Late Night Shopping event and they will be giving out special one off discounts and promotions specially for that evening. Refreshments and light bites will also be served.

Their latest collection is already in and it includes their new addition House of Harlow jewellery by Nicole Richie. Looking from the photos on their facebook, their latest pieces look fab.

The first 15 customers will receive a complimentary Voluspa candle! Gosh they smell gorgeous! So save the date and bring your friends for an evening of fun shopping!

Thimble Boutique | facebook
20-2 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 KL.
Tel: 603 2202 0096
Website: http://thimbleboutique.com/

My FIRST Benefit post! Shocker! You'd think after blogging for nearly three years I would have mentioned Benefit at some point of time right. I suppose it never came up but Maybe Baby, Benetint, Thrrrob and Posie Tint are still firm favourites. I've never done a post on any one of the products because there's really nothing left to say since they've all been reviewed to death. Well there's always a first...

I attended a Bloggers Workshop on Brow Shaping and Raising Eyebrows Book Launch on Saturday courtesy of Tammy. Curious on what Benefit had to say on brows since they are dubbed "The Brow Authority" and have been shaping brows for over 35 years. I've always been told "The Brows Frames The Face". Never really took all too seriously until I found the right person to do my brows and I've stuck to her ever since. *relief*

 

The workshop was organised in conjunction with Cameron Tuttle's latest book, Raising Eyebrows - Your Personal Guide To Fabulous Brows. In it, anything and everything you need to know about brows, from the history right up to turning you brows into eye candy! Known from her 'The Bad Girl's' series of books, this latest one is an exciting insight to brows and I think it's brilliant! However this book is not available in Malaysia but you can get it from Benefit Cosmetics website from $16.95. It really is a shame that it's not available here because there are just loads of Benefit fans here that would get it in a heart beat. Hopefully they will reconsider and put it up as a gwp.

The workshop was a good way to learn on how to shape and maintaing your brows. There are two parts to Benefit's eye brow shaping. First the mapping then the waxing.  No treasure maps here just a method developed by Benefit's brow expert to determine the perfect brow shape for your face. The mapping process is relatively simple as long as you get the steps right.

see full details here

 

After you have done all that, you go on to shaping the brows. Here's where the waxing comes in. Benefit's experts say waxing is the best way to keep your brows to stay in shape for a longer time as it gets the hairs out from the roots making regrowth slower. The same would apply to tweezing but there is always that possibility of over tweezing which is an absolute nightmare. What ever you do, do not shave! It could lead to a number of problems, ingrowns, cuts, coarser regrowth and worst of all getting the wrong shape!

As I just recently got my brows shaped, I couldn't try out the waxing on Saturday itself. Perhaps I'll give it a go if I ever leave my brows overgrowing recklessly. Hmm.. that might take a while though because I'm pretty good when it comes to maintenance. *winks* So here's photos of Tammy getting her brows waxed instead at Benefit's Brow Bar.

 

When it comes to maintenance, it's best not to touch the areas closest to the shaped brow but definitley tweeze out any strays that have grown out. If you're confident with trimming any long bits then by all means go ahead. But if you're not sure what you're doing, slowly put down the scissors, walk away from the mirror and get yourself to a brow expert as soon as possible before disaster strikes! Trust me, it's not pretty.

If you haven't tried waxing why not drop by Benefit's Brow Bar. The process is easy, quick and you will be walking away with fab brows in no time. They also offer waxing services for lip, chin and sides. The prices are:

Brow arch RM38

Brow & Lip RM 55

Chin & Lip RM55

Chin RM30

Lip RM25

Benefit is also offering a FREE Brow Service on Your Birthday (or birthday week)! No purchase necessary. Seriously! All you need is a valid government issued identification. No substitution and non-transferable.  One free brow arch per person per year. Terms and conditions apply. Pretty cool right!

So if you're interested in getting your brows arched, lips, chin and sides waxed just call to make an appointment.

Benefit KLCC: 03-2164 2187

Benefit Parkson Pavilion: 03-21414601

Benefit 1 Utama (New Wing): 03-7725 3566

After this: I'm still deciding.. Keeping you guys curious. :P

Best to layer it! *grins* In my case: Shea Beautifying Oil + Shea Body Butter + Shea Body Mist = Shea Addict! You guys get the picture. The latest addition to The Body Shop's yummy scents are the new line up of Body Mist. Wait don't rush to the online store just yet, they will only be available next week, July 16th.

The new range of Body Mist were launched in UK and US in June, in time for summer. Since we're summer all year round with wet spells in between, it's perfect for our weather any time of the year. If you don't feel like having on heavy strong scents of edts or edps then just spritz on a Body Mist of your choice and you're good to go. It's light and fresh without busying itself with top notes, base notes and all those stuff. It's straightforward and it's fun!!

My body mist of choice, Shea. *addicted* I think it smells of true Shea, just like the Beautifying Oil and the Body Butter. It's warm, comforting and gorgeously nutty. It lasted a good four hours before the scent started to slowly fade. Did I time it? Well yes and I also sniffed myself every 30 minutes or so. All in the name of giving a good product review, I don't normally sniff myself. :P Top it up through out the day. Have a few!

It comes in all your fave classic The Body Shop product scents - apart from Shea, there will be Pink Grapefruit, Coconut, Strawberry, Satsuma, Mango, Moringa and Vanilla. The other scent I'm looking forward to trying is Pink Grapefruit. If it's anything like the shower gel, gosh it's going to be citrusy fresh! Loving the lables too. It's the all new image as featured on their Body Butter as well as the Beautifying Oil. The mists contain community fair trade alcohol made from sugar cane.

The Body Shop Body Mist will retail at RM43 for 100ml. Keep updated with The Body Shop Malaysia on facebook.

*Note: Product courtesy of The Body Shop Malaysia.

Next week: Are unibrows or bushy brows your thing?

The BB Cream, what can I say? I never made it onto the band wagon with this one. I just waved to it as it passed by. *laughs* I have always had issues with the shades. So lets see how The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso BB Cream "fairs" on me. :P

It is a multi-action make-up base specially developed for Asian skin, which aims to conceal blemishes and fine lines with natural finish. It also corrects and evens out skin tone as well as soothes dryness thereby giving the skin a brighter complexion and improving the skin texture. This BB Cream contains SPF 25 PA+++ to protect your skin.

Key ingredients:

Shiso Extract - The main ingredient used in the entire Moisture White range. It reduces early melanin-making signals even before the hyperpimentation process and melanin production starts - helping prevent uneven skin tone, brown spots and freckles. It also helps to minimise dark spots formation and discolouration.

Vitamin C - Provides antioxidant protection helping to reduce melanin production.

Liquorice - Works to limit the effect of melanin synthesis and helps to reduce the variances in skin tone.

The Moisture White Shiso BB Cream comes in a slim white squeeze tube which makes it easy to bring it around in your makeup bag. The texture is surprisingly light much unlike a few other BB Creams I've previously tried but not as light as my current liquid foundation, Lancome Maqui Miracle. As always I'm apprehensive when it comes to the shades and this one only comes in 1 shade. Swatching it on my hand I notice the obvious difference in colour compared to my skin tone but after blending it out it didn't seem as harsh but it still has a pink tint to it.

Trying it out on my face had a similar effect but the colour difference was a lot more obvious as my face is darker then my hand. Strange I know. I applied a very thin layer as I possibly could. The result my complexion appeared pinkish grey. It does give some brightness but the bit where it was a completely different colour from my neck was a bit disturbing. I checked 30 mins later after application and noticed that the colour had soften and not as harsh as when I first applied it. Still appeared a tad mask-like though. It does seem to colour correct itself but perhaps on my medium skin tone it may have been too much of a task.

One thing about this BB Cream though I expected to me overpoweringly moisturising and melting off my face within the first half hour or so just like previous ones I've tried but this one held out for nearly two hours before my oils oozed out uncontrollably, not the fault of the BB cream by the way. My oils have issues. Pretty impressed!

I think BB Cream fans might want to have a look at The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso BB Cream. You'll never know, the light texture, colour correct feature and the benefits, you might just find yourself hooked on it if you aren't already.

This retails for RM70 for a 30ml tube and is already available at all Body Shop outlets. You can definitely try it out first at the outlet if you're not too sure or you can just purchase it online here. Follow The Body Malaysia on facebook.

Note: Product courtesy of The Body Shop Malaysia.

Next write up: Spritz yourself with something warm and relaxing.

So here's the 'bang'! I was feeling inspired last week despite the falling sky. No I didn't get flowers from a secret admirer. I checked my table, nothing there. Just mountains of files looking like they were ready to fall on me. *shredder please!*

What was different last week anyway? Well I realised I had been wearing The Body Shop's latest summer fragrance Love Etc... Sun Kiss everyday of last week. It could have been as a matter of convenience that it's the easiest to reach on my currently messy dressing table but I was glad it was my fragrance of the week.

 

It's so fresh and vibrant! I rather liked the original scent but I love this one loads more. So I figured instead of doing just another review on a fragrance, why not give my own interpretation of Love Etc... with an outfit that I think describes it best plus it's just more fun. I call it a "Photo Write Up". *moment of brilliance there :P*

Love Etc... Sun Kiss is a fruity-floral fragrance with a blend of jasmine and fresh nectarine notes. Created by Dominique Ropion who is a world renowned perfumer, it embodies everything FLIRTY, DARING and a dash of CHEEKY. No brainer why I was attracted to this one.

 

It is housed in a distinctively shaped bottle with an eye catchingly pretty ombre gradient in orange-pink with a gold top. The fragrance works really well with varying body tempratures, I'm indoors one minute then outdoors the next *you're hot and you're cold, you're yes then you're no.. Katy Perry anyone?*. Great staying power too.

 

The other two summer fragrances which are an exciting twist to the originals are White Musk Sun Glow and Dreams Sun Fresh. These are limited editions so if you fancy any or all of them you have to get them soon! Each Eau de Toilette retails at RM85 for 50ml and also comes in the body purée variant. Layer it! ;)

The Community Fair Trade alcohol comes from sugarcane organically grown in Ecuador. The oragnic farming methods used by the CADO co-operative help preserve the natural beauty and wildlife of the Cotopaxi provinces in the foothills of the Andes.

I just realised, who in the right mind would spray any sort of fragrance on themselves in a pool? Then again, there's always something strange happening when it comes to the Chocolate Cats. *wootsz*

*Note: Product courtesy of The Body Shop Malaysia.

Coming up: Something creamy and tinted. It's for the face. ^^

Top: Bershka | Skirt: Zara | Necklace: Diva | Nails: Essie One of a Kind (old) | Bracelets: by fatin, Accessorize, Esprit

*Photos are taken by MRZ Photography for the exclusive use of Chocolate Cats.

Hey guys, Kwerkee by Reebonz is running a contest where you stand a chance to win a box kwerkee surpises worth S$300! For more info click on flyer below or go to www.kwerkee.com/. Also follow them on facebook. Good luck if you're going to have a go at this! :)