iHerb ... oh, not again...

Woo hoO!!! 

I was having my toast and tea when Kimmie started barking and wagging her tail at the door.  I looked up and saw Mr. Postman with my iHerb parcel (",)  Such a great way to start my day (",) Absolutely delighted!

Two weeks ago, iHerb had a 20% off on Desert Essence and Acure Organics products.  I love the scent of Desert Essence hair products so I HAD to buy me some yummy shampoos.  

'Nuff said... here goes (",) 

Desert Essence, Italian Red Grapes Shampoo

Desert Essence, Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo 

Desert Essence, Coconut Conditioner 

Desert Essence, Coconut Shampoo

Desert Essence, Tea Tree Replenishing Shampoo - I picked this up for Kimmie... it contains tea tree and peppermint which helps soothe her itchy doggie skin. 

I recently got a hair cut and the usual Eco Tools full volume styler brush that I was using became too big and cumbersome for my shorter hair.  It worked really well when I had longer hair.  So, I decided that I need to downsize and thus purchased the EcoTools, Quick Volume Styler Brush which is pictured on the right.  The grooves between the bristles allows the air from the hair dryer to blast through, thus drying my hair faster.  The bristles work really well in gripping and holding on to my fine hair.

Acure Organics was having a sale, so I picked up the much raved Acure Organics Argan Oil.  The other skincare product that I got was the Alba Botanica, Acnedote Deep Clean Astringent.  The Paula's Choice 2%BHA (salicylic acid) toner that I am using works really well in ridding clogged pores on my face but I am running out of it.  So, I decided to purchase this as it also contains 2% salicylic acid.  Will see how it works as compared to the Paula's Choice 2% BHA toner.

What's an iHerb order without some food items, yeah?  

Once again, I carted this STASH Breakfast In Paris black tea.  I really love the strong bergamot and lavender scent in this tea (",) 

I was hemming and hawing over this Coco-Roons from Wonderfully Raw Gourmet Delights.  I've seen lots of health fanatics raving about this coconutty delicious brownie flavoured coconut domes... but it costs $7ishUSD for a small pack.  Eventually I caved and bought it.  No regrets!  But I probably  won't be repurchasing so soon just coz it is rather expensive for 8 of these little coconutty chocolatey domes...  

There's 7 little domes left after I ate one... The main ingredient is dried coconut and yes... each little dome is packed with this yummy fruit which I love (",)

**as brand of the week, WONDERFULLY RAW is having a 20% off the entire selection.** Great time to try these coco-roons out (",)

Shall stop here for today (",)  Talk to you ladies soon!

Oh yes, if you're thinking of starting on the iHerb fellowship, you'll be happy to know that this code will make your first purchase so much more delightful (",)

My love affair with iHerb... Another iHerb haul

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

I'm back with another iHerb loot to share.  My past few iHerb orders contained the usual regular stuff that I tend to order, therefore, I wasn't excited to share them.  However, this time round, I ordered several items that I've never ordered before.  

So, here goes... 

I am obsessed with coconuts... the fruit, the drink and the scent... therefore, there's no stopping me when I saw the Alaffia Everyday Coconut range of coco-nutty products.  I've completely used up ALL my body lotions (YEAH!!!... it was a slow process and a tall order making my way through all the lotions I had stashed up.) So, I decided to order the Everyday Coconut body lotion which smells pretty good - the coconut smell is kinda sweet, but not crazy sweet.  It doesn't linger on for long which is a plus and absorbs rather quickly.  The texture is similar to that of Jergens and Crabtree and Evelyn's body lotions.  

I use the Everyday Coconut Face Wash in the shower as a second cleanse to remove any remaining traces of makeup.  It has worked pretty well thus far; cleanses we'll  does not sting and does not dry out my skin.  It contains neem which helps to regulate my oily skin.  The Everyday Coconut Face Toner contains neem too.  I use it as a hydrating toner and stick to Paula's Choice 2% BHA lotion as my exfoliating toner.  The spritz bottle is kinda big and heavy to spritz with one hand... I have to hold it up with one hand and spritz with the other.  

So far, I am enjoying these coco-nutty products (",) 

Everyday Coconut Hydrating Body Lotion - $11.19USD

Everyday Coconut Face Wash - $7.20USD

Everyday Coconut Face Toner - $7.20USD

I ran out of the Paula's Choice Resist C15 Super Booster which is a vitamin C serum and I had been eyeing Mad Hippie's products.  So, I decided to make an order of the Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum.  I've yet to use it, therefore, can't comment on it. 

I've had really good results with the Badger Damascus Rose Antioxidant Face Oil (click to read review) but I also wanted to try out this Mad Hippie Antioxidant Facial Oil.  I've used it a couple of times, mainly at night, after serum.  It smells of berries and all things good hehee... My skin feels evenly hydrated the next day.  

Mad Hippie VItamin C Serum - $27.19USD

Mad Hippie Antioxidant Facial Oil - $19.99USD

In the supplement category, I picked up these items up.

Zoi Research Vitamin C in Mixed Berries - $2.95USD

Nature's Bounty Evening Primrose Oil - $8.75USD

Doctor's Best Extra Strength Ginkgo - $7.69USD (for my mum, thought she'll benefit with some brain boost... hehehe) 

Doctor's Best, Best Lutein - $12.99USD

These Aubrey Organics shampoo and conditioner were on trial for $1USD, so I picked them up for future travels.  This Harvest Apple scent smells great :) 

I love the Bee Natural's facial polish.  Will be doing a short review with more details on it soon.

Reviva Labs, Firming Eye Serum - $13.30USD

Bee Naturals, Queen Bee Facial Polish - $7.28USD

This ChildLife Liquid Vitamin C is for Kiddo and it tastes super duper good.  It's has a seriously concentrated sugary citrus flavour which I enjoy too heheee....

ChildLife, Liquid Vitamin C - $6.12USD

Use this code if you're making your first iHerb order (",)

That's all for now... talk to you soon!!!! 

iherb recommendations

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

when I have nothing better to do, I like google, "iHerb haul" to see what others purchase on iHerb.  It helps me discover new items that I probably wouldn't look for on iHerb.  Having made numerous purchases on iHerb, here's a list of items that I have either repurchased of highly recommend.  

• Stacy's Pita Chips, Cinnamon Sugar Flavoured - If you read my posts, you'll know that I am obsessed with cinnamon sugar.  This product is available in Singapore, but only at certain supermarkets, so I perfer to order it from iHerb.  

• Annie's Homegrown, Bunny Grahams, Chocolate - I've repurchased this countless times and still love it.  This is kiddo's favourite treat too. 

• Harney & Son's Green Tea with Thai Flavours - I love this tea... it's pretty strong for a green tea with a pleasant coconut and lemongrass scent.  

• Harney & Son's Earl Grey Supreme - My all time favourite Earl Grey tea.  One sachet is good for a pot of two cups coz it is pretty strong. 

• Nutiva, Organic Chia Seed - My daily does of omega 3 and fibre comes from these teeny weeny seeds, I eat them with my oatmeal in a jar for breakfast every morning. 

• Simply Organic, Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract - I purchase baking supplies from iHerb too.  So when I run out, I'll order online instead of trying to look for this in stores.

• E.L.F. Cosmetics, Studio, Powder Brush - I've 2 of these brushes.  It's a cheap product that really works.  I use it with powder in a pan, loose powder and even mineral powder. 

• E.L.F. Cosmetics, Luscious Liquid Lipstick, Raspberry - This wears like a lipgloss and it gives a nice colour to my lips.  Doesn't wear off as quickly as I thought it would. 

• Real Techniques, Expert Face brush - What can I say about Real Techniques' brushes?  Go get them!  I've the blush brush, stipple brush and this face expert brush... the bristles are soft and they work fabulously! 

• EcoTools, Retractable Kabuki Brush - You don't find many retractable brushes that are good quality.  This brush is dense and soft and really comes in handy when travelling or if you carry a makeup pouch around with you all the time. 

• Just a Leaf Glass Tea Cup - Well, I love this simple, see through glass cup with a lid.  I don't use the infuser portion of it much coz I prefer my tea in bags.  It's really cheap at $2.95USD for first time purchase.  

• Deep Steep, Body Wash, Honeydew & Spearmint - Smells great! In fact my friends are recommending the body oil as well as the foaming hand wash from this brand.  So i'll definitely be venturing into the other products as well. 

• Badger Company, Damascus Rose, Antioxidant Face Oil - I love love love this face oil and since I use it daily for my night time routine, I use it up quite quickly.  Read my Damascus Rose, Antioxidant face oil review here. 

Talk to you ladies soon!!!! And I hope you'll enjoy yourself shopping on iHerb! 

iherb haul

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

there's always a good reason to shop online yeah?... As I was tossing and turning in bed one night, unable to fall asleep, I decided to do some shopping on iHerb. 

About a week later, my loot arrived.

Here's what I got: 

• EcoTools Full Volume Styler brush - I love this brush and instead of having a paddle brush to brush out my hair and a separate round brush for blow drying, I use this huge round brush. 

• EcoTools Retractable Kabuki brush - LOVE LOVE LOVE this brush!  It's fab for touching up on the go.  I retract this and cover it up with the cap and leave this at work or take it along with me when I travel.  The first time I bought this brush was probably five years ago.  It was in the silver packaging.  I am still using it, just thought I should get another.. just because....

• Edamama in Slightly Salted and Spicy Wasabi - The salted version tastes better... somehow the wasabi powder manage to land on the sides of my lips and mouth area and I could feel the heat which was rather uncomfortable. 

• Annie's Bunny Grahams, Chocolate flavour - Kiddo's and my favourite! Not too sweet, just right with a tad bitter chocolate taste.  Repurchased this countless times.
• Stacy's Pita Chips, Cinnamon Sugar flavour - LOVE LOVE LOVE... everyone in my family loves this, even Kimmie The Dog.  Repurchased this countless times too!

• Go Raw Super Chips, Pumpkin flavour
• Go Raw Masala Chai Super Cookies... nice texture, but I don't fancy the taste... won't repurchase this again, but I may try the other flavours.

• Stash Tea in Morrocan Mint and Breakfast in Paris - I'll recommend Breakfast in Paris.  It is a lovely light subtle taste of bergamot, this black tea is neither tart nor bitter.  Steer clear from the Morrocan Mint tea though coz it tastes like it contains liquorice.  I bought it coz it contains peppermint and spearmint.  I thought it will be a good combination along with green tea to detox BUT... somehow it tastes of liquorice... eeks!

• Alba Cotanica Hawaiian Shampoo & Conditioner in Mango
• Dickinson's Witch Hazel toner.  OMG!  I didn't know that this toner smells soOOooo bad! I really doubt i'll use it again... will probably use it to wash something... say, the sink? 

• Some E.L.F. lip products

• Nutiva Chia Seeds - repurchased countless times, coz I eat it with oats every morning.  Kimmie The Dog eats it too, so I have to repurchase this quite often.

• Auromere Need soap - purchased this for Kim, coz neem soap is supposedly good for her sensitive skin.  

Here's a code that I'm sharing with you ladies.  Use it to get some dollars off your first purchase. 

Talk to you soon!

"Hey, what did you get in Japan?"

Hi hi Friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

A couple of my friends are leaving for Japan.  I got quizzed several times, "Hey, what did you buy in Japan?  Any shops that I should go to?"

 I really didn't shop much when I was there in January this year but there were two shops that I visited several times to snoop around and ogle at the shelves of beauty products.

Matsumoto Kiyoshi pops up in the streets of Tokyu like wild mushrooms, so it is difficult to miss this shop that is bursting at the seams with endless beauty goodies. 

The other store that is also interesting is Tokyu Hands.  You can practically find EVERYTHING at Tokyu Hands.  They sell bicycles, beauty products, clothes, shoes, household items, glasses, toys... you name it.  Some Tokyu Hands are HUGE!  The one in Takashimaya has probably 5 levels (if I remember correctly).  Other Tokyu Hands are smaller, but just as fun to snoop around.

Ok, here comes my photo spam of what I purchased to give you an idea what there is to look out for.  

Biore eye mask...  it is a gel/jelly-like eye mask that you place under your eye and then wait...

I won't recommend this hehee... coz it didn't do anything for me.

 Some Canmake lip glosses which are cheaper than in Singapore. 

Here's some Heroine mascara, mineral powder with Little Twin Stars motif, Visee blush and K-palette eyebrow pen. 

Ettusais is way cheaper in Japan, so it'll be good to pick some items up if you are a follower of this brand.  I bought the Ettusais Puru Puru Mist. 

Of coz one has to try out the crazy selection of Japanese sunscreen.

The one on the left is from Shiseido and it does leave a slight powdery feel on the skin.  

The Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence is great to use on arms especially in warm and humid Singapore weather.  

The one on the right is Hada Labo UV Creamy Gel.  It is a tad too moisturizing for me.  I'll recommend using it on arms for a moisture boost or on dry mature skin. 

For coz, I jumped at the chance to visit Daiso, partly to see for myself how it differs from those in Singapore.  

I picked up these plant kits for the fun of it.  The plants didn't grow ... hehee... bummer.

If you see these packets of candies, please grab some!  They are like cotton candy but with a punch!!! Some of it turns into chewing gum while otheres are plain cotton candy with sprinklers of crackling candie pops (",) 

These tiny bottles of sugar are fun buys and great as gifts too (",) 

Ginger sugar, cinnamon sugar, cacao sugar and almond sugar.

These handy flavourings are something that I buy often at the grocery stores and since it was so cheap in Daiso, I picked up a few packs.  The preserved plum on the left is superb as an Onigiri stuffing.  Oh yes, speaking of which, onigiri is sold at most convenience shops like Lawson, so grab some while you trot around on the go (",)  I've not had the chance to try the plum stuffing in Singapore, it is soOOooo good... 

These green tea powder from Daiso don't taste that good.  Skip them. 

Oh yes... Magic Salt (",) I love sprinkling it over my salad, sunny side up egg or in pasta. 

These Pretz potato sticks are the bomb!!! I bought many boxes of these coz it is super duper expensive in Singapore.   

Some cute face towels for Kiddo... easy for her to wring with her small hands. 

I picked up these origami books for Kiddo and she had so much fun creating paper toys for herself. 

This is a paper cutting booklet that I picked up from Daiso too.  Each sheet is printed and you just need follow the instructions to fold and then snip away and you'll end up with beautiful paper cuttings (",)

Ah ha... snack time!  It will be wise to purchase snacks at the airport so that you do not have to lug them around with you.

I bought two varieties of the Tokyo Banana... Original and the Caramel Custard Cream.

Here's the Hokkaido Cheese Cake and the Hokkaido Shiroi Koibito Chocolate Cookie.

These chocolate cookies also known as White Lover Chocolate Cookies needs no introduction. 

A must buy (",)

You can skip this Hokkaido Cheese Cakes... they are really tiny and don't pack a punch.  Kinda like sponge cake with a teeny weeny taste of cheese.

I love these giraffe printed Tokyu Bananas (",) 

The animal print on the cake is so adorable!  

The caramel is sticky and is great to snack on when it is refrigerated.

The original ones are of coz a must buy too (",)

 From one of the supermarkets, I bought some Maxim beverage sticks.  

Matcha, Chocolate Mint and PEACH!!! 

This peach beverage is sooOOoo fun to drink.  Once hot water is added, it fizzes up and the peach smells soOOoooo good - albeit artificial, like the Hi-chew candy kinda scent. 

This matcha is superb too (",) One of the nicer ones that I've tried.

And of coz this Chocolate Mint beverage... is to die for!  I love chocolate mint, so maybe I am bias... hehee...

Ok, i'm gonna stop here... hope someone finds this useful in one way or another (",)