for the hair, body and soul

So happy to know I can still buy my Avalon Thickening Shampoo locally!!! :D

I first blogged about Avalon Thickening Shampoo here, but found out a month later that the shampoo has been discontinued for sale at Watsons. Was pretty crushed about that because the shampoo did what it was supposed to do and worked so well for me :(

But I only mentioned about the shampoo's discontinuance recently here. 

A few days later, I received this sweet little email from another BTB:

Rupanya boleh beli dari sini!!!!!

Thank you so much for letting me know, my dear Rina Raihana! <3

The reason why I didn't Google for this earlier is because of the "Exclusively distributed by Watsons" sticker that was on the bottle I previously bought from Watsons! So I thought no other kedai would be selling this shampoo and didn't bother to do a search. Meh.

Anyway, I was actually going to complain about the shop location being so far away but realized it's 7 train stops away from my office after I looked at SMRT's network map. Heh heh. But the best part has to be the fact that at $12.50 per bottle, it is much cheaper than when I bought it from Watsons lor!!!

I also think what the website suggested - as pointed out by Pretty Orkid here - is a good idea: Order the shampoo on their website first, then once they inform you that your order is ready for collection, you can make your way dow to their physical shop. Takut you suka suka lenggang kangkong turun their kedai only to find out dorang tengah takde stock pulak.

Guess I gotta find an available date to go buy the shampoo after work once my Phyto hair products dah habis pakai. Maybe siapa siapa yang tinggal kat East side and/or sanggup datang collect Tampines and nak try the shampoo jugak, can kirim from me??? Hehe.

Even if it doesn't work for you as it did for my friend and for me, only $12.50 wasted, right? But don't know when my Phyto products will finish ah. The box says the products can last me up to almost 2 months from day of usage so..... man man lai lah eh.

Okay since I dah story pasal hair product, sekarang I nak story pasal two other products pulak - the Sleep Balm and Shower Salt Scrub from Haus of Spa!!!

Okay before I bercerita, I (baca doa and) tunjuk gambar dulu:

 The front portion of the Sleep Balm

 The back

 The pretty top! Heh.

The vanilla shower salt scrub!

I was particularly interested in trying out the sleep balm because I have difficulty getting to sleep... kalau kira kambing sampai dorang beranak pinak sepuluh generation pun masih tak boleh terlelap ah sebenarnye. Then sejak dua menjak dah nak jadi pengantin ni, I know I must get enough sleep because it is very important for my health and my face, you know??? 

(My bridesmaid Nina, a freak who survives on 3 to 4 hours of sleep per day tells me that "sleep is for the weak" but I say sleep is also for the pengantin who does not want to look like The Walking Dead on her wedding day.)

Also interested in the sleep balm because it smells of lavender and I love the smell of lavender. Heh.

Anyway! I don't know why I was expecting the sleep balm to be more lembik and jelly-like but it isn't! Feels pretty "solid", actually. All you need to do is rub over the surface of the balm to get it on your fingers before  rubbing it on your temples and a bit under your nose before you sleep... macam Vicks Vaporub, you know??? (I don't know if other people's mothers did this, but when I was younger, my supermother will rub Vicks Vaporub on my temples, chest and under my nose whenever I fell sick.)

Actually kan, I ingatkan lepas pakai this sleep balm then when the head hits the pillow, I will go to lalaland immediately tau. But that didn't happen for me because I still tossed and turned in bed for a while... but the period taken to toss and turn seems to have decreased, I guess? To be fair, I've only used it for two days so I'll have to monitor the progress on that.

But what I like about the balm is its ability to somehow calm me down and help me get such deep sleep when I finally do terlelap!!! Used the balm for two days and I woke up feeling fresh and relaxed instead of lethargic like I used to... it's the lavender working??? :D

I also like the fact that the balm won't run out so fast because you only need to use a little bit on your temples and under your nose - at $16.90 per tub, that is very the worth it, yo.

And next is the vanilla shower salt scrub!

I was told that this salt scrub is a little more coarse compared to other brands so best to use only once a week... but I beg to differ! I actually thought the coarseness is just nice for me - not too fine sampai takde guna dia hidup sebagai semangkuk salt scrub yet not too coarse sampai badan boleh berdarah darah ah (lol drama.) I've tried coarser scrubs before, and dia punya kasar ya ampun nenek... feels like you kena heret across a sandy field when you scrub down your back kind.

Washing it off was relatively easy, and there was no degil greasy feeling thereafter. And I get to smell of vanilla, I SUKA!!!!! Other than lavender and lemongrass, vanilla is one of my most favourite smells (and flavour heh) in the world. (Smells I do not like: coconut, rose and any kind of fruity smells.)

Think I'll use it again before I jumpa vendors next week... and will use this regularly sampai hari kahwing. Need to ask my mamat if he likes his wife smelling of vanilla?! Hurhurhur.

Sorry if my description of the products macam cannot make it gitu!!! I'm not used to giving reviews about beauty products so ada kental sikit bila part part gini. I'm not really an avid beauty product user or tester whatever - my skincare and beauty/make-up regime is really basic and I tend to stick to tried and tested stuff already recommended by family and friends.

Anyway, if this is not enough for you, you can also read Eleventh October's entry here, because she has tried Haus of Spa's shower salt scrub before... sampai borong satu kampung when she recently went to their exhibition booth at Suntec City with Miss Twenty Nine June, you! So bahagia eh these kakak kakak bride bloggers pergi outing. Hehe.

Oh, and in case you didn't know already (Hi, selamat keluar dari tempurung!), Haus of Spa is actually the 'baby' of another bride blogger Kahwin X Jitters! :D

Okay, the reason why I dah cerita panjang panjang pasal benda ni is because I have good news to share... Haus of Spa will be participating at the upcoming wedding exhibition at Singapore Expo tau!!!

In case you don't know which wedding exhibition I'm referring to, I'm actually referring to The Wedding and Shopping Galleria 2013 organized by MegaXpress International which will be held next week.

What? The Wedding and Shopping Galleria 2013

Where? Singapore Expo, Hall 6B, Booth J5

When? 12th September 2013 to 15th September 2013

Everything on Haus of Spa's webstore will be on promotion i.e. shower salt scrubs will be going at 2 for $40 instead of $24.90 each and the sleep balm will be going at $15.00 instead of $16.90.

You can stock up on their scrubs and soaps and balms so you can pamper yourself in the comforts of your own home before your wedding, or buy them as bridesmaids' gifts for your orang orang kuat, orrrrr buy them as wedding gifts for your bride-to-be sisters, cousins or girlfriends (Orang dah kahwin must smell harum for the hasbern, you know??? :P)

Alternatively, you can borong and letak their products on your dulangs as barang hantaran jugak. Amaciam??? Idea or what - perfect for people who tak nak spend so much on barang dulang because House of Spa punya products seriously very affordable.

And you know what's the best thing????? Haus of Spa has tied up with Batam Holidays Travel Pte Ltd to give away this special promotion which will be given during the bazaar only:- Spend over $100 and receive a 2D1N Hotel Stay in Batam including breakfast!!! You can choose any of the 4-star hotels available like Harris Hotel, Novotel or i-Hotel. Shiok or what, got freebie all.

Lagipun, if you make your way down to look see look see Haus of Spa, you can also recce for wedding vendors if you haven't settled any of your wedding-related items jugak - vendors such as Farah Diana Catering & Wedding Services, Theme Photography, Chinta Weddings, FpB Productions, etc will be there to sell their wedding packages and give away promos... satu kali harung, yo.

Think I'll drop by Haus of Spa's booth on one of the days because I really want to get something for my girlfriend Shafilah - as a apology gift for not attending her wedding last weekend!!!!! I know,  I know, I am the worst person ever for not going to her wedding even though we have known each other since we were little toads but it was just not meant to be :( 

I'm hoping to tebus it a teeny weeny bit by bringing along a nice little gift for her when I see her and the rest of our (retired) geng cilaka next week... for my second bachelorette party!!! Hehe. But before I get all excited for next weekend, I really must focus on the tasks already assigned for this weekend:

Hoping to squeeze in some time to discuss and finalize the songlist that my mamat has diligently complied over the last few months as well but I think we've already packed enough tasks in a day already... and I'm sure we'll ter-overshot timing for one or two tasks :/

By the way, it's true what you hear - the list of wedding-related things to do gets longer and longer and longer as the day gets nearer. 

But what to do? A pengantin's gotta do what a pengantin's gotta do.

khronicles of the botak bride... NOT!

My hair loss problem has come at the worse timing ever.

We're left with 6+ months to the wedding!!! Why am I shedding hair like a kitty cat ni!!!

I've had relatively good thick hair throughout my life so it kind of freaked me out when I started losing hair excessively at the end of last year. At first it didn't really bother me much and I brushed it off as "just a phase" (dengar dengar rambut pun go through puberty pe...) but I knew I had to do something when one fine day my mat asked whether I was losing hair!!! Kalau orang dah start notice means dah rabak lah kan???

But I think the thing that really made me terhentak terhantuk benjol was when I looked at myself at my office desk mirror to adjust my face and hair before a meeting and realized that I can see my scalp amidst my thinning hair without even tilting my head.

WTF!!!!! Hello??? Body??? I'm asking you to lose weight ok?!!!!! Not lose hair ok?!!! >:(

That sight made me so terkejut katak sampai I immediately tweeted for recommendations (I also Googled ok but there were tooooo many hits and tooooo many product reviews, hence the lari-to-Twitter-to-ask-for-help approach) and received replies from the ever resourceful Chubby Bride Confessions and Glitter on my Finger!

The common name that popped out from that exercise was Phyto - I remember this brand from an earlier gift that one of my girlfriends Adibah (whose awesome line of work means that she gets freebies all the time) gave me and figured that Phyto was the brand I should look out for. Ran off to Watsons during the lunchtime and after lurking over their shelves for half an hour, I bought this!

The full works, yo!

Went back to office, all happy and hopeful, until I received this message from my mat:

"B, later I pass you the hair product that Aisyah buy for you ok"

APA DAH.

I wasn't sure whether I should start on my newly purchased Phyto set or the hair product that Aisyah bought for me but subsequently decided on the latter - I wanted to see whether the product would work well for me as it did for Aisyah and I can only truly gauge if I didn't interfere the process with other products kan? Takut tak tau mana satu yang workz nanti.

Sooooo... apakah the verdict?????








The verdict is a... Alhamdullilah!!! The product must be working well for me as it did for Aisyah because I checked my hair in the office mirror yesterday to see the thinning areas and I could clearly see that they were not as rabak as they were before I tried the product!!! Plus I met my mat last Sunday and he commented that my hair was looking fuller than it did for the past few months. WOOHOOHOO!

And if there's anyone I can trust about hair, it's my good old mamat ok. Tau tak kenape??? Tak tau kan, so sekarang aku bagi tau even if kau tak nak tau - it's becaaaaaaause his favourite part of a girl is the hair.

(If you take out boobs and ass from the equation, of course... of course)

It's been that way ever since he was a baby ok. Tak tau kenape dia dari kecik ada fascination with female hair... and I got proof ok! Nah, this is my bukti:

KORANG TENGOK TU. TU TU TUUUUU TU TANGAN KE LONTONG TU.

Hahahahahahaha. That is my favourite childhood picture of him, by the way. 

Well that, and this:  

Kesian kan ini anak!!!!! His dad sat on the other side of the seesaw and refused to let him turun so he bawled setengah mati!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!

Padan muka kau, budak. That's balasan for all the times you whacked your dad's head over and over again with your plastic toy golf club while dia tengah sujud time sembahyang, for all the times you took his wallet and scattered the contents all over the masjid floor while dia tengah solat, for all the times you pretended to be a budak baik baca muqaddam at the corner of your house when you know your mum nak complain about your naughtiness once your dad balik dari kerja so as to avoid punishment. HAHA.

Ok sorry guys, I can go on forever and ever and ever and everest everytime I recall back all the naughty episodes he had during his childhood because they are all so kelakar and really menyerlahkan his sense of mischief!!! Sekarang umur dah nak masuk 30 tahun pun his mischievousness masih terbawak bawak ok.

Ok dah sudah, now back to kisah sedih pasal rambut.

So which is the hair product that Aisyah recommended that gave awesome results??? Yaaaaa, ini dia:

 414ml of thickening shampoo goodness by Avalon Organics.

$20+ from Watsons! Cheap, cheap!

Not sure what's going to happen to my Phyto Chronic Hair Loss set now - obviously if I try to sell kat sini takde orang pun nak beli because puas hati bayar $20+ for the Biotin Hair Thickening Shampoo then buy the hair loss set at 10 times more kan? Hur hur.

Feel free to email me if you want to get the hair loss set and go full blast ahead, though! I won't aggressively market it because even if I can't find anyone who'd want to buy the set from me, it's okay - I'll probably start on it next month, make it last for another two, and then maintain the volume and thickness by reverting back to the thickening shampoo.

Oh, and in the midst of the kekecohan about my hair loss, my mamat pun claim that his hairline is receding and he is suffering hair loss as well! (Sebok aje as usual.....) Dude opting to try Bawang Shampoo (as promoted by Jackie Chan) first but he just bought it over the weekend so we'll have to wait for another few weeks to see whether it works. Jangan kepala tumbuh bawang sudah. Pakai tanjak tak handsome nanti.

Anyway, enough about the hair loss stories! I guess #inisemuanormal and memang part and parcel of growing old eh guys? Ah tu lah, dulu havoc kan tak nak jaga rambut kan, every few months dye red lah dye blonde lah dye ash brown lah, sekejap rebond, sekejap kerinting bastard, now rambut rosak to the point of no return, amaciam cakap?!

Hopefully this hairy happiness lasts sampai ke-jinjang pelamin! Wouldn't want to be a botak bride because nanti nak pakai sanggul lintang susah seh. Takkan nak letak floral foam sponge kat kepala just to cucuk the sanggul kan.