a hoarder's blog

Hello girls! I'm back from my mini beach getaway in Phuket and I'm bummed that I have to get back to work. It's Monday and I took the day off cos my case of the Monday Blues would have been even worse than the usual. I was so tired and needed a holiday from my holiday. Even the hubs took the morning half to sleep late today. And no we didn't even watch the World Cup finals last night.

Long wordy post..so if you're not in the mood to read, you can skip this..lol

I took an evening flight out last Wednesday. I was really apprehensive about the weather. Faezah had just come back from Phuket and she mentioned the scattered thunderstorms and rain when she was there (which was what we were having here too in Singapore). Yep, monsoon season, which is low peak season, which means cheaper tickets, which is why we decided it was a good time to go on holiday in the first place. haha....well besides the fact that we REALLY needed to get away! I was having a horrible time at work and ughhhh couldn't wait to forget things for a while.

Anyways, on the first night there, there was some light drizzle. We arrived at our resort (Patong Garden Bay resort) and checked into a temporary room for the night, after which we immediately went out to Bangla Road, which is like the most happening road around that area (think Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong or Mohamed Sultan Road in Singapore during its hey days). We had a few drinks at one of the bars/pubs lining this street and watched the ladyboys dancing on the podium. The latter honestly get more attention that the real girls dancing suggestively in skimpy outfits.

This is a typical night in Bangla Road, tons of people walking up and down the street all the time. I think we did that a dozen of times before we decided that there was nothing much to see anymore and got bored with it. There will be people trying to sell you cigarettes, wanting you to take photos with their iguanas or monkey to make a quick buck, or harassing you to go for à gogo shows, tiger shows, pingpong shows...lol..and also ladyboys will be on the streets at certain times in full cabaret costumes to promote their show and asking you to take photos with them for some money.

We went to watch them on another night. It's about an hour show where they perform, dance and lip-sync to songs. Some are really pretty and some look a bit scary still, but they're more feminine and graceful in their mannerisms than real girls. It's almost a free show, all you need to do is order a drink and sit and enjoy it. They will also walk down the aisle where you're sitting and guys especially will randomly get hugs and kisses from them. They will even come and rub themselves against you (ass and fake boobs too..lol) but it's all in good humour. They're really not shy. And well if you know that the boobs are fake, you're less prone to feeling embarrassed or shy seeing them.

This is the view from the beach. We had really good weather on all three days we were there. It was particularly sunny on the first two days and we just soaked up the sun from morning til late afternoon. The water is also nice and warm with gentle waves. I didn't tan as much as I wanted to this time. I got slightly burned on my chest though. I applied an aftersun gel and it wasn't so bad after that. You can also get aloe vera treatments on the spot from the local people who walk around the beach. They take aloe vera leaves (?) and use a comb to scrape the gooey stuff and then rub it all over your body and into your hair. It's supposed to cool your skin down and stops you from peeling. You kinda look like you've been dunked in a container full of mucus after that. haha. But it dries off and it's not so sticky afterwards.

Patong Bay Garden is really good in terms of location. Up front is the beach and at the back, just a few meters down the road is a seafood restaurant called Savoey where we ate two nights in a row (cheap and good!) and Bangla Road. There's also a big shopping mall within walking distance called Jung Ceylon, where they have Carrefour and a dept store called Robinson (somehow I don't think it's related to our local Robinsons). We also went to another shopping mall called Central Festival (which I guess you should have heard of if you've been to Bangkok before) which was pretty far away. Had to take a taxi there. But it was disappointing and not really worth the trip. I bought a pair of sandals there and that was it.

Other stuff that we tried is the street food. You can buy crepes/pancakes, fried food, corn in the afternoon and night. Patong comes alive in the late evening and night. During the day, I think it's too hot to open shop and work. Also, most tourists are at the beach, so makes more sense to work at night.

And we went for massages! How to miss getting a massage when you're in Thailand? One day it was foot massage, the next day it was full body massage. Hehe. Massage parlors are all over the place and there was one just a few steps away from the resort, so we didn't have to think much.

Just outside the resort, there's a Boots pharmacy. This is where I bought these:

1. Soap & Glory Scrub Actually
2. Soap & Glory The Fab Pore 15-minute facial peel
3. Boots No7 Mattifying Make-up Base
4. Boots Cucumber 3 minute mask

What else? We went to Phuket Fantasea which is some kind of theme park, but mainly it features a cultural show with thai stories and dancing.

The tickets were a bit expensive, but well you only do these things once and since you're already there, why not right? You can ride on elephants and take pictures with baby tigers and stuff, but I didn't do any of that. That kinda concludes my trip. Fantasea was on my last night there and the next morning, we had to be up early to catch the plane back.

Hope you enjoyed reading (those who did at least..hurhur). If you have any qns in case you're headed there soon, you can ask me and I will try to answer. But all in all, it was an enjoyable trip, though I would have liked it to be a couple of days longer so that I can tan a bit more. Lol.

So today being a lazy Sunday and all, I decided to do a mask at home. It's been such a long time since I've done one cos I tend to forget to do it on a regular basis. So I went to find which masks I had open and found this one: The Body Shop Honey & Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask. As you can see I'm more than halfway done with it, which is a good thing cos it means I can open new tubs after this one's done. :)

I like masks that can be spread on the face and washed off more than sheet masks.

For this mask, I believe it's the smell that drew me to it and made me buy it. It smells really yummy. The consistency is just right, not super liquidy that it would drip all over the place. This product doesn't dry up like the warming mineral clay mask (also from TBS) that I was using alternatively with this one. It started hardening after a while, so I had to finish it up ASAP. It was getting harder and harder to squeeze it out of the tube. But to be fair, I also love the clay mask cos I like the warm sensation on my skin upon application and it makes my face feel so clean after it's washed off.

So, I just spread a layer all over my face, massaging the oat bits onto my skin, and let it dry for like 15-20 mins before rinsing off with water. This mask makes my skin feel so refreshed and so soft and smooth afterwards that I myself couldn't believe it just now. This retails for SGD29.90 for a 100ml tub. I don't know if it's considered pricey. But if you do and wanna give it a try, just wait for in-store promotions. It'll be worth it.

Disclaimer: This is in no way an advertisement and I wasn't paid to write this. Just my personal view. And I bought it with my own money.

I went for a facial yesterday and got suckered into getting the 2 Murad products above (Murad professional daily eye lift and Murad Essential-C cleanser) despite my resolution not to spend unnecessarily until my finances get better. I was especially resistant when the salesperson who suggested the eye cream to me told me that it costs $199. (Woah $199 for 15ml? I've never bought anything that expensive before). She even suggested that I get the whole line of Murad professional skincare products (which, she said, are not being sold at the counters) for like $900. I almost choked on my tea. I was like, Are you crazy? Well i just checked them out online and all 5 products should cost around there give and take.

Anyway, to cut a not-so-long story short, my resistance broke down as she told me I could redeem $50 off the total if I get another product together with the eye cream. In came Essential-C cleanser 200ml. I think this one will last me quite a while. I've had the experience of using other Murad products and one 150ml bottle of cleanser has lasted me for almost one whole year (once a day use only). I think I'm left with at most 2-3 uses of it now.

L-R: Murad Vitalic Energizing Pomegrenate Cleanser (150ml - SGD60), Murad Vitalic T-Zone Pore Refining Gel (50ml - SGD90), Murad Vitalic Moisture Silk Eye Gel (15ml - SGD89.50), Murad Redness Therapy Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum (30ml - SGD122)

Product Description:

I really love the Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum. I apply it on days when my skin's not looking too good and when I have some redness. It is very calming indeed. I think this is one product that I will re-buy when my current one runs out. The BA told me to apply this everyday before applying any other serum because the hyaluronic acid will help to absorb the goodness of subsequent serums that you layer on. When I first got it, I used to apply it before the T-zone pore refining gel, but nowadays I use it occasionally instead cos I'm running low and buying a new one would cost a bomb.

So these are the current products I'm using. As you can see, I'm running low on almost all of them, and I'm proud to say I've already finished using the eye gel. It's really a coincidence that I stocked up on another cleanser and eye cream.

And I have another 2 products that I have yet to use. A Murad Resurgence Hydrating Toner and Hydrating Gel Mask. I'm just waiting to finish my current Kiehl's Calendula herbal-extract toner (half bottle more to go) that i use alternatively with my Clinique Clarifying lotion 2 (one-third bottle more to go).