Le Chanson du Printemps (Spring Song)

I hope I got the title of this post right =P
Chante avec moi ^.^

Miss Dior Cherie is one of my favourite perfumes. I'm wearing it as I post this =)

The song to Miss Dior Cherie's advert is so sweet and girly. I don't know the whole translation from French to English but it sounds so elegant in Francais, n'est ce pas? =P

It's playful, light and some parts of the video look so magical.
I want to try one of those Macaroons sometime!
I certainly want to visit Paris again.
And I really want to brush up my French!

I also admire the colours, from her dress to the room interior she goes in to...it's so magical.

L'Eau D'Issey Florale by Issey Miyake

So much fuss over a perfume sample...

I only have one of Issey Miyake's perfumes that I have yet to blog about. For some reason, when it came to the original L'Eau D'Issey, I preferred the men's version much more. The women's version just didn't quite convince me.

But this sample tells a whole different story...and Issey Miyake has done it for me!

To start of with, I like how balanced this fragrance is. It's not too concentrated on one thing entirely, so you could always make out several underlying scents under the dominant note.

Top Notes I could make out are citrus (a mix of lemon/lime) which grabbed my attention for the first few seconds. Then quickly follows a slight powdery scent which blended well with the citrus. Tangy yet sweet. The powder scent resembles a light version of Kenzo's perfume. The floral notes then come in and further blend in so well.
Combine this with some slight musk.
And you have a refreshing, not overpowering blend of different scents working in harmony.

Perfect for spring.

Costa's vs. Cafe Nero's Hot Chocolate

Which is your favourite hot chocolate?

Having tried several hot chocolates, including Starbucks, I limited it down to Costa's & Cafe Nero's hot chocolate.
They're both yummy!

These are Cafe Nero's hot chocolate Milano. It's very rich, slightly thicker than your usual hot chocolate and the cream on top further adds to the richness of this.

If you're having this, I'd strongly advise not to get any chocolate based foods (like the muffin featured), to avoid feeling sick (haha ...!).

This is a real treat. It's not something I'd get everyday but perfect for when you're having those cravings ^.^

And here's Costa's hot chocolate. This is more like the typical hot chocolate you're familiar with. It's light, frothy and will go along with anything at a cafe. What I also like are the marshmallows that came along with it! Plus the tall glass is much more suited (me thinks) compared to Starbucks' mug.

If I had to pick between the two, it would have to be a tie!

The 'Muslim' Beauty Queen

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This happened to be the most read article on the BBC earlier today. Click here to read it.

Ms. Bukhari has become the first Muslim to represent the UK in the world final of Miss Universe and describes herself as a muslim. She defends her decision to enter the pageant, insisting

, 'she believes Muslims in the UK should be able to have a western lifestyle.'

Now, I think this is one area where a lot of people get confused about. So many of us are still not able to distinguish between culture and religion. So, my view on that is, it's fine to have a western lifestyle, but when that lifestyle contradicts with what religion tells us to do, it's no longer acceptable. It's only common sense, is it not?

Now, the muslims who are opposed to Ms. Bukhari's actions will for sure be seen to be acting out as lunatics by directing abusive comments towards her.

I'm not saying this is right, yet, I'm not saying this is wrong either, because when someone like Ms. Bukhari makes worldwide news , it tarnishes the image of Islam and misconceptions follow (it is the most read article like I said! Plus this is not the first time a news like this occured, click here to read about last year's Miss America).
Most people who do not know much about Islam, will easily find themselves thinking,

'well, there is a girl doing our country proud by participating in a worldwide event that we will be recognised for. What's the problem?'

BUT, this is totally against all the religions teachings and people who don't know Islam's teachings would know no better. It's so clear. Clear enough that, I have never seen a muslim dispute the real way a woman is supposed to dress. It's all written out for us to read.

What is even more harmful is that Ms. Bukhari's intention is to enter that competition and compete in terms of beauty. She seems to firmly believe that religion does allow that.

Compare that to someone who might be muslim and dress in a way that is unacceptable, but who knows full well how they are supposed to dress like and doesn't twist the truth to fit in to their lifestyle. Now, someone like that, believing the right thing, is highly likely to have the right intention and might one day dress modestly in accordance to religion's teachings.

Which brings me back to my earlier post regarding women being treated as sex objects. In this instance, if women are competing in terms of beauty, then think about what message this brings across.

In a world where we are constantly so obsessed over our looks and figures, constantly comparing ourselves to what we see, what we could be... it's slowly destroying our society. Having read this post called the 8 year old woman; it is one of the many proofs out there showing us all how society is affecting people. Young girls are becoming 'women' so quickly, being concerned about how they might be rejected in society and are no longer having a childhood that we once had. The innocent and sweet times are slowly disappearing and it is up to us all to make a change.

So.... what do YOU think? =)

Optrex Actimist Eyespray Review

I've been wearing contact lenses for many years now. I had a stock of supply of yearly lenses from abroad, which now ran out. So I opted for some contact lenses at Specsavers. After several trials, I chose a brand called Comfilcon - they happened to be the most comfortable lenses, although, nowhere near as comfortable as the yearly lenses I used to wear.

Ever since I started wearing my new lenses, I suffered from dry eyes, especially after spending hours on a computer or if I lacked sleep. On a few occasions, I had to wear glasses because it was so uncomfortable.

So, I got this eye spray by Optrex in a bid to combat dry eyes. I had high hopes for it. It was very expensive (more than £10 for this little bottle!) but luckily it was on promotion when I bought it.

To start this review off, in case you don't want to read the whole thing ... it didn't work!

I used the instructions as in the directions. I was impressed with the fact that it didn't need to be thrown away after 28 days.

This further convinced me, that maybe...just maybe, it might meet my expectations.

It's so easy to use. As the instructions say, simply spray it on. It's very handy too. But what makes this product useful is whether it works or not.

On application, initially it was slightly sticky. I'm not sure how this would go down with those of you who wear concealers or foundations. I had to wait around 5-10 minutes for the stickiness to wear off.

Immediately, I felt a cooling sensation followed with some relief (I did use this when my eyes were dry!).

But after 10-15 minutes, I felt that my eyes were back to how they were. I was disappointed. So I tried it on a different day - same result. I then gave it to someone else to try, who also suffers from dry eyes and wears contact lenses. Same result.

In the end... we both came up with the same review and conclusion. This is totally useless! 10-15 minutes of relief/comfort does not match up to what the product promises, and certainly doesn't explain the high price tag.
We felt that washing one's face with cool water achieved the same result.

So, if you're planning to get this to test if it's suitable for you, wait for promotions!

Let me know (if you wear contact lenses) which is the best contact lenses for you & (if you use any solutions/drop) what solutions you use to be comfortable.

Sunsets, Yoghurts {& an ice-cream that will make one squirm}

On my way home I saw this beautiful sunset. I've been wanting to capture it for what feels like the longest time now. But my camera wasn't able to capture it well enough. It did its best though this time round, but these pictures are still nothing compared to seeing the sunset in person.

Maybe is it just me, but through my years of living in the UK, never have I seen breath-taking sunsets until this year! And it seems like, some people also haven't seen one (read on =P). I was so enthralled with the sunset in Dubai last year; I wanted to watch its full course every day.

As I sat down, I saw a young lady looking out at the trees, the houses and the fresh cut grass that was beside her. After a few seconds, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped very slightly.

'Look!', she said in a loud whisper, her voice sounding amazed and excited.

She was talking to her friend next to her, who looked puzzled. She asked, 'is that... the sun?!'

'Yes, that's the sun! Amazing isn't it?', the young lady replied.

'Wow, I've never seen it like that before!' her friend said, looking at the sun which now contained all the gradients of the orange colour.

'Neither have I... ', I heard the young lady say.

Both of them sat watching the sun set in silence. And there I was too, watching alongside them, wishing I could capture it in all its beauty.

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And then I stumbled on to this ice-cream shop. It's not an ordinary ice cream shop, that's for sure. Having read about it on the BBC not too long ago, I suddenly realised I knew about this place.

It received so many headlines for selling ice creams made with breast milk. You heard it right! And I know, I know. I'm disgusted too. And actually seeing it in front of me made me squirm inside. I saw enough customers inside to form a small queue. I was surprised.

This same shop was apparently about to be sued by Lady Gaga for calling an ice cream 'Baby Gaga' and dressing one of its shop assistants as Lady Gaga herself. Totally bizarre.

What do I think? I think it is completely wrong to sell breast milk in the first place, let alone allowing strangers to eat it in their ice creams. Yuck! Plus the names of some of the ice creams in the menu are totally inappropriate (I mean, think of the kids who might walk in there!), I saw one or two which sounded of a sexual nature.

I didn't go into the shop. I captured these few pictures for this post and left it there!

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And then, I was off to Snog! =)

Sometimes I do think to myself if I should skip posting all the Snog yoghurts I keep having.

I can't help it >.<.... !

This time I ordered natural yoghurt + apple crumble + brownies.

I have to say....that was almost enough for my dinner!

End of a Day's Ramblings

After another busy week, I've slumped on my chair and before I could get up to make some tea, I managed to stumble on to some of these findings, so I thought I'd share them with you all.

' Why Modesty is Essential... ,

So, I was reading this article on the BBC, titled 'Why do men shout at women in the street?', and initially I thought, what a strange title. I could not immediately foretell what it was about.

The article happened to be about the many women who face harassment in their everyday life on the streets. From the whistling, to the the catcalling to even groping. It is not at all unusual. In fact, it is so big of a problem that there's finally an article on the BBC about it to highlight the increasing problem!

As one quote in the article rightly put it: "Culturally, men have been indoctrinated into it, and it's been a privilege for them to walk down the street fantasising about women. The culture hasn't checked the behaviour."

While I know there might be disagreements from some people on what I'm about to say, I also know that many of you might already agree with me. The fact is, a lot of men see women as sex objects. It is why, we sisters, have to take it upon ourselves to dress modestly and lower our gaze, whilst making sure we're doing all we can not to attract the wrong kinds of attentions in everything we do.

I also know that there will be the following arguments against and for these:

1) It is not the woman's fault for dressing how she wants to. Men have to control themselves.
Totally the wrong way to think about it!
If you are religious, what ever sect you may come from, I'm sure there are guidelines and rules clearly stating us all to be modest and dress in a way that will maintain your dignity and not reduce you to the level of an 'object'. In turn, we're also avoiding causing any temptations and helping men lower their gazes.
2) Some women actually like the attention they get. It makes them feel better about themselves.
Self-esteem is an important part of developing yourself and achieving happiness. But in my opinion, if you need the attention and crave for compliments from strangers, this is simply not going to feed your self-esteem in the long term.

I also saw this article on the Metro this week.
A few adverts demeaning women were taken down after a few people complained about it. ' The adverts had two photos – one of three girls in a nightclub and another of a woman in a yellow bikini – and stated: ‘Awesome views.’ '

I was reminded of this advert I saw on TV about a new POM drink. It was launched a few months ago. I cropped the picture below as I thought it was inappropriate (the woman is completely nude apart from a snake covering her 'parts').

My immediate thought was, what does this drink have to do with a woman?

The company 'smartly' played it out well, by letting the woman act out 'Eve', almost in a way to glamorise the drink & find an excuse for her nudity.
This is just one of the many ads out there using women to sell things; be it a car, butter, anti-perspirant, you name it!

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What do you think?

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Earthquake in Burma

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Like in my previous post on Japan's earthquake, a picture like this never fails to bring chills tingling down my spine. To think of the very foundations of the ground underneath us being cracked as if it were an egg's shell makes me also feel humbled by reminding us that whilst we are building the world around us, we are not the makers of the universe. Disasters such as these are beyond our control. It is a reminder that sooner or later, we will all lose our possessions, our youth, our jobs.
This world is only temporary. So be humble. Be thankful for what you have. Count your blessings.
And let us pray for the people affected by these disasters and also those facing civil wars.




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' Jacob Barnett ... ,

A 12-year old prodigy with an IQ higher than Einstein, teaches some pure Mathematics! Professors and lecturers are apparently already planning to prepare him for a PHD research role.
I'm one of the many people intrigued by Mathematics and I was amazed at how clearly he explains all the steps.
If you happen to know what he's talking about, it'll be more fun to watch =P. You can tell he knows exactly what he's talking about!

The First Signs of Spring

Today, I saw sunshine and blue skies. I saw some trees blossoming; some were still in their last autumn stages.

I heard an ice-cream van calling people through its melodic music.

Groups of people sat on the grass or benches, basking in the sun. Some were having a picnic, some were playing games, some were lying down simply to enjoy the weather.
They were all in a good mood.

The surroundings of cafes were finally greeted by a crowd of people, who now swapped their preference to sit outside, where the breeze was cool and gentle.

And in the midst of all that, I took out my camera and captured some of the first signs of spring along the way...

What's in my bag?

I didn't know what else to call this blog post. Initially, I thought of using the word 'handbag' - but it's not my handbag. Then I thought, 'make-up' or 'toiletry' bag - but both didn't quite fit in with the bag's contents.

Now more the the point.

I'm a person who likes keeping everything organised. And because I hate the notion of scattered things in handbags, I usually have one of these mini bags to put all my necessities in. This also makes changing handbags a lot easier!

This came along with the purchase of a perfume.

SO, what do I carry? Well, actually I don't carry as much as I used to before. I sorted out all the necessities from the junks and here they all are.

A mini Nina Ricci perfume

- because I'm obsessed with perfumes and I adore this scent!

A hand sanitiser

- because this is vital - no more said!

A pick and mix of my favourite lip balms

- because I like selecting which one I will put on, depending on my mood. I have a couple of lip balms and will blog about them all in future.

- and because nothing beats Burt's Bees' Lip balm! It's my favourite.

A creamy Clinique lipstick

- my favourite lipstick. It's so neutral, creamy and suits all occasions. (I've blogged about this before =P)

A Lip gloss & a Harajuku solid perfume

- I don't use this lip gloss so much. As for the solid perfume - it's so handy!

Painkillers

- you never know when you might need it!

Shu Uemura Lipliner

- another thing that is rarely used, but I carry it, just in case.

A pen set

- I have to carry something to write with me everywhere I go. It's something essential.

A collection of chewing gums & mints

- essentials!

Tissues

- I can't leave the house without these.

A mirror

- again, you never know when you might need one!

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I went to Snog yoghurt.

Again.

My excuse: I was treated to it. =P.

This time I indulged in the Apple Crumble. Incredibly delicious. Highly Recommend.

It'll spoil you rotten.

I tasted a bit of the fruit smoothie, but didn't quite like it so much. Though it'll be a good treat for the summers.

And then, I got this take away bag - which is so handy...

...way to encourage me to take away yoghurts...!!

It has a special lining inside to keep all desserts cool =), and cool it is!