DEMETER FRAGRANCE LIBRARY: SCENT FROM MY HAPPIEST MEMORIES

"Nothing brings to life again a forgotten memory like fragrance."

- Christopher Poindexter 

What's your happiest memories? Does your happiest memories often link with scent? Like the scent of popcorn when you watched a family movie with your family? The scent of after rain when you dance with your loved ones on a grassy field? The scent of a cuppa hot brewing coffee in the morning your mum made you? Some of these scents we wish they could linger a little longer so we could relive the happy memories again and again. 

What if I told there's a fragrance library that has all these scents that you've been looking for in your whole life?

That's right! Demeter Fragrance Library has finally landed in Watsons and this handcrafted fragrance brands captures the emotive scent and the essence of happy memories are now store in a bottle of fragrance. Since 1996, the talented Christopher Brosius who is the talented perfumer of Demeter, started handcrafting fragrances inspired by everyday objects and experiences. Till today, the fragrance library has more than 300 different fragrances that will triggers our strongest emotional response.

I'm very particular when it comes to fragrances. I wish it could represent me and also express my feelings and emotions without having to say a word. I know I'm a fussy customer hence till today I haven't found my "perfect fragrance" and seriously, I hate to smell like everyone. lol. I don't know why I just don't really like fragrances that everybody uses, it kinda lost the meaning of personal touch to me. 

So when I found out that Demeter Fragrance Library has more than 300 scents, I was shocked. Then when I saw the arrays of fragrances displayed at the tester stations, I was elated! Why? Because I found so many scents that related to my happiest childhood memories. There's scent like After Rain, Thunderstorm, Crayon, Fresh Brew Coffee, Kitten Fur and so much more!

Thunderstorm is my favourite!

And when I learn that we are going to customise our own fragrance, I felt so excited! I can finally curate a scent that represents "ME" with thoughts and feelings in it. I like something outdoor and yet fruity, it is a bit complicated hence I had a hard time choosing between the categories as guests at the event are divided into 3 categories: Floral, Party and Outdoor.

While most of the female guests chose either floral or party, I decided I'm going for the outdoor category because of that one scent I found on the table: After The Rain. That is so gonna be the top note of my specially curated fragrance!

Pluviophile will get me!

How to curate your own fragrance? It is super easy! Just follow this few steps:

• Test the fragrance oils scent on tester strips. Find your perfect combination. 
• Fill the perfume base to the tester bottle till it is almost full
• 4 - 6 drips of your desired scent fragrance oils
• you can combine as many different fragrance oils until you've curated your own scent
• close the cap and shake the bottle lightly until everything is well mixed
• Voila! You have your first mini bottle of specially curated fragrance!

Next is just repeating the steps by multiplying drops of fragrance oils by 3! It's super easy isn't? But no, I had some hard time deciding the fragrance oils! I knew I wanted After The Rain but at the same time I wanted something fruity as well. 

should I go for fresh lemon?

Filling it up with perfume base

In the end I went for pink grapefruit!

I never had so much fun at an event. I guess it must be those scents that triggered my happiest memories and emotions. Nothing is more memorable than a smell and memories triggered by scent have some of the strongest emotional connections that's far more intense than other sensory memory triggers.



Highlight of the event: Personalize our own fragrance creation

it's like watching the birth of my own baby!

I shall name you: Dancing in the Rain

Finally I found a fragrance that represents me for me!

Aside from letting us customized our own scent, Demeter Fragrance Library has curated scent for our beloved cities of Malaysia as well! Named as The City Version, these limited edition fragrances are specially curated and inspired by our historical cities. These cities are Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Malacca and Penang! I hope they come out with Sabah and Sarawak~ I can't wait to smell the scent of forest and long houses of Orang Asli!

I guess this made a perfect Christmas gift to people who misses our cities eh?

Once again, thank you so much Demeter Fragrance Library and Watsons Malaysia for such a fun afternoon. I had so much fun smelling each and every fun name fragrance on that day and finally curated my own scent! Did I tell you that Koreans and Hollywood celebs like Demeter fragrances as well? There are more than 300 stores in Korea and exports to more than 20 countries worldwide. Now Malaysia has it too!

Do check out selected Watsons stores and online stores if you're interested in getting yourself Demeter fragrances. For more information, do visit www.watsons.com.my for more information!

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF DPL HAIR REMOVAL AT WAX CANDY, TAMAN DESA

My first thought of the DPL hair removal service: IT WAS FAST!

Decided to go for waxing services before Christmas so I can look good and feel good to dress up as a gift to Fei lololol. Just joking. Waxing to me is something private and personal, one step closer to a hygienic and self-caring lifestyle, and since I'm feeling adventurous, I decided to go to Wax Candy The Wax Bar which located at Faber Towers, Taman Desa to get my waxing done. 

Wax Candy's gummy bear logo~ super cute!

I heard about Wax Candy from my friend and after checking out their high ratings on Facebook, I went to book my appointment and went to Taman Desa branch (they have another new outlet at Uptown, just right opposite The Starling Mall). When I reach the shop I was like: wow this waxing parlour so nice, like a cafe! I can take my OOTD here!

And I really took a nice OOTD XD

Such a cute corner

My waxing needs from a waxing bar is simple:

• Hygienic environment
• Skilled waxing specialist
• Certified machines and waxing equipments
• Reliable source of waxing products

And all these requirements of mine are met at Wax Candy! It was such a relax environment and the waxing specialist of Wax Candy is so friendly and keeps chatting with me so I kinda let go of my nervousness and it was an enjoyable DPL and waxing experience.

very relaxing environment, like spa room!

clean equipments, I approve!

Latest DPL machine imported from Korea

So what's DPL? All along I only heard about IPL so DPL is pretty new to me. DPL is the stronger, more advanced laser technology that combine both IPL and laser power for semi-permanent form of hair reduction. With laser pulse targeting the hair follicle and disabling it from future hair growth, hair reduction rate are as high 70%-85%!



So if you have unwanted hair growth, just go for 6 - 12 sessions of DPL treatment and you can say bye bye to your unwanted hair! I wished I went for DPL treatment earlier so I could've save all my shaving time and shavers money.



Aside from that, I've lost count on times I forgot to bring a shaver with me when I travel and I couldn't wear sleeveless until I bought shavers from a convenience store, which those shavers aren't specifically for feminine shaving but I have no choice! I strongly recommend to go for DPL treatment for unwanted hair which will:
1) make life easier, no more shaving or forgetting shavers stories
2) hygienic and towards a self care, well-being lifestyle



I might be late to jump on the silky smooth skin bandwagon but hey, remember what they say about tree planting? The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW!

a friendly note about treatment after care
I finish reading it all while I was taking off my top

Hahahahah omg my pose, totally look like I'm sunbathing at the beach

Since I haven't experience any IPL or DPL service, I have no idea what I'm going through. Luckily Wax Candy specialist brief me through step by step, chat with me and let me know that it is almost painless and the laser treatment will end before I even know it.

She applied some cooling gel and started the DPL treatment at my underarm areas. I was nervous when I heard the beeping but after the first shot I knew I was in good hands. With a more diffuse approach, DPL hair removal treatment targets black pigments in the hair. It's non-invasive, safe and also effective. 

There's a slight tingling sensation when the probe touches the hair pigmented but nothing painful or whatsoever

After 5 minutes, the DPL treatment was done! I was like: Eh? So fast one??? LOL! It really ended before I knew. Aside from removing unwanted hair growth, DPL is used in solving pigmentation and acne problems as well. Wax Candy's DPL treatment is suitable for both men and women too! So imma stop shaving and start my regular DPL treatment from now on so I can have smoother, silkier, radiant underarm areas!

immediately after DPL session
no sores, very mild redness, all good!

After the quick DPL session, I went for Martini waxing. I like the feeling of warm wax applied on skin, it feels soothing and makes me feel calm and relax. It's been awhile since I last had any waxing services so I think I might as well refresh my waxing experience and give it a go with Wax Candy's experienced waxing specialist.

starting my waxing experience with a hygiene wipe

I really do think skilful waxing specialist are hard to find. Some people refuse to do waxing because unskilled staff make them feel nervous and pain by waxing numerous time on the same area. Not to mention about hygiene conduct throughout the whole waxing session. There are irresponsible wax parlour and lazy staff who does double dipping during waxing which is a big no no. Imagine reusing the spatula again and again and repeatingly dip into the wax after apply on customer's skin. I wanna vomit just by hearing those stories. 

From my observation throughout my waxing experience, Wax Candy The Wax Bar takes hygiene and waxing skill very seriously. Mask on gloves on, clean and quality hard wax, no reuse of spatula and definitely no double dipping. 

This wax smells so good!
like gummy bear~

The waxing specialist carefully trimmed those lengthy hairs before applying wax on my skin. The experience was pretty decent and fast because each and every application of wax and peeling off was done quickly to minimize the feeling of discomfort. However my pain tolerance was pretty low, I might as well get Brazilian DPL treatment next time.

I was given some in-house serum to apply on right after the waxing treatment and it immediately soothes my skin. Formulated in Australia, Wax Candy's Gumme Serum and Gumme Scrubs are customer's favourite because aside from skin soothing, they moisturises and brightening skin and the scrub can prevent ingrown hair as well if used often!

ingredients: liquorice root, hyaluronic acid and aloe vera

made of almond oil, hyaluronic acid and tiny particles, this Gumme Scrub exfoliates skin and prevents ingrown hairs!
Perfect for after waxing self care

Here's a tiny confession of mine: one of the main reason I dislike waxing service is because of my sensitive skin issues. I remember my last bikini line waxing at other wax parlour gave me hell, my skin itches day and night until the hair grows out. It was a torturing process. I did not want this to happen to me again. I thought, maybe my skin not suitable for waxing, but Wax Candy proved me wrong. 

It's been almost a week from my waxing service and I don't feel a single itch at all. Sensitive skin might be inconvenient at times but it really does prove that Wax Candy's products are safe and suitable for sensitive skin as well. I'm glad I found a wax bar that cares for all my waxing and hair removal needs!

In case you wanna know, my Martini waxing service is RM79 and first trial DPL treatment for underarm is RM69 (what a steal!). You can bring your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife and enjoy the waxing or DPL treatment together because waxing off unwanted hairs really brings convenient in life and lead towards a healthier, hygienic lifestyle! 

For More Information:

Wax Candy The Waxing Bar Official Website

Wax Candy The Waxing Bar Official Facebook Page

Taman Desa Branch:

LOT 115A 1ST FLOOR PODIUM BLOCK 

FABER TOWER TAMAN DESA

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Contact number: +603 7971 9999 / +603 7972 1999

Damansara Uptown Branch:

67M Jln SS21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
contact number: +603 7722 5277

TOTTORI SAND MUSEUM, TOTTORI, JAPAN

Remember when you're a child and wanting to build sand castle with your parents or siblings during beach vacation and failed EVERY.SINGLE.TIME? Yup that's right, that's how I realise I don't have the gift nor patience building sand castles as well as other structures. I never succeed building anything with sand in my life, never. What a sad childhood lolololol

I guess the "failure" of mine kinda make me look forward to visit Tottori's famous sand museum that's located just beside Tottori Sand Dunes (about 5 minutes walk):

About how to get to Tottori Sand Dunes, Sand Museums and nearby areas, please refer to my Tottori Sand Dunes post!

The Sand Museum of Tottori Sand Dunes

A welcome sand sculpture located at the entrance of museum
Super impressed by their works as this sculpture exposed to harsh weather (from Spring to Winter) as well sun & rain (occasionally snow) and it's still intact! How ah like seriously???????

It all started in year 2006 by Katsuhiko Chaen, who is then executive producer of Tottori Sand Museum and now world renown sand sculptor and producer who invited sculptors from all over the world and started exhibiting sand sculptures at Tottori Sand Dunes. Yup, you're reading this right, the Tottori Sand Museum started with open-air exhibition at the sand dunes area. The sand sculptures collapses eventually (due to weather and environment causes) but it doesn't dampen Katsuhiko Chaen's sculpting spirit. 

This year marks the 11th year since The Sand Museum started and since year 2012, The Sand Museum reopened at its current location which is known as world's first permanent indoor sand exhibition space. Each year they have different theme for the sand sculptures and this year is:

The Nordic Countries
World famous sand sculptors from around the world came to Tottori to build sand sculptures

Seriously, the amount of time and effort in order to make this whole exhibition thing happen seriously amazes me. The large scale of this exhibition as well as each and every sculpture details that shows the quintessential of Nordic Countries really impressed each and every visitor who came to visit. 

Exhibition area view from 1st floor
Did you found something that only can be seen from this height?

Look at the size of human comparing to these sculptures!

It's even taller than me!
(I'm consider tall in height as an Asian with 175cm, these sculptures are wayyyy taller than I am)

There's a saying in Chinese proverb: 

Happiness is like the sand in your hand, 

the harder you're grasping it the more it escapes from your hand.

I guess this is why when such a huge sand sculpture being build, stood still against time and environment factors, visitor feel amazed! The effort and method it takes to built all these sand sculptures are concluded in one single picture as below:

but we know very well the amount of time and passion it took to build sand sculptures are immeasurable  

Growing up in a multilingual country, I've heard stories about The Little Mermaid, The Vikings, Santa Claus and also I love all the Nordic Folklore and tales of Norse Gods and Goddesses.  All these imaginary images are sculpted into sculptures using sand and they've connected visitors with these Norse mythology and fairy tales. 

The Statue of Little Mermaid, which is originally located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Fairytale-like sceneries, forests, horse carriage, rock bridge and river

Norse Gods, Godesses and Mythology

Forest animals

I've never been to any Scandinavian but these are very close to what I've been imagine about the nordic countries. I can feel the mysterious, calm, vast, and energy hidden in each and every sand sculptures exhibiting in this Sand Museum and that makes me wanna visit the countries even more! 

Initially I wanted to show you more of the sand sculptures photos but I deleted some because I don't want to spoil the surprises and effort of all the sand sculptors who worked together day and night and build all these. I think it's best to put some exhibits away from the limelight so it will make you more curious and you will wanna visit this sand museum even more.

Just when I was thinking: Phew, luckily sand museum nothing to buy... They can't literally sell sand to me right??? I was wrong, like super duper wrong! There's a Scandinavian Market just located 1 floor above the exhibit area and it has all the cute stuff (Marimekko!!!) imported from Nordic countries. Japan, why you do this to my purse????

You can't go to nordic countries? Is okay, Japan will bring Nordic countries to you!!!
lololololol

After spending some Japanese yen at the market, I think I need to find a place to chill down before my impulsive shopping disorder hits me again and I discovered some outdoor fun places located just few steps walk to the outdoor section of the Sand Museum. There are some smaller exhibits along the pathway as well.

Panoramic view of Tottori Sand Dunes from The Sand Museum

You can start your own sculpture here at the sand play area

On the hilltop, there's this Bell of Happiness which you can make a wish to.
Just stand facing towards Tottori Sand dunes, make a wish and ring the bell once!
Wahhh that very moment when I rang the bell I really feel my wish will come true no joke!

Right before we left the premise:

ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOPPING!

You can get some Tottori specialties here like sand coffee, crab miso, crab crackers and such.
The crab crackers are really, really tasty!

I bought a vanilla + sand coffee toppings soft serve
Taste so good~ Who likes ice cream during cold days too?

Tottori is such a fun place to visit in Japan and with just the sand dunes and sand museum, I had so much fun at these two places! I wish I had more time here instead of rushing to the next location but oh well, I know I'll come back to Tottori very, very soon! 

NOTE: To those who are visiting The Sand Museum from 8th December - 24th December 2018, there's this special Christmas event 3D Projection Mapping going on! Do check out the projection show time!

An early Christmas greetings to all of you from Sandy Santa Claus!

For more information:

Tottori Sand Museum Entrance Fee:

adult: 600yen

primary-secondary school students: 300yen

Opening Hours:

9:00am - 6:00pm (Last admission 5:30pm)

Contact number: 0857-20-2231

Tottori Sand Museum Official Website (English)