I'm a full-time mummy

It was such a weird twist of events that lead to my latest product review today. I happened to see one of the brands I reviewed for recently posting a link on their Facebook page for being a part of Modbox's January subscription box and being curious as ever, I decided to check out what is this Modbox thingy...

Description from the product page:
"Modbox is a Malaysian beauty box subscription service, born out of us being too caught up with work/life to indulge in our addiction for beauty. After spending too much time sifting through tonnes of reviews online and having to hunt down these products, we realised that it really shouldn’t be so difficult!

The concept is simple — discover and try out awesome new stuff in a way that’s both convenient and affordable. Ultimately, we just want to help you change up your beauty routine and spice up your usual colour palette, all without you having to work too hard to find out what really works for you."

Firstly, I am not a fan of beauty products as I always have the perception that there is simply just too many products and brands out there and how the heck am I supposed to figure out which one works best for me? Plus, being a frugal person, I never really buy beauty products especially now that I am a SAHM and there is not much opportunities for me to go out anyway. I don't even wear make up when I was working last time, let alone now! But of course, deep down inside, I do want to look good and on the ocassions that I am out in public, I do want to look presentable and pleasant to look at. 

So I was happy to come across this brand where I get to pay a small amount of money to have 5 beauty sample products delivered right up to my door and I get to try them out without having to risk wasting too much money buying the actual size products and end up not liking it.

To be honest, I was actually a click away from subscribing the February box when I thought to myself 'Why not email to ask them whether I can review this? I mean, no harm if they say no... I am going to subscribe anyway...' and so, with a slight tinge of shame, I proceeded to make use of my blogger status to ask Modbox whether there is any possibilities for me to review their products before I subscribe, I got a reply from them and apparently they are aware of my website and happy to work with me and the rest is history...

I received the February box delivered right to my doorstep and this is how they looked like the moment I tore off the bubble wrap:

A beautiful and sturdy lilac colored box with the word 'Modbox' on the front cover greets me after I tore away the bubble wrappings. Inside the box, I found a handwritten personalised note just for me and oh boy, the box inside smells really good! There are 5 products in the February box and they are all nicely packed and arranged, there is also a piece of printed card listing the 5 products in the box and how much it is worth (for full size products) and what are the usage and benefits of each products.

Here is a short summary of the products:

1) Juice Beauty Cleansing Gel (RM115 for 200ml) - a brightening cleanser which results in a more refined complexion with its antioxidant-rich organic lemon, apple and purifying botanicals properties.

=> My feedback: I put on some on my body one time after bath and my first thought as I smelled it was 'Smells like asam boi (aka preserved sour plum)!'. Anyway, it leaves my skin smooth and clean and to be honest, because of the price, I dare not use too much and too often hehehe (frugal mum, sorry)

2) Perkins Nail Wrap (RM39.90 / 20 strips per pack - full size) - a super easy way to sport glamorous nails in an instant - just peel, apply and file!

=> My feedback: I haven't got around to trying this out yet as I'm very clumsy with my nails and toes. Meaning, I get them scratched easily and having to watch after 2 kids all the time at home, it further makes me procastinate longer whether I should use this for now. Maybe I'll keep this first and use it on special ocassions where I get to show off my nails and toes!

3) SHAiRE London Silk Classic Collection Hair Perfume Dry Shampoo (RM35.90 / 60ml - full size) - the ultimate all-in-one hair product! Great for in between washes, it cleanses, conditions and revitalizes your hair and repairs and strengthens hair roots - all in one nifty little bottle!
=> My feedback: I haven't got around to testing this yet but I'm happy to see such a product available - especially when you can use it during confinement time. Now, people who know me will know I'm not a superstitious person who follows strict confinement rules but I think a lot of new mummies (who have to go through strict confinement) will appreciate this dry shampoo since they will be able to wash their hair and still not break any confinement rules! So I'm keeping this in case someone around my network needs it hehehe...

4) Essence Smokey Eyes Set (RM11.90 / 3g - full size) - this handy set comes with a cream eyeliner that can be used as a base, a powder eyeshadow plus a dual-ended applicator.

=> My feedback: Wow! I'm pretty impressed with this eyes set! I haven't got the opportunity to try this out yet but I'll be looking forward to using it soon! Also I think for the price, it is very reasonable to get one of this nifty set!

5) Essence Nudes Lipgloss (RM9.90 / 5ml - full size) - keeps your lips shimmery and moisturised with vitamin E and Panthenol without leaving behind a sticky feeling.

=> My feedback: Oooh... I like this! I like being able to use a lip gloss that is not so obvious color (I don't like attention to my face hahaha) and I did tried this product out. It keeps my lips moist and shiny. For the price of almost RM10, I think it is reasonable as well.

In summary, for the price of RM28 (RM19 if you subscribe monthly and RM9 for delivery in Peninsular Malaysia), you get to have 5 beauty sample products. I think it is worth it, especially for February box as there are actually 4 full-sized products given and I think it is very worth the money to be trying out these beauty products before deciding to buy them.

Some of the mums in my Facebook groups mentioned that the brands in Modbox are not well-known compared to other beauty subscriptions which work with big named brands. I begged to differ and would be glad to advise you guys to give Modbox a try as there are potential with unknown brands and for the price comparison with other beauty subscriptions (which could be double or more of what Modbox is offering), please do consider Modbox.

As for me, I will definitely look forward to subscribing to Modbox from now on to try out more beauty products.

You can find out more at http://modbox.com.my/

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

Boy, was I glad to be writing this post today! You see, last year my then 3 years old boy started these few annoying habits...

1) Biting his finger nails

2) Picking his nose

3) Playing with his privates

I've never mentioned them in my blog because, yes, I'm ashamed. I googled around to find out why kids do this, what should I do or get to stop my boy from biting his nails, and so on.

Anyway, for his finger nails biting habit, my SIL told me to find in pharmacies whether there are any solutions or medications that we can apply on the child's nails (which has bitter taste or something after applied) that can deter a child from biting their nails. I googled and find what other mums used and found this solution called 'Thum' (it was sold on Amazon website but had some negative reviews) I went around and asked like 4-5 pharmacies and the pharmacists all gave me a weird look as they have never heard of such brands nor such things that can be applied to a child's finger nails.

I gave up on finding the solution after that but from time to time will gently remind my boy not to bite his fingernails and regularly trimmed his nails because his biting made his nails uneven and chipped. Since last month, I noticed that his nail biting habits diminishing and he even from time to time tell me 'Look mummy, I don't bite fingers, I'm big boy already!' and when I checked his finger nails, yes, they are getting long. Yipee!!

I did the same for his nose picking habits, not to overly highlight or mentioned to him so that he doesn't find it too obvious that I'm observing and watching him all the times. I finally figured out a way to deal with his nose picking habit. And today, I can happily say he has definitely cut down on his nose picking habit tremendously (or at least hide them from obvious sight).

As for his last annoying habit which is playing with his privates, my SIL told me one of her boys also had the same habit and told me to wait it out, don't highlight it or tell him to stop or that it is shameful etc etc as they are figuring out their body parts and curious and as long as I keep monitoring him, it will go away and yes, today, I can gladly say that this habit is diminishing too.

I guess it also helped that we keep reminding our boy that he is growing up and becoming a big boy now and continuously show examples (of other older cousins for example) to him that other boys do not bite fingers, pick nose or play with their penis.

I also think that not obviously stopping or forbidding him to continue his habits helped as I believe the more we tell our child not to do something, the more they will want to do it. So, gentle and once in a while reminder of not doing this and that does help.

So there you go! I am so happy to see my boy outgrowing his annoying habits!

Does your child have any annoying habits? What do you do?

I saw an FB status by a primary school friend saying his wife is expecting and shared with him some of the tips and experiences I had during my 2 kiddos time and thought I might as well blog this down. So here you go, my advice and tips on what to prepare when you are expecting:

* Stop taking your over the counter multivitamins (if you have been taking them prior to pregnancy)

Why? For example, too much vitamin A can be toxic and can damage the developing foetus if you're pregnant. And over the counter multivitamins contains vitamin A that is too high for pregnant ladies. This is what we've been told by our 2nd gynae when I was pregnant with Benjamin back in 2008. IMHO, just taking folic acid and obimin is sufficient already.

Also, please do not consume pregnancy milk. If you have to gain weight, you can take normal UHT milk moderately but please refrain from consuming commercial pregnancy milk which claims to boost/provide healthy progress/development for your baby or yourself. There is very high sugar content in those milk and an acquaintance of ours took these milk and gained too much weight and having pregnancy diabetes now, on top of high blood pressure. So please do not take these milk!

Also read: http://www.tipsonhealthyliving.com/health-and-wellness/is-your-prenatal-multivitamin-falling-short

* Seek another gynae's opinion if you do not feel comfortable with their consultation

The reason why I mentioned this is not for you to gynae-hop. You see, back when we first found out I was pregnant with Ben, we went to this hospital for check-up and was told that Ben is a bit too small size for my estimated pregnancy duration. I was given some hormone pills to take orally and because of that, I had side effects everytime I took those pills. I will feel nauseous and my head will be spinning around for some time.

About 1 week into taking the pills, we went for another gynae and was told that the hormone pill is not necessary. I had vaginal ultrasound scan and we found out Ben's size is normal due to my irregular period cycle, I cannot expect Ben to be the size based on my last period date. The scan via vaginal gave a better accuracy results as we can see Ben clearly instead of ultrascan on the tummy.

As for the hormone pill, our 2nd gynae told us it is better to take it vaginally as the effects will be better absorbed by foetus due to the distance and to be honest, if the pill is taken orally, it gets digested, went through stomach and everything, by the time it reached foetus, only about 25% of the effects are left to be absorbed... which is a waste. I stopped taking the hormone pills after that and yes, we stopped seeing the 1st gynae in that hospital too.

* Try to stick to the same gynae where you will be delivering your child

For the sake of keeping track of your pregnancy progress and updates, do try to stick to the same gynae where you will be delivering your child. This is so that you developed a relationship with the gynae and they can monitor and (hopefully!) remembers your pregnancy progress. Of course this might not be easy if you are checking up at public hospital where the doctors go on rosters everytime.

* Decide (if you have not already done so) whether to go for natural birth or C-sect

I am all for natural birth if you asked me. To be able to feel the pain of labors and the moment when your baby shot out of your ehem vagina... that's always an unforgetable memories. No matter how painful the contractions were, I always remembered the feelings when my babies shot out of my body. Of course, that said, there are cases where pregnant mums are not able to give birth naturally due to baby or mum's health conditions, but if everything is fine and dandy, do try to go for natural birth!

* Decide (if you have not already done so) whether to breastfeed or not

Again, I am all for breastfeeding if you asked me. If I am not pro breastfeeding, I would not have breastfed my 1st child past 1 year, 2 years, throughout my 2nd pregnancy, 3 years, tandem nursed both kiddos and finally he weaned himself at 45 months old while my 2nd child is continuing on breastfeeding at 1.5 years old now. Go Google around and find out what's in your breastmilk and why people do this and why formula milk can never ever fight and substitute the contents in breastmilk no matter how hard formula companies tried to research and replicate it.

These are some of the initial preparations that I advised you to do ASAP (of course more along the way as you progressed on with your pregnancy). Feel free to share your tips!