30 November 2019

Things That Make You Go Oooooo (November 2019)

Glasgow Clouds

My first month back in Thailand is already over and it's been one crazy month! It's really nice to be home and relax with my cat and give myself a little bit of a beauty treat, I also am enjoying being back in the land of 7Eleven and convenience food although I made sure not to over indulge too much and have actually been working out a lot again and I've already lost 5kg of the weight I put on whilst I was in the UK! I'm also loving being back in GOT7 land and celebrated Yugyeom's Birthday to the fullest as well as attending my first ever GOT7 fansign here which was one of the best night's of my life and I can't wait to share with you all soon. Christmas has also been making an appearance here so hopefully I can celebrate some of the festivities here this year.

♥ 10 Excuses the Mind Will Tell You Before You Take the Next Step

♥ What Helped Me Reclaim the Creativity I Loved as a Kid

♥ Smoky Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Greens

♥ “Dreaming Murakami” Film: The Surreal Experience of Translating Haruki Murakami’s Novels

♥ How to Avoid the Worst Cold-Weather Packing Mistakes







♥ 10 Beautiful Travel Poems For The Adventurer In You

♥ Birthdate Candles

♥ 25 Things Introverts Want You to Understand About Them

♥ What K-Pop Star Jackson Wang Can’t Live Without

♥ Whole Wheat Vegan Almond Pumpkin Cookies

What are you most excited for in December?
Love & Hugs
Cate
xoxo

20 November 2019

GOT7 Yugyeom Birthday Celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand


At the beginning of the year I attended my first birthday event for GOT7's leader JB and since then K-Pop  birthday events have become so much bigger and more popular in Thailand with several events happening over the course of the whole month. Now we are at the end of the year and our final GOT7 birthday celebration for our youngest member Kim Yugyeom.



The first event I attended was called KYUMsGally hosted in Round About Cafe near BTS Ekkamai. The whole cafe, which was 2 floors, was decorated with fan art, photos and toys of Yugyeom. It was really nice seeing all the fanart that people had made for him, GOT7 has some really talent fans and I always love seeing how creative they are.



I actually visited this cafe on the day of GOT7's first music show win for their latest release You Calling My Name and with was so nice to sit there and celebrate the win with my fellow ahgase, the cafe was really quiet and we we're all trying so hard not to scream and contain our excitement. It was such a happy moment for us all watching the livestream from Korea together and the perfect place to be and the perfect way to start off Yugyeom's birthday celebrations.



The next cafe I visited was TE Time and Space in Siam Discovery which is actually one of my fave cafes which does really delicious teas that I first visited back in March for Jackson's birthday. However for Jackson't birthday they were only giving away cupsleeves but for Yugyeom's birthday they had decorated the whole cafe with balloons, photos and fanart of him. I really loved what they did with such a small place it looked so beautiful and I really hope we can have more events there next year.


While in Siam I of course had to see the birthday advert fans had made for Yugyeom's birthday on the MBK Center, the screen is huge and it's become somewhat of an event for people to go there and wait for their idols birthday advert to appear, in fact as I was there waiting for Yugyeom's advert, Bank Thiti a popular Thai actor (who has actually worked with GOT7) was there with his fanclub so they could celebrate his birthday together and watch the birthday advert they had made for him, it was a really sweet moment to witness and I hope Yugyeom gets to see all the fun we had in Thailand for his birthday to, I already can't wait for next year's birthday celebrations.

Have you ever been to a K-Pop birthday event?
Love & Ice Chocco
Cate
xoxo

Psssst if you want to see more awesome cafes from around the world you can click the button below, buy me a coffee, get treats & a shoutout on my next post



10 November 2019

GOT7 Mark Meal (Spicy Vegan Version)


The 'Mark Meal' has been a staple in GOT7 and Ahgase diets for a few years now, with Mark himself being a big fan and making it several times on variety shows. It recently got a new spicy makeover using the infamous spicy chicken noodles which amazingly are completely vegan, so I thought I would call on the help of my little friend 'Chibi Mark' and finally test out this meal for myself, vegan style!


I'm a big fan of the fire noodles so I really enjoyed this and although I'm not a fan of fake meats I did really enjoy the addition of the sausages and cheese is always good! I'll definitely be making it again, quite possibly after GOT7 concerts as I always seem to find myself in a 7Eleven hunting for something to eat after using all my energy up screaming... hehe!


Have you tried the 'Mark Meal' what did you think?
Love & Rambokki
Cate
xoxo

05 November 2019

Wishtrend: Cruelty Free Korean Beauty & Skincare Review


Earlier this year I started suffering from some quite sever cystic acne breakouts caused by hormones, pollution and stress which gave me a major blow to my confidence, I rarely left the house my skin was so bad and when I did I would usually wear a mask. I completely changed my skincare routine as almost everything I had used previously seemed to irritate me and started using less products with less ingredients. It's taken a while for my skin to return to a better condition but I am seeing some improvements so I thought I would share my experiences on some of the products I've bought from Wishtrend a company that strives to use provide more natural, cruelty free, beauty products which is based in South Korea. I've tried a few of their products in the past and always been pleased with the results so thought this would be a great place for me to start and create a new routine for my irritated, recovering skin.

"The By Wishtrend Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash is a mild powder cleanser to use on a daily basis. Consisting baking powder, coconut-derived surfactant, and enzymes, it controls blackheads while hydrating. As a low irritant cleanser for sensitive skin, it helps to exfoliate your skin a daily basis. "
I've never tried a powder face wash before but really liked the idea of it as I travel a lot and it would be easy for me to pack as I wouldn't have to worry about any liquid restrictions. I'm also a big fan of green tea as an antioxidant and baking powder as a natural cleanser so I had high hopes for this and after using it for a few weeks I'm overall very happy with it! I really like how you can tailor the texture of the wash to your needs, so should you need something more exfoliating you use less water or something lighter less powder. Admittedly it did take me a few tries to get the powder to water ratio I liked right but I eventually found that a small amount of powder worked quite well to adequately cleanse my whole face. I always felt really fresh and clean after using this wash and it didn't dry my skin out at all like some washes do. I also liked that there was no fragrance to as fragrance is something that can really irritate my sensitive skin. I do think the bottle is kinda big for the amount of power you actually get in it and I ended up transferring it to a smaller bottle so it was easier for me to travel with but other than that I'm really pleased with this product and how well it cleansed and soothed my irritated skin.


"The Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner is the second version of the Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner. The unscented toner is the second version of the original toner that excluded all essential oil, which makes it scent-free. While the original toner contains non-irritating all natural essential oil, the unscented was made to provide an option for customers’ preference to scents."
This is a newer version of their popular Supple Preparation Toner which I have used previously and had good results with but this one is unscented and therefore better for sensitive skin or skin which is prone to irritation. What I really like about this toner is that it has a thicker texture so leaves your skin feeling soft and hydrated for longer without feeling sticky. I personally found the original toner had a strong lavender scent so prefer the unscented version but both work well it just depends if you prefer your cosmetics scented or unscented and how sensitive your skin is.


"The Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop is a serum to rejuvenate the skin. It contains concentrated pure vitamin C and key ingredients directly from nature. Its innovative multi-solution and non-irritating formula is to revitalize, maintain, and transform the skin. "
Out of all the vitamin C products I've tried I found this one to be the most effective at brightening skintone and reducing acne scars, it's the only product I found that actually made a visible difference to my skin. I've been using this serum for a few years now however I found it best not to use daily as it can sometimes irritate my sensitive skin so I tend to store it in the fridge to keep it fresh and use a few drops to treat my hyper-pigmentation and acne scaring every few days and you really don't need to use more than a few drops on your skin to feel the effects. This is also a favourite of my Mum's to after I recommended it to her as she found it really brightened and evened out her skintone. It can be a bit irritating to use on especially sensitive skin or days that your skin is feeling irritated from acne etc. but I found if you mix in a few drops with moisturiser it works just as effectively.


"The concentrated formula of the Rich Moist Soothing Cream provides immediate, long-term moisture for a more radiant, hydrated complexion. It works deep within the skin to provide much needed soothing and moisture. Infused with yeast-derived beta glucan, it supports the skin’s natural moisture barrier and defense system."
If you suffer from dry, sensitive skin this moisturiser is perfect! Whenever my skin is especially dry I find after using this that my skin immediately is more hydrated and soft. I also like to keep it in the fridge as I find on days when the weather is warmer or days when my skin is flaring up and feels irritated that it really cools, soothes and calms it down. This moisturiser also works well with the Freshly Juiced Serum should you need to add a little extra treatment into you routine as both work well together, and don't contain any ingredients which negates each others properties, and keep your skin moisturised and soothed.


"Oval shaped, highly adhesive acne patch suitable for covering several adjacent acne spots at once. 26 patches in 3 different sizes (15x23mm Large 8ea, 11x16mm Medium 9ea, 9x13mm Small 9ea) Patch that not only helps the acne disappear without a scar, but also helps soothe and calm the spot. The border of the patch is thinner to strongly adhere to curved areas such as jaw line and hair line."
Acne patches are a must! I've tried all different types from COSRX and while they are all very effective these are definitely my favourite and the ones I will be purchasing from now onwards. I love that they come in different sizes and the bigger sized ones are great for covering up a few pimples in the same area, I also prefer the oval shape as I think it adheres to the skin better, especially around places like your nose and chin. They're also really thin so hardly noticeable and I often wear these under my make-up as they are very discreet and easy to cover with concealer or foundation to blend into your regular make-up. Whenever I have a particularly angry spot that is irritating me or one that has popped I put one of these on it and within a day it's already calmed down and healed, definitely a must have for anyone that is prone to getting pimples.



Wishtrend also included a bunch of free samples in my order which I can't wait to try out and are also perfect for me to travel with when I have overnight or weekend trips and don't want to pack so many things. COSRX & Dear Klairs are my favourite Korean beauty brands and in the past I was always able to find them in store at ALand or online at Style Korean however I've found that often the items I want are out of stock when I visit so I decided this time it would be more convenient to order from Wishtrend as they are the creators of Dear Klairs and also stock COSRX and other cruelty free brands, they also offer great prices and fast international shipping. In the past I would hoard my favourite products but I found that especially with the serums that they can go bad before I've even had the chance to use them especially with the warm humid climate in Thailand so now I only buy in small quantities I intend to use immediately after purchase. Their service is so fast and reliable now I need not worry when I'm running low on my favourite products as I can just place an order with them and it will be with me within a week, so if you're looking to purchase more cruelty free Korean beauty products definitely check them out!

What are your favourite cruelty free beauty brands?
Love & Sunshine
Cate
xoxo



Disclaimer: These items were all purchased by myself with my own money and I was not asked to write this review I simply want to share my experiences of these products in the hopes it might help others, this post does contain affiliate links of which I will get a small percentage of the sale should you decided to purchase using my link.