Dr Bronner's soap review

Recently started trying out some organic personal care products ever since my aunt introduced me to Dr Bronners castile soaps. She purchased a couple of bottles of the soap from the States and poured out some into a bottle for me to try, because she said she read that the soap could be used as shampoo and was good for oily and fine hair, which was exactly what I need. She said it did much good to her hair too, like how her hair feels thicker after using the product.

Thought aunt might just be exaggerating about how good this Dr Bronners soap is, but dear dear was I wrong.

After just one use, my hair felt thicker, more volumized and it didn't look as scattered as how my hair used to look after my usual baths. Mum used to say my hair looked like pork floss -.- And then, i realized this soap/shampoo works wonders.

Being curious, I went to Google Dr Bronners soap, and I read many reviews, which most of them were positive ones. These were a summary of what I've gathered about Dr Bronner's Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap from people's reviews.:

• Dries up acne
• Softens skin
• Removes oil from skin
• Thick and lathers well
• Multipurpose (yes it has 18 uses, I'll talk about them later)
• Nice scent

Of course there were also some negative reviews which mostly talked about the breakouts they suffered from on initial use. However, I've read that breakouts are not uncommon upon first use because of the sudden change in product used. I've also read about how some of these people's breakouts started disappearing on further use...

Nevertheless, I shall describe my first experience using Dr Bronner's. So the soap my aunt gave me was lavender scented and I loved the fragrance because the smell was very aromatherapeutic.  It had this calming and "clean" scent. A little of it goes a long way. Yes, it foams really well. Just a little of it was enough for my whole head.

After rinsing, my hair felt very "squeaky". It felt the opposite of how your hair feels after applying conditioner. As a person with very fine and limpy hair, I liked this feeling. Perhaps long hair users might not like it because of the tangles it might cause. No worries, just do an apple cider vinegar rinse (raw apple cider vinegar diluted in distilled water) after shampooing, which acts as an organic conditioner, to neutralize the alkalinity of the shampoo/soap due to its acidic properties.

Do visit the following link for more information on apple cider vinegar rinse:
http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/wash-hair-with-apple-cider-vinegar/

After drying my hair, I could immediately feel that my hair had become thicker and fuller, and looked less like pork floss! I told myself I gotta buy this shampoo. I went online to see if Singapore has it and yes! Naturaworks.com.

This is the link to it:
http://www.naturaworks.com/

The website sells all the popular organic products that are high in demand. Besides Dr Bronners products, they also sell organic foodstuff like manuka honey and chia seeds, organic make-up products and aromatherapy oils.

So I made my order for Dr Bronners' liquid soap. These are the following scents available: lavender, peppermint, tea-tree, eucalyptus, and baby mild (unscented). I got 3 bottles: the lavender, tea-tree and eucalyptus scented ones. They come in 4 sizes: 237ml (SGD10.90), 473ml (SGD17.90), 946ml (SGD29.90) and 3.78litres (SGD105). I believe even the smallest size can last you a rather long time, let alone that 3.78 litres one... Besides the liquid form, it also comes in the soap bar form (SGD 7.90) so I got a peppermint one to try too, since there is free delivery for orders of SGD 80 and above, and it lathers and performs equally well (I've tested it out). I made my order on a Sunday night and received them on Tuesday noon.

 

The lavender bottle is not shown in here. The product at the bottom right of the picture is Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay which I'll review in time to come!

You know what's special about Dr Bronners soaps? They have 18 uses packed into them, with varying dilutions!

1. Hair
2. Body
3. Face
4. Teeth
5. Shaving
6. Bath
7. Footbath
8. Clear congestion
9. Dishes (handwashing)
10. Laundry
11. Mopping
12. All-purpose cleaning
13. Windows
14. Toilet
15. Vegetables and fruits rinse
16. Dogs
17. Plant spray for bugs
18. Ant spray

The dilution cheatsheet for the above 18 uses are listed in the following link:
http://www.lisabronner.com/dilutions-cheat-sheet-for-dr-bronners-castile-soap/

I mean, 18 uses in ONE single product! Well, you might be a little skeptical about this all-packed-into-one product, thinking why would you use your facial soap as floor detergent or share your shampoo with your pets, bugs and ants, but if Dr Bronners says it's alright, then it should not be a problem!

I've been using both the liquid and bar soaps for my face, hair and body and they have shortened my bath periods. I recommended this to my mum and she sang praises of it too, said how it made her hair (with split ends) look healthier. What's even better is my dogs skin is healing! Yoyo has had sensitive skin for the past couple of years, and despite visiting the vet, his skin was still sticky and smelly even after 2 days from his bath, but guess what. After using Dr Bronners, his skin condition is improving. His skin is no longer as sticky and he doesn't stink as much anymore, even the family says so. He's scratching less too, and I can't thank Dr Bronners enough! (no I'm not paid for this ad)

So in summary, I have been using Dr Bronners for more than a month. My face, hair and body have been good, and I love his soaps so much! No doubt dubbed as the "magic 18-in-one soap"!

NUS Commencement 2015

Had my graduation ceremony last evening at the University Cultural Centre, and I brought mum and dad along, together with L. My brothers were supposed to come along but my ballot for the additional tickets wasn't successful and I also didn't know that spare invitation cards were actually available on the evening of the ceremony (subject to availability).

Before leaving house, mum and dad gave me a huge surprise!

These were set up very nicely on the bed for me! Made me beam till my teeth felt like they were gonna detach from my gums. Sweet, sweet parents (: I always loved soft toys but mum dislikes them because she said "they'll collect dust and make the room look messy". This time I requested for a soft toy from her for my graduation. She had been declining this request but who knew, I got that cute lil' doggy pillow plush as a surprise! And dad went out early in the morning to order that pretty sunflower bouquet for me! These were like so "awwwwww!"

Know the reason behind my joy and happiness last evening? I was able to have the opportunity to give mum and dad the honour of attending the ceremony as VIP guests. I was happy seeing them happy (: I guess things would have been very different if the two of them weren't there, I wouldn't be that excited to go up that stage to collect the scroll and medal.

Came home, and I got yet another surprise from my younger bro who got me a surprise Swensen's ice cream cake! I tell you, I was mighty touched I teared a little because I never expected bro to prepare such a surprise for me!

Whose younger bro does such a sweet thing! It was extremely unexpected because bro had not been vocal about my graduation so I thought he might not have cared about this whole thing, but who knew, it turned out different. Love my family so so much, look at the support I've garnered from them! I'm going to have to say this even though it might sound boring since everyone's singing the same tune:

I'm so thankful of my family, my loved ones and all my friends who have showed me so much support and have encouraged me to work hard and achieve what I have today. No number of thank yous can show how much I appreciate what you all have done for me.

To the friends who cheered for me when I went upstage to collect my scroll (you know who you are :p), thank you so so much. I've been able to enjoy my journey in NUS thanks to you guys (: Again, I might not have been sufficiently vocal about it but oh my, I love you guys so much even though the time we spent together might not have been as long as many of our other close-knitted coursemates.

Ah, so much love in this post. I shall stop being longwinded here and continue smiling about the love and care I've gotten from all these awesome people.

 

 

BIG BIG THANK YOU TO ALL YOU PEOPLE!

Rakuichi Review

Few days ago, I had my lunch at Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant at Far East Shopping Centre. The restaurant interior was a traditional woody Japanese setup. It's my 3rd time dining at Rakuichi and Rakuichi has never disappointed me. Went there around 2.20pm, fortunately in time to make my last order (at 2.30pm). As usual, I ordered my favourite combo set, which was (okay I'm so sorry I forgotten what it was called) this:

Do not be deceived by this photo. This whole bento setup is relatively huge. If I didn't remember wrongly, the length of each side of this square bento setup is around the length of my forearm, no joke! This is one of the main reasons why I've been coming back for this set for all my 3 times at Rakuichi. Priced at $48.90, it comes with the following:


1) Separate sashimi set (3 slices of salmon, 2 slices of yellowtail) [accidentally deleted the picture of it]

2) Separate small mixed greens salad bowl (with shredded cabbage, carrots and corn...)

3) 6-piece sushi set with Japanese omelette (prawn, scallop, maguro, salmon, yellowtail, no idea what's the one with the mint leaf on)

4) Edamame beans

5) Corn (in that white rabbit ceramic figurine)

6) Fried shrimps (next to edamame)

7) Salmon roe (next to fried shrimps)

8) Wagyu beef and caramelized pork belly skewers

9) Tempura set: 1 piece eggplant, 2 pieces soft shell crab and 2 prawns

10) Chicken and seafood mushroom soup (in that black earthen teapot on the top right of the bento set)

11) Black roasted sesame ice cream


Ah yes, I just discovered it's kinda a 11-course meal! Could be an omakase meal too, hehe.

The sashimi pieces were placed on a bowl with crushed ice, so they tasted better colder, though they were a little tiny bit mushy and not as "tough" as the fresher sashimi I've had, but they were still good for me.

The "platter" with the little sides like the edamame, fried shrimps, salmon roe and corn was really cute, especially the corn in that rabbit figurine (: Loved the salmon roe, was very flavourful.

The tempura dishes were great! They were still warm and crispy when I had them, especially the soft shell crab. I've had soft shell crab tempura at other restaurants, which were cold and soggy, unlike Rakuichi's.

Sushi set was okay, nothing to boast about. I've had better ones outside.

The soup was quite unusual because they provide a lime wedge where you can squeeze it into the soup for a slightly tangy taste, and I like how it tasted in my chicken seafood soup, was savoury and yet brought with it a tinge of refreshing exotic taste. It comes with a little teacup where you pour the soup from the teapot into the teacup. I thought that was really novel, well at least for me since I always have my soup from a bowl instead of a teacup.

Sesame ice cream, I didn't really eat it because I'm not a fan of sesame desserts. Those who love sesame dessert would love the ice cream because the "roasted" taste of the sesame was really strong, they didn't stinge on the sesame. In fact, I think there were some crunches when I took a bite of the ice cream, I suppose they are the ground sesame? Okay just speculating...

Now, the best for the last, I LOVED the pork belly skewer. It was soooo tender it literally melted in my mouth, and it was sooo tasty too! Tasted like it had been marinated for many many hours because every part of that piece of meat on the skewer was toooo good and flavourful. (I love my food flavourful, don't like bland food) I would order that alacarte the next time I visit Rakuichi. The wagyu was not bad. I guess it was nice too, but in comparison with the pork belly, I find the wagyu fared lower.

Service was good too I thought! We arrived at 2.20pm and it supposedly closes at 3pm, but we were still in the midst of our meal then. Nevertheless, the restaurant stuff didn't look impatient or annoyed. After we finished our meal around 3.15pm (you know, L eats really slowly), the staff still thanked us with a smile on her face, really appreciated that.

Overall, there was so much food in that set I couldn't finish everything of course. This set would be more appropriate for those with a monstrous appetite! Promise you won't be disappointed. Shared my sushi set, tempura set and the sides platter with L. L ordered a $28.90 set which had fewer items. Her main dish was rice with salmon and egg hot plate, and looked much simpler relative to mine, so I didn't snap a shot of her meal. I'll learn to take more pictures to make my post more informative!

In conclusion, $48.90 (excluding GST and service charge) might be a little pricey for lunch but I think it's really worth the money spent for the variety of food you have. Definitely would visit the place again to have my pork belly skewer! Gotta feeling I might end up ordering the same combo meal again. Anyway this meal is available both for lunch and dinner.

Besides Far East Shopping Centre, Rakuichi has 2 other branches in Dempsey and Novena area. I've been to the Novena branch, food and service standards were equally good, the place seemed newer though.

Their branches and specific addresses can be found at:

http://rakuichi.com.sg/index.php/locate-us

Collection of graduation gown.

Collected my robe today! Yes, graduation gown, I'm aware of that, but I prefer to call it a robe, like Harry Potter's. Love the colour combi for my hood. When I was younger, I never thought I'd have the chance to put on such a robe. So, I'm quite excited for Commencement Day next Monday. It's like having the opportunity to wear a new favourite blazer for an event (: Youngest bro said it looked scary, hahah, I think I might understand what he meant by that...

Oh, and the mortarboard. I'm not sure if my head's too big or the mortarboard's too small. I ordered the M size (there were S, M and L) and when I tried it on just now in the school hall, it felt a little tight and made my face look big :/ Then I asked to borrow this L-sized one from a student beside me and it fitted better so I went to change to the larger size.

Anyway, here are the guest invitation cards for the event. Was really disappointed to see that I didn't get the extra cards that I balloted for, for the brothers. Then I read online that award winners get 2 VIP invitation cards and can't request for additional cards, and I was like, ooooh, okay, so I was sad for nothing. Yay! Mum and dad get the VIP seats next Monday (:

Moving house!

My family would be moving house from our existing 5-room Sengkang flat to a 5-room Premium BTO repurchased flat in Punggol. The family wants a change of environment after living in Sengkang for 17 years. The barely 2-year old project is named Punggol Breeze (might be an attempt to assimilate condominium projects).

Basically, repurchased flat is a HDB unit returned by the previous owner back to HDB due to personal reasons such as divorce cases, just to cite one. Then, HDB would publicize this unit for sale again in the next round of "Sale of BTO Units".

Usually, BTO units are yet to be constructed upon sale of the unit. However, due to the "repurchased" nature of our unit, our new home is ready for us to move in after collecting the keys.

So, mum and I have been busy looking for Interior Designers around who can provide us with affordable, reliable and innovative services. We have sourced for a few, and have yet to make our decision. Mum thinks that we should look for more alternatives. It started off as a rather troublesome task having to arrange a meetup with the ID, and share our ideas with him/her which we weren't even sure of what exactly we want. With time, ID after ID, we found it easier to convey our ideas to the designer. We've sourced for a few quotations from a pool of IDs.

Inexperienced IDs, blur IDs (who used the wrong terminology. Oh yes, I major in building and construction so I know a bit of the construction lingo), pushy IDs (who insisted for us to do this, do that, do everything, perhaps for his/her commission), atas IDs (who are really bad listeners), and of course there are IDs on the other end of the spectrum whom we found very comfortable speaking to.

Factoring in cost and quality, matters are further complicated. We all know how it's almost impossible to find cheap AND good stuff around, especially when it comes to renovation firms, but oh well, mum and I will try our best to seek for THE ONE.

We have approximately 1.5 months' time to work on this, so... Be hopeful!

In the meantime, just to share with you all how our unit looks like. (Yes, HDB allowed us to view the unit once, after securing that unit with the $2000 deposit. Breeze was one of the units I loved because it gave me this really "homely" feel, and location is good since Oasis LRT station is just next to our void deck. Moreover, a repurchased flat has its own perks because some renovation has been done by the previous owner such as flooring, shoe cabinet and the kitchen cabinets, allowing us to save on quite a bit of $ for renovation.)

Enjoy!

 Floor plan of 113 square meters wide 5-room Premium unit at Punggol Breeze.

 Punggol Breeze.

Our living room with laminated flooring and false ceiling done. Being the highest storey (17th floor), the ceiling is a little higher than an ordinary HDB unit.

The living room from the opposite view.

 Built-in shoe cabinets already constructed behind the main gate.

 Kitchen cabinets already constructed, with the entrance of the service balcony.

There's even a little basin area done up in the service balcony area.

Kitchen entrance.

 

 Stove and basin are not installed though.

 

 Vinyl flooring in the kitchen, instead of the common ceramic tiles.

 Common toilet.

 Passageway leading to the 3 bedrooms.

 Master bedroom, which is slightly less than 16 square metres. Thought to be large for a new BTO.

 The view from our 17th floor unit.