Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum | Home Tester Club Review

I grew up with Eversoft avocado facial cleanser. It's a time when life was a little bit more difficult and I wasn't financially independent. Eversoft was such a household name. The cleanser was both cheap and effective. Since then, Eversoft has introduced so many other products. And today I want to introduce you all to Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum.

Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum is part of the Skinz Timeless Youth series. It harnesses the power of phytonutrients using Japanese technology. The other products in this series include cleanser, toning lotion, day defense SPF30 PA++ and night solution.

The active ingredients in this serum are

- Wakame extract which fades fine lines and make wrinkles less visible because it's enriched with plant based collagen

- Ume or Japanese apricot extract which helps to maintain skin radiance and avoids dull/sallow complexion. This is called anti-glycation. 

- Rosehip oil which reinforces the function of skin as barrier and helps to lock moisture in the skin by the virtue of vitamin A and essential fatty acids.

Eversoft products are also cruelty free- no animal testing. They are suitable for sensitive skin as they don't contain paraben, alcohol, artificial colour or fragrance, phthalates and mineral oil.

How to use?

Best effect is of course when one uses all the products in the Skinz Timeless Youth series.

Step 1- cleanse
Step 2- tone
Step 3-serum
Step 4- moisturise

Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum could be applied over the eyes and face once or twice a day during step 3. A single pump is enough for each application. 

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I love how I don't have to get a separate serum for my eyes because Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum can be used for eyes as well. It's light weight and doesn't burden the skin too much. The natural apricot smell is also relaxing.

Interested? Eversoft multicorrective replumping serum is available in most pharmacies/supermarket.

Eversoft website

The benefits of drinking tea | T3aLong review

Tea has been regarded in centuries as a healthy beverage. It's therefore, not surprising that many research has been done about the benefits of drinking tea. Freshly brewed tea, for one, doesn't have any downsides-- not much caffeine and no calorie or sugar. A lot of brews are considered as tea including certain fruits/flowers infused drinks. However, purists only consider green, black and white tea.

How do we differentiate the types of tea?

Green tea is made with steamed tea leaves and has a high concentration of antioxidants called flavonoids in which ECGC is the most potent. This has been linked with anti-cancerous properties, the ability to burn fat and reduce risk of dementia. Black tea, from fermented tea leaves, has the highest caffeine but is great for flavoured teas and instant teas. It has been shown to protect lung damage due to cigarette smoking. White tea is not processed (not cured nor fermented). Theoretically, this will lead to the highest concentration of anti-oxidants.

The caveat being we are still not sure how much tea do we need to drink to get the touted benefit. But it's better than none. Read more about the benefits of drinking tea at WebMD.

However, not all teas are good. In fact, the FDA has issued warning for certain herbal teas which may potentially lead to bowel problems, liver and kidney damage, even death. Read the labels and make sure your tea doesn't contain the following ingredients such as senna, aloe, buckthorn, comfrey, ephedra, willow bark, germander, lobelia and chaparral.

This is particularly why I only drink good quality teas. T3aLong hails from Singapore and relentlessly source the best tea from China. This is the place of origin for Chinese teas because the climate and geographical location is suitable for tea growing. The finest and purest leaves are obtained in a pollution free area at a high altitude near 1600meters at an average temperature of 10-18 degrees Celsius with average annual rainfall of 2000mm (The exact location remains a secret).

The tea leaves go through these following process- plucking, withering, tossing, oxidization, fixing, rolling, drying and finally roasting. How does one quickly know that T3aLong tea is of high quality? Only leaves are used in their Nanyang Savour Tea (not powder which is usually of the leftover after processing and is used in tea bags). So true tea lovers only buy premium tea leaves such as T3aLong from Singapore.

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I am absolutely in love with the flavour of T3aLong Nanyang Savour tea. It's just at the right strength which doesn't affect my sleep even if I have it near bed time. In fact, it helps me to relax and wind down just before that. The flavour is also balanced with a hint of floral scent, neither bitter nor stale. Even if after I steep the tea for over 10minutes.

The metal packaging makes it easy to store the tea leaves. Comes with a pack of desiccant, this enables me to maintain the freshness of the tea for even longer. Since I don't really drink coffee anymore, tea has also become a good companion when I need a good teatime.

Intrigued and want to try T3aLong? These are the websites. Quote yingzangel when you check out for 10% discounts!

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Popular Hari Raya food | Medical department Open House

Hair Raya is all about eating and open house. At least for me. Our very own medical department had recently held our open house. This means free food! These are the following popular dishes for this Muslim new year available at our open house. This is a month's long celebration.

Rendang chicken

This is a spicy chicken dish in which the chicken pieces are fried before then. The chicken are then slowly cooked with a spice mixture called pemasak (ginger, gal gal, turmeric leave, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, coconut milk and chillies). Rendang chicken goes really well with dahl  vegetable curry (brinjal, long beans, potatoes and carrot), achar (pickles of cucumber, carrot, chili, onions with mustard seeds) and crackers.


Laksa

These springy noodles go great with the spicy fish based broth and julienned cucumber, onion, lettuce and hard boiled eggs. It has a slightly sour and spicy flavour but the fish is not overpoweringly strong in flavour.

Nasi Dagang

This is a popular rice dish in the East Coast. Rice cooked in coconut milk that goes so well with a chunk of fish curry, pickled cucumber and carrots.

Soto noodles

Noodles or vermicelli (boiled or deep fried) in clear herbal broth (made from lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, black peppercorns, Thai basil, coriander and cumin seeds) that goes well with chicken breast strips and potato begedil (deep fried minced beef with potatoes).

Satay

This needs no additional description. An absolute crowd pleaser, skewers of grilled chicken pieces marinated in turmeric with peanut sauce, cucumber, onions and nasi impit (rice cubes).

Cendol

Cendol is also a well known dessert consists of green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. Mixed with shaved ice, it's the perfect way to chase away heat.

Fruit rojak

Rojak basically means a mixture of many fruits such as mangoes, sengkuang, pineapple, cucumber in a spicy paste (made with shrimp paste, palm sugar, ground chili pepper and peanuts) which gives it a tangy flavour.

Raya cookies and cakes

A delicious selection of pineapple tarts, cakes, red velvet cookies, semperit and almond London.

Of course, we have to take lots of photos at the booth for memory keepsakes. So if you want to organize an open house, consider all the above dishes!

Korean Lunch | Daebak Cafe Kuantan Unpaid Review

It can be quite a rare occasion to have enough lunch time to enjoy a cuppa in a local cafe during weekdays. The task becomes even more difficult to have 2 young children in tow during weekends. So we were fairly lucky to be able to try these Korean lunch menus at Daebak cafe recently.

Daebak Cafe
Jalan Taman Beserah, 25300 Kuantan, Pahang
017-914 8747
https://g.co/kgs/rzkAAm

This cafe is owned by a Korean lady. When it first started up, the menu was mainly about coffee, certain special beverages, waffles and its famous crepe cake. So far, we have really positive experience dining here so we were really excited to introduce their lunch menu to everyone. 

The atmosphere in the dining area was calm and soothing. Great for a few hours of chit-chatting and relaxation. 

These are the lunch menu options:

Muesli raisin toast

Topokki 

Ramen and rice ball

Cream soup + toast

Smoked salmon salad

Kimbab roll

Spicy chicken rice

Rappoki noodles

Smoked chicken salad

Bibimbab rice

Bulgogi rice

Japcha

Croissant sandwich (cheese & tomato, egg& potato, smoked chicken, smoked salmon)

We ordered 3 different types of coffee. The coffee blend here is just the right flavour for me aromatic yet not too bitter or sour. Or what Mr husband would call as full body.The beauty of having coffee is that it's practically sugar free and only contains the calorie of the milk. 

Latte- hot

Cappuccino

Cold latte

In terms of the dishes, we ordered the following:

Topokki is Korean rice cake which is slightly sticky and chewy. I love how much the onions add to the sweetness of the dish and balance out the spiciness of the sauce. The fish cake and hard boiled egg complements the dish perfectly. The sauce if also of generous amount. 

Japcha is a vegetarian dish. Glass noodles with springy texture mixed with bak choy, mushrooms, julienned carrots, black fungus and onions. It has the fragrance of sesame oil. Even though it looks heavy, but it's actually quite refreshing and light in flavour.

Spicy chicken rice. I love how wholesome this dish is. An average portion of rice with spicy chicken strips stir fried with cabbage and onions. Crispy seaweed salad adds crunch to it. And it also comes with a sunny side up egg. 

Of course we have to try their signature crepe cake. My favorite is the original flavor but only matcha was available that day. The green tea is surprisingly good and not too sweet. The cake was light and the layers add texture. 

Overall our verdict is 8/10! Lovely cafe with great food and coffee. Although we would love more meat in the food though :p 

Comprehensive skincare | Dr Eslee product review

Dr Eslee is founded by Prof Lee from Korea. We are so lucky that it's now available in Malaysia as well. It's a skincare brand made and also used by doctors. It's in fact currently sold in more than 670 dermatology clinics. Dr Eslee's products also embrace the principles of evidence based medicine which only uses the most effective ingredients proven by relentless research.

Dr Eslee's products are made of eco-friendly phytonutrients. These ingredients are plant based and sourced from quality suppliers all around the world. Read more about the power of phytonutrients in my previous post here. Not only do phytonutrients make good supplements, but they are also great skinfood. Of course, the products are also free from potential allergens like parabens, SLS/SLES, chemical UV absorbers and artificial fragrances.

Let me bring you through the step by step way of complete skincare using Dr Eslee products. Note that the following products are useful for people who have combination skin like me. I have dry face. Yet my T zone is often oily with clogged pores causing acne and blemishes.

1. Cleanse/exfoliate
-Wash foam
-Enzyme wash doubles as face cleanser and as scrub if less water is used. Suitable to be used 2-3 times a week

2. Tone
-AC skin lotion is a convenient 3 in 1 product (toner, moisturiser & skin colour toning)

3. Anti acne
- Intensive care gel applied on the blemish

4. Moisturize
-Enriched water gel
-Hydra emulsion or drynix lotion (oil based moisturiser)seal skin moisture off

5. Sun protection
- Physical Sunscreen contains SPF50 which is more than enough to protect our skin from photoaging

6. Conceal
-Intensive blemish balm functions to reduce scar appearance and acts as foundation with UV protection

Besides this, Dr Eslee also has different range of skincare for various skin types- oily, dry, combination, aging and lastly sensitive/eczema prone skin. One can either purchase the products in their normal sizes or just in cute sachets like the ones I show in the photos. Excellent size for traveling. Each sachet is conveniently packed for single use.

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

Dr Eslee's products provide a complete solution for almost all skin problems. If you go through their website, they also include many useful advice for skincare tailored to skin types. It's not just skin deep! If you are like me, with no time for so many skincare steps, Dr Eslee also has products that are multifunctional.

Being a doctor, I fully realised how important it is to put evidence based medicine into my daily practice. And Dr Eslee is exactly following the same philosophy. This makes me trust the products even more. Made of natural plant based ingredients, I don't need to worry about possible allergic reactions.

Interested to find out more?

Dr Eslee Official website
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As my readers, quote NJQFJH to get 20% off your first purchase! 

Getting Phytonutrients using Natural Plant Extract |Bio-Nutricia Extract Product Review

As our healthcare system improves its service, people are living longer and healthier. So non infectious diseases or what we call lifestyle diseases are becoming more and more common. The 3 highs such as high sugar (type 2 diabetes mellitus), high blood pressure and high cholesterol become the main concern. Therefore, the mainstay of the treatment being a good diet rich in vegetables and fruits. This is also what is more technically called as phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients or plant food is a more complete way to 'supplement' our diet instead of individual minerals or vitamins. This is because various research has shown the significant benefit of consuming whole food. Examples of phytonutrients include carotenoids, flavonoids, resveratrol and phytoestrogens. To understand more about phytonutrients, read this interesting article on WebMD.

However promising the research results may seem, please note that phytonutrients do not and cannot fully substitute the need for proper medication and follow up in most patients. But they can be useful and safe adjuncts. Many studies have been done but mostly not in huge numbers (less than a hundred subjects), use animal models or only deal with molecular structures.

Therefore, it can be difficult to determine how great the effect is, the dose required and whether the result can be generalised to the whole population. On the contrary, medications are tested in at least thousands of patients in terms of efficacy and safety before it's widely used.

Bionutriciae natural plant extract concentrates are produced with the most stringent standards using fresh leaves. It aims to preserve freshness yet to save the trouble of extracting the juice manually in the kitchen which often requires long hours of cooking and multiple tedious steps. This is very useful for full-time working mothers like me who want to put good quality food on the table using the least time. We are talking about dinner ready in 30-60minutes.

There are 4 main plant extracts available- Pandan, Butterfly Pea Flower, Roselle Hibiscus and Lemongrass. These products fulfill quality food production standards such as GMP, FDA and HACCP. Read about these quality assurance bodies in my previous post here.

Fresh Natural Pandan Extract Concentrate

Our Pandan Barley Soup makes a refreshing and healthy afternoon tea whether served cold or hot.

Pandan as known as vanilla of the East, is no stranger to most Asian kitchens. It's widely used in many dishes and desserts for it's attractive green colour and fragrant smell as well as flavour.

Containing many flavanoid compounds, pandan neutralizes acidic pH found in kidney diseases, has anti-oxidant properties, detoxification properties,  improves stamina and boosts energy levels. It may also prevent surging in blood sugar levels, reduces risk of depression and anxiety. 

Fresh Natural Butterfly Pea Flower Extract Concentrate

Homemade blue rice makes it more appetizing.

Butterfly Pea Flower gives an attractive blue colour from anthocyanin phytonutrient. When added with some acid such as a squeeze of lemon, the colour turns from midnight blue to violet then pink. It is a popular tea/beverage in Malaysia, Thailand , Indonesia and Philippines. Certain food such as pulut inti, nasi kerabu and nyonya dumplings uses Butterfly Pea Flower aka Bunga Telang as natural colouring. 

Not only is this visually pleasing, but it also contains water soluble anthocyanins which has antioxidant properties as well as the ability of enhancing vision,  reducing inflammation, controlling blood sugar, reducing the risk of heart attacks and preventing cancer formation. 

Fresh Natural Roselle Hibiscus Extract Concentrate

Sponge cake in progress with Roselle swirl baked by my mom.

Roselle aka Red Sorell has been traditionally used to treat urinary tract infections, cold and hangovers. It can also be made into beverage or jam. As the color remains stable with high heat, it is widely used in pastry baking as well.

Roselle is high in Vitamin C, anthocyanin which gives its brilliant red hue. It also has antioxidants and lowers starch absorption which helps in weight loss. 

Fresh Natural Lemongrass Extract Concentrate

Flavoursome home cooked curry laksa 

Beside being used in cooking curries, tomyam, soup and laksa, lemongrass can also be drank as tea. It can also be found in essential oils especially to repel insects and mosquitoes.

Lemongrass is high in citral which is the key of its flavor and smell. The phenolic and flavanoid compounds in lemongrass are strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. It can also lower cholesterol and sugar. 


What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I have two young children at home and it can be a real struggle to get them to take their fruits and vegetables. However, these natural plant extracts have such great flavours and interesting colour that makes preparing food and consuming them so much fun. I often get my eldest to be involved in preparing his own meal so he really appreciates the whole process and gain some skills necessary for basic survival. Not only did we drink the extracts on their own, we also add them to our food as depicted above -- my boy really thinks it's magic!

Interested?
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Nursing Away from Home made easy | Adrini's Nursing Inner Review

Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing and one of the aspects that I totally enjoy as a mother of 2. Because it gives me a sense of being able to meet the needs of my children. Not only does it nourishes them physically but the bossom also provides a strong sense of security and helps them to build a secured attachment to me as a mother. As I weaned my eldest from the breast when he was 2years and 8months because tandem nursing can be tough, I felt a sudden emptiness and guilt that I can no longer be as closed to him anymore.

Therefore, nursing friendly clothes allow me to nurse freely in the public. As natural as it is for us adults to eat when we are hungry, young babies also need to feed whenever and whereever they are famished! It may not be feasible to find a secluded spot/ nursing room/ get into my car to feed the baby who is screaming his heads off wanting to feed. Note here, both my boys hate nursing cover so I have never used one. They will refuse to feed and make even a bigger fuss.

There are various styles of nursing clothes available in the market. Some includes a double hidden flap, some with zips. This allows us to maintain modesty without exposing too much of the tummy when lifting up the clothes for a quick feed in the public.

Adrini's is a Malaysian brand that offers many comfortable and stylish maternity and nursing clothes for mothers. I was honoured with the chance to try their nursing inner recently.

I love how bright the color of orange is this Adrini's nursing inner.
This series of inner wear comes in many colors including army green, black, orange and red. It's stylish, the material soft and comfortable. In our Malaysian tropical weather, this nursing inner is also airy and absorbs sweat easily without compromising on the thickness of the shirt so that it's not seen through easily. Not only that it also enhances our feminine figure/silhouette perfectly.

Besides that, the Adrini's nursing inner needs very minimal care. It's machine washable, dries fast under the sun. The Adrini's inner doesn't wrinkle much and no ironing is required!

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I think the Adrini's nursing inner is an essential item in the wardrobe for nursing mothers. It's beautiful, easy to wear, modest yet stylish. And it makes breastfeeding in and away from home so effortless and elegant. Additionally, because it's long in design, it also makes me look slimmer.

Importantly, it's easy and fast to reveal the nipples for quick access while breastfeeding. No fiddling before my boy loses patient while waiting as there are no buttons or zips. The design also offers double protection to avoid maybe not so innocent passerbys from revealing our precious asset. There's overlapping material both sideways and from above, making nursing cover redundant.

The Adrini's nursing inner is also versatile. It can be worn on its own without appearing too baggy or too pyjamas-like. Pairing with a buttoned up cardigan, it's also suitable for a shopping trip or even office wear. As for the bottoms, it looks great with skirts, tights or slacks. At the price tag of RM40 each piece, it's indeed value for money.

After trying out this nursing inner, I'm so tempted to acquire a few other nursing wear designs such as Adrini's long flowing maxi dress and Ranaerissa by Adrini's (long sleeved nursing top suitable for work wear). 

Besides nursing wear, Adrini's also has its range of modern looking maternity wear and Muslimah fashion such as baju kurung modern, kebaya and matching suits with pants for a shrewd corporate look. The Raya collection is definitely worth owning as well. Browsing through their Instagram makes me feel like owning almost each clothing article. Mommies can also get great children wear like unisex hoodie and cute lacy dresses.

So, mothers, head on to Adrini's to get your own nursing clothes now. Or dear spouses, buy some as a surprise gift for her birthday/ anniversary. She will love you for it!

Adrini's official website
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