Sometimes life just happens to you; one day you may look in the mirror and see an older person staring back at you. What are these crow's feet and fine lines around your eyes? How did they suddenly appear, and more importantly, can you get rid of them?

Cosmetics companies claim the reason you need a separate eye cream is because the skin around your eyes is a little different from the rest of your face. First of all, this skin is indeed thinner and shows signs of aging more quickly than other areas of the face do. This thinness makes it more delicate and vulnerable, and it's more prone to allergic reactions than other facial skin. The skin around the eyes also gets a much greater workout; every time you move your eyes, whether you squint, smile or widen them in surprise, you're working out the tiny muscles around your eyes. Over time, this skin dries out and forms small wrinkles, sometimes called crow's feet. Smoking and exposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays can also encourage wrinkles to form.

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Verdict:

It absorb very quickly into your skin. Moreover, it doesn't irritate your eyes because some eye cream does especially for a contact lens user like me. It doesn't feel sticky nor oily. I've been using it daily for the past 1 month and I just love the result and how it feels after applying it.

The reception on the groom side was held in Anjung Budi, USM. Reason being, it has an outdoor porch that overlooks the entire USM  field. Plus our theme was a mix of garden and rustic. So Juan believe that venue will compliment our theme. Anjung Budi is partially cafe during weekdays and partially a small hall. 

The rent is only RM300 but it can accomodate around 400 pax at a time. Since me and Juan invited only close friends and family members, this will be an ideal place. I would say it was more of a gathering than a reception.

The pelamin was placed in the inside part of the venue, just in case in rains. Meja beradab was placed in the middle of the walkway. The cafe is not air conditioned so expect a lot of heat and humidity. But at times, it can be very windy.

Our chalet was located nearby to the sea shore, restaurants and swimming pool. It cost about RM200 for 2 nights per pax which also include breakfast. Shari La is the only chalet that provides 24 hours electricity in the island of pulau kecil. The rest of the hotel switch off the electricity supply from 10am to 6pm. Peak hours where most guest are out either for diving or snorkeling session or island hopping.

The breakfast was not what I expected. Food that you can get at hawker stalls and the quality is just low. The whole island live on generators of its own. You can still make phone calls but data is not available. However, each chalet and restaurants has their own protected password. For hotels, wifi is only available at the lobby.

We booked an air conditioned chalet, surrounded by trees and not to forget mosquitoes. Remember bring insect repellent. 

To those who fancy night life , you can walk through a short jungle track to Long Island through Ombak Cafe(beside Shari La resort). It's the opposite side of pulau kecil where you can experience the Bali-like atmosphere.

I assumed that most of us will be joining the water activities like snorkeling or diving throughout your stay in Perhentian Island., if that's the case, I suggest to stay in a place where hotels/chalets switch off their generator during peak hours (normally between 10am to 6pm). It will be a waste if you spend RM100 a night but you don't spend most of your time in the room. There are plenty chalet that you can rent at a cheaper price.

As for the boat ride, you can either opt for a personal boat(this will cost slightly more) or share it with other visitors.

Sorry for the blurry photos.

Life has been pretty much easy for me after the wedding. At last I have someone to help me with the house chores. Being a housewife and working at the same time is not easy. 

As I mentioned in my earlier post, nothing much changes. Though me and Juan has started living together, our routine remain the same except for the additional laundry that I had to do. 

Anyway, thing's been very laidback. Routine changed just a little. I go to work, come back, do the cooking with Juan, do the laundry, watch TV a little before we go to bed. Just like I was a single. Coincidentally a week after our wedding was Ramadhan. So I find that as a blessing as I get to perform extra deed with Juan. We go for our tarawih prayers by bike because the surau is nearby to our home plus it's convenient and easy to park. Juan cooks for berbuka as well, most of the time. I help and cook whenever I can. Juan cooks simple dishes so I think it's faster considering that by the time I come home, it's almost 6pm. So the complicated ones, I cook over the weekend.

I guess this is just the first phase of a newly wed. As time goes by, all these will become part of a routine. But I hope that there'll still be spark between me and Juan as we get older. It's just scared to see some couple lose interest towards each other as years goes by. They do things on their own, eat on their own, no more date nights and when you have children, the kids literally take over your whole life.

That aside, let's go to the real thing. Being the eldest in the family, I'd be lying if I said, there's no pressure or expectation on me to show good examples to my youngest sister. We're 10 years apart so as you know, children learn from what they see and slowly pick up either the good or the bad ones. Well, I'm on the average. As I grow older, things change a little. I start to realize the importance of being kind to your parents so that my sister sees it. Because I know, when the time comes for me to move out (like now), she'll be the next important person to look after the old folks.

It wasn't an easy decision to make. Whether to get married or not given that I have so many commitments in hands(not just financially). It was more about expectations. What my dad would expect of me, what my mum would expect, how my in-laws would expect of me, how people think of me being married. It was a lot to process. My dad is a realistic person. He'll tell facts to you. Not those fairy tales of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty that a typical dad will read to his children before bedtime. As me and my sister grow up, he gave the freedom to us to decide what we want in life. Whenever you ask a question to him, his answers were never No or Yes. It was more of a reasoning and justifying his facts. He'll justify his answer with facts and examples. At times, you'll wonder whether is he saying Yes or is he saying No. Well, it depends on how you perceive things through his perspectives. 

When I decided to tell my parents that I wanted to end by bachelor life(especially MY DAD), the feeling is just too much to handle. Sweat, nervous, afraid. It's like having your first injection. No, actually it was worst than that. It was like Hurricane Katrina. It's too difficult to explain. My dad don't shout nor raise his voice even when he's mad or if he disagree. But the way he starts his sentences, makes you nervous. Just the first word coming out from his mouth literally decides everything. From the first word, you'll know whether it's a good or a bad news for you or sometimes, unsure.

Well, I believe as time goes by, I'll have many things learnt and pieces to pick up. Ups and downs, sickness and health. Those are part of the circle of life. I know it's going to be a hard one but with Him, I'll have the courage and strength.

The journey to Perhentian took about 30 minutes by speed boat ride. I'm glad that our journey to the island was much better compared to the boat ride back to the mainland (we almost capsized). Our journey back to the mainland was rough due to the high waves. It was raining on Monday night with storm.

Ok upon our arrival, we were greeted by a school of deep sea fishes and the water was sooooo clear. It was as clear as what I have seen on magazines and TVs.

Pulau Perhentian are divided into 2, Perhentian Kecil and Perhentian Besar. Perhentian Kecil is less commercialist so that is one of the reason why we picked our honeymoon here. The Perhentians belong to Pulau Redang National Marine Park, which means that fishing, collecting coral and littering are strictly prohibited. Like Besut, people here generally speak Kelantanese Malay.

Both islands are fringed by white sand beach, and the reefs and crystalline water are host to a wide variety of coral, sea-turtles, jellyfish, small sharks and reef-fish. The islands' maximum elevation is approximately 100 m (328 ft) and they are uniformly covered in coastal tropical jungle, with few interior foot-trails and no roads.

Other than the owners and staff of the numerous cabin-style resorts that dot the islands (many of whom depart for the monsoon season), the islands' only permanent inhabitants live in a small fishing village on Kecil. With the exception of a single mainland-communications tower on each island, there are no structures taller than two storeys.

The highlight of this trip was definitely our snorkelling trip to the shark reef. I was literally swimming right beside the 3 sharks that were there. Our boatman had to catch some small fishes beforehand in order to attract these sharks. They were as big as me and some said, if you're lucky, you could see twice bigger than the one we saw. It was amazing. 

The snorkelling trip was part of the package that we took(Steffen Sea Sports). The price is about RM40 for 5 snorkelling destinations. The Coral reefs , Shark Point, Turtle point, Romantic beach, Lighthouse. The Coral reef point is as deep as 7 feet below. You think you are a good swimmer, wait till you swim in an open sea. I had panic attack at 2 points, the first snorkelling point and the Shark point.

At the end of our snorkelling trip, me and Juan continued our swim trip nearby to the shore of our chalet. We managed to catch sunset and it was beautiful.

We didn't know that we're able to bring our hand phones into the sea and take pictures until I saw a few of of them who shared the same boat with us did it. Hence, the reason why you can't view my underwater experience here. But the your boat driver will usually bring his own DSLR water proof camera and you can view your photos later on.

The case looks a lot like the picture below.

Well, my honeymoon post will be divided into a few parts. Too many photos to be processed in just one post. 

Ok to start it off, we decided to spent our getaway in Perhentian Island. The initial plan was that I'll have my diving license plus honeymoon at the same time. So we booked a chalet for 2 nights. We did not travel to Kuala Besut by flight instead we drove as the roads to KT is quite familiar to both of us. We started our journey at about 6am. Right after Subuh prayer. The initial time was 4am (it was my idea -__-) but I couldn't wake up. Was too tired with the wedding on Juan's side 2 days before.

Our road were clear because it was Monday. I thought to myself 'Haha everyone's working and both of us are on holiday'. I estimated our arrival in Kuala Besut will be around 3pm but surprisingly, we arrived at about 11.30am!!. Just in time to take the 12pm boat to Perhentian. There were many college students at the jetty.

(I guess it was a semester break). I wonder where do they get the money to travel? When I was at their age, I worked. Kids nowadays.

So upon our arrival at the jetty Kuala Besut, we were greeted by Kak Sikin. The lady who I dealt through numerous emails and messages for our bookings. She was very helpful and pleasantly friendly in person. We parked our car at the nearest car park and the cost RM20 for 3 days and 2 nights. Remember to not leave your precious belongings in the car.

Besides drinking enough water, it is important to keep skin well-moisturized as dehydration skin is the root of many skin problems.  When skin lacks moisture, it will turn dry and cause irritation (hence the sensitive skin). When skin is dry, it causes more oil / sebum to be produced so as to protect the skin. Moreover, dry and patchy skin will look unsightly and it might cause you discomfort as well.

To keep skin hydrated and well protected, drink at least 8 glasses of water daily and spritz water on your face too to keep it hydrated and refreshed. Invest in a gentle, hydrating spray like this softening facial mist from Sephora, which is formulated with lotus extract to sooth and refresh the skin instantly. Delicately scented, this mist will leave skin well hydrated at any time of the day. It is available at all Sephora outlet throughout Malaysia for RM19 for 75ml.

Lotus extract is believed to promote harmony, inner peace and enlightenment. When applied topically, this offers unique benefits, being highly soothing and emollient, which will leave your skin soft and supple. Lotus flower extract regenerates, heals, purifies and rebalances, tightens pores and refines skin texture.

Verdict:

The effect of the mist doesn't last long because it absorb so quickly into your skin but you can feel the freshness after each spritz. It smells good as well.

It was my first day at work after a week long of break -__- (on marriage leave). I wish I could be on holiday a little bit longer.

The first question that a colleague of mine asked was 'How's your routine after married?'. Unexpected question.

I said 'Lots of clothes to wash. never ending!'. It feels weird on how many pieces of clothes will my laundry adds on after an additional individual moved in? Not to mention if you have kids. 2 kids? 3 kids? 4 kids? I can't imagine.