(Review) Stuff I Swear By: Apple Stem Cell Serum

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The next product in the Stuff I Swear By series comes highly recommended by my friend and doctor, Lily. She bought a set of three bottles and gave me one as a gift. According to her, this serum from Avail Beauty really moisturises her face that she no longer needed to use her moisturiser.

A.B. Series Apple Stem Cell Serum

It comes in a glass dropper bottle, minimising contamination during each application. It doesn't have any scent, and absorbs into the skin easily.

A bottle lasted me for about two months, perhaps because I only needed one drop instead of the recommended three drops per usage. It might also be due to my once per day usage instead of the recommended twice a day.

Despite not following the recommended usage, the serum made my skin fairer and smoother. I think if I use it consistently for 6 months, my acne scars might be gone completely!

In terms of oil control, my skin was still as oily as usual. I think V&N Pure Marine Collagen Powder that I blogged about previously was a better mattifier, but I stopped using it when I started using the serum so that I can see the serum's effects on my skin.

According to Lily, she bought the set of three bottles from a cousin who is an Avail member for about RM180, but I have seen people selling the bottles online separately at RM98 each! As much as I love this product, I would never buy it at such a marked-up price! 

I have this habit of deciding on whether to splurge on items based on *ahem* comparative analysis. For example, I can get lunch for only RM5 at my office, so it would cost 36 lunches to buy a set of this serum at RM180. 

Is it worth it to spend the cost of  36 lunches on 3 tiny bottles? 

Or perhaps I should think of RM180 as an extra RM1 per day of expenses, as three bottles can last me for 6 months. Hmmm.

While the jury's still out, I guess it's better to buy from a friend who is an Avail Beauty member, because they might sell it at the recommended price of RM188 per set instead of cleaning out your pockets at a whopping RM98 per bottle.

Price aside, it is a great product and I highly recommend it to those who want to lighten their acne scars like me. 

For more info, there's a New Straits Times article on this product. You can also check out the FAQ on Avail Beauty's website.

The Geek Goddess

(Review) Stuff I Swear By: Signature Scent

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Years ago, I read in a novel with quite a forgettable title and an equally forgettable writer that a woman's perfume should be lingering, while a man's perfume should be fleeting. I beg to disagree, having had many encounters with people who smell like they bathed in a tub filled with eau de parfum. *vomits*

Personally, I am in favour of light and fresh scents, because I get migraine headaches regularly and strong scents make them worse. Boo.

I do love the smell of cucumbers, melons and green tea. An ideal scent to wear, in my opinion, would be one that smells like you just stepped out of the shower. Fresh, clean refreshing.

I have yet to find this scent though. Major bummer.

Although citrus might be a fresh scent, but I hate it to the moon and back! I blame a childhood spent riding in my dad's car that was (and still is!) enveloped in a strong scent of headache-inducing citrus. Till this day I still blame his car scent for my motion sickness hahahaha!

Moving on, look what we have here today:

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette Spray

Say hello to my signature scent, Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette Spray!

My mum wears Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Spray, and she loves it so much that it's become my dad's must-buy gift for her whenever he travelled. Like yours truly, she is not a fan of strong, headache-inducing perfume. 

When I started working and finally could afford a proper perfume (bye-bye, drugstore colognes!), I got myself the same spray.

Unfortunately the scent did not last long on my oily skin, nor was it as strong as I had preferred. Most perfume stores that I went to here did not sell its stronger version, which is the Green Tea Intense Eau de Parfum, so I got Green Tea Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette Spray instead.

While Green Tea Cherry Blossom proved to be a much sweeter and stronger scent that the Green Tea Spray, but being an EDT, it did not last as long as I liked whenever I sprayed it on my pulse points. So I improvised and sprayed it on my clothes instead. There, problem solved.

Why do I like this product? First of all, its light and refreshing scent is a great choice for when you need a little pick-me-up in our hot and humid weather. 

Secondly, I am prone to migraine headaches so whenever I need a little relief, I just spray a bit of this and feel slightly rejuvenated for the rest of the day.

Thirdly, it comes in a spray form so you won't risk spilling it up, even if you have it lying upside down in your bag. 

Lastly, this scent is affordable compared to other EDTs. You can get a 100 ml bottle for less than RM200. I usually get mine from this perfume store called Parfum Jewel in Tropicana City Mall. The sole salesman is as friendly as a lamp post, but I keep coming again and again because: a) convenient location, b) good price, and c) I am always a pick-and-pay kind of customer, so there's minimum interaction time with the said lamp post salesman.

A bonus plus point is that I get compliments for this scent, even from random strangers!

I just hope one day Elizabeth Arden will come up with an Eau de Parfum Spray version of Green Tea Cherry Blossom for a personal touch with a stronger punch.

If you're thinking of buying a new perfume soon, just remember that your scent should be like your fingerprint: unique and represents who you are as a person. Your perfume is your calling card, so choose  your scent wisely. :)

The Geek Goddess