Mieza Everdeen

2017 has entered its third month and only now I'm given the opportunity to write about my newfound love, hiking.

I decided to seriously hike mountains in Malaysia in December 2016 when I saw a post on Facebook group Hiking & Camping Around Malaysia where a team was looking for participants to join their year-end trip to hike Mount Nuang. I decided on the spot that yes, I am going to do this and I instantly contacted the person in charge, paid the fees and before I knew it, I was already in their Whatsapp group. It all happened 2 weeks before the 31st of December 2016. 

That, was the best decision I ever made in my entire adult life. So far. If you're wondering why I hike, I have a few answers to give out. 

1. I am an outdoor lover and I have always wanted to start hiking. I bond with nature by spending time exploring it.

2. I need to sweat it out. Hiking is a rigorous physical activity and the pain of doing so makes me happy.

3. Hiking is my escapism. I'm battling a stupid depression.

Mount Nuang, Hulu Selangor | 1,493m | - 31st December 2016

Mount Tok Nenek, Cameron Highlands | 1,904m | - 4th to 5th February 2017

Mount Ledang via Sagil | 1,276m | - 25th February 2017

I found hiking to be very therapeutic for me. Sometimes it's painful, my knees doesn't feel right anymore but I'm loving the positive vibe I'm experiencing from hiking. I don't plan to slow down and I will always fill my weekends with hiking from now on. I'll be taking Mount Rajah on 11th March 2017 and then Mount Tahan on 1st till 4th April 2017. I pray to God so that He'll continuously give me the strength to keep on doing what I really love. I hope that I'll be able to meet my initial plan of 1 month 1 mountain for 2017. There will be challenges, there will be setbacks but I'll keep going :)

Growing up in Malaysia, I guess almost everyone of us knows the brand Yeo's. They have been with us in all times of joy and now they're calling for a health and fitness based Instagram contest to promote a healthier lifestyle among Malaysians.

Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Berhad (Yeo's) is taking the initiative to promote the importance of exercising and taking care of your diet as part of the precaution against the worryingly increasing cases of obesity in our country. With that being said, Yeo's has launched the campaign of #SayaSihat with #YeosMalaysia that goes along with the concept of Yeo's products that are of high quality and definitely nutritious.

The Group Vice President of Yeo's. Mr Ong Chay Seng explained that Yeo's drinking products are well-known since its early days as they have less sugar and no preservatives. For example, Yeo's Jasmine Green Tea is very good for fat-burning (green tea properties) and it also contains anti-oxidants. Yeo's soy drinks on the other hand is good for energy replenishing due to its high protein properties.

For your information, the #SayaSihat campaign has commenced on the 13th February and it will end on the 24th April 2017. The contest is open to all Malaysians and here's the mechanism:

There will be weekly prizes for 10 winners which are RM100 Sport Direct cash vouchers along with Yeo's products. The grand prize winner will bad home RM1000 Sport Direct cash voucher + Yeo's products, RM800 Sport Direct cash voucher + Yeo's products for the first runner-up and RM300 Sport Direct cash voucher + Yeo's products for the second runner-up.

For more information, you can check out Yeo's website www.yeos.com.my or call their hotline at 1300-80-2828.

So, my favourite K-Beauty store Althea has been launching beauty boxes every month to kick the boring out of our lives. I'm among the lucky makeup addict who scored one of their Red & Black Beauty Box and I'm gonna share my loots here along with my thoughts on whether it is worth grabbing or not :) 

At the price of just RM121, Althea Red & Black Beauty Box came with 7 full-sized items and the total discount that I enjoyed was about 77% off the normal total price of all items. First of all, this deal was crazy enough to send all available boxes flying off Althea's shelf in no time because it was too good to pass. Althea's beauty box is not a random sampling program whereby you pay for trial sachets. They let you enjoy legit full-sized and original products that will last you for months!

The first item that I cracked open was this Clio Smokey Pro Layering Eye Palette (Limited Edition). As the name goes, this very sturdy palette has a dark, smokey shades offering and it comes with a dual ended brush. Upon swatching all of the shades, I found that the colour payoff are quite sheer but buildable upon layering. Without primer, they won't last on oily lids + hot Malaysian weather but with primer, the colours stay well. Removing them was easy peasy as I have tried using Biore makeup wipes, The Saem cleansing water and also Faith in Face cleansing oil and they all dissolved easily. 

I'm not yet a shading and contouring pro. The best I've tried was using a bronzer to shade my jaws. I have a diamond face shape and I'm quite thin on the physical aspect so I was told by many that I don't really need shading as my facial features are already quite prominent. When I saw these 2 Secret Key Face Fit Contour Stick, I couldn't help myself but squeal in delight because I really wanna learn to improve my shading and contouring skills. Both shades, dark and medium are perfect for my tanned skin and they're not hard to blend either. I only use my fingers and a contouring brush to blend these two properly. I still have a lot to improve but in my opinion these two are perfect for beginners like me! Oh, these sticks are so fat they would last you for quite some time :)

Your brows speak for you before you can even open your mouth. Althea Red & Black beauty box gets your brows covered with Witch's Pouch Dual Brow Pencilcara. I have always loved using a brow mascara for my brows because that's the fastest way to make the sisters look equally presentable and it can be done anywhere too provided I have a mirror to look at. Seeing that this dual brow pencil comes with mascara and auto-pencil for precise drawing and shaping, it has become one of my makeup pouch essential due to its versatility. I no longer need to carry a separate brow mascara and a separate brow pencil, yeay!

This Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher in Grapefruit Jelly is as lovely as its name. The soft, cushiony feel of it makes me feel happy upon swatching the colour. The shade appears as a soft salmon-pink that unfortunately doesn't really show off well on my brown skin. 

Red has always been my favourite lip colour and this lip cream is my number one favourite among the 7 items in this Red & Black beauty box. Called the Mata Hari shade, this Mat Fix Matt Lip comes with a doe-foot applicator for easy and precise application on lips. Though the name is matt, this lip cream appears shiny and velvety at first. It only turns soft matte after the colour dries but it doesn't suck moisture out of my lips which is an absolute plus point. The colour on my lips turned to be of fiery red and not so vampy dark. It stays put throughout the day too, surviving meals with little fading. Major love ^_^

I hope you enjoy my descriptions and quick review on all the items I received in Althea's Red & Black Beauty Box. I personally love this beauty box concept and I am glad that Althea team has been creatively changing the themes every month. They never failed to surprise us with extremely awesome offerings as their beauty boxes are always cheap but filled to the brim with precious selections. So, do keep your eyes peeled on Althea's updates about their upcoming beauty box and get yourself at least 1 box okay?

Thank you Althea for making the beauty box purchase awesome again!

Visit Althea on :

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Blog

New smartphones are getting more sophisticated from day to day and just recently, GT Mobile from Singapore has launched its first edition smartphone called GT-888. Manufactured by GT Mobile Pte Ltd, this new smartphone seems to be a promising device for those looking to get a new or backup phone with high performance. As I got the chance to get one for myself, I've been testing this phone to see if it lives up to its promises and we shall dissect further below.

The GT-888 mobile phone comes in two colours, and I got myself the one in Metal Grey colour. The box packaging comes with a standard set for any smartphones including a USB-charger, a pair of earphones, 2 pieces of screen protectors and 1 piece of clear, rubber casing to protect its back from scratches. 

Specifications of GT-888 mobile phone:

• Dimensions : 158.9 x 77.5 x 8.6 mm
• CPU : MT6735P 4 x Cortex-A53 1GHz
• GPU : ARM Malit720-MP1 600MHz
• RAM : 1GB / 2GB
• Storage : 16GB
• Display : 5.5” 720 x 1280 pixels
• Battery : 2550mAh
• OS : Android 5.1
• Camera : Rear-8.0MP, Front-5.0MP
• SIM card : Dual SIM (SIM + MicroSIM)
• WI-FI : 802.11a/b/g/n
• USB : Micro 5pin
• Bluetooth : 4.0
• Positioning : GPS A-GPS

taken indoor, daytime, under yellow lighting

taken outdoor, early morning while waiting for sunrise

taken indoor, daytime, under white lighting

taken outdoor, nigh time, under white lighting

taken outdoor during morning, under natural sunlight

taken outdoor during afternoon, under natural sunlight

taken outdoor during afternoon, natural sunlight