It’s that time of year again! As we enter the month of love (and gift-giving), we are excited to share with you what has been on our radar.

As Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday, it may be hard for you to plan a staycation or go on a road trip with your partner. Gifts like chocolates and roses are also overly generic, so your special day may just feel like any other day.

Fret not, we’ve got you covered with our Valentine’s Day gift guide! These local self-love brands will definitely make your partner look and feel like a million bucks.

For the body: Lounge-erie

If you care about your partner’s sleep quality, then it’s time to bid goodbye to joggers and say hello to silky nightwear! Getting the best sleep result means choosing the best sleepwear that will keep the body comfortable while sleeping.

Silk and satin are smoother and softer on the skin – these light materials preserve your skin’s natural moisture, which acts as a body temperature regulator, keeping the body cool throughout the night. It’s perfect for the tropical weather here in Malaysia!

Check out these comfy local loungewear brands:

Lulla

 

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Wustler

 

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Summer & Peach

 

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For the skin: At-Home Spa Treatments

Spa treatments can be pretty pricy, but you can create a similar experience at home to unplug and recharge after each day. Help your partner carve out this self-care space with beauty tools and devices!

Taking care of ourselves, even if it’s just for a few minutes by caring for our skin, can have a positive impact on our overall health. Looking good and feeling good about it contributes to a positive self-image that enhances your sense of wellbeing and long-term health too.

Have a look at these local beauty tools and devices:

Shero Beauty

 

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Jovanees

 

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Muqa

 

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For the mind: Fun-ctional Fragrances

Functional fragrances use essential oils as one of their formulas, which helps our bodies recognise the organic scents that were produced by plant molecules. Using synthetic fragrances too frequently can cause issues that can adversely affect our well-being.

These essential oils have a great effect on our unconscious mind, which controls our emotions and psychological responses. Being said, functional fragrances can help reduce stress and trigger certain neurological responses that can improve our health.

Here are our top three local fragrance picks:

Analogue Apotik

 

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Ikigai Scenting

 

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Sukka Perfumes

 

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Although the skin is our largest organ, when it comes to products or procedures that are available to care for our skin, majority of it is focused on facial skincare. Given that the skin on our faces is thinner and more sensitive, we naturally reach out to grabbing products to protect them from harsh elements.

However, topical skincare alone will not help us achieve the glowing, radiant skin that we require, meaning that we need to look at other areas of well-being that contribute towards achieving better skin. While our skin becomes a reflection of how well we manage our sleep cycles, nutrition, mental health, and physical activity, in recent times practitioners of traditional medicine are consulted for bodywork to achieve glowing facial skin.

According to Board-Certified Doctor of Chinese Medicine Dr Debbi Kung, most often when her clients come for facial rejuvenation consultations through acupuncture, she recommends them to attend several body constitutional acupuncture sessions.

“Rejuvenating your face is a bonus of being healthy already because your face reflects your entire body. However, if there’s a lot of other stuff happening in the body that hasn’t been addressed, facial rejuvenation acupuncture won’t be as effective. Your chi can’t get to the face if it’s more needed in the hips, back, or for mental health,” Dr Kung explains.

How does your facial skin benefit from bodywork?

Bodywork is done to relax or relieve pain in your body using body manipulation therapies that allow natural, graceful movement. It is often used on persons who have limited mobility, or those who have unnatural ways of moving or locking their posture following injuries. 

Traditional medicine practitioners can often suggest the internal issues that we are undergoing by looking at our faces and skin. For instance, when our lymph and circulation is stagnant can make our faces puffy. The facial asymmetries indicate that the body is out of alignment. These indications should be taken as cues from our bodies to address the issues at their root cause.

While the ongoing trend for anti-aging has been the use of injectables, Dr Kung says that all these treatments are about freezing your muscles causing stagnation. However, should a person look at acupuncture as a treatment option, it could help them improve the circulation of chi and blood providing proper nourishment to tissues.

Storing issues in tissues

The pandemic somewhat affected our overall well-being, many of us have fallen out of our routines, and as we continue to live in uncertain times, we are involuntarily placing ourselves under physical and mental tension. This is why bodywork requires several sessions that would assist to undo these tensions.

Dr Kung says that the face tends to hold tension and trauma, which is why, most often, it is the worry lines or frown lines that start to show up on your face first; “We store our issues in our tissues, so when we continue with our bodywork and move towards the facial acupuncture work it can make people emotional. It could be a challenging experience for those who repress things and are not ready to share it with anyone, thus creating a healing crisis.”

Some of Dr Kung’s clients have confided in her that after the bodywork sessions, they went home and cried, that is after not having cried for years.

In conclusion, Dr Kung notes that superficial signs of pain, stress, and trauma surface in the form of wrinkles, dullness and sallowness of the facial skin. However, treating these superficial signs will not address the root cause which is often physical and emotional imbalances that people experience.

The year-end shopping is livelier than ever as Cetaphil is ramping up its skin health awareness efforts, even making it a rewarding experience for people when they tune in to the brand’s Skin Health Festival LIVE on 10th November 2021 at 8pm, livestreaming only on Cetaphil Malaysia’s main Facebook page and the flagship store on Shopee.

With the new year around the corner, Cetaphil is hosting this virtual celebration to commemorate Malaysians’ strive to an end to another taxing pandemic year. The main hosts of the virtual event are none other than Cetaphil Malaysia’s brand ambassadors, Lisa Surihani and Lizz Chloe with an invited clinical dermatologist from the Faculty of Medicine Hospital UiTM, Dr Liyana Dhamirah Aminuddin. Also, joining in the fun is Malaysia’s top rising music girl group, DOLLA, performing and enthralling Cetaphil Malaysia’s Skin Health Festival livestream.

Jessica Chan, Marketing Manager, Galderma Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. expressed, “We are mindful of how people are currently experiencing life stresses and the new norms that we are inevitably so conscious of. Our objective here is to equip people with the know-how, so they can revitalise stronger skin health and better protect their skin against the 5 Signs of Skin Sensitivities, which are Weakened Skin Barrier, Dryness, Irritation, Roughness, and Tightness.” 

Fans and skincare enthusiasts will be glad to find out that Cetaphil Malaysia has been bringing a consultant dermatologist closer to fans by hosting a weekly skin Q&A on its Instagram page through Ask A Derm IG Stories every Fridays, since October. This undertaking was anchored on the findings from Cetaphil Skin Health Survey 2021 conducted in April 2021 with almost 7,000 Malaysian participants, commonly facing the 5 Signs of Skin Sensitivities (5SOSS) and was found that:

• 62% feel a stinging sensation after using skincare or makeup products, this indicated having a weakened skin barrier.
• 73% experience dryness. Participants find themselves getting dry skin patches on their face, hands, feet and other parts of their body.
• 68% reported that their skin experiences irritation because it develops redness or itches easily. 
• 86% notice dull, uneven skin texture on parts of their face or body, and these are all symptoms of experiencing roughness on the skin.
• And lastly, 68% feel tightness after washing their faces with a cleanser.
• More than 50% of Malaysians deal with at least 1 type of skin sensitivity.

Additionally, fans would have also noticed that Cetaphil had an IG LIVE hosted by DOLLA as they took over the brand’s official Instagram page with Dr Liyana. It was a thrilling get-together as fans were pleased with DOLLA’s surprise appearance, turning Cetaphil Malaysia’s first IG LIVE into a captivating sharing session. Furthermore, 20,000 free product samples were given out on Cetaphil’s Facebook and TikTok to trivia and games participants about the learnings of 5SOSS. Days from now, fans and skincare enthusiasts can expect the same level of excitement with Cetaphil rolling out promotions of exclusive huge discounts, vouchers and rewards during the upcoming livestream. 

Galderma and Cetaphil acknowledge that achieving good, healthy skin is not just dependent on products alone. Therefore, the company is proud to announce Clear Skies, a sustainability and social impact initiative with a long-term commitment to thriving forward to a healthier environment by reducing environmental impact and using smarter packaging. For over a decade, Cetaphil has made great strides to reduce its environmental footprint. This presents the company’s global direction to implant responsible practices across its business with aligned goals of hitting 100% renewable energy in its own factories by 2022 and having carbon-neutral production facilities.

Jessica Chan also said, “Air pollution, poor water quality and weather change are environmental stressors to everyone’s skin. As the leader in treating sensitive skin for over 70 years, it is fitting to be sensitive to our environment needs and ensure a positive change that we know our customers, employees and communities can flourish in.” 

For more information about the Cetaphil Skin Health Festival LIVE this coming 10th November at 8pm on Facebook and Shopee, click here. 

Beauty junkies, rejoice! With beauty and wellness outlets reopening their doors once more, there is no better time to indulge yourself with luxurious beauty treatments, relaxing massages, a new hairstyle, and perfectly manicured nails! 

From Beauty Hall and Fashion Avenue – the beauty and fashion precincts of Pavilion KL, to the pampering centres and specialists at Da Men USJ and Intermark Mall, here are our top picks:

Goodbye knots!

Are you feeling achy and tense after slumping over a laptop while working from home? If the answer is a resounding yes, we highly recommend booking some time with Oriental Signature who will sort out those knots and muscle aches in a jiffy!

For the month of October, fully vaccinated customers who are followers of Oriental Signature’s Facebook page will receive an exclusive 20% discount*.

Location: Oriental Signature, Level 2M, Pavilion KL

Let’s go traditional!

Laptop screens, mobile phones and poor posture are just a few of the culprits that create body pains that keep us up at night. 1TCM Acupuncture uses traditional Chinese medicine and treatments, to help alleviate pain and discomfort. If you’re unsure which treatment you should go for, don’t fret, there are professional consultants to guide and advise you. 

From now until December 31, 2021, 1TCM will be offering acupuncture + physiotherapy treatment for RM268 (NP RM336), and acupuncture + face guasha for RM288 (NP RM316)*.

Location: 1TCM Acupuncture, Level 7, Beauty Hall, Pavilion KL

Glow up!

It is time to glow up! Exfoliate and scrub away all your dead skin cells with ELEMIS’ Lime & Ginger Salt Glow, for soft, smooth and toned skin. Revive and moisturise your skin with ELEMIS’ Japanese Camellia Body Oil Blend – rich in plant collagen, this exquisite oil blend instantly absorbs deep into the skin to help improve skin elasticity and suppleness. This celebrity favourite can also be used to condition your nails, hair and scalp! 

For the month of October at Pavilion KL, Pavilion Privileges Members will receive a complimentary HD Skin Diagnosis and one Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix 15ml worth RM315. 

Location: ELEMIS, Level 3, Fashion Avenue, Pavilion KL

Waxed and tamed

Looking for on-point brows, ultra-smooth legs and tamed bikini lines? Velvet Threading and Waxing Specialist is the place to go to get glammed and groomed! Customers can choose a variety of hair removal options from threading, soft wax and hard wax, as well as eyelash lifting and a variety of facial and hair treatments.

Location: Velvet Threading and Waxing Specialist, 3rd Floor, Da Men USJ

Refreshed skin!

Stress has a big impact on the laxity and structure of your skin, so what better way to relax than to enjoy a pampering facial treatment! Unwind and refresh at Luxury Beautilab with one of their many facial treatments catered for different skin types. October babies can enjoy a Hydrating Spa Facial Massage for just RM88 (NP RM488)*.

Location: Luxury Beautilab, 3rd Floor, Da Men USJ

Aligned and adjusted

Watching all those chiropractor “bone cracking” videos might be anxiety-inducing (or pleasantly satisfying) but such methods can provide pain relief for many. At Helios Chiropractic, doctors will treat patients with a personalised care plan to fix those aches and pains.

Location: Helios Chiropractic, 4th Floor, Da Men USJ

Nailed it!

As much as we adore at-home manicures, nothing beats having the professionals beautify your nails. From the classics to gels and even acrylics, Jo Nails & Spa is the place to go to get your digits done up! Their services can help restore and spruce up your nails with nourishing oils and stunning nail art. Customers can enjoy 10% off all services for the month of October.

Location: Jo Nails & Spa, 2nd Floor, Intermark Mall

Hair to stay

Looking to revive your post-lockdown locks with a moisture and conditioning boost? Or perhaps you need a fresh cut and colour? Look no further than Groom Artistry, dubbed as the Hair Doctor, to add an extra bounce and shine to your hair! 

Beauty tip: Groom Artistry has a private room for Muslim customers

Location: Groom Artistry, 2nd Floor, Intermark Mall

Luxurious lashes

If eyes are the windows to the soul, then lashes are the perfect pair of curtains! Get the lashes of your dreams with the help of Body Perfect’s eyelash extensions. Determine how thick and long you want your synthetic lashes to be for you to achieve your desired look. 

Location: Body Perfect, 3rd Floor, Intermark Mall

*Valid while stocks last. Terms and conditions apply

Scalp care is increasingly being touted as the new skincare craze – who would’ve thought? But the reasoning behind this new wave is sound — our scalp is delicate, with its skin layer containing a higher number of sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and hair follicles. It also has a lower barrier function as compared to the skin on the rest of our body, making it extra sensitive.

Most importantly, it’s directly related to hair health. Taking good care of your scalp will help ensure strong, smooth, and shiny hair that does not break easily, maintains a healthy elasticity, and can withstand external damage from sun rays, styling tools, and hair dyes or bleach.

But how do we achieve optimal scalp and hair health? Off-the-shelf products can be quite the splurge and upkeep may come with a pretty hefty price. They also often contain unnecessary ingredients, such as parabens and sulphates, that may have an adverse effect on the scalp and disrupt our natural hair texture — curly-haired people, we’re talking to you!

Natural beauty remedies passed down from our ancestors is a common occurrence in many Asian and African communities. You’ll find people increasingly sharing their natural hair care secrets online, and if you’re on TikTok, chances are you have had hairtok pop up on your FYP (For You Page). We’ve scoured the net, and rounded up some of our fave natural hair care tips to help you amp up your scalp and hair care routine:

1. Routinely give your hair an oil treatment

@daniawiththegoodhair@melissasifuentes6♬ Caution – Kaytranada

@daniawiththegoodhair@wardashahzadi♬ Paradise – Bazzi

Pre-wash hair oiling is a time-old Ayuverdic tradition that is increasingly gaining popularity for its benefits. It is essentially the practice of massaging nourishing oils, such as castor oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and the like, onto the roots of your hair and leaving it to soak for a good amount of time before washing. This hair and scalp care practice promotes hair growth through the stimulation of base-hair follicles and also provides our hair with the nutrients it needs to look and feel healthy, shiny, and strong.

2. Rinse your hair with rice water

@amy_haircareHow I prepare my rice #foryoupage #hairstyle #hair #ricewater #hairtransformation♬ Super flat lad – Matthew_carlin_

@bubblebudgieReply to @bubblebudgie there’s still a lot to explain so I will be making more videos abt this!! #ricewater#hair#EasyRecipe♬ Indie – Adrik

This hair care practice that has recently gained virality on various platforms comes from East Asian cultures, namely Japan and China. Rice water — derived from soaking rice grains ideally overnight — is packed with vitamins and minerals to boost hair growth and provides the scalp with a nutrient-rich rinse. Those with a naturally dry scalp or hair may want to pair this routine with a deep conditioning treatment to balance out the high-starch content in the rice water.

3. Make your own aloe vera hair mask

@curlystrandsAloe Vera has been my best friend on my natural hair journey 🌱 #hairgrowth #aloevera #curlyhair #blackgirl #fyp #curls♬ telepatía – Kali Uchis

@ssvnchezAloe Vera Mask!! SHEESH my curls haven’t been this defined in a minuteeee!🌀Shoutout to @jonathankmonroe #aloevera #curly #hairtutorials #curlyhair♬ original sound – Jonathan Monroe

Aloe vera is everyone’s trusty best friend when it comes to skin — from its rejuvenating and moisturizing properties, to its healing and revitalising aid for troubled or damaged skin. It’s also highly beneficial for your scalp and hair. Besides strengthening hair and controlling greasiness through its vitamins and enzymes, aloe vera also helps calm and reduce scalp irritations such as seborrheic dermatitis — a skin condition that often causes dandruff, scaly patches, and red, inflamed skin. Safe to say, Aloe Vera is nature’s gift that keeps on giving. The next time your scalp is acting up and dampening your mood due to skin-irritations, try applying some fresh aloe vera to the affected area for an instant cooling fix.

If your skin has been acting up more than usual since the onset of the pandemic, it’s likely that you’re experiencing ‘lockdown’ skin – yes, that is a thing!

A change in our daily environment and routine, combined with the emotional and mental toll we are all facing during these unprecedented times, could show up on our skin as stress-induced acne, hives, and other skin flare-ups. Our skin is the first to show signs of change in our physiological health, so taking preventive measures beats having to put up with the added stress of bad skin.

In a time where having glowing skin and extensive skin-care regimes are all the rage — getting clear skin may seem like quite an overwhelming process, especially when you’re struggling with stress-induced breakouts. We’ve stripped it down to the basics to help you combat stress acne and turn your skin into total skin goals:

1. Maintain a daily skincare routine

Being home 24/7 can get you to fall off what used to be a daily skincare routine — one that we were once motivated to keep to because we had to go out each day. But consider this at-home time as bonus time to start sprucing up your skin for the near future, post-MCO. Maintaining a basic routine, such as double-cleansing, moisturising, and applying SPF, will go a long way towards revitalising skin health and maintaining hygiene to prevent clogged pores, dry skin, ageing, and damage from harmful sun rays. Despite being indoors, experts say that SPF protection is still important to help protect our skin from exposure to harmful sun rays and blue light from our devices.

2. Keep ‘maskne’ at bay with calming treatments

Skin irritations and breakouts from wearing face masks plague us as we continue to stay safe and protect ourselves in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to help reduce this side-effect on our skin is by investing in facial masks that help fight maskne. These calming treatments help temper pesky breakouts, and make for a relaxing experience in reducing overall stress. Complete your cleansing routine and wind down at the end of a long day with a soothing and rejuvenating mask to aid your skin and your overall well-being. Masks can also help strengthen your skin barrier to help it stay healthy in times of stress.

3. Switch to chemical exfoliators 

Exfoliation helps keep skin soft and smooth by removing stubborn impurities buried deep within our skin and helps buff away dead skin that builds on the surface. That said, physical exfoliators, such as scrubs with microbeads, can be extremely abrasive to our skin and cause micro-tears. Chemical exfoliators, as daunting as they may sound, are a better option when giving our skin a thorough cleanse. The active ingredient in chemical exfoliators, such as AHA and BHA, penetrate the skin to aid in texture and pigmentation, and fight acne by reducing sebum and oil production.

Was your skin not a fan of the famous 10-step Korean skincare routine? Do ‘must-have’ products end up gathering dust on your skincare shelf? Here’s some good news for you (and your wallet): when it comes to sensitive skin, less is more. We know, it’s always so tempting to buy the latest ‘miraculous’ skincare products on the market because let’s face it, who doesn’t want healthy, glowing skin? But before you allow these impulsive purchases to cause reactionary breakouts, remind yourself that everyone’s skin is different – what works for others may not work for you, and vice versa.

Skincare acids have been all the rage, but they can be damaging when not used properly, especially to sensitive skin. That’s why it’s so important to research skincare ingredients and avoid combinations and frequencies that trigger irritation, redness and flare ups. You can check out our beginner’s guide to chemical exfoliation here. Don’t let that discourage you though (or give you FOMO) – read on for our review on two multi-tasking products from Threebs, a local online health and beauty store, that can help you benefit from the skincare acids without having to worry about getting a skin reaction!

Some By Mi

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of one of the best-selling K-Beauty brands in the world, Some By Mi. They were made famous by their cult-favourite Miracle toner, which has sold millions of units (one bottle every three seconds) with the promise of gently getting rid of sebum and spots. The clean beauty brand has made sure it’s suitable for acne-prone and sensitive skin by using naturally sourced ingredients that comfort the skin, excluding worrisome and provocative ingredients that cause skin to become sensitive, and putting all products through a skin irritation test so that they can be safely used on sensitive, problematic skin. Here’s what we tried:

1. Some By Mi’s AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner

The combination of three skincare acids in one product may sound daunting to some, but fear not – we found that this toner quickly calms sensitive skin. While the AHA, BHA and PHA work together to remove dead skin cells and impurities, the 10,000 ppm of Teatree water acts as a good calming agent for the skin.

Key Highlights:

• Exfoliating
• Soothing
• Moisturising

It left our skin feeling smoother, fresher and more hydrated!

2. Some By Mi’s AHA BHA PHA 14 Days Super Miracle Spot All Kill Cream

Another 3-in-1 product, this intensive care spot cream clears out sebum and impurities with the help of D-Panthenol, to control oil-water balance and recharge the moisture, and 750,000 ppm of Truecica™, an exclusive calming ingredient to quickly calm the skin. Unlike other spot treatments, this does not dry out problematic areas.

Key Highlights:

• Clearing
• Moisturising
• Calming

It didn’t cause a burning sensation, our spots felt calm and comfortable.

The Verdict: If your skin is prone to redness, stinging and tightness, give Some By Mi a try. Shop their products now on Threebs!

One of the secrets to healthy, glowing skin is a strong skin barrier. Having a well-functioning outer layer means that our skin is being guarded against infections, breakouts and dull, unhealthy appearances. 

To learn more about this shield, we turned to Dr. Hanhushar Gunasagaran, an aesthetic doctor and co-founder of TheoryBox, to break down the importance of skin barrier defense. TheoryBox is a clinical brand of skincare designed and developed to help people of all ages to achieve happier, healthier skin. 

What is the skin barrier?

“The skin is made up of layers that protect your body from harmful environmental toxins and pathogens that can penetrate your skin and create problems. The outermost layer, often called the skin barrier, is made up of skin cells that are bound together with lipids. In order to function properly, the skin barrier needs to be in good health as it protects you from external stressors, and also locks water in your body.”

What weakens the skin barrier?

“The skin barrier can weaken as a result of over-exfoliating, harsh chemicals and alcohol-based products, and pollution and environmental toxins. Other causes include excessive UV exposure, genetics, aging, and certain skin diseases.”

How to strengthen the skin barrier?

“To strengthen the skin barrier, avoid the triggers mentioned above. 

We have two masks that can help: 

• Antioxidant Biocellulose Mask – Contains a combination of 10 powerful antioxidants to protect the skin from UV damage and reduces free radical damage.

• Skin Booster Graphene Sheet Mask – Consists of ingredients like apple stem cells that promote the regeneration of new cells to strengthen and nourish the skin barrier, along with moisturising and hydrating ingredients.”

You can shop TheoryBox’s skincare products here.