Al-Quran: Perfecting the Tajwid

And while you recite with utmost confidence,
There is a voice, scoffing at your prudence.



When I was little, upon hearing the Al-Quran recitals from the grownups, I felt very ashamed at my own inability of reciting flawlessly like them.

But now that I’ve grown up and known almost everything I’m supposed to know, I was enlightened with the horrid truth that their recitals aren’t as perfect as it sounded to be.

My father is perhaps the most criticizing person on Earth—he criticized the Bilal’s pronunciation, the Imam’s Tajwid, so much that at one point, I was afraid of letting him hear my recitals because obviously, there’ll be tons of errors poking here and there and I was more than ashamed than I already was.

So in my quest of perfecting my Al-Quran recital, I found out that hearing to an expert reciting the Al-Quran while reading the holy kitab is the best way to perfection.

Especially in combination with this type of Al-Quran.


(clickie for bigger picture)

The beauty of this version of Al-Quran lays in the multi-colored alphabets, highlighting the various Tajwid in the kitab. You will know exactly which part to omit, which part to emphasis, which part to stop and so on and so on.

The downside of having this version of Al-Quran is that you won’t have an excuse for forgetting a Tajwid anymore, because it is not possible. But who wants to purposely forget a Tajwid anyway?

Included is a little card, explaining their reason for coloring the Al-Quran with their magical ink.

In Arabic…



And in Malay.



Unfortunately, there’s none in English. So either learn some Malay, or learn Arabic instead.

Reading this Al-Quran + Listening to Sheikh’s recitals = Best combination ever. You’ll be reciting the Al-Quran correctly in no time at all.

Yet what is a reading, if it is not comprehensible?

That’s for the next post. :D

SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA!

Jarang sekali berbahasa Melayu,
Hanya di blog ini, bukan selalu,
Selamat Hari Merdeka kepada tanah airku,
Moga diberkati Allah selalu.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA!

Poem: A Day in a Ramadhan Bazaar

‘Twas a fine day,
Until she said,
“Let’s go to the bazaar!”
Never was intrigued, never was ecstatic,
Yet stepped a foot I had not,
At the busy bazaar this month, perhaps not.

Thus the ninth day into the month,
My feet dragged into the street,
Canopy flared, people were buzzing,
To buy one of their, most fine dining.

Nothing too savory, nothing too succulent,
Passing the merchants, with remote silence,
End of the trail, my brain began to contemplate,
Of what to buy, and what to eat.

Processing the memory, of various delicacies,
I finally decided, to buy some of these,
Nasi ambang, popia basah,
Roti John, air tebu,
Perhaps ayam percik, but then said a voice,
Ate that already, ayam madu is a better choice.

A little confession, if you don't mind to see,
I loathe to eat, and I eat to live,
Never excites me, the scent of food,
So what did I eat, I never really know.

Yet when the seller, scooped on some rice,
Preparing my dish, for me to buy,
I was distracted, terribly agitated,
For the fragrant of rice, smelled like paradise.

If there is a food, that I deeply enjoy,
It would be rice, plainly remarkable, simply superb,
White and creamy, milky yet thin,
That is rice, the sole food that I adore.

Poem: تراويح

How nice it is, Ramadhan comes again,
The month of goodness, and all those nice things,
Fasting during the day, praying during the night,
Truly a blessing, such a remarkable sight.

Praying in the mosque, in the early of the night,
The last saf I stood, since no vacancy was in sight,
Yet tremendously distracting, I can’t help but think,
For those joyous children, seemed to disturb the lane.

The next day I went, perhaps luck was on my side,
I saw a lonely spot, thus stood at the fourth saf,
Not much trouble, nothing vexatious to be frank,
But amazingly enough, sullen people made my mood sank.

Onto the next day, I stepped into the mosque,
A little bit early, so I gained the third row,
Nicely proportioned, the people were friendly enough,
Yet the fans were vicious, blowing my telekung with force.

And so I persevered, gaining the second row,
Such nice view, for I nearly saw the world,
Yet what was a night, without a hole,
My head was often stumbled, by someone’s derriere—OH NO.

But nay, I won’t wave my white flag,
I am patient, and patient is I,
The very next day, I gained the first saf,
It was good alright, but drenched in sweat was I.

Night by night, I hope for serenity,
But impossible apparently, for someone like me,
Though what is life, without much poking,
No matter, I will just keep on trying.

Poem: Life or Death

Hear my woes, dear mind and soul,
For I have been struck, by a vicious bolt,
How upsetting, how beleaguering,
Yet who am I to jest, for I am clandestinely enamored,
By the scent of a poet, nay, not a fraud.

Yet fraud is I, I used to think,
Filled with sadness, sorrow and strife,
What is a smile, what is a laugh,
I wouldn’t know, for I was terribly blasé.

Lying in my chamber, waiting for the moment,
When the heartbeat would die, and the angel would arise,
Grabbing my soul, taking my worth,
Leaving my home, with nothing by my side.

How sad it was, for I have nothing there is,
No good deeds, not even a tiny bite,
Where have I been, I cried to myself,
Lonely in sorrow, callous in life,
How could I die, when everything’s a lie.

I fluttered my lids, spotting a companion,
Just a soft breeze, caressing my senses,
A fine acquaintance, couldn’t talk, couldn't laugh,
Soothing my conscience, with its merciless love.

What is conscience? I began to think,
Do I have one? I began to wonder,
Perhaps I do, somewhere in my heart,
Buried deep, waiting to be discovered.

Ya Allah, forgive me dearly,
For I have sinned, by not thinking clearly,
I lived in shame, I lived in regret,
But surely enough, it’s not too late.

Read the world, read the soul,
Feed the hunger, nurture the thirsty soul,
Life is nothing but a fleeting dream,
But what’s a dream, if it was forsaken.

Taken for granted, never was cherished,
Take your pick, choose your crate,
A splendid person, rejuvenated by a good night sleep,
Or a cranky fellow, intimidated by a vicious nightmare.

Follow your suit, follow your taste,
For which do you prefer, life or death?
What is a life, if melancholically lived,
What is a death, if the heart was filled with mindless air?

Life or death, the way of a human,
Nothing to deny, for nothing could be done,
So strive for your chances, do the undone,
For nothing is better, than a job well done.

(this is what I do when I can’t sleep at night. I assure you, it only happens once in a blue moon. I suppose this month is a blue moon, because poem is such a rarity, even for me. Weird.)

Poem: 2005

(warning lame poem below warning warning)

If it weren’t for 2005,
I probably wouldn’t be alive,
Well, maybe I would be alive,
But probably without a soul,
And everything would be nothing but lies.

If it weren’t for 2005,
My face would never be adorned with genuine smiles,
My head would never be occupied with positive vibes,
I never thought it was possible, not even plausible,
But apparently it is, and so, I cowered in shame.

If it weren’t for 2005,
I would never meet Sacchun,
I would never enjoy the joyous life,
To see the sun, to see the clouds, to see the air, to see the moon,
To be curious, to be afraid,
Of what might happen, when things are too late.

If it weren’t for 2005,
I may live in agony,
Waiting for death,
Shivering for fate,
For I know, that I have booked a place,
In the gruesome hall of hell.

If it weren’t for 2005,
I won’t be here,
Loving my life,
Loving my God,
Loving everything there is,
And not scoffing at people who loved things as well.

Oh 2005, no, scratch that, oh Sacchun,
Is it bad of me to adore you?
Is it bad of me to respect you?
You are just a normal human being,
Unsure of religion, no religion I think,
But you’ve made me think,
More than anything,
About religion and God,
And life and death.

Isn’t it weird?
How inspirational you are to me,
I tried to forget you,
But alas, that wasn’t possible,
You are the one who changed me,
For better or worse, hopefully the former,
I may have stepped on the wrong foot,
I may have walked the wrong trail,
But whatever it is, whatever happens,
I will always respect you,
As someone who's worthy of my affection,
So this is my tribute for you, as a sign of thank you.


She changes my life.

She really did.

And so, she earns my respect.

She brings me from the depth of gloomy darkness to the world of sunshine and joy. Full of meaning, full of discovery, full of curiosity...you can't help but be touched by Allah's blessing towards us all.

I can't ask for more.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I express my deepest gratitude.

Thank you.

(yes I should have picked a better role model, a religious person for instance, at least someone like that could lead me better into the world of religion, but what's done is done. I don't understand myself, but she really did inspire me to become something I never thought I would be. And that's great, NO. THAT'S AWE-INSPIRING.)

(and yes I think it is bad of me to think highly of a non-muslim. But a savior is hard to forget. The least I could do is to have some respect.)

(I love these performances I don't know why it chokes me to tears sadly there's no video only audio rips blergh I DON'T KNOW WHICH I LIKE BETTER PROBABLY BOTH DX probably the second...no the first...eh...uh.)





Those pictures of her in those videos are ugly.

This is much better.



MUAHAHAHA.

Uh...

*runs*

I LOVE BOOKS BUT...

For the past years I’ve become a total grammar-nazi. Perfection is I, so when I saw published works having grammar mistakes here and there, the aggravation is too much to bear.

My blog, despite having unimaginable errors undetected by my frivolous head, is not published to the market for the world to BUY. They can read it for free. It bears no significant to them, only to me. I could rite lyk dis for all I care and no one gives a damn because it’s my blog. They didn’t have the authority to judge my writing since their opinion doesn’t matter—unless they are avid readers of mine and wanted me to change for the best, then yeah, I could consider that.

Now, published work on the other hand, is a throughout different story. People BOUGHT them, READ them, LEARNED from them, TAKE NOTES from them, yet when all of that are proven false, what are there to trust? For one thing, the teachers surely didn’t appreciate you for using past participle incorrectly or didn’t know what’s the difference between ialah and adalah, dari and daripada. Small mistake, but it means the world for the readers, so much that you can’t possibly imagine.

I believe the first step of mastering a language is not by learning bombastic words, but rather by getting a hand of the grammar. Once your grammar is polished, every sentence could easily glide from your brain through your fingers like flowing water.

Sure, no one speaks perfect grammar in Malay language, but I’m not talking about mastering the language phonetically.

If you are a writer, then do what writers do. Be inspirational. Proofread your works. Study grammar. Buy yourself a dictionary. Read more.

I don’t appreciate your effort of toggling children’s mind around by thinking that right is wrong and wrong is right. Not at all.

As you could probably tell…I LOVE GRAMMAR AND I LOATHE THOSE AUTHORS WHO DON’T.

Random Note: I’ve talked about this to my mother and I hate how Malay grammars constantly change and couldn’t sit still. Ten years ago I learnt that this is that, but today’s Malay, apparently that is this (not literally that this of course). Just once, for once, please, let the language establish its own grammar. I have enough of this! It felt as if I know how to write but I actually don’t.

Ahlan wa Sahlan ya Ramadhan!

I will refrain from writing about my bad experiences that occur during my stay in KL in this post, all for the sake of the Ramadhan month. Maybe. For this post. Only. Maybe. Perhaps I will rant all about it in the next post. Maybe. Perhaps. If I was not distracted by then. Perhaps. Yes.

Uhh...

I shall continue.

How curious it is to see Ramadhan came by so quickly? It felt as if it was only yesterday when I finally finished my Al-Quran recital for the month and tried out new clothes for the Eid Day and went to my hometown at the end of the month and so on and so on yet for the life of me I couldn't remember the details of my endeavor on that particular month! Why is it that this paragraph has so many 'month' words?!

Thus, the purpose of this post, while admittedly to greet and welcome the lovely month called Ramadhan, is also to refresh my memory so that I could have something to laugh at and make me feel cozy inside in the future. Hopefully, if I'm still alive and the blog is still up and running, I could do this again next year. I'm motivated! Yay.

Anyhow, without further ado...HAJIMARU ZO!

Last Ramadhan, I didn’t have much complication.
This Ramadhan…it’s only a couple of days into the month yet I’m already experiencing various complications!

Last Ramadhan, I think I was playing…The Sims on the PC, Phoenix Wright on the NDS and Final Fantasy XII on the PS2. Harhar. I vaguely remember my brother showing the game Nintendogs after sahur…I think.
This Ramadhan, I’m playing Monkey Island The Screaming Warhal on the PC and Broken Sword on the NDS. I’m thinking of throwing Persona 3 & Persona 4 on the PS2 into the mix. Also Little Big Planet on the PS3 as well.

Now that I think of it, my family possibly has all the gadgets alive.

Cool.

Now if only I have something new to play on XBOX360, Wii and PSP…

*shrug*

Last Ramadhan, I recited the Al-Quran with no comprehension whatsoever. ACK!
This Ramadhan, I’m beginning to recognize words! Huzzah!

Last Ramadhan, I celebrated my first day of Ramadhan at my house.
This Ramadhan, at my brother’s. At the kopitiam. And it was darn expensive. They were probably charging for our internet usage. Must be that. 3 iPod Touches simultaneously and 1 iPhone 3GS, the overzealous waiters are bound to notice the bandwith raping. Yikes.

Last Ramadhan, family time was sleeping in an air-conditioned hotel room.
This Ramadhan, family time is finding a Wi-Fi spot and declare our love and devotion to the internet.

Last Ramadhan, I mainly used hand-me-downs, because I’m too poor to actually afford something.
This Ramadhan, I can’t believe how many things I have that didn’t have the word ‘makeup’ on it. And I bought them with my own money! Awesomeness!

Last Ramadhan, I read a whole lot of mangas and chicklits. If I'm not mistaken, I read Glass Mask and Skip Beat mangas, while chicklits...Sophie Kinsella's novels I think.
This Ramadhan, I read classics a lot and zilch manga. Currently re-reading Mysteries of Udolpho. Also frantically searching for Southern Vampire series because I happened to catch True Blood on TV and thought that it was awesome because the show has so many characters to the point that I'm not sure who's the vampire if it's not for their pale skin. And even then, I'm not so sure.

Last Ramadhan, Gossip Girl was all the rage. The Secret Life of The American Teenager is kind of nice. Pushing Daisies was the epitome of awesomeness.
This Ramadhan, 10 Things I Hate About You is on my watch list. And I no longer watch series much.

But most of all…

Last Ramadhan, it was a predictable Ramadhan month. Same ol’, same ol’?
This Ramadhan, I’m not really sure how it’ll go, considering I’m moving to the Middle East. How? How? Hoooow?

Ooooh. Well.

RANT OF THE YEAR. Maybe.

Last night, I dreamt of a quite peculiar dream that involved a person and an imaginary person having qualms with each other and somehow I came in between and ended up like the second heroine in a drama series.

I kid you not, it was extremely vivid and dramatic; it is certainly one of the most random dream ever.

Not that I never have random dreams before, but most of those are downright weird and absurd; this is plain normal yet sadistic beyond words.

I must have been still in a dazed mode because when I went to the bathroom for ritual cleansing, I accidently squeezed my cleanser on my toothbrush and let my teeth tasted the sensation of bitter foam.

EWW NASTY random klutzy moment—Ehh.

Fortunately, I didn’t actually brush my teeth with the cleansing foam, so no damage done.

I thought such things would only happen in the movies, but I was proven wrong. And I thought my day couldn’t get even more mundane before I received a surprise package from China.

Yes I should have taken a picture of the package but my hands automatically tore the packaging as soon as I laid my hands on it and the said hands quickly updated my Facebook’s status with incoherent message that could be viewed by everyone in my friends list which also include my aunts.
I should have twittered.

Then I twittered.

Surprisingly my tweet was nicely written. :D

Tonight, I shall play around with the package a bit more, but before that, I want to let off some steam. This is possibly the worst customer service I’ve ever received.

When I first stepped into the office of the agency, the staff greeted me with lukewarm response. I assumed they are busy, so I didn’t pay much attention. The one who attended me wasn’t as friendly either, but perhaps she was just being professional.

Then when I returned home, I did all the necessities, thus we contacted the agency since they are the only one who could do the next task. They requested that I sent the necessities to their email, and payment in advance. However, the necessities contain private information, so I sent an email first for them to validate the address. I didn’t receive their response.

We were running out of time since we need to meet the attorney that day, so I texted the staff and asked if he received the email (I was appointed with another person soon after since the former staff who had attended me was on a holiday). He said yes, he received it.

That’s the first blow. I specifically stated in the email, asking him to reply back. But he didn’t. And left us waiting for the email before we could proceed with the next step.

Trying not to act discouraged, I sent all the necessities needed and proceeded to the bank for the payment. I texted him, notifying him about my every action, and he replied to every single one of my text, even one that he was not supposed to reply.

He could reply the texts, but couldn’t reply the emails? I was confused. I seriously do not know what his problem is.

No matter. I have paid; he should have everything he needed to get the job done.

Two days after that, I contacted the agency for the newest development. An acquaintance has already done this step with another agency, and apparently it took less than two hours. So I was quite certain that this step has been completed.

Wrong.

Apparently, the email noob said that he was currently undergoing a course. He assured me saying that he has left the job with another co-worker of his, so if anything, I should contact her, or the office.

Right.

So I contacted the office but no one was there to pick up the phone.

Everyone is undergoing course huh? Is that so?

Oh well. I shall contact them tomorrow.

And I did just that.

Then he said, rather angrily, “I’m currently undergoing a course. You should contact (this person) not me. I’ve told her everything on what needs to be done. So yes, please, I’m quite busy.”

Sure sure sure.

How to contact ‘that person’ if I didn’t have the contact number?

And then he gave me. A day later. After I asked for the gazillion times.

Okay then.

I dialed the number, and as soon as the line picked up, a voice bellowed into my ears.

No no, I mean, NOISE bellowed into my ears. Apparently she was out somewhere. Possibly at the market.

So yada yada, chatter chatter, where is my damn number (the whole agency thing is done so that I could acquire this special number) and then she said, “Why do you need to hurry? You are not going until much later.”

Ehem.

I asked the agency to do this step in the middle of August.

I’m expected to fly by the end of August or early September.

Yes, yes, late.

How shrewd, maybe we should all enjoy doing our work at the last minute!

Because you know, without the number, I can’t do anything else, so YEAH! LAST MINUTE IS A BLISS!

Not.

Then I complained to the guy, and this was his reply.

“As you probably already know, I am not at the office right now. I have given the task to my colleague. But I see you are not satisfied. I shall do it myself later.”

YES.

When is later again?

Oh well.

The next day, I contacted him again.

And he gave me the same excuse.

COURSE!

YES AS YOU’RE AWARE, I AM MUCH AWARE OF THAT FACT.

So I said, “If you’re incompetent of doing such a trivial job, then no matter, I could find another agency. I bid you farewell.”

Well, not exactly bidding him farewell, more like…Assalamualaikum.

I’m not even asking for my money back!

Then he replied. “It’s up to you. I have told you beforehand that I’m not available at the office. If you decided to not use our service, then it is your loss.”

ASDFGHJKL

I think he forgot that I have paid in advance.

A few minutes later, apparently he remembered, because this was his message.

“I’m currently keying in your information. May I have your (insert information here)?”

Oh NOW YOU’RE KEYING IN.

So I gave him that information. And waited for his reply.

Of course, he did not reply.

The next day, I asked again.

I am so fed-up with the constant asking but what to do?!!!

Then he replied, “I need this information before I could provide you with the number.”

RIGHT.

WHY DIDN’T HE ASK ME EARLIER?

LIKE, EARLY EARLIER EARLIEST EARLY?!!

No matter, I provided the information, and waited for something impossible.

He didn’t reply.

No…for three days he didn’t reply.

No matter, my father decided to ambush him at his office and ask what his problem was.

If he hasn’t settled the number yet, then we will find another agency.

But that didn’t sound appropriate.

I need to go to KL tomorrow to settle everything, so I decided to ask him for the last time about the state of my number.

And he replied, “It’s ready.”

WHY DIDN’T HE FREAKING NOTIFY US ABOUT THE READINESS OF OUR THINGY??!!!

Yes.

And that’s ladies and gentlemen…is my rant.

I DON’T WANT TO MEET THEM TOMORROW! D:

Homemade Skincare Series: Base Makeup Removal!

I’ve had my share of talking.

Let’s get on with the experiment!

On my hand are…



I purposely applied different shades of foundation on my hand so that it would stand out against my skintone, however the powder foundation surprisingly looks like a perfect match for me in this photo, but in real life, it is a tad darker.

KATE powder foundation in OC-D (sheer coverage...kind of)

Just like any other powder products, their longevity couldn’t be compared to liquid or cream, because those stick to your skin while this one just sat on top. I think.

Surely, dust wouldn’t stain your feet compared to mud…right?

KATE liquid foundation in OC-C (sheer to medium)

Once upon a time, I asked my boss, “Why can’t I use liquid foundation instead?”

My boss narrowed her eyes at me. “And why can’t you?”

Sweating, I answered, “Because it is not as long-lasting as cream type?”

She smiled smugly. “Any more questions?”

Liquid foundation looks more natural than Kryolan’s stick foundation, that’s for sure.

Kryolan Stick Foundation in 6W (high coverage)

My father once asked me, “Two hours of makeup? Just what did you do?”

So I answered, “An hour for complexion, another hour for cheeks, eyes and lips.”

I doubt he understands, but whatever. The only concern in his mind is that how on earth would those brides pray with those ‘things’ on their faces. I don’t know about the brides, but if you’re talking about models (I did my fair share of grooming models as well) then they…didn’t.

Yeah well who cares about some snobbish models. XD

No no I’m not talking about you. Just some models that I met.

Anyway.

In order to look natural in front of the camera, you couldn’t simply slather a one tone foundation on your face and call it a day (unless you want to look like a paper doll…and hey, if that’s your thing, then by all means go for it). Bear in mind Kryolan’s foundation acts like a concealer (that’s good because we need not worry about concealing + another hour) so it basically conceals everything.

But for the face to look presentable in pictures, shading is a requirement, and thus plenty shades of foundations were used to make those brides look…human I guess. In photos, of course. *cough*I mean natural*cough

So you could guess that a bride’s foundation is more potent than any of the rest.
It’s actually a concealer in disguise. *cough*

All are set with MAC Studio Fix powder with no primer underneath.

Experiment Number 1: Washing off base makeup with normal water (and some mild rubbing)



They didn’t even waver.

Experiment Number 2: Washing off base makeup with cleanser
(continuing with the same hand because…you would wash your face with water first before applying cleanser, right?)



My daily cleanser is Nivea Visage White Sparkling White Whitening Foam (I get it I get it white white white the whitening claim is absurd of course). Yes well, it is a nice cleanser, but I didn’t pick it up for the whitening properties. I used to use Nivea Deep Cleansing, but nowadays my skin isn’t as oily anymore, so the cleanser dried my skin a bit. So I used this cleanser, which is actually my mother’s. Yeah.

Apparently it can remove makeup as well.

Let’s see how legit that claim is.



Powder foundation wearers, do not fear, your deep cleansing cleanser could possibly do the job nicely. However, liquid foundation tried to hang on my skin by leaving residues while the cream one simply didn’t want to go away.

Experiment Number 3: Washing off base makeup with cleanser and microfiber cloth
(continuing with the same hand because…adding microfiber cloth is just adding more force in rubbing the stain away, so if the others could be easily removed by using your hands, what’s more by using this cloth?)



Liquid foundation is thoroughly gone! Good. Cream foundation staggers a bit, but not without leaving a hint of stain behind.

Ugh.

My hand looks as if it has pigmentation problem.

Experiment Number 4: Washing off base makeup with yogurt!
(freshly applied on the other hand just to prove my point)

Oh my trusty yogurt how could you go wrong—



FAIL.
You’ve betrayed me, my lovable yogurt. I am disappointed in you.

…at least you shaved off a bit of that powder foundation away.

Experiment Number 5: Washing off base makeup with EVOO!



Just a swipe with cotton pad and you’re gone~



Easy peasy!

Experiment Number 6: Washing off base makeup with grapeseed oil!



Just a swipe with cotton pad and I could see my skin again~



Poof!

DING DING DING! Do we have a winner?

*drumroll*

It’s a tie between EVOO and Grapeseed oil! Yay. :D

Those oils might not fare that well in removing eye makeup, but they are invincible in battling base makeup!

Putting oil on your face might sound risky, but vegetable oils in general have the same consistency as your natural skin oils, so it is perfectly fine; your face would absorb the goodness and it would not clog your pores. The same logic could be applied to oil cleansers.

Just like using an oil cleanser, double cleansing is favorable—double cleansing means cleansing your face with oil and then proceeded to cleanse again with normal cleanser—because while the oils could dissolve makeup, it couldn’t really remove those bacteria and dirt. Plus, you wouldn’t want an oil + makeup residues settling in your pores.

Depending on your preference, you could use EVOO if you like slightly thick liquid or Grapeseed oil if you like products with runny texture.

Either way, both are good for your skin, but I shall talk about it later in another post. I’m trying to be organized and not clattered everything at once. :D

…

This Sunday, I shall meet Nnashuhaa XD

Hohoho.

TATA.

Homemade Skincare Series: Base Makeup Removal PREVIEW!

One of the most common things in the world: misconceptions toward makeup wearers.

It seems as if time hasn’t changed much since my childhood years; people still have the presumption that made up women are ugly. They are not to be blamed however, because indeed, if you look at a before and after picture of a random celebrity, big chance you can see the huge differences between the natural look and made-up look. And so, I constantly heard on how makeup girls are phony, ugly, hypocrites, insecure, while natural girls are down to earth, beautiful—simply the best.

I can’t deny that some of the natural girls are definitely simply the best, but one can’t generalize and say the makeup women are not. I think the world’s perspective of beauty is laughable these days; they condemned people with makeup, yet belittled those who doesn’t match the world’s level of attractiveness. Yet when they try to at least do something in order to not being belittled, people mock them around and accused them of being a hypocrite. Seriously, how mature can you get?

Same thing could be said to those celebrities; if they decided to go on television with their natural faces, baring their acne scars, wrinkles from stress, under eye circles and eye bags from lack of sleep, could you survive an hour watching them without cringing? Yes, you may say you would, but somewhere deep, we all like to watch beautiful humans. Admit it. Pretty people sail their lives rather easily. Well, some of them, and yes, they do have their own problems, every human on this earth has their own trials, yet somehow it felt as if pretty people sail their lives rather easily.

If not, you would think that Susan Boyle might have been recruited early in her years and not in 2009. Maybe she didn’t put a lot of effort, maybe she didn’t have the luck, maybe I didn’t do much research on her to backup my claim, but really, if she were born as a pretty girl, she might have become a singer early in her life. Provided luck is on her side. Provided the recording bosses like her. Provided the audiences like her. But humans love pretty people! Even more for a person with undeniable talents! Plus point if she has the brains! But even then, if she didn’t have the talents or brains, we still find her bearable! Because she’s pretty! And humans love pretty people! Can’t forget that.

But by the time she basked in the stardom, she would be too busy to do mundane stuff. Starlets are busy, why would they bother adding something mediocre in their busy lives? Maybe they aren’t that ignorance, maybe they still care about their skin, but would it be enough to just care?
What would happen if we didn’t have enough sleep? Oh right, dark circles. What if we didn’t eat right? Yeah, zits. How about constant stressing and tension? Premature wrinkle maybe. Lack of liquid? Overall dehydration. Lack of skin caring? Skin goes wild.

I don’t expect celebrities—with their tight schedule—to indulge in spa treatment or spoil their skin all the time. That sounds like the schedule of a rich person who has no job. And no offense, I may say the wrong thing, but my point is, they could afford to spoil themselves, but 24 hours are not enough for us, what’s more for them? Even office ladies admit on slacking off once in a while due to their hectic work, you don’t think the celebrities won’t do the same, do you? Or maybe they have someone who washes their makeup off while they sleep. They could afford it nonetheless.

That being said, most of the makeup products are loaded with chemicals and whatnot, so if proper cleansing wasn’t executed, big chance the chemicals will make a pact with the grime in your pores on planning for massive destruction.

And so companies nowadays are bringing in various mineral makeups that are supposedly healthy, hoping that customer will have a second thought from generally generalizing that makeup as bad.

It’s full of minerals—it’s bound to be healthy right?!

Minerals alike, if you didn’t cleanse it well, it would troll your system. Surely you would experience some sort of a sore throat if you didn’t cleanse your throat after having some sort of a heavy meal? Yes you are not supposed to drink at least half an hour after finishing your meal, but the point is, wouldn’t your throat feel funny if you let it that way for say…overnight? Yes? No? I’m talking nonsense am I? Can you tell that my fingers somehow have a mind of their own? What’s up with the throat thing? Arr? :D

Anyway, the point of this long rant is…

YES! REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP PROPERLY!

Let’s get to that in the next post.

Huda’s Random Corner

YAY Nanchatte Renai is number two on Oricon!
YAY I don’t like the Seaside song much despite liking the three bands.

Oh well.

:D

Homemade Skincare Series: Eye Makeup Remover-EVOO vs Grapeseed Oil

Ever so often, I would hear my clients asking, “What should I use to wash this makeup off?”

I used to work as an ex-assistant of a makeup artist, and let me tell you that being an assistant doesn’t give me the freedom of speech. Or freedom of anything, really. What is freedom? Where is freedom? FREEDOM?!

I have since quitted the job, not because of my freedom’s sake—I don’t mind, really—but due to some unavoidable personal matters that I may or may not reveal in the future. Hehe.

And so, you could guess that I didn’t enhance one’s features much nowadays, thus my skills have gotten quite rusty. I am my own guinea pig, but eye makeup is not something I like to put on myself. XD

Back to the question, when someone asked me that, I would just blurt out, “Buy a makeup remover.”

But then my boss would glare at me and promptly cut me off, “Just use baby wipes.”

“Yeah,” I shrugged, dusting the client’s face. “Use baby wipes.”

Baby wipes, while defiantly effective in removing makeup (unfortunately, it fails against proofproof things) is considered bad for your skin. Apparently the PH level of your skin would deteriorate if you use it constantly, further causing in premature aging and extreme dehydration.

Nevertheless, if you only use it like, once a year, once in a lifetime, only on your memorial day, wedding day, then I guess it would be fine.

But more than often, simple baby wipes could not remove waterproof bride makeup—it could not remove waterproof mascara, how could it remove the one-inch-Kryolan-stick-foundation on their faces?

(Yes I am aware that those brides look awful with thick foundation. My boss taught me to use three foundations in order to make it look natural. Natural doesn’t equal less makeup. At least, natural in photography.)

That didn’t sit too well with me, thinking of the painstaking task my clients are going through during the cleansing phase. My job is to only prettify one’s face in order for it to look bearable in front of the camera, not to stay with the bride until the reception ends.

Uh…yeah. That’s exactly my job. Assistant, remember?

Apparently makeup artists (in my agency) did the talking while assistants (like me) did the work.

It was fun, though. At least I was only obliged to do the makeup and not other…things. Not good at other things. I still haven’t mastered the perfect bun. I coughed at the slight smell of hairspray. :D

Anyway, back to the main question…

What can you use to remove eye makeup, preferably one that is readily accessible in your household, preferably one that you could obtain easily, preferably one that you would use often, preferably one that you probably would have a use of if you didn’t use that often, preferably one that is not going to be left in the dust, forever forgotten until you decided to sell it off on ebay, providing you remember to sell it off on ebay before the expiration date?

So here ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…

THE OILS!

:D

I don’t have any eye makeup remover at home, but the one I often used at work was Lancome Bi-Facil. And while it is good, should you really be shelling out more money than you’re supposed to?

Well, let’s see then. :D

Take note: I will only review these oils as EYE MAKEUP REMOVER in this post. I will make a post later about removing base makeup and the benefits of eating/drinking/swallowing it. :D Maybe.

CONTENDER NUMBER 1: EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO)

There are a lot of selections to choose from; Greek-made, Italian-made, Spain-made…someone on the television claimed that the Italian one is the most nutritious, while my brother mentioned how the internet claimed otherwise, so my brother followed its advice and used the Greek one. He didn’t use the oil to wipe his makeup of course. He didn’t even wear sunscreen, much less to wear foundation. He uses it in his cooking. We use EVOO on a daily basis. In fact, we eat/drink/swallow EVOO. Yes. That’s the reason as to why EVOO is a staple in my house. We swallow it. Harhar.

Ehem.

EVOO has a thick texture, rich in flavor, strong smell, and extremely emollient.

I know this because I’ve swallowed it and smeared it on my face. I’m sure you’ve known by now how I play with food. :D

(A nearly empty bottle of EVOO)

First experiment: Removing stubborn makeup on hand!



On hand:
K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Real Lasting 24 Hour Eyeliner (liquid liner)
Silkygirl Funky Eyelights in Pure Purple (pencil liner) mixed with KATE Line Spicy in PU-2 (purple with green shimmers shade)

K-Palette’s liquid liner is definitely appropriately named (although the ‘1 day’ and ’24 hour’ makes it such a redundant name); it is painstakingly hard to remove. Tattoo it is; I couldn’t give a better description judging by the way it merges with the skin. Scary!

Even EVOO couldn’t easily dissolve the liner, but it did its job well with the eyeshadow and pencil liner. It took quite a lot of rubbing for the liquid liner to finally melt away, causing my hand to become quite red.

It wasn’t that apparent in this photo though.



Conclusion: It has proved itself to be quite good in removing makeup.

Second Experiment: Removing stubborn makeup on the eyes!

This is my eye, sloppily made up. It’s a simple and quite basic eye makeup.




Items used:
Benefit Lemon Aid
-to prime
Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Glimmering Gold
-all-over wash
Lavshuca Eye Color Select Palette in BU-1 (light blue shade)
-on the lid
Majolica Majorca Majolook Palette in GR750 (dark blue shade)
-on the outer corner and the lower outer lashline
MAC eyeshadow in Silver Ring
-between the light blue and dark blue
MAC eyeshadow in Nylon
-on the inner corner and lower inner lashline
Majolica Majorca Majolook Palette in GR750 (dusty pink shade)
-on the browbone
Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes in 101 Black Diamond
-upper and lower outer waterline
Silkygirl Funky Eyelights in Frosty Silver
-inner waterline
KATE gel liner in BR-1
-upper lashline
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus
-on the lashes

As usual for amateur photographer like yours truly, I couldn’t capture the true color. :D It’s all washed out!

But the point of this post is to show the effectiveness of the oils removing the makeup, so here it is!

Take your facial cotton pad, pour a small amount of oil on your pad and place it on your eyelid, slowly rubbing it out.

And then…TADA! Clean eyes :D



Unfortunately, it didn’t completely remove the shimmers and fallout.

Now, the question is…how does it feel?

I have read somewhere that EVOO is not suitable for the eyes due to the consistency, but then again I also read somewhere that vegetable oils in general won’t irritate your eyes, so here I am to attest to that claim.

The oil easily melted the eyeshadows away, removing the mascara effortlessly (MM mascara is tough to remove as well) but I experienced cloudiness. That makes me uncomfortable, regardless how effective it is as an eye makeup remover.

All in all, it is a good eye makeup remover but the cloudiness is a turnoff.

CONTENDER NUMBER 2: GRAPESEED OIL




I used to swallow grapeseed oil on a daily basis, but lately I’ve been finding myself neglecting the sad bottle away and went about with my life. :D Do not worry my dear bottle; I will drink your juice right now. *swallow* Yay. :D

Grapeseed oil has a runny and thin texture with an unmistakable nutty taste, and definitely lighter than EVOO. Several people like to use it as their eye cream, so perhaps it is more eye-friendly?

First Experiment: Removing Stubborn Makeup on Hand!



On hand:
K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Real Lasting 24 Hour Eyeliner (liquid liner)
Silkygirl Funky Eyelights in Pure Purple (pencil liner) mixed with KATE Line Spicy in PU-2 (purple with green shimmers)




The eyeshadow and pencil liner was removed without a problem, but the liquid liner was extremely, extremely budgeproof and it took every ounce of my patience to make it go away. I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed until my hand was all red; redder than the outcome I experienced when using EVOO.

I was scared, but I applied K-Palette’s liquid liner on my lid anyways, just for experimental purpose. :D




My lashes look terrible. I thought I’ve separated it well before snapping aaah XD

Items used:
Benefit Lemon Aid
-to prime
Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Glimmering Gold
-all over wash
Lunasol Sheer Contrast Palette in Lavender Coral (yellowish green shade)
-on the lid
Majolica Majorca Majolook Palette in GR750 (moss green shade)
-on the inner corner
Lunasol Sheer Contrast Palette in Lavender Coral (light purple shade)
-on the outer corner
Silkygirl Funky Eyelights in Pure Purple
-on the outer corner and lower outer lashline
Majolica Majorca Majolook Palette in GR750 (dusty pink shade)
-on the browbone
Silkygirl Funky Eyelights in Frosty Silver
-on the lower inner lashline and lower inner waterline
Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes in 101 Black Diamond
-on the upper and lower outer waterline
K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Real Lasting 24 Hour Eyeliner
-on the upper lashline
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus
-on the lashes




(Random: My lashes definitely love Shu Uemura’s eyelash curler. I curled it up like…last month? And the curl still held strong till this very day. Someone was messing around with my makeup collection and for demonstration sake, I showed her my method of curling the lashes. Easy and foolproof. Awesome, don’t you think? Beats any craptastic cheap eyelash curler out there for sure.)

It didn’t feel as cloudy as the olive oil, but the thin consistency of the oil makes it harder to melt the stubborn eye makeup away. It took more effort to remove the liners at the lower lashline, and by the end of it, I still couldn’t remove all the silver liner away. Strangely the K-Palette liner didn’t leave any residue; it melted away just like the mascara. Perhaps the oils on my lid contribute to that effect. I do have amazingly oily lids.

All in all, good remover, but took a lot more effort, which isn’t good considering how our eye area supposed to be treated with utmost attention and gentle care.

CONCLUSION:

EVOO
PRO: Melt the eye makeup away easily, but somehow couldn’t remove all the shimmers.
CONS: Cloudiness.
3 out of 5.

GRAPESEED OIL
PRO: Didn’t have any irritation, supposedly good for the eye area.
CONS: The thin consistency makes it hard to dissolve stubborn makeup.
3 out of 5.

As you can see, I’m really on the fence…so this is a tie.

I’ll try other oils next, just for experimental purpose. :D

But if you ask me to choose between the two, I’ll go with Grapeseed oil. At least it didn’t irritate my eyes.

…

Lately I didn’t have any random corner. :D

I suppose being busy makes my brain wary of thinking random things. I need to get ahold of myself.

And thus this post ends here. :D

全ては愛の力!!!

Everything is Ai’s Power!

Well you know, Ai is the power of H!P.

It used to be Gocchin’s (or was it Nacchi? Or perhaps Nakazawa? I don’t know), but it’s Ai’s time now.

>><<

MY FEEBLE ATTEMPT AT DECODEN-ING MY CAMERA CASE!


Back view :D (ignore the dustiness and ugly case)

Seriously, I have no idea what I was doing. I just randomly stick the big one here, the small one there, and then a thought strike my head—maybe I could make a pattern of a flailing flower, emerging from the flowerbed…

But then my OCD got the best of me and I can’t stand the unsymmetrical wave of the line so I strengthened it back…and created quite a mess with the glue.

Straight is just that…plain straight, so I wondered what I should do next.

Maybe I should duplicate the pattern on the other side and think about my next move later.

So I did just that, happily placing the rhinestones with no clue whatsoever. Suddenly, my instinct told me to stick a big and ugly square rhinestone at the center, tilting it over until it resembled a diamond, connecting the patterns…

I thought this would be the ultimate disaster.



HEY! IT LOOKS QUITE NICE!

It looks much better in real life.

My instinct is a genius.

So I sat placidly, indulging myself in repose, summoning my inner creativity, wondering what to do next…

I got none.

Hence the abrupt finish.

It looks nice nonetheless. :D

>><<

Nanchatte Renai Commerative Single is in my iTunes. Supposed to be out on the 12 of August, but perhaps one of those online stores shipped early, or maybe that person is a secret spy who’s able to decipher H!P’s nonsensical vault’s password. Or maybe he’s just a random guy who works for UFA.

Anyhow, I highly anticipated this commerative single, hugely for the sake of the b-side. I’ve heard the normal edition’s b-side—Aki Urara, and I was wondering how this fares against the strong contender.

I’ll be frank and admit that this song reminds me of a guy song.

Total gay for a guy, but I can’t help it! Really can’t.

Then I realized that it reminds me of EXILE’s Choo Choo Train. And EXILE is without a question manlier than JE, so gayer…ehh. Heh. (and I could totally imagine THSK singing a song similar to this. In fact, I think they may have a song like this in their sleeves)

Being similar to Choo Choo Train is not necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, IT IS SUPER DUPER AWESOME! I like CCT very much, which means I like this song as well.

So far, this single is looking really great. The three songs are love, Gaki looks gorgeous, the dance is awesome, insane promotion, fans are teaming up for Oricon No1, there’s a freaking mix…I have never felt so proud and anxious for 12th August.

Subete wa Ai no Chikara might be a more popular song to the fans compared to Aki Urara, because even though Aki Urara is a reminiscent of early MM, SwAnC has the upper hand of fair line distribution. Everyone has two lines (or at least, two lines) so you bet that keeps all the fans at ease. I supposed the highlight would be the opening—the pandas get a chance to sing and I wouldn’t be surprised if all the fans are singing praises as well. Honestly, I think Junjun sounds fine in SONGS, but I’m a bit undecided about her voice here. Never was a fan of hers, and I would like it better if Linlin was the opening vocalist. That being said, I’m not a big Linlin fan either. She used to sound squeaky, and while plenty was convinced that she was hiding a beautiful voice under that façade of hers, it wasn’t until years later that we finally hear the special voice coming out from her lungs. Now, after unleashing her mighty voice to the highly critical fans, suddenly everyone bows down to her feet, raving about her here and there. I’m not a fan of her voice, squeaky or not, I think she tries too hard—too powerful—and it shows in this song.

And that’s why, ladies and gentlemen, Ai is heavily featured and utilized in main songs, while the inexperienced remains underappreciated.

Gaki? Oh well. Oh. Well.

At least she’s having some lines here and there, which is not that bad.

Anyhow…

Aika sounds nice, shame that she’s more or less forgotten (she kind of sounds like old-school Gaki…I wonder what happened), Koha is Koha, Eri is Eri, Reina is Reina, Ai is Ai, Sayu sounds like someone from H!P Kids—which is a compliment, while Gaki’s last line makes me snort.

But the song is heavenly. I like it very much. There’s even a ‘wooooooh ah ai!’ at the background—a great touch to the song for the fans—I can see this as a fun concert song!

Don’t listen to it though. I can see it on your face that you won’t like it.

:D

Homemade Skincare Series: Microfiber Cloth

How could a mere sheet such as microfiber cloth could effectively grab every single grime there is and toss it into the hell that it was meant to be? Apparently microfiber cloth is made of fine synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, woven with polyamide (although other types of microfiber cloth might have different percentage of polyester and polyamide), which creates a soft and complicated surface that could grab every single dirt, oils out of your way.

The one that I’m using is bought from an automotive store, and I’m not exactly sure the percentage of the material used, but I reckon if you want to find an extremely effective microfiber cloth, buy the cloth that is specialized for dermal usage—I believe Missha has something like that in their stash. But if you couldn’t find anything like that, then I suggest finding a microfiber cloth that has at least 80% polyester and 20% polyamide, since that is the composition of most dermal clothes. Yadayadayada you know I’m no expert so…

On to the review!

The cloth felt really soft to the touch and quite packed, yet airy compared to cotton cloth.


As you can see…such peculiar texture.

There are quite a lot of methods to try, but I tend to follow the trend and use a foolproof method by taking a small amount of cleanser, rub-dub-dub until it foams, massage gently on the skin, then use the microfiber cloth to do further cleansing.

However I admit that I am a lazy bum and so usually I just put some of the cleanser on the cloth, rubbed it together until it foams, then smeared it on the face like so.

…

Hey, I couldn’t tell the difference anyways. :D

…

Moving on, upon rubbing your face, you would experience the smooth sensation of being polished by an expert car masseur, further fulfilling your secret wish of being a car.

If you dreamt of that, of course.

But yes, it really does felt that way. The way the cloth glided down your face, smooth yet strangely harsh, gentle yet captivatingly violent, clandestinely lethal on grabbing every odd thing out of your pores were exactly how I felt when polishing a car. And I used to think that it felt that way due to the car wax…maybe both.

After washing and patting it dry, my face felt considerably cleaner and smoother. Not as smooth as using regular scrubs, but the mild exfoliation from this cloth is enough for sensitive skin, I reckon.

The great thing of having a microfiber cloth in your stash is that you probably wouldn’t need a base makeup remover, since this thing practically removes everything.

Well, not really, but it did remove base makeup, oils, dirt, any poking-out-whiteheads/blackheads, dead cells, scabs, anything at all on the surface, yet one major (or minor, depends on your take) flaw is that it couldn’t really counterattack those stubborn ones.

So while the cloth is definitely appropriate for everyday exfoliation, I much prefer salt scrub since it takes all those stubborn scabs away, regardless of how you should only use it once a week.

It is a good enough eye makeup remover, but bear in mind; it wasn’t that effective in removing simple mascara. Yeah, and you bet it won’t do that good with stubborn mascara.

Word of advice though, normal microfiber cloth could be abrasive to your eye area, so if anything, buy the cloth that’s specifically for the face/eyes area. It is gentler and less harsher compared to the normal ones, so potentially less damaging. Don’t mind me, I like to experiment.

Conclusion?

On to the questionnaire!

1. Does it lighten your skin?
Uh…nope?

2. Does it even your skintone?
I don’t think so.

3. Does it brighten your skin?
Since the cloth exfoliates your face aside from cleansing, then yes, it does brighten your skin, since it removes the dead cells.

4. Does it treat your acne?
No, it doesn’t really treat my acne. It cleanses the nearby area from getting infected by the acne, nonetheless.

5. Does it prevent acne?
Possibly yes. It grabbed every alien thing out of the pores; hence your pores are much more protected from being alienated.

6. Does it lighten scars?
Since it removes the dead cells, then the scars might have lightened. But it wasn’t that noticeable.

7. Does it shrink pores?
Nope, not at all.

8. Does it help in unclogging pores?
Yes.

9. Does it help in smoothing skin texture from bumps and other skin ailments?
Yes, but I found normal scrubs did better in smoothing skin texture.

10. Will your skin regain its horrible condition if you stop using this?
No, I felt nothing whatsoever during the period of abandoning this cloth.

11. Can you use this in exchange of other products?
Great makeup remover alternative, or even a gentle exfoliator for sensitive skin. I would definitely recommend it if you want to taste the sensation of squeaky clean skin.

12. Have you found anything like this in the market?
No, any other cleansing cloth didn’t even come close.

I’m giving this a…3 and a half out of 5. It did its job well, but I like more abrasive stuff…ah.

Homemade Skincare Series: Microfiber Cloth PREVIEW!

(No pictures. This is just a preview. So no pictures.)

Microfiber cloth isn’t particularly homemade or anything, considering you need to buy it at a nearby automotive store of some sort (or any mall really) so it falls under the category of facial cloth that you need to buy but couldn’t really make from scratch…or maybe you can (but as if you can make your own honey…providing you have your own beehive, of course, like Martha Stewart. Or bee-lover. Honey lover. Whatever.) THE POINT IS!

…

Maybe I should rename the title to…

Homemade Skincare Series: Unusual Tools for your face!

…

That didn’t sound catchy enough.

…

I change my mind.

…

(take notice I am quite blur today. I have just submitted my work. Deadline is cruel. Cruel….)

Anyways, microfiber cloth is a staple in my house. We have incorporated the cloth to become our handy dandy savior that I’m sure one day it would be listed in my family’s hall of fame as an honorary member of our lovable stuff.

Of course, the cloth has sacrificed a lot in order to have a place in our hearts. We use it vigorously to wipe the car, wipe the camera, wipe the mirror, wipe the windows, wipe the toilet seat, wipe the iPod—microfiber cloth is seriously one of the best wiper ever. And I say one of the best, because you will never know if I’d find a new love…just in case.

You see, I won’t be giving such high raves if it’s not for this one incident. You see, my lovely iPod Touch, which is possibly my favorite thing on earth (read: THING) was smeared with popsicle’s droplets, staining the surface, further settling in the crooks of my fugly case (decoden it someday!), and for the life of me I didn’t know how to open the darn case. So I waited for my brother, patiently waited for my brother, even when the day has start anew he hadn’t come back, and I realized that he wasn’t coming back.

He should have told us that earlier. >.>

Discouraged, I tried my hardest to open the case, and WALLA. IT WAS OPENED.

SO DARN EASY WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL MEH? D: There’s a trick on how to open the case, and I discovered that quite…late, shame to say.

By now, you could probably guess the gross condition of my iPod screen—filled with hardened, frosted substance of dried popsicle’s droplets, potentially accumulating bacteria or something of that nature. I didn’t have any microfiber cloth in my room at the time, so I grabbed the nearest cloth (not really, nearest would be my handkerchief, but as if I want to wipe my iPod with my boogers), which was the spectacle cloth, but to my dismay, the stain didn’t budge. I tried to moisten the cloth with some water and wiped it off (and I’m not sure if it’s good for the iPod’s health, but eh…what’s done is done), but still, it didn’t go away. I tried using the cloth that was included with the iPod; yes, it did little to polish the little surface.

Frustrated, I exited my room, searching for any cloth to rub the icky stuff away, until my eyes landed on a stack of dirty microfiber clothes in the kitchen. Of course, when one used it to wipe the car, windows, mirrors, toilet seat—it is bound to be all greasy and dirty.

Where could I find a clean microfiber cloth?

Yes yes an automotive store would be a great answer, but it is late at night, early in the morning I dare say, and I don’t think the store would open that early.

AHAH! I have just experienced a rare moment of pure genius.

My brother’s microfiber cloth for the camera! There, I am so smart. :D

*gag*

The cloth—albeit not that clean, but I can’t see the grime in question really, so it is clean in my book, although might not be that clean to the naked eyes, but whatever—did its job beautifully, cleaning the surface like a magic sponge, and in fact, it works better than a magic sponged claimed to do. No pressure needed, just wiped it off like wiping a baby’s butt. Although you probably need some force to wipe a baby’s butt. No? Oh…I’ve only become a babysitter for about a week…my niece is darn cute.

The point of the long story?

MICROFIBER CLOTH IS AWESOME!

Then I decided to read more about the multipurpose cloth on the net, and unsurprisingly, stumbled upon reviews at Makeupalley.

I was intrigued by the idea of using microfiber cloth as your facial cloth, so I tried it for a good month or so. Maybe more. I didn’t keep track.

How does it fare, really?

Well…onto the next post…next time! :D
>><<

Quite busy lately. But when things are too busy, I found myself not that busy. Because I tried not to do much work that would add to the busyness. Thus the busyness decreased, leaving time for me to work on the main point of busyness. But I procrastinate. Duh.

Time is too slow lately (anticipating for my journey) yet I’m running out of time (dreading for the deadline).

Ah.

Huda’s Random Corner

I thought a post in this blog is never complete without a random corner.

Granted, everything is random, but…yeah. Yeah.

I just need to let this out.

I’ve been reading a book.

And while it is desperately awesome beyond words, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of conversation by the hero and heroine.

Yeah yeah they conversed alright, but the author didn’t write the actual conversation, just a summary of it.

Why why why why why

I cherish all the actual conversation with the “quote” thing like I cherish my iPod, but still, I wasn’t content.

So I read another book.

I was at the random place where they feature random books of the day and on a whim, I chose the one with quite an interesting, but typical summary.

Upon reading it…

OH WOW. CLICHÉ MUCH?

I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect the story to be THAT cliché.

But it is.

Oh.

How awful.

I am speechless.

Ugh.

As you can see.

I am terribly disappointed.

That’s all for random corner.

Maybe this one should be renamed to Rant Corner.

Okay.

Huda’s Rant Corner it is.

Over and out.