Wednesday, 9 December 2015



Hey guys, today I have another article that you could gain a thing or two from, particularly for this holiday! I know some of you may not exactly be on a holiday and may be working but nevertheless, all these have been compiled with that thought in mind. So bring out the calendars and make the most out of your time by employing these options into you next memory!
  1. Gather a bunch of your good friends and go for a picnic!
If you have never gone for a picnic with your friends, now is a good time to do it! Gather some friends who are available to go for a half-day trip to any picnic spot around where you live. The key is convenience and good weather. Speaking of which, check the weather reports and make sure the day is going to be sunny. So after that, all you need is a camera (your phone will do just fine) and some good finger food. You can buy the food or just incorporate a potluck concept by getting all your friends to bring one dish. If you are going to be sitting on grass or any kind of floor, remember to bring a mat (get your tikars out)! Most importantly, since this is an outdoor activity, please make sure you have your sunscreens and insect repellents. Now, you are well on your way to a great day out with your friends!
I do not own these pictures but I sourced it out of google images to show you what you can do. Take inspiration from these pictures and see what you can recreate.







  1. Start watching or continue watching your favorite television series!
I know this is where you would go like DUH! But hear me out, how many times do we actually watch a series without feeling guilty. In fact, we feel so guilty during the semester when we watch even one episode of our favorite series. Now is the time you bring out those bad boys hiding in your drives waiting to be binge watched! That’s right, now is your golden chance to start watching something you have been putting off in peace. Grab your favorite snacks and shut your world of commitment down for a good few hours to give yourself some quality me-time. Oh and also make sure you are not hoarding the television! (Get it booked for the day, lol!)
Again I do not own these images. It is reposted from chriscolferrph.tumblr.com.

  1. Get your loved ones a gift to commemorate the memories you made together in 2015.
I know you may have already gotten them gifts for their birthdays, but people love gifts and what better way to make them happy than this right? The basic idea behind this is that when you make those around you happy, you feel good and create more positivism around you. It need not be an expensive gift or not one of those “I-don’t-need-this” gifts but think of the things that they might like or enjoy using. Take advantage of the year-end sales as they always feature the best deals in a year. This gesture just sends a message, that you care about them and appreciate what they do for you.

  1. Read a few books you have been meaning to read this whole year!
I know most of us have this burdensome thought of wanting to read a book yet never getting down to doing it. Since clearly, this is a holiday, get those dusty books sitting on your shelf and read them! You gain a lot by reading and need I even say more about the benefits of this. If you are an avid reader, keeps that habit going strong. If you don’t like to do the reading part, audible is your best friend. Listening to audio books is also a form of reading, only somebody else is doing the reading part and you are sharpening your listening skills. Even if it is a chapter, it is a progress to those who have little time on their hands and are still starting to adapt themselves to this.
  1. Make a breakfast book by compiling some of your favorite ways to start your day!
This one was randomly thought by me. I thought what better way to figure out how you like to start your day best than now. On a normal day, you wouldn’t have much time to experiment on recipes and so take advantage of this time. Find out if fruit juices are your game or if egg muffins rock your socks. Find what works for you and compile those recipes! You will thank yourself later when January comes knocking back and you need food to wake you up in the dreaded mornings!
  1. Splurge to get something you have been eyeing on!
Reward yourself for all the hurdles you overcame this year! Give yourself a pat on the back by getting something you have been wanting for a while. This will positively reinforce your effort throughout the year and motivate you for a more productive upcoming year. It’s like Scooby snacks, you do well, and you get one! Again I cannot stress the importance of taking advantage of a sale! Make use of this opportunity to scout all the sales you have been waiting for!
  1. Learn something new!
As ambiguous as this sounds, pick up a new skill. I’m all about learning and experiencing something new. It makes your life a little more adventurous doesn’t it? Think about something you have been observing and meaning to try but were too busy or maybe a little nervous to try. If it is outside your comfort zone, get someone who would cheer you on and be supportive and just go for it. I personally would like to try soap making. There are more ideas like these. Remember, once you have learnt the skill, do not feel like you have this moral obligation towards your newly learnt skill. It’s just a skill and you need not feel burdened to continue it if you feel it is time consuming. The gist of it is to learn something new and to experience something of out ordinary from your usual routine.
  1. Volunteer at a pet center with your friends!
Most of us there are many shelters that require a lot of volunteers to help take care of their animals. Instead of making this holiday all about us, we should try to give a little bit of our time and effort to someone else who needs it. Animals fall under this category too! An animal lover myself, I can tell you they are not into fancy cat chow or a cute outfit; honestly they just want your care. Hug them and give them a bath! Feel the joy of helping an abandoned pet. Who knows you might find your soul-pet? (Okay okay … I made that word up)
  1. Do some spring cleaning to revive your creativity for the coming year!
People, creativity juices don’t flow in a clutter! So clean that mess you have been putting off from last CNY and get your vibe on! I cannot stress the importance of this point enough. Clutter inhibits your motivation to work and unfortunately when you don’t feel like working, you don’t get creative and that is honestly no fun. Clean out the things you don’t use as much and just hoard. I personally can relate to hoarding because I am a massive hoarder myself. Believe me, from nothing, you get to  a pile of things that you don’t even use every day. Try to maybe focus using one or two product tubes until they finish and then move on to the next. Or if you feel like you won’t use certain products, give it to a girlfriend or a guy friend. They might find a use for it.
  1. Start a traditional photo album for Christmas, New Year and the rest of the upcoming year!
This one again was something I have been giving much thought recently. Remember those photo albums you dread? The ones filled with you silly faces and old school poses? Well, how many of you remember printing out any of your recent photographs. Ever since, phones were made with the camera function, I personally stopped printing photos and always stored my pictures on a drive. I think this season we can incorporate a little change. Get a photo album and print out some nice pictures you took with your phones. If you have a camera, then it is better. Label your album by the year of your pictures and caption your moments. You will thank your past self in the future, trust me! If you can, continue this on to the next year. Remember, you don’t have to print out all 1234643244 of your selfies. Pick out a few you feel connected with and incorporate family members into those memories. This way you can be less worried about a virus destroying your drive. Save yourself the anxiety and go old school! 


Thank you for reading!

xoxo


Vidyia Murali 

Saturday, 5 December 2015

The Face Shop Nail Polish!

So after a really tiresome and long semester, I have finally acquired some time to think through about the types of posts I can write about ranging from beauty to book reviews. I am going to attempt to bring my writing style in an entirely different direction. I want to write about things that matter to my readers while still retaining the element of my interest so that I can truly write about something I care. For your information, I have a myriad of interests and some of them even include collecting National Geographic magazines. If there are any kinds of reviews you would like me to do, regarding books, makeup, clothes, stationery and so on, please just drop them in the comments section and I hope I can pick up a few viable and doable suggestions.

As for books, I have acquired a few of them this year and let me tell you something, I have not gotten down to the reading part just yet. Free time is so hard to get by and believe me, when I say that! I will be reviewing books as soon as I can put them down permanently and I hope I can help most of you make some good book choices. Most of the books I buy are from MPH Bookstore, Book Xcess (famous for their Big Bad Wolf Sales) and even Popular Bookstore. I do have some suggestions where you could get cheap and affordable alternatives and this is for those of you who don’t want to splurge on a book considering you would only read it once. So look out for those tips!

 I will try to be consistent with my posts as often as I can get. Cross my heart, hope I don’t die! Please keep in mind that I am giving my word during a semester break. So I will try to squeeze in as many posts as I can into this time period considering the fact that I am a part time blogger … I have commitment issues to social networking.

I love unique nail polish colors and lately I have been going for subtle and mute colors ranging from the muted grey tones with purple undertones to burgundies and olive greens like this color right here. So, today ladies I purchased a nail polish from The Face Shop and it is the shade GR509 which is a deep olive green color with hints of teal. I cannot stress how much I am in love with this color! I have subconsciously bought a few things in the same color this season and honestly I just realized how unhealthy my obsession is getting. Lol! (Not so unhealthy)

Anyway, coming back to the color pay-off of this polish, it’s amazing! The color is so opaque and the applicator is so easy to use almost similar to the Sally Hansen applicator. Also, the price of this nail polish is really affordable as I played only RM8.40 for this since it was on a 20% discount. The Face Shop has some versatile colors suitable for all skin tones in terms of polishes and I feel most affordable nail polish outlets like these don’t cater to these kinds of unique colors so I end up getting these colors from more expensive outlets like OPI or Sephora.

Nail polishes are not something I would want to spend RM40 or more for since I usually don’t always apply the same color for all my outfits. So if you are looking for a unique color like this one, try The Face Shop and you might just get what you are looking for. As for the longevity of the product, I think a little nail polish remover can ensure that any kind of basic polish (except the crackle ones) can be revived. 

Mix a few drops of nail polish remover into your polish and shake it up to dissolve the dried color in the bottle and voila, good as new!*


It matches my handbag!



Hope you guys get some festive colors for yourself, be it a nail polish or even a lipstick and spread the cheer! 


Thank you for reading!

xoxo


Vidyia Murali