Food & Lifestyle

Heads up! There’ll be a 10% Sales Tax on Low Value Goods below RM500 purchased online and imported into Malaysia

August 4, 2022 Paris B 2 Comments

Here’s an interesting local development that I thought to highlight, since many of us are avid online shoppers, who shop online both locally and from overseas.

I have been shopping online from numerous overseas websites for a long time, as I do what most consumers do – look for the best deals. And we do get a lot of good deals online from international ecommerce stores. I’d done so much of it, I’d shared a comprehensive article about my experience shopping online from international websites, and how we are affected by import tax.

As of now, our tax threshold for personal purchases made online (or as they say, ‘imported’) is RM500. Barring certain categories of items, purchases of RM500 and below aren’t taxable. So, shopping smart is key.

But all that’s changing come 1 January 2023 🙁

2022 – Hello World

January 15, 2022 Paris B 15 Comments

I’ve gone from posting once a day (twice a day even!) to weekly, and now, we’re 15 days into a new year, and I have not graced these pages with a post.

I almost feel ashamed at my tardiness LOL!

Almost!

The truth, and reality is that much has been happening in real life, that has impacted my online presence. I wish I could say that I am learning to juggle it better, but the truth is, I haven’t. If anything, I’ve let the ball drop far more often than I’ve been keeping it up in the air.

While life slowly begins to go back to normal for many of us after the last 2 years of limbo, I have to say that it’s not been so for me. For me, it’s gone off on a tangent, and at this point, I’m not quite sure where it’s heading! Not all of it is bad though! 😀

Is it maskne or is it just poor eating habits? 3 ways I treated my maskne problem

July 7, 2021 Paris B 2 Comments

OK, that’s a bit click-baity isn’t it?

I’m not discrediting those with maskne of course. Maskne or mask-acne is a real problem. Thanks to the daily and constant wearing of face masks throughout this pandemic, our skin is being rubbed raw, getting clogged and breaking out around our mouths and chin areas. It’s like we want to protect ourselves, but our skin hates being confined (and who can blame it really!)

That was the problem I had about a month ago.

I was wearing masks for slightly longer than I usually do (or so I thought) and noticed a spot or two pop up. Thinking nothing of it, I went on as usual, masking up whenever I went out, washing my face as normal, just doing everything as normal (so I thought). Yet, the acne got worse and worse.

I had about 4 HUGE cystic acne going on at once around my chin. My chin area was a mess of whiteheads and blackheads and all sorts of heads in between LOL! It was a mess.

I was puzzled. I’d scaled my skincare back. I’d kept everything basic. Yet, it wasn’t getting better.

One day, I had a thought. What if it’s not 100% a problem with wearing masks, or my skincare. What if it was something else, like poor eating habits?

Well, since then, save for the odd spot I still get, which I know is thanks to wearing masks, the most serious of the acne is gone! Here’s the changes I put in effect that did the magic.

No more racerback sports bras! How wearing the wrong sports bra caused me so much pain

April 19, 2021 Paris B 18 Comments

I’m not a sporty sort of person, so when I buy sports gear, I just buy whichever seems most popular in style, or cheapest in price. I’m not terribly fussy!

When it came to buying sports bras, I read all about how a racerback or cross-back design helped support your boobs better, by holding them in place while you pursue your exercise pursuits. It was also fashionable, and you don’t have the problem of bra straps slipping off your shoulders.

When I was doing light exercises like yoga, it seemed to help. A racerback sports bra, which is one that is crossed at the back, seems to pull your shoulders back too, so you don’t slouch so much. All in all, I thought I was doing the right thing, and stocked up on them as I got more active.

Then, I started wearing athleisure more, and when the regular dog walks started, I found myself wearing my sports bras more and more, for longer and longer hours.

And then I noticed that I started developing a pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulder muscles. It got so bad one day, and I felt so stiff, that I swore up and down that something was wrong with me. But then, on a whim, I did a quick search online, and found that the sports bra could be the problem!

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