Terarrium DIY!

Hello guys! Have you ever wanted to lighten up your work space or room with some live plants making it less dull & dead? Well, here I have is a very simple & gorgeous do-it-yourself project for you! It only takes you 10 mins to make a small one once you've gotten a hang of it! heheh! So if you're not good at gardening at all just like me, terrariums are the easiest to do & maintain! Pretty & easy seems too good to be true but it is! Terrariums are basically mini glass containers that has live plants growing in them. It's like your mini little garden if you've got a big enough container! Some terrariums are in a closed container but you can also do it in an open container which is what I'm going to show to you today. :) But if you want to do one in a closed container, you still can but you'll need activated carbon to absorb the moisture to prevent mosses. Anyway, lets begin!

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THINGS YOU'LL NEED:

1. Glass containers in any shape or size you desire.

I got the small ones from KAISON @Paradigm Mall for only RM3.50 if I'm not mistaken. The big glass container I got for only RM2 at a warehouse sale a few months ago. What a steal right!? Anyway, you'll be able to find a variety of glass containers from KAISON at a great deal if IKEA's are too pricey for you ;)

2. Assorted plants.

I got my these plants from IKEA. The set of 3 little potted plants are RM6.90 & the individual plant there is RM8.90. You can choose any type of plant for this as long as it's a small type of plant & that if you want to do a combination of a few, the type of soil they use should be similar. I would suggest you to get cactus' as they are easy to manage & tough enough to not break apart when handling it during this project.

3. Pebbles of your choice.

I suggest for you to get super small pebbles so that the soil wont run down & mess up the layering of soil & pebbles. You'll understand why when you read along. xD

4. A pair of scissors.

Preferably old / those solely for garden use as it's going to get dirty.

5. A small shovel.

I didn't have a small shovel so it got kind of messy but it's still acceptable la..

6. Soil

Soil will be based on what sort of plant you are using, if you plan to do a small terrarium, extra soil is not needed as whatever soil given in the container will be sufficient.

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DIRECTIONS:

First off, fill up your glass containers with pebbles to around 1/4 to 1/3 of the height of the glass container.

Next, 

Use the shovel & gently dig out the the plant from its pot. When it's out, you can see that it looks like the photo above. I have no idea what plant is that called but I saw lots of people using it in their terrarium because of how pretty it looks & I thought, "Hey! I should put it too!" Ahahah! But it wasn't an easy task because it's super fragile & the leaves tend to just break off. Spot one of the leaves already broken off there... Hahahha!

Next, use a scissors to scrape off some soil. You can use your hands if you want to. ahahah! Just be sure to be gentle!

You don't have to scrape all the soil off, just enough to make it easier for you to stuff it into the soil. LOL. Also, Cut the roots shorter so that the roots wont grow out & become really messy. Then, just plant em' in & put them wherever you wish! Repeat these same steps & you should have your terrarium very soon!

Remember to use a scissors when handling with a super sharp cactus! :O This pricked me so many times already.

Look! All decorated nicely! Just a little messy because I accidentally spread soil on the plant. No worries, you'll just have to dust it away! :)

Done? Nope not yet! If you like it this way, you can leave it as it is but I prefer to add some pebbles on top to make it tidier.

& now we are done! Okay as you can see the soil sort of fell to the pebble layer a bit as the pebbles aren't tiny enough. So I would recommend you guys to get even smaller pebbles to avoid this from happening. My dad got a huge bag of pebbles for me so had to use it. But it's still acceptable! :D

Doesn't it look pretty?! Don't forget to wipe the inside & outside of container before decorating it in your space!

Just repeat the same steps for the mini one! So cute right?! This is definitely a great gift for friends!

Tadaa! There you go! Don't they just look lovely? Was this easy or what?!

Placed the two small ones in my room! Should have gotten two different shaped ones to it'll look nicer. But still cute even though the bottom is kind of messy hahaha! I bet you guys can do a better job than me la! Anyway, overall this D.I.Y. is probably a 1/10? You only need to get the plants into a different pot & just add pebbles! LOL! I'm the type of person that whenever I handle a plant, it either dies or doesn't grow at all. So this was pretty successful for me & I really hope the cactus lasts! Ahahaha! Anyway, go try it out guys! You only need less than RM20 to make 3 mini ones that is enough to change the feel of your room instantly! <3

HARAJU-CUBE & Cat in the Box @ Empire Damansara

Dear all dessert lovers, this one's for you! <3 I, myself am not a dessert person at all because just a little sweet is too much for me. I guess I'm not a typical girl with a sweet tooth. Anyway, it's no surprise that most people have heard of the place HARAJU-CUBE @ Empire Damansara which serves Japanese honey toast. They only serve toast so go there if you're looking to snack on something. :) Definitely a place for people who love milky cream, so read on if you're on of them!

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HARAJU-CUBE is located on the 2nd floor at Empire Damansara & you sort of have to explore a bit to find it. But you surely wont miss it because it's interior is too cute & poppish you just wont miss! Lovin' the yellow, white & wood deco man! <3 Oh & when you enter, you can smell the scent of milk straight away so if you love milk, this is just for you!

So this is the menu. Photo from : Orange. See I told you they only serve toast! ahahah! Of course they serve drinks as well la. But look at the visuals on the menu! Don't you just want to try them all?! All so attractive & cute, the actual also looks the same so, no mini term saying the photos are for advertising purposes only :P 

The classic - RM22.90

So I came here with my boyfriend & we ordered the classic because I guess that's the safest & the classic wouldn't be the classic if it wasn't good right? Okay strategic move because it was good & yummy! The vanilla ice cream wasn't too sweet & so was the cream! The toast was well toasted & there was an inner toast which was really super fragrant & gooooood! <3 The inner toast was the so called honey toast la. Damn good I just love it! Heaven!

Too bad only the two of us were sharing this thing & I kid you not, it's pretty big & filling. We probably forcefully finished like 80% of it as it was definitely not a small dessert for two pax. I think the best is to share 1 toast among 4 people as a dessert because everyone would get 2 toasts each which was really filling enough. Oh ya, since it's a Japanese honey toast cafe, it plays Japanese songs too! Makes you feel like you're in Japan lor.

After our dessert, we went walking around Empire Damansara & snapping photos to walk away our bloatness from the dessert.

I just wish there were more places built like this!

We then went to get something to drink at Cat In The Box which is on the same floor as Haraju-cube. Been here twice before & really liked the atmosphere. Very quiet & a private area to chill & do assignments or have discussion with friends. 

Anyway, shared an iced latte with le bf. I don't know how to grade good coffee but according to the boyfriend, this is good coffee. ahahah! I just drink only.

Bae :*

Lastly, a still face #ootd shot at this mainstream photoshooting spot. :D

Overall, being not a dessert person, I felt that HARAJU-CUBE was worth the try & I will go there again but this time with my gal pals! As for Cat in the Box, will go there for chillin or assignments cuz it's just so quiet & nice.  

EMPIRE DAMANSARA

Fragrance DU BOIS workshop !

Hey guys! Was supposed to update every weekend but it's been a super hectic semester for me so I didn't have much free time during the weekends to blog. But I will still try my best to post once a week la. xD I won't give up so easily since I've failed many times in the past & I don't want to fail again.

Anyway, less whining & more blogging! My lecturer brought us on a field trip today to Fragrance Du Bois @ Starhill Gallery. He did mention it to us before & told us to dress up nicely since it was a really luxury fragrance store. I just can't stand too much perfume smell as I'd get headaches & feel nauseous so I was already prepared for the worst. My lecturer even said the highest grade perfume there costs a bomb so I bet it must really damn smell strong. ahahaha okay I was right la. Don't want to bore you so here's the photos!

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Looks so luxurious right?! Even from the outside already looks so grand, imagine when you're inside. :O

I'm not really a fan of perfume cuz I end up sneezing after smelling too many types but once in a lifetime chance to sniff these luxury perfumes so I just went ahead! Aren't those lid stuff just so cute?!

Look at the fragrance bottles! Simple but elegant & expensive looking! Won't want to accidentally hit that at all. Most of the perfumes displayed there were yellow. No idea why but yeah pee colour. ahhahaha Don't worry la, it doesn't smell like that at all. Each one has their very unique & distinct smell.

When we walked in, I straightaway noticed their chandelier. So pretty I just can't not snap a photo! & also, the Chandelier song by Sia kept playing on my mind when I saw that hahahaha!

As we enter the door, there were lots of perfume on display & I'm guessing those are the new arrivals. There's even spotlight shinning on them, so superstar feel la.

Gold & black just looks so elegant & luxurious! 

Love this table & the way they decorated it! Just with a simple matching photo frame & the perfume aligned in a half circle.

Mirror spotted + nice background = selfie with my main buddy :D

Okay, enough snapping photos around, time to sniff some perfume! So infront of every lid, there's the bottles of the respective perfumes.

In case you didn't know, the scent is inside the lid & you have to lift it to sniff it. There's actually a cotton pad stuck inside the lid but some how that one fell of hahahah!

Inside every lid, there's a description on the perfume, like details on the scent. I really loved the one called Oud Jaune which has a sweet floral scent!

This photo turned out pretty blurry as it was kinda dark inside so it's pretty hard to snap photos.

My typical no eyes smile hahahaha

Fake candid. So nice la this decor!

Huge fan of miniatures here! Look at these mini perfumes!

So the stuff in those bottles are actually the super pure smell & sort of the base in making the actual perfumes. They look like medicine bottles & turns out then when perfume was first discovered, the bottles they used were similar to these ones. Only a maximum of 12 types should be in a perfume because if there's too many, there wont be considered perfume anymore.

Finally when there's no one & I can snap a good shot of this thing! So cute ah!

So here are some of their perfumes on display. Somehow the cover of the three perfumes in the middle looks kind of like an egyptian head piece thing hahhahah!

Everyone exploring the perfumes! This was of course taken before the churros & coffee came. After it came everyone just kept eating the churros.

Another pretty chandelier!

After browsing through the perfume, then began the introduction on the history of perfume & how it all began. The manager is a pretty good story teller & at least we didn't get bored. She even told us about the difference between Perfume, Eau de Cologne, Eu de Parfum & Eu de Toilette. Yes there is a difference & the difference isn't just the name xD

PERFUME

The perfume you see in the store is not the pure perfume essence and has been diluted. However, it is the most concentrated of all the fragrance options, and it is the most expensive for this reason. It tends to be slightly oilier and will typically contain 15-40 percent pure perfume extract. It has a slightly thicker, oilier consistency. It is too strong to spray all over (and too expensive).

EAU DE PARFUM

This uses the same perfume essence but less of it and more alcohol and water. This means the smell is a bit lighter and usually doesn't last quite as long, but as it is a bit lighter, many find this preferable. It is of course cheaper. Typically there will be 10-20 percent perfume essence in eau de perfume. This perfume might be sold in normal bottles or sprays.

EAU DE TOILETTE

This is lighter still and usually sold in spray bottles. The lightness of it makes it more suitable to spray more liberally. The high alcohol content means it will not last very long. Generally, this version is the most advisable to use day to day, as it is less intense, and even if you do use too much it will lighten up fairly quickly. Typically there will be 4-15 percent pure perfume.

EAU DE COLOGNE

Cologne is an abbreviation of eau de Cologne for the city of Cologne, Germany, where a particular scent was first made; hence it was a water from Cologne. There are specific blends of fragrances that fall in this particular category of eau de Cologne; they are very light, fresh, and fruity, and they contain the essential oils, lemon, bergamot, orange, and the absolute neroli. They may also contain the essential oils lavender and rosemary.

Anyway, after explaining about that, the manager also taught us where's the correct & more proper place to spray your perfume. Surprisingly most of us are doing it all wrong. Apparently you should spray them on your wrists, collar bone, above the ears near the head, & your knees to create a whole aura around you. Also when you spray them on your wrists you shouldn't rub the perfume but instead just dab it on your other wrist as rise of temperature on perfume may change it's scent.

She also mentioned that Du Bois has this personality test that lets you find out which perfume suits your personality! Pretty cool huh? I got my favourite one which proves it is right!

Everyone giving their go on the test ahahah!

After almost 2 hours there, we finally ended the workshop being more knowledgeable on perfume stuff & even got this goodie bag! Thank you Du Bois! 

Since it was still early & we were waiting for the rest that were in the restroom, selfie time!

closer one! ahahah!

OOTD photo before leaving! pattern banyak it is.

Went home & opened the gift box & saw that they gave us perfume! Eventhough it's so expensive but they still gave us ! Apparently everyone else had 1 in their goodie bag & somehow mine had 2.. hahahah but the smell doesn't suit youngsters cuz it's super strong & heavy. Very datin smell LOL. Also it's super pricey so only datins can afford & not us youngsters la hahahah Anyway, if you'd still like to go, here's the address!

FRAGRANCE DU BOIS

F6 Explore Floor, Starhill Gallery

181 Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

TEL: +603 2144 1311

EMAIL: my@fragrancedubois.com

OPENING HOURS: 10:00am - 10:00pm