Lany Zabidin

These are a few of my favourite things IG : @ailanyzabidin

[jonasjungblut]

[lanyzabidin]

Sandy beaches, picnic by the beach, warm fireplace

[fallenalvarez]

“When you’re given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”

[lanyzabidin]

One of the best and the most beautiful book I’ve ever read in my life. A light hearted read with purely lovable characters.  Not only this book has a beautiful, moving and inspiring story but the pureness of the protagonist makes him one of my favourite characters in fictional works yet. In a world where we are constantly faced with such scary prospects of hatred, bigotry and anger on a daily basis. This story reminds us of the power of being kind. It reminds me the same kind of pureness and wonder (no pun intended) that I used to have thus carry around and spread to every around me at one point in my life. It reminds me of the way I used to see the world as a 5th grader, terribly confusing yet full of wonders. The book as it seems is aptly named. Pure unadulterated good read. 

[lanyzabidin]

Sundays 💕

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Starting to love this moisturizer, lightweight yet somehow still moisturizing

[lanyzabidin]

As I grow older, I start to realize more and more the importance of family. In the next few years I might be preparing for my move to another country. A few years from now, this will all be a distant memory and my loved ones could only be contacted through Skype. When it comes to this, when it comes to building a new life is when you realize who truly matters. True, I dont have as much friends as I used to, that's a painful part of growing I know. When you start prioritizing your life, yourself and not caring so much about whether people like you, you get to see who is actually worth all this trouble we call life. And this right here, is what is truly worth all that trouble 💕 it's true what they say it aint about quantity, it's about quality.

[lanyzabidin]

Sabah, u look like a postcard seriously. 🙏

[lanyzabidin]

Great nostalgic place at Sunway Putra Mall in Kl, Malaysia. Food was good and portion was massive 

Disclaimer : all photos are my own.

[sanaa-k-illustration-deactivate]

WHEN YOU EDUCATE A GIRL, YOU EDUCATE A NATION.

[biyaself]

🙏🏽

[lanyzabidin]

in support of this!

[lanyzabidin]

Tokyo Disneyland

IG : @ailanyzabidin

Disclaimer : all photos are my own.

[lanyzabidin]

Shibuya crossing 

IG : @ailanyzabidin

Disclaimer : all photos are my own.  

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Daily commute.

IG : @ailanyzabidin

Disclaimer : Photos are my own. 

[lanyzabidin]

Letting go

Sometimes there are things in life that were not benefitting us at all, like that toxic friendship or relationship, that job we're not passionate about or even being in an environment which we're not happy in. Looking back it became clear to me that letting go was the best option. For so long, I let it happen without my consent and I was angry but I had no one else to blame. So I took the leap, and I packed my proverbial bags and I left. Without saying a word. At times I feel guilty, at times I feel like I miss it, but more so, I realize I miss the person that I used to be when I had it.

But, I realize that I had to let go in order to make space for something greater in my life. And at first I struggled, I was heartbroken, angry and terrified. After all, I have never been one that is so fond of changes. And what a change it was. I didn't know what the future held for me. Yet, I know with every fibre in my being that I made the right move to leave.

I used to have conversations with my friends, my husband and my family about my choice of letting go as if I was trying to validate my choice. But I felt the biggest relieve when I finally realize that I don't have to explain to anyone anything, I don't owe anyone anything. (Although I did explain my situation to my closest ones out of kindness) For so long, I have let other people influence me and I crave for their approval that I'd do things that I don't want to do. A sense of satisfaction came over me when I realized that the only approval, the only opinion that matters, is mine. And that I have the power to decide for myself. This is my life after all. Once I let other people dictate my life, make choices for me, I've given them that power over me. And by making my own choices, for the first time, after such a long time, I've taken back that power.

I've let go of who I thought I was. I thought that having this thing, would make me feel complete. Making me feel less lonely somehow. I realized now that you are never lonely, if you listen to yourself, do what's best for you and put your own needs first and fulfil those. I realize that lonely is not about number or popularity, loneliness is about being out of touch with oneself. We find the best of friends, in ourselves, if we start to be kind to ourselves and listen to our deepest thoughts and make it our live mission to live based on our choices, our terms and our decisions. By letting go and taking back my power I have found myself again, I've learned to be kinder to myself, to listen to my body and respect my own decisions. And never have I felt so free. Now when I look back, I think not of the times when I felt lost and angry because of this toxic thing that I held onto for so long, instead I think of all the good times and why it was better for me to let go. I have no grudges about the past but I know for a fact that I never want to go back there again. Letting go was one of the best decision I've ever made.

[lanyzabidin]

3 things only people in their 20s would understand

No one told me that after you graduate, you will be stuck in a sort of limbo between your party all night long college self and this sudden onslaught of adulthood. Perhaps, for the majority of people it's not that bad, cause not much will change. For me though, the change was rather magnified by the fact that I got married a few months after graduation. Let me tell you a few things that will change.

1. Clothes

Forget about those crop tops and summer jeans you used to strut your stuff in during uni days, those things are no longer wearable once you start working or you're married. Clothes is the first thing that will change once you start turning into an "adult". The dilemma is this, how do I dress up like a respectable adult? How do I look good while not looking like a prude? What brands do I buy from? Previously Cotton on and Forever 21 were my staples. Don't get me wrong, they're still good for the working life, but you have to start investing in better key pieces in your wardrobe. So, my one stop shop for everything work related has got to be Uniqlo. Lemme tell you, once you start working that 9-5 lifestyle, your work wardrobe will somehow find its way to your weekends too. So you now you have to find the right balance. Smartly dress on weekdays, more summer-y stuff on the weekends.

2. Priorities

Previously my priority was to go out and have fun on the weekends. Now, all I want to do on the weekends is sleep in and just watch tv really. For one thing, it helps to save money. Secondly, you just want to rest cause once Monday rolls over you're just like "I wanna stay in bed!!!!"

3.  You stop caring about what people think or say about you.

Let's face it, besides trying to pay your bills, going to the gym and doing adult stuff you really don't have the time to worry about petty things anymore like how many likes you get on instagram or what's the latest ridiculous fashion trends are anymore. On top of that, all of those nice stuff you used to do to please people, all that stuff went out the window because you realize that the only person whose opinion matters to you and your happiness is your own. Screw societal expectations.

[lanyzabidin]

Nonsensical prose

I remember my first ever memory of being in a Disneyland, the sparkling lights amidst the dark of the night, with the sounds and smell of things I hold dear in my heart. It was almost like a fantasy, like it was picked out of my most wonderful and vivid beautiful dreams. A month ago I returned to yet another Disneyland. I thought that neither my cynical adult mind would be able to comprehend nor my reluctant hardened heart would be able to appreciate the wonders and nostalgia that this place brings. Oh but I was wrong. How truly amazed I was, the same childish wonder that used to enchant me still exists. It's so great seeing all the darkness in the world and yet I can still be so touched by the simple wonders in it. Oh how truly naive and malleable our neuro plastic minds can be, almost everything we know can be reversed. Therein lies my faith, the world aint half as bad as it seems.

[lanyzabidin]

Playing around with my Nikon d3200.

I took this shot on the very same day that I attended Annatasha Saifol's photography workshop. When we went for lunch afterwards, I got a little bored while waiting for our food to arrive and quite frankly I just can't wait to play around with my camera and applied what I have learnt. In other words, I kira gatal tangan la kan. This was my first unsupervised attempt at playing around in the Manual mode in my camera, so I was just trying to experiment with the aperture and shutter speed. Sometimes it can be quite confusing that photographing the same scene like someone vaping, could need different shutter speed and ISO depending on the amount of light available in the environment, at least that's what I deducted from this article https://photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography.

So according to this article slow shutter speed blurs motion. Whereas, fast shutter speed freezes action. What constitutes fast shutter speed? How I remember it is the more the number is as in 1/xxxx, the faster the shutter speed. In other words, 1/1600th of a second is a faster shutter speed than 1/30th of a second. According to the article normally what constitutes a fast shutter speed is more than 1/500th of a second for general photography.

So I found that when I was trying to take the same vaping action by my husband in a dimly lit room, at night, my ISO had automatically changed to 800, and I found that I had to use a lower shutter speed from 1/80 - 1/40th of a second in order to properly expose the picture.

However, I always try to set my aperture at 3.5, simply because I love that slightly blurred out background feel. I used my trusty Nikon D3200 with my stock 18-55mm lens. All you professional photographers out there, if you happen to read this post and found that I could do better or that I misunderstood certain stuff, do let me know. Would love to learn! xx

[lanyzabidin]

My Korean Skincare Favs & Update

Nature Republic Soothing Moisture Aloe Vera Cleansing Gel Foam

+ Great at cleansing without drying out the skin

+ Is a nice and gentle cleanser

+ At the price of RM29.90 on Hermo.my it is really affordable

This is my third time buying this cleanser and honestly I really have no qualms about it. It even smells like Aloe Vera. It leaves my skin feeling clean without that tight feeling on my skin which usually signifies that the cleanser might be too harsh or drying for my dry and sensitive skin. I would totally recommend this product to those with a similar skin type.

Nature Republic Aqua Super Max Moisture Watery Cream

+ An emollient and thick moisturiser that helps keep skin moisturised

+  Does not have a distinctive smell that can be quite repulsive to some people

- Packaging is not travel friendly. It is quite heavy and may break if you drop it.

Funny story about the packaging of this moisturiser. I don't keep any of my toiletries in the toilet, so I have to bring them with me into the toilet whenever I am getting into the shower. One day, I was carrying my moisturiser in and out of my toilet and given that the packaging is round and slippery, it totally slipped out of my fingers. I broke the top half. Thank god I was about done with the moisturiser and had to re-stock otherwise the broken cover would have been quite an inconvenience.

I went to Japan earlier this year and I spent about a week there. Normally, if I travel to any cold countries at all, mind you it was the end of my winter, my skin would crack and sting due to dryness, especially the skin around my nose. This time I was determined to not let that happen again, so, on the plane, every few hours or so I kept applying this moisturiser and the  Nature Republic Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel and I never had any cracked skin at all. My younger sister was having a cold and she was experiencing dryness around her nose, because she was constantly rubbing her face with tissues and this routine helped her as well.

The last one is not a really a skincare faves since I've never tried it. I'm just so excited to share with you what I just bought! I've always heard wonderful things about this mask. It's a 2 in 1, scrub and mask product which I personally find to be absolutely genius, cause I get to cut short the time of my at-home facial. Plus, why buy two products when you can have one that does both?

Skin Food Black Sugar Mask

+ Price : RM 25.50 (currently on sale on Hermo.my, retail price is RM44)

This scrub has been touted by many as their HG scrub, I've always wanted to try this scrub but they have always been out of stock, so previously I purchased the Skin Food Black Sugar Honey Mask which was a hydrating exfoliating scrub. However, I found that the latter was great at the hydrating part but not so great with the exfoliating part. It did make my skin smoother and "cleaner" or brighter every time I use it, but I still think that the exfoliating could be better as it did not help with my clogged pores all that much.

So that's it folks, my latest skincare faves and haul. Can't wait to give them a try especiall the scrub. One thing I love about Korean skincare is that they have the cutest packaging, on top of that I read online that by 2018 all Korean beauty products are going to be cruelty free!

So hopefully you guys enjoyed reading this and it is helpful in some ways!

Let me know in the comments section what are some of your Korean skincare/ makeup favourites because I'm just starting to delve into Korean skincare and makeup.

All of the products were purchased from www.hermo.my

* All pictures are my own and all the products were purchased with my own money.

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