Autumn/Winter Skincare Routine

(Would have taken a better picture but my camera died on me)
L-R: Olay Complete Moisturising Lotion, Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum,
Clinique All About Eyes Serum, Natio Eye Gel, Clinique MoistureSurge

Winter is just around the corner for us in Australia and I have been tweaking my skincare routine to deal with the change. While summer is all about sunscreen, exfoliation and brightening products, my winter skincare routine revolves around hydration.

Products that I have left in my routine are Clinique MoistureSurge, Natio Eye Treatment Gel and a Clinique All About Eyes serum. The latter was part of a Clinique travel exclusive set and I have only just started using it since the weather started getting chilly. I can't say if it has improved the area around my eyes but it feels quite refreshing especially on days when you didn't have enough sleep.

HG Stuff: Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief

In coffeespeak (R-L): Short, Grande, Venti

I suspect that I am turning into a Clinique convert. I still maintain that their paint-stripping toners and the Dramatically Different Moisturising lotions are the stuff of nightmares; but their Turnaround Concentrate and Moisture Surge moisturiser stand at the top of My Favorite Skincare Products List 2011.

Kahani has reviewed Moisture Surge before but the stuff is so good for my oily-dry skin, I think it deserves a second review of its own.

I wasn't madly in love with Moisture Surge when I first got it. It was nice to use, sunk in quickly and did everything a moisturiser was supposed to do. The only difference between this and Garnier's Aqua Defense Essence Moisturiser was that Moisture Surge didn't break me out. Then, I happened to meet a Clinique SA from a different counter.

"Oily-dry skin?" she asked. "Try using double the amount you usually use. In fact, massage it in until your skin can't absorb anymore."

I blinked. Ookay.

Old Faithfuls: Products that have stood the test of time

Hey lovelies,

While we beauty bloggers always love to check out new products and see what else we can get our manicured nails on, sometimes, I believe it's good to take a step back and look at the good old products that have served us well over the years.


You know, good friends that have never left our bathroom cabinets or bedside tables.

Review: Vichy Normaderm Pro Mat & Vichy Normaderm Refining Pore Essence

Pro Mat on Left and Refining Essence on Right

I am nursing a couple of injuries from an accident with a door so this week's post is going to be short and sweet. Let's take a look at two products I have been trying out for the past two months: Vichy Normaderm Pro Mat Non-Stop Matte Effect Hydrating Care and Vichy Normaderm Refine Total Pore Resurfacing Essence.

Isn't that a mouthful? Vichy needs to think of shorter names for their products.

Steam Cream: Miracle or Hype?

Let’s have a show of hands, ladies. How many of you have been suckered into buying a product just because the packaging was cool/ cute/ pretty?

You at the back wearing blue, are you really sure that you haven’t done it before? It doesn’t have to be beauty-related – it could be a pen, a water bottle, a mug…

Aha, your hand just went up. Don’t look sheepish, we have all done it before.


The first time I saw Steam Cream, I squealed.

“Soooo cute!”

Packaged in aluminium tins (click here to find out why tin packaging is cool), Steam Cream’s main selling point is the design on the tin. There are quite a number of designs to pick from (see here) and there is bound to be a design for everyone.

I have a weakness for goldfish and koi so it’s no surprise that I fell for the Kingyo design. When I found out that it was going to be discontinued, I threatened my best friend in UK with bodily harm until she agreed to get it for me.

(Actually, I sent her several emails saying “I want I want I want I want. Should I get? Should I get? Should I get?” and she replied with “I got it for you so stop asking.”)

Tried, Tested and Tried Again: Reviewed Products Revisited

We are frightful enablers here on So Loverly: our reviews not only inspire lemmings in others but amongst ourselves. I have lost count of the numbers of times I have read a review by Kahani or Syen and thought, I want to try that.

Unfortunately, not all products recommended by Kahani and Syen work for me and vice versa due to our different skin needs. Kahani has mad oily skin, Syen's skin combo-oily while mine is oily-dry. The cleanser which broke Syen out works great for me but I won't touch Kahani's HG acne treatment with a 10 feet pole. Clinique's DDM gel works for Kahani and Syen but not for me.

There was that one product which all of us agreed on disliking albeit for different reasons; Syen hated the scent, Kahani got breakouts while it gave me rashes AND made me sneeze.

Here's my take on some previously reviewed products:

Desperate Me + Estee Lauder Haul ~

So I was a desperate woman. Very, very desperate.

I have no idea why, but of late (last couple of weeks), my skin has decided to dry out on me, in a most uncomfortable and unflattering manner. Day in, day out, I've been slapping on moisturiser after moisturiser, with the hope that my skin will retain something.

Nope. No such luck.

Stuff I am Missing: Natures Organics Sorbolene Moisturiser

Some of you would have probably thought that I made a punctuation error and accidentally left out some apostrophes in "Natures Organics". But that is how the brand name is spelled and I have to figure out if it was done on purpose or by accident.

Incidentally, the first time my boyfriend saw it, he asked if I was sure that the brand is Australian and not Chinese.

Anyhow, this was my staple moisturiser throughout my uni days and now that I am back in Malaysia, boy oh boy, do I miss it. Cheap as chips and it really does a great job.

Review: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

Before I start this review I'd like to point out that I haven't really used this product as thoroughly as I usually would before a review. I've had it for over a month, courtesy of Kiehl's, but for several reasons have been using it very sparingly, only about once a week and in minute amounts.

I'm still on the fence about this serum. As someone with oily, acne prone skin its benefits on me aren't as dramatic as that of drier skinned ladies like ParisB and Connie. Also it contains Jojoba oil which causes me to breakout a little. However, when I switched to Benzac my skin did grow flaky and dry in parts, so I thought I'd risk it and use this product very lightly.

My Favourite Things: Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter (Mini)

It would appear that I have found a new travel companion. Whether it's a short balik kampung (back to the hometown) trip, or one out of the country, I now have a new friend I tote along for these occasions.


Because it's just perfect for it. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter (Mini), now a firm favourite of mine.

How much do I love it? Read on to find out.

Review: Himalaya Herbals Nourishing Skin Cream

We are pretty big Himalaya Herbals fans here. From their Neem face pack to their facial cleansers. So, when I found myself broke and in a hurry to travel somewhere a few years ago, I reached out for the cheapest and least dodgy moisturiser I could find in Guardian. If HH masks and cleansers worked, why not their moisturisers?

It took me 3 weeks to realise that this cream is meant for the body, not the face -- with a name like "Nourishing Skin Cream", who would have guessed? It worked just as well though. I have been using it ever since whenever my skin is in a bad spot and I have to go back to the basic wash - tone - moisturise routine.

Back to Basics: Aqua Cream

It really doesn't get any more basic than this. Especially when you have a label like this one here.


This was the label. Really.

Now read on to find out why I bought the cream.

Review: Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Milk

Excuse the lack of a picture today, ladies My internet connection is being ridiculously slow so I'll try to put up the picture some time during the next few days.

After falling in love with Hada Labo's Moisturising Lotion, I was playing with the idea of giving their moisturising milk a whirl. Tine's review was the tipping point for me so off to Guardian I went!

(Trivia: I bought this with Syen and when she gave a knowing grin, "Lemme guess. You read Tine's review, didn't you?"

I have been using this for 2 over months now and have come to the conclusion that while it works okay on the moisturising front, it isn't as impressive as the Hada Labo lotion counterpart.

My main reasons for liking this product are that:

1. A little goes a long way. All you need are 4 drops for your face and neck. I think the bottle will probably last until next year.

2. It works great as a leave-in conditioner. Seriously. I forgot to bring my conditioner with me on a work trip some time ago and needed something to tame odwn the frizzies. Out came my Hada Labo bottle and I quickly scrunched 4-5 drops on to my hair. Tamed the frizzy lion immediately.

3. It really is fragrance-free. No weird plastic smell unlike Simple. I have a pretty sensitive nose so fragrance-free products are a plus point.

My main grouses:

1. The milk moisturises okay but you really need to take your time in massaging it into your skin in order for it to work. The milk texture gives it a lot of slip but it takes lots of time to absorb. Definitely not for when people in a hurry.

2. I can't upload my pictures or I would show a shot of this. There is a line on the Hada Labo bottle claiming to be free of mineral oils, alcohol and colourants. If you look at the ingredient list though, behenyl alcohol is listed somewhere in the middle.

*sigh* My skin isn't a fan of alcohol so while I haven't broken out yet, it looks like I will either have to use this lotion up on my neck or use it very sparingly.

Not a HG so I don't think I will be repurchasing.

I have forgotten how much the Hada Labo moisturising milk costs but I know that it retails here in Sabah for RM55.90 in all Guardian outlets.

Review: Vaseline Sheer Infusion Stratys-3 Body Lotion

FINALLY.

I know I am so awfully late in joining the bandwagon of reviews for this body lotion, and I do apologise for it. Then again, maybe I don't. I didn't really have much of a choice, did I?

I had only just gotten my grubby little paws on them about 3 weeks ago when I was in the UK. Because Vaseline Malaysia doesn't bring them in here. *grumble*

But anyway, enough of my grumbling, and let me move on to tell you about this body lotion. Which is pretty darn impressive in my books.

So backtrack about 3 weeks here, and you'll see me packing for my trip. I didn't bring any body moisturiser with me, except a wee tube of the Johnson's Baby Calming Softlotion for my hands.

Reason? Why bother bringing added luggage when I know I'm going to buy moisturisers there? Makes sense, no?

So day-one in UK saw my skin shrivelling up and me running helter-skelter to the nearest Boots. And of course, I had to pick this up. I had been itching to try it. Literally.

I chose the one in Mineral Renewal because I'd read it had the mildest scent of the lot, and because I liked it. The hubs liked it too. Heaven forbid I should have picked the Vitamin Burst because it smelled of citrus. Yuck.

And so, for the next 2 and a half weeks, me and the hubby were slathering it on every morning and every night. You know how dry my skin gets, don't you? And at the end of it, I was VERY impressed. Not only did my skin not itch at all throughout my trip there, it actually looked healthy. Seriously.

In fact, I think it looked even healthier there in dry UK, than here, in humid Malaysia. Oh the irony. So I guess its claim of working across all three layers of the skin might actually hold water.


Ingredients list:


Many have talked about how it doesn't feel greasy at all yada yada, but here I beg to differ slightly. On me, it felt just a tad greasy. Not unbearably so, but I could feel it on. Granted, I did slather it on a little generously (especially at night).

Anyhoo, in just a little over 2 weeks, I believe the hubs and I have used up about half of the 200ml tube. While I tempted to pick up another tube before I left, I decided not to. Not because I thought the £4.99 price-tag was expensive, but because I remembered the hoard of body moisturisers I had sitting back home. Nevermind the other ones I picked up from Boots later on too. *winks*

In conclusion, I love it. It smells great, feels pretty good on, and most importantly, takes great care of my skin.

Vaseline's done it again. Awesome.

Review: Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel

When So Loverly was contacted by Cellnique a few months ago to trial some of their products for free, this moisturising gel was originally sent to Kahani. She ended up passing it to me along with some other Cellnique products to trial.

"I hope it works better for you," Kahani sighed. The stuff gave her breakouts.

I had my doubts. Gel-type moisturisers and my skin aren't the best of friends as they usually lack the moisture my skin craves so much (H2O+ Face Oasis, come this way honey!). So I crossed my fingers, gritted my teeth and decided to try it for a month.

At first, I was pretty impressed. The Cellinique Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel really did deliver. I didn't break out and no bumps appeared on my face. It was great for both day and night time use, especially when used to seal in serums. The gel is easily spreadable and absorbs into the skin quite quickly. Three pumps are enough for my face and neck.

Then I moved to Sabah.

You have to keep in mind that Sabah has always been a little drier than Peninsular Malaysia and this year, the weather has been hotter and drier than usual (goodness knows how we are going to celebrate Harvest Festival at the end of May). Not only have I turned a shade darker, but my skin has been screaming for water.

Let's just say that this gel isn't the pleasant oasis of water which my skin is looking for in this weather. I had to up the moisture levels by using it together with Hada Labo's Moisturising Lotion. I keep this for day time use as it does work as a nice makeup base.

Priced at RM 129 (RM 139 if you are based in East Malaysia), I will give this a miss. I am pretty sure that this will work great for others with normal to combination skin however so if you stay in West Malaysia and are looking for a light moisturiser that packs a punch, you can give this go.

My Favourite Things: St Ives Whipped Silk Advanced Body Moisturiser

Hello lovelies,

As requested by April when I decided (against my better judgment) to let you girls know how many moisturisers I had, here's a review of one of my absolute faves - St Ives Whipped Silk Advanced Body Moisturiser.

I first met this Whipped Silk moisturiser several years ago, when it was first released. Anyone remember the old packaging with the blue caps?

Originally, there were two scents available, I believe, as I remember clearly there was the one with the purple rose, and a pink rose.

Today, St Ives seems to only have the purple rose variety. But no matter. It's still one heck of a moisturiser.


For the Malaysian climate, St Ives couldn't have done better. It's moisturising but light enough even for our humid weather. I'd say this is even lighter than this Oatmeal & Shea Butter variety. If you're in a temperate country, this is a summer lotion alright. As much as I love it, I'm afraid it won't be able to carry you through winter.

Slathering it on, it does a great job of moisturising the skin without any of that greasy feel. It sinks right into the skin, which is a rather important point for me when it comes to body lotions.


A cute little extra that St Ives did as well, was to design the dispenser in a star-shape. This feature was also available in the original blue-capped design, and gives your moisturiser a whipped-cream look. Nice touch, don't you think?

As for the scent, it has a lovely and light floral scent which is very pleasant, and a little comforting. I love applying this at night as I find it has a rather calming effect on me.

The list of ingredients is as below:


Price-wise, it costs about RM16 for a 354ml bottle, which isn't pricey at all if you ask me.

To conclude, I really love this moisturiser, and it ranks up there with my all-time Dove holy grail. I have one bottle at home, and I'm still using my old bottle at my parents' place for when I visit them.

Yup, I love it that much. Have you tried it?

What's Your Number: Gorgeous Skin ~

Oh fudge.

I remember a few months earlier, when I'd already started on my little cream craze (which has apparently gone BOOM!), and there was this particular conversation with Kahani that went along something like this.

Me: I'm really keen on trying out that new Vaseline (Stratys-3) moisturiser. It sounds AWHSUM.
Kahani: Uh-oh.
Me: What?
Kahani: You're having one of your crazy fetishes aren't you? Now it's moisturisers.
Me: Err... well. I only have uhhh... (ran off to count) TEN bottle/jars/tubs/tubes of moisturisers. I'm still alright.
Kahani: Riiiiiight.

Fast forward a couple of months post conversation, and my stash has reeeally gone BOOM. But I don't remember buying that many. Really!

Anyway, some housekeeping was in order, and I now realise I have 17 bottles/jars/tubs/tubes of moisturisers, as listed below.

Lotions

1. St Ives Soothing Oatmeal & Shea Butter Advanced Body Moisturiser
2. St Ives Whipped Silk Advanced Body Moisturiser
3. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E Skin Smoothing Lotion
4. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Lotion
5. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Relief and Repair Balm
6. The Body Shop Nutmeg and Vanilla Body Lotion
7. The Body Shop Peach Body Lotion (this was a gift, so it doesn't really count, right?)
8. Johnson's Baby Softlotion (Calming)
9. Nivea Whitening Inner Cell Repair Body Milk (for normal sun exposure)
10. ~H20+ Moisturising Body Balm in Raspberry Guava
11. Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Lotion

Creams

1. Dove Supreme Body Silk
2. Dove Intensive Cream
3. The Body Shop Shea Body Butter

Hand Creams

1. Soap & Glory Hand Food (I hold Kahani responsible for this.)
2. L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Petal-soft Hand Cream (I hold Tine responsible for this.)
3. Nivea Hand Nourishing Cream

So there you have it people. My crazy cream stash. Okay, no more creams for me for the next three months! (Unless it was pre-ordered. Then it doesn't really count. *tee hee* )

So what's your number? C'mon people, be honest here.

Review: St Ives Soothing Oatmeal & Shea Butter Advanced Body Moisturiser

Hello ladies!

Ah, to be back. I think this post will, without a doubt, prove that I'm still in the middle of my current cream-craze. Nevermind that I had only reviewed this Vaseline moisturiser two weeks back.

This bottle of Oatmeal & Shea Butter moisturiser I picked up during my recent trip to Hong Kong, amongst a few other items. And it's a purchase I'm happy to have made.

I first took note of this moisturiser because of the Oatmeal ingredient it boasts. Having read somewhere recently that oatmeal actually works jolly well for eczema, I thought I'd pick up a bottle for the hubs and see how much help it'd do him.

So read on to find out more!

It could be just me, but more often than not, products I'm interested in are usually out of reach. And of course, this too, is not available in Malaysia. Hence, the picking it up while in Hong Kong. Sorry girls, but this one you can't get here. Can anyone tell if it's sold in Singapore?

Anyway, it's one happy purchase as my skin didn't take the (lovely and mild) Hong Kong winter very well. Two days into my trip, my skin had turned all dry and scaly, and it was starting to itch like crazy.


Just as well, don't you think? Sorry hubs, I'm helping myself to this first. After all, it does claim to provide "instant non-irritating relief for dry, itchy skin".

And I must say, I was rather impressed. Slathering it on all over provided somewhat instant relief for the dryness, and my skin stopped itching. And slapping it on in the morning kept my skin comfortable pretty much throughout the day. But I'm pretty sure the glycerin had more to do with it than the oatmeal, considering the fact it's listed last in the ingredient's list.


But what's great about the product is that it claims to be have been formulated without parabens and phthalates. Tree-huggers will also rejoice in knowing that St Ives does not test on animals, and that the bottle contains 20% post-consumer recycled material.


Scent wise, Kahani describes it as "milky and nestum-y", which I didn't mind at all. And of course, dearest Kahani had to hate it.

"I can STILL smell you!" she groaned, despite being curled up in her duvet, head and all.

Granted, we both shared this tiny room, and her bed was not three feet away from mine. I think it's one of life's ironies that best friends we may be, but our noses most certainly aren't. I love vanilla, she hates it. She loves lavender and citrus. I hate them BOTH. Go figure.

Anyway, this huge 532ml bottle (which cost less than RM20 after conversion) will last me a long, long time. Which is great, since I do really like it. However, considering that I am currently swimming in body moisturisers, and the fact I can't get my itchy hands on it here, I doubt I'll be repurchasing.

Oatmeal, anyone?

Review: Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Lotion + Relief & Repair Balm

Hello lovelies,

How's your Tuesday looking? Hope it's chugging along just fine. Mine's looking crazy busy still, but ah well... this is life.

Anyway, last week I talked about having fried and flaky hands, and I did promise a review on some of the products I've purchased as a result of my current craze for all things moisturising.

So here's two of 'em from the Vaseline Intensive Rescue Range - Moisture Locking Lotion and the Relief & Repair Balm. The other products, sadly, are out of my reach.

(Plus, I'd be a wee nutters don't cha think, if I got everything from one range of products?)

On to the reviews!

Moisture Locking Lotion (Hypoallergenic & Unfragranced)

The only product available from this range in Malaysia (I'll explain the balm later), I picked up a 400ml pump bottle from Guardians the other day. I had decided to be good and had reluctantly put the bottle back onto the shelf, but a RM5 voucher (earned shortly later) killed all will-power, resulting in me running back to the shelf and then straight for the cashier (with voucher waving like a victory flag).


Anyhow, I'm rather glad I picked it up because, as said earlier, I had fried my hands dry two weekends ago. And between slappingon my ~H20+ Raspberry Guave Body Balm during the day (because it's the only moisturiser I have in my bag), and this super moisturiser at night, my hands started healing and was pretty much back to normal after about 3 days.

Make no mistake, ladies. While it's texture is lotion, this is HEAVY-duty stuff. I realised I made a slight mistake one day, when upon applying it all over my hands and legs (just before bedtime), I started feeling a little icky. Just a wee bit. It's not greasy, heavens no. But unlike this one here, it won't just sink in and be done with it. It'll hang around a while, let you know it's there, try to make friends... you get the drift. You just know it's there.

But I forgive it, because it does one heck of a moisturising job. My skin felt insanely moisturised the next morning. Although, I doubt I'll be repeating this stunt again. This baby goes only on the extra-dry spots from now on.


Kahani, who also has this moisturiser, recommended it as a lovely hand cream. And I must agree. I just slapped on a little for my hands, and here I am. Still typing on my notebook. With no unwanted greasiness. Two thumbs up there.

Priced at about RM18, I think it's a fair price for such a great moisturiser. And since I'll only need a little bit each time I use it, I think it'll take me a while before I need to think about getting another bottle. Try a year or two.

I do wish, however, that Unilever would also bring in the fragranced variety for options sake. I do like a little scent in my moisturisers.

Relief & Repair Balm (for very dry skin)

As I've said earlier, the lotion is the only product available in Malaysia from this range (as far as I know). So, no, you can't get this here, I'm afraid. I picked this up from a Hondos Centre last August while I was in Greece. Sorry ladies.

But I'd like to talk a little about it anyway.

If the lotion was already heavy, this is about three times (3x) that. With petrolatum, aqua and glycerin as its top three ingredients, go figure. It's very, very heavy, which was great when my skin constantly felt like it bursting at the seams while I was in Europe, but over here, I scarcely dare apply it.


A little dab here on an extra-dry spot, and a little there, and that's about all the lovin' it gets. Vaseline didn't put up the "for very dry skin" remark in red on the bottle for nothing.

Priced at about €7-ish (~RM35) for 100ml, if I remember correctly, it is pricey. I doubt I'll be repurchasing it since: 1) it's not available here. 2) I'll be glad to just be able to finish this bottle up. 3) I have a gazillion other moisturisers to run through yet!

So there you go. Have you tried any products from this range? Hit me back, ladies!

Sunscreen Series: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen Lotion with SPF 30+

This is a review of the Neturogena Ultra Sheer Hydrating sunscreen lotion, not the much hyped Dry Touch sunscreen lotion. I will probably get around to trying the latter after New Year so hang on for that!

Ladies, let me introduce you to my new HG day moisturiser. Neutrogena has always churned out pretty decent drugstore sunscreens but none of them really worked for me until this came along. Maybe its the helioplex or the overall formula which is doing the trick, but I am hoping that they release this in Malaysia very, very soon.

In case you are wondering, helioplex is the term used for this new UVA/UVB skin protection, err, thing (I can't think of another word). Oxybenzone is combined with avobenzone (both sunscreens) to provide broad spectrum protection as the combo helps to stabilise avobenzone in sunscreen products. Avobenzone provides great UVA protection but it degenerates quickly under sunlight. Talk about a Catch-22.

When I bought this lotion, it was with a high dose of scepticism as I wasn't entirely convinced by the efficiency helioplex claim. After holidaying at Central Coast a few weeks ago though, I am convinced that this stuff works and deserves the SPF 75 (or is it 100?) rating it is given in the US. I went bushwalking that holiday and was sweating so much, you could see white streaks of zinc oxide running down my legs. Despite judicious reapplications of sunscreen all over my body, I returned to the hotel with tanned skin and a freakishly pale face and neck.

Guess what I was using on my face? I didn't reapply sunscreen to my face at all that day, by the way. I had to use a less stronger sunscreen the following week to let my skintone even out all over.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this lotion is hydrating enough for my skin. I usually find that the higher the SPF rating, the less hydrating the product and I have to layer with another moisturiser afterwards.

No breakouts either, woo-hoo!

The active ingredients in this sunscreen lotion are:
1. Oxybenzone: Short wave UVA protection
2. Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane/ Avobenzone: Long Wave UVA protection
3. Homosalate: UVB protection
4. Octyl Salicylate: UVB protection
5. Octocrylene: UVB proctection

The only downside to this lovely gem is the inefficient packaging. The lotion is near impossible to squeeze out of the tube and when it seemed to have finished, i.e. I couldn't squeeze out another drop of lotion, I chopped it open to find a good third left in the bottle. Argh!

The Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily Sunscreen Lotion retails at AUD 13 (I think) for 30 ml. It may seem a little pricer compared to other drugstore sunscreens but I think it is worth the price for Australian summers. I will definitely be stocking up on this one come sales time.