Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

I know by now that this product has been reviewed million times by beauty gurus, it is a cult favourite, and it is also one of Kiehl's 10 best selling products. But I just wanted to add in my two cents, because who knows if anyone out there would still benefit from my review :).

HOW I DISCOVERED THIS PRODUCT

Asking for free sample of a product was never in my dictionary (clueless!). I wanted to try both the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution and the Midnight Recovery Concentrate, but not sure how to get the samples. So I was looking at their online store and found a special offer where you will receive deluxe sample (of Midnight Recovery Concentrate) with any purchase. So I purchased the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution in full size and received the Midnight Recovery Concentrate in a mini size bottle for free.

HOW THIS PRODUCT FIT INTO MY ROUTINE

I usually use this product only at night after cleansing my face with face wash (La Roche Posay Effaclar) and exfoliate with Bioderma. Why? Because after the dead skin cells are stripped off of the skin, it will be much easier for the skin to absorb the serum. I don't wear any moisturiser after the Midnight Recovery Concentrate as it is already super hydrating. If I need to clear up some hyperpigmentation, I will apply the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution first before the Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

HOW I USE THIS PRODUCT

I usually dispense the product right onto my face rather than on the hand and rub it on their hand palms like everyone else (well, not really everyone). Three drops is the perfect amount for my skin. I would drop the oils on to my right cheek, left cheek, and forehead, then distribute the product around my face. Then, I massage my face with warm hand palms by rubbing the two hands together to help the serum to penetrate into the skin.

WHAT DO I THINK OF THE PRODUCT

+ Sinks into the skin immediately, so it doesn't leave your face too oily.

+ You will be surprised at how plump and soft your skin is when you wake up!

+ Keeps your skin hydrated without needing moisturiser.

+ When used in conjunction with Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, it will help fade your acne scar faster!

+ It smells beautiful. You can smell the strong lavender scent, which is very calming and relaxing, so it's perfect to be used before bedtime.

+ The packaging is gorgeous! I love the midnight blue colour of the glass bottle, so chic! And it also comes with pipette which helps to dispense the right amount of product.

CONCLUSION

I think this product works wonders to help your skin recover overnight from stress. I will absolutely repurchase as I don't think I can live without this product.

One bottle lasts me a really long time. I don't use this religiously (I'm never diligent with skincare or makeup). I've used up only one fifth of the product (30ml bottle) in more than 4 months, therefore I think it is worth the money. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate currently retails for A$61.

My Hajj Miracle Story

I consider myself very lucky because I was able to go for hajj when I was still in my 20's and without my parents financial aid. Me and husband had the opportunity to practice hajj in 2014. In that year, Arafah day fell on a Friday, which is considered the best day of the week.

A lot of people asked me "what miracles did you encounter?" when I had just returned from hajj. I got confused because I don't think there were anything particular things that stood out. But when I went on to tell the story of how I even get to go for hajj in 2014, someone said "that's your miracle".

HANG YOUR DREAMS 5CM IN FRONT OF YOUR FOREHEAD
In the book "5 cm" by Donny Dhirgantoro, there is a quote "hang your dreams 5 cm in front of your forehead , so that you can remember and strive to reach it".

I'm a firm believer that one should always keep a written list of what he/she wants to achieve or have a visual reminder. It may sound silly, but I believe it plays a part in achieving your dream. So, when I was still a student in university, I created a list of things to achieve in life. One of the points in the list says, "go to hajj before 35 yrs old." I was a bit doubtful when I wrote "35 yrs old". But then I thought, "you know what, anything is possible for Allah."

Then, when I first started working in 2011, I setup a picture of Ka'bah as my desktop background. My colleague said, "wah, masang gambar ka'bah di laptop". I said, "Yes :) I'm going to go there someday". The Ka'bah desktop background was my visual reminder. I see it almost everyday. And even when I don't think about it, I believe the universe conspires to help me achieve it.




FROM A 10-YEAR PLAN, TO JUST 1-YEAR

After two years of marriage, our household income is still just enough to get us by and set aside some savings, alhamdulillah. I wasn't working at that time and was constantly in stress because I used to be so active. I was praying night and day, begging to Allah to give me a job. And in the previous Ramadan, we sort of did the unthinkable, we gave all of our savings to charity.

Just one month before I finally got a job, husband and I were having conversation about saving up for Hajj. We made a target of going for hajj in 10 years, calculated the cost and also took into account the inflation, and finally calculated the monthly amount that we needed to save. We then made a commitment to save our money x amount each month for the next 10 years for Hajj.

About three months after we gave up all of our savings, alhamdulillah, finally Allah answered my prayers. I secured a contract position within the company I used to work for in Indonesia. It was only a contract position, but I'm grateful for anything. A contract position will do just fine.

So, I received my contract and began calculating the salary that I will be earning during the contract. Miraculously, the amount is just enough to pay for two person to go for hajj. I didn't know what was going on in my head. I could have thought of buying other things, but I was thinking about going for hajj (?). I was so excited and asked my husband if he would like to go for hajj the next year. Of course, he would say "yes!".

ALLAH DOESN'T CALL ON THE WEALTHY, BUT ENABLES THOSE WHO HAVE THE CALLING

Alhamdulillah we will have sufficient amount of money to go for hajj, but the problem doesn't really stop there. The hajj service that we used is one of the popular one amongst Indonesians, so we had to book it fast. We inquired about the price around October 2013 and we were told that there are only few seats left. So, if we're interested we need to registered ASAP. Usually quotas won't be full until a couple of months before the month of hajj.

We were in panic because we haven't done our homework on comparing the price of different hajj travel services and were also told that we had to pay $2000 for deposit to secure a seat for next year's hajj. We didn't even have that kind of money in our savings. But alhamdulillah, with basmallah (and faith to Allah) we were able to scrape money from other budgets and pay the deposit. A month after that we were trying to get by with little money, but alhamdulillah we were able to manage and it was all well worth it.

IN CONCLUSION
Most people will wait until they achieve everything, especially finance independency before going for hajj. But I'm very grateful for the choice that we made. There are a lot of places in Makkah and Madinah where prayers will no-doubt will be granted (inshaaAllah). And alhamdulillah, since returning from hajj, Allah has made our life much easier. The homework now is to maintain our ibadah to show our gratitude to the Almighty.