Happy Holiday Haul

Hi guys! How's holiday treatin' ya? I'm so happy that I have three weeks holiday at the end of this year. Holiday is like a luxury for me. Don't get it so often. And of course, holiday is an excuse for hauling, not? Well, everyday is an excuse for hauling! LOL.

Anyhoo, my Sephora purchased has finally arrived.


I took the advantage of Friends and Family Sale to purchase Lorac Multi-Platinum Palette along with theBlam Mary-Lou Manizer. Since these are the two brands that I've been curious about.

On my first week of holiday, I went to Singapore with mom and sister along with some family friends who came to Indonesia to attend my sister's wedding. I was so excited because that was my first trip abroad since two years ago! This co-ass life really tie me down, I couldn't leave the city so often. People say Singapore is a too common destination for vacation as it's too similar to Jakarta (Umm.. believe me, if Jakarta is similar to Singapore I would never want to leave Jakarta. Unfortunately, for me, those two cities are nothing alike.) But I don't care. I just need a getaway from my boring recent activities. To be honest, I didn't even have any plan on what to do in Singapore, but then my sister told me that Wicked is currently performing at Grand Theatre, Marina Bay Sands. So that went right into the top of my list!


I watched Wicked together with my sis and some friends. It was a beautiful performance. Funny, smart, touchy. I was very entertained. Definitely in love Wicked. On our way to and from MBS, me and my sis kept singing 'Defying Gravity' like a broken record.

I also did some shopping, of course. Just a little, out of curiosity.

I got a set of Hada Labo skin care in travel size because I was so curious about the infamous lotion yet I didn't want to purchased the full size since I wasn't sure whether or not it's gonna suit my skin. I also purchased hourglass Extreme Sheen Lipgloss in 'Siren' which is a metallic tomato-red. I've wanted the gloss the first time I saw it at temptalia. I didn't know Singapore has Hourglass available at Sephora. When I saw it, I grabbed the gloss right away and took it to the cashier without even thinking. I'm glad I did!! Another thing is theBalm Balmbini palette that contains most of theBalm favorite's products in miniature. A great way to try theBalm products without having to purchase the full size first.

Back to Jakarta, I also purchased some things. Because... uumm... I'm out of reason. D'oh. But I was specifically looking for a red berry nail polish for Christmas, and the sales lady recommended OPI Bogota Blackberry to me. I also bought Revlon Satin single eyeshadow in 'Peacock Lustre'. I dropped by at NYX counter and got NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 'Milk' because everybody seem to have it and I want one too!

Somewhere between Christmas and New Year, I got back to Singapore. This time with just my mom and dad. Again, wandering around Singapore not knowing what to do. But sale was everywhere! And I managed to grabbed these babies.

Some nail polishes, OPI It's My Year, Swimsuit... Nailed It and Need Sunglasses?. Since my my years as co-ass are about end, I can wear nail polishes liberally again so it' time to stock up again. I also got Milani Baked Powder Blush in Luminoso (again, can't believe Singapore has Milani and we have nothing here!) and Too Faced Naked Eye palette.

Well.. That's not too much right? Right? RIGHT???? I'm out of excuses except for the fact that shopping makes me happy! LOL. Anyhoo, gotta get back to my family's gathering. It's new year's eve and here I am in my room, blogging.

Since this is the last day on 2011 I just wanna wish you all the best on 2012. HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!! :)

[Review] Urban Decay Naked Palette

After playing with this palette a lot, I think it's time to share my thought in this blog. First of all, if you've been following this blog, you'll know that my makeup leans more towards natural, warm colors. I rarely wear bright colors for my eyes. Which is why, I think this palette really suits my taste. I wanted it the first time it launched and as I wrote earlier, my sister gave this palette for me.

The palette comes in a simple sleek brown velvety box. It has the same material with Deluxe Shadow Box. The velvety material easily attracts dust and I've been keeping my Deluxe Shadow Box in a separate pouch in my beauty container and I do the same for my Naked Palette.

As you all know, Urban Decay is great in providing colorful eye shadows, in fact they have a wide range of many colored eyeshadows you can pick. I bet you all also know, that Urban Decay also has a habit to pack their eyeshadows with loads of glitter. Naked Palette, however, is almost the opposite if the usual. It's not a colorful palette and it isn't packed with glitter, well not much. Inside the palette you have 12 full size eyeshadows, a mini size of their Primer Potion and a flat shader Good Karma brush. I'm not gonna talk a lot about the quality of the eyeshadows as Urban Decay's eyeshadow never disappoints. They're all very pigmented, smooth and easy to blend with minimum fallout.

At a glance, you'd think you'll get just warm brown colors with this palette. Yes, there are so many warm browns dominate the palette (they put Buck, Half Baked, Smog and Darkhorse next to each other so you immediately see warm-tone palette), but you actually get more variations than that. You can use Sin, Toasted, Hustle to create a neutral look. Or even go smokey by adding Creep or Gunmetal to your eye makeup. This palette is not that naked, you know.


There are two eyeshadows you can use as highlight, and they are Virgin and Sin. Virgin has more of a neutral beige undertone with satin finish while Sin is a frosty champagne. I wish this palette has a warm tone highlight color as the colors in the palette are mostly warm. I don't see Sin goes with warm colors like Half Baked or Smog. Also, Sin is in almost EVERY Urban Decay palettes. We've had enough, already.

This palette also has matte finish eyeshadows. And there are two of them, Naked and Buck. Two is already a lot for Urban Decay that doesn't usually gives matte color in their palette. Some people say that these two colors are lighter and darker version of each other. I personally think they're different. Naked is more neutral while Buck is warmer and it has a red undertone to it. Naked is a little bit too light for my skintone. But I can still wear it on my lid if I don't want too much color. Both are also great to blend colors on the crease.

You can all be happy to know that there is only one glittery eyeshadow in this palette. Yay!! And it's Sidecar. The glittery finish might scare you. But I personally love this color. I use it with Fyrinnae Pixy Epoxy underneath, of course, to prevent glitter fallout. But once you get to work with this eyeshadow, it's actually a beautiful color. From what I see, it's a pinkish taupe eyeshadow. Doesn't really give too much color but the glitter really gives a luxurious feel to it. So even if you're not a fan of glitter, give this shadow a chance to shine.

Here's the swatches of the eyeshadows

Left to right: Virgin - Sin - Naked - Sidecar - Buck - Half Baked - Smog - Darkhorse - Toasted - Hustle - Creep - Gunmetal

And here's some of the looks I created using this palette.

Naked Look 1

Lid - Sidecar
Crease - Naked (inner), Buck (outer)
Outer Corner - Darkhorse
Highlight - Virgin
Inner Corner - Sin
Lower Lashline - UD 24/7 Liner Whiskey

Naked Look 2 (from this look)

Lid - Smog
Inner Crease - Naked, Buck
Outer Lid - Darkhorse
Outer Corner - Creep
Lower Lashline - Smog
Inner Corner - Sin
Highlight - Virgin

Naked Look 3

Lid - Fyrinnae Pixy Epoxy, Sidecar
Outer Lid - Toasted
Crease - Toasted
Outer Corner - Hustle, Creep
Highlight - Sin
Lower Lashline - UD 24/7 Liner Rockstar

Naked Look 4 (from this look)

Lid - Naked
Crease - Smog
Inner Corner - NYX JEP 'Milk', Virgin
Highlight - Sin
Lower Lash - UD 24/7 Rockstar

Good Karma brush that comes in the palette is also a great addition. It's not just a 'bonus' brush with zero quality. Good Karma is Urban Decay's official brush line. And in this palette they give a full size shadow brush, which can also be purchased separately. It has synthetic bristles, densely packed and picks up enough products to be applied on lid. I was thinking about getting MAC 239 before I got this. But now that I have this brush, I don't think it's necessary anymore.


Overall, I think this palette suits more for people with warm undertone, despite the fact you have more variations of undertones in this palette. Still, in general, this palette leans towards warm. From what I see, cool undertone girls might not have enough options with this palette. This is also a great option if you prefer natural looks, rather than colorful look. Or if you want your natural colored eyeshadows to be in one palette so that you don't have to shop for others for a while. For me, I'm very much satisfied with this palette, as expected. And I probably won't be shopping any brown eyeshadows, as I have enough supply from this palette already. Well, unless I feel like shopping, of course ;)

FOTD: Playing Coral + Current Skin Breakout

Hi guys.

Long time no talking to you. I finally came up with an FOTD after flooding you with product reviews. Nothing fancy, I was just trying out some of my recent purchases. I was attending a church event so I came out with a neutral look, nothing fancy. But decided to play around with colorful lips. And this time I put on my Calvin Klein lipstick in 'Cognac'. I love the color. I'm hot really used to coral color like this. Usually I'll go either nude or completely bold, like red. was a bit worried the lipstick would appear weird on me. But on second thought, it looked just fine and really compliment the warm eye make up.

For my eyes, I used my Urban Decay Naked Palette. Not gonna tell you the which eyeshadows I was wearing! Haha.. I'm currently collecting FOTDs using my Naked palette. Been playing a lot with it lately and later I'm gonna post about the palette in one entry along with the FOTDs. So stay tuned!


By the way I didn't get to blog a lot last month due to my classic excuse, 'hectic schedule'. I had to move to Jogjakarta back in late October and I stayed there for a month for my Forensic cycle. I stayed there in a boarding house together with my friends from the same cycle. The cycle was crazy. I tell you one thing, if you watch Forensic-related TV series and think that it is a cool job, I only have two words for you: think. again. No matter how many autopsies I've done, I can never get rid of the uneasy feeling whenever I see a corpse bag waiting to be opened. Anyway, I want you to still read this beauty blog and I really don't want to scare you so let's stop this topic right here. But yeah, I didn't get to post too many entries. Even before I moved I already knew it. I took pictures of some of the products I wanted to post but that's all so I can write post when I'm in Jogja, but that's it. As I said, I stayed with with my friends, they would just popped up on my door whenever and I didn't want them to find me with make up on my face while wearing pajama.

Another thing, my skin is currently breaking out. Hardcore. I can't even remember when it started, but it got worse and worse mostly when I arrived at Jogja. Probably because dealing with new environment, I wasn't sure. But it was the worst breakout I've ever experience (still is, actually). I got pimples popping up on my skin, all red, scaly, itchy and hurt! I tried everything but nothing worked. Even antibiotics and oral isotretinoin didn't seem to work. I ditched all of my skincare, even began to wash my face with just oatmeal to prevent exposing my skin to more chemical substances. And the most frustrating part is that, I can't even figured out what the actual culprit is!!! Maybe you can still see how bad my skin was in my entry about my sister's wedding.

Because of that condition, I had to stop wearing makeup, though I still do for some special occasions. Now that I'm back in Jakarta, my skin is getting a lot better. Those hideous pimples are still showing on my cheek, you can even see it in my FOTD above. But that's already a better condition. I have dark acne scars all over my face but at least the bumps are reduced and the scars can be covered with makeup whenever I'm going to some occasion that requires me to put on makeup. Until now, my skincare routine consists of only Vitamin C serum and a bar soap for acne skin.

I know I have never been the girl with the most clear skin, but my current skin condition really frustrates me. I hate that I have acne scars all over my face. I know it will take months until it's completely gone. And the fact that this happens around Christmas really makes me sad. This is just like high school all over again.

Remember girls, your skin is very valuable. Try to avoid breakout as much as you can because dealing with skin breakout really is depressing, time consuming and freaking expensive! In the mean time, wish me luck on taking care of this stupid breakout.

[Review] L'oreal Volume Shocking Mascara

WARNING: THIS IS NOT A RAVE REVIEW. THIS IS A HIGHLY RAVE REVIEW

Let's just say, I've lived my life convincing myself that there are no such a thing as a perfect mascara. No mascara in this world will deliver everything in one tube. That is, before I met this mascara.

Enter: L'oreal Volume Shocking Mascara

This is a two step defined volume mascara. So the website says. It comes in a dual ended tube and you apply the mascara in two step. First step is the pearly white primer and second step is the black colored mascara.

What I love this mascara? The question should be, what I don't love about this mascara? And the answer would be nothing. First of all: when I wear this, people ask if my lashes are real or false. Second of all: when I say they are real, people insist that it's fake. Third of all: when I insist they're real, people get mad. Anyway, I'm just going to make this review as simple as possible. Here's the list of what this mascara gives:

Volume (obviously)
Length
Curl (Volumized mascara that also holds curl!!! Doesn't happen everyday.)
Separates and defines
No clumps
Intense black color
Waterproof
Long lasting
Easy-to-maneuver brush applicators
This is a drugstore mascara! Hullo!!

Cons? Well... It's a two steps mascara so there's an extended time when applying this mascara. But that's it.

Bare lashes

With the primer on

And.. Tadaaaa!!!

Compare to my naked lashes. Do I really have to tell you which is which?

There are three two-step mascaras from L'oreal. Mine is 'Volume Shocking Exact Brush' where both applicators are brushes. The other one in a black and gold casing has a comb applicator for the mascara. I don't fancy comb applicator so I picked the one in gold casing instead. It's a personal preference, though.


This review might sound a bit hyper but I promise you, this is not even a sponsored review. I've been using this mascara for a month now and I'm really falling in love with it. The lashes might look extravagant but it still look appropriate for daily wear, at least in my opinion since I'm crazy about volumized lashes. I got a lot of compliments when wearing this mascara and when something like that happened, obviously I have to share it with you.

Happy Wedding, Baby Sister! (Picture Heavy!!!)

It was my sister's wedding day yesterday. Everything went silky smooth and now, I have a new brother-in-law (wow, that felt weird). Well, the new addition to our family member doesn't feel so weird, though. The guy, Heri, has been around since forever. My sister and her bf dated for six years before finally decided to get married. But they, well, all of us, have met him way before. He was our neighbor back when we were still in elementary school in Jayapura. Couple years later, sister went to college and they met again. And that was when they started dating. Cute isn't it?

Those weren't easy six years. Heri had to move to Netherlands for study and he got a job there. Somewhere around 2007, I guess? So they were dating through skype, and not to mention time difference. But they went through all that and here they are now, as a married couple.

Getting ready to go to church

Dad is walking sister down the aisle.

Some of the guests. My aunts (some are family friends) are wearing hats, inspired by the.. well, Royal Wedding.

Wedding vows

Exchanging rings

'Sungkeman' ritual. Well, I'm no Javanese (the groom's family is) so I try to explain this the way I see it. It's a ritual where the bride and groom ask for forgiveness, blessing and permission from their parents to marry their loved one. It's a very moving ritual.

And here's me, looking for a time to shine. Haha.. No, seriously I'm kidding. Originally, I didn't want to sing or say any testimonials whatsoever because I cry so easily (it runs in the family, don't blame me). But there were empty spot, my parents asked me to sing, so sister decided for me to sing 'Through the Eyes of Love' because we had no time to rehearse, and that's the song the pianist already familiar with. So yeah, no cute touchy story behind it. And hey, I made it without crying!

My family after the ceremony

The wedding reception was held at Gran Mahakam Hotel. We didn't have much time after the ceremony. We rushed all the way to the hotel, had short lunch, took a bath and had our makeup done.

See how hectic the situation was!

And, as usual, I was being very very smart by not charging my camera the day before. So I didn't have much pictures from the reception.

The stage

The hall decorated with flowers on the side

And here's the gate at the end of the hall

Photo corner. The huge one was taken at Volendam when sister went there for vacation.


In this picture my sis is wearing mom's wedding dress. The exact wedding dress mom was wearing on her wedding day. Mom wore a flower head piece back then, and of course it was no longer existed so the makeup artist from May May bridal made a new one.

Wedding cake from Timothycake

This is the only moment from when the reception has begun that my camera could capture (with it's last breath, yes). Bride and groom's first dance. They were dancing to Etta James's At Last.

So, please raise your glass with me in wishing the newlywed much joy in the years to come. Happy Wedding, Melinda and Heri. You two are meant for each other. I love you both *kisses*.

Oh, by the way, there is a tradition where, if your younger sister get married before you, she has to give you something as a gift (as permission? I dunno..). There's a superstitious explanation behind the tradition. People in the past believe that it's a gift to prevent the older sister to never get married. For the love of God, who would believe that? But I'm on board with the gift thing. Haha.. So this is what my sister gave me.


I told her I want something everlasting, something I'll never run out. Originally, I asked for shoes. But things was pretty hectic. I had to move to Jogja for a while, sister was busy planning her wedding, and also she was like, "A palette is everlasting. When did you ever finish a palette?" Well, she got a point. She picked Naked Palette because it's been in my wishlist since forever. And an extra Shu Uemura eyelash curler cause I've kidnapped hers in my traincase for a significant amount of time. Isn't she the best, or what?

Lancôme Beauty Blogger Gathering

Few weeks ago I received an invitation from Lancôme to their Beauty Blogger Gathering to introduce their newly launched Maqui Miracle liquid and compact foundation along with the L'Absolu Crème De Brillance lipgloss. We were also introduced to their 2 minutes aura service and tour around Lancôme counter. This event was held at the newly renovated Lancome counter Senayan City.

This is actually second invitation from Lancôme, but since I couldn't make it to the first one, I tried to make time for the second one. There were six bloggers attending these event. Stella, Priscilla, Mbak Desy, Carnellyn, Naomi and me. Most of them I've met at some events before. But this is the first time I met Naomi.

The event started with Counter Tour. Lancome counter in Debenhams is newly renovated and is one of the best Lancome counters in Indonesia. We were assisted going around the counter by Ms. Irma and Ms. Ronne where we were shown the extensive amount of Lancôme collections including skincare, makeup and perfume.

Lancôme has a very wide variety of skincare targeting for different age range and skin problems

This is special corner for customer with Lancôme Absolue where they can have consultation and skin treatment as well. Julia Roberts is the beauty ambassador for this line.

Skincare "Sushi Bar"

Lancôme perfume collection

After that, of course we were introduced to their latest product, Maqui Miracle liquid and compact foundation. Basically this is a long wearing foundation with brightening effect. The liquid foundation come in just three shade selection while the compact foundation has a wider shades, which is six. And this compact foundation offers the highest UV protection ever in a compact foundation which is SPF35/PA+++

Products on display

Maqui Miracle and Teint Miracle liquid foundations. Both has transparent pump only different color on the base of the pump. Maqui Miracle has white base pump while Teint Miracle has silver base pump.


As you can see, the compact foundation has wider range of shade.

Another star of the event that day was L'Absolu Crème De Brillance lipgloss. Different than lipgloss in general, L'Absolu Crème De Brillance delivers more opaque shade. Kinda like a liquid lipstick. Available in 10 shades.

L'Absolu Crème De Brillance with Kate Winslet as the ambassador

Next we were introduced to Lancôme 2 minutes Aura Service. Basically is a way to touch up your make up by the end of the day. Okay, I made a mistake here. I supposed to wear full make up but because I read the invitation from my blackberry and the font was extremely tiny, I didn't read the instruction to wear full make up. I thought this is going to be a makeover where all of my makeup will be removed anyway. Pfft. But also, my skin was having a terrible breakout (still is, actually) so makeup didn't look good on me. Ugh! But still, I tried the 2 minutes Aura Service.

Here's what you need.

So when you need to somewhere after office hour but you don't have time to touch up, all you have to do is 2 minutes Aura touch up. First thing to do is, obviously, blot the excess oil from your face. Then apply a tiny amount of Genifique on face. Since my skin was having a dermatologist treatment, I was suggested to not use Genifique but use moisturizer instead. I used Lancôme Hydra Zen moisturizer. The next layer would be BB Expert GN-shield. And then foundation. I used Teint Miracle liquid foundation. After that you can retouch your blush, lipstick, mascara and all that jazz.

After the gathering, Lancôme of course didn't let us leave empty handed. Each and every blogger were given a goody bag consists of a full size Maqui Miracle compact foundation, a full size L'Absolu Crème De Brillance lipgloss, samples of Genifique, BB Expert GN-shield and Teint Miracle foundation and of course press release about the products.

Goody bag

Beauty bloggers with Ms. Irma from Lancôme

The event was really fun. It was nice to get to meet Lancôme team as well as other bloggers. Thank you so much Lancôme for having us.