all that make-up

Rahasia Dibalik Rambut Indah Raisa

2012-02-01T21:58:00.003+07:00

Raisa Andriana adalah salah satu penyanyi berbakat pendatang baru di Indonesia. Dimulai dengan mengunggah video dirinya yang sedang menyanyi ke Youtube, Raisa kini telah merilis single perdananya yang berjudul “Serba Salah” dan diikuti dengan “Apalah Arti Menunggu”. Terinspirasi oleh para penyanyi papan atas, seperti Brian McKnight, tidak heran Raisa banyak memberi sentuhan RnB ke dalam lagu-lagunya. Vokal Raisa yang khas dengan kesan berat dan serak-serak basah benar-benar memajakan telinga saya, mengingatkan saya pada penyanyi Joss Stone. Saat ini saya sendiri sedang kecanduan lagu “Apalah Arti Menunggu” yang saya nyanyikan berulang-ulang, walaupun hanya sebatas di dalam kamar mandi.

Buat saya, musik Raisa menciptakan suasana rileks serta santai dan Raisa menerjemahkan gaya bermusiknya ke dalam gayanya sehari-hari. Dalam video-videonya Raisa terlihat casual, namun memberi kesan anggun dan effortless. Begitupun gaya makeupnya yang minimalis, dengan fokus utama pada matanya, tanpa kesan berlebihan. Saya ingat waktu saya seumur Raisa *merasa tua*, saya pun berdandan minimalis karena itu lah gaya dandan yang pas untuk usia saya saat itu. (Tentu saja alas an lainya adalah waktu itu saya juga belum bisa berdandan, tapi itu lain cerita..)

Tapi satu hal yang paling menarik perhatian adalah rambut indah Raisa. Iri deh dengan rambut Raisa yang panjang, halus dan tidak kering. Ternyata kuncinya gampang banget.. Raisa selalu menyempatkan diri merawat rambutnya dengan menggunakan Shampoo & Conditioner Sunsilk Soft & Smooth di rumah. Hasilnya rambutnya jadi lebat dan halus.. Saya langsung pingin nyoba nih, dan mendisiplinkan diri untuk merawat rambut dengan Shampoo& Conditioner sunsilk soft&smooth. Yuk, kita coba bareng dan kita terima tantangan 7 hari bersama Sunsilk, agar rambut kamu seindah rambut Raisa!

Sekarang kamu sudah tahu ya rahasia rambut indah Raisa. Jadi, tidak perlu bingung lagi untuk mendapatkan rambut sehat, halus dan tidak kering. And perfect hair is not so far away.

Picture of Raisa was taken by Andra Alodita

[Review] Make Up Forever La Boheme Palette

2012-01-29T18:22:00.005+07:00

La Boheme Palette is Make Up Forever's first baked eyeshadow palette. According to the website,

Six new limited-edition shades in extremely pearly springtime pastel tones. The baked powder technology ensures fine, intense color particles for eyeshadows with 50% pearly particles and a paraben-free formula. Incredibly fresh and luminous makeup and intense, Bohemian chic eyes. The eyeshadows of this palette glide on with fingertips or a brush for two different results: applied dry for a sheer, luminous and natural effect or wet for an intense look, filled with pearly particles.

The palette comes in a cardboard packaging with patchwork design and stitches all over. With a purple ribbon on the side, it opens up like a book and displays six eyeshadows in convex form, placed side by side. I'm not really excited with the placing of these eyeshadows. It creates super messy sparkle between each other after application.

This is my very first time trying out baked eyeshadow. Baked eyeshadow is promoted as eyeshadow that needs to be applied wet for vibrant finish. While dry application gives you subtle and sheer finish. All these times the word 'sheer' holds me from purchasing baked eyeshadow. And yet, out of curiosity, I decided to give this palette a try.

Six eyeshadows in this palette are Green Lagoon, Vegetal Green, Beige, Parma Purple, Brown and Coral. Natural Green and Beige have pearly finish while the others have sparkly finish.

Dry application.
Apparently, when applied dry, these eyeshadows are not super sheer like I thought it was going to be. In general they deliver great pigmentation in subtle colors. The shimmer and sparkle don't really show up which makes it appropriate for day time look. However keep in mind that eyeshadow with sparkly to glittery finish are really prone to fall out, especially when applied dry. Green Lagoon is the only color that applies sheer even on top of primer. Brown is a bit chalky when applied on it's own as you can see in the picture below, but a layer of primer underneath it could totally fix the problem.

Wet application.
Considering baked eyeshadows are meant to be applied wet, obviously these eyeshadows give the best performance when applied wet. The colors are more vibrant and they have sort of a metallic touch to it. Wet application really emphasizes the undertone and the shimmer and sparkle in these eyeshadows. Which makes some of these even prettier and other are even scarier, depends on whether or not you like glittery eyeshadows (Eventhough it describes as sparkly, Parma Purple and Coral look more glittery rather than sparkly). Wet application also decrease the chance of having glitter fall out since it automatically turns into a creamy consistency. It sticks better to the base and applied effortlessly. Lagoon Green shows its true color when applied wet. It has a beautiful greenish gold shimmer which makes it unique. I didn't understand why they named a turquoise eyeshadow as green, but I can totally see it once it applied wet.

You can either wet your brush and then dip the brush to the eyeshadow or pick up the eyeshadow with dry brush and then wet it either by spraying it using setting spray like MUFE Mist & Fix or carefully dip to water (just a bit!!!!!). I recommend the latter because that way you get the eyeshadow soaked evenly and saves you from chalky application. I currently don't have any setting spray so I just touched the surface of the eyeshadow-covered of the brush on a wet tissue. (Not the best option, definitely thinking about purchasing Mist & Fix)

Click for larger image

I swatched these eyeshadows in three different form. On it's own, on primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion 'Eden') and wet. Most of the colors show up as pigmented on it's own except for Lagoon Green. But of course I always recommend applying eye primer as a base. And as you can see Lagoon Green looks much better when applied on top of a primer. While dry application is enough to make these eyeshadows stand out, wet application delivers more vibrant pigmentation and enhances the sparkle and shimmer of the eyeshadows.

As for the color combination. There are two colors that can work as highlight, which is Beige and Coral. And only one color that works as definition color, which is Brown. Beige and Coral look pretty as highlight. But constantly pairing all the shadows just with Brown could end up in boredom. But, back to the main inspiration of the collection. Bohemian is about living freely without following the conventional rules. So go ahead and be creative with this palette (which is more like an invitation for myself).

In the end, I'd recommend this palette. If you like or you wanna try baked eyeshadow. If you like or don't mind glittery eyeshadow. This palette doesn't disappoint.

I hope you find this review helpful for you. Especially if you are thinking about purchasing the palette, hope this review could be a reference. I tried to post this review as soon as I can considering this is a limited edition. If you're interested, Make Up Forever La Boheme Palette is available at IDR 525k.

Make Up Forever Spring 2012 La Boheme Collection and a Fun Makeover

2012-01-29T14:43:00.014+07:00

In case you haven't heard, Make Up Forever has launched their Spring 2012 Collection called La Boheme. According to the website, La Boheme collection is inspired by bohemian spirit with carefree attitude. They play a lot with floral motifs, ethnic and gypsy influences, handmade embroidery, patchwork and prints.

This collection consists of

La Boheme eyeshadow palette

Aqua Eyes in 'Gypsy' (matte black brown)

Rouge Artist Natural in 'Folk' (red coral) and 'Boheme' (peach beige)

I was invited to the pre-launch of the collection but I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the event. Therefore, I could not report it on my blog. I decided to visit the counter myself to check on the collection. As you can see this collection captures the Bohemian style mostly in the packaging. The Aqua Eyes and Rouge Artist have flowers prints on the packaging. While the eyeshadow palette is decorated with patchwork design.

When I arrived at Make Up Forever counter in Pondok Indah Mall, apparently they are currently in the spirit of introducing the new collection. I saw many ladies are sitting in front of the mirror, having a makeover. Of course I didn't want to miss it! The sales lady who helped me that day was Dian. She was so so so nice. I went to the counter wearing only foundation and mascara and I left the counter with full makeup on, including the latest La Boheme collection.

Products used.
Face
Channel Mat Lumiere Foundation
MUFE Velvet Finish Compact Powder. Not sure which shade
MUFE HD Concealer to conceal those nasty acne scars.
MUFE Sculpting Blush no.4
MUFE Sculpting Kit no.2

Eyes
MUFE Eye Prime
MUFE La Boheme Palette

Lagoon Green
Vegetal Green
Brown
Beige

MUFE Kohl Pencil. Don't know the number but I'm sure it was black with gold shimmer. The pencil used as a base for Brown eyeshadow.
MUFE Aqua Eyes Gypsy
MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara
MUFE Eyebrow Pencil in Blond. And then she layered it with the contour part of Sculpting Kit no.2

Lips
MUFE Lip Line Perfector
MUFE Rouge Artist in 'Folk'
MUFE Lab Shine in 6S

All MUFE products were applied during makeover. I just couldn't believe how generous Dian was. Especially because she didn't even know that I was going to purchase the palette. But she patiently did her job as a sales assistant, explained all the product and answered all of my questions. She definitely deserves a shout out! I wanted to try the blue and green ones but as you can probably see the color didn't really show up on my eyes. Before makeover, Dian asked me what color that I want to try. I told her I want the blue one but kind of afraid that the color will look too bright on me. Looked like that kinda made her hesitate to put colors on my eyes. LOL! She just patted the blue color very lightly on my lid so the color appeared super sheer. But then I told her to make it smokey that's when she put the black kohl pencil and Brown eyeshadow on top of it. In the end, I decided to purchase the palette.

I was thinking about writing the review of La Boheme palette at once in this entry. I tried but the entry got too long. So don't forget to check out the review of the palette in next blog post! ;)

Tips on Wearing Pixie Epoxy

2012-01-15T22:14:00.006+07:00

No no no.. This is not a review. I don't need to review Pixie Epoxy, this baby sells itself.

Never heard about it? Let's start with an introduction. Let's just say, if you haven't tried any Fyrinnae products, my very first advice would be to visit this link and start browsing. Pixie Epoxy is Fyrinnae's idea of eyeshadow 'glue'. It is made to be worn underneath your eye makeup and hold the sparkliest, glitteriest (okay, those are not really words) eyeshadows you have. Just like another glitter glue, huh? Well, Pixie Epoxy also gives you the 'wet look' eye makeup without having to wet your brush or your eyeshadow. Still not convincing enough? How about a picture?

My point, exactly.

It comes in a tube with doe foot applicator. It literally looks like a white glue from outside. But once you apply this and blend it on your lid, it turns transparent. For $7 you get 10ml of products which doesn't seem like a lot but since you need just a small amount for each application, this one tube will last long enough.

This entry is just to give some tips on applying Pixie Epoxy. All based on my own experience. And here they are:

Not a primer. Fyrinnae website specifically mention that this product is not a primer or base. It is recommended to put a primer first before applying Pixie Epoxy. However, I sometimes skip eye primer when wearing this and I don't have problems with my eye makeup fading at the end of the day. Then again, it's a trial and error thing.
Pat pat pat away... Pixie Epoxy (Can I just call it PE from now on, only in this post?) has a sticky consistency (hence, this is an eyeshadow glue) so sweeping your brush wouldn't give you the smoothest result. I like patting my brush on top of this. Works a lot better. After you applied this, wait for it to dry a bit (it will still feel sticky) then pat your eyeshadow. I once applied my eyeshadow while PE was still wet and I had my eyeshadow sank into my eye fold.
Doesn't need to be everywhere. Working with sticky base could be tricky. Sometimes it holds you from blending your eyeshadow. The thing with PE is that you need just a little bit of it. I usually put this on areas that don't require a lot of blending, and that would be my lid and my brow bone area. Inner corner would work as well. I don't like applying this on my crease as I need to blend a lot in that area. Then again, I don't wear glitter on my crease.
Not suitable for matte. Just no. As if you didn't have enough problems with matte already. Applying PE underneath your mattes will make it super sticky to the base so you'll be having a hard time blending and the eyeshadow will look cakey. I learned it the hard way.
If you didn't have this already, you need this!

Current Eyebrows Routine

2012-01-14T22:39:00.010+07:00

Hi guys! This is going to be about my current eyebrows routine. Thought I'll share it with you all.

First of all, let me stress out the importance of shaping your eyebrows! Even if you don't wear a lot of makeup or not interested at all, please take time to shape of your brows. Or maybe trim it, at least. I'm not gonna talk about how eyebrows could change how your face shape looks like, because most of time it's not a very convincing reason and not everybody cares about it. My reason is, well groomed eyebrows gives you a neat appearance. That's all. Who would want to carry around a bunch of bushes above of their eyes? I used to neglect my eyebrows as well. But since I was introduced to threading, that's when the addiction started. I love neat shaped eyebrows and I can't help staring at people's eyebrows first, especially girls with makeup on.

My natural eyebrows shape. Mostly straight.

Eyebrows is one of my makeup basic. Whenever I'm in a hurry, I'd gladly ditch my eyeshadows, eyeliner and even lipstick. But I'll do my foundation, eyebrows and a pinch of blush. My eyebrows routine includes threading, obviously. Waxing is my second option and I almost never shave it. My favorite threading place is Narsih, which is a famous affordable waxing and threading salon in South Jakarta. I love the place because it always gives the best result but I hate that the place is super crowded and I have to queue about thirty minutes almost everytime I visit the place. Anyone know other place to thread eyebrows, please let me know. When I moved for a year to Semarang, I learned to thread my own eyebrows from youtube. I still have professional do my brows but being able to thread my own brows helps A LOT in so many emergency situations. Shape wise, I prefer high-arched eyebrows shape which has nothing to do with my face shape (although it is the right shape for my round face), I just want more space to apply highlight on my browbone. Haha!

I didn't immediately do my makeup routine after my first threading experience. Back then, I thought, having shaped eyebrows means I didn't have to do my brows anymore. Boy how wrong was I?! I didn't realize how washed out my brows looked like back then. I even almost didn't fill my brows when I did my own makeup on my graduation. Thank God my mom told me to! Otherwise I'll have a no-brows look in my graduation pictures.

When I first started to do my brows, I used just eyebrow pencil. I raved about Viva eyebrow pencil before. But the more I was introduced to other products, the more options I had. So now I already picked my favorite products for my routine. And here they are.

Mac 'Cork' satin eyeshadow
Revlon Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown
Revlon slanted brush. This is actually not for sale. I got this as GWP. But any slanted brush will do. My point is, it doesn't have to be an expensive brush!
MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K, which is optional.

I prefer MAC Cork and Revlon eyebrow pencil because the color is more neutral and doesn't look too brown when applied. I don't even know how to describe the color on my brows. Not brown, not taupe, definitely not grey! Just enhancing my brows!

Here's the step by step.

This is my bare eyebrows. I prefer to do my eyebrows after I apply my foundation.
Using slanted brush, I fill the beginning of my brows, all the way to the tip of my arch with MAC Cork eyeshadow. I don't fill the tail of my brows with eyeshadows because the tail is too thin.
Using Revlon eyebrow pencil, I line the lower part of my eyebrows. It helps a lot if the pencil was sharp. I start from the beginning all the way to the tail. This is where I determine how long my eyebrow tail should be.
To shape the arch, I use my brush with eyeshadow left on the bristle to blend the eyeshadow on my arch all the way to the tail. (see the difference in pictures no.3 and no.4). Basically, on daily basis or if you're in a hurry, you can stop at this step. But if you want more definition, continue to the next step.
Frame the brows with white eyeliner. I use MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K. And then blend the liner, heading out from your brows. Don't blend into the brows otherwise you'll ruined the color you've applied earlier. This step is to give highlight to your eyebrows.
Done!

So that's my current eyebrows routine. I know it seems like a lot and takes a lot of time. But I love the result and I don't always do the whole steps, anyway. Hope this helps.

NOTW+ OPI Nicki Minaj Haul

2012-01-14T18:11:00.006+07:00

It's weekend again, means I can do my nails again! This time I do another pattern of marbling. This is inspired by Collete's design from mysimplelittlepleasures. Her tutorial is mostly marble nails. Perfect if you wanna start to do marble nails. She's so talented!

For this marble nails, I used green, yellow and gold. I don't remember the name of the green nail polish. I'll get back at you on that. The yellow one is OPI 'Need Sunglasses?' and the gold one is China Glaze 'Jingle Bells'. For the base, I put Revlon 'White on White' nail polish. Honestly I don't really like this combination as the colors are not too contrast so it doesn't look as colorful as marble nails usually do.

Anyway I learned another point in doing marble nails while I did this nails. Apparently, the temperature of the room is super important! I did this while I was in my room with my air conditioner on. I kept having trouble that the polishes dried very fast on water so I didn't have enough time to run my toothpick over it. And it took me 2 hours until I realized that! What de heck!? After hours, I finally dipped my finger into the water and found out that it was already cold, not in a room temperature anymore. Argh! Lesson learned, the hard way. I think I'm having intoxication right now from hours of inhaling nail polish. *vomit face* I decided to apply glitter nail polish on my ring finger in the end, because I was already too tired of re-doing my nails *damn you, perfectionist soul!*

As you can seem the green and the yellow polishes don't really compliment each other and almost look just the same instead. But I'm glad that I got to do stripes marble nails! I'll try other colors next time.

And here's my latest nail polish purchase.

I've been wanting to get OPI Nicki Minaj collection. The colors in the mini version are so so pretty. I decided to buy the full size. 'Pink Friday' looks pretty when placed side to side with other colors from the collection but looked kinda blah when I tried it on my nails. I'm still on the fence about purchasing 'Pink Friday', somebody please talk me into or out of this.

The nail polishes tat I purchased are 'Fly' (teal), 'Did It on 'Em' (chartreuse green) and 'Save Me' (silver glitter). Can't wait to do marble nails with those!

How about you? Did you get anything from OPI Nicki Minaj collection?

Possible Dupe for MAC Parisian Skies?

2012-01-08T14:09:00.012+07:00

Hi guys! Remember MAC Bloggers Obsession Collection? The collection came out on May 2011 where MAC did a collaboration with 8 famous bloggers to create a line of eyeshadows and lipglasses. I purchased two products from that collection. They are Parisian Skies eyeshadow by Lesley Ellen from Lipstick Powder N Paint and Hocus Pocus eyeshadow by Lianne from The Makeup Girl.

Those two were the only products that caught my attention. I wasn't really into Hocus Pocus at first, but when I saw a closer swatch of this eyeshadow, I fell in love right away. Parisian Skies is also another beautiful color from this collection. It's an grey-ish blue with blue shimmer. So pretty! I thought it's an original color since I've never seen color like that before nor that I had any color like that in my collection.

Last month I visited Revlon counter and purchased Revlon Satin eyeshadow in Peacock Lustre. I didn't realize, but when I got home and browsing through my makeup, I looked at Parisian Skies and somehow I thought Parisian Skies and Peacock Lustre look quite similar in the pan. So I started to do comparison on both eyeshadows. Basically, these two have the same idea of color, which is greyish blue. And both are satin finish. Peacock Lustre has silver shimmer while Parisian Skies has blue shimmer which is why the blue tone is stronger.

Unfortunately, when swatched, these two are not exactly the same. Parisian Skies looks darker. So it's safe to say that these two are not 100% dupe of each other. Here's the swatch of both eyeshadows.

I think the way to describe it is, Peacock Lustre is a lighter version of Parisian Skies. However if you missed Bloggers Obsession and Parisian Skies eyeshadow, and you like the color, Peacock Lustre could be an alternative. I personally like this color. Still, I think it's unique color and even my warm skintone can pull it off. Would be great for smoky eyes as well. It's also a cheaper alternative. I own some Revlon single eyeshadows from their Matte, Perle and Satin eyeshadows, and so far I'm satisfied with the quality.

If you're interested, Revlon Satin Peacock Lustre and other Revlon single eyeshadows are available at Revlon counter and retails for IDR 40k for 2,4 grams of product. As comparison, MAC eyeshadow retails for IDR 220k for 1,5 grams of product.

[Review] Sariayu Etnika Nusa Tenggara. Kelimutu Eyeshadow Trio.

2012-01-07T19:43:00.006+07:00

New collection of the annual Sariayu Color Trend has finally came out! Sariayu Color Trend is one of the most anticipated annual collection from Indonesian brand. At least for me. I'm always curious about what are they going to come up with, every year. Color Trend 2012 is inspired by Nusa Tenggara, hence the name Etnika Nusa Tenggara. This year's collection consists of two theme, Bena Collection and Kelimutu Collection. I was already curious about Color Trend 2012 since Fashionesedaily tweet about it at the launching of the collection.

I went to Martha Tilaar counter, unfortunately the closest Martha Tilaar counter didn't have the complete collection yet. Not that I wanted to buy them all, but I wanted to see the whole new products. I specifically wanted Kelimutu eyeshadow trio (back then I didn't know the name, but I wanted the 'blue eyeshadow trio') and that's the only eyeshadow trio at the counter. The sales lady told me the other trio from Bena collection is an earthy tones colors trio, so I decided that I don't need that. I went home with just Kelimutu eyeshadow trio.

Based on the product description, this eyeshadow trio is enriched with Pomegranate extract and vitamin E. As well as UV protection.

Now if you’ve been following Sariayu Color Trend, then you must have realized that they changed the packaging of the eyeshadow trio since last year. Size wise, it is obviously bigger. Before you got 3,6 grams of products. Now, with the new packaging, you get 7,5 grams which is a bit more than twice the previous amount but the price doesn’t rise twice as much. I love the fact that the new packaging has a transparent exterior so you can see what’s inside. The old packaging has picture all over the packaging, so you can’t tell which is which, unless you read the name in the back of the packaging. The opening is also different. The old one opens vertically while the new one opens horizontally but that doesn’t really matter to me.

If you’re not from Indonesia and wondering about the name, Kelimutu, it’s a name of mountain and lake in East Nusa Tenggara. This eyeshadow trio is inspired by the lake. Lake Kelimutu is a three-colored lake that changes color in an unpredictable time (Google for more info). Sariayu translates the colors of the lake into their eyeshadow trio. Cool idea.

The trio comes with a dual-ended sponge and brush application that doesn’t even worth to mention. I tried it and I must say, even broom feels softer on my skin. So forget it. If you purchased this, throw the applicator right away.

As for the eyeshadows, I’d describe the colors as lime green, turquoise and navy blue. I love how the colors are color-coordinated so you can wear all three together in one look. Like always, Sariayu doesn’t come up with highlight color. If you see the advertorial, you’ll see most of the time they do couture makeup more than daily makeup so the placement of the eyeshadow is unusual. Of course you can just add your own highlight color.

The finish of these three eyeshadows is shimmery. While the green and turquoise can really be described as shimmery the way they look in the pan, the navy blue looks shimmery in the pan but the shimmer doesn’t really translate when applied. It looks like a matte blue with blue sparkles. Out of the three, the navy blue is the one that has a drier texture and a little bit chalky when swatched, but it applied just fine and pigmented enough for a definition color. The turquoise and the green have a smoother texture. As for pigmentation, the green one is a bit sheer although a touch of primer could help. The turquoise, in my opinion, is the most stand out color in this trio. It has great texture and very pigmented. Merak Kasmaran trio from Color Trend 2009 also has a turquoise eyeshadow in it. In my eyes, both turquoise from Merak Kasmaran and Kelimutu look exactly the same.

Overall, I’m glad that Sariayu has something bold yet wearable to offer from their collection. Usually the brand comes up with earthy tones color that, at one point, will get boring. Or they come up with colors, but they’re usually too pastel or lean toward cool undertone. The idea of this palette reminds me a lot of Merak Kasmaran, which also has bold color combination. And mind you, Merak Kasmaran was pretty booming when launched. So hopefully the same thing will happen with this trio. The quality doesn’t disappoint. Some of the minor problems I previously mentioned isn’t going to stop you from having fun with this trio. After all, with the price tag, I can’t complain much. I’m just disappointed with the fact that the turquoise in this trio is a repetition from previous collection (and also the fact that the turquoise color is included in Sariayu 25th Anniversary Palette, I think we’ve had enough).

Sariayu Kelimutu eyeshadow trio is available at IDR 42k. Sariayu Martha Tilaar is partnering with WWF so with every purchase of each Sariayu product, IDR 500 will be donated for Mount Mutis Nature Reserve, Nusa Tenggara. There you go, beautify yourself while doing good deeds.

And here's some looks that I created using this trio. I tried to create a winged eyeshadow look but I guess that failed. Haha..I need to learn more.

First Time Marble Nails

2012-01-07T12:48:00.008+07:00

Finally tried to do marble nails. I've always wanted to try this but I didn't have any nail polishes before. As I said, I don't wear nail polish daily in hospital. So when I ran out of the last batch of my nail polishes, I didn't even bother to buy new polishes. Now I'm re-building my nail polish collection, so I have some that I can use for marbling. For this look, I use OPI Bogota Blackberry (berry red) and China Glaze Jingle Bells (gold). Out of all the polishes I currently own, I think these two colors are the only colors that go together. So here goes!

I must say, marbling is fun! I love mixing the colors, watching the colors spread on water and playing with toothpick, creating design! What I hate is applying the tape all over my nails. Geez! It's time consuming, troublesome and I keep sticking my fingers with another. But, as troublesome as it is, never ever forget to apply scotch tape surrounding your nails, otherwise here's a good example on what's gonna happen.

Messy nail polish on my skin. Gross!!!

Since this is my first time, I have so many things I have to get used to in marbling. Other than applying tape without sticking my fingers altogether, of course. I need to learn to work fast before the polishes dry and crack on the surface of the water. There are some pixelated dots that I picked up on my nails because I kept dipping my nails on area where the polishes are kinda dry and crack. That's another thing I need to work on too. I also need to work on making the design. As yo can see in this look, the design is super random. Many people I watched on youtube can make so many neat loops or stripes, I want that!

I didn't really plan on doing marble so I didn't really prepare for this. There are three layers of OPI It's My Year underneath this marble. I was wearing It's My Year, and after watching some videos on youtube I was, like, I wanna make marble nails! And I did it anyway without removing my previous polish. I don't think It's My Year have any impact on the finishing of my marble nails. But of course, another time I'll use a more proper base color.

Anyway, I just want to documented this look in this lovely Saturday afternoon. Because by Sunday night, I'll be removing all of these and go back to work. Ha!

PS. Yes, I have ugly nails. I bite my nails. And to make matter worse, I have really dry skin around my fingers. Don't pick on me, okay?!

OPI It's My Year. Review and Swatch.

2012-01-07T00:15:00.004+07:00

OPI It's My Year is from Miss Universe Collection. I'd describe it as purple plum with loads of gold fine shimmer. This shade immediately caught my eyes when I was browsing around through some polishes at Sephora, while I was in Singapore. This is kind of an embarrassing story. Ehm, I stood there next to nail polish rack, really took my time applying this polish on all of my finger nails, in two coats. Yup. Well, in my defense, I did purchase this in the end so it's not like I was taking advantage of the testers. Ha!

I really love the texture. Shimmery polishes have never given me any trouble in application. It applies smoothly and evenly. And dries quite fast too. I didn't even use Seche Vite the first time I applied it. (Again, I applied this at Sephora. There was no tester of Seche Vite that I could take advantage of.) One layer is a bit sheer, but the shimmers could distract you from the sheerness. Two layers is enough. But I want the purple base to really show up so I usually apply this in three coats. The shimmer is so fine. I love how the gold shimmers give a three dimensional look to my nails.

Believe me those pictures don't do the judge. It's kinda hard to capture the shimmer with my camera. It's actually a lot prettier in real life as the shimmer is a lot more dominating.

While I wear it, I don't really experience chipping. But after three or four days, the polish kind of fades at the tip and I can see the tip of my finger nails. I assume it's normal for most polishes. But it's been so long since I wore polishes for days, so someone feel free to correct me here (It's frown upon to wear nail polish in the hospital so my fingers have been nail-polish-free most of the time for almost two years now). In case of removing it, of course it could be a tad difficult the way shimmery polishes usually are. I can easily remove the base color but the shimmer usually stay. And if I try to rub those shimmer with cotton, I end up with shimmer all around my fingers. But I don't care! I love this polish so so so much.

First Experience: Eyelash Perm

2012-01-03T18:16:00.012+07:00

Out of curiosity, I decided to try Eyelash Perm, which is a process to permanently curl eyelashes.

First of all, let me explain to you my obsession towards eyelashes. To me, curling lashes and applying mascara are like two sides of a coin. If I didn't get to do one of those, might as well not do it at all. Unfortunately, more often than not, my only option is to left my lashes bare because I don't have enough time to curl my lashes. And that's pretty much what leads me to try eyelash perm. I did the process at Dandis Beauty Care at Taman Anggrek.

Basically the process is similar to hair perm, only in shorter time. The whole process takes about 45 minutes while I was lying down. First, to keep my lashes curled, the lady who did my lashes (I don't know what to call her. Anyone enlighten me, please?) roll my lashes and stick it to a white sticky rod. Like this picture below.

Excuse the weird eye. I wasn't allowed to open my eyes so I had to peek through to take this picture.

After that, she put the perming solution on my lashes using cotton pad and then I wait for fifteen minutes with cotton pad covering my eyes. The next step is to put neutral, again, all over my lashes. For the second step, I waited for ten minutes. I basically was just taking nap there.

By the way, while looking at my lashes, the lady told me that I have some broken eyelashes. She assumed it's from curling my lashes too harsh (Bingo!). Ugh! I didn't realized that. I'm a bit of a freak when curling my lashes, they have to be perfectly curled. I sometimes accidentally pull one or two strands of my lashes but I thought that was it and the rest was fine, apparently they're not. Gaahh!

Well, back to eyelash perm. After about 45 minutes, I was done. My lashes felt sticky after the process because of the rod. That explains why the lashes on my picture above looks messy. Different than hair perm, you're allowed to wet your hair immediately after the process.

The lady told me to put on mascara, which I carried with me, immediately after the whole process. She also told me to put eyelashes serum. She offered one from Dandis but it was too expensive. So on my way home I dropped by at L'oreal counter and purchased L'oreal Renewal Serum at IDR 149k. The sales lady also offered me their Double Extension Renewal Serum Inside mascara as an addition for the eyelash care but I didn't think I need anymore mascara at the moment so I skipped. I expect this serum will fix my breakage problem. The lady who did my perm told me if I took care my lashes intensively, I'd get to fix my problem. So I have my fingers crossed with this serum.

Here's the result, a day after the process.

This is my first time doing eyelash perm so I don't have any comparison. But I'm kinda disappointed with the result as it's not as curly as I expected. The process just gives me a little lift at the tip of my lashes but not really curled all the way to the root. Which is weird, because judging from the picture, looks like my lashes was already curled from the roots. Anyway, I'll still give it another chance though. I was advised to stay away from eyelash curler for a while until the curl went away. The perm will last for approximately one or two months and I'll probably come back at the third month. We'll see.

If you're interested in doing eyelash perm, the service is available at Dandis for IDR 200k.

I Can Say Stuff Too

2012-01-02T00:12:00.004+07:00

Just sayin.

FOTD: Kim Kardashian Inspired Makeup

2012-01-01T23:16:00.004+07:00

I was browsing around my laptop and found this look I did a couple months back. It's the look that I submitted for looxperiments makeup challenge, which is Kim Kardashian Inspired makeup look. Here's the look that I use for my inspiration.

It's Kim's makeup, done by Troy Jensen. I think it's one of her remarkable looks, with her fuchsia lips using NARS Schiap lipstick. If you google, "Kim Kardashian fuchsia lips" then you'll find this picture on the very top. I, for one, don't have NARS Schiap or any products Kim uses for the look. *Troy Jensen uses mostly NARS for the look* So I just used whatever I have.

And here it is.

And here's the close up look of the eyes

For the smoky eyes, I only used Stila Smoky Eye Talking Palette. I wanted to copy Kim's super-long lashes. Unfortunately, my false lashes are long enough but not bold enough so it's unnoticeable in the picture. Oh well.. As for my lips, I used Revlon Colorburst lipstick in 'Fuchsia' and top it with Stila Lipglaze in 'Plum Fairy'.

That's all guys. Hope you enjoy.

Happy Holiday Haul

2011-12-31T12:10:00.007+07:00

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

2011-12-26T20:50:00.013+07:00

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: My Kinda Christmas

2011-12-26T11:01:00.004+07:00

Hi guys!

How's everyone Christmas? I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas. Me and my parents went to church both on Christmas eve and Christmas morning and then we had family gatherings on Christmas eve and Christmas night, minus my sister since she already moved to Holland with her husband. I was on heels for about 20 hours around Christmas time and now I think I need foot massage.

Here's the look I did for Christmas eve.

I usually go to the salon to do my hair. But I don't feel like it this Christmas. So for Christmas eve I just use my curling iron and put on a headband from Forever21. I looked great actually, but thank to the super humid weather, the curl gone in just few hours.

I knew I wanted to wear red lipstick. I just bought Hourglass lipgloss in 'Siren' and that's what I'm wearing here. So I did a very simple eye makeup using my Naked palette.

Here's the eye, up close. I'm wearing Elise false lashes. And speaking of which, Elise eye lashes now have a counter at Mall Taman Anggrek. I'm so happy that I don't have to go to traditional market anymore to buy this lashes.

I didn't do a lot of makeup for the morning. Usually I'll be too tired from staying up late on Christmas eve and couldn't wake up early for church on Christmas morning. So this is the look that I came up with.

So simple, no eyeshadow not even false lashes and all.

I'm currently on holiday for three weeks before I start a new cycle, which is Public Health, and it will be my last cycle as co-ass (or intern, you may say) and hopefully, will be inaugurated as doctor somewhere in the middle of next year. Please keep you fingers crossed for me!

Anyway guys, I hope you guys had a merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! God bless us everyone.

FOTD: Playing Coral + Current Skin Breakout

2011-12-17T02:11:00.011+07:00

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

2011-12-16T16:11:00.006+07:00

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!!!)

2011-11-19T19:42:00.016+07:00

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

2011-10-31T15:02:00.012+07:00

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.

Holy Haul!

2011-10-28T20:17:00.005+07:00

I don't know if you noticed but it's been sooooo long since my last haul post. For one thing, I literally never HAUL anymore lately. Like, by definition, buy so many makeup in one month. And also there was this whole fuss about 'haul' where some people relate it to 'bragging'. But on second thought, whatever! I love other people's haul post. It's like browsing through items you just purchased after shopping without actually spending money. It's fun.

But this haul is actually accidental. I ordered all these stuff separately, *hoping* they'll arrive one by one. So, most importantly, I can pay them one by one. But since I ordered those around Eid al-Fitr where most delivery stuck in custom, these babies arrived all at once. I'm seriously broke right now. *story of my life*

This is the product I ordered the earliest. Real Techniques brush, by Samantha Chapman, one of the two sisters from pixiwoo channel on Youtube. She and Nicole (the other sister) use this brush a lot in their videos. They're great makeup artists and this brushes are good enough for them so I figured, let's give them a try! I purchased the Core Collection and the Stippling Brush. Just because, a girl can never have too many foundation brushes. Yup.

When Urban Decay and Tarte were having Sale, I also ordered these pretties. The Urban Decay cream shadows were only $3 and still available at Urban Decay website. I think it's a final sale until they're all gone. The shades are limited, though. I ordered mine in the shade 'Grass' and 'Midnight Rodeo'

I snatched Tarte Amazonian Clay blush during the Friend and Family sale. Everybody raved about this blush so I figured it was a right time to purchased it. I got mine in the shade 'Tipsy', which is described as 'coral' because I don't need another pink blushes. Originally I wanted to the shade Blissful, which is a warm peach, but it was out of stock at the time so 'Tipsy' should be fine.

And the one I'm the most excited about... Another foundation! Well, I've been a good girl. I think I almost run out of some of my foundations so that justify me to buy a new one. Haha. And I've always wanted to try Chanel (and Dior) foundation. So, after watching pixiwoo's video about 'Guide to Chanel Foundation' I decided to go with Mat Lumiere. I asked Putri what would my shade be, and she recommended 40 Beige. She was right, it matches me perfectly!

Well, I'm so happy with my recent purchase and can't wait to try them all!!! Hopefully I can report back in this blog as soon as I can.

[Review] L'oreal Curl Impact Collagene Mascara

2011-10-26T16:41:00.013+07:00

L'oreal Curl Impact Collagene mascara is introduced as curl-fixing volume mascara with:

Spiral brush innovation for tapering every single stands of your lashes
Amplifying collagen formula for curl, volume and no clump
Smudgeproof for 12 hours

First of all, I gotta admit that I was having trouble with the wand, that is the spiral applicator, the first time I tried this mascara. Since mine came with press release box sent from L'oreal, I didn't have any instructions on how to use it. This is how the spiral applicator looks like.

Apparently, each part of the brushes has it's own purpose. First, to pack on volume to your lashes, use the back part of the arch. And then the side of the arch to emphasize the curl. And the tip of it especially to the outer part of the lashes. And nope, no gimmick. It's kinda hard to take a detail picture of the applicator but because the back part of the arch is wider, it holds bigger portion of your lashes. And I love how my lashes fit very well in between the bristles and the product coats every single strands of my lashes. This also great for my lower lashes. I always have trouble applying mascara on my thin lower lashes. But the applicator really holds my lashes, give it more than just definition but packed it with extra volume! So I have to say that this mascara really excel in term of volumizing.

image taken from here

Can not say the same about the curling effect, though. First of all, no matter what the ads said, I firmly believe that mascara CAN NOT make your lashes curled (I'm talking serious curl, like a backward-C, not just a little lift). So I always curl my lashes first before applying mascara. And I can see how this mascara weighed my lashes. I usually curl my lashes until it's lifted and I can see my lashes top the upper line of my eyes. But after I apply this, especially by the middle of the day, my curl has weighed down until the tip is parallel to the line of my eyes. Not that it's back to it's natural shape, but still, the mascara is not doing it's job.

When applied, the texture of the mascara is soft that I can keep layering it without clump. But once I stop and let it dry, the mascara dries into this sticky rubbery consistency and I can not comb through my lashes anymore. Now that stickiness is kinda annoying and feels uncomfortable especially when my upper and lower lashes meet (happens when I don't curl my lashes) they, well, stick together.

When they say that this mascara is smudgeproof, that is so true. I didn't wear it for twelve hours but so far I've never had any smudging experience with this mascara. As smudgeproof as it is, this isn't a waterproof mascara. In fact, this mascara can be easily removed with just warm water. Which is my favorite part because I'm all about being practical! All you have to do is wash your eye area with water and rub it gently. The mascara will be easily removed, turned into a rubbery flecks form. Super easy without dirty black smear around the eyes.

Here's how the mascara performs on me.

bare lashes.

mascara on upper and lower lashes. not curled.
See it yourself and be the judge.

To gather this post in some points.
Pros

Applicator really works wonder!
Volumizing effect
Smudgeproof
Super easy to remove

Cons

The spiral applicator takes time to get the hang of with (Shouldn't be a problem if yours come with instructions, though)
Uncomfortable sticky consistency
Doesn't hold curl

That's my experience trying this mascara. However, my blogger buddy, Nisa, doesn't seem to have any problem with some of my cons points. So check out her review here. If you're interested with L'oreal Curl Impact Collagene mascara, it's available at L'oreal counters at IDR 129k.

[Review] L'oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer

2011-10-20T21:16:00.007+07:00

Phew! Such a mouthful name for a product. Let's just call it Base Magique, shall we?

Base Magique is L'oreal's first face primer. Now, you might have seen this product before, probably with different name. I know I have. That other product has a completely identical look except it goes by the name 'L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base'. Now, don't quote me on this, but *I THINK* Base Magique is the name that's distributed around Asia. Because most bloggers who's reviewing Base Magique are asian-based.

Now, onto the product.
Base Magique comes in a clear glass pot with screw lid, which is not really my cup of tea. I don't fancy having to dip my fingers into the pot and the wide opening makes the product so easily exposed to the air.

The texture is velvety and it has rosy shade that suppose to instantly brightens up the complexion. When I apply this I can see the difference on areas with and without primer. The area with primer has matte velvety surface and my pores also covered very well. It makes foundation and powder application so much smoother. This primer plays a role in oil control and extend the longevity of my foundation. Specifically for the pore covering effect, I even tried it on my sister. Her pores are quite large but this primer masked it very well. I'm impressed. I can't really say much about the brightening effect because I don't see this primer interfere the undertone of my foundation. This can also be worn alone on naked skin if you just need a mattifying effect.

I usually dip my middle finger and warm the product at the tip of my finger before application. You don't need to apply too much product, just focus on areas that are oily or has pores that needs to be covered. In fact, because of the texture, layering it caused the primer to balls up. I apply this with patting motion. One dip is enough for my t-zone and another dip the cover the pores on the side of my nose. I don't apply this all over my face because I find it unnecessary. I never apply primer all over my face but of course it's just my habit for the sake of efficiency.

Please note that this is a silicone-based primer. So if you have any reaction to silicone, than this might not be the one for you.

Except for the packaging, after all I'm very much happy with the performance of L'oreal Base Magique and definitely recommend it. And L'oreal is doing a good job with their first primer. L'oreal Base Magique is available at L'oreal counters for IDR 149k.

[Review] Revlon CustomEyes Shadow and Liner in 'Party Pops' & Waterproof Mascara

2011-10-17T12:47:00.010+07:00

Hey guys!

So this is going to be another sponsored a review. This time I'll be reviewing the newly launched CustomEyes line from Revlon. I believe this line consist of two products, eyeshadow palette and mascara.

CustomEyes Shadow & Liner in Party Pops

The palette comes in a sleek rectangle compact with transparent lid so you can easily distinguish one palette from another, especially if you have more than one of these considering all the packaging looks the same. There are five eyeshadows inside with sweater pattern on it, altogether in one pan. Looking at the back of the packaging, these eyeshadows are numbered. 1 is the lightest color all the way to number 5 which is the darkest color in the pan. And there's also a picture, suggesting how to put these colors on your eyes. But of course, there is more than just one way to apply these colors.

When I received this palette I was actually a little bit worried. To be completely honest, if I were to pick one of these palettes my own, I wouldn't pick Party Pops. For one thing, I don't wear bright colored eyeshadows. I usually stick to neutral colors. Another thing, the colors in the palette look too sheer for my skintone I was worried that they won't show up. However I was worried over nothing, really.

The colors show up just fine on me. The peachy coral eyeshadow (no.1) is a bit hard to show up but I just need to add primer underneath (I use Revlon Colorstay concealer as base). And this might show just fine on people with lighter skintone. Other than that I don't have complain with the pigmentation. Here's the swatches of the eyeshadow.

All the eyeshadows in this palette have shimmery finish. They're a tad powdery but I don't experience too much of a fall out during application.

Now the color selection might lead you into thinking that this is a 'goody-two-shoes' type of palette where you can only create subtle eye look. Well, at least that's what happened to me, judging from the pastel-y colors. But again this palette proves me wrong. This palette is so versatile, you can create many different themes using the color combination, from subtle romantic look, to bold smoky look.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with this palette and actually thinking about trying the other palettes. If I'm not mistaken, there are 6 different palettes available and each retails for IDR 100k, which I think is pretty affordable.

Here's two looks that I created using this one palette alone.

The first one is more of a subtle look. Suitable for your date or whatnot. Not impossible for work place if you want something no too extravagant but still playing with colors.

You can also create a smoky look with this palette.

CustomEyes Mascara

This mascara comes with an adjustable bristle. So you get two different finishes in one mascara. Setting 1 gives you long and dramatic lashes while setting 2 gives you long and define lashes. If you think you can memorize which setting is for what, it’s all written on the tube.

The adjustable dial placed on top of the tube with tiny arrow, all you have to do is simply turn it until the tiny arrow pointing at either number 1 or number 2, depends on which you look that you want.

I'm not too familiar with the concept of two in one bristle. Some people said there are some of these at the market but to me, I'm new to this. And the idea of having two bristles in one mascara really sold me out. So basically when you turn the dial to setting 1, the bristles will align while when you dial it to setting number 2, the bristles will stagger. So you'll end up with two different finishes. The bristles is made of plastic and is very comfortable to use it also separate my lashes very well.

The two different settings may sound like a gimmick but they do deliver differently. Setting 1 gives me enough volume. It promised to deliver 'drama' to your lashes but I think it still suitable for daily look. While setting 2 gives just a definition of what you already have, nothing extravagant. In fact, I think setting 2 is way too natural on my already thin lashes *sigh*. The two settings do make my lashes look longer. The only flaw I found is the mascara weigh my lashes a little bit. So after I curled my lashes and put this on, my curl kinda weighed down although it doesn't go back to it's natural shape.

The texture of the mascara is kind of dry. But it doesn't set too fast nor clump so you can wear it in layers. I got mine in color "Blackest Black" which is so true. I love how it adds color and defines my lashes perfectly. It's waterproof and I experienced no smudges during the day.

My bare lashes. As you can see, they're quite a lot but each of them are thin so in general my lashes look thin and super straight.

My curled lashes

This is how setting 1 looks on my lashes

Here's setting 2

One layer of Setting 1 compare to several layers of Setting 2. Setting 2 in a layer is way too thin for my lashes. So you can get dramatic look using setting 2 but you'll need several coat.

This mascara is another product that worth to try from this line. It's available in two colors, black and brown. And available for IDR 100k each.

Don't forget to check out review from Fifi and Hanna, they have the palette in different colors. Also, our reviews are being featured in Revlon Indonesia Facebook Page. Don't forget to check out the page as well.

L'oreal Paris Fall/Winter Romance Issue

2011-10-15T22:06:00.008+07:00

Have you checked out the latest collection from L'oreal? It's called L'oreal Fall/Winter Romance Issue.

This collection consists of 5 products, everything you need for you face, eyes and lips.

For face.
Base Magique Smoothing Velvet Primer

For eyes.
Curl Impact Collagene Mascara
Super Liner 24Hr Gel Liner

Open Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Quad

For lips.
Color Riche

L'oreal Paris representative contacted me and asked me if they can send me the latest L'oreal Fall/Winter collection for review purpose and share it on my blog. And this is what they sent me.

The package is crazy huge, I literally didn't expect them to send this much products. But I'm so excited to try those.

They send me four out of five products from Romance Issue collection along with the CD filled with the information about the products. I've tried some of products and can't wait to share it with you.

Stay tuned.

Clean Your Face Using Cleansing Oil

2011-10-09T15:28:00.007+07:00

The first time I used cleansing oil is when I was attending Shu Uemura beauty class at the mall. They introduced me to their cleansing oil, which they claimed to be sold for every 20 seconds in Japan, and I was hooked. Seriously, if I could afford buying cleansing oil regularly, I’m not going back to my other cleanser (unfortunately I can’t so I still keep some cleansing milk and other kind of cleansers).

On that beauty class, I was taught on how to use cleansing oil. It’s a bit different than how you use most cleansers but it’s actually really simple. However, some people apparently are not really familiar with the application so I figured I’ll share a step-by-step direction on how to clean your face using cleansing oil.

First is to pump some of the oil to your palm. You can use one or two pumps, depends on how much make up you're wearing. I usually need two pumps when I have waterproof make up on.

Apply cleansing oil directly to your face while dry, with your make up on and everything. I usually start from the area that is the hardest to remove. When I'm wearing waterproof mascara, I usually apply the cleansing oil on my eye first. But it's not necessary, just a habit of mine.

Most cleansing oils are mild and don't sting eyes. Right now I'm currently using MAC cleansing oil and it works fine around the eyes area. Massage your eye area gently. When the waterproof make up comes off, it's gonna smudge all over your eyes and definitely will look dirty but it's fine.

Continue massaging the product all over your face until you can see all of you make up comes off.

Once you have the oil spread all over your face, splash a little amount of water to your face. The oil will turn into a milky consistency. Keep massaging your face and you'll see all the dirt dissolved. You can add more water as you spread it all over you face.

Once you feel all of your make up has been removed from your skin, rinse it. And you're done.

See? Super easy. This step-by-step tutorial might look confusing at first but you'll easily get the hang of it. So far, cleansing oil is my most favorite way to remove my make up. No tugging the skin, you'll need only one product only remove all of your make up, you don't even have to use soap afterward and face feels squeaky clean without feeling dry.

Hope the tutorial helps.

[Review] Guerlain Parure Gold

2011-10-06T23:28:00.019+07:00

I finally had a chance to try my first Guerlain foundation when there was a buy get one get one free deal (Guerlain! I know, right?! All the ladies in my family went completely nuts). So, long story short, I end up with this foundation.

Here is product description from Guerlain website.

“Guerlain has slipped a magical blend of Gold Radiance Pigments and Precious Rejuvenating Complex enriched with Oil of Myrrh into this fluid foundation. The pigments light up, smooth and correct the complexion instantly, and the complex revives the youthful radiance and vitality of the skin.
Evanescent and supple, the wonderfully smooth texture glides over the skin, providing perfect light-weight coverage. Fine lines fade away, imperfections seem to disappear.
Discover the full range of six shades designed specifically to rejuvenate the skin and revive the complexion’s healthy glow. Luminous and ultra natural, each shade is warmed with yellow gold and pink gold pigments that smooth away the signs of time and fatigue.”

Parure Gold comes in basic Guerlain foundation bottle. You know how Guerlain have the same packaging for all of their foundations. But most of them come in gold bottle. While the one that actually named “Gold” comes in a black bottle. It’s a shiny glass bottle and a little bit heavier than most foundation bottle I have. Something to be concern about. I keep this in my traincase instead of my vanity because I’m worried I might accidentally hit the bottle and drop it, knowing how clumsy I am. The bottle is equipped with a pump. And on the side of the bottle there’s a little ‘window’ so you can see how much product you have left inside, which I think is a nice touch.

This foundation has a semi-matte finish and it delivers medium to full coverage. The texture of the foundation is thick although it doesn’t feel heavy at all. It actually feels comfortable on me. It blends smoothly despite the thick consistency and covers all my flaws flawlessly. If you want lighter coverage you can just mix it with primer. Guerlain website recommends mixing it with their L’Or - Radiance Concentrate but I personally think any primer will do. The foundation has a flowery scent that is pretty strong. From what I read, all Guerlain foundations (or products?) are scented. It kind of annoys me at first, especially when I'm applying the foundation around my nose but then I got over it. Thankfully even though it's scented I don't experience any allergic reactions to it, considering how sensitive my skin is. If you are not used to scented foundation especially this strong you can maybe try hold your breath when you're applying foundation around your nose? I dunno.

I wear this foundation with no primer and still, it performs a superb staying power. Oil control is also great. For reference, my skin type is oily combination where I tend to get oily on the t-zone and normal for the rest of the face. After around 5 to 6 hours, my natural oil starts to peek through especially on my t-zone area. But the amount of oil is minimum just to give me a dewy look. Sometimes I don’t even blot. I once wore this for around 13 hours, and for that long I just blot once. After 13 hours my make up looks the way it looks after 5 hours. The amount of oils stays minimum until the end of the day and my complexion still looks good.

Here's pictures of me wearing this foundation on different occasion. Click for larger images so you can really see the finish and coverage of the foundation.

As you can see, after 13 hours I think the amount of oil still acceptable and overall the complexion still look good.

So far, this foundation is almost perfect but it fails in one thing which is shade selection. As it mentioned before, this foundation comes with 6 different shades. Mine is number 3 which is Beige Natural. First of all let me say that I have this weird obsession with foundation that it has to be a better version of my skin. Therefore, the first step is to find the perfect match in terms of color. Parure Gold doesn’t come in different undertones. Judging from the shade that I have, beige natural, it supposed to have neutral undertone. That bugs me already. And it annoys me even more that what supposed to be neutral, in reality appears pink. And is pretty strong too. At first I thought it was just me, but when I applied my make up, my sister entered the room and she said, “Your foundation looks red!” Gaahhh!! That pink shade doesn’t get worse during the day, thankfully. It doesn’t oxidize on me. But still I feel very self-conscious when wearing this. Of course I can try to tone it down a little bit by applying my Ben Nye Banana Visage. But for the price, I wish I didn’t have to compromise to get a perfect match.

Because of the thick texture, I prefer dense brushes to 'push' and spread this foundation all over the face. I use my MAC 190 or EDM flat top brush. But because I try to tone down the pink, I apply this using my fingers in order to get lighter coverage so the pink undertone won’t be too noticeable. Note that this foundation has SPF 15 - PA ++ so it'll appear slightly whitish on flash camera. And the red undertone does not help either. So far, I don't rely on this foundation for special occasion especially if I'm about to take a lot of pictures.

To sum up, I think this is a great foundation but although it’s not perfect. Personally, I will continue wearing this foundation but I don’t think I’ll repurchase.

This foundation alone cost IDR 800k. Yes, I got this on BOGOF deal but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a very expensive foundation and this is the most expensive foundation that I own. I think the price is absolutely ridiculous. And with that price, I would expect to get a flawless product, including a perfect match for my skin but I don’t.

I know they’re selling the skincare benefits in it. It supposed to rejuvenate the skin and revive the complexion’s healthy glow. But as I said, I don’t care about skincare benefits in my make up, especially my foundation. First of all, I don’t wear this everyday so I don’t expect a proper result And I believe most woman already have their skincare separately without having to add a very expensive foundation to also works as their foundation. Yes, the performance of the foundation, as make up, is near perfect but I believe there are more options out there without having to shell out that much (note that, other Guerlain foundations don't even cost this much).

But of course that’s just my personal opinion. I would recommend this foundation if you:

Have neutral or cool undertone
Willing to pay an arm and a leg for a perfect foundation (If the shade matches you, then this could be a perfect foundation for you)
Believe in skincare benefits in your make up

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Product Review

2011-09-22T14:31:00.010+07:00

A month ago, the representative of Kiehl's Indonesia was kind enough to send some of their products from the Kiehl's Ultra Facial line for some beauty bloggers to try. I was pretty new to Kiehl's (actually I've never tried any of their products before) so I was excited about the fact that I was about to try some of their sample.

"Kiehl’s Since 1851, the venerable New York-based purveyor of fine quality skin and hair care is introducing two formulas inspired by its classic Ultra Facial Moisturizer – Ultra Facial Cleanser and Ultra Facial Toner. Kiehl’s original Ultra Facial Moisturizer lotion was first offered in the early 1970s and since that time, loyal patrons have come to rely on the formula’s superb hydration benefits."

So I was sent four products from Ultra Facial line, including the cleanser, toner, face cream and face moisturizer.

Ultra Facial Cleanser
To me, this cleanser is a winner. I love this cleanser very much. First of all, it lathers very well that I need just a small amount for my whole face. Kiehl's Indonesia is so generous. The sample the sent is enough for more than two weeks. This promised to be an ultra-mild cleanse which is so true. I love how gentle this cleanser feels on my skin. I can tell because this doesn't sting my eyes while I'm washing my face. This cleanser doesn't strip and it makes my skin feels so soft afterwards. Definitely in love with this.

Maybe a little bit of a downfall here, as I said earlier, a little amount of this cleanser is enough but unfortunately the aperture of the tube is a little bit too wide, it tends to dispense too much product so I got some products wasted. Another thing that I dislike is the fact that the tube comes with screw lids, which is never been my favorite in any skincare or makeup products. But then again, mine is a sample. Hopefully this isn't the case with the full size packaging. And from the picture of the actual products it looks like it has a snap lock lid instead. which is good.

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Squalane, Vitamin E, Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil

Size: 5 oz./150 ml
You can purchase this at Kiehl's counter with estimated price of IDR 235,000

Ultra Facial Toner
Another thing that I love although I can really say much because the sample doesn't really last me for long. I'm a type of person who loves to soak my face with toner after I rinse my cleanser so I ran out of toner after only three applications. Haha.. But I love the first three impressions of this toner. It's a little bit thicker than my usual toner and it as this kind of milky appearance. It removes surface debris and any remaining residue and also hydrates my skin. Feels very comfortable afterwards and I love it so much. And the alcohol free formula makes it suitable for sensitive skin.

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Squalane, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Avocado Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil

Size: 8.4 oz./250 ml
You can purchase this at Kiehl's counter with estimated price of IDR Rp 235,000

Ultra Facial Cream
Honestly I was a little bit skeptical about trying new skincare line especially moisturizer. My skin is sensitive and I get breakout so easily.

Funny story, I did get breakout after two weeks wearing this. So I stopped using it but three weeks after I stopped using this, my break out is getting even worse. Thankfully it wasn't this cream that caused my breakout (apparently it was my sunblock, but that's another story) soI started wearing this again. Which is why this post is so long overdue. My bad.

About the cream, it's for all skin type. I wear this in the morning because I'm exposed to air conditioner everyday. This cream absorbed very well into my skin. I'm currently on skin treatment using Retinoic acid and is very dry. But this cream hydrates my skin for the whole day without making me look overly greasy.

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Antarcticine (a glacial glycoprotein sourced in Antarctica), Imperata Cylindrica (a desert plant extract indigenous to the Australian Outback), Squalane, Avocado Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

Size: 1.7 oz./50 ml
You can purchase this at Kiehl's counter with estimated price of IDR 298,000

Ultra Facial Moisturizer
The last product I tried is the moisturizer. This moisturizer is a lightweight lotion. Honestly I didn't use it that much. I tried it and it appears greasier than the cream which is weird considering this is the lighter formula. So yeah, not a big fan. However, the result may vary on different people. This might work for you if your skin doesn't need too much moisturizer.

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Squalane, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Avocado Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil

Size: 4 oz./125 ml
You can purchase this at Kiehl's counter with estimated price of IDR 298,000 (125ml)

Current Hair Condition & Non Beauty-Related Obsession

2011-09-01T10:32:00.014+07:00

Hiya guys!

After my previous post about Sunsilk Hair Studio, I realized I have never posted any hair-related entry on my blog. Such a shame considering how much products I've tried, and it'd be nice if I can share it with you. The thing is, me and my hair has been through such an adventure, if I may call it that way. In this post, I'm just gonna share with you about my hair condition, because on my next entries I'm about to post some shampoos and conditioners I've tried in the last 4 weeks. So you can always go back to this post, as a reference on why I choose the products that I use.

Now, I'm always in a love-hate relationship with my hair. Mostly hate, though. My hair is a mixed between my father's thick and curly hair and my mom's thin and super straight hair. What I got is a lot of hair with super thin strands. I used to think that I have thin hair in general, but everytime I went to the salon the hairdresser always said to me, "What do you mean thin? You have a lot of hair here" so that's how I come into conclusion. Another thing, my hair is somewhere between curly and straight. I don't know how to call it (no, definitely not wavy). I don't think there's a name for that. This is how I always have problems. Back when I was in junior high or in high school, I didn't own any hair straightener. So yeah, I went through those years with weird short 'floating' (and don't even think about asking me to post those pictures here!). Back then, I wasn't really into hair care. The only hair product I use was only shampoo and I've never had any hair chemical treatments done to my hair. Even when my hair was still a virgin, generally my hair is dry with normal scalp.

Somewhere along the way, I began using hairdryer. I use it every single day, even until now, with no heat protector, so my hair got even drier and worst, red instead of black. There are times when I visited the salon and the hairdresser was like, "Wow! your hair looks beautiful" made me feel like floating on air, and then she continued with, "What color did you use? The red looks pretty." Ugh!

My first year in college is the time I did my first permanent straightening and been regularly doing it ever since. Usually twice a year. I'm sure you're already familiar about this treatment. But in a nutshell, the name is self-explanatory. It straightened your already grown hair and when you hair grow even longer you'll have your actual hair shape around the roots which not a very pretty sight. That's your cue for another straightening session. I usually use my hair straightener to postponed my visit to the salon. And what I did there is just damaging my hair. Unfortunately I did all those treatments without proper hair care routine. I didn't use conditioner, and hair mask that's supposed to be applied once every two weeks became once every month and then no follow up. So you can imagine how dry and damaged my hair is. I have split ends and my hair looks red especially under the sun.

Over the past years I've tried so many shampoos for dry and damaged hair. But I just started using hair conditioner about a month ago. My sis shot me this overly-shocked expression and told me that I've committed hair sin by not using hair conditioner. Seriously, sis?! (She's a bit of a late-bloomer when it comes to hair straightening and yet she became a hair-care freak since then, which explains her emotional review on my last entry.. lol). But long story short, hair conditioner is now in my daily hair care routine.

The thing with maintaining hair is one or two products are not enough. Especially if you have overly damaged hair like mine. Right now, I have shampoo, conditioner and hair mask as my daily hair routine. I must add hair serum and heat protectant because definitely still gonna use my hair straightener. I'm all about maintaining hair but I also don't wanna be seen with hideous hair. I used hair serum before although I rarely repurchased (not that they're bad it's just that they're expensive). So next time I'll add my hair care reviews because I wanna share it with you, especially if you're in the same hair condition as mine. And remember that it takes time for your hair to improve, so be patient.

So that's the end of the hair-talk.

Now on to my current non beauty-related obsession. You know how I always try to find excuses of my lack blog update? *d'oh moment* Well, this time I have a good one (aside from the fact that I've been spending some nights for night shift at a Nursery Care cause I'm now in Geriatric cycle) and my current excuse is this guy:

Yup. Edward Norton.
I've been spending a lot of time locking myself in my room, watching his movies in marathon.

(I hate it when people say, "If you're following me on twitter" so let me put it this way) I've been tweeting seriously a lot about him lately, along with some quotes from his characters in the movies. I guess that about to annoy people some time soon so I'll just make a one post about it (don't you hate when people tweeting over and over about one topic?). I don't even understand the sudden obsession considering this is not the first time I was introduced to his work.

I watched 'Italian Job' (2003) before. And I love that movie so much, I think it's brilliant. But I wasn't really noticed Norton at the time. But then again, he was the villain and with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron as main characters, why would you pay attention on the villain?

The first movie I watched with Edward Norton as main character was 'The Illusionist' (2006). Another movie that impressed me. I watched it twice in the movie and several more times a home. I showed this movie to my friend few weeks ago and then got home and for whatever reason I began to search for more Edward Norton's movies. That's when the obsession started.

I watched about more than half of his movies and came into a conclusion that this man is a genius. You'll never now what to expect. First of all, he starred in a various genre so everybody can enjoy his movies. Drama, thriller, crime, romance, comedy, you name it. Another thing, he plays a lot of different roles. I first watched him as this charming, vulnerable, helplessly-in-love character in 'The Illusionist' and 'The Painted Veil'. And again as a cute guy-next-door priest in 'Keeping The Faith'. So that's the image that I have in my head. I didn't expect to see him all silly, dancing around in rhino costume. But I did enjoy 'Death to Smoochy'. He also played the role as violent gangster and a loving brother at the same time in 'American History X' but my personal favorite in crime/thriller genre so far is 'Primal Fear' which is his breakthrough movie (I still have '25th Hour' and 'Red Dragon' in line, waiting to be watched so I might change my mind. Who knows).

The thing is, most of his movie really suit my taste. And, mind you, I'm not the type of person who love complicated storyline. And it's very rare that I love most movies from one actor. I mean, take Leonardo diCaprio for example. I think he's a great actor but I got out of the cinema, partially depressed after watching 'Blood Diamond' and 'The Departed' that have so many violent scenes. So yeah, I don't enjoy most of his movies. While most of Norton's thriller movies are interesting to watched.

By the way, after rambling about the movies don't ask me about the actor's personal life because I don't know and I'm not interested to find out. I have this weird obsession about movies. To me, watching movies is like visiting wonderland with actual characters in it. And I love to keep those characters the way they are in my head. I hate how knowing more about one actor's life could ruin my imagination about the characters. Like how different or ordinary they are in person compare to their character. If I confused you, think of it like reading books. Character is a character. Not just a role portrayed by actors.

So yeah, I think I have listed all the reasons behind my obsession to make it sounds rational. Plus another superficial reason, he's cute. If you're a movie enthusiast like me, you need to add Edward Norton's movies in your "Must Watch" list. Believe me, you'll enjoy it.

And that's all I want to say about my current obsession. Look forward for more in the future. Believe me, I have a lot of fun and healthy obsessions I would love to share that I bet you'll enjoy. And I'm gonna end this post with my favorite soundtrack from 'Keeping The Faith'. Hope you enjoy.

"I don't doubt myself because of you. I feel like the best version of myself when I'm with you, and that makes me doubt everything else."
Father Brian Finn (Keeping The Faith)

all pictures are take from imdb

My Experience: Sunsilk Hair Studio

2011-08-13T22:06:00.008+07:00

Two weeks ago Fashionesedaily held a giveaway to try Sunsilk Hair Studio and I was one of the lucky winners. I received two vouchers so I asked my sis to come. Sunsilk Hair Studio is a pop-up salon that opened at Grand Indonesia for a month, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not gonna go through about the salon. This post is just going to be about my experience while visiting.

The "Menu"

The before shot.
Me and my sis decided to do creambath. We arrived very late at Grand Indonesia so I expected that it will be crowded and we will have to wait. After fifteen minutes, our turn finally came. I was called to have my hair washed first. I experienced an unpleasant first impression. The woman who wash my hair asked me,

her: what service do you want?
me: creambath.
her: ooh.. creambath. okay. you look so pretty
me: oh.. haha..
her: are you a celebrity? *huh? what?!*
me: *grin* *awkward silent*
her: are you? are you celebrity? *okay, stop pushing!*
me: ... no

Okay, at this point I wasn't sure whether she was being nice or trying to kiss someone's back or just plain mocking me. And her tone didn't help either. Seriously, is it an appropriate way to talk to customer? And honestly I was annoyed. Nobody asked if anyone's a celebrity! If I was, you'll see me on TV already! Let's just leave it at that. Geez! The next thing she was busy chitchatting with her friend. Thankfully there was no follow through from that stupid conversation.

I decided to do a creambath that day because honestly I need a massage. I really don't care about my scalp as I didn't think I have any problem in that area. I asked the guy who did my hair, what cream that he use and he said he didn't know because there was only one cream that they use for creambath in that salon. They just use what's already provided. Okay. Apparently I'm using a hair product with questionable benefits... in a salon.

And the massage? Don't even ask. The guy is very nice but I really think that he needs to be trained on how to do a scalp massage without making the customer thinking that he was gonna crush someone's head. Yes I asked him to lessen the pressure a little bit. But still, not only it's forceful it's also not relaxing. I've been a loyal customer of massage parlors, I know how a massage should feel.

And then blow drying came afterwards. I was pretty skeptical when the guy separated my hair into sections, blowdrying and then place the already dried hair together with the wet hair section. No one ever blowdry like that whenever I'm in a salon. But the result came out nicely and it lasted until the next day so that was a relief.

But to sum up, it wasn't a pleasant experience for me.

And since I came with my sister, I think it's only fair to hear her review as well.

"When I heard about Sunsilk Hair Studio from twitter, I was kinda curious. I mean i heard about pop up café, but pop up salon seemed new to me. So when I came there with my sister at first I was surprised that it didn't look so pop-up-ish, the space was prepared quite nicely which made the salon seemed to have been there all the time.

Well, first thing first, since it's named after the hair care brand, I was expecting something more. I used Sunsilk long time ago back in junior high if I'm not mistaken. And I used to love their yellow colored line, it smelled so nice. This time in the hair studio, I mentioned to the "shampoo-ing" lady what my hair problem was, but I didn't see her picking anything special according to my problem. I think she just used the same product for everyone. I thought "what's the point on asking question?" The shampoo-ing process went so-so, I kinda like that she's polite but not too chatty, I hate when people try to talk too much during treatment. She mentioned that everyone kept coming all day, so everyone's so busy. This one didn't leave any special impression to me.

Then off to the creambath session. Once again I noticed the guy didn't ask again what my hair problem was. I don't know, I assume he had the shampoo girl informing him about it? And again, he didn't ask me to pick between their various treatments, he just went ahead and start putting things on my hair. I am quite sensitive about putting hair mask on my scalp, I believe they're supposed to be applied on the hair strands, and putting it on the scalp will most probably result in dandruff or dryness, so it made me uneasy when he just started putting products everywhere on my head. And to put it shortly, I could do better without the so-called massage. Usually people in hair salons ask whether you just want a warm towel or steamer, and I tend to go for warm towel because my hair is dry. This guy just put the steamer right away so I just rolled my eyes *really!*

Then after rinsing, came the drying process. THIS is the one that left very special impression to me. Please be aware that I really hate this drying process. In fact, if I knew they'd do this to my hair, I'd rather came home with drenched hair. Yes, it's that bad. Here's why. I go to work everyday and I use hair iron each and every day at least to fix the tip of my hair, to make it shape nicer. Even by doing that every morning, I've never seen my hair looked so suffering. Usually when you want to use heat products so close to your hair, you have to make sure your hair is COMPLETELY dry. When you're still drying with hair dryer, you gotta maintain the distance so you won't sizzle your hair. Even more when you're using hair iron or curler. But this guy just dry my hair from safe distance for like less than a minute, then reached out for a brush, started to style my hair (it's not even HALF wet, it's still soooo wet) and put the hairdryer's end soooo close to my hair. Yes it's shaped nicely afterwards, but I was really concerned at how frizzy my hair ended up. Every strands' ends was making unhealthy little curls. Sorry, I got emotional every time I have to reminisce about this. All in all I got so disappointed with the result, cuz going to a hair studio, you expected your hair to be treated better than you do at home, but this….???

I appreciated the free product and photoshoot, but they didn't even pick the product especially for each and every one. It's just there, I got the curly something shampoo which I gave away. I think based on this review you'd understand that I won't go there for creambath treatment anymore (HA!), I'm kinda curious about the QiQi Franky make up, but as for hair (even if it has Sunsilk on the marquee), the moral of the story is: better to do it by myself at home."

After the treatment.

All the treatments were given for free, thanks to the vouchers. We received one Sunsilk shampoo as complimentary and a chance to take picture.

It was supposed to be the last day of the salon but from what I heard they are extending it. According to the staff, it was because of the high demand. Well, okay... Good for them. Although I do wish there's an improvement on the service.

[Review] NYX HD Studio Photogenic Foundation

2011-08-04T23:41:00.011+07:00

I've been wearing this foundation 5 months now. It's been my safety net lately so I think it's only fair to give this foundation a proper review and share it's story.

Honestly whenever I hear the name NYX my mind instantly wonders about colorful products. Yup, I'm in love with their eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks but never really interested on their complexion products. That is, until they launched their HD lines. And as a camera whore, I'm a sucker for every foundation that promised flawless looking face in camera as well as in real life.

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Foundation gives you a high definition effect by covering the skin and a light diffusing effect. It also claimed to give a skincare benefits where it promotes collagen regeneration, reduces line and wrinkles and also skin rejuvenation.

Obviously I didn't purchased this for the skincare benefits. I don't even care about skincare benefits in my makeup (if any). So this review isn't going to cover that department. So let's call this product the way it is, which is a foundation and not a skincare.

As a foundation, this products claimed to give perfect coverage that makes it suitable for catwalk or sidewalk as written on the top and bottom of the box.

Packaging comes in a slim opaque bottle that's made of plastic. So no need to worried if you're a type of person who tends to drop things. It also has a pump (hallelujah!), a good controllable pump. It may look slim and small but you actually get more products inside which is 33mL where most foundations generally give you 30mL.

This foundation gives a light to medium coverage and it has a dewy finish. I really REALLY love the finishing of this foundation. It blends very well into my skin, looks like a second skin. It makes my skin looks flawless. I don't think my skin needs that much coverage right now, but I'll let you be the judge.

My skin is not perfect, I know. There are some acne scars that needs to be covered, redness that needs to be evened out as well as few bumps just because it's the time of the month. I don't think those are major and this foundation managed to conceal all those flaws. However if you have severe acne reaction or hyper pigmentation like my lovely undereye circle above, it will be more than this foundation can handle and a concealer might be required.

Below is my picture with the foundation on half of my face. Can you guess which part of my face covered with foundation?

Can you see? The right part of my face in this picture looks more even and it also appears more glowy compare to the left part. As I said earlier, this foundation has a dewy finish. It looks like a healthier version of my skin. Still, I highly recommend to set this foundation with powder since glow could easily mistaken as oily. For me, since I want to keep the glow, I only powdered my T-zone area which is the area where I get oily the most. Other thing to keep in my mind, considering this foundation is dewy already, I'd lay low on the highlighter. In fact, I ditch my highlighter everytime I'm wearing this foundation.

The performance of this foundation is another satisfaction. It lasts me for about 5-6 hours before I get extra shine on my nose. It even lasts longer is I spend my day in a cool weather.

My shade is Natural (03) which is a warm undertone although it's not as yellow as MAC Studio Fix Fluid. NYX's shade is slightly beige-y but it still in a warm undertone family. This shade matches me well despite the lack of yellow undertone in it.

I bought this foundation at NYX counter at Metro department store because I really wanted to find the perfect match and reduced the risk of picking the wrong shade from the internet. There are only 4 (or maybe 5?) shades available in the counter out of 8 shades, which can make finding your shade a little bit challenging. I was lucky enough that I found my perfect match.

Thanks to the bad lighting at the mall, I picked a wrong color the first time I purchased this foundation (Yup! I have two bottle of this). I picked Sand Beige (04) and it's too light for my skin.

The texture of this foundation is quite runny and it spreads so easily. My favorite tool to apply this foundation, other than my fingers, would be a sponge or a stippling brush. Basically you want to dab this foundation instead of swiping it. I don't recommend using a regular paddle brush, otherwise you'll be blending forever.

I can't say a lot about the "HD-ness" of this foundation, considering I have never been around any HD tools. But I love the appearance of this foundation on most pictures that I took with or without flash. This doesn't perform very well under minimal-lighting-and-harsh-flash-light, due to lack of yellow-ness in it (flash photography accentuate redness and yellow works to minimize the redness) but that's a rare case (like when I snap picture of me in the car at night). Other than that, I have no complain at all. I've been wearing this foundation pretty much everywhere, on casual as well as special occasion and I'm satisfied with the result, on and off camera.

This foundation retails for around IDR 285k at the counter. I know it's a little bit expensive, especially for NYX that's famous for affordable product. But it totally worth the price. Also you can purchase it at some online stores for around IDR150k, which is more affordable.

Here's some pictures of me wearing this foundation in different occasion. I believe you've seen some of it already.

All in all, I'm deeply in love with this foundation. And repurchase I will.

[Review] Sleek Oh So Special Palette

2011-07-30T02:55:00.016+07:00

After reading so many raved reviews about Sleek palettes, I decided to give this brand a try. I wasn't sure which palette I wanted to try first. I was browsing through Sleek website and decided to get their recently launched Oh So Special palette.

The palette comes with 12 eyeshadows consist of 7 mattes and 5 shimmers. The colors in this palette are mostly neutrals shade. Some leans towards warm but I can see this colors still suitable for cool skin tone as well, especially dark colors.

Packaging is a simple sleek black palette with a wearable mirror since it's pretty huge and also comes with a dual ended sponge applicator. I think the palette is quite convenient. Doesn't take up so much space so it will be great for traveling as well. Inside there's a plastic insert with the name of each eyeshadow written on it. My fisrt impression was, why do they have to put the names on the insert? I tend to loose all plastic inserts from all of my palettes. If I lost this one then I won't be able to tell the names of these eyeshadows anymore. Wouldn't be convenient, especially if I'm doing tutorial. But never mind, it's just a beauty blogger rant. Might not be something to sweat about unless you really care about the names of your make up stuff.

Top row: Bow - Organza - Ribbon - Gift Basket - Glitz - Celebrate
Bottom row: Pamper - Gateau - The Mail - Boxed - Wrapped Up - Noir

Here's the swatch of the eyeshadow. They are all swatched on my arm with no base.

L-R: Bow (matte) - Organza - Ribbon (matte) - Gift Basket - Glitz - Celebrate

L-R: Pamper (matte) - Gateau - The Mail (matte) - Boxed (matte) - Wrapped Up (matte) - Noir (matte)

Here's my thought on the individual eyeshadow. I'm not gonna go through each and every one of it, though.
Ribbon: This color is actually one color that lured me into buying this palette. I didn't own any peach eyeshadow like this before so I thought it will be a great addition to my collection. Unfortunately this color is the biggest disappointment in this palette. The texture is chalky and impossible to blend. I tried applying it wet, dry, with primer, without primer and end up with same uneven finish.

Pamper: This is another color that's pretty similar to Ribbon which is a lighter peach. It turns out a lot better in terms of quality. But the color is not special enough. It's also a bit pale to show up on me. So it's not working either.

Gateau: Another disappointment. It looks like a pretty lilac with gold flecks in the pan. But once applied, the lilac is nowhere to be seen. I end up with just gold shimmer. I can still wear it as highlight on my browbone or inner corner but still, it doesn't look that special anymore.

The Mail: I can't really say if this color disappoint me. It's just that I thought this color would be a great crease color but apparently this color doesn't show up in my skin, even with primer. I guess this would be great on lighter skintone. In the pan, this color kind of reminds me of MAC Cork, but I was wrong as Cork is noticeably darker than The Mail.

L-R: The Mail - MAC Cork - Boxed

Noir: This shade is amazing. I've never encountered such super rich matte black eyeshadow and this one really satisfied me. I also love wearing it to set my eyeliner.

Other colors, especially dark ones are great. They are very pigmented, buttery smooth and I notice very minimal amount of fall out. Exactly the kind of quality I expected from ALL the colors in this palette

All in all, I'm kinda disappointed that some of the interesting shades in this palette don't work. I usually wear light colors on the lid and darker color on the outer corner. But with most of the lid colors in this palette don't work for me, all I left with are just small selection of colors I can wear to create just another smokey look which makes this palette not oh-so-special anymore.

This might be another nice addition for my make up, just for the sake of trying a new brand. Thankfully I can still use more than half of the eyeshadows in this palette. But if you're pretty new to makeup and just started building your makeup collection, I'd say save your money and buy a better quality palette.

Make Up Tips from David Arbid

2011-07-21T17:44:00.009+07:00

Hey guys.

After a previous fun post, let's move on to a bit more serious topic. In this post I’m going to share with you what I got from Meet & Greet with David Arbid. You might find this post kinda boring since there'll be too many writings and not much pictures, which is totally the opposite of my other entries.

Honestly, I’ve never heard about David Arbid before. Little did I know, he is actually the international brand ambassador for Make Up Forever HD line. His job includes traveling from one country to another, presenting about MUFE HD line, tutoring make up artists or common people who are interested about make up, which includes bloggers. He works together with Dany Sanz, founder of Make Up Forever. If you are familiar with MUFE products and their HD line, I’m sure you have heard about their no-retouch campaign. David Arbid is actually one of the make up artists who worked for the advertorial. If you go to mufepro, which is Make Up Forever official youtube channel, there’s this video of David doing an interview about HD products. So that’s pretty much how big of a make up artist he is.

You see the red haired girl with a cheetah next to her? David did her make up.

The line itself has been around since 2008. In my opinion this event mostly is to share more information about makes up basics, in general. And also to learn more about their HD line.

The event started with Ina Balasong, Make Up Forever General Manager, welcome us. She was very glad to see how enthusiast the bloggers are. There are two events that were held on the day. The earlier session is for media and the later is for bloggers. I think bloggers here represent common people, who are not professional make up artist nor poeple who works in beauty industry, and later going to write and share stories about the products just because they like or dislike it.

First, David Arbid told us a little bit about the background of this line. Make up for cinema has come a long way, from those days where television can only provide black and white, where make up doesn't really play a big role, to higher and higher pixels cameras that accentuate all the flaws on your face and even unnatural make up. MUFE HD line was designed to deliver flawless looking skin and yet still look natural. Even now, camera is pretty much everywhere. Almost everybody has pocket camera and, not to mention, smart phones. People can take pictures anytime, anywhere. So HD line works not only for high definition camera, but also pocket camera and smart phones so you can look good anytime.

The are 3 steps.

Step one is hydration and smoothing the skin. This is where you prime the complexion using elixir and primer. You can use both or just one of those.
Step two is to add coverage for your face using foundation and concealer.
Step three is finishing step using blush and mineral powder.

Step One.

While working on the model, David used a regular foundation brush and a mixing palette. He started by applying elixir on the model's face.

He uses the brush the apply elixir that works as base for your make up and also moisturize your skin. It provides long lasting hydration to the skin, about 520% after 15 minutes and helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles on your face. You can keep the elixir in the fridge.

Step Two

The foundation works for any skin type. This oil-free foundation gives you a medium coverage with natural glowy finish. Again, he applied the foundation with the foundation brush. He told us to apply your foundation all the way to the neck to make your foundation looks well blended. Now, here's how he does it kinda differently. Well, at least different than how I usually apply my foundation. David applied a little product along the jaw and the neck and then, using his palm, he gently blend the foundation on the neck area.

David really emphasized the fact that foundation only works to cover. Which means, you have to have a good base and that is healthy skin. Make sure you take good care of your skin properly on daily basis to get the best result from your make up. Remember that foundation is not skincare. It's something you wear to accentuate what you already have, not something that will magically change you. Apparently this is an important point even David actually told us, "Please write this down on your blog" and that's what I'm doing. lol.

Concealer is applied after foundation. I know there are mixed opinion about whether you should apply your concealer before or after your foundation. But here's the logic, when you apply your foundation first, you can see areas that will need more coverage or not. If, with your foundation, you can already cover your under eye area, there's no need to apply concealer there. Therefore, you'll use less product on the face.

Another way to use the concealer, other than to conceal the imperfection, is to use it as a highlighter. That is, if you prefer a matte highlighter. Or if you want a shimmery finish, you can use their recently launched HD Uplight.

Step Three

HD blush has a matte finish. It works not only for your cheeks, but it's also safe to be worn on your lips as well as on the eyes.

This blush looks very natural and rather foolproof, it's almost impossible for you to fail wearing this blush. But, if you think your blush it too pigmented on your cheeks, all you have to do is dab a thin layer of foundation on top of the blush. If you think the blush is too matte and tacky, you can mix it with primer. And if you want shimmery finish, you can also mix it with Uplight.

The powder is what you use to set the whole make up. HD powder is a finely milled silica based powder that comes in one universal translucent shade to match all skin tones. Using MUFE kabuki brush is highly recommended to apply the powder.

David did mention ab0ut pictures of celebrity that came out few time ago. I'm sure you've seen pictures of Eva Longoria and Nicole Kidman with white cast all over their face. Well, that's the result when you don't use the powder properly.

Once the powder set on your face, remember to always sweep the excess powder from your face so you won't end up with white cast.

While the make over is in progress, the whole process was being recorded using video camera and being aired directly to an HD television, so we can see the result in real life as well is on TV. Honestly, in real life, I didn't really see the difference on the model's face, considering she has a flawless complexion already. But on TV I can see how glowy her skin looks. Really gorgeous.

Okay, I think that's all that I want to share with you about some tips from David Arbid. Excuse the super long post. Hope that would be helpful for you.

Anyway, here's what I got from the goody bag. Really can't wait to give them a try and I'll report back in this blog.

MUFE Blogger Event Meet & Greet with David Arbid (Picture Heavy!!!)

2011-07-20T22:31:00.017+07:00

Today Make Up Forever is having an event, which is a meet and greet with their international make up artist, David Arbid who is currently visiting Indonesia. They sent out an invitation about a week ago, stating that this is an event for beauty bloggers and I'm allowed to bring friends to the event.

I was really really excited. I have received some invitations from Makeup Forever before, but sadly the timing was never right. Imagine how happy I was when I received the invitation, knowing that this time I can actually attend the event. It's ecstatic!

The event was held at Diagonale Lounge, Plaza Senayan. Apparently, the whole place was booked for the event. So we had the place, just for us to have fun. Since I was allowed to bring friends so I asked my friend, Hanny, to come with me.

Pardon me because this is my very first time attending a meet and greet as a blogger so I was kinda unprepared. The only thing I have in my mind is to carry my camera without remembering how a blocknote and a frickin' pen would be essential! Oh God. I had to borrow a pen from the waiter and also asked him if he has a piece of paper. Speaking about rookie. Ugh!

Thankfully I had Hanny with me. I asked her to help me write down what David Arbid said, while I was busy taking pictures. She also helped me taking pictures with other fellow bloggers. So nice of her. I also asked my sis to come, unfortunately she was unavailable due to her hectic work schedule.

When we arrived at the lounge, the place was decorated with some MUFE products on display and also makeup station.

Ina Balasong, General Manager of Make Up For Ever Indonesia, is giving a small talk before the demo started.

David Arbid and the model before makeover.
Products used during make up demo.

Taking pictures with David Arbid. It was David's idea to pose as if he is doing make over on us. So we are sitting on the chair, with him next to us holding a brush. Everyone was doing the same pose, until Hanny stepped in. She really cracks me up sometimes.

Stella and Priscilla doing an interview for their blog.

My very first time meeting the bloggers. Imagine being surrounded with people who has the same passion as you. It was a blast. And they are so nice too! So glad to meet you, ladies.

Make Up Forever team with David Arbid. Thank you so much for the opportunity. More event like this, please?

Beauty bloggers with David Arbid. We definitely love this guy!
The bloggers from left to right: Priscilla, Desy, Nisa, Stella, Hanna, Susi, Me and Franky

Goody bag!

That was a real great experience to have a meet and greet held by a brand as big as Make Up Forever. And in my opinion, really is a great way to support local beauty bloggers as well as introducing their products to common people. After all, we bloggers, are not expert or whatever. We are just a bunch of people with passion and interest for make up.

So, thank you Make Up Forever Indonesia for holding this event and the adorable David Arbid for the time tutoring us, sharing tips, tricks as well as experience about make up. I'm gonna post David Arbid's tips and advice about make up in separate post. Because otherwise this is going to be a very long post. For other bloggers who wants to have the pictures without the watermark, please leave me a message and give me your e-mail address so I can contact you.

And a special shout out to our fellow blogger in Jogjakarta, Fifi. We are all agree that this event would be much more exciting if you were here. So, next time maybe?

Kontes "Vote Me" Trend Warna Sariayu 2011

2011-07-14T18:34:00.016+07:00

Sariayu, one of Indonesian make up brands, is currently holding a contest to create a makeup look based on their recently launched makeup collection called Exotic Indonesia.

A little bit about the collection, basically this collection is based on Indonesian traditional musical instruments. I have no idea what do people call these instruments in other countries, so I'll just show you the pictures and you name it. Here they are.

Left to right: Kecapi, Serunai, Sitar and Rebana

Each and every instrument represents different cultures in Indonesia, therefore this collection has four different themes.

Petikan Sitar Collection with 'Sensual Glaze' look

Alun Serunai Collection with 'Natural Spicy' look

Dendang Rebana collection with 'Romantic Dessert' look

Denting Kecapi collection with 'Oriental Misty' look

With these four interesting themes, to enter the contest, all you have to do is to create a make up look based on your own interpretation of one of the themes (but, then again, this contest is not limited to just one entry). Which, in my opinion, is a super fun idea!

I literally tried each and every themes before finally settled for one. Can you guess which one is it?

If you guessed PETIKAN SITAR, then you are so right. I mean, who am I kidding, I will always be the girl with earthy tones look. It's too bad the shimmer is a bit washed out in pictures. It's more shimmery in real life.

Now, this is where I'm gonna need your help. If you like the look that I created, do vote for me. Simply go to this page, sign in via your Facebook or twitter account and vote 5 stars.

This contest opens from June 10th to July 22nd 2011 so there's still time for you to enter. Simply go to http://trendwarna.sariayu.com/contest/ and upload your photo. You can even submit more than just one photos. They have some serious prizes too, like iPad, iPod Touch, Blackberry Gemini 8520 and merchandises from Sariayu. Even 5 lucky voters will get merchandise too.

So, what are you waiting for? Submit your creation now and good luck.

Pictures of Sariayu products and advertorial are taken from http://trendwarna.sariayu.com/

Half an Hour at Kota Tua

2011-07-05T22:31:00.007+07:00

There was this one day public holiday last week, so me and my little sister got really excited. We were planning what it is that we're going to do on that one particular day. I came up with this idea to go around Jakarta to some of the tourist spots we’ve never visited. National monument is actually the one I had on top of my head. And there are some museums near the monument that I thought we can visit too. And we also decided to add Kota Tua to the list of places we’re planning to visit.

Unfortunately, one day before holiday, I caught this stupid flu so our plan changed a bit. Well, a lot. Not only we woke up late, we also spent too much time in front of television watching E!. Oh, well.. So, say goodbye to National Monuments and the museums, we decided to go just to Kota Tua.

from Indonesia Travel Guide
“Kota Tua, Jakarta (Jakarta Old Town, also known as Old Jakarta or Old Batavia) is an area of Dutch colonization inheritance which was well-known as Batavia in the 17th century. At Kota Tua area you can see old buildings with architecture style influenced by the Dutch or European architecture style, Chinese and even some of them with combination of Dutch and Chinese architecture. Some of the old buildings at Kota Tua area occupied as museums by the governor of DKI Jakarta. Kota Tua is one of a very interesting place or area to visit when you travel to Jakarta since it’s a center of historical tourism object in Jakarta.”

This is one of the favorite spots for bride-and-groom-to-be to take prewedding pictures, especially if you’re going for that vintage romantic theme. Although, in my opinion, it’s getting really common to take pictures in this very spot, it’s getting boring and everyone end up with same pictures. Still, I intended to snap as much pictures as I could.

And apparently, about half of Jakartans had the same idea.

Yes, the place was really crowded. I mean, I expected the place to be crowded but I didn’t expect it to be this crazy jam-packed. Oh, how naïve were we. And I was pretty clueless about what to do there, other than snacking and shopping. There are quite large selections of food stall. And some booths selling anything from sunglasses, shirts, shoes to stuffed animals. It was kinda hard to snap pictures without poeple crossing into frame.

There are two museums in this area, Museum Wayang and Museum Bank Indonesia but those are closed on Sunday and public holiday (which got me into thinking, when people will ever visit museums if the museums are closed on days where family usually hang out together?). Kota Tua area is rather big, so you can rent a bike here. But since it was really crowded, riding bike would be pointless. So this totally explains the title of this post. With the heat from sun and the crowd and my flu getting worse, we only stayed for about half an hour at Kota Tua.

Some of the things you can do at Kota Tua, riding bike

Some of the bicycles for rent

Tried to catch the vintage feel from Kota Tua. Failed, apparently.

Here's my makeup on that day.

Products used:
Face
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
NARS Loose Powder
La Tulipe Blush no.09

Eyes
UDPP
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Slate
La Tulipe eyeshadow quad no. 03 & 14
NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Silver
MUFE Aqua Eyes in 0L
Maybelline Volum' Express Cat Eye Mascara
Revlon Colorstay Eyebrow Pencil

Lips
MAC Viva Glam Gaga 2 Lipglass

Anyway, I know it's getting boring to read only posts about FOTD lately. The thing is, I really want to do a video tutorials but my camera is really acting up nowadays, I don't understand why. It's getting better lately, that I'm able to take pictures again. But I'm not really sure if I can use it to record videos. Hopefully this will over soon.

So... How About an FOTD??

2011-05-11T15:45:00.009+07:00

Hi all you beautiful people!

Okay, I'm just gonna pretend as if I there was no long monthly gap between this post and the previous one. ( I was gonna say that I've been busy, but that started to sound a little too cliche).

Anyhoo, here's an FOTD that I came up with last Sunday. There was this family gathering, a semi formal one and it was held in afternoon so I decided to go for a not-so-dramatic-sort-of-natural look. Although nothing looks totally natural when you're wearing liquid foundation. And when with so many people not wearing make up around you, your makeup will always stands out. Yeah, that happens all the time in most of my family events but that never stop me from wearing so many make up. LOL.

Products used.
Face
Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer
NYX HD Studio Photogenic Foundation in Natural (03)
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
Everyday Minerals Concealer in Intensive Tan
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC40
Urban Decay Powder Blush in Score
NARS Laguna Bronzer

Eyes
UDPP
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
Too Faced Natural Eye Palette

Velvet Revolver
Erotica
Heaven

Stila Eyeshadow in Kitten
MUFE Aqua Eyes no.1L
Stila Smudge Pot in Little Black Dress
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus
Viva Eyebrow Pencil

Lips
MAC Lipstick in Cut a Caper
MAC Dazzleglass in Roman Holiday

I finally got my hands on Fyrinanne Pixie Epoxy. I was so excited about this product. This is only the second time I'm wearing this product and I think I made a mistake applying it underneath a matte eyeshadow. It supposed to work as a 'glue' for eyeshadows with shimmery and especially glittery finishes, so that you don't end up with eyeshadow and or glitters all over your face. But I think you can just skip Pixie Epoxy when you're wearing matte eyeshadows. As you can see, my crease color doesn't blend really well with my highlight color. Oh well, next time I'll do better.

And here's something that I don't usually do, I'll end this post with an OOTD.

Another Random Sunday

2010-12-05T14:40:00.010+07:00

Hello Beautiful People.

How are ya? I actually don't know what to write now. But I just feel like writing. So get ready for another random nonsense post.

First of, let's start with an FOTD that I came up with. Because if you've been MIA for so long, the right thing to do is to start this post with an FOTD. LOL. Plus being able to take pictures under natural lighting is not something I get to do everyday. Anyway this is just my make up to go to church. So, nothing extravagant.

Bad hair day alert! Gaahh!!

Close up of the eye makeup. I smeared mascara fibers along my upper lash line. As ugly as it looks like, in my defense, I was running late. LOL.

Love love love the lip color! Should wear this often.

On my way back from church I dropped by at Ikan Bakar Cianjur because I was helplessly craving for their infamous Grilled Gurame. I can finish a whole gurame all by myself when I'm hungry. Especially because their gurame is super delicious.

Picture taken from seputarsemarang.com

Before I left, I went to the restroom and met this old lady (Is it rude to call someone 'old'? She's somewhere around late 60 or so). I smiled at her as a polite gesture. She looked at me and said, "You're pretty. You're smile as well." Whoa?! It's always nice to get compliment from strangers. Hahaha..

Okay, products used for today....

On Face
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
Everyday Minerals Intensive Tan Concealer
NARS Albatross Highlight Powder
NARS Deep Throat Blush

On Eyes
Viva Eyebrow Pencil
Urban Decay e/s Underground on lid
NARS Laguna Bronzer on crease
NARS Albatross Highlighter on browbone
MUFE Aqua Eyes
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus

On Lips
CK Lip Pencil in Honest
Stila Lip Glaze in Star Fruit

I got a feeling that I almost run out of my Studio Fix Fluid, so I decided to wear it today. It'll be nice if I could finish at least one of my foundations.

Another thing, have you guys watched Burlesque? I'm not sure if it's out in theater yet. But I'm so excited to watch it. I always love Christina Aguilera.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is her first movie? She's one great singer. But we'll see how she acts.

Seriously, I don't know what else to write. Maybe I should put this post to an end.

So, happy Sunday everybody. Time to start another week. Have a great one!

Jessica Alba Inspired

2010-11-02T20:08:00.005+07:00

Just a quick post of my face of the day. This look is inspired by Jessica Alba in Revlon Colorburst ad. The look is pretty simple except for the vibrant red lips. In this ad, she's wearing Revlon Colorburst in Crimson.

For face, I use my Revlon Photoready Foundation in Medium Beige and Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Medium for my under-eye area. Since she doesn't seem to have any blush on, so I skip blush and apply NARS Laguna Bronzer. And then I lightly set my t-zone area with my NARS Loose Powder in Beach.

For the eyes, since her eyemakeup looks almost invisible, I just use some warm brown eye shadows for this look. I mix the browns from my Inez palette in Venice and Amsterdam for the lids and a little bit on the lower lashlines. I also skip eyeliner because the main focus should be the eyelashes. Unfortunately my lashes are not as long nor as many as hers. But I did curl my lashes first and then apply Maybelline Volum' Express Cat Eye Mascara. And then I fill my brows with Viva Eyebrow Pencil.

And for the lips, of course Revlon Colorburst in Crimson.

So that's Jessica Alba's simple look. Hope you enjoy!

Fun and Yummy Bath Time With Cussons Bath Jelly

2010-11-02T20:01:00.004+07:00

Having a very dry and sensitive skin, you'll often find me browsing for baby soaps. I've been using baby soaps since I can't remember. My dermatologist told me so. She also told me not to shower with hot water.

The thing with baby soap is that it's usually in a mild formula so it won't irritate your skin. Plus, it's more moisturizing and has less foaming agents. That's why it's a great option for super dry and sensitive skin.

I'm not complaining at all. It's just that, most of the time, I don't feel like I have that many options. I've been using Johnson & Johnson for years. It's a great option for me but using the same shower gel for years is bo-o-o-o-ring. Now I'm a type a girl who loves to enjoy every single minute of my bath time, either showering or bubble bathing. I do use various The Body Shop shower gels sometimes. But yeah, speaking about baby soap, I wish there were more fun options out there. It would be fun if there's like a LUSH shop for babies. Pretty sure I'll be the first customer even though I have no baby.

Couple weeks ago, I was going to buy another refill of my Johnson & Johnson, when my eyes caught this bath jelly. It's Cussons First Years Bath Jelly.

Yup, it's jelly form soap. It's too cute, I decided to buy it. It comes in a pink-purple jar. And it's really a jelly inside. So here's how the inside looks like.

It's a fanta-colored jelly. With a fresh strawberry scent. It smells sooooo yummy! No more boring bath time with this! Pretty much, just take a handful blop of the jelly and then run it all over your skin.

Since this comes in a jar packaging, sometimes, if you don't take enough jelly then you have to put your foaming hand in to the jar and create a bubbly mess. Not really a big problem for me, though. Besides, what's the point of having a bath jelly if you didn't get to touch it directly with your hands?!

And just like another baby soaps, it takes a bit longer to rinse it which is a part of the non-drying effect. Not that it's a downfall, just something you should put into consideration.

This is my second jar already. It retails around IDR 15000. Last time I was at Hypermart, it was on sale for IDR 11000, so I bought three jars for back up.

Seriously, even if you don't have skin issues like mine, definitely give this a try. Even if you have no toddlers, this could be something YOU can enjoy.

As Chandler Bing said, get ready for the gelatinous fun!!

My Short Vacation to Jayapura (Picture Heavy!!!)

2010-10-31T13:52:00.016+07:00

So here's the reason behind my absence.

I was lucky enough to get some free days so, together with lovely boyfriend, I went to Jayapura. This is the city where I spent 7 years of my childhood here, before went back to Jakarta for high school and college, up until now. My family moved here on 1994 and my parents still live here.

Here's some pictures from my short vacation.

Base-G Beach
After 7 hours flight from Jakarta, me and boyfriend arrived in Jayapura early morning at October 24th. We went to Base-G beach that afternoon. The beach is about 10 minutes from my house. Fortunately, the weather was great that day.

It's blue everywhere. Gorgeous!

With boyfriend

Little sister arrived few days early

The Second Day
The next day, since we woke up a bit too late, we didn't have that many time to spend. We went to this little store that sells genuine crocodile leather. Boyfriend bought some wallets and belts for him and some as souvenirs.

Papua, or Merauke, to be exact, is famous for crocodile leather. Unfortunately, they don't have qualified designers so even though they have various bags, wallets, purses etc, their design looks rather boring. But then again, I've never been a fan of leather stuff, anyway.

Tablanusu Beach
Another beach that we went to is Tablanusu beach. Now this is the first time I went to this beach. It's about 2,5 hours from home. Woohoo... It's weird that we went through hills along the way. No water in sight. I started to doubt that we're going to a beach. Until, near the end of the trip, I saw this gorgeous scenery ahead of me. As weird as it sounds, it's a beach surrounded with hills.

View from the top.

McArthur Monument, Ifar Gunung.
I really want to take boyfriend to McArthur monument. Unfortunately, we arrived a little bit late. Apparently, it's a monument from World War II where American General Douglas MacArthur once arrived. And................ okay, excuse my lack of history knowledge.

The monument placed in a military area, at the top of Ifar Gunung.

Here's boyfriend posing in front of the gate. We were just a couple minutes late. Gahh!

So we took picture around the area. Here's the infamous Sentani Lake in the background.

And that line on the right of the picture is the runway of Sentani Airport.

Another picture of the lake. Taken from a restaurant on the lake side.

RSUD JAYAPURA
On our last day, my dad asked me and boyfriend if we want to go to the hospital. There were some minor surgeries he had to do. We thought, why not? My dad is an ophthalmologist, by the way.

Boyfriend taking picture with landscape of the city in the background

What we do when we're home? I just found out that there's a mini billiard at home. So this is what we do every night after dinner.
Boyfriend is surprisingly very good when it comes to billiard. Apparently, he used to skip school to play billiard. Really, boy.. not cool.

So that's the end of my short vacation. Now it's time to go back to reality *sigh*.

2010-10-16T23:48:00.001+07:00

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More For My Lips!

2010-09-29T21:23:00.021+07:00

When I first started doing make up, lipstick, lipgloss and everything for lips were my last interest. Just because, it's the only thing from your make up that will fade and gone by the middle of the day. You can use lip primer, you can wear long lasting lip color, once you have your lunch, then that is it for your lipstick.

Well.. those days are long gone.

Now that I'm turning into this make up junkie (I tried to stop, believe me!), I feel like I gotta have everything for every parts of my face. D'oh..

Anyway, here's what I purchased lately. And I realized that they are all lip products. I've been hearing a lot about the latest Revlon Colorburst and decided to give it a try. I didn't know what possessed me when I picked fuchsia color. But I've been wanting to try bright colors. One of the girls in Fashionesedaily wears fuchsia lips in her FOTD and convinced me that it'll look great and can be wearable too. My rule is, if I wanna try color which I'm not sure whether I'm gonna like it or not, I never go with high end brand. If I end up not liking it, it'll be a waste. Luckily, Colorburst line carries fuchsia color so I decided to buy it. It's in the name, "Fuchsia".

Another color that I got is "Crimson", which is a classic red, since I'm currently in the hunt for the perfect red lipstick. There are actually other reds in this collection and they are "True Red" and "Ruby". I swatched those two but the two colors didn't look red enough for me. Especially "Ruby", it has too much pink in it. "Crimson" is a warm red color and really suits my undertone.

Here's how the colors look like on my lips. See? Even the "Fuchsia" doesn't look that scary.
I wanted to get another colors from this line but nothing looks special enough. They all look like every colors you've seen before. So I got nothing other than those two. Period.

I also dropped by at Maybelline counter when I saw this pretty coral gloss. It's Watershine Liquid Pearl in "Spicy Coral". I've been looking for coral gloss just because I realized I didn't have any. I didn't even bother to swatch this on my lips because that'll be pointless. This gloss doesn't work alone. You need to layer it on top of lipstick. Wear it alone and you'll have nothing but shimmer on your lips.

For this next item, I didn't purchase it. I took it from my mom's make up pouch she left in her vanity. It's MAC Plushglass in "Ample Pink". You see, browsing through my mom's vanity really frustrates me. She has a lot of great stuff and she never really cares about them. I saw this plushglass still full and, hello, covered with dust. To be fair, my mom doesn't really care about make up. Some people have to save money for weeks or months to buy all the stuff she has (hint: her daughters) and she just ignores whatever make up that she has.

You think dust covered plush glass is the worst? I once saw a shedding MAC 129 brush. It didn't even look round anymore, more like a triangle. How did it end up like that, you might ask? Well. she pushed the brush to her cheeks until the bristles spread and the handle touches her cheeks, and then swirl it. Err.. But yeah, that's mommy. She is more of a bag person. For her, make up is necessary but she doesn't need high end brands make up. And if you find some high end brands make up in her stash, that's because some people convinced her that she'll need those. And that some people could either be her oldest sister or, well, me.

Anyhoo, Ample Pink is a warm mauve-ish pink. It's a little more pigmented than regular lip glosses. But it looks prettier when layered on top of lipstick. I put it on top of my MAC Kinda Sexy lipstick and they look so pretty together. And it has a stinging feeling (pretty sure why mom never wears this) which suppose give you that plumped lips. That might feel uncomfortable for some poeple. But I don't really have problem with that.

As for these Sephora glosses, my little sister just got back from Europe and got me these. Sephora was having sale and she bought some glosses, eyeliners and stuff. And she was, like, "Okay, pick items that you want and the rest are for our cousins." So I picked two glosses. The one in "Silver Toupe" (no.17), which is a shimmery champagne nude color and the other one is "Glitter Fuchsia" (no.23), described as fuchsia with pink and diamond glitter. I tried the "Silver Toupe" right away. The colors look so pretty on lips. And apparently, little sister thought so too. So what happened next, she took the other Silver Toupe which, you know, suppose to be for our cousins. LOL!

The other two that I picked, which are in tinier tubes, are plumping lip gloss. This has stinging sensation as well. My sister tried it on and removed it once the gloss started to sting. See? Not everybody can't stand lip plump. Anyway, I tried it but I wasn't sure if this gloss actually makes my lips look fuller. Maybe later I should ask other people's opinion.

Quick Take on Taman Sari Papaya Enzyme Shower Gel

2010-09-28T22:38:00.008+07:00

Honestly, I've never heard about Taman Sari before. But then I looked at the manufacturer, and apparently it's another product from Mustika Ratu. And this is actually an impulse buy. I saw it next to the other Mustika Ratu products. It has "Javanese Formula" written on the tube and to me it is associated with all natural ingredients from a long long time ago and suddenly the image of princesses from Javanese Keraton appeared in mind. And I was sold. I know, I'm weird like that. I can't believe I'm telling you this. And I'm not even Javanese descendant.

This shower gel has scrub particles in it. But the particles are so soft so it won't dried your skin. Another plus, this shower gel doesn't contain Sodium Laureth Sulfate (surfactants that act as foaming agents) which is good, not only for your skin but also for environment.

I'm not gonna lie, though. I LOVE foam in my soap and shampoo. They make me feel 'clean'. So using a shower gel that doesn't foam cause to me use more products than I originally use to spread it to my arms and legs. I only used it for three times and I end up with two-third of the product left inside the tube. With price around IDR30000, this shower gel feels kinda pricey. But as a product, I think this shower gel is doing a really good job.

Another thing, I love the papaya smell! And it lingers too. On my skin, and in my bathroom.

Indonesian Beauty Haul

2010-09-28T21:45:00.009+07:00

Lately I've been really into some Indonesian brands. I guess not having that many make up counters around makes me look in some places I've never looked before. I've been reading about Viva and Mustika Ratu skin care and decided to give it a try. So here's what I got from my last visit to Hypermart. Mostly skincare.

Taman Sari Papaya Enzyme Shower Gel
Lulur Kocok Seruni
Viva Cucumber Astringent
Viva Air Mawar
Viva Skin Food
Viva Bengkoang Face Mask
Sariayu Masker Jerawat

And of course I dropped by at makeup counters to get me these.
PAC Loose eyeshadow "Sexy Bronze"
La Tulipe Quad no.19
LT Pro Single eyeshadow no.06

I've tried some of the skincare and liking it so far. Really can wait to get back at you with some reviews.

My Take On Pin Up Look Make Up

2010-08-29T02:29:00.011+07:00

It seems like every beauty bloggers and vloggers have their own pin up make look. I figured I'll make one myself too.

Basically, I'm playing with neutral colors for my eyes. And add heavy, winged eyeliner. And of course, it'll never be a pin up look without that bright lips as the center of the attention.

Be sure to check out the tutorial.

Products used.
On eyes.
Revlon Colorstay Concealer
Stila e/s "Kitten"
Urban Decay e/s "Baked"
Urban Decay e/s "Twice Baked"
MAC e/s "Brule"
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil "Zero"
MUFE Aqua Eyes 23L
Maybelline Volum' Express Mascara
Lancome Liner Design "Noir Sensuel"
Revlon Eyebrow Pencil "Dark Brown"

On cheeks.
MAC Mineralized Blush "Cheek and Cheerful"

On Lips
CK Lips Definition "Honest"
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss "Cherries In The Glow"
NYX Lips "Snow White"

And.. a little bit about me and my life. Life's been pretty hectic for the last couple weeks lately. As you guys probably knew already, I'm studying medical as an co-assistant in the hospital. And last month, I was in the anesthetic cycle, which means, I had to spend every single day for 5 weeks in the surgery room, studying about anesthetic. I was too tired every day. Like, everytime I went home, the only thing I'd want to do is sleep. But, as hectic as it was, I had really great 5 weeks. Altogether with my friends. It was super fun and I found that I actually enjoy spending my days in the surgery room. Weird, huh?

What I do every day, first thing in the morning.
Preparing the premedication drugs.

The Anesthetic Machine
I suppose to put my mask on. EVERYTIME. Where is that, by the way?!

Anyway, now that anesthetic cycle is over. I'm currently in obstetric & gynecology cycle. Since this is one of the major cycles (there are 5 major cycles/ specialties in medical discipline and they are ob/gyn, pediatric, general surgery, internal medicine and family practice) , that means I'll be spending 10 weeks in this cycle, and next Monday would be my third week in this cycle.

I just realized that I don't share that many stories about my life and my school. I just don't wanna bore you with all the stories. But I think it's nice that once in a while you get to know the person behind all those foundations and powders. Well, I hope I could update this blog as often as I could. After all, this is my sweet escape.

PS. In case you're wondering: No, I don't wear make up to the hospital.

Queen Look (feat. Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland BOS)

2010-06-27T20:44:00.006+07:00

Here's another look I created using my Urban Decay Book of Shadow. No pictures tutorial, guys. Sorry about that.

Products used

on face:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC37
NARS Loose Powder in 'Beach'
Everyday Minerals blush in 'Game Show'

on eyes:
Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland BOS
'Muchness' (X)
'Vorpal' (S&M)
'Queen' (Last Call)
MAC eyeshadow in 'Brule'
Stila Kajal Line in 'Onyx'
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner
Viva eyebrow pencil

on lips
NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in 'French Kiss'
NYX Round Lipstick in 'Cocoa'

Absolem Look (feat. Alice In Wonderland BOS)

2010-06-05T22:24:00.010+07:00

So, here's my first tutorial ever, using my Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Book of Shadow.

First, apply 'Absolem' allover lid. Make sure you don't go all the way to the crease.

And then, using a pencil brush, take 'Mad Hatter' and apply it on crease. Doesn't have to be neat, though. We'll go back to that color later.

Apply 'Drink Me, Eat Me' on browbone area for highlight.

Back to that 'Mad Hatter' again, now add more color and build it upward. Blending it with the highlight color.

'Jabberwocky' for the outer part of the lid. Drag it upward, an blend it to the outer part of the crease.
Add 'Drink Me, Eat Me' to highlight the tearduct area. And sweep 'Mad Hatter' on the lower lashline, in between the lashes.
In the end, it suppose to look pretty much like this
Look how shimmery all these colors are...

And the final look...

By the way, here's another way to wear this look.

Product used
on face

Revlon Photoready Foundation in Medium Beige
Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Medium
MAC Mineralized Blush in Fab-dabulous
Stila Sun Bronzing Powder

on eyes

Urban Decay eyeshadow in

Absolem (Homegrown)
Mad Hatter (Twice Baked)
Drink Me, Eat Me (Sin)
Jabberwocky (Oil Slick)

Urban Decay Liquid Liner in Smog

on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in Rea

and for the red lips

NYX Lips in Snow White
REvlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Cherries In The Glow

Review on Benefit Lip Plump

2010-05-12T22:00:00.004+07:00

Benefit Lip Plump is Benefit's idea of a lip primer. It claimed to be a primer for full and sexy lips. This primer gives a smooth base for full, voluptuous, sexy lips and help lip color stay on longer

By the way this lip primer has been sitting in my train case for quiet some times. I got it on my holiday to Europe, last July. And I haven't used it until these last couple of weeks. I remember this Lip Plumps comes with a "how-to" note, just like any other Benefit products. But of course I lost it already.

The packaging is a tube that comes with a wand. Just like a lip gloss usually looks like. So you can just dot the primer directly to your lips. Honestly, I always love this kind of packaging although I know some people might think that a tube like this could be unsanitary.

As for the primer itself, it's a creamy, neutral-tone color primer. Apply about one or two dots of this primer on each of your lips. Blend it. Wait a while until it's dry, then start apply your lipstick.

My first take when I first applied this lip primer, it does erase my natural lip lines. Which is a good thing because I have pigmented lip lines that usually visible even if I have lipstick on. Especially sheer ones. But I notice that this lip primer accentuates my fine lines inside my lips, that makes me look like I have super dry lips. Well, that's unpleasant.

It turns out, this lip primer doesn't absorb into lips. It stays creamy on my lips. So when I apply my lipstick, it feels like mixing your lipstick with a lighter color. Unlike eye primer that supposed to make eyeshadow looks more vibrant, this lip primer makes your lipstick color looks lighter. And that means you have to apply more pigments to get the actual color of your lipstick. I try to apply my lipstick directly form the tube and with a brush, and both give me similar results. Same thing happen when I do my lip liner. So that makes lipstick application twice longer.

Once I have my lipstick on, I notice no plumping effect whatsoever. And this lip primer does nothing to help my lipstick stays on longer. I have the same result with or without primer. My lipstick eventually fades in the middle of the day. This primer does help prevent dryness on my lips, though. I put this on under my Revlon Superlustrous that usually doesn't just dry on my lips but also literally dried my lips. With this primer, I notice no dry feeling. But it's the same effect I can get from my drugstore lip balm.

So, to sum up, this lip primer does no bad effects on me as well as it does nothing for my lipsticks. It's a shame though, considering how pricey this primer is. I don't mind to keep using it but definitely will not repurchase.

Graduation Day (Picture Heavy)

2010-05-04T22:01:00.010+07:00

I went back to Jakarta last Thursday, since Saturday was my Graduation Day. I was so excited!

Me in the graduation robes. Green is the color of Medical Faculty.

Me and family getting ready before going to my graduation ceremony. All the ladies in kebaya. Pretty, huh?

Here's the hood. It's kinda Superman-like. Looks kinda weird tho, IMO.

And boyfriend was there too. He even took a day off from the hospital, so sweet of him.

My dad took this picture. It's supposed to be me when I received my certificate. But it went blurry. Oh well..

Me and family after the ceremony.
By the way, that red tube that supposed to be "my certificate" was actually empty. Haha.. It was of course just as a symbol.

After the graduation ceremony, me and family went to photo studio to take pictures. It's kind of a tradition. Although not every family do this. But hey, a thing like this, it doesn't happen twice.

Before we reached the studio, we dropped by at a coffee shop next to the photo studio for snacks. It was really embarrassing, walking around the coffee shop with my graduation robes. But I was still gonna wear it for the photo shoot and taking it off wasn't a practical thing to do. Especially with the hat pinned to my hair.

It takes about a month and a half until I can see the results of the pictures. So all the pictures above were taken by our own camera.

Afterward, we went for dinner at Ritz Carlton. The one in SCBD. And oh man, the place was breathtaking. It has the view of Jakarta. Seriously ladies, it's a great place to be proposed if you like romantic settings. Haha.. And the food was great too!

And that was the end of the day.

And of course I will not end this post without listing the products I used *wink*

On face
* MUFE HD Foundation #128
* Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Medium
* NARS Loose Powder in Beach
* MUFE Shimmering Powder
* MAC Powder Blush in 'Margin'

On eyes
* UDPP
* La Tulipe eye shadow quads
* VIVA Eyebrow Pencil
* Lancome Liner Design
* Stila Kajal Liner in Onyx
* Falsies

On lips
* Revlon Superlustrous Lipstick in 'Almost Nude'
* Revlon Creme de la Chrome in 'Gilt Complex'

And our kebaya are from 'Kebayaku by Indah'. She's a highly recommended tailor! Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Tutorial on My Birthday Look

2010-04-23T22:46:00.012+07:00

I know my birthday is sooooo yesterday. But then I remember that I haven't show you the close up of the look I did. So, I decided to do a tutorial as well.

First, I'm gonna need a black base. I use Stila Kajal Liner in 'Onyx'. Apply it on my lid and then blend it. By the way, boyfriend walked in when I was doing this step and he was, like, "Whoa! Is that because we're going to a jail-themed restaurant?!" LOL!

This is how it looks like after you blend it. Take a little bit of it and blend it upward to the crease

Next, I apply Urban Decay Deluxe eye shadow in 'Underground' on top of 'Onyx'

Apply crease color, which is Urban Decay Deluxe eye shadow in 'Honey'

MAC 'Carbon for the outer corner

Drag 'Carbon' to the outer half of the lower lash line

Don't forget to add eye liner on your upper lash line and lower tight line

And the final look...

[Review] My HG Foundation Brush

2010-04-18T10:02:00.012+07:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! How’s your Sunday doing? It’s a lazy Sunday for me. I have to wake up early for six days a week, Sunday is my only sweet escape. Nothing beats snuggling up under my bed cover and sleep until noon. Anyhow, I didn’t sleep till noon. I slept at eleven last night and woke up at nine this morning. Now that’s one long beauty sleep.

Okay, sorry for rambling on and on. Let’s just continue to my review.

Have you found your foundation brush yet? I mean like, your HG one? I tried a stippling brush before. And I’m not a fan. It was okay, but not great. I think the pixelated bristles that suppose to give that ‘airbrushed’ look make foundation application feels never ending. When I do my make up using the stippling brush, I’m always the last one who gets out of the house along with mom’s voice yelling at me to hurry up! Plus, I don’t see any airbrushed look whatsoever.

As for paddle brush, still not a fan. Back when I had only stippling brush and paddle brush, I always reached for paddle brush. It’s denser than stippling brush so at least I could apply my foundation faster. But it makes my foundation kinda streaky. So I have to, either make short strokes or, go back to back to the part I’ve applied my foundation on, and fix it.

The first time I laid my eyes on Stila Double Duty Cheek and Contour Brush, in my heart I KNEW that this will be a great match for my foundation. It was like…. Magic (yes, I’m quoting Sleepless in Seattle, in case you’re wondering. I’ve watched the movie for like a gazillion times). I mean, look at the dense bristles, I bet that’ll help spread my foundation in no time.

You’re probably wondering about the name. But you know what Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose; By any other name would smell as sweet." According to Sephora, “A corner edge applies color precisely beneath the cheekbone for a contoured cheek look. The flat circular top of the brush puts cheek color down on top of the cheekbone in one sweep.”

After contemplating for some times, I finally decided to purchase this brush at Sephora Hong Kong. And no regret! As I thought, I love how dense the bristles are. The brush helps transfer my foundation on my face with just the tiniest amount of it. When I use this brush, I love to pat the foundation in a quick motion, instead of swirling it, to give me that full coverage. The bristles of the brush are at the perfect length. They don’t bent on your skin and gives you more control. The bristles do shed a little the first time I washed it (I always wash brushes I just bought, before I use it). But that’s it.

Other than liquid and powder foundation, this brush also great for applying loose or compact powder (although I rarely use powder these days) and I use this for my mineral make up. This brush is multitasking when it comes to complexion!

As for what this brush is intended to, blush brush and contouring, I find the top of the brush is way too big for my cheeks. It smeared color all over the places I need no blush on. And do you know how hard it is to contour using the edge of a flat top brush? That being said, I’m gonna skip this brush when it comes to applying blushes and contouring.

The only downside of this brush, I think, that this is so overpriced. This brush sells for US$45. I bought it for HK$420 (times Rp1200), considering that this is a China made brush. I really have to save up to buy this.

But still, I’m glad I have this brush. It’s my one and only foundation brush now.

[Review] Viva Eyebrow Pencil

2010-04-07T22:43:00.011+07:00

I can't believe I've been using this eyebrow pencil for all this time and haven't even reviewed it yet. I'm talking about my Viva eyebrow pencil. As you can probably tell, I use this in all of my FOTDs, since I started wearing eyebrow pencil. Which is quite recent.

Viva is an Indonesian make up and skincare line. And Viva eyebrow pencil is something most make up artists would recommend. This eyebrow pencil comes in two shades, black and brown. I bought mine in brown, since my eyebrows are pretty thick already, black eyebrow pencil will look to harsh on my face.

Now let's sing my praises about this pencil. I've been using it for quite a while and I really love the consistency of this pencil. It's soft, so it won't hurt your skin but not that soft so you won't transfer too much color and you don't have to sharpened it too often. So even the pencil is kinda skinny, still, it'll last for a long time. The staying power is great and it's waterproof too. With all of those quality, this pencil sell for only Rp13000 (the last time I bought it, around last year). It's about $2, convert it to USD. Seriously in love with this pencil!

Talking about the packaging, it's a tacky orange colored pencil. Honestly it looks kinda cheap (well, it is). But I don't really mind that as long as this pencil doing a good job coloring my eyebrows. But one thing I really hate about this pencil, you can't easily get this in random department stores or super markets. If I wanna restock, I have to go to these small make up stores in traditional markets. A place I really hate to go to.

But other than that, I have no complaint. Quality wise, this eyebrow pencil is great. I know there are lots of expensive high quality eyebrow pencils out there, but what's the point of buying the expensive one if the cheap one could give the same result.

Here are the swatches of the pencil in brown.

So if you live in Indonesia and you haven't have this eyebrow pencil. Seriously, go ahead and get one. Careful with the fake ones, though (yes, there are fake Viva eyebrow pencil in the market, that's what I read).

Hope this review helps. I really should write more reviews about Indonesia brands. We have lots of great stuff here!

Happy Easter, People..

2010-04-04T13:07:00.010+07:00

Happy Easter everyone. How do you celebrate your Easter? This is my first Easter where I don't have anyone around.Boyfriend just got back to Jakarta. So I went to church all alone. Sad, me.

Just to remind you, this is going to be a totally random post. I have nothing to do around the house, so I turned on my computer and start twittering, blogging, youtubing and all that jazz.

Here's my today's look. Just a simple look to go to church. I don't wanna wear too heavy make up, so I ditched my foundation today. Oh! And finally I got a chance to take pictures under natural lighting. I took this picture in my car, on my way to church while waiting for the traffic light.

I put on my Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Medium on my under eyes for this look. No matter how simple my make up is, concealer is always a must for me. If you have my under eye circles, you'll understand why. And then I applied Everyday Mineral Semi Matte Base in Olive Medium. It's light to medium coverage, you can still see my blemishes here and there, but that's the point. The mineral base evens out my skintone without making it looks masky. It looks more natural. I used MAC Mineralized Blush in Fab-Dabulous for this look.

For my eyes, I applied Urban Decay Primer Potion first even though I'm not gonna wear eyeshadows. But applying eye primer helps reduce oil on your lids. That way, your eyeliner will stay put. I don't bother wearing primer when I have no eyeliner on. I still wanted to make my eyes stand out, so I lined my upper tight lines and lash lines with my Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes no. 0 and then layered it with my Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner. I winged my eyeliner because that's an easy way to drives people attention to your eyes, plus for me, it makes my eyes look wider, which I love. Then I added Stila eye shadow in Kitten to highlight my browbone and inner corner of my eyes. And of course, shaped my eye brows using my favorite, VIVA eyebrow pencil.

For a second I was thinking about putting on red lipstick and copy Dita Von Teese's look. But I didn't think I have enough confidence to wear red lipstick for everyday look. I still need some time to get used to it. So right now I'm saving my red lipstick for formal occasion only. Haha.. Anyway, I put on my NYX Round Lipstick in B52 instead.

On my way back home, I bought a new shampoo. I have seriously dry to damaged hair, due to permanent straightening. Have you ever heard about Kadus Imunal? Well, I haven't. But the sales lady gave me this when I asked her for a great shampoo to fix dry hair. I also bought two sachets of hair mask from the same brand jut to try it first. Hopefully these things really work and I'll let you know.

Another thing, I learned to shaped eyebrows. And I did it on my boyfriend's eyebrows. Yes, he went through all the plucking and survived. LOL. You can see his 'before' eyebrows on my previous entry, and here's the 'after'.

Not bad, eh? And to my surprise, he liked it! He said the eyebrows shape gives him the 'eagle eyes' look. LOL. Whatever dear, just as long as you like it. I told him to keep his eyebrows in that shape until my graduation day, so it'll look good in pictures. He said yes, but I can't really picture him going to a salon to get his eyebrows shaped. I dunno..

Anyway, this is the end of this entry. Told ya this is gonna be so random. LOL. Thanks for reading, by the way.