Month: January 2017

NEW LOCAL BRANDS: VOTRE PEAU & FÉRNANDO

I don’t know about you, but I always feel safe when I tried new skincare products that created by well-known dermatologist. I met dr. Kevin Maharis at one of the beauty event last year, and great to know that he and his brother, dr. Ricky (also a dermatologist) launched VOTRE PEAU & FÉRNANDO. 

If you go to their website, you can see that currently they don’t have too many products yet. But from the look of the packaging (I love the illustration) and the quality of the products, I am pretty sure this local Indonesian brand will bloom soonest. 

They sent me four products, two skincare and two liquid lipsticks to try. 

VOTRE PEAU VITAMIN C SERUM

One of their best selling product, this serum is an anti-oxidant to be used before everything else. My first impression: a very nice non-sticky serum, easily absorbed and didn’t leave any strange glow or shimmer on skin. I love it already! Comes in pump bottle and thick gel texture. The grapefruit scent is not over-powering, and I can’t wait to see my skin getting better using this. They claimed it can reduce the appearance of dark-circles under the eyes area, too. I’ll update you guys on this matter.

VOTRE PEAU BRIGHTENING SPRAY SAKE ESSENCE

Yes, Sake. Apparently, sake contains kojic acid which will delay pigmentation and brighten the skin. They claimed that this is safe for sensitive skin and no side-effects, even if we use it several times daily. Comes in spray bottle and matte watery texture, this actually have no scent. First impression: very refreshing, and sprayed evenly. And like the serum, it didn’t leave any stickiness or any greasy feeling. 

FÉRNANDO MATTE LIP CREAM 

They sent me two shades to try: RUSSIAN ROULETTE & SPICE ROUTE. Love the glamorous packaging which reminds me a bit of KYLIE. First impression: when I swatched on my hand, they dried fast and I have to use cleansing oil to wipe them off. Long live longevity, indeed!

Russian Roulette is red coral-ish. It’s a very bold red, which I believe will be in this year. Bye bye nude! 

Spice Route is a dark mauve. An everyday must-have if you’re not a big fan of red shades. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

REVIEW: GAYA SPA WELLNESS, JAKARTA

Indonesians love Body Massage, me included.

Lucky us, spa treatment here is more affordable than the rest of the countries in the world I’ve visited in my life. And their treatments are much better, IMHO.

For us, Jakartans, just seating down in a car, (or worse) driving the car, can wreck havoc to our body, because of the darn traffic. So…yeah…we need spa treatment every weekend. And guess what? This specific spa treatment in GAYA SPA JAKARTA is recommended to do once a week. And it only took us 60 minutes to do so.

They do have lots of traditional massages, from Java to Sumatra and Sulawesi, but last week I went there to try their TRADITIONAL BODY MASSAGE TREATMENT: a deeper layer massage using thumbs and long strokes, which claimed to help release muscle tension and improve blood circulation.

When I entered the spa, it was really quiet, such a contrast with all the construction that happened outside (because it’s located on a really crowded street). SInce they’re using Spa Essentia products, we can see a whole array of the products on display. 

My room which named Martup is the couple’s room, it was huge with a separate shower and bathtub. 

First thing, foot bath with flowers and essential oil. Very relaxing first step before the body treatment. 

My therapist, Lili used her gentle yet powerful strokes with warm essential oil for the massage which felt heavenly. After the treatment, she recommended not to take a bath at least an hour after the treatment, because my pores were open due to the massage. She offered warm towel wipes, but I decided to let it be and went around afterwards with massage oil on my skin LOL. Luckily, it didn’t feel as sticky as I thought. 

After the treatment was done, the therapist brought your choice of hot drink to the room. I opted for their ginger tea which tasted really good.

This is a nice place to visit for traditional spa treatments, the ambience supported the feel and the whole treatment was heavenly. I’ll be back for sure to try their other treatments.

Remember to call first before your treatment to do reservation. Visit their website here for more infos. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

THIS VALENTINE …

….. give different kind of roses. 

Enter ….. DIPTYQUE ROSA MUNDI. 

For this Valentine’s Day collection, Diptyque collaborated with Antoinette Poisson, famous illustrators known as creator and restorer of Domino Paper. You see, domino paper aka decorated paper reached their peak in the 18th century and used to cover books, boxes and wall. Antoinette designed two exclusive motifs for Diptyque Rosa Mundi, one floral and one geometrical to wrapped this whole collection. The name Rosa Mundi was inspired by the forbidden love story between King Henry II of England and his mistress, Rosamund Clifford. She was famed for her beauty and often called “Rose of the World”. It was quite a scandalous legend, as she died because King Henry II’s Queen, Eleanor poisoned Rosamund. After she passed away, King Henry II still put roses (known as the flower of love) on her grave. 

Back to now …. the aim of this fragrance is to bring back the diversity of scent of roses in bloom. The rose from Damascus, the Damascene, is harvested in May in the mountains of Ispartha in Turkey; the May rose, Centifolia, known as the hundred-petalled-rose due the profusion of the latter, is grown in the Grasse region in France. 

There were Rosa Mundi before, which also came in candles, EDT, solid perfume and scented oval. So, the fragrance remains the same this year, except for EAU DOMINOTÉE. Multi-use water, with added geranium and patchouli, that can be worn as perfume, sprayed into the air, or fragranced the fabrics. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

NEW SEASONAL VARIANT FROM DORÉ BY LETAO

As per today, January 14, 2017, Doré by LeTao will have DOUBLE MANGO FROMAGE in their 4 stores.

I believe the mango flavor won over the light cheese, which I truly enjoyed. Compared to other fromages they had, this Double Mango is very refreshing as they’re using Mango Puree. It’s not that sweet, so it complete the whole creaminess of fromage. If you’d like to enjoy the slice not the whole cake, you can visit their Plaza Indonesia’s store.

This new seasonal variant was launched to celebrate Chinese New Year 2017, which will fall on January 28, 2017. They also offered gift sets selection, complete with their cookies, packaged in a pretty gift box.

They’re limited edition, so you’d better order earlier before they sold out like the other variants I found in Plaza Indonesia’s store.

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

L’ORÉAL INFALLIBLE PARTY

Earlier this week, I attended L’Oréal Paris Infallible Party in Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Two of their brand ambassadors were there, Maudy Ayunda and Dian Sastrowardoyo, along with my fellow blogger, Hellua (aka The Lipstick Mafia). 

At the event, they discussed about their makeup enemies, as we Indonesians are dealing with sweat and humidity: biggest enemies for our makeup longevity. But worry no more, as L’Oréal Makeup Designer Paris came up with this latest makeup range, L’Oréal Paris Infallible. 

Since I received the box first from Sociolla before the launching event, I already did my review here

PHOTOS: Courtesy of L’Oréal Paris

WHEN IN SEOUL (PART 2)

Before we took the journey to Seoul, South Korea, we did some searching of what food to have there.

After some local food experiences in previous post, here are some international must try when in Seoul.

CAFÉ DIOR BY PIERRE HERMÉ 

Located on Apgujeong-Ro which reminds me a lot of Rodeo Drive, this fabulous café is located on top of the House of Dior. So to get to the cafe, we have to stroll along the boutique which has extensive range of Lady Dior bags hanging around (a tough stroll for me, LOL). FYI, they have this sort of rule: each person must order at least one menu (either drink or dessert). I oredered BABA ISPAHAN (seen on the pic above) which costs 32.000 Won. Yes, they’re not cheap. I also ordered Cafe Latte which costs 19.000 Won, certainly the most expensive coffee I’ve ever bought in my life. But it was a fabulous cafe, so take this chance to take some beautiful shots. I did on my instagram, @shintarosvita (so please do check them out). Taste wise, well….it was entertaining and the Latte was creamy. 

THE ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE

It was quite an adventure to get to their Sinsa-dong location in Gangnam. We took the Metro and have to walk about 10 minutes to get there. But heck it was a worth it trip. The Original Pancake House is an American family chain that started out in Portland, Oregon, USA, known for their pancakes and other brunch-centric menus. Their pancakes are super soft, made with very tasty butter. Waffles were delicious. And we ordered their specialties, DUTCH BABY (above pic on the right). It’s like a souffle pancake which takes up to an hour to make, very unique taste with melting butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice on top. 

BILLS

We went to their first Bills in Seoul which located on Jamsil’s Lotte World Mall. Bills is known for its’ best scrambled eggs and ricotta hotcakes, originally from Sydney, Australia. So of course, we ordered the Ricotta Hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter, one of their classic menu. The best Hotcakes I’ve ever tried with delicious melted honeycomb butter and gigantic bananas. It was kind of huge, so sharing is recommended. 

And yes, we ordered the most famous FULL AUSSIE, comprising Scrambled Organic Eggs which tastes heavenly, Sourdough Toast, Miso Mushrooms, Bacon, Cumin Roast Tomato, Pork & Fennel Sausage. It was kind of huge as well, so you can share this champion breakfast. 

They also offered different kind of cakes, which unfortunately I didn’t try.

SHAKE SHACK

We found this by accident, as we strolled along Gangnam-daero to find NIKE store. Just before Nike, we saw this huge queue and surprised surprised, it was SHAKE SHACK! This burger joint is already happening in New York, and I heard from my husband who tasted them before, that the queue in New York were longer than Seoul. We went in after about 20 minutes, and ordered Cheese Burger, Shack Burger, Chocolate Milkshake and their crinkled-cut fries plus Cheese Fries. The burgers were amazingly delicious, buns were soft, meat were well marinated. They made great burgers for sure. But can’t say much about their cheese fries, though. That yellow sauce didn’t taste like cheese at all. And their shakes were so-so, I’ve tasted better. So.. go here for their burgers only.

MAX BRENNER CHOCOLATE BAR

Another accidentally found when we strolled along Central City near Express Bus Terminal Station. This originally Australian chocolate bar is a must visit if you love chocolate. We ordered Banana Split Waffle and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I enjoyed their desserts even though I am not a big fan of chocolate. (I know, I might be the only woman in this world who doesn’t love chocolate that much). Their food presentations were nice, I love their cup and I wish I can take them home (unfortunately can’t).

That was it, folks. Unfortunately, there were some misses due to timing and not to mention that I had flu when I was in Seoul. So yeah…I hope I might be able to try some more if I have the chance to go back to Seoul. Kamsahamnida. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

WHILE IN SEOUL (PART ONE)

Just got back from our year end family vacation to Seoul, South Korea. 

I believe I’m not having any jet lag, but I certainly have this weather lag. While in Seoul, the temperature can drop until -5 degrees Celsius (the worst was in Nami Island which was -10), and when we got back to Jakarta, Indonesia, it was 30 degrees Celsius. Imagine that lag! 

It was bloody bright, but bloody hell freezing as well. Truly an experience for me and my family as we’ve never experienced snow before, and we did in Seoul (even though it didn’t fall on us, unfortunately).

Somehow, Seoul reminds me of Paris for its’ language barrier. I don’t speak Koreans, and if I tried to talk to them in English, they’ll reply in Koreans. Like, seriously???? We ended up taking a lot of Metro trains, as we had a lot of trouble explaining our destination to taxi drivers. Fortunately, Metro was an easy ride for us, first timer in Seoul. 

Ordering food was always a challenge as well. Some do have menus in English, but some just don’t. They don’t even have the signage in English. I believe Koreans are proud of their own thing, I mean…come on, K-Pop is literally everywhere, K-Drama, and K-Food. 

Talking about K-Food, I might as well blog about them. I also posted a lot of my journey in Seoul, Korea on my instagram @shintarosvita (please check them out).

For those who love spicy food, trust me…you’ll survive in Seoul as they do have lots of spicy food to offer. Even their K-BBQ is spicy. 

We went to this local K-BBQ in Gangnam Area, named Saemaul Sikdang. They don’t have signage in English, so we did have a trouble finding it. But with the help of Google Maps, we did. A friend recommended me to visit this restaurant. It was not a big restaurant. When we were there, we were the only tourist, so I believe locals love this restaurant so much. FYI, we had to wait in the cold outside the restaurant for 15 minutes before the waitress called us. It wasn’t halal for sure, they only serve pork. Oh yeah, they use charcoal to grill the meat, which gives that special smokey touch. 

Leaving a restaurant in Seoul, especially a local restaurant, means you’ll get left behind with smokey food aroma on your hair and clothes. LOL. Except the barbecue, Bulgogi is also a local favorite. Unlike Bulgogi served dry in Jakarta where I live, they somehow have it with broth.

We had this Bulgogi in Sariwon at COEX Mall. And yes, Koreans do love their garnishes and kimchis. 

They sure love to mix stuff, seriously. We went to Shinsegai Central City and was curious to try this local restaurant which had long waiting lines. It must be that good, since locals were lining up in front of this restaurant (sorry it was in Koreans, so I don’t know the name of the restaurant). 

(Unbelievably) they named this Beef Teppanyaki. They mix the minced beef with rice (bap in Koreans) and vegetables, nothing like the teppanyaki served back home. And again, it was spicy. 

In terms of packaging, Koreans does it best.

Look at that cute coffee cups from Paris Baguette. By the way, Paris Baguette is a local bakery/cafe that can be found almost everywhere in Seoul. In terms of taste, it was OK, I had better coffee. 

In Nami Island (it was one and a half hour drive from our hotel in Gangnam area and off with ferry for another five minutes), it was freezing cold and fortunately, there were hot food sold.

Local food Hotteok aka pancake. It is one of the most popular Korean street snacks and particularly popular in winter. If they weren’t filled with sunflower seeds and nuts, I’d probably like them more as they’re also stuffed with dark brown sugar and cinnamon powder. And yes, they’re charcoal-grilled for that unique smokey flavor. 

Another Nami Island must eat food, is their Chicken Barbecue in a restaurant named Seomhyanggi. Fortunately, they’re not as spicy as I thought, so my boys can eat them. 

Well, that was as local as I can get ….

On my second post, I’ll blog about the international food that they have in Seoul. Stay tune. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

WHAT AN EYE-CATCHING GIFT

Thanks The Body Shop Indonesia for sending me THE ICONIC COLLECTION gift box. 

Inside this gigantic colorful box, there are The Body Shop’s most iconic and best-selling products ever. Totally a gift set that The Body Shop fans will adore. I know I do.

In celebration of their 40th anniversary, they’ve packed these 11 of much loved iconic products in one. There are:

• Fuji Green Tea™ Shower Gel 250ml
• British Rose Instant Glow Body Essence 250ml
• Mango Body Scrub 250ml
• Shea Body Butter 200ml
• Almond Hand & Nail Cream 100ml
• Lip & Cheek Stain Pink Hibiscus 8ml
• Smoky Eye Definer – Black
• Vitamin E Moisture Cream 50ml
• Drops of Youth™ Youth Concentrate 30ml
• Oils of Life™ Intensely Revitalising Sleeping Cream 80ml
• Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask 75ml

And below each product, there’s description about it. 

And of course, The Body Shop simultaneously pledging for goodness in this world, for each of this gift box sold, they will protect endangered species by helping to restore one square meter of rainforest in Vietnam, Indonesia & Malaysia.