Month: June 2018

HOW TO SURVIVE MUSEUM MACAN: YAYOI KUSAMA LIFE IS THE HEART OF A RAINBOW

Last week, still on Lebaran’s holiday (for some), I went to this museum, not knowing a lot of things.

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Don’t be clueless like me, let me share you some things I’ve learned during my visit there to avoid any disappointments.

  1. Don’t bother using big tote bag. They only allowed small bag which can only fit your phone and wallet. Otherwise your big bag must be stored in their cloakroom.
  2. Don’t bother bringing your super hip mirrorless or DSLR camera. They only allowed you to shoot with your smart phone (bring a good one!). And no selfie sticks are allowed too!
  3. Wear summer clothing, as it can be hot inside (even with their AC on).
  4. Wear something plain if you’re planning to take lots of selfies, as the background are (obviously) dotted.
  5. Be patient. Security guards are annoying, especially on long queues.
  6. Hold your temptation to touch things aka don’t you dare touch anything. Don’t worry, you’ll be constantly remembered by the staffs (another annoying stuff).
  7. Wear shoes that can easily be take off, as some area forbid you to wear shoes.
  8. Act fast, and take photos faster. Some room only allowed 15 seconds.
  9. One session (two hours) can accommodate 800 people, so imagine having to share with them.
  10. Some lines will be closed at 6 pm and 7 pm, so arrange your time of arrival accordingly.

Here are some of the pics I’ve taken with my smartphone during my day at this museum.

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THE INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM was the longest queue in this museum. It took me 45 minutes. Luckily, we are allowed to enter this room individually, even though only for 15 seconds.

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Finally, on the 6th floor, you’d find THE OBLITERATION ROOM full of colorful sticker dots, sticked by previous museum visitors. They allowed you to stay in this room for 3 minutes (the longest in this museum), so take your time and lots of photos here. They will give you a sheet of those stickers, but if you didn’t use it, they’ll get it back. They didn’t allow you to stick the stickers on your body, by the way. So, just stick those stickers somewhere!

YAYOI KUSAMA LIFE IS THE HEART OF A RAINBOW will be available until September 9, 2018. Last words from me, buy ticket(s) online and ride online taxis there (or park across the building).

Good luck!

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

‘ANGRY SKIN’ AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

Just when I thought my fungal acne is getting better (sigh).

Actually they are quite calm now, but suddenly bigger acnes popped out of nowhere, on my temples only! Stressed? Check! Lack of sleep? Check! Too much dairy and sugar? Definitely! Oh man, like seriously nothing helped at this point of my skincare journey.

I can’t believe I posted this before-after picture, when the after picture looked worse than the before (I so hate my life right now).

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On those horrible days, I’ve tried almost everything from Benzoyl Peroxide, Azelaic Acid, Niacinamide, BHA, AHA, Lactic Acid, Centella Asiatica to heal those two spots. Unfortunately, none worked! I assumed, I might have been over-exfoliating and my skin became confused by too many active ingredients. So, I decided to completely cut down my skincare regime, morning and night. I also limit my chemical exfoliation to once a month, rather than twice a week like I used to do. And I tried sulfur as spot treatment, using a local brand product. Why? Because according to simpleskincarescience.com, sulfur can treat fungal acne because it produces penthationic acid which is toxic to fungi, and it may also directly inhibit malassezia (read: my nightmare).

Without further adieu, here are my (much) shorten skincare routine.

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AM ROUTINE
Cleanser: COSRX LOW PH GOOD MORNING GEL CLEANSER. Not very foamy with quite heavy tea tree scent. I was worried that it’s going to cause purging, but it’s not. Pheeww!!!

Toner: SOMEBYMI AHA-BHA-PHA 30 DAYS MIRACLE TONER. I (sort of) ditched my regular toner (Nacific Calendula) for this. Thanks to their super heavy rotation ad on instagram, I am sold. So far so good, no purging. I will keep you updated, because they claimed this toner will bring miracle if used continuously for 30 days. Fingers crossed!

Serum: DR JART+ CICAPAIR SERUM. This is quite an expensive serum (must be the packaging price). I just tried to empty this bottle, even though I believe it didn’t show any magic result on my skin. But at least, it didn’t cause me any break out. I wouldn’t repurchase this, will try other serum (I am thinking Lee Gee Haam).

Moisturizer: SEBAMED CLEAR FACE CARE GEL mixed with THE ORDINARY 100% PLANT-DERIVED SQUALANE. To reduce the tackiness of the gel, I always mixed it with squalane oil. Squalane also add glow to the skin and not worsen my fungal acnes.

Sunscreen: SKIN AQUA UV MOISTURE GEL SPF 30 PA++. It’s not a clear gel, for sure. Milky white when poured, but luckily no white cast when applied. Easy to absorb and feels very light on skin. Best of all, did not cause any break out.

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PM ROUTINE
First Cleanser: BIODERMA SENSIBIO H2O. Long time favorite of mine, long before they legally sold in my local drugstores. Been trying this and that, but always go back to this (it’s da best, what can I say)

Second Cleanser: KRAVE BEAUTY MATCHA HEMP HYDRATING CLEANSER. Don’t expect too much foam if you use this, but trust me, my skin never felt cleaner and healthier.

In the shower mask: BLITHE PATTING WATER PACK SOOTHING & HEALING GREEN TEA. It’s a genius product, I might say. Who has time for facial mask to dry these days?

Toner: SOMEBYMI AHA-BHA-PHA 30 DAYS MIRACLE TONER. Yes, again in the evening. After swiping on face, I apply this on my neck too. Never neglect neck!

Spot Treatment: ACNE FELDIN LOTION. Local skincare product with 1% camphor and 6.6% sulfur as main ingredients. It smells weird at first and the super watery texture is a pain the ass to apply directly with finger on spots, but I got the hang of it. I also applied this on my temple where the fungal acnes are. Make sure to tap until they dried down.

And after 8 days of cutting down my skincare regime to the above routines, this is how my skin looks.

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Those two humongous zits are flatten (but still left red marks), some black heads are still there (one popped out in the shower accidentally-causing an open red wound), but I know it’s getting better. But it’s still day 8, so I will check back in 22 more days, just to see the efficacy of my skincare routine and the products I am currently using.

CONCLUSIONS:

  • Never ever over exfoliate. Just pick one acid that suits your skin.
  • Find one active ingredient that suits your skin the most and stick with it (trying periods are the worst, it’s like finding your skin soul-mate).
  • Avoid skincare overload. Less is definitely more, do not let your skin get confused (too many products = too many ingredients).
  • Being bombarded by so many new skincare products is hard (I know right). Search well about the ingredients and reviews before any purchases.

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

MY TOP 3 PRODUCTS FROM THE ORDINARY

Hence the name, trust me…there are nothing ordinary about THE ORDINARY.

Who doesn’t love high-quality skin care products at super affordable prices? Luckily, it’s quite easy for me to get this brand from local online stores.

It can be confusing to build a skincare routine from this Canada-born brand, because they are basically more active ingredient-driven products. If you’re not familiar with ingredients’ names, make sure you research a lot before purchasing. If I can have my way, I’d collect all of their minimalist dropper bottles, because they will look darn good on my vanity. But of course, I googled a lot before each of my purchase (just to be safe, because I do have sensitive skin with fungal acne problem).

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Here are my current top 3 favorites:

  1. AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution: I used to do peeling once a month at my dermatologist’s clinic. But it was so bloody expensive, I decided to do it myself at home (once a week). Warning you: this burned, especially if you are not used to any acids exfoliation. Tip: start with a low percentage of AHA & BHA first, before jumping in to this high percentage of acid cocktails.
  2. 100% Plant-Derived Squalane: 100% love! I used to hate facial oils, but this truly stands out from the oil crowd. I thought it’s going to smell fishy, but this is plant-sourced version. Odorless, anti-bacterial, won’t clog pores and best of all, can be used on sensitive (fungal acne) skin. Totally a winner, I use this every night as the final step of my skincare routine.
  3. Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%: if only I know about this ingredient earlier in my teenager’s days. Azelaic Acid is an antioxidant that is naturally produced by yeast living on healthy skin. Now that I have fungal acne problem, I was quite hesitant to use this at the first place, because why feed yeast with yeast, right? Apparently, according to Simple Skin Care Science, Azelaic Acid is an effective treatment for fungal acne. This really helped my clogged pores a lot.

Next on my list:

  • Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
  • Caffeine Solution 5% +EGCG
  • Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
  • Lactic Acid 10% + HA

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA