Tag: indonesia

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BEAUTY ON THE RUNWAY

The Body Shop Indonesia has been the official makeup sponsor of Jakarta Fashion Week since 2011. And this year, they collaborated with three local fashion brands, KLE, CottonInk Studio and Ardistia New York. 

With a theme “Runway to Your Way”, I found this particular show as a very conceptual runway. Sitting there on the front row with The Body Shop Indonesia’s team, I can see why they chose the three local fashion brands mentioned above. Super wearable yet fashionable, not to mention…effortless. Just like the makeup from The Body Shop. 

I love how the multimedia screen projected a very modern clip about the key products from The Body Shop which were used for each brand. For KLE who expressed her Spring Summer 2015 Collection in all white, their key products are InstaBlur and All In One Face Base. To support the CottonInk Studio collection who embraced the essence of confidence with effortlessness, they accentuated with strong eyeliner made possible by The Body Shop latest Smoky 2 in 1 Gel Liner. Last but not least, for Ardistia New York who played with strong lines and bold colors, Colour Crush Lipstick was the main focus of the whole makeup (especially with that wig who covered models eyes). 

Congratulations for The Body Shop Indonesia’s team and their makeup artists who I believed work their hearts off backstage to support this year’s Jakarta Fashion Week. See you guys next year!

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WHAT’S HOT FROM …

BOURJOIS. From their first creations for theatre actors and actresses way back in 1863, this beauty brand surely keep on blossoming. 

Who could resist the power of that iconic little round pots? Of course, the formula has been improving ever since and Bourjois continue to invent, create and design cute yet feminine products for beauty junkies like us. Being an addict for anything Parisian myself, I love how Bourjois made their products accessible for their affordable price but with a great quality of makeup. Not to mention, they have their own counters in major department stores and easily to get in some of major drugstores here in Jakarta, Indonesia. Oh, and they also launches new looks each season with (again) Parisian style advertisement. So you can imagine their wide range of colors (at their website, they noted 400 shades and 100 of them are renewed each year). 

Last week, Bourjois Indonesia gathered us bloggers at Four Seasons Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia to introduce their upcoming products. Range of GLAMOUR Eau de Parfum (Glamour Fantasy, Glamour Chic, Glamour Excessive and Glamour Lovely), TWIST UP THE VOLUME Mascara, ROUGE EDITION VELVET & CC CREAM. They also sneak a peek of a few products for 2015. 

Adding to their complexion category is the CC Cream with three new corrective pigments inside a tube: Apricot for anti-fatigue, Green for anti-redness & White for anti-dark spots. It’s very lightweight, blend easily and leaves skin look brighter and more even. What awed me the most at the event was their TWIST UP THE VOLUME Mascara. It’s the first Bourjois mascara with (literally) twistable two-in-one brush. Check out my pics above for the close ups of the brush. Very convenient and time saving, as it will give length, definition, and volume with only one item. Each brush position has its’ own function. Position 1 will lengthen and separates the lashes, while position 2 provides even greater volume. When I tested it myself, I was very relieved for its’ clump free result as I found it hard to find a lengthening and volumizing mascara in one which delivered the same result.  

And finally I got the chance to test their most anticipated lipstick, ROUGE EDITION VELVET. Such a huge rave in beauty bloggers’ world, this latest lipstick came with ultra bold matte finish with super pigmented color. Surprisingly light weight in texture, very easy application and incredibly long lasting, they came in 8 glamorous & sexy bold colors (definitely not for the shy). I love how it initially feels like a lip lacquer but then it evolved to this fabulous matte finish, exactly like the one you see in the packaging. Tip: make sure you moisturize heavily and wipe the moist of your lips before applying this lipstick. 

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SKINCARE BASED ON ART?

For those of you who are still unfamiliar with Diptyque, it was a brand started by three friends with the same artistic mind and creative passion in Paris, way back in 1961. That alone explained why they have such well thought packaging, right down to the fonts. 

Diptyque might be super duper famous for its luxurious scented candles (thanks to Jennifer Lopez who demanded Diptyque candles be placed in her dressing room) but this year, they introduced the latest range of products, skin care.

Named L’Art du Soin for the Face (by the way, they had them for body care as well), the total 5 products is quite a small range for based on the art of infused skincare. Inspired by ‘phytotherapy’, an ancient practice meaning ‘to treat with plants’, every product was formulated with plant and flower infusions for beneficial effects on skin. The range offers to bring out skin’s natural radiance for a complexion glowing with well being. There are 5 items available: Infused Facial Water, Nourishing Cleansing Balm, Radiance Boosting Powder, Multi-Use Exfoliating Clay & Protective Moisturizing Lotion. The main product from this range is Infused Facial Water, enriched with Damask Rose scent. Very multi tasking, as you can use it as a toner, a mask (just soak cotton pads with it) or mixed it with the other products from the range like Multi-Use Exfoliating Clay, Radiance Boosting Powder or Nourishing Cleansing Balm for cleansing purpose. In Jakarta, the price range for this luxurious skincare products, starts from Rp 800.000 – Rp 1.000.000. 

Tested them myself yesterday at The Dharmawangsa Suite, I personally love the textures. All of them, including the most heavy one, Nourishing Cleansing Balm, surprisingly felt very light upon contact with my skin. Mixed with Infused Facial Water, it metamorphosed into cleansing oil texture, which is perfect to remove makeup for dry skin. Radiance Boosting Powder is another favorite of mine. The white clay powder combined with powdered rose, jasmine and neroli petals, not only hydrate my skin. It turns into a creamy lather for face cleansing when mix with water and the black ball sponge provided inside the packaging. This can also be mixed with Infused Facial Water, and the good news is, it may not be rinse if you don’t feel like you have to. Trust me, I’ve tried not to rinse them, and it didn’t feel sticky or itchy. Just wipe the rest of the foam on your face and left it there. 

Coming from the brand that’s well known for their elegant scents, expect the same for this skincare range. And of course, they’ll beautify our bathroom cabinets as well. 

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FOR GREAT MAKE UP, WE ALL NEED A SMOOTH CANVAS OR CAMERA FILTER, NO?

Camera 360 watch out…we might not need you anymore. Thanks to THE BODY SHOP All-In-One INSTABLUR.

Shine Controlling, check! Reduce appearance of pores, check! Blemish hiding, check! Complexion Unifying, check! Make up extending, check! Sound like missions for beauty apps, no? Apparently not, as now, getting a flawless looking skin in an instant is just a swipe away on your own skin! At the launch event of InstaBlur last week, me and other fellow bloggers and press were told how to apply the latest All-In-One 5 Action Perfector. One swipe was actually all that it needed, to avoid the crystalized form of this face perfector (made from Community Fair Trade Marula Oil). The balmy texture felt super silky and not sticky at all when I tried it on my face. Instantly, I felt the softness when I applied my concealer and foundation afterwards. I do recommend this for those who love to use primer to keep your makeup less shiny and last throughout the day. As for blemishes, especially the raging ones, you still need to apply concealer on top. Tips: a small squeeze of InstaBlur was all that you needed and apply where you needed the most (for me it’s definitely the T-Zone). 

And don’t just blurred the face imperfections, apply the other InstaBlur for your eyes too! At the event, I’ve also got the chance to try the other InstaBlur, All-In-One Tinted Concealer + Primer Colour Intensifier. Now this will complete your whole makeup. Not an ordinary eye primer, as you can use this for eye lids and under eyes to blur that ugly dark circles (as it contained yellow toned concealer). As I believe lots of us are dealing with oily eyelids which made eyeshadows hard to last, this specific InstaBlur is a winner! It also neutralises the appearance of redness on eyelids, and it did intensify the colors of eyeshadows I was wearing. Apply this before your usual under eyes concealer, and notice how it won’t create any single crease. It just blurred as stated, literally. Tips: same like the face perfector, a tiny squeeze was all that you needed. 

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AN ALTERNATIVE TO REDUCE THE APPEARANCE OF AGING

Actually it’s not new. RESTYLANE launched in 1996 and since then, millions of people (ladies and gentlemen) have used it and experienced the (sort of) instant results. 

Claimed to be one of the safest aesthetic treatments in the world, Restylane is a hyaluronic acid based aesthetic injection treatments. They’re also non-animal which means there’s a minimal risk of allergic reactions. You see, hyaluronic acid is found throughout our body with its’ ability to give our skin elasticity and bind large amounts of water. Yup, it’s sort of like our very own natural skin moisturizer. With the unique NASHA technology where the hyaluronic acid closely resembles our body’s own hyaluronic acid, Restylane won’t affect any facial expression or movement. Yet, of course, it’s non-permanent. You have to repeat the treatment to maintain the result after 6 to 12 months for wrinkles and within 6 months for lips. 

Thanks to Restylane Indonesia, me and fellow bloggers were invited to experience “Clinic Tour-A Day with Restylane” last Saturday. We were supposed to visit two clinics, but due to my hectic Saturday, I was able to visit one clinic only: Miracle Aesthetic Clinic in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, while other bloggers went on to Impressions Body Care Center in Sunter also in North Jakarta. 

At Miracle, we were explained (and there was a demo too on one of the blogger) about the on trending V shape face. Face reshaping by Restylane Dermal Filler is really a cool alternative for those who are afraid of surgical procedures. With very minimum downtime, the whole process took about 1 hour (45 minutes waiting for the anesthetic cream to work and 15 minutes injection time) and the results can be seen instantly.

At the event, they also explained about two injection techniques: one with the injector (the sharp ones) and cannula needles (less sharp and more flexible). Since Restylane was formed in a gel texture, once it was injected, the physician will ‘mold’ the shape to desired needs. It was great to see it by my own eyes how Restylane was injected, form sort of like petite bumps on the skin (especially under eyes skin-the thinnest ones), and the molding process. Truly reminds me of claying. LOL. 

There are different range of Restylane for each problem, so you should always contact a qualified Restylane practitioner and their physician will give you a precise Restylane to suit your needs best. Fill in wrinkles? Add volume? Shape your face or lips? Or simply to rejuvenate your skin? Find your nearest Restylane clinic here. 

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SHAKE IT OFF AT THE SALE

The Body Shop fans, rejoice! Time to shop for your favorite product(s) at lesser price.

I’m such a late bloomer. I went to The Body Shop Anniversary Sale like two days before it ends (it started from Sept 25-Oct 5). But as they said, better late than never. I went to The Body Shop Senayan City’s store, and beforehand I’d like to thank the team there who let me took pictures while I shopped. 

So, what did I buy? 

  • Olive Big Size Shower Gel. This is a limited edition bottle. I always love the fresh scent of Olive Shower Gel, so it’s a winner at 20% off. 750ml pump bottle for Rp231.200. 
  • Blueberry Body Scrub, Shower Gel & Body Lotion. I’m a new fan of this limited edition summer range. Fruity without being to sweet (or I might worried I’ll get stung by a bee, LOL). Such a bargain for buy 2 get 1 free. FYI, the free one is the cheapest, and for me it was the 250ml shower gel for Rp109.000.
  • Well, the rest of the items that I bought were actually not on sale, like Rainforest Balance Shampoo, Colour Crush Lipstick, Arber Hair & Body Wash (bought it for my hubby), and Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash. 

Hurry down to your nearest The Body Shop Indonesia’s store, as tomorrow (Sunday, October 5, 2014) is your last chance to shop the sale. Some of their body butter like Honeymania, Mango & Olive are on sale for 20%off. EDT (Brazil Nut, Satsuma, Vanilla, Strawberry & Moringa) are also 20% off. Shower Gel (Pink Grapefruit, Satsuma & Coconut) are also on sale for 20% off. Check out the rest of the sale on the store, so you won’t missed it or you can also shop online here. Happy Shopping!

WHEN EVERY FRAGRANCE HAS THEIR OWN STORIES

After their home Paris, New York and Dubai, now Jakarta, Indonesia has our own CARON PARIS flagship store.

Located in Plaza Indonesia level 2, it actually had opened since the first of September. But they made the grand launching just last night. I was invited to the event and I believe this is the first time I ever took so much pictures in one place. Not just a place, the CARON Paris boutique is so….Paris. What can I say? Just look at the pics above and see if you agree with me. 

When I stepped into the store, the Parisian charm and the scent of luxury perfumes greeted me. Let’s just say every corner of the boutique had me at hello. Pretty artsy displays, yet very informative with every fragrance description and for me, the best part is their Fountain Perfumes. Something new for me, but CARON’s Fountain Perfumes is actually legendary. They offered their customers to fill a bottle (and you can pick the bottle there) and the fragrance will be dispensed from a little bronze tap. FYI, these Fountain Perfumes ‘dispenser’ will be clean by a special sort of ceremonial cleaning process every month in the store. Wow, I’d love to see how they clean that. 

As Indonesian, I’m proud that CARON Paris considered Jakarta as a potential market. I mean, CARON is one of the major perfume houses and Jakarta’s store is number 6 in the world. How awesome is that? Its’ unique history amazed me too. In 1904, Ernest Daltroff opened CARON’s first door in 10 rue de la Paix, Paris. His love for his colleague, Felicie influenced his constant fragrances creations. He and Felicie created “N’Aimez que Moi” in 1916, “Tabac Blond” in 1919, “Fleurs de Rocaille” in 1933 and the men fragrance “Pour Un Homme” in 1934. Each fragrance has their own stories, and the one that intrigued me is “Royal Bain” which was created in 1941. Back then, it was created exclusively for a Californian billionaire who wanted to replace his extravagant champagne baths. This one of the very first unisex Eau de Toilette is believed to bring happiness. Ever since they were created, those fragrances remains the same for their formulas and scents (they only changed the packaging nowadays to suit a more modern era). Until today, they work with their own perfume creator. 

In the 30’s Ernest also developed a manufacturing process for “Poudre Libre”, the loose powder. His method remains a trade secret until today, making their loose powder ‘the finest in the world’. I got the chance to try their loose powder and I love it. The expensive scent of Bulgarian Rose and its’ delicate feather puff added the pleasure of powdering your nose. If you love more indulgence, try their special “Powder Puff”. It was made of genuine soft goose down, but don’t worry, no goose was harmed. They plucked the bottom part of the feathers which will eventually fell off by time, anyway. 

Yup, you can find more than just perfumes in CARON’s boutique. They have porcelains and glass collections too. Every single one of them are just too fine to describe. Go visit their boutique, because seeing is believing! 

FUNCTIONAL, HIGH QUALITY & MOST OF ALL…

Comfortable. Introducing the second Fall/Winter Collection 2014 from UNIQLO’s LifeWear.

Last week I was invited to Uniqlo Indonesia’s event to celebrate their upcoming Fall/Winter Collection, with two top stylists Ayla and DeUt and 4 style people from different professions. 

Uniqlo has a special space in my fashion heart. I used a lot of Uniqlo’s for the upcoming Indonesia’s big screen movie, Supernova, as their wardrobe director. Because I believe Uniqlo is comfortable to wear with good materials and design. Plus, the never ending choices of their layering factor is a bonus for any fashion stylists.

Check out some of their Fall/Winter 2014 line up from the pics above. Which one’s your favorite? Mine will be the parka from Ultra Light Down. Very light (perfect for traveling to a colder climate), and thanks to a sleek lining woven with aluminium fibers, they’re now come with more great heat retention. HeatTech is also one of my fave. Very soft, great for layering as an innerwear and especially for the Women’s HeatTech, they’re infused with camellia oil for silkier and smoother feel. Another soft feel come from their Fleece, Flannel, Extra Fine Merino, Sweats and even their Denim (so stretchy and comfortable, you can split like a ballet dancer with it). 

Since the end of year is approaching real fast, I do believe this collection will come in handy as most of us travel to colder climates for end of year holiday. I can see myself packing with this collection already. 

Thanks to Fame74 for most of the pics above. 

WHO ARE YOU CALLING ‘CHUBBY’?

Cute when you were 4, not so much when you hit 40. Thank you Eternel Concept Indonesia for a ‘new me’. 

For a woman who had done 2 caesarians, I made a pact to myself (God help me) not to go through any more surgeries for the rest of my life. Pronto! So, needless to say, I am not into plastic surgery. Though sometimes (I have to admit) I thought it’ll be great to have smaller nose and cheeks. But the thought of going under the knifes one more time, it scared me. I am such an open minded person when it comes to beauty treatments (as long as it didn’t involve any cutting and bruising). Once, I went for PRP treatment to fix my chicken pox scars (I had them at 28 years old, so it’s rather impossible to let my skin go back to its’ natural condition). At that time, I realised (in a most hardest way ever) why people said “Beauty is Pain”. It was so painful, I left the clinic (I won’t mention name) with green and blue bruises like I just went through domestic violence. And the bruises stayed there for more than a week, so yeah, it was a traumatic experience. 

I was terrified of needles, injected on my face, worrying that it might left me with the same result as PRP. And boy, I was wrong when I visited Eternel Concept. Located at Jalan Gunawarman 16, Jakarta, I braved myself to try their Face Lifting. Thanks to Titidianti, their Marcomm and Dr Irene, they both assured me that most of their customers didn’t even show any injections wounds after treatment. “It’ll be done with a very tiny needle and what you’ll see was just injection holes. If they’re red, they’ll be gone in 30 minutes till 1 hour,” explained Dr Irene. 

The procedures were very simple and super quick (I can imagine working career women doing it during lunch time and went back with a slimmer and lifted face!). They applied anaesthetic cream and left it on for about 15 minutes. Then, Dr Irene injected that tiny needle with Eternel Concept’s special serum on several spots on my face (not much, I think it was about 10 overall). Did it hurt? Nope, it was just like ordinary injections on your (pardon moi) bottom or hands. I was relieved to see my face reacted well to these injections. What was injected in to my face? It was a special serum (like I mentioned earlier), natural without any silicons. It was made from natural extracts of Echinacea, Guarana Herb, Okra, Pulsatilla Vulgaris, Boswelliaseratta Herb and Astaxanthin (the later is a protein occurred naturally in sea animals’ skin, with clinically proven anti-oxidant properties that are 500 times stronger than vitamin E). The serum is made in France with Nano & Pico technology, that make smaller molecules to enter our skin layers easily. This natural serum will add collagen and protein to our skin, as we lost them along the way (thanks ageing!). That explained the glowing skin bonus, as mentioned by Dr Irene earlier. 

Frankly speaking, I never done any Botox or Filler treatment before. But according to Dr Irene, this Face Slimming Injection is different from the similar beauty injections. “You will still look like yourself, with a slimmer face. And you can do free expressions on your face, too. Some will feel a bit stiff but it’s only temporarily because the serum is working,” said Dr Irene. I’m glad that there were no down time at all after the treatment, I even went to pick up my kids at school afterwards.

Check out my before after pics above. The after pic was taken 5 minutes after the injection, and my chubby cheeks that I had since I was born looked slightly slimmer with a longer chin as a bonus. Dr Irene also mentioned that glowing skin will be a bonus for this treatment as well because of their special serum. 

“Some customers showed an instant result like you, but mostly it’ll show significant and gradually result in about 7 days. The result will stay on for 6 months till 1 year, depends on customers’ age, their skin condition and their lifestyle. If you don’t smoke, don’t eat junk food, and doing regular exercises, it will stay longer,” explained Dr Irene. She also reminded me not to do facial massage for at least two weeks after this treatment to keep the serum in its’ original place. And for those who had Botox, Filler, or any other facial treatments, make sure you wait for another 6 months before doing this face slimming so it won’t overlap. 

Natural without any scars, pain of injections that I can tolerate, instant result, I can’t wait to try other treatment at Eternel Concept. Visit their website here for more infos. 

WHAT’S COMING…

At Sephora Indonesia? Soon, mostly in October 2014 right down through Christmas, there’ll be several new brands coming to their (currently) two stores in Plaza Indonesia & Kota Kasablanka, Jakarta, Indonesia. 

This week, I was invited to Sephora Press Day at Morissey Hotel, Jakarta to see what brands are coming soon to Sephora. See all the famous logos above and I bet you can’t wait to see their pretty displays at Sephora. At the event, one of the Sephora’s Singapore team said that me and fellow press were lucky to catch a glimpse of their “GIFT OCEAN”, Sephora’s most awaited holiday collection this year. She said, “Even Singapore’s press haven’t seen these, you know?” Expect lots of glitters and cute gifts galore! 

Being such a vintage packaging lover, I was attracted to one brand that somehow didn’t ring my beauty bell. Creme Simon. I know, where have I been, right? Apparently, it’s very popular throughout Europe, New York, Japan and Shanghai. The late founder, Joseph Simon created the first stable beauty cream from a natural plant-based formula, known for its’ incredible healing properties to give French women their natural glow and fair complexion. Voila! Now they’re expanding here, to Indonesia. 

And I’m excited that Skin Inc is coming too. I remembered my first encounter with Skin Inc when I was still working in the magazine. I even met their gorgeous founder, Sabrina Tan. The brand launched in Singapore about 6 years ago but all the products are made in Japan. I had ‘my daily dose’ once, and it did work really well on my skin. You see, Skin Inc is a personalized skincare brand. They will mix the serums according to your own skin types and problems in a cute drop bottle and called it ‘my daily dose’. 

It’s going to be such an interesting end of year for us, beauty lovers!