Tag: launch

BRING JOY, BLISS & SPARKLE TO THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS

What other ways to feel the Christmas spirit then to layer ourself in Christmas scents?

Well, the celebration aura has already kicked off at The Body Shop Indonesia. I was invited to their press event at the atrium of Mall Taman Anggrek, Jakarta, Indonesia this afternoon. In the middle of the mall, they built up sort of mini Christmas ‘market’, such a joyful journey full with gifts ideas, free make over counter and free gift wrapping. The best part of all, they’re on sale. How about that? For sure, I won’t be running out of festive make up ideas and Christmas presents idea this year as they have so many choices, almost for anyone in the family. 

At the press event, Ratu Maulia Ommaya, PR & Social Media Manager The Body Shop Indonesia said, that gift is one of the important part of Christmas celebration, and it won’t be hard to find something right for your loved ones. Especially at the Give Joy event, which will be celebrated at Mal Taman Anggrek, Jakarta, Indonesia until November 25, 2012. This time (until February 2013), The Body Shop Indonesia will donate Rp 5000 for each Mixed Shower Gift Tube, Born Lippy Gift or Body Butter Gift Lollypop sold for children’s health in Papua cooperating with Wahana Visi Indonesia, partner of World Vision in Indonesia.

Being so thoughtful, fellow media friends and bloggers were taught by Nadia Susanti, The Body Shop Indonesia’s make up artist on how to do festive make up. She said that festive means glam and shimmering make up, and The Body Shop named it “Rock Some Sparkle”. Modeled by Alena, Indonesian’s singer, she focused on Alena’s eyes to bring some serious green sparkle to achieve a perfect glow for night look. Alena was happy to see how the color of her eyeshadows turned so intense. She said, “I must have this Baked To Last for my stage performance. I like the boldness of this green color.” And for those who has the time and creativity to spare to wrap gifts, Ineke Turangan, Gift Parcel Expert from Newline was also at the press event to share her knowledge. The Body Shop Indonesia was kindly enough to give extra gift away for press who did the best Christmas wrapping. And of course, as a non DIY person as I’ve ever been, I didn’t win. Haha. To see more pictures of the event, please click here: http://www.facebook.com/shintarosvitatumblr 

And the highlight of the press event was the launch of The Body Shop Christmas Limited Edition 2012. There are three range for this year’s collection. The ever popular Cranberry Joy range is back, with different packaging adorned with snow flakes and sparkles. Check out the new range Vanilla Bliss and Ginger Sparkle, each with interesting notes. Sold separately and in a super adorable gift box (Ginger Bread Man is so cute, don’t you think?), they come in variants of shower gel, body butter, body polish and lip dome (for Cranberry, they have shimmer lotion, hand cream and heart soap). Better hurry to get and wrap them up as early as possible. I personally dislike queuing up just to wrap Christmas gift. 

WONDERFUL JOURNEY OF AROMAS

From Provence at South of France, Morocco, Uganda to Japan. The latest scented body collection from Kiehl’s brought us a sensorial trip around the world.

Yesterday, I was invited to attend the launch of Kiehl’s Aromatic Blends in Bird Cage, one of the lavish cafe in Jakarta. A perfect ambience to represent the body collection with an inspiring fragrance blends. The sitting down luncheon with fellow medias and beauty bloggers were full of information and fun, as we were given a chance to create our own fragrances inspired by one of the series from the Aromatic Blends, Orange Flower & Lychee (more on that fragrance making, here: https://www.facebook.com/shintarosvitatumblr).

Jennifer R. Avancena (Brand Manager Kiehl’s Indonesia) made the first presentation, briefly about Kiehl’s that has been around since 1851, the upcoming holiday collection (limited edition set from Kenny Scharf and the ‘Squirt’ figurine) and what they’ll be launching next quarter (BB cream and Clarifying Cream). 

Then, Dyah Fitrisally (Product Manager Kiehl’s Indonesia) presented the four collections from Aromatic Blends, Fig Leaf & Sage, Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit, Orange Flower & Lychee, Vanilla & Cedarwood. She explained that each scent carried in the trio products (Aromatic Mist, Skin-Softening Body Lotion and Skin-Softening Body Cleanser) was formulated with fewer ingredients which were found in traditional fragrances. Two unique key ingredients created a pure aroma which perfectly represent the company’s apothecary heritage. She also mentioned that the Body Lotion were inspired by the iconic Kiehl’s Creme de Corps, which is proven to deliver hydration throughout the day. 

Each collection has a unique sourcing location and inspiration from around the world. Ingredients like Orange Flower, Pink Grapefruit and Sage essential oil were captured on-site directly after harvesting by a natural ingredient extraction, using steamed water to deliver their freshest and strongest aromas. Vanilla and Cedarwood were harvested from sustainable sourcing to support local community. And the most interesting approach is Aromatic Reproduction. They used this technique to recreate the scent without destroying the real plants and to mimic the real aromas of Lychee, Nashi Blossom and Fig Leaf.  

This new family of products really suit the overall Kiehl’s apothecary heritage (hello New York!), right down to the packaging. Perfect for those who opted to wear layering body care products for everyday use. All you have to do is pick your favorite line out of four. Yes, it’s that simple. 

BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL

If I ever going to buy a piece of art, spend a lot of fortune on it, I’ll make sure that it won’t just stand there collecting dust. If it’s that beautiful to look at, it should be useful as well. Of course, use with lots of care.

Attending the launch of Flora Di Fornasetti by Fornasetti at The Papilion, Jakarta, last Monday on the fifth of November 2012, was like visiting a contemporary art gallery indeed. Beautiful and unique pieces of Fornasetti are everywhere, from tables sets, trays, vases to scented decorative objects.

“Fornasetti’s production is endless. From ceramics, porcelain, vases, home and fragrance collection, wallpaper, rugs, tiles to jewelry. Buying a piece of Fornasetti is like buying a piece of art that will increase its’ value from time to time,” said Gabriele Ferrero, Head of Global Sales & Marketing Fornasetti.

“We have an atelier in Milan, so we produced in Italy. Yes, we do have many selections, from small chests, tables, stools and chairs that are useful, comfortable and beautiful. We believe that we have to create any kind of products that you use for your house and in your life. Put one Fornasetti’s piece inside the room, and it will immediately give the room a sense of art,” he added.

Gabriele and his colleague, Laurent Delafon, CEO United Perfumes, were in town to introduce the second scent from Fornasetti home fragrance. “Our scented decorative objects are very Fornasetti, beautiful and useful. For example, the candles which are made of vegetable wax which can burn up to 60 hours. The candles’ vessel are made of ceramics hand made in Italy, and after the wax is finished, we can put anything inside the empty vessel, or just leave it like that as a décor on your cabinet,” Laurent explained.

Their luxurious scented candle really makes a great focus piece with its’ unique design. The uniqueness doesn’t stop there. They have different packaging and method for home fragrances, but only one scent, at least until now. “Before there were only one scent, named OTTO. It was conceived by master perfumer Olivier Polge, a Fornasetti collector himself. He was the nose behind fragrances like Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Dior Homme and Viktor and Rolf. He captured the smell of Fornasetti’s house, like the scent of antique furniture, fireplace and old paper archives. It’s very much around woods and incense,” added Laurent.

Fornasetti does have incense sticks as one of their home fragrance collection. It’s a Japanese incense stick made from cherry wood base mixed with OTTO fragrance. Use one stick (will burn about 20 minutes) to get rid of cooking or smoking smell. It’s (again) an unique and different method to scent your home with a touch of fun art. Fornasetti do have the incense box and scent sphere, a very stylish alternative to traditional home fragrance.

And now, they do have alternative for the scent as well, Flora Di Fornasetti. If the first fragrance was inspired by inside the house of Fornasetti, this time, it was inspired by outside the house, the garden. In the form of a scented candle, it is lighter and more fresh than OTTO, their first fragrance. “Lots of different flowers such as white rose and gardenia, captured and put in inside the candle,” said Laurent.

I can’t help myself attracted to the image of the vessel of Flora Di Fornasetti. It is the beautiful enigmatic face of the opera singer, Lina Cavalieri, which Piero Fornasetti (the founder of Fornasetti) found by flipping through a 19th century French magazine. FYI, he was so fascinated by her face, he took her as a muse and used them again and again throughout his career.

For more about Fornasetti history, collection and images, please visit: www.fornasetti.com

 

 

GLOSS & LIPSTICK IN ONE SLICK TUBE

In conjunction with Shiseido’s 140 years anniversary, Shiseido Indonesia just launched its’ Lacquer Rouge for an event specially created for Indonesian Beauty Bloggers.

The event at Glow last Friday, November 2, 2012, was a crowded one. Fellow bloggers were there along with Shiseido’s loyal customers to actually tried and tested the new product. What is Lacquer Rouge? It is liquid lipstick inspired by Japanese lacquer ware, which apparently have been a popular beauty item in the Japanese beauty scene. It comes with vibrant, bold and intense shades with a lustrous finish. It promises to leaves lips as smooth as lacquer with an applicator that fits accordingly to the lips for a bleed-free application. 

Miss Hisako Inayama, Shiseido’s makeup artist from Japan who were there at the event and responsible for the makeup show, said “It’s for everyday makeup, because it’s easy to apply and have different colors to match the occasion. It will last throughout the day and it’s so intense, you just need to apply one time.”

Some of the beauty bloggers were trying it out, and they were sharing their thoughts on it as well. They loved it, as Lacquer Rouge really stands out from the ordinary lipstick. You can skip gloss, and will improve the condition of lips from time to time, leaving them smooth and shiny looking without the stickiness of ordinary gloss. A winner, indeed.

Tips: When using it, use the applicator to achieve total shine and gloss looks. For more matte looks, use your ring finger to tap on your lips.

Shiseido Lacquer Rouge are now available for Rp 290.000 a tube.

IT’S NOT COOL TO BE CRUEL

In this case, it’s not pretty if you’re being cruel to animals.

Have you ever imagine that the lipsticks we’re using were actually made from ladybug’s shell or the shimmer you’re applying is made possible by fish scales? That’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen through investigation video titled “The Ugly Truth” shown during the launch of Cruelty Free Campaign by The Body Shop Indonesia this morning.

Animal testing for the sake of our cosmetics is really not cool. It’s cruel. In the video shown, thank God my pics above are kind of blurred so you can’t see how the animals like mice and rabbits are suffering for the sake of our beauty products. According to Cruelty Free International, over 80% of countries across the world are still doing animal testing for cosmetics. Therefore, together with The Body Shop, they are committed to this cause and working together to achieve a worldwide ban on animal testing. As we all know, one of The Body Shop 5 values is “Against Animal Testing”. Both are now doing it with our help as customers, to sign the pledge in The Body Shop’s stores around the world, including Indonesia. “We hope that slowly, every region in the world will adapt this Cruelty Free campaign. And based on our experience, customer’s involvement and commitment will be heard more. The Body Shop has been doing “against animal testing” since 1996,” said Rika Anggraini, Corporate Social & Environmental Values Manager The Body Shop Indonesia.

Rika later explained that The Body Shop has been using a more reliable non-animal methods for products testing. “We’re using EPISKIN, it’s a synthetic human skin that react almost the same like our skin. We use them for ingredient test before the product developed and allergic test after the product has developed. It is more expensive, but no animals were involved at all.”

To kick off this campaign in Indonesia, local actresses and model, Rachel Amanda, Tya Ariestya and Laura Muljadi which are known as The Body Shop’s loyal customers since the Brit’s brand entered Indonesia, were signing the pledge at the event in Hotel Mulia, Jakarta, Indonesia. You can also help by dropping by to your nearest The Body Shop store and sign the pledge and leave your name and email. Or, simply log in to http://www.thebodyshop.co.id/ starting tomorrow.

At the same event, The Body Shop Indonesia also launched 100% Cruelty Free Makeup Collection by Lily Cole. Named the first ever global brand ambassador, Lily collaborated with The Body Shop for this lineup which includes lip shine, radiance primer, eyeliner, duo lip and cheek called dome, shimmer cubes and puff on radiance. Pretty in pink packaging, bright colors (many in purple, Lily’s favorite color) and shimmer that comes from mineral mica, not clam shells.

Being an eyeliner kind of gal, my favorite product from this line is the liquid eyeliner. Smudge to make smoky eyes look more natural, or leave the line straight. This limited edition collection will be available in selected The Body Shop Indonesia stores, starting tomorrow. And stay tune, cause this line will grace the runways in Jakarta Fashion Week, starting November 3, 2012 in Plaza Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia.

MALE MAGNET FRAGRANCE

As fashion lovers, we all know one must have fashion item in our closet which will make us look sexy, elegant, ultra chic and efficient for any events in our life. Little Black Dress, who doesn’t have it?

Just like a concept of Little Black Dress that every women should (read: must) have in their closets, Guerlain, a classic beauty brand since 1828, launched La Petite Robe Noire (means LBD in French). And just like LBD, that makes you feel good and powerful every time you wear it (which explained why we all have more than one inside our closets due to addictiveness to LBD), Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire does exactly that. Once you sniff it, it becomes addictive.

I attended the launch at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta yesterday to find out more about the sassy fragrance. “Guerlain as a brand, was and still a favorite among royalties,” said Raj Prem Bhojwani, Director of PT Aura Essence, who is the third generation of sole distributor that brought Guerlain to Indonesia. “Our first Indonesian President, Soekarno was a fan of Shalimar perfume,” he mentioned about the most famous Guerlain’s fragrance which was created back in 1925.

As an expert in the world of perfumery long before anything else that followed like make up and skin care, Guerlain did La Petite Robe Noire differently. “We collaborated with duo Kuntzel and Deygas, renowned visual artist with works such as “The Pink Panther” to create the character and advertisement. And the beautiful glass bottle is almost an exact replica of the 1912’s design L’Heure Bleue and Mitsouko by Guerlain in 1919,” explained Caroline Lesueur, Guerlain Asia Pacific Marketing Manager.

I enjoy the lovely presentation with Nancy Sinatra’s song “These boots are made for walkin” playing on the background (click to watch the ad here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzgUfhnAjjs). And even more when they spritzed the fragrance on a piece of uniquely blotter made from fabric like a cloth tag. Frankly speaking, at first I was expecting a different scent, more grown up fragrance like the other Guerlain’s fragrances. But surprise surprise, it doesn’t. At all. It reminds me of a rose macaron. Sweet and creamy. All the sweet temptation came from floral scents like rose, jasmine and orange blossom, fruity cherry, apple and blackcurrant, and powdery notes from white amber and musk.

Actually this 2012 La Petite Robe Noire are the latest version of two previous La Petite Robe Noire which were exclusive and limited edition thus only available in selected markets, back in 2009 and 2011. But this time, Guerlain made it available to the mass market by their in-house perfumer, Thierry Wasser.

As an Eau De Parfum lover, I do wish La Petite Robe Noire will be available soon in EDP, as for now they only available in Eau De Toilette (EDT), Body Lotion and Shower Gel.

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir price list in Indonesia:

– 30 ml EDT, Rp 610.000
– 50 ml EDT, Rp 830.000
– 100 ml EDT, Rp. 1.230.000
– 200 ml Body Lotion, Rp 590.000
– 200 ml Shower Gel, Rp 475.000

 

Roses are red, Rose Kashmirie is ….

the latest fragrance from Les Parfums De Rosine Paris. To find out more about this niche brand and its’ latest venture, I chatted with Marie-Hélène Rogeon when she visited Jakarta yesterday.

Chatted with me and media friends, the ever kind Marie dressed head to toe in Issey Miyake’s famous pleats that evening. “I love it. It’s so comfortable. And it’s so addictive, I must warn you. Once you wear it, you want more,” she smiled kindly. Addictive, just like all her fragrances creations for Les Parfums De Rosine.

Born into a family of perfumer, her grand grand father created Eau de Cologne for the Emperor Napoleon III and special wax for his majesty’s moustaches. Her passion for fragrances created original and wonderful compositions made from natural essences, mostly roses. “Roses has different colors and smell from one another. Some might smell fresh, some fruity like raspberries or blackcurrant scent. And roses are the easiest to mix with other ingredients. It’s the only flower that can be extracted into rose oil and rose absolue.” She explained further that rose oil will be used for top notes because of its’ very long lasting power. Meanwhile, rose absolue will be used for middle and base notes.

Les Parfums De Rosine only uses roses from Bulgaria, Turkey and Morocco. “Best in term of smell. For top notes, roses from Bulgaria is best. For one kilo of oil, we need 1000 kg of rose petals. We use only the petals which are harvested early in the morning to retain their freshness.” For Marie, creating fragrances is like creating music. “It’s not like I’m going to the lab and create the formula. It’s more like writing music composition.”

For her latest creation with fragrance designer François Robert (which have been working together with her for the last ten years), she was inspired by Bollywood. “It’s not something usual in France to watch Bollywood movies, but when I saw it, I felt the joy and colorful life. It’s like rose petals are flying everywhere in the Bollywood movies,” she laughed. And it didn’t take long for her and François to create Rose Kashmirie. “He lived in India before, so it was a fast process for me and him to create it. And he’s a traditional perfumer, so he knew instantly what I wanted in the first place,” she added.

Rose Kashmirie is a marriage between floral and spicy notes. This new oriental rose is beautifully balance with an astonishing accord of Bulgaria rose oil and red saffron from Cashmere. To magnify its’ scent, more scents were added like Chinese Peonies, Absolue rose of Damascus, Vanilla, Indian Vetyver Roots and Sandalwood. “Personally, sandalwood are my second ingredients that I love beside roses. It gives power and the touch of elegance to every fragrances,” Marie admitted.

Like other fragrances from Les Parfums De Rosine, it’s beautifully adorned with tassle. But this one, as unique as the scent itself, the tassle is very colorful with colors identified in most Bollywood movies such as yellow, green, and pink. For myself, this oriental categorized fragrance is warm and mysterious. When Marie passed around the saffron stuffed inside a tiny bottle and a rose oil bottle to be smell together, it’s so extraordinary how the two ingredients created a unique scent I’ve never smelled before. It’s going to be a night fragrance for myself, because of its’ sensuousness. When I asked Marie what kind of women that she sees using this fragrance, she answered: “Those who are sophisticated yet joyful towards life.” 

Rose Kashmirie by Les Parfums De Rosine will be released this October.

THE JOURNEY OF A SCENT

I’m a huge believer that a scent will develop memories, to take a nostalgic journey back through time. And for one particular perfume house and its perfumers in Paris, Dyptique, all their perfumes are journeys. 

This year, Dyptique presents its latest fragrance, Volutes. Inspired by memories of transatlantic crossings from Marseilles to Saigon made by one of three founders of the Dyptique House, Yves Coueslant, his childhood journey blends together in this concoction. Imagining elegance and freedom, with its beautiful female passengers wearing their expensive perfumes and the male were smoking tobacco on-board. 

To develop all of its memorable aromas, Dyptique and perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin blended an intense and bold tobacco with an Amsterdamer note, with accents of wax, honey and dried fruit. Top notes from fresh spices, pink pepper, Madagascan pepper and saffron give it warmness, and smoothened by golden honey. Iris, immortelle and myrrh are the contrary of tobacco, which cover all the facets of the fragrance. To give the olfactory power, storax, opopanax and benzoin which extracted using a brand new process, completed the balance of this genderless fragrance.

Volutes are available as an Eau De Parfum and Eau De Toilette which notable by the color of the label. Black is for the EDP and white label is the EDT. As I’ve attended the private dinner for Volutes launch last September, I noticed that the EDT is more transparent and light compared to the EDP. It does what it categorized: fruity, floral, aromatic and spicy at the same sniff. Unlike any EDT that I have tried and tested, somehow Dyptique will last longer, so if you’re looking for softer notes to wear throughout the day, than EDT is just perfect. For night, I do recommend to wear Volutes EDP. Elegant yet soft at their first spritz, but powerful in the end. So powerful, someone who noticed your smell that night will surely memorized you.

Even though one of its’ ingredients is tobacco, don’t worry, they are sweet ones. Instead of the strong smoky scent, you’ll smell the woods, incense and musk. Believe me, it’s nothing like your smokers friend shirt’s scent. 

Dyptique Volutes will be available in Jakarta at mid October 2012

SPARKLE OF JOY

Known globally for his signature pleats, the designer Issey Miyake created a unique label in 1993, Pleats Please. Represents a breath of freedom, the pleasure of unrestricted expression and unimpeded movement, his iconic look now delivered in a fragrance.

I attended the launch event for Indonesia’s media at Forme, a very nice furniture showroom in Jakarta. With fellow medias and bloggers, we were taken for a virtual walk to the development of Pleats Please, design of the bottle and the dynamic ad film which created by Nick Knight, one of the biggest names in contemporary photography. 

Clemence Negre, Asia Pacific Trainer for Beaute Prestige International, principal of Issey Miyake Fragrance, delivered the presentation and when I had a time to chat with her, she precisely told me about the whole fragrance in one word. “It’s all about JOY,” said Clemence who wore a Pleats Please by Issey Miyake dress from Fall/Winter Collection 2012.

To capture the joyous feeling and pays homage to a seminal fashion creation, the perfumer Aurelian Guichard composed a bright and cheerful bouquet. A hybrid fruit called Nashi which opens the sparkling top note, resemblance the aroma of fruity pear and apple. Floral notes from peony and sweet pea add the femininity yet delicate composition at the middle note. And at the very base, we can feel the mild sensation from the mixture of cedar, patchouli, vanilla and white musks. 

Check out the bottle! The sophisticated pleating interpreted to embody the 2D image of the pleat, becomes a 3D glass bottle. The cap takes the form of a floral calyx, carefully pleated which symbolized the white flower and the Pleats Please Fabric. 

After the presentation, we were given the first hand sniff of the fragrance through a pleats bracelet which was spritz with Pleats Please. Comes in Eau De Toilette, the first thing that slipped to my mind was: it’s different from the previous Issey Miyake’s fragrances such as L’Eau d’Issey. If they blind cover me, I won’t even guess if this unique scent is one of Issey Miyake’s fragrances. It’ll be perfect for day fragrance, as it has the cheerful scents and lightness in it.

And like the Pleats Please fashion collection that embraced by women all over the world because of its comfortable fabrics, easy wear and care, this fragrance counterpart will be loved as well, for its breath of freedom and happiness. 

The product range and their retail prices are as follow:
– EDT 30ml, Rp 575.000
– EDT 50ml, Rp 810.000
– EDT 100ml, Rp 1.110.000
– Moisturising Body Lotion 150ml, Rp 505.000
– Deodorant Spray 100ml, Rp 450.000
Pleats Please by Issey Miyake will be available at major department store in Jakarta, Indonesia by October 2012.