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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Check out this pretty box from DIPTYQUE, filled with petite bath & body products from
their new line L’ART DU SOIN.
Inspired by passion for travel and discovery, Diptyque incorporate this line with iconic
Mediterranean destinations, such as Alexandria, Florence, Cordoba etc. They
carefully chosen natural ingredients to remain free of parabens, silicons,
sulfates and other synthetic additives.
When I unboxed (check out my instagram @shintarosvita), the luxurious scent
immediately won me over. Inside the pretty cotton pouch (which also smells like
the products), there are SMOOTHING BODY POLISH, REVITALIZING SHOWER GEL FOR THE BODY & HAIR, FRESH LOTION FOR THE BODY & LUXURIOUS HAND BALM. All in 50
ml packaging except the 30 ml hand balm, perfect for traveling. I mean, we
still have to indulge ourselves while traveling, right?
They don’t just smell heavenly, their formulas contain many ingredients which are
good for our skin.
Smoothing Body Polish contains Pomegranate Seed Oil to moisturize and protect the skin,
Jasmine Floral Water to gently purifies and activate cell renewal & Peach
Butter to comfort and nourishes.
Revitalizing Shower Gel for Body and Hair contains Peppermint Essence to tones the skin,
Almond Extract to revitalize hair and give them volume and shine & Wheat
Oligopeptide to soothes the scalp.
Fresh Lotion for the Body contains Orange Blossom Water to soften, moisturize and
tones the skin, Organic Sweet Almond Oil to regenerates and restructures the
skin & Macadamia Nut Oil to soften and soothed the skin.
Luxurious Hand Balm contains Apricot Kernet Oil for dehydrated skin, Argan Oil for
brittle nails & Shea Butter to moisturize and revitalize the skin.
I believe they work harmoniously, so layering is recommended. Bon Voyage!
Thanks VOV Indonesia (@vovmakeupid) for sending me their latest products to review
which comes in a pretty black makeup pouch.
Unlike most of Korean brands which concentrate on skincare products, VOV strengthened
its position in Indonesia to be the only K-Makeup who concentrates on colors
makeup. And these are their latest innovations eye & lip colors makeup: ALL
DAY STRONG EYE COLOR & LIP COLOR. Both come in chubby retractable matte
pencil packaging, with a big round tip.
Here’s my review.
ALL DAY STRONG EYE COLOR
They sent me three shades of eye color to try, SL 211 (Silver Salt), PK 101 (Diabouquet) and BR 802 (Nude Foundation). As the name stated, SL 211 is shimmery silver, PK 101 is light
pink with shimmer and BR 802 is a pretty caramel shade with matte texture. I
believe it’s the only matte in the range. Please … please make more matte
shades in the future.
Personally, I don’t like to use shimmer and creamy eye color because I have oily lids and the colors will look ugly by noon. But with this VOV ones are different. Even though the two out of three shades, SL 211 and PK 101 are shimmery, they didn’t end up with oily lids
look. Judging from the swatch I did on a piece of paper, not even a slight of oil shown after 24 hours.
The best part: the shades stay true even if I don’t use eye primer and they didn’t crease by the end of the day.
I recommend to use these as eye shadow, not liner, because the tips are kind of big and round which make it difficult to reach small corner. And, make sure you blend fast after applying, because they tend to set faster than any eye color pencils I’ve tried. I love to bring these as a part of my traveling makeup kit, as I don’t have to worry they’ll be
broken to dust.
ALL DAY STRONG LIP COLOR
Being K-Makeup, their shades are limited to pink, red and orange. I wish they’ll
extend to nude shades because I really like their texture. They sent me three shades:
PK 101 (Pingvely), RD 302 (Smoke Red), and OR 202 (Coralster). As you can see
on the swatch I made, PK 101 is more to fuchsia than a true pink, RD 302 is a
brownish red and OR 202 is coral with touch of pink. These shades are lovely
bright, perfect to wear with nude eyes look.
Very smooth and creamy texture, therefore really easy to apply (you can skip lip
liner because these can act like one, too). Unlike some K-Makeup lipsticks I’ve
tried, these are super pigmented and gave matte finish without exaggerating any
lip lines. And hardly any kiss-up…yes, they’re transfer-proof but no worries,
they’re easily remove by cleansing oil.
December is a month of joy for me, indeed.
Thank you Sociolla and L’Oréal for this exclusive box, L’ORÉAL INFALLIBLE BOX,
which I received before the range was even launched in www.sociolla.com. I’m honored to be one of the chosen bloggers to review them first.
So I’ve heard a lot of good things from International Bloggers and Vloggers about the liquid foundation in this range. That’s why I’m beyond excited to unbox this red box (see my instagram @shintarosvita).
These are my thoughts about each of them:
STAY FRESH FOUNDATION
They claimed that the foundation will last until 24 hours, but seriously who wore it that long? My ordinary day with foundation on usually last from 9 AM to 9 PM at the latest, so it’s like half of what they claimed. On my super busy days, I rarely have time to touch up, so yes … I need a champion liquid foundation for my super oily skin. And this one
fits my criteria. Besides the long lasting factor (it’s not easily rub off),
the fact that it comes with pump bottle, has medium coverage, and matte but not
flat texture instantly won my heart. It gave me this fresh and natural skin
look, without getting cakey in the middle of my activity. I’ve received two in
the box, shade number 115 (Nude Beige) which is too light for me and 220 (Sand)
which is too dark. So I mixed both, and voila! I found my perfect shade.
MAKEUP EXTENDER SETTING SPRAY
Funny thing, I just watched Nikkia Joy’s YouTube about how to stop your makeup getting oily & shiny. And in the video, she sort of ‘rearrange’ makeup routine. Instead of primer first, she used setting spray first before everything else, and again at the very end. Yes,
two times of setting spray. So, I tried Nikkia’s trick with this Setting Spray.
I like the chunky matte spray bottle and the scent (which reminds me of
cinnamon), but when sprayed, the mist were a bit heavy, so be careful when you
have your clothes on. Once sprayed (shake well first), let it soak and dry,
especially if you use this at the end of your makeup routine. It did make my
blush hold for a lot longer (usually my blush will disappeared by mid-day). As
for the rest of my makeup, I still need to blot here and there, but at least my
foundation and powder stayed intact, not on the blotting paper.
PRO-CONTOUR
I guess this will work for those who want practicality on their makeup routine. Highlight & contour in one palette. For me, it’s a bit tacky to pick one up without touching the other. Since I have very light skin tone, number 813 (light) works best. The highlight shade
gave subtle sheen, and the contour is matte. Make sure you apply after
foundation before powder to make the shades more visible.
PRO-LAST LIP COLOR
These are serious lips business. I’ve tried so many lipsticks in my blogging life, but none compared to the lasting power of these babies. When I did the swatch on my hand, it took me two times of cleansing oil to erase them (don’t try to wipe them off with micellar water, it won’t work-trust me). They’re dual sided, liquid lip color on one end and clear lip
balm on the other. Liquid goes first before the balm, as the balm supposed to
lock and sets the color for their claim of 24 hours coverage. As you can see,
the liquid lip color is not matte, in fact they’re more glossy and shiny. It did
apply easily but can get a little dry on mid-day. I suggest to totally reapply
after eating, as it can get flaky if you do touch-up only. Of all six shades
I’ve received, my favorite is number 201 Everlasting Caramel (end right).
From L-R: 223,123, 211,113, 221, 201
NEVER FAIL LIPLINER
First of all, it already won me over their retractable packaging (I dislike sharpening). But be very careful as you twist, as it’s prone to breakage due to their super creamy formula. Just like the name of the product, their shade names are descriptive & super straight forward. It glides easily to frame lips and give that matte full lips look if worn alone
(always moisturize first). FYI, I have a soft spot for muted neutrals, so my
choice will be Nude and Rose.
Thanks @sociolla and @getthelookid for this exclusive box. To shop now, click here.
Thanks Sociolla for sending me these new
fabulous lipsticks to review.
Featuring three gradient shades in one lipstick
bullet, this lipstick will surely help those who wants to achieve that
Korean-inspired ombre lips look. Without the hassles of having to cover the
whole lips with foundation and powder, then applied two, or even three lipstick
shades from different bullets, these lipsticks are killing it in terms of
practicality.
Let’s swatch them, shall we?
From Top to Bottom order: OR 01, RD 01, RD 03, PK
01
Verdict:
Texture: ultra creamy and glides smoothly on
bare lips (sans lip balm).
Scent: fruity like melon. They claimed to use
colors that are infused with natural food grade pigments (but still…avoid
licking them).
Final result: it looks glossy on the lips, but
surprisingly not sticky. Subtle sheen and not shimmery, it gives this naturally
stained look.
Durability: need to reapply after drinking and/or
eating.
How they looked on my lips. RD1 and PK1 are almost similar in term of shades. If I have to pick my favorite shades will be RD3, the darkest of all four shades that they sent me.
If you want to try them now, go to SOCIOLLA.COM
now because they’re having a promotion. For every purchase of 1 piece of
Maybelline Bitten Lips, get 30% off. And if you buy more, 3 pieces of
Maybelline Bitten Lips, you’ll get 50% off. Awesome, right? So click now before
they sold out.
Congratulations for Doré by LeTao 4th store in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Located on PIK Avenue, the biggest mal in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, I believe it’s smaller than their Plaza Indonesia’s store. At the opening event when I attended, there were no seats like the one in Plaza Indonesia. So I guess, this store is just for take-away only.
FYI, Doré is a subsidiary brand of LeTAO, one of the best-selling cheesecake brands in the world. Founded in 1996 and based in Hokkaido, Japan, LeTAO is celebrated around the globe for their delicate and velvety cheesecakes. To produce such, they work meticulously with Japanese pastry chefs which use specific oven imported from Japan.
In the PIK Avenue store, they showcase their finest ingredients.
Yes, lots of cheese! But for those who are more adventurous, there are more exciting flavors such as, strawberry, coffee and chocolate.
Since it’s almost Christmas, there are pretty gift boxes and hampers to choose here.
And…if you’re not a cake person, no worries, there are lots of cookies to choose too. Like this Golden Honey Palmier.
These days, you don’t even have to come to the store to purchase them. Go to their website here, order via Whatsapp and they’ll deliver to your doorstep.
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