Tag: review

MIDAS TOUCH

Trust me, if you ever tried one of Kérastase’s Hair Rituals, you’ll forget there are cream bath or any other similar but not the same hair treatment.

It’s a ritual like no other, it didn’t just make my hair look good, it made me feel good. Gorgeous healthy hair that bounced with glory every time I walk, will definitely made my day. I bet you too.

After the marvelous launching event of Kérastase Elixir Ultime Grands Crus (see it here), Kérastase Indonesia invited me and a few other bloggers yesterday to experience their latest Hair Rituals, 24 Carats Ritual. Just like its’ name, the pure and fine gold measurement, the ritual itself is really a luxurious experience. Tailor made, just like the other Kérastase’s hair ritual, but this time using Kérastase Elixir Ultime’s range, including the predecessor Kérastase Elixir Ultime and the latest addition: Sublime Cleansing Oil Shampoo, Beautifying Oil Mask and Grands Crus.

Frankly speaking, I was being skeptical at first as I have super oily scalp and the thought of washing and treating it with oil didn’t thrill me. But, boy…was I wrong. The shampoo effectively cleansed my scalp without weighing my hair down. The mask, which actually looks like a thick cream mixed with gold flakes crushed, nourished my hair completely, leaving them with a lustrous looking shine. As for the Grands Crus, it completed the whole ritual by its’ divine scent. If they did ‘magic’ to my short hair, imagine what they can do for longer hair.
Let me share my 24 Carats Ritual’s experience at Irwan Team Hair Design, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta.

  • First the therapist applied Elixir Ultime Oil to the scalp and shafts on dry hair (pre-shampoo), and massage for 5 minutes.
  • Then, shampoo with Sublime Cleansing Oil Shampoo.
  • The therapist blend about two spoon of Beautifying Oil Mask, two drops of Elixir Ultime and Grands Crus (I personally picked THÉ IMPÉRIAL for the colored hair) and he applied them generously on the shafts.
  • Cold steam for about 10 minutes, while the therapist did hot stones massage on my back, hands and feet.
  • Rinse without shampoo and preparing for blow dry with a drop of Grands Crus THÉ IMPÉRIAL.

As you can see from my pictures above, my hair looks like they have just been revamped. Though I don’t have Giselle Bundchen’s long shiny locks, I’m quite happy with the way they bounced healthily and most of all smell incredible. “Your choice of Grands Crus is actually inspired by Chanel fragrance’s, Coco Mademoiselle,” said Caroline Dery, Group Product Manager Kérastase.

After our 24 Carats Ritual’s experience, a beauty luncheon was held and Caroline explained more about the Grands Crus line. “ROSE MILLÉNAIRE suited for the passionate moods, MORINGA IMMORTEL for the elegant in you, THÉ IMPÉRIAL for the romantics and ELIXIR ULTIME for the glamorous.” If my choice (THÉ IMPÉRIAL) was inspired by Coco Mademoiselle, MORINGA IMMORTEL was inspired by Kenzo Flower, while ROSE MILLÉNAIRE was inspired by Aromatonic from Lancome. Yes, everyone would be able to find an elixir suited for their hair type or just to suit their mood.

But, don’t just take my words for this special hair ritual. Seriously, you have to feel it yourself to believe it.

 

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR PAYCHECKS FOR MAKEUP?

I believe many of you would love to spend a lot for a piece of that designer’s lipstick.

Who doesn’t? But for those who are still looking for an affordable way to get our makeup products change in a fast period of time (personally I called this “Beauty Itch”), fret not. Wet n Wild is our access to get that ‘itches’ gone in no time. Beauty brand originated from Los Angeles, USA, is now accessible for Indonesia’s market.

Good to know that most of their products are gluten free and vegan, plus they are one of the PETA-certified cruelty free brand (hello, that means they never test on animals). Their latest collaboration is with Fergie to support amfAR (that’s American Foundation for AIDS Research), and yes, Fergie is their latest Global Beauty Ambassador as well. Too bad Fergie’s collection is not available here in Indonesia, but you’ll be glad to know that their products won’t cost you the world. For nothing cost more than Rp 150.000 each, getting your hands on the new colors of eyeshadows, lipsticks, lipglosses, blushers, eyeliners and nail colors won’t be that exhausting for our dear wallet.

And thanks to Wet n Wild Indonesia, I’ve got picked as one of their official Beauty Ambassador and I’m honored. See my first ever Wet n Wild’s look above created with Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio #380B Walking On Eggshells (it cost Rp 89.000), Mega Liner #E861 Black (Rp 79.000), Mega Slicks #E568 Bronze Berry (Rp 69.000).

And the verdict? No fuzz eyeshadow trios, as they were embossed on each color. Very thoughtful ideas, don’t you think? So beginners who are clueless about which color goes where, will know exactly where to put the Browbone, Crease and Eyelid color where it belongs. A bit shimmery yet pigmented colors glide on easily and they last until I took them off at night. The colors look very natural, perfect for day look.

Even though I’m not a big fan of liquid eyeliner and brush that usually comes with it, but I love their Mega Liner. Like the eyeshadows, it’s very pigmented, glides on easily and long lasting. Look how I managed to achieve those thin strokes?

As for the Mega Slicks, I have to say the color looks very very natural on me. First application might be a bit shimmery but after blending, it sets quite well to give me a full looking lips without the chapped. My lips did look healthier and plumpier. It has the scent which reminds me of overcooked caramel, sans the taste.

Being a first timer using this beauty brand, now I’m not surprised why Wet n Wild has built their reputation over the last 30 years and noted as one of the leading authorities of color in the mass beauty market.

Visit their Indonesia’s online store to view the complete range.   

 

 

THE (BB) TRANSFORMERS

From white to a perfect shade. Your own.

Don’t you hate it when you bought the wrong shade of makeup base? I do. Especially if it’s a new product and we have no clue about which shade number we should pick. Well, good to know that problem wouldn’t exist for this latest BB Cream from The Body Shop.

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream, Colour-Adapting Tinted Cream is available now in Indonesia, in three color changing tones. Number one for lighter skin tones, number two for medium skin tones and number three for darker skin tones. Just pick the shade closest to your skin tone, and let the product do the rest for you. As you can see, mine is number two. 

Unlike any BB Cream I’ve experienced before, this one is lighter in texture. It really feels like moisturizer when applied. And don’t let the white cream fooled you. Yes, it starts out as a white liquid. But once applied, the pigment filled capsules (those tiny dots) will somehow burst, released the color inside and (magically) transformed to your skin tone, leaving no trace of whiteness.  

The key to any successful application is blend, blend and blend (I used my fingers), to reach an undetectable result. It really blend well with just one swept anyway, but just to be safe. With light fragrance, it goes very sheer and subtle. It did even out my skin tone (check out my side of nose), brighten it and added healthy glow. Now, I can see why this BB cream reportedly sold every 27 seconds around the world. For my final result above, I added concealer to hide any extra blemishes and under eyes circles, plus compact powder for that matte look.

Overall, I believe The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream, Colour-Adapting Tinted Cream is perfect for our (super hot) climate as it goes really light. Just don’t forget to apply your regular sunblock beforehand as it doesn’t contain any SPF & for those who need extra coverage, keep your concealer handy.

Currently, The Body Shop Indonesia is having a promotion for this BB Cream on their online store. Go check them out.

 

(ANOTHER) MUST HAVE FOR COLORED HAIR

And this particular one, comes in butter texture.

It had me at no parabens, alone. As you might already know, parabens can be found in hair products, as they’re known as preservatives. Just being precautious as I’m getting older, whenever I can help it, I chose a no parabens product.

And this hair mask from The Body Shop is one of my personal choice. It comes as a blessing for me, who would love to go to hair salon every week to get a hair spa, but (lately) my patience to sit down for hours seem to run out.

The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter for colored hair feels like a thick conditioner, smell like berries and rinsed out (surprisingly) easily with warm water. Some of the ingredients listed are pracaxi oil, bilberry extract and linseed oil to protect the colored hair from dullness and keep it shiny. I use it once a week in the shower after shampoo session. What I usually do, after I shampooed, I apply the hair butter and I let it soak for 5 minutes while I clean the rest of my body. I believe that’s more practical than having to get out of the shower, put on a hair mask and in to the shower again just to rinse your hair.

I love the lasting scent it left on my hair and it made my short, coarse, colored hair softer, easier to comb. As for the shine, it did show after blow drying. However, I recommend this for them who don’t expect any volumizing result. IMHO, it’ll work well for long hair and longing for those straight long locks.

 

 

WHY IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TOO START

While I have to thank my mom for introducing me to eye cream when I hit my 17th birthday, I wish someone told me back then to use the complete anti-aging skincare regimen.

Not just eye cream, but the whole thing, starting from cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer and night cream. It is better to stop those wrinkles and any signs of aging on your face before they do appear and become much harder to erase. Especially for us who live with every day sun, pollution and stress exposure that damage our skin constantly. Just note that premature anti-aging regimen is a wise thing to do.

Thankfully (and sometimes confusingly), now there are many beauty brands which can accommodate our needs for a complete anti-aging regimen that work synergistically. Deciding on which, for me is a fun part of being a woman. We are spoilt with choices, ladies.

Earlier this year, January 2013, Amway Indonesia launched Artistry Youth Xtend, a breakthrough skincare which claimed to reprograms the future of skin to delay aging. Who wouldn’t want that? So I decided to give them a try.

And thanks to Amway, I had an unique experience in Amway Experience Center, right here in Jakarta, Indonesia. I had a chance to try on Artistry F.A.C.E.S (Facial Analysis Computer Evaluation System), a very special machine exclusive to the Artistry brand which can personalized our Artistry skincare. The personalize analysis from the UV photo includes: skin type, hyperpigmentation, fine lines & wrinkles, and Porphyrin (aka acne bacteria). Be brave to see the results, it could be quite shocking to see how many bacteria living under that nose pores or those pigmentation spots underneath your epidermis are ready to show. But no worries, there’s always solution. Judging from my results, they recommend me which products will suit my combination skin best. They are a whole range of Artistry Youth Xtend range, Rich Cleansing Foam, Softening Lotion, Serum Concentrate, Protecting Lotion, Enriching Lotion and Enriching Eye Cream. A whole set to cleanse, tone, treat and moisturize (day and night), that will address the first signs of aging with synergistic combination of botanicals and progressive technology.

What’s inside?

LifeSirt : a botanical extract from Mediterranean, known for its skin rejuvenating properties to extend the lifespan of healthy skin cells,

Micro-X6 Peptide : to repair skin’s existing damage and boosting collagen.

African Baobab Fruit Extract : natural moisturizer high in Vitamin A, E and F, which protects skin against future damage.

So, currently this is what I do every day for my beauty regime to achieve more youthful looking skin (and I intend to keep it that way as long as I can):

1 Cleansing with Rich Cleansing Foam. The scent is soft, I love the light creamy texture (which will produce medium foam after water contact) & the result. It cleanse well, zap my oil on the T-Zone Area without making the rest of my skin feels and looks tight or dry.

2 Toning with Softening Lotion. Not an ordinary toner, it’s liquid but it’s not watery. It’s a very light lotion, just pour a bit to cotton pads and pat gently. Instantly refresh my skin, doesn’t leave my skin dry and prep it for the next step.

3 Treat with Serum Concentrate. It will absorb in a jiffy. I just use one pump for the whole face, including neck. Do not neglect your neck, ladies. Seriously.

4 Protect & moisturize with Protecting Lotion. Since I have a combination skin, this lotion was recommended for me, instead of Protecting Cream which I guess is more creamy and suitable for drier skin. I love this, because it contains SPF 15 PA+++, so I can skip my ordinary sunblock and this really help my morning rush.

5 Boosting my skin’s ability to repair itself at night with Enriching Lotion. Surprisingly, I always wake up with more smooth and moisturized skin in the morning. The lotion texture also helps to absorb better than any night cream I’ve ever tried and it didn’t cause me any breakouts.

6 Last but not least, banishing those fine lines on eyes area with Enriching Eye Cream. Super rich texture which works well with under eyes concealer. Use the spatula provided and pat for ultra absorption.

 

NO TIME TO PUT ON BODY LOTION?

Here’s to our beauty savior.

In this wonderful world of beauty, you really have to try anything and I mean it. That’s precisely why this blog existed in the first place. The key words will be: you won’t know until you try. Exactly my thought when I tried L’Occitane Amande Shower Oil.

I won’t know if it :

–       Smells heavenly. I wish L’Occitane will make the same fragrance of this scent.

–       Looks like oil, feels like oil, but not oily. Get it? It’s weird, hard to explain until you try it yourself.

–       Cleanse my body like never before. It’s not foamy, yet my skin feels so clean.

–       Makes my razor glides evenly. Use this oil as a base for shaving on dry skin before taking a bath, and feel how smooth the result is.

–       Leaves sort of satiny feeling after I towel dry.

–       Cuts my morning rush time. I’ve tried using body lotion afterwards, it won’t absorb like usual. This shower oil made me realize, ‘hey, I probably don’t need body lotion anymore’. 

(ANOTHER) EYEBROW MAKEOVER

How do your eyebrow look?

Getting the perfect eyebrow for my face shape is never easy. In my good days, my face looks more oval. In my bad days, it looks round. It changes, really. Yes, there are tips on how to shape your own eyebrow, how to measure and arch….but seriously, I never pluck my own eyebrow unless they’ve been shaped by professionals before. It is a tricky and (in my case) dangerous situation if there’s over plucking involved, and I end up looking (more) fierce than I already am. Haha…

Back in July last year, I’ve tried Anastasia Beverly Hills in Bangkok. See my previous post here. The latest eyebrow shaping adventure I had, was at Erabelle Prestige, Singapore. Located in Vivo City, I decided to go with one of their services, named Erabrow Design. The brow trimming service, non permanent ones. I don’t have the courage yet to do any semi-permanent either permanent eyebrow shaping, so from now, it seems to be a safe choice.

The 20 minutes service (that was quick) of eyebrow shaping cost me SG$29. They plucked, trimmed, and colored (with eyebrow pencil) my eyebrows to my desired shape which also suit my face shape at that moment (which apparently turned heart shaped when I got too thin). Service’s wise, OK. Love the ambience and the nice therapist with kimonos, but I still prefer the end result from Anastasia Beverly Hills. Every great thing does come with the price, indeed. 

FINISH WHAT I STARTED (SHAMPOO EDITION)

Here they are, three (yes, three) shampoo empties of the month.

1 CLAIROL HERBAL ESSENCES BREAK’S OVER
Claimed to be an anti breakage strengthening shampoo, I did experience not too much of hair fall at shampoo time. What I love about it is the clear texture, as I’m totally not a big fan of creamy shampoo which I believe will make my hair limp. It foams well, too. What I don’t like about this shampoo is the scent. It’s too overpowering and it doesn’t smell like lavender (it was written on the bottle) at all. Repurchase? Mmmm…maybe.

2 THE BODY SHOP RAINFOREST SHINE SHAMPOO
Another clear shampoo, perfect for me. I count on this shampoo when I feel like my hair is getting slightly dry on the ends. As I really have oily scalp and hair, I used this as weekly shampoo. The scent is very natural, of course and has medium foaming factor. After my hair is dry, I can see it looks more shiny and feels very light. Repurchase? Yes.

3 KIEHL’S TEA TREE OIL SHAMPOO
I used this twice a week, due to its’ effectiveness to zap the oil on my scalp and hair. Less scented and less foamy unlike other shampoos I’ve tried. Oh, and more expensive too. But it’s really worth it, because it really works for oily hair owner. I recommend not to use it everyday as it can over dry and don’t forget to use conditioner on the ends afterwards. Repurchase? Yes. 

AS EASY AS 1-2-3

The Up’s and Down’s of using nail stickers.

Firstly, I still love nail gel. I personally think it is the greatest beauty invention for an impatient woman like me. I hate waiting for nail colors to dry. But…sometimes I also don’t have the time to go to nail spa to get the gel color done, but I feel ‘naked’ without any color on my nails. So what to do? Nail Stickers.

This time, I tried OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps  named Pink & Black Lace.

I like it because:

+ It’s easy to wear. It comes in a set of 2 strip in variable sizes to match your nails (no matter how big or small, or how long or short they are). Make sure you pick the right size for each finger nails.

+ Simple instructions on the back of the packaging. Just peel, stick and smooth them on, then tear (no scissors or filing needed).

+ No base coat, no top coat needed as well. Stick them on clean nails though.

I dislike it because:

–       Longevity sucks. If you wash your hands regularly like me, or using them a lot, you can see the edges chipped away in only one day.

–       Too many left overs and they can’t be kept for next application because they will dry in a jiffy. They come in 16 sizes, and we have only 10 fingers (right?). What’s the point of sticking them to the toe nails? It’s still not enough, unless you want to pull off that ‘United Colors’ style on your nails. Not me, thanks.

–       It’s bloody expensive for one application that last no longer than 7 days tops. I bought them from an online seller for Rp 135.000. My ordinary nail gel PLUS manicure only cost me Rp 220.000 and they last for two weeks. You do the math.

CONCLUSION: Nail Gel is still the best for me. But, as I said, if I don’t have the time to visit the nail spa, then this nail sticker is my beauty savior…temporarily.

 

 

FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER

 

A range of natural products from Australia just landed here in Jakarta, Indonesia.

What an interesting name, MooGoo. I was invited to their launch last week and found out a lot more exciting info about the Australian brand.

It was made when the founder adapted a cream used to heal cow’s udders to keep them in good condition for milking, to help a family member with a skin problem. And if you’re into that natural products, you’ll be relieved to know that there are no petroleum or chemical based ingredients in MooGoo products. And, they listed all their ingredients on their products as well.

So natural, their lip balm is edible (but, seriously, I won’t eat it out of curiosity). Claimed to have effective ingredients designed for people with skin and scalp problems, like eczema, psoriasis and acne, I was eager to try the Skin Milk Udder Cream given to the guests at their launch event.

Well, it’s the original udder cream that started it all. But unlike the legendary cream that was thick and greasy, this udder cream is more light and non greasy at all. It contains Milk Protein, which claimed to increase skin elasticity 20% more than ordinary cream. First applied, the texture feels like a mixture between balm and cream, but surprisingly absorb really well. The scent reminds me of baby cream mixed with vanilla ice cream. I applied it on the back of my hands (the most dry part of all) and it made them feel soft and smell good like a baby. And yes, even your baby can wear it too, it’s recommended for easily irritated skin for all ages.

We can get them online, or in Watson’s Mall Kelapa Gading 3, Pondok Indah Mall 2, Mall Kota Kasablanka, Lippo Mall Kemang, Super Mall Karawaci, and Summarecon Mall Serpong.