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2 PRINT DRESSES FOR 2 NYE’S PARTY

We’re counting down to 2013 as I blog, have you decided what to wear?

It’s important to decide what you’ll be wearing, literally from head to toe for the New Year Eve’s Party. Here, I recommend a few styling tips to pick the right print dress & accessories for two NYE’s occasions. Either you’re hanging out with friends or spending it with your big family, you’ll look stylish and most importantly, comfortable.

 PARTY WITH FRIENDS?

–  Free your mind and pick a much more fun print dress for partying with your pals. Go shorter in sleeves or hem. It’s all about having fun.

–  Same trick goes to accessories. Pick a long dangling gold earrings if you must, and get ready to shine. Stay away from bracelets, because they’ll get in a way while you’re partying. Trust me.

–   Choose a smaller sling bag that will fit any important thing you need for the night, because you don’t want to party and clutching your bag all night.

–   Ankle booties are the right walking companion for this occasion. They just look more hip and fun.

 

PARTY WITH BIG FAMILY?

–  Stay classic. Choose smaller print for the dress and don’t go too mini. You don’t want your brother in-laws to stare, right?

–  Stick to simple accessories with a ‘wow’ factor. A Chanel earrings will do that.

–  Bring your simple clutch as well. You need something to hold on to when you’re in awkward family situation. LOL.

–  Why bother using stilettos? But don’t just use any flats. Opt for leather instead of canvas with an extra style which will give you that stylish boost. 

COULD YOUR PILLOW CAUSED ACNE?

The answer is yes.

Wondering why after all that 7 skin care routines, you still have pimples? Have you checked your pillow? How long did you have it already? How many times did you change the case in a week?

Except skin care products, we use pillow to sleep on every day. Especially for those side sleepers, those ugly combinations (oil, dirt and germs) are pressed against your face every night, causing the pores to become clogged. Add dirty linen and old pillow to the picture, voila! Your face will be the perfect canvas for acnes to grow. Your long hair can contribute to this problem as well (imagine those oil and dirt, collective from unwashed hair for two days). That oil and dirt will transfer on to the pillow, and goes straight to your face.

OK, enough about the dirty causes. Now on to the solutions.

1.    Reminder: there are no such things as best pillow or linen for acne fighting. Ordinary pillow will do, but have extra linen for casing change, at least once a week. Don’t tell me you’re still using your baby pillow because you can’t sleep without it. Try to change your pillow once a year (it’s more hygienic and fluffy to sleep on too).

MY PICK : SERTA (available at big department stores in Jakarta, Indonesia).

2.    You don’t need an Egyptian Cotton pillow case which cost a fortune. Yes, it cost that much because it is the best. But for cheaper alternative, a fine cotton with 300 thread count (check on the packaging before buying) already feel soft and smooth. Stay away from polyester which might leave you feeling scratchy.

MY PICK: AUSSINO (available in Metro Department Store, Jakarta, Indonesia).

3.    There’s a new material (for pillow case) from bamboo which claimed to be anti bacterial, and supposed to be more breathable. Might be helpful for acne-prone skin.

4.    Bought a new one? Wash before using, as it might contain sizing coating which can irritate sensitive skin. And always use gentle laundry detergent when washing your pillow case. Harsh detergent can irritate skin, pronto.

5.    While we can’t control how we sleep while sleeping peacefully, try to sleep on your back, face away from the pillow.

6.    Too lazy to wash your long hair before bed time? Pull your hair into a bun or ponytail to keep it off your face and pillow.

BAGS THAT WILL MAKE US LOOK YOUNGER

Are you a true believer that accessories can make or break a look? Read on.

Classic and conservative accessories (like that black tote bag *yawn*) might be highly interpreted as old and boring, especially if you’re also wearing little black dress with black stockings and black pumps. Seriously, is someone out there still doing this?

Have a (fashionable) life, ladies. It’s really not hard to make an outfit pop and in the same time avoiding you to look boring (and worse, old). The trick is picking the right accessories to make your look more youthful and fun. In this case, I’m going to discuss about bags as the ultimate accessories for everyday’s staple.

Yes, little black dress might be timeless as any of those classic fashion, but you can add the zing by wearing a trendy colorful bag. See, it’s very essential to create this Fashion Yin & Yang thing, mixing trendy modern style bag with smart, classic outfit. My current fave bags’ collection is MISCHA, Hong Kong’s local brand, designed by Michelle Lai in 2004. I love her signature’s print which actually launched two years ago, that became the brand’s iconic print. Using interlocking hexagons, they’re actually a representation of the sea tortoise’s shell which symbolized longevity. Check out the prints that look so modern, it’ll add instant youthfulness to any outfit. Yes, modern prints helped. So does the style and the color of a bag. Add some fun to your look by choosing the cute style (like the Dumpling Clutch above). Go for smaller bag and more lively colors (either bright or pastel). If you do need bigger bag, opt for sling bags as messenger’s style scream “Young”.

As I also believe that fashion is all about experimenting your own style, so be it. Go with a variety of different bags style to achieve your own fashionable look with a more youthful appearance. 

SURVIVING SALE SEASON

How to save without closing your eyes when you passed by their windows. Aha!

My best friend didn’t call me “Shinta-The Power Shopper” for nothing. She knew pretty well that I can shop my heart out in only 30 minutes time…before the store’s closing time. While she came home with one paper bag, I could end up with more than 5 bags from different stores. 

How did I do that? Here’s “The Power Shopper” tips:
– Don’t go to the mall before you know exactly what you need.
– What you need is NOT what you want to buy (this is kind of the difference between Love and Lust, ladies).
– You are allowed to look at other things, too. But strictly hold on to this rule: Look, Touch, Don’t Buy. 
– Don’t let your friend(s) ‘poisoning’ you to buy things that you don’t actually need just because they said it looks good. If they said it looks good, why don’t they buy it for themselves?
– Know your weakness well. Mine will be bags…and shoes. If I ever got my eyes on a certain item, I’ll think immediately about my closet. How many black bags do I have already? How many nude pumps do I have already? Seriously, do you think you need another one of item that you already have? Usually, I’ll aim to other colors or other luxury brands to invest. We all need investment, right? 
– Last but not least: remind yourself that you didn’t pick your money from your money tree at your backyard. Hold on tight to that credit cards. Use it wisely.  

There you have it. Meanwhile, I’m going to share that the sale season is definitely on, right here in Jakarta. These are some of them, which I might go this weekend. Please feel free to share things that you bought over sale season all through this December. You can go to my facebook fan page, and make sure to click ‘like’. 

Happy Shopping, ladies.  

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.

CAN WE PULL THIS TREND OFF?

Unlike some fortunate ladies who live in a colder climate countries, rocking this dress over pants trend is a bit difficult for us.

Layering. Super cool when you know how, but extra hot (literally) when you live elsewhere (in my case, Jakarta, Indonesia). So when Emma Watson showed up with this black mini dress with a pair of black jeggings, it was a total mind opener. 

Back in the 1990’s dress over pants were huge. Actually it was not only pants, we wore them over jeans and anything as far as I can remember. But can we really pull this trend off now where I live?

Sure can. Here’s how:
– Keep it monochromatic like Emma did.
– Strapless dress is good as top, as it’s less hot, literally.
– Stick to a slim, super slim trousers or jeggings (no leggings please).
– Avoid ballerina flats as they’ll look sloppy, stick to high heel pumps or head for brogues shoes instead.
– As the trend’s name said: dress over pants. Don’t add more jacket or vest over the dress. Enough is enough.
– Less is definitely more for accessories and make up. You don’t want to pile up in this trend case, believe me.

OUT OF NAIL SPA IN A SNAP

Firstly introduced to a faster way to dry your nail polish in a zap by OPI through their marvelous Gelcolor, now I’m never coming back to ordinary nail polishes. 

The secret is in everything actually. Not just the UV lamp which will dry everything on each hand in 30 seconds, but also with special base coat, nail polish and top coat which are different than the ordinary ones. They’re specially made to suit the whole system, and it cost more.

I have to be honest, even though I’m not in a hurry, I don’t have the patience to wait until they dry. Most of the time, when I did basic manicure, my nail colors already chipped before I got out of the nail spa’s door, really. That’s why this gel nail manicure is like the answer to my prayer. The application steps are similar with the basic manicure, base coat, nail color and top coat. Until the UV lamp comes to the rescue. For every application from the base coat until top coat, we have to put our hands inside the UV lamp for them to dry. 

Here, I tried CND Shellac for the first time, which promised flawless color for 14 days. Ease of the nail polish with the permanence of gel, it supposed to stay shiny and less prone to chip. My choice of color: Red Baroness, deep metallic red. Even though I dig this gel nail color in the first place for its ability to dry faster, but I do love how they shine more glossy than ordinary nail polish. As for the chipped factor, I don’t really care if they stay on for two weeks, cause I never let my nail polish to stay that long on my nails. 

Every time I use gel color, I will go back to the nail spa to remove them completely, as they have this special trick. They will use the strongest acetone dipped on the cotton pad and wrapped each finger using aluminum foil. They will leave it to soak for 5 minutes or more and later peel the gel color from our nails. Seems easy, but I never tried this at home as I’m too lazy to do it myself. 

Tips: avoid to let your nail polish stay longer than 3 days, as it’ll make your nails look yellowish and dull.

BUTTONS UP

You’re the one who always lost your buttons on your clothing and never bother to sew them back again? Me too. But wait, there’s hope for us who actually can’t sew. To avoid another lost buttons, dab clear nail polish on the threads of the buttons to prevent them from fraying or loosening.