Etude House Shini Star Clear BB Lotion

I am a picky person, for everything. Even for make up. That's why I would spend a long time to read make up reviews just to buy one product. This time, I'm craving for BB cream. For those who is not familiar with this product, this term "BB Cream" or to be exact "Blemish Balm Cream" is a special cream made firstly by the plastic surgeon and dermathologist to treat post-surgery patients. Plastic surgery? Yep, after the surgery, the scar might formed and to cover and also nourish the skin around the scar, doctors used BB Cream.

Now BB Cream is almost everywhere so I'd be a little surprised if you people never heard about it before. At first, BB cream is only created by Korean cosmetics, but now, it's everywhere in the world. Even the European and American beauty companies are producing it now. For my home country; Indonesia, BB Cream is a relatively new for Indonesian brand. As far as I know the only Indonesian cosmetics brand that sells BB Cream is Caring Colors. The rest is unknown.

So, why I crave for this product? Based on some reviews and trials from my friends' or samples, I can say that:

+ BB Cream is a one step product. Means that BB cream contains Moisturizer, Foundation, and (sometimes) Sunscreen. Pretty easy, eh?

+  BB Cream cover face flaws such as; acne scars and dark spots

So, after a long time survey on the internet and asking my friends about BB Cream, finally I decided to purchase this BB Cream; Etude House Shini Star Clear BB Lotion.

yay! my first BB Cream has arrived

the ingredients (sorry the pic is blurry :( )

I bought this BB cream out of the blue since I really crave for BB cream but do not that much budget for Etude House Precious Mineral Bright Fit BB Cream (this was on my wish list). Hehe, I didn't buy Missha M Perfect Cover because I already tried it once when my friend gave me hers. Its feature that attracts me so much is its claim for 4-free system (No Paraben, No Ethanol, No Mineral Oil, No Benzophenone). So what's so bad about these ingredients anyway?

• Paraben :  It is reported that parabens can mimic estrogen and disrupt the body's hormone system. It can lead to Breast cancer, many sources says.
• Ethanol :  Ethanol will irritate the skin and eyes.  
• Mineral Oil : Mineral oil should never be used on the hair and skin. Never! Why? Mineral oil clogs the pores and suffocates the skin, which is a breathing organ. Your hair and skin are alive and you must treat them as such.
• Benzophenone :  As a photocarcinogen, it's demonstrated an increase in the production of harmful free radicals and an ability to attack our DNA cells.

See, while the product containing these 4 ingredients might use adequate or safe level of concentration in the product, we have to be extra cautious since we also don't know whether it's true or not. You don't want to gamble on your own skin, right?

the BB cream, it's a bit small though

So, that's the reason why I purchase this product. Aside from that, I find this BB Cream relatively cheap than other BB Cream. Hehe.. The size is small, for me. But, up until now (around 4 months), this BB Cream still have more than a half of it though I use it for everyday use. One more thing from this BB Cream that I love is that it comes in pump packaging! Yay, I'm not a hygiene-freak, but I'm such a careless person who often end up spilling things here and there, so this is a big yes.

it comes in pump packaging, which I love

LUX Fine Fragrance Magical Spell

Hi everyone! I would like to review this product since I got this from last week event. So, have you ever heard about LUX? I bet you all will definitely know about that, right? Yep, LUX, who doesn't know LUX in Indonesia? LUX has been here for decades. Even, my mom loves it and since I already use LUX for years, up until now I still being so faithful to LUX. LUX has been well-known for its elegant image, and here it goes again, LUX launched its first Fine Fragrance Series for its body wash line product. LUX Magical Spell Body Wash is part of it, of course. 

This will best describe LUX Magical Spell looks like:

Lux believes that beauty doesn’t have to be about hard work but rather, about pleasure – from the moment you step into the shower, the great feelings it creates to the fun you can have with the attention you get afterwards. We aim to bring the best of beauty within reach of every woman in the world - providing exceptional pleasure in her bathing and skincare experience and inspiring her to feel irresistible and confident in her own skin every day! Our range of skin treats, infused with fine fragrance composed by the world’s best perfumers will delight your senses and make you feel like a million dollars, every day.

So, I am already using LUX Magical Spell for a week until now. And all that I can say is, I'm stunned by it. Right when I apply it to my body, the fragrance is sooo elegant yet seductive, making me feel sexy. Moreover, it also feels good on my skin, the silky texture left me impressed.

So here is the texture of the body wash. It comes in fluid form, as usual. What attracts me is the color, its soft, light purple is really graceful and unique.

So, after I finished showering, the moment I step out of my shower box, I feel like a million dollars! Yep, there's absolutely something different with the fragrance of this body wash. It smells really sweet, but also sexy, there's something mysterious in this scent. Guess what? It's because one of the ingredients of this body wash is Black Orchid, which is rare and very expensive. No wonder la I feel like a million dollar babe. Besides, what makes this body wash smell sweet is the role of Brown Sugar. 

So why is it smells so mysterious? The answer is its unique fusion as follow:

• The opening tones of Juniper Oil, which softly play against the romantic and sensual floral heart of black orchid, jasmine and violet, give the addictiveness to this alluring scent.
• The central notes are composed of brown sugar and vanilla heaped 
• The base notes of sandalwood and velvet musk, delivering a rich and sensual finale designed to last on the skin.

Wow, the combination is awesome, right? Who's behind this unique scent, really? It's Ann Gottlieb; a world-class nose/ perfumer who is behind many of the most popular perfume in the world. See, LUX really offers us a really great deal with this Magical Spell Body Wash. 

Oh, I almost forgot, the seductive scent of this body wash lasted quite long, it lasted for almost 4 hours. Since I also combine this body wash with the perfume essence from LUX Goodie Bag that I've got last week, it lasted even longer! I feel like I could seduce every guy that I've met just like Mia Maestro does in her latest LUX Magical Spell commercial. If you haven't watch it, you can watch it below:

LUX has been known for its line of amazing ambassadors. LUX always picks its ambassadors who can perfectly portraits the brand itself. This time, the ambassador is Mia Maestro; an acclaimed Hollywood actress and singer-songwriter Mia Maestro is a multi-talented, artist who has accrued a wide array of credits, both on screen and on stage. For those of you who watched Twilight Series and twi-hard fans, you must be familiar with her since she played as vampire Carmen in Breaking Dawn.

Overall, all that I can say is this body wash satisfied me much. And, you can get it at nearest mini market and supermarket. See? Easy. The price doesn't hurt too, when you can get a body wash that can make you feel like you're wearing high-class perfume, why not?

Random: OOTD

Haha, it's been a long time since I posted about fashion or my outfit. Haven't got the time, and for fashion I need someone to take the picture for me. I have no tripod, sigh.. So last Friday I registered for IYCE Innovation Night at Blitz Megaplex Pacific Place. For those of you who are not familiar with IYCE, well we're on the same boat! xD

Yep, I did not have any idea about what is IYCE when I saw some tweets from British Council Indonesia. So, I googled it. Abracadabra! So, IYCE stands for International Youth Creative Entrepreneur. This event is held by British Council and Indonesia is one of the countries which are lucky to join this award. Some of the 'alumni' of this award are Yoris, Ridwan Kamil, Wahyu Aditya, and many more. So, Innovation Night is one of series of event of IYCE. 

I attended this event with one of my friend; Reni Tok. The event was so-so though. The idea which is being talked about is too wide I think. Moreover, the speakers is only being given a really short amount of time while the topic is damn wide. Yep, it's INNOVATION in general. So, I gotta say I don't enjoy this event that much. But to be honest, me and my friend enjoyed the food, much. Haha! 

Ooops! Almost forget to tell you about my outfit yesterday.. So here it is~

Shirt: Bought at Pasar 16 Palembang - Rp 20.000,-

Pants: Bought by my Mom at Pasar 16 Palembang - price unknown (my best guess is around Rp 20.000,-)

Shoes: Pink Wedges by The Little Things She Needs - Rp 50.000,- (I bought it when there was a really big sale at Senayan City a few months ago)

Bag: Borrowed from my most generous friend; Riska (oh I'm such a bootlicker hahaha)

Phew, that's enough for this post. Hopefully I can post more about fashion so my blog will maintain a good yin and yang. See ya!

A Perfume Workshop by LUX

So, I attended LUX Beauty Bloggers Gathering last week, you can check the report here. What attracted me so much was the perfume workshop at that time. Here's a brief report about the educative and entertaining workshop about perfume.

The Perfume Workshop

Have you ever heard about Givaudan?

Well, for me, it was my first time hearing that name at LUX Beauty Bloggers Gathering. Well, Givaudan  is the global leader in the fragrance and flavor industry, offering its products to global, regional and local food, beverage, consumer goods and fragrance companies. Givaudan is working together with Ann Gottlieb in creating LUX Magical Spell perfume. 

This perfume workshop was presented by Tety Meltiany, the representative of Givaudan. This session started with the basic information about perfumery. She started by explaining about perfume composition. So, basically every perfume consists of three sets of notes, making the harmonious scent accord. 

the above picture explains about fragrance structure and the characteristics of each notes

• Top notes: The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. 

•  Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. 

• Base notes: Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application.

After that, she let us smell each scent and told us what kind of scent was that. This was the starting point when the fun began!

So here are the names of each scent:

1. Citrus (my favorite!)
2. Aldehyde (synthetic)
3. Chanel No. 5
4. Nutmeg
5. Bulgarian Rose (it took 450 kg of rose petals to make one pound of rose absolute for making a bottle of perfume 0_o so this rose is soooo expensive)
6. Peach
7. Vetiver (wood)
8. Musk
9. Vanilla
10. Civet (Animal Feces, yuck! But this scent is used widely for Men's Perfume and when I smelled it, it didn't smell like real poo, though)

 As for the above picture, here are the names of each scent:

1. CK One (she said that it consists of citrus, floral, and musk notes)
2. J'Adore
3. The One by D&G (it consists of vanilla, fruity, and woody notes)
4. Hello Kitty (citrus, floral: rose) - this one is my favorite
5. Thierry Mugler Angel (actually this perfume is made out of caramel notes)
6. Beautiful by Estée Lauder

Next, there was a sniffing-competition which challenges us to guess which scent belong to which notes (top, middle, or base). I was in a team named The Magical Crush with other 3 beauty bloggers and we won the prize! It's perfume essence by Givaudan anyway, and I love it.

After all, I was so satisfied with this perfume workshop held by LUX and supported by Givaudan. This perfume workshop was both educative and entertaining. Listening to the story of Ms. Tety, fun facts about perfumery, even just had a chance to smell and identify each scent was so hilarious! After leaving this Gathering I feel like I'm educated yet had so much fun. Wow, I hope there will be another perfume workshop with more scents and sniffing. :p

woohoo!

An Evening with LUX Beauty Bloggers Gathering

Hi!

I would like to tell you an interesting story about my experience in joining my first event from Indonesian Beauty Bloggers (IBB) this time.

So, I was so lucky since MISSKATTIE, one of the members of IBB spreaded the word of this event. I just tried my luck at that time, and I got the invitation. Woohoo, thanks Kattie!

On a very nice Friday afternoon, I went to Alex's Pizze e Pasta at Epicentrum Walk, Kuningan. I was greeted by the touch of purple and orchid decoration there.

the decoration at the front

LUX Magical Spell and its perfume on every table

There, awaited the other beauty bloggers, one of them was Endi Feng; whom I fond of, hihihi. To be honest, I was stunned by the consistency of the decoration, the purple touch created some kind of elegant yet mysterious look that attracted me so much. Moreover, my eyes was captivated by this uber cute yet elegant perfume bottle on the table. I always love the pump packaging, it gives a very classic and chic touch.

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream

Hi!
I'm back with beauty sample review again this time. In this post I'll review an eye cream from Etude House called Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream. As you know this eye cream is part of Etude House's Collagen Moistfull series.

Well, what is collagen?
Collagen is one of the most plentiful proteins present in the bodies of mammals, including us, humans. In fact, it makes up about 25 percent of the total amount of proteins in the body. Some people even refer to collagen as the glue that holds the body together. Without it, the body would, quite literally, fall apart.

Basically, it gives body tissues form and provides firmness and strength.

So, based on those previous facts we should learn that collagen is essential for our skin, right? That assumption then leads me to this trial. Hohoho. Since I have problem with my dark circles and eye-bags, so I choose this sample for trial.

So, I used this eye cream twice a day; day before I started my activity and at night before sleep. I also applied it on my upper eye and under eye. I used a small amount of it (size of mung bean for each eye) as I learn about it from Beauty Advisers in the Department Stores that I visited sometimes.

The texture is liquid-like. It's not oily, though. And when you apply it, there will be some kind of soothing feeling on your eye. But it's not mint-like feeling. It's relaxing.

sorry for the blurness ~_~

So, I've used this eye cream for a month (which spent 5 sachets of sample) and I can say that it's HORRIBLE.

Why?

Because I always have to wake up with so many eye-debris (yuck!). I've stopped using it now and I never experience that horrible morning anymore. I guess the eye-debris created from the cream since it has firming effect. If you try using it, the cream will stiffen quickly to tighten the eye-bags but it ended up making my eye full of debris -_- (it's crystallized) Why is it matter? Because it's hard to remove and my eyes ended up scratched because I rub it in order to remove the debris.

Moreover, by using it for around a month, it doesn't do anything to my eye-bags. o_0

In conclusion...

(+) I love the texture

(+) It's by far the cheapest eye-cream (even the full size)

(-) Do nothing to my eye-bags

(-) Create eye-debris to its residue in the morning after

REPURCHASE? NO.

Any suggestion for eye cream for me? :(

The Skin Food Rice Mask Wash-Off

I bought so many beauty samples yesterday while stocking my online shop's need. Hihi. I am such a naughty owner I guess. So, I was tempted to try this beauty sample from The Skin Food. So far, judging from my customer's review, most of them agree that The Skin Food is a great product when it comes to skin care (emulsion, cream, serum, mask, etc.). Here is my review of The Skin Food Rice Mask Wash-Off.

The sachet can be used around 2-4 times. For me, it took 5 times of use till it goes all out.

FOTD: Looking for Hot Chelle Rae CD