Lipstick of the Day

Nars Audicious Dominique

Nars Audicious Domonique, despite had so many raves, was one of last I wanted to purchase from this collection. For some reason I kinda thought I had enough purplish mauve-ish kind of lipsticks from various brands. But of course, one shade might look a 0,1% difference but the formula might make a difference and there's no secret that Nars  Audicious formula is ah-ma-zing! 

Look of the Day

After wearing matte liquid lipstick for awhile, I miss wearing a regular lipstick. No matter what, there usually were no issue of dried lips and application was also a dream since there was no chance of the product sinking into lip lines. 

I've never tried the regular lipstik from Studio Make Up but I love its lipstick crayon. The application is a cinch and the color payoff is great. Take a look at Melort I'm wearing today, the exact bold red wine color which covers my pigmented lips yet still look fresh after several hours. 

It cost only Rp. 175,000 when I got it last December 2015, so I'd say run!

Silky Girl Double Intense Gel Eyeliner - Your Cat-liner's BFF

I love eyeliners! If I have to pick 1 make up item I'd never forget to wear, it would be eyeliner. OK a lipstick too. And blush on. It's hard to pick just one!

Out of different formulas, gel, liquid, and pencil, I must say that I don't care much about the gel formulas. Not because it's not good; its staying power is the most stellar out of the 3 for me, but more because of its impracticality. On one hand you have a pot of product, and you have a separate brush included or not. Most of the time, I have issues with the brush. Bobbi Brown's too stiff and too thick for me; and I have different eyeliner brushes that too scratchy when I want to tightline.

Thankfully, Silky Girl comes to the rescue. 

 

See how practical it is! You twist the top and voila! A small brush! 

Very Mac Gyver-ish if I may say so. And I'm definitely in love with the brush. It's small enough for precise application, but it's soft enough so waterlining doesn't poke your eyes. 

I heard it comes in brown and blue. So I'd definitely be on the look out for those. 

2012 - The Year of Living with Losses

I put off posting anything at all this year, partly because I didn't want to make this beauty blog into an online diary for my daily life, which I'd like to keep separate from this blog as this is my haven from my mad mad life. Another reason was also because I almost had no will to pretty myself up with 2 HUGE losses in my life.  But then, it's the routine of showering, putting on makeup and making a major decision of which lipstick to apply (although my go to color these days would usually be nude and pale one) that keeps me sane.

When fireworks were lighting the early hours in January 1st, I lost my father.  He was hospitalized and put in an intensive care for a mere 9 hours before he was gone.  He's living with his stroke for the past 11 years and never had he been careless about his health, OK, he's a foodie, loved good food and good company and maybe had few lapses, but overall, he always took a good care of himself.  So losing him was a shock to our family.

43 days later, I lost my husband.  He died of a heart attack. We never even thought he had heart problem until the day before he died.  He was in the intensive care unit for less than 6 hours before he was gone.  To say that I was in shock was an understatement.  If it's not for my 3 little kids, I might have had a deep depression.  I used to think that I was a very strong woman.  Little did I realize that I got half of my strength from my husband, my silent partner.  He indulged me with my antics so I could be who I was and now when he was gone, I didn't know who I was anymore.  I am this bird who lost half its wing and is forgetting how to fly.

 Everyone has been telling me that I'm strong, but it's been 47 days and all I want  to do is bawling like a mad woman, wearing a long gown, with tubs of ice cream ripped open and empty here and there.  If it's not for tube of new lipsticks, God knows who or what would claim my mind. I might get much better later, but for now, the simplicity of swiping lipstick on my lips is the one thing that gets me ready to tackle the day. 

So let me share 4 new lipsticks I purchased this year.  The first 3 were drugstore brands and cost me less than Rp 100,000 each, while the last one was high street brand, YSL.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Gumdrop - fabulous purplish lipstick balmish

Max Factor Elixir in Firefly - supposedly repair your lips texture in 7 days

Wardah #36 - Indonesia's local brand for those who want halal makeup

Wardah #36, Max Factor Elixir in Firefly, Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Gumdrop

 I'll take a picture and a swatch for YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres later.  I'm indulging myself with the above cheaper lipsticks because I'm trying to stop myself from buying another YSL glossy stain after getting #12 - Corail Fauve. Say No to temptation.

Koji Linequeen Oval Eyebrow Pencil - THE Ultimate Eyebrow Saver

Hail to all the super women who are stuck with sparse eyebrows!

If you are a woman, has problems with barely there eyebrows, live in Indonesia, then you must be living 6 ft. underground if you have never heard of Viva eyebrow pencil.  It said to be waterproof but based on my experience it melted a bit when I sweat and definitely lost its staying power after 4 hours, so reapplication is a must.  Or in most cases I needed to do eyebrow status check-in the rest room at least once during office hours.

Pensil alis Viva - pic from pipikedut.wordpress.com

As this comes in black and brown, this pencil is most suitable for those with dark brows.  If you have lighter brows, you can still use it but definitely you need to apply with very very light hand. 

Despite its cult status in Indonesia, though, this pencil is a b*ch to use when I'm in a hurry and just don't have the time to draw my eyebrows because it is really have dark color transfer.  It's easy to overdo the coloring.

But eversince the trip to KL last month, I made a drastic change and just put away my beloved Viva that I'd been using for years for this amaaaazing new product made in Japan called "Koji Linequeen Oval Eyebrow Pencil." 

This pencil comes in 3 colors dark brown, red brown and yellow brown, for the lighter brow ladies out there and comes in a twisted pencil form. The following are the reasons why I think this is such an amazing eyebrow pencil :

Dual head -- one end is the brush



The other head - fine oval tip

One just can't go wrong with this pencil.  The pencil tip is soft so it's just impossible to end up with hars lines.  Just brush the brows and put them in place then start drawing my brows just the way I want them to be. The application is so effortless.

And the other best feature is that it's waterproof and long lasting.  I could put it on early in the day and come home late and my brows are still in top shapes.






Top : Viva; Bottom :  Koji



These kind of brows are a piece of cake these days!



I haven't seen this across Jakarta stores, but if you have a quick trip to Singapore or KL, check out the drugstores or makeup counters grab this baby.



OCC Lip Tar swatches

I've been wanting to test out the OCC Lip Tar for ages, unfortunately these tars are not sold anywhere in Jakarta so I have to patiently twiddle my thumb until somebody is generous enough to do a purchase order.

That moment has finally arrived!  You can follow the link here to purchase order at Lena's Shop, although let me convince you that ordering does not cause massive headache as choosing the shades you want.  I spent hours looking at various websites like Temptalia, Leesha, Queenofblending, OCC Makeup, Specktra and google to get some ideas of what certain colors look like because 1) I obviously can't buy them all 2) I can only buy two.  It's just ridiculous that I think a dress/shoes or a bag which cost more than Rp 200.00 as expensive but I have no qualms dropping major bucks for a lipstick.

After several hours of staring at the computer screen, these are some of the shades that made the line up:

Strutter, Harlot, Grandma

Strumppet, NSFW, Stalker

See what I meant?  Different lip tars came out different on different ladies.  I actually was pretty interested in buying the nude colors; Trick and Petty Beige, but I have several nude shades at home I hardly touch so I decided to stay clear of those colors.

In the end, I decided  to get Harlot and Anime (bright pink fuchsia) and just hope that I don't change my mind overnight.

(pic courtesy of Leesha (xsparge), Christine (temptalia), Aru89 (Specktra member)

Unfolding Another Secret to Radiant Skin : The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel

Jakarta (pic from Jakarta-indohotels.com)

When you are living in Jakarta, harsh weather and dirty polluted air are a given. Add the aging process into the equation and sooner or later your skin will seem dry ad dull. Thankfully there are plenty of skincare products that promise to shed that dull skin away by exfoliating dead skin cells thus giving you back the bright glowing skin that’s so rightfully yours. However, with different ranges of peeling treatment out there, it’s very important to know your skin type and its possible reaction to the treatment. If you have a sensitive skin, even the mildest type of peeling product might make your face itch, red and flaky and before you know it, you’d rather lock yourself up in your room rather than face the world.


Those with healthy faces should hold off holding the party, though. According to the post in the FashioneseDaily (Deszell 2011), your face might be home to bacteria called porphyin, an organic compound that can be found in living tissue or in byproduct of living tissue. It’s produced by Propionbacterium acnes bacteria (P.acnes) that usually live in the pores. This is one factor that contributes to the development of acne and when exposed to the sun, the prophyrins may release harmful free radicals that can accelerate skin aging. Ugh! I have a feeling that I might be a host of these bacteria given how easy my skin had breakouts these days.
I was recently invited by the Fashionese Daily to participate in reviewing the Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel that was just launched recently. I immediately jumped up and down because I was a long time member of Team Peeling and the chance of reviewing a peeling product was not something I would pass up.

The main ingredient of the Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel, according to Deszell’s note was an enzyme of Mucor Miehei Mushroom (say that with me, everyone!), which will work to lift up your dead skin cells until it reaches the cells where the PH is balanced. That’s where the Mucor Miehei Mushroom will stop lifting anymore of your skin cells and therefore it will not cause any irritation. Now, one of my top 10 ten favorite words is mushroom (chocolate and sambal are others) , so a “smart” mushroom is exciting!

First Application – Saturday Evening

The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel promises that after 8 minutes of application, you would have smooth and glowing skin. Now what woman wouldn’t want that? While I was ecstatic to receive the samples, I was a tad disappointed because I couldn’t experience the real packaging. The instructions suggested that user applies 8 pumps of the gel-like product thinly onto clean face. I applied the Peel gel evenly and thinly across my face and neck, then waited for approximately 8 minutes for the product to do its magic. While waiting, I felt my skin warmed up a tiny bit but that’s that. No feeling of itchiness or burning sensation that I usually experienced when trying out stronger peeling product. Once the 8 minutes were up, I softly massaged my face to help the exfoliating process. Cleansing off the product was easy as the warm water washed the gel away.

The Result

In short, I felt nothing. I was a bit worried that I might not do the instruction right because I didn’t feel and see any change on my face. However, this might also due to the gentler and naturally derived ingredients in the Peel that hold off irritation that usually accompanies chemical peel. I could still feel that my face was a bit warm after 30 minutes but that’s the only sensation I felt. Unfortunately, the next day I had one new spot on my left cheek which made me wonder if the Peel was to blame.


Second Application – Wednesday Evening

Since the product was not supposed to be used more than twice a week and not two days in a row, I chose Wednesday for my second application. I followed the previous regimen, washing my face, and then use the 2nd sachet of sample of The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel. Since I was so used to a peeling treatment, I actually was pretty tempted to lengthen the waiting time. Again, during the 8 minute wait time I experienced a warming sensation on my face which lingered a bit after I washed off the product.


The result

Bingo! Now this time, I felt a big difference on the way my skin felt. My face was really smooth to the touch, glowed a bit and looked fantastically suppler and moisturized. Too bad it was late and the only place I’d rather be was my cozy bed.

2nd Week

I applied the Peel two more times after the first week. While I could not really feel the lasting difference in my skin texture, I can definitely feel how smooth my skin feels seconds after taking off the product.  It's definitely as smooth as baby's bottom and I just couldn't stop touching my face.

The Verdict

image source : http://mychildmalaysia.com/

The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel is a product that might make a difference the longer you use it, just like any skincare. To decide whether this product really delivers, I'd suggest at least 6 weeks of application. This is the rule of thumb I follow for other skincare products.

Since I've religiously used dermatologist prescribed AHA night cream for years, the Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel is very mild in my book. However, those who never use any peel and posses sensitive skin would perhaps benefit more from this Artistry product. An additional note though, I noticed that my face doesn't look as dull as when I forgot to put on my usual night cream and it certainly looks radiant.  Whether I should put this down due to my using The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel for 2 weeks is still yet to be confirmed.

Price wise, for a 20 ml product, The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel is a bit steep at Rp 995,000. 1 bottle would take you approximately 12 applications for 6 weeks of continuous usage. However, since this Peel was part of Amway skincare range, you can join Amways’ Privileged Cuss.tomer Program so you could get The Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel at member’s price. Visit http://www.sehatplus.com/ for more information.