Western Beauty Wish List

When I travel overseas, I need to stay on the budget. Around one year ago, I made this Korean Beauty Wish List before flying to Seoul, and seriously it was pretty effective. I got home with loads of beauty products that I loved, the wish list picture also made my shopping experience easier since all I had to do was showing the picture to the sales attendants and they would helped me finding the product.

On the contrary, last Summer I visited LA without having any wish list on my hand, guess what? I ended up buying almost nothing I liked yet surprisingly I spent my whole pocket money. Hmm, it makes me wonder too what my purchases were besides those depilatory creams (always have to get them in the States because they're freaking expensive here). Ok.. I think I only liked my purchase on that Stilla Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Color. *deep sigh*

Now that I'm even on a tighter budget than last year, hopefully this wish list would help me not to buy things impulsively. However, if you have any recommendation on good products (or the new released ones), please let me know, maybe they can be my lifesaver ^^

1. Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette // USD 34
2. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara // USD 7
3. Essence How To Make Nude Eyes Palette // USD 10
4. Too Faced Melted Chocolate in chocolate cherries // USD 21
5. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in petal // USD 24
6. Urban Decay Naked Skin Color Correcting Fluid // USD 28
7. Real Techniques Eyes Starter Set // USD 18

Oh my my my, I'm counting down the days! Can't wait to share it all with you ;)

When Brown Meets Cushion

Time passes so quickly... Now that Spring season is coming, I seriously can't wait to have myself dressed in pastel colors and see all those flowers in full bloom. Speaking of pastels, I made my first guest post just a week ago at Steph's blog, check it out to see my stylebook to welcome Spring :D

Back to the true purpose of this blogpost. I'm about to review another cute thing from the K-beauty world. It's just recently released in South Korea, a product collaboration between Missha and Line Friends. I have to admit that Koreans are expert in creating cute design when it comes to cosmetics. In the end, they're successfully making all the K-beauty junkies difficult to refuse such impulsive buying. It's like they know the market so well! This Missha x Line Friends are sold out everywhere and surely it takes effort to get this (especially when I'm an Indonesian based blogger). So here you go!

Missha M Magic Cushion Line Friends Edition.

Description: Magic cushion with perfect coverage to help achieve flawless skin and long lasting makeup without darkening. Micro cover pigment delivers flawless coverage to skin and silica-bead powder effectively absorbs sweat and sebum, leaving makeup last longer with sun protection benefits with SPF50+/PA+++.

What it promises:

• Perfect coverage
• Long-wearing
• Lightweight
• Smooth, dewy finish

Got myself shade #23.

There are actually two versions of this cushion, I got myself the Brown one, M Magic Cushion which is made for oily-combination skin, whereas the other one, Sally in M Magic Cushion Moisture is made for people with dry skin. My skin type is oily on the T-zone area and normal on the other part. Moreover, I like Brown more than Sally. Even if this Brown edition is marketed for people with dry skin, I would still buy it. Sorry, Sally... T^T If there's a hierarchy, I'd put Jessica on the first place (because she is so me), Cony on the second place, Brown on the third place, then Sally and their other friends (Moon, Leonard or Edward doesn't matter).

The first edition came with 2 refills with no extra puff, so I'll either buy a new puff later or just wash it regularly with my Etude House Puff & Brush Cleaning Mist. However, Missha has changed the bundle, so if you order now you'll get 1 refill and 1 extra puff instead, but with the same price! *sigh*

Brown face all over the packaging, super adorable!

Told ya I'm a fool for cute packaging. Anyway, despite the cute design and being a Line Friends' fan, I find the packaging and the puff are not in the greatest quality. I haven't seen the original M Magic Cushion in person, but based on the photo, it must feel like the Laneige one? This Brown edition looks so plastic and also feels like plastic, which can be also a good point because it's not as heavy as my Laneige BB Cushion. Hence, those who want to have a more elegant look while touching up, might not like this. Obviously people who would buy this are either a fan of Line Friends or just adore anything cute. I guess, so?

The swatch on my skin.

I was confused whether to get myself shade #21 or #23 because I've always been using shade #21 in my whole life, but based on the YouTube reviews I saw, #21 looks too pale! Then I asked the reseller which one should I get if I normally use #21 for Laneige BB cushion, they replied Missha shade is a bit lighter and #23 would be right for me. I trusted them and seriously loved the result. I have been using this cushion for a week and will definitely bring this to the States because the coverage and oil control is just great. Though I'll be bringing my Laneige too just in case the weather is still cold.

All in all, for people with oily combination skin like me and live in such humid climate, I think they will like this version more than the M Magic Cushion Moisture one. Besides, it still gives me that semi-matte finish, not dewy as it promises, but fairly glowing looking, I suppose.

Anyway, if you're interested to buy this cushion and live in Indonesia, just feel free to email me and I'd recommend you the reseller, they're so kind to me and also trustworthy. I bought their Eye Color Studio Mini Line Friends Edition too as a gift for my friend and personally asked them to wrap it neatly for me, and they really did it without hesitation. Have I mentioned I'd appreciate it when people want to go extra mile for their customers?

Price: IDR 249k

The Wonders of Tea Tree Water

[Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received the product for a review purpose, but the opinions are my own based on my experience.]

Benton Honest TT Mist.

Description: Benton Honest TT Mist is made of tea tree water instead of water. This mist contains hyaluronic acid and various beauty ingredients to help improve your rough and damaged skin from stress and pollution with moisturizing and cooling effect.

Directions: When you spray to your skin directly, spray about 30cm distances and then softly pat your face to help your skin to absorb the product. You can use your palm or cotton pad.

Further information about ingredients and warning.

If you haven't already read my review on the other Benton Honest skincare, you might probably wonder why I use Benton as I was reluctant about the brand before. Anyway, I've been quite interested in this product as I need something that can moisturize my skin without making it oily. Talk about balance! Especially when my skin is a bit oily on the T-zone.

This Honest TT Mist actually claims that it can benefit all skin type, such as problematic skin, dry/ oily skin, and even sensitive skin. With tea tree plant as the main ingredient, we all know how great the healing power tea tree has, which makes it a popular natural acne treatment ingredient. I personally had a bad experience using tea tree oil back then in junior school, my hormonal acne became even worse after religiously applying tea tree oil from The Body Shop to my affected skin. That what made me think twice to try this, but a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. Skincare is all about trial and error!

Glossy plastic tube.

The spray nozzle.

Packaging wise, I like the fact it doesn't come in a can bottle and the small size is perfect for traveling. The water that comes from the nozzle supposed to be fine mist, but in real life, it's a bit too harsh. I mean if you compare it to Avène Eau Thermale Spring Water, that's how a fine mist should've appeared. They claim about 250 times sprays usage. I've been using this product since January every day and night, and do around 5 sprays each usage, now it still have maybe like 8ml left on the tube.

Scent wise, it has no scent! How surprising. I was expecting something herbal but there's none and I seriously love it. Imagine how weird it would be to spray something scented to your face! Well, I do smell something a very tiny bit that I can't even explain what it is, but I'm sure it's nothing like perfume. Which in the end, makes me really believe there's no added fragrance in this product.

Performance wise, the texture is like water, and I spray it directly to my face, then pat it with my palms. I use it as my secondary toner, my current primary toner is from The Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava (which is a nice product, however I'm not going to repurchase). The mist feels soothing on skin and also hydrating at the same time, another great thing is, it keeps my acne at bay *greatest feeling ever* ^^

All in all, although the spray packaging kind of disappoints me, the product works like wonder. I'm absolutely going to repurchase it, because mine is going to run out soon! You can get yours at Jolse.

Price: USD 8.48

P.S: Have you joined my Pre-Spring giveaway? This time, I'm collaborating with Firmoo giving away a pair of sunglasses of your choice. Other than that, there are also 5 $10 vouchers. Hurry go check it out :P

Pre-Spring Giveaway

Happy Valentine's day to all dear bumblebees who are currently reading this post! It's a lovely day so let me spread some more love by giving away a pair of sunglasses and five $10 vouchers from Firmoo for all 6 lucky winners. YAYYY! *happy trumpet music*

Photo courtesy: Stylenanda.

Before moving on to how to win these prizes, I want to introduce you to Firmoo, it's an online optical store that sells affordable yet stylish eyeglasses. There are so many choices of frames on Firmoo, which proves their commitment to make the fashion-conscious consumers’ dream of creating a real eyewear wardrobe.

So here are my picks for you! Click the link to see their detailed information as some of them also have different color selection and trust me, it's difficult to pick only one color LOL. Please note that these sunglasses below are non-prescription lenses.

#CM2622//#CM8058 //#SC1611//

#CM8051//#OMJ8641//#SC1640//

#CM2610//#CM2643//#CM2601//

#CM8020//#CM2609//#CM2629//

To win, you've only got to follow these simple steps:

1. The giveaway is open to residents of these following countries.
2. Fill in the Rafflecopter to entry.
3. Follow me via Google Friend Connect. Kindly find the widget on my left sidebar.
4. Or follow me via Bloglovin' for another point.
5. Let your friends know. Put the giveaway banner + link to this post on your blog. It's also an optional rule for a plus point that you can submit everyday.
6. Leave a comment on which pair of sunglasses you like the most and how do you want to style it!
7. The giveaway will end on Monday, 29 February.
8. I will personally e-mail to notify you and update this post with the 6 winners' name on the first week of March 2016. If you don't e-mail me back in 2x24 hours, then I will pick another winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

♡ ♡ ♡ GOOD LUCK! ♡ ♡ ♡

P.S: I want to give a shoutout to my sister who has just released her brand new blog called TreatU, a blog that speaks about beauty, health, and even fashion! Go.. Go.. Let's shoot her some love!

Fresh Start

It's a new year! Hope that everyone's had a wonderful start to 2016. As I want to stick to one of my new year's resolutions which is "Less makeup, more skincare." I've started to change my skincare routine and found this rave on the market, it is from Benton. Yes, when we're talking about Benton, it's not going to be easy since there are mixed reviews and so on. Please rest assured that this post is not a sponsored review at all. I bought the product with my own money and conscience after loads of researching.

I was very skeptical about this brand before, until one day, Alice of W2Beauty personally convinced me to try the samples, I believe it was the Aloe BHA Skin Toner if I'm not mistaken. She explained about Benton background issue and the company's solution to the trouble occurred. So after the reconsideration, I tried their samples, and I was beyond glad I didn't get weird reaction. I mean, my skin was just fine. I'm thankful that Alice contacted me, because if she didn't do that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't test Benton product, not even a single of it. I myself was too biased towards the bad reviews.

This is just my story, to be honest though, skincare is about trial and error in a battlefield. I don't want to jinx, but my skin has been reacting so far so great. This cleansing foam is not the only fighter, I get facial every month, I have my own at-home spa as a little treat to myself at least every twice a week. It wasn't easy nor inexpensive. But at the end, the effort feels super worth it.

Benton Honest Cleansing Foam.

Description: In order to have a healthy face wash, Benton Honest Cleansing Foam cleanses fatigued skin caused by various stress and pollution. This natural cleansing foam not only cleanses your face but further moisturizes your skin to minimize dryness of your skin.

Further information about ingredients and warning.

With a lot of research before buying this product, there were too many mixed reviews about it and somehow made me wonder if it's worth the gambling. Last year there was a hype called "Low pH Cleanser", as if it's a big deal you should get a low pH one in order to avoid dehydration of the skin. 

While I'm already familiar with products that claim "pH balanced" for the skin, I was confused if the low pH ones would do good. Apparently, there's no big difference in using low pH cleanser since it will disrupt our skin acid mantle just as higher pH cleanser will. The surprising fact is, low pH cleanser may consist more chemicals, because it 'needs' chemical to be mixed into the formulation so that the product reaches the desired pH level. Moreover, it's not the pH level that matters, but the ingredients after all. The point is, your skin don't get irritated simply because the pH level is too acidic or too alkaline.

I don't own an at-home pH testing kit, but based on my research, this cleansing foam ranges around 8. It only use natural surfactants that are extracted from palm oil, also consists no harmful ingredients. The product is meant for secondary cleansing, so don't expect it can break down waterproof properties such as tinted eyebrow gel. LOL. Besides, it's 2016, double cleanse, will ya?

Thanks Benton for providing the details in English.

Pearly white cream with non-addition of chemical coloring.

My skin is oily combination, oily T-zone and normal on the rest to be exact. Just so you know, I'm the type of person who dislikes it when my skin feels tight or overly moisturized after washing off. This cleansing foam leaves the kind of feeling in between that, feels so right. It makes my skin squeaky clean without stripping my skin at all. The foam lathers easily too! Thrice a week on the day I wear heavier makeup, I'd wash my face with Pobling Premium Pore Sonic Cleanser, letting all the stubborn excess makeup and dead skin come out.

Scent wise, it smells soapy. At first I needed to get used because my recent one smelt so different (I used up two Holika Holika Volcanic Pore Purifying Deep Cleansing Foam, which was an amazing record for someone like me). I've been considering to use this Honest Cleansing Foam in the long run too. That may difficult for someone who gets bored easily and always tends to explore new stuffs out there. However, if the cleanser will continue doing good to my skin just like now, I think I'll have to stop with the gambling game.

Price: IDR 130k

I've been seriously committed to my new year's resolution. As I said earlier, I'll reduce my expense on my makeup. Not that I'm not enjoying makeup, I just want to have a better canvas, meaning a smooth healthy skin so that my makeup would look more flawless and of course, I'm a sucker for "natural look, but not really". LOL.

Here is my go-to minimal makeup, which is super easy to create. Did I say I've been indulging cream texture makeup lately? I'm giving a special shoutout to Etude House Play 101 Stick. It gives glow to the skin, comes in handy (no pun intended) yet doesn't break me out.

Face:

• Laneige BB Cushion in natural beige
• Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer
• Etude House Play 101 Stick Contour Duo
• Etude House Play 101 Stick in #12
• Holika Holika Sweet Cotton Pore Cover Powder

Eyes:

• EOS Rainshower in gray
• The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow in gray brown
• Koji Spring Heart Eyeshadow in mocha
• Innisfree Eco Gel Eyeliner in brown

Lips:

• Peripera Peri's Tint Water in pink juice
• Peripera Peri's Tint Milk in milky pink