Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Special Project with Clinique

Hey guys!

I realized that we haven't posted any joint posts in awhile (or any kind of writing from #Undecided actually, zzz! Btw, this is #Pink, in case you couldn't tell!) but here it is at last! We're back with a super fun event/special project report!

I never thought i would ever write this in my entire life, but the special project that we took part in was a fashion show!

Us with our fellow bloggers (and a few special guest who are going to be explained soon) and real models that were also involved on the fashion show
Look at SabSab towering over everybody hahahaha...

We all know that two of us love back stories-so imma go straight to it hehe. This all started with a BBM from Sabrina one day, asking me (and then retracting it back before i even responded because she's well aware of my famous stage-hating traits) if i'd like to join this special project with Clinique for their Breast Cancer Awareness Campaing event, which is a fashion show-to which i, of course, responded with a "Not in a million years!!!' *LOL*.

I did, however, tell her that #Undecided might be willing to do it. She had a catwalk training with a local veteran super model (who happens to be her friend's mother) when she was younger, plus she's skinny as a pole so i think being a catwalk model isn't too stretch off!
 

You had me at "skinny as pole" bb!!! *sloppy kisses*

anyway, hi everybody!! It's #Undecided! Missed me? LOL.

But anyway, long story short-somehow (i don't quite know how), i ended up getting roped in! After the initial shock, i went into a full denial mode, which i never quite step out of until  the whole thing was over! I also gave another condition, i would only do it with my friends *LOL*, that's how Nessya, L (my cousin) and O (my close friend) get into the picture too.

Basically I just told her I'm in if she's too! I didn't give much thought about performing (was more concerned about the clothes provided that the event was for breast cancer awareness which normally translates to the color pink, and I don't do pink, okay!! Ugh.), I do it all the time... But I'm a firm believer that someone should do more things out of their comfort zone (that's how you grow, see...), and I thought this was the perfect time for #Pink to do so!

Calling this doing something outside my comfort zone is an understatement of the year! Stepping outside my comfort zone is probably stuffs like... I dunno, taking modelling pictures that isn't snapped by my hunny or #Undecided, or even singing in public (which i am far more comfortable doing, provided i am allowed to sit down and hide behind the lyric's book), but doing a fashion show? Well, that's more like a leap from my comfort zone *LOL*.

Now that we're done with the back story, let's get on with the actual post! This is a massive post (with LOADS of pictures) because it's not only an event report, but it's also a diary for us to look back (and laugh at) one day!

We went to Ciputra World (where the event would be held) on Wednesday, 29th October for a fitting. Hunny, Baby Boy (who had to tag along because there was nobody watching him at home, he ended up doing his homework at CW while waiting for us to do our fitting >.<!) and i picked O up and we immediately met up with L (who's already there). We're very early so ...

We still had time to snap pics with the Halloween decors

And even grabbed a bite at Pancious. L was moaning about being hungry, but ordered this. I mean... Who eats cakes when they're hungry??? Not me...

I'd normally crop this pic, but i found Baby Boy staring at mummy with an amused look upon his face to be too funny to pass on!

Not long after, #Undecided and Nessya came and it was time for us to head to the Atrium (the venue for the event), Sabrina and Kathy already did their fitting the day before because they couldn't make it on the same day as us. I was starting to get really nervous by this time.. 

Clinique's booth

We were warmly welcomed by Mario, Clinique's rep and given brief explanation on what we're going to have to do on the d day.

Looks like only #Undecided and O were listening to him...
The more responsible ones we were, yes...

Cousin's selca *LOL*

We were asked to wait for Metro Department Store's rep (the clothing sponsor) to come and "pick us up", what did we do while waiting? I think it's pretty obvious!

Off to Metro!

#Pink got snap-happy and basically took this pic of Mas Pur (Metro's rep) and I and announced to herself "I'm documenting". LOL.

Finally free clothes!!! LOL. Free to browse around and choose that is, but obvi we'd have to return them after the show. There were several brands, such as Chic Simple, Mila, okay I only remember those two hahahaha... I immediately was drawn to this very cute dress from Chic Simple.
Hmm i remember Theory X and Rampage, but that's about all haha

Oh so pretty, yea... but my problem with this kind of dress is where they put the waistline (which is too high for someone with long torso as yours truly). So next option, please!!

Hello Nessya!!!

O, with her first picks-which immediately got axed *LOL*

Decision decision LOL... I wish I was more like L whom was super decisive and went with the first dress she tried on. Oh well, I didn't get my moniker for being decisive so there you go hahaha...

Since L found her outfit almost immediately, she spent the rest of the time helping out Nessya finding an outfit for her ^^

That's my first picks, which didn't sit right (the skirt...) on me so my search continues...

I have to admit that I had some difficulties in finding the perfect thing to wear LOL. I am very picky when it comes to clothes, mind you, especially when I have to wear something that I don’t normally wear. Sigh. Tried on 4 sets of outfit before I was so desperate I donned a white top and a pair of skinny jeans, and showed the result to Mas Pur. He was super hesitant but regardless said, “okay let’s take a pic and ask Mario first”. I knew in the back of my mind that they wouldn’t agree since the dresscode was chic and pink (gahh!!).

And I was right -____-

So finally I dragged #Pink to help me (everyone else had finalized their choices by then) and we frantically browsed around Chic Simple (we weren’t allowed to mix and match brand, FYI) for a cute skirt. #Pink shoved a pink floral skirt to me, (which I hated with passion at first glance, it was not something I would pick for myself, okay), dragged me to the changing room and voila, it was magical how it fit my chosen white top. LOL. Thank you, bb!! *kiss*

ZZZ. IKR. I tried to make her try on the floral thingy (which is the perfect counterpart for the top she chose) about 10x, and she kept on saying "No" "Eh. No" "Ugly" to a point where i considered boxing her *___*. Never underestimate my styling talent! I might be the worst "model" ever gracing the runway, but i am definitely a  superb stylist -____-. Could've saved us 30 minutes if only she'd listen to me the first time!

LOL, shut up, bb!!! Where's the fun in that?! LOL.

However, i also had a hard time finding the perfect outfit. I didn't feel any of the dresses, and we weren't allowed to mix and match between brands >.< (the only brand that i've personally shopped from was Chic Simple, and true enough that's the brand that i ended up with anyway haha). I found loads of tops and skirts that i like, but they didn't go together! I was so desperate i almost settled for this cute dress with a not-so-cute lace cardi that made me look like a playgroup teacher (hey, desperation talking!!!), but at the very last minute... i found a plain white mini skirt!!!

I was so happy because i already had my eyes on a floral top but couldn't find a plain enough bottom to pair it with! Accidentally, my top looks a lot like the dress O already picked for herself

The only person cheeky enough to force me to snap pic of her and her selection -___-

I didn't think us choosing a very similar outfit is a bad thing, actually if you ever seen a real designer's collection's fashion show you'd see 5 or more outfits with the same fabric/pattern, that's why it's called a COLLECTION #excuse ! Anyhow, we were all just very happy that we managed to find the perfect outfits-for non models it's essential to wear an outfit that make them feel good about themselves you know!

And finally, the D day!! We were asked to show up at 10am to meet with the stage director and to just basically learn the blocking and try the stage (it was a simple rectangular raised platform which was quite small, and then there were 3 steps down before the long carpeted runway – similar to a letter T if you see from above), and I’m proud to report to you that we actually were 15 MINS EARLY!!!

Even had the time to go to Shinjuku to get our bangs trimmed by the one and only Ndaru LOL. *smug*

Welfie (?) in the car otw to CW with our freshly trimmed fringes and O who wouldn't stop whining because i didn't let her have her hair done at the salon *LOL*
Again, this was taken during a red traffic light. No worries, safety first!

We were so early that most of the lights in the mall weren't even lit yet!

Obviously we had to shower with have coffee first since it was going to be a long day, so we dropped by at Starbucks for a quick breakfast. 

Selca is in order, obvi

Nessya, who came next and join us at Starbucks

I had a LOT of tiny hairs stuck on my face thanks to the fringe trim so O whipped out her funny looking brush and start cleaning! Have i ever mentioned that O is a Make Up Artist??? We're planning to do a collaboration post with her so that we can introduce her work properly to our readers!

#Undecided cleaning her own face, i think she looked really funny in this pic!
And yes, my iPhone case is custom made with a picture of Ellis and Jerome!!

At 10.15 we decided to head back to the venue, finally the lights were on and the BAs and MUAs were there, working on the models. I did wonder if Mario gave us such an early meeting time because he suspected that we'd we late? Hm... Since it was still quite deserted, i decided to snap pictures of the venue before it gets too crowded!

Hello again, Clinique's booth!

Estee Lauder's booth

DKNY booth

Estee Lauder's MUA working on one of the models

Had to wait forever for SabSab and KatKat *liars* *cough* *liars* (sorry, inside joke LOL) to arrive, and while we wait for them, what we did next needs no explanation...

#Pink and #Undecided before makeup

L (who's the cheekiest of us all and actually went to a hair salon to get her hair done, much to O's annoyance hahaha) showed up and we...

...continued our camwhoring sesh

I also asked Nessya to help take my #OOTD pic, didn't know that L caught us doing it on her phone-here's a photoception for ya!

And finally!!!

The lost children showed up *LOL* (ignore #Undecided, she literally tried to be in every pic i snapped *LOL*)
*cough* liars!!! *cough*

So the rehearsal can finally begin!

The first walk was the worst even though there weren't too many people around (but some visitors actually stopped whatever they were doing and watch from the many levels above *__*) but i was super nervous, the second time was better and the actual walk was not as bad as i imagined it would be *LOL*.

I was super nervous at the beginning that i threw some threats Sabsab's way "Why did you make me do this Sabbbb, whyyyyy????". LOL.

As soon as i was done with my part (i was the third person walking) i revert back to what i do best, snapping pictures and reporting!

Told ya I was determined to be in as many pics as possible hahahaha...

I almost forget that we had to line back up for a final group walk *LOL*

I didn't know that O's so camera ready hahaha

More explanation for the confused people haha (i'm talking about myself *LOL*, it's just so hard for me to focus for some reasons and i kept on forgetting what i was supposed to do, i guess this is due to what #Undecided say about my "Hamster-like attention span")
Didn't know my hair looked so fab that day *vain* hahahaha

Anyway, aside from #Pink totally panicking and somehow refusing to listen carefully (much to my annoyance! Gah!!), I instantly liked the stage director when I saw her, thinking to myself she looked like one of my fave funny people, Fitri Tropica hahaha… She was super considerate and kept the blocking simple LOL (when you’re working with nervous bloggers whose preference is obviously taking photos instead of listening to a brief, you keep the instruction simple, people LOL), loved her!!

Right after the rehearsal, it was time to doll up!! Mario said we could choose between Clinique and Estee Lauder (chose the first because I prefer softer make up). Along with me, there were Nessya and the two models, the rest of the gang chose Estee Lauder (although some did their own faces - #Pink will tell you more about this a little bit below). I was first attended by a very nice BA whom I liked so very much but she was a newbie. When she was struggling with my eyebrows (so sorry ya mba, excuse my eggplant-shaped-brows LOL), another BA stepped in to help her. She corrected my makeup and SHE DREW MY BROWS PERFECTLY!! Not many people could, I must add, it’s a challenge even for a pro like Felicia Sasongko hahaha… Good job, mba, I wish I knew your name (making mental note to get people’s names next time).

L

and Sabsab at Estee Lauder

#Undecided
This is the very nice BA I told you about. Hi Mba :)

and Nessya at Clinique

I snapped some pics of the products that we could use *just a bit, coz most of the makeups were used by the BA and MUA*.

If i can be 100% honest with you, i think they were a little underprepared of this. They already knew that some of us (me and Kathy, who feel more comfortable doing our own faces. As beauty bloggers who likes to experiment and play with makeup we mostly prefer to do our own faces because we have our own preferred look while O is an MUA like i already mentioned, so of course she'd want to do her own makeup too. Plus i think it's a great move since it took quite a while for the MUA and Bas to do the others' faces, we might not make it in time if they had to do three of us afterwards!) were going to do our own makeup and they said they would provide the tools and products. 

Not only provide, we were essentially demanded to do it here because we're supposed to use the sponsors' products, however in reality we ended up having to use our own brushes (which is our preference, but i'm just sayin') because we couldn't find any brushes available, not to mention having to sort of "steal" products from the MUAs and BAs or else we couldn't start doing our faces! Plus, there were lots of unavailable products (like liquid eyeliner), thank God most of us lugged our own supplies so we succeeded in doing our faces in the end!

O, whipping out her MUA-level brushes, which i ended up borrowing hahaha. You know i don't have a lot of brushes and i only brought my pitiful travel set (the mini one :p) that day hahaha-i didn't take them out in the end hahaha

Kathy, who's doing her Get Ready with Me video, setting up the tripod

She has her own huge brush set, i wonder if i'm the only beauty blogger (sort of) that doesn't own a complete set of makeup brushes???

Here are the sponsors' products that i did use :

Clinique's powder, very soft, matte (i love!), has great coverage and staying power!

Estee Lauder eyeshadow trio, super shimmery and beautiful, i love how they made my eyes look so bling bling :D

Blurry selca *bloggers gotta do what bloggers do :p*

Estee Lauder's lipstick and lipgloss

Busy busy bees

There were no big mirrors where we can plant our faces on (anybody else like us? We need HUGE mirrors to apply eyeliners, mascaras and falsies!) so we resorted to the reflections on the panels hahahaha

My #motd, not too bad considering i had to apply unfamiliar products with unfamiliar tools, mostly only with a tiny hand held mirror! It's super... ordinary but i think it goes well with the casual, Harajuku vibe i aimed for the whole look. Dolly lashes provided and applied by O hehe, thank you!

Endless selcas begins (again)

With Sab, who wore the craziest pair of fans, i mean falsies, that day hahahaha

This and the next picture is stolen taken from L's FB

Why isn't #Undecided in any of those pics?

Coz she's not done yet hahahaha
This is the 2nd BA that saved the day hahahaha... Hi Mba!!! :)

Three times redoing the brows seriously took a toll on the time target hahaha
But but but my brows are almost done here and they're perfect!! 

Back to self-absorbed selcas. Say hello to our (not so new anymore) friend, Cynthian (the Vlogger) hehe

The backdrop. Well. I have something to say about this. Apparently you can take pictures there, upload it to Clinique's FB and Twitter and you'd get a goodie bag. We didn't know this (i only found the FB after the event. I did try to find their Instagram but there were none so i tagged Clinique International and Ciputra World Mall's IG instead), Mario DID mention this but quite unclearly. This was very unfortunate because we were already there, took so many pictures and even uploading them to our social medias at real time, but since we're not fully informed-we found out that other people ended up with more mementos from this event than us. Yes, i'm a bit pissed. 

We're asked to sign the backdrop

This is a blogger at work for you, one minute we're playing the celebrity and the next we're on our knees trying to capture the best shots to report the event. I wish we're getting more appreciations on what we do.

I didn't know that L snapped a pic of me

So i asked for a fake one later (the writing's already there) hahaha

Shameless slef-plugin

#Undecided who's finally done (she even managed to do the BA's hair the last time we saw her LOLOLOLOL)
She saved my day so at the very least I could help her did her hair... Loved her!! Hahahaha... Seriously I don't understand my mood that day, there was no hint of my usual meanness and impatience LOL.

More shameless self-plugin
Honestly I didn't see #Pink's signature at first (remember I asked you where yours was, bb?) - I just picked a spot and what a coincidence that hers was right above mine LOL.

The official #Pink and #Undecided shot hahaha
Can't stress how much I loved my makeup that day!

#Pink and #Undecided after makeup
Oh, thank you O for the falsies *kiss*

Full team selca
Thank heavens for our tall friend whom doubled as the day's tongsis hahaha

It was then the time for the talkshow by Clinique.

I have to say something about this talk show for you to understand why i to rant a little bit later on the bottom of this post. I wasn't aware of this talkshow (because i'm horrible at paying attention to rundowns, etc) up to a point where Sabrina mentioned it while we were chatting. Apparently this talkshow can also be attended by other bloggers who are not involved in the fashion show, and we'll get a goodie bag for attending it (please note that this is a different segment altogether, so business-wise, technically if we're asked to attend this, we should get the goodie bag too. Which we did. But more about that later). Sabrina did ask if we had to RSVP too but was told that it was not necessary, we'll automatically be RSVP-ed for it. Back to the talkshow.

Clinique introduced us to their awesome Smart (Custom Repair) Serum which detects and corrects 4 major facial skin problems (wrinkles, dullness, sagginess, and discoloration) even before the symptoms start showing. This smart serum can be used by youngsters and older people (and everyone else in between the age groups), and promises to help maintain our facial skin in its perfect condition. To be used twice daily (day and night), small amount is good for the whole face (I personally can vouch for this!) and it absorbs quickly leaving the skin smooth and not oily at all!

Mario giving an explanation on the serum

A girl (a blogger, whom we didn't know before) was asked to be the model for the demo

You can actually apply the serum on a bare (clean) face, or on a made up one! But for a more thorough explanation, they removed the model's base makeup

And showed us how to apply it properly

Right after the talkshow, we were lead to a beauty room Metro had provided for us to change our clothes in.

Finally, fun times, we got to see our chosen clothes again!!

Excuse the sour expression, i was not very happy for not being able to show my outfit haha

I am hopeless when it comes to hairdos, so i decided just to put some hair accessories and let it be haha. #Undecided helped me put on my pink hair clips and floral headband, LOVE the overall result!

Definitely new profile pic if only BBM would be normal again and let people see my DP instead of a blank white PP!

Hello...

I seem to ALWAYS have a wardrobe malfunction at every important event! I did notice that my baby pink tights (yes, it's baby pink, probably look white in the pics) had a little rip when i was packing it the night before and thought to myself "It should be fine as long as i am gentle with it" but of course i forgot all about it immediately and yanked it as hard as i could -___-. Yes, i walked the runway with a ripped tights, hopefully people didn't notice it that much hahaha. 

I was trying to snap a pic with O to show off our matching outfits, but these people really refused to let us do it!!!
KatKat lent me her statement necklace which went perfectly with my plain white top. Thanks dear! And what do you think of #Pink's choice of my skirt?

Even managed to completely cover O in this pic OMG LOL. Who's bag was that? And what it was doing there?

Finally!

Some photos before the actual show!

The "Backstage" hahaha
The open backstage, more likely bb hahaha 

Yes, that's the rip hahaha

I obviously have no pictures of the actual walk (coz i was walking!), hunny did take some pictures (which clearly shows why i am the blogger, not him *LOL*) but... hunny is MY husband, so... he took endless pictures of me and very limited ones of the others, #Undecided's the worst!!! LOL.

This is the only picture of the actual model (and none of the other two) because i was at the stage, looking like a wooden mannequin hahaha

Spot me? I don't know why my hand was perching awkwardly at my hip like that and i KEPT on doing it zzzz

LOL

Note to self " DO NOT fidget with your hair during fashion show, #Pink!!! You're supposed to hold a pose, not looking bored and playing with your hair!!!" >.<

From this pic it's apparent who the former model is *LOL*. And again with the weird hand thingy *sigh*

O strutting her stuff. FYI, O joined a lot of competitions since she was little (including modelling, if i'm not mistaken. Which she couldn't pursue further because she stopped growing hahaha) so i think this walk is a piece of cake for her too
Ah, no wonder why I thought her walk was good, bb!!

Kathy, who clearly emulates the Japanese kawaii runway instead of the conventional one (i would too if i wasn't so nervous i forgot what i was doing hahahah)

Sabrina, who's much taller than the real models hahaha

And yep, this is the only pic hunny got of #Undecided hahahahaha
Jesus Christ...!! LOL. I's crossing my fingers that Cynthian has more photos of me LOL.

Group pic, again i turned into a stiff wooden mannequin zzz 
Look at how tall SabSab is (obsessed!). I was in my 7cm heels... She was in flats. I thought I was tall... LOL.

I personally had a blast. It was so much fun to walk with my fellow bloggers, to get to know em better and basically to just have one maj girly time. Thank you SabSab for the invite, thank you Clinique for the goody bag and also for my win (a big bottle of Smart Serum worth around 900k which I wouldn’t buy for myself without trying it out first – shall do a joint review with #Pink once we properly sampled it, okay!). I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to another event! 

Won this because I was able to answer the Q Mario thrown at us (somehow I remembered 3 out of 4 skin problems that Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum can spot and fix before they actually show). Yay me!!

As for me, i had the time of my life! It was a very valuable experience and a LOT of fun! I got to do something i would normally never do, a new bragging rights achieved (i survived walking on  a fashion show!) and cross it off my bucket list (except that i didn't actually have this in my bucket list *LOL*). It was such a fun day, so much laughter and wonderful memories, the fact that i got to do this with my BFF is also a bonus!

However, i do have another thing to add. This is a bit of a rant, so if you don't want to read it you can skip it to the end immediately. I struggled whether or not to write this because as a blogger (who attends events and write reviews like me) the last thing i want is to be perceived as  "difficult", "snobby", and worse "a goodie bag hunter". However, i have always been nothing but honest to my readers from the get go and i don't think i want to ever change that. I can't pretend to be 100% happy when the fact is, there is something bothering me a little bit.

Now, i attend a LOT more events and being involved in the beauty community a lot more than #Undecided so i understand her nonchalance when it comes to this matter, she's not personally involved and experienced what we've experienced so far so we're definitely not in the same boat. But from my perspective, one of the biggest goal that we, as a community, strive to achieve is being taken seriously by brands and companies.

I DIDN'T agree to join this project because i was promised a goodie bag as a compensation, but it was what's promised in the invitation. I also saw the invitation of the talkshow, and yes-they promised a goodie bag too for attending the talkshow, what we didn't expect is... That the goodie bag is one and the same thing whether you're being involved in the whole project or just do nothing but attend the talkshow (or even for some cases, just strut in when the talkshow's over and immediately queuing up to get the goodie bag). I risk myself to sound greedy here, but technically speaking-if we agreed to join the fashion show AND the talkshow (which is two different things)-then naturally that would dictate that we'd be given two of them?

This is the goodie bag, btw. Consisting of 10ml Smart Serum sample and an eyeliner pencil

So imagine our dismay (here i'm representing myself, Kathy, Sabrina and Nessya as the beauty bloggers, the others are not emotionally invested because they are not beauty bloggers and doesn't understand the struggles we've been facing so far) when we realized that all of our efforts are being rewarded the same as others who does nothing. If i want to be crude, i'd just say "Why bother?".

Again, i want to stress that this is NOT about the goodie bag. What's a goodie bag compared to our time (a full day, that is) and energy anyway? I never give much thoughts to goodie bags, i practically get them every week now with the amount of events popping up in Surabaya beauty community now (in fact i had to decline another event in order to be present on this event's rehearsal)-i just toss them to my stash and forget about them most of the time (so if you're thinking of accusing me to be a goodie bag hunter, think again!), it's about the RESPECT and APPRECIATION that it represents.

So yeah, i would say that we're quite disappointed (even more so when Sab tried to get an answer for this but not really met with a nice respond) and it marred the experience a little bit. It  left a bitter taste in our mouths, but it also taught us a valuable lesson : next time we should not be afraid to defend our rights. If we're asked to do a project, we need to stop being meek and scared to ask-what's in it (the benefit) for us? I hope there will come a day when brands can fully appreciate and respect us for what we do, as much as they would other more traditional medias. We are, after all, the future of medias.

Having said that, i'm still very grateful for the memorable experience (and the goodie bag too) and will not let this little incident ruin the memories. Like Sabrina said, and i quote "We had lots of fun, no regrets!". I hope that still applies now, yeah Sab?

It was still a great experience anyway ^^.

With that imma wrap this crazy long post, i hope everybody read til the end!!!

#Pink and #Undecided