Pink and Undecided: american brand

Basic-O-Base 04 : Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous

Hellow ^^!

I have to admit that i am not the biggest fan of foundations, i like lighter base and i don't have that much to cover anyway so i always opt for BB Cream whenever i am wearing makeup. However, a good foundation's still a must in a beauty junkie's collection, especially for those special occasions like parties (although i did wear BB Cream to parties too *LOL*. Basically i use whatever base i currently have and make it work :p) so i do have some in my drawer too.

And even though you all must know by now that i am a huge fan of drugstore brands, somehow my foundations are mostly from higher end brands. The reason? I very rarely purchase them, they're either a gift from brands (you know, from events) or hand-me-down from my mom or sis! The foundation that i am going to review today's also from higher end brand : Benefit!

Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous Foundation Faker

I'm sure most of you who hadn't been living under a rock would know about Benefit cosmetics already! The widely popular American brand founded by Jane and Jean Ford should need no introduction anymore, but if you want to know more about the basics of Benefit, you can read it in their wikipedia.

I first learned about Benefit from Singapore magazines that i used to be addicted to (i don't read local magazines, and it broke my heart when bookstores stopped selling Cleo Singapore since Cleo Indonesia's opened-no they're not the same -___-) and i was instantly attracted to their fun and playful concept and packaging! I love love love their creative and cheeky product names and even though i am more of a kawaii packaging lover, i still couldn't help but get attracted to their funkier designs!

When my mum went to Singapore a while back, i asked her to buy me Benefit's Some Kind-a Gorgeous or eye cream (i think it was called Eyecon?) but she ended up buying me both (then scold me for asking for such expensive gifts. Well hello, i asked for one of them, how is that my fault that she bought both??). While the eye cream's long gone *LOL* and i won't be reviewing it unless i ever repurchase it (not going to happen), the foundie faker's another story altogether ^^.

Ta-dahhh

As usual, let's talk packaging first!

See what i mean about creative packaging? They make the foundation's compact to look like a music record and the cardboard box as the player, complete with a little "handle" on the side! Super fun! There's a description on the back of the box as well as the ingredient list. My mum bought it from Tang's Singapore and the price you see is in SGD. Yes, it's expensive, especially if you convert it in current exchange rate, but it was bought before the SGD's as bad as it is now (or as good, for Singaporean *LOL*) and weirdly enough according to their (Tang's) website the price's SGD 48 only now, maybe it was more expensive when it was newer? I dunno...

According to the US website it's actually retail for USD 30 (NOT FAIR!), and now Benefit's already available in Indonesia (Jakarta only) but i have no idea how much the price is here. It is IDR 417.000 in Strawberrynet.com, in case you're interested in getting it ^^, so i'd say the average price in Asia to be under IDR 450.000.

I didn't even know that they come in three different shades, i couldn't find any indication on the shade but after poking around their websites, i came to the conclusion that mine's the Medium shade (the only one without any indication of the shade)

The compact itself is like most normal compacts (except the cute sticker that transforms it into a music record, of course), rounded and palm sized. It is made from a very nice quality plastic, very sturdy and it feels "expensive" hehe.

It comes with a generous sized mirror, good enough for application or if you wish, touch up on the go

There's a tier underneath that placed the sponge it comes with. FYI, the sponge is really nice and high quality as well, it makes application a breeze! Nothing like useless sponges most drugstore brands come with haha

Please excuse the mess, i took this photo after using it a few times :p

I was quite shocked when i first opened it and saw how dark the product was! But upon application it turned out to be not as dark as i thought it would be and magically match my skin tone nicely!

Here's my Before face, dark circle and redness are my main concern as usual

See how light the color compared to the pan?

I also thought that the foundation would be powder formed, i am the most horrible buyer and never read any description carefully before buying anything *LOL*-so i was a bit concerned when i saw the solid form! I've never used any solid foundation before! But my worries soon disappeared, it picks up very easily with a swipe of my finger, it's also not heavy nor creamy but liquidy upon contact with my skin! Totally lives up to their claim to be a liquid compact foundation (didn't even know such thing existed!).

My After face, before powder or concealer. Notice how my dark circle's a lot better already before under eye concealer?

Redness also all tamed down! Instant smooth, silky and even skin tone with one light application, just like they promised!

Some Kinda Gorgeous is a dream to blend (i like to use the sponge they provided for easy and fast application, but those of you who are more expert probably want to use your own brush) , it's super soft, non streaky and instantly blur my pores, cover any redness and old acne scars, even tones down my dark circle but at the same time feels super light and silky!

I would say that the coverage is medium, but without the heaviness that most medium coverage foundations would have! It is an oil-free, cream to powder foundie and i was pleasantly surprised when i touch my face immediately after application that it has set into powdery, matte but still glowy, silky texture! Although it does feel matte and non oily, when i set it with a light powder (coz my skin's super oily, i always have to set everything with powder!) i see that it still transfers to the puff so my decision to set it was the right one!

See the Before and After side by side for comparison ^^. Definitely loving how my skin doesn't look like it has tonnes of makeup on but the pores are all blurred out!

As someone with super oily skin, i always prefer very matte finish on my makeup because it'll turn dewy in one or two short hours anyway. This is how my skin looks after i set it with Johnson's Mini Face Powder that has no coverage.

Yes, i know it's very white but don't worry, it adjusts itself after a few minutes

I find the staying power to be be great on me, it wouldn't budge until the time when i take it off-oil control is actually pretty good too. My skin stays oil free for longer than my usual liquid foundie or BB Cream! Of course i still have to blot if i wear it for a whole day, but less as much! Maybe twice for 12 hours!

I absolutely love it and can see why people would pay so much for a foundation after trying it haha (doesn't mean i've converted, nope, still drugstore lover all the way hahaha) and i would even go as far as saying that this is the best foundation that i've ever tried so far (remember, result may vary on different skin. What works for me might not work for you, it just goes that this product loves my skin!). The only negative that i can find in this product is the smell! I thought it was just me, but i actually saw some reviews that mentions it smelling funny. Nothing outrageous actually, i personally find it to smell like... pastels/crayons? LOL. A bit overpowering but once i have it on, it ceases to bother me.

They claim be a lightweight, translucent, foundation-like product smoothes out imperfections and evens skin tone with a silky, smooth finish that's super natural and super gorgeous. And i'd say AMEN to every single one!

How it looks with full makeup on (taken under natural sunlight :

In short it is a wonderful, luxurious, unique cream to powder foundation that is quite heavy on the price tag-but it is worth every penny! However, i think it might not suit dry skin very well, i read some reviewers says it clings to their dry patches and settles into fine lines so it's probably more suitable for those with normal to oily skin and doesn't have wrinkles yet!

I would highly recommend this for anyone who are looking for higher end, funky designed, lovely medium coverage foundation that feels super lightweight easy to blend.

Would not recommend this for those who has super sensitive nose and cannot stand any strong scent, those who wants very high coverage foundation, also those with smaller budget or very dry/mature skin.

I would love to repurchase but with its hefty price tag, i don't see myself doing it anytime soon *LOL*. I still prefer drugstore foundations (and BB Creams mostly) and being a beauty junkie that i am, i prefer to try out different brands anyway. I would definitely purchase other products by Benefit though!

Do you use Benefit products? What's your favorite product from them and do you have any recommendation on what other Benefit product i should try next?

#Pink.

9:54:00 PM
8 Comments

Eye Stories 06 : Envie de Neuf Thalasso-Decompress Eye Mask

american brand

Hellow hellowww...

It's been a while since the last time i reviewed a sheet mask! But today i am not going to review a facial sheet mask though, but rather : a sheet mask for your eyes. And i will use the words that i totally overused in the blog : have you ever heard of Envie de Neuf? LOL. Because that's the brand the eye mask that i'm going to review is from!

Evnie de Neuf Thalasso-Decompress Eye Mask

I won't pretend that i have *LOL*, coz it's definitely not a brand that's even remotely familiar to me. The first time i've ever heard of this brand was when we were handed a sachet of this product by a BA in Taipei 101-so we (as in #Undecided and i) got the eye masks for free-and this is actually the only product from this brand that i've tried so far :p (again, why can't it happen to us? We actually have online shops SELLING sachet samples in Indonesia when people actually hand them *and even full sized one this like mask* on the street in other countries zzz. It's pathetic).

Envie de Neuf is an American brand (at least i think so, because i cannot find any information that pointedly say where this brand originates-but the headquarter is in USA and it's stated to be distributed by their company in USA at the back of the package) which name is derived from French meaning "Envy's new" (not that i understand what envy's new supposed to mean), their products are formulated from various places in Europe, Japan and USA and their motto is that they want to help us regain and obtain our best possible, nonstop beauty for our skin and body, and prolong it as long as we can. You can read more about the company here.

Now, according to the website, this Thalasso-Decompress Eye Mask is worth USD 4 (which surprised me, because i tried it before learning the price and i thought it felt very high end and luxurious, i'd peg it to be a lot more expensive than USD 4!). I'm not sure if they ship to Indonesia (and i wouldn't try it anyway, with our custom being absolutely crazy lately, you'd probably going to have to pay a lot more than the product's worth if you insist!) because to check you'd have to create an account (and i just couldn't be bothered >.<), but from that i learned (from the internet :p), the closest neighboring country where you can get this easily is (of course) Singapore. (If you're in Singapore or have someone close to you coming from Singapore sometimes soon, note that they're having a huge sale of this product on their online shop!)

Again, this picture's taken a long time ago... When i was still using Pinko and haven't figured out a better background/angle for product photography

The single sachet (which doesn't seem to be available in the Singaporean website) is pretty small sized (compared to facial sheet mask, obviously) and comes in a soothing baby blue with a tinge of mint package. It's super easy to open without needing any help from scissor or whatever.

There's a plastic sheet to help the mask retain its shape inside the package

As you can see from the picture above and how wet my hand was, the mask is packed with moisture! The serum it contains is slightly thick so it wasn't super drippy, but it's not super thick that it feels sticky either.

There's flaps on the eye mask that you can leave closed like this so you can lay down and just relax while the mask is working to prettify your peepers-but unfortunately i find it very hard to stay still zzz. So i always put any masks that has flaps up so i can do stuffs while having the mask on.

LOLOLOLOL yeah... i did find the bridge way too long, maybe because it's designer for Caucasians who probably have wider skull frame or further set eyes? I dunno. But it's a bit disturbing because i couldn't adjust until it sits right.

Other than that, i found no other problem with this mask. The sheet is very soft and silky (but not fragile at all), it has a fresh scent that i associate with products containing algae and or cucumber now (it's very similar to a lot facial masks i've tried before). It is very cooling (but not stinging. I have problems with a few eye masks that makes my eyes water because they sting badly!), comforting and like i mentioned earlier-feels luxurious.

Here's the description from their website :

A cooling, hydrating eye mask that freshly resets the eyes in one go. Fabulous formula with algae and coral weed extracts, multiple botanical compounds of cucumber, white tea and sea mayweed extracts and fascinating deep-sea micro organism Abyssine 657 to infuse the eye area with concentrated doses of high powered ingredients for an instantly refreshed and nourished look. Dramatically decompresses and tones tired eyes. Eye lids become lighter, brighter, and sensationally stress-free. Freshens up the eyes as is you just awoke from a full nights sleep.

Features & Benefits

Dramatically decompresses tired eyes
Eyes instantly look lighter and brighter
Nourishes the delicate eye area
Hydrates the skin around the eyes
Cool / Calming affect

I don't suffer from puffy eyes, so i cannot comment of the decompressing part, but i do feel that my eyes instantly look brighter, the skin around my eye area felt immediately hydrated and soft, and ditto on the cool and calming effect-i'm guessing that they deliver pretty well!

I only used it once so i don't know the long term effect it'll have if you use it regularly, but from the first use-i was impressed. I don't usually like sheet eye mask (thanks to #Undecided who've ruined it for me haha) and prefer gel eye patch type, but this one's good enough (and with a more affordable price tag than i expected too!) for me to convert to sheet eye mask haha.

If, like me, you use eye masks at least once a week and you're interested on trying this product out, i think it'd be more value for money if you get their box packaging (USD 180 for 50 pcs, it's currently on sale on the Singaporean website and going for only SGD 98!) :

It's a pretty awesome eye mask, feels super luxurious and pampering, instantly hydrates and refresh, and won't burn a hole on your pocket *at least not too badly. I think most Korean eye masks that available in Indonesia are not a lot cheaper than this one*.

I would recommend this for anyone who's looking for a cooling, relaxing eye mask to nourish and pamper your peepers. I wouldn't recommend this... Probably just for those who has very tight budget (maybe you can try those eye gel patches available in local online shop freely? I use them a lot too. The ones that's gold or white in color and has the cutest consistency hehe)-oh i also don't think it's available in Indonesia so unless you have access to people overseas/have plan to go oversea, it'll be quite hard to get if you reside here.

Would i purchase this with my own money? Yep! Although i would probably wait until it's on sale (like right now *LOL*) to get them-i'm also curious if it's going to have an awesome result after using for an extended period of time.

Have you tried anything from this brand? Did you like it?

#Pink

10:58:00 PM
5 Comments

Shower-O-Rama 02 : Dial Nutriskin Ultra Hydrating Body Wash (Cherry Seed Oil & Mint)

american brand

Hiiii!!!

Have you guys ever heard of the brand Dial? If you're from USA you must have since it's apparently a pretty old local brand (drugstore, i'm sure. When i Google it most sites that came up was Walmart and stuffs) but if you're an Indonesian like me, chances are you haven't. I also never heard about this brand before i stumbled into them in a supermarket in Vietnam (which seems to be stocking lots of American brands, even in their supermarkets), Ho Chi Minh City to be exact.

As a huge bath and body cares junkie, not to mention my frustration because there was literally NOTHING interesting to shop there, i ended up getting loads of bath and body cares stuffs (plus lip balms and lip glosses. I did most my shopping in supermarkets there!). The huge bottle and the low price totally caught my eyes. I think there were quite a few variants available there but my choice naturally fell on the pinkest bottle :

Dial Nutriskin Ultra Hydrating Body Wash in Cherry Seed Oil & Mint

Hmmm yeah, the promotional picture seems to be a lot prettier than the real thing *LOL*. It's actually very simple and humble looking :

So sorry about the slanted picture, it was pretty hard to take picture of because the bottle's really tall! It contained 473ml of body wash

You see the price stuck on the bottle? That's not IDR, it was in VND, which exchange rate's about half of our money. That means this huge bottle costed me around IDR 43.500 only! Super cheap, even compared to local shower gels!

You can see that the body wash got a lot of bubbles and tiny red balls, i think the seed oils are placed inside the tiny balls?

It comes with a normal flip top, not too hard too open, not very flimsy that it broke after several usage either

Quite cute textures, yes?

The body wash is transparent with thick jelly-ish texture. The transparent gel and the tiny little bubbles totally reminded me of Clear & Clear new (ish) Fruit Essentials Facial Cleanser in Energizing Berry (that i've used and been meaning to review, duet style with #Undecided who used the Lemon one, but as usual-she kept on procrastinating taking pictures of her bottle UNTIL she finished it! I already offered multiple times to take the pictures but she scoffed and told me "I can do THAT!". PFFFFFFTTTTT. By now she told me she already totally forgot the effects of the facial cleanser WTH so now i guess i will have to review it by myself as usual zzz), just a lot thicker.

The red bubbles really bursts, i can't help but compare it to Clean & Clear's since they look so much alike even though for totally different purposes! The Clean & Clear one doesn't burst! So i was happily suprised when i scooped a red bubble and pinched it between my fingers and it bursts! So satisfying #don'tjudgeme. I always use bath lilies (shower puffs, if you're not familiar with the term) when i shower though and the red bubbles always disappear once i massaged the bath lily. That means the bubbles definitely isn't for exfoliating purposes (unlike Clean & Clear's). This body wash lathers really really well, the bubbles created by it and the bath lilly are very soft and a total pleasure to use.

The scent is very very nice, artificial cherry candy scent (so it's not for everyone)! It's super sweet and lovely, totally my kind of scent! It stated to contain Cherry Seed Oil (the cherry i can definitely smell) and Mint, but i cannot detect any minty scent or sensation when used.

Oh apparently the red bubbles are called microbeads! LOL

This Nutriskin variants are all infused with fruit oils, reading the name (it calls itself ULTRA hydrating!) and the claims i totally had high hopes that this body wash would be very hydrating and moisturizing (read the "Who says moisture has to be creamy?" part!) but from the very first few usage i already realized that while it was not really drying, it definitely doesn't moisturize my skin as well. I know some people cannot stand the thin, oily layer some of the more moisturizing shower gels/creams left, but i actually like that effect and am pretty sure that they really do moisturize better than ones that doesn't leave that silky feeling. This body wash definitely doesn't leave any oily after use feeling.

Made in USA

Another thing, i suffer from eczema breaks once in a while if the shower gel/cream that i use isn't hydrating enough (looking at Etude House's Sweetheart Creamy Body Wash with evil eyes &___&). As soon as i start using this body wash, my eczema started up, but weirdly enough after a few more usage (yes, i am a masochist) my skin actually ADAPTED. LOL, so weird. I managed to finish the whole huge bottle without further aggravating my eczema. I didn't even dare letting my hunny (who has super dry skin) to use this since i was worried it'll kill his skin right off *LOL*.

In short, i'd recommend this for those who are looking for very affordable, simple but quirky looking, super nice smelling body wash. And those who prefers no oily/silky feeling left behind by moisturizing body washes.

Not recommended for people with more sensitive skin like me, who needs more moisturizing body washes. Or those who dislike strong, candy-like smells on their body washes.

Will i repurchase? Even if i want to it'd be pretty hard to do since it's not available in Indonesia nor most of other Asian countries i frequent (i don't think it's available in Singapore or Malaysia, or even Hong Kong. At least i've never seen them when i went there), but probably not, it's not fun to have to battle eczemas (even if it gets better and the attacks were mild, still... itchy fingers are itchy fingers! Did i mention that my fingers and palms are where the pesky eczemas attacks?)!

Still, i enjoyed the experience, shower time's always a lot more fun when you get to use such a fun *can't get any funner than bursting bubbles, i mean microbeads!* body wash with such pleasant scent!

#Pink

11:55:00 PM
0 Comments

Event Report : Estee Lauder High Touch Luxury Counter Design & Environment Experience

american brand

Hi everybody!

Did everybody had a great weekend? Mine was very mixed-feeling (i will elaborate a little bit later on...), but one thing for sure is : i'm very tired! LOL. My social life is super busy lately (not to mention helping Baby Boy study for his final tests... His nanny's back at her home town and all), but i am definitely not complaining! Anyway, on Thursday i got an FB message from Lidia inviting me to an Estee Lauder event on Friday. The shortest notice i ever got for an event >.< *LOL*. Since my schedule is free (i'd always make time for events though! Even if i have something else to do-if there's an event, i will try to shift my schedule around *LOL*, this time included roping my mum to accompany Baby Boy at home!) of course i said YES!

Lidia also asked me to help find other beauty bloggers who could come with this short notice (too bad Shasha couldn't make it because she's working!) and i asked my beauty junkie buddies to come with me : Lina, Sabrina, Oline and Katherine!

There's Lala too, hello!

The invitation (i think they made it in a hurry therefore the typo :)..)

The event was to experience Estee Lauder's new high touch luxury counter design & environment at Metro Department Store in Ciputra World. The counter itself was already there since February (if i remember correctly), and this event is to celebrate and introduce their new design and counter concept :).

Estee Lauder's beautiful counter in Metro, CW

There's also a photo corner complete with props for you to camwho with!

We were greeted warmly by Estee Lauder's rep (Mrs. Susi? I'm so so so horrible with names, i hope i don't mix up the names! And mostly i wouldn't even dare to guess because i haven't the slightest idea who their names were >.<) and asked to fill in the guest book (there were me, Lina and Sabrina who met up before heading to the counter. Lala was already at the venue before us. Katherine was late-as usual LOLOLOL, but she's not horribly late so it's worth a mention! Oline was the latest to arrive hahaha) and then we're taken to tour the counter *which is pretty spacious!*

Estee Lauder rep explaining their products (i'm sorry i do not remember your name, Mas!)

Just a few minutes in, the tour was taken over by Estee Lauder's pretty manager (oh thank God, the mas had a super duper soft voice and there was a loud music playing i didn't catch a single word he said!), Ms. Hilda (who looks, sounds and gesticulates suspiciously like Cici Panda! I couldn't stop staring at her and marvel at the likeliness!)

Ms. Hilda explained to us about their new counter's concept. If the old Estee Lauder counters were very much like other high end brands' with their Beauty Assistant trailing you non stop-which could make them to be very unapproachable and intimidating (especially for people like me. I really really hate being trailed and asked questions/being shoved products nonstop! I would flee the scene immediately *LOL*. Huge loss for the store since i am such a big spender >.<. Just leave me alone *except when i call you!*, sales people!!!), their new concept is so much more fun and customer-friendly.

All of their products' testers are put on open counters so customers can walk around and play with the products freely without having to feel pressurized to buy anything, awesomeness! Not only that, a lot of thoughts were also put into the details, for example the lighting! Often times we'd be putting on makeup (or shop for makeups) where the lighting is not sufficient, and when we finally see ourselves (or the new products we purchased) in a bright place we'd be shocked at how different the shade might be, how accidentally thick we applied our makeup, etc. In Estee Lauder's counters, what you see is what you get. They have a bright and "real" lighting so everything that you tried on would be exactly the same shade/thickness anywhere as they appear in those counters. No smoke and mirror there!

I wore a very (or at least what i feel like) decent dress and put on lots of makeups because i wanted to look more mature and sophisticated (not very easy since i just got my bangs trimmed last week...) and to emulate Estee Lauder's classy and expensive aura (i always try to dress according to the brand/theme haha), but i guess i failed miserably again because people still thought i was a lot younger than my age *LOL*. Ms. Hilda said she'll talk informally to us since "You're all so young", OMG i shrunk in shame... Especially when she pointed out that none of us would need the Anti-Aging products yet so we should use the others, the ones for younger targets they have. LOL, i MOST definitely need the anti aging products already based on my age alone!

Our #1 fave part : decorative MAKE UP! SQUEAL!!!! This is where you see beauty bloggers lost their cool and start gushing and panicking like little kids in a candy store >.<

LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE MAKE UP!

#Drooluncontrolably...

Such a cute display! Gigantic lipstick!

Must camwhore with it! Too bad the lighting and my height (on heels) made it a bit hard to capture a decent picture of me *i'm not blaming you, Lina LOL*. I look a bit creepy and pervertic in this pic hahahahah. Actually i looked like i was sneering in most of the pictures taken that day *sobs*. Totally forgot to switch the camera mode to the "Beauty Face" LOL. I hate how harsh and sharp regular mode is! I look meaner! #don'tjudgeme

Ms. Hilda also explained that Estee Lauder is NOT a professional make up artist's brand like MUFE or MAC, therefore their decorative products are not as pigmented or bold (or cray). Estee Lauder is a brand catered for EVERY WOMAN. Their tagline is "There's no ugly women, only lazy women". In Estee Lauder, they strive to serve every woman who wants to be beautiful and make the effort as painless and as easy as possible. So their products are not super thick/bold/pigmented, but definitely buildable and easy to use (for example, their eye shadow palettes are made *with harmonious shades in each palette* so it's easy to know which color would go with which without having to have a nervous breakdown! LOL. Estee Lauder already did the base work for you!).

We also saw Estee Lauder's professional MUA putting on make up on their model (and some customers who were invited)

This must be heaven for those who are into base makeups. I am not much into them, so i definitely prefer the other side of the counter hahaha

And their iconic perfumes! I love how their scents are so sophisticated and classy!

This area is provided by their VIP (or did they call them Premier?) customers who are purchasing their Re Nutriv line

Estee Lauder's Luxury Line, Re Nutriv

No wonder these two were encased in glass *unlike the others which were displayed openly!*, the face cream was priced at IDR 10.500.000 and the eye cream's around IDR 5.000.000 @_@... And i didn't realize that one of their modesl was taking a selfie with a customer at the back hahaha

Furthermore, Ms. Hilda informed us that Estee Lauder is the pioneer in introducing luxury skin care in their class! A leader brand to say the least!

They made this display to help those who are just starting to use their products and struggling to know which products they should start with! You just need to take a look and copy!

Cleanser, toner and other products. I managed to try their super soft, refreshing and awesome cleansing milk on my hands *to get rid of lippie swatches haha*

Ms. Hilda then offered us a make over with their professional MUA, since most of us already wore full make up (i really cannot imagine going to an event bare faced, but i'm game if the event's a make over/beauty class one haha), we shoved Sabrina (with force) who came straight from her university bare faced (only applied sunscreen haha) to get the make over!

Ms. Hilda introducing us as beauty bloggers to the professional MUA (the lady who accidentally photobombed them turned out to be my nephew's friend's mother :p)

Sabrina, before make over! Btw, Sabrina's the tallest girl in our little Surabaya Beauty Blogger cycle (there's also Shelley, who's a professional MUA and Youtuber, but she's not a blogger, at least not yet) at 178cm! She's only 1 cm shorter than my hunny (and he asked me later "Who's that super tall girl???" hahaha) and tower over us! Me in high heels was still more than 5 cm shorter than her in flats hahahaha

Look, even the shroud (??? Poncho?) is super girly with ruffles!

Sabrina, after a very soft and natural (and speedy) make over

Katherine arrived when we were more than halfway through the counter tour and had a private tour by herself hahaha. Oline who's super late (LOL) didn't get a tour at all i think :P

But she immediately start playing and swatching!

Ohai, that's my NOTD that i matched with my orange Furla Candy Bag! Color scheme of the day was citrus for me hahaha. I am honestly not much of swatches kind of blogger *weird, i know* because i got overwhelmed when i see so many colors and products! I normally already have a specific product/color that i'm looking for when i go shopping (which is rare for cosmetics since i shop online for them more often) and go straight to them. Swatching just makes me confused hahaha... Estee Lauder's lippies are so pretty!!! I know a lot of you might detest glittery lipsticks, i have no opinions on them as in i don't mind them but i also don't prefer them. But these Estee Lauder's lippies... I want!!!! Especially the red one with glitters, i absolutely love the name. It was Forbidden Apple or something! How can a woman resist such a charming name and imagine herself as Snow White whenever applying them?

Coz when there's a mirror you might as well post a label saying "#Pink's selfie spot". You bet it's gonna happen!

Borrowing Lina's slim hand full of swatches to show you some of their blush on and lippies. Somehow it was really really hard for our cameras (except maybe Katherine's DSLR) to pick up the color though, but it was a LOT more vibrant in real life!

In love with their beautiful blush-ons, especially that ombre looking one at top left!

Ms. Hilda explaining their new counter's concept and Estee Lauder's philosophy (basically what she told us earlier) to the audience

Introducing Metro Department Store's Manager (Mr. Awal?)

And showing us Estee Lauder's BAs new uniform, collaboration with a renowned fashion designer!

It's official now!

The the Make Over demo started

The professional MUA showing a soft and natural make over. I mean like, the real soft and natural kind (not the super thick and heavy but call them NATURAL like in some other event, ahem R**e* Academy LOLOLOL)

The "weapons" used to prettify the model

I didn't take a lot of pictures, just the first step (after serum) of applying foundie and this last one on applying lip gloss because we were busy running around playing with the testers while they were at it *LOL*

The result. Honestly since i am more into kawaii and cute looking girls (hey, every girl should have a girl type, it's only normal), i don't usually find tall, fierce and striking looking models to be attractive. BUT, i think this girl is gorgeous! Maybe because she's so calm and soft looking, i love her face!

Even prettier after make up! (she was already pretty before)

The models, MUA with Ms. Hilda

And one more with Metro's Manager

The models who were already fully made up were standing around the counters, getting their pictures taken so we went and snap pictures too (journalist mode : ON). Then we jokingly told Sabrina to stand with her because she's just as tall as them!

This is because they were in high heels and Sabrina's wearing flats. They're all definitely around the same height otherwise, making the rest of us mortals felt like short and stout teapots as comparison hahaha

One more to show you the proof (about the heels and no heels part LOL) Why is it three of them never look at the same direction at once? LOL, so not in sync!

There was a guy from the modelling agency helping around with the event (and to keep an eye on his models?), as soon as he saw Sabrina posing with the models he began chasing her and asked her if she'd consider being a model! That'd be so awesome, however... Not only Sabrina's not interested (i think she's too busy. And as a medical student i don't think she'd have time for side jobs!), the agency guy also asked her to LOSE WEIGHT. Like, 8 kgs. (&#()^*($_)* *faints*. I mean... LOOK AT HER!!!! She's so damn skinny already! Oline and i couldn't stop joking about how they'd need us to lose 30 kilos then LOLOLOLOL. I'll be around 30 kilos then, that would be a very good look, right?

I made them pose like this to emphasize the height diff hahahaha. There's around 28 cm between them!

This is the result of the second make over on the other model (who was previously in a very glam make up, smoky eyes and red lips)

The MC then gave us opportunity to give this device that could measure our skin's condition (similar to SK II's magic ring test, i guess), we shoved Lina to try it on *LOL* *yes, we're pushy people aren't we*.

The mas setting up the device

Not bad! In the end most of us got our turns to try too!

Look at Oline! So hilarious!

And Katherine's very scared expression

No, it's not painful (at all, it's just taking pictures and all hahaha) it's just super nerve wrecking! What if the result's super bad??? But none of ours turned out to be too bad! I didn't manage to snap a pic of Oline and Katherine's results but they were pretty good too. Someone got B all the way, and the other got mixed result like Lina's, if i remember correctly.

If you know me in real life you'd know i HATE being the center of attention (it's not that i am bad at public speaking, i'm actually rather good at it judging from my presentation and guiding grades back in university LOL). At that Miracle's event i was actually asked to be the model for the complete hair and make up make over and the before make up treatment, which i turned down adamantly!!! Even a small thing like this i usually would avoid at all costs, but i was also very curious about my skin's condition so i relented...

I was also very puzzled when the mas didn't even ask my age and would plant the device that's just been used to test Katherine (who's years younger than me and in a different age category that should be entered in the device) on my face! I was like, mas!!! Don't you need to adjust your device first? He was like "20s, right?". This is the part which i really hate, telling people my real age LOLOLOLOL. He was quite taken aback when i told him "No! 30!" totally embarassing y'all...

No picture of me being tested but Katherine snapped one (very unflattering one. I hope she won't post it *HINT* *HINT*) zzzz, but i had to snap the result in it gloriousness, of course!

Coz it's not bad, y'all!!! (I need to explain that i got an A for glow, and Bs for skin intensity, skin texture and moisture level coz it's written in Bahasa Indonesia haha)

Then we could also try the other device to know what shade of Estee Lauder's foundation would match out skin perfectly. I unfortunately didn't get to try it (or more like wasn't too interested in haha)

Estee Lauder also thoughtfully provided cold drinks and fingers food which we refused at first because we were too excited to tour the counter hahaha, but after almost 2 hours we all started to feel very thirsty.

And this pint sized lady to be very hungry. She downed a few cakes at a short time and when i tried to snap a picture she started to pose

More crazy pose with Sabs

One more with Lina, Sabs and Kath's bun! LOL

I was again very enchanted by the gigantic Advance Night Repair dummy and decided to rope the others to cam-whore with it. Again, why did i look so disgusted??? Was Katherine's hair smelly? LOLOLOLOLOL

Then we cam-whored at the photo corner (and get an instant photo too but i prefer the ones we snapped with our cams, no offense to your heavy and expensive camera, Mr. Photographer. Is just that for people with zero editing skill like me prefer glossed over and not so sharp pictures, i hate jarring and super sharp pictures!). I asked Sabrina (who's the only taller girl than me) because low angle emphasize my round face (but my face shape it not actually round okay, it's just all that cheeks...), but... Sab's probably too tall *LOL*, no matter, she snapped some real nice piccies of me and Katherine!

Thx for helping us take this pic, Sabs!

One more. I am announcing Katherine as my official photo-taking property from now on :p

Another very nice one snapped by Sabs

All of us

And closed with a mirror selfie! Haha

We had a blast that day and the event was very fun. Estee Lauder was also very generous and gifted us with a choice between a full sized foundation or a lipstick each. We were told beforehand that we could choose, but i think there was a slight misunderstanding because when we were about to leave and was given the goodie bag it was already filled with a foundation each. We weren't sure what to do and was afraid to ask anything because we didn't want to be a bother.

But when Ms. Hilda approached us and asked us what we got, we timidly asked if it's possible for some of us to exchange the foundie with a lippie like was stated earlier (some of us couldn't use the foundation because it's unsuitable for some of our skin's condition) and the head BA might be offended because of that. She said repeatedly that she already informed us that we could choose between a foundie and lippie in the first place so we should've spoken up. In our defense, i think it'd be extremely rude if we blatantly refused the goodie bags given to us and tell them it's not what we choose? I dunno...

In a slightly different note, i think with more and more brands embracing the trend to collaborate with bloggers, it is crucial for them to familiarize and educate their staffs about bloggers and what we do. Collaborations are mutual, win-win solutions for both ends so it's important that staffs need to be well informed about us. I guess in Jakarta it'd not be a problem anymore since collaborating with bloggers is pretty much a norm (judging from the crazy number of events hosted every week, and that's in the beauty department only) so their staffs know exactly what bloggers are. For other cities like Surabaya where bloggers are still a bit of a novelty thing, it's important to introduce us to their staffs to avoid miscommunications and misunderstanding. I would really appreciate it if brands could make their uninformed staffs understand that we're (as bloggers) more like a colleague and partner to the brand than just some girls attending an event and maybe we can get a more suitable treatments from staffs as well :).

Please understand that i am not saying this to be bitchy or ungrateful, i am extremely grateful for the opportunities given to me since we started this blog (and especially the raising numbers of invitations and sponsorships this month alone), this is just a gentle reminder (for every brands out there who are thinking of approaching bloggers for their campaigns/events, etc) that bloggers are potential partners and would be happy to spread the words about your brands as long as we're treated right :).

Goodie bag from Estee Lauder, i feel like a rich socialite walking around toting this super luxurious looking paper bag hahaha

Full sized Double Wear Stay in Place Make Up worth a whopping IDR 450.000, talking about generous!

Unfortunately they were running out of most shades of the foundation and we were given the same, super dark shade (which is probably 4 shades too dark for me) but the BA also kindly told us to exchange it in other Estee Lauder branches (other brands might not bother to do so) so Katherine, Lina, Sabrina and i went to TP right away to exchange the shades (or into an eye shadow, in Katherine's case!). I am super stoked to finally get my shade (no 36 which disappears right into my skin once applied, meaning it's the exact match for my skin tone!) :D.

I want to thank Estee Lauder for having us (and Lidia for personally inviting me :D. Thanks, doll!) and making us a part of this fun event and even more, gave us a pretty fantastic gifts :D!

Hope y'all have fun reading this!

#Pink

PS : My weekend was fun but also sad because one of my close friend MM just lost her father on Sunday. I am deeply saddened, i've known her father pretty much forever (MM's mother's my mum's very close friend since childhood, just like she is my very close friend. Furthermore, our dads and siblings are actually pretty close as well) and i can't even begin to comprehend how much pain they must be in right now. Please join hands with me and keep MM's family in our prayers so that they'd get through this difficult time and send positivity and light their way!