Pink and Undecided

Hellow hellow :D...

We all know that Asians (and even non Asian as well, i notice Westerner are starting to take notice of Asian cosmetic and skin cares now!) are crazy about Korean cosmetics, now there's a new Asian country contender in the beauty scene which has been making a buzz in beauty community lately, that is our close neighboring country : Thailand!

I saw more and more Thai cosmetic brands flooding our market and thought it was interesting (plus i saw many bloggers raved about them) but since i am not exactly adventurous when it comes to my skin care (or rather, don't pay that much attention...), i never took my interests further than just inspecting them. Then Bangkok Face Indonesia contacted me and asked me if i'm interested to try their product, of course i jumped to the chance :D!

I told the owner that i would only review a skin care product after trying them on for at least 2 weeks, and that i was leaving for a holiday to Bandung and Jakarta so she quickly sent the products so i actually received them three days before i left to Bandung (exactly two days after they contacted me, talk about speedy!) so i could try them right away and brought them with me on holiday!

Like you can see in the pic above, they kindly sent me two products that goes hand in hand for a brighter, clearer, firmer skin!

Do you know that my most favorite word in the world is gellee? Jelly lah, but i like it even more when it's spelt like that. Why, i also dunno, i just found the word super cute and makes me feel gleeful whenever i see/write/say it *LOL*. Well, my second favorite word would be pudding *i am weird, but we all know that already* so i was instantly in love with the product based on the name alone LOLOLOL.

Let's talk packaging first... Both products actually come with the exact same packaging. The outer box' made from carton with white and hot pink colors dominating them. To be completely honest, i found the packaging to be quite meh (especially after i learnt about their prices later!) and (sorry, sorry...) cheap looking. But! It's what's inside that matters right? Especially for skin care! So i totally overlook the packaging and focus on the product inside :D! Let's take a detailed look on the box first though (i took lots of pics :p).

The product's placed in a plastic jar and sealed with plastic. The jar itself is made from a pretty sturdy looking plastic and while it doesn't look particularly fancy or expensive, it looks quite fine in my opinion :).

Now, i can hear germ phobics gasps in horror when i mention the jar packaging *LOL*, i know it can be not super hygienic, but there's always other ways to dispense the product out if you do not want to use your hand *even though i feel a clean, just washed finger works just fine but that's just me*, you can use fresh cotton buds every time to dip in and got some products out, or a spatula. It shouldn't be an issue...

The gem fruit pudding cream  is peachy in color (it shocked and scared me a little at first, i am not used to colored creams you see, most creams i've used in the past were white or cream at most! But now that i think about it, the color make sense since their main ingredient IS pomegranate! Silly me!) and the texture truly makes me happy *LOL*. It's so strange! Pudding like, kinda solid and very thick but once you got some on your fingers it melts slightly. I never seen anything like this before and the little girl in me is very very giddy with happiness to have such a cute product *LOL*.

As you know, i am quite fussy with scents so the first thing i did was sniff the jar :p. At first i didn't really like the scent, it has a sweet, kinda artificial fruit pudding (really!) scent, but after continuous usage, the scent actually grew on me and now i really like the scent!

As you can see, the cream is very pudding-like and thick, it's not the easiest thing to scoop them out lightly. But you can also see how it starts to melt already on my finger! It's actually quite easy to spread and got absorbed super fast on our skin.

What i found even stranger than the texture was how smooth it made my skin feels immediately once applied. Like, super smooth and silky! I couldn't stop touching my skin after i applied the cream, really! It also left no greasy trails behind, in fact it makes my skin feels very matte but super soft and fuwa fuwa (i mean, fluffy)! It made me scratch my head in confusion! I was initially a bit worried that it might drain out my natural skin's oil and turn my skin to super dry, but of course it didn't happen haha. It does makes my skin feels a bit tight after a few minutes, i believe it's the LIFTING effect! I woke up the next day with an oily face though, and i am relieved because that means this cream is moisturizing enough despite the matte, tight feeling it gave.

I have a very oily but not sensitive and not acne prone skin, my original skin condition is well... pretty well in the first place. That's why i also put it on religiously on my hunny's super dry and sensitive skin, and it does wonders!!! Just like my skin, upon first application his skin immediately softened and became very silky smooth and supple. I am delighted to say that this cream definitely works on both oily and dry skin!

We've been using this cream (along with the mask) for almost 3 weeks (although i never wear day creams because they make my skin crazy oily so i only use this at night, and i also only remember to put this on hunny before we go to sleep hehe) now and we definitely in love (with them both)! I will show you the before and after picture on my hunny's skin later because i think it's more dramatic on him. 

Like i said, my skin's already *ahem* very clear in the first place so in general i don't see many changes but it definitely keeps my skin in tip top condition despite the fact that i went traveling during my PMS and that i went to Jakarta. My skin never loves Jakarta's air and i usually get one or two zits whenever i go there for longer than a few days (i was in Jakarta for around 2 weeks) and by using this cream religiously not only it kept my skin from breaking out (except some redness that i caused by myself by poking and squeezing on some whiteheads endlessly because i can't stand them), it also reduce the redness on the red dots i had from old acnes (i very rarely get zits, but once i do it takes pretty long to fade, and since i am very pale, the dots stood out like a red light on my face zzz).

Here's a (very) close up look on my cheek :

This cream claims to whitens (i believe by whitens they meant brightens), lifts and minimize pores. From the picture above, i totally agree that it does minimize my pores although not like, super dramatically. As for brightens, i see it on my hunny's skin! His skin's healthier than ever, very supple and bouncy! The lifting part i can feel, but since our skin's still very firm (ahem), i don't think it's something you can see with naked eyes but that we can definitely FEEL.

LOVE this! And as you can see from the condition of my pinkie finger, this picture's taken today after i voted :D

Since the mask is a complement to the cream and we used them alternatively, i believe the end result is definitely the work of both products. That's why i will show you the before and after photo of my hunny's skin later after we talk about the mask, okay?

 

Lotus Sparkling Mask is actually a sleeping mask since you're supposed to use it for 2-3 times every week before bed without washing it off. I have always had a fear for sleeping masks because, well... Even cream moisturizers that are too rich could give me whiteheads and even small pimple at times, let alone a sleeping mask! But i am glad to find out that this mask's quite friendly with my skin!

 

I've already mentioned the texture of this mask earlier, it is very runny and watery. It's pale orangey-yellow colored (it reminds me of mango yogurt!) and has a soft floral scent that turns a bit sour when you get some on your finger. I hate sour smelling face products, but as the scent disappears once you applied the mask on your face and totally unnoticeable, it doesn't bother me.

Even though the sparkling mask comes in exactly the same jar packaging as the pudding cream, they have polar opposite texture so when the packaging works well for the cream, it fails miserably for the mask. Not only it was already messy when i first received it, i also brought it for holiday (still stored inside the box) and when i opened it again in Surabaya, it became even more messy! Even though i only apply this twice a week (but you can count it as 4 applications since i wear it with hunny), due to spillage there's less than half a jar left while the cream (which i use more often, 5x a week times two) still got a lot more than half a jar! (That means the packaging is very un-travel friendly but if you just store them at home then there'd be no problem whatsoever)

Packaging aside, the mask itself works pretty nicely on both mine and hunny's skin. It spread very nicely and got absorbed fast, it does leave my skin extremely oily but not unbearably so. Even though it's very moisturizing, it doesn't cause whiteheads to pop out onto my face or cause zit to appear. As for my hunny, it works hand in hand with the pudding cream to make his skin super soft and supple!

In summary, i find both products to work really really well on me and even better on hunny! It totally delivers, i can see great and significant results within only weeks! It really brightens, softens, minimize pores, lightens up acne scars (although admittedly both of us has very little of them), helps my oily skin to be more bearable too as well as hydrates my hunny's super dry skin so well! I highly recommend these two products (coz they work best together) to practically everybody since it works on both male and female with polar opposite kind of skins :D. These products really makes me want to try more Thai beauty products coz they're so niceeee >.<!

Price wise, each products retails around IDR 229.000-most retailers might have package price if you buy two, Bangkok Face Indonesia is an authorized first distributor in Jakarta and they're not selling the products for retail so they can only inform me the suggested price which is IDR 429.000 for both (so you're interested to try them you can check if the shop's price's reasonable by comparing them to these suggested prices). Yes, they're not very cheap (compared to local products or some Korean brands') but after trying them, i actually believe they're worth every penny! If you only have a limited budget, i suggest you to at least get the pudding cream (it works like a dream!), of course it'd be better if you get both, but the pudding cream itself already work really well on its own for us :D!

Again, i want to thank Bangkok Face Indonesia for giving me a chance to try out these awesome products! Here's some information on Bangkok Face Indonesia (where you can get more information on their products) :

Bangkok Face Indonesia (www.bangkokfaceid.com) 

Authorized First Distributor Jakarta 

Ig : @bangkokfaceindonesia 
Facebook Page :  https://www.facebook.com/BangkokFaceID

Line ID : kimmykhoe 

WA / SMS : +628989239441 

BBM : 74EF8B94 

Email : bangkokfaceindonesia@gmail.com

 #Pink

Did i tell you yesterday that the previous blogpost was my last Ipad-written one in this trip? Well, i thought so too. Then this morning we left our Jakarta apartment at 10 AM to avoid any traffic jam and risk to be late-arrived at like 10.45 *LOL* , our flight's not for another 3 hours or more. I don't mind waiting at the airport (that's why we never, ever miss any flight. And hopefully never will!) but that means i need to entertain myself, and for me blogging in the ultimate entertainment while waiting (thank you for the super convenient mini Ipad keyboard, hunny!) so... here's another blogpost for your enjoyment!

I have been waiting for this movie ever since i finished reading (the super short, i think finished it at one go) the novel. From my experiences so far, i usually wouldn't like movies that are adapted from novels as much as i love the novels themselves, save for One Day (which movie is actually better than the book! Jim Sturgess *drool...* my love...).

The novel by John Green is incredibly (for me, i know some people hate it haha) engaging, gripping and i fell in love with the character of Augustus Waters+symphatized totally with Hazel Grace Lancaster. It it obviously a teen-lit in a sense (the main characters are teenagers), but not your usual light hearted, puppy love stuffs. One, because both characters are cancer patients/"survivors" and second, because they are also mature beyond their years due to the circumstances they had to deal with. And don't worry, if you're an adult like me, you can totally still relate and get lost in the story, unlike some teen lits that are way too "hip" and "young"-meaning older people would not only NOT get it, but literally get sick after trying to read them *LOLOLOL*.

Now, i've always had a penchant for books and stories about people with terminal illnesses ever since i was a teenager (i did went through a dark, gloomy teenage angst phase quietly haha) no idea why because i obviously cannot relate to people with illness, i'm pretty healthy in general save for my monthly flu WTF. But i like to read their stories, maybe because i have ALWAYS been fascinated with death, life after death, what comes next, etc. Nobody that has passed can tell me what it feels to be dead, so the closest thing would be people who are sick. One day we all going to die *sorry if i sound so depressing*, one way or another, i just like to understand more from people who actually knows that their time is limited (not that any of us are any exception. Who knows when we're gonna be off? Perfectly healthy people dies everyday). Anyway. I love this book. A LOT. I ended up buying a bunch of other John Green books afterward, but none i like nearly as much as this one.

When i first read this book, i already know that the movie's being made and that Shailene Woodley (whom i quite like in Divergent) and Ansel Elgort are staring in them. I thought they seemed to be pretty perfect for the roles (and then i watched Divergent and thought it's gross how one day actors would act like brother and sister in one movie and immediately make out in the next. LOLOLOL, sorry ah, no offence, outsider's problem).

Before i talk more about the actors, a little synopsis about the movie (which pretty much reflects the book pretty perfectly save from a few missing scenes, which is totally acceptable and understandable). Hazel is a 16 years old cancer patient on a trial drug (fictious) who has to lug an oxygen tank everywhere she goes. One day her (sweet and loving, i love Hazel's parents!) mum and doctor decided that she was depressed and made her go to a support group where she met and fell in love with Augustus Waters, a cancer survivor and amputee. They bonded even more after Hazel introduced him to her favorite book, which lead them to an unlikely journey to Amsterdam to meet the writer. 

I will not talk too much about the plot because i don't want to spoil it for you who are planning to watch the movie but haven't read the book. No spoiler here, but you should know that this has no happy ending. Don't worry, i haven't ruin the movie for you, within seconds into the movie Hazel herself would inform you the same thing. LOL. 

What surprised me was how much i LOVE the movie. I wouldn't take a step up and declare it better than the book  (than i would for One Day), but i will say this : it's at LEAST as good as the book. The movie totally did the book justice and it is not a wonder that IMDb rated it 8.4. The movie was bittersweet, sad, happy, all mixed feeling rolled into one. You'd be laughing at Augustus' jokes and charms one second, and start tearing the next. It's an emotional rollercoaster, and if you're in touch with your sensitive side, you WILL enjoy it. But if you HATE depressing movies/ending like hell, then please avoid this movie at all cost. I cried like a baby towards the end of the book, but i cried like 5x, each time harder than the previous, in the movie.

Now, we have established that John Green is brilliant (he writes from a perpective of a dying 16 year old GIRL so convincingly!) and the movie already had a wonderful story to base itself in, another factor for the success of this movie, i believe, is because they cast brilliantly.

I am not like, a huge fan of Shailene Woodley, but i begin to like her now! A lot! She was pretty good in Divergent (in my opinion), and she's even better in The Fault in Our Stars even though her characters are polar opposites. I am no expert in judging acting skills, but for me Shailene nailed Hazel Grace's character and brought her to life.

Physically i liked her with long hair and buffed body like in Divergent, but of course she had to chop off her beautiful locks and slim down to portray Hazel. Props to the makeup people too, she looked pale and puffy, and tired. I believe that's how Hazel should be looking, based on the book.

And Ansel Elgort. I may have made fun of him in my Divergent review, but this is exactly the case on how a character makes an actor look attractive or not! I always knew Ansel has a cool, charming charisma that teenage girls would go gaga over (but not me, i mean-not even when i was young. I have a slightly different taste than most girls, but i do know that a lot of girls definitely swoon over him) ever since i watched him in Carrie, but his cowardly, weird and very annoying portrayal of Caleb (which means he has great acting skills too) in Divergent annoys me so bad that i totally overlook that potential.

Look wise, i thought Ansel would make a great Augustus Waters, with his tall, slim body and cheeky smile and sensual mouth, but seeing him BECAME Gus is when i realized how good he really is. Basically his character (like Shailene's) is a total opposite of Caleb. Augustus is cheeky, humorous, charming and sweet-Ansel played him perfectly. I couldn't imagine a better portrayal of Agustus Waters myself. I foresee a very bright future ahead of this (very) young star! *Madame #Pink mode : ON*.

In short, i am in love with this beautiful movie/book, and i cannot recommend it enough! Of course, everybody have different tastes, like i said earlier... If you're not into depressing love stories, you should skip this. For everybody else, i beg you to give this movie/book a chance! I haven't cried so much in a movie in a long time...

Still playing scenes from the movie in my head...

#Pink

Guess what, it's another blog post from my mini Ipad, boy am i productive or what??? Three blog posts all written fully while i'm on a holiday *proud* *taps own shoulder*. It's going to be this holiday's last Ipad-written post though, we're flying back to Surabaya tomorrow (having a resting day today haha). I don't suffer from pre-post holiday blues though (yes, there IS such a thing alright!!! I only suffer from them when we're holidaying overseas though, especially to very lovely places. I started feeling sad halfway through our Europe trip last year WTF, i just didn't want it to end...).

No, i am not back in Surabaya yet and this is not my usual travel post either :p. I've been inspired by other bloggers' "Life Lately" kind of posts where they usually make a collage of their Instagram pictures to sum up what they've been up to and since i have an instagram now (i have one for less than 3 weeks but i've already posted more than 100 pictures WTH, i have officially become one of those annoying people who keeps on snapping pictures to upload to IG that those Youtubers love to make fun of LOLOLOL) i can also make one. But not with collages, i like big sized pictures (those tiny collages annoys me and the need to constantly scroll up to see the pictures when reading the captions  drives me nuts) so i'm gonna post normal sized pictures instead (besides, i am still blogging from my mini Ipad and what i can do with it is very limited!).

So, here's what i've been doing in Bandung...

Took lots of selfies with LL (who also went to Bandung with her family). So okay, that picture was actually taken in Surabaya's airport while waiting for our flight to Bandung, but it should totally counts... And yes, she's every bit as obsessed with My Little Pony as me! 

Of course, we also constantly took OOTD pictures :P. I looked like i was flying to some cold-weathered country instead of just Bandung, but i was actually still very sick that day (i couldn't leave my bed the whole day just the day before that i actually relented and got an injection because i was really worried that i wouldn't be able to fly otherwise zzz)...

Busting my diet by eating stuffs i shouldn't, no carbs diet's totally ruined >.< oh well, one shouldn't be too strict when they're on holiday right? That was a picture of Buffalo Wings Fiesta we had at Paris Van Java!

Having lots of fun with hunny and Baby Boy in Trans Studio, dressed up in pastel head to toe with unicorn themed outfit that earned me lots of stares (mainly because of the huge My Little Pony figurine necklace, obvi) but i'm used to it, so... whatever. We couldn't wear a more wrong outfit though, me in my furry sweater and Baby Boy in his long sleeved tee, Trans Studio was freezing the first time we went there (when it first opened) so we came prepared, but it turned out to be super HOT that day. I was sweating bullets WTF (Baby Boy was in a worse shape!).

Went to Kampung Gajah (which turned out to be pretty horrible LOLOLOL) and actually spent the whole day with LL and her family (we barely see them the previous days LOL, it's very hard to go on a holiday with two extended families!). Anyway, it was not a total loss because we took some real nice pictures there :P.

This is probably my favorite picture in this trip, it's just so... I dunno... Fun? LOL (and you can see that i actually have cheekbones here hahaha). Hey, if you're condemning us for using camera 360 (coz all the pictures in this blog post's taken with my mini Ipad, and no this is not a promotion), i gotta say we don't need it to blur out our (already clear) complexions *smug*, but i really really love the dreamy effect!

Went to Rumah Stroberi and couldn't pick the strawberries AGAIN (we were turned down last year because they were booked for a company outing WTF) because they've ran out of strawberries to pick that day zzzzz, but the day was saved because we ended up shopping for lots of (dirt cheap) strawberry accessories!

Yes, we're in our 30s, but as long as we can still pull it off, why not?

And bought some strawberries too to mend our broken hearts *dramatic* hehe.

Dusun Bambu was up next, a very nice place and i snapped lots of pictures in my camera (which you'll see in my actual travel post, please do look forward to it!) but forgot to snap pictures for my IG haha. I got a "souvenir" from that place, a very painful (that i actually yelped in pain) bug bite (possible a huge ant) on my palm (it was super painful, like being stabbed!) that is still very very very itchy until today zzzz.

Trying out food i've never tried before like this egg and oncom (no idea what oncom is, let alone try to explain this in English so i'm not even gonna try LOL) serabi (serabi is a traditional Indonesian cake, i'd say the texture is a bit similar to pancake?). And of course, i also shopped like mad... LOL..

So that's the summary of our 4 days in Bandung, and a little teaser on what to expect on my next travel post! All pictures were uploaded in my Instagram (My id is MGirl83, the same id i have for my twitter and Line-yes you can Line me too now haha).

Writing this post' kinda fun, i might make this type of post a permanent series in this blog so i really hope you all enjoy it too!

Toodles!!!

#Pink

How's everybody doing? I've been very busy having fun with my family at Jakarta :D, we even went to Star Trek's exhibition earlier today *LOL*. I'd be the first to admit that we're the biggest nerds out there, but we're not exactly Star Trek's fans, still-we'd never let any chance to geek out pass us by :P. That's not what i'm going to yap about today (i snapped a truckload of pics and would be dedicating a whole blog post for the exhibition!) though, i have no way to import the pictures from our cameras to my Ipad and yes, i am attempting to do a full blog post entirely from my mini Ipad! (All the pictures in this blog post's also taken by my Ipad for convenience sake, so please excuse the quality!)

One of my fave reads in beauty blogs is the "What's inside my makeup pouch" kind of stuffs (no idea why, probably because i am simply a nosey person in general :p) and i've been doing that type of posts more than a few times myself, especially the "Beauty stuffs i bring to my travels" ones-but since what i am bringing on my travels mostly always changes, i think it's always interesting to make a new one on (almost) every travel *LOL*. I sure hope most of you are as nosey as me, that is!

Those are the makeup pouches i brought with me in this 2014's family summer holiday (yezzz, i like to put a title on everything, sue me!)-but that's not all, i still have one more makeup organizer that i used mainly to store my skin cares. Not going to show you that other pouch here though coz i'm focusing on the makeups right now, i'd probably make another post for skin cares (if i'm not too lazy. Told ya i left my glasses in Surabaya and as comfortable as my contacts are, i do not like to use them for much longer than absolutely necessary, my poor eyes!) since i have anxiety for leaving this blog dormant for too long (damn #Undecided for not writing at all since i left! Please don't abandon me, readers!!! *dramatic*).

Anyway. Let's see what's inside pouch #1, shall we?

But first, let me take a selfie... Errrr, no, i mean let me tell you a little bit about that pretty and elegant looking (meaning : totally un-me.. LOLOLOLOL, i'm all about pinky, rainbow, cupcakes and unicorn, remember? Not a single classy bone in me!) pouch... I actually got it from attending Shiseido/Grand Palace event last August (i'd normally link the blog post up but i don't think it's possible to do via ipad zzzz) but never found the right ocassion to use it yet, until now :D. So yes, the pouch is brand new, i just took it out from the plastic wrap before we left... And so are around 50% of the content! (oh, i take that back, only 25%'s new!)

Yup, those are the stuffs inside, and i also cannot write captions on the pictures. ZZZ. Travel-blogging is definitely not convenient.

I actually forgot to feature 1 item, because i chucked it in my makeup organizer (yes, i am messy, whatever. You can discuss about my messiness or general ickiness with my mum and you'd be talking to her for a month), and that is :

Wah, so blurry ah. LOL, sorry. Anyway, turned out not 1 but 2, eh? But they're the same product, Tony Moly Expert Triple BB Cream-both travel sized (pretty big, not the sad sad tiny ones) deluxe sample i got from beauty boxes (which we have no more zzz, RIP Indonesian' beauty boxes!!!). I wore it in Hong Kong (and Bali) and now throughout the Bandung/Jakarta trip (and i haven't even finished one, so 1 tiny tube's more than enough for one month of daily usage!) It's quite nice! I will do a more thorough review on them sometime in the (you guessed it) future.

Nothing new or exciting here, just my must have item : concealers. My usual DHC Medicated Acne Care concealer that's on its last leg (i wear it everyday here because my face is a hot mess right now, combination of monthly business with travels and my allergic to Jakarta super polluted air.. Sigh. Lots of red dots on my chin right now, driving me insane. NEED. FACIAL. NOW) and Etude House's Surprise Essence Concealer for my under eyes.

Tiny Hello Kitty brush set (which i hardly use because i rarely wear more than one color on my lid and i prefer to use my fingers when i only use one, shimmery color hehe) and bow brush that i use to apply finishing powder all over my face (bought it in Sasa).

I brought my cute (and tiny) Kluge by Sophie Martin's compact powder and it turned out to be 1 or 2 shades too dark (and yellow WTF, i look like i got jaundice or something whenever i put it on hahahaha) even though i chose the lightest shade available. And yes, i am one of those crazy people who puts on new makeups on d-day without trying it on before, don't judge me. That's why i also brought along my Esprique face powder which doubles up as both a finishing powder and a highlighter (when i wear powders that are way too dark for me, i like to apply crazy amount of light highlighter all over my face to neutralize the color, not the crazy shimmery ones of course, i have no desire to cosplay as a disco ball...), I feel naked without a streak of pearly white sheen on my nose bridge now WTH...

I don't think i'd be reviewing this Kluge compact powder (coz i dunno if they still sell it? Sophie Martin tends to change up some of their products as Oriflame and Korean brands...), mainly because i forgot to take pictures before using it (and turned it from uber cute to uber dirty and fugly *LOL*) and also because i planned to use it just for touch up purposes-that's before i realize that it's way too dark for me so it won't ever work for touch ups!) so lemme summarize it quickly here : it has a surprisingly good coverage (i'd say it's medium coverage), pretty great oil control (i only need to blot my face like once or twice in a whole day), very powdery (as in lots of fallouts when i swipe the puff on it) therefore making the case absolutely messy, has a strange-floral but not very pleasant-old lady smell. It comes in a super cute packaging and very cheap price (don't ask me how much). Unfortunately since it's pretty thick, it has the possibility to clog up your skin, i think it's making my whiteheads problem worsened zzzz. But it should be okay if you use it like, 3- 4 times a week, i personally think it's unhealthy to wear compact powder every single day anyway, but that's just my opinion! It performs much better than i thought it'd ever be, now if only they have a lighter color choices...