[REVIEW] Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna Palette

Girls,

I am back with a review (plus EOTD) of the new released Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna Palette!

Following the previous Amrezy and Maya Mia palette, Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) launched the third palette, Tamanna, as inspired by the famous instagram darling and beauty blogger Tamanna Roashan (@DressYourFace).

@amrezy

@maya_mia_y

@DressYourFace

I asked my friend who lives in US to buy me at ULTA, and one thing that caught me most from Tamanna was the color selections that look like Sleek Oh-So-Special, dominantly consist of chocolate, coral and broze with combination of shimmer, matte and satin.

See the packaging. It reminds me a lot of middle east slash indian pattern. It looks so exotic, with maroon color and gold. I simply love the box that reminiscing me of TheBalm product, it has magnetic closure and made of thick paper but doesn't look cheap at all. The size is not small but still handy and can fit my make up case. It's rather sleek and lighweight. It includes a mirror and a dual-ended brush.

The colors? For me it's such a perfect combination. It's more like the Maya Mia than Amrezy, as Amrezy has the bright purple and emerald green outside of the basic colors. Maya Mia looks pretty similar, but I think it has more mattes than the shimmers. Maya Mia also consists of blue (Aqua), and unlike Aqua which is matte, Tamanna has the shimmering blue named Venezia.

The color payoff is brilliant. You can see from the swatches of the 10 colors above. The first line is without any base, and the bottom line is with NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil Milk underneath. The difference is not so significant, although the color will look as bright as it looks on the pan if we are using base. Especially the blue one.

The palette consists of 10 colors, they are:

Fresh: light beige (matte)

Blush: frosty light pink (shimmer)

Venezia: blue turquoise (shimmer)

Gilded: bronze (shimmer)

Custom: light taupe (shimmer)

Sangria: plum based red (shimmer)

Bengal: muted orange (satin)

Chocolate: dark chocolate (satin)

China Rose: light coral (shimmer)

Noir: black (matte)

It has 2 matte colors, 2 satin and the rest are shimmery. My favorite is Sangria and China Rose, but Custom and Glided are very pretty for inner lid and base. Bengal is quite unique, but I think it would compliment fairer skin more as it looks clashed to my skin tone.

EOTD:

- I wore Venezia on my inner lid

- Applied Noir to create crease

- I put Chocolate on my outer waterline

- Applied China Rose on the inner waterline

- Highlight the inner corner with Custom

- Tidy up the lower eyebrow line with Fresh

Voila! And this is my FOTD. Even the China Rose can be worn as blush and Chocolate can be used for contouring!

Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free in Honey for base, Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Dark Brown, NYX Matte Lipstick in Sierra

I simply love this palette, as I think all colors are versatile and no redundant to one another. The pigmentation goes well and it doesn't really fallout. With base, it stays from morning to after lunch, then it starts getting faded a little bit by bit. The price is USD 29 (+ tax) and I found it's worthy. It's almost half of UD Naked, anyway, but the quality wouldn't disappoint you.

Do you have either Maya Mia or Amrezy palette? Would you mind sharing the review to me?

See you on my next post! ~xoxo~

[Review] Sleek Blush On in Rose Gold: Who Needs NARS Orgasm Anyway?

Hola, hello!

I am back. Yes, successfully back to write another post since I have been absent for...2 months???!! Don't ask me what kind of blogger I am, but my activities were just unbearably super tight. I mean super tight that I couldn't even breath and relax.

I visited three cities in Japan in October for holiday with my hubby and little daughter, sold my apartment and managed to buy an indent house. I left my job and moving to another project which, thankfully, still under the same roof. However, the new project is an ongoing project so I had to catch everything up very soon and within the first month I had to go somewhere for business trip. Time flies and so here is December.

Before moving forward, I'll post some of our pictures during autumn in Japan :)

Eikando Shrine, Kyoto

Universal Studio Japan, Osaka

Shibuya Square, Tokyo

Ah, forget it. I have been officially back into reality X)

Okay, so the first item came up in my mind after a long break is my current favorite blush on from Sleek Cosmetics.

You might have heard a lot about Sleek Cosmetics since it is famous for the iDivine eye shadow palette. They have been well known as the gorgeous, good UK brand with reasonable price and decent quality. The eye palette itself, I have none. Not because I didn't like them, but I have been searching and waiting for its Arabian Night Collection to be re-launched. Or maybe they are not going to make this as permanent range, too bad :(

Courtesy of http://lipdrama.blogspot.com/2014/07/sleek-makeups-arabian-nights-i-divine.html

I mean, look at this palette. How could I not love the jewel-toned, bold and beautiful palette like this?

Okay, back to topic. I bought the Sleek Blush On in Rose Gold back in late October, as I had been using The Balm Cindy Lou Manizer as my daily blush+highlighter. But somehow I feel like I didn't need to use highlighter everyday (although Cindy Lou is very versatile and doesn't have those chunky glitters not even gritty sparkles. At that time I needed to be a little bit rational since I have spent a lot in Japan, and I have been wanting to try NARS Orgasm because I am now liking the barely-seen-blush style on my face. After did some research, I saw that this Sleek blush is totally the same with Orgasm. Wanna see?

NARS Orgasm - Courtesy of beautylish.com

Sleek Blush On - Rose Gold

What's good?

:: The color! It's peachy pink that looks pinkier than NARS Orgasm on the pan. Yes, it's a bit pinkier but only a slight little. That wouldn't make any difference on your cheek.
:: The golden sheen is very, very nice! It's like putting the blush and highlighter at the same time, saving a lot of your time, everywhere.
:: Packaging is as SLEEK as its name. It won't consume space in my daily make up kit.
:: It has a quite large mirror in it. Even though the packaging is small, but the size of the mirror is as big as the blush.
:: Price. I really think that nobody would need to buy NARS Orgasm if they could have the same thing at 1/4 price.

What's missing?

* Though I know it is the consequence of having a sleek packaging, I still wish that it comes with brush :D
* Staying power is...not that long. It stays for 6-8 hours on me. But I think NARS would do the same on my face (based on my previous experience with NARS Angelika). My face is way too oily. The only blush that stays until 12 hours is only Lover by Illamasqua :)

See the golden sheen? I am no longer using my messy highlighter for daily.

Well, I am totally happy with this item and I think I will stick to this until I hit the pan in the next couple of months. Usually I am not easy to be pleased by blushers, but if I love one blush, I would finish it to the last swipe.

See you on my next post!

My Oily & Acne-Prone Skin Care Routine

Dear beauties,

Those who have a super oily and acne-prone skin, you might be interested to read through my post.

As I mentioned many times earlier through my previous blog posts, I have been struggling with acne (and dermatologist) since I was in Junior High School. I consumed everything; high-dose vitamin A, infused vitamin C, antibiotics, other supplement, etc just to keep the zits away from my face. What I really hate of having acne-prone skin is that we cannot just stop the doctor's medication since the skin would be back to its 'original' condition after a while. This non-stop vicious cycle was once really, really irritating me.

When I got pregnant and had a baby around 3 years ago, I decided to take care of this problem on my own, since some of the medicines were not allowed for pregnant mom. I mean, my last dermatologist said that my acne caused by hormones, and there was nothing I could do about it. Only less than 20% factor came from outside, for instance; make up residue, dirt, etc. I can prove this to you, that even if I didn't wear any make up in daily basis, and tried to wash my skin 3 times a day, my skin is never ever free from acne. The new acne would still be forming when it was close to my menstruation period, and yes, as you could already expected, the acne scars left behind are so annoying and looked like it would stay forever in my face. That is soooo sad.

Thus, last year, I started to tried on several products (skin care) on my face, and as you can assume, I started it from the least expensive or drugstore products. The consequence of doing trial & error, my face could become worse after trying one products. Please be noted that in terms of make up, I have never experienced any case of irritation or severe breakout (only once, with Body Shop compact powder. strange, huh?). But for skin care, yes. In conclusion, I am very allergic to Clinique skin care range and Hada Labo. That really made my skin in trouble. US products are generally safe for me, but I have to admit that Japanese products and me are not good friends. I've never felt satisfied with them (perhaps, except my current most-wanted Majolica Majorca mascara!). As for Korean products, they usually didn't make my skin bad, but definitely not better too. I would say that they just have so-so products for my skin.

Jump to my skin routine (I hope you feel enough with my intro above), let me just tell you that I am wearing regular make up in daily basis. You name it: foundation (or BB cream at the least), powder, blush on, highlighter, eyeshadows, eyeliner and lipstick. I sometimes only skip mascara if I am in hurry. You can imagine that I applied this make up at around 6-7 in the morning, and remove at around 6-7 in the evening. In total, I always wear make up for approximately 12 hours a day, almost 7 days a week (I will let it bare only when I don't go out of home).

I know that it sounds too harsh for my skin. But once again, my skin is not very sensitive and I didn't get much benefit if I let it bare for a quite long time. Below I wanna share with you about how I deal with my skin care routine everyday. I started to realize that skin is a very important asset so I was trying to find a higher end moisturizer and night serum to get this long-term investment.

CLEANSER

How I love using local product Sariayu milk cleanser to remove the make up and dirt on my face everyday. It feels light, the texture is nice, it also has a very good scent from natural ingredients: lime, rose, kenanga, gambir, etc. My favorite is the rose one, because it has a fresh floral scent and it's so gentle. I have never had any bad experience using this product so I never think the need to buy expensive milk cleanser for my daily routine. Yes, once or twice I tries other products too yet so far my second favorite was the Body Shop Cucumber Milk Cleanser which has been discontinued here :(


EYE & LIP MAKE UP REMOVER

To be honest, I don't like using eye & lip make up remover until I found this from Clarins. I simply love this and I think this eye & lip make up remover is very refreshing. It doesn't have terrible scent, too. Though it's a bit pricey, but it can last up to 4 months because we only need a little to remove eyeshadows and lipstick residue.


FACE WASH

Speaking of face wash, I think this is the best product and the best range from the Body Shop that suits my skin condition. Yes, I love the Tea Tree range since long time ago and always fall in love with its scent. This facial wash is quite light and it gives a decent benefit for my acne skin because it has anti-bacterial agent and also reduce impurities. For me, this product would always be there in my bathroom stash.


FACIAL SCRUB

Let me tell you that this facial scrub from Kiehl's is a true winner. The Amazonian White Clay extract is really good to remove the excess oil and tighten gigantic pores like mine. I use this product three times a week or whenever I think I need just because my blackheads and whiteheads are sitting up on my nose. I also use this for my entire face but still I focus the pressure around the nose. Voila! The blackheads gone in second and my face feels really clean after that. Yes, its price is kinda steep, but this is a little goes along the way. So, don't worry. It will last up to 6 months for regular use. I have reviewed this product before, here.

DAY CREAM

I am going to tell you my deepest secret, that I've never worn any moisturizer in my life because I thought every moisturizer would only make my face greasier and oilier. Hey, where have I been? There are a lot of choices of moisturizer for oily skin, and we really need moisturizer to keep skin hydrated and balanced. I was so wrong before, I knew. So, after reading a lot of reviews for the best moisturizer for oily skin, I finally found Clarins Daily Gel-Cream Energizer that been said targeting young people in 20-ish. As my age is still 29, I thought, why didn't I give a shot? LOL :D Seriously, I am so freaking our with the rich moisturizer outside because even in air conditioned room, my face would be oily just after 4 hours applying make up. And moreover, I am living in a humid and sometimes-too-hot Jakarta. I am freaking out that somehow a moisturizer would melt my foundation in the middle of the day. After I found this (and tried this for 2-3 weeks), thankfully, I found that this one is a very good moisturizer. Its gel-like texture is kinda light, not too creamy and rich, it gives me a natural radiance during the day (I think that because its Vitamin C and turmeric extract), but the best thing is....it could reduce the appearance of acne scars in my face just within 2 weeks! I am not kidding you here as I have a lot, so I would notice if it's significantly changed. I super love this moisturizer and will keep buying this. Besides, it didn't cause any breakout (like Clinique) and the scent is very very fresh like citrus! How I love it made my skin supple, smooth and well-moisturized, just with the portion I exactly need.


NIGHT SERUM

Oh, hello all ladies outhere, let me introduce you to my HG serum; Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. I think there are a lot of good reviews for this product as this one seems one of the Kiehl's best sellers. The price is yeah, just 3/4 cheaper than my mom's Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (that focuses on more mature and aged skin), but it worth every penny. Seriously! First I felt doubtful and unsure whether this oil-based serum could give a good benefit to my skin as I already have a tons of oil supply :D But after using it for 3 months, I realized that this oil is veryyy goood to balance out my skin and makes it much more supple. It feels like heaven, smells like heavenly lavender, and it's also almost 100% purely extracted from natural oils (see the ingredients). No paraben and fragrance, so it will also be perfect for sensitive skin. I am using this every night and wake up with a baby-soft skin in the morning. It also successfully reduces my formation of blackheads. I am definitely SOLD for this product. A Rp. 630,000 per bottle could last for at least 6 months. Think about good long term investment for your skin :)

So, now, have you ever tried one of these products? What do you feel about them? Feel free to share : ~xoxo~

Gotta Glow: A Beyonce Inspired Make Up Look

Dear beauties,

How are you girls doing? It's September already and I hope it's gonna be very nice to me :)

Lately I felt so overwhelmed with my energizer bunny a.k.a. my daughter, It's been a while since I posted my last inspired make up, probably it was in June, so I thought it would be a good start if I create another one in the first September post. And the inspiration goes to...

Beyonce. In case you don't know :p

Yes, Beyonce, that diva! I wouldn't tell you how much I loved her voice since she was in Destiny's Child (and my most favorite Brown Eyes at that moment), but I also admire her look and her glowing, sun-kissed make up. As I feel more alike to Beyonce rather than to the K-Pop gank, and accidentally I found a grab-and-go outfit that resembles Beyonce's signature style, so be it!

ALERT: Sorry for the low resolutions pictures below. I found it's impossible for me to create make up look during the day (because I am working) and during the day in weekend (because my daughter is so possessive), so apparently I only would have time before sleep :(

BASE:

Put on your favorite liquid foundation that will give you a dewy finish. There's nothing wrong with excess oil if you want to create a glowing look like Beyonce's. But, don't forget to prime and prep before applying foundation, to make it lasts longer, and set with your favorite loose powder to make it stays on place. Please be reminded to use your exact color or one shade darker, as you want to have a sun-kissed make up rather than Bella Swan's look in Twilight.


EYES:

First of all, let's have a conclusion that Beyonce always wearing a natural eye make up, but with noticeable shimmer. Even though sometimes she had smokey-eyes, but the color remains very neutral. As I was creating this look at night, so I prefer to make it smokier than just natural eyes. The color that I put on my lid was mostly gold/bronze and shimmer peach, but I used a dark blue color on the crease, instead of taupe or chocolate. Put on the black eyeliner to sharpen your eyes, and don't forget to apply a single stroke of brown eyeshadow on the outer waterline, continue with the lightest shimmery shade on the inner corner. Add falsies.

CHEEKS:

This part was the most interesting, as you may put a lot of bronzer on the apple of your cheeks after contouring your face.Don't be afraid because we want to show off that glow!

After bronzer, you may also need to apply highlighter on the upper cheekbones and under eyes area. Highlighter is very useful to reflect the light and create a natural glow. You can see the instant difference on before and after tapping some highlighter on some parts of your face.

LIPS:

Well, Beyonce is known for her wild and chic personality. Although most of the times Beyonce is wearing a nude lipstick, but adding a brighter and braver color is not a sin. So, this is the time to wear on bold lipstick (besides bold lipstick is really really happening now). You can choose either dark red, dark purple or burgundy.


...and VOILA!

Final look. And oh, this look is also wearable for day, just change the lipstick into coral.

This is the result that I made last night. Pretty alike, eh, except for the blonde hair. Sorry, feel hesitate to color my hair since I am proud enough with black :)

What do you think of this look?
I hope you enjoy and already feel 'glowing' today. Have a nice Wednesday! ~xoxo~

PRODUCTS USED:

Eyes: Make Over Le Secret Fantaisie Trivia Eyeshadow in Magical Fairy Tale, Make Over Powder Eye Shadow in Frozen Pink, Make Over Eyebrow Pencil in Brown Latte, Mizzu Eyeliner Pen in Black

Base & Cheeks: Make Over Ultra Cover Liquid Matte Foundation in #4 Amber Rose, Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder in Light Beige, Make Over Face Contour Kit, TheBalm Mary-Loumanizer, Make Over Blush On in #7 Coral Cruise, The Body Shop Brush on Bronze Pearl

Lips: Sephora Creamy Lip Stain in #4 Endless Purple

PS. Please follow my blog and also check my instagram account (IG: mrsyogantoro)

10 Reasons Why We Love Make Over Ultra Cover Liquid Matte Foundation

Last week I took a beauty class held by Make Over. My aim was basically to prove myself that I already know the basic theory in applying make up. After the class, I bought the foundation that I used during the tutorial since the shade perfectly matched my skin. It's quite unusual because It used to be difficult for me to find the right shade from local product.

I will only do the mini review this time, on why I consider this foundation as my new HG. Yes, for acne-prone medium combination, this foundation could do almost everything just like what we expect the high end foundies to provide.

10 reasons why we love Make Over Ultra Cover Liquid Matte Foundation:

1. Hello, highschool girls! With 119,000 IDR price tag, you can get the 'real' foundation instead of just tinted moisturizer or bb cream.

2. The coverage, wow. 2 layers and I would say goodbye to my concealer. It covers each imperfection - redness, pores, acne scars, discoloration, you name it.

3. The finish is matte but not flat. I would say, semi-matte with dewy finish at the end of day.

4. It stays for decent time, around 6-8 hours, depending on the humidity and weather. 

5. The color selections are great! It offers 8 shades which is very rare to find for local products. It is ranging from pale to tanned and dark skin, with neutral, pinkish and yellowish undertone. For reference, I am matched with no. 04 Amber Rose, it is suitable for medium skin with neutral undertone. For Indonesian ladies, no. 3 and no. 5 are much yellower and may suits you the most.

6. The oil control is also very decent. It clearly makes my super oily skin looks fine until lunch time.

7. It comes with pump and meets the hygiene requirements. Yes, at this point, it is way better than Revlon Colorstay.

8. It doesn't oxidize nor leaves a white cast. Super yay!

9. Seriously, it doesn't smudge easily. Unless you rub your face with cloth after washing. But after 2 times pray during the day, it still looks OK even without touch up.

10. For the sensitive nose, this product doesn't have any noticeable fragrants. It may smell like a normal foundation, but very subtle, without being to waxy or perfume-y. 

See you in my next review. Happy weekend, all! ~xoxo~

BLOG SALE: Grab While It Lasts!

Dear beauties,

This is my first blogsale and please swatch and search each product in Google should you interested. I'll give some description to each for your consideration.

Terms and condition:
- All price is final. It's already cheap and compensates the quality of product
- All products exclude shipping cost. But, if you demand of free shipping for Jabodetabek + Bandung area, just purchase above 200k :)
- All products are relatively new, less than a year since it was first opened (sometimes it was just few months) and guarantee haven't expired yet.
- Only for serious buyer. I am sick with the Hit and Run. Please WA/SMS me at 0818197099.

Let's start the blogsale, shall we?

1. BASE

From left to right:

1. Caring Colors Stay True Liquid Foundation no 03 Natural Glow. Suitable for oily/combination, light-medium complexion (NC/NW 25-30). 90% left. 45k
2. NYX Mineral Matte Finishing Powder in Medium. Suitable for oily/combination, medium-tan skin (NC/NW 35-42). 80% left. 90k
3. Oriflame Very Me Peach Me Tinted Moisturizer. Suitable for normal/dry, light/medium skin tone. It evens out your skin very well. 75% left. 25k
4. The Body Shop Tea Tree BB Cream shade no. 2. Suitable for oily/combination, medium skin tone. 75% left. 85k
5.  VOV Rose Lady Cover Foundation. Suitable for all skin types, light-medium skin. It's a creamy foundation with medium-full finish. Swatch only 1x (wrong shade). 80k
6. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Medium Beige. Suitable for super oily skin, full coverage. 60% left. 40k
7. Skinfood Good Afternoon Peach Green Tea BB Cream in no. 2 Natural Beige. Suitable for medium, normal/oily skin. This BB cream is one of the best in controlling sebum. 98% left. 85k (with box)
8. Maxfactor Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 foundation + serum, shade no. 75 Golden. Suitable for normal/dry combination skin, medium with yellow undertone. It covers really well and feels so lightweight. 95% left. 95k
9. Pond's Age Miracle BB cream in Beige. Suitable for normal/combination, medium to tan skin tone. 50% left. 30k 

2. EYES:

Clockwise:

1. Make Over Trivia Eye Shadow in Magical Fairy Tale (shimmer blue, bronze and frosty pink). Condition: 80%. 35k 
2. Make Over Tricia Eye Shadows in Enchanting Nude Spell (matte white, peach and brown). Condition: NEW. 60k
3. Calvin Klein True Lustre Lengthening Mascara in Black. Condition: NEW. 60k
4. Urban Decay Dangerous Palette. This one is very very pigmented and great palette with jewel tones. Condition: 80% (with new and sealed lip gloss inside). 150k

 3. CHEEKS + LIPS

 Left to right:

1. Sleek Blush by 3 in Pumpkin (rose, fuchsia and apricot). Highly pigmented and good value blush in compact packaging. 90% left. 100k
2. L'oreal Color Riche in Rose Creme. Sheer moisturizing lipstick from L'oreal for daily. 85% left. 60k
3. Etude House Rosy Lip Tint in shade #7 Tea Rose. Perfect nude with matte finish. Stained in lips for 6 hours. 80% left. 65k (with box)
4. Maybelline Color Sentation in Totally Toffee. Rich creme lipstick with satin finish, brownish red for daily. 80% left. 30k
5. Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Fuchsia Fever. Bright cool-toned fuchsia with satin and luxurious finish. Sample packaging, full size. 80% left. 60k
6. The Balm Plump Your Plucker in Ruby My Grapefruit. Pink beige lip gloss with shimmer. Perfect for dating/night event. 99% left (only used 1x). 100k 
7. Milani baked Blush in Corralina. A long lasting and versatile blush, best seller. 90% left. 90k (including brush inside)

4. FULL LIPS:

 Left to right:

1. Make Over Ultra Shine Lipstick in Everlasting Kiss. Natural pink with subtle finish. NEW! 50k
2. Lancome Gloss in Love in shade Coccoon (transparent with subtle glitter). NEW! 120k (with box)
3. Wet and Wild Megalast in Rosebud (medium rosy petal pink with matte finish. 85% left. 35k
4. NYX Matte Lipstick in Sierra (coral red that will lighten up your skin!). 85% left. 55k
5. Calvin Klein Lip Gloss (shade in brownish nude, perfect to tone down your bright lipstick as topcoat). NEW! 50k
6. MAC Matte Lipctick in Chili (orange-based red). 80% left. 175k

5. OTHERS:

Counter clockwise:

1. Victoria's Secret Eau de Toilette in Amber Romance (rich vanilla scent). 50% left. 60k
2. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Oil Skin Therapy (soothe and recover skin scars and for daily nightime moisturizer). 70% left. 60k
3. Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (light daily moisturizer, good for any skin types, including oily!). 70% left. 125k
4. Skin 79 VB Effector (serum for oily blemished skin, helps to control sebum and reduce pores). 90% left. 95k
5. Masami Shouko Retractable Loose Powder Brush. 50k
6. LUSH Lip Scrub in Mint Julips (seriously this smells and tastes like chocolate mint!) 90% left. 175k

[REVIEW] Sephora Creamy Lip Stain in #4 Endless Purple

Hello, ladies!

I once had obsession for dark vampy red lipstick, and you might have read my review on Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick in Cherry Bomb.

Yet, I still feel incomplete if I am not having purple lipstick in my purse. After I finished my NARS Tonkin (I know, it broke my bank like crazy but only lasted for 3 months...what!?? Now you see that I loved it too much).

When I attended the opening Sephora Indonesia event at Plaza Indonesia last month, I decided to give a shot to another vampy lipstick, named Sephora Creamy Lip Stain in Endless Purple.

The color is so intense and opaque. The stain power is awesome, even after rubbing my hand really hard, the stain stays

In terms of packaging and texture, it reminds me a lot to NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. The idea is almost the same. A lip cream that glides so easily on lips and dries to matte finish. But I would say that this Sephora Creamy Lip Stain will give a super opaque and super matte in one swipe application. Be careful in applying as it easily goes out from your lipline. Perhaps a lip liner could help to create a 'frame' before you painting your lips with this baby.

PROS (+)
> Glides on very easily. The texture is creamier than NYX SMLC
> Long lasting? It is! I don't have to touch up for whole day. The stain left after lunch is still considerably pretty.
> Opaque color that nothing beats!
> It's not as drying as NYX SLMC. As with NYX, I found my lips a bit streaky after more than 4 hours. This one is not.
> The color is so intense and suits any skin tone. I would say, my lips will just stand out even if I am not wearing anything else on face.
> Easy to get (you now can grab this by run to Sephora store, not necessarily fly to Singapore :p)

CONS (-)
> Compare to NYX SLMC, you may feel this one's quite pricey (IDR 230ish)
> May not suitable for daily and natural make up. You got to have guts ;)

Pigmenation and easy application. This lip stain steals my heart like never before

Other than that, I think this one is currently my most favorite. I just need to be careful wearing this to office by not putting a heavy eye make up. Should you interested in other colour, try no. 1 (classic red, for retro 60s look) and no. 2 (nude beige, for any-occassion mood).

See you in my next review!

~XOXO~
 

My 1st Liebster Awards

Hello ladies!

This is my first after-Lebaran post and I am missing this so much after struggling with domestic works and hunting for the new babysitter for my 3 y.o. daughter.

Thanks God everything went well. I am officially back to work today and saw many emails and notifications, no exception a notification from lovely Tori Chu who just nominated me for Liebster Award! Awww, thank you so much dear :)

As you may already knew that Liebster Award is an award to acknowledge and help other blogger with less than 200 followers to gain a larger following and network with other bloggers. It's a typical of chain blog award passed around the blogging community to know each other in a very sweet and fun way.

After being nominated,I should:

• Answer 11 questions from Tori
• Mention 11 random facts about me
• Nominate other fellow bloggers & post 11 questions for them to answer
• Let the bloggers know that I have nominated them 

Questions that are given to me:

1.  What is your favorite type of post to write & why?

I am quite judgmental so I always love to post about product review, especially if the product has been raved by other beauty bloggers. I simply can't wait to try those product myself :)

2.  What is one lesson you’ve learned since started your blog?

My knowledge about make up has been significantly increased. Other fun experience is to get to know some beauty gurus, make up expert and expand my network with other lovely bloggers.

3.  Who inspires you the most?

I don't have any in particular, but even simple things could inspire me. From a nice decorated rooms to the close up picture of Kim Kardashian. A moment after I was so curious how to contour my face like hers.

4.  What’s the story behind your blog name?

My blog's name is Gleaming Diamante. I love anything sparkle, from diamond to fireworks. And Diamante in Spanish means Diamond, while my original name, Intan, also means Diamond in Bahasa Indonesia.

5.  Korean or Japanese cosmetics?

I prefer Korean because Japanese cosmetics are generally more expensive. Above all, I am a big fan of US cosmetics because I am more comfortable with their color selections and range, because I am not granted with fair and yellowish skin like Korean and Japanese.

6.  Ulzzang or gyaru make up?  

To be honest, I don't understand both, haha. But thanks to Mr. Google, now I can answer this :) I prefer ulzzang because i like to wear natural make up, though, I still rely on foundation instead of BB Cream :)

7.  What is your most favorite K-drama / J-drama? why?

Sorry for being somewhat old, but my first (and only) crush of J-Drama was Tokyo Love Story (it was premiered in 1995, have you even born yet that year?) broadcasted by Indosiar when I was still in elementary school. I don't like K-drama at all, sorry.

8.  If you should travel to somewhere and only one beauty product to bring along with you, what  beauty product will you bring?

My high end foundation, like Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Foundation. It does everything that my face needs :)

9. If you could meet anyone in the world who would it be?

At the moment, President Barack Obama. I would demand him to take action and stop the violence in Gaza.

10.  What are three things you cannot live without?

My make up bag, my handphone and wallet.

11. Who is your special person after your parent?

My only daughter and my husband. I breathe and live for them :)

Random fact of me:

1. A chocolate addict. Once I pop, I can't stop.
2. I am a true Aquarian, with contrasting personalities. Beware because I am just too unpredictable, yet it could be surprising and exciting :)
3. I am 29,5 years old. For bloggers who think I am 21, you are totally wrong :p
4. I loooove traveling, both as indulgence-seeker and backpacker, but flying still swing my nerves.
5. I weigh 66 kgs (and still couldn't find a way to lose some), but I swear to God, I was only 50 kgs ten years ago. Marriage and kid have brought me so much joy and fat :D
6. I can't help to ignore a muted shade of matte lipstick. I feel like 'muted' is my middle name.
7. Even though I have a pretty good amount of confidence, I am not confident enough to wear bright colors of make up.
8. I was an academic achiever back then but thanks God I never be a geek. My life has been completely balanced between study, work and fun.
9. I have been working in 11 different places during 8 years of professional profit and non-profit work. Good or bad? ;)
10. I love coffee so much. Either as cappuccino, black coffee, mocha, or even in the form of ice cream and body scrub. It smells heavenly.
11. My most favorite beauty item is Make Up Forever Aqua Rouge in #4 Chestnut. I feel like, it is designed for my lips. My lips never been better :*

Blogs that I nominated:

1. Aldila Septia (http://allseebee.blogspot.com/)
2. Penina Yuliana (http://peninayuliana.blogspot.com/)
3. Sabine Lyla (http://lyl-s.blogspot.com/)
4. Yuni Usmanda (http://yuniusmanda.blogspot.com/)
5. Clara Novita (http://www.thepeachbeauty.com/)
6. Sakura Lisa (http://sakuralisha.blogspot.com)
7. Vanii Lim (http://knitteddiary.com/)
8. Felicia Indah Putri (http://theliciouzcorner.blogspot.com/)
9. Lucy Liu (http://lucyyliu.blogspot.com/)
10. Lexa (http://imlexa.blogspot.com/)
    
11. Sylviana Saputri (http://sparksofdiamond.blogspot.com/)

My Questions:

1.  What is your beauty philosophy?

2.  Which one is your favorite: US brands, Korean products or Japanese?

3.  Who is your favorite actress and why?

4. If you are traveling to the beach and can only bring 1 piece of make up, which item will you pick to accompany you; an Etude BB cream, the Balm's Betty-Lou bronzer, or the Revlon's chubby stick? Explain why.

5.  If you have opportunity to be a professional make up artist, who will be your first customer?

6. What is your favorite soft lenses color?

7. Travel to USA for three days, or a full 10 days in South East Asia?

8. What is your biggest lifetime achievement?

9. What is the most desired quality from a spouse/partner/boyfriend? Explain why.

10. Does money matter more than love?

11. If you are granted with US$ 100,000, what will you do?


And, before it's way too late, I am also posting a family picture from Lebaran last week :) Mind my bad-hair-day. ~xoxo~

Selamat Idul Fitri 1435 H. Mohon maaf lahir batin :)

Sephora Indonesia's First Haul

Hello beauties,

As you already knew that Sephora has opened its first store in Jakarta (Plaza Indonesia), I was coming to the opening session on last Saturday,12 July after got some encouragement from my sister :P

So, a day before, my sister was asking me whether Sephora was really opening the store in Jakarta. I said, yes, it was not hoax. I got information that the first 100 customers would be given goodie bag. She was mesmerized. She's not typical of feminine woman, never wear any make up on her face (the latest beauty item she has is the first BB cream that she bought in The Body Shop), just because she's now a big baby, 20 years old :)

Before she jumped to me angrily because I am talking about her, let's just hear my story below =)

So, actually, at that moment I didn't need anything to add on my make up stash, but I don't know, I always have a reason add some :p Basically, my sister was curious on how the opening session would look like. I said, it would be more crowded than usual. So, we went to Plaza Indonesia at very early morning, 8AM. Can you believe that I could do this in fasting month? :)) We arrived at 9AM sharp, we went into the mall and we saw there were 7-8 girls before us in the queue. Ah, great, we must get the goodie bag, but the thing is, we must wait for 1 hour in this fasting month. Oh, no!

  
You can see on the top right, that we arrived early and was in the top 10 customers. I could not see how many people were behind us precisely, but I can tell that around 100 people coming at the store before 10AM. At 10AM sharp, they opened the store and welcome us with the a dance. That was hilarious.

I saw some make ups from Sephora line but too bad it's not as complete as in Singapore. Of course, far less complete than what Sephora USA has. Most of the brands can be found here already, such as Benefit, Laneige, Anna Sui, Clarins, Shiseido. I noticed some are new; Too Faced, Philosophy and Glam Glow. I was quite disappointed with their first collection in Indonesia, but I think they will keep growing and adding some more brands. I hope they will give us NARS soon!

However, we were still happy because of the goodie bag thingy. Although they were not generous in giving samples (only 2 sachet of Sephora primer samples and 1 sachet of Crabtree & Evelyn body lotion), they included a colorful mirror and a cute pouch. The biggest thing of the day was Sephora would give a beauty case for the first 150 customers who spent minimum IDR 750,000 at the store. We were rushing to be qualified in the race, as more and more people we saw coming to the store that morning.

So, here are what we grabbed:

Anna Sui Liquid Foundation #102 Medium Beige

Benefit They're Real Mascara (travel size)

Sephora Creamy Lip Stain #4 Endless Purple

Sephora Kohl Eye Pencil in Dark Grey

Sephora Glossy Lip Pencil #5 Glossy Pale Pink

We also bought an eyebrow from Bourjois but we didn't manage to capture it here, for Mom. Yes we were qualified to get the prize, and if you are wondering how the beauty case looks like, I'll give you the clear picture here:

See? It's a medium-sized black leather beauty case which can keep all my stuff neatly inside (the oversized canvas tote bag is a bonus!) I am glad that my make ups are no longer scattered everywhere :) Thanks my sis for accompanying me to Sephora <3

Will review the items later. Which one would you like to hear first? ~xoxo~

Me and my not-look-alike-sis, we did exist ;D