Things I Would’ve Bought: January 2019

Hey, everyone! I can’t believe we are already at the beginning of February 2019! How is your new year’s resolution going on so far? I hope everything’s still on track for you!

For me, as you know that I’m doing a low-buy year this year, so far I think I’m doing pretty good! I didn’t buy anything this month except an acne spot treatment which I’m run out of. It costs 12,000 Indonesian Rupiahs or equal to 0.8 USD! You can’t believe how cheap everything is in Indonesia, can you?

While I’m doing pretty good in holding back my desire to do an impulsive buy, I already have a wish list contains of some products I’d probably pick up on June, when I’m allowed to buy again. By the way, if you haven’t read my low-buy rules, you can check them up here!

Frankly, rather than a wish list, here are some stuffs that I would have bought if I wasn’t doing a low-buy year, if I may say!

Colourpop Velvet Blur Lux Lipsticks

Colourpop does really never sleep! If I’m not mistaken, since their new collaboration with Kathleen Lights, The Zodiac Collection, which was launched on August 2018, they released new products every other week!

This time to be precise, after their last launch on December 26th, 2018, which was their collaboration with a Youtuber iluvsarahii or Karen (which I already picked up on the day it was launched), they launched yet another new products, the Velvet Blur Lux Lipsticks, on January 10th, 2019, just two weeks after Karen’s collaboration.

This product retails for 7 USD each and they claimed it to be a lipstick that creates a soft focus, blurring effect with the same high impact as usual matte lipsticks. It has silky, velvet soft texture that smooths over fine lines and imperfections, but not drying out our lips. The color can be built up, and also blur out the edges for a soft romantic look. And finally, it is loaded with extracts Pomegranate, Goji Fruit, and Grape Seed extracts to protect and nourish lips.

They released 16 shades that are all pretty, and most of them are everyday wearable shades, which I really appreciate! From those 16 shades, I like 8 of them, which are ‘Hey Mr. DJ’, ‘Mesmerize’, ‘Solo’, ‘Y2K’, ‘CA Love’, ‘Alchemist’, ’21 Questions’, and ‘Lucky Strike’. But obviously, I can’t buy all those shades I like since I’m always on a budget even though I wasn’t doing a low-buy year. So if I bought these this month, I’d probably would have bought 3 shades only, which are ‘Hey Mr. DJ’, ‘Mesmerize’, and ‘Solo’.

So, if I wasn’t doing a low-buy year, I would’ve spent: 3 x 7 USD = 21 USD.

Colourpop It’s My Pleasure Palette

Just the next week after the launch of the Velvet Blur Lipsticks, Colourpop launched a new palette, which was ‘It’s My Pleasure’ palette, and this one is a monochromatic palette, just like ‘Ooh La La!’ and ‘Brown Sugar’ palette.

Actually, I don’t need anymore eye shadow palette since I have enough palettes with different color story I haven’t hit pan on. But guess what? Purple is my favorite color so…it’s hard to resist this palette! Although I have different shades of purple here and there on my palette collection, I always like the idea of having one curated monochromatic palette so that I didn’t have to search everywhere when I wanted to do a certain eye look.

Besides that, I also haven’t bought any Colourpop creme gel liners before and I heard so much good things about them. When I was looking for purple creme gel liners to match with this palette (if I was buying it), Colourpop also released a new bundle which contains this palette and two purple creme gel liners! How could they read my mind like that! And if we bought them in a bundle, it costs only 20 USD instead of 22 USD when we bought them separately.

Don’t you think they look so good together?

With this bundle, I would’ve spent: 20 USD

Oh and by the way, they also revamped the packaging of ‘Sol’ and ‘Mar’ palette becoming more similar to ‘It’s My Pleasure’, ‘Ooh La La’, and ‘Brown Sugar’, and also released bundles of those palettes with matching creme gel liners for each color groups. In my opinion, this is such a nice move from Colourpop since I’m an OCD and seeing all those monochromatic palettes have the same design is just so satisfying.

Colourpop Mystery Bag

This year, Colourpop also had a mystery bag flash sale. If I’m not mistaken, they also had one last year. This mystery bag retailed for 25 USD, contained of 55 USD worth of products according to their claim. This was a limited product so once they’re gone, they’re not going to be restocked.

Honestly, I was tempted to buy this since I’m just currently into Colourpop so there are still many products from them I want to try, and I think this was a really good deal. However, it’s gone really really fast, like maybe just 1 or 2 days. And according to many unboxing videos I watched from Youtube, there were many good products included in the bag, even some new products such as velvet blur lipstick and BFF mascara! And the BFF mascara haven’t even released on the day this mystery bag was released! So yeah, TBH, I regretted not pick this one up, so hopefully, next year if I am not doing a low buy year, I could pick this one up if they ever released this kind of mystery bag again.

So included this bag, I would’ve spent: 25 USD.

Colourpop BFF Mascara

A week after the launch of ‘It’s My Pleasure’ palette, Colourpop launched their first ever mascara. But not just like any other mascara, they released it with 7 different colors, which are teal, purple, red, yellow, black, pink, and blue. Each of them only retails for 8 USD. They really know how to make people buy not only 1 but even 2, 3, and 4!

Among those 7 colors, I’m really interested in the purple one since purple is my favorite color (as I’ve mentioned above) and it looks so pastel, and in general I really like pastel colors. Other than purple, I also like the red one because it looks wearable on the eyes since the color is quite dark, so it won’t be very obvious if I wear a colorful mascara.

I think it’s really fun to have unusual shades in typical makeup items and I can say this is so Colourpop. I’m glad that they are always out of the box. It makes buying makeup items feel so fun! (But not fun for my wallet!)

With these mascaras, since I’d most probably pick up black, purple, and red, I would’ve spent: 3 x 8 USD = 24 USD.

So, that’s all I would’ve spent this month if I wasn’t doing a low-buy year. In total, it would’ve cost 90 USD, in the month of January only! Scary, right! >.<

I’ll make this post a series on this blog, so I will update again on February, March, April, and May about things I would’ve bought that month (if any). And on June, I will update about things I finally buy, and we would be able to see how much I save by doing this low-buy year project. And in case you haven’t read, you can check my low-buy year rules on this post!

Thank you for stopping by my blog and see you again on my next post!

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Try High-End Products while Saving Money

Hello! In today’s post, I am going to share with you a trend in beauty community that I saw in my country, Indonesia. I don’t know whether this trend is actually happening in other countries too or not, and as I’m writing this post, I haven’t done any research about that. But, if you do know something similar like this in your country or in other countries, please do let us know in the comment section below and I’ll update this post when you do!

So, what is the trend actually?

As beauty community grows rapidly in the past years, new products are released almost every single day. And by how fast information can travel these days, it’s so easy for us to know what’s going on ‘everywhere’ in the world. We can immediately get updated when a certain product is released and learn more about the product not only from the official brand but also from beauty influencers from across the nation.

Buying stuffs from overseas has also never been easier. Many international brands has open their official retailer outside their country of origins. There are also those who are called ‘personal shoppers’ or ‘online shop’ that ‘in some ways’ can help us getting products that have no official retailer here in our country. And even many more indie brands have offered an international shipping service.

Consequently, the desire of trying new products every time gets higher and higher. Sometimes we buy things because it’s a new necessary one, or because it’s a unique product that we don’t have yet. Or we buy things just because many people like them and they look nice?

However, sometimes, after we try them, they don’t work on us as good as they work on others 😥 So we end up not finishing them until they gone bad >.< And in the end we are just wasting our money on products we don’t even finish.

The thing is, money doesn’t grow on a tree! How do we fulfill this desire?

Here in Indonesia, there’s a system where we can buy products without having to pay a lot and buy the full sized. It is called ‘shared items’. So in this system, the seller stocked on several full size products and we as customers can buy only a few ml of it and the seller will store it in a small container. Just like the picture below.

For example, a seller sell shared items of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in several different shades (let’s say: sand, tawny, rattan, etc) and sizes (usually: 2 ml, 3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml). When it comes to expensive product like this, if we try it for the first time, there’s a possibility that it doesn’t work for our skin or the shade doesn’t match, so buying the full size is a bit risky. Therefore, ‘shared items’ is actually a good solution. We can even buy some different shades to test which one works best for us.

Another example is Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray that was sold in a spray bottle like this.

Also Too Faced Peach Perfect Powder that was sold in a jar with shifter like this.

And there are also other products that I’ve never purchased, such as Nars Liquid Blush in a small jar, Benefit Hoola Bronzer in a small eye shadow pan, and even Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in a small jar. Sorry I can’t include the picture of these products because they belong to the seller.

Actually, we can buy not only high end products, but also basically any products that can be shared, such as primer, liquid highlighter, toner, essence, etc.

Here are all products I’ve ever purchased. Some I purchased because I want to try them but unsure about the shade, and some others I purchased because I’m afraid it won’t work on my skin.

What do you think about this trend? Do you think it’s necessary and helpful? Will you try buying shared items if you ever had any chance? Or will you stick to buying the full sized products? Let me know your thoughts!

Until next time!

Concealer Battle: Too Faced vs Colourpop

Hey, everyone! Today I will be sharing with you my current top favorite concealers that I’ve been using pretty much everyday when I do my makeup. They are the Too Faced Born This Way Multi-use Sculpting Concealer and Colourpop No Filter Concealer.

To be honest, the title of this post kinda burden me as I’m using ‘versus’ on it. I’m not a professional makeup artist or expert in makeup so I think I’m in no way qualified to compare both concealers. However, as I’m consistently wearing them, I feel like the two of them actually have their own pros and cons that are comparable.

Colourpop No Filter Concealer

I use shade ‘medium 28’ for this one and it is slightly darker than my skin tone. But I can make it work with a little bit of powder and blending.

Since the first time I tried this concealer, I’m amazed at how easy it is to blend. It just melts into my skin. The coverage is medium and build-able, but it doesn’t feel heavy. It gives such a natural look. On the day when I want a no-makeup makeup look, I only wear this concealer on my under-eye area, my acne spots, the bridge of my nose, my forehead, and my chin, blend it, add a little bit of powder, and I’m good to go. It really is making my skin doesn’t need any filter anymore. I even prefer this concealer than a BB cream for a simple and quick makeup routine!

Besides that, it is also quite long wearing. I never properly test it out, though, but I never had any issue where my concealer looks separated at the end of the day. And by ‘the end of the day’ here I meant is when I wore it for at least 8 hours before I took it off. Moreover, it is also non-transferable! In fact, I hardly find any cons about this concealer. It is affordable and even cruelty free. I couldn’t ask for more.

Too Faced Multi-use Sculpting Concealer

This concealer was really hyped up at the time it was just released back around July 2018. And I can’t lie that I was also curious of how good it is as so many beauty influencers liking it and comparing it to the Tarte Shape Tape concealer. However since I was (and am always) on a budget, I didn’t immediately buy it when it was released. Instead, I got it on Black Friday sale at Sephora online for 15% off.

Before I bought it, I watched many beauty influencers’ first impression and reviews about this product on Youtube. According to what I watched, almost all of them fell in love with this concealer ever since the first time they tried it. Therefore, my expectation was a bit high.

I also noticed that many said that a little goes along way with this concealer. For example if we use it for under-eye area, we don’t have to put several strokes, instead, we only need some dots, and it’s enough to cover triangle area under our eyes.

I got this in the shade ‘light beige’. This shade is actually lighter than (what I think is) my actual shade (by guessing from pictures online) because I mainly tend to use it to brighten my under-eye area. The first time I tried it, I was so ready to practice all advice I got from watching reviews about this concealer on Youtube. However surprisingly, my first impression was not very good. It was cakey and creased so bad under my eye on the day I tried it for the first time. I also felt it was quite dry and heavy.

At that day, actually I tried many different products for the first time all together. Therefore I thought it might be because of other new products that didn’t work on me, not necessarily because of this concealer. So tried it again on another day with products that I know work well on me. But, I still got the same result. Creased, cakey, and heavy.

Since it is quite an expensive product and many people recommend it, I really want to like it and make it work, so I tried again on another day. But this time, I applied only teeny tiny bit of dots, even smaller sizes than before. And guess what? It finally worked! It didn’t creased throughout the day, wasn’t cakey, and wasn’t heavy at all! So now I know, maybe because I’m not used to heavy full coverage makeup, I need even less amount than what was recommended by most of people.

So, for the Too Faced concealer, it was a bit of learning curve for me. But, I can make it work in the end.

Comparison

Now let’s try comparing both concealers.

After I know just the right amount to use of the Too Faced concealer, my makeup has never been as flawless since. I highly recommend it for those who want a full coverage concealer, but for those who want a natural look, go for the Colourpop one.

Both of them are long-wearing and I never had any issue of them transferring into my clothes. However, from my personal experience,
the Too Faced one feels a little bit dry, but that maybe because my under-eye area is extremely dry these days. But, I never feel Colourpop is drying at all even when I use it for under my eye area.

Price wise, the Too Faced one retails for 29 USD and contains 0.5 fl oz, makes it 5.8 USD per 0.1 fl oz. While the Colourpop one retails for 6 USD and contains 0.14 fl oz, makes it 4.2 USD per 0.1 fl oz. So actually the Too Faced one is not far more expensive compare to the Colourpop one! It just contains more products in a tube making it seems much more expensive. Please also remember that the tube of the Too Faced one is made of glass (sort of) material, while the Colourpop one is made of plastic/ acrylic kind of material, so I’m sure it also contributes in the pricing.

If I had to choose between one, actually, it’s so obvious. I will go with the Colourpop one. It’s cheaper, easier to use (I can make it work since the first time I tried it), and easier to carry (contains less product in a tube makes it lighter and the tube material which made of plastic feels more safe to carry).

So, what do you think of my review? Have you ever tried any or both of these concealers? What do you think about them? Or do you recommend another concealer?

Thank you for reading and see you next time!

An Introduction to My Low Buy Year 2019

Hello, everyone. I hope you had a great weekend! If you are new to this blog, welcome and thank you for stopping by! For you who were already here since before, you might have known from my recent posts that I started doing a project called ‘low-buy year 2019’. In today’s post, I thought I would share with you the reasons why I started a low-buy year and the rules I’ve been setting up for myself so this could be a successful project.

But before that, let me announce that I’ve uploaded my first Youtube video about my first shopping experience on Colourpop website *yeaay* I had an issue at that time but their customer service handled it pretty fast. If you want to know what my issue was and how they resolved it, please kindly check on this video!

Ok, without further ado, let’s get started!

My Reasons

I have been into makeup, skin care, and beauty products since around 2014, if I’m not mistaken. It’s all started when I was still living in Japan. As a country that have four seasons, each season in Japan has a very distinctive weather characteristic that made a girl like me, who came from a tropical country that has relatively similar weather condition throughout the year, struggled. My skin needs kept changing according to the season and the skin care products I had been using since before I left for Japan was no longer effective. Therefore at that time I started learning more about beauty products.

At the same time, I sometimes had to attend or perform in an event where I must wear makeup, for example a cultural exchange event. I was tired of having to always ask my friend to help me do my makeup, so I started improving my makeup skill by watching tutorials from Youtube. And by doing that, I also started building my makeup collection.

As someone who watch many beauty related channels, I can’t lie that I sometimes buy things just because it was recommended by beauty gurus I watch, not because I need them. Rather than having only one product per makeup item, recently I like having option or alternative. Without me realizing it, my makeup collection has grew beyond ‘normal’. I have too many makeup products for an average person who don’t make Youtube videos about makeup. And I don’t think it is ok.

Besides subscribing to beauty gurus channels, I also follow makeup brands’ official social media account to be updated about their new launches and promotions. These brands’ marketing teams really know how to make people keep buying their stuffs. They make different promos on different days so that people will buy something because of temptation of sales or deals. And not only once or twice, I often fell into this ‘trap’. If you’ve read my post before this, you knew my struggle already.

Now that I have this ‘many’ makeup products, I really REALLY want to finish up all the stuffs I have before they gone bad. Therefore, I must stop buying new stuffs until I use up all of my current possessions.

The next reason is none other than, money. Yes, I want to NEED to save more money because of my life future planning.

And lastly, I want to work hard to get what I want before actually getting it. And this is related to the rules I’ve set for myself regarding this project, which I will be sharing on the next section below.

My Rules

I watched several other Youtubers who will be doing a no-buy or low-buy year this year, and everyone has different rules. As for me, these rules below are the most suitable for my condition so that I could resolve my concerns that I mentioned on ‘My Reasons’ above.

And for those who don’t know the difference between no-buy and low-buy year, basically no-buy is when the subject will NOT buy anything except replacement or refill for one year, while low-buy is when the subject LIMIT their purchase in one year according their own rules. In this case, what I will do is the latter.

So, here are my low-buy year rules:

  1. I will NOT buy anything from January 1st until May 31st except for replacement or refill. And anything here means EVERYTHING, not only beauty products, but also clothing, book, accessories, bag, shoes, toiletries, collectible items, etc.
  2. I MAY buy things on the month of June with maximum budget 100 USD on everything. It means 100 USD for makeup, skin care, clothing, etc all together, NOT 100 USD for each type of things. You might think 100 USD is a small amount of money for everything, but it is quite a lot of money here in Indonesia.
  3. If my purchase on June doesn’t reach the maximum budget, I will carry the rest of it to the next shopping schedule.
  4. I will repeat the same drill from July 1st until November 30th, and I may buy things again on December, with the same maximum budget, which is 100 USD, plus (if any) the leftover budget from June.
  5. Exception: my mom will probably goes to Europe for a vacation in the spring. If she goes according to her plan, I might ask her to help me buy a bag that I really want which is quite expensive here in Indonesia because of the shipping and taxes. I might also ask her to help me buy some European beauty products that I can’t get here, with a limit of 5 items, and I will count 1 set as 1 item.

If you are wondering, why I have an exception, that is because vacationing to Europe is not something that me and my family can get easily, because of distance, time, and money limitations. I’ve never been to Europe, neither did my mom. If she is able to go this time, this will probably be her one and only chance (except if we won a lottery XD). This could also be my one of a kind chance to be able to buy something from across the continent with near original price. That’s why I have this one exception.

I also mentioned on the previous section that I want to work hard to get want I before getting it. Based on my rules, I will get to shop again after 5 months without shopping and with maximum budget 100 USD, which means I will have to save 20 USD per month. You may say, why don’t just spend only 20 USD per month instead of holding it for 5 months before spending it? However, I think it’s a completely different thing. By saving my money first before spending it, I will have a sense of working hard to save money. And also, I can really consider what I need and buy them after 5 months of consideration. If I spend 20 USD per month, I will buy stuffs that month just because of temporary desire, not because I really need it. I hope it makes sense.

Ok, I think that’s all I wanted to say about my low-buy year 2019. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it can give you inspiration to do similar thing or to set up your no-buy or low-buy year rules.

If you are doing a low-buy or no-buy year this year, what are your rules? How do your rules different from mine? Do you have any exception? Please let me know on the comment section below!

See you next time!

My First Colourpop International Shipping Experience

Hey, everyone! How was your first week of 2019? Do you have long term and short term schedule you want to follow? Me personally, I decided to post on this blog once a week every Monday. I hope I can be consistent with this target, though. It is hard, these days, being consistent. But, let’s believe in our self first!

This time, I want to share with you my first ever shopping experience on Colourpop website. You might think ‘what is so special by shopping on Colourpop website’, but as an international buyer like me, it is actually quite an experience. So if you are interested in Colourpop products and planning to shop directly on their website, I hope this post can give you some insights of things that might happen to your order.

I will breakdown this post into several parts, so you can easily skip on part you don’t want to read too detail.

PS: stay tuned until the end to get a 20% off discount code to shop on Colourpop website (NOT A CLICK BAIT)

Shopping Experience

This was actually not the first products I’ve ever tried from Colourpop. Back in August 2018, I was looking for a good affordable eye shadow palette. And from many recommendations, I decided to buy Colourpop’s ‘Give it To Me Straight’ palette. I bought it from a local personal shopper here in Indonesia. And soon after that, I also bought their ‘No Filter Concealer’, also from a personal shopper. I love these two products from Colourpop, so I decided to try more products from them. I then started following their social media account to get more updated about their products and promos.

On the last week of November 2018, around Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale time, they had a ‘free global shipping with no minimum purchase’ promotion (FYI, normally it is free global shipping with minimum purchase of 50 USD), so I decided to take a look on their website whether there are some stuffs I want to pick up.

At that time, I’m really interested in their collaboration with Disney, which is the ‘It’s A Princess Thing’ palette, so I immediately put it in my shopping cart. I wanted to pick up the Disney Princess creme lux lipsticks also, but they were all sold out at that time. So I picked up some of their best selling items because I want to try as many different products (that have good reviews) as possible. After some considerations, my total order was more than 50 USD, so I was actually eligible for free shipping even without the promo. Without much thinking, I immediately checkout my order. This was on November 20th.

The next day, November 21st, I got notification email that my order has been shipped. In my opinion, it was extremely fast considering there might be a lot of international orders during the promo.

However, the next day, November 22nd, they announced that they were restocking the Disney Princess lipsticks on 23rd, AND all other lip products are on sale up to 30% (if I’m not mistaken)! I was tempted to place another order and rather regretted my decision to check out my stuffs three days prior this promo. Long story short, I placed another order on 23rd that included the Disney lux lipsticks and some more lip products.

But, my regret didn’t stop here. On 26th, since it was Cyber Monday sale, they had an up-to 40% off site wide!! I should’ve picked up all my stuffs during this time!! What a good marketing strategy to give different promotion at different times so it makes people tempted to buy again and again in the name of ‘promotion’. At that time, I wasn’t aware what and when Cyber Monday was, so I fell for their sale promotion ‘trap’ severely >.<

Shipping Experience

Ok, so my first order, which I checked out on 20th, was shipped on 21st, and my second order, which I checked out on 23rd, was shipped on 26th because 24th and 25th were Saturday and Sunday.

They gave us our tracking number immediately after they shipped our order so we can trace our order easily. My second order tracking history was pretty normal (it changed status every 1 or 2 days), while strangely, the tracking status of my first order wasn’t updated at all from 21st until 27th. And on 28th, finally the status was updated but it was still in LA.

The tracking status of my 1st order. It stuck with the same status even until now when I write this post.
The tracking status of my second order (1/2)
The tracking status of my second order (2/2)

After the status of my second order showed that it has arrived in Jakarta, I was a bit panic about my first order that was still stuck in the US. I tried to read on FAQ section on Colourpop website about ‘stuck package’, and they told us to wait until 21 business days after it was sent before contacting their customer service. So for now, there was nothing I could do except waiting patiently. I even marked the 21st business day on my calendar so that I won’t forget.

Now, let’s talk about my second order that has arrived in Jakarta on Dec 2nd. FYI, I bought something from overseas quite often. Typically, 3 to 5 days after my package arrived in Jakarta, it arrived at my local post office (I don’t live in Jakarta btw), and the staff from there would contact me to pick up my package. Here we don’t receive our international package right in front of our door, instead, we have to pick it up at our local post office. However, 1 week after it arrived in Jakarta, I still haven’t heard anything from my local post office. So I decided to go there by myself to check, in case it has arrived but haven’t been examined by the staffs.

On Dec 9th, I went to my local post office and asked about my package. They checked all the arrived package, but they told me my package still hasn’t arrived there. So me and one of the staff decided to exchanged our whatsapp number, and he promised to contact me if my packaged arrived.

One week after that, still there was no news from them, so I decided to chat the staff first and asked about my package, and he said he will check it again. And the next day, finally, he told me that my package has arrived!! So on Dec 19th, I finally went to the post office to pick up the long-awaited package!!

Ok, back to my 1st order. Dec 21st was the 21st business day after it was sent, so I sent an email to their customer service. Not long after I sent it, I got a reply from them and they gave me option to resend my order or to refund it. I chose refund because I wanted to re-order some items when it was on sale next time (I learned from my mistake!), and actually I wanted to cancel some other items that I realized I don’t really need after I gave my second thought. Thank goodness, they refunded me right after I replied their email.

Haul and Review

After so much trouble, finally, this is my 1st haul directly from Colourpop website!!

‘Belle’ collection set, consists of ‘Last Petal’ ultra glossy lip, ‘Be Our Guest’ super shock shadow, and ‘Belle’ creme lux lipstick.

‘Belle’ collection set and ‘Snow White’ creme lux lipstick

The ‘Belle’ lux lipstick is shockingly and unexpectedly stays through a greasy lunch! So, I went lunch on the first day I wore this. I ate a bowl of udon that day. I thought my lipstick would’ve been completely wiped off after eating. How surprise I was when I looked into a mirror after I ate, the lipstick was still there. Only a tiny bit on the center of my lips that were wiped off. It looked like it stained our lips, that’s why it wasn’t completely wiped off.

‘Belle’ creme lux lipstick

I don’t usually wear lip gloss, but I decided to purchase this set because the lip gloss (until now I’m writing this post) isn’t sold individually, so it’s only limited to this set. And I thought it’s good to try different type of liquid lipstick’s formula Colourpop has, that’s why I finally picked up the set. The gloss is just as expected from a lip gloss. There’s not much I can say about it since I’m also not a big fan of lip gloss. I’d still wear it, though. But it suits really well on top of the ‘Belle’ lux lipstick.

The super shock shadow (SSS), since it was the first time I tried the SSS formula, was a bit of learning curve for me. I must say it’s not as easy to apply as their usual pressed powder shadow for a beginner. According to Colourpop website, the best way to apply a SSS is by using our fingertip, and it’s true. When I picked it up using my finger, the color showed up really well on my eyelid. But when I tried to use a brush, there was almost nothing picked up. Also, since this particular shade (‘Be Our Guest’) is a satin finish, in my opinion, it is not as vibrant as glitter or metallic finish.

‘Be Our Guest’ super shock shadow

‘Snow White’ and ‘Liquid Courage’ creme lux lipstick. When they arrived, I just realized that these two lipstick have very similar color, so I decided to give one to my mom (actually, she bought it from me XD). If you want to buy this particular color, I think there’s no need to buy both of them.

‘Snow White’ creme lux lipstick
‘Liquid Courage’ creme lux lipstick

‘Lost’ and ‘Frick n Frack’ ultra satin lips. ‘Lost’ is a red brown color, and ‘Frick n frack’ is a rosy terracotta color. Both of them look really good on my medium skin.

‘Fly fi’ lippie stix. This is a rather new experience for me. I never tried a lip product quite like this before. The finish is called matte-x. It dries down to a matte finish but it’s not drying and doesn’t emphasize my lip lines. It looks so smooth like a velvet. I want to say it’s like a powder finish, but it’s not accurate either. I love LOVE love this and will definitely but other colors soon.

‘Fli fi’ lippie stix

‘No Filter Setting Powder’ in translucent. It smooths my skin and blurs my pores, just like the claim says. I wish it was in a thinner but wider container because I can barely dip my powder brush onto its small diameter cap.

No Filter Setting Powder in shade ‘Translucent’

And ‘Flexitarian’ super shock highlighter. It came broken, but since it’s in super shock formula, it can be easily repressed into its jar. This shade is so blinding, I can see why it is so popular. But it looks a bit silvery on my skin tone. I like it, but not LOVE LOVE it. I’d still wear it, though. I know there are people who don’t like silvery highlighter on their face so I think I have to mention this.

‘Flexitarian’ super shock highlighter before I repressed it
‘Flexitarian’ super shock highlighter after I repressed it

20% Discount Code

This is what I promised you guys. I have a referral link so that you can get 20% off your FIRST purchase only. This is not an affiliate code but I will get also 20% off my next purchase if you use this link to make your FIRST EVER purchase with CP. So it’s a win win for us!

My Referral Link

This code (as far as I’m aware) is applied for all Colourpop’s products including new arrivals. So it’s a very good deal! Please feel free to use it or not. I really appreciate if you decided to use my referral link to make your purchase! ^^

Summary

Overall, I am really satisfied with my haul. Even though it took almost 3 weeks to arrive, it worth the wait. I am also impressed by their customer service who refunded my un-arrived order right away.

After this experience, will I ever buy again from their website? Of course! By the time I wrote this post, actually I have placed 3 more orders on their website >.< Now I can relate to those who say ‘Colourpop addiction is real’. Oh and by the way, I placed these 3 orders (technically) before I started my ‘low buy year 2019’ so I didn’t brake my own promise. These 3 orders from Colourpop was my very last haul before I started the ‘low buy year’, and actually they were the main reason I started this project. I’ll update more detail about it when all of my hauls arrive.

Thank you for reading and until next time!

I was Reborn

Hey, everyone! This is my first post after this blog was officially changed from ‘Atashi no Hanashi’ to ‘Unpretty Vanity’. If you want to know what this blog will be about from now on, please do check section ‘About’ on the menu!

On this post, I will tell you why I changed this blog’s name. Thank you if you are willing to read this post! 🙂

So, there are many things happen to me recently and it made me unable to post on this blog as frequently as before. But actually, I never forget this blog and I always wanted to come back. That’s why I still came by from time to time to reply comments on this blog.

I may say ‘recently I couldn’t find time to write a blog post’, but I believe it’s just an excuse. The thing is ‘I didn’t make enough effort to make time for this blog’. I started this blog back in 2012 and until now this blog has been a space for me to pour my idea and share my experience that I hope can be useful for everyone who read it. I realized that I want to continue this and never abandon this blog anymore.

I took some time to think what I really want to write on this blog specifically, because I think recently my posts became so messy and un-directed. Because I have such diverse hobby (traveling, books, makeups, Harry Potter), I can’t decide what I want to write the most, therefore I wrote everything, and therefore this blog became so disorganized. I need to narrow down the theme of this blog so that I can have motivation to write and people with specific interests can keep coming back to this blog.

At the same time, coincidentally, I started realizing that there are many things I haven’t finished among my belongings, such as books (I have a pile of new books I haven’t finished reading), makeups (I keep buying makeup even though I know I have enough already), post drafts (I wrote several drafts that I didn’t finished because I lost motivation of writing them), and so on. And I don’t want to become this kind of person. I must finish what I have started.

Therefore, I started minimalist lifestyle just recently. I started it by promising to myself that I will NOT buy anything until June 2019 unless I finish what I already have. And ‘anything’ here includes everything: books, makeups, clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, etc. I also will start reading all of new books I haven’t finished reading on 2018.

And coincidentally (actually I started to believe that this was destined to be), several videos with titles that include ‘low buy year 2019’ or ‘no buy year 2019’ were popped on my Youtube recommendations. Out of curiosity, I watched some of those videos, and it’s like ringing a bell in my head, ‘Ah, so this is what I actually will also do. A project called ‘low buy year 2019”.

I am completely aware that promising something to our self will not run successfully if we don’t share it with others. And then I think, ‘why not write this project on my blog?’. By sharing it on my blog, it’s like I promise to public and therefore I will feel obliged to really finish this project. Besides that, I might find other people who are also currently carrying the same or similar promise/ project, and we can cheer up each other!

And this is how atashinohanashi.wordpress.com was reborn to unprettyvanity.com. I want to record my ‘low buy 2019’ journey, and furthermore, my ‘minimalist lifestyle’ journey on this blog and share it with you, and I hope it can inspire you in any possible way!

Actually, the name ‘unprettyvanity’ was not a new name. I have been using it since around mid 2017 on my Instagram account where I mainly shared about my makeup/ skin care products review. However, this IG account was also abandon for around a year. Therefore, I want to use that IG account and this blog simultaneously and (hopefully) consistently from now on to record this journey. If you feel like it, please also follow me on instagram.com/unprettyvanity 🙂

If I was asked, ‘why ‘unpretty vanity’ tho?’, it is because (as I’ve briefly mentioned on the ‘About’ section on the menu above), I don’t have tons of fancy books or luxurious makeups like other instagram/ internet celebrities to share. I might only be able to share the same things over and over again. I have a vanity I love, but it might be not as pretty as others. Hence the name ‘Unpretty Vanity’. Psst, I also love to play with words, so I tried to find another word that rhymes with word ‘vanity’ 😀

Well, I think I said enough! If you reach this paragraph, thank you for reading my rambling. If you are new to this blog, let’s be friends! And finally, on this January 1st, 2019 I want to say, ‘Welcome 2019! And welcome to my ‘low buy 2019′!’

Menonton Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald di Bioskop 4Dx3D

Sebagai penggemar berat Harry Potter, tentunya film terbaru produksi J.K. Rowling ini sudah saya tunggu-tunggu sejak tanggal penayangan perdananya diumumkan. Sekitar seminggu sebelum tanggal yang diumumkan tersebut (16 November 2018), saya mendapat info dari suami bahwa pada tanggal 14 November, bioskop-bioskop di kota tempat kami tinggal sudah akan menayangkannya untuk pertama kalinya. Saya juga sebenarnya agak bingung kenapa bisa ditayangkan dua hari lebih awal dari tanggal resmi yang tertera di sosial media Fantastic Beasts (FB), tapi kami akhirnya memutuskan menonton pada tanggal 14 November tersebut. Alhamdulillah ada yang bisa menjaga anak di rumah selama kami pergi 🙂

Kebetulan suami punya satu tiket gratis menonton di bioskop CGV. Kami pun berencana menonton di sana. Namun sayangnya di CGV sini belum ada bioskop 3d maupun 4Dx3D. Maka kami hanya menonton di bioskop 2D.

Singkat cerita, tiga hari setelahnya saya ada keperluan ke Jogja bersama anak. Suami tidak ikut. Di Jogja saya menginap di rumah orang tua saya. Nah, di Jogja ada bioskop 4Dx3D, dan saya pun tergugah untuk menonton kembali. Kebetulan saya belum pernah menonton di bioskop 4Dx3D, dan setelah saya pikir-pikir, tidak ada film lain yang ingin saya tonton dengan efek 4Dx3D ini selain film FB. Akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk nonton sekali lagi, dan kali ini di bioskop 4Dx3D.

Saya memesan tiket menggunakan aplikasi. Karena menonton sendirian dan memesan tiket cukup awal, saya bisa mendapat tiket yang cukup di atas dan tengah. Setelah memesan tiket menggunakan aplikasi, kita tinggal datang ke bioskop lalu mencetak sendiri tiket kita di mesin self-ticketing. Oh ya, tiket bioskop 4Dx3D ini di Jogja dibanderol dengan harga Rp 80.000,00 untuk hari Senin, dan Rp 90.000,00 untuk hari lainnya.

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Setelah pintu teater dibuka, kami dipersilakan mengambil kacamata, dan seperti ini tata tempat duduk di dalam teater 4Dx3D-nya.

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Kursi saya di G8 (kursi A di yang paling dekat dengan layar), ketinggian pas serta posisi tengah. Di layar sedang ditayangkan trailer film yang akan datang.

Teater saat itu lumayan penuh karena saya menonton di hari Senin (yang harga tiketnya lebih murah) dan besoknya, hari Selasa, merupakan tanggal merah. Saya perhatikan banyak penonton yang sepertinya baru pulang kerja atau pun mahasiswa-mahasiswa yang baru pulang kuliah langsung ke bioskop.

Saya pun iseng-iseng mengobrol dengan penonton di sebelah saya. Saya bertanya apakah mereka pernah menonton di 4Dx3D juga sebelumnya, karena saya ingin tahu seberapa parah efek guncangan yang disajikan. Ternyata mereka pun baru pertama akan menonton di teater 4Dx3D sama seperti saya.

Tidak lama kemudian, lampu di dalam teater dipadamkan dan di layar diputar beberapa trailer film yang akan tayang di bioskop. Setelah beberapa trailer selesai ditayangkan, ditampilkan peraturan-peraturan menonton di bioskop seperti biasa, lalu setelah itu ada yang istimewa.

Apakah dia…

Ternyata penonton diberikan simulasi 4Dx3D dulu sebelum film benar-benar ditayangkan. Di simulasi singkat ini, kami jadi bisa tahu separah apa guncangan yang mungkin terjadi, serta efek-efek lain yang ditawarkan. Saya pun merasa lega karena saya jadi bisa siap-siap atau berekspektasi terhadap efek dari film sebenarnya.

Dan film pun dimulai. Selain merasa seperti benar-benar berada di lokasi film layaknya menonton di teater 3D, di teater 4D ini kami juga serasa ikut bergerak dengan tokoh-tokoh di filmnya. Sebagai contoh, saat kamera menyorot pemandangan dari atas, lalu bergerak dari atas ke bawah, kursi juga bergerak memberikan efek serupa sehingga penonton juga merasa seakan-akan terbang. Selain itu, saat kamera bergerak miring atau sang aktor terjatuh dari ketinggian, maka penonton pun merasakan yang sama. Bahkan botol minum yang saya taruh di tempat minuman di lengan kursi sampai hampir jatuh karena guncangannya.

Selain itu tentu saja ada efek lain, seperti cahaya, angin, dan… ah lebih baik ditonton sendiri saja supaya ada sensasi kagetnya. Kalau saya beri tahu semua sekarang, nanti tidak seru lagi 🙂

Nah, mengingat durasi film yang kebanyakan di antara satu setengah hingga dua jam, maka jika kalian memutuskan menonton film di teater 4Dx3D, pastikan kalian tidak punya motion sickness yang parah ya, karena menurut saya efeknya lumayan terasa walaupun tidak separah wahana-wahana ekstrim di taman bermain. Untuk ibu hamil, hmm sebetulnya tidak ada peringatan tertulis bahwa ibu hamil dilarang menonton di teater 4Dx3D (mohon dibetulkan jika saya salah), tapi kalau saya pribadi sepertinya lebih tidak dulu, karena seringan-ringannya, ibu-ibu bisa saja muntah atau pusing. Bersabar saja dulu ya, ibu-ibu 🙂

Apakah teater 4Dx3D ini worth the splurge? Menurut saya menonton di 4Dx3D ini lebih berfungsi sebagai refreshing daripada menikmati cerita dari filmnya sendiri. Jika saya menonton film FB ini untuk pertama kalinya di 4Dx3D, bisa jadi ada detail cerita atau film yang terlewat oleh saya. Karena kebetulan ini adalah kedua kalinya saya menonton film yang sama, maka kali ini saya lebih fokus di menikmati efeknya daripada di cerita filmnya sendiri. Lalu, untuk film lain yang tidak terlalu saya gemari seperti layaknya film FB ini, sepertinya 3D atau bahkan 2D saja sudah cukup bagi saya. Dan, kalau pun di lain waktu saya menonton di 4Dx3D untuk film lain lagi, saya rasa saya sudah dapat menduga efek apa yang akan terjadi untuk adegan-adegan yang ditampilkan, maka efek kagetnya sudah berbeda dengan saat menonton di 4Dx3D untuk pertama kalinya.

Nah, apakah teman-teman tertarik menonton film di 4Dx3D? Kalau iya, film apa yang menjadi wish list teman-teman untuk bisa ditonton dengan efek 4Dx3D? Lalu, apakah teman-teman penggemar berat Harry Potter seperti saya? Kalau iya, bagaimana tanggapan teman-teman untuk cerita FB di film keduanya ini? Coba ceritakan di kolom komentar di bawah ya! Eh tapi kalau teman-teman ada yang takut baca spoiler, lebih baik jangan baca komentar dulu sebelum menonton filmnya.

Sampai jumpa di post selanjutnya!

Living in Japan: Dealing with Stereotype Part 2.2

Halo! Kembali lagi dengan saya di sini. Sesuai judulnya, di post ini saya akan melanjutkan cerita dari post 2 bulan sebelum ini (ya! nggak nyangka sudah 2 bulan sejak saya menuliskan cerita tentang ini +_+). Buat yang belum baca part 2.1-nya, bisa lihat di sini ya.

Setelah melewati ujian dan alhamdulillah dinyatakan lulus, maka kami tinggal menunggu tahun ajaran baru pada bulan April tahun berikutnya. Selama 6 bulan ini, saya (dan mahasiswa beasiswa MEXT lainnya) hanya fokus mempersiapkan penelitian yang akan dilakukan ketika memulai kuliah S2 nanti.

Kemudian, tahun ajaran baru pun dimulai. Karena satu jurusan, saya sering menanyakan S mata kuliah apa saja yang akan dia ambil tiap semester. Saya ingin ikut mengambil mata kuliah tersebut supaya ada teman kuliah dan ada tempat bertanya seputar tugas dan ujian. Beberapa mata kuliah yang dia ambil ada yang tidak terlalu dekat keilmuannya dengan lab saya, maka tidak saya ambil. Teman-teman juga kadang seperti itu kan ya, mengambil mata kuliah karena ada teman. Hehehe :D.

Jujur saja di saat benar-benar mulai kuliah ini, saya sangat sibuk tidak hanya dengan jadwal kuliah dan tugas-tugasnya, namun juga dengan penelitian yang ternyata tidak semudah itu. Banyak sekali paper yang harus saya baca agar mendapat referensi serta mengetahui penelitian mana yang sudah pernah dilakukan agar saya tidak dituduh mem-plagiat paper orang lain.

Berbeda dengan teman-teman yang jurusannya sebagian besar banyak kegiatan lab yang sifatnya percobaan, kegiatan lab saya sebagian besar adalah pemrograman. Hari-hari saya sebagian besar BANGET dihabiskan di depan laptop, dan sejujurnya itu agak sangat membosankan bagi saya. Saya tahu ada orang yang sangat menikmati ngoding, maka ia bisa lupa waktu jika sedang ngoding, debugging, extracting data, lalu menganalisis hasilnya. Sangat disayangkan saya bukanlah orang seperti itu, dan di saat inilah saya mulai menyadari sepertinya salah pilih jurusan dan terutama salah pilih lab. Padahal di saat S2 seperti ini, sangatlah krusial untuk tidak salah pilih jurusan maupun bidang keilmuan, karena keilmuan inilah yang akan kita pegang terus ke depannya saat melanjutkan karir +_+

Kemudian, untuk hal yang sifatnya penelitian yang belum dipublikasikan seperti ini, kami tidak boleh membicarakan penilitian kepada orang di luar lab. Alhasil ketika saya kebingungan, saya hanya bisa berdiskusi dengan sensei (profesor supervisor penelitian) saya atau teman satu lab. Nah mengenai diskusi ini ternyata jadi masalah yang cukup membebani saya di masa S2 saya.

Jadi, teman satu lab saya sebagian besar BANGET tidak dapat berbahasa Inggris. Sementara, saya yang memang saat menjalani S2 ini sudah cukup lancar berbahasa Jepang level SEHARI-HARI, selalu berusaha berbicara menggunakan bahasa Jepang  setiap mengobrol dengan teman lab. Oleh sebab itu, teman-teman lab saya berasumsi bahwa saya sudah dapat berbahasa Jepang selayaknya orang Jepang sehingga mereka tidak berusaha berbicara menggunakan bahasa Inggris dengan saya sama sekali, begitu pun ketika kami mendiskusikan penelitian. Padahal, bahasa Jepang untuk sehari-hari itu sangat berbeda level dengan bahasa Jepang yang terkait masalah penelitian. Banyak sekali technical term yang tidak saya pahami yang berhubungan dengan penelitian kami.  Akibatnya, sulit sekali bagi saya untuk berdiskusi atau meminta tolong teman lab mengajari saya di saat ada yang tidak saya pahami.

Bagaimana dengan sensei saya? Tentu sensei saya cukup lancar berbahasa Inggris (ya, saya bilang ‘cukup’ karena sensei saya tidak selancar itu bahasa Inggrisnya). Namun ternyata, berdiskusi masalah penilitian dengan sensei juga tidak lebih mudah daripada dengan teman lab 😦 Entah mengapa, saya selalu kesulitan menyampaikan ide-ide maupun kesulitan saya kepada sensei. Sehingga tidak jarang setelah berdiskusi dengan sensei, malah timbul pertanyaan yang lebih banyak daripada sebelum berdiskusi. Padahal harusnya sensei lah orang pertama dan utama yang bisa kita curhatin masalah penelitian ini. Turned out that’s not always the case.

Lalu, kepada siapa kah saya bisa mencari jawaban ketika sedang kesulitan masalah penelitian? Ya, pasti teman-teman sudah bisa menebak. Kepada S lah akhirnya saya bertanya dan berdiskusi. Tak jarang setelah saya berdiskusi dengan sensei dan malah tambah bingung, saya diskusi dengan S masalah yang sama persis dan S dengan mudahnya memberikan solusi atas permasalahan saya.

S ini tidak pernah menolak kalau saya meminta waktunya untuk berdiskusi. Dan saat berdiskusi dia juga benar-benar mengajari sampai saya paham dan sampai selesai permasalahan yang saya tanyakan.

Meskipun dengan tertatih-tatih, akhirnya berhasil juga saya menyelesaikan pendidikan S2 serta penelitian saya. Tibalah waktu sidang penelitian saya (dan juga S) pada akhir bulan Januari 2016. Saya pun memberi tahu teman-teman Indonesia maupun internasional termasuk S jadwal sidang saya secara sekilas saja karena saya tidak berharap ada yang punya waktu luang untuk datang. Tidak saya sangka, di antara sekian banyak teman yang saya beri tahu, S-lah satu-satunya yang datang menonton sidang saya.

Mulai dari belajar untuk ujian masuk universitas, tugas kuliah, permasalahan terkait penelitian, semua saya tanyakan ke S. Bisa dibilang saya tidak tahu bagaimana nasib S2 saya kalau saya tidak bertemu dengan S. But indeed, everyone comes in our life for a reason, right?

*****

PS: Sejak lulus pada Maret 2016 lalu hingga saat ini, S masih bekerja di salah satu perusahaan IT di Jepang.

Tes 17 Jam Pemakaian Foundation Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place

Halo, semuanya!

Dari judulnya, teman-teman yang follow blog ini pasti sudah bisa menebak bahwa postingan kali ini akan membicarakan hal yang sangat-sangat berbeda dengan yang biasa saya tulis di sini. Bagi teman-teman beauty lovers yang sampai di blog ini karena ingin membaca review tentang foundation ini, selamat datang dan salam kenal!

Mungkin untuk perkenalan sedikit, saya sendiri adalah seorang beauty enthusiast yang sebenarnya sudah cukup lama hobi mencoba-coba beauty products, tapi baru kali ini saya benar-benar ingin menuliskan review sebuah produk seperti ini. Ini adalah kali pertama saya menulis post dengan tema seperti ini jadi mohon maaf jika ada yang kurang jelas dalam penjabarannya nanti, ya. Baiklah tanpa berlama-lama lagi, mari kita mulai saja reviewnya! ^^

Intro

Seperti yang mungkin sudah teman-teman ketahui, foundation (mulai sekarang disebut foundie saja ya) Estee Lauder adalah salah satu foundie high end paling tersohor di kalangan beauty guru. Namun, disebabkan harganya yang memang tidak terjangkau, saya selalu maju mundur untuk membelinya, meskipun dia telah ada di wish list saya sangat lama.

Saya sendiri, selama sekitar 4 tahunan ini lumayan suka mencoba-coba berbagai produk kecantikan, tidak pernah memiliki produk high end apa pun. Semua produk yang saya pakai adalah drugstore atau lokal. Namun saya tahu, jika suatu saat ini saya akan pada akhirnya membeli produk high end, produk pertama yang saya beli akan berupa foundie. Karena menurut saya, make up akan terlihat bagus jika base-nya atau dasarnya lah yang bagus. Oleh sebab itu, foundie estee lauder ini memang ada di no.1 wish list saya.

Hingga akhirnya pada bulan Juni 2018 lalu, ceritanya tabungan saya sudah terkumpul alhamdulillah, saya pun mulai browsing shade foundie estee ini yang cocok untuk warna kulit saya. Dari hasil browsing ini, sebenarnya saya masih ragu mau ambil shade yang mana. Sementara, saya memang berniat beli online saja karena harganya yang jauh lebih murah daripada di konter resmi (maaf ya, estee). Ada juga online shope yang menjual versi shared-nya, namun saya merasa harganya tidak worth it dibanding beli langsung full sized (karena saya sudah yakin saya mau beli full sized jadi tidak merasa perlu beli shared). Alhasil saya pun belum jadi beli online.

Hingga pada bulan Juli 2018, saya ada keperluan ke Singapura, maka saya pun memutuskan membeli di duty free bandara Changi saja sekalian swatch shade-nya langsung di kulit saya. Akhirnya, inilah shade tercocok bagi kulit saya, yaitu Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place SPF 10 2N2 Buff.

Kondisi Wajah Saya

Sebelum kita lanjut ke review pemakaian, ada baiknya saya jelaskan juga tipe kulit saya. Kulit saya termasuk oily-combination, berminyak di bagian T-zone namun tidak terlalu parah, kering sekali di bawah mata, dan normal di bagian lain. Bagian yang kering di bagian bawah mata ini sering patchy jika foundienya tidak cocok, dan pasti creasing kalau pakai concealer terlalu banyak, jadi memang agak tricky.

Saya memiliki jerawat hormonal, yaitu PASTI berjerawat satu dua biji saat lagi ‘dapet’. Jadi di wajah saya banyak bekas jerawat yang menghitam. Namun untuk tekstur cenderung rata, tidak bopeng-bopeng, dan tidak ada jerawat meradang yang merah-merah.

Selain itu, hidung saya cukup sering komedoan, dan pori-pori di sekitar hidung cukup besar.

Review Pemakaian Selama 17 Jam

Sejak saat beli itu hingga sekarang ini, saya sudah cukup sering menggunakan foundie ini dan alhamdulillah cocok di kulit saya yang oily-combination serta tidak menimbulkan jerawat atau breakout. Namun, saya belum pernah benar-benar memakainya dalam waktu yang lama dan dalam kondisi tidak ideal (cuaca panas dan mobilitas tinggi). Jadi saya belum pernah benar-benar membuktikan claim-claim yang disebutkan estee di websitenya ini:

Flawless. Natural. Matte. Feels lightweight and so comfortable, you won’t believe it’s super long wear. No touchups needed.

Unifies uneven skintone and covers imperfections with buildable, medium-to-full coverage.

Stays color true. Won’t look grey on deeper skintones.

Double Wear is oil-free and oil-controlling. Waterproof and transfer-resistant, it lasts in hot and humid weather.

Keeps up with your busy day. For millions of women, it’s Double Wear or nothing. Put it on once and don’t think twice.

Kesempatan itu akhirnya datang pada akhir Oktober 2018 lalu. Saya dijadwalkan untuk menghadiri pelantikan dokter sepupu saya. Acara akan berlangsung dari pukul 07.30 pagi hingga 13.00 siang, lokasi semi-outdoor (di ruangan terbuka namun ada atapnya), ada jadwal makan siangnya, dan saya akan mengenakan kebaya. Saya pun lagi ‘dapet’ jadi tidak perlu wudhu sama sekali. Pas sekali ya semua kondisi ini sangat mendukung untuk mencoba ketahanan suatu foundie. Maka saya pun sudah meniatkan akan memakai foundie estee dari pagi sampai malam sebelum tidur.

Semalam sebelum hari H, saya juga menyempatkan membersihkan komedo dengan Innisfree Blackhead Balm dan Biore Pore Pack, serta memakai sheet mask. Bisa dibilang kondisi kulit saya sedang cukup prima.

Oke, pagi harinya, saya selesai memakai foundie pada pukul 06.00. Ini foto ketika saya baru memakai riasan mata dan foundie, belum selesai make up seluruh wajah, dan TANPA concealer ataupun color-corrector sama sekali.

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Bisa dilihat bahwa warna kulit sudah rata sepenuhnya, namun di dahi memang ada jerawat kecil yang muncul (jerawat hormonal karena lagi ‘dapet’). Namun semua bekas-bekas jerawat dan warna yang tidak rata sudah tertutupi sempurna dan menghasilkan base makeup yang flawless.

Saat baru pakai foundie ini, saya langsung merasa wajah saya sangat matte dan tidak tacky. Maka saya pun memutuskan untuk tidak menggunakan loose powder dengan teknik baking, melainkan hanya dab-dab dengan pressed powder karena saya juga tidak mau look ini terlihat banyak layer dan powdery.

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Oh ya, saya akan menuliskan di akhir post ini semua produk yang saya pakai di makeup look kali ini supaya teman-teman juga bisa tau produk apa yang mendukung dalam uji coba pemakaian foundie estee kali ini.

Pada pukul 07.30 saya dan sepupu otw ke lokasi acara lalu foto-foto di luar gedung hingga pukul 09.30. Selama 2 jam ini, tidak ada oil yang terproduksi dan saya tidak melihat adanya keperluan untuk touch up sama sekali. Untungnya memang cuaca sedang cerah berangin (bukan terik panas menggentang), jadi meskipun memakai kebaya, saya juga tidak merasa terlalu bekeringat. Acara pelantikan pun mulai pada pukul 09.30 hingga 12.00. Selama acara berlangsung saya hanya duduk bersama tamu-tamu lainnya di semacam tenda beratapkan tarup dan di depan kami ada kipas angin yang sangat memadai. Foundie masih sangat sangat aman.

Sekitar pukul 12.00 tamu undangan dipersilakan makan siang prasmanan seperti kalau kita ke undangan pernikahan. Saya memilih menu sup, capcay, fillet ikan rica-rica, serta minum teh hangat. Sengaja pilih yang panas, berkuah, berminyak, dan pedas supaya bisa melihat apakah akhirnya foundienya goyah 😀 Tapi maaf lupa banget ngefoto makanannya sebagai bukti karena waktu itu sudaah sangat kelaparan secara terakhir makan adalah sebelum jam 6 pagi 😀

Setelah selesai makan dan minum, saya pun membersihkan sekitar mulut saya dengan kertas tisu, dan sangat-sangat surprisingly, foundienya tidak ada yang menempel sama sekali di tisunya. Namun di bagian T-zone sudah muncul shine tapi masih terlihat seperti glowy sehat bukan minyak yang greasy ataupun foundie yang mulai meleleh *nangis terharu*. Sebagus itu T_T

Ini foto setelah makan siang. Saya sudah touch up lipstiknya ya ini. Bisa dilihat bahwa wajah masih sangat-sangat terkontrol.

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Oke lanjut. Sekitar jam 1 siang kami pulang ke rumah, namun jam 4 sore berencana keluar lagi untuk makan malam dalam rangka syukuran keluarga. Saya tidak menghapus makeup, dan memang makeupnya terasa sangat nyaman sampai saya pun tidak merasa harus buru-buru membersihkannya. Beda yang ketika kita selesai suatu acara dan makeupnya sudah tidak karuan bentuknya, bleber ke saana kemari, patchy, luntur, dan segala macem, pasti kita pengennya segera cuci muka. Nah kalau ini tidak ada perasaan seperti itu sama sekali. Saya bahkan sempat tidur siang masih menggunakan makeup 😀

Bangun sekitar jam 3 sore, saya touch up sedikit karena memang mukanya beler banget secara baru bangun tidur. Touch upnya hanya menggunakan bloting paper, bedak, dan setting spray. Seperti ini penampakan saya setelah bangun tidur masih dengan makeup yang sama.

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Acara makan malam pun berlangsung, saya makan ayam ungkep, ayam goreng, dan tempe mendoan plus sambal yang cukup pedas. Hingga saat akhir waktu makan yaitu sekitar pukul 7 malam, foundie bener-bener masih menempel dengan baik, bahkan tidak ada bagian yang mulai luntur di T-zone yang notabenenya mulai oily.

Sepulang makan malam, saya masih melanjutkan jalan-jalan ke taman bermain lampion bersama anak dan orang tua saya. Seperti ini penampakan saat jalan-jalan sekitar pukul 8 malam.

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Mukanya udah capek 😀

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Di T-Zone terlihat shiny tapi masih wajar

Dan pada akhirnya, hari saya pun berakhir pada pukul 20.30. Kami pun pulang ke rumah. Berikut foto saya sesaat setelah pulang. Masih terlihat glowy sehat.

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Saya pun melepas jilbab serta dalaman jilbab yang berbahan rajut. Dan ternyata bahkan tidak ada foundie yang menempel di jilbab maupun di dalaman jilbab saya. Lalu saya mencoba bloting pakai tisu, seperti ini penampakan tisunya.

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Sebersih ini, hanya ada warna coklat muda sedikit di kiri bawah.

Sekitar pukul 23.00, saya akhirnya memutuskan sudah saatnya membersihkan wajah karena saya sudah sangat mengangtuk. Saya lalu mencoba men-swipe bagian di dekat hidung sebelah kiri dan dagu untuk melihat apakah foundienya terangkat. Ternyata setelah 17 jam sejak pemakaian pertama, foundie pun mulai transfer sedikit.

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Semoga bisa terlihat dari foto di atas, di bagian dekat hidung sebelah kanan dan dagu ada foundie yang sudah terhapus.

Lalu saya pun membersihkan wajah dengan face wipes, seperti ini hasilnya.

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Masih ada sebanyak ini foundie yang menempel di wajah saya bahkan setelah 17 jam.

Kesimpulan

Setelah saya sendiri mencoba foundie ini selama 17 jam dan full kegiatan dari pagi hingga malam, maka berikut ini kesimpulan yang saya dapatkan mengenai foundie ini:

  • Ringan di wajah, seperti tidak memakai foundie
  • Hasil natural
  • Warna tidak abu-abu di wajah, tidak oxidize
  • Tidak tacky atau lengket-lengket saat baru dipakai, langsung matte
  • Tidak memerlukan pemakaian bedak berlebihan untuk menge-setnya
  • Tidak transfer, tidak menempel di pakaian
  • Tidak mudah luntur dan pudar
  • Tahan tanpa touch up sekitar 9 jam
  • Tidak greasy sama sekali bahkan hingga pemakaian selama 17 jam
  • Tidak crease sama sekali di bawah mata dan smile line meskipun tidak pakai concealer
  • Tidak cakey
  • Coverage medium dan buildable, dapat menutupi warna tidak rata dengan baik meskpun tanpa concealer
  • Menyamarkan pori-pori
  • Tidak mengaksentuasi komedo dan jerawat
  • Semakin lama dipakai, semakin menyatu dengan kulit

Beberapa kondisi yang menurut saya mendukung percobaan ini bisa memberikan hasil yang baik adalah:

  • Karakter kulit saya yang berminyak namun memang tidak berlebihan dan bukan acne prone skin
  • Kondisi kulit wajah saya sedang cukup baik (komedo baru dibersihkan, tidak banyak jerawat matang, lumayan smooth)
  • Cuaca yang tidak terlalu panas dan lumayan berangin sehingga membuat saya tidak terlalu berkeringat dan mengeluarkan minyak

Dan terakhir, berikut daftar produk yang saya pakai di makeup look ini:

  • Wet n Wild & Canmake Brushes
  • Etude House Drawing Eye Brow – gray brown
  • Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizing Eyebrow Gel – medium brown
  • Colourpop No Filter Concealer – medium 28 (was medium 30) untuk membingkai alis
  • Innisfree Eye Primer
  • Colourpop Eye Shadow Palette – Give it To Me Straight
  • Maybelline Hyper Impact Eye Liner
  • L’oreal Lash Paradise Mascara
  • Wet n Wild Photofocus Primer – matte finish
  • Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place SPF 10 – 2N2 Buff
  • Fanbo Beauty Blender
  • Wet n Wild Photofocus Pressed Powder – neutral buff
  • Wet n Wild Contouring Palette – dulce de leche
  • Elf Blush Palette – light
  • Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighter – precious petals
  • Wardah Exclusive Lip Cream – 17 rosy cheeks
  • Wet n Wild Photofocus Setting Spray – matte finish

Penutup

Baiklah, demikian cerita pengalaman saya menggunakan foundie ini selama 17 jam dari jam 6 pagi hingga 11 malam. Semua cerita yang saya sampaikan di atas insya Allah jujur, mungkin ada yang lupa-lupa sedikit, namun insya Allah tidak mengubah kenyataan yang ingin disampaikan. Saya merasa sangat puas bisa membuktikan sediri kualitas dari foundie ini. Saya jadi bisa bilang sendiri bahwa foundie ini benar-benar worth the price.

Satu catatan adalah, karena foundie ini ternyata terbukti sangat sweat-proof, water-prrof, dan oil-proof, saya tidak menyarankan untuk dipakai jika teman-teman yang muslimah akan melewati waktu solat dan harus berwudhu, karena saya cukup yakin air tidak akan sampai ke kulit jika kita memakai foundie ini.

Semoga review ini bermanfaat bagi teman-teman yang baru akan membeli foundie ini, ya! Sampai ketemu di review beauty products selanjutnya!

*****

PS: 

Mohon tidak mengambil foto yang saya unggah di post ini, baik tanpa izin maupun tidak.

Mohon tidak mengambil review saya tanpa izin.

Mohon mencantumkan tautan post ini jika teman-teman mengambil sebagian atau seluruh isi post ini karena saya membuat post ini dengan usaha yang murni saya lakukan sendiri.

Mohon tidak mengambil hasil kerja orang lain tanpa izin dan tanpa memberikan tautan ke post aslinya.

Living in Japan: Dealing with Stereotype Part 2.1

Halo, temen-temen! Sekarang saya mau melanjutkan lagi cerita tentang stereotip yang saya alami ketika tinggal di Jepang. Nah kenapa judulnya Part 2.1, akan saya ceritakan di akhir ya. Bagi yang belum membaca part 1-nya, bisa dibaca di sini ya. Kali ini juga masih sama dengan post sebelumnya, saya ingin bercerita tentang anggapan salah yang saya miliki terhadap bangsa atau ras tertentu.

Berkuliah di kampus yang cukup banyak menerima mahasiswa asing membuat saya dapat bertemu teman-teman dari berbagai belahan dunia. Lagi-lagi termakan oleh apa yang selama ini diberitakan media, saya memiliki anggapan tertentu terhadap beberapa etnis budaya. Sebagai contoh, mereka yang berasal India atau Singapura pasti cenderung lebih pandai dari yang lainnya, dan sebaliknya, mereka yang berasal dari negara-negara Afrika dan berkulit hitam pasti cenderung lebih terbelakang pendidikannya. Tak pernah terbayangkan oleh saya bahwa anggapan ini akan dipatahkan mentah-mentah oleh pengalaman yang akan saya ceritakan di post kali ini.

Sebut saja S. Dia adalah penerima beasiswa Monbusho G2G angkatan 2013, sama seperti saya dan teman saya J yang saya ceritakan di post sebelumnya. Dia juga seorang Muslim, berasal dari negara S di Afrika, dan berkulit hitam. S ini satu jurusan dengan saya di kampus, tapi berbeda lab.

Semua penerima beasiswa Monbusho G2G harus mengikuti kelas Bahasa Jepang selama 1 tahun sebelum memulai pendidikan S2. Ada sekitar 20-an penerima beasiswa Monbusho G2G di kampus saya pada tahun 2013 itu, dan kami dibagi jadi 2 kelas Bahasa Jepang. Satu kelas berisi 7 orang (termasuk saya) adalah kelas bagi kami yang sudah pernah mempelajari Bahasa Jepang sebelum datang ke Jepang. Kelas ini disebut kelas B. Dan satu kelas lagi adalah kelas bagi mereka yang belum pernah belajar Bahasa Jepang sama sekali. Kelas ini disebut kelas A, dan S ada di kelas tersebut. Oya FYI juga, semua teman saya yang berkulit hitam ada di kelas itu termasuk J dan S ini.

Di tahun pertama ini, kami juga akan mengikuti tes masuk ke jurusan masing-masing, sama seperti mahasiswa lulusan S1 Jepang pada tahun itu. Tes ini diadakan pada bulan Agustus, sementara tahun ajaran baru dimulai bulan April tahun depannya. Jadi jika kami lolos tes masuk ini, kami punya satu semester kosong sebelum memulai perkuliahan.

Mendekati ujian masuk, saya pun sibuk belajar mempersiapkannya dengan mengerjakan soal-soal yang pernah dikeluarkan tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Sama ya dengan calon mahasiswa di Indonesia 🙂 Jujur aja, soal tes masuk kampus saya ini susah banget. Hampir sama tingkat kesulitannya kayak lomba. Saya jadi harus baca-baca lagi teori dari buku pelajaran (atau dalam hal ini search di google sih sebenernya 😀 ).

Suatu hari saya sedang belajar di jam istirahat kelas Bahasa Jepang bareng temen sekelas yang juga satu jurusan dengan saya, sebut saja F, dan dia ini juga cowo (maklumlah kalau teman saya kebanyakan cowo, jurusan saya memang jurusan yang didominasi oleh para pria). Di salah satu soal, saya dan F mengalami kesulitan dan stuck. Kemudian salah satu teman kami dari kelas A main ke kelas kami dan melihat kami sedang stuck. Dia pun menyarankan, “Go ask S, he’s very genius!” Kami (saya dan F) yang tidak tahu menahu bahwa S adalah seorang jenius karena kami tidak sekelas bahasa dengannya sehingga jarang mengobrol dengan dia, mencoba menanyakan soal tsb ke S. Dan benar saja, he solved it in no time!

Sejak saat itu, kami selalu belajar bareng S. Usut punya usut, ternyata S ini memang benar-benar pinteeerrr banget dalam bidang keilmuan kami. Kayaknya isi buku kalkulus, matematika teknik, dan pemrograman udah ditelen mentah-mentah sama dia, karena dia ini nggak hanya pandai dalam hal yang bisa dinalar dengan logika, namun juga dia hapal semua teorema, prinsip, dan rumus dalam matematika. Kebayang kan pinternya kayak gimana?

Hingga akhirnya tibalah musim panas pertama saya di Jepang. Ternyata, rasanya berat sekali belajar untuk persiapan ujian masuk di musim panas ini, yang suhu dan kelembapan rata-rata per harinya lebih tinggi daripada di Indonesia. Selain karena udaranya yang panas dan pengap, hawanya memang sangat hawa liburan, karena anak-anak sekolah libur selama 3 bulan. Sedangkan mahasiswa, meskipun tidak ada kuliah selama 3 bulan, lab dan kampus tetap buka 24 jam seperti biasa.

Walaupun berat, saya sendiri memang tipenya tidak tenang kalau tidak belajar setiap hari untuk ujian yang penting seperti ini. Namun lama kelamaan semangat F agak menurun untuk belajar karena musim panas ini memang susah banget buat bikin otak konsentrasi. Bawaannya pengen tidur-tiduran di depan kipas angin terus sambil makan es loli. Alhasil tinggal saya dan S yang lebih sering belajar bareng, atau lebih tepatnya, saya yang meminta S menemani saya belajar hampir setiap hari.

Kenapa saya bilang “lebih tepatnya S yang menemani saya belajar”, karena sebenernya S ini sudah tidak perlu belajar lagi menurut saya. Semua soal tahun-tahun sebelumnya bisa dia kerjakan dalam waktu singkat. Kalau ada yang sedikit susah, dia akan bilang, “Let me finish it and then I’ll tell you how to solve it,” dan biasanya soal-soal kayak gini pun dia selesaikan dalam waktu paling lama 1 jam, lalu dia akan mengajari saya.

Buat temen-temen yang jurusan kuliahnya IPA pasti sering kan mengerjakan soal yang harus ditulis cara mendapatkan jawabannya. Nah S ini pun sangat rapi dan runut dalam menuliskan jawaban dari soal-soal ujian ini, sehingga membuat saya mudah dalam memahami cara mengerjakannya. Kalau melihat S ini kayaknya dia bener-bener cocok jadi penulis buku teorema matematika, karena nggak cuma pinter, dia juga bisa mengajarkan orang lain sampai orang tersebut paham.

Singkat cerita waktu ujian pun tiba. Alhamdulillah saya lumayan bisa mengerjakan soal yang diberikan karena memang mirip sekali polanya dengan soal tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Setelah ujian, maka kami tinggal menunggu tahun ajaran baru pada bulan April tahun berikutnya.

Wah saya tidak menyangka ternyata sudah sepanjang ini tulisannya, cerita tentang S belum selesai. Insya Allah saya lanjutkan lagi di Part 2.2 ya ^^

Untuk post ini segini dulu. Semoga ada yang bisa temen-temen ambil dari cerita kali ini 🙂 Sampai ketemu di post selanjutnya! Semoga belum bosan ya!