Tom Ford - Indian Rose

Who doesn’t know Tom Ford? The amazing and oh so handsome designer for Gucci and then YSL and finally launched his own fashion and beauty label, Tom Ford. The success in fashion brought him to venture into beauty industry and launched his cosmetics line in 2005. This collaboration with Estee Lauder becoming the epitome of a luxurious beauty product. With its sleek and luxurious packaging, Tom Ford easily captures the heart of many beauty enthusiasts. They also offered fragrance line that I drool over a lot but still keep it in my wish list because the price is preeetyyyy steep. I adore the scent of Cafe Rose and Rive D’Ambre.

In this review, I finally got my hands on Tom Ford lipstick. Something that I wanted to try because of the rave from many beauty bloggers. Those beautiful pictures and marvelous swatches really tempted me in wanting it even more. I was hesitating because it is very expensive for a lipstick (the price is 50 USD each). Not to mention that Tom Ford is not available in Indonesia, so if I wanted to get it, means I have to buy it from a personal buyer (Pre Order) and it will cost me ranging from 700k-780k IDR. So I thought I would just wait until someone I know would kindly enough to bring it from the USA. Remember my last post about my USA haul? That’s when I finally have the courage to click the buy button on my laptop and put the lipstick in my shopping cart. 

I was thrilled when I unboxed the lipstick. It is really gorgeous, the packaging is sturdy, and so elegant. It has Tom Ford logo embossed on the top of the cap. The lipstick itself also a beauty with another Tom Ford logo embossed on it. I chose Indian Rose because I was looking for a kind of nude lipstick that can goes with everything and that is what Indian Rose gives me. The shade envelopes my lips with a lovely color, demure but not boring. The color is pigmented; I only need maximum 2 swipes for a full coverage. It glides pretty easily and it has a satiny slight shimmery finish which I love. The color is dusty rose with a very slight mauve tint in it. It is my lips but better (MLBB) lipstick.

Did you know that the case color can look like this when a sunlight shines on it?

There is a minus point though.. The scent of the lipstick. I dislike the waxy plasticy scent from it. That is quite a turn off for me because the lipstick will stay on your lips all day and I don’t like to smell it all day. It is not too overwhelming, I know, but it just not my favorite part of the lipstick. I wonder if the other lipsticks also smell like that, their Lip Shine or even the lipsticks from the Lips and Boys collection. 

In the ingredients list, I saw soya seed extract, Brazilian murumuru butter, chamomilla flower oil, and shea butter. Soya seed extract and shea butter help to retain moisture and hydrate the lips. As for Brazillian murumuru butter, its benefits include helping to restore elasticity to damaged and aging skin and help to soothe dry and cracked skin. Chamomile is also known can soothe your skin. As the result, the lipstick is not drying and keep my lips hydrated for at least 3-4 hours or until it fades away. The staying power on me last around that hours too. Reapplying is easy and did not make your lips looked chapped or dry.

Below is the swatches of the lipstick and how it looked on my FOTD. Overall I am happy with this lipstick. I would think twice to buy more because of the price and its availability, even though I am so tempted to buy the Lips and Boys. Patrick, Matthew, and Alejandro keep on calling my name every time I come across them on the net hahaha.. 

Have you tried Tom Ford Lipstick? What do you think about it? And which is your favorite shade?

Cheers,

Stef

SK II Whitening Source Derm Revival Mask

I am a fan of SK II’s mask especially their Facial Treatment Mask. The mask can rejuvenate my dull skin in 20 minutes. It works wonderfully, so naturally I was also very excited to try on this mask. SK II Whitening Source Derm Revival Mask is a whitening and brightening mask that will give a brighter and diminishes your spots and skin’s imperfections. Each mask is soaked in rich gel serum that drenches your skin with the same amount of serum as one full bottle of Whitening Power Spots Specialist. Wowza, huh? 

When I opened the sachet, the mask is really soaked well, you can even squeeze it and put the gel serum into a bottle if you want hahaha.. I have one frugal tip that I got from a friend if you felt that such a shame to throw away the rest of the serum in the sachet. The tip is to squeeze the mask a little bit while you take it out from the sachet and then, after you put the mask on, immediately seal the sachet and put it inside a ziplock bag. Throw it into the fridge (not freezer) and you can soak any sheet face mask (Muji sells one) or even cotton pads in the serum and enjoy face mask part 2. Make sure that you use the rest of the serum within one week. 

After I cleansed and toned my skin, I put the mask on and put on 20 minutes timer. The mask felt cool and very hydrating even though its a whitening mask. The scent is similar to the whitening line SK II has and it is not a strong one, so you don’t have to worry being overwhelmed with the scent for 20 minutes of your mask time. The size of the mask is a bit big for me because I have a small face, so I have to fold some parts of the mask to keep it out of my hair. It happens with every sheet face mask I tried and this one is no exception. It cover and sat properly on my face. It was easy to put on and had proper size of holes for the eyes and mouth area. I hate it when I have to pout my mouth to fit it into the mask or wipe the serum off from my eyes because the hole is to small.

I usually try to meditate whenever I do my mask time. I like the quiet time when I put on my mask and definitely a great me time for unwinding and decompress your mind. If you wanted it to be more special, putting on some relaxing music can be an option too or maybe light up some scented candles for a maximum relaxation effect. 

Pardon the spooky masked face

When the alarm beeped, it is time to take off the mask. I massage my face and neck with the rest of the serum left on my face until it’s fully absorbed by my skin. The result is amazing! My skin felt hydrated yet brightened up instantly. As you could see on the before and after pictures, the redness on my face reduced. My skin looked plumped and lovely. For me, this is another SK II product to love and to splurge on if I had spare budget.

I would recommend this mask for you who need instant brightening effect or when you feel your skin so dull and need a brightening boost. I would say it would be perfect too to use before a big event, to even out and enhance your complexion so your make up will look fabulous. What is your favorite brightening and whitening mask? Share with me :)

Cheers,

Stef

Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Eye Concentrate

Fresh beauty is a beauty brand that is for me hmmmm..Beautiful. Like what I read in their website, Fresh is pure beauty. Dedicated to natural ingredients, rich textures, and addictive scents, Fresh offers a sensorial experience like none other.
 

I like how this brand market itself, the packaging, the natural ingredients, and how it makes you feel prettier after you use their products. Their signature line the Fresh Lip Treatment has been capturing many hearts of beauty enthusiast. But lately I got hooked by their Black Tea line because of its anti aging and antioxidant promotions. Let me put another quote here:

“We first turned to black tea because of its high levels of antioxidants and tannins, known to have antiseptic properties. But our true obsession began when we tried Kombucha, a fermented black tea blend whose recorded history traces back to 250 BC, during which people called it an ‘Immortal Health Elixir.’ We discovered that it helps bring back luster to dull skin and firm the complexion. The complex found in the Black Tea Collection is so effective because it calls upon the best of what the black tea tradition has to offer, acting as an ‘immortal elixir’ for amazing age-delay results.”—Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, Fresh Founders

 

So, when I got 2 samples of them, I was so excited to try them. The first one I tried is the eye concentrate. For this review I have been using it for 2 weeks to see the apparent result. But before that I would like to share with you about some of the product information. 

Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Eye Concentrate contains a complex blend of black tea, blackberry leaf extract, and lychee seed extract that helps to inhibit free radicals damages and improve skin elasticity. It also contains Noni Juice extract which is known helps to retain and increase moisture.   

The small pot only contains 3gr. Eye cream product always last for quite some time for me because usually I will only use a small amount of it. Because my eye area is quite sensitive, I never dare to use a lot of product there. If I did, it will sting my eyes and will make my eyes a bit puffy. I think this small pot will last me for around 2 months. 

The scent smells like fermented tea, a bit sour-ish but it is not too overwhelming and you will not notice it after the application. The texture is light but enough to moisturize your eye area, so it did not feel sticky. I felt the cooling effect after I applied it on and felt soothing especially when you have puffy eyes.

I have quite a bad case of dark circles because I often sleep late at night (I am a nocturnal person hehehe) So, when this cream claimed that it can reduce dark circle, I’m wondering will it be successful to handle my dark circle. After 2 weeks of usage day and night, unfortunately this cream did not reduce my dark circles. I am not really disappointed because I knew that my case is not an easy one. However, after 2 weeks I felt my under eyes skin is softer and the elasticity improved. The under eyes area is hydrated and hence reduced the fine lines around it. Sorry for not providing before and after pictures. I tried to take pictures, but I did not manage to capture the texture of the under eye areas well. Hopefully my description sufficient enough for the review.  

The conclusion, Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Eye Concentrate helped me getting a firmer and softer under eyes area, but not working for my dark circles. I would recommend it for someone who doesn’t have much problem with dark circles and someone who would love a hydrated under eyes area to smoothen the fine lines on it. Will I purchase the full size? Hmmm.. I don’t think so. So here I am, back to the venture of searching the perfect eye cream for my aging eyes. Do you have any recommendations?

Cheers,

Stef

Beauty Story Indonesia Launching Event

Last weekend I was invited to come to a launching of a new local beauty brand, Beauty Story.The event took place at Convivium, Panglima Polim, Jakarta.

Beauty Story believes that every woman has different personalities and ways in expressing their beauty. Inspired by women’s creativity and spontaneity, Beauty Story is there to help these women to fulfill their needs in expressing their beauty. Quality is their utmost priority but the price is surprisingly competitive. All products marketed starting from 23.000 IDR – 100.000 IDR. Wonderful don’t you think? :) 

The event started with an introduction about Beauty Story by Ms Karmila, Beauty Story Brand Manager. She explained about the formulation of the products which are paraben, sulfate, and phtalate free, and free of animal testing too!! Awesome! I love how nowadays more and more beauty products not using dangerous chemicals in formulating their products. So kudos for Beauty Story!
Their collection is to provide a light and fresh make up looks for women and for this spring collection; they come up with a theme, One Fine Day. The makeup products range from Face Primer, CC Cream, Loose Powder, Compact Powder, Eye Shadow, to Lipstick, Lip gloss, and even Brush set and lovely cosmetic pouch. The packaging looks sweet and girly with pastel colors. It is similar to what Korean cosmetics looks like. Their best sellers so far are The Primer Smooth & Luminous and Magic CC Cream Real Complexion. They said it can makes your skin feels smooth and helps to cover your spots only in one swipe. Romantic Eye Pencil Creamy created for a woman who needs practicality in their makeup choices because it can function as an eyeliner and eye shadow. 

 

 

It continued with a makeup demo showing 2 looks, casual and glamour using Beauty Story products. The makeup demo is conducted by a Korean professional makeup artist, Ms. Camille Lee, who’s surprisingly conducted it in Bahasa. Way to go Ms. Camille!
She used soft and neutral colors for the casual look, trying to get the fresh and glowy look like Korean girls have, a popular look nowadays in young women. Natural but polished. The result is sweet and lovely.
For the glamour look, Ms. Camille used bolder colors and liners. She also brushed bolder lip colors to accentuate the look. The result is excellent and easily done without a lot of fuss.

Now let’s talk more about the products. I got the chance to play with them on my table and I feel like a girl in the playground, trying all their cute products. My favorites from all of them are the Sweet & Chic Lipstick and the Primer Smooth & Luminous and they are certainly coming home with me hahaha..
The lipstick is fantastic! It is pigmented with lovely colors that will suit any occasion from casual to glam. Enriched with vitamin E to keep your lips from drying and helps to treat your lips. It glides smoothly and heavenly. For 45.000 IDR, I am utterly amazed by it. The minus point is the packaging. I find it a bit flimsy and not as sturdy. I swatched all the colors down here and as a bonus, I swatched the lip gloss colors too.

I have tried their Primer too and it gave my skin a wonderful glow that enhances my complexion. The nail polish is also something that you would not want to miss, especially for this spring. The colors are terrific! They are pretty easy to use too. I need 2 coats to get a full coverage on my nails and unfortunately the drying time is a bit slow, but a top coat such as Seche Vite should help it to dry it faster. 

Beauty Story collection can be found at Watsons in Jakarta and Bogor areas (the other areas are coming soon, so be patient). You can also buy them online on www.mybeautystory.com and they can ship it to your doorstep (even better, yes?).
You can follow them in various social media for updates on their products or beauty tips, such as:
Facebook : www.facebook.com/mybeautystoryid
OR
Instagram : mybeautystoryid (hashtag #mybeautystoryid)

I had a wonderful time at the event getting to know about Beauty Story and also meet other beauty bloggers. I will do a review on some of the products that I brought home on a separate post, so stay tune if you want more details on Beauty Story. Are you ready to begin your Beauty Story now? :)