Back with new holy grail! (Paraben Free)

Hello! i am back, it has been forever since my last blog post. Things have been crazy busy, i now focus most of my time running and growing my small home business www.chicanddarling.blogspot.com and especially my handful 13 months daughter keeps me fully occupied. Anyways, i haven't done much testing, researching and buying much new products as i was before but i did come across some new ones that instantly became my holy grail. Some of these products has been on my wishlist and i am super stoked i could finally got my hands on them!

Make up removal: Micellar Solution BIODERMA, Sensibio H20

This baby has been on my wish list for too long! It was so hard to get my hands on them as we don't sell them on my country so i had to ask and begged (yes i begged for make up and skincare it sounds so pathetic! haha) some people to get it from overseas and Thanks to my husband who transited in Dubai from St Petersburg, he finally came home with these pack. Turns out it is definitely worth the hype, it is probably the most gentle, consistent make up removal i have ever came across. It didn't take off completely a a strong waterproof eye liner and mascara but it's lovely for everyday use which i don't normally wear any heavy eye stuff. J

Pore Primer: Etude House Pore Ever

This came out a surprise. Was just looking for an alternative of the Benefit porefessional and boy wasn't expecting this out to be even better. Hence minus the paraben and obviously it has a cuter packaging! What a catch!

Lip Balm: Nuxe Reve De Miel

I only have good things to say about this baby. I am glad it has been on my wish list and i couldn't be happier when it finally landed on my hands. I recently have very dry ugly lips that putting lipstick was a challenge, but this lover is a true savior. What i love most about this lip balm, it's extremely moisturizing i instantly fell in love with the gorgeous texture and the feel on my lips but it's not oily or shiny, as a matter of fact it gives a matte effect. How is that possible in a lip balm? hell yeah!

I was looking for a serum that i could use at night time. I didn't want anything fancy or too expensive (as you know, most serums are goddamn expensive), but i wanted something organic or natural and of course, affordable! Some minor crows feet are starting to show and what would possibly help? I came across Burt's bees ageless serum, all the written main ingredients caught my attention; it has pomegranate (which known for high antioxidant) and evening primrose oil (good for anti aging stuff). So far it may have not been showing too much difference, and i hate going to bed with that oily feel on my face so i don't really use it regularly. I think i'll give it time for a better judgement. see ya!

The infamous MICHAEL TODD True Organics

Lemme tell you something, this thang changed my life!!!!!!!!!!!

I really don't know who to thank or who i can give a big bear hug to but HOLY JESUS (ok i'm not even a christian) if there was ever one brand that blow my mind on the first impression than this is it my friend, this is it!!! i'm even all psyched up writing this blog at the moment, can you tell? (hahaha you should see my face right now i probably have stars in my eyes). I do have a few people to thank for those who have seriously recommended me this brand, some of them were my blog readers like Dewisya, Thanks love :)

So anyways, i heard good stuff about The Michael Todd's line, i heard beauty blogger raves about them and read their reviews but it didn't really intrigued me to get them up until recently my skin was itching for a good switch to a real organic thing. So i did try Origins (and yes i still love some of their products), i tried REN (bloody expensive! so much for ditching the high end brands hahaha), don't get me wrong, i still think highly of some of the organic brands i tried but nothing compare to these babies right here ya'all, i'm telling ya, i could obviously saw instant result even on the first time.

Ok, let me get into the details now, at first i was pretty disappointed that their official website doesn't ship to my country, Indonesia, but i found them on Amazon.com (again, such a life savior!) and i can always send them to my brother in law who lives in Washington DC as an option if i don't feel like paying that extra shipping cost you know it's a rip offfffff! So i was browsing on their official website and thinking which product should i get because as you know looking into skin care lines can be a little too overwhelming you want to try this and that but then i tried to focus with what i actually need (the official website is pretty informative which i will put the link down below) and i decided to get the honey and oat cleanser because they say this is the best for combination skin and the cranberry antioxidant because i was looking for anti aging stuff but didn't want to jump into serums yet (you know that theory, make sure the basics are good first before you make that next step).

The first time i tried the honey and oat cleanser, it felt it was tightening my skin without leaving any dry patches after it dried out and when i slathered on the cranberry antioxidant toner, that's when i felt there's some serious thing going on in my face, it felt warm at first like a warm tingling effect you just know it's working and the feeling after i was just blown away. This is it, this is my new holy grail item, i think i'll try to stick to this one (we'll see how long it last), not only it is affordable (the 210ml honey oat cleanser is $24 that's around Rp.240.000 and the 230 ml cranberry toner is $18 that's around Rp.180.000) it is organic, and if you look up at the ingredients list, usually most skin care brands first item on their ingredients list would be water (aqua) but you'll find aloe vera as their first item on the list which i think it explains everything (you can google it why aloe vera is good for your skin, i'm not gonna  start preaching here haha!).

I know probably for my fellow Indonesians can be really difficult to get a hold of these products if you do mind ordering through Amazon because it can get tricky (been there done that!), but if you are willing to risk it, i think it's worth the shot. I did send them an email asking whether they would ship to Indonesia and they promised to work on that so hopefully we can enjoy improvements on their service REAL SOON!

If you are into organic or natural skin care or thinking of switching to one, i really recommend this brand but again, i can't promise you what works for me works for you, so make sure you go out there, do your research to see which product suits you best before you decide to make any purchase, personally for me this is definitely worth the investment because these babies are legit!

If you decided to try one please let me know and if you are already please share with me which one you have and how you like it :))) I hope you enjoy reading this post     xx

Products mentioned above and where you can get them online:

1. Michael Todds true organics Honey & Oat cleanser 210 ml (link to the official site click here Michael Todds true organic website or go to Amazon.com click here http://goo.gl/7DYh2)

2. Michael Todd true organics Cranberry antioxidant anti aging toner 230 ml (link to the official site click here Michael Todds true organic website or go to Amazon.com click here http://goo.gl/lXWGb)

Giving my hair what it deserves!

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I have been contemplating on hair care and stumbled upon many organic brands, i'm finally calling the shots for this one. After probably 2 years of frequently using the Philip Kingsley body building shampoo and found out it has sulfates, it just broke my heart. Although it was not a mind blowing product i have used on my hair but it kinda did the job pretty well. Soon enough i found myself busy browsing and researching what could be the next big thing for my hair! 

So there were a few organic natural brands i have been eyeing on for months but did some research on them, reading reviews and you know stuff like that but this John Masters organic stood out the most. I don't know if its the sleek packaging (yes i'm a sucker for packaging! who isn't???) or the reviews that caught my attention first but so i decided to give it go. 

The first time i smelt it, it really has a strong lavender scent, it's hard to recognize that there's rosemary in it. If you are use to shampoos that smells yummy or sweet like a girly girl shampoo, you might not like this one because it has more a natural plant smell. I quite like it, it makes me feel i am not lathering my hair in chemical stuff and that i am actually giving my hair a real healthy treat. After drying my hair, my hair felt bouncier, although to be honest i haven't noticed anything massively different since i've only been using The John masters organics for about two weeks now but it's showing good signs already i'm definitely getting my hands on more of their products! What hair care do you use? Are you aware of the chemicals on your products? please share with me if you do have recommendations on organic or natural stuff that you like!

Now my hair can finally say bye bye to sulfates and parabens!

Products mentioned above and where you can get them:

1. John Masters organics Lavender rosemary shampoo

Natural products that are ALWAYS in my make up bag!

If you read my late blog posts, i have mentioned that i am quite depended on a few items from BURTS BEES and KORRES. I can't go a day leaving the house without these stuff, if i forgot just one i can go insane! The Burts Bees hand sanitizer is an absolute dream, it has that botanical fresh smell, it doesn't feel sticky or greasy (i have tried other natural organic brands and most of them leaves that sticky residue on the palms of my hands and I HATE THAT), specially love the sleek packaging and you just cant go wrong with the price (it's around $ 6.79 in amazon.com). 

Now another amazing product from the Burst Bees are the lipbalms, i have been raving about them since forrrrevahhh (read: since i first discovered them around 3 years ago!). I have a few in different shades but these two are among my top ones, the tinted lipbalm line in rose, red dahlia and tigerlily is my ultimate favorites and from the lip shimmer line i especially love raisin (it has the perfect tint!), papaya and watermelon. The different between these two lines, the tinted lip balms are more moisturizing and sheer but it brings out your natural lip color in a better way which is why i love it for an everyday use, like for example the shade in rose gives that subtle rosy effect on your lip and it doesnt look like you're putting any effort into it. The lip shimmer line is a little bit more pigmented, and it has that cooling tingling feel when you first apply it to your lips which i think is pretty lovely especially under summer weather. Although i rotate them every now and then, i personally like the combo of the rose tinted lip balm and the raisin lip shimmer to use daily, i like to add a little bit of the raisin lip shimmer to the centre of my lip just to give that glowy rosy natural shine.I cant believe it has been more than 3 years i've been using Burts bees products and i am still a big fan of them! What's your ultimate favorite daily lip balms, please do share with me! hope you enjoy reading this post. xx

Products mentioned above and where you can get them online:

1. Burt's Bees tinted lipbalm in rose (if you are in Indonesia you can go to this link http://goo.gl/2Eg3q )

.2. Burt's Bees lip shimmer in raisin (if you are in Indonesia you can go to this link http://goo.gl/3VDZ7 )

3. Burt's Bees hand sanitizer (just go to Amazon.com here's a direct link http://goo.gl/sV1MQ )

4. Korres body butter in Fig (just go to Amazon here're a direct link http://goo.gl/uKiRG )

AVENE creme hydratante spf 20 vs LA ROCHE POSAY hydreane legere

I LOVE AVENE. So that pretty much describe the whole point of my review, but why? It has been a while that i use Avene for my daily skin care and i specifically love the Creme hydratante spf20 for the combination skin. I have tried a few numbers of daily moisturizers from the higher end brands such as Dior, Clarins, Clinique, Shiseido etc but nothing really works best as this Avene one it has been a holy grail item for me that i seriously can't live without! First of all, it doesn't contain parabens, second, it has an anti oxydant which is a must in moisturizers, the texture is extremely light on my skin i barely feel any lotion on my face at all. It has that cooling effect when you first apply it, it has very little smell (more like a subtle powder smell, it's quite nice actually) and it has spf 20 so makes it even perfect to use during the day. As you know if you read my previous post, i live in Indonesia where the weather can be ridiculously hot (well, normally is just hot and humid where you can actually feel like you're melting that is so crazy hot!) so it is very crucial to me to have a a nice moisturizer that hydrates and protect my skin without feeling greasy throughout the day as i have a combination skin and i tend to be oily on my t zone. So i always  put this moisturizer as a base for my make up, even when i don't wear make up! The Avene just works like wonders for me! 

Now just recently when i finished my Avene, i was intrigued by the hype of another french pharmacy brand called the La Roche Posay, people seem to rave so much about the Effaclar line especially the Effaclar duo that seem to take care blemish spots really quickly. Since i wasn't having any problems with my skin and i needed to buy a new moisturizer i thought i'd give the hydreane legere from La Roche Posay a go since it is also paraben free. I bought it and the first thing i did when i received it was to smell it, and the scent is way too strong, it lingers a while after i applied it to my face. It has a parfumy kind of smell that most high end skin care brands typically smell like and i'm not fond of that smell. The texture feels a little heavier and creamier than the Avene so later in the day it doesn't really absorb oil on my t zone as well as the Avene. The bottle is 40ml just like the Avene so it finishes just about the same time frame (about two months if i use it constantly). Another down side of the hydreane legere is it doesn't have spf, for the price i think the Avene is still more worth the price since the Avene is a little more expensive (in Indonesia at Avene counter is Rp. 380.000 that's around US$ 39.00 and La Roche posay where i bought it online was for Rp. 171.281 that's around US$ 18.00). Quite disapointed with this product but i'm still curious to try other lines from the La Roche Posay as so many people raved about them, so wait until i get a hold of another La Roche Posay. Nevertheless, i don't think i'm going to finish the hydreane Legere from La Roche Posay as i'm defiinitely going back to my Avene Creme hydratante, although i do have a wish list of moisturizers to try i'm staying loyal to my Avene! What's your favorite moisturizer? please let me know if you have recommendations and leave a comment below! cheers. xx

Products mentioned above and where you can get them online:

1. Avene Creme hydratante spf 20 

2. La Roche Posay hydreane legere

My current make up removing routine

When i was asked to post a skin care routine, i wasn't sure what to share since i have never been a high maintenance with my skin care although i feel i really need put more attention to my "aging" skin (sad but trrrue). But i think for now i am quite happy with the stuff i'm currently using to wash my face and removing my daily or heavy make up at the very least. So i have these three individuals that works differently at their best (for me!), Eu thermale Avene gentle gel cleanser (for your info, i am a sucker for french pharmacy brands), Clarins instant eye make up remover and the all naturals Witch hazel toner. Personally, i don't normally wear a heavy make up on a daily basis or even sometimes i would even go bare just putting moisturizer, under eye concealer and a lip balm (ok i know that's not bare at all hahaha). On a busy day or if i have to go out i do put on make up base like BB creams and other basic stuff, i even do my brow (actually, i always do it). Every time i come home i always always always wash my face, no matter how tired i am but going to the bathroom and get cleaned up top to bottom is like religion to me, i can't stand feeling sticky and tired at the same time. 

So i still like to keep it simple, first step i put the Clarins instant eye make up remover to a cotton pad and gently wipe my eye make up, i try to do it slowly because the eye area is the thinnest most delicate part of our face skin. I actually just recently bought the Clarins eye make up remover right after my Bioderma miscellar solution had finished, reading good reviews about it i decided to give it a go and turns out okay so far it does the job and i love their new compact packaging. Second step is i wash my face with the Avene gentle gel cleanser just to make sure i get rid every last traces of make up left on my face, i probably put a like two pumps on my skin, i rub it against the palms of my hands and slowly rub it onto my face, do like a circular motion massaging it gently. I have been using the Avene gentle gel clenser for like almost two years until i realized, this stuff contains parabens. It really broke my heart because i loved it, it feels really gentle but the fact is not really that gentle if it contains parabens, you know what i mean? So i am currently on the hunt for a best replacement. I already have a few organic or natural ingredient brands in mind like Origins, La roche posay, Ren, Korres, Dermalogica etc (i'll make another blogpost for my skin care wish list) or better yet, Avene improve their formula for the Gentle gel cleanser so i don't have to switch! If you're the kind of person that don't mind parabens this works great, but if you do have others recommendation please let me know!

The last step after i make sure my face is all clean from make up i pat on Witch hazel toner to a cotton pad (this specific brand i bought it when i was in Australia but i guess you can use any brands as long as it's pure Witch hazel). Witch Hazel is made of plant, and it can cure itchy skin, stings, irritations and works amazing for other things too but most interesting is it tightens the skin and fight bacteria. That's why although i am not a toner person but i always include Witch hazel water to my skin care make up removing routine to make sure i really clean my face and pores thoroughly! As much as i love make up, but i love my skin feeling fresh and clean even more! xx

Products mentioned above and where you can get them:

1. Avene Gentle gel cleanser 

2. Clarins instant eye make up remover

3. T.N Dickinson Witch Hazel 

(If you are in Indonesia, unfortunately i don't know where to get it but you can get them on Ebay/Amazon if that helps)

Why i still love BB Creams from Holika Holika

At first i thought I should've done this post ages ago during my early days raving about these two BB Creams from a korean brand Holika Holika, but this time is actually the perfect time to spill it out since it has been almost over a year since i discovered this amazing BB Cream. Around early last year i started becoming obsessed with BB Creams, i did a lot of research and went on a BB cream adventure where i read thousands of other people's reviews and tried many of them my self. The brands i've tried which mostly Korean were Lioele Dollish Veil Vita, Lioele Triple the solution spf 30, Lioele water drop spf 27, Missha Perfect Cover spf 42 , Skin79 Triple functions spf 25 (the hot pink one), and then later the western ones like Bobbi Brown spf30 and Clinique age defence spf 30. BUT, when i came across Holika Holika the Aqua Petit jelly, it wowed me! The formulation feels so simple. The reason i became obsessed with BB Creams because i'm not a foundation type of girl, the weather where i live makes it impossible to wear it during the day (and sometimes at night!), it is hot, humid and i just easily sweat under normal weather not unless when i'm in an air conditioned room(yeah i sweat easily it's so gross! hahaha). So BB creams were simply the middle ground to my needs, it has a light to medium coverage, the texture is obviously lighter than a foundation and the formula is suppose to be nourishing to your skin. So after a while hunting for the perfect BB cream for my normal to combination skin, the Holika Holika Aqua Petit jelly was like the answer to my prayers, i finally found my dream BB cream! 

Honestly i fell for the cute packaging at first but then reading other people reviews raving about this product i just had to have it! The texture feels literally like jelly, it is liquidy like it contains more water than other BB creams which is GREAT but it doesn't fall off easily, it actually glides into my skin naturally giving a smooth and slightly dewy finish (but not greasy). The light coverage feels like my own skin but makes it look A LOT BETTER! The watery texture is absolutely what i had been looking for in a BB cream, just perfect for summer or if you are like me who lives in a tropical weather then you will love this!  The bottle is a 40ml which it can lasts me up to three months if i use it constantly. The down side of this BB cream is sadly it contains parabens, which is an ironic to my switching mission to cruelty free skin products. BUUUT i still love it so much it is so hard to let go! I do hope one day Holika Holika will soon improve their Aqua petit jelly formula to a more natural cruelty free and use safer ingredients (please please please!). 

Now the second product from Holika Holika that i also absolutely adore is the Luminous silk spf 42, when the Aqua Petit Jelly is perfect for day time, i found the Luminous silk is better for night time when going out. The texture feels just a tad heavier but still light. It doesn't feel as watery as the Aqua Petit Jelly but when apply to my face it evens out my skin tone since it has a medium coverage and gives an amazing smooth finish. Unlike the Aqua petit Jelly that gives a dewy look, instead the luminous silk gives a silky matte finish which is why i love it for a night out. Another great thing about this BB cream, this one is actually paraben free! So why not make the Aqua Petit Jelly paraben free too right? Anyways, for application, both i prefer using a stippling brush because it helps gives a sheer finish that it still looks natural and i usually don't powder my face anymore after that because i'm already happy with the finish they both gives to my skin. Yess, it is that good!

I know the picture and the lighting is not the best but here's a swatch to give an idea on how the texture looks like on my skin (I am Asian with warm olive undertone and i have a normal to combination skin). 

The left one is the Aqua petit jelly, as you can see it looks lighter and jellier compare to the right one which is the Luminous Silk that's a little bit darker and heavier in texture. Most of my friends who i told about this product also loves and raves about this BB cream so i hope you do too and if you do, leave a comment down below let me know how you go about it! 

Products mentioned above and where you can get them:

1. Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly 

(if you are in Indonesia here's a legit link for you http://goo.gl/wNsM5 and if you're in the states/UK you can also get them from EBAY/amazon or online webstore sells it a lot) 

2. Holika Holika Luminous Silk 

(if you are in Indonesia here's a legit link for you http://goo.gl/mzP0e and if you're in the states/UK you can also get them from EBAY/amazon or online webstore sells it a lot) 

My TOP 5 favorite neutrals

It was only until recently i started to like wearing darker bolder colors, all this time i have been a massive sucker for nude or neutral. I could not pass a lipstick counter without checking out what nude colors they have, bought something, got home and realized that there's a similar only a tad different shade with the one i just impulsively purchased. I just cantttt resist a good neutral shade, what can i do? A girl can never have too many lipsticks right?

From left to right: MAC kinda sexy, YSL fard a levres rouge pur spf 8 number 66, MAC fanfare, MAC cosmo, CHANEL rouge coco mademoiselle 05

So speaking of neutral lipsticks, after struggling to decide which are my extremely TOP 5 among my many neutrals out there, here are my most worn, most loved, most repurchased, most  GO TO neutral shades evverrrr. Here's from left to right according to the most lightest to the darkest neutral is the MAC Kinda Sexy from the cremesheen line which was the best discovery for me around four years ago, at that time i was in search for the perfect pale nude pink lipstick that is not too sheer, quite pigmented but easy to wear. So when i finally found the Kinda Sexy i was ecstatic and wore it almost ALL THE TIME, day and for a night out. The color is build able,  as you know most MAC lipsticks are highly highly pigmented and so is this one but i like to wear it lightly during the day so it gives that clean fresh look to my skin tone and i'll just work it a bit more when i decided to wear it for a night out so the color pops out more. 

The second from the left is my absolute favorite for the evening, it's the The YSL fard a levres rouge pur spf 8 number 66,  this one has a bit more fresh peachy color, i guess it depends on the skin tone, at least it shows a really nice sheer peachy color on me. This one i can say, it's like my lip color but WAAAAY BETTER! If you see the swatches below, the YSL tend to look a bit darker under the sun light but it's actually a lot more lighter on the lips (again, i suppose it really depends on the skin tone), you'll see under shadow it appears reaallllly nice and smooth, it has that romantic look. Like most YSL lipsticks, this one also feel so soft and moisturizing on the lips it barely feels like lipstick. I've been in love with this specific color for almost eight years now and i cant even tell how many time i've repurchased it.

Now move on to the third one in the middle and forth one, it's the MAC fanfare and MAC cosmo. The story behind this pretty pretty thing is i loved my MAC Kinda sexy so much i decided to look for a shade just a little darker, you know just to switch every now and then. So after fiddling and did plenty of swatches in the MAC counter annoying the counter sales (they're mostly always annoyed anyway, not meaning to be cynical here, but seriously, i've been to MAC counters in my country and met rude unfriendly sales unwilling to serve customers who regardless only to browse or to buy, its sad and annoying!), i finally found the perfect ones a shade darker than the MAC Kinda sexy and thought immediately this was going to be my new go to and i'm still loving it until now!The difference is the MAC fanfare is almost similar to the Kinda Sexy but just a tad pink darker, while the MAC Cosmo is more  of a light brownish pink, nice for an everyday!

The last one is the CHANEL coco rouge mademoiselle in number 05 which my husband bought for me, i have to say i don't wear this one as much as the other four but on a special occasion where i feel like dressing up a bit during the day but don't want to overdo it, i'd go for this color. This color is more to a darker peach brownish tone if that makes sense, it gives that sophisticated look if worn under a subtle make up. So that's my TOP 5 neutrals! Thank's for reading love! xx

Below is the swatches in direct morning sunlight

 From left to right: MAC kinda sexy, YSL fard a levres rouge pur spf 8 number 66, MAC fanfare, MAC Cosmo, CHANEL rouge coco mademoiselle 05

Below is the swatches under the shadow

From left to right: MAC kinda sexy, YSL fard a levres rouge pur spf 8 number 66, MAC fanfare, MAC Cosmo, CHANEL rouge coco mademoiselle 05

Products mentioned:
1. MAC kinda sexy
2. YSL fard a levres rouge pur spf 8 number 66 
3. MAC fanfare
4. MAC Cosmo
5. CHANEL rouge coco mademoiselle 05

My January 2013 Favorites

I'm so excited i get to do this kind of "monthly favorites" post, now i guess i have officially joined the beauty blogger community (woohoo!). So January has passed, and i have a few new items i got to try. Some were alright, not the best but others i found to be my new go-to. I was in search for a new lotion that's pure organic or at least has more natural ingredients (i am currently slowly switching all my beauty/skin care products to natural cruelty free paraben free products and all that sort of stuff, it's part of my new years resolution!). 

While doing research, i bumped into this AHAVA skin care, where they use natural active dead sea minerals as their main ingredients. Then i remember once my mom was telling me about how good and amazing dead sea minerals are for our skin, they have the main supplement for maintaining a healthy skin. So i ordered it online from id.strawberrynet.com. The honeysuckle and lavender scent is lovely, it doesn't have that strong scent since i'm not fond of lotions that has scent that can overbear your personal smell or it beats your parfume, now this one doesn't actually do that. It feels light and velvety, very moisturizing but doesn't leave a greasy feeling afterwards. I think it's great use for summer or for someone like me who lives in a tropical weather and the 400ml bottle is such a great deal. I say this is my current favorite for body lotions! 

As for my hair, i'm sure i'm not the only breastfeeding mum that experience hair loss and i was kind of freaking out at first so i did a little research to cure my little problem. They say biologically, our body is releasing some sort of hormones to regain the vitality back, the hair loss is actually a sign of "renewal" so that new roots are replacing the old ones that's why we have hair loss. But of course i feel i could help encourage this renewal process by actually taking care of it, and again i was curious to find out more about another french brand PHYTO that caught my attention. The first thing that i like is of course the ingredients they use is plant based which is just perfect! I don't know what is it with french brands but most of their pharmacy brands are so gentle and chemical free, i found my self drawn into more and more of their products, i mean, what's there not to love? 

Generally, my scalp can get oily but my ends are pretty dry so sometimes after i wash my hair it gets frizzy during the day it is so annoying i ALWAYS keep a small comb in my bag if i forgot to bring it i instantly panic. Anyways as a starter, i decided to try out PHYTO creme de jour. The texture is like a light cream and it does feel a bit like a serum, you just need like pea size and it goes all the way focusing on my ends. The smell is slightly herbal (you can instantly feel its plant-derived). The thought that this thing is silicon free, sulfates free, and it seems to be non toxic it just fits to my liking. I finally found a hair product that is gentle and actually 'takes care' of my hair. I am definitely going to continue trying out more of their products! 

The KORRES lip butter glaze is my recent favorite among my other lip balms from this line, it's nos doubt i am highly addicted to everything about KORRES. The mango butter lip balm jars are amazing but i was never fond of dipping my fingers in lip balms i always feel it's a little disgusting and non hygienic. So when i found out the wild rose lip balms also come in a tube, why not give it a go? It's definitely a January favorites. For the other products i loved last month was the MAC lipstick in fanfare, the color just looks easy and natural for me, REVLON nails in minted, BOBBI BROWN shimmer brick which honestly i very rarely use but last month i tried to play more with it. The last one of my recent moisturizer purchase is the LA ROCHE POSAY hydreane legere (another french pharmacy brand), after a month of using this product i'd have to say i like my AVENE hydrance optimale SPF 25 hydrating creme better (another french pharmacy brand!). The La Roche posay hydreane legere feels a tad heavier than the Avene and the downside it doesn't have spf which the Avene does. So i guess once i finish i'm definitely going to repurchase the Avene again, but the La Roche Posay does the job for now. So that was my January favorites!

Products mentioned above and where you can find them online:

1. AHAVA lavender & honeysuckle botanic body lotion

2. PHYTO Creme de jour

3. KORRES lip butter glaze in wild rose

4. MAC lipstick in fanfare 

5. BOBBI BROWN rose shimmer brick

6. LA ROCHE POSAY hyreane legere

THE NO MAKE UP DEWY LOOK

So i haven't been out for like ages, my kid had a terrible horrifying cough and blocked nose so i caught the terrible fever from her which made us a house prisoner for like almost two boring weeks. Last Saturday night we (me and husband) finally had a night out meeting my best friends, of course i had to drag him since he's been on a juice fast as in he's on a detox means no food at all other than drinking juice (yeah he's crazy but crazy amazing!) i don't know how he does it but it seems working, he's lost five kg's only within five freakin days! 

Enough with the update about the husband, so short story i was excited to be putting make up again on my face (sounds a bit too shallow isn't it hahaha). I was after the natural no make up dewy radiant look since i had been feeling a little bit under the weather, my face was also looking a little swollen from the flu recovery. I needed to feel uplifted again, so i figured i'd use my favorite highlighters which is the benefit high beam and ysl touche eclat which is my go to for brightening under the eyes, just perfect for my puffy eyes. 

This is what i eventually worked on my face: as usual i start with a moisturizer, Avene hydrance legere spf 20 (i usually use this in the morning during the day but i felt like something just light to moisturize my face in the evening) and then i work through the other bases with lioele rich pore balm to cover my t-zone, lioele shimmer blooming pearl base only on my cheekbones area. Then i rub one my of loveliest BB Cream in luminous silk from Holika holika, this is their only BB cream product that contains no parabens (but i LOVE their Aqua petit jelly for during the day!), i found the luminous silk just perfect for an evening out, it gives more natural coverage without looking cakey. Trust me, if you are after a BB cream, go with the Korean brands, they're the first to create with the idea of BB creams.To finish up with my base, i swirl my favorite  brush the real techniques brush to my KORRES wild rose mineral foundation powder (i'm in medium beige) and work it through my face, believe me, i have SO MUCH LOVE for this powder foundation! For covering my acne scars and dark spots i use the bourjois healthy mix (i love this more than my MAC select cover up, it just perfectly blends in to my skin flawlessly) and for the final covering, i dab on the YSL Touche eclat (in number 1,5) just right under my eyes and voila my eyes looked ready to go!.

After i was done with the bases, i put on the eye primer Stay don't stray from Benefit and i just use my ring finger to gently put Benefit high beam on my eyelid since i didn't feel like using any eye shadows that night. I couldn't have a night out without an eye liner so i use my number one favorite eye liner, it's the Bobbi brown gel eyeliner in the color graphite shimmer ink (i wasn't feeling having a striking eyes so i avoided the blank color). For final touch up on the eyes, i use the Mac eye shadow in white frost in the corner of my eyes to enhance the reflecting light. 

Enough with the eyes (i purposely didn't use mascara in case you were wondering), one of the things i love about the Benefit high beam i can use it anywhere i want, but of course the fun part is putting it on the top of my cheek bones! For blush i used my Bobbi brown Pot Rouge lips and cheeks in powder pink no.6 which the creamy texture goes perfectly with the Benefit high beam to give that healthy natural dewy look. 

Last bit is the lips, i went with NYX in midnight dinner which is a gorgeous dark fuschia with a little hint of red vampy. I love NYX lipsticks but i found it can be a bit smudgy throughout the night where you need to fix it and layer it again one more time. Nevertheless, it is very pigmented and extremely moisturizing which is great for the price if you are looking for an affordable great lipstick! To moisturize my lips i pop in the KORRES lip butter glaze in wild rose, the perfect matching color with the NYX lipstick (i am absolutely hooked on KORRES i try every single one of their products, i will give another blog post on them if you like!) 

So, that was it on my face and by the way, i had an amazing time with my girls catching up and laughing on the silliest things. oh i just love them!

Products mentioned above and where you can get them online:

1. AVENE hydrance legere SPF 20

2. Lioele Rich pore balm

3. Lioele shimmer blooming pearl base

4. Holika Holika Luminous silk (i'm in shade#2 natural beige)

5. KORRES wild rose mineral foundation (i'm in medium beige)

6. Bourjois healthy mix foundation (you can easily find it in drugstores like WATSON)

7. YSL Touche eclat 

8. Benefit stay dont stray eye primer (not sure if they ship to Indonesia)

9. Benefit High beam highlighter

10. Bobbi Brown gel eye liner

11. MAC eye shadow

12. Bobbi Brown pot rouge lipstick & cheeks (not sure if they ship to Indonesia)

13. NYX lipstick in midnight dinner

14. KORRES lip butter glaze in wild rose

15. Real Techniques brush buffing brush from the Core collection set 

The 2012 biggest beauty discovery

HANDS DOWN, this is definitely one of my biggest, wait, let me correct that, THE BIGGEST beauty discovery in 2012. It all started around mid year of 2012 where i stumbled upon this brand from Greece called KORRES. The first thing that caught my attention was the mango butter lip balms which I LOVE (my favorite is in the wild rose and pomegranate) and then i started doing some more research on their brand like their mission background and stuff. Turns out i fell in love with it deeper knowing the ingredients they use and their philosophy. Speaking of ingredients, a little background i must share that during my 'new phase of new addiction' i was also obsessed on switching to natural/organic products that is also paraben free. So, when i found KORRES and started learning about their products, it was just like THIS IS IT. The lip balms were the first products i tried (i will post another review on them!) and then their body care is also great its one of their best sellers. But not until i was curious to try their mineral foundation which i thought would probably be'so-so', at that time i was loving my bare minerals matte but then i decided to give it a go. By the way unfortunately we don't have a KORRES store in my country, hopefully soon though!, so i had to order KORRES online (through id.strawberry or sometimes amazon). The first time i tried to apply this to my face i used the real techniques brush and i didn't have high expectations BUT to my surprise the texture feels so light and it glides in my skin so well. The most amazing thing it gives a natural flawless look with a medium coverage (which is perfect for me, but it is buildable!). I was like. whoaa...this isn't what i expected. It is just the perfect powder foundation especially living in tropical weather where you can feel cakey wearing make up because of the sweat and humidity during the day. KORRES mineral foundation is such a breath of fresh air, not only it is much cheaper than the bare minerals, it is 100% natural. Currently i am hooked with everything about KORRES, and at the moment their mineral foundation is my go to foundation if i feel like dressing up a little (i don't normally wear foundation on a daily basis i think i am just blessed i don't have a reason to cover so much). If you are looking for a lightweight sheer foundation then you should definitely give this baby a try, because for me, KORRES, you really rock my world! 

check out their official website: http://www.korres.com/

note: sephora also carry them (not sephora singapore though such a shame!)

Products mentioned above and where you can get them online:

KORRES wild rose mineral foundation