On this edition of Bag of News I want to share something related to the Royal Wedding (tomorrow is D day!), a little bit something about Lady Gaga and Indonesian designer, and something about a good cause.
So scroll down to read more...

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Tomorrow (Friday, April 29th, 2011) is the Royal Wedding day!! I must set my alarm so I wouldn't miss it. Heck, I won't miss it for the world! I already miss Diana and Charles's "Wedding of The Century" back in the 1981 (because I was still a child), but now I don't want to miss this event, another "Biggest Wedding of The Century". The Royal Wedding!

The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (Kate) will be held tomorrow at the Westminster Abbey. Everybody wonders about what would Kate wear on her wedding day, or what would be the wedding cake, etc.. I also wonder about it as I always love anything about English royalty. I found an interesting video on BBC news website a couple hours ago, it's about a highlight on the royal wedding dresses that was worn by previous royal princesses.
If you like English royalties or queens & princesses, or just like anything about wedding dresses, go to the website to see beautiful vintage wedding gowns starting back from the 1800s !! My favorite is the wedding dress of Princess Charlotte when she marries Prince Leopold in 1816 (!). Which one is your favorite?

Princess Charlotte's wedding gown

This wedding gown is the oldest in the collection. Following the royal tradition Princess Charlotte's gown was made with a sparkly silver textile which meant to represent wealth, status, and power. But this gown would be the last royal wedding gown that used rich silver/gold textile according to tradition because the next royal wedding was Queen Victoria's wedding where she opt for a simple rich white satin gown, trimmed with orange flower blossoms. Queen Victoria chose a white gown instead of the traditional silver/gold gowns that the royals used to wear for weddings, and that started the "white wedding gown" pattern as we see today. Victoria's impact was so great it affects all brides in Europe and America to also wear white on their wedding day,..... up until today.

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I just found out that Lady Gaga wore a dress from an Indonesian designer on US Harper's Bazaar May '11 edition! It was a gorgeous black see-through dress with lots of pretty yet intricate details all around. I love that dress. The dress was from one of Indonesian young emerging designer, a 26 yrs old Tex Saverio. He was also mentioned in Perez Hilton's website a couple of months ago, where his works is compared in a good way to Alexander McQueen. Gosh, Tex Saverio, we're so proud of you!

 Below are a few of Tex Saverio's designs, his works are always extravagant, no wonder Lady Gaga's stylist contacted him. I can definitely see below dresses on Lady Gaga, Am i right or am i right? ^o^

Pluit Barat 7/1, Jakarta, Indonesia

62-21- 666-96-375

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I want to let you know about a program called The Fresh Air Fund. It's an independent, non-profit agency that has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877.  

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun. Whether it's a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of their camps.

The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families for this summer. 

Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and homes to children from the city to give them a Fresh Air experience that can change a child's lives. The majority of Fresh Air Children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open, outdoor play spaces. And that's why they needed host families that can host them for 2 weeks and give them great experiences with the outdoor world. If you or someone you know is able to host, please sign up now!

Host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. For more information please go to The Fresh Air Fund website here.

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And that's sums up this week's Bag Of News. To see more posts like this click here and keep scrolling once you're there.

As I told you on my previous post, one of my recent shopping items was a couple of stuffs I bought from Strawberrynet. It's where you can shop for beauty products and body care such as make ups, perfumes, etc. You can also find men products there. I love shopping at Strawberrynet ever since I found it a couple of months ago. Some reasons why I love shopping at Strawberrynet:

So anyway, on my 2nd purchase I bought Philosophy's Amazing Grace Shimmering Face Powder, Philosophy's Go With Grace Face Brush, and Too Faced Mineral Water Refreshing Eye Brightening Pencil. I was originally only wanted to buy the shimmering face powder + the retractable face brush but there was a special offer at the time of my purchase. They will throw in an extra Make Up Kit for every purchase of 3 items or more. So I went on and added the Too Faced Eye brightening pencil to my shopping cart to be eligible for the free make up kit. And that's how I ended with a gorgeous pink rose Pretty Fashion MakeUp Kit with 2 Powder, 2 Blush, 20 Eyeshadows, 5 Lip Colors, and 3 Applicators !

Philosophy and Too Faced are 2 brands that are not widely available in Indonesia, I think there are a few of specialty stores that do have those brands but I doubt the originality of the products because there's no guarantee. So I prefer to shop at Strawberrynet for those hard-to-find brands.

>>> Don't forget that each of the items were discounted too, the Philosophy powder itself was 50% Off normal price! PLUS I get to bring home a Free Make Up Kit too! What a great shopping experience :D

For The Philosophy shimmering powder the discounted price was IDR 130.500 while the face brush was IDR 121.800. The Too Faced Eye brightening pencil was around IDR 74.000.

Philosophy's The Color of Grace Shimmering Face Powder ( I bought this because I need a highlighter, and I love the all-mirror package of this compact powder, and of course I fell in love with the pink powder. I also love that on the inside mirror there are words inscribed in it that says "where there is grace, there is beauty".)

 When I saw that they are throwing away a free make up kit for purchases of 3 items or more, I browse the website to find the 3rd item that's cheap enough to be added to my total purchase and then I found this Too Faced Mineral Water Eye Brightening Pencil. I googled it and found out that it's pretty good for concealing under-eye circle which is sort of my area problem nowadays, so that's what makes me buy this. So far, I think it works ;)

The lower pic above is a swatch of the pencil, the left one is an example of when I smudged it a little bit so you can see that the color will dissolve evenly into the skin.

 And this is the Free make up kit that I got for buying 3 items. I love the pink and black packaging with a metallic rose print on it, it look so pretty now in my dresser ;)

It is 3 tiered and i think this would be useful for staying-over events.

 The other shoes from Poins Square was this silver shoes which I got from Matahari Dept Store Sale rack. I always wanted silver shoes that I can wear to parties but I think most of the good ones are quite expensive for shoes that I would seldom wear. So I'm lucky enough to find this one. This was on Sale for IDR 79K. It is actually grey/silver instead of all-silver, but this'll do it ;)

If you read this blog regularly then you must know that a few weeks ago I blogged about Artistry's new product launching event which I have the opportunity to attend. The event was the launching of Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel. With this renewing peel you can get a supple and brighter skin in just 8 minutes!

This product is specifically made for those in the age range of late twenties to thirties and above. But basically anyone with dull skin can also try this product. This Renewing Peel is a highly innovative product and now you can get the result of professional face peeling easily by yourself at home just like you would in a beauty salon.

I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to try this product at home. This Artistry Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel is easy to use and gives you best results in only 8 minutes.

Artistry's Intensive Skincare Renewing Peel

When I first use it on my skin, I felt a little bit tingly in certain spots, but there's nothing to worry because it's normal, and it shows that the product is working. After washing my face thoroughly I felt a difference on my skin. It looks brighter and my skin is so supple and moist. It says in the brochure that it’s recommended to apply a moisturizer afterward but I don't feel I have to apply any because my skin already feel moist. But that's just only me. And since I wasn't going anywhere that day so I didn't use any moisturizer and sunscreen. It would be best to use moisturizer and sunscreen if you use it on day time though.

On my second use I felt my skin is getting more supple and tender to the touch. It also looks brighter than before so that means it really lift all the dead skin cells in my face. I'm so happy because my face is not dull anymore. This product really does its job.


NOTE:
- The recommended use is twice a week for a six weeks cycle. Should you feel the need to use it again after one cycle then it's best for you to give a 6 weeks interval between every cycle. 

- It is also not recommended to use any other exfoliating products (or any products that contain AHA/BHA) while using this product.
 

 

One full size bottle (20ml) is approximately for one cycle of usage (6 weeks). 

 

It's retail price (non-member price) is IDR 995.000, BUT you can also get it for a member price which is cheaper than retail price >> There's a new program called "AMWAY's Privileged Customer" where you can buy any product for member's price without having to become a member first. There's a registration fee for IDR 25.000.

I really believe in this product so if you have the budget I recommend you try it for yourself :)

 

This month on Everybody Everywear (EBEW)'s challenge/theme is Maxi so here is a pic of me wearing one of my maxi dress. Who said Petite Can't wear Maxi?? I was one of those who didn't really believe in wearing maxi because I'm really petite, but now I LOVE maxi dresses. Now I know that petite can actually wear maxi too! You just have to find the right types ;)

I would usually choose a maxi skirt or maxi dress in a thin flowy fabric like the one above, you know...the ones that you can twirl in or give you that graceful flow when you walk into the wind. I wouldn't recommend maxi skirt or dress in heavier fabrics for petite body types, it would just drag us down. I would also stay away from a big full skirt because that too can overwhelm you especially if you're super skinny. I would prefer a slim A-line or a straight one.

Maxi dress with empire cut would be perfect for petite because it will elongate your bottom part even more. 

 For maxi skirts I would usually pair it with skinny top or fitted blouse because I'm old school and one of the basic secret staple is "keeping the balance". So if you're already look full on the bottom part of your body, you might wanna balance it with a lighter/fitted top. And if you're already fully closed on the bottom part then show some skin on your upper part. Basically it's just a matter of counter-balance.

So what I usually do is pair an A-line maxi skirt with a fitted short-sleeve or sleeveless blouse. Or pair a straight maxi skirt with a looser short sleeve top. If you're petite and skinny I wouldn't recommend long sleeve + maxi skirt because that would just drown you more into the petite-kingdom-ness.

For footwear I recommend wearing heels only if your maxi skirt is really long so that it would cover almost all of your heels, because that way there'll be no visible gap between the skirt's hem and your feet/shoes. IMHO any gap would only highlight your true height.

I usually just prefer flats for my not-overly-long maxis because it looks natural and more balanced, and won't highlight on my height.

Oh and because I have long hair I found out that pulling my hair up is the best hair style for wearing any maxis because that way it would give a more slenderizing look which sometimes means adding a tiny extra height to the overall look ;)

These are just my suggestions though.. what works for me..

I know everyone has their own style and preferences so this is basically just a post on how I would dress up my maxis to suit my petite profile. I hope it would give you some ideas ;)

Go to Everybody Everywear to see how others style their maxis.

Have fun dressing up!