This is my first purchase of this year. I actually ordered it back in early January from Beauty Bay - which is a website that sells beauty products and ships worldwide (with free shipping!). I just recently received the package due to the international shipment, so that's why I just post it now.

Consider this post as a review for beautybay.com because this is also my very first experience shopping from Beauty Bay. The website has various selections of beauty products from brands that are mostly hard to get here in my country. So that's why I love stalking the website ;p

So as you can see, the product came in the package as above. It was quite sturdy and it was also fully packed with hard brown papers that acted as a bumper for the product inside (see below pic). The shipment itself took about 3 weeks when it finally reached my address (regular shipping time for international shipping based on my experience is 2 to 3 weeks). 

Overall, my shopping experience was a success story. I love how they packaged the product carefully, and I also love the various brands that they offer at the website (mostly brands that are popular in the UK - which I'm dying to try out). 

I also appreciate the Free Shipping Worldwide offer, and you can see the price of the product in your own currency. I only hope that they would offer many more sales and discounts in the future ;)

So the first item that I purchased this year is: In The Midnight Hour set from This Works. It all started when I noticed that this was on sale in beautybay.com. I've heard quite a lot of good things about This Works products especially their Deep Sleep range. 

Being a severe insomniac (sometimes I slept at five or six or seven! in the morning) I'm always happy to try new products that are meant to help sleeps faster. I've tried everything from lavender products (body lotion & scented candle), pillow spray, lavender-infused sleeping eye mask, to calming sleeping tea, but all came to no avail. So I'm hoping that this one would work. 

In The Midnight Hour Set comes with two products which are the Deep Sleep Shower Gel and the Deep Sleep Stress Less Roll-On. I really love the colorful box that surprisingly comes with simple product packaging inside. A complete review will be coming soon, as I only received this recently and hasn't got the time to try it yet. I'll let you know how it goes ;)

Meanwhile, I need to get myself a cup of chamomile tea to calm me down because right now I am in a super bad mood (damn you hormones!) [-_-]

Back in early January I had a mini getaway to Lembang with my family. It was a fun short trip and the place was beautiful and super cold especially at night. We stayed at Lembah Bougenville Resort and it was quite a hidden gem. We must take a long uphill mountain side road, and then through the dense natural forest and quaint little villages. Once we get to the location of the resort the view is just beautiful. We can see two mountains on either side of our bungalow and the resort was also very vast with lots of facilities (excluding swimming pool). Maybe they think: "Who would want to swim in the super cold weather anyway?" ;p

So here's what I packed inside my travel bag for the mini getaway. Since I can't stand cold weather so I bring warm clothes such as jacket, long sleeve blouses, pants and also tanktops for layering.

For traveling, I always bring an "outfit" which I planned carefully (from making look books) instead of just throwing pieces of clothing that I think would suit each other. So I know what to wear for day one, and then which outfit to wear for day 2, and so on..

Here I brought along my plaid Burberry shirt which has long sleeve, my Nike sweatshirt paired with the H&M tank top for layering inside (because at night it got sooo chilly, brrrr...), and also my long-sleeved Victoria's Secret top with a black tanktop underneath for extra warmth.

Now, on to the Beauty part. As usual, I always carry two cosmetic bags with me when I travel. One is for my skincare & bodycare, and another one is reserved for my makeup essentials. 

For skincare & bodycare products, I carry them in this big blue cosmetic bag that I got from the Ponds event a while ago. It's quite huge so I can stuffed many products in there including my big bottle of Bioderma H20 ;)

One of the perks of subscribing to beauty boxes is that you usually end up with travel size products, and for me the mini size products always come in handy for traveling. I like to open my travel-size stash box and pick up which of the mini items there that I want to carry with me for my traveling. Yes, I have my own stash of travel-size products, LOL. 

I love to change up products, especially for my travel essentials, because I want to make sure that all of those products are in use and not left behind. So here's what I choose to bring along with me this time:

For face/makeup cleansing I bring along my trusted Bioderma H20 Micellar Water because I don't wanna be bothered with layered cleansing routines when I'm on holiday (and I dont wear much makeup on holiday anyway). I also bring along Orlane Cleansing Serum for Eyes for removing eyeliner and mascara. For morning shower face wash I bring Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel (which my hubby mistaken it and used it as body wash >_<), and for night time face wash I use Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash. 

For moisturizer I bring my Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream and then continue with Clarins Day Screen High Protection SPF 40 for maximum sun protection. Last thing I put on the bag is the Unicharm Pure Style pantyliners in Ylang Ylang fragrance.

The bag is big enough to also stuffed my bath/bodycare products. So for shower and body lotion I bring along my favorite Juicy Couture set which include a Frothy Shower Gel, a perfumed body lotion, and the Juicy Couture perfume itself in a dainty little bottle. I love the scent of this Juicy Couture perfume, so layering the scent would surely escalate the fragrance throw. This Juicy Couture perfume is the only fragrance I wore during the mini getaway.

I also bring another bottle of shower gel for my hubby because the Juicy Couture frothy shower gel would smell too girly for him (LOL), that's why I also brought along the Bath & Body Works shower gel in Sea Island Cotton (which scent I despise, but hubby loves it). For body sun protection I bring along the Supergoop Everyday Lotion with SPF30 which is a great sunscreen for the body. Lastly, to avoid dry hands I bring along my L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream which I'm also trying to finish.

Now on to the Makeup bag, I picked my recently purchased vintage-style cosmetic pouch which has a medium size. I stuffed a lot of my essentials in there, although I tried to limit it so that I won't bring unnecessary items with me like I always do ;p

Below are the only makeup items that I decided to bring along. As I mentioned previously, I don't wear lots of makeup during holiday, maybe only basic makeup such as bb cream / powder, eyeliner, mascara and colored lipbalm. The lipstick and blush on (and sometimes neutral eyeshadow) are reserved for during the travel time to-and-from the resort.

 Real Tecnhiques Buffing Brush & Blush Brush

Revlon Photoready Two Way Powder Foundie in natural beige

Too Faced Primed & Poreless

Maybelline Clear Smooth BB Stick in natural

Lollipops BB Cream

The Body Shop Cheek Color in #02

Sleek Maximum Impact Eyeshadow in Khaki

Ultraflesh Nude Shimmer Mini Pen

Maybelline Hyper Curl Volum Express Mascara

Revlon Eyeliner Pencil in black

Elianto Ultra-Define Eyebrow Pencil in dark brown

 MAC Lustre Lipstick in Venus

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Apricot

Calvin Klein Flavored Lip Gloss in Strawberry

Maybelline Baby Lips Colored Lip Balm in Cherry Kiss

Revlon Superlustrous Creme Lipstick in #117 Almost Nude

That's it chicas!

If you want to see my previous "What's Inside My Travel Bag" edition, you can click HERE to read it.

So I stumbled upon this very interesting fashion tag from one of beautybaby44's youtube video which basically have these quick questions about our wardrobe. Lindsay and her sister tagged all her video viewers who wants to do this tag too. I think it's a fun tag to do, so here is my version...

First, the oldest item in my wardrobe/closet is this green floral flowy custom-made skirt that I had in my wardrobe since twenty years ago! It was part of a family uniform that we wore in a great family reunion. And yes, it is that old! But I still have it because the fabric is still nice and the colors still look gorgeous. The fact that I don't wear it often probably helps in preserving it ;)

Second, the newest item in my wardrobe is the Burberry plaid shirt which I got recently on a sale. This is my first plaid shirt after wanting to have them for years and years, can you believe it? LOL

Third, the most expensive item in my wardrobe is definitely the Stella McCartney dress which I actually got for free from my beloved cousin because it doesn't fit her when she tried it at home. It was one of the luckiest day of my life when I received that dress ;)

Well, the dress is a freebie item so I don't know if that could be counted. For the most expensive item that I bought myself is probably the Kate Spade necklace which I also got in a sale. Sadly, this doesn't get to be worn frequently because sometimes I feel too careful to wear it because it's expensive >_<

Fourth, the cheapest / most affordable item in my wardrobe that I wear most often is these rings from ebay. Actually I got quite a handful of cheap jewelries like this which I acquired mostly from a bazaar. These rings from ebay are also amongst the cheapest ones in my jewelry stash. Each of these only cost me less than a dollar, and with free shipping too ;)

Fifth, the biggest bargain item in my wardrobe. I have a hard time remembering which of my items that got the biggest bargain, because I usually spent most of my money on a bargained items, LOL. I always look for bargains and sales and discounts, especially on big ticket items such as branded clothes or jewelries ;p One of the recently purchased item that I got with big bargain is this Nine West bag. It was on 50% discount and then I also got a free voucher for additional discount. That makes it a total of 70% discount. From originally more than 2 millions Rupiahs, I only paid it around IDR 200,000 only. Big Score!

Sixth, the biggest waste of money is probably this ankle booties from The Little Things She Needs. I got this a few years ago and I still haven't worn it frequently. I think I've only worn it for about 15 times in a span of five years. Oh well...

Bonus question, the three of my favorite things to wear right now are the printed pants from Uniqlo, my grey hoodie from Guess (because it's been raining a lot), and the H&M gold chain bracelet because it's just look gorgeous when worn ;p

If you want to also do this fun tag then consider yourself already tagged by me. I tagged all of you who wants to do this too. So you can write my name (if you like) as the one who tagged you to do this ;) 

Don't forget to also link your post to the comment below, I would like to read it if you do one ;p

Meanwhile, you can also check out my beauty tag which I did a while ago: Colors of The Rainbow tag.

Just several days ago I received my initial necklace from oNecklace.com. The website is offering a personalized necklace service where you can order a necklace based on your custom request, such as gold or silver necklace, initial or name pendant, the length of the necklace, and also the style of the lettering. 

I have been wanting a necklace like this but haven't actually bought it yet, so I am very delighted to now finally have an initial necklace of my own. 

I originally wanted a full initial (monogram) necklace just like those worn by famous fashion bloggers, or a name necklace a la "Carrie Bradshaw", but after comparing the previews on the website (yes, the website also offer a preview of your design before you order it), I decided to just go with one initial letter only.

After browsing the options of letter styles, I finally decided on a curly "Y" letter which I find is cute. The size of the letter is also the right one for my liking. After deciding on the pendant then it's time to choose the chain. I chose a shorter length chain because I want it to be positioned on top of my blouse. Lastly, between the options of sterling silver one and 24K gold plated, I chose the silver one.

The wonderful news is: oNecklace.com offer Free Worldwide Shipping ! It's always great to find an online store that offer free worldwide shipping ;)

From my experience, shipping took a medium regular time, I think it's about a little less than 2 weeks when it reached my house here in Asia. It was packaged in a plastic bag just like what you see in my first photo above. The necklace in real life is pretty and very dainty. I think it's perfect for a simple little necklace that hang above your chest. It's perfect to be worn daily with various styles. Below are some photos on how I styled it:

Here I styled it in a black n white monochromatic outfit, and the simple style of the outfit makes the necklace even more popped up. The cardigan is from a store in Facebook, the skirt is from Chic Simple, and the flat shoes is from H&M. The addition of the oNecklace initial jewelry complete the ensemble.

This dainty necklace can be worn for casual or more formal events. Here I'm wearing it for a night time party event. Paired with a black halter neck this initial necklace really stole the show ^o^

Aside from the basic colors I also wear this necklace with colorful items such as this pink Polo Ralph Lauren cardigan below:

The rest of the ensemble is a Zara jeans, H&M peach tshirt, Guess bag, and Noche shoes. Overall, this dainty necklace can be worn with anything and everything. The initial and/or monogram and/or your name on the necklace make it even more interesting ;)

To get your initial/monogram/name necklace, go to oNecklace website and browse the options there. They also have infinity necklace and engraved style necklace too. The Free Shipping Worldwide is also a big plus ^o^

Don't forget to also periodically check out the giveaway link on their website because sometimes they hold interesting giveaways there. Happy browsing!

Hey you girlies...

If you're in Indonesia and you happen to like anything about Japan, please do come by to Japan Beauty Week at Plaza Senayan (held from yesterday until 26 January!). 

There you can learn or get to know about many things regarding "Japan Beauty". So you can attend various talk shows and browse various Japanese cosmetic/skincare brands such as Menard, Kanebo, Hada Labo, Panasonic Beauty, etc.

All the events are free of charge, so you can just come and walk in ;) This Japan Beauty Week is held by the Kawaii Beauty Japan where I am one of their KBJ Stars, so you can see some of the KBJ Stars bloggers while you're there. Make sure to say Hi! ;)

As you might have seen on my previous Haul post, I did a mini shopping spree at Luxola two times during last month because they were having awesome sales around the Christmas and New Year time.

Today I'm gonna share to you my experience of shopping at Luxola. You can consider this as an online shop review, so if you love online shopping like me, and if you love beauty products then you might want to read this review and check out Luxola yourself ;)

So to start this post, I want to let you know that Luxola is based in Singapore but they ship overseas to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Brunei, and United Arab Emirates. They also have an ongoing Free Shipping promo (with minimum purchase).

I shopped from Luxola two times in last month. The first time was when they were having a Christmas promotion of 35% Discount with no miminum purchase. The offer was only for three days so I made use of the promo to buy the Sigma brushes, because regularly they're pretty expensive. I bought the Sigma Beauty Kabuki Brush set which include the F80 Flat Kabuki Brush and the F82 Round Kabuki Brush.


The second purchase was when they were having a 70% Discount for selected items during their New Year sale. I went into www.luxola.co.id and saw a couple items from the Sale section that I would like to get. So I made a purchase because some of the sale items were too good to be passed ;)

For Indonesia, the minimum purchase to qualify for free shipping is minimum order of IDR 315,000 (around $30) - so I wanted to get that Free Shipping aside from the "up to 70% discount" that they were offering. That's why I bought a couple of things to get the minimum purchase.

Sleek Blush By 3 ( Lace )

This is the reason why I decided to do a second luxola haul. This has been in my Luxola wish list for so long and now that they're on sale I finally decided to get it. This was originally IDR 174,000 ($16) but it was discounted to IDR 158,000 ($14).

Smith's Rosebud Salve in a tin

This is the second reason that determined my second haul. This was on 70% discount and I have been wanting to have one of these Smith's Rosebud Salves because: (1). I love the packaging, (2). I'm crazy with lipbalms. This was originally IDR 139,200 ($12) and discounted to IDR 37,900 ($3.5) only! So of course I couldn't missed it.

Sigma Beauty E25 Blending Brush

This is another item from my Luxola's wish list. This was also on discount so I couldn't missed this one too. Originally IDR 169,700 this was discounted to IDR 154,100.

Nip+Fab Dry Leg Fix

I only get this one to fulfill the minimum purchase quota to get free shipping. This was also one of the item that has 70% discount, and I have wanted to try the Nip+Fab brand too, so that's why I picked up this body lotion for leg. It was down to IDR 37,700 ($3) only, from the original IDR 138,300 ($12).

Leaders Insolution Derma Soul Anti-Sebum Mask

This is the last item in my cart that I also picked out to fulfill the minimum purchase. I love sheet masks and I've heard good things about this brand. It was on super discount too, from IDR 21,800 to IDR 5000 only!

And when I received the package, I was totally surprised by the many extra freebies that they sent me! For all my purchases above (which were less than IDR 400,000) I received these many freebies:

How cool, right? That is a very nice extra touch! As I told you, I got quite a lot of bonuses and I love each of every extras that they included here because there are products from brands that I've been curious with, such as the Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash and the Alpha H Liquid Gold with Glycolic Acid. 

I was also very pleased to be given the Sleek Maximum Impact Eye Shadow in the shade #966 khaki which is a taupe shade that can be worn daily. I also got the ponytail holder set that comes in two colors. Western beauty bloggers are saying good things about this new type of hair tie because it won't damage your hair, so I am so excited to try this out because I always need a hair tie around. Other samples included are the Supergoop Face & Body Lotion with SPF30+ and the Nip+Fab No Needle Fix Serum which I got inside the box of the Nip+Fix Dry Leg Fix.

So thank you so much Luxola!

PS: If you're a newbie, don't be afraid to shop at Luxola. Shopping there is as easy as one-two-three. Here's the step-by-step of how to shop at Luxola :

Because they are based in Singapore so packages needs around a week time to be delivered to your house (Indonesia).  Easy peasy, right? ;p

Overall, my experiences with Luxola are always a happy one. I'm a satisfied customer indeed. They packed my purchases very well (sometimes it came with extra freebies!), and shipping also takes only about a week. All the products that I received are in good condition, and I love that they always have Sales or Promotion or Discount codes every time.

When it comes to eyebrows I usually prefer the powder ones instead of pencils, because I think powders make the eyebrows look more natural and not looking harsh on our face at all. Eyebrow powder also lasts longer than penciled ones. 

One of my trusted eyebrow powder is the Anastasia Beauty Express Kit for Brows and Eyes - which has two shades of eyebrow powders as well as two highlights for under the brow bone, and also some kind of wax to sealed and make it lasts even longer. Sometimes I also use regular powder eyeshadow (in brown shade) to fill in my eyebrows.

Although it deliver great results but applying eyebrow powder took a longer time. So sometimes if I'm in a hurry (which is pretty often) I like to use eyebrow pencil instead because it's just quicker. Grab, draw, and go! ;p

For that, my current choice is the Elianto Ultra-Define Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown. I got this eyebrow pencil from my Lola Box October edition.

If I'm not mistaken, Elianto is a beauty brand that comes from Malaysia. I actually just heard about them a few months prior of receiving this eyebrow pencil in my Lolabox. So I was very delighted to have a new eyebrow pencil which I was in dire need of, and also to try out a new brand which I have never tried before ( you know I like trying new things, right? ;p ). 

By the way, I just check out Elianto website and they have all range of beauty stuffs there, from makeup to skincare to haircare, etc. I am so intrigued by their body care & hair care sections, the packaging seems so nice!

Anyway, back to the eyebrow pencil, after using this for a few months I can say that this eyebrow pencil is worth to try and buy. I really like how the pencil is not hard / stiff, and the color payoff is also very buildable. You can definitely go thin or thick with this eyebrow pencil. One stroke would give you soft noticeable shade which you can build up into a more thicker eyebrow look (depends on your preference).

Swatch:

The durability is not bad at all. I use this eyebrow pencil on my brows all day and by the time I came home I noticed that most of it are still there. It might be a little bit erased on some parts (due to the melting Indonesian sun) but it's noticeably stays on. 

I also love the soft natural result on my eyebrows. The shade is also perfect for my medium tan skin tone. If you're looking for a natural-looking soft eyebrow look then I recommend this eyebrow pencil. In Indonesia I think you can get Elianto at Centro department stores ;)

What is your favorite eyebrow pencil? I'm ready to venture into new ones so please lemme know ;)