Minggu, 09 November 2014

REVIEW: NYX HD Eye Shadow Base

Halo! 


Have you heard about this eye shadow base? I bought this eye shadow base after I decided not to go to the beauty salon in my graduation day. Cause you know, sometimes they just put a thick foundation and powder, eye shadow, and a drama-unnatural look-lashes. But since the graduation event will be held in the middle of a hot day, so i was looking for a trick in order to make my make up -especially my eye shadow- stay still. Then I read many positive reviews about this eye shadow base, so i gave it a try.

About the product
It is an eye shadow base from NYX HD range that will make the eye shadow looks better and long last. The official of NYX Website said that:
"Prep your eyelids with this lightweight eye shadow primer that makes skin appear smoother, more even toned, and ensures lasting makeup application. The High Definition Eye Shadow Base conceals creases and pumps up the vibrancy of your eye shadow."



Simply take a little amount of the product and spread it to all over your eyes, from eyelashes to eyebrow. Wait for a moment so it can dry, then apply your eye shadow and eye liner after.

My thoughts
The formula is lightweight, so it is easy to apply and blend. Although I have an oily skin, it did not crease or became more oily at all. A little product goes a long way, in fact, if you put too much it will be oily and take a longer time to dry. I think it does make my skin smoother and even toned. It helped the eye shadow color out. 



These are the swatch (I am using a dark gray eye shadow from PUPA Milano):



Can you see the different ? The eye shadow color without the base is not as intense as the one which use the base. It also easily erased with tissue, unlike the one with base under it.  


I have a naked 2 eye palette, and I think that everyone agree that naked is good. But without any primer, I always thought that I was wasting money because no matter how beautiful the colors are in the palette, I never had the same when I applied it on my crease. But now, after I owned this, I take back my statement. ha! 


Packaging: 3 of 5
It comes with applicator, so we don't have to put our finger to take the product out. More hygene for sure. Oh, and I always love black color on make up packaging. It looks professional and elegant. So, eventhough nothing special about the packaging but I just love it. Simple. 

Efficacy: 3.5 of 5
I have to say that this is a good product cause it proofs their brand claims. It did a really good job. The eye shadow color was really pop out (as you can see above). My eye shadow was stay still after I walk in the morning, looking for the company's building where I took my interview test, then I have to run to catch the bus in the middle of a hot-sweaty-day. Not only that, It also still looks fabulous after my five-hours-without-AC-graduation-event (again, in the middle of a hot-sweaty-day)! ta-da!

Value: 4 of 5
I bought it for around IDR 120k from an online shop (cause I can't found it in the NYX counter both in my town and hometown). With this efficacy, and the price that not so expensive, I have to say that NYX HD Eye Shadow Base has high value. Compare to the great but expensive Primer Potion by Urban Decay, this is better. Especially if you're on a budget but still want a good product. Whether you're wearing make up every day or not, It still a good investment!

Repurchase ?
Yes! 

Overall Rating: 3.5 of 5

<skin type: tan, oily>

In instance, I think, no matter how great and expensive your eye shadows are, it will be nothing without a good eye shadow base. Ciao!






Selasa, 04 November 2014

REVIEW: Drops of Youth



I gotta say that this is my Holy-Grail product. I bought it after I read the review in a beauty blog. I used it in a transition phase after I stopped using prescription from my latest dermatologist. I wasn't really sure about this product at first, but I decided to give it a try so, here is my review.....

About the product

It is a pre-serum of a Nutriganics series from The Body Shop. What made it so special is its ingredients: Criste-Marine Plant Stem Cells & Babassu Oil
According to the official website of The Body Shop, Criste-Marine is a rare plants able to survive the harsh environment of the rocky, sea-battered coastline of Brittany. This plant is resistant to salt and dryness. Babassu oil is extracted from the nuts of the wild babassu palm tree, found on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Blend of these unique ingredients known to enhance surface skin renewal. It gives skin a smoother, fresher, healthier appearance.

Source: www.thebodyshop-usa.com

The brand claims that:
Source: www.thebodyshop-usa.com

It is a water based & not-so-thick concentrate, it has a nice scent, and immediately moisturizing. 

                               

The idea of "enhance surface skin renewal" is what made me bought this. I thought that if my skin renew better and faster, the acne marks on my face will disappear. So, I was looking the review of Drops of Youth on an acne prone skin, but there was only 1 or 2 blogs. Still not sure to buy this, I went to nearest store and I asked the sales assistant for the sample. They gave me 5 drops of the product in a mini tube. When I applied it to my skin, I got immediate moisture&smooth feelings. So I bought the 30ml bottle, and started using it. In 2-3 weeks, I had purging (in my case was a little break out). But after that, those annoying acnes never showed up again. Well, not completely gone, it still peeped out when I'm in period, but not as bad as it was.

Right now, I am using it in the middle of my skin regime, after toner and before serum/ampoule/moisturizer. Simply put 1-3 drops on your finger, spread it out a little, then apply it to all over your face and neck.

Packaging: 3 of 5
It packed in a thick glass bottle with pipette, so it's not too easy to broken and the hygene is good. Nothing special about the packaging. It's just when I purchased the 50ml, the pipette isn't as easy as the 30ml. 

Efficacy: 4 of 5
I can see the result after 3 months I used the product. Acne rarely peeped out anymore, less oily, smoother, softer, acne marks was slowly disappeared. I say Drops of Youth from The Body Shop has delivered their promises to the consumer, especially me. 

Value: 4 of 5
The price for the 30ml & 50ml bottle was about IDR 350k & IDR 550k. I forgot the exact price so, sorry :3 I used the 30ml bottle for 3 months, and now I'm on my second bottle (50ml). It's been 4,5 months but I still have a quarter. I can say that the price is worth it, cause you only need 1-3 drops and it last until 3 months for 30ml and (maybe) 6 months for the 50ml bottle. aaaaaaaand it is working!

Repurchase ?
YES! Definitely! As I said, I'm on my second bottle and definitely repurchase for the third,and fourth, and so on.

Overall Rating: 4.5 of 5

<Skin type: Tan, oily, acne prone>

Have you tried this Drops of Youth ? Or maybe you have plan to buy this ? Share your experience using this product and any comments below!

Have a good day, ladies! :) 


Kamis, 30 Oktober 2014

the journey

I'm not saying that I already have perfect skin right now, I still on my way to achieve a beautiful, healthy, and flawless skin. But, after years suffered with acne, I feel that my skin's condition now is waaaay better than before. So, here it goes..

1. Teenager: Drug store product & loooooots of dermatologists
     It started when i was a teenager, this acne (whitehead, blackhead, and pustule) peep out from my skin. It is normal since I have oily skin and genetically, I am potential to have acnes cause my father and brothers also had it. The difference is, their skin were getting better and no acne at all after high school but unfortunately, it didn't happened to me. Otherwise, it was getting worse.
      In Junior high, I only use drug store product like Clean&Clear, and Pond's, but nothing works. It did nothing to my skin except just clean it. Just like any other teenager, I felt shy, and have no confidence at all. I talk to my mom, ask permission to her so I can go to the dermatologist. She said no, but I insisted and finally she took me to the dermatologist. So we went to Dr. Djoko Susanto, SpKK. and I got face cleanser, night cream, and day cream. After a couple months, my skin was getting better.
      It did getting better after couple months but not after couple years. It started broke out and oily again, I think my skin become immune to the creams. So i decided to change to the dermatologist. My aunt recommended me a famous one, Dr, Jamilah SpKK who has a beauty clinic. Then i went there, she said that my acne is not that worse and it can disappeared in three months. I was excited, I thought she must be genius if she can make my skin better in three months. But, NO, IT DID NOT. I kept using the creams she gave to me and did a loooot of chemical peeling cause she said that it can helped to remove the scars. I sticked to go to this dermatologist for years, hoping that my skin will getting better. But again, no. It was getting better only in the beginning, but after that it just didn't work out anymore.

2. College: Another dermatologists, Lancome, & Green Mommy Shop.
      It has been 6 years since I suffered with acne, and then i graduate high school and went to college. After disappointed with the previous dermatologist, I went to MEDIKER clinic with Dr. Agus Hartadi SpKK as the dermatologist. I didn't want to go there before cause I heard that it's expensive but since his reputation is good and I almost give up about this acne thing, so i decided to go. Like another dermatologists, i got cleanser, night cream, and day cream. The cool thing was, he was using laser treatment to kill the bacteria inside and help to remove the scars. He was the one who said that chemical peeling is not good to our skin cause it will make the skin thinner, especially when we do  it many times. I was like, "crap! I did chemical peel like zillion times." I thought that maybe he's the one, he's the one who can help me get a clear skin. My skin was still good until there was a volcanic eruptions from the mountain in my town which made the air sooo dirty and the sky was covered with ash. The nightmare begin (again)...
     Because of the volcanic eruptions, my skin got worse again. I met my dermatologist and kept using the creams and doing the laser treatment but it just getting worse. the type of my acne was always whitehead and pustule, but at that time it became nodules. "It cost me fortune but I still can't have a clear skin ?! I have to change dermatologist!" So, I change to the most famous dermatologist in town, Dr. Sri Ellyani SpKK. Everytime I changed dermatologist, I always have a "new" hope. So, I started to have treatment there, and the doctor said that I need to do a TCA. So I followed her recommendation and I did the TCA. She said that it is safe and with only 3 times of TCA my skin will get better. After the treatment, my skin literally peel out for about a week. So it did made me look like a monster.
      After 9 years using dermatologists and my skin was not getting better, I decided to change to product that available in the market. When I was in the department store, a saleswoman from Lancome introduce me to Lancome Visionnaire. Honestly, I easily believe her and i took all my savings and bought it. fuh! It felt so good when i applied it to my skin but unfortunately, it did not help my skin to getting better.
        Desperate, I decided to back to dermatologist and try Erha Clinic and same thing happened. I was like "OH DEAR GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!"
          Until I read a beauty forum, which lead me to a-not-so-famous-natural-skincare-local-brand: Green Mommy Shop aka GMS. It has a thread on Femaledaily, many people use it, many acne sufferer succeed getting their clear skin. So I believed, then I started using it. In the forum many people said that the skin will purging for the first time and after several time the skin will be clearer. Everyone has different purging time, some 3 months, some only 1 month, and 6 months. It did purging, broke out so bad. My question is when will the purging phase over ? I kept using it until 3 months cause i thought it still purging until I realize, It doesn't make any sense if purging takes until 3 months. So, i stopped using it and I went to my friend's dermatologist. Cause my skin condition at that time was horrible.  


                                                              



My Skin after I used dr. Etna's prescription (2 weeks)
Ps: The first time when i see dr. Etna, my skin was 5 times more terrible
The dermatologist's name is Dr. Etna Krisnawati SpKK. and I can say she saved my skin (and my life :3). My friend said that she only use Dr. Etna's prescription in 3 months then she can use regular drug store product. When I met Dr. Etna, she said that my skin is very thin until she can see my vein. With that condition, it's impossible for the skin to accept and absorb any products. My skin need some recovery in couple months and after that it can start to accept and absorp the products I used. So she gave me pills, cleanser, and moisturizer (instead of night&day cream). My skin was getting better after 3 months, but i still used her prescription and laser treatment for about  8 months. Then I graduated and I have to move back to my hometown. So, i stop using the prescription and start using my holy grail pre-serum...



My Skin after I used dr. Etna's prescription (6 months)

3. Sunshine after the rain: Drops of Youth & Snail Cream.
          Drops of Youth from the Body Shop is my sunshine after the rain! It really help my skin to get better, smoother, and clearer. I can see the difference after 3 months I used this (only Drops of Youth, without any mosturizer night&day cream). Then, I have courage to add moisturizer to my regime. Until one day I had a trip to South Korea, and i already research in plenty of beauty blogs that snail cream is good for acne prone skin. So I bought the range from Nature Republic Snail Cream.  It consists Toner, Emulsion, Ampoule, Cream, and Eye Cream. I already using it for 2 months and I can say I am satisfied. I will write the details of my review in another post.


My skin condition now
Ps: I did not wear any foundation or photo filter

As you can see, my skin shows so much improvements. It's moist, not so oily, the pimple peep out only when i have period, the acne marks slowly disappear and not so reddish anymore, and it's not sooo white until the face and neck colors are different. It takes more than a year to recover from the first it ruined by many dermatologists, beauty clinics, and GMS. I couldn't be more grateful. So, this is my skin regime right now:

Daily:
a. Evian
b. NR Snail Skin Booster/ Etude House Wonder Pore Toner
c. TBS Drops of Youth
d. NR Snail Ampoule
e. NR Snail Emulsion
f. NR Snail Cream
g. NR Snail Eye Cream
h. Mavala Double Lash (for lashes&eyebrow)

Weekly:
a. Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask + The Face Shop Papaya Peeling Gel
b. Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX

         So, Ladies, if you have acne problem as mine, the key is patience, stay optimist, and try to stay confidence. My skin's now has not flawless yet, but it shows much improvements. And I still believe that I will get a healthy, clear, and flawless skin someday. Oh, and if I can suggested to you, try to avoid beauty clinic. Their creams will ruin your skin. If you really need see a dermatologist, find one who really want to make your skin healthy. You can see by the prescription they give. You can take moisturizer but say no to night/day cream. Just don't.



Rabu, 17 September 2014

Why I made this blog.




So this is why,
just like anyone else, they made a blog to share. It could be about everything, but for me, I made this to share about how I struggling with acne and achieve a beautiful, healthy, and flawless skin.
I believe there are many women who has a same issue as mine, and maybe they're at a point where they lost and give up cause they have no idea how to deal with this.
I say, "Ladies, keep on believing."