Head Turner

Prom is just around the corner and I still could remember what I wore as a high school young lady who is still clueless about how to dress to be a head turner, and I may say that most of my friends, boys or girls, are also as clueless as me. Now that I finally had invent my signature style, I think it is just the right time to write about how would I dress, if I were to go back to high school prom. While hoping that you might get some enlightenment which can be useful for your own prom style, hopefully!

How I look at my high school prom (year 2010) which had a masquerade theme. It is such a fashion disaster I know: stupid layering, stupid shoes color, and no make up at all. And the one beside me too: the wrong informal shoes turn down his appearance. 

Now, if I were to go back to high school today, it will be quite easier because I could find quite a few dresses and tuxedos rental online, which will cut down my budget for those beautiful outfit I need, to boost my appearance. Back then at 2010, it is still hard to find great and edible online shop, let alone dresses or tuxedos online rental. 

Speaking about prom style first, what is my preferences? Is it to have a matching dresses and tux with my companion? Or does his tie match better with my dress, in bow tie or long tie? Here is what I thought, first about ladies style:

• Black or white is the best color to boost our appearances, when added with a strong personality. I like black or white dresses, not because it is safe, but because when basic color is added with the perfect amount of confidence and personality, the whole appearance become perfectly presentable. 
• Choose a dress that show your most admirable parts, and cover everything else. For me, I love to show off my shoulder and clavicle because when a dress beautifully showed it off, it creates a perfect figure for my face. A proper make up and an exposed shoulder hides my chubby cheek. And, I would love to cover the other part of my body, because people love to play mystery game. If you can see everything, what is left to wonder anyway?
• Do the hair properly. Whether it is a full up do or a half up do, your hair have to match your make up and your dresses. For me, a half up do or a curled hair is okay when it is combine with  a sabrina dresses, but when the dress cover your shoulder, it is better to do a full up do.
• Put the right amount of make up. I believe that I have shown the disaster when you using no make up to a prom night in my above picture.
• Matching the dress with the tux? It is absolutely you and your companion own decision. My tips is, it is better not to force things. So when your dress color could match the tie color of your companion perfectly and it looks good on him, go on. But, when it turns out that the matching game turn down your companion's appearance, might as well forget about it and just match your chemistry to make your appearance perfect.

The kind of dresses I prefer for prom, courtesy of renttherunway.com

I found all of the dresses above from renttherunway.com For you who is located in the US, I recommend you to visit the site. The system is easy, the dresses collection is awesome, and the price is very reasonable. And do not worry for my readers who reside in Indonesia, this belsbee.com and threewdress.com is beyond awesome, located in Jakarta and ready to ship to all over Indonesia, yay!

Now, speaking about tuxedo. What is my tips on choosing the best tux? Here we go:

• Can't a suit be your choice instead of a tux for prom? Suit won't have satin in it. And those little difference is absolutely put a tremendous enhancement on your look. It is okay to wear suit to a prom, but when you prefer to choose tux, it will be one memorable night with one memorable and special look, that what tux brings to your appearance.
• Bow tie is more classic than long tie. If you want to look a little bit not too formal, of course long tie is a choice. But according to me, bow tie suits tuxedo more, because the classic ambience it brings to your whole look.
• Matching game with your lady's dress? Basically, it is the same with what I have said above. Do not force on things. When the color of the accessories you choose to match with your lady's dress is suited you best and put a whole enhancement to your look, go for it. But when it turns down your appearance, no no no. 
• What is the best color for tux? Black is always classic. I love classic. But grey will give a little playful touch to your appearance. And navy blue do make your skin radiates its shine. So, your choice, which of the colors that matches your personality the most.

Notched Lapel Tuxedo

Rental price: $95 for pants and coat

Midnight Blue Tuxedo

Rental price: $120 for pants and coat

I stumble upon that incredible US online tuxedo rental, The Black Tux, and I am in love with it. Founded on 2013, of course, this is why I never heard of any of well-reputable online tuxedo rental back then. Look at the price of those tuxedos above, in my opinion it really is reasonable for such a good quality tuxedos. And, what does the thing that makes me fall in love with The Black Tux the most? Of course its renting system! I do not know that renting a suit could be this easy, I wish I knew.

Wait, that scheme above doesn't show how convenience it is to rent in The Black Tux yet. This is it: fit guarantee. The black tux gives us 2 option:

1. Replacement items (If we tell The Black Tux within 48hrs after we receive our order that the size doesn't fit, they will replace the tux for free).
2. Professional alterations (The Black Tux allows us to have a local tailor make adjustments on sleeve or pant length when they are a little off).

Oh my god, how cool is that? So you guys do not need to worry that the tuxedo that you rent won't perfectly fit on you. Convenient, reasonably priced, and luxurious. That's what I thought about The Black Tux. Anyway, for you who reside in Indonesia, sadly I haven't been able to find any online tuxedo rental that is as great as The Black Tux, so if you ever heard about any of it, would you please kindly suggest me in the comment section? I will appreciate it very much.

Sadly, I do not have any full picture with my favorite dress above. But don't you see the major difference from this picture and my first picture above? A proper make up, the right dress that suits both your personality and your figure, and the right hair do simply will make you shine, and better yet, be a head turner.

Timeless Truth

My job in dental hospital needed me to wear mask for minimum 6 hours a day. At the end of the day, I could always see that my skin deserves more treatment for it always looks dry and dull.  Beside giving it serum and essence, I believe that once in a while I have to wear face mask to give my skin extra hydration. So, it is not an uncommon scene that I look through every beauty web looking for the perfect mask. Thanks god one day I found Timeless Truth, I have reviewed their eye mask before, click HERE to read the post. And this time I will tell you about its face mask. 

Web: http://www.ttmask.co.id

Product: Orchid Extract Replenishing Mask, Price: 50.000idr/piece 

Before wearing the mask:

I do not wear any make up except for a little lip cream, post cleansing face

How the mask looks like: 

It covers face area and got ears attachment, the mask will stay in its place perfectly and so my skin can absorb all of its nutrient.

After removing the mask: 

Massage the remaining essence into the skin.

After wearing the mask: 

Although I did not see any significant difference, but I could see that my face is more hydrated, looks fresh, and I believe if I wear the mask regularly, it will bring a good result

Above, I am wearing Orchid Extract Replenishing Mask. It provides a barrier on the skin locking in moisture for a long lasting effect. Orchid extract instantly helps to hydrate and plump out the tissues leaving a smoother finer surface to the skin. 

How to use the face mask:

• Cleanse the face.
• Open the sachet and take out the mask. Adjust mask to adhere entirely over the face positioning opening for eyes and mouth. Stretch to attach to ears.
• Lift up chin layer and attach to ears.
• Press the mask lightly with both hand until it adheres completely.
• Remove the mask after 15-20 minutes and gently massage the remaining essence into the skin.

As you can see above, I would say I did not see any significant difference. But I could feel instant hydration on my skin and it suddenly is feel moisture and I could not love it less! I think I really should wear Timeless Truth face mask regularly. Next time I also really want to try the other face mask variant for they have so much more. Which one you think should I try first, its anti aging mask or its whitening mask? 

Bye Bye Dark Circle

Lately I've been working at one of the state hospital's emergency room, so I guess it is imaginable how much stress it puts to my mind and my body. It is hard to look radiant when I have dark circle under my eyes, so then I've looked into some product that can get rid of it. There, then I found Timeless Truth, a beauty brand originally from Taiwan which specialized in mask. They have a wide variety of product, including face, eye, and breast mask. Luckily, I was able to get two of their products, which are apple lifting correction eye mask and orchid extract whitening mask. Now that the urgent matter is my dark circle, I should try the eye mask first. 

Web: www.ttmask.co.id

Product: Apple Lifting Correction Eye Mask, Price: 150.000 idr (for 5 pairs)

Orchid Extract Whitening Mask, Price: 50.000 idr/piece 

The apple lifting correction eye mask contains apple extract, arbutin, and green tea extract. While apple  extract is good for skin metabolism, able to prevent early aging, and able to maintain the smoothness of the skin, arbutin plays its part at reducing pigmentation. So, together they claimed to be able to provides a great effect on dark circles under the eyes. Great news, just exactly what I  need! Let's see how it will affect my dark circle. 

How to use the apple lifting correction eye mask:

1. Cleanse the face.
2. Open the sachet and take out the eye mask.
3. Gently place the mask under the eyes. 
4. Remove mask after 15-20 minutes, gently massage the remaining essence under the eyes, post cleansing is not needed.

Before using Apple Lifting Correction Eye Mask

(I do not wear any make up, except a little lip cream)

How the eye mask looks like:

 It comes with bio cellulose mask that contains lots of extract liquid on it. It smells good, feels cool and refreshing once applied to the skin. After 20 minutes, it still is feel cool and refreshing.

After using Apple Lifting Correction Eye Mask:

I do not see any significant difference, but of course my eye looks a little bit more fresh. I guess it has to be worn a couple of times if we want to see maximum effect.

Based on my opinion, this product is worth to try, but it is best to buy one package and wear it regularly, after that then maybe we could see the maximum effect. The price is not expensive at all as you can see above, it is easy to get just by one click away at its web, and is easy to use for it only takes 15 minutes per session and we do not need to cleanse after using it. And for me, this mask does not give me any pimples or skin break out post-usage. I like to wear any kind of mask at night, for our skin is in optimum condition to heal itself at night. To conclude, I give 4 stars out of 5 :)

So, let me try the face mask and write another review while you can start to click Timeless Truth web and browse your desired product, shall we?

Judge a Book by Its Content

Some of my friends say why should we waste money on face treatment or skin care while we're still young? They say at this very age we do not need any face treatment to prevent skin aging. To dear friends, let's just agree to disagree, shall we? For me, I believe that what we do today will bring impact later on. Our skin may look okay, but it's the cover that we see, we do not know what happening inside, while actually it is also as important as how it looks like from the outside. Just like a book, the content is actually as important as the cover. So, shouldn't we have to design the content precisely and carefully?

I've been using this product that contains nutrition to hydrate my skin and prevent it from aging, but after I do some studies I found that there are some other similar product that contain the same nutrition but with better improvement: free system (paraben etc free), whoa what a bonus! I guess I should share it with you then.

Secret Key (Originally from South Korea)

I guess you already heard it before, so do I. But I never really do some research about this brand before, not like this time. Secret Key Indonesia claiming to be all natural, yes yes I know that a lot of brand is also claiming to be so. But, what capture my heart the most is its Starting Treatment Essence that contains Galactomyces, that they claiming to be one of the yeast ferment filtrates, plus 7 free system (this is what really capture my attention!): paraben, mineral oil, benzophenone, alcohol, animal oil, color, spice free!  If you do not know how important is this 7 free system, I give you one explanation, paraben is a preservative used in cosmetic product, so to have a nutritive product without paraben is like owning a high quality book with top content. There might be some other brands that contain Galactomyces, but this 7 free system, not every product have it, I guess. 

Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 

Rp 199.000,00 at Nihon Mart

Speaking about the Galactomyces, like any other product with Galactomyces in it, is very useful for whitening and reducing wrinkle, hydrating, and even up the skin color. This starting treatment essence should be used first before any other skin treatment at our daily skin treatment routine. And for me, once I use a product like this I would like to put the essence in my hand and directly apply it to my face without cotton, because I do not like the product being absorbed by the cotton. 

At the time I study about Secret Key, especially about its Starting Treatment Essence I stumble upon Nihon Mart Kosmetik Online, and surprisingly this web which specialized in providing Japanese and Korean Brand, sells Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence in a very reasonable price. I once visited another web and they sell Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence, please note that it is not The Rose Edition, Rp 220.000,00 which is way more expensive than the one I saw in Nihon Mart. So, I think I should buy one at Nihon Mart, of course. Well well, do not judge a book by the price, even Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence doesn't cost high, it contains 90% Galactomyces so I believe that this product will be an effective skin nutrition. Let me just end this post and directly go to Nihon Mart to save my self one Starting Treatment Essence, may I?

Beauty is Effort

Beauty is pain, some old line told us. But I'd rather more agree with this line, beauty is effort. A lot of people do so much effort to take care of their weight and body shape by choosing the best food to consume. But unfortunately, people often forgot to choose the best food to feed their face skin. Yes, it looks like some of us will start a treatment to heal our skin once it had acnes, or had a dry condition. But when our skin looks okay, we often forget to feed it with the right nutrition. Do we even forget that even our skin looks okay, it actually is the first shield of our body and mind? So, start from this very young age, I want to start to be committed to my skin, to feed it the right amount of nutrition it needed so that as my age grow, my skin will stay young.  

So recently I've been researching some products available to find the one which will give my skin the right amount of nutrition it needed. I am aware, that hydration is the most important thing to keep my skin from this most scary thing: dry skin. So, that's where I am looking. I am looking for products that will hydrate my skin and this is where the story begins, I finally met Laneige. Yes, that well known brand from South Korea with Song Hye Kyo as its face. While doing my research, I accidentally came into Nihon Mart, an online beauty store which start its operating from 2011 and focusing on Japan and Korean beauty product and so happy to find that they also sell original product from Laneige.

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack

(Price: 295.000 idr, at Nihon Mart)

I know I do not have to think twice when I found Laneige, since this brand is famous with its Laneige Advanced Water Science, just the right thing that I needed the most! And I am not surprised when I found that in Nihon Mart, its Laneige Water Sleeping Pack is the most best selling product. Like what the banner said, this product contains of three main usage, in which I needed the most: strong hydration made by Beta-Glucan, exfoliating and brightening made by Hunza Apricot Extract which will eliminate harmful oxygen radicals and Chestnut Extract which will peel off dead skin cells, and Sleepscent for Deep Sleep which will make my skin relax to improve skin regeneration. The product is also easy to use by the way, I just have to apply it before sleep and I do not need to wash it off, I just can directly doze off while enjoying Laneige Water Sleeping Pack relaxed me. I'm so glad I found this product in Nihon Mart, yeay! 

I do love beauty rituals before sleep. It's an effort I love the most. It's the time when I can enjoy and appreciate my self and my mind, while also taking care of it. Beauty is effort. Without an effort from ourselves to take care of our body and mind since the earliest time possible, I doubt that we can maintain the most optimal condition of it all. Because things don't just happen, it happens with the presence of effort, doesn't it?

Spend Wisely

Some people say, it is forbidden to spend too much money on complimentary stuff, such as fashion brands, or monthly traveling agenda. But, I agree to disagree. The one which forbidden is this: to not work as smart and as hard as we could to be able to enjoy the world. This is what I believe, it is okay to spend as much as I would, and could, as long as I also try my hardest to earn. Earn much, spend smart! So, since I believe I have work my ass off to earn, I deserve this shoes I get from Zalora, and a quick escape once in a while to enjoy the world. So there am I, on my last trip to Malaysia, standing in The Petronas Skybridge at 170 meters above street level, to enjoy the world. 

The Little Things She Needs (bought from Zalora)

Top (Tailor-made), Skirt (Tailor-made),

 Shoes (The Little Things She Needs bought from Zalora), Bag (Charles & Keith)

Speaking about spend smart, I just realize that this early month, Zalora is smartly held a Warehouse Clearance Sale! You could always get the best price from a Warehouse Sale, couldn't you? So, this is just the right time to spend wisely, after a long day of working hard! Since Zalora provide great brands in their store, and by that it means a great product, and now? With a great price! This is just the right time to spend, anyway. I feel like I have to rush to open Zalora's web now because it's only held between April 6th-12th, oh no! 

Go click Zalora Warehouse Clearance Sale now,  CLICK HERE!

Japan (Part One)

Got the chance to travel to Japan, even only for a week, but the lesson I got is already too much to be written down. I arrived at Narita International Airport at 9 in the morning and because it was spring at that time, the weather is uncertain. In Narita, it was rain and so windy I feel sad for a while for it is hard to enjoy Japan on foot in rainy days. But then again, welcome to Japan yay!

A glance of Tokyo that I captured on my way to Shizuoka prefecture

Then from Narita we go straight to Shizuoka prefecture to have lunch at Gotenba Kameya, enjoying set menu which consist of udon, tempura, grilled salmon, stewed vegetables, rolled omelete, and rice. First impression about enjoying japanese set in Japan? Divine. 

At Gotenba Kameya, me wearing: 

Dress (Amary bought from Zalora), Jacket (Marks & Spencer), 

Bag (Charles &  Keith), Shoes (Unbranded)

Gotemba Factory Outlet

On my first day in Japan I choose simple dress bought from Zalora, I love it since the fabric is so comfortable and suits best for traveling, yet the stripes pattern makes it does not look less fashionable. And even if the temperature of Japan in spring is not too low, the wind blows quite hard so my Marks & Spencer wool jacket really was able to keep me warm.

Anyway, from Gotenba Kameya we go straight to Gotemba Factory Outlet. A big open air factory outlet located at Shizuoka Prefecture with magnificent scenery. Who doesn't love a lot of outlet to be wander around, a lot of snacks and food stall, and a good scenery (including Mt Fuji) combined in one place? In Gotemba Factory Outlet you could find a bunch of branded outlet from Prada to Adidas. Anyway, my brother wants to buy one of Adidas collection so we went into their outlet. Since the price is in Yen so it doesn't differ much from one in Indonesia, but we could almost find a complete collection there. And of course, no, you don't have to go all the way to Japan to buy Adidas, do first check Adidas page at Zalora since it is easier and they will deliver it right to your door step!

Lake Kawaguchi's Surrounding

Kawaguchi Koryu Hotel

We sleep in Lake Kawaguchi area since the itinerary for the next day is around Mt Fuji and Shibazakura Festival which is close from Lake Kawaguchi. Lake Kawaguchi itself is one of five lake which spread around Mt Fuji. We got tatami sytle room, a traditional bedding room of Japan with floor mat instead of regular bed. I love learning Japan traditional culture! Beside sleeping in tatami style, almost all of the hotel around Lake Kawaguchi provide onsen, including ours. In Japan, it is a common rule that once you enjoy onsen, you have to bath without any garments in your body, because if you use towel, for example, they believe that the towel is able to transfer your body's sweat to the onsen and that will be quite unhealthy for the other person in the onsen. Want to try to bath in the onsen already? :)

Kaiseki at Traditional Dinner Ceremony in our hotel

Dinner Ceremony wearing Yukata

Because we sleep in traditional hotel, in Japan it is called Ryokan, we were able to enjoy a traditional dinner ceremony, eating Kaiseki, a traditional set menu of various Japanese cuisine each provided in small portions while wearing Yukata, traditional casual Japanese dress. Once wearing Yukata don't forget to place the left side above the right side, because if you place the right side above the left side it means you attend a grieve ceremony. One thing that touch my heart the most, is in every Ryokan they still doing this traditional culture: when you are about to leave the hotel and end your stay there, all of the staff will take you to the gate and waving a goodbye, all of the staff. Such a great hospitality, right? So, it is true that travel will open your eyes to the things you haven't known before that it is ever exist, I suppose?

Fashion Week Galore

Every blogger's dream? Going to fashion week of course! I can even imagine how exciting it is, me packing the best dress I have for my fashion week agenda, flying from New York to Milan and then to Paris, get tired of jet lag but also unexceptionally happy to witness history, walk in the crowded venue and accidentally bump into famous fashion bloggers, models, photographers! Haha enough with the dream anyway...

Well, since I can't attend the fashion week (yet, hehe), one thing that I can do is follow the update on it at both magazine and social media. Speaking about the street style, I found some street style which is happening at the fashion week, from New York to Milan, and here it is:

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2015

New York Fashion Week Spring 2015

Milan Fashion Week Spring 2015

Simple midi skirt combined with patterned top, sleek white shirt, or matching top. Simply sophisticated! 

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2015

Milan Fashion Week Spring 2015

Simple outfit will be the center of attention when you combine it with eye catching outerwear.

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2015

New York Fashion Week Spring 2015

Milan Fashion Week Spring 2015

This is the style I love the most. Simple graphic tees once combine with the perfect skirt, simple make up and sleek & natural hairdo, will be more than beautifully proper to be showed off at fashion week. 

So, just like usual, after finding some inspiration, I usually will browse through online store just to check that maybe there will be some collection available which I can purchase. And luckily I found some collection which will help me to dress just as cool as the street style people who attend the fashion week!

Simple yet unexceptionally sophisticated skirt, totally worth to be worn at Fashion Week: Jamie's Party Skirt by Partyskirts, Cheap and Chic Eye Skirt by Moschino, Skirt with Flounce Hem by DKNY

Without having to try hard to choose dress or bottom&top which will catch attention, with only simple dress once we wear this outerwear, we will instantly be the center of attention: Wool Jacket by Moschino, Mirrored Coat by Gareth Pugh, Karloff Check Coat by Rachel Comey

Of course I never thought before that simple graphic tees will look that stylish. But well it is, and at least we have to give it a try: Giacomo Bonjour Sweatshirt by AIKO, Fearless Crop Top by Spiritual Gangster, Off to Europe Long Sleeve Top by Wildfox Couture

Anyway you can easily click Shopbop.com and there will be other plenty outfit which is as great as the fashion week street style outfit. Now, let's get ourselves ready to try every way possible which will bring us to fashion week's front row, shall we?

Keep Updated and In Style on Busy Days

Lately, I have been a little busy in the hospital. Fyi, now I am doing my clinical education to be a dentist (I think I almost never mention it, right?). So, when I got home I will be in a drained battery mode and have no appetite to open my notebook just to read the latest news. After this condition happened for about a month, I think it's the time for me to change, because I start to not be able to catch up, well just sharing some latest news, latest trends, latest gossip, with my friends while we hang out. So, I decided to maximize my phone while having just a little break within my daily routines. Phone apps like instagram and flipboard are my bestfriend now!

So, I am beyond happy when I discover Shopbop's phone application in the app store, I just download it right away without thinking.

The phone app pretty much resembles the web version of Shopbop.com, but easier and simpler. When I open the application I have no difficulties in the way of using it because its familiarity with the web. I can easily check the lookbook section while in dire need of some inspirations and I can even easily shop with one simple click at the item that I love! 

Beside phone app, Shopbop's account is also one of my favorite feeds to check in instagram. It is always up to date, and sometimes the quote they post just simply brighten up my days. These days, fashion week is on the run and Shopbop always update the news of their fashion director while she attending the fashion week, from New York to Paris. I am a happy kid since I can keep updated on fashion week news in between my busy days yay!

Shopbop's instagram account

From Shopbop's instagram account, I start to notice their fashion director Elle Strauss and start to love the way she dress. Fortunately, when I check Shopbop.com, they display Elle's items choices. Now I can easily steal her look, eh? :P

You wiil see J.W Anderson's skirt, Maison Martin Margiela's boots, until Alexander Wang's clutch in the Elle's pick. I love Shopbop fashion editor's pick! Don't you curious of her pick too? Well you can rush to open Shopbop's web or click the link above. Have fun, then!