Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

After hearing lots of good things about this blush, it became one of the top in my wish list. It's a shame though Milani is not available in Netherlands (or Europe, come to think of it). I found some of their products at boozyshop.nl but for some reason they just put Milani stuff in the website but marked them "sold out" every time (what's the point?).

Then one day I thought I had enough products to justify a purchase at cherryculture.com ;P It's a US-based website that sells drugstore products. I ended up ordering two NYX butter glosses, two Jordana eyeliners, one pencil and one liquid; and Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso :) The price for the baked blush is $6.99 but they had a 20% off code so it was basically $5.60 (or around €4.20). 

Pregnancy Skincare

Hello! 

Yes, I'm sorry for being MIA for a long time (it's been almost half year!). The reasons were this and that, from simply didn't feel like reviewing, then holiday, and finally, pregnancy :)

I am 19 weeks pregnant right now and due in February. I thought I'd write about my pregnancy skin care here in the blog.

During the first trimester I didn't feel like wearing make up AT ALL. I rarely did my hair either despite the horrible structure I have. Mostly I put it in a ponytail and smeared some SPF on my face then got out of the house. It wasn't because of morning sickness, mind you, I didn't get any morning sickness at all. I just had a weird bitterness in my mouth on random days but nothing bothered me too much. After the 14th week, however, I felt more like myself again and started putting some more make up and back straightening my hair ;P 

Before I was pregnant I was all about acne treatment and balancing/exfoliating my oily skin with BHA. Since we were trying to conceive, though, I tried to limit BHA in my skincare products. And when I was confirmed pregnant, I gave it up fully. 

Products I used before:

1. Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Oil-Free Acne Wash

2. Paula's Choice BHA Gel

3. DiorSnow UV Shield Moisturizing UV Protection

4. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

Most of these (1, 2 and 3) contained Salicylic Acid, which was why I stopped using them. I still would love to use DiorSnow but sadly I ran out of it. 

Right now I use:

1. Nivea Daily Essentials Facial Wash Gel

2. Nivea Daily Essentials Light Moisturizing Day Cream

These first two were very easy to find at the drugstore and considerably affordable. Sometimes Nivea products went on sale or in a buy 1 get 1 free offer so I can always buy more. It's very simple and although I don't see huge improvement or so, I just love that it didn't break me out. I tried using Cetaphil for some time when I ran out of the cleanser, but it resulted in little bumps. Once I got back to this it all went away again. I guess my baby was telling me to use this instead of Cetaphil ;P

3. Mama Mio Tummy Rub Butter

This was fairly recent. During my first trimester I used Palmer's Stretch Mark Cream and even though I think it worked well enough, I was intrigued to try this one (sucker for good reviews). Compared to Palmer's, this has thicker consistency and fresher scent. Palmer's scent somehow reminded me of white bread with chocolate sprinkles, I don't know how that's possible. Mama Mio's scent was more lemony and reminded me of the spa session we had during our honeymoon ;)

4. Shu Uemura A/O Cleansing Oil

I used to use Bioderma to remove my make up at night. At some point I realized how many cotton pads I wasted while I was using it. During our vacation, I managed to grab this cleansing oil at duty free counter, so I thought I'd give it a try. I love how I only need this and water to remove everything (I rarely wear mascara but I think this will work quite well for that too). At first I used this then my Nivea cleansing gel to wash my face once more, but after some time it grows on me to leave it as is. So at night I only cleanse with this and leave it moisturizing my face afterwards. That way it didn't break me out either, so it's very convenient :)

I had some thoughts about purchasing a serum to add to my skincare routine but so far I haven't found anything that suits me (price-wise, formula-wise). Right now all these products work well for me and I am not sure I want to try anything new because I can't really predict how the reaction would be :) 

I think that's it for now, let's close this post with a little bump picture ;)

Bourjois Blush in 34 Rose D'or

Having heard that Bourjois actually owned Chanel cosmetics brand, I heard some of their products are cheaper version of Chanel's. Their blush is said to be similar to Chanel Joues Contraste without the €38 price tag. Let's see :)

Spring Must Have: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama

Spring is finally here (well, at least for a few days) and I know one color that I have to take out of my nail polish drawer once the sun is appearing. It's OPI Sparrow Me the Drama. This polish came out during spring two years ago in OPI collaboration with Pirates of the Caribbean, I didn't realize it's been that long since. 

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

I have chemically treated hair which has gotten drier due to climate and heat styling. Lately I noticed my regular conditioner doesn't work as good, I usually change up my shampoo and conditioner because I haven't really found something that can be considered as HG material. I once loved Schwarzkopf Bonacure Repair Rescue line but I am on the market for cheaper alternatives. This purchase, though, doesn't support that statement ;)

Dusseldorf Haul

Hello! I took a little break from all the review posts to share a short haul post ;) 

I apologized for taking more time in replying comments because some of my family are here right now so I went some places with them. While they're here we also visited my Aunt in Germany so last weekend we all went to Düsseldorf :D I love visiting Düsseldorf because there are great Japanese food places there such as Na Ni Wa or Takumi ramen restaurant, Tenten Café that sells frozen matcha, Waraku onigiri shop, Tea One bubble tea and so on. Other reason? Some make up and beauty products that are not available in Netherlands can be found in Germany, like Inglot, Kiko, Soap and Glory. Also some drugstore products might be much cheaper compared to in Netherlands (not all of them, though). 

I know this is not much as I've seen other people called this many items "mini haul" ;P but this is considered much for me and I'm so excited with each items :D

Jessica nail polish in Flirtation

This is my first Jessica nail polish. I have only heard about it through Scrangie who sometimes reviewed its collection. I first attracted to the brand because they made the dupe for Chanel fall 2011 polishes collection. So when I found out they made a dupe for Chanel Spring 2012 collection I was really really interested.

Lioele Blooming Gloss in 05 Vanilla Pink

After hearing nothing but good things about this gloss from frmheadtotoe and RaeView, I got a hold on this gloss when I went to Indonesia last year. Since then I have been wearing it all the time and I just recently repurchased so I think it's time to write a review of it :)

Lucas' Papaw Ointment

This is going to be another short lip care product review. Since the last experience with Nivea lip butter I have been searching for another lip treatment. Winter has decided to stay with us for much longer this year so I need something pretty badly.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation has been around for a long time. Back in Indonesia I bumped into this foundie lots of time at Revlon counters but I never got around to trying it. Now that I've moved, I browsed about make up more often and I thought I need to try this at least once. Talk about bad timing. In Netherlands it's difficult to find Revlon products in person (there are several online drugstores where it's available), I only knew one drugstore in my city that offered Revlon, and now that store's closed already. It's really annoying to have to guess your shade through the internet but in the end I picked a shade and crossed my fingers ;)

Sigma Paris Palette

This post was loooong delayed in my drafts ^^ Sigma Paris palette was released during spring last year. It was a collaboration project done by Sigma featuring seven beauty gurus. They went to Paris and were assigned a landmark to make an eyeshadow shade of.  I was planning to write about the people and the shade back then, but since it's been long delayed, I guess it makes more sense to just talk about this palette on its own :)

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation

Finally reviewing a foundation again :) this one in particular had so many reviews online because it's particularly new and launched during Fall last year; around the same time with other new foundations such as YSL Touche Eclat, Burberry Velvet Foundation and Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation. I remembered this quite well because it made me think of which one I would want to buy. After some thoughts and also price consideration, I decided on Urban Decay's :)

Urban Decay described Naked Skin Foundation as
"Coverage without compromise. Our weightless formula blurs imperfections for a flawless finish that feels invisible, but looks professionally retouched."
Well we should see if those claims are true ;)

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette

It felt weird having written 50+ posts but none about my everyday palette. Even though it was long released, I decided to feature them here for once. This is the palette I reached for almost everyday, that's saying much for someone who rarely wears eyeshadow. 

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Sippin' n Dippin'

A little while ago I wrote about my current obsession towards Benefit Cosmetics :) around that time I found one of their product on sale at starwberrynet. It wasn't one of the things I wrote earlier, but still it was so cheap therefore I authorized the buy (yeah, right ;)) So as usual, I ordered, it arrived and I tested its wear for quite some time before I wrote about it here.

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss: 56 Imaginaire and 51 Insouciance

I feel a bit guilty for not posting about these babies earlier. I love these glosses so much that I enjoy wearing it from month to month without realizing that I haven't even wrote about them in my blog :) Yes I'm talking about Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss, such a long name, I used to say Chanel Allure gloss instead. I bought them last year when ICI Paris XL was having a 40% for two products promotion. I pulled my most sensible comparison presentation in front of hubby ;P I got two of them, Imaginaire and Insouciance.

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze was a part of their Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away collection which was released around the end of last year. I was really excited over It's a Trap-Eze and wanted to get a hold on it right away. I finally got it and couldn't wait to show you its cuteness!

Chocolate Molten Cake / Pudding

I've been craving for chocolate since the start of this week so yesterday I decided to bake a chocolate molten cake. I remembered there was a recipe at this blog that I found easy and yummy, I baked it long time ago back in Bandung. Unfortunately the owner of the blog didn't have a search feature so I had to look in the archives :) I know it might be the same with the other recipes I could find on the internet, but I didn't understand why I was determined to find that exact recipe. I finally found it, though so I'm gonna share it here, too.

Fragrance Shopping

This is going to be a short post which will act like a reminder for me about something I would really love to buy ;) 

Lately I have been wanting to buy a new perfume. I have two in my closet that I absolutely love, the original Chloé and Dolce and Gabbana Rose the One. Chloé was the perfume I wore on our wedding day, it holds a special memory for me and I think it's a sweet night time perfume which suits autumn and winter time. Dolce and Gabbana Rose the One is a more floral one (hence the name), still a little sweet because of the vanilla infuse. 

I wanted something new and I've been adding little samples to my purchases so I can try some new scents. Through the little samples I've tried, the ones stood out were Valentino Valentina and YSL Parisienne. I think Parisienne is more suited for my Mom, though, I found it a little too strong :)

A long time ago back in my college years I really loved Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Amande, which is now sadly discontinued. I was looking for something like it, maybe right now you have realized that I love vanilla in my perfume. Yesterday randomly I stopped by Dior counter at Bijenkorf, I have been wanting to try their Hypnotic Poison. I tried it there and fell in love because it smelled almost like a root beer float, if not a little sweeter ^^ Maybe it's weird to want to smell like root beer float, but it's such a nice smell! Then the sales lady told me she has a mini quiz to find which Dior fragrance will suit me best, she asked four questions and the result for me was: Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle, Miss Dior and Pure Poison. 

Compared to Hypnotic Poison, Pure Poison is more floral. I wanted to grab it instantly but the price tag of course stopped me. So I ended up just writing about it here at least to feel like I have something of it ;)

Nivea Vanilla & Macadamia Lip Butter

Just a quick review of the Nivea lip butter in Vanilla & Macadamia. I think most people might have heard about this product, it was quite hyped too ^^ 

Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Blush in 832E Heather Silk

So this has been a new addition to my make up stash :) I heard all good things about wet 'n wild color icon blushes so I wanted to try one. The first one that came to my mind was Pearlescent Pink which was infamous for being the dupe of NARS Orgasm. But I figured all of my blushes were in the coral and peach color family, I had plum and pink ones once but I left them in Indonesia. So I decided to get Heather Silk instead.

Obsessing over: Benefit Cosmetics

Lately I have been lingering around the Benefit display counter at Sephora or Douglas for some time. I have always adore their quirky and cute packaging. The first Benefit product that I purchased was their eau de toilette, Maybe Baby. I have finished that and I wish I could repurchase.

Here are the products that I am currently obsessing over:

They're Real mascara

Pore-fessional primer

Maybe Baby eau de toilette

High Beam luminizer

How to Look the Best at Everything face make up kit

Hoola bronzer

Coralista blush

Bathina body balm

Watts Up cream to powder highlighter

Now I'm gonna get a piggy bank first and label it with BENEFIT fund lol ;)

Lily's Cupcakes

I've always been on the hunt for cupcakes here in Holland. Back when we were still living in Rotterdam I found Ten to Three Bakery and Alice in Cupcakeland. I had a chance to try Lily's Cupcakes which was offered at Cappucino Rotterdam in Beurs, but they had really limited selection and I only tried the raspberry vanilla and chocolate ones, which were yummy (and über cute!) but still that was only two flavors. These were the pictures from back then:

February Favorites

So it's four days into the new month (Hello, March :)) and I thought I'd post a little about my favorites during the month of February. :)

Most products are rediscovers because I am still trying things I recently purchased so I don't include them in the favorites (maybe not yet :)) 

I'm loving the L'oreal Elnett Heat Protect Styling Spray to use every time I heat style (which is, honestly, almost every other day) and I love it because it protects, resulting less frizz and damage, smells nice, sprays evenly and dries down in a short while. 

The brush at the top is MAC 188 brush which I just recently loved. I got this almost two years ago and at first I kind of hate it. It was quite a splurge for me at the time yet it was shedding, making streaks and dries down to a black stain on the white bristles after wash. These days I already found the better way to wash it so there's no black stain, also no more shedding, or at least not as much as the first time. I love using it with my liquid foundation now, and I realized that the streaking was mostly because of my heavy hand. So I practiced by using it more frequently and more lightly, just letting the white bristles sweep on and it resulted in a beautiful air brush like finish. Lovely. Pardon the dirty color on the supposedly white bristles, I'm washing them directly after this ;)

The other brush included here is the mini version of Everyday Minerals flat top brush. My full size one had been thrown away. Still this flat top is my favorite for mineral make up. Soft and does a great job in making everything even, can be used with mineral make up and other powder produtcs.

Along with the brush, of course, is the Everyday Minerals base. I'm switching to my winter shade, I used to wear Golden Medium but this one here is fairly light neutral. I love how natural it looks on for everyday wear. 

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette is also featured here because I've been playing with eye shadow more than usual the past month. My favorite shade is Silk Teddy, a shimmery champagne pink. I also love mixing Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso to fill in my brow, which I don't do very often.

For nails I've been going back through my stash and wearing China Glaze Sea Spray which was a part of their Anchors Away collection back in 2011. It's a pale blue with micro shimmer (it almost passed as créme on my eyes). I think the shade brings winter to spring smoothly, if that even make any sense ^^ I put Sea Spray on my hands and Dior Bikini on my toes, which I don't include now because I think Bikini hasn't suit the weather quite yet ;)

Oh, MAC Stereo Rose, a good thing there's so much of you in one pan. After few weeks with Bobbi Brown Nectar, I figure I want to save Nectar for a longer while so I reached back to my blushes and decided to wear Stereo Rose again, and then I did again and again. 

I got a free 30 ml L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream from their facebook account and I really should include it in this month's favorites. I usually bought their hand cream for the nice scent so I never got my hand on the original Shea Butter one. But after trying it, I think it's the best performing compared to my other ones like Pivoine Flora and Fleur Chérie. It's thicker than the scented ones so it has to be massaged in.

The last one is ELF Super Glossy Lipshine in Candlelight. Upon first application, I hated this product. There was only oil and it was so uneven on the lips. Apparently I had to push the tube a little more for the color to show. It smells and tastes yummy (the taste is more to hubby's testimonial) ;) and gives a touch of golden glossiness on your lips. It is sticky but not so much compared to MAC's lipglass so I think it's bearable especially for 1€. I love layering it on top of lipstick :)

So that's all for this month's favorites, hopefully I encourage you to try one or two of these :D

Super Duper Easy Nutella Cupcakes

So few days ago I was browsing for recipes and found the recipe for Nutella Muffins at this site.
It it soo easy and yummy and very quick to make so you can make it anytime you have a sweet craving (in my case, almost all the time ;)

Before I went to the recipe, do keep in mind that you need measuring spoon and cups for this. Or if you're already an expert in eyeballing that's fine too ;)

What you need
1 cup of Nutella
10 tbs of all purpose flour, sifted
2 eggs (I prefer to whisk the eggs first)
You can also add hazelnuts or chocolate chips if you want :)

What to do
1. Heat your oven to 175 degrees celcius.
2. Line your cupcake tins with cupcake cups
3. Whisk the eggs
4. Mix in the nutella and the flour. No need for mixer, use a spatula to mix so it will be easier to wash later.
5. Scoop the batter into the cups and oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted come out clean.

This recipe makes 10 cupcakes :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you make them too :D

Dior Vernis in 231 Bikini

It just snowed again yesterday here in Den Haag. When I woke up on Sunday morning, hubby especially nudged me to see the snow covered street outside. And he sure saw the disappointment on my face :( I have been getting ready to ride my bike again and wearing lighter coats after recent temperature raise, but apparently the weather won't allow it quite yet.

But! Even though the weather is not actually spring summer-y, I have a cute nail color to brighten things up a little (or a lot!) which is Dior's Bikini. If you can't have authentic Dior swimwear covering your body, at least this can cover your nails ;)

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nectar

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks had always intrigued me. I first tried them when I asked the SA at one Bobbi Brown counter to test the tinted moisturizer on me, she did so and then added some powder and applied the shimmer brick in Wild Rose on my cheeks. At that time I really loved the result and asked for the price, but €46 sure is high so I decided to grab only the tinted moisturizer.

About two or three weeks ago I was surprised to find a Bobbi Brown shimmer brick under special deals at strawberrynet, it was reduced to €22.50 and additional 5% discount because it's my 7th transaction already ;P the only color for that deal was only Nectar and as I look closely (even though I never really see it in store), I think it looks good enough so I decided to buy it.

ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips and Ruby Slipper

Around two weeks ago I went through E.L.F's website and thought maybe it's time to give it a chance :) I searched recommended products at makeupalley and decided to try the lip products first. I got three products, two luscious liquid lipstick and one essential super glossy lip shine.

Now let's take a look at the liquid lipsticks!

For Sale: Diorskin Nude and Lancome Teint Miracle

I didn't intend for this blog to be for selling products but after a while of thinking and re-thinking I made up my mind to let go of two products in my foundation stash. It's kind of a heavy feeling because back then I was really looking forward to get them, but now the shade doesn't match me anymore, at all, so here goes :) Please note that the price I put here doesn't include shipping, which are from 9 to 12 € within Europe (these are only offered for shipping within Europe). Payment is through Paypal only. If you're interested please send e-mail to putrantomrs@gmail.com stating which product, your paypal e-mail and your address so I can calculate shipping. I will ship within 3 working days after receiving payment.

First up is the Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make Up SPF 10 in shade 031 Sand. Unboxed, worn only once. Originally retailed for €40.30 (reference feelunique.com). This one offered for €20.

My foundation is authentic and I only sell it because the color doesn't match me anymore. It is a great foundation, as it said on the title it offered natural finish and it scored 3.9 on makeupalley. Shade 031 is supposed to match NC35 on MAC. So it's a medium shade with warm undertone.

Second one is Lancôme Teint Miracle in shade 045 Sable Beige. Unboxed, worn twice. Originally retailed for €35.75. This one offered for €18.

Again this is an authentic product and I only sell it because the color doesn't match me anymore. This was the hyped foundation that Kate Middleton was said to wear on her wedding day (yes, I was sold :P) and scored 4.0 on makeupalley. Shade 045 I think was supposed to match NC40 on MAC. It's a slightly deeper shade with warm undertone.

So there they are, hope they found happy new owners soon :)

Satisfying Buy

Just a quick post about how much I love getting good bargains. Especially for make up.

Today I got a lipstick that I've been wanting for quite some time. It's Rouge Dior Nude in 169 Grege. I want it because of its cause, because of Natalie Portman and because of the lovely color. And you know what they say, good things come for girls who wait (for bargains). I found it today randomly for 50% off. From 32.50€ to 16.25€

These was scattered on display and I was looking at the products one by one when I finally decide on this one. Hard to decide which to get but I had to hold myself not to spend too much.

I love this purchase!

Pictures Pictures!

Hello!
Some of you might notice that the pictures in my blog are disappearing T_T well this is due to my carelessness; deleting albums and such in my account (and harddisk, talk about confidence *eyeroll*). I will do my best to re-take the pictures and re-upload them during next month while posting some new reviews as well. I hope you'd still enjoy your visit :)

Love love!

Essie Penny Talk Review and Swatches

During winter I wear nail polish less frequently because my hands are constantly inside gloves and hot shower usually makes my nail polish more prone to peeling. This doesn't make me too comfortable because I love covering my nails in color ;) My latest buy which also included in my 2012 favorites was this nail polish by Essie called Essie Penny Talk. Take a closer look!

Guerlain KissKiss 544 Reve D'or Review and Swatches

So last Sunday I went to Sephora and they were having some items on sale for 30, 50 or 70 percent off. I was drawn to some Chanel stuff; Mimosa nail polish, rouge allures in delicieuse and insouciante but they were only 30% off :-/ I guess Mom taught me well to look for the most valuable discounted items ;) so I found this Guerlain KissKiss, originally retailed at €28.80, with a 50% off sticker but the tag said €12.40 (apparently they put the wrong price on it but the cashier gave me that price even so). I was happy to get a good bargain of course, but it wouldn't mean anything if the product doesn't deliver, right? So let's take a closer look :)