Collective Beauty Haul: The Body Shop, Oriflame, Max Faxtor, & More ♥

Another haul video! But this time, it's a collective beauty haul :D
take care, xoxo

Lolabox March 2014 Review

Another late Lolabox review for you :p

I wasn't able to get this up earlier because I went to my hometown in the 18th morning and I thought I would've gotten my box in the 17th (my box usually arrive between 15th to 17th, mostly 16th) and would be able to take the pictures and do the blog post the next day or so while I'm in my hometown, but I didn't get the box until 18th evening when I'm already there. Now that I got the pictures and the time (and the motivation for that matter), let's unbox this month's Lolabox and see if they upped their game after last month's less than interesting box.

Click HERE to subscribe to Lolabox

Like always, I'm gonna start with the box itself!

I was relieved (and glad) when I saw nice new light blue box design after they were repeating their box for the last 2 months! So it was off to a good start I'd say.

the greeting card

The theme of this month's box is It's Our Day since Woman's Day is in March.

Next, I'm gonna show you what's inside the box!

[Crazy Rumors] Gingerbread Lip Balm
Full-size: 0.15 oz (Rp 54,900.00)
In the Box: full-size

This is a new brand to me, so I was quite excited when I got it, especially because of the adorable packaging and unique flavor (scent?). The ginger scent is a tad too strong for me though. It applies a bit differently than my baby lips (or other lip balms that I've tried), as it feels more "waxy"? I don't know if that's good or bad, but I personally like it. Have been using this everyday. Oh, and the cherry on top is, you know how usually lip balm has a weird "chemically" taste and left you with yucky after taste when you accidentally lick your lips and then you eat or drink? This crazy rumors lip balm doesn't do that, in fact it tastes sweet! Like sugary sweet. Probably one of the reason I've been using this everyday, I like to eat my lip balm a lot #lipbalmeater

[L'oreal] Extraordinary Oil
Full-size: 100 ml (Rp 69,000.00)
In the Box: 2 sachet samples @5 ml (Rp 6,900.00)

Usually when I received sachet sample as one of the item I'll go on a 1 paragraph rant, but this one was actually not a bad size sample. 10 ml of hair oil can last me for at least 10 uses -I used up 9 ml Rudy Hadisuwarno hair oil for 13 uses, and I applied it quite generously too-. Also, a hair oil is always welcomed since I have crazy frizzy hair.

[Shobi] Decorative Eyelash in Play Cute #7
Full-size: 5 pairs (Rp 175,900.00)
In the Box: full-size

This is probably my most favorite item in this box. I've been wanting to venture into the world of falsies (especially for youtube videos), but damn, they're quite expensive (the one with thin band), so this is great for me to get a chance to play around with falsies.

The one that I got is actually individual falsies, well, not really individual, a single band has three bundles (?) of fake lashes. Personally, I prefer this individual type one since I can play around with the placement more, so I'm glad I got this one (Lolabox also gave out the full falsies type).

I also love how it has a thin transparent band, I imagine it will be more natural-looking when you wear it. I haven't gotten a chance to actually try out these babies since I don't have lash adhesive on hand (actually I do, from years ago that I've never used and when I wanted to use it to try this falsies, it's already so spoiled it has vomit scent with disgusting yellowish separating consistency), but I will write a review on this falsies once I do :)

[Skin79] Hot Pink BB Cream
Full-size: 40 gr (Rp 178,000.00)
In the Box: 5 gr (Rp 22,500.00)

This BB Cream is probably no stranger anymore as it is one of the most popular BB Cream out there. I have never tried this out, but KlairedeLys seemed to really love BB Cream from Skin79 and God knows I trust her opinion on products, so I'm excited to finally able to give this BB Cream a whirl. (Ps. It expires in July 2014, just a reminder so you use up yours from Lolabox before it expires)

[Hada Labo] Gokujyun Face Wash
Full-size: 100 gr (Rp 25,900.00) 
In the Box: 15 gr (Rp 3,885.00)

[Hada Labo] Gokujyun Lotion
Full-size: 100 ml (Rp 31,900.00)
In the Box: 15 ml (Rp 4,785.00)

Another highly-raved products that doesn't need introduction. I have been eyeing the Hada Labo skin care for a while now, but never took the plunge because for some reason, I had it in my head that they are more mid-range priced, so when I saw the full-size price on the greeting card, I thought it was a typo lol -it's not-. I'm happy they gave out the Gokujyun series one, since that's the one I wanna try out. Anyhoo, that lotion packaging is a bit misleading 'cause the lotion inside is actually only half the bottle x_x.

Beauty Extras

[Skin79] Samples of VIP Gold BB Cream, The Oriental Gold Plus BB Cream, Super Plus Triple Funtion

I think this is a nice adds-on to the box so that you can try more variant of BB Cream from Skin79 and decide which one is more suitable for your skin.

OVERALL:
Lolabox Price: Rp 145,000.00 for 1 month subscription / Rp 375,000.00 for 3 months subscription / Rp 725,000.00 for 6 months subscription They removed the 3 months & 6 months option recently.
The Box's Value: Rp 268,620.00

In the Box: 6 Items (2 set of sachet samples, 2 deluxe samples, 2 full-sizes)

Lolabox has redeemed itself after last month's unimpressive box as this is might be my second favorite box after their December box from last year. I really like all the products that I got in this March box and looking forward to try that falsies! 

If I were to give a suggestion to Lolabox, it probably to vary the product types they give out, like the BB Cream that can be found in most of their boxes, maybe foundation, loose powder, or concealer will be a nice change. Lip balm is also another one that they give out often, so maybe a lipstick or lip stain will be a good alternative. I'm not saying that I don't like getting the crazy rumors lip balm or the skin79 bb cream, I think they're great, but an alternation type in lip product and face product department would be nice. With that being said, I'm actually satisfied with what I got this month and can't wait to see their next month's box since it will be their 1 year anniversary box (Eek, I'm excited).

Click HERE to subscribe to Lolabox

xoxo, Lily

♥ My Birthday Look - Make-Up, Nail Art, & Outfit ♥

This is the make-up "tutorial" I talked about here.


I'm trying to do a different video than my usual ones, I hope you like it :) 
My birthday is actually on 27th of December and all the footage (except for the makeup) was filmed on the actual birthday dinner, but for the makeup, I just filmed it last month (which is why I have my valentine nail art on my nails) because I couldn't get good lightning in my hometown house.
I had lots of fun filming this video (editing it, however, is a whole other story), so I hope you guys enjoy this video.
I'm gonna blog about the birthday dinner in another entry ;)
take care, xoxo
-------------------------- PRODUCTS USED --------------------------
---Nails---

• [Etude House] Dear My Deep Color Nails in DBE101 Lazy Beige
• [Etude House] Dear My Party Nails in PBE102 Golden Bell

---Makeup---

• [Clinique] Moisture Surge
• [Revlon] 24Hrs ColorStay Foundation in 200 Natural Beige
• [LSC] Acne Loose Powder
• [Sleek] Storm Palette
• [Sleek] Au Naturel Palette
• [Maybelline] Gel Liner in Brown
• [Oriflame] Kajal Eyeliner
• [Maybelline] The Falsies Mascara
• [Maybelline] Baby Lips in Smoothing Cherry
• [Revlon] Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey
• [LT Pro] Shade & Tint Kit in 03

-Brushes-

• Sigma & Masami Shouko

---Outfit---

• White Lace Dress -- Gift
• Black & White Striped Gladiator Wedges -- Charles & Keith
• Flower Statement Necklace -- Cherise Paxton
• Black & White Striped Cardigan -- Number61

Lily Bakes #1 - Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins [Recipe]

Hi everyone, I FINALLY going to post my first post of the series (about time, right?) after MONTHS of postponing it!!

With the fall weather /*Wrote this back in October*/ now, it's just the perfect time to get baking since in the summer it gets too hot to even turn on the oven. So all in all, it works out for the best, no? *finding any excuses available to veil how beyond failure my "Summer Bakes Project" is*

To kick off this series, I present you...

Yes, it does taste as good as it sounds.

This was the first recipe I tried, because I think it was perfect as a start since it was summer (in my head: Summer = Citrus) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the combination of orange and dark chocolate since the first time I tried chocolate dipped orange rinds. They are just meant to be together for ever and ever.

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yields: 12

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tsp orange zest
1 cup of chocolate chips

Toppings:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 brown sugar //brown sugar is hard to find here, so I used palm sugar and play with the ratio a bit by adding more granulated sugar and decrease the amount of the palm sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

1)Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, vanilla, baking powder and salt, set aside.
3) In another small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with 1/4 of the dry mixture and set aside.
4) In a large bowl, combine together the oil and sugar, add the eggs, and orange zest.
5) Add the milk and make sure it’s combined (don’t be scared if the batter splits at this point)
6) Add the dry ingredients and mix to incorporate and get a creamy mixture but don’t over mix.
7) Add the chocolate chip mixture and just fold them in for a quick minute.
8) Divide your batter evenly among the muffin liners and set aside.
9) In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping and either using a fork or your fingers, mix everything together breaking up the butter into small itty bitty pieces.
10) Scatter the topping evenly on top of the batter, pop them in the oven to bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Insert a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean without any wet batter on it, the muffins are done!
11) Let them cool for a bit before serving.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source and Recipe by: Laura in the Kitchen

This particular recipe has toppings on top of the muffins that makes them extra special because of the crunch on top. It is optional, but I recommend you guys to try it!

The muffin itself is moist (mine a little bit dry because I over baked them a bit) and you can definitely taste the sweetness and "tanginess" of the orange. The chocolate chips measurement in the recipe is very generous, which some people would actually like, but I prefer it to be less than that, so suit yourself :) Modify it to your liking okay!

xoxo

[Etude House] Dear My Deep Color Nails - DGR702 Meet Mint (Review & Swatch)

In this post I'm only going to show you swatch, color description, and the quality (opaqueness) of the product, for the basics of the product (price, quantity, cruelty-free or not, etc) go HERE.

I also won't say anything about the "long-wear"ness of this nail polish, because it really varies to your everyday activity. It can last me for a week, but maybe only lasts you for 3 days and vice versa.

------------------------------------------------------------------

DGR702 Meet Mint

1 coat

Color

Dark Sea Green, I think. It's hard to describe the color, but it's a beautiful deep blue-green which I think is a rather unique color since I've never seen a nail polish like this. In my opinion it's a gorgeous and fitting fall color if you don't want something as subtle as earth tone nail polishes ;)

Finish
Creme

Formula
Great formula. A nice "liquidy" consistency that glides smoothly onto your nails.

Opaqueness
2 coats is all you need! You can get away with 1 coat if you apply it thicker, but I like building it up from a thin layer (reduce nail polish peeling).

2 coats

Seriously, ain't it a beautiful beautiful color???

xoxo

Monthly Montages - February

So I've decided to continue to do this monthly montages thing (I think the last time I did it was March last year) because I'd love to have something to look back to, to feel nostalgic about, to remember some highlights of the month, to have a memory box? You know, all that sappy stuffs.

So, here it is.. My February's highlights..

left to right, top to bottom

• My dad's friend gave us these cherries from Aussie, I think. I ate like 2 or 3 bowls of them.
• Loot from CNY
• Made Laura Vitale's apple cake. It was pretty good.
• Finally tried out the highly-raved Holycow steak. I ordered the wagyu tenderloin and it was definitely the best steak I've ever tried. I'm not really a steak person, but I did enjoy every last bite of it. Perfectly medium rare, VERY tender and the red part is not chewy whatsoever. The sauce for the steak was okay only though. 

left to right, top to bottom

• Our apps rank in US Windows Store lifestyle category. I was really pleasantly surprised that our apps can go that far. I mean, we only made it in one day and we just made it so that don't have to do KP.
• New Valentine's Day tutorial! I just realized that Valentine's day is the only nail art tutorial that I do consistently every year. Don't know why though.
• Homemade chocolates from my friend, Grace. I really loved the matcha one!
• Our apps got 1st place at Binus-Windows Hackaton Developer Challenge in non-games category. Super grateful!

left to right, top to bottom

• Had Valentine's Dinner with Sam at Pepenero. Will blog about it soon.
• Breakfast before my first time going to the gym. Sweet bread from Tous les Jours and lemon green tea.
• First trial day at Celfit. I tried out the RPM class that day.
• Had sushi after the workout lol. 

left to right, top to bottom

• Went to Bene Ristorante for the first time after body combat class because they were having 50% off. I ordered this Paella Pasta and it was soooo good. Fell in love with it right away. I'm definitely planning to go back just to have this pasta again (which is saying a lot since I usually prefer to try out something new on the menu unless the food is really good and made me want more).
• My friend ordered the carbonara salmon pasta. This one was also really good. Really creamy and tasted wonderfully different than other carbonara pasta from other places I've tried. The salmon wasn't fishy either. I usually only like salmon on sushi, but this one I actually can take.
• Made brownies using new recipe and despite its horrendous appearance, it was actually a really good fudgy, chewy brownies.
• Just some random pictures I took of the mess at my work/vanity table.

left to right, top to bottom

•  Stopped by a cooking demo session in front of Hero after yoga class just so that I can have the taster (I was looking for a place to eat). I ended up had 4 different pasta taster and got a goodie bag (spaghetti, pasta sauce, pens, and honey) for answering a question. Also by the end of the cooking demo I wasn't hungry anymore because of the taster lol, so I saved up some money.
• Made cream pasta because I have leftover cream from brownies ice cream bar I made that week.
• First time using 3ds Max. Made this weird stick man holding donuts and teapot.
• Awesome breakfast of omelette and potato hash with garlic croutons.

left to right, top to bottom

• My lil' bro birthday. I couldn't believe he's already 14. I have always had it in my head that he's still 10 or 11. I couldn't go back to Jogja for his birthday though because I just started my 6th semester.
• Juicing! I was going to start to do green juice, so for the first time I only used very little spinach and then a lot of fruits. I think there were apples, watermelon, strawberries and some lemon juice.
• Random pic of a super cheap lunch I had, kwetiao and fried tofu for Rp 6,000.00 only!! That's 60 cents!
• My first 3ds Max assignment, the piggy from angry bird. It's not that bad, right? right? just agree please.

That's pretty much wrapped up my February! It was a really great month. A lot of blessings and trying out new things. I can't believe we already used up 2 months of 2014! It will be Christmas and new year again in no time.

take care, xoxo, Lily

Filming a Makeup 'Tutorial' & Breaking Bad Talk

Why the airquote? Because I don't even think I can call it a tutorial lol. Maybe a walkthrough is more appropriate. I filmed it weeks ago, so hopefully it will be up by the end of this week.

This is the 'look' by the way..

VERY simple and basic, so I did not even bother to explain the 'how' in the video. I think this pic is sans contouring and lippie. More close-up of the eye make up:

Just fyi, I plucked my eyebrows specifically for this video lol, usually I let them grow wild :p

I also shot pics for an upcoming lipstick review since I thought I already have make-up on, so why not just use it for other purposes while I'm at it.

one of the lipstick

I also just finished binge-watching Breaking Bad last Sunday. And man, it is a great TV! I even put off my 3D modelling assignment that due the next day just so that I can finish the last season.

After that, I started watching interviews, bloopers and stuffs about Breaking Bad on Youtube. You HAVE to see this particular one!

I was laughing non-stop when I watched this, even after I finished I was still chuckling over how ridiculous the letter is and the way Bryan read it.

That's all! Have a great day everyone :D

xoxo, Lily

[Etude House] Dear My Deep Color Nails - PBR402 Crown Brown (Review & Swatch)

In this post I'm only going to show you swatch, color description, and the quality (opaqueness) of the product, for the basics of the product (price, quantity, cruelty-free or not, etc) go HERE.

I also won't say anything about the "long-wear"ness of this nail polish, because it really varies to your everyday activity. It can last me for a week, but maybe only lasts you for 3 days and vice versa.

------------------------------------------------------------------

PBR402 Crown Brown

1 coat

Color

Mauve taupe. Yes, I googled it lol, but basically it's a grayish brown with a purple tone to it. Perfect for Fall :)

Finish
Creme

Formula
Creamy and glides on smoothly. Dries rather quickly too :D

Opaqueness
You can get it's full opacity with 2 coats, so I'd say it's a quite opaque nail polish!

2 coats

xoxo