Maru Mise Buying Service Review

It's finally holiday! Only one week or so though. I'm supposed to be doing my assignment but I'm a huge procrastinator--OH HEY let's not talk about assignment.

Are you guys into Japanese trend? I'm really into the marine theme! It's uber cute, I want to have everything marine-themed with sailor collar. Plus, they are for summer so I can wear them here! Humid Jakarta is humid.

I fell in love with this simple sailor one piece from Ank Rouge.

When I was browsing through Shoppies, I found the white version of it! Turns out I like the white version better than the navy one.

The cordiform buttons are red. To me, the white piece looks more appealing as it has three colors while the navy one only has two. Now, time to go to a buying service! I decided to try a buying service I had been eyeing for a while, Maru Mise.

(Facebook page here)

In the past, I have used Kawaiikkuma. There is a huge difference I noticed between Maru Mise and Kawaiikkuma. To make it easier to compare, I will write down the differences in bullets :

Kawaiikkuma

• When asked for price estimation, they will calculate the item's price and domestic shipping fee. International shipping fee estimation comes after they received the item in Japan. Their rate is 1 JPY = 135 IDR.
• Payment is done twice. Deposit for the item's value and domestic shipping fee, then international shipping from Japan to your place with EMS.
• Their service fee is 5% × overall transaction for every transaction you make + 1000 JPY for every different seller.
• The item will be either directly sent to you, or forwarded to them in Indonesia then sent to you. With EMS, you will get your item super fast.

Maru Mise

• When asked for price estimation, they will calculate everything up until you receive the item. Their rate is 1 JPY = 165 IDR (for beauty products and fashion items, they have different rate for different kind of items).
• Payment can be done once or twice. You can pay for all at once or deposit half of your item's value + domestic shipping fee and complete your payment later.
• Their service fee is unknown, they take profit from their high rate.
• Your item will be gathered together with other buyers' items, once they receive it in Indonesia they will notify you or send your item to you immediately if you have paid everything when you ordered it. You need to wait approximately two weeks for your item to arrive.

Huge difference! I don't even know how Maru Mise deal with the international shipping from Japan to Indonesia. My guess is they use cheaper international shipping service with money gathered from combining people's order. That is why it takes more time for you to get your item.

So, after waiting with patience and excitement, my Ank Rouge dress arrived safely!

(I actually forgot to take photos of them when they were still being wrapped, I was too excited)

Oh yeah, I also bought Ank Rouge's cherry hairpin. I asked my boyfriend if it's cute and he said that 'it is not suited to be worn here' because, uh, I know it's a bit too fancy, people will notice my hairpin (let's try beating my self-consciousness here) but its cuteness is irresistible. I love wearing hair clips!

They are my current favorite hair accessories! The gold hair clips are from daytime shooting star (Hirunaka no Ryuusei) × earth music & ecology Japan Label. I absolutely adore everything from this collaboration line.

Closer shots of the sailor one piece!

The fabric feels very soft! When I first saw it on the site I was afraid the material would be stiff, but it's not, I like it. The ribbon somehow always covers the (decorative) buttons, it's disappointing because the buttons are even cuter IRL! By the way I hate taking photos in my room, the lighting is terrible.

Are you wondering if the ribbon is detachable? It is! Here is the secret!

Tadah! I wish they could put some more buttons higher though, the ribbon looks a bit loose and if I could 'fasten' the ribbon, it would not cover the cordiform buttons.

Back collar!

I love little details!! I'm so in love with this dress and DID I MENTION THAT IT SMELLS SO SO SO GOOD? It's a second-hand piece, so the seller probably have used and washed it. And I need to know what kind of detergent or clothes perfume that the previous owner used because IT SMELLS FREAKING NICE LIKE SWEET STRAWBERRY. The smell is so nice and lingering I could be sniffing at it all day! No kidding!

Anyway, here is more about the two buying services (I can't help but compare).

Maru Mise is very practical if you want to buy a lot of items from different shops. Feel free to buy socks from Tutuanna, clothes from LIZ LISA, toilet papers from Amazon and so on. Kawaiikkuma charge 1,000 JPY per seller so--you can imagine how your wallet's situation will be if you want to do so.

And the best thing from Maru Mise is you can first pay half of everything!! You can pay for the deposit, wait for the item to arrive as you save up some more money. Doesn't it feel better to pay $50 then another $50 after some more time than paying all $100 at once? And their price calculation is precise, with Kawaiikkuma sometimes you could have a light heart attack when they notify you about the shipping fee.

Communication with Maru Mise was smooth. I personally recommend Maru Mise if you want to buy some stuffs from multiple sellers. I recommend Kawaikkuma if you want to buy many items from one store only and you want them quick. My recommendation doesn't apply if you want to buy heavy things like bags and shoes though.

Okay, see you, guys! Have a good day, I'm going back to procrastinating (only to regret it later but still do it every so often)!

Secret Key Sweet Glam Tint Glow Review

Hi, guys! WOW I HAVEN'T POSTED FOR MONTHS. Ew, this freaking human *mumbles*. I promised myself to write at least three posts every month, now see how I'm doing. Things got real hectic, but ouch, I have no excuse, guys.

I came to this blog and some of you commented how you checked this blog to see if there's a new post, when you didn't find one you sort of protested (and 11k pageviews? Last time I checked it was still 9k or something). Thank you so much! Those comments surprised me and I can't believe myself. 'What? People actually revisit my blog and they are eager to see some updates--when I can't even write properly.' Again, thank you! It really made me super happy!! I won't abandon this blog (but oops, I did forget that I have a blog), buying the .net domain was a form of my commitment to the blog. I pay it yearly, so even if I forget that I own a blog, the bill will still come to me and be like, 'sup you still have that stupid cottonkuma thing of yours.'

Today I'm going to do a review of this one product--which, wait, looks very familiar.

IS THAT DIOR ADDICT LIP GLOW?

Nope. A dupe, obviously. A wonderful-looking dupe. Guys, guys, I don't want to spend $32 on a damn lip balm, okay? I have always been lusting on Dior Addict Lip Glow, but god knows my wallet is so thin I'm afraid it could disappear into thin air whenever it feels like going poof! Bye, loser.

First, what is this Dior Addict Lip Glow thing?

(or Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm, to be exact. It's this one.)

(The one I want is this one, the packaging is prettier.)

It's a lip balm with sheer, natural pink color that comes in a beautiful packaging from the high-end brand Dior (actually, who doesn't know Dior?). It has SPF 10 and is supposed to 'awaken and enhance the natural beauty of your lips'. It will look like your lip color--just much nicer! How does that sound? Not to forget that it's a lip balm, it's as moisturizing as lip balm and bonus SPF (not very helpful, minimal SPF for lips is 15, but better than nothing, no?). The color will also vary on different person. Yeah.

(In the photo above, the plastic cap appears more pinkish. The first photo of this post shows you the true color. I hate editing the photos of this one product, somehow the colors in every photo are inconsistent.)

Secret Key is a Korean brand that I have heard few times because of their snail products. This is the first Secret Key product I purchased. I was excited when I first saw this product, I didn't wait to buy one.

They do a great job in replicating the packaging. I feel good carrying this around with me, makes me feel sassy.

The twist mechanism works well and when you close the cap it produces 'click' sound. I like how it has lip bullet shape. Because, uh, it feels cool and very womanly. I had great time laughing when my clumsy friend tried to put it on her though, 'how the heck do you apply this?!' since lipsticks feel so foreign to us. I also struggled with it at first, but *cough* none of you will get to see that.

Swatched on arm, the color is nice sheer pink. When first applied on lips, it may appear too red. After a while, it will turn to be reddish on me and on my friend, very cute milky peach color. My friend complained how it was too red after application, but we chatted for a few minutes and I noticed the change. She went to look on the mirror and surprised herself. I'm really sorry I can't show you some photos to prove, no one liked the idea of being my model! (I don't like taking photos of myself too lol) I will come back to this post with some swatches.

First few days of using the lip balm, I felt wonderful, it felt very moisturizing and--just fabulous. But after two weeks or so, I found myself stopped raving it. The lip balm lasts only for few hours and leaves my lips dry, or worse, sometimes chapped. Even with another lip balm underneath. I like the color it gives on my lips, but as a lip balm, it doesn't do its job well.

As it's drying, it's logical to reapply as often as you can. However, after reapplying every two hours, I scared my boyfriend with my extreme red lips. When the moisturizing effect runs out, the stain stays. It's fine if you're a fan of red lips, though.

At the end of the day, will I say that it's a perfect dupe of Dior Addict Lip Glow?

No. It's drying, it's a huge con. How could a product claiming as a lip balm be so drying?

It could work, but here is how to :

1. Apply.
2. After around two hours, apply lip balm. Don't reapply Secret Key Sweet Glam Tint Glow.
3. Watch out, don't wait until your lips are chapped. Always apply another lip balm beforehand.
4. Reapply Sweet Glam Tint Glow only if the color is gone.

Don't you think it would be such a hassle?

Price :
Rp 119.000,- (approximately $10)

Where to buy :
I purchased mine from Chic Princessa.

What I like :

• Elegant packaging.
• Beautiful color that varies on every person. It's just fun.
• Moisturizing--when it's still there.

What I dislike :

• YO IT'S DRYING.

Repurchase? Only if they do something with the drying part. Until then, no.

Brb, I have a lot of catching up to do!!
(Edit : OH NO my brother is downloading 10GB++ movies!!)

UPDATE : I'm truly sorry, I think I misjudged this product. I tried switching back and forth to other kinds of lip balm and I think it's MY LIPS' DRYNESS THAT CAN'T BE HELPED (I'm that type of person who doesn't drink water much). I will edit this post properly once I'm done with my work! I specifically went online to edit this post so people won't immediately list this product as a no-no. See you now, I will be back soon!

UPDATE II (whaaat) : Yeah, I think it's just me always being not hydrated enough. I'm really sorry, I can now claim that this lip balm is not drying! It's just like any other lip balm, I'm using this product again! It is moisturizing and not drying. The only con on this product is that if you often reapply it, the color will probably be too much. That is all!

Whoa this post is such a mess--finals are near, I think I'm on the verge of losing my sanity.

O.P.I Nail Lacquer in Dulce de Leche Review

I love this color, somehow I really do. It's O.P.I, so I would not be disappointed---would I?

To my surprise, it takes FOREVER to dry and IT CHIPS VERY EASILY, even after topped with the great Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat (very recommended!). In a day or two, you should expect it to crack. I couldn't believe myself, so I gave it another few tries. And it still sucked.

My mom owns few O.P.I nail polishes, they all work great, so I kept wondering how this one failed to impress me. If you are questioning its authenticity, I will answer that I'm certain it's authentic, my mom bought it from the O.P.I counter directly for Rp 190.000,- (around $16)

This post has been sitting on my draft for months. I apologize for not showing how the color would look like when painted on nails. Every time I wanted to take a photo of it on my nails I feel highly unmotivated--then I decided I wouldn't do it. I know it's not going to be worth-it, I don't want to spend time beautifying my nails only to be disappointed the next day.

I love the shade, but the quality is poor and truly disappointing. I will not repurchase unless they make changes to the formula.

Anyway, I bought some items, I'm quite happy with my purchases and I want to review them! But I have 'use for at least three weeks before posting a review' rule I made for myself. Noooooooooo oh well can't wait to post! Have a good day!

My Makeup Essentials

Most of the time, I get too lazy to go for 'full makeup'. I proceed without this and that. However, I'm certain we all have those products we can't skip before going out! Here are mines!

1) Sephora Mineral Foundation Compact
I got this from my aunty as a gift. It has a mirror and a puff, but after experiencing a breakout the puff gives, the puff sits there simply as a decoration (I was in France and I left the brush at home, wow stupidity). This foundation powder greatly gives my skin smoother look, I love this!! Lasting power and oil control are an okay but I love the result it gives! Normally, I carry it with me but I never actually retouch, I leave the house as I wish it would stand my oily face.

2) MAJOLICA MAJORCA Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On
Another gift, this time from a friend. My first mascara ever and I'm never going to switch brand. Majolica Majorca's mascaras are no joke, they are the real deal. Even if you sweat a lot, cry a pool, or run through the rain, it will stay still awesomely. This mascara is the queen! And just look at the gorgeous packaging! I actually did a comparison with my ex-housemate's Benefit They're Real! and Benefit was such a pain to remove, Majolica Majorca's could easily be removed with hot water. This one is supposed to give you more volume, but my friend said that my eyelashes are thick (not full, just--thick, every lash is just thick), so this mascara doesn't work so well on me. I tried it on my brother (yes, brother, because eh no sister) and it worked--wonderfully. Wow.

3) Whatever brow pencil *cough* Etude House Drawing Eyebrow AD
Full review here. I included it in this post because doing my brows is an essential routine of mine. This one pencil is dead though, the job's done, time to look for a new brow kit.

4) Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
One of the best eyelash curlers out there, but it just doesn't really fit my eyelid shape. I tried an eyelash curler my friend bought from Daiso and it worked better on me. Even so, I still need this, Queen Majolica Majorca can't go without her throne curled.

5) Yves Rocher Stop Correcteur Malin
Full review here. A bit hard to blend, but works great on my dark circles.

6) The Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream
This and the Sephora Mineral Compact Foundation are a match. I can't achieve the 'smoother skin' look without the powder, and my face will be all shiny with oil without the BB cream. This BB cream has grains with color-changing feature, when applying you could feel the--grains--on your face--feels weird, but that's how it works. When my skin tanned greatly, I didn't need to replace my BB cream because it could adapt itself with my skin tone. Light coverage, okay oil control, but still feels great.

7) 3 Concept Eyes Pink Kabuki Brush
Affordable, about $9. Comes with an expensive-looking pouch. Washed few times already. Really soft, doesn't shed, doesn't irritate my skin. *dances*

8) Too Cool For School Milk Tint
Full review here. Lovely peach color and doesn't leave my lips dry. It's my favorite lip tint so far!

9) The Body Shop Born Lippy Stick Lip Balm
Well. Lip balm. You just don't skip it. Full review here.

Okay now have a good day, guys!!

Etude House Drawing Eyebrow AD

Why is there no 'review' in the post title? Because I planned to review it but before I could, it broke. Again.

Before I continue with my review, I would like to say HI HELLO HI HI how did your Valentine's Day go? I hope you all had a good time! I spent mine at my friend's place, we wanted to bake chocolate cheesecake but we were running out of milk. Eventually, we just looked for cute gift box printables and ta-dah!

Looks very nice, right? I was kind of disappointed that we couldn't make the chocolate cheesecake (I really wanted some for myself too! Well, it's cheesecake), but that's fine!

Now, about the product on the title!

The first time I purchased it, it broke because of my own fault, I twisted it the wrong way, so I made another purchase. And this time, I didn't even do anything but when I wanted to use it it just wouldn't budge as if I twisted it wrong again. But noooo, I haven't even done anything, I just removed the cap and twisted it--correctly (I have learned my lesson). No one borrowed my makeup so did it just--break on his own?

That's it, Etude House, I'm never going to buy any of your product again. Sure, Etude House's products are cute, adorable, affordable and all but I have always thought that the quality is so-so.

NOW I DON'T HAVE EYEBROWS.

I mean they are visible but not thick enough.

It's broken and I can't do swatch or anything but I'm going to do a short review anyway.

Etude House Drawing Eyebrow AD comes in six shades; #1 Dark Brown, #2 Grey Brown, 3# Brown, #4 Dark Grey, 5# Grey, and #6 Black. Mine is #5 Gray, because my hair color is black. Pick one shade lighter than your hair color for your eyebrows so it will not appear too harsh on you.

The pencil is replaceable, when you are running out of it you can buy a box of the refill. I can't find any seller that sells the refill box in my area though. The color itself is sheer and buildable, which is good because I don't want to overdo it. I just need my eyebrows to appear thick enough but not really obvious that I draw my eyebrows.

I hate sharpening and this one is an automatic pencil with triangle shape, also comes with a spoolie brush to comb the hair and soften your strokes. The spoolie is a huge help, I can just draw it messily and it will still turn out nice after being combed with the spoolie (I comb my eyebrows before and after), perfect for *cough* us students who often wake up late and do a little bit of makeup in a rush.

Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. Just few hours and it will disappear. This made me consider whether I should switch for other eyebrow pencil (it didn't wait long though, it broke on me).

Price :
Rp 36.000,- (around $3)

Where to buy :
I bought mine from Chic Princessa.

What I dislike :

• Doesn't last long.
• Breaks easily.

 What I like :

• Cheap.
• Automatic triangle-shaped pencil.
• Comes with a useful spoolie.

Repurchase? No.

I'm thinking of getting NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder, tell me if you have any (inexpensive) brow kit or bow pencil recommendation!

Baviphat Apple Jelly Lip Scrub Review

Wow, it's already 2014! Thank you for your company on my blog, guys! I really like reading your comments, you guys are super sweet! By now, have you noticed that I used exclamation mark a lot? I don't even know why but, yeah! Exclamation! Mark!

Please bear with me.

Okay. My first post in 2014 is going to be a review for a lip scrub. It deserves a post because it really had saved me during my bad lip days!

Another cute fruit-shaped packaging from Baviphat (I previously wrote a review of Baviphat's Strawberry Mask here), it's like a tinier version of their Apple-In-One Peeling Gel. Who is a sucker for cute packaging? You may raise your hand with me.

It contains 6g of the product and it's really tiny, but since you only use a small amount of the lip scrub, it will probably last forever.

I actually didn't buy this myself, a friend gave it to me. If you are wondering why the gel is yellow-colored (unlike in the stock photo, which is pink), I'm sorry that I have no idea.

You can actually make your own homemade lip scrub, but if you are lazy like me and often have very dry lips, I suggest you to grab a cheap lip scrub. There's no need to buy a 'luxurious lip scrub' because they all basically work the same way, and I bet the ingredients are not that different (wait, does a luxurious lip scrub really exist?).

It's absolutely not the best feeling when you have very dry lips. Lip balm alone can't help your dry, chapped, and flaky lips to recover. Don't even try applying lipstick on your lips when they are very dry, flaky lips are not flattering. Moisten your lips by scrubbing them first, apply lip balm, then finally you can go with your favorite lipstick! Make sure your hands are clean before you dip your finger into the product.

I don't scrub on daily basis--but this really helps when I have super dry lips. It smells and tastes sweet! It's obviously not something for you to eat, but who can resist?

Do note that the smell is a bit strong, some of you may be overwhelmed by it. I'm sensitive to fragrances myself, but this one doesn't bother me. After scrubbing, wipe your lips with water because I'm sure some sugar will stay if you try removing only with a tissue.

Price :
Woahh I'm sorry, I don't know!

Where to buy :
Same answer as above.

What I dislike :

• Jar-type packaging without spatula provided, might be unhygienic.

What I like :

• Cute and travel-friendly packaging (you don't want to be rubbing your lips in public though).
• Moisten my lips.
• Smells and tastes sweet.

Repurchase? I kind of want to try Lush's Bubble Gum Lip Scrub, but it's not available in my area so I will probably repurchase this! Oh wait, it lasts forever.

Kawaiikkuma Buying Service Review

HELLO GUYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Okay, this is late. Did you guys have a merry Christmas? I hope you all did! I only went to the church on Christmas Eve and spent the Christmas lazing around at home but I was truly happy! This year all my best friends are in the town (they all go to different uni) hehehe.

Three or four days ago, I wrote an entry but I was not able to finish it. It's about an event called Comic Frontier that I participated in. I promise I will post it as quickest as possible! (Edit : Posted here.)

Speaking of Christmas, I usually do Christmas shopping with my mom and my brothers, but apparently it was not possible to do it this year. Still, I wanted to get one, so I decided to look for this LIZ LISA dress I fell in love with online and I found it on Yahoo Japan Auctions.

Link here.

Questions popped up. 'How do I do things on this site? Can the seller send it to my country? Should I use Tenso? But to use Tenso's forwarding service, you have to buy the items you want on your own with credit card---right? Oh, this is starting to be confusing. Okay, buying service that is!'

I stumbled upon Kawaiikkuma!

(site link here, or for fellow Indonesians, Kaskus thread here.)

An online store who has been selling Rilakkuma merch from Japan in Indonesia and overseas for years. They undoubtedly can handle this stuff perfectly fine! And oh hello you got kuma on your name too.

They charge 1000 JPY per item and 5% payment fee for their partner in Japan from overall transaction for every transaction. For example, since my item is an auctioned item, I will have to pay for the deposit first and pay the rest later, so I got charged 5% twice.

Kawaiikkuma offers two types of buying service; All-In-One Service and Direct Service. For the first option, your item will be sent to their partner's address in Japan, then to Indonesia, and finally to your place. They will take care of the things with customs and everything. Direct Service is--basically just like its name, from their partner in Japan then to your place. If you are not residing in Indonesia, I guess this will be your only choice. Worry not, I chose the second service too! Since I want my pretty dress to arrive as soon as possible lol.

Here goes the journey!

17/12/13 : Placement of order. I emailed them at 1 PM and they replied me at 7 PM. Not very fast but they still reply on the same day!
18/12/13 : I made the payment and they put bid on the item.
19/12/13 : They congratulated me for winning the auction!
24/12/13 : My item arrived on their place in Japan. Photo of the dress in package attached on the email. And here comes the pain, settlement invoice!
25/12/13 : I completed the payment at 1.34 PM but--
26/12/13 : Item sent to Indonesia. I was disappointed that they did not send my item on the day I paid. I made the payment as fastest as I could so they could send my item on the same day, but I guess I still could not make it?
30/12/13 : PACKAGE ARRIVED PARTY TIME. Wait, Christmas has passed! It's actually for Christmas!! Whatever, PARTAAAAYY.


Charge details :

First payment
1,900 JPY (max. bid, amount deposited for the auction) + 1,000 JPY (service fee) = 2,900 JPY
2,900 JPY × 130 IDR = 377,000 IDR

300 JPY left from the auction, used for shipping fee.

Second payment
90  JPY (domestic shipping fee, it was 350 JPY at first but turned out to be 390 JPY on the invoice) + 110 JPY (bank fee, charged because the seller used different bank account) + 155 JPY (5% payment fee from the first payment) + 1,240 JPY (EMS shipping fee for a 600g item) + 62 JPY (5% payment fee from the second payment) = 1,657 JPY
1,657 JPY × 130 IDR = 215,410 IDR

Total amount paid : 592,410 IDR (What.)

I took the image above from their Kaskus thread. I can tell that they are very organized, they have this posted on their thread for every order made. This might be unnecessary but they used various fonts and colors on their thread, making their writing looks cute, neat, and easy to read. I was surprised, people on Kaskus don't usually pay attention to this kind of thing, really.

Anyway, photos!!

WOOOHOOOOBUHOOO

Open it like a Pocky box!

 

'What? Did they put in a Pokémon pillow by mistake?' I thought. By the way, I like the old version of Pikachu better. The new one looks like it's been told to work out, it's doesn't look so fluffy and puffy anymore.

It's only a plastic bag from Pokémon Center! It has XY's legendary Pokémon on it, makes me want to buy Y because I like the deer (I'm certainly keeping this uber cute plastic bag). Inside the bag is my beautiful Liz Lisa dress!!

*goes crazy over the dress*

No photo of me wearing the dress because I suck at OOTDish photos. I tried though.

The quality of the dress is not questionable. At first, the skirt part is not as fluffy and as soft as I thought it would be, the white color also turns out to be more beige, but it's still soooo nice I was overwhelmed when trying out the dress. The top part's material feels super nice. I have been wanting for a Liz Lisa dress terribly bad and I finally have one.

Back to the review!

The person replying my emails was very nice and actually reply me real fast too (except for the first day). I'm satisfied with their service and I have no complaint! (Edit : Ok I probably have a complaint. That is the service fee. At first, I assumed that all Japan shopping services are expensive as heck, but I found this. 1000 JPY for every item is just--ugh, it pains when the service fee costs more than the item itself, but it's my poor wallet's problem ok.)

I definitely would recommend their service to you whenever you want to buy something from Japanese online stores. The person in charge of replying my email was very nice, they reply fast and they always give me updates of the order--which feels reassuring. They always mark your package as a gift too, so no need to pay more tax when you receive your package.

Now it's almost the end of the year, I would like to thank you for reading my blog! Happy new year to you guys! Excuse me, my head is fuzzy, I write this blog entry as I drink wine I want to throw myself to bed now.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami Book Review

A wild book review appears.

I have been wanting to write a book review for a while, now I finally got to do it. It's going to be short. Not spoiler-free. If you plan to read this and you don't want to read any spoiler, I don't suggest you to continue reading this review.

296 pages, bought for Rp 96.000,- (around $8) at Periplus (can be bought online here).

Haruki Murakami is a popular author, known worldwide, not only in Japan. He is popular for one of his best-selling books, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which I have not read). Many said that his writings are poetic. I picked this book because I simply craved for books that are poetic and not straight-forward. Rather than the actions of the characters, I could be more captivated by the feelings and situations described carefully by the author--which I failed to find in this book.

The melancholic story revolves around deaths, suicides, and mental illnesses. With lots of sex. In the story, Toru reminisced his memories of his teenage years.

Toru Watanabe, Kizuki, and Naoko were childhood friends. Kizuki and Naoko were also a couple. At age seventeen, Kizuki took his own life, leaving his girlfriend and best friend with deep, incurable wound. They had to keep on living, getting older, while their Kizuki would stay seventeen forever.

Toru and Naoko later developed romantic relationship. However, their relationship did not go like how other couples could be. Naoko moved to a sanatorium where she could recover from her illness, communicating with Toru only through letters. Toru filled his loneliness by hanging out with his so-called super charming womanizer buddy, Nagasawa, who helped Toru to hit on girls and get them onto bed.

(Wow my level of seriousness in writing the review is dropping here. But I'm still going to finish!)

Nagasawa also had a girlfriend who was truly kind and faithful to him. But through news Toru got few years later, after Nagasawa moved abroad, the girl, Hatsumi, could not hope for her love to be returned any longer and got married to someone else, then committed suicide.

Sometimes Toru visited Naoko, they spent time together in the sanatorium with Naoko's guardian, Reiko.

To me, Reiko is the character who stands out the most in the story and has important role in it. There is one thing in her background story that does not make sense though, the part where she got seduced by a thirteen-year-old girl, did sexy dirty things with the girl and later regretted it, because apparently the girl had a twisted evil mind who could victimize herself and turn people to make Reiko feel terrible with her life. Feeling like a burden, Reiko divorced her husband. Thus she came to the sanatorium and met Naoko.

As time passed, Toru fell in love with his colleague, Midori. Although he was not sure with his own feelings, he wanted to end everything with Naoko first (even when he already had promised to wait for Naoko to come back) before he could start another new relationship with Midori properly.

Naoko hanged herself.

Devastated Toru appeared.

Reiko visited Toru and slept with him.

(You probably have realized by now how I don't enjoy writing a review for this book.)

Story finished with Toru speaking with Midori on phone and questioning himself where he was after wandering to only-God-knows where, suffering from Naoko's death.

I wanted to like this book. I really wanted to. But I hardly could find any essential meaning that the book is trying to tell us. The protagonist's personality itself is hard to grasp. All characters failed to leave me with a deep impression. The writing style is way too straight-forward.

I thought that maybe it's because I read the English translation version. It's always better to read a book in its original language. But in the end, I concluded that Murakami's writing is just not my cup of tea.

The novel has been adapted to a movie too and it did not change my opinion towards the story.

If not for Kenichi Matsuyama (Toru Watanabe) and Kiko Mizuhara (Midori), I would not watch the movie until the very end.

Anyway, those who like 'erotic, twisted love story' might like this (I still don't think it's going to worth your time though).

Off continuing Artemis Fowl: Le Paradoxe du Temps now!

Yves Rocher Stop Correcteur Malin Review

My first post in December! I'm sorry I have not been able to write much. Do you guys have certain plan for Christmas? I wish that this month will be another great month for you guys!

I will now review another product from Yves Rocher I randomly grabbed when I was in France! Which I use very often. To my surprise, all of their products I bought didn't go to waste. My friend loves the brown mascara I gave her, my mom uses the lipstick (I didn't get the chance to ask her whether she likes it or not), I use the concealer and the lip gloss.

I did a brief introduction of the brand Yves Rocher and a review of the lip gloss before, if you have not read it, do check it here yay!

So what does the product do?

Yep, you read it yourself. It is a concealer that Yves Rocher claims to be capable of concealing your acne, pimples, or any 'imperfection' and making them dry faster. Sounds amazing, no?

I assume this product is only available in France, because I could not find it in the US and Canada ones, so--here you go, in French, from their site :

Camoufle les imperfections et accélère leur disparition
Un correcteur indispensable à garder au fond du sac pour camoufler les imperfections et accélérer leur disparition.

Testé sous contrôle dermatologique
Composants d'origine végétale : Extrait de scutellaire

Son + : hyper pratique, c'est le produit complice par excellence, à emporter dans son sac à main partout avec soi.

What kind of writing is that, Yves Rocher?! 'Son +' (its +), really? Please try to write the description for your own product properly.

Aaaanyway. Google Translate in action.

Camouflages imperfections and accelerates their demise
Indispensable to keep in your bag to conceal imperfections and accelerate their demise checker.

Tested under dermatological control
Components of plant origin: Extract from Scutellaria

The Plus: very practical, the accomplice product par excellence, to be carried in her purse anywhere.

Ingredients (written on its plastic sealer) :

Ethylhexyl Cocoate, Paraffin, Ozokerite, Cera Microcristallina, Phenyl Trimethicone, Salicylic Acid, Copaifera Officinalis, Resin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77891

It contains 1,4 g of the product.

Expiration date and color of the shade. Unfortunately, they apparently only have one single shade for this product, I asked the shop clerk there for other shade option and a tester, but they did not have any. I read on their site that a lot of people complained for not having more shades available.

Stick type, you can use up all of it, the advantage of a stick-type concealer.

As you can see, the shade is actually very deep.

Without and with flash. Deep shade with orange undertone.

A little bit of rant from me :

This shade actually suits my skin tone really well. Before I went to France, I ordered a concealer from CANMAKE. It arrived when I was in France. After going back, I was surprised that this was the only concealer that worked on my tanned skin (I thanked my randomness for grabbing this thing!). My Etude House Surprise Essence Concealer and CANMAKE Cover & Stretch Concealer UV (both in Natural Beige) turned out to be too light for my tanned skin *sobs*

I did not even intend to tan my skin (when my friends back there tried really hard to get tanned). I was looking forward to try my CANMAKE concealer, forgetting the fact that the sun in France was harsh. My friend would not stop staring at me, wanting to have 'sun-tanned golden skin' I had. Well, it comforted me. Thank goodness my BB cream has this color-matching system, so I did not have to buy another in deeper shade.

End of rant!

So, does it really work?

It works on my dark circles well, better than my other concealers. Peach and orange tones are the best for your dark circles. The coverage is also great for other areas. But the texture is not creamy enough, it feels dry and it's hard to blend it out, especially on your dark circles. Yes, it works well there but the texture is the problem. While patting motion is the best way to blend out concealer under your eyes, it doesn't work with this concealer. I usually blend it out by rubbing and--reminding myself not to be harsh on my under eyes.

As for its lasting power, there is nothing outstanding. I'm sorry, I always failed to check how many hours it could last on my face, I can't tell you how long exactly it could last, but what I know is it's definitely better than Etude House Surprise Essence Concealer's lasting power.

It smells like---your foundation powder. Faint, does not bother me.

How about the 'drying imperfections' claim? Nah, I used it quiet diligently on a few pimples, it didn't medicate any of them.

Price :
4,10€ (around $5.6 or Rp 67.000,-)

Where to buy :
Yves Rocher stores. Use the store locator here. Yves Rocher's products are mostly available in America and Europe, the only Asian country who has them is China.

What I dislike :

• The dry texture, making it hard to blend out around under eyes.
• Does not last for long time.
• Does not actually make acne dry faster.

What I like :

• Works great on dark circles.
• Cheap (yes, this has to be added!).
• Matches my tanned skin well.

Repurchase? No.

Etude House Dear Girls Be Clear Moisturizer SPF 30/PA++ Review

We know that applying toner and moisturizer before going with your BB cream or foundation is very essential. When I first started doing make-up, I didn't own any moisturizer at the moment, so I grabbed this right after Etude House released their Dear Girls line which used only organic ingredients and comes in 5-Free System; paraben, talc, mineral oil, artificial colors, animal ingredients.

Etude House's products always have pretty packaging! Look at those flower and ribbon decorations!

Pump for your hygiene's sake. Contains 50g of the product.

'Ingridients'? What.

So what do they say about this product? (from en.koredepart.com)

Adheres to skin to brighten skin tone without stickiness.
Blocks UV rays to create healthy skin.
5-vitamin extract and 7-organic extract offer full of nutrition to skin.
5 Free System (Paraben, talc, mineral oil, artificial colors, animal ingredients)

It's always good to have some sun protection in your make-up, I was happy finding out this moisturizer has SPF 30 in their formula. And that 5-Free System is just great!

Now, let's see how it works.

Hada Labo's moisturizer comes in transparent white liquid while Etude House's has thick white liquid with refreshing floral scent that stays on skin for minutes.

Blended out.

With flash.

While Hada Labo Ultimate Moisturizing Milk gives clear, watery finish, Etude House Dear Girls Be Clear Moisturizer leaves you with a matte white cast. Note that it doesn't last long, but you need to give some time for it to give you the brightening result you want before you start going with your BB cream or foundation. There was one day where I applied it with BB cream and powder in a rush, the white cast wouldn't tone down even if I waited for minutes. It was horrifying, my face was way far brighter than my neck. I ended up restarting my whole make-up.

I have to tell you that you need to be very careful with this moisturizer, apply it thinly with your fingers! With Hada Labo, I don't need to worry about applying too much moisturizer, let it dry for a while and BB cream time! With this one moisturizer, one full pump is too much. When it's too much, it leaves you a white cast that lasts long and if you go out, being exposed to the sun, IT MELTS.

IT.

MELTS.

No kidding, when I visited my boyfriend he asked, 'what is that white thing on your forehead?' FREAKING EMBARRASSING GRAAAAHHHH

*cough*

Well, if you apply it evenly, thinly, and carefully, you will get the result you want. I really like how it brightens my dull skin without sticky feeling. And it has SPF 30 so no need to apply more sunscreen! I don't get breakouts from this moisturizer too. But having to be careful upon application is too much of inconvenience for me, so I switched to my Hada Labo.

Price?
Rp 76.000,-/around $6.7

Where to buy?
eBay. I purchased mine from Chic Princessa.

What I dislike :

• One full pump is too much? WHYYY. The pump should have been designed as its own measurer that gives you the perfect amount! Or do I expect too much?
• White cast that stays forever when applied too much.
• It melts (again, when applied too much) under the sun.
• Wtf why so much work to get the result I want. 

What I like :

• Refreshing floral fragrance.
• Cute packaging.
• Hygienic pump.
• SPF 30/PA++ for your sun protection.
• Brightens the skin tone--when applied correctly.

Repurchase? No.

Thanks for reading, have a good day!