hi everyone... sorry i've been MIA for a while.. well, good news is i'm MIA because of i gave birth to my daughter. she's cute and healthy.. but i have to warn you, if you think having second child is easier, well, i'm here to tell you it isn't. let alone the other child is a toddler. i'm struggling for the first week with my first child, breastfeeding and my second one's jaundice problem. it's been a stressful week, and though i'm still fighting with breastfeeding (yep.. this time it's not easy too.. but i'm more determined than before. plus having someone else as your supporter is a good thing. too bad i didn't find a good supporter back when i had my first child).

okay.. enough with my personal life update.. last december lots of online seller gave discounts, including tester korea and roseroseshop. well, after a few thought, i decided to buy from roseroseshop. they were having sales for their bestsellers in 2014. and most of the items are the itmes that i've used. so.. i bought my nature republic super aqua max combination watery cream again (yep.. i almost finished my first tub) and decided to buy skinfood egg white pore foam and splurge on missha time revolution night repair new science activator ampoule. oh.. and a lot of sheet masks.

as you all know i love the nature republic moisturizer. it's perfect for my combination skin and helps in this tropical weather. unfortunately, not all online seller here can provide nature republic. plus i found some sellers have significant price discrepancy. i hope i still can find this moisturizer online, or else i have to buy mizon's instead.

now.. about the egg white pore foam. as for facial foam, i'm not committed to any foam. i like to play around and trying new facial foams. though i love etude house baking powder facial foam and the bb one, i like to find new facial foams to love especially that's formulated for pores. and i've heard a lot of love for this egg white pore foam, so i hope i'll love it too.

and i've been wanting to buy the missha ampoule for a long time, but since it's pricey, i decided not to buy it several times. but since it was on sale, i decided to give it a go. hopefully i can find something else cheaper or let it be on sale all the time.. hahaha..

and last, the pack of sheet masks. i like how etude sheet masks are affordable. plus they sell it in pack of three, which is cheaper than if i have to buy it from local online shop. although i want to buy all of them, but i can't.. so i decided to buy several types that will not show the result with just one usage of the sheet. i choose to buy lemon, mango, pomegranate, coenzyme q10 and collagen. hopefully my kid sleep time will settle soon so i can try them.

okay folks.. that's all for now.. hopefully i can find another peace time to try things and write the review. until then..

items i bought plus the sample bonus

etude house sheet masks

you can say that i'm in a rush to finish all my masks and samples, but since this baby is coming, i've been taking care of my skin more than usual. including in using the mask sheet. well, i got innisfree it's real squeeze mask package from my last visit to their counter in singapore as a gift, and i've used one of them, the green tea (read about it here), and now i decided to use another one, the cucumber one.

it's real squeeze mask line have approximately 20 variants and mostly are designed for dry skin. this is the description from their global website: real source mask with fresh moisture squeezed from cucumbers to provide plentiful moisture to dry skin. cucumber contains effective ingredients that make your skin clear and vital as a natural moisture itself. jeju green complex that consists of green tea, tangerine, cactus, camelia leaves and orchid keep your skin healthy. this triple layered sheet has a long-lasting moisturizing effect on the mask so that the essence can be absorbed into your skin and nourish it.

the packaging: just like the other one, the design is clean with the picture of cucumber as the main ingredients at the front of the package. at the back there are descriptions and instructions in english and korea.
the product: the size of the mask is similar to the other one, a bit bigger for me but it's okay. the mask sheet is also drenched with the ingredients. it also doesn't dry out even after almost 30 minutes, but it doesn't as wet as the other mask that i only kept on for 20 minutes. it also feels cool when i applied it on my face, and i can smell a hint of cucumber scent from this mask. but this one didn't feel hot after i took the mask off my face.
the smell: i've already told you that there's a hint of cucumber scent from this mask. it also smells a bit like wet tissue, but the alcohol scent wasn't as strong as the other one.
the result: well, this one is clearly for dry skin, since i can feel my skin moisturized right after usage. not sticky though, but it feels moist, so i only use my eye cream afterwards and skip my usual night serum and cream altogether. and the morning after, i can feel that my skin is still moist. but fortunately, it doesn't make my face greasy.

soo.. i definitely won't buy this mask again, since it's way too moisturizing for me. but i will suggest this for you who has dry skin or after having a long flight.

the mask packaging

left: before using middle: with mask on me right: after using

as i've told you before, i'm waiting for my second bundle to arrive. and lack of sleep eventually. lack of sleep will cause dark circles undereye. at the moment, my laura mercier concealer had finished and my revlon one is more than 2 years old so i'll dump it soon.. that's why i'm searching for a new concealer. at first i'm interested in maybelline age rewind concealer, but when i found out that there's another concealer that's much cheaper plus it also got a good review, i decided to put hold on the age rewind one and bought the la girl hd pro conceal instead.

this is the description from their us website:
crease resistant, opaque coverage in a creamy yet lightweight texture. the long wearing formula camouflages darkness under the eyes, redness and skin imperfections. provides complete, natural looking coverage, evens skin tone, covers dark circles and minimizes fine lines around the eyes.
this blendable and buildable formula provides the ultimate, customizable coverage. this must have concealer includes a soft brush tip for easy application.
camouflages the appearance of skin imperfections, evens out skin tone, covers dark circles, minimizes fine lines, provides customizable coverage.

okay.. let's talk about the product...
the packaging: it's quite cute, in a small tube with soft brush tip just like described in the website. it's quite small so it's travel friendly.

the application: i will say that thanks to the soft brush included i don't have to use separate concealer brush to apply it, and i'll just use my finger to blend it. but from couple usage, i've found that it's quite difficult to dispense the product. i've squeezed the tube and such, but it's not easy to get the product out, let alone controlling the amount of the product dispensed.

the shade selection: many makeup artists and bloggers recommended this concealer because of its wide range shade selection. some even use this concealer for contouring. but since i don't wear makeup on daily basis plus i don't like heavy contouring with creamy products, i'll stick using it as concealer only. fyi, i pick classic ivory, the fairest one. and i'll have to say it matches me just alright. so i'm quite lucky for the shade selection. somehow the classic ivory had peach undertone in it, so it's not all yellow.

the product: it's a creamy concealer, but it's quick to dry, so that's why it's annoying when i can't get the product out just in time before it's dried on my face. as for blendability, it's easy to blend it, with finger or with another brush.. it's up to you.

the result: it covers my dark eyes perfectly. it can also covers redness on my cheek and under nose. it can also cover my old acne scar. so far it's an okay concealer.. perfect for under eyes and blemishes, but i think if i had active acne, it wouldn't be enough.

soooo... it's an okay concealer, and if you're looking for a double duty concealer/contouring, this might be the product for you. but if you don't like the messy application plus the trouble dispensing the product, then you might want to skip this one. as for a budget friendly product, i will say that this is a good product for your tight budget. it might be cheap but it's good. now for those who live in indonesia, there's no counter for la girl here, so if you want to buy online, you might want to guess your shade.. i have to say good luck with that since it has a wide range of selection.. but if you can find a counter near you, then you can try them first before buying. as for me, since i don't have the time luxury to dispense the product (please remember that i'll have two kids to be handled), so i'll have to search for another easy to use concealer after finishing this one.

left: the tube of the concealer right: the soft brush tip

right top: swatch with flash right bottom: swatch without flash left top: comparison with revlon concealer (revlon on left) - you can see la girl is more peachy (with flash) left bottom: comparison without flash

left: my dark under eye right: after using the concealer