Welcome to The End of Octopus!

...I mean October. What an epic typo. 

So, the edge of October means the closer we'll be to November. 

November means one month before December. 

Oh, how I love December! This twelve month of Masehi calender means celebrations! It started with my brother's birthday, continues with my uncle, cousin, a bunch of acquaintance, and me! <3 I know it sound childish, but, who doesn't feel enthusiastic about birthdays? Two days after my-oh-I'm-getting-old-reminder, there will be Christmas.  Pine trees, decoration, cake, and everything!

Not so long after that, hey, New Year Celebration! 

OMG, I can't wait for December to come faster! 

And here's a picture of natural beauty stuff I've been waiting for to get into my life soon. <3 

Ugh, yeah!

Happy Halloween, folks. Trick or treat! Brick or retreat! Don't think about that last phrase! :p

Veggie Report Again

I forget when I decided to stop eating chicken.  Around...several months ago? I started with duck then continued with chicken. So, I don't consume any poultry now. 

But then I realized then I have to develop. My goal is to eat zero animals! 

I will reduce the amount of seafood supply to my gastronomy life.  What does that mean? I'll be an ovo-lacto vegetarian soon! Okay, avoiding dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and milk won't be an instant step.  Egg? What if I eat a carrot cake? It's vegetable-based but it contains egg or milk, except I get the vegan version. 

And Indonesia hasn't have so many vegan choices for those kind of things: cake, cookies, etc. 

Hey, alors, can I say 'Good bye fishes, crabs, shrimp, I'm going to let you free!' right now? 

Perhaps later, in 2015.  I'll be officially an ovo-lacto. ASAP. 

Wish me luck! And let's reduce meat consumption, baby! <3

Not A Scientist Tips, But Still An Aid

Living 4 years of my life taking care of pampering products, from body care, skin care, make up, and llamas, I've became a serious researcher for these stuff. 

But forget it, I just want to write an systematic-looking intro.  Actually, I would love to share some tips for you about toiletries world.  Based on my principles and experience.  Sometimes people ask me about these lip products tips, better ingredients, and all.  From my neighbour to my brother, from alpaca to giraffe. 

So, aye, I gather all knowledges I know about treating your body parts right. Please don't be shy to ask anything.  I'll answer it even if you ask me how to eat an apple with eyes closed.  That's okay! 

Alright. Let's start with...

LIP LOVE

+ Loving lip stain? Better apply the liquid on a lip covered with lip balm/ butter.  Seriously.  It'll avoid dryness! :D

+ Some people asked me whether this or that is good for lips or not.  And what brand should be great. Firstly,  I would suggest to choose truly natural/ organic/ vegan lip products, because: natural or organic means you won't be exposed by too much synthetic materials that could harm our health, but it possibly refers to the existence of carmine the crushed cochineal (a.k.a bugs) inside your red / pink shaded lippies. Yes it is natural but it's...cruel. Meanwhile, if you take vegan / vegetarian ones, they won't offer you any animal particles such as that carmine or beeswax.  Beeswax is useful and it's not actually an animal her/himself, but it's quite heavy for lips sometimes!

+ Read your ingredients, and make sure you don't see crimson lake, cochineal, Natural Red 4, CI 75470,  or E120.  Yes it means bug. It means you murder for your lips.

+ Now you know what to avoid and what to tolerate, let's take a closer look.  Natural lip products come with various oil or butter blends.  Whether it's castor, olive, sweet almond, jojoba, avocado, coconut oil, or shea, candellila, cacao butter, with random fragrance compound from essential oils or extract of fruit/ flower. Those are things to make your lip products packaged beautifully. 

+ Okay.  Brands.  To be short, my recommendations are: 100% Pure lip butter, 100% Pure lip glaze, Hurraw! lip balms (buy it here for Indonesian citizen), or make your own lip stain (and you'll get a blush along with it).  Or you may try Utama Spice's lip balm.  They're quite good if you're okay with beeswax. :) 

Now let's jump into...

FACE FEST

+ Yes, I don't use facial foam and I've been into that lifestyle for a succesful one & a half year after finishing 100% Pure Lavender Seafoam.  And... I'm alive! How come? 

+ Then how to clean your face? Uhm, yes, to be honest, just wipe it with something oily that will take the dirt, grime, and dust.  If you wear layers of make up, do massage your face with plantbased oil (like coconut, olive, candlenut, canary) then wash with normal-to-warm water.  

+ Scrub your face twice a week using rolled oats, sugar, or whatever gritty and easy! Mix it with honey or your favourite oil.  ( remember to use this for body exfoliator too!)

+ So, for these 2 activities to your face's sake, you only need one kind of oil and something you would likely to find in everybody's kitchen.  Ditch the tubes and bottles of cleansers and scrubs/ exfoliators! You'll save hundred Rupiahs and reduce a lot of waste!

+ Better invest a holy grail moisturizer.  It will literally sink into your skin.  Note: beeswax and silicone won't sink.  

+ Make sure you know your needs.  Anti-aging? Pore problems? Sandy Cheeks? Just need a little glow? Oily? Combo? Dry? Galau? :p 

+ What's the best option? You decide. I myself have been searching a perfect moisturizer.  My favorite for evening use is surely that Aromanaturals crémes, but I can't use it as a day cream since the retinyl palmitate will react to the sunray.  You may catch something interesting here at Naauty Organics. I've just discovered this online shop focusing on 'good' products. :D

And move to...

BODY BUILDING (?) 

+ Good news! You can buy a bottle of virgin coconut oil and use it for face and body! :) Quite a saving, right? But only if you want to, and you're not boring with coconut scent.  I know, I know.  We love applying body care products due to the assorted kinds of smell they offer.

+ The form; butter, lotion, or oil? It's up to you! I love lotion, if it's not too sticky or too light you can't feel anything after that. Hahaha. And there's a lotion formula that ironically dry your skin more.  I don't know what cause this, but, be careful.  Butter? It's good if you can handle the usual problem: stiff texture! Like it just stand on your skin and do nothing.  My Cocoa Love from Utama Spice will disappear on the surface after hours. Or even overnight.  The Body Shop's Chocolate and Vanilla Bliss body butter are on a thicker side with smoother texture--weirdly.  Very thick and overwhelming somehow.  Lotions from Nicole's Naturals are good, the best I can have.  Not sticky nor abstract. And the rose aroma is superb! :) 

+ Preservatives? Yes, the reality is, anytime you apply body lotion, your body will drink some of the potion.  So, please say BYE to paraben, pthalates, glycols, BHA, BHT, ah, Google yourself about ingredients to avoid in toiletries, okay? :D 

+ I'm telling you that basically, hand cream and body cream will do things the same way. (Moreover, sometimes, hand + body + face moisturizer may come in ONE ITEM).  So, don't buy hand cream plus body cream from the same range! You'll be bored and end up with sadness (and stash, and rubbish).  Except you're fanatic about the specific scent. :D 

Ho, ho, ho, merry...

HAIR FAIR !

+ Many people know I have epic thick hair.  And it's jet black.  I tried many methods to take care of my hair properly.  Following my Mom: using Sunsilk Black Shine forever.  The shampoo makes my hair oily, and it strips my scalp. Thinking about natural substances: using Mustika Ratu's spinach shampoo. Afraid of oily hair, using Sariayu's carrot formula.  Give up? Trying The Body Shop's Olive and Bearberry shampoo then realized they contains SLS.  Hair feels terrible? Conditioner.  Smooth and cute but MORE oil in the end. Itchy scalp + dandruff: moved to L'Occitane Soothing Shampoo, smells adorable.  Trying Natur and Etude House's hair mist : stickiness. Back to The Body Shop, love the Rainforest Hair Care, unfortunately not a correct match to scalp.  Blah. In the end, I discovered shampoo bar (or just a simple natural soap bar) and vinegar works good!

+ WHAT? VINEGAR? Yes, vinegar.  Soap is alkali, vinegar is acidic. You mix them and you'll find balance.  So, clean with soap, rinse with vinegar, plus water : awesome smooth hair with no addition of dangerous chemicals! :D And it's cheap, baby. You can use apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, that mainstream vinegar which is refreshing for your soto soup, too. By the way, instead of soap, you may use baking soda.  Combine it with water and use it for 'shampoo with no foam'.

+ Anyway, hair mist is a useful weapon.  In Indonesia, a lot people smoke! SMOKE LIKE CRAZY and they spread the ashes around! So impolite! :(  In several places, the terrible ashy fragrance lingers, causing our hair (and body) to smell bad.  And, oh, people who burn the trash.  Please, trashes are for recycling/ reusing/ reducing, not for another pollution! :(  

Our hair is the victim.  It'll smell more intense compared to another part of our body. So, yes, I suggest you to invest in a hair mist.  A good hair mist is better without silicons, and I prefer ones with more natural materials.  My favourite one is from L'Occitane, because I find it works. :) By the way, you can make one at home too.  Use water and essential oil, put into a spray bottle (reuse something, please!).  Then use anytime you want. :D 

+ Dry shampoo? I support the habit of making things yourself--not everything but most of things. Get your corn starch / maizena + cacao/ coffee powder for darker hair, keep in a narrow container, or even better, empty powder bottle, sprinkle some dry rice to avoid humidity. Then? Use it with a help from make up brush or hair brush. Mess your hair with the powder and be happy! :D

Phew! Finish! For a while. NO MAKE UP TIPS? No. I'm not a master of make up! I use it for fun only. ;)  

If I found something interesting on the way, I would tell you immediately! Remember, to make Earth happier, we should hang out with this motto: 

Erase the greed, 

grow a seed. 

Make Mother Earth your best friend,

listen to her until the end. 

 Wisely keep your gold, 

respect the old. 

Choose plant, 

but don't kill the ant. 

 

I love you all! 

*spontaneously made 10 seconds ago

My Stack of Stuff

Bonjour, People! How's your day? 

Well, I have a good day--so far--since it's still in the midday. 

Anyway, I want to share my, uhm, tiny problem I have here. What problem? This!

That? No, it's those.  It's plural. There's a development in my toiletries amount.  I don't know what is the trigger... Hahaha. But these are so many, still, for my standard! If you want to see my previous collection, see this and that. 

The picture above shows all I have except brushes, eyelash curler, sponges, et cetera.  Oh, and nail polishes aren't included.  I have 3 bottles of that. 

So, after seeing previous collection posts, what do you think? Yes. I have way too many products.  I have collected so many things during a year. Now let's take a look at each group carefully: 

thankfully, everyone have different function. so it's not very ineffective. but that foundation, I already keep it for 4 years!

the scrub is a souvenir from my cousin, the solid perfume is now 2 years old, and that deodorant is not used oftenly.

nah. here's the most doubling part! i have 2 hand cream tubes--one from my friend (the apple one), 1 body butter, 1 body oil, and a tin of honey-shea butter! i thought it's okay to have 3-4 products to moisturize, in case i need them in separated moments (butter for night, oil for day--for example), but in fact, no. i give up.

i rarely have my eyes area painted--but i have this much things around.  ah, what did i do? anyone wants to adopt my stuff? i never touch the tosca eyeliner and mascara! LOL.

other treatment: hair mist, face vitamin creams, nose pack, bentonite clay.

and these lippies, fellas. i can't use them all the time! now i try to use my lip butter religiously first as a start.

Now this is what I think about them: 

Maybe you have the answer for me? Or you have a similar product with me and would love to tell me about it? ;) 

Happy Tuesday, lovelies! :*