A Letter to My Sister - Happy Birthday!

 So annoying this girl is.
Lol, jk. Actually I was the annoying one when we were kids.

 I can barely remember our childhood, but I do remember it was a happy one.

We played A LOT. Our parents kind of spoiled us with toys and such, and there were many times we played along with our cousins too. We played so many games that often we invented our own games (with our own rules) because hide and seek or tag&chase were not that much fun anymore.

 You loved drawing since as far back as I can remember. And you were very good at it. I mean, a 7 yo kid who can draw Dewi Kwan Im with watercolor is really something right. You also loved to draw Sailor Moon from head to toe, while I couldn't even draw Doraemon, and I found it really cool to have an ability like that, so I followed you around everywhere, to the point that made you annoyed hahaha..

I remember there was one time when mom bought us dolls; rabbit for you and bear for me. And after a few minutes of playing with each other's toys, I began to think that your rabbit was cuter than my bear (I couldn't recall what you did with the rabbit that made me think that way), and then I asked you to switch it, and you big-heartedly did. Then, we continued to play with the switched toys, but I selfishly asked you to switch it again because now I think the bear was cuter! And with a slight feeling of resistance, you agreed once more. Then after only 5 to 10 minutes of re-playing, I ungratefully asked to switch it again wtf! But this time you had your limit and you slammed your rabbit to the floor and yelled,

"GO PLAY WITH YOURSELF!!"

I guess I deserved that.

 We fought a lot when we were kids. And when we fought, we fought hard. We clawed, we kicked, we pulled hair, we pinched (using nails wtf). It happened until we were about 15-16 years old. But the fight was always short-term, and then we played and laughed again.

We were close, but not that close. There were times when we were distant; I think it was around Junior High School? We mostly spent time with each other’s friends and we rarely talked about private matters. Sometimes I saw you were making troubles at school, and I knew you were so angry about something. But I chose not to ask, because we did not do that. It would be awkward, I thought.

You were a very grumpy teenager, yet you’ve always had a kind heart and loved to help people without expecting anything in return. I love and respect you for that. I will never forget how you helped me with my art project until 3 o’clock in the morning while you had to wake up at 6.

I will also never forget that one time when you kicked that boy who’d disturbed me when I was in the kindergarten haha.. You’ve always been protective of me.

  Anyway, we began to really “share” our thoughts and feelings around High School. I was so happy when you finally decided to open up to me! I felt like at last you saw me as an equal whom you could trust. And after that first time, you basically cannot stop sharing, cos I am such a good listener right hahaha..

With you opening up to me, I slowly began to open up too. And as time went by, we’ve become this super close and unbreakable sisters who share everything haha.. Every little thing that we experienced, we can’t wait to share it with each other. Except our friends’ secrets lah, don’t worry :))

 I think GOWIGASA (our online clothing store) has also played a big role in our relationship. It’s made us a team. We have a common goal and there have been a lot of unique experience, and doing it together has made our bond even stronger.

But come to think of it, if we hadn’t had a strong bond before, we would’ve hated each other by now haha, because when it comes to doing business with family, blood isn’t always thicker than water. We still fight, except this time we just won’t talk to each other for several hours hehe..

So, now you, our lovely readers, know why GOWIGASA means so much to us :)

 I’m also glad that we share similar hobbies and interests, character, mindset, sense of humor, and also the same taste in art. But luckily we never fall for the same guy. But if it happens someday, I’m 1000000% sure it won’t be a problem for us. Always sisters before misters! :)

 Now you’ve grown into a beautiful, independent woman with so much to look forward to. I’m so happy that you’ve matured so much over the past few years; you are more positive and less grumpy now hehe. I’m sure a bright future is ahead of you. :)

Looking back, I guess what really drew me to you was your high self-confidence and spirit.

I hope you will never lose them. :)

But if you do, I will always be by your side to remind you just how strong you really are, and nothing could break us down as long as we have each other.

Happy birthday once again, the best sister in the world! I miss you so much!!

Love,

Your annoying little sister.

ELLEJESS X STELLALEE CHRISTMAS 2013

2013 has been a rollercoaster year for us.

We went through a bit of a rough patch business-wise at the beginning of the year, but thanks to our positive mindset and hard work, we could get on our feet again and had even more opportunities that we couldn’t even imagine! And one of them is… becoming friends with Stella Lee :)

Even though we are in the same field (blogging), we had never talked to each other, didn’t follow each other’s SNS, let alone meet up.

Then, one day, fate brought us together. *jeng jeng jeng*

Three of us were invited to Japan by METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) as CoFesta ambassadors from Indonesia (read the whole story here).

We first saw her at the Soekarno Hatta airport when we were going to board the plane; she looked so tired in her grey hoodie that we were reluctant to say hi. We also thought she was this shy, quiet and reserved girl that didn't like to chat, lol. So we just spent our first flight together without any single hello, not even an eye contact! Luckily our seats were not side by side; can you imagine how awkward would that be?!

Anyway, we finally talked to each other after we've landed in Japan while waiting for another blogger (Beckii) to arrive. And after about 15 minutes of conversation, our prejudgment of her TOTALLY faded away!

She’s super friendly, talkative, loud, and straightforward! Haha, completely took us by surprise! But one thing that makes us really clicked besides the fact that *ahem* all three of us are earth signs (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo), is that we share the same way of thinking about many aspects (business, friendship, etc)! And of course, our undying love for Japan haha..

Long story short, back in Jakarta we did our very first collaboration:

*`•.¸(¯`• CHRISTMAS COLLABORATION •´¯)¸.•´

It was actually an impromptu session, but fortunately everything went well (thanks to the talented photographer, Nara Pratama) and we had a LOT of fun!!

All right, enough talking, LET’S SEE PICTURES!

THE PILLOW FIGHT!

That's all!

We hope we can do another collaboration with Stella in the future. On a trip if possible! xD

Do follow Stella’s Blog and Instagram!

She’s a beauty expert and loves to share; you can learn a lot from her!

Ok, see you on our next post! Thanks for reading J

WE WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! Take care, everyone!

X O X O,

Elle and Jess

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Body Skin Care Routine and Tips for Underarm Problems

Photographer: Nara Pratama

Often we get too focus on taking care of our facial skin that we forget to take care of our body skin. We might think, “Ah, what people will notice more is my face, so it's better for me to take extra care of my facial skin than of my feet, or underarms, and so on.”

Well, those often-forgotten skins are more important than you may have given thought to.

Your skin is your largest organ; it protects our bodies from the outside world. If you are not taking care of it, not only may it lead to unattractiveness, it can also lead to serious disease and infection.

My mom is not a fan of makeup, but skin care is her thing, especially body parts. Everything I know about body skin care I learned from her. Since I was 13^th she’s been telling me how important it is to take care of your body skin, that it is a long-term investment. At first I doubted her, but looking at her beautiful and glowing skin at such age, I thought to myself, “Maybe this woman does know what she’s talking about!” So, I decided to do as I was told, and I couldn’t be more thankful. :)

Today I’m going to share with you the things I regularly do to keep my body skin smooth and healthy:

1. Body Scrub (before shower, once a week)

Body Scrub is used for exfoliation. It helps get rid of dead skin cells and your skin renew faster. It also keeps pores clean, and prevents clogging, which can cause body pimples!

2. Body Lotion or Body Butter (after shower or at bedtime)

Your skin can become dry, rough and looks unattractive due to environmental factors like climate and air conditioning. That’s when body lotion and body butter come to the rescue! They can moisturize your skin, keep it hydrated and make you smell good!! I opt for a body butter if I've used a body scrub beforehand because it is more moisturizing than a lotion, but the downside is, it's kind of greasy and it will leave your skin sticky.

3. Sunscreen (when I’m going to be out in the sun)

Every article I read about beauty regimen has one thing in common: wear sunscreen everyday. Yes, it is THAT important especially when the ozone layer is depleting. Sunscreen can protect our skin from harmful UV radiation that can cause skin cancer (the scariest threat!!!), brown spots and skin discoloration.

4. Drink a lot of Water (as often as I can)

Yep, as simple as that. Drinking water is the easiest and cheapest way to flush toxins and poisons out of your body, hence healthy and glowing skin. I always keep my 690ml bottle filled with water by my side. J

5. Underarm Protection

This is the tricky part of all! I’m going to explain about this part a bit longer.

There are three noticeable underarm problems that can affect our daily lives: underarm odor, underarm hair, and dark underarms. Let’s take a look at them one-by-one, shall we?

a. Underarm Odor

You might think our sweat causes it, but actually sweat is odorless! The real culprits are the apocrine glands. They produce high protein sweat which when brought together with bacteria that live on the skin, can give off some funky smells. (Click here for the complete article in Indonesian language)

Solutions:

-Keep the armpits clean by washing them regularly to keep the number of bacteria low

-Get rid of the underarm hair because it holds back the evaporation of sweat

-Use a deodorant as it can slow down the production of sweat. Less sweat = less odor.

b. Underarm Hair

Many believe that it is such a huge turn-off when women have hair under their armpits, no matter how beautiful or sexy they are.

Yeah I hate them. We all hate them. But we can’t make them stop growing. At least I still don’t know how. So, what we can do is to get rid of them temporarily, either by shaving, plucking or waxing.

Solutions:

-Shaving

Image credit: Nugcafe

For facts and myths about shaving, click here.

-Tweezing or Plucking

Image credit: Beauty Impex

Click here to know how to tweeze the safe way.

 -Waxing

Image credit: A Spa to Remember

-Epilator

Image credit: Philips

Epilator is a bit expensive but it's a really life safer and worth the investment! It is an electrical device which removes hair from the roots and provides lasting smoothness. Just like waxing or tweezing, only more efficient. :D

c. Dark Underarms

It’s not enough to just get rid of the underarm hair; some of us also have to suffer from dark underarms. Dark underarms are bound to leave an impression that one is poorly groomed. It could also affect one’s self-confidence especially when wearing sleeveless shirts in public. You can’t raise your hands freely; reaching books from high places or tying up your hair becomes a very uncomfortable situation.

One of the main factors responsible for the occurrence of dark underarms is shaving. When you shave your underarm hair, you only remove the top layer of your hair and leave the roots below which can show through the skin’s surface; making your underarms appear darker. Another factor is when we shave, some of our skin got shaved too and it can cause skin irritation, resulting the skin to form a layer of dead skin cells, which makes underarm skin appear darker.

Solutions:

-Wax it out! Or use epilators! They are a bit painful but they remove hair from the roots, so you can get that bright, smooth underarm skin that you desired. They won't hurt as much after several times anyway.

-Just like this article says, you can use a deodorant with Omega 6 that can help speed up the skin regeneration process and moisturizing cream to nourish underarms skin. For example: Dove Ultimate White Deodorant.

-Need more solutions for dark underarms? Click here.

***

Now that your body skin is healthy, smooth, and bright, especially your underarms, you can confidently wear sleeveless shirts or dresses anywhere and anytime you want!! :D

X O X O,

Elle Yamada

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