November 03, 2015

What's Inside LINE Friends Store & Cafe | Seoul, Korea

It's hard to miss this store when there is 'Mega Brown' (3.2 meters) waiting for you at the entrance. ↑
We were very lucky it wasn't crowded at all that night! We read Ladyironchef's blog that they had to queue to take a picture with the famous bear, phew!

This place was actually not on our "to-go" list in Seoul. So, while we were strolling through Garosu-gil for shopping and culinary trip two days ago, we saw something familiar and eye-catching down the road, and to our surprise, it was LINE Friends Store & Cafe! We were very excited right away because we've been big fans of their stickers and characters since 2012!╰(✧∇✧)╯

But to be honest, we thought it would only be a simple cafe with some merchandise inside, because we remember some of our Instagram followers told us to visit "LINE Cafe" not "Store & Cafe"; but boy, were we wrong. This flagship store totally exceeded our expectation! We are pretty sure no matter you are a LINE fan or not, you will find something that you like here.

It consists of three floors where each floor has its own charm. Let's take a look!

1st FLOOR
Character-themed stationery, plush dolls, and figurines.
LINE RANGERS plush dolls ♥
Oh, hi! This one is a mouse pad.
LINE Halloween edition :D
BROWN overload! Look at dem cute sweaters!
Sally nyempil ;D
Elle's OOTD: Top from Japan | Plaid Coat from Dongdaemun | Topshop Pants | Bruno Premi Boots | Charles&Keith Bag | Hat from Paris


 LOWER GROUND LEVEL
Character-themed bakery/cafe, more stationery and plushies, and... toilet.
Sorry we cannot comment anything about the taste because we were just too full to try it. ヘ(＿　＿ヘ)

There's Mega Sally on this floor as well! :D
Jess' OOTD:  GOWIGASA Maple Capri Pants (Brown) | H&M Meow or Never Sweater | Uniqlo Heat Tech Black Stocking | Hush Puppies Shoes | Cat Eyes Socks from Korea

Lol the toilet. ↑


 2nd FLOOR
Fashion items.
You can also do a selfie with James, the narcissistic gentleman! Haha

LINE Friends Store & Cafe
Address:
535-15 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
Opening Hours:
12:00-21:00 (Everyday!)
Website:

XOXO
By ELLE JESS at 12:00 PM 15 comments
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October 21, 2015

Benefit Launches on Luxola | Review + Swatches

I first encountered Benefit during my trip to New York on 2009. I was instantly attracted to their retro, iconic, super cute graphic designs - decorated with humorous and creative names and taglines on each of their products. I remember I stood on their counter for a looong time, just to browse all of their products with amusement. I ended up buying some of their products AND collecting their catalogs.

I believe by now, most of us are familiar with this sassy brand which originated from San Fransisco in 1976. Well, guess what, Benefit is now available online for the first time and exclusively on Luxola.co.id ~YAY!!

The minute Luxola asked me to collaborate with them regarding Benefit launch on their website, I said yes! They asked me to pick four products to review and they delivered it within that day because I was going abroad in a few days (thanks, Luxola!). Each items were carefully bubble-wrapped and all put together into this bigger bubble-wrapped packaging for extra safety. :)

 As for the products, I chose these babies:
Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash | CORALista | Big Beautiful Eyes | Benebalm
Since I adore their products, some of you might notice that two of these items have made appearance on this blog, guess which two? ^^ #satisfiedcustomer #comingbackformore

Big Beautiful Eyes
↑ Click to enlarge the pic so you can read the tips and tricks ^^ ↑
Big, Beautiful Eyes. What a tagline, I'm sold.
Actually, this was one of their products I bought in my 2009 NY trip ANDDD I still use it til now hahaha (cheapo!). So now that I found this on Luxola, I decided it's time to bid farewell to the 2009's and say hello to the 2015's. Ahhh feeling sentimental here.

Um, before you freak out, it's actually okay to keep your powder, bronzer, blush or eye shadow up to 7 years. At least according to Sir John Bennet, Beyoncé's make up artist. ;) Concealer's only good for 6-12 months, though. But I don't really use it so it's fine by me.
Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/makeupexpiry

Moving on to how I use this Big Beautiful Eyes kit:
This set consists of:
1. Boi-ing concealer
2. Alabaster pink eye shadow
3. Cocoa shimmer eye shadow
4. Rich chocolate eye shadow
& Concealer brush + Double-ended contour/liner brush + Mirror

STEPS:
• If you have dark circles, use the concealer brush with #1 to conceal it
• Under your lower eyelash, dab #2 with your finger to create an 'aegyo sal' (smiling eyes) ^^
• On your lower lash line, apply #4 with the liner brush. This will enhance your eyes, make them more poppin'
• If you think #2 is not enough for your aegyo sal, combine #3 and #4 with the liner brush and pat it on your aegyo sal line. Apply carefully (you don't wanna make it look like you're sleep deprived) and blend it with your finger
• On your eyelids, apply #3 and #4 with the contour brush to make your eyes look bigger and deeper
• Finish with an eyeliner if you want to ^^
I super love this Big Beautiful Eyes kit because it's super super super useful. It's also highly pigmented so as you can see on the comparison pic up there, I can't even finish it after 6 good years because every time I use it, I only have to use very small amount of it. The colors are also very basic and covers what I need for my daily eye makeup look AND it comes with a mirror and super nice brushes! Definitely a must have!

Roller Lash
↑ Click to enlarge the pic ↑
WHAT IS THIS!!! SUPER CUTE REMINDS ME OF PINK HAIR ROLLER OR 90's ROLLER BLADES.

Anyway, this Roller Lash is bomb!
I think it's the best mascara I've ever used, no kidding. It's super... crisp, if you know what I mean. It doesn't clump, it lengthens my lashes and makes it look bolder and sharp yet it gives very natural look. I know it says that I don't need lash curler with this mascara because of its patent pending 'hook n roll brush', but my lashes are very 'down to earth', literally, so I still need to use an eyelash curler before using this mascara for maximum result. Oh, another plus point is this mascara is very easy to remove, making it super nice for daily use because less rubbing = less wrinkles!

CORALista
↑ Click to enlarge the pic ↑
Next, I have this CORALista blush.
From my extensive research on blush ons, I conclude that my cheeks LOVE coral pink because it turns my dull skin into warm, sunshine loving skin, and this CORALista blush is just perfect for me! I love that it comes with this cute, soft tropical-like brush (the wooden holder + white brush reminds me of a coconut!) and a tiny mirror inside of it. So practical! Simply swirl the brush on the blush and apply it on your face. I use it mostly on the apples of my cheeks, a little bit on my nose, and a lil bit more on my forehead to make my skin radiates with healthy flush.

Benebalm
↑ Click to enlarge the pic ↑
So far the best tinted lip balm ever, seriously.

Ever since I tried this one last year, I 'cheated' around by trying another tinted lip balms and so far, none beats this one. Benebalm's pinkish red color is so natural, yet it still pops out on your lips. Although it fades rather quickly (bummer) so I have to reapply it pretty often. Hydration is nice and I looooove the feminine rose scent. I wore out my first Benebalm in a year and now that I have it again, I always carry this on my purse again! ^^ You and me, Benebalm, you and me.
Luxola x Benefit

Anyway, back to the good news that Benefit is now available online on Luxola.co.id.
It's no secret that I love shopping online, maybe more than I do offline. It's because most of the time -ladies listen to me- you can buy things so much cheaper online. Yeah, online stores always have these special discounts / promotional items / coupons / free samples / free shipping / free gifts / online-only sale / etc. etc. So next time you wanna buy something offline, make sure you browse first before you take out your wallet. ;)

The only thing that turns me off when shopping online is when the store looks... suspicious. Like, how can I be sure that my money will be exchanged with the things I ordered? Is it ready stock? If it's a PO (pre-order), when will my things arrive? Is it authentic? What if it's fake? Well, with Luxola.co.id, once you make your order, you can just sit back, relax and wait for your package to arrive because they only sell 100% original, BPOM-certified, ready stock products. Totally trusted. Not to mention the constant promotions on their website and the super safe packaging which makes sure your products arrive safe and sound. :D

Now, it's time for a treat! Join the Giveaway on my Instagram to win the best selling Roller Lash mascara worth IDR 340k and Get 15% OFF when shopping at Luxola.co.id with this code:
ILX-JESS
*Valid until 20 November 2015 for first time users, not valid with other promos and non-discountable brands

Outfit: Tiffany Bow Pleated Dress from GOWIGASA
Okay then, that's all for today, thanks a lot for reading and see you guys on my next post! (ˆヮˆ)づ♡

XOXO
Jessica Yamada
By ELLE JESS at 10:26 AM 11 comments

October 12, 2015

Refresh Your Skin & Lips With Nature's Goodness | GULACO Skincare Review

Scrub + mask + moisture kinda day with Loris
Whether you're familiar with skin care or not, I bet everyone wants to have nice skin. Now beside cleansing your face twice a day, using sunblock, not smoking, drinking a lot of water, taking vitamin C, etc., another fun way to maintain a healthy skin is by applying facial mask regularly or at least, occasionally.
Today I'm gonna introduce you to GULACO, a rather interesting local homemade skincare range which uses all natural ingredients such as green tea, honey, lemon, cocoa, to a more unusual selections such as seaweed, daun kelor (moringa oleifera), daun sambiloto (andrographis paniculata), paprika, beer (whaaat XD), and so on. I've tried and tested four of their products here and I'm gonna review them all for you:
Facial Mask

The Paude Mask Kelor comes in dry powder form. You just have to take one (1) teaspoon of it and add a little bit of water (rose water will also do) to activate the powder and instantly turn it into a face mask. Do not add too much water, though, you want the texture to be liquid, but still thick enough (like baby's food, yum!) to be easily applied on your face. I use it on dry, clean face (avoid eye and hair area) and leave it for 5-10 minutes before rinsing it off.
From GULACO's website:
After trying it out several times, I do think it makes my skin feels smoother and softer right after I rinse it off. I can't really tell about the deep cleansing and acne mark reducing effect, but what I love the most from this mask is the freakishly calming herbal scent. It's so different from any other masks I've tried, as the main ingredient itself is very unique: Daun Kelor (Moringa Oleifera); which contains* 46 different antioxidants, rich in vitamin C and A, has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, and used in the manufacture of perfumes and aromatherapy oils for its gentle, calming scent. Other ingredients used in this mask are Oat, Rice Powder, Pure Kaolin Clay, Goat's Milk and Essential Oil - imagine slapping all those nature's goodness on your skin!
 *source: http://bit.ly/1LAZpsR and http://bit.ly/1OuJ9Pi

Lip Scrub + Lip Balm
As for healthy lips, one should not forget to scrub one's lips every now and then. Dry, chappy, dull colored lips are sometimes caused by those annoying dead skin cells on your lips, waiting to be scrubbed away! I'm using GULACO's Yummy Lip Scrub Coffee here and I LOVE IT! It uses Caster Sugar, Coffee Beans, European Olive, Almond, Avocado, Cocoa and Vitamin E as the ingredients and it smells and tastes (yes I lick it) super yum! The texture is also very gentle on my lips and it does a good job as a lip scrub. It buffs away the dead skin cells PLUS it moisturizes my lips. Here's how I use it:
STEPS:
  1. Start with clean, bare lips
  2. Dab water on your lips
  3. Pinch out the scrub, put them on your hand and start rubbing 'em gently on your lips
  4. Rinse off and done!

P.S. The Yummy Lip Scrub might come off too solid and make it pretty hard to scoop out (it happened to me!). No worries though, you can just put it all out on a dry bowl, crush it with a spoon, and put it all back to the container.
Now that you have a squeaky clean lips, you just have to protect it by sealing in the moisture with a lip balm! This one here is GULACO's Moiste Lip Ba:m 'Grin:ti. As you have probably guessed, it's made of the ever-popular, beneficial Green Tea!
From GULACO's website: 
This lip balm moisturizes but feels a bit dry on my lips. The green tea scent is very strong and lovely, though. I keep it next to my bed so I can remember to use it before I sleep to make sure my lips are protected all night long!

Multifunction Balm

Some areas on our body are more prone to dryness and cracking than the other and they need extra care to keep it soft and youthful. These problematic areas are the elbows, knees, heels, cuticles and um, butt cheeks. It happens to me, and it might happen to you as well. What I do is using a product which is stronger and more moisturizing than a regular body lotion on these areas, especially when they start to feel drier than usual. This Otton Salve Vanilla is one of those products! It's a multifunction balm which is designed to treat very dry skin.
From GULACO's website:
I haven't tried it as a makeup remover or breast cream lol, but as a balm, it does a great job! I keep it next to my body lotion on the bathroom drawer, so I can use it right after shower (the best time to moisturize your skin is right after you cleanse it) on the dry areas. Sometimes I reapply it at night before going to sleep for extra protection. Despite its super moisturizing power, it's surprisingly not sticky or oily. As you can see, the chapped skin on my right heel here is already starting to heal with just one application. For comparison, I used nothing on my left heel (sorry, left heel!):

So, where can you get these lovely products? Here you go:
GULACO's website | instagram | twitter | facebook

Okay then, that's all for today, thanks a lot for reading and see you guys on my next post! (ˆヮˆ)づ♡

XOXO
Jessica Yamada
By ELLE JESS at 5:38 PM 11 comments
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