What: the first vibrating power mascara from Lancome
The promise: lashes look extraordinary extended, separated and multiplied
Availability: November 2008, limited one day launch on July 31st
Price: $34

Power mascara? Vibrating wand? As someone who poked her eyes one too many times with regular mascaras, I should be running away from this one. I don’t even wear mascara everyday, but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to check it out.

The ‘power’ part was exactly as I imagined. You can hear the motor buzzed as it moves the wand, up to 7000 micro oscillation per minute. As prospective buyers can’t personally tried it on (for health reason), the make up artists will show you how it looks like on their lashes - one eye with and one without. I wasn’t sold until one Lancome lady took off her mascara and put Oscillation on for me. I could see how her lashes lengthen and curled with several swipes of the wand. That’s exactly what I wanted - the curly long lashes I don’t naturally have.

So I went home with the most expensive mascara I ever buy. I don’t think I’ve ever read instruction that carefully before putting any make up on before. As I pressed the button, the wand moves up and down and I swipe it from root to tip as instructed.

The result: after three swipes, my thin lashes appear thicker and longer without clumps (see my before and after photo). I found that it has amazing staying power after (accidentally) slept without cleaning my make up. Unlike some other mascara, it doesn’t leave me looking like a raccoon in the morning. Bonus point, it’s also easy to remove. As for the curling part? It does decent job of lifting my straight lashes, but not as much as it did to that Lancome lady. Too bad, considering that it was the main reason I bought this mascara. But come to think of it, Lancome never promises to curl your lashes either… so it does exactly as it promised.

Does it worth the price? I like what it does to my lashes and especially the staying power, but I’m sure there are mascaras out there with similar results at a cheaper price. I haven’t decided whether to keep or return it. Let’s wait, hopefully as I mastered the application, it will give me the long lush and curly lashes of my dream.

One little surprise about this mascara, I swear the smell reminds me of jambu bol/jambu mede. Curious, huh? Or maybe I’m just hungry, hahahahaha…..

There, neatly arranged in a simple shelf, lie a few selected, hard-to-find, niche brands of that would make any parfume aficionados’ hearts beat faster : L’Artisan, Etro, Annick Goutal, Comme de Garcons!

I was like a kid in a candy store. I really wish I had more than one nose so I could sniff every perfume available there without feeling nauseous. The SA was kind enough to spray those fragrances on my wrist even after I told him I’d probably need a lot of time to decide and won’t buy any right away (there are too many options and these stuff ain’t cheap!). He even gave me a handful of samples to take home at the end of my manic sniffing session! I LOVE him!

Anyway, I finally got to sample some of the cult products I’ve been reading about all this time. L’Artisan Mure Et Musc and Tea For Two, Annick Goutal’s Mandragore (even though this line is actually available in B18 ), Odeur 71 and Play from Comme de Garcons along with some other perfumes that I can’t remember the names of which has the coolest packaging ever!

As predicted, I came home empty-handed except for the generous samples the gorgeous SA gave me but I am more than pleased to know that the next time I want to buy a special present for a special person (read : myself!), I know where to go!

Glow Living Beauty is on Ground Level, Plaza Indonesia.

Image : thejakartapost.com

Pertengahan tahun ini rasanya seperti menjadi moment dimana para designer lokal unjuk gigi. Jum’at malam, 2 Agustus 2008, Arantxa Adi atau yang lebih dikenal dengan nama panggilan “Acong” menyelenggarakan fashion show dengan tema “Contrast” di ballroom Hotel Mulia Senayan.

Show yang baru dimulai pada pukul 9.30 malam ini menampilkan karya-karya Acong baik dalam ranah women’s wear maupun men’s wear. Koleksi women’s wear tetap mendominasi show kali ini mengingat Acong hanya menyajikan sedikit koleksi men’s wear yang—jujur—tidak cukup meninggalkan kesan bagi penikmat fashion mengingat garis rancangnya tidak terlalu kuat dan memiliki statement. Beralih ke koleksi women’s wear, Acong lebih banyak menyajikan gaun-gaun pesta yang terkesan glamor dengan sentuhan payet yang minimalis pada beberapa koleksinya. Infusi Yunani juga begitu terasa pada beberapa gaunnya yang mengingatkan kita pada romansa Aphrodite. Acong jarang sekali bermain dengan motif ataupun corak di dalam koleksinya kali ini, justru lebih banyak bermain origami sederhana pada beberapa karyanya.

Di pengujung acara, Anggun yang sempat membuka fashion show ini kembali muncul untuk menyanyikan tembang penutup hingga pada akhirnya para model berjalan meniti catwalk dengan menarik kain putih yang diangkat tinggi-tinggi seperti sedang membawakan kejutan bagi para undangan. Ternyata kejutan itu tak lain adalah kemunculan sang designer sendiri dari balik kain tersebut. Setelah memberikan penghormatan pada para undangan, Acong pun meninggalkan panggung catwalk setelah para undangan telah satu per satu meninggalkan ruangan terlebih dahulu—bahkan jauh sebelum acara selesai.

Bila kita menilik kembali judul fashion show Acong dengan isi koleksinya memang kurang berelaborasi; entah dimana letak “Contrast” yang ia maksudkan. Meskipun demikian, harus diakui bahwa karya-karyanya memiliki daya jual yang cukup tinggi dengan rancangannya yang sangat wearable. Inilah salah satu designer tanah air yang turut menyemarakkan kancah mode Indonesia!

The Bag: Capriasi
The Contents:

• Syal Biru Metro Plangi
• Syal Golden Naughty
• Dompet coklat bunga-bunga buat nyimpen hp dan rokok
• Dompet coklat panjang
• Hp Esia berwarna
• Motorola W270 + earphone
• Kalung bintang
• Kantong kosmetik pink Naughty
• Pisau cukur buat alis (gak tahan kalo pake pinset)
• Pelembab Total Efect Olay Rp. 75,000
• Set make up semua keluaran Oriflame heheh
• Flashdisc 1 GB
• LA Light Menthol (nggak keliatan)
• Novel The Shining (buat kalo pas bengong di jalan, atau mesti nunggu-nunggu gitu)

Want to participate? Please send yours to info@fashionesedaily.com!

Updated August 4, 2008 : As you may have noticed, the forum is growing at a staggering rate and we find it a little bit challenging to keep it where we want it. In a mission to keep things on track with our vision and standard, we are performing some maintenance at the forum; tidy things up and sorting out the members area. All zero post members will be deleted on Sunday, August 31 2008. New member registration is now closed as we are working on a new registration process. In the future, invitation is needed to join the forum, registration is subject to approval to ensure that those who join are truly passionate about fashion, beauty and the industry, either as fashion and/or beauty addicts, die hard consumer, practitioner or insider.

Besides 0 posting, we will also delete those who haven’t been back to the forum for the last 6 months. Email warnings will be sent this week to give them a chance to contribute to the community.

As always, any suggestion is welcome..:)

But that’s not all that I found because I also saw some familiar faces when I flipped through the magazine. Woro and Tje2p, who are a long time FD members were featured in there, looking prettier than usual. Woro got a full page in Beauty in Action section (thanks for the mention about FD ya Wor), while Tje2p got not one but four pages of fashion spread. One other FDer who likes to remain anonymous is also featured, even an FD baby is making an appearance there. You just have to buy the July edition magazine to see more, and if you really need a complete mind and body guide, this is the magazine that you need to subscribe!

How about you? Do you dare try this funny-looking mascara? Would you spend $27 for this?

Image courtesy of blogdorfgoodman

The Bag : Samantha Thavasa with ST logo charm

The Content :

• Celine Organizer : Ini sebenarnya hadiah ultah dari gw buat suami, namun akhirnya gw yg pake.
• Prada Black saffiano wallet
• Prada Black saffiano key wallet : ini souvenir dari wedding teman suami di Jepang
• Christian Dior card holder : buat simpan train card, discount card, member card
• Mango silver coin case
• Panasonic 810P
• Sony Ericsson W880i with Gucci blue strap
• Wicked sista cosmetic pouch isi : Kissme ferme lipstick, canmake lip concealer, virgin lip serum, baby sunblock dan jepit rambut.
• House key

Want to participate? Please send yours to info@fashionesedaily.com!
 

Whether full-on raisin shade or “barely there” translucent berry or be it just a wine stain - wear your lips like you’ve been drinking merlot all night long (minus the hangover!)

Photo credit : MAC Cosmetics

Top : Chloe

Middle : Rodarte, Richard Nicoll

Bottom : Todd Lynn