Beauty Thoughts : Missha M Magic Cushion x Wonder Woman Edition

Yellow!

As I am currently in-between jobs (baca: pengangguran friksional), I'm thinking of updating this blog more often with beauty reviews and other posts. I have some other posts coming so if anybody is reading, make sure you check the next posts! I would love to get feedback as well about my writings and my review should there be any critics or improvements you'd like to see.

Today's post is a review of the MISSHA M MAGIC CUSHION : Wonder Woman Edition in the shade #23. It's my first cushion product as you know that this type of product is all the hype now in Western cosmetics. As far as I know, Asian brands have had this for a while now while brands such as Lancome, Physician's Formula, Philosophy, and L'Oreal just started releasing their version of cushion product. Mostly are cushion foundation but I know that Philosophy have a cushion blush and there's also a cushion bronzer from L'Oreal. Korean brands like Missha, Tony Moly, A'pieu, and Beyond have collaborated with companies to release Limited Edition cushions that feature animation character like Mighty Atom, Alice in Wonderland, Doraemon, Brown, and of course,Wonder Woman.

Mine is in the shade #23

I bought this product through Pre-Order last year just before Black Friday. There are actually two version of this cushion. The other one is in blue packaging with the name Missha Magic Moisture Cushion, since it claims to be more moisturizing. When I bought it I wasn't aware of that though, I chose the Red one just because I thought it's cuter :P I don't regret it though, since I've heard that Korean brand cushions tend to dry down into dewy finish and can be a little sticky on the skin. So the Red one it is!

 The product came in a box with the same design. The cushion material itself is quite sturdy yet still lightweight enough to carry in your pouch. The size is quite bulky, almost 1/3 bigger than my MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation. But I suspect that most cushion product is bulky like that since it has the cushion-sponge thing and then a lid to keep it from drying, then on top of that is the sponge applicator. I chose the shade #23 because it only has two shade selection(!) and it's the darkest one. Thankfully it suits my NC 25, neutral undertone skin pretty well. The foundation has this perfume-y foundation scent, but I don't mind actually.

The shade #23 is not too pink and it has a good amount of yellow in it. The texture of the product itself is quite runny when you push your finger into the cushion. I've heard that the best way to apply this product is with the sponge applicator provided and I agree. It gives a more even finish and it's convenient! I use it with tapping motion, pressing it into my skin instead of wiping it across my skin. Be careful not to put too much product on the sponge because you will end up with a semi- sticky feel afterwards, which happened to me in my first few times using this.

The coverage is sheer to medium, but I personally like it for daily use. The finish itself is dewy, but not overly dewy, just enough dewyness that make your skin looks alive. If you wear glasses like I do, I recommend setting the product with a little bit of powder in the area where your glasses touch your face because mine transferred to my glasses. I currently have dry skin and it does cling to your dry patch, so make sure you moisturize your face properly beforehand to get a flawless finish. 

can you see the dewyness? It's so hard to capture, my apology >.<

This cushion is my go-to make up for most mornings, because it's just so easy, fast, and convenient and I love the dewy finish it gives! It stays on the skin pretty well too, but if you have oily skin prepare to blot throughout the day. It certainly makes me curious to try other cushion product. It's also refillable!

So all in all, I'm giving this a rate of 4.5/5.00

Yay for the cute packaging, the finish, the price

Nay for the scent and the limited shade selection

Psst, check out my review as well on FemaleDaily Beauty Review Platform!

TTYL, beauties!

Saya (Insya Allah) Bukan Sarjana Abal-Abal

This particular post is made as a response to this article 

The article has some really good points, which I agree with. Some of which are :

a. TVOne should not frame the news in the demeaning way, making fun of the lady who was interviewed after the commencement ceremony. There are some components that the writer has pointed out, such as the clown-esque music as background, the reporter's tone while talking to the lady, and so on. It sure is not focusing on the real problem here : a shady foundation held a commencement ceremony with no proof that such learning activity actually happened. Bias in classes? Uhm, I'm not sure. I don't think the reporter was thinking about her being in lower SES class, I think the reporter just thought the confused lady's interview would be a hilarious highlight news and could possibly gone viral, which it did. 

b. Indonesia's higher education system is not fair, it sure is. I believe that the government should put all their best effort to make education affordable and accessible to everyone. Everyone should have equal opportunity to get the best education (whoa, socialist me, calm down) possible. But I realize making it happened is not as easy as turning the palm of your hand. Even the mighty United States of America struggles with this issue for ages.

So, for some points, I agree with the writer. What I don't agree to, and I actually feel offended with (yeah call me baper, I am baper like that) the title " Sarjana Abal-Abal? Memangnya Anda Bukan?"

I am not graduated (yet), but hopefully soon to be. And I will say out loud, HELL NO I'M NOT SARJANA ABAL-ABAL. And I know many people who certainly are not sarjana abal-abal. Truth be told? The so called sarjana abal-abal, which he inferred as those who doesn't really learn anything in college, those who ask their friends to tick their attendance in class, those who goes to college only to satisfy the parents and the family, and those who's after the degree rather than the knowledge in their respective field. Let me break this up for you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God, I remember writing this but I could not, for the life of me, remember the rest of the argument! I really need to finish what I write like, asap, before it's gone~ or I need to actually plan an outline to write so it doesn't end up like this. Garing abis, lagi hot-hotnya mau berargumen trus ga selesai postingnya :D

Anyway, it's February 11th meaning that it has been 5 days since my graduation ceremony. It also means that I have been a frictional unemployed (geez not sure about the words of choice). It has been dull and boring, but hey, I'll try to fill up these days with writing more here on my blog.

Back to topic. Sarjana Abal-Abal. I still reject that term and I will gladly say that I am not a sarjana abal-abal. (Note : the writer may define me as the proud member of "kelas menengah ngehe dengan mentalitas holier than thou" , well I'm fine with that). The reason?

Because I earn my Bachelor's degree. And I love every second of my struggle to get it.

(Well, I lie. There are some yucky moment of college too, but that only makes the fun part even more fun!).

I will start by saying that I am extremely blessed and super grateful that I got to learn the subjects of my choice, which is something that I love. I have been fascinated with media for as long as I can remember so communication studies was exactly what I wanted to learn in college in the first place. Alhamdulillah I got accepted to really great university with lots of amazing and super cool lecturers *drools* whom I can have interesting conversation with.

Never in my life I imagine that I would be able to analyze my favorite Netflix series for final assignment ( and my lecturer happens to like the series as well!). I wrote paper on Indonesia Lawak Club and D'Academy (yes that one in Indosiar). I even analyze the social media Path using Jacques Lacan's concept :'D. I learn so frickin much! My friends from Media Studies concentration are also really cool like we could talk about everything and discuss it from many different perspectives. We played dress-up (or dress down? not sure) for a class, we held a movie screening and discussion for final project, and many more memories from my college days. Sure, other parts of college are also fun. Joining various organization and events, but I actually really really like my learning process in Departemen Ilmu Komunikasi, FISIP UI.

I was not, in any way, a perfect student. I had my ups and downs. There were days when I started writing term paper two weeks early and spent time perfecting the whole assignment, but also there were days when I started writing 6 hours before deadline. I had my days when I came too early to class, but I also had been in a situation when I was almost one hour late to a class. There are lecturers I absolutely love and look up to, there are some that I really dislike and avoid *guess we all do that*

If a reporter asked me what's my favorite course, I really can't answer. Because I think every course is so different and so special *insert Barney's song* that I can't just pick a favorite. I think that's what happens when you really like the course you're studying.

My writing process for undergrad thesis was also a mess. I've spent days when I avoided the laptop so much I won't even turn it on, and there were times when I was up for more than 24 hours because my mind was on fire *also, dikejar deadline*  All those sleep-deprived moments, whining and curling into fetal position staring into blank space thinking about thesis, the thesis defense, the documents yang seabrek-abrek ribet benar, menatap nanar pada layar hp menunggu respon dosen-dosen...those were priceless. The day I finally got to wear my graduation gown and marched clumsily (because I was in kebaya and heels) to Balairung with my parents were worth all that.

All those struggles and then someone *kinda* accused you as a sarjana abal-abal? Hell no I'm not! I can very well see that some people who read this might think "yaelah kalo bukan ya ngapain sewot, kesindir yak?" Nggak, gue gak kesindir. I'm writing this to channel my inner baper self aja kok :)

Regards,
Nadia Shifa, S.Sos.

I *might* write again regarding to the "kerja nggak sesuai sama jurusan" comments. I might, I might. We'll see.

bonus pap wisuda

Take my hand...

Shall I stay

would it be a sin?

If I can't help falling in love with you

My Prized Possesion

Halo.

Beginilah, suntuk skripsian mari menulis hal lain yang tidak berbau skripsi.

Kali ini gue mau ngomongin one of my most prized possesion, my books.

I used to be an avid reader. Well, I think avid is an understatement. I love reading for as long as I can remember. Dari kecil, kesenangan gue adalah baca. Majalah, koran, komik, novel, pamflet, even neon signs toko-toko, you named it. Untungnya orang tua gue senang-senang aja mengakomodir hobi membaca gue. Randomly gue masih sangat ingat tiap kali ke mall gue harus wajib kudu ke toko buku and at least minta dibeliin satu buku. Begitupun kalo ke rumah sodara, pasti gue mencari bahan untuk dibaca. Reading was such a big part of my life.

(Sampe sini agak sedih karena mau gak mau harus pakai was di kalimat di atas)

Tiap kali ulang tahun, gue gak minta kado apa-apa. Gue hanya minta diajak ke toko buku dan dibolehin beli buku sepuas-puasnya :D Karena otak licik gue tau, kalo minta mentahnya bukunya pasti dapetnya terbatas muahahaha. Tiap tahun juga gue gak boleh absen pergi ke Pesta Buku yang di JCC/Istora itu, dan gue selalu ngabisin tabungan disitu. Iya lho, dulu gue nabung untuk beli buku. Salah satu ingatan termanis gue adalah pas SD, gue inget nabung untuk beli buku Lupus, sudah dua mingguan dan gue gak sabar pingin beli buku. Bokap gue pun ngajak gue ke Pasar Senen naik metromini untuk cari buku Lupus (karena Lupus pas itu emang udah gak masuk Gramedia). Dan yay terbelilah buku Lupus, sayangnya gue lupa yang mana muahahaha. Tapi masih inget banget pas gue baca di halaman sebelum bab I nya (yang si Hilmannya suka nulis satu-dua kalimat ituloh) itu tulisannya kurang lebih gini " Buat kamu yang udah rela nabung buat beli buku ini". Kyah! Bisa kebetulan gitu.

Anyway, talking about Lupus, ternyata itu seri seru juga buat di analisis. Separate post coming your way!

Pertemanan gue sama Dira juga awalnya berkembang gara-gara buku. Yes, karena jaman dulu gue kurang modal (sekarang juga h gak modal sih) jadi hobinya pinjem buku sama Dira yang sama-sama doyan baca. Pinjem-pinjeman buku ini berlangsung dari SD sampe SMA, walaupun pas SMA udah mulai berkurang intensitas pinjem-pinjeman buku dan berganti dengan pinjem-pinjeman film/series. Hahahaha

Liat-liat blog archives, ternyata gue sering juga nulis tentang buku di blog ini. Ada di sini, sini, sini, dan sini . 

Alasan kenapa gue tiba-tiba nulis tentang buku sebenernya bukan karena cuma gara-gara lagi suntuk skripsian. Tapi karena somehow tadi gue ended up buka hashtag #jualbuku di Instagram dan lihatlah gue orang-orang yang pada menjual bukunya. Dan gue jadi mikirin buku-buku gue di lemari, yang btw udah lama banget gak diupdate isinya semenjak gue mulai memilih untuk baca buku aslinya (non terjemahan) dalam bentuk ebook...which is, 4 tahun lalu dimana gue mulai nyaman baca ebook di iPod gue. Aneh ya baca di iPod? Tapi gue kok suka ya. Kalo pake tablet berat, gabisa sambil guling-guling. Kalo di komputer nyalainnya aja males. Kalo di HP, sayang boros batere.

Anyway, back to topic. Iya, gue jadi mikirin. Kok mereka pada rela ya jual-jualin buku. Me? Not a chance. 

a glimpse of my library

Gue sadar banget sih frekuensi baca buku gue udah turun jauh banget. Sampai pada point dimana gue sekarang gak yakin buku apa yang terakhir gue baca sampe selesai; rasanya sih bukunya Gillian Flynn ya. Ketertarikan gue sama buku juga udah jauh banget. Setelah buku, gue terobsesi sama film dan series. Dan sekarang, most of my time dihabiskan untuk bahas make up and beauty. Dan toko buku bukan lagi tempat yang wajib gue datangi.

Sedih. Iya, sedih, kenapa gue gak bisa mempertahankan antusiasme membaca gue kayak dulu, padahal gue ada di titik kehidupan dimana banyak baca buku bener-bener bisa takes you further in life. 

Tapi gue gak bisa bohong kalo buku-buku gue yang tersusun rapi di lemari buku depan kamar itu masih menempati posisi sebagai my most prized possesion. Gue gak keberatan kalo harus jual produk-produk makeup gue, tapi buku-buku gue gak akan pernah gue jual. They're my prized possesion.

I love my books. Whether they're rugged and written all over or pristine and still have sharp edges. Sayangnya gue telat sadar kalo buku tuh MAHAL dan harus disayang. can you believe it gue dulu doyan gambar-gambar dan coret-coret dan GUNTING-GUNTING cover buku Harry Potter gue. Buku 1-4 itu udah gembel banget semua, baru buku 5 (yang keluar pas SMP kayaknya, udah gedean dikit) dan seterusnya yang lumayan cantik. I love all my books. Dari teenlit klasik angkatan pertama ( Dealova, Me vs High Heels, Cewek Mall, etc), Lupus lama, Kariage Kun (!), my PRIZED POSSESION OF COMPLETE SET OF THE PRINCESS DIARIES SERIES ( which was on my wishlist 6 years ago), of course my Harry Potter, Twilight series (with boxes dan foto-foto, belinya set because no matter what people said Twilight is a very well written series (let's leave the whole feminist argument out of the frame for now)), dan The Godfather - Mario Puzo terbitan Gramedia yang entah dari kapan gue udah ngemis-ngemis di twitter Gramedia minta diterbitin ulang. Satu koleksi gue yang entah ada dimana sekarang, gue juga gak inget kenapa bisa hilang semua, adalah Kumpulan Cerpen Bobo. Sedihnyaaa. Padahal ceritanya bagus-bagus banget.

Bottom line is, I love my books. Even though I barely touch them anymore.

Maybe because they remind me of the person I used to be? I don't know. I'm not sure.

Gue rindu terhanyut dalam bacaan (yang ternyata ada penjelasan ilmiahnya ). Gue rindu masa-masa di mana gue bisa bener-bener gak ngapa-ngapain; bahkan ngelirik hp pun enggak, pas lagi baca buku yang seru. Gue kangen masa-masa dimana gue deg degan sama kelanjutan buku sampe balik halamannya aja takut (yes, I am cupu like dat). Gue kangen nangis sedih atau bahagia ngikutin tokoh dalam bukunya (waktu baca Ayat-Ayat Cinta gue beneran pengen ikut sujud syukur pas Fahrinya bebas) 

Kayaknya gue harus memacu diri untuk rajin baca lagi deh. Buku apapun, fiksi atau non fiksi (walaupun lately gue mulai berusaha untuk baca non fiksi). I will try to balance out my spending on make up with spending on books.

Wish me luck!

Want. Need.

When my favorite beauty guru Tati mentioned Marc Jacobs Eyeshadow Palette in one of her video (I think it was the Perfect Palette Tag video or something) I was intrigued. She loves the palette because it's very compact yet still have this elegant and effortless design. So Marc, right. Also the quality of the shadows is through the roof, woop.

So when I paid a visit to Sephora at Plaza Indonesia, I stood over at Marc Jacobs' collection shelf for sometimes, swatching a few things. And I. FELL. HEAD OVER HEELS. WITH. THIS. BEAUTY. RIGHT HERE.

Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 Plush Shadow in The Lolita 206
 

So so beautiful. The shadows are so smooth and buttery and creamy I don't know it's just that good. I have Lorac  that everybody seems to love, Lorac shadows are also buttery and creamy but not as smooth as this Marc Jacobs right here. Even when swatched it glides so effortlessly and sitting oh so prettily on the back of my hand. I want to own one someday. I want The Lolita and The Lover. Both are so beautiful.

Priced at $59, it is way up there for [only] seven shadows, but hey this is Marc Jacobs. 

Someday, baby, someday. I'll have you in my life.

Toodles and kisses,

Nadia

Current Beauty Wishlist

Sunday Riley Skin Care 

picture taken from here

I have my eyes set on the Ceramic Slip Cleanser and Good Genes. I'm not an oil person, so I'll pass on the oils. I heard so many great things of these products and so keen to try! I'm still saving up my money, though, considering they are pricey as hell :/

 Oscar Blandi Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray

from here 

I have the flattest hair ever. It got no volume and very thin and flat. My oily scalp only makes things worse, and since I try not to shampoo my hair every day (because of something my momma said about too many chemicals and stuff), dry shampoo is my savior for the day after I washed my hair. Currently I'm using the drugstore dry shampoo, Batiste, and it works okay for me. This item is said to work wayyyy better product than Batiste, that is why I put it here in this list.

Sigma Beauty Eye Brushes

source

For some reasons I am not very interested in their face brushes, I don't know, I have Real Techniques and ELF Brushes to apply my make up at the moment and I am fairly satisfied with their performan-ce. Besides I am also keeping an eye at the Beauty Blender and I think I'll be all set once I get it in my hands. But for eye brushes, it's a whole different story. The only decent eye brushes I have are EcoTools Duo Eyes Enhancing Sets which are two brushes with four brush heads; yes they are dual ended brush. I finally realized that every eye brush have their own function and one just cannot justify using other brushes to fulfill one's job. It can be done, yes, but it won't be as good. And Sigma is raved by so many frickin people and I heard the quality is amazing. Zoeva is also said to have good brush but Sigma Beauty have the it-factor, I want these brushes SO BAD.

Guerlain Meteorites Perles Teint Rose

Claimed to give an illusion of glow from within, I am sold. I want want want this. I could never afford it probably but hey, that's why this post is titled Wishlist, LOL. I never really got attracted to these beautiful pearls before, not until I saw how beautiful a highlighter is when used properly in one's face. I love all the shine. But then it's not enough, I want glow. And then I research a lot and fell in love with Guerlain Meteorites's review. Besides...look at that packaging. So beautiful please come to mi vanity, won't ya?

Too Faced Cocoa Contour Face Contouring and Highlight

It smells like chocolate. The packaging is cute, the color selection is great, it comes with a cute fluffy brush, it has great reviews. What more could I ask?

I think it's all for now, I sure have many more but I'll break it down to couple posts!

Love,
Nadia

Thoughts on Nosy People and Religion

I can never understand why people are so nosy about others' religious activity and/or affiliation and/or perspective.

I am a student of this one lecturer who has been getting many controversies from what he said on the media, specifically from what he wrote on his page, like status update or just a few short captions on the news/article he shared on his page. I will not mention who he is; as there are haters probably obsessively googled his name every so often and I simply don't want them to stop by and read my thoughts here. My blog, my authority, so f*ck off.

I just paid a short visit to his page and saw many mean comments. Like, really mean, condescending comments. Calling him names. I should mention that most of his controversial statement is religion-related, which I could never understand why he kept doing it over and over, but hey, it's his right to say whatever he wants to, just as it is the haters' right to leave any comments on his page. But freedom of speech yadda yadda is not my point here. I am talking about the attitude.

Growing up with a very cool parents, I think I do quite well in the area. As in, knowing which attitude is bad and which is okay, or even nice to have. But nosy has never been on the side of "good attitude" why? Because it is common courtesy, it's basic logic in my opinion (psychology majors would you please explain?) that being nosy, especially for private matters, is not nice. It's basic etiquette that I believe, sourced from one's understanding of what ethics means. Conclusion : if you can't differ between good and bad attitude, you probably have a very low understanding of basic ethics.

Some people may argue that when it comes to religion, there are different sets of ethics applied. Some may even believe that it is their duty to "straighten" one's thoughts that is considered "deviant". But I really really don't think so. Religion, no matter what it is and what the details in the holy book said, is centered on one thing : kindness. Be kind. Be nice to people. Sure there are verses about beheading and killing so called "kafir" (which made me think of how much of a hypocryte many people are, one day they're saying that it's all in God's will, God knows best et cetera, but the next day decided for themselves that in fact, they know best, which reflected in what they said and claimed). But come on, really guys? You think religion should be all about the punishment from God? About avoding sins and preventing others from committing sins? Whatever happens to loving God for all His grace and gifts?  What the hell ever happens to CREATE PEACE BETWEEN HUMANKIND?

All you guys do are fighting. What? It's jihad? Fighting for the pride of Islam and standing for God's and the Prophets teachings? Since when doing so is translated into : Hey guys let's trash this one guy's facebook timeline, he said *wrong* things about Islam we should teach him to think straight and read more and do taubat!

What the hell ever happens to sharing beautiful article and news about how Almighty our God is. I really do love those articles. Makes me feel small and aware of my place in the universe. All I see today is so called writings about human committing sins and God punishes them in some way. Geez, I didn't know that religion is that scary. I guess I prefer to imagine Allah in all His asmaul husna, those beautiful traits of my God who is very nice and forgiving and Almighty and loving and yeah. Sometimes I do get jealous when my Christian friends share scripts and verses about love, "kasih". Why can't people on my timeline share those things too,about Allah's love? About making peace and be kind to one another? About how to live our life in peace by following His teachings and Prophets way? The beautiful stuff about Islam, please!

(Or maybe I just need a different set of people on my timeline)

Besides, religion is a very private things. I do not believe in intervening in other people's process of being religious. It's okay and it's nice to get advice on what to do to improve my acts, but other than that please just don't.

For a very (appearance - wise) not religious person I wrote a lot about religion here. I wonder why.