Customer Review: US vs France

US vs France. No.. I am not talking about war or any political issues. I am talking about some women’s passion – Lipstick.

Last week, I have rewarded myself a MAC lipstick.

The story begins…

When I was a student, I do really admire this one cosmetic product, MAC. The color, the prestige, the brand, the packaging, economic… everything seems perfect! (For a guy, MAC is something similar like Ferrari). During that time, I couldn’t afford to get one.

When I went to France, I have been introduced to this one brand, Yves Rocher. It is a botanical product. What attract me the most is their lipstick. Very moisturizing, beautiful color, very affordable. But still, MAC product was something that is always in my dream to own one day.

The day has come. For about a year I have been happily using 3 Yves Rocher lipsticks, I finally ‘betrayed’ it once. I have bought a lipstick from MAC. I’ve got myself the most lovely sweet pink color – the color that I was dreaming about since many years ago.

New MAC store is opened in Alamanda Putrajaya. I was a bit nervous when entering the store. It is my dream to step in there – like kids entering the candy shop. I was entertained by a lovely salesgirl. She assists me to try the lipstick, powder, and blusher. Variety of colors. For blusher, to be frank, I love blusher from The Body Shop more! In the end, I just got myself the lipstick that cost me RM68 – not bad huh.

A normal procedure when you’re the first timer in using this product – fill in a form that I cant recall the exact name but something related to warranty –  a bit technical word.

I was happy! Again, I love the color. When I applied this lipstick on my lips, I don’t need any lip gloss. It is “wet”-looking enough.

After about a week that I have been using this product, I feel a bit disappointed. The promising moisturizer is not that moist. I need to apply an additional lip balm before applying the lipstick.

If using Yves Rocher lipstick, I don’t need any other lip balm to moist my lips. Now I realized that why should I get another brand that couldn’t take care of my lips?

Sorry MAC, you have disappointed me. I was happy when I went into your shop. I was happy when I went out from that shop. But I think, Yves Rocher suits a dehydrated-person like me, more.

Indulging

Bismillah.

Berbahagianya hari ni. Off day from work sebab menghabiskan sisa2 cuti yang takleh nak carry forward.

Bangun sesuka hati kul berapa.. lazing around sampai pening sebab perut kosong… lunch order delivery je walaupun lambat sampai sejam… owh tak kesah la.

Lepas Zohor, terus kluar rumah menuju ke alamanda bersama2 dengan To-Buy-List yang dicatat dalam notebook lawa yang dihadiahkan oleh kak Naomi.

Walaupun kat jalan pening kepala dengan moron-drivers, my mood still tak terusik. It is my day-off. Around 3pm, sampai di Alamanda. Owh VIPnya dpt park depan entrance sebab semua org dah masuk office blk.

Misi menjejaki barang2 yang on sale pun bermula. Parkson, Japanese Home Deco, Yves Rocher, Watsons… those are places that I went to.

Jalan-jalan cari barang… ada promo yang menarik perhatian from YR. Shower gel & cream perfume. 3 items for RM38.

This product range sangat wangi and menarik perhatian. Well, there is another item yang betul2 tengah sale… their Vanilla perfume set. less 60%. tinggal RM86 kot. Hampir-hampir la nak terbeli. I keep on borrowing mantra from Confession of A Shopaholic movie, “Do I need this?”. Hahaha sounds so drama… but it works! Lagi pun, I have just bought a perfume in Oct, so jangan membazir wahai shakiranova!

Jalan punya jalan, kering pulak tekak ni. Well, one of my plan g alamanda is to redeem my starbucks drink. Complementary grande from starbucks sebab dah cukup 10 kali beli guna their card. aaaaa saya suka saya suka (nada suara meimei upin ipin)! Thank you!

Balik je rumah, update stock shower foam.

I will spend more time masa mandi to decide nak pakai which shower foam.

Somehow, today I have figured out that shopping is my therapy. I had a couple of hectic weeks before, and today, I feel very happy… although it decreased some money, but yet, nothing is free kan.

Alhamdulillah.

Saturday Evening with Yves Rocher

Hello! How’s your weekend? This weekend I’ve chose to pamper myself. Other than sleep… I and my friend, Salmi, went for make over.

Kebetulan Yves Rocher Alamanda ada promotion untuk produk terbaru, Hydra Vegetal.

Cuaca sekarang kan sangat panas masa tengah hari. Walaupun dah minum air more than 1.5L sehari, kulit tetap rasa kering. Seharian keje dalam sejuk air-cond pun boleh mengeringkan kulit. So we do really need a product to hydrate our skin from the outside too.

We starts our session by analyzing our skin.

Miss Nina’s my assistant through out the day and every time I went there. She’s very friendly, and helpful. She helps me to check my skin’s hydration. The result’s not so good… 33%. It indicates I have a dry skin. Well, I already know that since I keep on feel thirsty all the time.

I’ve gone through the following steps;

I love the feeling. Very cool. Not as cool as mint but I feel like I‘m applying wet tissue on my face every single minute. Very refreshing!! I even feel like to apply it to all over my body!

When we have finished, here’s the result…

58%. Any result is good as long as it is above 50%.

Thanks nina!

Lets move to make over…

Impressive. SO many equipment!

Well, there are two makeup artists. Mine wasn’t really friendly boooooo

She feels unease when I keep on asking what product/item that she applied to my face. Of course I want to know every single thing that you’ve applied to my face… at least it can increase the potential for me to buy Yves Rocher’s makeup products. Don’t you get it miss?

What I can recall during the session’s;

She starts with eye’s area – eyelid’s sticker (makes your eyes bigger), foundation, eye based, light pink eyeshadow (based), brown eyeshadow (shading), eyeliner.

Then baru masuk bahagian seluruh muka.

Foundation – loose powder – pink blusher – eyebrow shadow (chocolate) – mascara – bulu mata palsu (optional).

Alahhhh, very basic lah. Bukan macam artis nak naik pentas.

And here’s the result.

Mari kita pergi ke sesi photoshoot…

One of the shoots. Pandai cik salmi kita berposing.

I meet these school kids… teenagers pun pakai this product. Well, it is botanical product.

-------

Actually October is my birthday month. So apa yang menariknya bila menjadi ahli Yves Rocher? Buy one FREE one item!!!

I have decided to get their perfume. FYI Yves Rocher adalah perfume number 1 di France. Spray sikit je dah cukup.

Untuk product Hydra Vegetal, I’ve got their Gel Crème (RM59.00), FREE toner, and LUCKY DRAW Gel Crème too! And the remaining two down there are coconut bath cube, and bath net… FREE GIFT!

Alright… I hope ramai yang akan jadi penggguna Yves Rocher sekarang ni. Worth it for money.

And this is the picture from the photoshoot.

Black and white polkadot – Classic

A few tips to share here are – for this kind of promotion;

• We have to control ourselves
• Know our nawaitu (intention) to go there
• Know the types of promotion – requires to buy with a minimum purchase or not
• What are the activities included in that package
• Try to avoid additional charges; Fake eyelashes (RM15), whole softcopy picture; 1cd (RM100), Laminate (RM10) --- these are ridiculous things that you should minimize your expenditure – you don’t even need it. Usually these are done by the ‘outsource’… not by the brand itself – Rational!

Cara Pemakaian Selendang Style Hana Tajima

Tudung: Selendang Lagenda#1 by SHOL (Coming soon- Limited Edition)

Inner tudung: Anggun#2 by SHOL

Baju: Turtle neck t-shirt (TsStripes(Tn)-01-04) by SHOL-B

Makeup:

Avon Concealer Stick (Almond)

AG2000 Tinted Make up

Avon Simply Pretty Compact Powder (Soft Bisque)

Avon Simply Pretty Eyeliner (Shiny Black)

The Body Shop Cheek Color (02)

Yves Rocher Lipstick (Orange Muscade)

First of all, thanks to Hana Tajima kerana memperkenalkan style baru memakai hijab. Ini menarik minat gadis-gadis yang selama ini free hair untuk bertudung.

I have shared a few inspired-by-Hana-Tajima’s styles berhijab. Now after a few months observing and finding the right material, finally I have made it.

Step 1: Setelah memakai inner tudung Anggun#2, letak selendang Lagenda#1 di kepala. Pastikan sama panjang.

 

Step 2: Cucuk jarum pada bawah tepi sanggul pada bahagian kiri dan kanan.

Step 3: Tarik pada tengah panjang selendang yang berada dihadapan ke bahagian belakang leher (bawah sanggul)

Step 4: Pin kedua-dua bahagian yang ditarik dalam Step 3.

Dah siap.

‘Good’ Perfume Consultant

Below are the conversations between me and my brother.

Scene #:1

Time: Friday night

Venue: MSN chat windows

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

Me: Wei2… Yves Rocher ada sale.

Brother: Tak kot.

Me: Perfume’s promotion. Siap dpt miniature lg.

Brother: Huh... brand mana?

Me: The same brand from France.

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

Scene #:2

Time: Saturday afternoon

Venue: Yves Rocher Alamanda

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

Me: Hye. Today I nak beli perfume set yg tgh sale tu (sambil straight to men’s perfume area)

… wondering why is the price is double pulak…

Salesgirl: That one is for cologne - For Her

Me: Gulp. Then yang ada miniature ni berapa? Can I smell it again?

… I smelled 3 perfumes …

Me: How much will the single perfume cost?

… Calling my brother …

Me: Wei, yg ada miniature tu is cost RM 1 more than without miniature.

Brother: NVM just get with miniature.

… Hang-up and keep on smelling …

Me: This one (without miniature) smells good. I will take this one.

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

Scene #:3

Time: after shopping

Venue: Inside kereta biru

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

Brother: Mana perfume?

Me: This. (while taking out from my handbag) – NO PLASTIC BAG DAY

Brother: Where is the miniature?

Me: Owh miniature tu is another set. This one is single and no promotion. The smell is much better than the one with miniature (without any guilty feeling for wrong information)

… I am letting him smells the samples on paper …

Brother: Hmm… wangi but I couldn’t differentiate them

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

Moral of the story:

• Need to prepare some extra budget OR just say NO to the goods
• Make sure check the type of perfume is for HIM or for HER
• Don’t get over excited while shopping because you will missed the important point/term