Benton Shea Butter and Coconut Body Lotion

Hi everyone! How are you this week? I am quite busy this week so sometimes I forget to drink enough water and take care of my own skin. Therefore, my skin is so dry and rough. Benton Shea Butter and Coconut Body Lotion come to the rescue. I'm so happy to be able to share this review to you because this body lotion is good enough to rave. Want to know why? Just keep on reading.

Remember Benton Shea Butter and Coconut Hand Cream? Do you love it? Benton will launch a highly moisturizing body lotion from the same line as the hand cream. I don't use hand cream that much, but I know people around me who don't want to change that one for other product. They say the hand cream is that good. Well then, I expect the body lotion will do magic too. I'm so lucky Benton choose me to be one of their reviewers because I just need this so much.

Before we move further, I want to tell you interesting fact. Benton is one of K-Beauty Company that is very well-known around the world, including in my country Indonesia. A lot of people are loyal Benton users, they keep repurchasing the products. I may not try enough Benton products, but I'm in love with their philosophy. Benton desires to restore our skin back to original healthy condition with healthy recipe. They don't use harmful ingredients and they produce the products in small batch, so they could always deliver a freshly made skincare to us. And do you know Benton is inspired by and named after the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". BENjamin butTON, the man who grows younger with time. Yes, a good movie, that one. After knowing this company better, let's take a look at the new body lotion.

Benton Shea Butter and Coconut Body Lotion comes in an attractive golden yellow paper card box. Inside we find squeezing tube in the same color which I love. That metallic sheen makes it so special because I never have a body lotion in golden yellow tube. What a stupid reason but I don't care. Hahaha... I even put this in my office so I can reach it whenever I want. It's bigger than I expected and contains 250ml of product.

Some key ingredients in this product are Ecocert certified Shea Butter, USDA certified Coconut Oil and 5 Hyaluronic Acid Complex. Shea Butter is vegetable fat extracted from the nut of shea trees. I often find Shea Butter in safe moisturizing skincare products, even on DIY products. Coconut Oil is also one of the most used ingredients to keep skin moisturized. While 5 Hyaluronic Acid Complex is a mix of 5 types of Hyaluronic Acid in different molecular sizes to lock moisture, hydrate our damaged skin, and protect skin from harmful external stressor.

Other remarkable ingredients are Chamomilla Recutita Flower Water, Jojoba Seed Oil and Ceramide NP which soothe rough skin and help to maintain oil-water balance. It is also FREE of artificial fragrance, silicon oil and PEG surfactants.

Because only safe ingredients they use in the product, we can also use this not only as body lotion but also face moisturizer. What so surprising is this product safe to be used by whole family, regardless of gender or age. Yes, kids too. It's dermatology tested and free of irritations, coloring and other harmful ingredients. Awesome! But I want to suggest like trying other new product, we better try in small area of the skin first just to see any reaction could be occur to super sensitive skin.

The texture is not too runny, because when I open the lid the product is not coming out unless I squeeze the tube. That's a good news because I hate messy product. It is a thick gel that is quite stiff when first put in the skin but turn to be quite slippery few seconds after. I guess the coconut oil melts when having contact with my body temperature. I thought that amount on the back of my hand is enough for one hand. I'm so wrong. That amount is enough for both hands or whole face. It leaves wet feeling for a short time and then dries and not sticky leaving skin feels smooth and supple. It feels comfortable on my patchy, dried and rough skin.

This lotion is recommended for rough and sensitized skin, skin with poor oil balance, dry and sensitive skin with itchiness, skin that need instant hydration and vitalization, skin that need moisture product without tackiness, and skin that prefers a mild natural scent over artificial fragrance.

As we know that product with no artificial fragrance usually smells terrible. Perfume or artificial fragrance is one of allergic trigger for sensitive skin. But we can't deny that the smell is sometimes being the key factor of people choose over a product. Who doesn't love a product that smells wonderful? And who want to use product with horrible scent unless it's a magic one?

This body lotion may be using no artificial fragrance, but don't worry, it smells okay. Honestly, I like it. There is no bad scent from the shea butter or coconut oil meaning the ingredients are in good quality. If you ever use extra virgin coconut oil you might be able to imagine how it smells. It's almost like subtle coconut oil but the scent only lingers for few minutes then fading. Leaving sheer smell of coconut and shea butter underneath that only appear once we put our nose 1cm from where we put the lotion. If you love natural scent, you will love it. Really. But if you are a strong perfume person, you might want to dilute one or two drops of essential oil (that safe to use to body) in a batch of lotion.

I do comparison after 10 minutes using this lotion. My left hand is the one with lotion and my right hand is the one without. We can see the left one is more subtle and smooth than the right one. It gives immediate hydration. Then I search for driest spots on my body and I choose to try on my feet and my elbow. I have disgusting heels I know, pardon me. But I think this is the best spot to show whether this lotion works or not. While my elbow is one of my neglected body parts that is usually feel itchy when too dry. Left side is picture from 6 March 2019 and right side is picture from today 15 March 2019. I scrub my feet and my elbows after taking first picture and begin my journey with the lotion. I apply the product immediately after shower and towel dry and reapply every night before bed.

I believe the pictures show the result clearly. My feet are now not as disgusting as before. That's a wonderful result in 9 days. As for the elbows, I feel the skin is a lot softer and smoother. With a good hydration level, the itchiness is also gone.

I tried this on my face for 3 days, just for the sake of my curiosity. I don't feel anything other than hydration on my skin which fulfill the purpose of creation of this product, to lock moisture on our skin. Well, it might deliver wonderful result after few months, but sadly I still have a lot of face moisturizer at the moment. It does not give any bad effect either. There is no breakout, no itchiness, nothing bad happen to my face. Just so I know that this lotion is a multi-tasker and good for travel. One for all. 

I love this body lotion and I surely will recommend you to try it. Good job Benton for creating this wonderful product.

Note : Benton has provided the product for review purpose but all opinions are my own.

Suplemen Penting di Akhir Usia 20an

         Hai teman-teman kita ketemu lagi. Mungkin kalian kaget dengan review kali ini ya. Yuupp, ini bukan tentang kosmetik atau skincare, tapi tentang suplemen. Kok tiba-tiba jadi review suplemen? Nah begini ceritanya. Dari dulu sih saya orangnya angot-angotan (moody) kalau urusan minum suplemen. Padahal sejak sekolah, mamaku sering belikan suplemen dan suruh aku minum. Bahkan sampai dikasih kotak obat harian yang udah disiapin buat per harinya, Senin Selasa sampe Minggu itu loh. Tau kan? Walaupun begitu biasanya aku nakal, kalau kelupaan aku switch aja ke next day. Awal-awal ketauan sih diomelin, gara-garanya waktu mau dikasih lagi kubilang masih ada. Eh ternyata mamaku ngitungin dong harusnya udah abis sejak seminggu, lha ini masih banyak di botolnya. Hehehe..

       Sama halnya dengan skincare, aku ini orangnya bandel dan gak telatenan. Barulah setelah usia menjelang akhir 20an (iyaaa, aku dah mau 30. Hahahaha) kepikiran karena merasa kondisi tubuh dan kulit gak sebaik pas jaman sekolah. Ya iyalah yaa.. Makanya kemarin waktu ditawarin Gogobli milih barang di webnya, ah aku seneng banget. Sungguh timingnya tepat sekali karena di akhir tahun lalu memang aku rencana untuk mengubah pola makan dan mulai rajin minum suplemen di tahun 2019. Menolak tua lah ya guys.

         Buanyak banget lah pilihan di Gogobli, tapi aku memilih 3 items ini yang menurutku aku memang lagi perlu banget. Mari kita bahas satu per satu yuk.

1. MADU HITAM PAHIT

          Ada yang orang tuanya atau kenalannya mengkonsumsi ini? Berarti obat untuk orang tua atau orang yang punya sakit dong? Eits jangan salah dulu. Madu hitam pahit ini punya banyak sekali manfaat. Papaku sendiri minum madu hitam pahit, waktu itu ditawarin nyoba tapi jelaslah aku gak mau. Yah gimana, minum vitamin C aja gak tentu masa mau pula minum ini. Mungkin karena aku waktu itu belum concern sama manfaatnya ya. Hehehe...

Manfaat madu hitam pahit ini antara lain:
- Mempercepat proses penyembuhan berbagai macam penyakit
- Antioksidan yang tinggi
- Dapat meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh
- Menurunkan kadar gula darah dan baik untuk penderita diabetes
- Memperkuat fungsi hati
- Dapat mengembalikan stamina tubuh
- Dapat meredakan gejala asam urat
- Menurunkan kadar kolestrol
- Mengobati penyakit maag
- Menetralisir asam lambung
- Mencegah gangguan jantung

 Kandungan di dalamnya adalah campuran 6 herba yang sangat bermanfaat untuk kesehatan tubuh.
- Mell Depuratum Tithonia (Madu)
- Diversifolia Herba (Kipahit)
- Tinospara Crispa (Bratawali)
- Andrographidis Panicullata Herba (Daun Simbiloto)
- Zingiber Officinale Rhizome (Jahe)
- Centella Asiatica Herba (Daun Pegagan)
- Propolis (Getah Alami Lebah)

          Untuk aku pribadi, aku memang gak minum ini setiap hari, tapi 2-3 hari sekali. Dan dosis yang kuminum juga tidak sesuai dengan anjurannya. Aku hanya minum pagi hari dan kucampur dengan air mineral suhu ruang sedikit. Kalau dosis anjurannya adalah Dewasa 3x sehari 1 sendok makan. Tapi karena aku juga kadang minum suplemen lain dan madu biasa + lemon, maka aku tidak minum madu hitam pahit ini sesering dosis anjurannya.

          Aku excited banget sih minum ini karena antioksidannya yang tinggi dan meredakan asam lambung yang tinggi.Antioksidan tinggi membantu membasmi virus berbahaya dan sel kanker yang kayanya sekarang lagi banyak bertebaran dan ada dimana-mana.Sedangkan lambungku memang dari dulu kurang sehat. Pernah dulu aku opname gara-gara lambungku luka. Sampai sekarang pun aku gak bisa mengkonsumsi terlalu banyak sesuatu yang asam seperti lemon atau saos yang mengandung cuka.

         Kalau kecapekan atau stress biasanya lambungku adalah yang pertama kali kena. Jadi kalau udah merasa capek banget, malamnya aku minum vitamin B complex dan paginya aku akan mengkonsumsi madu hitam pahit ini.Setelah rajin mengkonsumsi ini, aku juga merasa daya tahanku meningkat. Aku alergi debu parah. Dalam kamar tidak boleh ada karpet, tirai kain dan boneka karena aku bisa batuk-batuk gak bisa tidur. Setelah aku rajin minum ini alergiku berkurang dan intensitas "kumat"nya berkurang.

         Warna madunya hitam sesuai dengan namanya dan teksturnya kental jadi aku lebih suka dienceri dulu dengan sedikit air. Airnya boleh hangat, boleh dingin kok. Asal jangan panas ya, karena suhunya mungkin bisa merusak kandungan herbal yang terkandung di dalamnya. Sedangkan untuk rasanya, yah seperti namanya pasti ada pahit getirnya. Tapi gak separah itu kok, setelah diminumin air mineral biasa juga hilang. Aromanya tipikal jamu/herba. Demi kesehatan sih menurutku ini bau dan rasanya masih terbilang oke

.

2. VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

          Yang kedua adalah Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). Sepertinya coconut oil memang lagi happening ya. Banyak orang yang mulai mengganti minyak goreng dengan coconut oil karena kandungan minyak ini paling tahan dan tidak gampang rusak terkena suhu tinggi, sehingga lemak yang terkandung di dalamnya tidak berubah menjadi minyak jahat yang menyebabkan kolestrol dan seperti yang kita tahu akan berujung kepada penyakit jantung dan penyakit yang lain.

          "Vico Bagoes murni dari 100% buah kelapa yang ditanam di kebun tanpa pestisida (No GMO), dipetik dengan penuh cinta, diproses oleh tenaga ahli secara organik dengan Coldpress Centrifuge, tanpa Refining Bleaching Deodorising (RBD), tanpa hexane. Cocok untuk vegan, pecinta produk organik dan alami" adalah sedikit penjelasan dari Herba Bagoes (produsen) tentang produk ini.

         Satu hal yang perlu dicermati dalam memilih Coconut Oil adalah kualitasnya. Coconut Oil kualitas bagus adalah 100% atau Virgin Coconut Oil  yang biasanya juga dapat ditandai dengan aroma kelapa yang segar dan tidak tengik dan rasanya juga enak.VCO aman dikonsumsi secara langsung, untuk memasak, salad dressing dan juga aman untuk dioleskan langsung ke kulit dan rambut. Buat saya VCO sangat multiguna. Sudah banyak artikel yang menjelaskan kegunaan VCO secara mendetail dan saya tidak akan membahasnya sebanyak itu. Tapi saya punya beberapa foto masakan yang saya buat dengan memasukkan VCO dalam ingredientsnya.

Apple Muffin. Muffin ini memakai VCO sebagai pengganti Butter. Rasanya? Guriihh khas kelapa berpadu dengan ingredients lain membuat Apple Muffin ini salah satu breakfast favorit saya.

Pork Sandwich. VCO saya gunakan saat memanasi roti di teflon. Aromanya juga membuat sandwich ini naik level.

         Masih banyak yang bisa saya buat dengan VCO, misal mengganti minyak goreng dengan VCO saat menggoreng homemade chicken nugget (ini enak bangeett deh chicken nugget sama VCO), membuat Chocolate Energy Balls (kelapa dan coklat itu duet maut), dll.

          Selain untuk makanan tadi sudah disebutkan bahwa VCO berguna untuk kecantikan. Iya banget loh ini. Hal tersimple adalah VCO bisa dioleskan di kulit muka sebagai night mask atau dioles ke rambut sebagai hair mask. Bisa juga sebagai bahan untuk Homemade Coffee Scrub, aku sedang mengumpulkan ampas kopinya untuk bikin setoples lagi. Tapi aku sudah pernah buat untuk sekali pakai hasilnya oke kok. Next time kalau pas bikin lagi akan aku share ya, maybe di Instagram Story aku (@deavalence). VCO bisa juga untuk menghapus make up. Kemarin kucoba dan hasilnya oke, bisa menghapus sebagian besar make up walaupun tidak semua, untuk waterproof tetap harus pakai waterproof make up remover. 

        Banyak manfaatnya yang lain seperti untuk oil pulling (berkumur untuk membunuh bakteri dan meningkatkan kesehatan mulut, gigi dan gusi) dan lain-lain yang bisa teman-teman lakukan dengan VCO.

3. SUPLEMEN MATA

           Item terakir yang kupilih adalah suplemen untuk kesehatan mata. Aku sudah memakai kacamata sejak jaman bersekolah (minus dan silinder). Mataku juga cukup sensitif dengan pengaruh dari luar seperti debu, bahkan make up. Seringkali eyeshadow yang mempunyai banyak fall out, bahkan krim mata dan sunscreen juga membuat iritasi mataku. Pernah suatu ketika aku mencoba eye make up baru untuk pergi ke rumah ortu dan sampai disana papaku tanya "kamu sakit mata?". Haduuhh.. Hahahaha...

          Banyak teman yang menyarankan untuk memakai softlense ketika aku foto Face of the Day atau waktu swatch produk. Katanya supaya lebih cakep. Sayangnya aku gak bisa. Aku dulu pernah memakai softlense selama beberapa waktu karena ngeyel pengen keren. Tapi lama kelamaan saat aku makin sering dihadapkan dengan layar laptop dan hp, mataku makin cepat capek dan sensitif. Akhirnya aku memutuskan tidak usah pakai softlense lagi kecuali terpaksa.

         BioVision ini bermanfaat unttuk mencegah penurunan kemampuan melihat dan daya akomodasi mata, memelihara kesehatan mata, dan bahkan ternyata juga melancarkan metabolisme dan memelihara kesehatan saluran pencernaan. BioVision juga mengandung vitamin C yang kaya antioksidan untuk membantu mencegah masuknya radikal bebas yang dapat menyebabkan penyakit pada tubuh kita.

(Produk di atas disponsori oleh Gogobli, tapi pilihan produk dan honest review adalah milik pribadi)

        

         Sementara waktu aku hanya mengkonsumsi vitamin C dan vitamin B saat merasa sangat kecapekan dan tiga suplemen di atas saja. Aku lebih banyak memasukkan buah dan sayur dalam makanan sehari-hari untuk boosting sistem imun tubuh. Teman-teman bila ingin mengkonsumsi suplemen apapun, konsultasikan dengan doktermu ya apalagi kalau ada alergi atau penyakit tertentu karena kondisi setiap orang kan berbeda-beda. Semua produk di atas sudah dijual bebas di pasaran. Bisa juga didapatkan di www.gogobli.com.

Salam sehat dan cantik ya!

Catrice Absolute Eye Color 090 and 980

As requested, I deliver a series of Drugstore and Local (Indonesian) Make Up. I bought few items from various brands. Now, let me show you one of my Catrice haul last week. Don't worry, there will be other Catrice products review coming soon. I just think it will be easier to post in parts than all products in one article.

Well, Catrice's normal prices are already affordable, but when there is a clearance sale, boom! You get a riddiculously cheap price for some items. I got these eyeshadows for only IDR 12.750/each from normal price IDR 42.500/each. Can you believe that? As you can see, the exp. dates are not far away. It's in Oct and Nov this year. But not all products under clearance sale are so close to expiration, even I received some items that will be expired in 2020-2021.

The packaging is simple and travel friendly. You can see the eyeshadow powder through the lid which make it easy to pick the shades you want to use on that day. 

The first shade I got is #090 Bring Me Frosted Cake. The finish is matte, quite easy to blend but not really visible when applied to my eyelid. I use it as a base color on all over my lids. The texture is a bit powdery. Luckily the shade is not that visible on me, so there is no big issue about the fall out.

The other one is #980 The Big Blue Theory. Few days ago I've shared Instagram stories (@deavalence) wearing my Catrice Haul. And guess what! The most wanted review is this one, the beautiful blue eyeshadow. Sadly I have to let you down a bit this time.

To deliver a truthful review, I want to use it without primer. But there is no possibility for me using this shade without a primer. Seriously, I'm trying hard to apply and blend this shade until I hurt my eyes and I know have to stop. My eye become watery and it gets even worse, the eyeshadow melts and gone with my tears (not gone with the wind. Lol). It literally vanished without I'm touching. I just need to blink and there will be a spot of bareskin on the place where my tears run. You can see from my inner corner and inner undereye, there is no shade left. Yes, I know many people said good thing about these mono eyeshadows, but it's not working on me. I think this will be a disaster if I begin sweating too. After 30 mins or so upon application I have to erase just because I think there is no point to wait any longer.

Buuutt, I have good news too. If you have any good eyeshadow primer with you, then the problem has been solved. I tried to use my Urban Decay Primer Potion the other day and these eyeshadows works well. The color is definitely more intense and it stays for 5-6 hours on humid days. The primer helps to minimize the fall out too. And I'm so happy because I love the shade especially the blue one. People compliment on my stories on that day so I'm over the moon. Hahahah..

However, I don't use any primer in photos in this review. I'm also using other eyeshadow and eyelashes from Catrice for this look and the review will be on my next blogpost. So I'll see you again on that post.. 

Sephora Cream Lip Stain 03 Strawberry Kissed

Happy Chinese New Year! Hope this year brings you happiness, hope and lots of love.. Back when I was a child, I always love Chinese New Year Celebration. Having dinner with my extended family and also receiving red envelopes (read:money) always cheers me up for weeks. Lol.. What about now? I have different roles now. I'm the one who's giving away the envelopes now and of course taking part in ceremony preparation too. But, the joy of celebrating Chinese New Year never change 😊

Speaking of Chinese New Year, there are some rules according to the tradition. One of them is we must wear bright color, mostly red which represent festive and happiness. And then I remember one bright lip product that I have used most often this week. The Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Strawberry Kissed. 

The packaging is a super simple plastic tube that is quite slim and travel friendly. The applicator is slim but picks enough product for one application. It is truly an easy application. One swipe, wait less than a minute and I'm ready to go. It has vanilla scent that is not too strong but you will definitely notice that upon application. The scent is fading as it dries.

This shade is a reddish pink which is really bright and beautiful. The texture reminds me more to a lip cream than a lip stain. The color is quite pigmented so one layer is enough to cover my lips entirely. It dries pretty quickly to a matte finish and after that it doesn't transfer as long as you are not eating or drinking something oily.. 

It doesn't give me uncomfortable feeling that usually matte liquid lips do. It doesn't stretch or dry my lips even after hours after first application. I'm also glad to report that I don't need to touch up. 

Picture above is taken at 09.00, indoor, sunlight near a window. Picture below taken at 15.00, outdoor, sunlight, standing under a tree. Only applied once and no touch up.

That first application stays the whole day on me even after two meals and a snack. It does minor transfers on my glass but no huge change visible on the lips. When I get home and remove my make up at 17.00, it's still there with only minor fading on inside of the lips. For me it is still very very presentable.

Overall I'm impressed with this lippie and I would recommend you to try this. I think this shade will look so beautiful on everybody.

Cheers! See you on my next post..

Origins Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer

Hello hello hello.. How are you? How's your 2019 so far? Mine is great. And good news, I'm trying to be back on beauty blogging again this year. Yay!

First review in 2019 is a skincare product. I've been using this Origins Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer since end of December last year almost on daily basis. I think it's time to share with you guys.

According to Origins, this moisturizer is lightweight and oil-free. It will instantly hydrates & revs up radiance for refreshed, healthy & vibrant skin. Key note is Coffee and Panax Ginseng. And you must be happy that it is formulated without parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, mineral oil, DEA, petrolatum, paraffin, polyethylene beads, formaldehyde & animal ingredients except for cruelty-free honey & beeswax.

 Full size is in 50ml jar, but I got 30ml one from a set. As you can see from the picture below, a little jar goes a long way. It can be used AM and PM, but I only use this in my AM routine after toner and/or serum. One month plus of usage once daily and still got plenty of gel left for 2 or 3 months ahead.

Like other water based product, it is so lightweight like the claim, easily absorbed and leave no greasy feeling on skin eventhough there is just a little bit of silicony feeling afterwards. It also has cooling and soothing effect which I love. My skin is so plump, fresh and moist for the whole day. I do not get any trouble while using this product. No breakouts, no itchy, no patches. My make up sits well on top of it too.

It smells like a mix of orange, lemon and grapefruit. So fresh that it is perfect for summer or hot days. My skin is combination slightly dry to oily and it works well. Now to mention that I live in tropical country with high humidity. Therefore I recommend to search for another option if you have dry skin or looking for a winter moisturizer because I think this will not be enough unless you keep reapplying every few hours.

As much as I know, this gel moisturizer does not contain any SPF, so I always use sunscreen after using it. It does make sense looking at the usage can be for AM and PM. 

Just for additional information, I have tried Ginzing Peel Off Mask and I don't like it. But this Ginzing Gel Moisturizer, it is a game changer. I love it so much that I will surely purchase the full size soon.

Hope this help.. See you on another review!