I love shopping online (I even created my own online shop back in 2008!). I have shopped in numerous websites from small online stores in Multiply market, to professional webstores (like this one), to eBay, etc.. and luckily I have no unpleasant experience (except for this one). 

Well I did have a few disappointing purchases because let's admit it, the weakness of online shopping is you can't see the product in it's true form, and you can't try it on before you buy. And because Indonesia doesn't have a return policy so this online shopping is a little bit tricky. You must really know your true size and you must have a really clear idea on what you like and what you don't like.

So anyway, I would like to share my experience when shopping at Best Buy World Indonesia. I don't know if it is related to the famous American "Best Buy" store (which is known for affordable price with good quality), but I noticed from their website that this version of Best Buy World is also available in Singapore, and Malaysia. I actually haven't heard about this website before so this is my first time experience shopping there. 

On the website they offer products from cosmetics, skincare, healthcare, fragrances, accessories, bags & purses, food & beverages, as well as home & electronics. I noticed that they also sell sample size or travel size products of fragrance, skincare and cosmetics.

The product options are moderate. I hate it when an online beauty store doesn't have too many options on their store, but this one have enough product varieties to browse from.

So anyway, I finally made my order and here is the package they came in :

The package came in an ordinary brown paper wrap. The delivery shipment was an average 3 - 4 days. The payment was via a bank transfer. They also accept COD or Cash On Delivery for Jakarta Pusat / Jakarta Selatan addresses. They currently do not accept Paypal or Credit Card payment.

Once you finalize your order they will send you email notification telling you what to do next. And after the payment has been made they will also sent you email notification to let you know that your order is being processed.

Back to the package, inside the brown paper wrap were the products I ordered, fully wrapped in a thick bubble wrap. It also comes with a receipt of the purchase.

And here is what I ordered from Best Buy World Indonesia:

I know it was a pricey purchase, I originally just want to buy the DiorSnow White Reveal set but apparently Best Buy World Indo have a certain policy :

I thought: okay that's fair enough. 

The Dior Snow set was only IDR 114.000 so with my Tangerang address I would probably be charged additional IDR 10.000 for shipping, just like any other online store.

So I put in the DiorSnow set on my cart and continue to the check out page. And you know what happened?

On the check out page, it said that because my order was less than IDR 300.000 so I was charged with additional fee of IDR 100.000 !!

What kind of additional fee or delivery charge that can be as much as IDR 100.000 ???

This is the first store that I know to have such ridiculous charge like that.

So the bottom line is: 

It seems that they have a minimum order of IDR 300.000, but why don't they tell us anything about it on their main page? If they put that notification somewhere on their main page I wouldn't be bothered of browsing their store trying to find something that I could buy. Is there anybody who would want to pay additional IDR 100.000 for something that they buy less than IDR 300.000 ?

If I had not really want the DiorSnow set I would not continue with the purchase, but since I have browsed around and did not found the Dior Snow set in any of the other beauty online stores so I hate to admit that the set is only available on the Best Buy World Indo.

And I thought, okay I have no other choice except to fill my cart so that it reached minimum of IDR 300.000. 

And that's why I added the Marc Jacob's Daisy pouch and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Eye Pencil. I live in Tangerang area so the free shipping doesn't apply to me. I got an additional shipping charge of IDR 6.000.

So that's why I consider this purchase a splurge for me because I originally dont want to spend that much but I had to, because the set that I want is only available there and I was in need of a new skincare regimen at that time.

The products:

And as if it weren't enough unpleasant shopping experience, when I got the package one of the tube in the DiorSnow set can not be used at all !
The DiorSnow Essence which has a pumped bottle won't dispense anything no matter how much I tried to pump it out, it's like an empty bottle with no content inside.
Maybe it was my bad luck so I received a damaged product, or maybe it was because another reason, but all I know is I had a purchase that I can not use! And I was too late to learn that they actually have a return policy in which you can return it if you got a damaged product by the time you received it.

Overall, I personally a little bit disappointed with Best Buy World Indonesia. They should have stated clearly on the main page that they will charge IDR 100.000 for order less than IDR 300.000. 

Their price is also a little bit pricier than other beauty online store, but they do have a few products that's hard to find anywhere else such as the DiorSnow set (although I can't use one of the tube).

I'm also a little bit disappointed with the damaged product and with their package service in which they sent the package in a plain cheap brown paper. I wouldn't mind a brown paper package if it was from a small online store, but this is a big professional online store, some personalized little details would be nice for personal touch. 

Again, this is based on my own experience, so anybody else might not have the experience I had. But due to all the reasons above I probably won't be shopping there again in the near future. 

Who might shop here: People who wants to spend big and have a Jakarta address so you'll get free shipping, and people who are looking for less expensive fragrance and/or makeup pouches because they have lots of cute branded makeup pouches there.

Short info for my International readers: Mustika Ratu is a local semi high-end brand here in Indonesia. They are focusing on products with main ingredients of local spices that has been part of Indonesian's history since the Javanese princesses era. Javanese princesses are known for their beauty and grace. In fact, the owner of the Mustika Ratu brand is a modern-day generation of those Javanese princess who once lived in a Javanese palace. 

The company developed their products from traditional beauty recipes that has been handed down from generation to generation inside the owner's family. Their products range from skincare, makeup, Spa products, and health / beauty supplements in the form of Jamu. 

Back to the product, I first fell in love with the famous Mustika Ratu Coffee Scrub so I thought maybe the coffee soap bar would be as great as the scrub, and so I decided to try it.

This Mustika Ratu Coffee / Kopi Body Soap is available on big supermarkets such as Carrefour, Giant, etc. Or you could also get it via their online store.

The price of the soap is around IDR 16.000 - 17.000. It's expensive for a soap bar but since it is a high-end brand I thought maybe it's worth it.

On the package it says:
"coffee extract's key skincare benefits lie in its caffeine and anti-oxidant concentration. Mustika Ratu Kopi Body Soap with its soft foam cleanses the skin from any impurities and helps maintain its firmness. Also enjoy its sensational coffee fragrance."

Well first of all, I love the packaging of all Mustika Ratu products! I'm a packaging whore (LOL) so I always appreciate a great packaging. And second of all, I love how Mustika Ratu's products are made from traditional Indonesian recipes using local Indonesian spices and plants as the main ingredients.

This Kopi Body Soap is a transparent soap and has a light greenish-brown color. The transparent color of the soap immediately tells me that this is a glycerin-type soap, which means that this soap is not made from all natural ingredients, there are some chemicals added in, just like most of other soaps. So if you expect an all natural / organic soap bar then this is not for you. You can see the full ingredients below (click for bigger picture):

The scent of the soap is almost as similar as the coffee scrub but this one is less fragrant (hampir sama dengan wangi permen Kopiko). I can sniff the wonderful smell of coffee from the box, and I love the smell of coffee! But unfortunately, as soon as I use this soap in the shower the wonderful coffee scent disappear. It is not as fragrant as it was before being used (boohoo..).

I could smell a faint coffee scent when I sniffed the soap in the shower, but the scent did not linger long, once I got out of the shower the scent is completely gone. Padahal justru saya beli sabun ini karena pengen cium bau kopi nya huhuhu..

I love how this soap lathers in the shower but I hate how it seems to draws out natural oils from my skin because after every shower my skin feels very tight and dry (kulit malah jadi kering, kesat dan gak moist), so i have to put on body lotion straightly afterwards to return the moist and to avoid over-drying my skin.

It also leaves some kind of crystalline residue on top of the soap after several times of usage. I don't know what it is though, but I never saw other soaps has these kind of thing:

What do you think that is? I'm sure it's not scrubs ;p

Overall, I'm not really fond of this soap because for the high price of it this doesn't really give me much except for the anti-oxidant property. The scent is not there anymore after you use it in the shower, and it also dries up my skin which is a disappointment for me. So I would probably just stick on the Coffee Scrub version instead of buying this Kopi Body Soap again.

This is actually a late report, but two weekends ago I was invited along with other bloggers to the Talika Grand Launching event at Metro Dept Store's Atrium which is near the new Talika counter on Metro - Plaza Senayan.

I've heard about the famous Talika Lipocils before but never actually see or knows how it works. So when this invitation landed on my email I absolutely said Yes to it :)

For those who haven't heard about Talika products let me explain it a little bit. Talika is a French brand with 60 years of experience. One of their universal best seller product is the Talika Lipocils, which is an eyelash treatment product that can grow, curl, and thicken your lashes in just 28 days!

But aside from the Lipocils, Talika also have other great products that has been tried and tested, and also as popular as the Talika Lipocils (more about this later).

And now the good news is: Talika has spread it's wings to our country! Talika Indonesia has exclusively partnered with Metro Dept Store so you can conveniently found Talika counters on Metro Plaza Senayan and Pondok Indah Mall ;)

Back to the event, there was Ms.Sina Deubner from Talika who greeted and introduced us to the Talika products. 

There were a handful of products on their counter and each of them are unique and has great beneficial functions. There are lots of the products which I personally think would be a must-have product in your skincare range.

I have been dying to try Talika Lipocils because my lower eyelashes are nothing like my upper eyelashes. I have shorts, very thin, and sparse lower eyelashes, and I always dream of having luscious eyelashes on the bottom of my eyes too. And that's why I longed to try an eyelash treatment that can help me grow and thicken my lower eyelashes.

So that's why the Talika Lipocils is the first thing I was most curios about. This amazing lash enhancer is made of natural blend and it has no side effect at all. It's also has been made since 1948 in France. The packaging was simple, the wand is like a mascara with a sponge tip. This is the new packaging of the Lipocils. 

The other best-seller of Talika is the Light Duo and the Light 660 Anti-Acne. This is another breakthrough product from Talika which is a revolutionary anti-ageing youth treatment that uses a particular light wavelengh to treat visible effects of ageing, pollution and UV rays. It is targeted for skin's elasticity loss and skin coloration a.k.a "wrinkles and dark spots". 

This Light Duo is effective on the face, eye contour, lips, hands, and neck. My beauty blogger friend, Carnelline from While You On Earth raved about these. She tested it and swears by it. You can read all about it in her blog.

The Light Duo is a portable device with each side emitting a distinct light wave: one is for boosting collagen and elastin production, and the other side is to regulate the production of melanin which is responsible for skin colouring. With the combined use of both, wrinkles will be smoothed, brown spots are reduced, skin looks fuller, lighter, more radiant; and the result is a glowing younger-looking skin.

The Light Duo:

On the Light Duo, each side has two different lights; each for specific beneficial treatment. You can use it by just holding it near your skin for a few minutes, and you don't need any special creams to make it work. And you can bring it everywhere with you because the size is very purse-friendly.

I was also got to try the Talika Brow Extender. And I Love it ! 

Oh my God, I swear I never saw a product like this before. The brow extender is something that you put on your eyebrows to make it look more deep and pronounced. Just like our usual eyebrow pencil, but this one is more than just that. 

The Brow Extender is a transparent gel filled with dark brown fibers which when swatched on hands you would see that there are actual brown hair-like fibers on the liquid. These fibers act as filler for your eyebrows so the whole look is very natural, it's like you just planted a whole new eyebrow hair in your thin brows! 

 You can see that on my right eyebrow it looked a little bit wet, that's because I just applied the Eyebrow Extender. You waited for a few minutes until it dries up, and you'll end up with naturally deep eyebrows.

 Now you can see the difference between my left eyebrow (BEFORE) and my right eyebrow (AFTER using Eyebrow Extender). The right one is more thick and deep.

I wore it on both of my eyebrows and they stays in place all day! And I love how natural it looks. If I put my fingers on my eyebrow I could feel the fibers in it ;p 

And  by the end of the day it was easy to clean with just a usual make up remover. Love it !

So if you ever want to try products from Talika, I highly suggested the Talika Lipocils and the Eyebrow Extender.

 And here are the rest of the pictures from the event:

Some other products from Talika

Stella from Stella Lee, trying on the Eyebrow Extender

Me and Ms. Sina Deubner (she is so nice and friendly and pretty)

Me, trying on the Light 660 Anti Acne (you might have seen this pic on twitter)

And of course, 

group photo !

And what I wore to the event:

 Top: random brand / Skirt: Gaudi

Shoes: Zara / Bag: Ciciero

Bangle & Earrings: Forever21

 And what's inside our goodie bag:

 A packet of Eye Therapy Patch, 

three packets of Eye Decompress, 

Mini Eyelash Curler in a cute little silver bag, 

and finally: the Lipocils Expert ! 

(woohoo thank you so much for Talika Indonesia that has given me a chance to finally try the Talika Lipocils. I will review this as soon as possible for you guys!)

Hey girls, if you're between 18 to 28 yrs old and wants a chance to go to Biarritz - France, go around the world for 6 months, or go to Bali for 4 days, or even win a cute motorcycle (!) then here is your chance to win it with ROXY Let The Sea Set You Free campaign :D

I'm so excited to announce this campaign by Roxy. You can read about the campaign and competition below, and you're all welcome to stop by at Roxy - Quiksilver Pondok Indah Mall 1 this Sunday on April 1st to learn more about the campaign.

I will be there too, so just tweet me on twitter if you want to meet-up ;)
You can click the picture below for bigger picture..

Hey you guys, I need a little help here ;)

To spruce things up a little bit I decided to try out a little bit of polling here in this blog. Maybe you can help me out, this Friday I will meet my friends which I haven't seen for quite a long time, and as usual I like to plan my outfit ahead. 

So yesterday I created not one, but three outfits (!) as options to wear this Friday. And I'm gonna let you choose for me which one do you think I should wear ;)

You can participate in this little poll below and help me to decide by choosing one that you think is the best outfit. 

If you enjoy this kind of post and want to see it more, you can let me know so I could do it again the next time ^o^

 Look 2

 Look 3