Beauty Thursday: Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream

Beberapa bulan belakangan, saya lagi senang pakai tone up cream, nih. Kalau kamu penggemar K-Beauty pasti sudah tidak asing lagi deh dengan krim satu ini. Ya, tone up cream pertama kali dipopulerkan oleh merek-merek kecantikan asal Korea Selatan. Krim ini berfungsi untuk meratakan warna kulit, menyamarkan noda hitam dan mencerahkan wajah secara instan. Selain sebagai krim pencerah wajah seketika, tone up cream dapat bertindak ganda sebagai pelembab (perawatan wajah) dan dasar riasan (kosmetik). Wah, menarik bukan? Kini, berbagai macam tone up cream hadir dari berbagai merek kecantikan dan rupanya, merek kosmetik lokal pun tak ketinggalan mengeluarkan tone up cream andalan mereka. Salah satunya adalah Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream.

Kebetulan ini adalah tone up cream lokal pertama yang saya coba. Produk ini tersedia dalam kemasan mungil berukuran 20 ml yang praktis dan mudah dibawa saat bepergian. Pada kemasan, produk mengklaim dapat membuat kulit wajah tampak lebih cerah segar seketika seperti menggunakan makeup. Krim ini memiliki kandungan 7 White Actives dan Pinkish Bright Powder, serta diperkaya dengan Vitamin B3. Selain itu, Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream juga dilengkapi dengan kandungan SPF 25 yang membantu melindungi kulit dari sinar matahari. Meskipun begitu, bukan berarti kita dapat melupakan penggunaan tabir surya begitu saja, ya. 

Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream hadir dalam bentuk krim merah muda yang teksturnya tergolong cukup pekat, sehingga agak sulit untuk dibaurkan dan diratakan pada kulit. Krimnya beraroma bunga yang cukup lembut dan wanginya akan memudar begitu diaplikasikan. Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream cukup dipakai sedikit dan tipis saja untuk seluruh wajah dan leher. Bila pemakaian terlalu banyak, tentu saja akan menimbulkan kesan wajah yang terlihat keabu-abuan dan kurang alami. Karena teksturnya yang cukup pekat tersebut, saya pribadi menggunakan tone up cream ini pada tahap akhir ritual perawatan wajah, yakni setelah penggunaan tabir surya. Awal pemakaian, wajah mungkin akan terlihat sangat putih. Namun, lama kelamaan krim akan menyatu dengan warna kulit. Sesuai dengan klaimnya, krim ini mampu mencerahkan wajah dan menaikkan warna kulit secara instan. Selain itu, krim ini juga mampu menutupi kemerahan dan meratakan warna kulit wajah. Produk ini memiliki tampilan akhir matte dan membuat wajah terasa lembut, layaknya menggunakan bedak. Setelah itu, bisa dilanjutkan dengan riasan lainnya, seperti foundation, bedak padat, dan bedak tabur, atau boleh diakhiri begitu saja bila benar-benar ingin mendapatkan hasil tampilan yang alami.

Produk ini sebaiknya diaplikasikan pada kondisi kulit yang lembab dan sudah terhidrasi dengan baik sebelumnya. Pemakaian pada kulit yang kering akan menghasilkan tampilan yang patchy (belang) dan kurang merata karena teksturnya yang cukup pekat dan sulit dibaurkan tersebut. Krim ini cocok digunakan pada wanita dan pria dengan segala jenis kulit. Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream bisa dibilang memiliki tingkat ketahanan minyak yang biasa saja pada jenis kulit kombinasi cenderung kering seperti wajah saya. Krim pencerah wajah seketika ini tentu sangat berguna dan praktis bagi pemilik wajah kusam dan kalian yang sedang  malas berdandan. Terlebih lagi dengan kisaran harga 23.000 rupiah, Wardah Perfect Bright Tone Up Cream mudah didapatkan di minimarket terdekat. Meskipun bukan tone up cream favorit saya, produk ini dapat menjadi salah satu pilihan bagi kalian yang ingin mencari tone up cream dengan harga yang sangat terjangkau!

Continue Reading

Friday, October 18, 2019

“Life's greatest gift is the freedom it leaves you to step out of it whenever you choose.”

– Andrè Breton (Anthology of Black Humor) 

Continue Reading

Beauty Thursday: Vaseline Pure Skin Jelly Original

The one thing I love about Vaseline, is that you will never ever go wrong with any of the products you choose. I have only discovered the greatness of Vaseline Pure Skin Jelly this year. I know, where have I been all this time—but better late than never, right?

I actually bought Vaseline for my mom and ended up using it for myself instead. I've been using it for over four months and I am absolutely amazed at how well it works. Seriously, is there anything that Vaseline can't be used for? It literally has so many uses and is one handy product to have around the house. It helps with everything: dryness, itchiness, rashes, burns, acne breakouts—you name it. I put this on my lips at least ten times a day and I’m not even being dramatic. I have extremely chapped lips no matter how much water I drink or how much lip balm I put on, and this stuff is my savior. Despite what people say, this is actually hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. It is thick and a tad greasy, but that's how it's supposed to be; it locks in moisture to keep the skin hydrated and moisturized. Besides moisturizing, it is also great as an eye makeup remover and gentle on the eyes. Even with the stubborn waterproof mascara, Vaseline takes it right off. There is no scent or taste to it which is nice if you don't like scented/flavored balms. 

The only downside is that you have to stick your finger in the tub to get the product out. Other than that, everything is great. Since a little goes a long way, a little tub of Vaseline lasts a long while and is worth the cost. Not only is it super cheap, it also can easily be found in just about any drugstore. I will definitely continue purchasing it. If you haven't put Vaseline in your regular beauty regimen, then you need to!

Continue Reading

When Allah Seems Silent to Our Prayers

Prayer is a lifelong journey that every believer goes on. It is about calling on God, being with God, and about listening to God. Prayer is a continuous act and the need for it is never ending. Just as breathing is the most fundamental need for physical life, prayer is the touchstone of a person's spiritual life. It provides the opportunity for one to develop a personal relationship with the Creator. In Islam, there are two forms of prayer. One is ritual prayer that must be performed daily at specific times by every adult Muslims. This is called Salat. The other form is supplicatory prayer called Du'a, which can be prayed at any time or place. Du'a is intended to be a private conversation—a two-way dialogue between one and the Lord; not only our turning towards God, but also the response of God. In our du'a, we ask from Allah for forgiveness, wellbeing, protection, and for everything we want and need in our life no matter how big or small.

Throughout the Qur'an, Muslims are encouraged to pray and supplicate to Allah. A person who supplicates to Allah shows that he is in need of Him and weak. Allah has also promised to hear every word and respond to our call. 

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that you might be [rightly] guided. — Surah Al-Baqarah (2:186)

That being so, as Muslims, we always turn to Allah to make du'a for all matters. Most of the time, the Almighty answers our prayers. Sometimes, we feel He does not respond to our du'a and remains silent. Of course, we all have down times in life. There are times when we have prayed to the Lord asking for His help and mercy every day and night, but we do not seem to get anywhere. Nothing seems so lonely when we cry out for God and we can't even hear an answer. We feel like God is ever so silent, and it has left us feeling confused and saddened. It is days like this when we feel that our faith is being tested as our prayers seem to go unanswered. We are all human with feelings and emotions, and sometimes tend to lose the path of faith that we have built through prayer. In a moment of despair, many of us often wondering what sins we have committed to make Allah desert us in our time of need. I am sure we all have been there at one point or another when we begin to listen to our own doubts that lead us to believe Allah has forsaken us. As a matter of fact, most of us do not realize that all of these bad thoughts in our minds are coming from satan who is going to drag us away from Allah through fear and doubt. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for doubting His mercy.

As mentioned in the above verse, Allah Almighty is always close to us and listening to our du'a. Allah is all-hearing and all-knowing, nothing is hidden from Him. But why then do our du'a seemingly go unanswered?

My friends, we should not be hasty and impatient in expectation of a response. Sometimes when the answer is delayed or slow in coming, we give up supplicating ourselves to Allah. Du'a is like a seed that is planted in the ground. A good farmer knows that it grows up gradually and takes time for that seed to produce a harvestable crop. Some seeds even will grow very slowly and take longer than others to produce. No crop grows overnight; it requires patience, dedication, and hard work. It is the same for du'a. When we offer a du'a, we must wait patiently. We must continue to pray until the du'a is answered. We should have confidence that Allah will answer our prayers. Don't stop and keep making sincere du'a to Him, for He knows best and we don't know. 

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:
The supplication of every one of you is granted if he does not grow impatient and says: I supplicated but it was not granted. — Sahih Muslim, 2735a

As a faithful servant of Allah, we should never lose hope when the answer to our du'a has been delayed. It is not that He will not answer our du'a, the reality is there is no such thing as unanswered prayers. There is never a 'no' to our du'a, for Allah is not breaking His promise.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:  “There is no Muslim who calls upon Allaah with words in which there is no sin or severing of family ties but Allaah will give him one of three things: either He will answer his prayer soon, or He will store it up for him in the Hereafter, or He will remove something bad from him that is equivalent to what he is asking for.” They said, “Then we should make a great amount of du’aa’.” He said, “Allaah is greater.” — Musnad Ahmad, 10749

In the hadith above, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) taught us that supplications are answered in one of three ways:

1. We are given what we ask for immediately;
2. We do not receive what we ask for, but a greater calamity that was about to befall us is removed from our life instead;
3. We do not get what we ask for, but the du'a is saved as a treasure in the hereafter.

Sometimes du'a are answered quickly, but some other times God responds in a different way. Some of us, including me, may have probably du'a that haven't been answered yet. Often we fail to notice that our du'a are actually being answered; just not always in the way or in the timing that we expect. Even though it is not always easy to understand His answer, the point is Allah does answer every du'a; either He will prevent something bad that was going to happen to us or He will store it up for us in the Hereafter. Either way, we will never return empty-handed. No du'a is ever gone to waste. Masha Allah.

So do not lose heart and do not give in to doubt when the answer to our du'a is delayed, there is likewise a reason: it is for our own good or it is not the right time to receive it. Some answers come late. We know God's time is not always the same as ours. His sense of timing is just way, way better. Through this all, we learned how to be still and wait quietly while Allah works things out for us. It taught us to seek the Lord's will instead of our own. We should be ready to accept the result because Allah knows that what we want may not always be good for us, and we may dislike something that may be actually good for us. Allah will not only answer our du'a, He will answer it in a way that is good for us and we just have to believe in His plan. Keep praying and du'a, Allah is with the one who carries tawakkul and sabr in their hearts.

O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient. — Surah Al-Baqarah (2:153)

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' "  — Surah Ibrahim (14:7)

Before asking for more, take out some time to make shukr and say Alhamdulillah sincerely to thank Allah ta'ala. If we look back over our whole life, we realize that Allah has been so good to us. We should be embarrassed at how ungrateful we are for everything He has given us in life. We fail to thank Him for all the countless blessings that we have received without even asking or knowing. How many du'a of ours have been answered in the past, more times than we can count. That is why we should make du'a at all times, not only during times of distress or fear but also during times of joy and excitement. The more we are thankful for what we have, the more He will bless us. Just because Allah has not answered our du'a immediately, it does not mean He is ignoring it. The Lord does care that He is still working in our lives even we don't see or feel it. No matter what it seems like, no matter what the difficulty is; the truth is, the Almighty neither abandoned nor humiliated us. We should refresh and remind ourselves that Allah is always here with us, protecting us through all the struggles we are going through and making sure that we are never alone.

And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein. — Surah Qaf (50:16)

At our core, of course, we are what we have always been: sinners who are not good enough to be loved by God, but remember that Allah is Al-Ghafur and Ar-Raheem. He is the Most Forgiver and the Most Merciful. It is never too late for us to beg forgiveness for any wrongdoing we have committed. If we are sincere in our tawbah (repentance), Allah will forgive us and all of our past sins are turned into good deeds. In fact the mercy of Allah the Almighty is abundant. Let us remember that God's love is greater and deeper than we can ever understand. Allah loves us more than we love ourselves.

Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. — Surah Al-Furqan (25:70)

To whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, over all things, is Witness. — Surah Al-Buruj (85:9)

When Allah says He is enough as a witness, why do we still doubt Him in what happens in our lives? Only Allah is sovereign and all-powerful. He is in control of all things and nothing can be out of His sight even for a moment. As small human beings, we have no right to question God; it is disrespectful to ask why He does or does not allow certain things to happen. He is the creator of the whole universe, the one who says Kun faya kun (be and it is). Allah's purposes may be hidden from us, yet there is absolutely no doubt that He has better plans for those who believe and love Him.

***

Notes: I share this post in part to serve as a reminder to myself and others who see it. Even when we are at the lowest point in our lives, when we feel empty inside; we shouldn't be hopeless with Allah or think that Allah has stopped listening to our prayers. Allah creates a different test for every person and the Lord does not burden a soul beyond its capacity (2:286). Stand in prayer in the night (qiyam al-layl) and recite Qur'an, as well. Hope this is at least a little helpful. May Allah always guide us on the right path. آمين اللهم امين.

Continue Reading

Beauty Thursday: P.O. POWDER M.B.K.

Hari gini masih pakai bedak ketiak? Tentu, dong! Layaknya sebagian orang pada umumnya, sejak remaja hingga sekarang saya juga memiliki masalah bau badan akibat keringat berlebih, terutama bau ketiak. Memang sih hal ini bisa terjadi pada siapa saja, sangat manusiawi sekali. Sudah tidak terhitung lagi berbagai jenis deodoran atau anti-perspirant yang digunakan, tapi malah kerap membuat bau ketiak semakin buruk. Belum lagi munculnya noda kuning di bagian ketiak pada pakaian dan aroma parfum dalam deodoran yang terlalu menyengat. Sebagai pengguna setia deodoran, saya pun memutuskan untuk mencoba bedak ketiak tradisional nan jadul yang sudah termasyhur bahkan sebelum saya terlahir di muka bumi ini.

Awalnya saya sempat ragu dengan keampuhan bubuk penghilang bau badan ini. Hmm, memakai bedak di ketiak? Ternyata P.O POWDER M.B.K. sama sekali tidak mengecewakan, kok. Produk ini hadir dalam kemasan plastik berisi bubuk putih menyerupai bedak. Bedak MBK telah diproduksi sejak tahun 1970 dan kini terdapat dalam dua varian, yakni MBK kemasan lama berwarna putih dan kemasan baru berwarna perak. Selain warna kemasan, sepertinya tidak ada perbedaan yang mencolok antara dua varian tersebut. Keduanya memiliki aroma klasik yang segar dan lembut. Namun, menurut saya wangi parfum kemasan perak sedikit lebih kuat. Komposisinya terdiri dari tiga bahan saja, yakni tawas, talk, dan parfum. Bedak ketiak ini juga dapat digunakan oleh pria maupun wanita.

Berdasarkan petunjuk penggunaan, bedak MBK digunakan setelah mandi di atas kulit ketiak yang bersih agar produk berfungsi lebih maksimal. Bagi saya, deodoran dalam bentuk bubuk ini cukup baik menahan bau ketiak lebih lama dibandingkan roll-on atau semprot. Setelah diaplikasikan, aroma ketiak akan cenderung netral dan tidak khawatir akan bertabrakan dengan aroma parfum yang dikenakan. Selain tidak lengket, bedak ini mampu mengurangi keringat berlebih, sehingga terhindar deh tuh dari istilah basket dan burket. Produk ini juga tidak meninggalkan noda gelap pada baju dan tidak menyebabkan kulit ketiak menggelap atau menghitam. Sebagian orang juga memakai bedak ini pada bagian atau lipatan tubuh lain yang banyak mengeluarkan keringat. Sayangnya, saat saya mencoba beberapa kali malah menyebabkan kulit menjadi sangat kering, mungkin karena kulit saya cukup sensitif. Menurut kabar yang beredar, bedak ini bisa juga digunakan untuk mencegah bau kaki, caranya dengan menaburkan bedak pada telapak dan sela-sela jari kaki. Namun, saya pribadi menggunakan bedak MBK hanya di ketiak saja, sesuai petunjuk penggunaan dan fungsinya.

Oh, hindari langsung penggunaan bedak ini sesaat setelah melakukan waxing dan mencukur bulu ketiak, ya. Bahan tawas bisa mengiritasi kulit yang baru saja dicukur. Beri jeda selama beberapa jam hingga satu hari agar kulit ketiak beristirahat.

Kekurangan bungkus kemasan plastik bedak MBK adalah bubuknya dapat berhamburan kemana saja bila tidak diletakkan dengan benar. Saya pun menuangnya ke dalam botol bedak talk kecil, sehingga lebih aman, praktis, dan higienis, terutama saat bepergian. Bagi yang tidak ingin repot, bedak MBK juga mengeluarkan kemasan wadah pot plastik dengan isi yang lebih banyak dan pastinya akan lebih awet. MBK ternyata juga mengeluarkan deodoran bentuk roll on, lo. Saya jadi tertarik deh untuk mencobanya nanti.

Bedak MBK memang tidak sepenuhnya menghilangkan bau ketiak secara permanen, tapi menurut saya cukup ampuh mengurangi bau ketiak yang kurang sedap saat beraktivitas setiap hari. Harganya yang sangat ekonomis dapat terjangkau oleh semua kalangan, dengan 2.500 rupiah kita sudah bisa membawa pulang satu bungkus bedak MBK. Apalagi produk ini mudah ditemukan di warung-warung kecil, toko obat, apotek, swalayan besar, dan toko daring. Untuk satu bungkus bedak dapat bertahan dua hingga tiga minggu dengan pemakaian rutin dua kali sehari. Wah hemat banget, kan? Jadi, tidak ada lagi tuh alasan untuk bau badan tak sedap, ya!

Continue Reading