This fashion event literally stopped traffic!

In the beginning of May, I arrived in Singapore to attend the opening of Samsung Fashion Steps Out 2013 (FSO 2013), a 6-week annual fashion extravaganza organised by Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA). This event opened with Orchard Fashion Runway – which turned the usually bustling Orchard Road into a 658 meter outdoor catwalk!

I was invited by ION Orchard, who became the venue sponsor for Orchard Fashion Runway Champagne sundowner party just before the fashion show begun. More than 170 models strutted down Orchard Road sporting the freshest Spring/Summer looks and Fall/Winter styles from celebrated international and local brands such as  Fausto Puglisi; Victoria, Victoria Beckham; Coach; J.Press; Robinsons; Marks & Spencer; Adolfo Dominguez; Maria Grachvogel; and Blugirl. The show was open for public viewing.

If you’ve passed by Pacific Place recently, you will definitely notice a huge sign on one side of the shopping mall that says Galeries Lafayette.

Yes, that’s right! The legendary Parisian department store is announcing the soft opening of their very first store in Indonesia. The department store is home to various international and local brands of cosmetics, perfumeries, accessories, fashion for men and of course, women.

Prior to the soft opening, Galeries Lafayatte held a contest called Fashion Is You, a nationwide fashion contest which promoted individual fashion style, and I was asked to judge alongside Biyan and Ria Lirungan from MRA Media. It was such an exciting experience to be a part of this project, as I met so many enthusiastic stylistas from many different backgrounds – students, bankers, career women, musicians, journalists – who all shared one common passion: fashion!

This outfit was what I wore during the pre-selection event. It was held at Orient 8, Hotel Mulia and all of us at the judging table spent the entire day meeting 60 finalists, interviewing them and selecting them into 40 preferred contestants. These 40 contestants were then publicly voted and the 10 highest voted contestants became the finalists who contended to win the grand prize: going to Paris and enjoy a unique shopping experience at the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann! I wouldn’t say it was an easy task, now I know how Tyra Banks must feel when judging for ANTM

Mango dress / Jeffrey Campbell shoes / Tiffany bracelet / Guess watch

We gathered at Fable for the final night, and the three of us sat back down on the judging table with the task of choosing 2 winners out of 10 finalists. Even though there weren’t as many people to choose from, it was still tough because these 10 finalists were all stylish and creative. There were some heated moments backstage where Mbak Ria, Mas Biyan, the Galeries Lafayette people, and myself had to decide who got to be the winners and fly to Paris but in the end, we chose the 2 lovely ladies: Krystle Hanifah and Melanie Camaro!

The judges and the winners, I was wearing Dorothy Perkins dress, Stuart Weitzman peep toe heels and Tea Label necklace

With Ria Lirungan, Biyan and Mrs. Arnolda Ratnawati from Galeries Lafayette

Congratulations and thank you so much Galeries Lafayette for inviting us to be a part of your arrival in Indonesia.

Now, I can’t wait to visit the store! Who’s coming with me?

Here comes the review of my favorite affordable perfume house: Pacifica!

If you have been spending some time on the Absolute Grooming section on our forums, especially the fragrance threads, you’ve most probably heard about this brand. And if you haven’t, let me tell you this: if you are over (I mean really over) the tooth ache-inducing, candy-like scents of  Bath & Body Works and the likes, yet you still want an everyday fragrance that won’t cause too much dent on your wallet, Pacifica is the answer!

Pacifica Perfume offers unique fragrances using all-natural ingredients. All Pacifica products, which also include skincare such as body butter, soaps, lip balms, etc are made without animal by products, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, benzene, GMOs, mineral oil, peanut oil and triclosan. As stated on their website, Co-Founder, Brook Harvey Taylor personally develops all of their fragrances using the highest quality ingredients including essential and natural oils from all over the world to create Pacifica’s proprietary perfume blends. Pacifica does not support the use of naturals that are threatened or where the harvesting of the plant endangers biodiversity or causes other environmental issues.

And the fact that this brand is so earth-conscious is just one of the many reasons why I love Pacifica! There are many great scents from this brand, ranging from florals (Persion Rose, Malibu Lemon Blossom, Tahitian Gardenia, etc) fruity (Bali Lime Papaya, Tuscan Blood Orange, etc) herbs & spices (Mexican Cocoa, Thai Lemongrass, etc) and woody (Sandalwood, Spanish Amber, etc). These scents are mostly available in perfume sprays, roll-ons or solids, as well as body butter, body wash and candles.

I have tried a few scents but for the first review, I would like to write about my favorite of them all, Tibetan Mountain Temple. This was actually given to me by Lena. I think she must have understood very well my penchant for “weird-smelling” fragrances because I immediately fell in love with Tibetan Mountain Temple! It is a gorgeous blend of vetiver, patchouli, orange and ginger. The result is a soft incense scent which starts with a rather bright and fizzy orange notes, followed by a subtle sandalwood in the background. As the minutes pass by, it gets smokier and earthier with ginger, vetiver and patchouli swirling in. However, this ginger doesn’t last long on my skin, instead, it changes into a scent of clove (cengkeh)! I find this very interesting as I never found any fragrance with cloves that is so wearable like Tibetan Mountain Temple. And this clove note continues to dominate all the way to the base, though it is tamed down with a warm sweet trail of vanilla. Lovely lovely lovely.

But anyway, from the mention of clove, I guess you could somehow tell that it is quite an unusual scent, especially if you are mostly drawn to floral or fruity types of fragrances. But if you like incense-type perfumes (alias wangi kemenyan ) but you find them a bit too dark to wear during the day, you might want to consider purchasing Tibetan Mountain Temple.

It is worth to note that I am using the solid perfume, which comes in an adorable tin round packaging which is very small and can be easily tucked into your purse. On my skin, the fragrance lasts around 3-4 hours, after that I need to reapply. I am now seriously thinking of buying the roll-on perfume because I heard it has better longevity.

If you are interested in adopting one or more Pacifica perfumes, my recommendation is to start with Persian Rose or Tahitian Gardenia if you like florals, or Tuscan Blood Orange or Indian Coconut Nectar if you like fruity scents. Head down to Lena’s shop at our popular Market Plaza because she has some of the fragrances (sprays, solids, roll-ons) in stock, as well as a limited choice of body butter and lip balms.

And the best bit? It comes in an affordable, hard-to-resist price! At Lena’s shop, the roll-ons are Rp. 130,000, sprays, Rp. 210.000 and solids Rp. 100,000.

Not sure which scent to buy? Ask other members for suggestions on Pacifica thread!

It’s been a while since I wore a maxi skirt. It didn’t seem like a very practical choice considering the wet season we’ve been having here in Jakarta lately, but that day, practicality was not really on my mind. I just wanted to wear what I felt like, plus, I had to attend the launch of Laneige and the dress code was something blue.

Luckily for me, it didn’t rain at all that day!