September 07, 2016

Stay Connected While Traveling | Wi2FLY Portable Wifi Review

Ahhh, portable wifi. A marvellous thing invented by a genius who loves traveling and would very much like to stay connected during the trip, I suppose.

Earlier this year, I wrote about this awesome portable wifi (a.k.a. mobile wifi router) in Singapore, and now I'm gonna introduce you to its newly born Indonesian sister, who's now ready to serve our wifi needs all around the world: Wi2FLY.

Some of you have asked me various questions about traveling, and one of the most frequently asked questions is: Do I prefer to travel by myself or use a travel agent? The answer is the former. I enjoy traveling by myself, creating my own itineraries according to things that really interest me, following my own schedule (which is very 'flexible', I must say), and so I posted this DIY traveling tips last year on my ask.fm page:
As you can see, upon 'Arrival', I strongly suggest to my readers to have a portable wifi ready with them, because imagine this. You're arriving at this deserted terminal at midnight, carrying two heavy suitcases -one on each hand- and nobody's picking you up. It's cold outside but you have to wait for a taxi that seemingly would never come, but it is your best option because you might get lost if you try to walk further from that taxi stand, and besides, it's too cold and the suitcases are getting heavier and you're getting more and more tired.

IF ONLY there is a good wifi connection around, right??
Then you can connect your smartphone and contact a friend or family who can pick you up, or order a local cab, or perhaps find the best route from that terminal to your hotel and get on with it by yourself, because at the very least... you wouldn't get lost.

And that's just one of many perks of having a portable wifi around when you're traveling, my friend.


Maldives

Now now, without further ado, let me re-introduce you to Wi2FLY, the wifi solution that I mentioned earlier.
"Wait, it's black? I thought you were holding a white thing..."

Yes, because for this review, I had the chance to try Wi2FLY on both my Maldives and France trips, and this lil black one got my back in Maldives!

Although during the first night it didn't work (the connection kept failing), that I needed to connect to the wifi in the hotel lobby, the customer service from Wi2FLY replied me quickly and helped me check on the connection:
And so, the next days, I was able to surf (geddit geddit, surf~) around the island, happily connected to the outside world. Without it, I wouldn't be able to publish any of these posts on my Instagram:
And many more on my Snapchat, Shine, Twitter, Facebook, etc. XD


France

In France, I used Wi2FLY everywhere I go and it worked REALLY nicely for most of the days.
Yes, there were a few glitches (the wifi would suddenly stopped working), but most of the time, I easily solved it by pressing the power button on the device to turn it off and and on again (restarting it), and voila, it's back to work.

I used it while browsing the pretty streets in Paris:

Used it all day long while enjoying the beautiful views in Nice and Grasse:

Heck, it even accompanied me in the plane for more than an hour due to my delayed flight from Nice to Paris:
Thank you, Wi2FLY!

Wouldn't be able to post these pics without you:

(( Not to mention how you helped us keeping in touch with our family, friends, clients, customers and employees during the trips ))

(( Also, how you enabled us to use these helpful apps on the go: Google Maps, Uber, Waze, TripAdvisor, Google Translate, Weather Forecast, Currency Converter, and so on ))

(( Really, thank you, Wi2FLY! ))


About Wi2FLY

This baby doesn't come alone.

So, what's in the package?
When you order Wi2FLY, you will get a red bag which consists of the router itself, a SUPER USEFUL travel adapter (seriously, this thing is the bomb, it's a one-plug-fits-all adapter and I was really thinking to keep it. I didn't btw), a charger cable, and an troubleshooting card in case of any problems:

Here are some useful informations about Wi2FLY (benefits, pricelist, worldwide area coverage, how to order) that I found on their website:
As you can see from the info up there, the router is DELIVERED FOR FREE* to you 1 day before your departure!! How convenient is that??
*You can also choose to pick it up at their office


Special for our readers

When you're ready to order:
2. Enter your destination and traveling dates
3. Use this Discount Code 'W2INJESS' to get 15% OFF your purchase*!!!
*this code is valid until 30 September 2016, so make sure you use it before thattt XD

And that's it, enjoy your trip!

Okay guys, I hope you find this post useful. See you again soon! :D

X
Jessica Yamada

August 20, 2016

POKEMON GO: How I Gained 78000 XP in 30 mins! - Indonesia (Eng Sub) | Elle Yamada

Hi everyone! As you all know, Pokemon Go is all the hype right now! There are so many people got hooked on the app, and I'm one of them. In this video, I share how I gained a lot of XP in just 30 minutes! Hope you enjoy it and find it helpfulthumbs up if you do! :)


Don't forget to watch 'til the end for the bloopers! xD

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos: bit.ly/ejsubscribe

Thank you so much for your support, I sincerely appreciate it! 

XOXO

July 17, 2016

Green Tea Kisses with Lip Ice Matcha

Haluuuuu. Wassuppppp.
I know holiday has ended but fret not, we can always make it fun, whether we're going back to school, college or work. Maybe by trying a new hairstyle, bringing something cute to eat at lunch, orrr... you can simply try something new and cute, like trying this Lip Ice Butter Ice Cream Matcha on your lips!
 WUUUUUUUTTTTT. SISTA, IT'S ACTUALLY GREEN!!!!!!
Yes, so does Matcha. 😁
Yummy, yummy Matcha 😋 🍵

 So, what was my first impression of this product?
1. When I applied it, it gives immediate cool sensation on my lips
2. It has a very nice and soothing Matcha scent
3. Anddd it's GREEN *ya huh*! so I was quite skeptical because I don't think green would look good on my lips, but then againnnnn.........

 Before - After application of Lip Ice Matcha
 As you can see, despite it's green color, it actually -and surprisingly- gives your lips a natural tinted lookNot to mention, it is also enriched with natural moisturizing ingredients, like Shea Butter, Squalene, Olive Oil, Vitamin E and UV protector, which prevents dark lips due to sun exposure.

So, do I love it? YES.
I always love a multifunctional product that works, just like this one. In Lip Ice Butter Ice Cream Matcha, I love the natural tinted look and the moisturizing effect the most. Not to mention it's also super affordable, like, only IDR 30,000 (less than USD 3) per piece! 😙 🍵  It is now one of my must-bring things in my bag.
*for more information of where to buy it, click here

Anyway, as part of their product launch, Lip Ice is doing this competition on Instagram:
Simply try Lip Ice Butter Ice Cream Matcha, post a picture and share your story with it on your IG, use hashtags #MatchaLips and #ListenToYourLips, and you can win Instax or MAP Vouchers!

Leaving this post with a green tea infused kiss.

X
Jessica Yamada

July 01, 2016

Elle's Aegyo Sal (Eye Smile) Tutorial

Hi everyone!
Aegyo Sal or Eye Smile has been an essential part of my eye makeup routine since 2013, so I thought I’d share my way to do it! I love Aegyo Sal because it can make you look more youthful and your eye appear bigger :)

Enjoy this 3-Step Tutorial and don't forget to watch 'til the end for the bloopers!

June 28, 2016

Memory | A Story In 100 Words


Was challenged by a friend of mine to write a 100-word story about 'Memory'. So here's mine. 😁

 MEMORY 
A whiff of that particular scent you wore that night, and the many nights before, every time we met; just sent me back from this huge airport filled with strangers, to these candid memories of us. A collection of bittersweet moments of the adventure in the library, the war in the car, the breakfast after the fights. 
They belong to us. The memories.
“Mom,” a little girl beside me was tugging my skirt. I lifted her up, slowly emerging out from the temporal lobe in my brain, back to the reality I belong. 
And that’s all we are. A memory.

X
Jessica Yamada

June 07, 2016

SPA Getaway in Yogyakarta with Cetaphil

Hey, what's up!
About a week ago we took a trip to Yogyakarta city. Jess had never been there, while Elle had only been there once, for a school trip in 2004. And now, thanks to Cetaphil, we've finally visited the city together PLUS got ourselves pampered (and more)!! xD

Before we checked in to our hotel, we paid a visit to Guardian at Plaza Ambarrukmo first. Guardian has always been supporting Cetaphil, so if you are wondering where to get a Cetaphil product, look for a Guardian store nearby!
Posing with the girls and Guardian staffs :) 

After about an hour and a half ride, during which we slept most of the way, we finally reached our hotel, Plataran Borobudur Resort and Spa. It's actually located in Magelang (about 45km from Yogyakarta).
 Lobby situation ♪ ♫
↑ Oh by the way, we were on this trip with these four girls who are the winners of this Cetaphil Spa Getaway! Yes, this trip is actually the result from a competition held by Cetaphil on their Facebook:
So you might wanna like their page here, because they LOVE to give awesome prizes like this, useful beauty tips and of course, their products!

And here are the winners' reviews (≧▽≦)づ
Yep, there were actually two more winners, but they were unable to attend, which is quite a bummer because:
 ↑ We were all so happy to be here!!!
Plataran Borobudur is very secluded and surrounded by nature, so it's perfect for a relaxing getaway!
  ↑ But first... lunch! The new faces are (L-R): Benita from Bonsey Jaden, Debby from Cetaphil Indonesia, and Elisabeth from Popbela).
 Although the food was average, we could see Candi Borobudur (AND the people there, no kidding) from here through this binoculars! It was pretty cool!
 Took outfit shots before headed to spa. We went for something comfortable and lightweight because Yogyakarta is just as hot and humid as Jakarta. 
 Jess with her all-time favorite white backpack from Braun Buffel. And yes, that's the spa location down there! Go, go!!



Time for Spa!

It's unlike any other spa, it's a spa using Cetaphil products!! 
 Finally!! What we'd been waiting for! It's just that we didn't sleep at all the night before because the flight was at 5am, so we were very looking forward to this!!! xD
 ↑ Milk bath overlooking the forest and Borobudur Temple? Yes, please!
  No matter how badly we needed the massage, we still managed to take some pics in their cute robes, ha! #bloggers
  Started from the bottom...
...now we're here!
 Heavenly afternoon 
 Continued to facial massage. They cleansed our face using Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, and then moisturized it with Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15. :)
 After that, we rinsed off the scrubs in this milk bath before finally applied Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion to our body. Fyi, it's important to apply body lotion after scrubbing to replenish any moisture lose!
 Credit for our photos during spa session goes to this sweet masseuse, Tari! She was so awesome in taking photos, seriously! She knew the good angles and even suggested some poses! hahah

After the spa, we went to our room to freshen up a bit for dinner, and greeted by these sweet welcome gifts from the hotel and Cetaphil:

 Wheee, it's the complete combo (Cleanser - Moisturizer - Sunblock), a nice addition to our existing Cetaphil family! XD Thank you, Cetaphil



Dinner at The Kastil

The decor of this restaurant kind of reminded us of Dracula's castle with the candle, carpet, window, and overall colors. We love it, but we don't wish to be left here alone, lol!
 Elle's OOTN: Dress from Japan, Michael Kors Boots, Bershka Necklace. The dress code for dinner was black, which matched The Kastil's atmosphere well!
 Tasty Soto!
 Of course it wouldn't be complete without Sambal ;)

Before we reached the end of our dinner, there was a Skincare session with Cetaphil's guest speaker, Dr. Arum! 
She shared her knowledge about skin and how to take care of it. It was very interesting, here we snapped some of the slides for you, take a look:
↑ Types of skin: sensitive and tough. Sensitive skin is more likely to deal with acne, itching, and irritation. (FOL)
↑ Types of skin colors and how they react to the sun.
 ↑ How important it is to protect your skin from the sun using sunblock! UVB can cause burning and skin cancer, while UVA can cause burning, pigment darkening, wrinkle, and premature aging.
 ↑ Look for a sunblock that can protect your skin from both UVA and UVB.
↑ You can also take care of or improve your skin with a healthy lifestyle. That includes enough sleep (6-8 hours a day), balanced nutrition, regular exercise (at least 30 minutes a day, 3x per-week), no smoking, no alcohol.

It's always fun learning about skincare, especially while enjoying these simple, yet yummy Indonesian desserts! xD 

↓ Dr. Arum with Debby from Cetaphil.
Thank you so much, Dr. Arum, for sharing your time and knowledge with us! 


Morning Yoga

The next morning, we wanted to catch the sunrise at 5am, but the sun was hiding behind the mist. T___T
This led us to our next schedule... YOGA!
We rarely do yoga (especially Elle), so there was quite a lot of challenging poses, lol! But overall it was so fun and peaceful :)
↑ The sun was starting to get hot and bright by this point that it was hard to see our yoga instructor, so we turned our back to the sun. It was to protect our face too (most of us forgot to put on sunblock).
↑ Warrior pose. xD
↑ Child's Pose, which is like our favorite pose hahah, love this picture btw! Both of us look like lemper.
ANDDD..... DONE!!!

Sayonara Lunch

After checking out from the hotel, we headed back to Yogyakarta and had this suuuuperrr delicious lunch at Sasanti Restaurant and Gallery!
Everything was yummeh, but our most favorite was the Wagyu Sate and this appetizer called Mentho. Despite it's not-so-Instagrammable appearance, it was super freaking moist and delicious, no kidding:
You should really try it when you visit Yogyakarta! Here's the address:
Jalan Palagan Tentara Pelajar No. 52A, Sariharjo, Kec. Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta
↑ The complete menu!

↓ Before headed to the airport, we made a stop at Batik Rumah to shop shop first! Elle bought four batik dresses :D


Product Reviews

Being Cetaphil fans, we have our own Cetaphil products here, which we've been using for some time now:
↑ click to enlarge the pic ↑
A little background story of how we first met with this simple yet loved-by-many brand.
On 2011, we had a major acne breakout, and (on top of seeing dermatologist(s), taking this medication and that treatments, etc.) of course we surfed the internet to find a holy grail. And that's how we knew Cetaphil for the first time; the brand -specifically the Gentle Skin Cleanser- shows up a LOT on forums, blogs, etc. and people raved about how safe and gentle it is for treating their acne. So we looked around for it but back then, it was really hard to get because Cetaphil was not officially available in Indonesia yet.

Fast forward to January 2015, Jess woke up to a nasty rash on her thighs, which has never happened before.
***WARNING***
Don't click if you're scared to see disgusting images or have a Trypophobia (intense, irrational fear of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps). But if you want to see how bad it was, here's the pic.

J: I panicked and went to a doctor in nearby hospital, and the doctor said that I experienced a skin allergy, which might be caused by a contact with something unhygienic. The only thing I can remember was that the night before the thigh rash happened, I was doing an outdoor yoga session. And the unhygienic stuff might the mat which was provided by the host (I was wearing a thin legging). T_T Long story short, the doctor prescribed me some stuffs and when I bought them at the hospital pharmacy, I was really shocked because turns out one of the products he prescribed me was what we were desperately looking for on 2011: THE Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (apparently, Cetaphil officially came to Indonesia on 2012)!! Doctor said I should only shower with it and well, there were also some prescribed oral meds, but they sure did work, my thigh rash disappeared in less than a week!

Fast forward again to May 2016 (yes, to this awesome spa getaway), Cetaphil gave us this bunch of goodies!! (ノ≧▽≦)ノ*:・゚✧
↑ click to enlarge the pic ↑

GENTLE SKIN CLEANSER -- OILY SKIN CLEANSER
↑ click to enlarge the pic ↑
We use the Oily Skin Cleanser after removing our makeup (for our double-cleansing ritual) and we love it. It's a bit hard to build up the foam, but even without the foam, you can still feel that it cleanses your skin well. The only difference between the two is that the Gentle Skin Cleanser leaves your skin feel clean + slightly moisturized, and the Oily Skin Cleanser simply leaves your skin feel clean and oil-free without the feeling of being stretched out, if you know what we mean. Both are very mild and yes, you can use the famous Gentle Skin Cleanser for both face and body, even on baby's skin and of course, on super sensitive skin. Heck, you can even use it without water; just rub it on your skin as usual and remove the residue with a towel or facial tissue. We tried it during the spa getaway, and it really does not feel sticky afterward!! If any, it makes our skin feel soft! But we don't recommend this no-water way for cleansing your face yah.. Double cleansing with water is still the best way for us!


MOISTURIZING CREAM -- MOISTURIZING LOTION
↑ click to enlarge the pic ↑
I think they got the label wrong for the Moisturizing Lotion ↑. It's supposed to be like this one, we think. As you can see from the swatch, the Moisturizing Cream has heavier and more solid texture than the Moisturizing Lotion, which is more watery. Afterall, the Moisturizing Cream was specially formulated for chronic dry, sensitive skin. We use it for super dry areas on our body (elbows, crotch, knees, feet, and toes), and it works wonders for us! It's not greasy despite being super moisturizing, and it keeps our (usually super dry) skin soft! The Moisturizing Lotion is also a great product. We've been using it for more than a year now, so this one from the getaway is a nice additional stock lol.


UVA/UVB DEFENSE SPF 50+ -- DAILY FACIAL MOISTURIZER SPF 15
↑ click to enlarge the pic ↑
Remember the slide from Dr. Arum up there? Yes, using sun protection products everyday is a MUST because it's one of the best 'long term investments' for your skin! The Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 is true to its claims; it's lightweight, non-greasy, non-comedogenic and it's comfortable for daily use, even when we're just staying at home.

Jess: As for the UVA/UVB Defense SPF 50+, I was super glad I used it right before the yoga session started because as you can see:
...it was a super hot, sunny (and sweaty) morning.
Elle: I forgot to use it, so I tried to avoid the sun as much as I could. T___T


Thank you, Cetaphil!

White shirt, blue jeans We're all holding our precious Cetaphil goodie bags!
Thank you once again, Cetaphil, for arranging this fun, relaxing, and inspiring trip. Can't wait for another awesome trip(s) to come! (ˆヮˆ)づ♡

If you'd love to get FREE Cetaphil products, click here:
We also did an interview with Popbela, talking about beauty stuff, which you can read here:

XOXO