Weekend Grabs

I don't think this counts as a haul. I bought these at different times from different places but all last weekend. I noticed that I've been posting about weekend stuff during the middle of the week. So late, but that's how I roll!

• HBC Body Recipe Hair Remover Cream- been wanting to get it because of Thiamere's post about it.

• Snoe products: Apple Scrub and Bengkoang Lotion. 

• Cat envelope from I Love Envelopes

• Floral kiss-lock purse

• Plastic wallet organizer

• More pocketbacs- Eucalyptus Mint and Rockin' Cotton- I got "umay"  with my sweet pocketbacs so I got fresher fragrances this time. Eucalyptus Mint is my current fave. Smells like Irish Spring soap and it kinda clears up my sinuses.^^

Weekend Bits

As you probably already know. there were lots of sales going on all over the metro this past weekend. I didn't feel up to the challenge of enduring the traffic jams AND THEN elbowing my way through the feeding frenzy at the major commercial areas, so I chose to take the road less travelled.

I managed to pick up a few stuff nonetheless:

From Watson's

1. Marrionnaud Eyebrow brush and spoolie- Still on the eyebrow thing and getting sick of the dinky eyebrow brushes that usually come with eyebrow powders.

2. Watson's Brand Cotton Pads- if you're a big cotton pad user, I recommend getting this. It's PHP 46 for a pack of 150 pads + 60 pads free. When I checked, you only get about 100 pads from the leading brands for that price.

3. Cyleina Kojic Soap- I'd heard that Cyleina soaps were already available in Watson's but this was my first time to see them. Prolly cuz they're always OOS.

4. Nivea Sparkling White Night Cream- I have a friend who swears by this night cream. She has the nicest skin of anyone I know so I thought I'd give this a try.

5. Pond's White Beauty Nature Naturals Facial Wash- Never had much luck with the brand in the past, but it's just a sachet. How much can it hurt to try, right?

6. Purederm Foot Mask- Repurchased this many times already.
7. Electric toothbrush heads


From HBC

1. Body Recipe Calamansi Roll-On Deo- heard good things about this and it's always OOS so I  wanted to try it for myself.

2. San-San Blush in 03- a yummy bright pink shade.

3. Hortaleza Professional Keratin Hot Oil Treatment- another repurchase

4. 2-Way Cake Refill in 02- Already hit pan on my current 2-Way Cake foundie. Will test this soon.

And from the department store.

Ever Bilena Mousse Blush in Scarlet- Heads Up! The entire EB mousse line is on sale at PHP 99/each item. I'm crazy about their mousse blushes. This is my fourth one already. It's just too bad that their foundies are all too ligh for me. Included a swatch in case anyone's interested.

Cherry Nail Polish- it's a beautiful burgundy color. I got this for a number of reasons: I liked its long brush handle and it's dirt cheap (PHP 15+) but mostly I got it for entertainment purposes.

Check out the color name. LOLWHUT. (I'm so immature)

I also found this:

e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit
- A personal triumph! Been looking for this for a really long time, but they always seemed to be OOS. I'm very happy with this but check back for the details.


Have a good week, luvs!

At Last! Saizen Charcoal Mask

Charcoal is an amazing thing. For centuries, it has been used for purification purposes. Activated charcoal is used to treat mild poisoning, and I remember when I was young, we used to always put blocks of charcoal inside the refrigerator to remove the odor from various food.

The Charcoal Mask from Saizen (or Daiso to the rest of the world) is a much-raved about product around my part of the world. It's effectivity as a beauty product, combined with its affordable price has made it a hit indeed.

However, since this product is so popular and can only be bought from one place, acquiring a tube was a huge challenge for me. The store was always out of stock whenever I dropped by. To be honest, I was quite frustrated, because I can understand not being able to buy something a bit expensive right away. But something as affordable as a Saizen item? It drove me pretty crazy. I had to have it.

Anyway, I'd been trying to content myself with other products from their charcoal line, because they were pretty interesting, too. So far, I've tried the bar soap, nose pore strips, cleansing cream and facial cleansing foam. They were all pretty nice, too.

I had a bit of luck last week. I went to Saizen not expecting it to be available but to purchase whatever I found interesting. (Yup, it's that kind of place.)

Lo and behold:

I didn't let this golden opportunity pass me by. I immediately bought a bunch, even though I didn't have any experience using it. Who knows when they'll have it again, right? I was thinking even if this product turned out to be not to my liking, I can always give them away. I have been buying little bits and pieces for stocking stuffers as early as now, anyway. Ha-ha.

I was able to try it last weekend, and I likey! After using it, my face became noticeably clearer and brighter. Another thing I like about it is that, when it dries, it really is dry. I mean, like a bone. Its texture became like that of rice paper, which makes it really easy to peel off. Other peel-off masks I've tried stay soft and gummy when dry. So it's hard to remove completely, and the little bits that get left behind are actually the hardest to pick of. It can even hurt.

Hmm... cons? It hurts like the dickens to remove if you get it in your hair. Watch out for that. It's enough to make someone as bushy (LOL) as me cry.

Also, it's hard to come by, but you can get in touch with the store so that they can inform you when it's available. Some of the girls even reserve their tubes beforehand. As for me, Saizen is literally a stone's throw away from where I work and I don't mind checking in every now and then. Because finding it by chance is kinda like winning the lottery for me.

And some impulse buys can be really rewarding, too. Like this lipgloss.

Saizen Lipgloss in Pink Lame'

I love it so much. Light-colored glosses don't show up that well on me, but I really like the pay-off using this one. And the glitters are so fine, the color looks really natural when worn. I also love that it is flavor and fragrance-free. It doesn't bother me at all when I have it on.

I also dropped by HBC that day, since I was already there anyway. I wanted to try their Vitamin C Serum. It must have been my lucky day because this was another product that was usually out of stuck, but they had it. I also bought San-San Nail Polish in Cloudy Gray. It's pretty.

I love the color of their packaging, don't you?

That's it for now. Oh! I've joined the bandwagon. Here's a shot of me with the mask on, just in time for Halloween.

Boo!

See you later!

Sunday Update

How's everyone? I miss all of your blogs so much! Honestly, it sucks that I can't spend so much time blogging and blog-hopping as much anymore when I just started making friends through this blog, but I'll try to stay updated with everyone's posts..

Anyway, things have been crazy IRL lately. I don't want to bore you with all the details, but let's just say that having the time to blog and read everyone else's is the biggest break I could get lately. I can't even get any decent shopping done, anymore. Still the same old routine: I try and sneak in vanity stuff and the little nothings which make me happy when I'm running errands.

Here are some random goodies from the past week:

Monday @ Robinson's Galleria (where I paid some bills):
From Watson's

More Purederm products

CO-Q10 Sheet Masks

Strawberry Yogurt Packs

The elusive Pigeon pressed powder

This is the Indonesia-licensed one in Beige. It's also available in Pink. (I wanted the white one from Japan, but that's even harder to find, since I rarely pass by the any branch of the store known to carry it. And even if I do, according to some G-Talkers, it's usually out of stock.) I'm pretty happy with this one, though, because of the translucent finish and ability to control oil. My only complaint is the smell. It's not stinky or anything, but I would rather not use anything with fragrance on my face.

From Saizen:

L-R: Depilating Strips, Hyaluronic Acid Essence.

They looked like interesting products which would be a steal if they worked, so I wanted to try them. Haven't yet. Will update you.

From HBC

San-San Products
L-R: Plumping Lip Gloss,
Waterproof Mascara,
Brown Eyeliner Pencil,
Black Eyeliner pencil.

San-San's claim to fame is that their makeup products are enriched with vitamins. Their products are also super-affordable to begin with, so when they go on sale, the prices are unbelievable. The waterproof mascara is awesome. It did not smudge even when I got caught in a sudden heavy downpour this week, and it doesn't clump.

Friday @ Ever Gotesco Ortigas (where I went grocery-shopping)
From the Thrift Store:

Clockwise:
Oversized Red print bag,
Black patent flats with side bows
Purple patent flats with bows

One of the thrift stores I visit most often is located inside a shopping center. It seemed weird for me to see it there at first, because I didn't think it could compete with stores that sold new merchandise.

The red bag is huge! I don't know if oversized bags are still fashionable or not anymore, but I need huge bags to survive. It's made of canvas or some other similar fabric but laminated or has some kind of finish that makes it semi-waterproof and resistant to stains. The handles are bright red synthetic leather. Eye love!

From the Department Store:

L-R:
Small plastic pots w/ spatula
Nail care stuff
Polka Dot Umbrella

Nail Care Stuff, Clockwise:
Caronia Fast Dry Top Coat
4-Step Nail Buffer, has 4 different surfaces for filing, shaping buffing and polishing.
Caress Nail Polishes: Sweet Blend and Cool Blue

I think I am becoming addicted to nail stuff, which is weird, because I still need to get my manis and pedis professionally done. I am so bad at applying nail polish by myself. But maybe I just need practice. But they're pretty and mostly cheap, so I guess it's okay.

I also noticed that I've been buying nail polishes 2 at a time. Well, three on the earlier Quiapo post. But usually I have to buy at least one cool and one warm color, or one from the red family and one from the blue family. Hmm... OCD?

My cutesy umbrella with ruffles.

I hate the rainy season. But I do love cute umbrellas.

Friday @ Quiapo
from Hortaleza

More Cyleina Organic Soaps: Black Pearl and Tomato

I've told you about Black Pearl before, but it's my first time to try Tomato.

From the cutesy shop from before:

Big face brush
More Bichun Nail polishes (Teal and purple)
Sponges and eyeshadow applicators.

It was already late when I got there so I didn't get to look around that long. On my way out I saw this ginormous kabuki-type brush in rainbow colors. Ha-ha. I think I'll be back there real soon.

Back-to-Basics

Weekend's here at last! stopped by the mall last night to pick up a few things:

Not really haul-ish. Just some bare necessities.

NOTE: It has come to my attention that I know next to nothing about makeup, so I decided to take a step back and take on this new fascination with beauty products one day at a time. Like I have to rehabilitate my skin first, because good skin is better than the best foundie out there. Baby steps, right?

From the department store:

iWhite's Skincare Line

I was a big fan of the iWhite line back in college. When I started working I kinda experimented with other brands (may K na kasi ako magtaray nu'n) and never found my way back. Until last night.

What are they:
Blue Tube: Moisturizer. I love this stuff. It's light and non- greasy, and I love the way it smells.
Purple: Facial Wash. It smells really good, too. (It reminds me of Paris Hilton Just Me after you've sprayed it on for a while.)
Peach: Whitening Face Cream. Can be used as makeup base. It's very light and non-greasy, too. I use it as sunscreen (SPF 15) on ordinary, not too sunny days when I stay indoors most of the time.

I'm kinda sad that the lotion (Yellow) has been discontinued. Because it's one of the few lotions I can stand to leave on my skin. But I don't like lotion in general. I use the Face cream on my exposed parts (limbs) instead.

Maybelline Perfect Concealer

Also bought concealer. Because I need one! Badly!

DOVE White

I really like the yellow variant of Dove beauty soaps because it smells really good and makes me feel good during bath time, but I have literally drawn blood from over-exfoliation and scrubbing, (OCD) so I had to go for the gentler, more moisturizing kind.

Which made me want to kick myself after getting this at HBC.

Body Recipe Exfoliating Bar w/ Goat's Milk from HBC

Couldn't help it. I went there to check out the San-San brushes because of the posts on Jing's (Girl With Glasses) and the Chipipay blog. They were all out. *wags finger accusingly* Which one of you did it?

By the way, they're on sale until today, I think.

Also got some stuff at Saizen!

Have you been to Saizen? At PHP 85 (2 USD, give or take) a pop, you can afford to go a little crazy there.

Cute oil-blotting sheets


Nose pore strips

(6 sheets for PHP 85. Haven't tried it, but if it works, then it's a steal. Because Bench's is like PHP 20 ++ last time I got some. the Biore strip was already about PHP 40, if I'm not mistaken)

Half-type falsies. Yeah, made an exception to my self-imposed back to basics rule. Because it's CUTE!

Double Eyelid glue

Rules were made to be broken, right? And a similar item sells for about PHP 400 on eBay. So yeah, I got one. Because I never could turn down a bargain. Ha-ha.

Nail polish drying spray.

Also a good buy at that price.

Shirt for Maddy.

Because dog clothes are really expensive everywhere else. Most of her clothes cost more than some of mine. Ha-ha. Material's good, too.

Fat plastic knitting needles

Craft-y things are also things I like to buy.Because I've always wanted to learn to knit. (Anyone know where I can buy wool in the Phils.? I want to spin my own yarn, too.)

Earlier this week, before I laid down the basics only for now rule, I couldn't wait until payday to get new makeup, so I bought some really affordable ones. (I have low EQ, plus I am Ilocano. So sue me.)

DISCLAIMER: I'm joking. I am really Ilocano because both of my parents are. I was born and raised in the Metro, but ethnic stereotyping=BAD. Some of the most generous people I know are Ilocano. Like my Dad. XD

I also told myself then that I would not but overly expensive makeup until I knew what to do with it. (I told myself the same thing about buying jewelry supplies. I would only buy higher quality ones, after practicing and improving my skills, hehe.)

Anyway, I got these:

NICHIDO Girl's Night Out Pencil in Thin Mints.

I wanted green eye makeup.

This AIDO eyeshadow palette that was on sale.

Pretty colors.

FASHION 21 Lip Gloss

It came with free lipgloss from Fashion 21. The lipgloss smelled funny so I didn't want to use it. I wouldn't even give it away. Real shame. I really liked the color.

ELF Plumping lipgloss in Baby Doll

I wanted a lip plumper. I don't think this did jack to plump up my lips, but I like the flavor, and the color, so not bad for the price.

Have a good weekend, everyone!