Humpdate and HeartKristel's ELF Collection Giveaway

I've been meaning to post this since last weekend and the week's almost finished again. ^^

Here are some stuff I picked up during the weekend: (Sorry if you can't make them out)

Top:

*  Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Scrub- repurchased this many time. Loves it!
*  iWhite Bath Soap- I''ve used almost all the iWhite products over the years, so I couldn't pass this up. Comes with a free Whitening pack sachet.
*  Single Eye Shadows (latest obsession)- Ever Bilena Advance in Goldenrod (at 40% off) and Fashion 21 (forgot the shade numbers but one is purply and the other is off white-y. =)
*  Sponge Cola CD-a freebie for buying Coca-Cola products. (I don't even have a CD player anymore!)
* Maxipeel Facial Wash- something I go back to using from time to time.

Bottom:

* Lolane Pixel Hair Color in Dark Golden Blonde-my current hair color =)
* Used Book: Creating Fairy Garden Scents- super interesting. More on this soon.
* Striped pink and white turban from Saizen- I use this at home to keep my hair out of my face. It's super soft and comfy. I love it to bits.
* Fashion 21  Aqualicious Lisptick in Little Mermaid
* Nichido eyebrow pencil in Dark Brown
* Brown eyebrow pencil from Saizen
* Marionnaud retractable face brush

Have you used any of this stuff?  What did you think of them?

I will post swatches of the makeup stuff in the future, so please check back soon. 

 

***

Heart Kristel's ELF Collection Giveaway

click the image for details.

Thanks HeartKristel!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the week. =))

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!

More Cheap Thrills and Giveaways

Oh wow, so it's Friday again. ( I could have sworn it was only this morning that I was complaining about the long week ahead of me.) And it's a holiday for some of us in my part of the world, so hooray!.

On a personal note, the 21st of every month is really special to me, too.

Been meaning to post this:

More cheap thrills!

5 pc. Nichido Brush Set: PHP 188-
ELF Plumping Lip Glaze in Fire Coral PHP 124.75
ELF Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Mocha Swirl PHP 124.75
Ever Bilena Extreme Lipstick in I'm Yours PHP 150-

(Local Products REPREZNT. Haha.)
* USD-PHP: 1 is to 50 (sometimes more, sometimes less)

My Thoughts:

The brush set is pretty. It comes with a face brush, an eyeshadow brush, a lip brush, a spoolie and a brush/comb. I like the wooden handles but the brushes are nothing spectacular. I like the envelope thingy it came in, though. I might use it for better brushes, but I'm keeping the spoolie and comb because I think those are pretty much the same everywhere.

If you've been here before, you probably already know about my love for this stuff. I can't shut up about it. I got the second lightest color this time, and it shows up better on my lips. (Pics to follow, maybe)

The Duo Eyeshadow Cream is very cute. It was a lot of trouble choosing just one, but I wanted to try it out first. I got Mocha Swirl because I like the colors but I really should have gotten Butter Pecan because it's got the lightest shade. I can't use this as base for a lot of my eyeshadows because the colors don't match. I like the colors of this on it's own, though you just need to set it with something.

I haven't formed an opinion on the EB Extreme Lipstick yet. When I swatched the tester, I got a very pretty frosted looking pink and some gold in certain lights. I don't get the same color from my tube, so I think I need to break it in or something (like shoes.) I think it's also too moist. When you use it so there's not much staying power. I fix this problem by applying something beforehand so that it would have something to grab onto. (Clear ELF Glaze to the rescue!). Another thing I don't like about it: the weird flavor. The ELF glaze helps with that, too.

Anyway, up until recently, my local product purchases have been shots in the dark. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I have found a forum with lots of interesting recommendations. So next time I buy something, I'd be making more informed choices (unlike a few days ago, when I bought a liquid eyeliner that could double as an ice-pick. Whole other story. ) Stay tuned!

____________________________________________________

Some new giveaways for all of us to join:

From Hello Denysia:

Hello Denysia's Giveaway

So the rules are as follow:
For one entry:
1. You have to be my follower on this blog! You don't have to have a blog to be able to take part in this giveaway. I will be checking to make sure.
2. You must comment on this entry, and let me know that you are following me! Simply state, "I'm following you!"
For extra entries:
3. If you post on your blog about my giveaway, make sure you comment again to let me know! And this will count as a second entry!

More details HERE.

Thank you Denysia. ^^

____________________________________________________

From Viva Woman

To celebrate Singapore 44th National Day, Viva Woman teamed up with several sponsors to give away a prize valued at 235 USD which includes handmade jewelry, organic goodies, a tool for facial hair removal and even colored contact lenses.

But don't take my word for it. GO SEE FOR YOURSELF


Thank you Viva Woman and sponsors!

Have a nice weekend!

Thoughts on Baxi? + Empty lipgloss + FOTD fail

Has anyone on my blogroll tried the makeup brand Baxi? If so, what are your thoughts?

I first encountered the brand a few years ago. I quite liked their lip and cheek tint, because it was long-lasting and showed up nicely on me. It also kind of smelled like fruit juice. It came in a kind of small vial with a roll-on head. The main thing I hated about it was that it kind of leaks and leaves a horrible mess on all your things.

I have also tried their lipgloss pens. It's not very different from that of other, more widely-known (local) brands. They had nice colors, too.

Anyway, I passed by a cutesy store on my way home, and look what I got:

cute plastic bag

BAXI eyeshadows

I was very attracted by the bright jewel-toned colors. (I easily get distracted by pretty, shiny things. I could swear I was a magpie in a previous life). I could look at them all day.

Teal
Fuchsia (doesn't show up well, coz my blankie's the same color)

This is actually more purple than blue for realz.

Golden yellow. I love this color so much!

Some swatches:

w/o flash

w/ flash

Can you guess how much each was? PHP 19.00! (about 0.50 USD) If they had other colors, I'd have gotten them, too.

So, anything I should know about this brand?

In other news, I have used up my elf lip plumping gloss in a little over a week. Which is actually news, because I have never used up any of my other cosmetics before. Definitely a first.

boo.

There's still a bit of the colored gloss left, but you have to move the wand around to get it. The clear gloss ran out sooner, because I used it with other glosses, too.

Because like I said in a previous post, I freaking love the stuff. I know I said it doesn't really plump or give that bee-stung look, but it makes my lips feel great. I have dry, flaky lips most of the time, but with the gloss on, my lips feel healthy, and I love the texture.

I'm totally gonna buy more of this when I get the chance, but I want to get a for realz lip plumper. One that gives a painful-looking, bee-stung lips look. Can anyone recommend anything?

Hmm... what else to blog about? Oh! Yesterday I did something un-smart. Hehe. I tried the falsies on and boy! Do I need more practice. Let's just say it wasn't too neat.

I also wanted to try a look I saw on a tutorial and post it as an FOTD, but I totally forgot to recharge my camera battery and it was already late and I needed to go to sleep. So I took one quick photo on a small cellphone camera so that I'd have a souvenir of what I did.

The only existing photo of yesterday's shenanigans.
(Sleep-deprived look, haha.)

Sweet dreams everyone!

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!