Mini eBay Haul

In this country, imported products cost way more than they should. Taxes, expenses and the like all figure in, so stuff like cosmetics, even drugstore brands cost 2, 3 or more times what they do where they come from.

That's not necessarily bad. We should be thankful that there are companies willing to bring great products to us. It's definitely cheaper than going overseas ourselves. It also gives our local products a fighting chance.

Anyway, while it's true that it costs a great deal for companies to bring products, to our country, it must cost a lot less for individuals to do so, because you can get a lot of the stuff available in stores for much cheaper online, particularly eBay. Let me show you what I got on my most recent transaction:

 

* Hairbrush with ceramic barrel- I had been looking for a ceramic hairbrush everywhere. I read somewhere that it's great for taming unruly hair with or without heat. This brush also claims to have natural boar hair bristles and ionic tourmaline, which fights frizziness.

* Wet n' Wild Ultimate Brow Color and Set in Chocolate- A pencil and gel duo. our sisters on GT have been raving about the WnW brow kit and I wanted the Color My Brows gel from Etude House but it's always OOS. I'm hoping this will curb my lemming for both, at least for now.

* Cover Girl Eyeslicks in Midnight Metal (top) and Cover Girl Smoothers in Pink Ice (bottom) - both are gel eye color sticks but I'm not sure about the difference yet.

 

* Cover Girl Smoothers eyeliner in Slate

* Wet n' Wild Mega Eyes single eyeshadows in Sensual Sage (top), Cream (bottom left) and Fine Wink (bottom right.)- more single eyeshadows. Can't get enough of them.

* Cover Girl Eye Enhancers single eye shadow in Aubergine Queen- purple eye shadows are particularly irresistible

* Styli-Style Flat Lipliner pencil in Madison- I thought it was cute.

Watch out for reviews. Thanks for reading!

Shop n' Chomp's Missoni x Target Giveaway!

Lisa of Shop n' Chomp is giving away this Missoni x Target train case!

Click the pic for details

Thanks Lisa!

Smells Like Teen Sprites (not a typo)

Libraries, used bookstores and curio shops are irresistible to me because of all the stories and movies about finding something magical in them. (To name a few: Fushigi Yuugi,  The Neverending Story and Gremlins, respectively.)  I always go into those places hoping to find magic. I think that day has come.

Creating Fairy Garden Scents by Linda Gannon immediately caught my eye because the title and cover reminded me of my Vera Wang Flower Princess perfume. After some browsing, I made up my mind to buy it.

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. =))

PopBlush's Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win these lovely items.

 

Click the image for details.

Thank you PopBlush!

Random Beauty by Hollie 300 Followers Giveaway

Congratulations to Hollie for 300 ++ Followers!

Join the celebration by entering her giveaway.

(click image for details)

Thanks Hollie!

Minis and Samples Save the Day!

There are a zillion products out there I want to try. This wouldn't be a problem if 1) money grew on trees and 2) I used up everything I bought, because I really do hate letting stuff go to waste.

Unfortunately, I have ADD when it comes to prods. Unless it really wows, I won't have the attention span to finish a full-sized container of stuff. There are times when I obsess about products day in and day out- until I get them, then I forget about them completely.

My solution: think small. I like to get mini versions and samples of stuff I want to try just to get them out of my system. Or get the full-sized version next time.

I recommend this approach for choosing bb creams as well. I still haven't given up on these, but there are so many to choose from. They all sound so promising but like with other types of products, I know that only a handful would suit me.

Here's the latest batch of goodies I got:

 

MINIS:

 L-R:

Baviphat AC Therapy Sleeping Pack

Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream

TonyMoly Tony Tint

SAMPLES (by brand): 

Lioele

2 pcs. 3D Skin Fix Foundation

Secret Pore Rich Balm

Dollish Veil Vita BB

2pcs 3D Skin Fix Makeup Base

Beyond the Solution BB Cream

Triple the Solution BB Cream

Hanskin

Super Secret BB

Gold Caviar BB

Mineral Magic BB

Control Skin BB

Missha

Choboyang BB Cream

Wrinkle Filler

Signature BB Cream

Skin79

 

Hot Pink Super BB Cream 

Baviphat Mango Steam Scrub

The seller included this in my package as a freebie, which is great because it looks really interesting. So happy!

I know some people don't like the idea of having to buy samples when they should be free. I'm actually glad that some people have made these available without having to make HUGE purchases first. I'm really excited to try these one by one and give my feedback, Stay tuned!

P.S. 

King of 25,000 Megawatt Smile asked me to post a pic of NYX Pink Lyric on my lips. LOL, Sorry this was all I could come up with on short notice. (I used my netbook webcam) I'll try again when I'm fully made up.

Best. Movie. EVARRR!

Martin Escudero's performance is FLAWLESS (bet ko na sha, lol)

Watch it if it's screening in your area.

Image taken from: twitchfilm.com

Nyx Round Lipstick in Pink Lyric

Nyx Round Lipsticks are a cult fave among beauty bloggers. They've been on my wish list for the longest time, but they are not widely available (at least, not where I shop) and  I haven't shopped online in ages. I finally got my hands on some, thanks to the recent Philippine Cosmetics Expo held in SM Megamall. It was so exciting to see the Digital Traincase booth.

Nyx Pink Lyric

Product Code: LSS 535A

Pink Lyric is one of the newer shades of the Round Lipsticks.  It's a lovely bright pink. It looks shocking in the tube but is actually quite ladylike and wearable in real life.

when opened

Likes:

- So affordable! They cost PHP 150 at the Digital Traincase booth.

- There are so many shades to choose from. (Over 100 and counting) And they come in a variety of finishes.

- Cruelty-free!

Dislikes:

- Staying power is so-so. Disappears after like, an hour.

- some ingredient might be a turn-off for some.

- kind of gets mushy and melty in our climate.

- Mostly available online. There are lots of wonderful online sellers and they can be spotted from time to time at bazaars and stuff, but that doesn't for my buying style (I like to buy a few items at a time, but frequently so I would lose out on shipping costs.)

Etc.

- there's a distinct soapy/mediciney smell that a lot of people complain about. It doesn't really bother me because there's no taste.

- It's not hard to see why these are so popular. I'm definitely planning to get more.

Some swatches:

without flash

with flash

What are your favorite shades of Nyx Round Lipsticks?

Hippie or Hime?

If I had to choose, it'd be a tough call. I like pretty, dainty things like bows, lace, bling and pink so hime style is a huge deal for me. BUT! I also like flowers (nature's bling,) peace signs and the laid-back attitude of the flower children.

 

Luckily, I don't need to choose- when it comes to fragrance, at least. Vera Wang's Flower Princess lets me be both princess and hippie-chick at the same time.

  

Flower Princess is lighter and fresher than the original Princess perfume. You can tell that's what they're going for because there are only minor differences between the two:  

They both have the same super cute heart-shaped bottle but FP is lighter and more pink than purple;

 

And the bottle toppers which could be worn as rings are silver instead of gold.

As for scent, some might say that FP is a watered-down version of the original Princess but I like it because - not in spite- of that.   It's subtle but long-lasting.,  more suitable for our climate,  not sickly sweet or cloying and I can wear it on the hottest day without causing headaches. When I first tried it, it reminded me a bit of Clinique Happy (another favorite.) But when I did a side by side comparison, I actually liked this better than Happy.