Month: February 2013

Online Shopping from Manila: Tips & Tricks

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I am an impulsive online shopper. I was never really one for shopping trips growing up, because it just seemed like such a hassle to haul myself over to the nearest sale. I do have an eye for bargains, though, and I have tried out several types of shipping methods, which I will share with you today. I consider myself pretty “learned” when it comes to these things, just because I’ve been lemming for things like hard-to-find books and music, even before I got into makeup. So, if you live in Manila and are currently jonesin’ for some items abroad, here are some tips I have for you. Philippine Postal Service You can always do it the old fashioned way and have your items sent through registered mail. The only thing that’s risky about this is that customs is inescapable. I’m happy to pay taxes if they weren’t derived arbitrarily, which they sometimes are. Since I live in the Quezon City area, that’s where my packages typically end up. The QC PO is usually good …

Drugstore Haul: Skin Care & Eye Stuff

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Sunday is drugstore day! That’s one of the few times I find myself in a mall, so I pounce at the opportunity to replenish my “necessities.” Well, these aren’t really necessities, but that’s the time I have to peruse the drugstore to find steals! I got these things from St. Ives: Moisturizing Olive Cleanser (Php 249.75), in hopes that I have found a cleanser that can take the place of shu uemura’s cleansing oil. I tried this today and it worked well enough but smelled yucky. In my opinion anyway. I can deal with it, because it’s an awesome makeup remover and my skin feels sufficiently moisturized! The Blemish Control Apricot Scrub (Php 197) came with this free sample size of the Oatmeal & Shea Butter Lotion. I was on the lookout for the green tea scrub, but all we had are several variants of the apricot. I used this last night, though and my skin felt so good! I want to use the scrub again tonight, but my sister said you should only do …

Pinky Up with bareMinerals’ READY 8.0 eyeshadow in The Cocktail Hour

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So, for my first bareMinerals haul, I got two of the eight-pan palettes from their READY line. I reviewed the first one I got (The September Issue) already, pretty extensively, over here. The other one I got (The Cocktail Hour) I wasn’t even eyeing, but the sale price was just too much to resist. At $17, down from $40, I get eight top-notch shadows in colors that–let’s face it—are actually more me. The palette comes with a full-sized mirror and a double ended brush. The colors are: Black Tie Optional — a matte grey black Icebreaker — a cool frosty pink nude with a bit of shimmer Swanky — a shimmery midtone plum with warm red undertones Spiked — a frosty pinky peach coral Elixir — a frosty pinky lavender Invite Only — a frosty metallic taupe with olive undertones Libation — a warm champagne with somewhat frosty finish with reflective shimmer Shaken Not Stirred — a deep navy with a matte finish and blue shimmers I love the story that this palette tells. To …

Link Love Vol. 4

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I’ve amassed quite the longish list this week. Enjoy! shu uemura x Karl Lagerfeld Smoky Velvet Swatch Comparison (North American vs. European/Asian releases) by Kate of Drivel About Frivol Sometimes, makeup collections launch items that are different per region (don’t ask me why). Kate of Drivel About Frivol compares both versions of this shu uemura release. Skin Update by Beauty and the Tomboy Is your oily, blemish-prone skin not behaving, no matter what you do? The Beauty and the Tomboy stripped down her skin routine to the basics and has become blemish-free in about two weeks. Amazing! Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine Swatches by Taylor of My Lucite Dreams Taylor swatched 12 of the 16 shades—a handy guide for people looking to purchase! How to Feed Your Beauty Addiction if you are on a budget by Emma of Beauty Bliss Practical Tips for wiser spending on cosmetics! Material Detox by Material Detox Material Detox made a beauty inventory of her makeup collection to survey the items she has, with the intention of reducing her …

Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Eye Kit in Silk Road

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So, I caved. I got another Kaleidoscope Eye Kit from Le Métier de Beauté. What’s a Kaleidoscope Eye Kit, you say? I talk about them, at length, over here. This is a very, very, very careful purchase, just because I don’t exactly have an extra $95 lying around at my disposal all the time. Anyway, I expressed disappointment over the first Eye Kaleidoscope. Northern Lights wasn’t as pigmented as I expected it to be. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that LMDB SHADOWS ARE MEANT TO BE BETTER THAN THIS. So I bought another one. Naturally. (Source) This pretty thing is called Silk Road. It refers to trade routes that “connected Afro-Eurasian landmass.” Though the routes were used for several trade systems (and certain diseases like the Bubonic Plague), it was primarily used, or I guess, known for its role in the promulgation of Chinese silk. I think Le Métier de Beauté is excellent at naming their colors! This eye kit has a beautiful contrasting richness to it that was sadly absent from Northern …

January Favorites

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I’ve been in quite the beauty rut lately, despite the seemingly endless supply of new makeup products in the mail. New makeup products that I bought with my money… so it’s definitely not an endless supply. It just seems like it is because they’re coming all at once! Since I was in a beauty rut, this is going to be a short list this month, I think. I also did not go out all that much in January (hermit alert), so I’m really at some sort of loss, I suppose. Nevertheless, here are my January Favorites! There are some great products that I was able to try and use late into the month. 1. Le Métier de Beauté Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss in Bondi Beach (Review — $32; Nordstrom) I would say that the biggest “beauty rut” I was in last month concerned lip products! I didn’t know what to use. I got so tired of “dark, berry lips,” and it never felt quite right. I would finish a look and then add a lip …