All posts filed under: Hauls

Unboxing: bntgirls BeautyBox (November 2013)*

What do you mean “November?” I’m pretty aware that it’s already December, however this little box was held up at customs (the far, meticulous Pasay branch), so it took me a while to get. In any case, I’ll be doing speed reviews and first for these items over the course of this week, and then I’ll check back in with you all after sustained use. I’m actually pretty happy with my skin care routine right now, but this box is full of skin care items, so I’ll have to readjust some steps and products so I can report the full effect of my experience with these items in the near future. 🙂 I know it’s a little tricky to review skin care, but I’ll do my best. In any case, here are the contents of the box: — Verikos Aloe Calming Oil — Verikos Collagen Tightening Cream — Mizon Returning Starfish Cream – BRTC Bright Eye Vitalizer Cream — Nature Republic Snail Emulsion 70, 80, 90 — Graymelin Seven Tattoo Eyebrow in Dark Brown — …

Sephora Birthday Haul

In my last Makeup No Buy post, I mentioned getting a few things for my birthday. The box arrived yesterday, on Saturday, and I’m fairly excited. 🙂 I only got two sets, but there was a fair amount of samples. First up is the Urban Decay Ocho Loco 2, which won out over the Vice 2 palette and the Shattered Face Case, just because a) I have too many eyeshadows, and b) I’ve never tried Urban Decay eyeliners before. I know, right? Anyway, I’ve only play-tested them out, but I’m pretty happy about all of the colors, and the quality. 🙂 Next, I got a Best of BECCA Set, which includes a Beach Tint (Grapefruit), Eye Tint (Baroque), and travel-sized Shimmering Skin Perfector (Opal), Resurfacing Primer, and The Ultimate Mascara (Black). I can’t wait to try them out, although Grapefruit is quite similar to Guava, which I already have, and Baroque is super sheer. I got a few samples, too. Squee! There’s the Benefit Birthday Set, which has sample sizes of Watt’s Up! and the …

Of a Kind Haul

I have a love/hate relationship with hauls. On the one hand, I really, really like being nosy and looking at what other people bought. On the other hand, I’m kind of iffy about sharing what I bought. In this case, though, I’m super excited! This is also my way of trying to inject “style” back into this blog. I have a very basic “style,” if you could even call it that. I mean, I really try, but it can be a little off. I’ve gained a bit of weight in the past two years and I’m not really used to my body being this big. But that’s not even the point of this post, because I only bought 1 piece of clothing. So, LOL. Enough about that! Of a Kind was formed in NYC by two ladies, and they basically release “editions” of items that they invite designers of all kinds to create for Of a Kind. There are x “of a kind” of each item, so they are all limited edition, technically. I forgot …

Shiro Cosmetics Pre-Ban Haulage & Semi-Reviews

I was telling fairytalesandcoffee about the unfortunate way my shopping seems to creep up on me. Not long after I banned myself from buying any more makeup, it started raining makeup because all of the other items I ordered prior to shunning (new) makeup purchases from my life started arriving. This haul from Shiro Cosmetics, which I luuuuv. Anyway, this is what I ended up getting. Read what I got during my first order here. They come in three sizes, full-sized pots, mini pots, and sample baggies. The full-sized ones come with stickers at the top. I bought 4 (I forgot to photograph 1), they’re lined up on the first column: It’s Gonna Be MAY! (LOL), Nestyr, and TARDIS (!). The mini pot I got is a pink shadow called Wildflowers, and it was from the Hunger Games Collection. The four little clam pots are lip products called Intertubes, L-R: Why Not Zoidberg?, Nyan Cat, Team Buffy, and Sad Keanu. I got four sample baggies, too. It’s Gonna Be MAY! and Nestyr look a lot …

Mini-Hauls: Le Métier de Beauté, Hourglass, Illamasqua, MAC

Here is a collective haul, most of which are items that I will be reviewing for the next few weeks. Since going on the Makeup No Buy a few days ago, I’ve been seriously surveying my “collection” instead of looking for new things to buy. Here, I have things that I haven’t even tried out so much yet because I have such a huge backlog, still. I think that pretty much shows you how much I really needed to go on that ban. I pay for pretty much all of my cosmetics, except for a few sent here and there (trust me, there aren’t a lot of those), and I guess I just wanted my power over my own money back, if that makes any sense. I still do have some items coming to me, purchased before the ban. So it really won’t be so hard, I think. I just can’t purchase anything new for a while, and that’s OK. 🙂 I am iffy about posting hauls, though I do like watching them and reading …

A Rather Sizeable MAC Haul

You’ve been warned. OK, so I don’t have a lot of MAC products. Before this haul, I had three lipsticks, two non-neutral eyeshadows (Amber Lights and Trax), a lipgloss, a pearlmatte powder, a paint pot, and two brushes. I never go into MAC stores here because looking for colors stresses me out. However, when Laura, a friend of mine from Canada-land, told me that she could help me out by picking out colors and products (at least in terms of color makeup and brushes) she liked, I couldn’t say no—especially not to help and cheaper cosmetics. ETA: MAC has a considerable (almost 50%) markup here in the Philippines. To illustrate, the lipsticks are $15 each or about Php 617, but they’re being sold in Manila at Php 1,000 or $24.32. I don’t think they even sell the eyeshadow refill pans here, so instead of paying $12 or Php 493 per color (refill pan), I have to pay Php 1000 or $24.32 per color, even though I’m going to have to depot it anyway. It doesn’t …

Big in Japan: Drugstore Finds Part III

Welcome to the third installment of my Japanese drugstore “haul”! So far, I think I’ve shown four products in each post, and I have four (sort of) to show you today. I haven’t actually opened one of them yet (you’ll see why), so it’s just going to be a peek at it. Anyway, let’s start! Here is my face that looks like it is shaped like an egg: Media Creamy Lasting Lipstick in PK-20 Ah, the last tube of my drugstore lipsticks. This purchase was really sort of like an afterthought, and although it is a good lipstick, I kind of wish I got one more Lavshuca instead (see here). These are almost half the price of those at ¥895 or about $9. PK-20 is a dusty pink with no shimmer, which is quite unusual for Japanese drugstore lipsticks, at least from what I observed from my excessive swatching. The tube is a bit flimsy. It reminds me of the way my Avon lipsticks felt in my hand, kind of like the pieces don’t really …