Haulage : January 2014 - SanSan Products!

A few days ago (January 15th), I went out on a little town excursion to look for some baking ingredients. Little did I know that my trip to Top Taste for baking supplies would lead me to a side trip towards the only HBC outlet in Zamboanga. I've been meaning to stop by since last year to pick up a few items but the Holiday Rush kept me so busy that I only had time recently to go hunting for a lot of raved about products.   I made it a point to pick up these SanSan Creat Your Own eyeshadows in Warm Copper Fire & Charcoal Brown that cost P50/each. I also wanted to get Deep Earth Brown but they no longer had stocks of the shade. It was a bit frustrating for me since they still had the tester on display! *ehem ehem* I'm planning on going back for the shades Yellow Topaz & Natural Air Sienna soon. Despite me having a bad habit of biting my nails when stressed (eeeeek!) and sometimes deliberately chipping off my nail polish, I still somehow manage to buy nail polish to add to my small collection. I got this P37 SanSan Nail Polish in the shade Red Gleam which is a very pretty red-violet shade that looks striking against my medium complexion. It's vampy but still very wearable. I sense a nail-art tutorial soon... *hihi* SanSan recently launched several products for their High Definition line and this lipstick is 1 of three shades that I picked up. They had a pretty "loud" pink shade, a decent red, and this lovely MLBB (my lips but better) shade called Nude Brown. It retails for only P109! I know this photo doesn't do it any justice (I'm playing around with a new set up!) but this lipstick is such a pretty and wearable color. It leans more towards a pinky-nude which suits my medium skin tone perfectly! Now onto the real star of my post. I purchased the SanSan HD Concealer pens in the shades Beige & Olive. Each twist-type pen costs only P105 and is the current talk of the town. Once I swatched these babies' testers at the HBC counter, I was completely sold! I'll be talking about these more on a different post.
So, there you have it for my second haul this month! Cheap but awesome finds, right?

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Avon Color Fold-Up Palette

One of the gifts I received for Christmas was this awesome new Avon palette. A. gave it to me a few days before Christmas and I couldn't help but use it even before Christmas day. It's called the Avon Color Fold-Up Palette and it's one of those all-in-one palettes that come in handy for when you're on-the-go or traveling. What : Avon Color Fold-Up Palette Where : Avon Counters / Avon Ladies Price : P699 (gifted to me!) Contents : 18 satin & shimmer eyeshadows, 3 blushes, 18 lip glosses, & mini-sized applicators. ** HEART = favorite! ** HEART = favorite! I think every beauty-ethusiast got this as a stocking stuffer/present last year. I'm lucky that I got this palette from A. because it's a nifty go-to palette that I've been using constantly... I love the sleek black-purple themed packaging that's sturdy enough for you to chuck this beauty into your makeup kit or bag without having to worry so much about it cracking in places. I also like that it's an all-in-one palette that has lip products, blushes & eyeshadows. All you really need is a decent mascara and eyeliner then you're good to go. The lip products have a gel-like consistency that reminds me of lip balms. So it's safe to say  that these are pigmented lip balms. Some shades leave a pleasant stain on your lips that's easy to remove. It makes your lips look healthy without having to apply too much product. The eyeshadows are mostly shimmer shades and are vey wearable. Some aren't as pigmented as I want them to be but it's nothing a decent primer can't fix. My favorite part of the palette is the blush area. It comes with three lovely shades of blush that look beautiful on my medium skin tone. The blushes are pigmented and blend easily into the skin. This palette is definitely a keeper. What do you guys think?

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Haulage : January 2014

There's something about shopping that is very therapeutic and I for one, believe that a little bit of shopping never hurt anyone. So this morning, I went out and got myself some "sweet-little-nothings" for the month of January. My very first haul for the new year!

Chatties Ladies Sneakers - P165/pair Where : Shopper's Square, 4th floor
I was planning on getting plain white slip-ons so I could doodle on them but they were out of my size. A pretty lemon yellow pair was available but the fit wasn't right. A black pair also called out to me but they didn't have any new pairs left and I have this "thing" about buying the display shoe (never ever!)... So I was about to leave when I spotted these babies. I'm usually a zebra-print kind of girl (they had those too!) but I wanted something different, so I got these leopard print one with hot pink trimmings! Super cute, right?

Fuzzy Red Bedroom Slippers - P90/pair Where : Shopper's Square, 4th floor
I also spotted these super comfy & cute bedroom slippers and thought of my grandmother right away. She's a huge fan of the color red so I got this pair for her. I'm thinking of going back and getting a pink version of this for myself!

St. Ives Blemish Control Green Tea Scrub - P197/tube Celeteque DermoScience Facial Moisturizer - *to follow* Where : Mindpro Citi Mall, grocery
Two of my staple skin care items that I've been running low on. I actually got 1 tubes of the green tea scrub because they are always out of stock and it's pretty hard to find a decent sized tube of this baby. As for the moisturizer, it's the same kind I use for my clients. It truly works wonders for the skin.

Nails Nail Polish Remover with Acetone - P24 Where : Shopper's Plaza, 2nd floor
I'm running low on nail polish remover so I decided to pick up a new bottle of the one we usually use at home. This has 20% acetone and isn't as irritating as other brands I've tried. It also doesn't hurt the wallet that much! 

Paganini Hair Brush - P160 Where : Shopper's Square, 2nd floor
Last year I carried around a HUGE hair brush in my bag that took up too much space. This year I decided to switch to a smaller paddle-shaped brush. I tested this out earlier and it feels really good on the scalp, sort of like getting a quick head massage when you brush your hair.

Cycles Sensitive Anti Mosquito Citronella Patches - *to follow* Where : Mindpro Citi Mall, grocery
I got two packs of these cutiepatootie anti mosquito patches that I'm planning to give away to my inaanaks. After my dengue-scare last year, I've been anal about keeping mosquitoes at bay and since my inaanaks (I have 3 now!) are small "helpless" kids, I want to spare them from getting mosquito bites. I hope these work!

Ever Bilena Powder Foundation Refill - P145 Where : Gateway Mall, 3rd floor
This is my go-to-when-on-budget powder foundation. I'm in the shade oriental. I know it looks too orange in the photo but that's because I have lousy camera skills. It's actually quite suitable for those with medium light-medium skin tones with a warm undertone. I use this to set my liquid foundations for added coverage, or on its own on days when I want a very light makeup look.

Puller with Eyelash Comb - P20 Where : Shopper's Plaza, 2nd floor
I needed a "puller" to help me with falsies application. I think this "cheap" one will do the trick. The "eyelash comb" is just a funny little bonus.

Falsies - (top) P20/each (bottom) P55/pack Where : Shopper's Square, 2nd floor
I've been running low on "flirty natural" looking falsies so it's high time to pick up a few pairs. These are affordable falsies that I throw out after 2 uses. I also use these kinds of lashes on my clients unless they specifically request for human hair lashes (those cost extra!). The only downside to these are the bands. They can be pretty stiff.

Bath & Body Works Rain Kissed Leaves Body Splash (replica) - P140 Bath & Body Works Into The Wild Body Splash (replica) - P80 Where : Shopper's Plaza, 2nd floor
I know, I know... Some of you may be shocked or rolling your eyes because I bought replicas but I truly wanted to give them a try. I've had both of these scents before, the original ones, and to be perfectly honest the replica ones smell exactly the same. The only difference is the longevity of the scent on your clothes/skin.
So that's it for my first haul of the year. I'm sure there will be more hauls this coming months. *hehe* Don't forget to check out my ongoing quick fire giveaway... I'm giving away one beautiful Crabtree & Evelyn gift set!

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Quick Fire Giveaway : January 2014

This year, I've decided to do "Quick Fire" giveaways per month which are basically short giveaways with only "mini" prizes that will last for just a week. This type of giveaway is easier to keep track of and doesn't let my followers wait for too long to know who won. Of course I'll still have bigger giveaways too but that's another story...
To kick start my Quick Fire giveaway series, I'll be giving away a Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria gift set. One (1) lucky Philippine based winner will receive a mini Wisteria bath & shower gel, body lotion & a body scrubber encased in a lovely reusable box!
 
Giveaway starts today and will end on January 13, 2013 @ 11:59pm. It is open to Philippine based readers and there will only be one (1) winner. Good luck and enjoy!
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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LATE POST : Thank You-Year End Edition (V.6)

Today is the 5th of the new year and I'm excited for my blog's first post for 2014.

It's a yearly tradition for me to be posting "Year End Thank You" post. Last year was no different and this year I'm back with another list of people I'd like to thank. I had a whirlwind romance with the year 2013. I'm thankful for everything but I'm also relieved that it's finally 2014. A fresh start again!

So, where do I begin? I've been thinking about this post for days and days. I have so many people to thank that I've decided to just do one big thank you.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT WAS PART OF MY 2013!

To my family, best friends, close friends, friends, frien-emies, close relatives, mentors, CMZ OR peeps, Zamboanga bloggers, Beauty Bloggers United members, close blogger friends, hair & makeup clients, photographer friends, my ex, my "kids", ANAS and of course to the people who've supported my blog & videos... Thank you so much for being part of my 2013. I'm a much better person this 2014 because of the memories & experiences that I've shared with all of you. I've learned so much about myself and about how to deal with the people around me. I'm forever grateful to all of you.

To everyone I've hurt, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for any tears I've caused. I hope you can forgive me.

To those who hurt me. I honestly wonder if you are aware of the pain you've caused me. I'm assuming you don't. It's okay. I've already forgiven and I'm trying to forget... *smiles*

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