Strawberrynet Temptations

Today, I checked Strawberrynet and guess what I found? Stila products under $8! OK let's try that one more time, Strawberrynet is selling a couple of Stila products under $8! Waaah! Good Lord! Just imagine that, $8 inclusive of shipping to the Philippines! I must be so lucky today! Hahaha!

I have ordered stuff, mainly makeup, from this online shop a couple of times now. I love their service and discount program. As much as I could, I only buy branded makeup that are not priced over $20. Like for example, I was able to get 2 Shu Uemura Glow On Blushes for only $16.50 each (inclusive of shipping to the Phil) from Cosme-de.com. These are priced at $21 each on the Shu site and PHP1,500 each in local Shu counters in select malls in Manila. Unlike in the States where clearance sales and BOGO's on cosmetics are abundant, it is very hard to get great makeup deals here in the Philippines. In times like these, the worldwide web is my only hope. LOL!

Strawberrynet homepage

So going back to Stila, as I was browsing the Strawberrynet website (I always directly go to their "promo/sale" page), I found something that made my heart leap for joy. The Stila Contouring Trio is priced at only $6. On the Stila website, it says that it is a $54 value but is priced at $16.

Stila Contouring Trio Powder

The other "discovery" I had was the Stila Perfecting Foundation sticks. There are 13 shades available and most importantly, they are priced at only $7.50 each! These foundations are sold for $30 each on the Stila website. I may be along Shades D, E, or F. Haha! Consumer reviews reported that this item has been discontinued in the US.

Stila Perfecting Foundation Stick

I checked Makeupalley.com for reviews on both products. The Contouring Trio had an average review of 4.6 (5 being the highest). The main con of this trio is one of its powder being too sparkly/glittery for the face. But others commented that I makes up for a great eyeshadow (according to some reviews, it is very comparable to Stila e/s in Kitten). On the other hand, the Perfecting Foundation only fared an average consumer rating of 3.5. Most are saying that it is too yellowy (well I think that is not a problem for me, haha!) and the size is a bit small (6g net wt.)

My BF usually doesn't approve of my inclination towards makeup (yeah, grrrrr right? LOL). But when I told him that I was tempted to get these, I had his approval. Up until this moment, I haven't made up my mind whether to order or not. And if I decided to go for it, I still don't know what shade/s to get. Waaah! Help, anyone?

Lemming for Fashion21 Eyeshadow Sticks

I was originally planning to get Careline Glamour Eyes Eyeshadow Pencils. However, it seems like they are phasing them out. 3 out of the 3 malls that I've checked only have them in limited shades (like 2 shades) and their stocks will expire in like 6 months time. I think they were originally priced at PHP75 but were lowered to PHP45 since they will be expiring soon.

I was a bit saddened because I really want to try them out. I mean I really got nothing to lose because of the very affordable price. I didn't want to purchase NYX Jumbo Pencils from local resellers since I find them a bit overpriced/expensive for an e/s pencil. I was actually hoping the Careline ones would be great dupes.


But as I was scouring through cosmetic stands, I discovered another eyeshadow pencil line from a local brand. It is from Fashion21 and comes in a thinner pencil form. It is priced at PHP85. I just didn't check if you get the same amount of product as the Careline ones.

I swatched a couple of shades on my hand and they glide on creamy. The white one however has a pearly finish (I want a matte one for e/s base purposes). But I think I can get away with it. I really want a white, blue/teal, emerald, and gold/bronze shade if they have them. Before I leave for Australia, I might consider getting these.

Home Alone Day is Blogging Day!

Ever since I started blogging not so long ago, I found it very effective to write entries when I'm home alone. I am usually home alone during my sister-in-law's day off from work.

To give you an overview, my parents and granny lives in our other house. My eldest brother only comes home on weekends since he works in Makati. Only I, my other older brother, sister-in-law, 1 year old nephew, and house helper stays in this house. My sister-in-law works in a casino while my brother owns his own auto supply shop and automotive buy-and-sell business. He stays at his shop everyday.

The whole family

They usually visit my sister-in-law's parents during her off. On the other hand, our trusty house helper stays at my brother's auto supply shop as his substitute for the day. So that leaves me all alone in our house.

Fooling around with Jordan

Since I do home-based work, I serve as my nephew's babysitter/nanny. Jordan, now being able to walk, makes it even harder for me to accomplish things I used to routinely do. Ergo, on most occasions, I update my blog when I'm home alone and free from nanny duties.

All grown up now...

Being a full-time nanny to my nephew is a very exhausting but fulfilling job. There are times when I literally feel like I can't pick him up because of sore arm muscles. One of the biggest problem for me is when we are home alone together and I need to use the bathroom. I cannot just leave him anywhere because our house isn't very childproof and he is really getting very active and hyper. I guess the ups and joys of being a nanny will be my training ground for motherhood. LOL!

I'm Seriously Thinking of Revamping my Skincare Routine

After reading a blog post or forum post (I really can't remember which), I started to think about revamping my skincare routine. The post basically says that using anti-acne products and medications such as benzoyl peroxide only makes your skin dependent on it. This would result to rebound breakouts if you stop using the products (which is actually true in my case).

When I was still consulting my dermatologist, I was very thankful for the products she prescribed. However, once I stop using or even taper using them, I get rebound breakouts. It seems that my skin is dependent on these products for survival. If my skin was a drug addict, anti-acne meds were its heroine (LOL! What an analogy!)

But then if I stop using them, I would again look like a witch. But the blog post said something like the skin will definitely look scary again before it gets better. If you don't depend on these pricey products, your skin will heal itself naturally (just like the way our antibodies fight against antigens inside our system)

Good Lord! I am so torn. If I heed the advise from that blog post, my skincare routine would only include a mild cleanser like Cetaphil (for cleansing in the morning and evening), a sunblock of at least SPF 50 in the morning and a moisturizer in the evening. I would have to let my pimples dry/die naturally which will take about 3-5 days (or even 7 days). As for the post-acne spots, I would just have to wait for weeks or months for them to lighten. Or I could just use a double purpose whitening moisturizer and sunblock to somehow help lighten the spots. Since I am getting older and I don't get as much pimples as I did before, I might actually consider trying this. People, wish me luck!

Here are some products I am planning to try:
1. Cleanser - Cetaphil
2. Sunblock - Nivea, Cetaphil, Acnes by Mentholatum

Not the same packaging as the ones sold here in the Philippines but has the same concept.
Price is around PHP350.
This one I think is a bit pricey (around PHP900+ according to MIMS).
My BF and his family will be going on a vacation in HK and I am planning to ask him to get this for me.
This sunblock got great reviews in sasa.com and is actually tinted.

3. Moisturizer - I will be sticking with my Olay Total Effects.

It's the Wind! It's a Ghost! No, It's an Earthquake! LOL!

Yesterday, the very silly me actually thought I had an authentic ghost encounter that I could sincerely share to my friends and future grandchildren. Frustratingly, it turned out to be just an earthquake. Dang, I never had any true ghost stories to share. I thought this would be IT! LOL!

Here's how the story goes:

I was at our other house with my nephew Jordan. This house is situated in what we Filipinos would call a "barrio" which basically means a very serene, rural area with fresh air, minimal noise and all those stuff that would entice older people to buy a property and build their retirement haven. LOL! (This is what my parents exactly did)

I do not stay/sleep here because it's just too boring! No cable TV, no internet connection, no nothing! The only entertainment/fun I could think of is swimming in our pool, videoke singing, and watching TV with local channels (we also have a DVD player but all DVDs here are old school --- BeeGees, Tom Jones, and other old crappy artists' concerts). But it's fine with me. Anyway, I only stay here once or twice a week for a few hours.

So Jordan and I were inside one of the rooms. I call it the Green Room because obviously its green and its a communal room. LOL! Anyone of us siblings could use it. We were watching a local noontime show while I was trying to put him to sleep.

When he was starting to get sleepy, I carried him in my arms and we walked out of the room. I literally was shocked to see our dining room chandelier swinging. I turned around and thought it must have been just my imagination. So I turned again to see if it was really moving. It still is! And this time, the drop lights in our bar were swinging too! Holy mackerel! I rushed inside the room and was convinced that our house is haunted.

I DIDN'T feel the earth move under my feet. (know the song? LOL!)

So I just continued watching TV. After a few moments, a special news flash reported that a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Manila, Central Luzon, and other neighboring areas. Jesus Christ! Way to go Ey-em! You just made a complete fool out of yourself! It was a good laugh for me. But I am still disappointed that my supposedly first ever ghost story was nothing but sheer major stupidity. LOL!