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?

Favorite International Online Cosmetic Shops

I have Odesk to thank for having been able to shop online from international sites. Odesk was my source of income when I resigned from my hospital work way back in early 2009. I earned triple of what I used to get paid for in my previous work as a nurse. It is basically an online platform for freelancers and outsourcing employers.

click to go directly to Odesk

I used to be a web content copywriter for different clients from all over the world (US, Australia, UK, Middle East). To be able to withdraw your earnings from Odesk, you need to have a Paypal account. To cut the long story short, I got my Paypal account (via Unionbank Eon Service) and the start of my international online shopping was history as they say.

Paypal is the preferred payment method of online shopping sites including Ebay (US). Throughout the whole history of my online shopping, I used Paypal to pay for items from Ebay sellers from US, UK, Hong Kong, and Korea. But aside from Ebay, there are two particular sites that I purchase from. These are Strawberrynet.com and Cosme-de.com.

Screenshot of Cosme-de.com

What I like about Cosme-de.com:
(1) Offers FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING.
(2) Paypal is not required for payment (Credit Cards are accepted).
(3) Offers a $5 rebate for new customers (one time use).
(4) Has a loyalty discount program (which is not so customer-friendly since you have to buy so much just to get a discount on your next purchase).
(5) Super fast shipping (6-7 days). They ship from Hong Kong.
(6) Reliable customer service.
(7) Purchased items comes in well-packed boxes complete with bubble wraps and other shock-proof stuff (LOL).

screenshot of Strawberrynet.com

What I like about Strawberrynet.com:
(1) Offers FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING (However, they require an additional 10% charge from the total purchase when buying fragrances).
(2) Paypal is not required for payment (Credit Cards are accepted).
(3) Gives out an automatic 5% discount on your total purchase each time you buy 3 or more items in one transaction.
(4) Customer Loyalty Discount scheme is very reasonable (click here for details).
(5) Offers free stuffs for new customers (and/or other promos with freebies). In my case, I got a free Stila eyeshadow for my first purchase.
(6) Shipping is fast (shortest delivery time was 6 days, longest was 2 weeks). Just like Cosme-de, they ship from Hong Kong.

(7) Well packed items (wrapped as a present in shiny gift wrap) with small kidney bean-shaped styro.
(8) Always has special offers on sub-categories (i.e. Fragrance Super Specials 30-60% off, Bonus Pack Specials up to 75% off)

By the way, both sites not only offer cosmetics but skincare, haircare, and fragrances as well. If you would ask me, Strawberrynet has cheaper prices. However, there are some stuffs that are cheaper and are only available on Cosme-de. Overall, I really like these 2 sites and what they offer. All of my high-end cosmetics are purchased from these sites (mainly because they are cheaper and are not available in the Philippines or anywhere near my place).