Downy Perfume Linen Sheets

I bought this box of perfumed linen sheets a few weeks back. It says on the box that the scent will last up to 3 weeks and that’s correct. I placed about 3-4 sheets in our closet in order to prevent our clothes from smelling old and musty. As I’ve mentioned before, we live in an old house and the closet is not exactly pleasant smelling.

I made the mistake of putting a lot of sheets in the closet. The smell was so overwhelming during the first week that when I open the closet door, the whole room became “perfumed” as well and it stayed like that for several minutes.

One box is around Php80 and will definitely last me a long time. I put a bag of clean, unused garbage bags on top of the sealed box and when I opened one garbage bag, it was perfumed too! So yeah, this really works. I might put some sheets in my cosmetics drawers too.

Lipstick Organization

I mentioned in my previous post that I was having problems with my lipstick organizer. This is my old one:

I have a few of these because I used them at the store. They also became too bulky for our display and so I switched to acrylic organizers. I used one for my personal collection but as you can see, that didn’t go too well too.

The holes are round. My lipsticks have different shapes and sizes so I couldn’t fit everything. They also don’t look very nice that way. This organizer is also so hard to clean and keeps attracting dust. Dust just accumulates inside the holes. This is made of wood, by the way.

This is my collection now:

Left – Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, NARS, MAC. Right – Clinique, Shu Uemura, Estee Lauder, Kiss Me, Revlon.

I still have around 20+ lippies that need a home. For the time being, I put some in the lower compartment. The others don’t fit. I will buy 2 more of these. I will put my lip balms and lipstick pots on the lower compartments. I’m thinking of buying more acrylic organizers for the rest of my collection but I still have to figure out how to organize them. I’m pretty much happy with these though. They don’t take up too much space, they’re lightweight and easy to clean. I will post new photos when I finish organizing the lot.

Brush Cleaning

I bought a pack of Ivory soaps as mentioned in my Sunday Shopping post. I used one bar to clean my makeup brushes. I’m very lazy when it comes to deep cleaning my brushes because I just hate cleaning them with shampoo. I use green Sunsilk, by the way. I also feel that I’m wasting too much shampoo with this method and Sunsilk isn’t exactly cheap. Ivory makes it all better though.

This is my Sigma blush brush that’s very dirty. I just swiped it on the bar a few times and voila:

Some of the makeup transferred to the bar. This was still dry. When the brush was wet, it was a different story. It became clean instantly. It’s also very easy to rinse compared to the shampoo method. I was also surprised that Ivory was able to get rid of the deep- seated makeup in some of my brushes i.e. concealer brush, eyeliner brush, etc. It’s been a while since I saw them that clean. No matter how much shampoo I apply and how much I swirl them, I just couldn’t make them that clean before.

Try this method if you are having trouble with the shampoo method too. It’s faster, easier and much cheaper. I have four bars and they will probably last the whole year. I will use the leftover Sunsilk to clean my hair brushes. More on that soon.

Sunday Shopping

My tailbone was hurting so bad one Saturday night that I got up late the following morning and missed church. MB and I decided to just have brunch in the mall and do a little bit of shopping. Don’t worry, my ban is still enforced and all I bought were necessities.

We went to SM to buy a few things. I was having problems with my lipstick organizer as it was too heavy and bulky. I will blog more on that on another post. I saw these organizers at SM and got 2.

MB had to buy a few things at True Value. He got what he needed and also got me these. I’ve been looking for sturdy cable clips forever for all our gadgets and stuff. These are perfect. I will buy one more set. I’ve been organizing our room like crazy and little things such as cables annoy me.

I will use the Ivory soaps to clean my makeup brushes. More on that soon. The  soap dish is of course, for the Ivory.



Finally, MB got me a pair of shorts. This is what I wear at home. I also got a bottle of Ellana Brush Cleaner as I’m running low on that. Oh, I also got a few things from Watsons which I didn't photograph anymore.

MB wanted to buy me a few more things at La Senza but we were parked too far away from the boutique so maybe next time.

Naked 2 Eye Look

I used my Naked 2 palette for the first time a couple of weeks ago. My mom and I were going to watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream at CCP and so I decided to do a semi-smokey eye. I also tried to photograph my EOTD but the colors are still not enough in the photos.

I forgot to extend the colors to my lower lid as I was in a hurry.

As I used an Urban Decay palette, the colors are more vibrant in reality. I think it’s the light that’s washing out all the colors. I’ll figure out how to get the perfect EOTD shot one day. I will make another eye look using my Naked 2 palette and will post it here. I will also share a few of my opinions about said palette.

New in My Stash

I found this line of hair care products from Schwarzkopf when I did some grocery shopping at Landmark. Of course the packaging of the shampoo was what caught my eye. I looked closely and found that this line is for damaged hair. The conditioner and shampoo are Php54 each. These are the small bottles. I got the small ones to try out first. The hair treatment costs a little over Php100. I have high hopes for these products as they are from Schwarzkopf. Fingers crossed!

Choose Chi Chi

This is a part of the gift that A gave me for Christmas:

She got this in Australia when she went there for work/vacation last December. I have this habit of using products that I don’t like first then using the best ones last. I smelled each tub and I thought that this had the weirdest scent but when I applied it on my skin, it smelled really nice! I thought the coconut and vanilla would be so overwhelming. I mean they are both strong scents on their own and combined???

The product itself is orange and reminds me of papayas. I have no idea why they made 2 white products orange.

The tub is not full. It’s about half full. I am almost done with this tub. I like it very much as it keeps my skin moisturized for a decent amount of time. I’ve been spending a lot of time at home and I’m thankful that the weather has been nice and cool again lately so this body soufflé does not make my skin sticky. It also gets absorbed easily and leaves a nice faint smell on skin.

I have two more tubs and I’m hoping I can finish them before summer arrives.

Spoiled in Space

Here’s the other eye look I mentioned in my previous post.















I picture this look for a costume party having a space theme. I have no idea why I associate those lashes with an alien movie I saw somewhere. This will go nicely with a sleek silver space suit with tall boots and long white hair. I used the Wet n Wild Spoiled Brat palette hence the title Spoiled in Space.



I also applied some UD Last Call on top of the pink shade as it was too matte. This is the UDNY palette.

Finally, I used my Saizen falsies and some glitter makeup from Bobbi Brown which one of my mentors gave me. I also used my Heroine Make liquid liner.  The liner was not supposed to be that thick but the lash glue was all over the place (I’m really bad at wearing falsies) so I covered it up with eyeliner.

I think these photos are better than the previous post. I will do more eye looks using this setting and using my new palettes.

Some Eye Looks

I’ve been trying to get a good shot of my EOTD’s. I can’t make the colors show with my camera settings. I wanted to show some eye looks I made using my new palettes. Here’s my first try:

I was so frustrated because I couldn’t make the colors show. They are more vibrant in reality. I can’t even remember which palettes I used for these eye looks. Anyway, I tried again using an old Wet n Wild palette and used a different camera setting. I’ll post them next.

Shower Me with Sweetness

This shower gel is a part of M’s gift last Christmas.

To say that I am addicted to shower gels is an understatement. I finish about 2 bottles a month, depending on the size. This is a good sized shower gel but I need a lot to make a good lather.

It smells nice but not enough to leave a scent on my skin. It’s actually not too drying, a surprise because most shower gels that are part of a set tend to dry out my skin. I also didn’t experience any allergies.

I like the packaging although I wish it were a pump version. I also like the pink colored shower gel. It makes me smile every time I see it. I am halfway through this bottle and I am very happy with it.

Sunday Shopping

Ahhh, Sunday! I love Sundays because I get to spend time with my family, go to church, have lunch and do a little bit of shopping. I’m supposed to be on a shopping ban but that failed one Saturday. I was buying a few things for the family in Singapore and well, one thing lead to another. At least I’m still keeping my makeup shopping ban. If I can finish even just one palette, I’d be so thrilled. Anyway, I bought mostly necessities except for the bags from SM.

I got some toiletries from Watsons (wet tissues, cotton pads, Lulur Body Scrub) and some essentials from Bench. If you like using cotton pads, I suggest you get the Watsons brand on promo. They have a 3 in 1 pack with each pack having 40% more free. It’s really sulit, I tell you. I probably wouldn’t have to buy cotton pads for the next 8 months (or even a year!) but I’m stocking up on them as they rarely have promos on cotton pads.  You see, I don’t like buying these things on a regular basis. I hate running out of cotton pads or buds or facial tissues and stuff in the middle of the week that is why I have a stockpile.

Here are the other things I bought:

I thought our toner will be able to last until next week or so but I don’t think it will so I went ahead and got one plus a few other things.



I also got some cheap bags from SM. These are Php400 each. These are great for when I'm running errands.

I just love the yellow and coral shades. These pictures don’t do them justice. They are perfect for summer. I don’t have high hopes for these bags. They will probably last me a couple of months but I don’t care. I needed to satisfy my shopping urge. You see, I’ve made peace with myself that I am a shopaholic. I just can’t stop. I can do it in moderation but to stop it entirely for several months, I get withdrawal symptoms. It’s like dieting and binge eating. When you deprive someone who really likes food for a long time, one day he just snaps and overeats. That’s the same with me. It’s better for me to buy small things, a few things once or twice a week than not buy anything for 2 months then splurge like crazy because I felt so deprived. That’s how I cope with my shopping addiction. It’s also not helpful that my mom and grandma are both shopaholics.

Anyway, I’m really happy with my purchases this week. I have my eyes set on two more cheap Parisian bags. If they’re still there next month then I will probably buy them. My heart is also set on some Charles and Keith and Beauty Bar stuff plus a few more things from different stores. It’s amazing that I am able to hold out this long. = )

Clinique Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream

I got this as a GWP. I only use Clinique Eye Creams because it’s the only brand that caters to my sensitive skin. I finished one jar and so my favorite Clinique Consultant at Rustan’s gave me this to try.

I only use this when I go out. I don’t want to put too much product on my face when I’m just at home because I tend to break out plus my eyes are too sensitive and they become itchy if I put products every single day.

Although I don’t use this daily, I can truly say that it works. I don’t have puffiness and dark circles on my eye area. If I lack sleep, it does not show when I use this. I was scared to use this at first because Baby said that this is a stronger product than the one I’m used to. I’m glad that it’s not too harsh on my skin. I think a full sized jar costs around Php2,000+ because that’s the price of my regular eye cream.

I’d like to try Benefit’s eye cream next time. Have you tried that yet? If you’ve blogged about it, please leave a link in the comments section so that I can check it out. If you don’t have a blog, just share your experiences with me in the comments section. = )

Sustainable Living

You all know I have several of these:

One pack of 3 for only Php84

I go through about 2 cases of these a week so I end up with a lot of cases. I thought it would be too wasteful to just throw them away. I put some in our recycle bin to be sold along with our other plastic junk. I was cleaning the mess on top of my drawers one day and found too many loose mini hair clamps so I put them in a case then one thing let to another:

I put the small hair clamps in one case, the bigger ones in another case. We have a lot of loose batteries around the room so now they have a home. I also wanted to bring along some Hello Kitty candy (featured in 240baon) in my bag but I hated the idea of them getting scattered around my bag so this is a great solution. I am almost done with another case and I will put all my Goody hair stuff in it.

I used to buy the mini cases from Beabi because they’re very useful when I travel but they cost Php70 each:

It’s bigger by a few centimeters than the Watsons floss kits. Now that I have these kits, I will no longer buy from Beabi because I get these kits for free now! (Well, not really free but you get the idea).

Benefit Eye Bright

This Eye Bright is a part of my Confessions of a Concealaholic kit. I know I said that I don’t like this and I have no use for it but I changed my mind.

One day, I was looking at this kit and was really excited to see that everything has hit pan except for this. Frustrated that I couldn’t find a use for it, I used it under my eyes. Oh, my… What a difference it made! It made my eyes pop! On the box, it said to use as a highlighter. You can use this is a corrector. My mistake was I put too much on my first use so you can really see that my under eye area was too bright. On my next try, I put a small amount but I still wasn’t satisfied. So on my third try, what I did was I applied a small amount, made sure to blend it thoroughly then applied concealer on top, blending everything with a brush. Now that did the trick! I’m telling you, I now use this every single time I go out.

I also brush some of my ELF HD Undereye Setting Powder to make it last. The trick is to blend everything thoroughly so that you don’t get lines and the products don’t cake after a long day.

I believe Eye Bright also comes in pencil form. I will not repurchase after I finish this product because I still have a lot more correctors in my stockpile plus my Bobbi Brown corrector is still better than this. This is a good, solid everyday product. Well, maybe in the future I will repurchase for everyday use. = )

Bench So In Love

Happy Hearts' Day! How nice is it that this product is named So In Love? How appropriate!

I am halfway through this bottle and I can definitely say that I like this better than the Sweet Serendipity shower gel. I think So In Love was also the lotion that my cousin C blogged about here. This shower gel costs Php109, it’s the same size as Sweet Serendipity.

The main difference is the scent. For me, this smells like perfume. I love it! The scent lingers a bit on my skin but when I apply lotion, the smell is completely masked. It also takes a few pumps to make my bath lily bubble up so it’s not too economical either. Anyway, I’m enjoying this shower gel and I always look forward to bath times because of this.  I will not repurchase as we still have a ton of shower gels in our stockpile.

Shopping Again?

I know I said I’m on a shopping ban but I have to do the groceries, right? *evil grin* I found a few goodies at the supermarket and I figured it won’t be so bad to purchase a few. After all, I don’t consider the supermarket as a shopping destination. Grocery shopping for me is a chore and shopping (for clothes, makeup, etc. )is well, therapeutic. And that is what banned right now.

 

Camay has been around for some time now. I think it left Philippine shores for a while. Now they’ve repackaged and got a famous local endorser. I couldn’t resist because they smelled like grapefruit! They smell just like my Love and Beauty lotion! The bar costs Php22 while the shower gel costs Php65. Don’t buy the shower gel at Watsons because it costs Php74 there. Buy it from your favorite supermarket. It will take a while before I use these though.

Perfumed linen sheets. I know this is not an exciting purchase but it took some time before linen sheets became available in our supermarkets. It may be readily available to my foreign readers but believe it or not, this is the only brand that we currently have at the supermarket. There are 3 scents. This is Attraction.

We live in an old house and the built-in closets smell funky. If we don’t use our clothes that often, they smell musty. This is a good solution. This is cheap. A box costs Php85 with 25 sheets. One sheet lasts for 3 weeks. You can also put this in your luggage.

This last purchase is more of a 240baon blog post but it’s really cute so I’m putting it here as well:

This is a cow container filled with jelly. I blogged about the Hello Kitty jelly in my food blog a while back and I really liked it so I got this. I saw that this jelly even had more nata or coconut bits so that sealed the deal. What am I doing with the cow? It currently holds all my loose change that MB likes to steal. Now he will have a hard time getting them! I will blog about this jelly in my food blog one of these days.

I’m really happy with my purchases today. I stuck to my budget plus these are all useful things. I think this ban won’t be so bad after all.

Hyphen Love

So we have a lot of new stuff at Hyphen PBCom! I got some for myself as well. I am on a self-imposed shopping ban just because I need to finish a lot of stuff in my vanity. Most of my shopping budget goes to cosmetics and makeup. It used to be that clothes, shoes and bags took up most of my budget but ever since I became a makeup artist/beauty junkie, I just couldn’t stop buying cosmetics! So now I have a self-imposed shopping ban. I also realized that I wanted more mileage out of my stuff (clothes, shoes and bags) that’s why I’m on a shopping diet. It’s my birth month and I think I’m going to have a hard time doing that. *evil grin*

Anyway, I went to the mall one Sunday with MB and I left unscathed! I didn’t buy anything except for 3 packs of wet tissues! Of course I had withdrawal symptoms when I got home! Good thing our new stocks just arrived so I had a great time admiring them. I couldn’t resist getting some pieces though. Does that still counts as shopping?

Peacock earrings which we only had 2 pairs of and mom got the other pair. Pffft… Fail!



Aren’t these adorable? I just super love them!



It’s very seldom that I find a cuff or bracelet that fits me and I was surprised that this one did!



By the way, my favorite color nowadays is gold. I am simply drawn to gold things. Last December it was orange.

I also got this gold belt that has a croc skin texture. I have no idea how I’m going to wear this but I will eventually figure that out.

I’m so happy that I was able to resist getting more! Anyway, this curbed the shopping appetite and I’m very satisfied with that.