New In My Beauty Box

Time really flies!  I feel like January passed by without me noticing at all. -_- My schedule has been a bit crazy lately so I haven’t gotten round to posting my 2012 beauty and fashion capsule, my first ever bucket list and a whole load of backlogs.  Honestly, I have to back track and review all the materials to see how many posts I neglected to upload.

It’s a bit wearing to go over old posts so I’m jumping right to my beauty hauls this 2013.

2012

That was the year I truly appreciated the benefits of makeup application.  I always leaned towards low-key and natural looks, although I admit that there are times that I pick edgy colors and makeup looks as well.  2012 was the year I explored my adventurous streak when it comes to makeup.

For my everyday look, I always make sure I have the basics covered.  By basics, it means my base makeup (BB cream or foundation) is impeccably applied and looks like my second skin, my blush should be well-blended and my eyes lined and contoured before I head out.  I hate doing my makeup when I am already out of the house because I feel like there are all sorts of grime hiding in my pores, just waiting to be stuffed in by makeup before rearing their ugly heads.  Horror.

So anyway, this year, I started investing in good quality makeup and tools. I had to do a lot of penny pinching to be able to afford some of them but overall, it’s worth it.

Let’s start with my favorite purchase from the bunch!

**excuse the dirtiness please.  I forgot to wash them before the shoot.***

I scored this brush set last January along with the Sigma Classic Brush Roll a few days after Multiply’s 20% Off Sale started.

I first saw this set in Singapore last November, then in the MAC Glamour Daze launch last December.  It was available at MUP as well but I didn’t purchase it (stupid me) because I haven’t made up my mind about investing in MAC brushes at the time.  BIG MISTAKE.  I should have bought it then because it was only P2500.00, the lowest price, when compared to other online stores and the MAC stores here in Manila.

The Multiply discount sale was heaven sent because I got this set for P2600.00 (original price P3200.00) including the shipping.  Great deal right?!  This set is always on me whenever I leave the house.

I’ll be posting a separate review for this so stay tuned! 🙂

2nd item 0n this haul post is the…

Neat huh?  I’ve been looking for a nice brush roll because I buy my brushes individually and it felt so wrong to stuff my new MAC 187 and Stila Holiday 2012 brush set in my overflowing brush roll.

I chanced on this Sigma brush roll at Multiply for only P990.00 (most shops are selling this for about P1200-P1500) and add the 20% discount on top of it.  It was a great thing I didn’t buy any of the overpriced brush rolls in local dept. stores because the quality is laughable compared to this one.

In case you haven’t already guessed.  I ended up blowing most of my salary on beauty products last month because of the discounts at Multiply.   Which explains why most of the items in this haul post are bought online.

Their 20% sale is still ongoing until Feb. 28, so hit up the Marketplace to score beauty products at a discount.   I’m trying to stick to my shopping budget  so I won’t overspend this month and I’m currently avoiding the site (and temptation) like a plague.  Hence, I’m passing the urge to shop to you guys.  (Thank or hate me later!) LOL

 Before the sale started, I bought the MAC 187 brush and MAC Smoked Purple but I forgot to take photos, so I’ll talk about them next time 🙂

In the mean time, let me entertain you with my blush stash this month:

I’ve been drooling over these Sleek Blush By 3 blushes in foreverrrr but no one seemed to be stocking them and those who did were selling them with ridiculous mark-up  (P950 – P1000).  I was so annoyed and my EQ was shredded to nothingness that I decided to order these and a bunch of stuff from the Sleek UK website and sell the other items. :))

I ordered last December 12, 2013.  Everything was intact  and arrived within 3 weeks!  The bad news is I had to deal with the stupid Customs tax and handling fees (nothing like corrupt gov’t agencies to dampen your spirit) but overall, I am very happy with my purchase.

**If you’re interested in Sleek Makeup products, I’ll be uploading the product shots soon, so check back occasionally for updates!**

Can you believe I got this Limited Edition L’oreal Project Runway blush for only P200.00?  These were sold in the States for USD 10.00, but I found a store that sells them for only P250.00 (+20% off) each. I swear by online beauty stores!   They’re awesome!!!!

I ordered this Tarte blush, thinking it was full-sized so I was surprised at how small it was when it arrived.   Apparently it was part of a mini set and the seller only indicated that it’s (0.11 oz.) not that it’s a MINI size.  UGH!!!  This was listed as P899.00 for 3.4g of product whereas the full-sized ones are only P1250-P1450 (6.5 grams). It was a good thing I used the P250 OFF coupon so this was only P698.00.  I know I paid less but I still feel horribly cheated because a set of 4 minis is less than P2000.00 -_-

Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  That’ll teach me to be more careful next time.

More items I got during the sale are the following:

I got the DUO lash adhesive for P350.00 , the MeMeMe Sunbeam for P180.00 (marked down from P360.00) (both +20% off) and the Jack Black lipbalm P550.00 (-P200.00).

The discounts are insane! I’m telling you!!

These NYX Matte Lipsticks were on sale from P300.00 to P250.00 and still subject to 20% discount so I grabbed these three shades that I’ve been wanting to get for the longest time.  The Perfect Red shade is a close dupe for MAC Russian Red, and the consistency of the formula is almost exactly the same.

No matter how much I adore MAC lipsticks, I just have to say NYX lipsticks are the bomb.

***

As much as I enjoy beauty products and hunting for the best deals, I can only use so much items at a time.   Which is why, as difficult as it is, I’m going to make a real effort to cut back on buying beauty products starting this month.  This could be my only beauty haul post for 2013 until May -_- which is depressing.  I guess I’ll have to distract myself by posting reviews and my accumulated unpublished hauls from 2012.

I will try and post reviews of these products as soon I find the time.

If you have any fashion or beauty questions, hit me up with a comment below, and I’ll try to answer as soon as I can.

XX

Erika

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NEWS FLASH! I am about to re-brand and overhaul my blog!  I’m currently working out some of the kinks, but hopefully it’ll be done within the month, along with the new concept for my online store.  WOOT!  Exciting times! ❤