Stocked: Smashbox, The Body Shop, Muji and The Face Shop

There were several things I picked up during the past week for one reason or another. Some of them I wanted because I needed them for the moment, some because they were on sale and I was stocking up.

I got a Smashbox Limitless Long Wear Lipgloss in Endless Kiss. This was on sale at the Beauty Bar as it was from the In Bloom collection. I wanted to try these because it's long-wearing, a not so-overbearing coral and a gloss. I love the shade but I'm glad I didn't pay full price for these as it's not the best idea to wear these while wearing your hair down on a windy day.

They also had the other shade from the same collection, which was in a lighter more nude shade, on sale, as well as the O-Gloss Noir. I wanted to try the Noir but since I'm not sure about berry being a good shade for me, I stopped myself. I'm thinking over whether I'll still get the other shade, though. It's still on sale, it's a great neutral shade and if I put my hair up, not much of a problem with the sticking thing. Also, I love cruelty-free and paraben-free make-up.

I picked up a jar of The Body Shop Elderflower Underperfumed Eye Gel. It was also on sale and I simply got it to stock up. Always a great idea to stock on eye gel as the eye area is always the first to get wrinkles. I might be going overboard, though, as when I checked my little orange box of stuff, I still have two other jars of eye cream.

I couldn't resist getting a bottle of Cleansing Oil from Muji when I stopped by. As a fan of long-wear make-up, it's imperative to get a cleansing oil as it's so much easier to slap it on a full face of make-up and just let it melt. Washing it off with a wet wash cloth just clears everything up. This one is mineral oil free so that makes me happy.

From the Face Shop, I got a Lovely Me: Ex BB Cream and a Freshian Volumizing Mascara. Another sale, another tube to stock. TFS BB creams are the best and the SPF is always a winner. Korean mascaras in general are my go-to as they don't flake on me and the prices are so much better. So when it's on sale, it's the best.

Ahhh... Lovely to spend money on myself. Hehe!

Craves: BB Creams

I have fallen into the BB cream craze since a few years ago. They're easier to use compared to foundation as I find them to be more pigmented and easier to blend. A tube can last a really long time. Also, it's not so hard to find the perfect shade as there's usually just one shade available that blends into a person's individual skin tone so there isn't a lot of second-guessing. The original ones from Germany have been formulated for use on post-surgery operation wounds to hide the flaws and help them heal faster, which delights me as I tend to pick on my blemishes.

The first ones released in the country came from Korean brands and when they first came out, it was a little hard to get any as they all seem to be out of stock. Thankfully, these days, they're easier to come by and the other international brands, both drugstore and high-end have started releasing their own version.Though I still have a tube left and another stocked on the side from one of the sales out this season, the newest releases sure are making itch to get another one.

One such release is the All-In-One BB Cream from the Body Shop. I went ahead and tested it on the store and it was delightful. It came out white from the tube and changed to an undetectable shade when blended on the skin. It left a flowery scent that dissipated after a while.

Another is the Camera Ready BB Cream from Smashbox. There has been a ton of raves over this product before they even released it on their online store so I'm really excited to get my hand on these as Smashbox is one of my favorite products. It's cruelty and paraben-free and it has SPF 35.

Of course, I'll always come back to my first love when it comes to BB creams, TFS. The Face Shop's many different variants can be so overwhelming, though. I want them all but since my tendency these days is to choose long-wearing products, I'm looking at the Power Perfection.With the promise of 12-hour long wear, it's a definite pick. For everyday wear, hydration is still important so Aqua Tinted would be good for that.

Pictures from the products' website and facebook pages.

Trial: Ever Bilena Kleopatra

Ever since I've given birth, my eyebrows tend to dissppear from most of the photographs I'm part of that I tend to want to erase all the recent ones. At the very least, deny that I'm that person posing such and such. It depresses me sometimes and other times, I simply tell the photographer (hubby) that he's not good at taking photographs at all.

I figured I've had enough denial and it's time to step up and be a girly-girl so I got myself a cheap browliner for practice. There were a lot of choices but the cheapest one with an attached brush was this one. I could have gotten the other ones with an attached sharpener but since this is practice anyway, I might as well go with something that makes application easier and splurge when I get the hang of it.

It's actually fairly easy to use. I simply line and blend. The brown blends well without screaming liner. The brush helps a lot. I'm loving the look and will try it out for a while.

I washed my face with water afterwards and noticed that the liner washed off fast so I'm probably not going to have any expectations on wear time for this one but I'm happy with the practice shot.

Unboxed: Sugarfree Bowie Champagne

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Sugarfree had a sale online and immediately checked the shoes they put up. I'm a fan of classic pumps in general and as they had the Bowie Champagne on sale, I chose it from all the other pretties that were available in my size.

The shoes were beautiful and they came in a pretty black box with a ribbon handle. I wish I could say I fell in love but with shoes, comfort always come first with me and I'm as of yet unpracticed with the height. I'll take to wearing them every now and then on soft flooring but I'm not gonna be able to use them continuously for a whole day. Too high so sigh.

Looked Up: Kenneth Cole Kid's Shoes

I'm a cheapskate when it comes to a lot of things but I really like shoes and I so love getting some when they're on sale. These babies are at 60% off. That's about $16 for a pair and since they have free shipping for purchases over $100, wouldn't it be a good idea to get more?
 

Pictures from the product website.

Haul: By Nature Regular Bars

We ran out of soap and I had to make do with buying at the mall. After trying out the bar for a wash, I knew there was no way I was going to use store-bought soap again. It was just so awkward to feel so squeaky after taking a bath. Being on handmade soap for a while sure made me picky.

But then, why should I settle? It absolutely doesn't dry out my skin, it lasts so much longer, and I'm happy not to use any of the chemicals they dump into the usual soaps. So I went online to my favorite supplier, Organic Joys and went trigger-happy, filling an order of 9 regular soaps from By Nature. It sure was nice to get the soaps within the week through Pedala.

I decided on getting some new variants for fun. Divine Olive, Cinnamon Spice, Cinnachoco, Gentle Lavender, Golden Honey Oats, Honey Lemon, Green Tea Escape and Warm Patchouli. I threw in a Cocoa Butter Melt as it's one of my all-time fave, being unscented, moisturizing and just really good for the skin. The stand-out among this haul is the Cinnachoco. It's really sweet without being cloying and after a bath, the hub asks why I smell so good. Loving...

Craves: herbench/OJ+Rajo

I haven't been to a decent Bench store for a while because the closest one is being renovated and they have this small closet-like store instead of a full one to tide me over. I got the hub some of their soft shirts for our anniversary in the closet-Bench and didn't bother going over to the bigger Bench on the next mall over until today.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the herbench/OJ+Rajo collection when I finally got around to checking out the store. And yes, I want them all. Even the boyfriend jeans. They're all perfect for the office and I've been thinking about how I probably should buy jeans that fit into this decade already. I've been wearing my old ones for goodness knows how long and I'm getting a ribbing from the hub over that. Even if flared jeans are my go-to pants and they're thankfully not out of style, the new ones have a slimmer silheoutte compared to my decade-old ones.

I'm really liking the prices. The cuts and colors for that price is a steal. I'm weighing over whether to get them all or just two. I like the shorts and the skinny jeans the most. Please note that this will be the first skinny jeans I'm considering purchasing. My current one doesn't count as I got it for free. The flared and the the boyfriend jeans are worth buying as well but I figure it's overkill when I can get some of those in the sale section.

How can I lose the preggy belly in a month, please? I figure if I keep a good posture and do my squats and lunges religiously, I have a good chance. And I'm going to start wearing my old pants again. The waist-high ones. Keeping the tummy bounded up could help. After all, wasn't that what corsets are for? I swear, if I actually get into my ideal waist size, I'm going all out in buying pants.

Picture from the RL's twitter page.