Saying it Sweet for StrawberryNET – The Online Discounted Cosmetics Store I Really Like

StrawberryNET Online Discount Cosmetic shopping with Free Worldwide Shipping from Hong Kong relieves my frustration as a local beauty blogger who often can’t get certain imported items here from the limited brand counter selections available.  I’ve blogged about StrawberryNET several times and nearly each announcement of a new sale never fails to bring me to the site to check out what’s up for grabs.  I don’t always walk away with a purchase, but I like being in the know almost all the time.

What makes StrawberryNET special for me is the rotation of discounted luxury cosmetics, constant promos, and the quality and speed with which they dispatch orders (I usually receive mine within 2 weeks from the purchase).  On top of that, every purchase increases your chances of getting an added loyalty discount on top of your discounted purchase.

What’s still pretty new with StrawberryNet is their online app for iPhone and Android smartphone users.  It’s convenient and right at your fingertips and you can even track the dispatch and processing of a purchase you’ve made using the app.  Check out StrawberryNET and see what’s on and affordable for you at the moment!  Here are their upcoming promos for the remainder of March 2012.  I just made my 7th purchase ever from StrawberryNET and I’ll be sharing here what items I got when they arrive in a few weeks!  Am sooo excited…

*Sponsored Post

Exert More Girl Power – A’postrophe Tweezers and Nail Clippers Php59-75 Only

I’d never walked into A’postrophe before, that store on the 3rd level of Glorietta 4, until two days ago when I met up with Kira of kira-ramirez.com and Alex of Reluctant Stylista.  It’s not a new store, it’s been around for about a little over two years I estimate.  It’s a wonderland of knick-knacks and artsy-fartsy items that are not “corny” and neither are they the usual useless types of trinkets and/or “abubot”.  Essentially, it strikes me as a far more interesting gift shop than Tickles.  I saw these lovely ladies standing side by side in one row and thought they were too cute not to pick up, uh…I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, pun super not intended.  They come with many different stylish ladies, probably bout 4 or more for each tool, which I think are possibly mass mechanically “airbrushed” onto an enameled base over the steel and there are also nail files in the lot but I chose not to get one since my nail file at home works perfectly fine still.  These remind me of items by the European brand Pylones which I first saw years ago when I worked part time as a cashier in my Tita’s former Home Accessories shop in Hamburg, Germany.

There’s nothing like sparking the mediocre tasks you do with some charm and cuteness.  Clip your nails and tweeze your brows using these and psychologically ignite some girl power in you.  I thought that these lovely lady nail clippers and tweezers were an absolute “SDeal” at Php75 and Php59 and guess what, I already know what you’re thinking, that they probably don’t tweeze and cut well at all.  You know what…that’s where you’re wrong, both are heavy in make and tightly assembled and the ones I got function fabulously.  Read more to see the full post with my thoughts on these cutesy patootsies.

WeHeartThis Blogazine feat. Sally Hansen Nail Effects “Love Letter” – Wish we had these here…

The other day, Bigtime U.S. Women’s “Blogazine” We Heart this featured Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects Nail Wraps in a new Valentine design offering, “Love Letter’.    Read the full post on Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects Love Letter   or click on their photo of it below.

Photo Credit: weheartthis.com

For those of you who don’t know what nail wraps are, they’re designed ultra thin adhesive sheets kind of like stickers but a of a thinner malleable make, like ultra thin foil that adheres to the nail surface then you file off or rub away the excess around for it to fit the nail.  It’s an ultra dry convenience for people who can’t apply nail polish perfectly nor have the time to wait for it to dry.

Photo Credit: weheartthis.com

Gosh, it is quite pretty, am not quite sure if this is a limited edition product for Valentine’s or if Sally Hansen is adding it to the permanent range of Salon Nail Effects wraps.  I hope this shows up in local department stores, soon.  I’ll try and check out what’s available here.

(CLOSED) Join My First Nationwide Valentine Twitter Giveaway – Until Feb.15, 2012

Hey!  This is it, it’s the blog’s first Nationwide Twitter giveaway!  Read the simple mechanics included in this post and find out how to join.  Aha, has it been ages?  Oh my, practically a year since my last giveaway.  I’m a stingy blogger aren’t I?  No, it’s just takes time to accumulate prizes for sufficient loot that I think is giveaway worthy on this blog.

ROW 1 (L-R): Neutrogena Fine Fairness BB Cream, OPI Nail Lacquer in Langham Pink, Diptyque Doson Eau de Toilette and Body Lotion samples, Acca Kappa Wood Comb

ROW 2 (L-R): Watsons Heart Shape Toe Separators, Aveda Invati Shampoo and Conditioner Samples, Haus of Gloi Litchi Milk Tea Bubbling Scrub plus scent samples, Myra VitaGlow Tinted Moisturizer (2 pcs Ivory & Beige)

I’ve got a sizeable firing squad of items here for just one winner!  If you don’t want a walkthrough of all the prize product information just proceed to the very bottom of the full post for the mechanics.  Read more to get a closer look at the prizes, their descriptions, and please kindly pay attention to the pretty simple mechanics, terms, and conditions at the end.

Watsons Heart Shape Toe separators – Toes not included, Dignity sold separately…

Alas, the month of love is upon us, and our toes, too, if you like.  If you plan to separate your tight-knit party of five you must do so with all your heartsez…

Forgive me, I only plan to have fun and not gush about this month’s season of romance *sob…cuts pointy heart-shaped gash onto wrist*.  Don’t mind me, mind these, aren’t they cute?  Your husband or boyfriend will never thank you enough…I’m serious…NOT.  You could also wear these on your hands instead of brass knuckles and deliver a harmless blow if they hurt your feelings or forget about Valentine’s LOL!. These are available at select Watsons branches, I got these in SM Mall of Asia’s beauty department for bout Php30.00.

Tuxedo Nails on Zooey Deschanel at 2012 Golden Globes

Ok, for certain you won’t get 500 Days of wear with these on your nails but the memory of them will stick fast for a long time in my mind.  A few hours ago, Zooey Deschanel Tweeted an extreme closeup of her 10 dressed and dapper digits for everyone to see.

I thought they were cute and quite clever but my only personal criticism would be that I’d prefer to ditch the bauble ring (which kinda clashes) and opt for sparkling dangle earrings instead.

I also loved how she looked in reference to her hair and makeup.  Still sweet and a bit sassy.  Do you think Zooey’s Nails were a great accent or do you think it was a bit off key for a night out at the Golden Globes?

Bobbie Premium Nail Creme “Terracotta” – A toasty but berrylicious Christmas shade

I ignored this the first time I saw it in the bottle because I dismissed it as copper, but I wasn’t looking properly, when you look at it under yellow light, it registers as quite boring.  But bring it under daylight and it turns out to be an absolutely gorgeous color with more depth.  Rust was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this, then when I looked harder there was a hint of a cranberry glaze embraced by all the warmth of finely toasted gold shimmer.  I thought “cranberry,” “wine”, and also thought “rum” since it happens to look more brown than red sometimes.  Two even coats (not too thick) is just enough for it to steal the show.

What you’re seeing is two coats with no top coat.  It will go “copper” on you under certain types of artificial light, but I like knowing that it’s really more than that.  People like me just care too much about minute details like this when it comes to nail polish.  I guess properly said it’s a “rusty golden berry” shade that’s spot on for the season, and at Php30.00 who can complain?  Bobbie Premium Nail Cremes also cost less in certain places, you can get them for Php28 or Php29 depending on where they’re retailed.  They’re available in almost all local malls that sell Bobbie Nail Care ranges nationwide.  My favorite local polish just hit another one out of the park!  My two past favorites so far are  Bobbie’s Mudslide reviewed here (Good Dupe for Butter London’s All Hail the Queen) and Bobbie’s gorgeous holographic denim shade “Weng Weng” reviewed here which is my favorite blue polish of all time so far.

Butter London’s All Hail the Queen vs. Bobbie Premium “Mudslide” – Dupe Nails Alert

I painted one of these nails with Butter London’s All Hail the Queen polish (formerly All Hail McQueen which was released after Alexander McQueen’s death)  and the rest of my fingers (including my unseen thumb) are dressed with Bobbie Premium Nail Creme, a holographic Glaze named “Mudslide”.  Can any of you guess which finger is wearing Butter London?

Have you guessed?  Here’s a giveaway hint, if I were married or engaged, there would be a definite marker.  Yup, Butter London Polish is painted on my ring finger, second from the left .

My favorite local polishes, the Bobbie Premium Nail Cremes, never fail to impress me, the holographic neutral shade Mudslide is a definite dupe for All Hail the Queen at Php30.00+ !

Butter London’s All Hail the Queen (formerly All Hail McQueen) is $14.00 or around Php600.00+.

NOTD E.L.F. “Fire Coral” Polish

The season is cooling us down quite a bit but last week my nails were warming up the scene.  E.L.F. Fire Coral polish is not quite red and not quite orange, just a creamy solid coral shade and I like that it isn’t too fluorescent.

Application is reasonably good, not awful, not excellent because of the brush I think, but the formula is creamy and opaque which I quite like.  Like I always say, make every effort to kill the humidity wherever you’re applying nail polish.  Turn on the air-conditioning if you have to, just make sure your room is as dry as can be if you want PERFECT application with no streaking or clumping.  The humidity is the only thing that truly frustrates me when it comes to beauty here, but that’s only second to my peeve about the limited ranges amidst the inventories of international brands we have in retail.  Had my hands been half a shade paler or milkier I’d say this would’ve been just perfect for me, there’s still a hint of medium beige warmth in my skin that fights off this coral’s  impact a bit.  This would look quite pretty against tisay and milky oriental skin.  It’s yours for about Php130.00 wherever E.L.F. products are sold in department stores nationwide.

BAYO Nail Polish in Chrysanthemum – Nailcolor from my last post

A few of you asked what color I was wearing on my nails in my last post.  It’s a local nail polish available at BAYO boutiques and it costs Php89.00.  Here it is!

The photos you are seeing have no top coat.  Sorry, dark polishes are a pain when it comes to achieving perfect edges, I did my best for now.  Clothing boutique BAYO recently released these nail polishes amd I think I saw about 8-10 colors in there but my eyes immediately fell on this shade.  The texture is creamy, glossy, and rich and I got full opacity in two smooth coats, it’s a slightly thick but workable formula.

I dug around in the glass jar till I spotted something i liked, and it was this, a creamy slightly cool blood red called CHRYSANTHEMUM.  It is similar to but not as dark as Chanel’s original bloody dark creme #18 Rouge Noir (which later on became Vamp with Shimmer) which was originally crafted to represent dried blood.  I promise I’m not saying that simply in the spirit of Halloween (which I hate), it’s true trivia.

Chanel’s Rouge Noir became undyingly popular and made record sales thanks to Uma Thurman’s vampy role in Pulp Fiction.  Another almost identical polish, going in the opposite direction when it comes to price, would be Caronia’s bestselling polish “Pussy Red” (eye twitches) which costs about Php39.00.  I own that, too, it was handed over to me “Yours nalang”  after used on a model at a shoot (smiles).   Here’s another shot of Bayo’s Chrysanthemum without the bottle.

Try not to apply your polish in a humid area or you’ll wonder why your polishes streak and don’t smooth out perfectly, that’s when humidity is interfering.  Try finding a dry air-conditioned room maybe if you want hassle-free application that dries quickly.  I didn’t follow my own advice but anyway, that’s what I recommend.  Once again, BAYO polishes are available at their boutiques at Php89.00 each.  They’ve got some really fashion forward shades and even have a chalky lime green (sorry I forgot the name) that looks like OCC’S (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) Nail Lacquer in the same color called “LoFi”.