Online shopping at Nordstrom

These days I have really been into online shopping. It's my birthday month, so, you can guess the reason for that. There are a lot of secure websites for online shopping now, but sadly, not all of them offer international shipping still, cough Sephora cough. Enter Nordstrom - a US based site that carries countless brands under clothing, shoes, accessories, and my favorite of them all - beauty. Numerous luxury brands such as Christian Dior, Clarins, Yves Saint Laurent are available. However, few ones such as Estee Lauder, Mac, Clinique and Chanel are not available for international shipping, at least to my country. Boo!

Anyway, having spent a looooot of time browsing throught the internet, reading reviews and looking at swatches, (you can guess how hard it is to shop for makeup online) I found a couple of items to my liking.

The process. I fill my bag, then check out (the subtotal is displayed). I then proceed to the last page where I fill in required information for shipping and payment. The total is then shown (includes additional taxes and shipping). Their taxes and shipping fees can be quite steep, but I found this to be better than paying for the importation fee at my country's customs office. Having a very corrupt customs bureau, that was waaayy better! Anyways, submit order and it's done!

That same day, I received an email from Borderfree (Nordstrom) about them receiving my order. Then an order confirmation. Three days later, they emailed me saying that my order has already been shipped. They also gave me my package number so I can track my parcel whenever. (:

Four days later, and voila! My parcel has arrived. It was surprisingly fast. And it was a joy to open my box. Even though it's generally a pain for an impulsive and compulsive gal like me to do online shopping, the best part is still that feeling after having to wait for endless days and next thing you know, your package is in front of you. My mom said I was crazy. Hell yeah. Crazy happy kid here!

Thank you Nordstrom!

What's in the box:

Sunbum lip balm SPF 30 in Pomegranate

Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Tonkin

thebalm Stainiac in Beauty Queen

Christian Dior Diorblush in New Red

Overall it was a great shopping experience. Thank you Nordstrom! I just wish you'd let me order Estee Lauder, Chanel, Clinique and other brands next time. *weep* *grin*

My Beautybay Online Shopping Experience

Hi guys! Let me tell you about my first ever Beauty Bay (beautybay.com) online purchase. I bought a few skincare items (seriously, they have a lot going on there, it was too tempting!). While my second purchase, now off for shipment, are more of beauty items.

The UK based site carries brands ranging from mid to high end. Skincare lines such as Ahava, Mario Badescu, Murad, Peter Thomas Roth, and VMV are available. While you can find beauty brands such bareMinerals, RMK, Too Faced and Urban Decay.

I was impressed with the site's security, as they implement OTP (One Time Password) where you will be sent a password through your mobile number, linked with the credit card you used, and must then be entered before proceeding. The balance is shown in £ (GBP/British Pound Sterling).

I placed the order on November 19 and received an email of order confirmation that same day. November 20, I received an email that my order has already been dispatched. I received the package this December 03. So that's about two weeks, for a free shipment. Yep, they offer free worldwide delivery. If you want an express shipping, it's available for $65.6 (2-3 days delivery time). It took a little longer than I'd expected, as it says on their website that free shipping to the Philippines should be 7-10 days only. I guess they were talking about our major city, Metro Manila and other nearby areas. As the delivery address was Isabela, those who are about the same distance should expect the same 13 day waiting time. I'm guessing those from Visayas, or Mindanao, should maybe add 2 more waiting days.

You're welcome!

Here's what I bought:

• Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Face Mist
• Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Exfoliating Lip Salvation
• Bio Oil
• First Aid Beauty Ulra Repair Lip Therapy

These are all included in my 2013-2014 Wishlist and I'm very happy to have ticked a few more checkboxes! Yayayay! I'll do reviews soon but so far I'm liking in love with Ole Henriksen's lip salve! All I can say right now is, it is The bomb. Do wait for my review. Ciao!

HG Products For My Acne-Prone, Oily, Sensitive Skin

Hi everyone! I'm going to share my all-time favorite beauty purchases. These are staples in my kit. And although I don't wear that much makeup at the moment because I am prioritizing my acne treatment, these are still my go-to products whenever I have something going on. I have acne-prone, oily, sensitive asian skin so those of you who have the same skin conditions might want to check these out.

BB cream

Bobbi Brown.com

Bobbi Brown BB Cream SPF 35

My go-to bb cream. Gives me that dewy, radiant glow. Provides a sheer to light coverage, that's very lightweight. This can hold up for a long time on my oily skin, and doesn't break me out. I also love that it has an SPF of 35. (:

See my full review here: Bobbi Brown BB Cream SPF 35 | Review

Matte foundation

Make Up For Ever.com

MUFE Mat Velvet Plus

I just love this foundation. It has a wonderfully silky, velvety texture.Even though it has a matte finish, it doesn't dry my skin out. Neither does it accentuate my pores and dry patches. It provides a medium to full coverage. Best of all, doesn't break me out.

Powder foundation

Clinique.my

Clinique Perfectly Real Radiant Skin Compact

My favorite powder/foundation! When I first got this I practically used it everyday, that I feel the time I spent with this baby was too short. Seriously, I wouldn't trade this powder for any other out there. The texture is velvety smooth, never cakey or powdery. This gives me a good medium coverage, with a matte texture that isn't too 'dry' looking. Kind of, a bit of radiance still showing. Hence the name Perfectly Radiant, I guess. Acne and acne scars aren't totally covered but makes them really less noticeable. I wore this alone everyday until I ran out. (Currently waiting for my replenishment to arrive. Now I'm thinking I should've stocked up on my order!) I'm just in love with this. The SPF 29++ is also a bonus.
The only thing I ask from Clinique is, Please!!!!! Don't reformulate or discontinue this! I'm going to hate you if you do.

*I'll do a full review on this once my order has arrived. (:

Blemish concealer

Beautylish.con

MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer

I'm really not a fan of MAC, I have a few products here and there, but I always have the feeling that their products aren't supposed to be worn everyday. Think stage or professional makeup. Then there's the Studio Finish concealer that I can wear almost everyday and never worry about my skin worsening. It conceals the blemishes or acne scars perfectly, and doesn't aggravate them. This is really perfect for spot concealing.

Color correcting concealer

Make Up For Ever.com

MUFE Camouflage Cream Pot in Green

Counteracts the redness of my angry pimples, and doesn't worsen them. Apply your favorite concealer on top, because wearing alone will only give the treated spot a greyish color.

Cream blush / cheek & tint

Bobbi Brown.com

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge

A creamy texture that's very blendable, and buildable. Looks very natural and stays on for a long period of time, like 8 hours. I love this for my cheeks and also ze lips.

Finishing/setting powder

Make Up For Ever.com

MUFE HD Microfinish powder

Need I say more? This helps keep my makeup in place, and my oilies at bay. You just need really little bit of this, so a jar will last a very long time.


What do you guys think? Share your own HG products! (:

My Beauty Wishlist This 2013 (Updated)

This is my beauty and skincare wishlist for this year 2013, and next year 2014. I swear will try not to buy any products aside from the ones on this list, of course besides the replenishments. Remember, okay self? Please do really try.

A very long list indeed, but it's not like I'm going to buy all of them, heck of course not. One or two items per category, and I'm good to go. These are all candidates for HG status, btw. So here we go, a wishlist for my sensitive, acne-prone, oily skin:

Updated as of 12.03.13, I have already received some of the products. :3
Updated 12.09.13 (:
Updated 12.10.13!

Skincare

• Moisturizer

☑ Peter Thomas Roth ultra lite oil free
⍻ MD Formulations moisture defense hydrating gel
⍻ Laneige water bank gel cream
⍻ Neutrogena hydroboost gel

• Moisturizer with spf
☑ Neutrogena hydroboost gel spf 30
☑ Philosophy take a deep breath moisturizer spf 30
☑ Mario Badescu oil-free moisturizer spf 30
⍻ Mario Badescu aloe moisturizer spf 15

• Facial mist
☑ Ole Henriksen african red tea mist
⍻ Laneige water bank mineral skin mist

• Lip balm
☑ Ole Henriksen red tea exfoliating lip salvation
☑ First Aid Beauty ultra lip therapy
⍻ Tarte lip surgence skintuitive lip tint in Energy

• Lip balm with spf
☑ Sunbum lip balm SPF 30

• Skin oils/ointment
☑ Bio oil
☑ Tarte pure maracuja oil
⍻ Hydroxatone celtrixa stretch mark lotion

Beauty

• BB cream
☑ Tarte bb tinted 12-hour primer broad spectrum spf 30
☑ Estee Lauder daywear multi-perfecting bb creme
⍻ Dior diorsnow white reveal uv protection spf 50 bb
⍻ Kanebo kate gel bb

• Light Foundation
☑ Benefit hello flawless oxygen wow
⍻ Chanel vitalumiere aqua

• Heavy Foundation
☑ RMK liquid foundation

⍻ Chanel perfection lumiere
⍻ Clinique anti blemish solutions liquid makeup
⍻ Bobbi Brown long wear even finish
⍻ Bobbi Brown skin foundation

• Powder Foundation
☑ Clinique perfectly real radiant skin makeup - replenishment, *HG*
⍻ Dior diorskin forever compact
⍻ Chanel double perfection lumiere

• Finishing Powder
⍻ Ben Nye
⍻ Tarte amazonian clay pressed mineral powder

• Red Lipstick
☑ Chanel rouge allure in Pirate

• MLBB Lipstick

☑ Chane rouge coco in Mademoiselle
☑ Bobbi Brown lip color in Tulle
☑ Dior nude rouge in Grege / Charnelle
☑ Bobbi Brown lip color in Nude Rose / Nude / Soft Rose
⍻ Dior addict lip glow

•  Lipstick
⍻ Dior rouge dior in Rouge Blossom / Pink Cocotte/ Pink Songe

⍻ Yves Saint Laurent rouge pur couture in Taupe Raphael
⍻ Yves Saint Laurent rouge pur couture in Roxanne
⍻ Yves Saint Laurent rouge volupte shine in Rose Infinite
⍻ Laura Mercier rouge nouveau weightless lip color in Cafe (slightly nude) / Shy (light rose) / Silk

•  Matte Lipstick
☑ Nars pure matte lipstick in Tonkin
⍻ Nars pure matte lipstick in Montego Bay / Bangkok
⍻ Laura Mercier rouge nouveau weightless lip color in Moi (cherry red) / Mod (retro red)

• Blush

☑ Dior vibrant color in New Red

⍻ Dior diorblush glowing color in Sugar & Spice
⍻ Dior vibrant color in Lady Red

• Lips & Cheeks
☑ thebalm Stainiac in Beauty Queen
⍻ Bobbi Brown pot rouge in Rose

• Blemish Concealer

☑ BareMinerals correcting concealer

☑ Murad acne treatment concealer
⍻ Naturactor

• Liquid Concealer
☑ Dior diorskin nude skin perfecting hydrating concealer
⍻ Tarte maracuja creaseless concealer
⍻ Estee Lauder double wear concealer
⍻ Tarte amazonian clay full coverage concealer

• Highlighter
⍻ Dior skinflash radiant booster pen
⍻ Yves Saint Laurent touche eclat

• Bronzer - ON THE HUNT

• Mascara
☑ Diorshow mascara
☑ Urban Decay mascara

• Eyeliner
☑ Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencil

So, there you go. What do you think? :3