I got a couple of mud packs from my April Saladbox and that spurred a search for a face mask kit. I don't technically need one, but I NEED one. As such, I can't really move forward with my mask review series until I get my hands on dem kits!
I know there used to be some in Trinoma, in the beauty/parlor supplies section. So I went there, found nothing and came home with these instead:
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| Top row L-R: Ear pick, rubber spatula, mini jar, acrylic spatula, nail art stamping kit Bottom row L-R: multi-color confetti, multi-color beads |
I teased this haul to Pat a few weeks ago and I feel so bad for not being able to post it when I told her I would. Sorry! Things just got in the way :P Anyway, you all might notice that I have an infatuation with containers and beauty tools. Thus, the spatulas (or spatulae? Php 7.95 each) and the mini jar (Php 14.95.) The ear pick (Php 14.95) is for scratching- spare me the lecture, I'm not on that level of dysfunctional to poke my eardrums.
And now, for all nail addicts out there: the last three picks drive me mad with excitement! First off, I got a cheap-o nail art stamping kit (Php 79.95 - a little under USD 2.) This cheap-o kit has one wheel of six designs and I saw a set of just the wheel kits but I forgot to check the price. I wanted to see if this works first, before spending more money on it :P I saw a Salon Express one in True Value for Php 995.
How does it work?
Load your preferred design with any polish- preferably one that's not very quick-drying. The designs are engraved so that when you scrape the excess off using that metal slicer, the polish pools in the design's form. Pick up the remaining polish using the rubber stamp and press the design on to your nails, easy-peasy!
I have not tried this and I hope that this knock-off version works. I don't see any reason for it not to, but you never know.
Thank God I'm into beauty blogs and sampling. Otherwise, I would've walked on from the next two things without knowing what I'd be missing. For the low, low price of Php 139.95 (~USD 3.5) each, you get 6 colors of confetti and caviar!
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| Caviar Beads (Php 139.75) |
With the amount of product in each jar, I estimate that I can do at least ten fingernails each although I'm not so sure if I'd have enough for a second mani sesh. This is still value-for-money as I don't want to pay Php 450-650 for multiple uses of just one color of caviar polish (based on NYX and Ciate prices, respectively.) This is a fun and impractical trend! For that kind of trend, cheap, single-use and multi-colored is the best way to go.
How does it work?
Paint your base coat. Before it dries up, load the confetti or caviar on them. Use a funnel to control the caviar beads. Let the polish dry and with an old blush brush, sweep off loose bits. These kinds of manis last only a couple of hours, one day or three days, depending on who you're talking to, so I'm taking the ugliest colors for testing and review. The rest will be saved up for a fun occasion or a costume party!
Oh btw, I've never seen confetti nails before and I was thinking more along the lines of velvet nails but only found this glitter-y confetti set. I'm not sure if the extra long bits will hold up well with polish. Oh well.
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| Confetti (Php 139.75) |
So, TriNoma was a bust. I go off and check SM. I find the following tools in the beauty section:
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| Ear Pick and Facial Hair Remover |
Another ear pick (Php 74.75,) because the first one was uncomfortably shaped. The spring with pink handles is a facial hair remover (Php 89.) I saw one in Beauty Bar (I think) a few years ago. Don't buy this one, though. I learned the hard way that it doesn't work :( I'm not sure if the branded version from BB works either because I was a little disgusted to try it out.
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| Bottle and Nipple Brush |
Lastly, I got a bottle and nipple brush from the baby section for my containers collection, teehee. I chose this one 'cause the bristles are relatively soft so I may have saved my containers from nicks and scratches. The two brushes are convenient for the different sizes of bottles I own.
RECAP:
Total expenditures: about Php 800. Not bad! Wasted money on the ear cleaners though. Both of them were uncomfortable and I've learned to stick with the bamboo ones. The facial hair remover was a complete farce. My containers-related purchases (spatulas, mini jar and bottle brush) all seem fine. The verdict is still out on my nail-related purchases (caviar, confetti and nail stamp.)
No face mask kit though. The search continues...
My blog halfsary will be on Friday, 14th May 2013. How should we celebrate? :)