It all started one fateful day that I was assigned an article in Project Vanity, The Shopping Challenge: My P 1000 Face From Shopee. That was way back in November. Just two months later, the year ended with this:

sigh.

But whatever! I love-hate my Shopee addiction! I love discovering and buying useless little things. Let me take you through a quick tour of the things I have so far, and my fave Shopee finds :)

Shop name: xin0124

Shop review: So-so. I placed a big order in behalf of our office and they didn't give me any token, not even a keychain. They also failed to tell me I had to stick to a certain courier for big orders so I had to re-do the order, which I had to chop up into 5 in the first place. Store is full of electronics, mobile and techie gadgets.

Items purchased:

WS-1816 Bluetooth mic microphone karaoke speaker (PHP 500) - featured in my FB live video here. Love this item to bits! It's a microphone-speaker which connects via bluetooth to phones, laptops or iPads. My dad loves pulling up karaoke videos on Youtube mobile and using it as a portable karaoke machine!

Selfie ring light RK-14 (PHP 220)

Portable mushroom mini bluetooth speaker (PHP 219) - This died within a month though to be fair I did try sticking it in the shower.

L17 Disco party USB colorful neon lights (PHP 129)

Universal car mount car holder with USB charger (P 500) - This is convenient.

Sandisk micro SD card 32GB (PHP 569) - I bought 2. One of them broke as soon as I touched it but the other one has been great in my phone!

Shop name: this.and.that

Shop review: The mats were unfortunately small, but the shop was quick and easy to transact with. They respond super quickly and even send photos of the actual items before shipping. They seem to sell a lot of cosmetics and tools.

Items purchased:

Express Brush Cleaning Mat in Black (PHP 136)

Express Brush Cleaning Mat in Baby Pink + 10 brush guards (PHP 184)

Store name: lovemeiux

Store review: Though they post response hours, I don't recall having a problem getting a response from them - still, heads up. This is one of the more annoying shops. They don't allow you to choose variants of non-cosmetic items. You may request but it's not guaranteed and they'll send whatever is available, which I find super annoying (???) They sell tons of Thailand beauty items and SG cosmetics at ~P 50, which is shorthand for fakes. I still got that penis lipstick tho.

Items purchased:

Mini massager (PHP 49) - Friend joked when he saw this that nobody really buys massagers for massaging. I was scandalized...

Magic Your Life Lipstick in Salem (PHP 55) - ...but not scandalized enough to keep from buying a dickstick.

Bath robe in red (PHP 129) - Quite useful after shower, doing makeup, before getting dressed.

Cellphone ring (PHP 25) - Staying strong.

OS OK cellphone hand holder (PHP 35)

NYX Curve Penliner (PHP 60) - Another novelty buy.

Store name: xairibbonsandcraft

Store review: They were quick to reply and accommodating to my inquiries - I wanted this ivory-colored silk and they immediately put up stocks. Unfortunately I already placed my order and didn't know if I could add that item to the existing waybill. This store sells a lot of crafting supplies such as papers, ribbons and pieces of cloth. I got a lot of great backgrounds from them.

Items purchased:

Glittered canvas in gold and ivory (PHP 80 ea)

Faux lambskin/leatherette in Ivory (PHP 40)

Satin fabric 60" in black and light pink (PHP 60 ea) - I tried to be unconventional with the other textures, but this has looked amazing in photos and is one of my favorite purchases!

Foam sheets 12.5in x 10in in island blue, purple/grape, light pink (PHP 15 ea)

Shop name: thehappilyeverafterstore

Shop review: Pretty standard transaction. Nothing really stands out other than they have a mind-bloggling selection of items. They sell anything from books, to cosmetics, to crafting supplies, to electronics.

Item purchased:

No shedding faux fur - baby photoshoot and flatlays in 16x16in square in white, peach, baby blue (PHP 95 ea). I remember having 3 size selections then but they now only have two, 16x16" and 32x16"

Store name: monking.ph

Store review: This was my first foray into non-local shops. It seems like all shops with a ".ph" are China-based. You can't have complicated transactions with them, but they have the cheapest prices for some items. These were the cheapest disposables I found and bought just enough to qualify for free shipping. In making China purchases, time mustn't be an element. I got this order in about a week, but my other orders during the holiday season took up to three weeks to arrive.

Item purchased:

100pc disposable lip brush gloss wands applicator makeup cosmetic tool beaut (PHP 170)

Store name: fashionicon18

Store review: Nothing remarkable about this transaction. They also have a shit-ton of items and even offer wholesale prices for some items - this is a pretty common Shopee feature among these divisoria-like stores.

Item purchased:

Beauty blender sponge drying & display holder (PHP 50) - This is when I started feeling like a gold-medalist shopper. I originally found the holder with an unnecessary blender for PHP 120 in Gladking.

Store name: thebeautyhubmnl

Store review: Standard transaction. Nothing remarkable. Revisited their shop and they seem to have problems with Shopee and the notorious West hub.

Item purchased:

Makeup mixing palette (square) (PHP 130) - My sister asked me to buy this. The problem with having sisters who refuse to get Shopee is that they make you buy the shit and then you're the one left hopping from one recommended item to another.

Store name: splinker.ph

Store review: Everything is either wrapped or in a little plastic baggie. I had one missing item. Even though this is a China shop, I'm surprised we were able to navigate the issue. They immediately offered me a refund and have taught me how to take a store discount instead (given that my purchase was COD.) Dreading to see what I can buy with the store discount because I enjoyed this store so much that I spent PHP 3000 on it. They have the exact kind of butingtings I like UHU T_T

Items purchased:

Women contour highlighting foundation tapered blending brush (PHP 83) - I'm lacking a bit of volume and the head is a little difficult to control but I love this shape for contouring!

Makeup brush washing pore foundation mini deep women face (PHP 148) - MY CORN FACE-WASHING BRUSH

Velvet lace necklace set pendant women 5pcs/set gem jewelry (PHP 112) - I'm never gonna wear these~

4pcs nail art drawing nail tip brush set liner pen design (PHP 99) - For art!!!

Flat foundation brush cosmetic tool powder contour blush (PHP 106) - This is PHP 150 in Gladking. I didn't really need it but I had to have it.

4pcs household kitchen silicone brush sponge dishwashing set (PHP 348) - One of the more expensive things, I've been using it to open jars and take hot items out of the microwave.

5pcs makeup toothbrush brushes with bottom case foundation in rose gold (PHP 464) - Yet to test, but the surfaces are all wonk and I feel they're not going to be good.

Blender sponge holder rack beauty puff breathable stand (PHP 90) - A little bit more expensive than my earlier find, but I couldn't buy one item from that shop and pay shipping when I could just lump this huge order.

6pcs silicone brushes set unique mask eyeliner women eyebrow (PHP 214) - For science!

Round foundation make up brushes makeup foundation unique cosmetic (PHP 195) - For science!

Silicone washing brush pad traveling cleaning makeup board (PHP 360) - Level up of my brush mats. The black one is the smallest. I got a larger one at Daiso for 198, I think. This one is the largest and almost takes up my whole sink.

Metal drinking straw steel cleaner brush reusable straws 3 (PHP 197) - Found the store because my sister asked me to buy steel straws for her. And now it's come to this PHP 3000 tally T_T But people! Get metal straws. Save the earth.

5 pcs Harry Potter metal cosmetics metal blush eyeshadow brushes (PHP 249) - They look too cute??

Soft mermaid fishtail bottom makeup powder blush foundation brush (PHP 124) - PHP 130 from Gladking. Not that much cheaper, and so I realized that China items aren't as big of a bargain as they're made out to be.

Bra top women rose bandage floral lingerie underwear (PHP 116) - I never got this! And local lingerie shops are fucking horrible so I guess I'm stuck with my boring bras - this was supposed to be a cute bralette :(

Store name: minai.ph

Store review: Standard transaction. Nothing remarkable. See notes when I bought the lip wands.

Item purchased:

50pcs curel lash extension spooler brush disposable mascara wands eyelash in rose red (PHP 77)

Store name: harupink.ph

Store review: Standard transaction.

Harupink acrylic flip cap cosmetic makeup brush storage case box organizer holder w beads (PHP 907) - I have heard these were on sale on Instagram, too. But they cost over PHP 1000. Size is 10x10x21cm and they come with the beads - most do not. It was packed well with no scratches, cracks nor damages and the acrylic is durable and thick!

Store name: realkolections

Store review: Standard transaction. I simply hunted them down for their cute mini lippies.

Item purchased:

Mini lipstick studio 12pcs set in rabbit (PHP 90) - Great, no ragrets novelty buy. I even paid shipping for this ;)

Tita Tellie's Shopeeng Tips:

1. Use the Official Shops filter if you're worried about fakes. I'm too afraid to buy fake cosmetics and skincare. And with so many sellers and items on Shopee, simply browsing through the general categories is too much work (hello, PHP 50 Kylie lip kits.) Thankfully, there are many legit brands on Shopee (Banila Co, Human Nature, etc.)under the Official Shops filter. Official Shops is not to be confused with Preferred Shops, which still oftentimes carry counterfeits.
2. Cart everything. Whenever anything tickles my fancy, I immediately cart it. I have 52 items in my cart right now, but at least I'm secure in the knowledge that if I do decide to get that cute mini-scoop I saw two months ago, I won't accidentally buy 8 more items looking for it or worse.... never find it again.
3. Try to get free shipping whenever possible. Shopee has free shipping at 500 worth of purchases, but purchases aren't consolidated and shipping may be a little steep if you're only buying a P20 butingting. Shipping is about P30-50 within Metro Manila and hello, that's just against my principles. You can either: wait for free shipping promos, wait for free shipping markdowns (freeship at PHP 250 worth of purchase,) or keep carting items until you find a shop that has most of the stuff on your list. The third one is pretty dangerous and risky. You need to be a seasoned shopper for that. I was asked to buy several things and ended up finding cute stuff on my own. After noticing that splinker.ph had a couple of items I wanted, I fell down the rabbit hole (totally not of my own free will and volition) and ended up spending 3000 in one store T_T
4. Most x.ph stores are China-based, and it will take a while to get your item. Worst for me was about a month, but for the most part I don't mind. China shops package items very well (individual PE bags and bubble wrap when necessary) so the items don't really disintegrate in shipping.

And that's that. Now that I've gotten buying dumb things out of my system, I am so ready to take a well-deserved Shopeeng break!