My Favorite Find at the Moment

A couple of weeks ago, my sister came home from a trip to Korea. My Mom, and my other sister and I begged her to go to Duty Free so we picked her up at the airport and went straight to the place. Our Duty Free is nothing compared to the ones in other countries but regardless, it is impossible to go home without buying anything. Even just a pack of chocolates.

I found this beautiful tissue holder. It wasn't something I need. But I wanted it. I "ooooooh"-ed and "aaaaaaaah"-ed when I saw it. And it was just USD18.00. How could I leave the place without it?

I absolutely fell in love with the design - the print, the scalloped edges with a shiny thin silver outline and the embossed floral detail at the bottom.

Bonus part: the opposite side has a totally different design. Very masculine.

Of course, I prefer the lovely women design. And so do my girls when I asked them which they liked best. Maybe I could pass this on to one of them when they're older. Oooooh, I hope they won't fight over it. Darn! I wish I bought another one. 

GIVEAWAY: Transparent Business Card Holder

* THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED *

Here are our lucky winners:

1. Domestic Diva (Blogger)

2. Carmel Rivadelo-Villongco (Facebook)

3. @donnadeej (Instagram)

4. @cecilleabella (Instagram)

I will contact you to inform you of the good news and get your info to so I can send out your prize!

Enjoy and thank you so much for joining! :)

**************

Hi, everyone! Here it is! I'm giving away some of these pretty cool business card holders and there are four ways to get one. You may do just one or all four for more chances of winning! :)

Take your pick:

Leave a comment at the bottom of this post about anything - why you want this business card holder, what makeup product/s you're dying to have or how your weekend has been so far. Anything at all! Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Like Bunch of Crafts on Facebook, like the post about the giveaway and share it on your timeline.

Follow @bunchofcrafts on Twitter and tweet this message:

"RT: @bunchofcrafts is giving away this cute transparent business card holder & I want one! http://tinyurl.com/bnjhgk3 pic.twitter.com/G6kGrXrr " 

Follow @bunchofcrafts on Instagram and look for the giveaway photo. Like it and leave a comment. Again, anything goes. Here's the link: http://web.stagram.com/p/326414458368238181_176496479

Easy peasy, right? :)

Here are the rules and guidelines of the giveaway:

• Deadline of giveaway entries is Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, at 11:59 PM.
• There will be a total of four winners; one winner per social media platform: 1 Blogspot winner (here), 1 Facebook winner, 1 Twitter winner & 1 Instagram winner.
• You may only send one entry per social media platform. Additional entries will be voided. 
• A winner may only win once. If his or her name is drawn more than once, another name will be drawn.
• The giveaway is open to everyone who has a registered mailing address in the Philippines.
• Winners will be randomly selected.
• Giveaway prize will be mailed to the winners. Courier shipping fee will be shouldered by the blog owner.

That's it! Good luck and thanks for joining! :)

Credits: Social media buttons downloaded from misse{design}

Caviar, Anyone?

I WANT...

Let's do the math... The whole set costs USD58.00 (Php2,384.10) and that's just about USD2.42 (Php99.34) per bottle. Although these are minis, they're still way cheaper than a full-sized Ciate Paint Pots Nail Polish which retails for USD15.00 (Php616.59) a bottle. And with 20 mini Paint Pots and 4 mini Caviar blends, you'll have more than enough to play with.

And just how pretty is this advent calendar-style packaging? LOVE.

And here are some delicious caviar nail inspo:

Clockwise, top left: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

I super want NEED this set!!!

Available at Sephora (but currently out-of-stock). :(

DIY? Oui!

Quick DIY post. 

I asked my daughter for this canvas pouch (actually, more of stole) which was part of a loot bag she got from her cousin's birthday party. It has been lying around the house so I assumed she didn't really care much for it. And I did. So I "asked" for it. Ha!

I wanted a word design and chose "oui" which is yes in french. I opened my Font Book app and searched for the perfect cursive font. Perfect combo, right? Oui!

I wanted to add shadow detail and wanted to be extra sure where to place the shadows so I utilized Photoshop for reference.

I drew on my design with pencil first and I'm glad I did but it's quite hard to erase it. Is there such thing as fabric eraser? I'm sure there is! Let me take a quick look on Amazon.com... Ha! Of course there is! Amazon is amazing. Adding that to my cart now...

I loved making the pouch so much that I bought canvas and zippers and had more pouches made! Can't wait to make more! And I can now replace the pouch I "asked" from the little one. :)

Materials used:
- blank canvas pouch
- Sharpie Paint in silver
- Sharpie Stained in black
- pencil, eraser, ruler

Makeup Organization: Labels

I fixed my kit earlier, preparing for a makeup job I'm doing tomorrow and I finally replaced the the old labels I have on some of my makeup that have turned really dirty. It was really horrible, I couldn't read them anymore! So I took out my trusty-but-dying label maker and made some.

My Dymo's screen is already busted. Sometimes I print them out all wrong. Maybe it's time to get a new and better one? I've had this for about 4 to 5 years already.

I place the labels on the side of the compact powders and since it is curvy, I need the labels to be smaller than the actual size of the sticker. I use the smallest font size and trim out the extra space at the top and bottom parts.

This is how dirty the old labels were:

That was just horrible, right?

Things are so much easier when you're organized and know where things are. I love that machine. Such a great invention! :)

Great Deals on Shoes

I love bargains and sales! And I can't resist a good deal when I see one. And for some reason, I noticed that I have more willpower to immediately purchase an item online than one that I can actually see, touch and try on. And I find that weird. Maybe it's because I know that that item will most probably still be there in case I realize that I really must have that item? Anyhoo, here are my recent finds from my favorite online stores:

80%20 Edie Open-Toe Loafer (Orig. price: USD198.00), USD69.00

Fiel Skye Mayan Woven Sandal (Orig. price: USD214.00), USD43.00

Hailey Jeans Co Lace Up Wedge High-top Sneaker (Orig. price: USD69.99), USD29.99

Good deals, right? :) I can't wait for them to arrive! :)

Bunch of Crafts Preview and a Giveaway

This wasn't planned. I have a ton of things to do. But I discovered this site that allows me to create my own online store that is so easy and simple to use and, of course, I got sidetracked once again. Oh and since I was already working on something I wasn't supposed to be working on, I went ahead and also made a new logo. What do you think?

I hope to open my online store soon! There are just some stuff that I have to figure out... But in the meantime, I would like to announce that I'll be giving away a couple of these transparent business card holders that I made:

They will also be available on Bunch of Crafts but wouldn't it be awesome to get one for free? :) So please watch out for that and check back here! :)

Special Delivery - BDJ Box

I received an awesome package yesterday and I am so excited to share what it is. I was invited to BDJ Box's event, hosted by the same creators of the wonderful Belle de Jour Power Planner, and I was very much looking forward to it but unfortunately, I had to cancel at the last minute due to a family emergency. Nevertheless, they still went ahead and sent me a package. :)

Belle de Jour Power Planner 2013 and the BDJ Box

I was so excited to see what's in the box! I love surprises!

So girly and pretty!!! And it smells so wonderful!!!

And it's packed with a bunch of beauty products! :)

Here's what's inside the box...

1. Syoss Moisture Intensive Care Shampoo for dry, coarse hair (Schwarzkopf & Henkel), 100 ml

2. Syoss Moisture Intensive Care Conditioner for dry, coarse hair (Schwarzkopf & Henkel), 100 ml

3. L'oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Daily Repairing Treatment for damaged hair, 50 ml

4. Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Active Multi-Action Scrub, 50 ml

5. Yves Rocher Hydra Vegetal Hydrating Cleansing Milk for normal to combination skin, 50 ml

6. L'oreal Paris Dermo-Expertise Revitalift Intensive Night Repair Essence, 5 ml

7. L'oreal Paris Lucent Magique Skin Illuminating BB Cream SPF20, 5 ml

8. Garnier Skin Naturals Light Whiten & Even Moisturizing Cream, 8 ml, 8 foil packs

9. Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua, 1.2 ml (vial)

Let's find out more about what BDJ Box is all about and how we all can get our hands on this little treasure...

As a professional, I absolutely love trying new products. And I've met a lot of people - professionals and aficionados alike - who share my love for makeup. With thousands (or millions?) of beauty products available in the market, who has the money to spare to try even just a small percentage of what's out there? We work hard and we make sure we get the most of what we spend on. This is why I think the BDJ Box is an awesome idea. Powered by the country's top beauty mavens, I'm sure the box will deliver only the best beauty products for us to try - tested and approved by the BDJ Box Beauty Ministry. 

And how exciting would it be to receive a monthly loot of beauty products? It's going to be like Christmas every month! And for Php480.00 (or even less), I think it's a really affordable and reasonable price to pay. The box costs less than most lipsticks but you get so much more! You can keep the products to yourself, gift the box to your best-est girl friend or share with your mom and sister/s!

I'm going to try it out and sign up for three months. I'm really excited for my next BDJ Box! :) I'm very happy with the contents of the first one and I can't wait to try the hair products and the BB cream sample.

Oh and have you seen their website? It's really nice and easy to navigate, I love it! I actually wrote a couple of editorial articles for their website (links below) so please do check out BDJBox.com! :) And check out the makeup tutorials, makeup tips and product reviews and recommendations. I love that we finally have a beauty website made by and for Filipinas. :)

BDJBox.com

Articles:

Tips from the Pros

How To Clean Your Makeup

How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Easy Halloween Looks

SmartParenting.com.ph asked me to do an article on Halloween looks that can easily be recreated with basic makeup products that we already have in our kits. I was so excited for the assignment and made face charts. And I tell you, face charting is not as easy as I thought it would be...

Here are the looks I came up with:

Left to right from top row: Queen of Hearts, Fuzzy Bunny, Rock 'N' Roll Chic, Corpse Bride & Cat Woman

For the complete instructions on how to do these looks, check out the full article here.

Happy Halloween!!! :)

New Makeup Finds

I finally was able to visit this particular makeup store early this month after a surprisingly very quick shoot in the area. I've been wanting to drop by for a long time already but was really scared for my wallet. Hahaha! But lo and behold, my self-control prevailed and I ended up with just three items. The Bobbi Brown gel liner is one of my favorite makeup products and was a replenishment to my almost empty (and drying up) current pot. Since the BECCA Professional Brush Soap (which I super love) is currently out-of-stock, I decided to give this brush shampoo a try. The Face to Face Super Matte Antishine has been on my makeup wish list for a long time now so I'm pretty psyched finally get my hands on it! I haven't tried the brush shampoo and mattifying primer yet but I will post a review as soon as I've done so! :)

Have you tried any of these products? Any thoughts?

How To Wear Transparent Bags

I found this tinted transparent doctor's bag in SM and thought it would be a cute bag (and really cheap!) for my 9-year-old daughter. And I got this brilliant idea that I could "borrow" the bag too! We bought it a month or so ago and have only used it once since. I found it quite tricky to wear because everything is so exposed! Do I really want the whole world to see my things (aka trash)? Not really.

I need help on how to make it work. So I searched for some inspiration:

I like the idea of showing a pop of color like the fuchsia mascara tube or a cute item like the tin of Rosebud Salve. A small pouch with an interesting print is perfect to hide stuff you don't want exposed - IDs, cash, credit cards, receipts, feminine products, etc. But most importantly, I think it is best to limit your load to your absolute essentials. If you don't need it or won't use it, don't bring it. Which is a problem for me because I tend to carry a bunch of things with me. I saw a photo of a transparent bag overstuffed with a bunch of things and it wasn't pretty to look at. Not even a bit.

I will take the bag out for a ride again soon. Let's see if I can keep the inside visually appealing and leave the "rest of my room" at home. ;)