My first three purchases from ZA Cosmetics are the True White Liquid Foundation, Perfect Fit Concealer, and the True White two-way foundation case. I kick off a series of posts from the brand by featuring my cheapest but invaluable purchase from them -- the silver, white and pink foundation case!

Short Story:

When I broke the hinge on my Majolica Majorca Skin Remaker powder foundation's princessy gold case, I swore I wasn't spending P450 again on something I might end up breaking one more time. Thankfully, I saw ZA Cosmetics (which was beside the Majolica booth) and discovered that the Skin Remaker powder refill fits a cheaper case, the ZA true white foundation case.

ZA True White two-way foundation case FAQ:

Price: P325 (P100+ cheaper than the MM gold case). Alternatively, you can get the all-pink foundation case at the same price (I keep pinks at a minimum, hence, the silver and white one seemed perfect)

Where to buy: ZA cosmetics counters in: Landmark Trinoma, Landmark Makati, SM Aura Dep Store, and SM Aura Watsons

Refill size to fit case: make sure your refill is somewhere around 5.2cm x 4.4cm x 0.8cm 

So far, it fits: Majolica Majorca Skin Remaker and Shiseido Perfect Smoothing powder foundies; after all, Majolica Majorca and ZA are both spearheaded by Shiseido Co.

Notes: (A) Plaster a double tape neath the refill and slap it on the case! (B) The case's cover is a shiny, silvery one that becomes less splendid when finger prints and other grimy whatnot stick to it. Wipe as often as you can; if there's one good thing about it, you know your case is always clean!

Grrrreat News:

Starting tomorrow till Sunday, 4th of August, ZA Trinoma (as far as I know) will be holding a 20% off sale on ALL items. The ZA true white foundation case will be marked down at P260 (now the deal-hunter in me sighs out for not holding off my purchases, lol)! Shiseido and MM in Trinoma are on sale, too.

At P325, with my current, most-used up powder foundie sitting pretty snug inside this refill case, I feel victorious. I saved some few hundred pesos and discovered yet another Japanese brand that carries efficient and affordable items!

This weekend, I'm unboxing tummy goodies instead of makeup or gizmos. Dulcelin Gourmet's Mango Torte came out of the box and I was like, "ang nipis!", but that little negativity dug its own grave when I sank my teeth into the delightful treat. Ang sarap lang. And I realized it's a low cake for a reason.

    The definitive house specialty – Crispy-chewy nougatine, golden mangoes and cream

The torte is suggested to be served after slight thawing. To objectively quantify 'slight', I'd say it's about thirty seconds. Really. We let it stand out of the freezer for more than 5mins and the multitude of frosting plus some other parts of the cake weren't as palatable. It's still yummy but it tastes so much better when eaten shortly after getting it off the ice.

Dulcelin Gourmet

36 Times Street, West Triangle, Q.C. Tel. 374-2165

(more branches: in Makati, Pasig, Taguig, Muntinlupa, etc.)

Mango Torte, 9"- P680; 12"- P1,000

The best part about Dulcelin's mango torte is that it doesn't taste sinful. I hate it when I spend hundreds of pesos on a supposed treat that eventually makes me feel like I'm the most awful person for buying too much carbs. Nope, I'm far from feeling awful coz this torte's treating me just right.

If you love sweet mangoes and nuts, you'll enjoy this cake. The torte's manipis because it doesn't want to make you feel you've overindulged. Great job, Dulcelin! This would've gotten ten stars if not for the frosting-- I wish it had a subtler hint of sweetness.

I know I'm in love with Shu Uemura cleansing oils (tried sakura fresh and currently, the Ultim8) because it makes a huge difference for my skin. I even encourage friends who wear makeup everyday to pre-clean their faces before hitting the sack using this skincare line.

Now, seeing Deal Grocer's Taste Central carrying sample trios of well-loved skincare products was just what I needed! My friends can now try the oils plus two other more products. In both sales, a cleansing oil, the UV mousse base and the Shu Uemura Tsuya Skin Youthful Radiance Generator is included, whooppeee! I don't mind shelling out P800 for three sample-sized products from this brand as they usually go P400 per mini from resellers. Also, these samples are almost always conspiring to go out of stock when I try to pick a GWP for my Shu in-store purchases, *sad*.

I just hate that the price doesn't cover shipping. We all love the 'free shipping' mark don't we? (However, you can pool orders because shipping is flat rate; ask officemates or friends who live nearby to purchase with you! And if you are purchasing, PLEASE MESSAGE ME! I want to order too!)

Check out my post on the deals via The Beauty Bin Tumblr (yes, I'm on Tumblr because blogger.com almost always fails me with my posts since 2013 started)

And oh, there are heaps of other cool deals too! I handpicked the best I saw from Deal Grocer and placed them in that post. From hair colouring to underarm waxing & whitening, together with month-long passes for Barre3 and Bikram yoga.

Stay pretty and fit!

Years back, I have sworn to never get my hands on ANY oral glutathione ever again because of the unnecessary weight gain I experience when taking them. Last May, after years of gluta-drought, I finally braved opening a bottle of one of the newest glutathiones in the market, the Relumins Advance White oral whitening formula.

Label says:

Relumins L-Glutathione complex is the most advanced oral Glutathione and placenta formula available. It is the most effective oral skin whitener available and has numerous other health benefits.

Also, the product enumerates a roster of consumer-luring benefits---all of which had me at hello:

  • 400mg L-Glutathione for maximum skin whitening
  • Proven safe and effective in numerous clinical studies
  • L-Glutathione boosters: (1) 100mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid which has been shown to naturally support high levels of Glutathione in the Body; and (2) 100mg of Vitamin C which has been shown to restore intracellular glutathione
  • 200mg of Placental Protein (PP) extract:
    a) PP enhances skin's elasticity and moisture and stimulates cell renewal to revitalize the skin. It also visibly reduces and fights the unsightly signs of skin aging such as wrinkles and fine lines.
    b) PP is a highly-recognized cosmetics ingredient due to its exemplary skin-whitening property that actively influences the activity of tyrosinase, a component of melanin. In fact, it is the most popular and widely used skin whitening agent in Japan.

Continue reading »

For the month of July, the Special Edition (SE) Avon Beauty Subscritption Box from Glamourbox is something to get really excited about: it's valued at P2865!!! Plus, this month's subbies will get a chance to win a slot in Glamourbox's upcoming Makeup Workshop.

The Glamourbox Team, known for scouring the globe to discover the best in beauty products, and bringing premium, niche and indie brands for Filipina beauty enthusiasts, shares Avon’s goal to empower women by making them look and feel beautiful and confident. As beauty curators, Glamourbox put together a special selection of Avon makeup loot that suits every stylish, adventurous and modern Filipina.

Visit the Glamourbox website to get hold of the Special Edition Avon Glamourbox. Hurrryyy, boxes will be shipped out on the 15th.