Krissyfied Shops: January 2017

“Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”

– Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

There's a Harry Potter quote applicable for every situation. These are scary and turbulent times, my friends, and even though it may be difficult and dreary, may we discern the difference and choose to do what is right.

Anyway, the first month of the year is almost over, and I'd like to do a roundup of the things I purchased. A monthly list for this can be beneficial for me in the long run as I get to see collectively what I spent my hard-earned money on so that I can make better choices next time, for my storage space and wallet's sake.

I realize it's virtually impossible to list everything here as I don't want to bore you with what I ate for lunch last January 17 or even my weekly trek to the supermarket to replenish my snack stash so let me qualify this by listing down the things I purchased online as a treat to myself.

BeautyMNL

BeautyMNL is one of my go-to online shops when I'm bored, resulting to a wish list that's taller than me. I love it because:

• it's a one-stop beauty shop that has a wide and expansive selection of both imported and proudly local products for the face, body, personal care, skin, hair, and nails, among others. It even carries accessories!
• its interface is easy to use and understand (even to online shopping newbies).
• it rewards legit reviews (check their review section Beauty by You) so real-life customers are more encouraged to share their experiences with the products you're eyeing, resulting to more informed choices. 
• it's quick! I checked out on a Sunday evening and got my orders Monday morning! Perfect for shoppers with low EQ like some people I know (read: me).

Here are the things I bought:

1. Expert Class Foundation Oval 1 Brush by Pro Studio Beauty Exclusives - I've been wanting to try an oval brush ever since I saw a tutorial online using it, so this purchase made me giddy.
   
2. Organic Eyelash/Eyebrow Growth Enhancing Serum by Leiania House of Beauty - I have long and thick lashes as it is but I'm still intrigued by the positive reviews even though it only costs P300!
   
3. Pixi Glow Tonic by Pixi by Petra - This is almost always sold out so I jumped at the chance of getting a mini bottle the moment it became available. I'll be getting the bigger bottle if this indeed proves HG-worthy to me!

Aside from the maaaany products available on the site, you can also browse BeautyMNL's in-house magazine Bloom. The writers are really good and dispel the notion that beauty is just about fluff. I always enjoy their swatches and reviews. 

Althea Korea

All it takes is a quick search on this blog and you'll see why I love Althea Korea, but the most significant is that it lets me enjoy KBeauty products at a fraction of the price I see in stores here. They also regularly hold sales and give away free gifts with purchase!

Here are the things I bought:

1. Shining Pink Box - It's an eight-piece brush set with a reusable metal tin box with a mirror. Plus points for the color. 
2. Lovely Pink Heart Multi Volume Brush - Nothing really special about this brush except that it's pink! And heart-shaped! TOO CUTE!!! ♥
   

These came from the Chocolate and Berries window (in time for Valentine's, y'all) so each purchase came with a free Puresmile Choosy Art Lip Pack in Rainbow Kiss (that I still don't know how to use LOL). 

HUMAN HEART NATURE

I choose local as much as possible, and Human Heart Nature never fails in innovating their products, making them a sure win in my book.

Here are [some of] the things I bought [as I was careless and accidentally deleted all my photos in my Android phone, including the nice photo I took of my Human Heart Nature purchases when I unboxed them, huhu]:

1. Professional Salon Care Conditioner - I wanted to get the Shampoo too but I still have two bottles of the Mandarin Fresh variant, heh. I go through conditioners quickly because I shampoo every other day but condition every day.
2. Conditioning Hair Mist - my second bottle. I love it because it makes my hair smell like I bathed in flowers.
3. [GWP] Natural Pocket Hand Soap in Refreshing Apple - always handy-dandy to have around.
4. The Cracking Monkey Pili Nuts - I first saw this from Alex. I got this for my Grandma because I knew she would be amused, with pili nuts being from her home province (Bicol) and all. ♥
5. First Harvest Peanut Spread - I first tried this spread at the Plush and Play event. Free tastings work, people. I'm a living proof. ;)
6. Fruit Burst All Natural Sanitizer - see #3

BOOKS

I will buy at least one book per month or my name is not Kristel Ann Cruz. These are the new additions to my book tower (because my book shelves have given up on me):

A book lover's destash is another book lover's treasure. I got all these for less than P1,200!

Technically I didn't buy this online so this shouldn't be included here but I wanted to soooo deal with it. LOL. I saw this at National Bookstore yesterday and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I saw the price tag of P225. That's original price, mind you, not sale price. I couldn't believe it so I asked the cashier to scan it, and she couldn't believe it either. She double-checked and lo and behold, it's really P225! Guess who's the happy owner of Then and Now now? I've already browsed through it and it covers a wide timeline. I can't wait to read everything. Fun times!

Now the goal is to make sure I have less purchases to report next month. See you around!