Battle of the nail polish

Hello my darlings,

As you know, nail polish is a staple in a woman's beauty regime. We all yearn to have a nice, wide array of colors to choose from - Same philosophy for lip gloss.

But lately, there have been, I feel, a madness for overpriced nail polish which are obviously overpriced because of its high demand due to branding.

I've never been a strong believer of the school of thought that expensive stuff is good stuff. I'm more concerned about looking for value for money. If the expensive stuff really is better, then I'm getting my value for money. But if it's just grossly overpriced, then I'll most likely give it a pass.

So what I'm trying to say here is, the overpriced nail polish isn't bad, but it isn't worth its value.

Let's take for example, Revlon. I was so unimpressed with the thin brush, lousy consistency of the polish and it chips after just one day! The nail polish is so thin and the thin, stiff brush results in lousy application.

OPI is all the rage now. Great stuff, but the matt colors disappoint. They are clumpy and too thick. Very difficult to apply. The issue I have with OPI is the crazy price. Going at $23.50 per bottle on an average. That's as much as a bottle of nail polish from Estee Lauder, which by the way, isn't impressive.

I tried nail polish from MAC and though the colors were great (as expected), the consistency was way too thick and it took forever to dry.

I got sick and tired of these expensive, over priced nail polish (I even saw a Japanese brand, half the size of an OPI bottle, going for S$18! At Far East Plaza. Now that's day light robbery)and decided to give the cheaper contenders a try.

What I really am looking for and what is really important in looking for a good nail polish is color, consistency, richness, brush, lasting anti-clumping abilities and fast drying.

THEFACESHOP has awesome value for money nail polish going at S$2.90. Great selection of colors. However, the consistency becomes awful after 3 applications.

Etude house - Good stuff! It isn't cheap, but it isn't expensive either. It's a reasonable price of $5+

I couldn't stop myself when I went to Aries and looked at the amazing selection of colors for their house brand and one called "Bisque" with beautiful packaging! Ironically, Bisque did not have a shade of bisque.

Aries wasn't bad for the price of S$2.90. But what really blew me away was Bisque.

It was only S$2.90 and the brush is soft and of the right size. The consistency is amazing! I bought a pale purple. With just 1 coat, I was able to have a nice rich color. And it was so smooth and so easy to apply, it looked as thought I grew purple nails! Amazing stuff. I bought two other colors - a light pink and a dark, tinted brown. Beautiful consistency. Just beautiful.

The darker colors can last up to 4 days without major chipping and the light pink lasted about 3 with major chipping.

I'm not saying that all the cheap stuff is great, I've tried some pretty bad, cheap crap. But you shouldn't give the cheap contenders a miss. You might just find a rose among the thorns. Your true answer to getting value for money.

SB out.

My October entry

Hello my darlings,

Yes, it has been a while. A long while. Believe it or not, I decided to give malls a rest. That's right. I wanted to refresh my mind, rid of all the comments and feelings I had, from the very beginning I started this blog.

But do not fret my shopping darlings, I am still THE shopping biatch. Rest assured, the bitching will keep flowing. For as long as I am passionate about shopping, I will keep nagging about the flaws and praise the well deserved praises to the high heavens. Nothing excites me more than to find something to sing praise about! And yet, nothing makes me madder and more sarcastic, than to come across something that disgusts me.

The shopping biatch is back. XO

-SB

The importance of window displays

Window displays make or break a shop and its collection. A good one can really push sales for certain featured items. I feel a stab in the heart when shops do not take their window displays seriously - not that it should be taken TOO seriously. You catch my drift.

I'm not talking about spending a bomb on window displays or putting in too much effort all year round, a simple and meaningful one can do wonders.

Here's the inspiration for this entry....

What on earth?! How did this happen? How could this happen? Why did this happen?!

At the rate this shop is going - they might as well not display any mannequin at all. Look at the choice of clothing on the mannequin. The tousled tuft of hair is one thing, the choice of clothing is horrific!

Ugh, I am disgusted and upset. It's no laughing matter - I don't think anybody wants their kid dressed like a 30 year old man.

SB out!

Probably the worst sale ever!

It's that time of year again my darlings - time for the Great Singapore Sale (GSS).

It's shit. And I'm being lenient in saying that. Here's why:

If it's a "GREAT" sale, then it should live up to its expectations. "Great" is just one level below "Fantastic" and not synonymous with "Shitty".

This year, local shops and overseas brands alike have sale sections and nett sections - simultaneously in the store. More often than not, the nett section takes up more space than the sale section. The sale section is not more than 30% off for decent merchandise and 50% off for clothes so bad, they might as well be rags.

You can't even begin to imagine the sheer disappointment I felt when I went shopping week after week since the GSS started, only to feel that the sale is meant to get rid of clothes not worth buying, even at a low price.

Really retailers! Toss out the nonsense and bring in the good stuff at good prices. Now that's a "Great" sale!

The only sale that was worth going for, was the Mango sale. Well done. For the rest - Shame-On- You! The Mango sale was great because they had extremely decent clothing at very low prices and the entire shop was on sale! No nonsense with the nett section and sale section thing. The whole damn shop was on sale. That's just how it should be and no other way.

Other retailers had 50% off torn clothes, stretched out/worn out clothes, stained clothes etc. These shouldn't be 50% off, they should be tossed out or sold at 90% off. And horror of all horrors, I saw stuff that I had seen at a previous sale months ago.

The problem is that there's a trend going around amongst the retailers to have a sale section in the shop all year round. So when the GSS comes around, they don't have anything good to put out on sale! So they take the left overs and pass them off as GSS sale items.

Where's the incentive to pay retail if you're gonna be on sale all year round? I might as well wait a couple of weeks or two months and that thing I wanted would be in the sale corner of the shop.

Can't tell you how many times I've paid retail for something only to find the price slashed by 30% two months later. Whatever items that can't be sold during a turn over (fresh arrival of new designs), should be kept until the GSS or end of year sale.

Till my next post my darlings - The GSS couldn't be more disappointing.

Sales people that say too much

Hello my darlings,

I find it necessary to address the issue of certain sales people saying too much. If you're in sales, please, PLEEEEASE ... never do this...

So I was at the Body Shop looking at some products on sale, particularly the face masks. A plump, bespectacled young sales lady, with her hair all tied up in a pony tail, including her fringe, she had porcelain skin and rosy cheeks, came up to me and insisted that I try the mask right then and there on my hand. I declined - big mistake - she went on for a full five minutes about HER experience using the different masks. From how often she uses certain ones, to why she likes certain ones, to which ones suit her on which day. And in between, she managed to shove in a secret - "Let me tell you a secret ok?", "yea?" I asked, to which she replied "Don't tell anyone but, I use a different mask every day." Followed by a giggle.

Thank you for the heartfelt session darling...here's my secret: I WISH YOU CAME WITH A MUTE BUTTON.

After she was done yapping away, she says, "Ok lah, don wan to disterb you." (Translated into proper English: I don't want to disturb you) and walks off.

A little too late for that isn't it darling?

And boy did she not mean what she said. I wish she meant it with as much sincerity as when she was telling me about her facial mask routine, because as I was paying for a purchase at the counter, she happened to be the cashier at that point in time (I always have such impeccable timing) and she went on and on about the wonderful latex sponges sold at the Body Shop and how I MUST get one because they're so good, oh the wonderful latex sponges sold at the Body Shop, I MUST get one, they're sooo good, oh the wonderful latex sponges...YOU GET MY DRIFT!

She shouldn't be wearing a name tag, instead, she should be wearing a tag that says "BEWARE- I YAP"...B-IY for short?

Just so you know, yapping does not sell - I didn't buy any facial masks or latex sponge.

Ciao my darlings. SB out.

My short reflection

Here's a question for you: Can you honestly go shopping without buying anything. Anything at all. Not even lip balm. Can you?

The restraint is impossible to maintain! What is it about shops and malls that make you want to buy something every single time you head out to one?

I say this because whenever I'm broke, I stay far away from any retail outlets. A trip out to a mall or shop must end with a bag of something, or I can't leave.

I need to learn the art of restraint in this area. It's a long and possibly impossible road to take.

But you know how it is, if you can't fight it, embrace it!

Love. SB.

Shopping hazards..3..2..1.

Hello my darlings,

I wanna address the issue of people being shopping hazards.

Nothing can be more unpleasant than coming across inconsiderate shoppers who make you want to do very unpleasant things to them. Here's my Shopping Hazard Top 3 Countdown....

Shopping hazard 3: The women with the big shopping bags

Yea sure I get it, you're splurging, having a great time, but being hit by your bags because you expect everyone to move out of your way - makes me want to do very unpleasant things to you. I've been scratched numerous times by the sharp edges of those fancy paper bags. To these women: It really ISN'T all about you.

Shopping hazard 2: The women with the redundant boyfriend/husband

Why do women bring their boyfriends or husbands to a sale?! Where's the logic in that? Ok, maaaaybe he handles the expenses and you need him to foot the bill - then get him to join you at the cashier. Don't drag your husband or boyfriend around the sale like he's your pet. We don't even have enough space to move about in a sale, last thing we need is someone redundant hanging around.

Shopping hazard 1: Attention seeking, noisy biatches

Really darlings, no one wants to know how you feel about a certain piece of clothing, bag or pair of shoes. NO ONE. So when you and your girlfriends start bitching or raving about something, keep it to yourselves. This means the following - no screaming, no screeching, no jumping or hopping about on the spot.

Silence is gold, shopping in peace and enjoying the ambient music is part of the shopping experience. Already, having to deal with the shoving and snatching isn't pleasant, the last thing any sane shopper wants is a screeching airhead or bunch of them.

I think I really need to reiterate this (since it's at the top of my list) - NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU THINK.

Disclaimer: These opinions are personal, general and for the sake of entertainment. They are not meant to offend anybody, just meant to highlight issues that need to be addressed.