HAUL: Hong Kong and the Philippines

Welllllllll now, let's see what's happened in the expansive span of time since I last posted:

1. I started my internship.
2. Linsanity took the world by storm.
3. I started school.

Hehe, had to mention Linsanity. xD  Besides that, the other two things on my list have kept me a bit busy.  But I'm now working blogging back into my schedule!  Both this one and my reading blog (another reason I've been busier is I've been reading more! ^^)  I have quite a bit to blog about, so I should have several blog posts ready to go in the next couple weeks.  No more long gaps without any word! :]

So onto the real reason for this post!  My haul from my vacation a month ago (a month already?!)...

First up, face masks!  Pretty much all I wanted to buy in Hong Kong.  And is is all I ended up buying there, too.  Well, except for souvenirs...

I bought 3 packs of face masks and 1 pack of eye masks.  The one with the orange packaging is the My Scheming Crystal Q10 Elastin Eye Mask ($45 HKD).  Please excuse the state of the packaging; my dog got to it before I could take a picture, lol.  Next to it, in the green, is a pack of My Beauty Diary Apple Polyphenol Mask ($58 HKD).  The bottom two are both from My Scheming ($49 HKD each).  The purple one is Grape Seed Instant Brightening Mask, and the blue one is Milk Extract Brightening Mask.  I haven't tried any of them yet, but am excited to try them all!

I tried to do a bit of researching before buying, so I knew which ones I wanted.  At least, I did for the My Beauty Diary Mask.  I found a review that said it pretty much doesn't matter which mask you get, as they all kind of do the same thing, and so to just get one with a scent you like.  And ta-da...Apple!  I love apple scents, so this will probably be perfect for me. :)  The other masks had descriptions in English on them, so they were easier to choose without online help, haha.

I've heard about Asian drugstore BB Cream for a while, and had planned to buy one for myself during this trip.  I first saw Maybelline BB Cream in HK at a grocery store, and then again at Watsons, but didn't purchase because I didn't have any more room in my luggage. :x  But then, I saw it at Watsons in the Philippines!  I was so happy and bought it right away, in the lightest shade (for 249 PHP).  The packaging is different from the one in HK, though.  I will have to pick up one from HK next time I get the chance to go, to see if it's any different in formula. ^^

my favorite pair are the red ones in the bottom right

When I go to the Philippines, I always make a point of stopping at a place called 168 mall.  It's basically an indoor flea market, and I go mostly to buy accessories.  This trip, I ended up with a lot of earrings, some bracelets, and 1 ring.  Usually, I'd have necklaces too, but none of them caught my eye this time.

My cousin picked these out for herself, and when I saw them, I had to have them too!  I think she only got the colorful pair, but I couldn't choose, so I bought both.  They were only 50 PHP each, I think.

bought cuz I thought they were professional looking ^^

Yep, I went a little crazy with the earrings, haha!  But trust me, I could've done so much more damage.  There were a lot of other earrings that I really liked, and at 50 PHP each (more or less), totally could have afforded to buy them.  But I decided to show some restraint. xD

lots of bangles that actually fit my wrist!

the ring...didn't have a clear picture. :x  but this was only 10 PHP! (which is about $0.25 USD)

That's it for now~!  Hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule, now that I'm starting to get the hang of my new schedule with school and everything. ^^

Pit Stop in Macau~

Sorry for the delay with this post!  As mentioned in my last post, I went on vacation to the Philippines and Hong Kong with my best friend, and we made a stop in Macau during our trip.  There are two parts of Macau: Macau and Taipa.  We ended up taking the ferry to the Taipa side of Macau first. You can also get there by air (plane or helicopter).

After we went through immigration (if you go, you need to bring your passport!), we took a free shuttle to the Ventian hotel.  Yes, the Venetian...just like in Las Vegas. ^^;  I think Macau is known as the Las Vegas of Asia, with many, many casinos...though the Venetian is kind of by itself.  Most of the other casinos are on the Macau side of Macau.  Anyway, we wandered around the Venetian a bit, which was also decorated for Chinese New Year, looking for a place to eat.  We ended up at a delicious buffet, which led to us wandering around the Venetian some more, to try and digest all the food we ate, lol.

at the buffet: the food was delicious! especially the desserts!

around the venetian: chinese new year decor

At around 3 PM, we decided that we should actually go and see the rest of Macau, so we hopped on another free shuttle from the Venetian to the Macau ferry terminal (not to be mistaken with the Taipa ferry terminal).  From there, we took another free shuttle (courtesy of another hotel) to get to the main city area, where all the hotels and casinos are out.  Once there, we hopped off the bus and went looking for the history of Macau!  And we found it!  Well, some of it at least...all just a walk away from the hustle and bustle of the casinos...

Ruins of St. Paul's

Monte Forte

As it grew dark, we left the historical sites to do some souvenir shopping and even tried a porkchop bun, which is one of the most popular snacks in Macau.  It was pretty good!  I recommend trying one. :)

Macau was fun and I'd like to go back and explore more.  But for now, I leave you with one of my favorite picture of this trip~