Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Surfing the Rustan's the Beauty Source

I was looking at Rustan's the Beauty Source a while ago -for those who do not live in the Philippines, Rustan's is a high-end department store in the country- and I saw this upon clicking Skincare >> Price (Low-High) on the first page.






It's a good thing it was stated that prices could change and that the site was not an online store!


However, given that the store is owned by such a large company, I feel that there should be more care taken when displaying prices. Additionally, I do not understand why a product whose price is upon request is considered  on the low end of the spectrum: To me, it's a better sign that something is expensive!


I didn't really find this site very informative as it is as it only gives the name of the product, brand, price and category of each product: it seems more like an online inventory than anything else. They do have a specials section for events and features section  for product promotion, but they were all very short. I don't know what the goal of the website is; hopefully, it will grow more in the future such that people can gain a further understanding of what the product is and maybe even start a Beauty Box of some sort of it's own (One can dream!).


I'll leave this site alone now. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in the future.



Monday, June 4, 2012

News: Kanebo Dew Superior Brush Cleanse Pen

Have you heard of it? The Kanebo Dew Superior Brush Cleanse Pen is supposed to be a new (at least to me!) way of spot cleansing so you get rid of all the nasty stuff in your pores. This product debuted quite recently, and I saw it on TV in Japan this late May. However, at 3,000 Yen (3,150 Yen including tax or around 40 USD) for a brush with 6ml of product, I was not very keen buying it.


According to this news release, this pen is meant to be used twice a week after oil cleansing and before normal cleansing (Japanese women seem to wash their face twice: once with both an oil-based cleanser and another with a non-oil based cleanser).


Because the bristles -from 0.7 mm at the root and 0.07 at the tip- are about 1/10 the size of a pore, it seems that it is possible for the brush to be used as a mechanical scrub in order to remove build up on top of pores. Among other things, the liquid in the pen contains Niacinamide and somehow involve collagen and sodium hyaluronate (my japanese isn't that good so feel free to translate the text yourselves :) ).


I think that if someone were to buy this pen, he or she could substitute his or own formula after the original 6 ml has run out (even as an external solution). However, I'm not ready to shell out this much money on something this tiny!


Has anyone tried this? 

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Lazy Sunday Morning at CBTLs

No, the title wasn't a spelling mistake. I've been a bad girl and went to 2 different outlets and ended up trying all 3 drinks.... I think you're supposed to get a maximum of two only (one hot and one cold)...

Anyway, CBTL's (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf) Open House opened at 10 am and offered 3 new drinks, Caramel Cream Tea Latte, Caramel Ice Blended Drink and Caramel Macchiato. I was there at X branch  by around 10:20. Going to this branch was a BIG mistake for me since there were a lot of people who knew about the event. I felt bad for the baristas, who were very nice, since they were stressed by people who ordered (one customer ordered 17 drinks!- most of the customers came from an event occuring nearby). I also felt apprehensive because this turnout might lead to this branch being one of the exempted branches from participating in the next Open  Houses (which would be very disappointing since it is one of my favorite CBTL branches to date).



Caramel Cream Tea Latte 


I ended up reading a meg magazine while waiting for this drink (it took a while since there were so many people). I didn't like all the noise going on (everyone kept talking) and went out as soon as I finished my drink. Anyway, the Caramel Cream Tea Latte wasn't very caramel-y to me, which I did like (It wasn't too sweet). This was my favorite of the trio; I imagine this easily pairing with their cakes (I love CBTL cakes!). I don't know if it's just me though, but this drink seems best drunk during a rainy day (instead of the sunny one today).



Coffee Bean Open House

Today on June 3, 2012 at 10 to 11:30 am, Coffee Bean (Philippines) will be having an Open House for their Caramel treats!

There will be some exceptions, but what a great way to start the morning :)