I’ve already written about many of my favorite products, but I’ve never written a full blown review for my ultimate favorite brand, Japan-based Shu Uemura. Instead of doing a blow by blow account of how each item in my vanity bag works for me, I only have this to say: I am addicted to anything Shu Uemura. Whether it’s the UV Liquid Foundation, that’s best for sporty girls like me, or those mega-expensive Pressed Eyeshadows, I can never go wrong with this brand.

The Drawing Pencil glides like frosting on cake; the Precise Volume mascara makes your lashes thicker without clumping; the Sweet Lip Gloss makes you want to kiss yourself…I could go on and on and on. I tried downgrading my eyebrow pencil once, when I went to TheFaceShop’s counter, and not only was their pencil hard on the skin, it also broke while I was applying it. Shu Uemura is a wallet buster, but it already destroyed all other brands for me. I can’t go back.

My sister, again the recipient of all my attempts to downgrade (she inherited my TheFaceShop mascara when I realized it wasn’t as good as Shu Uemura’s), once told me: “Feh! I think the only reason why you buy Shu Uemura is that no matter how dumb at make-up you are, it still makes you look good.” She’s right. It is idiot-proof. Though I kind of stopped using the lash curler because I always end up crying. There is a limit to what it can do for beauty dunces, after all.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not a huge fan of putting gunk on my skin. I’m all for the simplification of any boring ritual and actually enjoy my make-up-free days. It’s just that with all the pretty colors and possibilities Shu Uemura has to offer, you can’t help but find the application highly therapeutic. Also, what’s great about it is that you only have to dab a small amount to get a bit of color on an otherwise pale visage, making your jars/tubes/bottles last for more than a year. They’re also very light and gentle on your skin. Meaning, I don’t get allergic reactions, considering my skin isn’t very easy to please.

What’s keeping me from giving Shu Uemura a perfect 10? I had just begun going semi-organic recently — it’s a slow process that involves finishing up all my non-organic bath and beauty products — and I saw the words “paraben” and other synthetic stuff in their ingredients listing. It’s a good thing I don’t wear make-up that often so there’s not much to worry about.

What’s in my kikay kit (in this picture):
Sweet Lip Gloss in Nectarine Jam, Mark Cealer, Drawing Pencils in Metallic Black and Matte Brown, Precise Volume Mascara, Fiber Xtension Mascara Extra Black 01 (unused as of this writing), Limited Edition Color Mousse in Air Bronze, UV Liquid Protecting Water Resistant Foundation (SPF 25), Powder Foundation Natural Glow Finish 564, Pressed Eyeshadows.

Other Shu Uemura products I own that are not in the picture:
Silver Eyelash Curler - Rave reviews everywhere; it’s every girl’s not-so-secret weapon…only I don’t know how to wield it.
Skin Purifier in Fresh (Pink) - Totally removes all traces of dirt and grime on your face…even waterproof mascara.

Unlike my lips, which had not been very happy with Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1, my hair is a lot more cooperative. I’ve been a long time fan of coconut conditioners — ever since I discovered the wonders they could do for my temperamental scalp — and Kiehl’s Extra-Strength Conditioning Rinse for Dry or Damaged Hair (with added Coconut Oil) is by far the most effective I’ve ever used. Even when using a harsh anti-dandruff shampoo before it, it still manages to make my hair feel soft and pretty. Also, unlike other conditioners, it doesn’t leave my hair feeling limp and heavy. It doesn’t hurt that it has a scent that isn’t purely coconut. It smells more like milk-coconut-vanilla, which makes bathing extra fun as I absolutely adore dessert-oriented fragrances.

The only thing that I know will keep me from buying this again is that its price is a bit too steep for a bath product. As of this writing, a small 125ml bottle costs PhP875 (roughly $20), which is about $7 more expensive than its US counterpart. But don’t mind me. Right now, I’m already thinking of buying virgin coconut oil and using that as my conditioner instead. Crazy, huh?

“Why are you giving this to me,” my sister asked in bewilderment. “Didn’t Kiehl’s lip balm get rave reviews from all the magazines we own?”

See, my sister is always the recipient of my hand-me-downs. Whenever I buy something and end up not liking it, she reaps the benefits. Sometimes it irks me to see that a mascara that didn’t fit me would look so well on her or that she’d glow even if she’s using an ultra-cheap product that had just given me the hives.

Kiehl’s is not in any way cheap, though. It costs about twice as much as the last lip balm I used, which was TheFaceShop’s Plus+1 Lip Care Cream Vitamin. Unfortunately, unlike the many people who had given Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 stellar reviews, I couldn’t see what the hype was all about. Then again, I probably am their one and only disappointed customer.

I saw the newly built Greenbelt 5 right across one of my banks and I was delighted to see that Kiehl’s is the only open store. I dropped by, of course, and found out that they had just opened the night before. I had, after all, waited for more than a month for them to hit the Philippines, seeing that every other beauty editor praised it to high heavens. I immediately bought Lip Balm #1 and Extra-Strength Conditioning Rinse for Dry or Damaged Hair (with added Coconut Oil).

I’ve been using the lip balm for more than a week now, but I noticed that it didn’t make my puckers supple as my previous balm did. Not only that, I was back to peeling my lips — a long-time habit that I had stopped about three months ago. My lips, though moisturized, were once again feeling sore. I couldn’t even exfoliate them properly (lip exfoliation is something that I had only learned to do when I first bought TheFaceShop balm), the surface becoming uneven.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Kiehl’s is good. I’ve seen it make my lips rosier even without lipstick. It also feels very light and not very greasy. It cannot, however, provide me the kind of hydration that I actually need. Meaning, it’s not potent enough. Considering this costs twice as much as TheFaceShop’s, I was expecting spectacular results.

What happened next? I dropped by TheFaceShop yesterday, bought my favorite balm and then gave the Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 to my sister. I’m sure she’s going to enjoy it far more than I ever did. She always does.

I became a woman at 30. At least, that’s what my sister tells me. “Ate, bakit ngayon ka lang nagdadalaga?” she had asked with a wry chuckle. I remember my kikay cousins giving up on convincing me to take care of my skin, to not look so raw, to pay attention to what I wear etc. etc. I was happy and comfortable with looking like a geek and not doing anything to change it. Being shaped like a woman, despite all the coverage, didn’t stop men from forgetting that your face is at the top of your shoulders and not plastered on your chest (however little it is), anyway.

Then suddenly, BAM! My definition of hellish torture had changed. From not being able to break a particularly tricky code (which, fortunately, has never happened) to something else: Hellish torture is when you walk along the hallways of Rockwell, seeing the drool-worthy Melissas on sale, and being on a tight budget. So yeah, thanks to the company of fashionista professors, 2007 was the year that I became a shop-a-holic.

Of course, it’s not like I have moolah 24/7. On days when I don’t feel like taking on a project — which means I’d be somewhat broke — I turn to a shopper’s friend. That is, the frequent shopper’s card. It comes in many names and not all of them are really as value-for-money as they claim to be. So let’s see…

SM Advantage Card
(1/10)
I had been using one for the last year and apparently, Banco de Oro (BDO) noticed my purchasing power enough to give me a pre-approved BDO credit card that comes with yet another SM Advantage Card (SAC). Actually, I wasn’t a frequent shopper at the time that I raked in points. It was my tuition fee, which the SAC had been used on, that pulled the points up. When I found out that using the new BDO credit card with the new SAC pulls your points up even more, I started using them and transferred all the points my old SAC had to the new one.

Now here’s the little thing that irked me. Upon closer inspection, you’ll realize that you only get 1 point rebate for every PhP200 purchase, even less if you’re only shopping in affiliate stores. So it means that if you had spent around PhP50,000 in a day of splurging, you only get a measly PhP250 rebate. It’s probably enough to buy you two umbrellas. Blecch. What cheapskates!

And the coupons you get upon membership? Almost all of them are worthless because you may have to travel far to redeem most of them. Some of them would also have the “valid only at selected outlets” label. Gee, I wonder what selected outlets those are. What if they’re valid only in Cagayan de Oro? Dare I go island hopping just to see which stores support them?

Rustan’s Frequent Shopper’s Plus Card
(10/10)
Now here is the big shocker: Rustan’s probably has the most valuable card released in the market. At first, when I was told that I’d get a PhP600 rebate for every PhP20,000 accumulated purchases, I wasn’t too impressed. I didn’t mind, though, since Rustan’s doesn’t really sell products that the mass market would go for. To my pleasant surprise, it wasn’t really that difficult to get your 600 rebate. I’ve only owned an FSP card for half a year and I have already amassed over a thousand points. Imagine if my graduate school was able to use a Rustan’s FSP card! I’d be raking it in! Here’s the computation: PhP33.33 = 1 point. That’s a far cry from SM’s PhP200 = 1. And you thought Rustan’s is unbelievably expensive, huh?

Now if you can only use the FSP for Beauty Bar, too.

National Bookstore - Laking National Card
(8/10)
This is also one of the most sulit cards I’ve ever used. You basically get 10 points for every PhP1,000 accumulated purchases. That’s about 1 point for every hundred pesos, still beating SM’s lousy rewards system by 100%. And I’m saying it’s worth it because everyone needs a bookstore. Even the non-nerds. Now, I know that Power Books and Fully Booked may have the widest range of actual books as opposed to school and office supplies but there are accessible branches and subsidiaries of National Bookstore, like Best Sellers, that actually sell readables.

Bench Loyalty Card via TheFaceShop
(5/10)
I was supposed to get one when I saw it atop a cash register in TheFaceShop at Glorietta. That was because I already spent so much on bath products, which I’m guessing had already gone above PhP10,000. TheFaceShop had already given me free soaps, towels, a beauty bag and whatnot because of my loyalty. Then the card appeared. Thing is, in order for you to get that card from TheFaceShop, you need to show them that you have PhP10,000 worth of accumulated receipts. What the hey??? (This is what the cashier at TheFaceShop Rockwell told me.) If I had known they were going to do that, then I should’ve compiled my receipts. I think that was a little bit too steep and it turned me off, considering I had already spent that much anyway and I’m not really inclined to spend another 10 grand just for a measly card. I felt like I was being punished, especially when they could’ve just given me the card for a mere PhP150 membership fee (like what other decent stores do). TheFaceShop had lost my loyalty because of that (I’d still be reviewing their lovely soaps, though) and I have since turned to Ilog Maria and Rustan’s Essenses’ organic stores for my bathing needs.

Bench Loyalty Card
(??/10)
I’ll probably still get a card…through Bench. That way, it only would only cost PhP150. I read that the points are equivalent to how much you spent. As in literally PhP1 = 1 point. Now for the points translation, I’ve yet to find out. I will have to ask when I do drop by Bench one of these days. The card can also be used for Human, Bench Fix Salon, Kashieca, Charles and Keith, TheFaceShop and other stores under or connected to Ben Chan.

Will update rating when I finally get the card.

Your own credit card’s rewards program
I haven’t actually asked yet about mine. I only know that I’m rooting for miles. Still, I’ve been told that you can actually convert credit card points to either pay for your membership or to convert them to gift certificates for Rustan’s or SM. I get freebies from mine, which is Metrobank, like that Belo cryo-something treatment that I haven’t redeemed yet. (Belo also has a reward card that I use on the rare occasions that I go to them.)

I have man feet (and hands).

I was born with ugly, veiny, dry, really masculine feet and hands (courtesy of my mom) and enjoying wall climbing didn’t make things better for them. Though I only climb leisurely — despite my trainer’s insistence that I can compete — I still need calluses for gripping. I also have extremely brittle nails, which would only look good for a day or two after a pedicure. After that, no amount of wallet-draining lotions would work on making my feet presentable. Believe me, I’ve tried the cheap, the mid ranged, and the expensive: Nivea, TheFaceShop, VMV Hypoallergenics, Crabtree and Evelyn and Clarins. None of them did the job.

I can’t do anything about my calluses, but I just found out recently — thanks to my sister’s shopping experimentations — that I can do something about my nails. No, it’s not about getting a pedicure every other day. That would drive me to the poor house faster than you can finish reading this.

I’m talking about Bobbie Cuticle Oil. It’s this little green ointment-like substance that makes your nail shine and softens the skin around them. When I borrowed my sister’s bottle, I found that it even made my feet look like I’ve just had a pedicure. The best part? As of this writing, only costs PhP26.75 (roughly US$0.60) and can be found in grocery stores. I picked my own bottle up at Watson’s in SM Makati.