Froyo Freebie: The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

i have a soft spot for Coffee Bean, especially the one located at Gateway Mall Cubao. My good friend/study buddy/fellow cardaholic Mark spent the last couple of months before the bar exams having our breakfast, having a drink until dinner and study in a specific spot there. Thanks to Lady who always boosts our confidence while we're there.

it's like almost a year has passed and i haven't been to Coffee Bean. and this morning, almost exactly as the send-off, this surprised me in my email:



too bad that the  nearest CBTL that offers this froyo is like two hours away. but i might drop by Promenade to taste the difference soon.This offer courtesy of my Swirl Card.

DC: Francesco Buon Amico

      After “forever”, I finally got my Francesco discount card! Yipee! I got mine at Alabang Town Center when I bought my white Madrid Birkenstock for my birthday last year. Ate Vilma “lured” me into applying when she noticed that I bought my third pair of Birkenstock in the same store! Actually it’s my first in the store since my Birkenstock were bought in germany. The first two Birkenstock in the list are my dad’s and brother’s. so for my 6th Birkenstock I’m already entitled to the 10% discount.

Good thing google was able to translate “buon amico” which means ”good friend”. Since I have been buying in the same store for the past three consecutive years, I indeed became good friends with Ate Vilma of Francesco.

The perks:

Buon amico cardholder is entitled to 10% discount on cash or credit purchases on regular items. I’m just not sure if this same card will entitle me to an additional 5% discount on sale items.

Aside from my discount, Francesco gives me a 10% or 20% discount every year during my birth month. Just perfect!

I think it’s a lifetime discount card already with no expiry. But I’ll stll check on that.

The freebie:

The card was stick on a leather journal.

The notebook has the “Gruppo Francesco” printed on the cover and the leaves are blank pages.

The best thing about this card is I was able to get it only after more than a eyar it wasissued. Thanks to my in-laws and to ate vilma!

I’m not sure when to use it again since my cousins from germany will be coming to the PI soon and I missed their sale season.

But this card gotme prepared for the next one.O=)

gonuts freebie tub of cookies

i found an alternative for Mrs. Fields cookies when i met the cookies by Gonuts Donuts. i so love both the choco chip and double fudge and ofcourse the price for P hp5.00 each. a measly amount compared to Mrs. Fields aside from the fact that Gonuts is just at the lobby of our building. i loved Gonuts chocofrost so imagine my happiness when i saw that Gonuts offers a free tub of cookies (*worth Php115) when you buy a half-dozen donuts (a Php180.00 value)! i'm such a sucker for freebies i know!

Gonuts Freebie!

so i bought 2 choco frost, 1 strawberry, 1 peanut butter, 1 pastillas de leche and i forgot the other one.

and here's my tub of cookies but i already ate 3 pieces. hehehe they're perfect when they're chilled by the way.

so if i were you, i'll won't just take Gonuts word for it, grab your donuts and cookies now!

youngblood romanticism palette

Make-up: Youngblood Artiste Palette - Romanticism

Price: a Php4,500 value which i bought for Php995!

Shop: Beauty Bar Shangri-La Mall

so, i have been waiting for this certain palette for quite some time now. but waiting for it made me want it some more! so for a quick-look at my make-up stash: my NARS orgasm/south beach duo, johnson's cooling baby powder and born lippy lip balm from the body shop.so basically when it comes to coming to places as all-made-up, i'm a big no-no. so when i saw this youngblood palette for Php995 at the beauty bar website, it's must-buy for me!

i'm no make-up enthusiast being stuck with my MAC and NARS beauty loot, so kindly bear with me on this review.

Eye-Candy:

The case is so sleek with its gray case and silver Youngblood name. It's easily findable in my bag. The trays and the pans are detachable so you can easily customize your own palette.

Slim-Shade-y:

In general: the palette is a swatch of neutral shades. so it's really perfect for me. So here are the shades (which i found on the net but they are actually written on the bottom of the shades):

Blush: Sherbet, Blossom

Eyeshadow: Alabaster, Golden Beryl, Penny

Lip Shine: Brilliance, Glorious, Mesmerize

Sherbet is really close to NARS' orgasm blush. blossom is close to my raspberry pink blush from the body shop.

the eye shadows were all neutral so i guess i have to ask my roommate for some tutorials on blending.

the lip shades were love for me since i love nude shades (i'm missing lip 65 lipglass from MAC).

Face Value:

so i used sherbet, a blend of alabaster & penny for my eyes, and glorious for my lips.

this is how i looked before the make-up:

and this is how the no-make-up look went.

i so love the blush and in this shot, you can see how soft it looks and how it blends perfectly on my skin.

the pigmentation of the shadows is amazing!

the surprise in this all though is that as much as it tried to convince us that they are mineral cosmetics, the ingredients do not say so. i really have no idea what mineral make-ups are made of but with these tons of ingredients. i think they are not:

the verdict:

for Php995 it is indeed a steal! especially for a make-up dummy like moi. hehehe but for Php4,500 i guess it won't be. i paid Php 4,200 for a much well-known palette which includes the shipping from NY. so if you can still ask Beauty Bar for this palette better grab it ASAP!(thanks to glo of Beauty Bar Shangri-La Mall for saving this palette for me and informing me ASAP when twas available.) i was told that last week was the last shipment for the YB palette for Php995. next time we'll see it, it'll be sold for Php4,500. So if you can still catch in Beauty Bar, i would advise you get one before its price soars up!