Groupon Vouchers

All that glitters on Groupon may not always be gold...

No, this is not a Groupon flaming post. But I'm sure many of you out there may have more than once surrendered your credit card details all too willingly only to discover that the deals you have signed up for are not on par with your expectations.

I chanced upon this awesome pouch and immediately logged on to Groupon's website to make the purchase. I love this pretty all-in-oner because of its convenience of housing my Ipad, liquid items and other necessities to carry them onboard when I go on trips. Anna Sui no less! The brand whore in me got excited and went online to make the purchase.

Just as I was about to hit to "buy" button, I suddenly had a thought and stopped myself. Where did Groupon get these pouches from? Hence I copied the name of the pouch and pasted it onto google and found out that it was a GWP (gift with purchase) from one of Anna Sui's e-mooks. Uh oh.... freebies eh... Tsktsk Groupon...

The image looks a little warped due to the reflection from the plastic wrapping.

I was determined to find a better alternative to buying the pouch. I delve into research a tad longer and found 1! So I went ahead and decided to get one for myself and one for mumsy. Hence I shaved off $10 from the purchase of these 2 awesome pouches as compared to the Groupon deal and got a free bag as a gift with purchase.

Looks better now! Love the embroidery details!

Deals on Groupon may seem attractive but just to be sure, a quick google may save you even more money. A quick tip for Groupon fans out there!

Now to find a good deal for a getaway to put my new one-sie to good use! :)

Make-up Removers

I was an avid fan of the Shu Uemura cleansing oils. It was my holy grail makeup remover till one day my skin decided that enough was enough. Perhaps it's part of aging or just a change of temperament but my skin started breaking out. I did my usual remedy of prodigal pen and effaclar duo which didn't clear the zits up as fast as they were popping out. I pondered for days as to what could have caused it. Then one day I woke up and decided to switch up my cleansing routine. Bingo.

The new makeup removal process is a tad tedious as compared to just the oil cleanser but my skin appreciates this better hence I'm sticking to it.

I'm trying out famed water based cleansers Avene and Bioderma and love them both! They are gentle on the skin and really effective. For a full face foundation, it usually takes me about 2-3 cotton pads depending on the type of foundation I'm using. (2 for BBs and Aqualumiere and 3 for Dior Forever and Mat Lumiere). But even then I find that there are still remnants of make up left after the last cotton pad. I then bring out my trusty Liz Earle and clarisonic for a final clean. That usually completes the job.

If I were to choose between the Avene Lotion Miscellaire or the Bioderma, I'll lean just a tad towards the Avene because it smells a little better. I know I know... Me and my fragrances ;) I like that Bioderma comes in the handy travel size so that's usually in my travel kit. But overall, really nice gentle cleansers that does the job. Some may not enjoy the strong eucalyptus scent from Liz Earle but it doesn't bother me.