Sample Sale Site Review

Currently almost all the bargain hunting fashionistas are probably well aware of the online sample sale sites. Everyday or so they feature amazing bargains on brand name items. I myself have bought several items from them. Some sites provided better service than others. Here is what I have found. Before getting any further here's a little 411 on what is a sample sale site. This is pretty self explainatory, they sell sample items often in limited quantity at a certain time of the day to the public. It has been going on for years in major cities like New York and in Los Angles where the big designers often host it. The items are usually floor samples, last seasons or overstock. They are sold at a fraction of the retail price. Online sample sale sites provide just that, except you don't have to be physically present at the location. I've discovered that online sample sale sites have several characteristics. They are:

- You have to be well aware of what will be the next event to keep track of your desire brand.
- If you invite your friends, usually you get a credit for their first purchase
- Items are at limited quantity / sizes
- You have to login quickly in order to beat the crowd and to get a hold of your desired item before everyone does
- After placing an order with the site, it may take you more than a month to get the item at your door
- Be sure to check for other bargains online before thinking you are getting a good bargain at the sample sale site (most cases you will be getting a good deal)
- Also be sure to check their return policy. Some items may not be returnable

The sites that I have had experience are:

Rue La La: This is my favorite site. They have had really good sale on top brand names like Valentino and Vera Wang. By far the best customer service I've experience online. Every time I placed an item, I received it within 3 days. It could be due to the fact of my location being in the Midwest. But unlike other sites they have their merchant on hand most of the time. During the catastrophe of Haiti they even haulted their sale event for a day in order to show mourning and encouraged buyers to donate money with Red Cross instead.

Hautelook: I've bought several items from them. Mostly cosmetics, skincare products. They have a wide range of sale items. You will get your chance on a Decades Two sale here (Gucci purses are often 70% off). However I've found Hautelook's picture's/image's color to be misleading. If you want to buy apparel, please be sure you are getting the right color by researching the item online. It takes about 15 to 25 days to get an item, since they don't directly store the item at their warehouse at the time of the sale. I like their seasonal / yearly blowout sale (usually in March). It gives the best bargain I've seen.

Gilt: They too have a wide selection of item. From home to travel deals. I've seen the most amazing Reem Acra and Carolina Herrera sale here. The customer service is good. They once mistakenly sent me an email offering an apology gift for an item that wasn't shipped in the past (mind that they refunded those buyers right away). I had to right them back correcting the mistake but I was happy to see a company taking such measures to satisfy customers. Note that unlike other sites where sale starts at 11:00AM EST, their sale starts at 12:00PM EST.

Billion Dollar Babes: What is so unique about this site is that, they often host Gucci and Chanel vintage items sale. As a vintage lover, I feel like a little kid in candy land. They also offer free shipping for orders over $250. Items usually take about 20 days to arrive but they give you option to cancel your order before they ship the item to you on your account page. That means no hassle of calling or mailing customer service.

Beyond the Rack: I've seen them hosting Gucci, Prada and Burberry sale often. The only Prada sale I've seen in an online sample sale site. However, they take FOREVER to send your item, even when they charge your credit card right away. The customer service is very lacking. For an item that I have placed an order for, I had to cancel the order after about a month later because the item was a no show (and the status wasn't updated). I had to email them couple of times to get it canceled. Therefore, only place order with them when you know you can wait and have the patience.

Ideeli: It's probably more well known than the other sites. Unlike other sites, they have a paid option for you to have an earlier access to their sale. Normally their sale is open from 12:00pm EST to the public but for paid or "first row" members it starts from 11:00am EST. Most cases, I don't see much differences between memberships. However there are some exceptional cases, like when they hosted a Gusto sale, some of the good purses were sold out before it was open to the free public.

Other Sample Sale Sites:

Editor's Closet

RowNine

TheTopSale

OneKing'sLane (interior decorator's haven)

Trial and error: Cherries

Twitpic - Trial and Error: Cherries

My first attempt on pro food photography. Series: Trial and error, subject: Cherries

Tarty fruit achar (sauce)

grapes and plums with brown sugar in the pot

Today my mom made Biriyani and one of my favorite thing to eat with biriyani or just plain rice is grape achar. I even use it as a substitute for wine. This recipe is so versatile that you don't have to have sour grapes to make it. You can make it almost any soury / tarty fruit. You can use apples, plums, mangoes etc. just not solely citrus fruits. Anyway here's the recipe.

Note: I didn't use a measurement so the entire thing is aproximate. This is what's so great about the recipe, you can tailor made it to your taste.

- 1 1/2 cups of sour grapes or any other fruits cut into smaller pieces, if large.

- 2 table spoon of brown sugar (more or less depending on your taste)

- 1 table spoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional (if the fruits aren't sour enough)

- 1 teaspoon of grated ginger

- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. You can use stick

- 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (I use more, since I like things spicy. I also have it toasted)

- Pinch of salt

All the ingredients tossed in together. Ran out of a ginger, substituted w/cloves (bad idea)

Direction: Toss everything together in a stainless steel pot. Note don't use aluminium because it will ruin your pot. In a low heat let it simmer checking on it occasionally. Most cases you won't need extra water since the fruit will release its juice. When it's done, you will see everything is soft and melted forming a thick sauce in about 20 minutes. Then have it with your rice, dinner roll or whatever you want to use it for.

Simmering in it's juice

Almost done but ran out of patience. Squashed all the fruits

I've tried to use it with ice cream the result wasn't good. So it's safe to assume, this sauce is only suitable for savory dishes not for sweets.

Finished product with Biriyani (couldn't wait for it to thicken)

Mascaras that I currently own

I've been searching for a decent Mascara as I wasn't blessed with beautiful long and curvy lashes like my friends'. Not to mention I have sensitive eyes therefore, my eyes get watery right away or it itches like there's no tomorrow (reasons I don't wear mascaras often). In search for my mascara I've tried many different brands, from drugstore to department store. Currently I have three mascaras. All but the Stila came part of a kit or free promo so I didn't have to pay for them individually. Without further ado, let's begin..

1. Smashbox Lash DNA (deluxe size). As I've mentioned on my previous post, this was part of their pretty points promotion. I'm fairly happy with the result. It volumizes my lashes and isn't too thick and gunky (otherwise a nightmare) to work with. I can fairly get a decent result with the first coat. The wand is wide but isn't harsh on my eyes. It's definitely way better than their Bionic mascara (a mascara we love to hate).
2. Stila Major Lash in Brown (full size). I got it on sale for $4.95 from hautelook sale. I love the wand, it's very gentle to the eyes. But mascara itself is very waxy (feels like thick Vaseline) and doesn't really volumize well. It gives a very natural finish. If you have thick long lashes, you can work with it but for someone who needs "help" with her lashes it's a no no.
3. Urban Decay Skyscraper (deluxe size). Came with their Hall of Fame collection, I bought from hautelook's sale for $14. It's by far my favorite mascara. It's easy to apply, non-clumpy and it makes my lashes look naturally long, thick and soft (as if I was born with it). The wand is like a spiral mini-comb. Unlike other mascaras, it looked dry coming out of the tube but when applied the result is flawless.

Note that in order to make my lashes bigger, I often use two mascaras at a time. I use UD Skyscraper to separate and lenghten lashes and SB Lash DNA to volumize.

Smashbox vs Stila foundation Kit part 2

Sorry I couldn't post it sooner. I was busy with an unfortunate event involving a student. Anyway without further ado, here's the rest of the comparison. I bought Smashbox Complexion Perfect in Light, since I use their tinted moisturizer in light (the color medium looked too orange and dark on me), but for the foundation kit, it was a big mistake. I've spent $49+tax, total about $53. Smashbox has started to charge taxes even to the people outside of California and their retail zone. But the good thing is, it came with other freebies due to their everyday free samples, let's do lunch promo & pretty points. So I've got a full sized Eye & Cheek color in Heatwave, mini O-gloss, deluxe sized Lash DNA mascara and a sample file of Photo Finish primer in Light. The size of the products on the kit were larger than Stila, except for the primer. The kit came with the following items:

1. Mini Photo Finish Foundation Primer. I love their foundation primer. It blends in smoothly and makes the skin feel so soft. Just make sure you wait 5 to 7 minutes before you put on makeup to give sometime to absorb in. My only complaint would be, the size of the primer. When you are paying $49, you'd at least except a try me size primer (like from their $29 try me kit), but the primer is the same sized as the free deluxe sample they used have. This is the best product in the kit.
2. Smashbox High Definition Foundation in L3. This is a very sheer, light coverage foundation that blends in easily with a brush. The outcome looks same as their tinted moisturizer though. The color was a perfect match for my skin. I was afraid the color might be too dark but since I've got a tan recently it looks fine.
3. High Definition Liquid Concealer in Light. It was few shades way too light on my skin (I like to use concealer that almost matches my skin perfectly). It looked ashy under my eyes and other places that I've put on. I believe the color medium would've been better on me. None the less I love the consistency of the concealer. It didn't dry out my skin like Sonia Kashuk's hidden agenda quad. Overall it was an OK concealer, not the best but not the worst (given If your skin matches with it).
4. Halo to Go - Hydrating Perfecting Powder in Light. This was the worst one in the group. It was way too dry for my skin (I have very dry skin anyway). It seemed to accentuate my wrinkles and imperfections. Not to mention the color was too light (the medium was too orange when I tried in store). This is probably only good for people with good and oily skin tone.

Note that I've been out in the sun a lot these days and I do have a tanned face compare to other parts of my body (you can see my arm on the pictures). Therefore, the kit is too light on me. If this kit matches your skin and you have a normal skin, it might work on you. But I still find it way overpriced. The best part about this kit would be the freebies. Here's the bonus product reviews.

• Mini O-gloss. It came as the everyday deluxe sample. This is an intuitive lip gloss that matches with your lips to give it a custom shade of hot pink. Normally I'd never buy a hot pink lipstick or gloss, but I love the color it gave on my lips. 5 minutes after you put it on it does give you a tingling affect and changes color (it comes out as clear from the tube). It's very hydrating, even my chapped lips looked moist. This is something I'd go buy in full size since the sample size is running out fast (even after I'm being stingy on using this).
• Deluxe sized Lash DNA. It was the part of their pretty points promotion. A very good volumizing mascara. It's way better than my Stila or Rimmel. It's not clumpy and easy to work with. I prefer deluxe sample sizes over full size, because after 3-6 months I'd have to toss them away anyway to prevent any eye problems. It's a waste if I buy a full size, especially I don't always wear mascaras.
• Cheek & Eye color in Heatwave. The colors were ok. It had three different shades of color, bronze, pink and beige type. I used it as blush (swirling all the colors) and eyeshadow (using individual colors). The quality was definitely better than the color palette I have. It went on smoothly. Except it made my cheek looked too peachy (a color that looks hideous on me).
• Photo Finish Foundation Primer - Light. I can't tell you anything about it. Since I didn't use it yet. It was part of the bonus sample. It's a small file.

Bottomline, I think the price wise Stila won the game. $9 I've spent was well worth to try out the products, so I won't have any regrets or curiosity anymore. $49 for Smashbox kit seemed way overpriced. However, quality wise, Smashbox won. Their products were way better than Stila's, but not the best out there. I would suggest one to look into Lorac as an alternative, often their items are on sale for $4.99 or so.

Smashbox vs Stila foundation Kit part 1

I wanted to do a comparison between Smashbox Complexion Perfection Kit vs Stila Foundation wardrobe: Made In Your Shade. Note that I have a medium and very dry skin. I do get tanned in the summer. But my skin type is either neutral or cool (pinkish). Anyway without wasting time let's get down to business. This is the part 1 of the review.

Stila Foundation Wardrobe: Made In Your Shade in Medium (MRSP $18). I bought it for $9 at the Hautelook sale. The kit comes with 6 items. They are:

1. Hydrating Primer w/ SPF 15. Quality of the primer is like thick Nivea cream. Doesn't really smooth out the skin but it moisturizes somewhat. But I had better results with my Pharmagel DN-24 Hydracreame, and that's just a regular facial moisturizer I use everyday. The primer comes with an expiration date.
2. Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer w/ SPF 15 in Medium. OK tinted moisturizer. If you have good skin, you can pull it off. But it was kind of dark and cakey for my skin. It comes with an expiration date
3. Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer w/ SPF 15 in shade 01. It was very shimmery, reminded me of Smashbox tinted moisturizer in Luminous. Color felt kind of lighter on my skin, then again I guess it's supposed to be this way.
4. Natural Finish Oil-Free Makeup in shade D: It's by far the worst foundation I've tried. It's thick, gooey and cakey, also a couple of shades darker than my skin tone. It accentuated the wrinkles I've had and the ones I never knew existed. My pore size looked double. Unless you are 16 with flawless skin don't buy this. Also I've used my Smashbox foundation brush as well as finger to try to make it go on smoother, but it was an epic fail.
5. Illuminating Liquid Foundation in 50 Watt. It was the best of the bunch. The foundation was light went in smooth. Although had some shimmer and looked a couple of shade lighter at first but my skin looked good after putting it on. I use it with my Smashbox tinted moisturizer to have a flawless look.
6. Convertible Color in Peony. It's a double duty peach cream color. You can use it as a blush or lip stain. I use it as a blush often. Although my cool tone skin isn't too suitable for peachy color, but during summer month I think I can somewhat pull it off if put on lightly.

Overall I was fairly pleased with my $9 purchase. It allowed me to sample different types of Stila items without breaking the bank. I don't think I would purchase most of the items in this kit again.

Random post # ?

Finally I'm writing something after more than a year of hiatus. What I've been up to? nothing much. My job and lazying around got the most of me. What I've been doing right now? Nothing much. Still lazying around..