November Fun Finds

I haven't written a monthly shopping find post since forever! Unfortunately, much to Job's dismay haha, it's not because I stopped shopping. I still do but have been too busy to gather my finds together, take photos, and write a decent post. You know.

But last Monday, I took a day off from work to run some errands downtown with Yuri, and I also took advantage of the downtime to take photos. So what had I been buying last month? Here they are:

CLOTHES

A. Off-Price Show

I talked about going to the Off-Price Show weeks ago and wrote a post containing my finds and their prices. Here's my favorite find of that day:

Aside from this, I also bought more tops for me and several shirts and a pair of board shorts for Yuri. For more items, head on to this blog post!

B. And more

I also bought a dress and a shirt from, guess where? SM's grocery! I just passed the clothing area and spotted these:

Peach boyfriend shirt at P299 (photo from JM)

Wrap dress at also P299

Okay na diba? I especially love the wrap dress!

SHOES

My Expo Mom 2014 Fun Finds

I try my best to be a wise shopper. If I pass by a clothing store sale, I can easily ignore it. Promise.

But I have two shopping weaknesses: food and kid's stuff. Biglang bumababa ang financial IQ ko jan. So when I received an email last week about Expo Mom coming to Davao, I knew I had to mentally prepare myself to practice restraint. Haha!

Looking back, it was a good thing that there weren't too many booths so it was not so overwhelming. Because of that, I was able to examine all products and decide 3x whether I absolutely needed to buy them or not. Which was not hard because I came with a checklist!

Yes, ako na ang prepared. Anyway, I promised to talk about my finds today so here they are:

1. Kiele Anti-Mosquito Cologne

Upon entering the expo, I made a beeline to Kiele's booth for two reasons. First, our last bottle of GIGA insect repellent is almost gone, and second, I'm curious to use a good-smelling repellent. Relate?

A bottle costs P199

Verdict: Woah I didn't know a mosquito repellent could smell this nice! And the scent lasts long ha; in fact, you can use it as an actual perfume. As for its mosquito repelling power, I'm glad to report that Yuri hasn't gotten bites since he used it last Sunday. I'm definitely buying this again!

2. Human Heart Nature Loot

Yuri and the Attack of the Insects! (Review: GIGA Baby Balm)

I always let Yuri play outside whenever the weather permits it. First, Vitamin D is good for him. Second, it tires him out and he sleeps deeply in his afternoon naps. Third, well, I just want to see him a bit tanned than just white.

However, I had to stop him from going out for a while. This is because a few weeks ago, Yuri got a huge insect bite on his leg:

I didn't know what caused the bite. Is it a mosquito? Is it an ant? Within the day and in the next days, he got several new insect bites all over his body:

What caused those big angry bites? And those are just a few of his insect bites ha! There were more insect bites sprouting in the next days. There were a few mosquitoes in the house, but they never bite Yuri because I always see to it that he uses an insect repellent (we use GIGA and Human Nature). Those insect bites didn't look like mosquito bites, either. However, Yuri was visibly bothered by them. Kawawa. :-(

I hate you, but it's not your fault this time!

As first aid, I tried putting on his eczema ointment. I'm sure it doesn't do anything to the insect bites, but because I didn't have anything else at hand, I was hoping it would relieve the itch.

However, it did not. While it did not harm Yuri in any way, using that medicated cream only made him smell like medicine. So the next day, I did my research and found out that GIGA, a store I frequent, sells a baby balm that could be used for insect bites. That Sunday, I immediately bought one:

Like what I said in my November Fun and Frugal Finds post, I like how the balm has a pleasant smell. It's not overpowering unlike medicated creams and Citronella sprays. This means I could use it without irritating our noses (I am very sensitive to strong smells).

More importantly, after just one day, I immediately saw it taking effect. Take note ha, that was less than 24 hours. The big red angry bites immediately reduced into these:

Human ❤ Nature Loot

This Human ❤ Nature loot has been here for more than a week already! Yes, to state the obvious, this is a late post. Yuri says, "Sayi!" (That means sorry, if you don't understand toddler-speak. :P)

Anyway, I placed the order last Tuesday after I ran out of liquid cleaner for Yuri's utensils. I wanted to try something else, and I really wanted to try out HHN. One, because the products are organic, and two, because they benefit local farmers. These reasons beat buying imported brands hands down!

Like what I said, I placed the order last Tuesday, and guess what, they arrived in less than 24 hours! In Davao City! That's a first, actually, and I have a sort of steady relationship with online shopping. They came in this cute box:

Now, before I digress further, here are what I bought:

I only bought three products because this was the first time I ordered. I'm not exactly well-versed when it comes to organic products. I didn't know whether I would like them or not. I bought the essentials: dishwashing liquid for Yuri's utensils, insect repellent (every mom must have one!), and lipbalm for my dry, pale lips.

So, for the mini reviews! Let’s begin with the HHN (I always type HHWW! Haha!) Tough Love Dishwashing Liquid. I find that it is thinner than commercial dishwashing liquids, like Joy, and thicker than baby bottle cleansers. There is no issue here, but what is great about it is that it is so bubbly. I love bubbles! Also, it has a really fresh, lemony smell, making washing Yuri’s utensils a lovelier task.

Next is HHN Bug Shield Insect Repellent. I still have my Giga repellent, but I needed to buy a smaller one to take with me when we go out.