The Hong Kong haul + why I'm crazy about these black cotton buds

Nov 10

Hong Kong was fun because it was my first time to travel with my beau and a couple of friends. I thought it would be stressful to try to match schedules and itineraries but everyone was so chill about it that the whole thing was a breeze! James is great to travel with since he's only too happy to be a bag horse and head board. He's also a bit lazy like I am so we didn't feel the need to sight-see too much...but then again, it was Hong Kong. It's not our first time to visit. Let's see about Tokyo!

Anyway, the only low light was when I got gastroenteritis. I drank this fresh coconut milk drink from the street - it was good! - but yup I should have thought that through (gah Liz, sometimes). When we got back in the evening my stomach starting cramping and, er, the other unpleasant bits happened. I was in pain all night and most of the morning but thankfully the toxins passed and the pain went down. Whew. Moral lesson: don't imbibe fresh drinks in Hong Kong.

I got a bit of shopping done but most of it were art materials to sell during my upcoming watercolor event this Saturday (come, please!). I managed to grab cute stuff from Miniso though. Apparently, it's a China-made-to-look-Japanese brand and is like a more expensive Daiso. Loved that it has fashion accessories, beauty products, small gadgets, home stuff, and stationery! Items start for as low as 10 HKD (roughly P60) and can come up to 200 HKD but most things were like 20 HKD or about 120 pesos. Here's what I got from Miniso!

The three pouches were like 20 HKD, so cheap but with good quality! I got a set of washi tapes because. Who doesn't need pretty tape? I also got some notebook sets to give away to friends. The total was just a little over 100HKD or P600 but my abubot shopping impulse was successfully quelled. Told you I didn't really shop much.

I only got two beauty-related things in HK. People ask me to show my beauty finds, but I rarely have any. Not that I don't love the hunt; I just don't love how they will end up forgotten after the first few uses. There are simply too many things to review here! So most of the time I don't buy anything abroad unless it's a refill or an existing favorite that's cheaper overseas.

I only got the Shiseido Perfect Whip Facial Wash because I forgot to pack my facial wash huhu. It was only 59 HKD or around P360 per tube. I think I like it better than the foaming version! It seems to clean more thoroughly.

The real find though were these black cotton buds. I got to try something like them in Osaka a couple of weeks ago and they clean like nobody's biz! I wasn't able to look for them there though because I tried it on our last night in Japan and we had an early flight the next day. Anyway. It has a ribbed end that pulls out the nasty stuff effectively. You also get to see your macabre handiwork lol. They're 22 HKD or P140 per box, pretty sulit because you get a lot. I looked for the everywhere (Sasa, Mannings, Watsons) but only found what I wanted (the ribbed tip) in Bonjour. So good. Hoard 'em when you see 'em!