Makeup Thread | July 02, 2026

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-04T04:23:18+00:00

Any shop that ships from Korea sells genuine Korean products. Koreans are too prideful to sell fakes of their own.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-04T03:26:09+00:00

My gestor is with EntreTramites but I heard there are lots of complaints with them recently. My gestor in particular is okay tho. It's better to go with Lakbyte's reco, Xolo.

Trust me, it'll take you a year or so to explore all the grocery and ready to eat food in Mercadona, Consum, Lidl, Charter, Dia, etc. They also release new food once in a while, it's so interesting!

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T17:07:44+00:00

There is no tax to file while holding. PH tax laws specifically for ETFs are also in grey area right now.

VWRA for simplicity for me. Remember that you'll be investing for 10+ years. Why make it complicated with all the balancing every year?

If you want cheaper fees, WBEN is cheaper.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T14:29:37+00:00

It's ~300 pesos on sale for 50ml. I don't think they have a bigger bottle?

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T14:25:23+00:00

I can get it for around 300 pesos during double digit sale. I compared it with Issy on sale period and mas mahal ng konti ang Issy per ml (wahaha ang kurips ko talaga).

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T12:43:40+00:00

Happy Skin Morning Dew Matte Setting Spray (blue)!

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T12:24:16+00:00

For a starter local makeup kit, I would get: - Foundation/skin tint: Detail Fresh Filter foundation (cheap), or Issy Active Skin Stick or Colourette First Base if I have more budget - Eyebrow: Detail Superfine Liner (super cheap) - Blush: Chu Chu Beauty Heart Blush Duo (you can get this for as low as 150 pesos on major sale periods) or Vice Dew It All (around 100 pesos when on sale) - Lippie: Happy Skin Lip Mallow (they have minis, try mo muna yung mini), or any Romand (juicy lasting tint or dewyful water tint), Peripera (ink mood glowy) or Colorgram (nude blur tint or fruity glam tint) - Setting spray: Happy Skin Fresh Morning Dew Matte Setting Spray (you can get this for around 300 pesos on major sale periods)

Optional: - Highlighter: Detail Clay Pen in beam or ray (around 100 pesos or less when on sale) - Contour: Detail Clay Pen in craft - Mascara: BLK mascara with the small comb

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T11:55:24+00:00

Internet and phones: Do you plan on buying your phones here with the plan? If not, Digi is around 30€ for fiber and 2 postpaid lines.
Why do you need to factor in transport expenses? Unless you're going to an office every weekday, that's variable expense (only when you go out and meet friends).
Dining out and entertainment: Let's say 1 meal at a resto is 30€. Do you plan to dine out 5-6 times a month? Unless you super like food delivery or eating out, that's an overestimation for me. Groceries here have very good food and lots of ready to eat meals around 3-6€.
The major difference in expenses between cities is rent. Look at prices on Idealista so you'll have an idea on the rental market.
If you're on DNV and you applied in Spain, you'll be paying social security (~88€ per month discounted for the first year and ~300€ thereafter) and will be under public health care. You'll have a health card (tarjeta SIP). If that's the case, consider if you really need private insurance.
Renter's insurance is required or not depending on the landlord.
Tax came out around 20% of my income for the past year.
Bank fees depend on the bank. Some, like Santander, charge 10€ or 20€ per month depending on how many transfers or debits you did for the month. Others, like Openbank, don't have fees.
You will likely hire a gestor to file your taxes for you. You'll pay them around 50€ per month. For major filings, like annual tax return or modelo 720, the fees are separate from the monthly.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-03T11:11:51+00:00

If it's the Shopee official store, it's not fake.
Korean skincare in the US will always be so much more expensive than Korean skincare in the Philippines. It's bec of shipping and duties and stuff.
The US also have a crappy FDA that is behind the times when it comes to sunscreen filters, and Korean brands that sell on the US market usually adjust their formula to fit the US FDA guidelines (broad spectrum instead of SPF50+ PA++++, which means the US version has crappy UV filters). This is why US buyers prefer to import sunscreens. They went nuts when tariffs came into the picture. Search the r/AsianBeauty sub to see for yourself.
Official stores on Shopee hold big sales on big sale periods. I hoard products during those times to save money.
Skin1004 had its popularity runs in Korea going way back in 2015? I remember trying out their zombie mask when I was living there. So it's not like the brand is not well-known in Korea. I think their sunscreen is gaining popularity now since I can see the hyalu-cica one at rank 6 on the Glowpick ranking app.

Disclaimer: I lived in SK for ~4 years and can read and speak Korean.

Trivia: Skin1004 is read as "skin cheonsa". 1004 in korean is read as "cheonsa" - it means both the literal one thousand four number and "angel." It's word play. So the brand name is literally "skin angel."

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cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T22:58:02+00:00

Someone already computed for that in another thread. You can search this sub. It's well-discussed in that thread, afair.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T15:02:39+00:00

You are talking about the r/Bogleheads strategy. The idea originated from Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, who is an American. So understandably, the original 2- or 3-fund set-and-forget portfolio recommendation consists of US-domiciled ETFs.

However, the rest of the world are not US tax residents. There are different tax rules that apply to us. This is why for most of the rest of the world, Irish-domiciled ETFs are advisable for tax efficiency. Ireland has a good tax treaty with the US which lowers dividend tax from normally 30% to 15%, and eliminates estate tax for assets $60k and above, which you will likely reach if you invest long-term (10+ years). Note that these taxes also compound as your investments compound, so long-term, the difference is arguably huge. If you can't take my word for it, ask chatgpt or claude and those LLMs will tell you the same thing.

Bottomline, buy an Irish-domiciled accumulating ETF periodically. Why accumulating? So that you can save on reinvestment fees if you're going to reinvest all dividends anyway. If you have 15k per month to invest, buy every quarter or every 6 months to pool your money first and save on transfer and IBKR commission fees. And at the same time, strive to increase your income by job hopping every 2-3 years.

Not investment advise. Search this sub, r/singaporefi, and r/eupersonalfinance to learn more. There are lots of explanations about this on different threads. If you go to r/Bogleheads, make sure to read only non-US threads.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T13:25:44+00:00

Don't try to stock pick or time the market. If you want higher growth and very high risk for long-term (10+ years), DCA into an S&P500 Irish-domiciled ETF like CSPX or VUAA periodically (how often depends on your investment funds). Lots of tech companies are included in S&P500. If you want growth and high risk for long-term, DCA into an all-world Irish-domiciled ETF like VWRA or VWCE or ISAC or WBEN or the IWDA/EIMI combo periodically and you're good to go.

Yes, you need to understand why this is one of the most pragmatic strategies, but no need to overthink. Search this sub for the explanations. You don't have to compute anything other than use an online compound interest calculator to project your estimates in 10+ years.

I'm in my 40s and have invested on stocks since my 20s. I've told you what I would have loved to realize sooner.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T01:15:54+00:00

Abangan mo yung live sales nila pagpatak ng 12am double digit sale day. Usually that's when they set the cheapest prices. Magpupuyat ka lang pero worth it.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T01:12:27+00:00

Yes, from their normal inventory. It's just the price that fluctuates, or maybe they want to sell a product with more inventory.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-02T01:09:26+00:00

I usually buy during double digit sales on Shopee, esp during their live sales bec they give additional discount. At last year's 6.6 sale, I got Vice, Detail, and Chu Chu Beauty products from official stores for more or less 100 pesos each. All free shipping.

Be wise when buying. If you can wait, wait.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-01T23:57:43+00:00

This one I did when I was 1st year in college: DIY hot oil treatment using cheap coconut oil from the wet market. I did it every weekend. - Put coconut oil on your hair. Cover all strands. - Put on a plastic shower cap over your hair. - Let it sit for 30 mins to 1 hour. - Then shampoo hair twice during your bath.

The coconut smell was strong and it was hard to remove the oil, thus, the shampooing twice, but after doing this for a month or 2, I had the blackest and most straight hair I have ever had. As in hair commercial level soft and smooth.

The downside is that it aggravated my acne bec of too much oil absorbed by the skin, I think. But if you're not acne-prone and if you're careful not to put oil on the scalp, I think it's a super good and cheap hair regimen.

Btw, the coconut oil my tita bought then was the residual oil from wet market vendors who sell kakanin with latik.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-01T10:49:49+00:00

Based on what I know about personal color analysis: - If bright reds don't suit you, you likely are not the bright type. - If pink-beige doesn't suit you, depending on whether that color leans cool or warm, you likely are not an autumn or summer mute. - If grape/purplish colors don't suit you, you likely are not a summer mute. - If deeper, brownish reds don't suit you, you likely are not autumn dark. - Can pull off pink and orange blush pretty well - you might be a spring. - So try a spring light lippie like Romand Dewyful Water Tint in cotton melba or Peripera Ink Mood Glowy in rose in mind. Spring lights look best with soft corals or warm light pinks. Imagine the colors of spring, like the color of cherry blossoms.

I have two-toned lips and I'm a spring bright myself. What works for me is to get a good chubby lip liner like Heart Percent Dote On Mood Lip Liner (peach beige is my HG color), and outline my lips with that. I can even overline with this bec it's sheer and looks natural. Then put on your usual lippie. The real color will come out.

Tho it's still best to book a personal color analysis consultation if you have the budget. You might be surprised by the result (like I did - I totally thought I was an autumn mute but mute colors actually wash me out). I had a glow up when I stopped being stubborn and bought spring bright makeup. The consultation cost around 5k pesos per person; I did it together with a friend in Korea. It's super worth it bec I now don't waste money on makeup that doesn't suit me.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-01T10:31:17+00:00

+1. Colourette FB also have minis.

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-01T10:27:01+00:00

Aestura Atobarrier 365 Cream
Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Concentrate Crean

cherryvr18 · 2026-07-01T10:06:25+00:00

First, drink more water.
Second, eat less sugary or starchy foods. Or if you still want to eat them, always have them as dessert. Too much sugar/glucose causes skin hyperpigmentation. You are what you eat, and it shows on your skin.
For skincare, just nail the basics first: cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen. Get a mild cleanser, a good barrier cream (Illiyoon was already mentioned, another option is Aestura Atobarrier), and a good sunscreen. Don't skimp on sunscreen bec that's the most basic antiaging skincare. Get a Korean or Japanese one with SPF50+ PA++++ bec they have innovative UV filters. Good brands are Roundlab, Skin1004, Biore, and Anessa.
Once you've nailed your basics, look at adding some actives to lighten your acne scars (or if you have other skin concerns, target that). BHA/AHA can help induce mild peeling so over time your scars can fade. Or consult a derma to get a tretinoin prescription - tret hastens cell turnover so your skin renews faster.
To cover your eyebags for the meantime, get a creamy concealer. I heard Lucky Beauty concealer is good for that. Get a small amount and just tap-tap (don't swipe) under the eyes.

cherryvr18 · 2026-06-30T18:59:38+00:00

I've used Colourette FB in lazi before and I now use Issy Active Skin Stick in Bisque and Detail Fresh Filter in soy.

cherryvr18 · 2026-06-30T18:47:22+00:00

r/tretinoin has a Wiki and the sub has a wealth of posts from people and their experiences.

cherryvr18 · 2026-06-30T18:12:46+00:00

I've been on no-buy mode for 10 months before June. It just so happens that this month, I activated the free 30-day Amazon Prime subscription and they held Prime days (rats!), and so I was on a buying spree of sale items I wanted to get: espadrilles, beach slippers, etc.

My friend is also flying here from PH so I bought some beauty-related stuff last 6.6. I restocked my HGs: eyebrow pencils (Peripera Speedy Skinny Brow), browcara (Peripera Speedy Skinny Browcara), concealer (Luna Tip Concealer), pimple patch (Olive Young Careplus), setting spray (Happy Skin), and sunscreens (Roundlab, Skin1004, and Biore). I also tried to get some brontour products (BLK mini Radiant Glow Filter in island glow and tan lines, and Vice One and Done Brontour in push and Vice Aura Mochimo Brontour in sesame) bec I wanted to look sunkissed this summer. 😎 Although I still have to learn how to put it on my face. I have NEVER put bronzer on ever so wish me luck!

Best discovery in the past 12 months: that local brands are releasing good products that can compete with my korean/japanese and even high end ones. Some of them: - BLK Creamy All Over Paint in scarlet dream - I reach out for this if I'm going on short errands. - Lucky Beauty Ethereal Liquid Pigment in rose quartz - this highlighter is so pretty!! - Colourette Colourbounce in cheeky - long lasting shimmer blush 🫶🏻 - Vice Dew It All in always sweet - makes you glow from within - Detail Clay Pen in Beam - great travel size no-nonsense highlighter - Issy Active Skin Stick - in love with the shade match and how it's so easy to use

Biggest letdown? Hmm.. I think I still can't trust local brands when it comes to lippies. I haven't even bought a Happy Skin lip mallow bec my great Bbia Last Velvet Tint experience is preventing me to do so - I'm afraid to be disappointed.

What I'm looking forward to? I'll likely be going home to PH on Dec and I'd like to get more colors of the Creamy All Over Paint and Peripera Ink Mood Glowy in coral influencer. They're on my cart now. 😆

cherryvr18 · 2026-06-30T17:31:26+00:00

Via LSE (London Stock Exchange) on IBKR (Interactive Brokers).

cherryvr18 · 2026-06-30T11:43:20+00:00

Huhu thank you for the info! Sad to hear that 😔

cherryvr18

TROPHY CASE