Where to shop in Bangkok: a thesis

So I'm leaving to Bangkok tomorrow and the most exciting part about any trip is the research that goes into it prior to travelling. This is my second trip to Bangkok so I won't be doing much sight seeing. It's purely a relaxation cum shopping trip (very oxymoron-ic I know) but only massages and laying by the pool side and shopping are on my agenda.

And like any self respecting shopaholic blogger worth her salt I did FULL research about where to go and what to buy. When I say research I mean watch YouTube videos of Bangkok hauls, shopping in Bangkok and read blogs, recommendations, check online sites, prices, the whole hog. And I present here my findings, nay, my thesis on the subject. Behold:

Where to go?

You'd be a fool to visit Bangkok and not go to MBK. it's THE mother of all malls, ok? It's a mall unlike any other. If you only have a day in Bangkok, go to MBK. An hour? MBK. A week? MBK. DUH~~~ Ok ok we get it. But what does this MBK have? Why is it so special? ok kids, gather around n listen closely. MBK sells everything from clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, accessories, electronics to furniture, handicrafts and everything in between. The best part? Prices are cheaap. And you can bargain in most places. The whole mall has this small stores that either have offers such as "pick anything for 199Baht" or are open to bargaining. They even have small kiosks for fake perfumes, watches and makeup. Check out the NARS and MAC stuff. Haha! But i do recommend the makeup brushes here.

Ok so here's a list of places that you must check out in MBK in addition to the multiple shops selling shoes, bags and clothes.
Watsons: This is a local drugstore chain that stocks all the regular makeup brands like Revlon, Maybelline and L'oreal and also has Asian stuff like Majolica Majorca, Lioele, Canmake and in2it. Do check out their mascaras, compact powders and bb creams. Oh and the oh so cute packaging will win your heart over. *_*

Boots: this is again a drugstore chain that stocks Soap and Glory stuff. I wanna snag the cheek mate from this line which is a gel kinda blush tint much like my beloved Lakme just kissed tint which has sadly been discontinued. Soap and Glory also has awesome body butters, body washes and lotions all in very cool retro packaging.

Beauty Buffet: This is a Thai cosmetics brand that has some really cool stuff for very reasonable prices. Looking to pick up their dupes for benefit's benetint and high beam. Also looking at some nail polishes, nice powder blushes and body lotions.

Tokyu departmental store: This is the major anchor store at MBK and has everything! Must check out their lingerie section for some cute and affordable stuff and they even have a Naraya outlet within. What's Naraya? Only the cutest, most girly, pweetttyyy Asian bag store that is also easy on the pocket. The biggest Naraya outlet is in Level 1 of Siam Discovery Centre. Also located at ground floor of Central World Plaza. Make sure you check these out.

MBK also has electronics and CD stores to keep the men busy while you excitedly run around.

Next stop Platinum Mall.
This is also pretty much like MBK but has mainly women's clothing, bags, shoes and other accessories all at wholesale rates. Must visit. Remember to bargain. :) Also check out makeup brushes and hair extensions here. Supposedly good.

Right opposite Platinum mall is an area called Pratunam which has the Pratunam market that is a wholesale garment market. Last time I picked up really cute dresses and some sleek casual blazers here. Very cheap. Need I say more?

Alrighty so you want to cute up your gadgets and also pull the husband/boyfriend out of his coma? Head to Pantip plaza thats right next to Platinum mall. This is 6 floors of only gadgets and electronics. Thai equivalent of the famous Sim Lim square at Singapore, if you may. Look out for cute USB drives shaped like a cupcake/ car/ shoe/ hippo/ hello kitty. Also check out cute covers for your iPads and phones. Quite a place for the geek in you.

In addition to these there's a new mall on the scene called Terminal 21 that's a theme mall with each floor modelled after a city. There's a tokyo floor and a Stockholm floor etc. shopping-wise not too exciting but worth a look.

No mention of Bangkok shopping can be complete without the night markets, most famous being patpong (the naughty place) and the Suan Lum night markets. Again you can pick up cheap clothes or designer bags knock offs or some crazy souvenir here.

Chatuchak weekend market is one of the biggest markets in Asia and has everything! Like a flea market on speed. I'm skipping this on my trip this time coz I don't think the cub would be able to handle the heat and crowd of this place. I'm sticking to my malls, thank you.

Alrighty then that was that and I'm off tomorrow. Pretty excited but also kinda nervous coz I dunno how the cub will handle it. 4.5 hrs will be the longest flight ever with him. Dreading the tantrums. Would I be a bad mommy to drug him? errr... Kidding! Anyhoo, I've just packed everything today and my bag is still 70% empty. Will anyway pick up those huge shopping wheelie bags to dump my shopping in, instead of lugging it around.

But tomorrow's gonna be a killer day! Got so much of work to get out of the way too! Has anyone noticed how you always get extra work and new projects just when you're about to go on a vacation? Ugh. I'm only gone from office for 2 days but it's exactly when one project is due for handing over and another one has to start! Law of sucker punch stress before vacation. Or something like that. Bloody killjoy.

So toodles everyone. Will try n do a daily update with pics from there. (free wifi in the hotel, hah). Hope the damn rains stay away and the cub behaves well. Touchwood. Bye!

Why I've been AWOL : List of (lame) excuses

Ive been a bad girl! I know I haven't blogged for the last three months. But I have my excuses ready. Yes sir! I started working again from April (which is co-incidentally when I stopped blogging) and between working, managing the baby and having a decently active social life I just haven't had the mojo or the time to blog. Mostly lost mojo coz I somehow suddenly didn't see the point in parading all that I have been buying. So perhaps this blog will now head in a new direction. Who knows! Psst..doesn't mean I've stopped shopping. Bwahahahaha...as if!

Oh btw I do have a day job. I'm an architect and now I'm working part time. I do 12 noon to 6pm which is quite convenient. Anyhoo, just to bring the blog up to speed on what's been happening in my life... The cub is almost 11 months old now and if this were a mommy blog I'd be telling you how he's now learning to walk and how he has clear tastes and is already throwing tantrums! But since this ain't one I shall not.

I'm also taking a teeny tiny short holiday to Bangkok next week and this would be the cub's first international holiday. Why Bangkok? Coz it's cheap, the flight is only 4.5hrs long and mama wants to do some shopping. The husband and some other friends are coming along too so should be fun! Just hope the cub behaves decently. *fingers crossed* This is my second trip to Thailand so I already have a clear idea about where to go (where to shop) and have done some further research in the field and shall present my findings shortly. :)

Oh and I've started getting out a fair bit and even got featured on the page 3 here on Times of India and Deccan Chronicle newspapers. *giggle* Also, I realised I'm not bloody 20 anymore! Can't stand these loud clubs hopping with college kids. Much rather prefer lounge bars with good music at decibels that don't make your ears go *guiiiiiinnnnnnnnn* afterwards and you can have a decent conversation with your friends without having to shout into their eardrums. Or maybe this is only coz im not drinking these days. :p

So yep...that's about it. Hope to blog more often. Also hope to change the flavour around here. Not just product reviews after product reviews! How boring right!

Why I have been AWOL + what all I've been buying

Guys! I know I've been missing from the scene for a while now but it's coz so much was happening. 2 cousins got married (not to each other). One of the weddings was in Bombay so had to go there. And of course I couldn't return without shopping a bit, now could I. But couldn't make it to the famed Beauty Centre. Sigh.. Next time. And another friend got married in Kerala so had to attend that too. And was travelling with the lil dude who was surprisingly well behaved on flights.

Ok now onto the fun part.. What all did I buy? Well, I only had some one hour to shop at Linkin road and couldn't buy as much as I would have wanted to but oh we'll.. C'est la vie! What? I love rasta shopping ok? Really badly wanted to go to the Kala Ghoda festival and to Colaba Causeway but really couldn't coz I was still the lil dude's only source of food and it would have gotten uncomfortable taking him along.

Also spent some time at the Pheonix High street mall where I was meeting some friends for lunch. This time I took the dude along coz Palladium has rooms where you can nurse the baby. So I didn't have much time to really shop but these powder pink skinny jeans caught my eye and I had to had to get them. Zara was on sale but I couldn't even step into the store.. Everything was in a disarray and was a total put off. Ugh. Oh btw has anyone heard of the store called MUAH? Last time I was in Bombay I picked up some very cute dresses from them for quite cheap. I remember it being in Palladium but I just couldn't locate it this time. Does anyone know what happened to it?

Oh and I did some shopping online.. I scored these items from IndianHanger just now. Have ordered for them. Will let you guys know when it arrives. Have bought 3 things- this long pearl strings chain with a Kundan brooch on the side with an emerald and diamond setting and a quirky green beads elephant pendant chain and silver kolhapuri wedges. Can't wait to get my hands on em! :)

I was just going through my wardrobe and found there are too many dresses in either black or blue. I needed more colour. Hence, this Vero Moda dress from Asos. Pretty cheap too. :)

I've also been wanting to get a nice white dress for a really long time. Something that I can wear for brunches. And I saw this Mango dress on ShopatMajorBrands and it was on incredible sale so I decided that I had to, had to get it. But....when it arrived it turned out very differently from what I'd imagined! It wasn't white, it was cream. And it wasn't a stretch jersey fabric, it's wool knit. Sigh. But it still looks good, only my search for the perfect white dress continues...

And picked up some stuff at the lifestyle sale. These 2 dresses were on 70% off and are from CODE. Dirt cheap. The printed dress can also be worn as a tunic over leggings. How could I not buy? :D

I also splurged on some makeup from FACES, MAC and Inglot from the money I made from the blog sale (thank you everyone who supported it. Muah). Picked up MAC Cosmo lipstick (which im wearing everywhere-even when i go to buy groceries), MAC paint pot in Let's skate which is a gorgeous shimmery light pink-gold one from the Glitter and Ice collection and Carbonized eyeshadow which is the perfect brown shade.
Also got a lovely duochrome pigment, a white kohl pencil and 2 rainbow eyeshadows (black+greys and browns) from Inglot.
From FACES i got a velvet matte lipstick in Jazz Berry jam which is very close to Cosmo but pinker. Beautiful shade. Full review coming up. In love with its texture, colour n everything. Also got 2 duochrome pigments- teal and white pink.

Ok I actually put in some extra money to buy all this but what the hell. :p

So that's all folks. I'm back to home base now. Oh but the lil dude isn't so little anymore and has started teething and sitting and standing up. Uff! And he's only just 6.5 months. So he's constantly moving around and pulling things so gotta keep running behind him. Which leaves me with lesser time to blog (and shop online) but will manage whenever possible. :)

On using up and recycling make-up

In this age of "hauls" and trends with new products being launched every week it's hard to not spend no? And with online shopping and wretched COD it's become only too easy. Sigh. Remember the good ol days when all we had in our vanity was a kajal and one lipgloss?

The other day when I was pondering over the meaning on life and universe (yes, i'm very deep that way) I also thought about all the make up lying in my stash that I hadn't used more than a couple of times, things that I bought on impulse, only to be relegated to the far, dark corners of my wardrobe. Its only become worse with online shopping coz you buy something going by the online swatches and when it arrives it looks like a long lost twin of something you already have. So what do you do? Gift it to your sis? Keep it, thinking you can never have too much of a good thing?!

Ok now that I've managed to make online shopping sound depressing enough let me balance things out by talking about the stuff that I have used up, to the last drop. Stuff that I've rubbed down to the stump and squeezed out every last drop. Makes you feel good about spending no? I really wish make up came in smaller sample sizes. That way you'd have more variety and it'd cost lesser too! Win win no? So which are the products that get much love from me? The items that I've repurchased over and over again and are staples in my make up routine?

Maybelline Colossal Kajal

Kajal pencil: I like my kajal pencils retractable coz I don't like to mess around with sharpeners. I also like them jet black and non smudging. I used lotus kajal in the past and recently shifted to maybelline colossal kajal. Both are decent performing but nothing to rave about. And inexpensive too. Now my maybelline one is over and I decided to try chambor. This is really dark black and truly long wearing.

Compact powder: well, can't do without this one. I've used MAC fix, MAC sheer pressed powder and l'oreal in the past and am now on a budget option- the maybelline whitening uv compact. Not quite happy with it though. It's too sheer, goes on powdery and lasts only about 2 hours. Good only for college students who are on a strict budget. Might look at Inglot or Maxfactor next.

Lip product: I think the only lip product I've ever repurchased is the Lakme aquashine in Fig. Love the shade, the packaging and the moisturizing texture. Staying power isn't great but I like reapplying it. :)

Lip balm: Another staple. I've gone through I don't know how many tubes of Vaseline lip balms and more recently am trying out various options from Maybelline to Nutrogena and Oriflame lip spa.

Foundation: I like stick foundations coz they cover my large pores and mattify my oily skin without looking too dry. Used up about 5 tubes of the l'oreal one but they discontinued it! Damn! Now using the Maxfactor one. Its not as creamy but does the job well.

Blush/Cheek Tint: I loooved the lakme Just Kissed Cheek and Lip Tint. It was a nice formula that turned a natural pink on my cheeks and lasted all day on my oily skin. Too bad its been discontinued! Should have stocked up. Damn! Now my last tube is getting over and I'm looking at The Body Shop's cheek tint next.

Umm.. These are all I can think of now that I've used up completely in the past and repurchased over and over again.

But recently during mindless research-related browsing I came across some articles on how to melt your lipsticks into pots and I thought it was genius. So here's how I give it my own spin- the stuff that's sitting in my makeup bag is going to get recycled. Yup! Gonna take the lippies that don't work for my skin tone and melt them down, mix them up with other shades and create new shades. Plus I love potted lip products. And I'm gonna take the glitter and pure pigments lying untouched in my stash and mix them in clear nail polish and create my own sparkly nail paints. Muhahahaha. What? All geniuses must have an evil eccentric laugh right? Gives em character. *tosses hair back and gets mixing*