My mother is reselling some local beauty products and she has a few of them at home and we also use some of them for personal use. When I run out of lotion I tried Ever Bilena Naturals Whitening Lotion with Papaya Extract, they are designed for women who wants to have a fairer skin.  With the frequent out of town trip a few months ago, I became darker than usual so I need a whitening lotion to lighten my skin a bit.

EB Naturals Whitening Lotion has papaya extract that helps remove dead skin cells to reveal new, healthy skin and Vitamin B3 that gently and effectively enhances your skin’s natural radiance for that glowing skin and this product can be bought at any Ever Bilena dealers and sellers around you.

EB Naturals Whitening Lotion is non-greasy; it is easily absorbed by the skin.  It doesn’t smell like papaya like any other papaya lotion since it only contains papaya extract, it smells more like a scented alcohol to me when I rub it in my skin.   I have been using this lotion for almost a month and there is one thing I have noticed, instead of getting a fairer skin, I am getting a little darker so I guess it doesn’t work on my skin type so I will switch back on using Aulia lotion, which is also a product of Ever Bilena.

My review and opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions as a whole, so it might be different with yours.

The other day while watching TV show I heard my aunt J outside calling my name, I bit wondered because normally she looked for my sister to ask help how to use her phone. When I went out, she is handling over a pink envelope, I was startled because I am not expecting letter from anyone so the moment I received it, I look for the sender’s details.

The mail was from EverydayMe, it is an online community and platform created by Procter & Gamble, a company that has been establishing brands for the past 175 years.  It was also a community where you can avail product samplings, coupons, tips and etc. The pink envelope is a welcome kit, they send kits to new members, the kit contains a membership card and 10 different coupons that are usable at Robinsons Supermarket and Mercury Drug Store, and there are 5 each of them respectively.

The coupons that are usable at Mercury Drug Store with a total of ₱650 are as follows ₱150 for Gillete Fusion Proglide, ₱200 for Olay Day Cream Touch of Foundation, ₱50 for Head & Shoulders Bottle Size Shampoo, ₱100 for Oral-B Toothbrushes, ₱150 for Metamucil while the coupons with a total of ₱250 to be used at any Robinsons Supermarket are as follows ₱50 for Joy Antibac, ₱ 50 for Ariel, ₱50 for Safeguard Soaps, ₱50 for any Pantene 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner, ₱50 for Downy, so to sum the total discounts I received is ₱900.

Choosing the best and perfect gift for family and friends this Christmas can be draining especially if you want to make them special and important without spending a lot. Deciding what kind of gifts to give is really easy when you know the things that will make them delighted and happy, below are Christmas gift ideas that might help you decide what items to wrap this holiday.

Books and Toys

These are perfect gifts for kids and young members of the family, kids love surprises so wrapping books like encyclopaedias, story books and coloring books in a colourful wrapper will be a great idea.  On gifting toys, the toys should be safe, so you must avoid gifts with sharp edges and points.

Gadgets and Mobile Accessories

Smartphones and tablets are well love today, and gifting accessories like chains, headphones, memories, phone cases, Bluetooth speakers, decals and chargers will be surely appreciated by friends and love ones.

Beauty Pack from Unilab

Gift sets and beauty packs are well appreciated and they are a trend nowadays. They are perfect gift not just for female friends but to female adult family members. When gifting beauty packs you should be creative, wrapping a beauty pack which includes Myra, pH Care, Celeteque is a hit because these are Unilab trusted brands when it came to health, beauty and skin regimens.

Including Myra Daily Sun Protect Facial Moisturizer in your beauty pack is a beautiful idea because this is very useful when running errands in the street, it will protect your love one’s skin from the scorching heat of the sun especially it is enriched with Vitamin E and formulated with double sunscreen protection against UVA & UVB rays and with SPF 15 for 15 times longer protection from the harmful effects of the sun.

It is expected that most of us will be lacking in sleep this holiday season, assisting visitors and friends, attending parties, school and family reunions so adding Celeteque Dermoscience Brightening Eye Tuck and Dark Circles Lightener in your beauty pack is another cool idea. This product is what we need the most to removed the puffiness and lighten the skin around the eyes brought by lacked of sleep and stress, it is dermatologist-tested and applicable for person’s with sensitive skin so there is nothing to worry.

Well, being busy in the kitchen preparing food isn’t an excuse to let yourself felt messy down there, including pH Care Naturals Intimate Wash Papaya Extract is another cool idea to include in your beauty pack,  it has refreshing scent with mild and gentle formulation making it safe for everyday use, clinically tested by obstetrician-gynecologists too.

The products mentioned above are just sample items what to include in your beauty pack, there are plenty of Unilab’s beauty, skin care and anti-ageing products that you can include in your Unilab beauty pack for friends and family just visit www.unilab.com.ph to personalized your box, don’t forget to be creative and wrap it with beautiful wrapper.

Gift Certificates

Gift certificates never get old, when you have no idea what gift to wrap this Christmas this is one of alternative idea that will saves you from anxiety and tumultuous headache from over thinking what to wrap this holiday. By giving gift certificates, these well help your friend and love ones to buy the things they always wanted.

Giving gifts has been part of the Christmas season but we should remember that it doesn’t really matter if the gift is expensive or not, what counts is the thought and the gift is from the heart. The more effort we put on buying something the more the person receiving the gift will feel valued and loved.

The other day, we went to a drug store which also sells groceries and other items and while browsing to their soap aisle I have found bundles of Palmolive Naturals Flawless Clean Soap with Charcoal Powder, they were on a deal, buy 5 and get 1 free, it cost $1.48 for six pieces of them.

Well, I immediately bought four bundles, the current soap I am using doesn’t suits me because I perspired and smell after hours of using it, I have first tried Palmolive Naturals Flawless Clean Soap with Charcoal Powder when I requested samples from SampleRoomPH,  which leave my skin clean and fresh all day.

Sample products is another way for brand and companies to market their products to consumers, and receiving them for free surely bring joy to consumers. Well, less than a month ago I requested samples online, the shipping isn’t free so I paid for it and the samples were ship through Xend.

One the samples I requested using points is Palmolive Naturals Body Wash White + Papaya, it comes in 200ml, the body wash has a fruity scent and it doesn’t really smells like papaya it smells more like a fruity candy of some sort.  I am not really into using body wash because I felt sticky after bath but with creamy and fruity scent, my skin feels so soft, clean and fresh all day. The body wash leaves a long lasting fragrance too in the skin, I used 35 points to get this body wash.

The second product is Palmolive Naturals Flawless Clean Soap for 15 points,  it leaves my skin clean and fresh; the scent was very refreshing and pleasant to the skin too, it cleans the skin well because when you scrub dead skin cells were taken away.

The third one and the last for is Pantene Hair Fall Control Shampoo, just using normal shampoo isn’t enough when you have a thick hair but when I used Pantene Shampoo Hair Fall control I didn’t need to use conditioner anymore, my hair feel so smooth after wash and I had less hair fall too when I comb my hair after bath but the downside my scalp felt dry.

In these times of economic woe, ideas for trimming your budget abound. However, unless you’ve got unlimited amounts of time, you’re not going to be able to implement every single money saving idea you come across. And honestly, some money saving ideas are just not worth the time or the effort or the feeling of deprivation they bring.

So, here are 10 penny pinching tactics you should skip, along with 10 things you should do instead.

1. Taking extra condiments and napkins from restaurants

If you’ve getting takeout and you’ve got extra soy sauce or ketchup, then by all means, use those up.  But for goodness’ sake, don’t take extra from the restaurant when you’re eating out.  Not only is it in poor taste, it’s also pointless.

Any condiment that’s out there free for the taking is going to be worth almost nothing (That’s why things like barbecue sauce are behind the counter but ketchup and mustard are not).  An entire bottle of ketchup costs little more than $1, and you’d need a huge pile of ketchup packets to equal what’s in the bottle.  Napkins, especially the thin type that restaurants stock, cost very little as well.

Instead:

If your budget is so tight that ketchup and napkins are difficult to afford, there’s no sensible reason for you to be eating at a restaurant.  You’ll save a whole lot more than the price of a few condiments by cooking a meal at home.

2. Couponing for items you don’t use

Though it can be thrilling to get anything for free, if you’re looking to maximize the return on your time, you should focus on obtaining items you can actually use.  Free hair dye is awesome if you use it, but not so awesome if you don’t.

On a related note, even if you’re obtaining items you can use, it doesn’t make sense to stockpile large amounts.

It’s true that you can sometimes donate free items you don’t need, but if you’re spending a whole lot of time and gas obtaining these free items, you may want to consider whether a cash donation would make more sense.

Instead:

Find deals on items you use, buy less than a lifetime supply, and then focus your efforts somewhere else.

3. DIY-ing everything in the kitchen

While you can save big bucks by cooking at home, not every kitchen project is an effective money-saver.  If you’re making your own version of an expensive food (granola is a great example of this), then a DIY recipe makes a lot of sense.  But if you’re making your own colored sprinkles or are making a labor-intensive condiment, the return on your time will be very poor.

Instead:

Focus on savings-intensive kitchen projects and don’t worry about the rest.

4. Eeking extra years out of a car seat

Car seats have expiration dates on them for a good reason: after sitting in a car for a number of years, the parts begin to deteriorate, making them ineffective in a crash.  A new seat is expensive, but it’s nothing compared to hospital bills or worse, losing a child.

Second-hand car seats are also an iffy option unless you know for sure the seat hasn’t been in a crash.

Instead:

Pay attention to the expiration date on seats you own, and keep an out for a sale when it’s time for a new one.

5. Making an extra trip to save on gas

Obviously, you’ve got to use gas in order to get your car to the station, so don’t make an extra trip to find a cheaper station. It only takes a few extra miles of driving to completely negate any savings on the actual gas purchase.

Instead:

Plan to get gas when other errands take you near a gas station, and if you can’t do that, fill up at a nearby station.  This will almost always save you more than driving to another station.

6. Sewing your own clothes

There are plenty of reasons to sew your own clothes (you can customize the fit, you can use the fabric you want, you can avoid supporting sweatshops, to name a few), but if your focus is saving money, there are better ways to go.  Fabric, thread, patterns, and notions such as elastic, buttons, and interfacing all add up quickly, and it takes time to sew as well.

Instead:

Shop thrift stores, consignment stores, yard sales and clearance racks to stretch your clothing budget.

7. Shopping at 10 different grocery stores

Grocery stores do all tend to run great loss-leader sales each week, and it’s tempting to visit each one of them to snag their best deals.  But if the stores aren’t very close together, you’re going to be using a fair amount of gas during your bargain shopping trip.  Plus, multiple store stops take a lot of time.

Instead:

Pick a handful of stores that run the best deals and stick with them.  You’ll still be saving money, but you won’t be wasting gas and time.

8. Nixing insurance

Life insurance, car insurance, health insurance, and homeowner’s or renter’s insurance can feel like unnecessary expenses, but skipping out on them is penny-wise and pound foolish. If you ever find yourself in a place where you need the coverage, you’ll seriously regret not having it and the expenses you’ll incur will be far more than the amount you saved on premiums.

Instead:

Pick another area of your budget to trim. Call around to get quotes from different companies.  Get a high-deductible plan to reduce your premium (Just be sure to save up enough to cover your deductible.)

9. Eating processed foods

There are always fantastic deals to be found on packaged and processed foods, and foods based on refined grains (Ramen, anyone?) are much less expensive than meats, dairy products, and produce.  But a low grocery budget is no bargain if you end up with a poorly nourished body.

Instead:

Buy produce in season, make use of frozen produce (it’s just as nutritious as fresh), stock up when you find a sale on healthy foods, and focus on naturally cheap whole foods (brown rice, oatmeal, root vegetables, legumes, chicken thighs, and eggs, for instance).

10. Implementing frugal practices you hate

Thought we all have to do things we dislike, it’s best to pick and choose the money-saving activities that are the least painful for you.  The odds of you sticking with a habit you loathe are slim to none, and frugal habits are most helpful when you stick with them over the long haul.

Instead:

If you hate shopping at consignment stores but love cooking from scratch, focus on the cooking.  If you don’t mind using cloth napkins, washcloths and towels, but would rather die than give up your toilet paper, then just keep on throwing a pack of TP into your cart.

There are plenty of wise ways to save money without sacrificing your integrity, health, sanity, or all of your free time, and if you choose carefully, you can keep your budget and your attitude in good shape.

What penny-pinching tactics do you skip?

Kristen is an east coast wife, mom, and blogger behind The Frugal Girl. In an effort to inspire others to live frugally, Kristen contributes to the CareOne blog, a community that provides debt consolidation and money-saving advice.