Shopping in Singapore

I was in Singapore a week ago for a nice weekend and I really had so much fun! It was tiring since we were walking a lot but it was a fun experience. I fell in love with the country and the food and it's a place I'd like to visit again. Aside from the beautiful and organized system and crisp, clean air, Singapore's residents are very fasyon. You see girls in the train in perfect cat's eyes and falsies, cute heels (yes! heels!) and almost every girl looked like they were models stepping out from the folds of a fashion magazine. And who wouldn't blame them? With almost every train stop being near a mall housing a lot of stores selling makeup and clothes!

Orchard road is an entire strip of malls in Singapore. We were in Orchard road on our second day after a zoo visit attempt fail. Anyway, it was a blesssing in disguise too, because we were inside the famous Ion mall. We got off Orchard station and lo and behold- Ion!

Ion mall is a multi-story mall. You find bargain hops at the bottom floor and as you go higher up, it houses luxury and designer brands. We found familiar stops like Charles and Keith and Aldo plus luxury brands like Armani, Louis Vuitton, and Prada.

It was home too to the largest Sephora branch in Singapore. I was really jumping up and down when I saw the black and white striped pillars. I remember doing the same thing twenty years ago whenever I was in the Barbie lane at Toys R Us. I felt like a kid once again.

Sephora houses popular makeup brands like Make Up For Ever, MAC, Urban Decay, Bare Minerals, Benefit Cosmetics, Dior, and of course, their house brand. Sephora lipsticks are really cushy and they smell really nice, like grape-flavored Bubble Yum. The SA's in Sephora are really helpful in assisting the customers with their needs, and they're well-versed in the products. I went there to Back-to-MAC some of my containers. When I was choosing lipsticks, the SA was really nice in picking out what's nice, even swatching them for me.

Another home away from home is Forever21. A staircase from the train station peppered with Forever21's logo leads you straight to the store.

I was all smiles at Ion up until the train ride to Raffles City mall. Oh, if you're going to Raffles City mall, get off at City Hall train station it would take you directly to Raffles City mall.

Raffles City is located at Singapore's business district, sort of like Glorietta's counterpart here. So the crowd on weekdays is mostly yuppies after office hours or on lunch breaks, and of course tourists like us. What welcomed me in raffles is a very familiar place. Can you guess what? This would be a clue:

That's right! MAC! I could stay all day in the MAC store here. Although I've got my fair share of Sephora and MAC at Ion, I just had to go here.

They have the Cinematics collection here, which had eyeshadow duos you can pick your combo in. On the right are the colored brush sets, which were sold out when I got there. Awwww.....

Lipsticks!!!!!!

MAC Singapore also had lipsticks not sold in MAC Philippines. Among them were two of my favorite reds: Chilli and Lady Danger.

They look so pretty! They're on the orange/warm side though but that's okay. I like them just the same.

One of my friends who used to work on counter in MAC Philippines is already based in Singapore. Say hello to Frances! She used to work at MAC Mall of Asia here in the Philippines. It was nice to see one of my friends in Singapore.

I spent a theme day at MAC MoA with her! I miss guesting again at MAC.

I behaved with my purchases though, as you can see. In the makeup department, I purchased an eyebrow pencil in Dirty Blonde, since I stuffed my suitcase with food already.

Another mentionable is a famous Korean skin care brand here in Manila, Etude House.

And if you're on your way home, the duty free at Changi airport (both Changi and budget terminal) houses cosmetics and fragrances for last-minute buys.

Brands like Bulgari, D&G, Elizabeth Arden, Dior, Chanel, and The Body Shop are located in the store at lower prices than most malls. The tiny Shu Uemura booth holds skin care like Red Juvenus, Phyto Black Lift, Cleansing oils, and travel-size goodies not seen in most stores. The Duty Free Shops also hold SK-II, with its famous face masks forever being sold out during New York Fashion Week. I was thinking whether to purchase a bottle of pink Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil for stock or Elizabeth Arden Green Tea perfume, I chose to buy the 30mL bottles of perfume. I kept one bottle for myself and one for my mom.

My first Singapore trip was definitely fun. A weekend isn't enough to experience it fully. Maybe when I go back, I'll go around more sights and enjoy the country more. :)