The Philippine Online Chronicles

Of course, we just had to make a second part of our Saizen article published last May.  This concept store is just bursting with character and filled to the brim with the most interesting buys yet unknown and produced by Daiso-Sangyo, Inc. Japan: fun and funky stationery products, toys, lifestyle products, fashion and apparel, home decors, Japanese interiors and ceramics, practical and functional household items, kitchenware and supplies, home improvement items, gardening tools and pet accessories.

As varied as their products are, our personal favorite part of the store remains the cosmetics area.  Josette Salac, Saizen’s Marketing Manager, says that there’s definitely a growing interest in many of the unique contents of their beauty, bath, personal care and accessories racks.  If you think beauty products are pretty much the same anywhere, then you probably haven’t visited Saizen just yet.  This store which claims “everything is amazing at P85” might just have a few tricks up its sleeve to surprise you yet.

Now it’s time to hold on to your purse strings, ladies.  Here we present a better and even longer list of fascinating (not to mention kooky) kikay items that may just drain the contents of your wallet—maybe without even you realizing it.

So maybe good old-fashioned Q-tips aren’t working for you anymore.  Not to worry: in Saizen, there are plenty of options for picking ears, apparently.  You can choose from a wide variety of cute ear pickers, including a glow-in-the-dark one for, you know, the next time you get bored during a brownout.  At least now you’ve got something to do—or at least somebody else does, since if you’re ear picking on your own, the glow-in-the-dark bonus won’t be of much use.

Fake eyelashes are the ultimate vavavoom accessories which no amount of clumpy mascara can hope to match.  They just open up the eyes like nothing else and can get you to sultry and smoldering in minutes.  Unlike mascara, though, fake eyelashes are pretty disposable after being used around two times (at MOST!) and the affordable ones are generally priced at P159 to P300.  Thankfully, here’s an P85-anything-goes store with a whole lot of falsies for sale, varying in length, shape and color but consistent with pricing.

If you’re tired of drawing straight lines instead of eyebrows and looking perpetually surprised, then the Eyebrow Template is for you.  These pre-shaped brows ought to keep you from doodling anywhere else on your face.  Together with the illuminating ear picks, you’re well on your way to holding successful beauty makeovers in the dark.

No ordinary deodorant will cut it for the Japanese.  These “Sweat Cloth pats” are woven sheets that contains silver ion to absorb sweat and let air through.  They are placed on the actual clothes and can be cut to desired shape if you’re wearing sleeveless tops.  It’s certainly one way of avoiding annoying deodorant streaks on clothes.

These are 20 pieces of fresh-up wipes with collagen.  They’re pretty convenient, if you don’t want to pack a lot of toiletries with you when you travel.  At P85, this will certainly save you a lot of money compared to getting Botox.

Speaking of Botox, here’s another curious contraption found at the beauty aisle.  It’s a face massager called Slim Roller that’s used for slimming, well, the face!  Now if only Charice Pempengco knew about this, she could’ve saved herself and Dr. Vicki Belo a lot of heartache.  And with the money saved from the Botox treatment, she can probably afford to buy out 10 grocery aisles of bubblegum.

This cleansing pad offers a convenient way of washing away deep-seated dirt and gently exfoliating your face.  There are other cleansers available on the market with similar effects and run on batteries.  But why pass up a golden opportunity to exercise your arms while washing your face?  Plus, it’s way cheaper and doesn’t need disposable pads every time.

This is a boon for all clumsy, messy people out there.  How many times have you spilled sauce or juice on a pristine white blouse?  These portable stain removal sheets provide a quick fix to that dilemma.

You’ve seen the charcoal mask make it to our favorites in the previous list.  This time, it’s charcoal soap.  Charcoal isn’t just for barbecue, it’s also known as a cleansing and purifying agent that can get rid of impurities and even pungent odors (not hinting anything whatsoever).

Now that you’ve seen this list, you might be curious to see other knick-knacks we have missed.  Well, you’re in luck because this August, Saizen will also be having The Big Switch—meaning their prices will go from P85 to P58.  A sneak peek will already begin on the first week, but the main event will be held on August 20 to 22 where more (if not the majority) of the items will be priced at P58.

There are currently four Saizen branches located at the following:

Saizen Ali Mall
Lower Ground Floor, Ali Mall,
Araneta Center, Quezon City
(02)911 5745

Saizen Galleria
3rd Level, East Wing
Robinsons Galleria, Quezon City
(02) 395 2053 / (02) 395 2831

Saizen Marquee
3rd Level, Marquee Mall
Angeles City, Pampanga
(045) – 304 1130

Saizen Trinoma
Level 1 (Inside True Value)
TriNoma, Quezon City

Saizen Pavilion Mall

(opening on September)
Ground Level, Pavilion Mall
Biñan, Laguna

Some of the photos were taken by the author, with some rights reserved, and some were taken from Reluctant Stylista and provided by Saizen.