Great Find - Frederic Fekkai Shampoo!

Hello everyone,

This is one shampoo I know I'm going to miss like hell if I didn't have a way to get it. Before I go further, I just want to state that I'm not affiliated nor am I getting paid any sort in any way to recommend the products I do. The products I talk about are from my own experience using them, and I want you to know about them because they work really great for me!

Background

I have long Asian hair, in its natural black state. I have some natural curls at the ends, but nothing too wild. Because my hair is so fine, the ends tend to get dry despite my best efforts, hence it tends to get tangled easily and i also get split ends. It is also hard to get any sort of body going, because the fineness means that any sort of product tends to weigh the hair down.

I'm not a shampoo junkie, but I have tried more than a few products, and nothing really blew my skirt up so to speak. From Pantene to Kerastase, they were all just ok, but not spectacular for me.

Last week while at a Saks Off Fifth outlet mall, they had some Frederic Fekkai trial sets that were near the checkout lines. So on impulse, I thought I'd give it a go, especially since they were having a 20% storewide discount that day. I seriously think it may have been the best hair decision I've ever made.


Product Details

I'm not going to be a soapbox for Frederic Fekkai and his accomplishments. Suffice to say that he's a celebrity NY hairdresser and like so many of his peers, he has a line of haircare products. You can read all about him and his products in the link below.

http://www.fekkai.com/

I am using the olive-oil based Brilliant Glossing series, including the shampoo, conditioner and Brilliant Glossing cream. The last one is a leave-in product, which you run through your hair while it's still damp. I've found that even without the cream, the effect is just fantastic, but the cream does make it more spectacular.

Frederic Fekkai also has other lines for coloured hair or treated hair, but I won't be writing about them because I haven't used them before.

Upsides

First off, the ends really don't feel dry anymore, and I can also tell that it hardly tangles even if I spend some time in a strong wind (and we get lots of those here in Austin). I can run my fingers through my hair constantly and I won't run into a knot!

Secondly, my hair's finally got some body. I'm not talking about lion manes here, but it seriously doesn't look limp anymore.

Thirdly, I like the smell, which reminds me of going to the salon and getting a nice wash and blowdry. Bonus is that my hair smells fresh all day, which is quite an accomplishment if you're running about and getting smoke/dust in the daily environment.

Lastly, it foams well, so you don't have to use a ton of it to get some bubbles going.

Now I won't go as far as to say that my hair looks like those in shampoo ads, but I will say that I definitely feel like my hair is naturally healthy!


Downsides


Only downside is that the products are pricey, and my heart ached quite a bit. But the pain goes away everytime I wash my hair and feel how smooth it is. Will I keep buying it? A big resounding YES....


Shopping Tips

I always like to get trial-sizes if I'm using a hair/body/skin product for the first time. I hate pouring money into a fullsize only to realise it's not great, or worse if I get an allergy to it.

The trial sizes are also not cheap, but it just makes a lot more sense to see how it works for you, before you sink in bigger bucks. Besides, I started out with the trial sizes and right from the first use, I could already feel the difference.

My recommendation is to get the travel size kit, and if you're happy with how it works, then go ahead and make the investment in the full-size bottles later.

How To Order

As usual, drop us a line at your.us.shopper@gmail.com, and let us know what you'd like to pick up! Full order details can be found in our "How To Order" standalone page.


Here's cheers to great healthy hair!


Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

Bath & Body Works

Fans of B&BW,

There are some great deals online now, so take a look and see if you wanna load these onto our upcoming shipment arriving w/c Apr 4!

Signature Collection Body Care - Buy 3 Get 2 Free

- You can mix and match across different products, e.g. you can buy 2 shower gels + 2 body lotions + 1 bubble bath, but the 2 lowest-priced items will be the free ones.


Minis To Go - 3 for USD10

- These are travel-sized items, super convenient for a short trip


Select Body Care - Buy 2 Get 1 Free

- These are not your typical B&BW items. They are more of spa and aromatherapy products, with scents like Vanilla Verbena, Eucalyptus Spearmint and Orange Ginger to create different moods. I particularly like their Lavender Chamomile and Lavender Vanilla scents as they are totally relaxing after a long day.

- Their C.O. Bigelow range also offers products for the boys, and some interesting scents like Rosemary Mint and Lime Coriander.


You know what to do to place an order! (hint: check out our "How To Order" page if you want a refresher!)

Have a great day y'all!

Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

Call For Orders - ETA w/c Apr 4

Hello boys and girls,

Our very first shipment is ready for your booking! Please send your orders across by Mar 23 Wed, in order to catch this shipment arriving week commencing Apr 4 in Singapore.

If this is your first time ordering, you can refer to our "How To" guide at this page http://usprivateshopping.blogspot.com/p/how-to-buy-with-your-us-private-shopper.html

If you have any questions, please contact us at your.us.shopper@gmail.com. Have fun and hear from you soon!

Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

Still More Apple Stuff... Apple TV!

Hello everyone again!

I'm posting rather fast and furious because I'm just dying to share all the cool and wonderful stuff with you from the good ol' US of A!

Our discovery of Apple TV really started out with a desperate need to watch Mad Men Season 4. We'd missed the recent TV run, and the DVDs will not be out for another few months. The husband especially is a huge fan and was suffering from Mad Men withdrawal symptoms. So what to do??

I started researching online to see how we could download the episodes without waiting for the DVD launch, and there were certainly plenty of options. You could buy a Bluray play with internet options, or a Roku box (quite a fascinating gadget!), but in the end, we went for the Apple TV because it synced with our iTunes collection.

How It Works

Basically the Apple TV is a device that lets your iTunes collection connect from your Mac/PC to your home entertainment setup. In other words, you no longer have to squint at your screen to watch a TV episode or a movie.

Once you hook up Apple TV to the HDMI input slot of your TV, you can begin streaming your movies and TV episodes from your computer to the TV. Now you can really watch them like they should be watched!

You can therefore also stream music to your home theatre setup, if you have one that's already connected to your TV. So you can also listen to your music from a proper audio system instead of your computer speakers. Let's face it guys, even if you have a pair of kick-a** computer speakers, music will always sound better from your home theatre system!

The Apple TV 2nd gen is purely a streaming device with no memory storage, so the media files remain on your computer. In my opinion, this is much easier than the way they designed the 1st gen version, which involved transferring the files to the Apple TV etc etc.

This is my layman's version of how it works. If you want all the tech descriptions, I've provided a link below so you can do your research.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv?mco=MTM3NTM1Nzk

This little baby is also a space-saver, with a footprint only slightly bigger than my palm. So no clunky boxes to mess up your living space! Only thing is that it comes with a US plug, but that is easily overcome with a simple converter to fit into our 3-pin socket. You'll also need a HDMI-HDMI cable, which is easily available. Lastly, get some iTunes US gift cards so you can download content to stream to your TV and home theatre!

Anyway, long story short, we're hooked on Apple TV as you can probably tell. Best advice is to make some supper, feed your dog and say goodbye to your friends for a while. You'll probably be glued to the TV for quite some time I'll bet :-)


Hot Deals!

Apple TV 2nd Gen (Black only) - SGD 188

Note that Apple TV is not available in Apple Store Singapore.


Delivery Date

We have stocks available in Singapore so you can collect on the same day as you place your order!


How To Order

Simply drop us a line at your.us.shopper@gmail.com, or sms to +65 9687 0770 to place your order. Payment can be made through COD or to POSB Savings 060-52028-3, and you can collect your set as soon as we receive your payment. How's that for simplicity! :-)


Alrighty folks, y'all have a wonderful day ahead, and look forward to hearing from you.


Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

More Apple Stuff.... - iTunes US Gift Cards!

Dear everyone,

With iPhones, iPads, iPods all over the place, you can surely use some music/movies/TV episodes from iTunes!

The only problem is that the iTunes SG store does not carry any paid entertainment at all (something to do with copyrights), so you need to get into iTunes US to download these content. With prepaid iTunes gift cards, you can get your favourite TV episodes and movies, often way before they even show in Singapore :-)


Hot Deals!

USD 15 gift card - SGD 24
USD 25 gift card - SGD 38
USD 50 gift card - SGD 75

You can order basically any denomination you like, as long as they are in increments of USD 5. The minimum order is USD 15. Send us a mail to get a quote if your denomination is not stated above.


Delivery Dates

We deliver your iTunes gift card codes electronically, so you can start downloading your favourite shows and music right away!


How To Order

1) Send us an email at your.us.shopper@gmail.com, or drop an sms to +65 96870770 to let us know what amount you would like to get.

2) Make payment to POSB Savings 060-52028-3 right away

3) We will send you the codes by email or SMS (your choice!). If you place the order during US daylight hours, you will receive the code usually within the hour :-) If not, you can definitely look forward to it within 12 hours of payment received.


Just as a word of precaution, there are a huge number of sites/pages out there advertising unlimited downloads, usually for a percentage of the value of the downloads. Be very very careful guys, because these are usually operated by scams who hack illegally into iTunes US accounts. Always download legitimately and safely!

Ok boys and girls, y'all have a great day now!

Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

Apple iPad 2 and Smart Covers

Hello everyone,
The latest iPads are now available for your pickings! If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so, they are totally *HOT*!

Hot Deals!

Ipad 2

16GB Wifi - SGD 788
32GB Wifi - SGD 928
64GB Wifi - SGD 1,068

16GB Wifi + 3G  - SGD 988
32GB Wifi + 3G - SGD 1,128
64GB Wifi + 3G - SGD 1,268

The iPads are available in both white and black, so be sure to specify which colour you want.

Smart Covers for iPad 2

Polyurethane - SGD 65
Leather - SGD 115

Colour choices for the polyurethane covers include Gray, Blue, Green, Orange and Pink.

As for the leather covers, they are available in Tan, Black, Navy, Cream and Red.

All Smart Covers are compatible only with the iPad 2 model.


Delivery Dates

There is an estimated wait time of 2 weeks now for the iPads to ship even within the United States (which is a significant improvement from 4-5 weeks when they first launched!) So total ETA from the US to Singapore will be about 3 weeks end to end.
Cases are a lot faster to ship out though. ETA will be approx 1 week end to end.



How To Order

Just drop us a line at your.us.shopper@gmail.com, and specify the model you want, as well as the colour. If you are ordering a Smart Cover, it's best to give us your first second and third choice colours, so we can ship faster if your chosen colour is available!

Please also kindly make a 50% deposit once we confirm your order by email. The remaining 50% can be paid upon delivery in Singapore. You can either self-collect at Aljunied MRT, or we can arrange a convenient place to meet.


Happy shopping everyone, and have a great day!

Best regards
Your US Private Shopper :-)

Condolences and prayers for the people in JP

Hi everyone,

This has been a very sad week indeed. The disaster in JP continues to multiply, and one can only wonder how bad this will turn out to be. Even watching from a distance, the images and reports have chilled me to my bones, and I can only be thankful that my friends and their loved ones have reported their safety.

If you can, please take some time to explore ways you can help our fellow men and women in need. A financial donation will always be welcome by various aid agencies, but we can also push beyond that to make donations-in-kind. We are working with some aid agencies in our community, and you can also check out the aid organisations in your community to see how you can contribute.

Let's also take a moment to cherish our families and loved ones, for life is fragile and should never be taken for granted.

God bless,
Your US Private Shopper

Launch of Your US Private Shopper!

I love shopping in the US, and I know many of you do too :-) Whether it is to get something not available in your country, or simply to get things cheaper, we just can't seem to get enough of our favourite US products.

But buying online can be a tricky business, especially when there are credit card requirements, millions of merchants, similar products, and God only knows what else is out there. This is where Your US Private Shopper fits right in.

We want to give you an end-to-end personalised service for your US shopping needs, so that all you need to think about is what you want to buy next!

1) We help you to research, purchase and ship your items from the US.

2) We also keep an eye out on your favourite products/brands, so that you will never miss out on a good deal again.
3) We will also tell you about new products so that you are always ahead of the game.

So sit back, relax and enjoy your favourite US products with our private shopping service! Have a great day everyone :-)

Best regards
Your US Private Shopper