Saturday, 3 October 2015

eBay Bargains


I'm no stranger to eBay and I've bought everything from dainty jewellery, makeup brushes, clothes to batteries for power tools. I order for several people because I stupidly let myself to be used like that, but I'm well in my hundred purchases there. My purchase history is mostly made out of, believe or not, LED bulbs, but I'll focus just on things that are beauty related and/or are my favourite purchases I made there. I'll try to include as much information as I can because I always search for more decent reviews than those 80 characters of (usually useless) feedback on eBay, so I hope this will be helpful to you. Prices are in different currencies simply because I wrote down the original price and not the converted one. I added lazy links for quick searches on eBay to make things easier for you.


Cat Ears Gold Headband with Crystals
I'm sure you've seen this a million times by now, since I use it a lot as decoration in the pictures. It's fun, girly and super cute, though not something you'd wear to the office, but I adore it. Much to my dismay it arrived broken, but I didn't complain to the seller and I just fixed it myself with super glue. Then one the rhinestone fell out and ended under a freaking fridge, which was so much fun, but again it was quickly mended and since then I've had zero problems. My head is small, however, this does start to hurt at the ears after a while, so bear that in mind if you plan to get it. I actually got two more for my friends because they loved it so much and those two arrived perfect. There is version with pearls as well and you can also get it in silver.
$1.17 

Gold Leaves Headband
The ultimate autumn accessory. Asos has something similar for a lot more money, but you can always count on eBay for a better deal. It's a circle headband half made of metal leaves and half is plain black elastic, so it's much more comfortable to wear that the classic ones. Due to the shape of the leaves, it tends to get tangled in the hair, so you need to be careful when putting it on and taking it off.  I've had it for about a year and it's more coppery looking now, but still in really good condition.
$0.84

Gold Leaves Hair Pins
I'm sure you recognize these as well and I have quite a few of such metal pins. All are the same in terms of quality, basically way better than I expected. The quality is nice and they look so cute in the hair. They are very, very strong, which means they do not fall out, but you need to be careful when taking them out, otherwise it'll damage the hair. Bobby pins have nothing one these, so I prefer using them for buns as they don't just randomly fall out of my hair. Two versions exist, tri-leaves ones like mine and five-leaves ones
$0.82

Gold Bee Hair Pins
I saw these on a very popular Pinterest picture, but when I was ordering them I thought there is no way they look the same as on that picture. But they do! Though I think there might be two versions of these floating around. The ones I got are brilliant and so well made. The quality is the same as at the leaves ones, but when I purchased them, only one arrived and when I complained to the seller, he sent me another and that one it's a centimetre shorter. It's not a big deal at all, but I just want to say that sizes vary. These are also available in silver.
$0.71 


Gold Starfish Hair Pin
Again it's the same type of pin as the leaves ones and bees, though this one isn't as gold, but already more copper-gold. I think it looks so pretty tucked in a braid. This one is available in silver and there is also a version with sea shells.
£0.99

Gold Starfish Hair Clip
My largest hair accessory and even though I can realistically only wear it in the summer, I wanted to have it. It's heavy since it's metal, but holds well and does not fall out. It's perfect for a mermaid Halloween look if you need any ideas.
£0.99

TONI AND GUY Sectioning Clips
I've always wanted sectioning clips, but I could never find more than a pack of 2 for a completely unreasonable price in our drugstores. Then I resorted to eBay and ordered these for a few euros not expecting much, but the quality of these blew me away. They are made from that "NARS" like rubberised, matte plastic and the spring is a really good one, meaning it's not too weak, but neither too tight. I use these every time I blow dry or curl the hair to keep them out of the way as well as to  pin the just blow dried strands in a ring shape to let it cool and in that way create a loose wave. I've had them for almost two years and they are still like new.
£2.45

10 Spiral Hair Pins
I was contemplating whether to include these or not. I sort of have a love-hate relationship with these. I have a pair from before, they sell a 2-pack of these in Müller for 5 freaking euros, but they are brilliant and one substitutes five regular bobby pins. These eBay ones do work, no doubt about that, but the problem with these specific ones is that the ends are sharp. No one bothered to sand them down or add a bit of plastic at the end like at bobby pins, which means they are sharp and can damage the hair. 
$1.04


3D Shells Nail Decoration 20 pc Mixed Gold and Silver
I got these for one specific manicure, so I decided to get a mix of colours and sizes, but you can get a much better deal than just 20 pieces for the same price. I used two coats of Seche Vite on top to glue them on (I don't have a proper nail glue for the job) and they lasted much better than I expected. One fell off on the fourth day and I had to remove the second one when I was taking the manicure off after about a week. The do lose colour after a couple of days of wear and look more copper-bronze. 
On the nails are the small ones.
£0.99 


JESSUP 5 pc Eye Makeup Brushes
I have plenty of cheap brushes, well almost all them, but these are the only ones I bought off eBay. There are many sets to choose from, but I chose a set of 5 eye brushes for start. I'd say four are excellent as they are super soft, but one, the pointed one, is simply too dense and I still don't know how to use it. One is a classic dome brush, though too big to fit in my "crease", so I use it for blending. The other three have a flat surface, but are cut differently - straight and slanted. These are excellent for blending concealer. They are also great for applying a base colour on the lids, or applying powder under the eyes so the concealer won't crease. In general, I'm very happy with these and they are well made. They come in tons of colours and combinations.
$5.75


Wallet Phone Case for Samsung Galaxy S5
I bought a ton of phone cases from eBay for just about everyone I know, but this is my only wallet one (I bought another wallet one with the owl design like the one of the right for my friend and he said it was ok as well). It's a proper wallet with spaces for credit cards or documents and you can put cash in the side pocket, the change might be a problem though. The size of the card slots is a bit snug, it could be a millimetre bigger, but cards do fit in. The plastic phone case is the one I have a slight problem with because the fit is off for S5 and it covers up the side buttons. But in general the outside is made out of a really nice material and it looks much more expensive than it is. It was advertised that there is a mirror included, but it's just a rubbish silver sticker that I accidentally threw out. Six colour combinations are available and it's available for some other Galaxy models as well as iPhones.
$3.73

Mint Green "Sleep Owl" Silicone Phone Case for Samsung Galaxy S5
One of the many silicone cases I bought, this is the second one for me and my favourite because, well it's mint green, it has an owl and polka dots, so to me it's a triple score, but I also love that it's not too thick, yet still protects the phone well. I got mine from Germany because I needed it fast, but you can get it cheaper from China or Hong Kong.
$4.61


KDK LONDON Mint Green Jersey Skater Skirt 
Size UK6/ EU34/ US4
I got this almost two years ago, when skater skirt were in short supply in Slovenia and a mint green one was unheard of, so I got it off eBay. I actually got two different ones, but the first one was so plastic that I threw it away. I wear this loads, so it doesn't look its best any more, but the fabric is a nice thick jersey. It doesn't have much stretch, but it's durable. The colour is perfect, just what I was looking for and it fits me well, which tells something, since I can't buy clothes a lot of our shops. I'm petite and this ends less than 5 cm above my knees, so it's a good length that you're not concerned about bending. The elastic is strong, so it doesn't stretch as much as for example H&M skirts, so get a 6 only if you're really skinny because you might have problems getting it over the hips.
Length: 46 cm
Waist: 60 cm
Material: Thick jersey
Wash on: 30°C
15.31 $, from this seller

15mm Fold Over Elastic (2 m each)
You might know that already, but I make my own hair elastics. I've got several colours of fold over elastics and. from 2 m I can make about 9-10 hair ties, which comes at 0.14 € per one. My tutorial on how to make these is here. These are my favourite types of hair ties because they are soft and don't damage the hair.

Polka Dot Scarves
Light pink with black polka dots and deep red with beige polka dots
One of my most recent purchases and I'm completely obsessed with these. They are far, far better quality than I expected. The fabric is so soft and lovely, especially considering the price, but the fabric of the pink one is better than of the red one. Both of them are gorgeous, however, I've been wearing the pink one non-stop since I got it. They are sheer, made from chiffon (not sure it's true, but it's a lovely material) and are not too long, which is perfect for us short girls on whom long scarves look ridiculous.  
Length: about 210 cm
Width: 66 cm
There are no labels sewn on, but I presume this is hand wash only.
£0.99 each, got them from this seller.


White Infinity/Convertible/Multiway Dress (Grace Karim)
One Size
I feel in love with infinity dresses since I first saw them in an Avon catalogue and on New Look, so I became obsessed with the idea that I need it. I actually made one of these myself, but more as a test outfit because I used a completely inappropriate fabric since it was the only big enough piece I had, but I did wear it. I would totally make the real deal, it's three pieces of fabric quickly sown together, but the fabric in Slovenia is so expensive, it's become literally insane. I scoured the internet for a very cheap option, but all were quite expensive and then they just started selling these one day on eBay and I got it in a second. It's actually quite good for the price, but I'm not a clothes snob, in fact I'd describe myself as having low standards and you won't see me in designer clothes. Yes, the fabric is thin, but not too see-though and nobody bothered to hem it, however that's fine at such a dress. You could hem it yourself, but only the skirt because the strips need to have all the stretch they can get. It's really pretty worn, it offers a great variety of styles, so I truly love it and I'd like to get more colours. However, this precise dress is only for us shorties, so under 160-165 cm because it's made for Asian girls. It's more of a beach dress, though you could wear it as a maxi in summer, but not for special occasions because of the fabric. It would be a nice dress for Halloween if you plan to be a Greek goddess. Ideas for ways to wear it. 
Length of the skirt: 105 cm
Waist: 54 cm, it stretches a lot because the elastic is very loose, I measured at least +34 cm.
Material: thin, stretchy T-Shirt-like fabric, semi-see through. I suggest getting dark colours. 
$6.47 + US $7.95 shipping. Got it from this seller and here are alternatives.


Rose Gold Love Bracelet 
This is the one item I'm not really pleased with, but I knew there is a high chance this would happen. I'm very skinny, which means that bracelet are mostly a no go for me, unless I find a child size, but I hoped that since Asian girls are tiny like me, this would fit me nicely. It's a bit more battered than it looks in the eBay pictures, but I'm sure you're wise enough not to trust those completely. The colour isn't the best rose gold, I put Physician's Formula Nude Wear blush next to it, so you can see how much less rose it is, but you can also see that it's not gold compared to the leaves pin. The problem of this bracelet is that it's too narrow and I have concerns that not many people will be able to put this on their wrist. The gap is small, so it won't be much help, the bracelet is too wide on me and it's close to slipping of my wrist. I need to reshape it, but the metal is very thick and hard. It's going to be a nice decoration at least. I gave it to three other people to try with all types of wrists and it fit nicely on someone whose wrist was much larger than mine, but it wasn't easy to put on, same happened with an "average" sized wrist. Available in also in gold and silver.
Widest part: 7 cm
Narrow part: 5 cm
Gap: 2.5 cm 
£0.99

Black Rhinestone Bow Adjustable Ring
I love bows, so I always wanted a bow ring and I already have such black earrings from Tally Weijl. It's an adjustable one and originally it's way too large for me, which means that I'll probably suit a lot of people. The bow is plastic or some sort of resin, it doesn't look cheap to me, but obviously it doesn't exactly scream Tiffany. It's the type of ring that gets caught in fabric, so you need to be careful especially when wearing wool sweaters. For the price it's lovely.
Original width: 18 mm 
0.70 $, got it from this seller.


Blue Chevron and Pink Polka Dot Paper Straws
I've seen these in some Pinterest pictures when I was preparing a baby shower and though they were so cute. I've seen them in one of our shops recently for a price that brought tears to my eyes - those weren't as pretty as these anyway. They are made from paper, but they aren't flimsy at all, however, it does feels a bit strange to drink from them due to the material. There are many different design and colours of these. 
£0.99

Washi Tape 15 mm
Pink with black polka dots, white with moustache patern and mint green with symbols
My first washi tapes and I haven't seen any here yet (kje se to prodaja pri nas?). They are sticky tapes with patterns and an item that you get because it's cute and only then actually research how to bloody use them. I got them in three pattern/colours that I adore: polka dots, mint green and moustache pattern. The polka dot one is much shorter that the other two, while the moustache one is the most see-though. I used them to decorate the caps of Refan fragrances and Essie nail polishes because both of those look so dull, I also taped over a boring pen I have. They also came handy when I was labelling cables. If you need any ideas for how to use these just check Pinterest.
£0.99 each, all from this seller.

I was wondering if you'd like to see an eBay wishlist as well one day? I hope this was helpful and have a great day!

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