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In any travel journey, no other activity is probably as delightful as the shopping for souvenirs. Souvenirs provide tangible means of preserving the essence of any newly encountered place so that one may later reminisce over their trips.

Again, the culture of looking for souvenirs is not on the collection of objects, but rather on the search for objects with value representative of the culture of the visiting country.

In this article, we will discuss those things that will help you find the best souvenirs.

Embrace Local Culture

First would be to appreciate local culture of the tourist destination in a successful process of shopping for souvenirs. Often, souvenirs carry history, culture, and artistry of the country from where they come. To maximize your shopping experience, consider learning the cultural context of the cultural artifacts you will likely buy.

Generally, an understanding of the need to buy a certain souvenir is quite helpful.

For instance, when in Japan, you would most likely want to buy either a ceramic figure or an actual Japanese-dressed ninja. These two products always carry deep cultural meaning and signify the imagination of the artisans that make them. Use Zetexa’s travel eSIM to search for the customs and traditions of the people whom you want to buy from. This would help you pick the best choices without hurting their culture.

Shop Where the Locals Shop

The real temptation is to splurge on souvenirs at tourist traps or in shops scattered in public areas. Ensure you look for local markets or do some hunting in artisan shops as one is likely to get more authentic goods this way. Such sites are usually promoting the crafts of local people and, of course, excellent items that would not be easy to find elsewhere.

Girl shopping while traveling

Where to Find Local Markets

Street Markets Street markets are places where local vendors sell handmade crafts, food items, and clothing.  You can walk through the street markets for any of these products.

Artisan Workshops Some workshops have locals creating their crafts. You may be able to purchase directly from them to support local businesses.

Look for Handcrafted Items

Handmade things are pretty likely to be souvenirs. Why so? It is because such items are unique in their way and revolve around the story of their creators and the culture of the place. Woofed carpets, crafted vessels, or special butter-choosing something that’s handmade is a way of taking a part of the culture home.

Benefits of Handcrafted Souvenirs

  • Uniqueness: Handcrafted items are unique, which makes them more valuable than mass-produced souvenirs.
  • Support Local Artisans: Buying from local artisans will directly support their living and ensure that their crafts remain alive in the long term.

Consider Practical Souvenirs

However, having bought many beautiful ornamental souvenirs, it is still possible to think over some practical souvenirs that could be used regularly. Such objects are able not only to bring pleasant memories but also provide for practical usage.

Use Zetexa’s eSIM to find nearby shops selling practical souvenirs and compare prices to make a purchase of practical souvenirs without overpaying.

Examples of Practical Souvenirs

  • Cooking utensils: Buy something exceptional for your kitchen, like some beautiful ceramic pieces or a utensil, which would reflect the area’s food culture.
  • Textiles: Bring a scarf or tablecloth from local people that speaks to bringing an aspect of the destination into your house.

While shopping for souvenirs, it most often turns out to be the case that one gets overwhelmed and ends up overspending if not monitored. This is especially so for people undertaking many country tour vacations.

If there is a plan on how much money is to be spent on souvenir shopping compared to the situation where the amounts to be spent are just a guess, then there will be fewer expenditures.

Girls with shopping bags

Tips about Budgeting

  • Limit how much you can spend on souvenirs: Just before going on a shopping spree, determine how much money you are willing to spend on souvenirs.
  • Pay attention: Instead of buying many knick-knacks at a cheap price, concentrate on buying a few meaningful things.

Choose your souvenirs wisely

Most purchase tattoos because they serve a purpose and are powerfully attached to a specific experience in one’s life. Items that possess such qualities are usually perfect for people who appreciate decorative pieces. It can be a country or a place where you travel. The most amazing or the most fascinating items you can bring back with you are the souvenirs.

How to Find Storytelling Souvenirs

  • Ask Questions: Do not hesitate to ask the vendors for details about an object. Sometimes, the value and meaning that is placed on that item stems from knowing the history and story of an object.
  • Research the Craft: Prior to traveling, research traditional crafts and souvenirs specific to that region. This will guide your choices.

Bargain Like a Pro-end

From a cross-cultural standpoint, bargaining becomes the first shopping practice; hence it is more common in the markets. Though such practices are intimidating at first, haggling and seeking the same product at much lower price is an excellent way to have fun while in the process.

Tips for Successful Bargaining

  • Do Your Homework: Research the average prices for souvenirs you want to buy so that you can bargain in terms of reasonable prices.
  • Be Courteous: Bargain as though you are a friend. Sometimes bargains become more flexible when people feel you’re just a friend of theirs.

Pack Well

You have now selected your souvenirs, and now comes the packaging; how to pack them right so they arrive safe at home. Remember these tips when traveling and avoid damage:

Packing Tips

  • Wrap in Bubble Wrap: Wrap the fragile items in bubble wrap or clothing to add some cushioning.
  • Distribute Weight: Place the heavier items at the bottom of the suitcase to avoid breakage.

Conclusion

Buying souvenirs is quite solely a matter of getting something from each country.

It is also an opportunity for learning other horizons through the utilization of other forms of artistic expressions.

With such rules and good souvenirs buy, your travels shall be fulfilled, and the product shall all be worth the hassle. With eSIM Zetexa backing you, you can shop local crafts during your adventure while capturing all pictures. Shop and let tomorrow’s memories be worth more than today’s.

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We all love to shop, especially ladies. Women shop for two reasons- firstly, necessity and lastly, impulsiveness. I consider myself as an impulsive shopper. I know a lot of you would tag yourselves as impulsive shoppers as well. Shopping in impulsion has its own consequences, most important of them being excessive expense. You could literally make a hole in your own pocket. But then there are a few cheat tricks that can keep a tight rein on your expenditure. I, myself, have a few formulas to save as much money as possible from a purchase. Let me share them with you-
1. Make a List: Before leaving for shopping, make a list of the things that you really need. A list won’t allow you to shop for unnecessary items. Sometimes we forget what we needed by the time we reach the shop. A list will remind you about the things you need so that you don’t get lost into the aisles full of alluring stuff. It also saves your valuable time.
2. Bring Cash: After making the list, make an estimate of how much money should be needed for certain purchase. Bring only that amount with you. It will make sure you won’t shop impulsively.
3. Shopping Online: Let it consider the boon of internet, shopping has never been easier than this. Online shopping has cleared the fence between possible and impossible. Shopping international products that you had never thought could be procured to your country, is now as easy as making a smoothie (pardon me for this bizarre comparison). The main reason why I love shopping online is because there are always some sales going on there. You can buy your desired article no matter where you live. Some products that are newly launched and you can’t find it in your area, online shopping is always the solution. Being a small town girl, I know that better than anybody. If you can’t find any deals in-store, you must find one online.
4. Coupons and Discounts: A lot of coupons sites are there that provide discount coupon codes and deals for your online purchase. They offer you some exclusive deals and discounts on several online stores that you might not have found before. You can get great deals on cosmetics, clothing, movie tickets, restaurants and many more. As an instance, if you are looking for exclusive discounts for a specific site, simply search for Online Discount Coupons for the site, and you will be navigated to your desired site and then you can choose your discount coupons as per your requirement.
5. Keep Yourself Focused: Now, this is all up to you. Just concentrate on what your need is and what would be unnecessary for that moment. When it comes to makeup products, we women don’t feel anything is unnecessary. We try to find out excuses like “I don’t have this particular shade of lipstick!” or “All my nail polishes would dry out in a few days!”, but we don’t realize that we are just being impulsive. If you really need to save money then don’t listen to the SA. He/She will tempt you saying “This will look great on you!” or “Buy ‘this’ and ‘that’ along with ‘these’ and you can get a free makeup pouch!”. You just say ‘NO’ because you have already bought what you needed the most. Ignore and make the payment and you will bring a happy wallet with you to home.

I hope these tips will be helpful for you. Try out yourselves and let me know if any of these worked for you or not. Also, if you have some money-saving tricks that you want to share with me, then feel free to write a comment. Be blessed.
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I am here again with yet another haul post. Recently, I bought some products from iHerb.com. I got some elf cosmetics products and a Real Techniques brush.

Also, I received my anniversary gift from boyfriend, which is actually a part of the gifts that he will be showering on me (ignore the exaggeration). It’s a ToniQ pouch/coin purse. He got it from Jabong.

I’ve also bought the much raved about Maybelline Colossal Turquoise Kohl from Nykaa.

So, let’s check out what I got-


I was eagerly wanting to buy some elf products, especially the Eye lid primer. When I got an opportunity to club with some other friends, one of them is a good friend Sushmita, I didn’t let the opportunity go. I bought, obviously the eyelid primer along with two of their matte lipsticks, in the shades Natural and Tea Rose (soon to be reviewed) and also laid my hands on the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. 


This is the ToniQ pouch that I received as a gift from boyfriend. I am so in love with the vintage floral prints that it has. This cute little thing has two compartments, that’s another amazing thing. Isn’t it adorable?



Here’s the most talked about turquoise blue kohl by Maybelline. I couldn’t afford to miss it! 


I wanted to try a new cleansing wipes as I was quite bored with my previous ones. I got this facial wipes from Kara, which claims to have the benefits of cucumber and aloe vera. Believe me you guys, it works wonder as a makeup remover. I found it very handy when you want to clean your face or remove your makeup on the go or when you don’t feel like removing your makeup applying makeup remover solutions, cleansers and toner. It does a great job of cleaning your face perfectly.



That’s it by now friends. I hope you liked this small haul. It’s sad to say that this is going to be my last haul for next six months. I am on a shopping ban as I’ve a plan to do something really big for me. Wait for the surprise 😀 

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Are you annoyed with the huge amount of customs and shipping charges while shopping from your favourite international websites? Have you ever experienced your purchase getting stuck at the customs after the huge payment you made for it? Well, now there is a web-store that can put an end to all your worries and inconveniences.
iBhejo.com is an Indian website that focuses on procuring popular US brands to Indian consumers and delivers the best US products to you and doesn’t claim you excessive amount of shipping charge and you don’t get to fear about your parcel getting stuck at the Customs. iBhejo.com offers you a hassle-free delivery of your favourite US products straight from USA to your doorstep!
iBhejo.com offers you an extraordinary experience of shopping from more than 60 leading US brands such as Seagate, Gucci, Michael Kors, Guess, Chloe, Benefit, Tarte, Lancome, Giorgio Armani, E.L.F. and so on. The prices of the products might astound you at a glance. They might look a bit expensive but when you realize that this is the net amount you have to pay including shipping and Customs fee you will feel elated.
Brands Available at iBhejo.com
Brands Available at iBhejo.com

Why I Acclaim iBhejo.com:
  • A variety of 50,000+ products in one place.
  • 60+ top US brands to shop from.
  • Products which are not available in Indian market are also offered here.
  • No shipping charge.
  • No need to pay for Customs clearing.
  • No need to worry about products getting stuck at the Customs.
  • Tempting discounts are offered every week.
  • All payment modes are available, including Debit cards and Net Banking.
  • Quick delivery.
  • Expeditious and cooperative customer service.
  • Hassle-free shopping.

 Request an Item from US:

iBhejo.com offers you an amazing opportunity to order anything from the most desired US online stores that you’ve never been offered by any other website. You can choose from the hundreds of US websites to order from and iBhejo.com will procure your wished products from the US. 
There are Target, Nordstorm, Drugstore, Walmart, Amazon, Kohl’s, Bath and Body Works, GAP, Benefit and many more. You dreams might come true. Like, I have always wanted to have Drugstore here in India, but that might not be possible in near future. So, instead I can order anything from Drugstore with iBhejo.com. This surely is the thing that strikes the chord. All you have to do is just register yourself at iBhejo.com and click on the ‘Request an item from US’ button. They will want you to fill in a simple form and voila! You’re done! 
Shopping made easy with iBhejo.com

My Experience with iBhejo.com

Long back in October I was contacted by a affiliate who wanted me to write a review for iBhejo.com and provided me with a voucher worth Rs 1000 to shop from the website and write a fair review for the readers of my blog. Honestly, before that I was unacquainted with the name of the website. Anyways, I visited the website immediately and found a bunch of amazing products available there. I was kind of lost in there among so many US brands. At the first look, I was shocked to see the prices, like Rs 961 for Almay is insane. But when I apprehended that this is all that they claim including shipping and Customs charges then I calmed down and realized how benefited I will be if I shop with iBhejo.com instead of shopping from US websites or other websites like ebay.com or amazon.com.
I placed my order at 6th November. I got a confirmation mail from the customer service instantly. At 8th November they provided me with the order tracking id. That means they had already processed the order within 2 days of placing order as they claimed, which is remarkable. At November 16, I got a mail from them saying that my order has been reached India. At November 19, the parcel from iBhejo.com was in my hands. So basically it took 13 days for the product to reach me. But I am sure it would have taken less time if it was a metro city. Anyways, let’s see these pictures-
My Experience with iBhejo.com
What I got inside the package

What I actually bought

My Experience with iBhejo.com

My Experience with iBhejo.com
They also gifted me a discount code for my next purchase. I overall like the whole experience and would love to shop with them again if I see any exciting deals. I hope you liked the review. New posts are to be posted soon. Keep reading. 
Though I was provided with a voucher by an affiliate but my review is totally unbiased regardless of the fact.  
This is not my first time to write a review about Jabong.com, in point of fact I’ve done it before and you guys might have read it then. But unlike the previous one this is going to be rather a review than a rambling.
Jabong.com is one of India’s leading online shopping portals. The varieties of products and huge listing of brands have made it one of the largest online shops in Indian online market. There are a few online stores that people relies on blindly. Jabong.com is one of them.
The Ups-
  • Up to 30,000+ products in one place.
  • Wide range of products, from clothes to home decor, from cosmetics to personal care, from jewelry to accessories.
  • Outstanding customer service.
  • Never-ending offers and enticing discounts.
  • Caters both economic and high-end brands.
  • Easy payments. Cash on delivery is available.
  • Delivers really fast.

The Downs-
So far I’ve found one bad thing about Jabong.com- it doesn’t deliver to my address! I have to order stuffs to my friend’s address and this is not at all convenient. I don’t know what reason is behind that. Seems that they only deliver to metros and big cities and don’t care about them who live in small towns. That is the only thing I didn’t like about Jabong and I hope they resolve the failing in near future.
The Packing- They wrap your products very carefully and sincerely. They provide good quality bubble wraps and also air bags if needed. Like, my box consisted of a nail-paint so they packed it with two extra air packets.

***
Now let’s move on to my shopping experience. This is not the first time when I shopped from Jabong. I have shopped once before. There has been a vast change in products and brands in the mean time. There are some new brands introduced now; they now have restocked some previously sold products. A multiplicity of new products has been added. I was baffled and couldn’t decide what to buy. Then I opted for the two things that my vanity was deprived of- The very hyped Maybelline Color Show Nail Paint (in Wine & Dine) as I thought that this shade will be perfect for winters and the second one was Maybelline Super Stay 14Hr Lipstick (in Eternal Rose) as I thought the same thing about it as well. I ordered from them on 1st November and they dispatched the order on the same day which is great. They informed me about the dispatch with email and SMS. The order was delivered to the allotted address on 5th November. That’s pretty fast!

Rating- I’ll give Jabong.com an 8/10. I’ll deduct 2 points for the delivery issue.
My Words- I love shopping Jabong.com. Only the delivery issue bothers me a lot. I am sure they will resolve the issue shortly. 

The website had provided me with a voucher but my review is totally unbiased regardless of the fact.  

                 
                        Keep an eye on The Great Online Shopping Festival 2013 on Jabong. 

Hello, all my friends! Today we are celebrating our 67th Independence Day. And my inbox is flooded with zillions of Independence Day sale alerts. But I found this too tempting.

 

This is what I said after I saw this mail in my inbox: “Whoa! OMG! What the heck?” Yes, my loves, Fashion And You is offering up to 95% off on a horde of products and categories such as apparel (men’s and women’s), shoes (men’s and women’s), bags, watches, sunglasses, cosmetics, fragrances, accessories, jewelry, lingerie, home decor, and many more.
Tomorrow is my birthday, and the sale is until tonight, so I literally convinced my boyfriend to gift me something from the cosmetics section, and he did. I have bought from FNY twice before, and I love them so much because they are the only site in the world that offers cash on delivery to my address unless there are millions of others. I really have been wanting to buy a blush for a few months, so I took advantage of this sale and bought this. This is actually priced at 975 INR, but I got it for only 399 INR and an additional 100 bucks for the shipping charge!
So, if you are a deal-hunter like me, then it’s probably your day! Rush and pick whatever you want. There are a lot of reasons to celebrate today. Happy Independence Day to you all!
You have exactly 18 hours to make the most of this sale! So hurry and Shop From Them.
Love,
Sayantini
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. All of the pictures above originally belong to the site. They are not my own.
Hello, my wonderful readers. This is me again. I haven’t posted anything since my long MIA. Please excuse me for that. I promise to be regular on the blog henceforth. *Pinky Promise*

Now let’s get into the post. This is my first haul post so far. I have seen a lot of beauty and fashion bloggers doing haul posts and I like reading them very much. So, I always wanted to write a haul post for you. This post contains my recent buys in the month July. Let’s have a look.

Now let me enlist the products here, one by one.

1. Dove Go Fresh Nourishment Body Lotion: I was looking for a moisturizer that can cope up with this tremendous heat and humidity in India right now. My hands easily gets dried, lacks moisture right after bathing. So, I badly need a moisturizing lotion to keep my hand moisturized. And, this body lotion is best when it comes to summer-time moisturizing. (Review Coming Up)
2. Palmolive Thermal Spa Mineral Massage Body Wash: Now, this is my most favourite body washes so far. It has a soothing smell, keeps my skin supple, one or two dollop is enough for washing my body, lathers very generously and budget friendly. I love this product so much. This is actually my second buy. Two thumbs up for this. (Review Coming Up)

3. Polchem Rose Water Skin Toner: First of all, sorry for the blurry picture, it’s due to wrong camera settings. Now, this toner is not so much of my choice. It instantly produces a lot of rashes in my skin. I won’t recommend this for you.

4. Pond’s White Beauty BB+ Fairness Cream: I had been reading so much about this product for a long time, so, finally decided to give it a try. An guess what, it’s really far better than my imagination. I was using the Garnier BB Cream for quite a time. I have a combination skin and it used to accentuate my oily areas and  left me with a greasy feeling day long. Pond’s is perfect for those who have oily or combination skin. (Review Coming Up)
5. Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner: Good pigmentation, literally waterproof but I think it’s bit highly priced. (Review Coming Up)

6. Revlon Colorstay Makeup: I love this foundation. Very light, stays for a long long time, non-oily, gives a dewy finish to your makeup. (Review Coming Up)

So, that’s it. How do you like it girls? Please do let me know in the comment section. If you are having problems posting comments, as the Google+ comments only allows users those have a Google+ account, then please message me on Facebook.
Thanks for reading. See you next time. Take Care 🙂

[All pictures are taken by me. Please do not copy paste.]

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