Cheap Thrills

I bought some cheapo stuff recently. I didn't think it deserved it's own post. For the ones that were purchased online; some of it arrived in the mail and some of them didn't. So I hope they will meet my expectations.

J Brand Houlihans in Vintage Black for $80 at a sample sale on Granville Street. I bought them so I can wear them in the spring, summer and fall. I always wanted these but I was not willing to pay the retail price for them.

Forever 21 pleather and knit leggings for about $28. I bought these online and I hope they fit because they would be such a great addition to my wardrobe. Aritzia has similar leggings but those are priced higher at $100 something.

I can't wait to get this pleather jacket. It's only $34 and it's so beautiful when I saw it in person. It is such a neutral salmon pink tone. It's more neutral compared to the stock photo (which makes it more bubble gum pink).

These were only $39 I think. They have potential. I just hope they won't cut my legs off and make me look stumpy - that's my problem with ankle booties since I'm not that tall to begin with (about 5"4). Can't wait to receive these in the mail as well.

I'm so sad. The House of Holland suspender tights I bought from ASOS are way too big at the ankles. One size fits all my ass.. Grr.. Oh wells, I'll probably give them to a friend. I received my Stila make up palette and I've been using it already. I'll do a review once I get around to my missing digital camera charger predicament (plus I lost my house/car keys - seriously FML what is wrong with me) and maybe when there's daylight out.

I also wanted to add a few more things to my Christmas wish list as well. I've been eyeing to upgrade my leather jacket to one that has a collar (like the Mackage Kenya or Greta). The styles of my Mackage sophia and Jerry jackets ("bomber" jackets) are not really in style anymore in my opinion. I'll probably sell those off soon.

Also, I've got a new set up for my make up. I've acquired these clear tiered display cases from work and I thought they be great to display my beauty products on. My work was going to throw them out in the first place but I saved them and gave them a new purpose. I'll do a post on that soon as well.

Celebrity Outfit Inspirations

My fashion inspirations come from what celebrities are wearing and local bloggers. I find I can relate to local bloggers more for fashion tips. Nevertheless, here are some photos of cute outfits!

Chloe flats and Chloe bag. I love them both! Too bad the flats aren't sold anymore but they are gorgeous. I wouldn't spend the money on beige leather flats because I know I will scuff them badly. That style of bag is still for sale though. I kind of like.

Very me right? All black everything.

I'm really intrigued by Miley's Roberto Cavalli dress. It's sort of ugly but beautiful at the same time. I'd wear it.

I thought about getting a Balenciaga in this green colour called Militaire. But for a first Balenciaga bag, a neutral shade is a must before one diverges into seasonal colours.

I adore Kendall. She's super pretty. I like the Hello Kitty for Forever 21 sweater.

Love the neutral shade dresses.

I returned the white H&M furry vest because it was too big and a small would have fit better (but there was no smalls). Also I haven't been taking any self outfit photos in my room because I lost my digital camera charger.. ughh. Hopefully that won't be a reason for readers to lose interest in my blog. I have a few guy friends tell me that they read my blog as well. That's such a neat feeling that some guys give a care to read what I have to say...about fashion lol.

I bought a few cheap stuff here and there. I'll do another post of the stuff I accumulated (which I didn't feel like it deserved it's own post solely).

Beauty Products I Love To Use

So my other post was about the beauty products I regret purchasing. This one is about my favorites that I use for my every day routine.

I rebuy these products every time I am out - so that's what I used as a standard for a favorite item

1. Laura Mercier foundation primer in oil free - $30 USD

I've only used 3 face primers before and they were: Laura Mercier, Bare Escentuals, and Smashbox. Smashbox was great but it was the most expensive and jar was small in volume. The Laura Mercier primer the best buy in terms of performance, price and volume per mL. The texture of the Laura Mercier primer is a milky lotion. It dries fast and it adheres the make up pretty well. Although the Laura Mercier primer doesn't leave that silky feeling on your face like the Smashbox primer, I felt their performance was about the same.

2. Bare Escentuals spf 15 matte foundation - $26 USD

Once you use mineral foundation, you never want to use liquid or powder ever again. I hate liquid foundation because it runs no matter how much setting powder you put on during the day. Powder foundations (from the drugstore) don't give much coverage. Bare Escentuals mineral foundations are very light and offer medium coverage. You don't use that much and I find one jar lasts me a month even though I put on make up about 6 days out of the week.

3. NARS concealer - $22

The best concealer ever! It offers high coverage and it's in a lipstick tube form. I found that the shade ginger is identical to my golden olive skin tone. I never found a perfect match until now - yay!

4. Estee Lauder MagnaScopic mascara - $22 USD and Maybelline stiletto mascara - $12 CAD

I love this mascara. It really elongates and volumizes your lashes. The packaging is cute! It's an elongated football shape. My mom usually gifts me with samples of this mascara since she loves Estee Lauder products. If I run out of that mascara, my second favorite mascara (from the drugstore) would be Maybelline's stiletto mascara since it is cheaper in price and pretty much has the same elongating effect.

5. NYC liquid eyeliner - $1.97 USD

I like this eye liner because the tip is so fine and draws really thin lines. The price point is amazing. It's hard to find the jet black colour in Canada since I always find the pearlescent black ones. I usually buy this at Walmart when I go to the states. I have yet to find a really good eye liner that stays black all day and has a fine tip brush. This one fades a bit. But for $2, it's impressive!

6. Stila eyeshadow in Kitten and Golightly - $18 USD each

I love the eyeshadow Kitten for highlighting my brow bone, nose and above check bones. Kitten is a very fine shimmer champagne colour. I sweep the shade Golightly on my eyelids - it's the perfect shimmering metallic bronze. I can find other brown/bronze shades for my lids but I can't find another eyeshadow as awesome as Kitten.

7. NARS lip glosses - $24 USD

I love NARS lip glosses because they are so non sticky and pigmented. I usually gravitate towards the matte lip glosses from NARS. I have so many cheap shimmery lip glosses I need to get through (or lose) before I buy more lip glosses haha.

8. Versace Bright Crystal - $50 CAD for 30mL

I was given this perfume as a gift for Christmas from my brother's girlfriend. I really love this scent. It's a sheer icy floral scent that's very unique (if that makes any sense). It has hints of peony blossoms, magnolia, pomegranate and more. It's not a cheap sweet smelling perfume. I highly recommend this perfume just don't wear it around me if you are my friend because it's my scent hehe. Come to think of it, I should really get a travel size version to put in my purse.

9. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex - $62 for 15mL

I've been trying to get rid of my dark circles and eye bags for a while. I know I'm prone to getting them because my mom has it as well. At least she got a permanent fix for those eye bags. I'm too scared to go under the knife in the future for that. But the only eye cream I found to actually work was this one. But holy moly, it's 15mL for about $62 CAD. Not sure if this one is going to be my regular buy yet.

For everything else that was not mentioned (like blush, lipsticks, setting powders, etc), I just don't have an all time favorite that I use.

Furry Vests

I went to H&M and I bought 2 furry vests/waistcoats. My boyfriend thinks the vests are ugly lol and so does another one of my guy friends but I don't care! I think the vests look cute - ugly cute (it's sort of ugly but when you wear it you can make it look good).

The first one was $19.95 in an XS. I plan to wear this with a black sweater and black leggings/black skinny jeans. The flimsy brown belt/string it came with will be replaced with a brown waist belt I have at home.

The second one was $14.95 in a M. I'm thinking I should have got or tried on a small but I think I could rock the medium. The XS was too short and small for the bust. I plan to wear this cream furry vests with all black as well. the vest came with a beige suede belt but it looked really cheap so I would not be wearing the vests with any belt. I tried the vest at home with my black sweaters. The white fur sheds on them like mad. Not sure if I should return this one. One of my friends made a valid point about not being able to wear this in the rain and Vancouver rains a lot..hm.. Should I keep? I like it though.

But yeah, the sweater I'm wearing in the photo to try on the vests does not match the vests at all! I don't plan to wear this sweater with my vests for obvious reasons.

Here's what I wore that day to go shopping, my typical outerwear stuffs:

Le Chateau jacket, Calvin Klein boots, Burberry scarf, J brand jeggings, Marc by Marc Jacobs Natasha bag

Outfit photo at my friends new house in his awesome wine cellar. It stretches farther past the photo and it holds about ~300 bottles I'm estimating.

Excuse the crappy Blackberry photos.

Celebrity Outfits & Recent Purchases

Here are some celebrity outfits that I like that I found online.

I love Kourtney's long wool peacoat! I really need a black long winter peacoat. There's so many long peacoats with leather detailing now and I think that style looks great. Also, I love Kim's furry vest. It makes me want to get one. I have one on hold at H&M for me in cream at the moment. I thought the furry vest look isn't me but I tried it on and I think I can totally rock it with a black sweater and black skinny jeans.

I think her leopard mary jane platform pumps are so cute! They look so high. Also, I love her House of Harlow necklace. Her outfit is so me.

I adore Kendall's long legs! This outfit is so sleek. I love the cool tone seaform teal blouse with the clean white peplum skirt. I would totally wear this out.

I was thinking of buying this for my New Years Eve dress. It's For Love & Lemons and it's pretty cheap at $149. I really want this in white but the white is sold out at Revolve Clothing at the moment. Ashley pairs it well with a pop of colour from the leopard booties. It's either I wear this white dress or I wear my navy ASOS dress (which needs alterations at the bust to make it bigger) for New Years

So I'm online shopping again. Tobi is having a 30% off regular priced (excluding some brands) items till Nov 20, 2011 use promo code "EARLYBIRD30". I bought two items on my want list before or on Christmas. I price matched with Revolve Clothing because of Tobi's promo and got a pair of jeans and a necklace.

7 For All Mankind "The Skinny" in black feather weight for $120USD (reg $169USD)

House of Harlow necklace for $52USD (reg $75USD)

These were great buys on things I wanted to buy full price anyways. I love receiving parcels in the mail. I'm like a little kid on Christmas day when the delivery guy arrives!

Stila Holiday Dream in Full colour palette

I can't wait to receive this in the mail.

This is one of Stila's holiday beauty products. There's also brush set, a smaller eye shadow pallete for a night time looks and a lip gloss set that came out as well for the holidays. The big palette I bought comes with 29 eye shadows, 7 blushes, and an eye liner for $39 USD. I love Stila eye shadows because they are very pigmented and the colours have lots of depth to them.

I'm excited to use this for my daily routine and for my over night travels. I will blog about it once I receive it. I think this makes a great Christmas gift.

Beauty Products I Regret Buying

There's a bunch of beauty products I regret buying. I either bought them because other people's reviews on them were great, they were marketed well or due to impulse.

1. EOS lip balms - $3 USD or $6 CAD

Okay, I admit the ball shaped sucked me it because it was cute and round. The lip balm itself was just okay. It wasn't all that hydrating at all. I really disliked the fact that it's not very hygienic. You twist the ball and the dome cap twists off to reveal an exposed ball of lip balm. Dust can easily stick to the lip balm. There's even dust caught in between the ridges of the lid where it closes. It just looks ugly after a while. The scent is alright. I bought the red one in summer fruit.

2. Make Up Forever HD microfinish powder - $30 USD

This setting powder didn't wow me. I thought it was just okay. I didn't see anything great about it. Since the powder is pure white, I have to be careful if I put too much or else my face is white. You don't use too much product at once so the 10g jar lasts a long time. I didn't see any difference in performance compared to the Bare Escentuals finishing powder. At least the Bare Escentuals finishing powder is a nude colour so you can't tell if you put too much and it's cheaper.

3. Maybelline Great Lash mascara - about $5 CAD

This mascara just sucks. I don't see what's to great about it. It clumps a lot for me and doesn't separate. Also the mascara always migrates to my lower lids and leaves me with raccoon eyes. Dislike!

4. Betsey Johnson perfume - about $40 CAD for 100ml (I think)

Just because the hand lotion version smells nice doesn't mean that the perfume smells nice. The perfume was such a strong old lady smell. The lotion smelled more floral than musky. I always thought perfumes and lotions smell the same if it's the same brand. I guess I was wrong

5. Bare Escentuals Prime Time primer in oil control - $22

This sucked so bad. It's the worst primer I have ever used. It's of a clear gel texture so when applied, it balls up when wet and it flakes off when it is dried. It looked like I had dead skin on my face. As a primer, I felt like it didn't do a good job increasing the longevity of my make up. This was a waste of money. I only bought it because it was associated with Bare Escentuals and I use their mineral foundation.

6. Almay eye liner - about $6 CAD (i think)

The tip of the eyeliner brush was so thick and not thin at all. The tip resembled a felt marker. It was hard to do the winged eye look with it since the ends would not be sharp enough.

Read about the beauty products I love to use on this post.

Suspender Tights Madness

Guess who ordered a bunch more of suspender tights? *guilty face*

They were all on sale on ASOS so go check it out if you like this style.

House of Holland suspender tights for £17

ASOS ribbed tights for £4.00

ASOS 3 bow suspender tights for £6.00

Gipsy Mock heart suspender tights for £6.00

I think I satisfied my cravings for suspender tights...

Things I Want For or Before Christmas

Here are some items on my list for Christmas to remind myself what I'm getting myself if I don't receive one as a gift.

Talula Babaton Bromley Military coat in black $350 CAD. I need a long black wool coat. The Talula Babaton Howell peacoat is not long enough sometimes and my other long wool coat is a dark grey that is harder to match my bags and winter boots.

A pair of black Christian Louboutin pumps $675 CAD at least. I haven't decided on the style yet. I'll probably get the Yoyo, Ron Ron, or any other pump styles available at Holt Renfrew at the moment. I'll most likely buy it on Boxing Day if I don't get it before Christmas because I remember last year Holt Renfrew had no tax or 10% off before 10am.

Salvatore ferragamo black patent flats $415 CAD. I'll get these if I don't end up getting any Christian Louboutin pumps. I want these understated flats to wear with tights and shorts and a cardigan. Yes, I'm experimenting and changing up my style. My Tory Burch flats are too flashy to wear sometimes.

House of Harlow necklace in khaki or black $75 USD. I can't decide on which colour. Khaki is more unique and doesn't get "lost" in my black hair. But black matches with everything. I'll probably buy this for myself on Black Friday because I know Tobi will have a 30% off site wide sale and I'll price match it with Revolve Clothing.

7 for All Mankind "The Skinny" in feather weight $169 USD. I always wanted a faux leather look skinny jean and I love this particular line of 7FAM skinny jeans. I'll probably price match these with Revolve Clothing on Black Friday because I know Tobi will have a 30% off site wide sale.

These are the 5 key items I really want. Yes it's a small wish list. It's all about the quality, not quantity.

I'm surprised I didn't put a bag on this list. Then again, I'm trying to find the perfect black bag. I don't want a satchel bag so Balenciaga is out of the question (the price point is good though dammit).

I really want an everyday shoulder/hobo bag that is: black, leather and no monogram. Nothing really matches ALL my 3 characteristics I'm looking for and nothing really catches my eye that's within the low $2000 price range after tax.

Suspender Tights!

Talula Babaton Howell peacoat, Fiore tights, H&M wool shorts, Forever 21 sweater, Louis Vuitton Trevi pm and Zara booties

Suspender tights are so eye catching and unique. I haven't seen many people wear them in Vancouver yet. I only know of me and 2 of my other girl friends who rock this style. I'm addicted to it and I'm going to have a total of 4 pairs soon!

When worn right, the suspender tights adds a little sex appeal to compliment a sleek outfit. Suspender tights look best when you are dressed modestly on top (i.e blazer, sweater, blouse, cardigan - nothing that shows a lot of skin) so at the bottom is where the outfit makes the grand statement. However, it's very easy to look like trash if you pair these tights to the wrong outfit.

Here are some pictures I found on the internet:

NO! Don't wear that out please, it burns my eyes.

(shorts are too short obviously)

(put some pants on please)

(left: shoes are too casual and dress isn't conservative enough/ right: outfit is almost okay except for dress is too low cut)

YES! Awesome outfits.

(very sleek and sexy - yay! suspender tights done right)

(skirt is a good length for sexy tights)

The Dos and Don'ts of Suspender Tights:

- Do wear them with dark & sleek shorts

- Do make sure your top is not longer than your shorts (or else it looks like you are not wearing any bottoms)

- Do wear them with dark ankle booties, pumps, and boots

- Don't wear them with open toed/strappy shoes (looks like a street walker)

Also:

- Don't pair them with light denim shorts (looks grungy/too casual) but dark denim should be okay

- Do wear suspender tights at night and I guess it could be okay to wear them in the day depending how you style it

You can buy suspender tights at:

- Urban Outfitters

- ASOS

- Stylish Fox

- Ebay

- other websites, just research the various brands: Fiore, House of Holland and Pretty Polly