Julep Nails!

I tried the Julep nail polish in Maria that came in the Julep Maven box in my last blog post. It's a metallic pink that is very appropriate for work. I was super amazed with this polish since I've never tried anything as opaque and fast-drying as this! Believe it or not, it only requires one coat! And it dries super fast! The instruction on the packaging says to apply 2 coats over base coat and follow with top coat for durability and shine. I didn't follow through with the base coat, but the top coat is absolutely required since this polish chips easily without one.

This polish is also great to remove - it requires minimal nail polish remover and the polish just slips off your nails without too much tugging! One downside is that just like other metallic polishes that I tried, they tend to be streaky. I've yet to find one that's not so I've learned to tolerate it.

I'll be sure to apply base coat and a better top coat next time to maximize the durability. Can't wait to try the other matte Julep nail polish that I have.

Much Love.

Julep Maven Box - January 2012 American Beauty

Yay I got my Julep Maven box today! I kind of forgot that I bought it so when I saw it when I came home from work, it felt like Christmas again :) I learned about this box from Jenny so I signed up for it. At first I was a bit hesitant about spending $20 which is more expensive than a normal sample beauty box, but I received the first box coupon by email for $5 a box so I quickly jumped on it!

The interesting thing about the Julep Maven box is that you know what you're getting that month. Actually, you get to choose a set that best suits you. I chose the American Beauty set because I was attracted by the shimmery pink polish called Maria.

It came with

- Age Defying Hand Brightener (89mL)

- Nail polish in Anne (8mL)

- Nail polish in Maria (8mL)

- Sample hand cream (2mL)

Anne / Maria

Did I mention the packaging of these polishes look super sleek? ;) I can't wait to try these out!

Much Love.

Anchors and Bows,

Silve and Gold.

Came across these Kate Spade and Henri Bendel jewelry and wanted to share with you girls. I like extremely simple things when it comes to jewelry, anything too edgy and too overwhelming scares me. I like both silver and gold, but I think silver flatters me more.

Kate Spade Anchor Away Pendant

Kate Spade Double Bow Hinged Bangle

Kate Spade Love Notes Bow Ring / Kate Spade All Wrapped Up Bow Ring

Kate Spade All Wrapped Up Pearls Necklace

I thought this is a bracelet until I typed its name. At first, I thought it resembles my BCBG pearl bracelet so much, and the bow gives it a cute twist. But as a necklace, I don't think it suits me at all. After all, I'm not a big fan of short necklaces.

Henri Bendel Petite Hinged Pave Bow Bangle

I don't especially fancy bangles because I think they're too harsh for me and it's a bit hard to match with outfits as opposed to bracelets. This Henri Bendel one, however, is quite cute and I love how they mixed silver and gold together.

Henri Bendel Bow Tied Pendant

Much Love.

Topbox - January 2012

I was kindly contacted by Topbox to review their beauty sample box, and being the beauty product junkie that I am, of course I can't refuse! Just like many others, Topbox offers 4 deluxe sized beauty products for $10. It currently only ships within Canada (Yay for more Canadian companies!)

To my surprise, instead of the traditional rectangular boxes that most other brands come in, Topbox comes in a cylindrical container with a really darling design. I absolutely adore it because it's so girly and different. I have yet to think of a way to make use of this... but I'm sure I will :)

Principessa Beauty - Notte Breeze Dry Shampoo

If you haven't known already, I'm a big fan of dry shampoo because I don't like to wash my hair everyday. I've never heard of this brand, but I'm intrigued to try. The girly packaging is an absolute plus.

Shu Uemura - Full Shimmer Illuminating Shampoo

LillyPilly - Tea Tree Hand & Body Creme

Benefit - Benetint

I actually already own a travel size Benetint and I absolutely love it. This sample size is slightly smaller than the version I have right now, which makes travelling with it even better.

I really like this month's Topbox! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a Shu product since the brand is generally quite expensive. To add to that, I think I can easily make use of all the samples included. I've gotten several sample beauty boxes in the past. Although it's always nice to experience the thrill of opening the box without knowing what's inside, some of the products always get piled up in my beauty stash untouched. However, with this box, I see myself being able to use all 4 samples.

Another thing I want to add is that when you go to Topbox's website, you can see a list of brands that were actually featured in past topbox (rather than potentially going to be featured in the future). Many of those brands are companies that I'm very interested in trying!

Much Love.

If you've tried other beauty sample boxes, let me know what you think of them :)

Flora

About a couple months ago, my bestie got me the Flora perfume by Gucci for my birthday, and instead of the normal packaging, she got me the purse spray which in my opinion is oh-so-very-cool.

The packaging is sleek and compact which is perfect for travelling. It's also quite light as well! It comes with three additional bottles of refills of 15mL each.

I really enjoy the scent. It's not too strong, but is very feminine.

It's very secured when twisted up to ensure nothing can be leaked. To use the perfume, you just have to twist the top part down. And when you're finished with the perfume, you can slide the actual perfume up to change it to the refill.

Much Love.

Tis the season...

...to love the things you love.

I want to share with y'all some of the things I've gotten during the holidays as gifts or bought myself. I got myself this gorgeous brown Marc by Marc Jacobs called "Bianca Jane on a Leash" It's a cross body bag, which makes it soooo convenient to take out. I love every detail of it - the leather is super soft. It is rather small, but fits all the essentials. The straps are removable so you can use it as a clutch if you want. One downside is that it doesn't have a zipper so you have to make sure to secure the front lock by turning it.

With 6 card slots at the back. Currently holding my phone, key holder, and lip balm.

This bag comes in several different colours as shown on the Marc Jacobs site, and there's also a sparkly one on Harvey Nicols that is currently sold out. I bought mine at Holt Renfrew (a department store in Canada) where the only colour on sale was the sparkly one, but I thought it would be a tad too much for everyday use.

Lately I've been obsessing over candles! I bought a few from Bath and Body Works and took advantage of their buy 1 get 1 free promo right now. Absolutely loving Mint Chocolate!

Other adorable and lovely things this Christmas

Red top bought from Asos! Aren't the ruffles so lovely? Perfect for the holidays :)

Much Love.

Cruisin' in 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I went on my much needed vacation to Bahamas! It was my first time cruise experience, and it was awesome. I basically just slept, ate, and ate some more haha. Oh how I miss the warm weather and sunshine!

Went to the art auction on the cruise where we got free champaigne!

Isn't it amazing that the water is sooooo blue over there?

Much Love. Happy holiday everyone!