Shopping for Work

Last Thursday I decided I wanted  needed some new clothes for the upcoming work season that loomed this and next week. Smart outfits as I will be greeting many people and trying to make an impact and have lasting impressions.

Where did I stumble upon? Topshop Personal shopping! Isn't this dressing room absolutely gorgeous? I wouldn't leave here, if I needed a break from the city, I would just sit and rest my feet. Perhaps catch up on Twitter or something other fun read.

I love this top that was part of the decor

 The brown Satchel is totally up my alley, perhaps for when I move to London one day.

Enough of what I didn't buy though, here's what I did buy:

 I love this oversized blazer. I have wide hips and a blazer like this gives the illusion of a slimmer silhouette. Like when I pair it like this:

                                       

 I haven't worn this one yet, but the soft lapels that don't stay folded actually are quite funky and I don't mind wearing it just this way, adds to a different focus around the chest area, which in my case is in constant need of other attention/ distraction anyways.

This top has slits on the sleeve. A little subtle sexy but I thought it would still work for workwear. The store I bought this from is in QVB - Zeitgeist. Her pieces are one of a kind and sell out fast, but she's been open a while and always on sale. I wonder if anyone would pay full price for her designs eventually? They're certainly worth it!

I also went to the Fashion Weekend Sydney and bought two pairs of ultra trendy yet comfy Flipsters for $50! Steal ain't it?

Retail therapy

For less than $200, I picked up all these Buys today on sale:

1) Wittner Pastel Multi leather strap sandals; $34,99 from $139
2) Ipanema  by Gisele Bundchen fancy flip flops that I am looking forward to wear in my European summer trip; $17.95 from $30
3) Forever New Amelie Dusty Pink top with cutouts; $27.97 (Further 30% markdown score!)
4) Forever New Alexa Zipped Blazer; $69.96 Also  another Further 30% markdown score!)
5) Lovisa funky neon coloured necklace which I thought went well with my crazy coloured Prabal Gurung for Target top. $7. Also bought rings which aren't pictured here. I figured I am gonna add rings to my styling too despite never really having worn any in the past.

All that for $165, who said Australia was too expensive to shop in?

Checking in

I am away in KL for Chinese New Year. I am so excited about going home even if its for a crazy three to four days because I haven't celebrated Chinese New Year with them since 2007! I have been limiting myself on the choccies and snacks just preparing for the feasts and cookies galore. It's not like I didn't see my family in all that time, but somehow, Reunion dinner and visiting friends and family for the cookies and chatter still hold a curious delight. Something still lingers in me after all these years that triggers that excitement deep inside.

Anyways, since February's begun, I have been keeping busy. Gathering more empties for Project 100 pan, packing and shopping for clothes and gifts for the trip, planning outfits for Chinese New Year, making sure my in laws don't miss out too much on the festivities by recreating the Chinese New Year Salad at home for them.

I focussed on getting the colour combination more than the traditional vegetables for the Yee Sang. I didn't want to rely on food colouring and I didn't want to use White Radish either as it might 'cancel' my FIL's medication.

Another issue that's been weighing on my mind: How do you survive a long haul flight on Scoot? I have packed entertainment and comfort.
Girly mags, my trustworthy Samsung Galaxy tablet fully loaded with TV episodes I need to catch up on, iPhone5 earphones (so comfortable to wear in long haul flights whilst you lean against headrests), a pillow and a soft cardigan that doubles up as a blanket, an empty bottle to fill up just before you board the flight with water, and snacks (last two items not shown).

Face masks, eye cream and hand cream are must haves with me to keep me moist on the journey. I normally bring cleansing wipes with me too for removing my makeup before I apply the face masks, I just didn't have any left. Deodorant and toothpaste to make for more pleasant greetings when I arrive. And everything else are just the essentials I need for my trip but because they are LGAs and I haven't purchased check in luggage for this trip, they go into my clear plastic bag to present at security.

I know the trip will be over before I have even adjusted to it beginning, and so to console myself for when I have to come back, I've purchased some pretties for a wedding I am attending in March. I knew I wanted a maxi dress, but buying retail here might just mean another girl rocking up in the same dress as me or spending too much money on a frock. So ol' reliable ASOS comes to the rescue with two dresses that I think might work and they were <$100 which was exactly what I was after.

The Rare scarf print dress: I am not too crash hot about the cutout right above my belly button to be honest, but I liked the colours and so I am excited to give it a go.

The blue dress's design is a winner but I bought the same size as the model's and it says she is 5.975 feet tall so I am pretty sure I'd be sweeping the floor with it when I get it.

Can't wait to receive them in the mail and to try them on. I'd return one of them probably, I just wonder which?

Europe 2012 haul

Europe 2012 haul by happy-e-after featuring 

 Chanel earrings/ Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Apparence Holiday Makeup 2012/H&M beige sleeveless top/ H&M white jacket, $40/  Zara knit with shoulder embellishments/  H&M puffy jacket , $48 / H&M skinny fit jeans, $16 / Longchamp 'le Pliage' tote/ Maison Martin Margiela with H&M Fusion of two trousers/ Chanel leather GST / GAP 1969 oxblood skinny pants / GAP color block sweater /ALDO flat shoes / Anthropologie Ruched tops/ Mark & Spencer ankle Strap boots, $56 H&M print wrap dress, $19/ Michael Kors Tonne Pebbled Leather Hobo bag

I know it might not look like much but between travelling, fooding, souvenir shopping and seeing shows, I am still proud to have amassed these new items. My credit card bill however, is another story.

This year I bought

I always thought it was traditional to do a recap of all that has happened in the year. Reflect upon what was great this year and what I wow to do better next year. This post is dedicated to the loads of fun I have had self-indulging and blogging about this year. It was fun to resume my normal spending habits once there no longer was a looming big event that I had to save for (most of last year's purchases were wedding related), truth be told, there was a bulk of these items that came about because of the new lifestyle I began leading staying with my in-laws, with all that extra spare cash I now have.

First the beauty department:

 A mixture of luxury and non-luxury items. This doesn't even include the nail foils and falsies and freebies that I had gotten this year. Most the items were purchased from Priceline, Malaysia (still the cheapest place to buy cosmetics I find) and at beauty events.

Next up, the clothes:

 Labels featured here include Zara, Topshop, Kookai, Dotti, Sass, Cue, Zeitgeist, Sheike, Wayne Cooper, Forever New, Pleasure State, Witchery, etc, bought from the markets or retailers locally (Yes I still shop the brick and mortar variety). And yes the brands like Dolan, Marc Jacobs, Rory Beca and New Romantics, Tory Burch are courtesy of Shopbop whilst the capped toe wedges are Asos.

Other accessories I couldn't fit into the collage included booties, Mollini sky-high heels, two lust have bags (Rebecca Minkoff Quilted affair and 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli), Statement necklaces, Missoni scarf, Fendi frames, iPhone cover and iPhone 5, Gum boots, and earrings from Colette and MJ cushion cut studs:

Again a mix of store bought and e-tail. And a mix of high-end and cheapies.

Just another year that hasn't had too much else happening, but filled with so many moments of simple bliss in either opening a parcel or trying on the clothes as soon as I got home, I think it tided me through some tough times and many a fashion dillema of 'not-having-anything-to-wear'.

Happy New Year guys!

P.S. this post scarily doesn't include absolutely everything I bought this year. There were some I didn't save the pics of or I might have utterly miss. Also, as I collated this before my UK/ Europe trip, I really didn't truthfully have full disclosure here. Nevertheless, you know I'll do a haul post when I get back, and by then, it really counts as purchases for the New Year anyways. *wink*

The art of shopping

I sometimes feel like I have lost the art of shopping. It seems awfully rusty having not been accustomed to the cardio of sweeping through shops and the navigation of which labels are positioned in the malls. What one does nowadays when hitting the shops instead of clicking on buttons in Jammies in front of your computer.

Well, @Jay2DaL had to go dress shopping (isn't that the best kind?) for a couple of weddings this month. And so the weekend begins somewhat like this: You wake up and you put on your shopping outfit. Something that's easy to slip in and out off. Something that it stylish and yet comfortable and weather friendly.

I settled on a Kookai top with the shoulder flower details, my new silk Witchery Maxi skirt and Novo Gladiator sandals and my Rebecca Minkoff bag that allows me easy access to my things and still be able to have my hands free for rifling through racks.

We then set off and have lunch after finding parking in the city. There are plenty of flat rate parks on the weekends and the Cinema Centre carpark is only $10 for the whole day. Lunch wasconvenient and cheap, under $10 at Mappen the Japanese self-service noodle bar.

Then we were ready to shop. Quite unsure of where to begin to find the best dresses of the season, we looked in QVB where the dresses we thought we liked were full of inapropriately placed cutouts or slits. But here's a gem we found with simple, modern retro designs that are classy and still on-trend. We bought the clothes entusiastically as they were well made pieces with a soft, feminine fit and very reasonable prices.(30% store opening discount did help too I suppose).

Zeitgeist viscose pants (new purchase) teamed with Zara singlet and Rory Beca lace Blazer

Wayne by Wayne Cooper dress teamed with Tory Burch Red Patent belt

At the crazy Myer one day sale where 30% to 40% was being offered on most labels off the rack. This charcoal capped-sleeves Wayne Cooper dress is one size too big and missing its belt, but at a quarter of its original price (and the mentality that I'll eventually grow into it one day) the dress was too good to give it a miss and so it came home with me.

What we also got to sample today but didn't buy because they've sold out was the Misscha Super Aqua Snail cream, a cell-renewing formula made of snail slime. A big rave at the moment apparently, and I'd give it a go one day I think.

Things I had to remind myself of whilst shopping again was to check how many items one was allowed in the fitting rooms, to take with you other accessories/ items of clothing to pair with the one that were trying on so that you can see what the end result looks like and to check whether there were special sales on in the major departmental stores instead of the boutiques as you could get the same things for cheaper just because. Also, discovering gift cards in your jam-packed wallet is always a really pleasant surprise at the checkout counter and finding clothes that fit you well before handing over the cash is the bonus, instant satisfaction compared to the long, drawn-out experience of online shopping.


What about you? Do you still appreciate the traditional methods of shopping anymore?

 

Priceline beauty discount

Who says beauty is only skin deep? It is as deep as your pockets I'd say. And if they aren't quite that deep then well, you'll just have to take advantage of these offers such as store wide 20% off all cosmetics and skincare products at Priceline today and tomorrow. You can shop online too!

I shopped and saved on the following essentials that needed replacements for my bathroom:

 

And although there wasn't a discount for the nail polish remover, with my Priceline Club quarterly discount voucher of $4.56 I still ended up saving more than $17 in this haul. Glee!

Those aren't the only things I need replacing by the way.

I have hit the pan on my Dior compact, which is truly the end of an era. Because since staying true to their makeup for about over 5 years now, they have relentlessly discontinued or repackaged (so that i can't get refills) my favourite products no matter how many times I have found a close substitute within their range.








So with that, I bid Dior adieu and look forward to trialing a new house of makeup. Hopefully my next five years will be better served.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pashli frenzy in the office

I think I have coveted, no obsessed with this bag for a really long time. Ever since catching this pic on Instagram by Moda operandi 68 days ago according to my Twitter records, I have wanted one for my very own.

That was a long time ago. Then, Shopbop only carried the mulberry, gold and fuschia. Many things pointed me towards getting it, such as seeing it in real life at the VFNO and also getting a 20% discount code at the Shopbop pop up store.
But I was trying to pace myself. It was the month I wanted to purchase the iPhone 5, but I had the money set aside for that anyhow. I wanted a black classic one, and cleverly found one on Shopbop even though it was labelled under jade and long after I saw the mulberry one sell out cause I wasn't convinced that colour was gonna last me forever. So all things pointed to me buying it and it wasn't until the family and friends sale occur last week when everyone on Twitterverse began Shopbop mass shopping. The sale didn't extend to 3.1Phillip Lim but I had that discount still from VFNO, and the bag was flashing as low in inventory, so I ordered it last Wednesday and today it is here!
Did you know that all Designer boutique items come gift wrapped? This gorgeous box:

Housed this gorgeous parcel:

And voila,

A happy camper at work during lunchtime:

Even my colleagues got excited and started taking pics and examining the bag:

Here it is sitting on my desk:

Bigger than imagined (which I like) but too heavy to put too much in. I might get away with putting an iPad in but a laptop *shudder* the weight will kill my forearms. Oh and it doesn't fit under the shoulder at all and looks awkward being carried by its shoulder strap.

The girls loved it anyhow. They all thought it a Power bag. A 'Dont mess with me I mean business' bag. I like that.

Will be flouting this bag for a little while and sure it is coming to London with me.

Today I saved - Priceline haul

There's always something a girl can find to buy at a drugstore. I wandered into Priceline today knowing I wanted to buy something, not knowing what. There's been a lot of agonising over aging here lately.

Models Prefer Mini Hair Straightener 15% off, I saved $2.25 but given a GHD is over $200, this is a real real steal. Of course it doesn't work as well as a GHD, it just serves the purpose in removing the kinks at the end of my bob.

 Models Prefer Thermal Radial styling brush. I needed a radial brush and this one was only $10.

This here is the real reason I went to Priceline. I needed a neck cream. Getting closer to 30 is showing on my neck nowadays. Noticeable creases are forming and if they are like the fine lines around my eyes, I know they won't go away. I'll only be able to minimise the appearance of wrinkles. The Loreal Youth Code Night cream was on special so I thought it was worth a try over the Olay anti-ageing cream which wasn't discounted.

The pleasant smelling cream was thick and oily, hard to absorb into the skin, but it promises that after one night my skin will be rehydrated and results within a week. I will report back. I saved $11 on this.

Garnier invisi mineral deodorant 20% off so I saved $1.10 on something that is just an everyday staple since I had hit adolescence.

With the discounts, I saved $13.35 which is decent. What's a girl gonna do when there's bargains and beauty promises galore? Not shop? Didn't think so. *wink*

iGeek

Never thought I would ever turn into one of those that just have to have their hands on the latest gizmo and be amongst the first of them too. But yesterday when the iPhone5 gor released, I was amongst the lucky ones at 8am knowing that I had my iPhone5 safely received.



I had to wait for ages for the nano sim to kick into action which also meant I was out of action in the cyber world, but heck it was worth it just waiting for this phone to come to life. It is so much faster than my iPhone3 as a first improvement. Then all those features that I had missed without iOS5, such as the latest Instagram with all its features, using blog press, battery usage indicator, multitasking, iMessage, FaceTime they all came back with a vengeance.



Disappointment in not having any designer covers released yet for the phone. I had to order a clear gel case off eBay. Nothing too stylish on offer yet. But the kiosk near town hall yesterday was flogging cases for $20 and screen guards for $10. What a rort! I managed to get mine for only $6.45 in total. I just have to wait for it to arrive. Until then the plastic stays on.

But ultimately, I got bored of my restored apps and functionality very quickly and hopped onto the AppStore in search for new playthings to satiate my appetite.

And I think I have found one that I just can't wait to play with. It's called Cinemagram. An app that allows you to animate instagrams. I can't wait to go outside to trial it out.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Out with the old, in with the new

I bought this Pomme vernis key pouch way back when I lived in a unit and had a swipe card to carry around. But nowadays, living in a house, I don't really need a pouch very much anymore. It was time to move on.

 It's served me well, but this Fuschia number has my attention now. My very first Prada. What have I begun?

After all, we all know the Devil wears Prada.

Vogue fashion's night out 2012

This is my favorite annual city event. I have gone every year from when they first begun in the height of the GFC, and each year, the buzz just increases and more retailers and shoppers get involved each year.




This was my #vfno outfit, having decided on wearing nothing that was e-tail bought except for my Carvela booties from ASOS (well it completed the outfit), the Collette necklace,the Cue top, the Ally tweed jacket and the Zara petal print skirt were all items where I had touched, tried, pondered over, and lovingly exchanged for over a real cash counter. The real deal in shopping.

And so our night begun at Martin Place where the Vogue stage was all set up for a night of fashion, dance and fun.




We chanced upon the Palmolive freebies amongst these gorgeous flowers and fruit.




David Jones held catwalks with Rachel Finch as one of the hosts.




Retailers went all out with sweets galore: Lolly bars at Mimco, Ghermez Cupcakes at Ferragamo, pastel cake pops at T&Co, there were sparkling waters, wines and fizzy lemonades free flow too.




Every now and then we would chance upon a dressed up model/ immaculately dressed staff asking if we'd like to have our Polaroid taken. I collected from Forever New, Mimco, Mulberry and my favorite one at Gucci, where you get to try on Gucci's gorgeous merchandise for the Polaroid shoot and the lady that went after me politely asked if she could try on my necklace too for the shoot. lol! As if my cheapie necklace could ever compare with Gucci's luxury.

 
Peter Philips, Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup, created a new makeup collection exclusively for Vogue Fashion's Night Out. The Les Twin-Sets de Chanel is a collection of three beautiful matching lip and nail duos available exclusively on the night from the Chanel Makeup Studio in Myer Sydney.

The swatches from left to right:
Rouge Allure Velvet 'La Provocante' with Le Vernis 'Provocation' - the perfect Autumn plum colour combination.

Rouge Allure Velvet 'L'Infidèle' with Le Vernis 'Infidèle' - intense pink shades bursting with energy.

Rouge Allure Velvet 'La Délicate' with Le Vernis 'Délicatesse' - embodies sophistication and refinement in variations of beige.

Guess which one I bought? I was intrigued by the Provocation, as most the girls in there wore that, but I decided to go safe in the end, I chose the Delicate, my only purchase for the night.

Well, it might not be the last of it, I scored 20% off both ASOS and Shopbop. With the Ultimate Closet items, Shopbop managed to quench my longstanding desire to hold the Phillip Lim Pashli Satchel in real life and tried it before I go home to buy it. I am still swooning over the bag, but am choosing my priorities wisely and so have not immediately popped on and gone crazy on Shopbop. Don't worry, I will let you all know when I decide.

*Please excuse the crappity of the picture resolution. I have downgraded to the iphone 3 since Mr.HEA moved to London with my iphone 4. The plan is for me to await the iphone 5 release here and pounce on it then I will. Until then my dears, I am so sorry. *

Stylethread purchase

Earlier this year I saw these rain boots on someone on the streets and mistook them to be Anya Hindmarch ankle boots, leading to a rather futile tweet and google search.




Randomly trying to pillage the bottom of the barrel sales on the end of season stock, I found out how wrong I was and how much I still wanted these.




Mel ankle rain boots were being advertised as the yummy bubblegum scented rain boots to have for the wet festival season ahead. I am just looking forward to having them to strut around in Cold wet London when I visit Mr.HEA in December.
Ordered the boots in black initially but Stylethread had run out of stock (gave me a voucher to apologize for the inconvenience which was unexpected but very welcome), so I ended up putting in an order for the Burgundy instead.




I am still shopping for winter clothing for London now that I have my tax return back in my account, but something tells me I am a little late to the party and perhaps I should just wait till I am there to shop.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone