Steam Cream Review

Hi everyone! It's clearly been a while... long story short there were a lot of personal matters I had to deal with and I really hadn't had the opportunity or inspiration to post. But finally, here I am! Ad today I have a review of a holy grail product for you...... Steam Cream!!!





This fabulous cream is made by the same creators of Lush--the store with the beautiful soaps and body products that smell amaaaazzzinnggg. This cream uses steam instead of chemicals to blend the ingredients (in a nutshell, more details on this are posted on their website!), and so this gives the cream a different texture and feel. Apparently, you can use it on your body, knees/elbows AND your lips.... Although I'm not so sure I liked it on my lips....

What first attracted me to this was the beautiful tin. The tin is something that can be re-used so easily because of the alluring design, which is another thing Steam Cream has come to be known for--their beautiful tins. With so many designs, there's bound to be something for everyone! It's really a nice touch that you can personalize your cream, and a great way to reduce and reuse!


The cream itself has a very soft, very moisturizing texture. Unlike a lot of other creams which require repeated applications to really absorb, or ones that sit on top of your skin and feel greasy, Steam Cream absorbs quickly and leaves your skin feeling so soft. In addition, it has a light herbal, lavender scent. I loooove lavender, so this was perfect for me. But even if you don't like scents, the smell fades fairly quickly (probably within 10 minutes), so it won't bother you for very long. The price is decent, it was around $20. Not amazing, especially for its small-ish size, but it's not bad either for its  luxurious feel and scent. I definitely want to collect more of these beautiful tins in different designs....    One tin will give you 75g of product. This design is the Yoshino pattern.

Maxi-mizing my Vacation (Part 2)

And finally, part 2! Again, I wore maxi dresses almost exclusively during this trip (except for travelling on the plane) because they're super comfy yet dressy, very on trend, and they saved me worrying about modest dress codes for all the religious attractions we had planned to visit. And so without further ado...

 At St. Peter's Basilica-- Dress: Victoria's Secret, Sandals: Locale, Denim Jacket: Forever21, Bag: Jeanne Lottie

 In Capri-- Dress: Old Navy maxi skirt pulled up, Sandals: Locale, Hat: Aldo, Belt: Jacob, Necklace: from Pompeii bancarelle

 On the Spanish Steps in Rome-- Dress: Club Monaco, Belt: Costa Blanca, Sunglasses: Point Zero

Bonus Plane Outfit-- Tee: Walmart, Wide legged linen pants: Victoria's Secret, Multiwrap cardigan: Jacob, Shoes: Birkenstocks

The trip was amazing, and a lot of fun! My favourite was definitely Capri because of the beautiful scenery and all the nature, but Rome and Pompeii have such rich histories it's amazing to stand there and picture what life would have been like all those years ago. If you ever visit Italy, especially Rome, I suggest visiting the bancarelle, or street shops, where they often just have a little tent. You can find a number of cute accessories and even clothes for very inexpensive prices, and they're (almost always) made in Italy! I might do a post on my haul in the future! : )

Have a great Tuesday!

Maxi-mizing My Vacation (Part 1)

Last week I went with my family to visit Rome (as well as Pompeii, Naples, and Capri), Italy. It was a lot of fun, and of course fun to pack for! I think I had my outfits planned out months in advance! A number of the attractions we had planned to visit in Rome posed a couple of style concerns however, making this a bit of an atypical vacation for us. Since we would be visiting many churches, we needed to be dressed modestly (no knees or shoulders showing). Luckily, maxi dresses are having their moment right now! And luckily for me, they're my favourite trend of the moment!

Here's how I maxi-mized my trip!

 It was raining the day I wore this, and since the dress was really long, I didn't want it to drag along the ground and get wet/dirty. So, I improvised and tied the sides to shorten it and give it an asymmetrical hemline!

First Outfit: Old Navy Dress, Jeanne Lottie bag, Birkenstocks (Madrid style)

Second Outfit: Old Navy blouse, Tilley skirt, F21 denim jacket, Costa Blanca belt, Toms

Belated Canada Day OOTD

Surprise, surprise! I'm late with a post again... Hey, I'm still getting the hang of this whole blogging thing! Here was my outfit for Canada Day. A month ago. But I wanted to share it anyway, since it's really something that can be worn anytime. It just took its inspiration from the colours of the flag!
Also, I just got back from my vacation in Italy (yay)! Which I promise I will be making a post for soon!

Hope your Monday is going great so far!

 Dress: Aritzia, Cardigan: Jacob, Belt: Jacob, Shoes: eBay

I'm a Sucker for Chiffon...

I have a general love of breezy, romantic, feminine styles, and so this has led me to a dilemma... I bought this blue jersey high-low maxi for my upcoming trip to Italy (yay!), but I originally fell in love with a nude chiffon-y high low maxi dress. It was sooooo pretty, and could easily be dressed up or down for any occasion. But...the length was a little long for my liking and the material (polyester) was a little steeply priced for my liking.... So while I did end up buying this pretty blue jersey version, I can't get my mind off of the beige maxi! And now I wish I had taken a picture so I could compare the two... Hmm, guess I'll just have to go take a look at the dress tomorrow and try it on again for my final verdict! In the meantime, take a look at this fabulous dress by Ooyoo currently in Mendocino stores. It also comes in an orchid purple, khaki, and black.

Dress: Ooyoo

Summery Blue

This outfit was what I wore to my recent graduation (yay)! Only I forgot to photograph it when my hair actually looked somewhat presentable--it was an updo I did myself and everything! I don't have too much to say in this post, so I'll just comment on the fact that the colour of the dress matches the water. : )

Dress: Jacob, Shoes: Le Chateau, Clutch: boutique

Hope you're enjoying summer as much as I am!

Feeling Colourful

It's been a while! And a lot has happened for me since I last posted, once of them being that I have successfully graduated from my undergraduate degree! So now with a little more free time under my belt, I hope I can get into some more regular posts!

To start, here's my ode to the colour-blocking trend... Bright hues all thrown together on a bright, summery day!

Top: Jacob, Skirt: Old Navy, Shoes: Roberto Vianni, Clutch: Aldo

Hope your summer's off to a great start!

J. Crew Lady Day Coat Review (in black)

     

 Hello, I know I've been MIA for a while! But I'm back with a review of the very popular Lady Day Coat by J. Crew!

When I first saw this on the blog, ExtraPetite, I fell in love! It looked simple and classic and gorgeous, so I ordered it online right away (and it was on sale, score!)!. And when I first took it out of its box, the fabric was nicely textured and heavy, and felt very warm! But as soon as I tried it on, my feelings quickly changed. My figure is more curvy, and I felt the coat just didn't really sit well. As you can see around the shoulders, it's fairly baggy, but fitted through the waist and hips. While the waistband detail is cute, I think this was designed to suit "chilli" body types better.

 Although, the scarf did tuck nicely into the jacket for a polished look!

 In my opinion, the coat looked better left open than buttoned up.

In the end, I returned the jacket (and had to pay some very expensive return shipping). This purchase was very disappointing, since I had been so excited for it in the first place. For me, the jacket just didn't sit well on my figure, and I didn't want to bother altering it since I have an alternative coat I'm happy with. Not to mention about this jacket--I know it's beauty is its simplicity, but it was a little 'boring'! Maybe a different colour would have made it more visually interesting!

What have your experiences been with the Lady Day coats?

Red Dress and Jewels

This outfit was for a Christmas party (around a month ago). I fell in love with this dress from first sight, and so I decided it was a perfect holiday dress to spruce up with decorative jewelery, since it's so simple.

Dress: BB Dakota, Necklace: boutique, Booties: Spring

Kevin Murphy Color Bug Review

I bought this product recently, the Kevin Murphy Color Bug. Basically, it's a temporary hair dye product to try out the dip dye trend with! Short and simple: here's my review.

 

Brooch + Cardi

As soon as I saw this cardigan at H&M, I fell in love. This cardigan was featured in my boxing week haul, and I fell in love with it because it looks like it's Chanel jacket-inspired, but still cozy!
I added a vintage brooch from my mom to me to top the look off!

 Cardigan: H&M, Camisole: Wilfred, Jeans: American Eagle, Boots: Aldo, Brooch: vintage

Faux Fur Vest: Casual and Night Out

So over the break I had a sudden huge lust for a faux fur vest! I'd been wanting one for a while, but I finally bit the bullet and found the perfect one by BB Dakota (I love that brand!) that was in my price range but still looked pretty luxurious. As you probably already know, they've been a big trend for the past couple fall/winter seasons, and it's easy to see why! Though they may seem like a scary trend to try at first, they're fairly easy to throw on with anything for instant glam! And they're so warm! But I definitely got some eyebrows raised at first from my family members who didn't expect to see me in something so different (and yes, I also got the "which cat did you skin?" jokes too). On the flip side, I also got a bunch of compliments!

The first look was a night out look with some friends. It was cold out that night, and I would have needed some form of a cover up. But since I hate coat-checking, the fur vest was a great option because it kept me warm while outside, but cool enough while inside that I never had to take it off!

 Fur vest: BB Dakota, Dress: American Apparel, Tights: Anna Sui, Booties: Spring Shoes

Since we stayed overnight at a hotel that night we went out, I wanted to pack light. Again, the fur vest came in handy because it kept me warm the next day too since I was able to use it for my casual outfit. Again, I kept the outfit simple and let the vest do the most of the shining, but I added the rusty orange pashmina scarf for some colour pop.

Vest: BB Dakota, long sleeve shirt: Zoe D., Jeggings: Hue, pashmina scarf

Glitter French Manicure

This is a video I posted to my Youtube channel yesterday featuring one of my favourite nail looks for the holidays, for winter, for whenever! It's an easy twist on the classic French manicure, just by adding glitter. The nail designs didn't turn out too well in the video, so please see below for pictures!

(Overdue) Christmas Outfit

Remember how I said I didn't get things off my camera in time? This is one of them.

This I outfit I actually wore for someone's birthday, but since it happened to be around Christmas time I thought I would incorporate Christmas colours. I love the colour pop of red and green together, since they're complementary colours!

Top: Zara, Necklace: H&M, Skirt: Talula Babaton, Tights: Anne Klein

Monochrome Grey

Today was a very casual day, so it called for a pretty casual outfit. I decided to try out the monochrome grey/black colour scheme, and so i chose shades of grey ranging to black, with the scarf, top, leggings and even my earrings.
The scarf is actually not an infinity scarf, but I wrapped and tucked it to give it a very cozy, comfy look!

Scarf: handmade, Sweater: Topshop, Leatheresque leggings: American Apparel

Boxig Week Shopping Haul

I don't do many hauls. I'm the kind of person that buys one thing at a time normally, so this is a little weird for me, but I figure it's something fun for me to try once in a while, especially with all the sales going on and a little extra Christmas money!

I posted a video on Youtube already of this haul, which can be seen here....

But I'll post pics of the haul below!

 J. Crew cardigans and sleeveless blouse, Danier leather gloves

 Korean fruit lip balms :)

 Thrifting Haul: patterned blouse, scarf, green pencil skirt

Topshop tweed blazer, glitter knit top and H&M black trim cardigan

I forgot to mention in the video, but I also picked up a Korean bun shaper (Which I've been searching for for a long time!), so all in all, it was a good shopping week! I hope your post-Christmas shopping was as fruitful!

Thrift Shopping!!

Coming up with blogging content is tough (have you noticed the lack of activity?!)! I'm sure I'll get the hang of this soon, but I just always forget to take pictures, or write stuff down in time, etc etc...

Anyway...So one of my best friends and I plan to go thrift shopping today for our FIRST TIME EVER! I'm supes excited, but also supes nervous! And I'll let you know how it goes, hopefully tonight! But I've been inspired by so many bloggers to try this out, so...hopefully well!

Winter Nail Art!

I love nail polish, and when I say "love", I mean LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE. My collection is definitely not as big as Temptalia's or even Juicystar07's, but my friends' jaws drop when I bring out my nail polish case that weighs a good couple pounds. I should show you all sometime! Nail polish for me is always a little pick me up because it's fairly inexpensive and there's never-ending variety. I don't know if you've heard of the "lipstick effect" but it's an economic theory of women's buying trends that says when the economy is not doing as well, lipstick sales rise because they're a fairly inexpensive item a girl can easily use as a "pick me up". Pretty much the case with me and nail polish.


Case in point: over the past couple days I bought a total of 8 polishes to add to my collection...Most of them are glittery, but all are beautiful! I got them from Phoenix Beauty Lounge, where they have an amazing selection, and there was a deal, too! The first were 3 polishes (any brand) with 15% off, and then when I went back, I got 5 polishes for 20% off. Ahhh---mazing! And the store owner is super nice and helpful! Definitely check the store out if you can at Pacific Mall in Toronto, or you can shop online at phoenixbeautylounge.com. I haven't had a chance to try all of these out yet, but I can't wait to!

My haul from left to right: Essie Trophy Wife, Essie Pure Pearlfection, Essie Gold as it Gets, Essie Shine of the Times, China Glaze Snowglobe, China Glaze Fairy Dust, China Glaze CG in the City, OPI Be a Dahlia Won't You?

Anyway...I love nail polish, and I love nail art just as much! I had a number of winter designs I wanted to try, but since I only have two sets of nails, I decided to try some out of my friends! Christmas is right around the corner, so you still have a chance to try out some of these easy, pretty nail designs!

 On my toes: Sally Hansen HD Blue and OPI Give Me the Moon (mixed together) with Sephora by OPI Sparkle Me Silver on the tips.

 OPI All A-Bordeaux the Sleigh with Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me on the tips.

You can tell one of my favourite easy nail design combinations is having glittery tips, like a French manicure. It's a really easy look that's elegant and fun at the same time, and can be done with almost any colour combination.

 On my friend: OPI Jade is the New Black, a red OPI (forget the name, sorry!), with Nail Art Deco in silver glitter, striped across.

 On my friend: China Glaze For Audrey, with snowflakes in OPI Alpine Snow, and silver glitter from Nail Art Deco.

 Again with the glittery tips! OPI Pearl of Wisdom on the nail base, China Glaze CG in the City on the tips.

 OPI All A-Bordeaux the Sleigh as the base, Essie Shine of the Times as a top coat. Above picture is with flash, below is in natural light.

Whew! That was kind of a long post, but hope you enjoyed it!

Stay lovely! <3