French Haul

A couple of weeks ago I was in Paris and I got some cute things...

 There is no way you can go to Paris and skip on the best Macarons in the world: Laduree.

And I went for the special edition of Les Marquis, only sold by the shop at 14 rue de Castiglione.

how could I resist this shopwindow?

Ofcourse, I digested one of them with my cute-as-a-button tea-set from La Chaise Longue

 To add, some funky candles from cultshop Colette:

Also limited editions. Hurray!

*artistic (Basquiat & Keith Haring)
*Funny drawings
*limited Editions
*they smell quite good too
(the candles can also be found on their website)

I went to the Keith Haring exhibition and it was really lively, although you might question if it is really art (but that's often the question around art)

I finally bought the quintessential French Shoe, the ballerina: Repetto ofcourse.

Window Repetto Rue St. Honore (they have several shops in the city)

A shoe that really looks like a ballerina shoe makes you feel like a little girl again.

 

 Talking about feeling like a little girl, I couldn't resist Pink Panther:

For the grown-up girl in me: the Japanese Vogue (Holland hardly sell these anymore, they used to)

So Paris gave me a funky smile (and three eyes) as Mr. Haring is burning smilingly...

spreading heady florals around the room.

 Overal, a cute city with a taste for sweet decadence.

the Luxe, Niche and Snobby hauls

This week I felt really sad for myself...

I miss the company of my best friend, who is actually living overseas (remember the last posts about  the overseas sisters lipgloss, yeh, that is me as well).

I thought I could do better than feeling sad and lonely, so I perked myself with some really luxe, niche and snobby goodies...

The Luxe

A too-expensive body oil...

I just know I could replicate this with a nice melon-oil carrier oil and some neroli essential oil...but my dear...it is Tom Ford Daaahhhling...and too expensive for its 61 euros...still, I needed it!

I could order it online from Belgium webshop Parfuma.com...and I didn't only order the body oil...

The Niche

High end makeup that is really difficult to get, either online or in brick-and-mortar store...

My dear readers...FINALLY, I could order Armani Cosmetics ONLINE!

I ordered the supergorgeous Medittereanean palette...And yes, it is probably dupeable with the eyeshadows I have, but ohhh...♥♥♥ itssoprettyitsoprettyitsopretty ♥ ♥ ♥

They were really generous with samples. I could write down my preference of samples. And yeh, I wrote down Armani Cosmetics. They gave me the Skin Fabric in 04, the Primer, and a gorgeous and niche perfume sample from Armani. The shipping was in two days, so that was instant anti-sadness gratification for me.


The Snobby

Any order from Colette.fr

Last year I was able to visit the store in real life...Well, they are one of the snobbiest bunch around, although there were some moody, too-fassshionable girls that asked me moodily if they could help me (OH WOW). Anyway, did not buy anything that moment, but wanted to return for a Diana camera.

Anyway, the doorman said it was closed, but I saw quite a crowd inside...I probably did not have one of those big, so-called trendy glasses on (that I actually think are quite unflattering on every person, although the rest of the world think they are sooo trendy). Anyway, I actually said I would never buy anything from them, but they had a wicked sale and I wanted a Pat Falcäo necklace for such a long time...

The postman who delivered it to me is not so snobby (just sometimes, when he knows I want the parcel really bad, LOL), so yeh, hurray for online ordering...

The whole necklace:

I got it on sale from 57 euros, but it is now back at its original price from 85 euros (check to see if I am blagging or not here).

The designer is a Brazilian woman who was an engineer in sciences first, but went to cultivate her creative side...I really like that...

That is my Brazilian heart to conclude my luxe, niche and snobby hauls for this week.

Oh, wait...I actually forgot my hair-haul that includes my niche Oribe Signature Cream, but I will write about that later...

Goin' for the real deal?

I have a mini Alexa...she is my babe...

Her leather is fine yet sturdy. You can fit enough necessary and unnecessary stuff in there and she wears like a breeze.

But she is not the real deal...

She is not a Mulberry...

I normally steer away from faux-brands, but I really wanted to try out if I like the dupe before venturing on the real deal...

btw, one of my gmarket purchases under $70:
EDITED: I got this one over here  or itemno. 192385458, from seller 뮤즈백 and it is bag 타입 : 알렉사 미니-브라운.


Besides of the lock, she looks quite like the real Alexa.

So, should I buy the real deal, as I planned to? What do you think?

Koh Crystal Nail File: or a little bit of hope for my frail nails...

Every now and then I receive those coupons that guarantee you a free product, only when you are willing to give the free advise from the experts (read: sale-eager-persons-on-commision) who are willing (read: desperate) to give you advise (read: pushing you into buyng a trillion of products from their brand). I normally dodge away from these promotions, even though I am a sell-declared fan (read:cheapskate) of free products.

With Koh I was willing to endure the consultation, as the state of my hands actually could use some advise. My poor mits have been aging too fast, the nails are peeling and breaking of at the smidge of a touch, even though I have been loading up on Biotin (the supposedly godsend supplement for brittle nails).

Koh is actually a beautiful brand that caters for women (and men as well, because they tried to manicure the husband of one of the women treated, who fled away looking at all the pampering and bottles declaring that manicures were something that was "not for him").

It is a Dutch brand that has a Japanese style, name and philosophy.

I think I was helped by one of the friendliest and gentlest persons of their department: she was actually giving good advise, gave a brilliant hand massage, and did not pressure me into buying anything...so I found myself even more willing to buy something.

Everything screems luxury...from the bag that was given to me to the boxes of the products...


A personalised advise...She advised a couple of products for me. The nail file would be the best thing for splitting nails, according to her. She said that filing the nails with the ultrafine file would prevent any moist and influences from outside penetrating into the nail, which would stop the splitting as well.


I tried so many products and strengtheners to prevent the nails from flaking and spitting, and it never helped. I was still cynical, however, the file looked really beautiful so I took the plunge.

So I bought the nail file. They had a brilliant discount of 10 euros, which made it affordable enough.

The information on the leaflet confirms what the saleswoman said to me as well...lets hope it will work:



My new crystal naile file...
It comes in one of those chopstick-style boxes...I like the fact that it has this sturdy, yet elegant style of packaging.

I had a crystal nail file at home, and Essie one. I think that Koh is even finer in texture. The Koh file is really large, though. I use the Essie for filing everything at one length, and the Koh file is the finishing and sealing touch.

Ohhh, I haven't shown you what my free product was...the goal of my visit to the counter! I could choose out of the whole collection of nail polishes, and chose a duochrome colour in green/purple. I will post pictures of the bottle soon, when the sun gets out and I can take a good picture.

For me it is fingers and nails crossed to see if I will get results from this file. Hopefully, I can see the good results within a month...

lust-have: cute jewellery

I still suffer a bit from the awful credit crunch situation, so the reckless 'shop-till-you-drop' philosophy has been put aside for a while.

However, I still think that you can earn a lot of style credit with some cute and quirky necklaces. The average heart around your neck is a bit passé, and a nametag...how 1999?

Anyway, if you really want to add interest with your jewelery, why not wear something different.

How about a couple of moustaches in your ears?? Mustache Studs by Giles and Brother £43.00
Just add a barette and you are all set up for meeting a moustached, french man...LOL.

Or a beautiful butterfly made from fair-trade material

Butterfly Pendant by Verde Rocks @ adili.com £40.00


Embrace your dark and Gothic side with a bat-lace....Or, your love for batman?

Bat Pendant by Giles and Brother £52.00

Or peace-out with this CC Skye necklace


Swim against the stream with a salmon necklace!

Salmon necklace from Fifi Bijoux @ mineli.co.uk
£199.00

Show your love for springtime with a tiny bird in its nest

http://www.alexmonroe.com/product_info.php?cPath=49_51&products_id=395£108.00

Or reflect your hard-working personality with a golden bumblebee

Bumblebee gold £132.00 (silver £120.50) @ alexmonroe.com

Happy (window)shopping and showing of your beauties!

Life Little luxuries: perfume power

I love the little luxuries in life.

Even in these days, with the dreadful credit-crunch going on, I have the need to feel fabulous.

The luxury it-bag is a bit out of reach these days, but I can still pamper myself with an indulgence: a beautiful fragance.

Scent is most certainly the most powerful tool to influence mood, memories and it will give you a certain kind of aura that can even go beyond an expensive outfit. It even decides to what person you will feel attracted to (often subconciously).

Anyway, I am a bit too fickle in order to buy big bottles of signature scents...although I have a couple of them...I prefer to experiment with several samples and choose a little bit of luxury every day. Therefore, I am really delighted that several sites cater in my need. There are perfume sites that sell samples as well, such as luckyscent.com and ausliebezumduft.com.

Nowadays there are even sites that specialise on selling samples, such as theperfumedcourt.com.

I have ordered several times at theperfumedcourt, and I love their collection of perfumes. They even have sampler sets based on a basenote, perfume-hause, region or niche-ness.

Check them out if you feel the need to pamper yourself with a new fragance. You can roadtest some perfumes in order to decide if the scent is really you, or you can have the opportunity to suprise yourself (and your friends) with a new haute scent every day, without breaking the bank.