Goodbye 2010, hello 2011!

appy New Year's Eve everyone!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun night tonight. I wish I can say that I'm getting all dolled up to go to a swanky party to ring in the new year, but I'll be enjoying a quiet night at home with my family. There's nowhere else I'd rather be :-)

2010 was a big year for me because I turned the big 3-0. I'm usually not a big resolutions person because I never follow through with it, but I feel like making one for 2011. Here goes!

1. I want to be more spontaneous. Both my husband and I are pretty practical (him more than I). Everything we do is planned out to a tee. I remember telling my husband the other day that one of the best times I had was when I was going through a tough time at work and he called me up and said to me, "Why don't you go home and pack your bags. We are going away for the weekend." He whisked me off to a ski resort a few hours away from the city and it was one of the most fun I've had. This was before we had the baby so we can't really do that anymore, but then again, why not???

2. I want to be more romantic. My husband and I have been married 4 years now. I know that isn't a long time, but already we are like an old married couple. We do the same things every weekend and even on birthdays we go to the mall and pick out our gifts. We didn't do that before, but lately everything is so... blah. I want to plan something special for Valentine's Day in 2011. I don't remember the last time I did something special for my man.

3. I want to read more. I used to read books all the time. This was a looooong time ago. I feel like my brain has gotten stupider (is that even a word???) because I just don't read. Even bringing a book with me for my commute in to work would be the first step.

That is it for now. There's a lot more I want to do in 2011, but I narrowed it down to 3 so that I can actually accomplish these goals. Wish me luck!

BTW, I got my print that I ordered for my shoe shelf. I'm a little disappointed in how it arrived because it wasn't packaged very well. My print was a little bent at the top. Also, the colours were a lot more subtle in person than what I saw online. Also, the illustration looked kind of pixelated- like it was enlarged from the original. I'm being very picky here. It's just that when you don't get what you are expecting it's always a little disheartening.

Look how the colours in the illustration is so washed out.

The background was supposed to be a pink, but frankly it just looks white.

Here's another angle.

Maybe for those of you who are thinking of ordering from this seller, choose a print with more contrasting/vibrant colours?

On a side note, see my ring/earring tray. The peach cocktail ring is my latest addition. I got it from Forever 21 for $3.80! I have another jewelry case on my vanity dresser so don't think these are the only rings/earrings I have!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

ver since I saw a post in Elle Hearts Blogs about China Glaze's For Audrey Nail Lacquer, I've been obsessed with getting my hands on this. This morning I went to Sally's Beauty Supply to see if they had this colour. I've never used China Glaze nail polishes before so I was curious to see how the formulation would be. Let me just say that I LOVE IT! I love it better than Essie. I only needed 2 coats to get the colour in the bottle. It was so creamy and nice. I'm definitely going to check out other colours. I'm eyeing Re-Fresh Mint and Secret Peri-Wink-Le.

I also picked up OPI's Nail Envy Nail Strengthener for Dry & Brittle Nails. My nails have been extremely brittle so I'm hoping this will cure it. It was quite expensive- $17.50 to be exact. It better work!

I put 2 coats of Nail Envy, 2 coats of China Glaze and 1 coat of my favourite top coat- Seche Vite.

Here's the name and number for those of you who are wondering.

The nail colour compared to the Tiffany's box. Close, no?

Here's me holding the box.

Dr. Jart BB Cream and my foundation journey

nd this is what my face looks like with Dr. Jart's Silver Label BB Cream. All I did was dot a tiny amount of BB cream all over my face and blended it out with my hands. I dotted more in areas where I needed more coverage. Lately I'm suffering from major acne (I don't know why!) so you can see how well this BB Cream does in covering imperfections. I thought it was going to be too light on my face, but it wasn't that bad. Plus, I set the BB Cream with MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish in Natural Plus. All in all, I'm really liking this. I have combination skin and my T-Zone gets really oily, but it's doing pretty well so far!

My holy grail foundation is Revlon's ColorStay Foundation in Fresh Beige (for winter) and Medium Beige (for summer). The colour Fresh Beige is supposed to be darker than Medium Beige, but for some reason it looks lighter on my skin. Weird. I use the Combination/Oily Skin formula. I have tried many foundations and none can compare to the staying power of this foundation. I work really long hours and this foundation stays put without feeling oily. Well, it does get a little oily when I work 12 hour days... I was recently given Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua to try from my co-worker because she's a Chanel addict, but I found that it's just okay. It feels really nice on my skin after applying it, but I find that it doesn't 'stick' to my face. It feels like it's just sitting on top of my skin. That's why I feel very oily when wearing this foundation. It's weird because it's supposed to do the complete opposite. It's a water-based foundation so it's supposed to feel really light and non-greasy on your face. Oh well. Plus, the coverage is very sheer and I tend to like foundations with a better coverage. Then, I tried Guerlain's Parure Gold foundation (I also have the Lingerie de Peau one). The coverage is good, but I think the colour I got is too dark on my winter skin. Plus, it looks REALLY dewy. I tend to like more matte foundations. I have so much more in my makeup collection (the new Lancome foundation- Teint Miracle, DiorSkin Nude cream foundation, Dior Capture Totale Foundation, another DiorSkin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup liquid foundation, but I don't want to try it until I've gone through the ones I've opened so far. I have tried samples of NARS Sheer Glow foundation, but I'm having a hard time finding my shade. I've tried Ceylan (too light and yellow) and Barcelona (too dark). I can't remember if I tried Punjab...

I liked Makeup Forever's HD foundation, but again, I'm not sure if I should be changing foundations if I already like the Revlon one... Can somebody explain that to me? Why am I always on the search for a better foundation when the one I use works??? And it's cheap?!

Asian makeup haul

Creams have fascinated me ever since I first heard about them last year, but I had yet to purchase one... until now. I stopped by my local Korean supermarket and there happened to be a beauty store inside. I couldn't help, but look at BB Creams. I saw the Missha brand that's been talked about all over YouTube, so I swatched both colours on my hand- the #21 (lighter shade) and the #23 (darker shade). I thought for sure that I was a #23, but the lady said that I was most likely a #21. Then she asked me what skin type I had and I told her I was on the oilier side. She said that I should try the Dr. Jart line of BB Creams. I haven't heard of Dr. Jart yet, but the colour (it only came in one shade) seemed like it was a better match than both of the Missha ones. It was also a tad more expensive. Dr. Jart was $32.99 and the Missha one was $23.99. They also had a newer Missha line called 'M Signature Real Complete BB Cream' and that was $28.99. I know you can get BB Creams online for much cheaper, but I feel better buying makeup when I've seen it in person. Once I know what works for me then I will probably buy it online.

I decided to buy the Dr. Jart one. Hopefully I made the right decision!

Here's my little shopping bag.

I got the Dr. Jart Silver Label BB Cream. The sales woman said that this one was her best seller for her "older" clients. Keke. I guess I'm that target market now since I'm 30...

The package says "This unique professional formula containing innovative active ingredients aims at perfectly expressing flawless look, concealing blemishes, and activating skin rejuvenation. It soothes red, irritated skin while providing moisture to skin and controlling excess sebum." It came in 50 mL. It looks a lot smaller than the 50 mL Missha (with the pump), but it's actually both the same mL.

Here's a tiny swatch of the Dr. Jart BB Cream on my hand. It's a tad thicker than the Missha BB Cream.

It has a grayish cast when I first rubbed it around...

...but it looked ok when it was all blended in. It does look a tad light on me, but my hands are slightly darker than my face. The smell was quite subtle and pleasant too. It dried quickly and looked very matte. Let's see how it does on my face.

The sales lady gave me lots of samples. That's what I love about Korean beauty stores! She gave me a sample of the new Missha BB Cream. This one is in 10 g.

The colour I got in the sample was a #23. This one is a little darker than the Dr. Jart one and a little bit more runny.

I blended it out a little bit.

I feel like it doesn't cover as well as the Dr. Jart one, but we'll see. This one smells more perfume-y than the Dr. Jart one, but I don't mind the smell. Mind you, I don't really have a sensitive olfactory...

There was a whole shelf of Darkness lashes and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple.

I bought the ones that came in 2 pairs. It was $5.60 each. This one is the K.ma3 style and it looks very similar to my beloved Revlon Beyond Naturals false eyelashes. I think I use the natural style. I love this one because it looks so natural. At my age I can't go for the crazy dramatic lashes...

After saying I can't wear dramatic lashes, I bought a dramatic set of lashes! I couldn't resist. It's criss-cross, spikey lashes and I was curious to see how they would look on my eyes. I placed it on my eyes when I came home and it looks AMAZING! It's not as crazy as I thought it would look and it makes my eyes look sooooo pretty. I can't wait to try this. I wish I had a special event coming up!

The sales lady also gave me a sample of the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21. If the Dr. Jart one doesn't work out I can always try this one.

The sales lady gave me a mini pack of BB Cream cleansing wipes. I'm sure they work like regular makeup wipes, but I'll try anything that's free!

She also gave me a whitening sheet mask. They were on sale for $3.80 each, but she said she would give me one for free because I was pretty. Haha, she probably says that to all of her paying customers.

I also got a couple of these TINY (size of the length of my thumb) moisturizers. She was explaining what they are in Korean, but I couldn't understand most of it. I think it comes with lots of great ingredients.

BTW, I want to wish all of you guys a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I found the perfect print!

emember how a few weeks ago I had installed a shoe display in my walk-in closet? Well, I had also mentioned that I bought an Ikea frame to put on the top of the shelf as a decoration feature. However, I wanted to find the PERFECT print to put in the frame. I had stumbled upon this Etsy store, Emma Kisstina, and I immediately fell in love with her prints. What a girly way to display art in your home. There were many prints that I adored, but I settled with the Paul & Joe lipstick print (see below) because I thought having a perfume illustration would be overkill since I already had real bottles displayed on the top of my shelf. I thought the shoe illustrations were cute as well, but again, I thought it was overkill. I'm really happy with my purchase and I can't wait to get it!

I customized my print to 4 x 6 since that's what the Ikea frame fits. The original came in 5 x 7. Kristina, the owner of Emma Kisstina, was so nice and was open to accommodating my request. She also does custom orders so if there's anything specific you are looking for you can request it. I was thinking of doing a custom Tom Ford lipstick, but I really liked this Paul & Joe one so I changed my mind at the last minute.

Here's my Ikea frame, Sondrum, that is waiting for the print.

A far-away look of the top of my shelf.

From the last time I posted my shoe shelf I have since added an extra shelf to fit more shoes. Ikea sells the shelves individually so I bought 1 extra for $15. I think it looks better now.

This is one of a handful of new perfumes added to my perfume collection. It's called Eclat D'Arpege from Lanvin and it smells AMAZING! If you guys have never smelt this you must. It's so delicate and florally, but fresh at the same time. It's one of my favourite perfumes of 2010.

Early Christmas gift

have been wanting these MICHAEL Michael Kors Slouchy Harness Boots for a very long time. I first saw it a few years ago when it first came out, but at that time it was over my budget so I had to pass up on it. I think it was close to $300 at that time. I saw these in the mall today and they were on sale for $159! I think now the regular price of it was $198? A lot cheaper than $300 a few years ago. It came in black and gray, but I had to go with gray as I looooooove anything gray. You can see Sophie Monk wearing the brown version below.

Sophie was so skinny back then so the boots really slouched by her ankle, but on me I don't have that problem. I can either hike the boots up to my knees or scrunch it to around my ankles.

My husband and I take the stress out of Christmas shopping by going to the mall together and picking out our gift. That way he's not guessing on what I might like (he's been wrong many times!). I was actually looking into getting these beautiful Miu Miu peep toe pumps, but they were all out of my size. I was so bummed because I really wanted them, but now I'm glad I found these. I was able to buy a couple of other things too since I saved money by not buying the Miu Miu pumps.

I snagged a pair of jeans from Zara. They are the Light Coloured Wash Effect Stretch Skinny Jeans. I used to buy designer jeans all the time, but now I can't justify spending $300 on jeans when the $80 jeans fit and look just as nice. One of my favourite pairs of jeans in my closet is a pair of Cheap Monday jeans and they are only $80. Plus, these Zara jeans looked HOT with the Michael Kors boots. I can't wait to wear them.

Lastly, I dropped by RW & Co at the mall and picked up a 3-piece kit of the EOS lip balms that I've been wanting ever since I saw it all over YouTube. I thought Shoppers Drug Mart had it, but all the locations I checked out didn't have it and even the websites stated that they didn't carry the lip balms. I think they only carried the EOS Shaving Creams? I happened to search on the EOS website and it said RW & Co carried them. I was confused because RW & Co is a clothing store and I never thought they carried beauty products. Well, I was wrong! They had a small section where they had little nicknacks and lo and behold they had the EOS lip balms! I bought the 3-piece kit (comes with Pomegranate Raspberry, Sweet Mint, Honeysuckle Honeydew) because it came with a little silver mesh pouch and it was $16. They also sold individual ones, but they were like $6 a piece? I know that's a lot more than what they are selling those in the States, but I really really wanted it. I tried the Pomegranate Raspberry one and it's smells AMAZING and it feels so nice on my lips. Love!

Bad luck? Maybe not...

must be cursed or something. Lately everything that I've been buying has either ripped, broke, or basically become defective.

For my birthday my husband bought me a really cute Tory Burch Caroline Mini bag. I always wanted an over-the-shoulder bag that was small enough to carry just the essentials for everyday. This did the trick. However, after a few months of carrying that bag I noticed that the gold hardware was starting to peel. I had asked the sales girl when I was looking at that bag whether the gold hardware would chip and she said it was highly unlikely, and if it did it wouldn't be for a long time. Boy, was she wrong. Now, I have bags in my collection with gold hardware, but it never peeled like this Tory Burch bag. The way that it was peeling was like it was made very cheaply. I was not impressed. Today, I took it to Holt Renfrew to see if they could repair it. I've had my Miu Miu bag repaired in the past because the glue on the bow started peeling off (See! Everything I have becomes defective!). Unfortunately they said they couldn't repair it. The good news was that they told me they would give me store credit for the amount I bought the bag for and use it towards a brand new bag! At first, I was a little disappointed because I really did like the Tory Burch bag, but I decided it was best to get a new bag that had no defects. It took me a while to find a bag that I really liked and it was down to a Rebecca Minkoff bag and a Kate Spade bag. I still wanted a small bag with a chain detail so I really had a limited selection to choose from. In the end I chose the Kate Spade bag. Here it is!

It's called the Gold Coast Metallic Evangeline in the colour Platinum

The colour is flashy and I would much more have preferred a black-coloured one, but I think this style only came in this colour. However, I still love it. I might wear it tomorrow for my company Christmas party.

You guys know how much I love linings, right? Well, I love how Kate Spade bags have cute linings. This one in particular has gold polka dots. So chic!

BTW, one thing I hated about the Tory Burch bag was how the chain looped through the opening of the bag. Since the Tory Burch didn't have a flap like this Kate Spade one it was a pain to get my stuff out of the bag without having the chain get in the way. With this bag the chain is out of the way when the flap is open. Makes it a dream to take stuff out.

This bag is very Chanel-esque. The Chanel 2.55 is a bag I would love to have in the future, but for now I'm happy with my Kate Spade.

Tory Burch bag photos courtesy of Shopbop. Kate Spade bag photos courtesy of Kate Spade.