A small treat

or those of you who follow me on Instagram (@cujo931), you'll know that I got a little something something at Louis Vuitton today. I've been wanting this item for a while now and I'll tell you why. For those new to my blog I'm a mother of 2 kids- a 3-year old and a 7-month old. Most of the time I'm carrying a diaper bag with me. However, when I go out on my own I like switching to a regular purse. Since I'm constantly switching back and forth from a diaper bag to my regular purse I'm tired of my huge Kate Spade wallet taking up so much room in both bags. And if I'm just dashing out the door to pick up my son from daycare I just want my keys and driver's license. Nothing else. So that's why I've been thinking about getting the Louis Vuitton Key Pouch. It can fit my driver's license and my most-used cards in the pouch and the keychain can hold my car keys and house keys. 

After watching PearlyThePug's review and Hollyannaeree talking about it on their respective YouTube channels I was sold. I'm kind of bummed that I didn't get it before the Louis Vuitton price increase a couple of weeks ago, but the price increase for this particular key pouch was very minute.

And here she is. It doesn't go with my Miu Miu Bow Satchel that I wore today to the mall,
but it goes with a lot of my other purses in my collection.

I chose the Monogram print vs the Damier Azur (like the print on my Speedy 25 here)
because I don't like how dirty the Damier Azur print gets. Plus, I'm seriously thinking
about getting the Damier Ebene Speedy 30 Bandouliere as my next purse. I wanted a
key pouch that would go with both purses without it clashing. The sales person thought
I should also go with the Monogram print.
Here you can see it clipped onto the D-ring that is inside my Speedy.

For those of you who are wondering the price of the Key Pouch (or the Cles as it's
sometimes called), I bought it for $185CAD (not including tax). I'm a little bit surprised
because on the US Louis Vuitton website it is listed as $190. Usually prices in Canada are
much higher than in the States so I anticipated it being around $225CAD. I think before
the price increase it was listed on the US site at $180. So this item didn't increase in price
that much.

The key pouch comes with a dust bag and a pull-out box with a leather pull.
I never was a huge fan of Louis Vuitton because I thought it was too gaudy and loud.
However, the quality of their bags are great. After owning a Speedy 25 for a few years
now I'm more interested in the brand because of the craftsmanship.

I know some people are so picky with their Louis Vuitton being made in France (I believe
they are also made in Spain and the US). Some even going as far as making the sales
people exchange it to one that is. I was never one to care, but I'm lucky that both my
Louis Vuitton items are made in France :-)

Here's a close-up.

So while I was at the mall I picked a couple more basics to add to my closet. 

I don't know about you guys, but I've always had a wish list notebook with cut-outs from magazines. It would give me great pleasure crossing off stuff on my wish list. Now that I have Pinterest I can post my wish list online and access it anywhere I go. Lately, my wish list has consisted of basics. Today I was able to cross 2 things off my wish list- a boyfriend-style jean and a jean jacket.

I know the jeans look strange in this photo- almost like midget jeans, but it's because
I rolled it up when I tried it on to the length that I wanted. I got this pair at Zara.
I love the distressed detail on it. 

I'm not quite sure how I like this print showing through the hole. I wish it wasn't there, but
I loved the colour of the jeans and the fit so I couldn't pass up on it.

I could have gone with a smaller size. it's a little big at the waist and the crotch area
seems a little baggy, but this was the smallest size that they had. I know boyfriend-style
jeans are supposed to fit a little more relaxed so I'm not too worried about it being a bit
big. This was $59.90CAD. I think it's a decent price. I saw one at Gap that was around $80.

Next, I went to Old Navy. I love going to Old Navy because I can get great deals there. You guys know I love a good bargain!

I bought my sister-in-law a really cute jean jacket at Aritzia last year when I went to
visit my in-laws and I've been wanting one ever since. However, Aritzia isn't cheap.
I used to shop there all the time when I was in my early 20s, but I'm sort of over that
place. Every other girl here wears stuff from there and I can always find better deals
at places like Holt Renfrew Last Call for premium designer brands.

I was so surprised how cheap this jacket was. It was $34.94CAD. I think the Aritzia one that
I bought my sister-in-law was around $100CAD? Maybe even more?
The best part about the jacket was that I got a discount on it. I'm in Old Navy's mailing
list so I checked my email while I was in the changing room and found out that I could get
20% off the regular price. Score! I think with the 20% discount I got it for around $31 taxes in.

I took a quick snapshot of myself wearing the jacket in the changing room.

There's a lot of stretch to the jacket that I love. I also love how it looks with the collar
popped up.

Have you gotten anything on a deal lately? Please share!

Colourful rings

have a problem. I'm obsessed with Amrita Singh jewelry.
Now that I'm 3.5 months pregnant I find buying jewelry much more satisfying than buying clothing. I'm now showing a little bump so I don't get as much pleasure shopping for clothes- it just doesn't fit anymore!
Hautelook was having another Amrita Singh sale and I couldn't resist buying a few more pieces for my collection. I was immediately drawn to the Laure rings because they came in the most beautiful colours. These rings also reminded me of the YSL Arty Rings in that they had the colourful natural stones. I was also inspired by getting rings with colourful stones because I was admiring Lisa Eldridge's rings that she always wears on her videos. They look so good on her! Hers is by William Welstead and probably out of my price range, but I thought these would be a perfect alternative. Plus, these were on sale for $14/each at Hautelook. Regular price on these babies are $100/each! The sale is still on until tomorrow (Monday) so definitely check it out!

Green Turquoise Laure Ring

Light Coral Laure Ring

Some of the other colours these rings come in

Beauty + clothing haul

esterday I went to the mall to use a Club Monaco gift certificate that I had gotten for Christmas. I wanted to wait until all the new collection came in. However, as usual, I got sidetracked and bought a lot more than I had bargained for. I wanted to see if MAC had the Caviar Dreams palette from the Cham Pale Collection (they did not) because Ms. Molly Lolli Pop was raving about it in her YouTube video. So I ended buying other stuff at MAC.

I bought the pro palette for eyeshadows. I already have a UNII palette, but my white one was getting sooooo dirty. I just liked the sleek, clean look of this palette.

Here's all the MAC eyeshadows I have accumulated so far. I don't have a lot, but I really like the ones I have so far. From left to right, top to bottom: Vanilla, All That Glitters, Texture, Satin Taupe, Woodwinked, Mulch, Twinks, Smut, Sketch, Beauty Marked, Sumptuous Olive, Stars 'N' Rockets.

I finally got a concealer! I got colour matched to NW25. I thought I would be an NC since a lot of Asian girls are NC's... However, the colour matched me perfectly.

I got the Studio Finish Concealer.

I also dropped by Sephora to pick up more samples of Nars Sheer Glow. I still haven't found my colour. I tried so many that I've lost count. I'm pretty sure I already tried one of these already, but I forgot. Doh!

I got my first NARS Duo Eyeshadow palette. It's from the 2011 spring collection and it's called Nouveau Monde.

Although I loved it when I swatched it in the store (even Chef Caffy on Twitter told me she loved it. She's a huge NARS fan), I'm still not sure if I should keep it. The reason being that I just ordered a bunch of eyeshadows from Rock & Republic and I'm thinking that one of the colours is going to be similar to the purple one. I'm going to hold off on using this palette until that order comes and decide then. Nars eyeshadows aren't cheap so I want to be sure it's worth it to keep. I also wanted NARS' Charade so if I return this one I'll get that one for sure!

And now onto my Club Monaco haul. I wasn't able to find anything in the new collection that I loved.

I know it's hard to see here because the jacket is black, but I've been wanting this jacket since Christmas. It was on sale then for $79, but it got marked down even further to $49! How could I pass it up?!

The jacket is beautiful because it looks like a cropped tuxedo jacket, but is super comfortable. It's not made from a stiff material like most jackets are. It's 100% silk. It also has shoulder pads so my shoulders look really structured, but not over-the-top like the 80s shoulder pads.

See? It's ridiculous. It was $229 regular. I never buy anything regular price at Club Monaco because I find that their sales are crazy. It goes to show you that they mark up their clothes like crazy.

Last, but not least, I stopped by Hugo Boss to looks for something for the husband. I know Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I decided that I wanted to get him something nice. I originally wanted to get him a winter jacket, but I couldn't find any that I liked. My husband is the type of guy that never buys anything for himself. I felt he deserved it.

I bought him a beautiful purple (it's actually coming out more of a bluish purple in these pics, but it's actually more of a pinkish purple) checkered dress shirt & tie for work. Did you know that I love picking out men's shirts and ties? I love finding the perfect colour/pattern combination. I picked this out because he doesn't have a shirt like this in his closet. Most of his shirts are solids or stripes. I felt that this was so different and on trend for this year. Plus, the collars are a bit different. It buttons up more wide than the classic ones. The tie is also a slimmer tie than the classic ties. It's a beautiful dark blue with white polka dots on it.

40 Beauty Questions

ow, 2 posts in one day! I know... I decided to do a tag I found on Sandra's blog. I'm in love with her YouTube channel. Besides the fact that she's gorgeous, she has great style and taste. I wasn't tagged by her personally, but she tagged everyone who read her blog and left it up to us to do it or not. I thought, heck why not?! So here goes:

How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice- one in the morning when I wake up and one right before I go to bed.

What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
Oily/Combination skin.

What is your current facial wash?
I use more than one product- Consonant Organic Foaming Face Wash (morning and night), St. Ives Apricot Scrub (in the morning after my Consonant face wash), Biore Pore Perfect Pore Unclogging Scrub (at night after my Consonant face wash).

Do you exfoliate?
Yes.

What brand do you use
I just mentioned it.

What moisturizer do you use
I always change what I use depending on what I have, but currently I'm using Fruits & Passions Moisturizing Day Cream. It's super hydrating and it doesn't feel greasy at all. I'm really liking it! I've also liked Boots No7 moisturizer (forgot which one it was. It came in the purple box) and I loved Dior's Capture Totale. Lancome had good ones too... can't remember the name. The one with the rose pattern on the packaging.

Do you have freckles
Yes.

Do you use eye cream
Yes! I'm terrified of wrinkles around my eyes so I've been using eye creams ever since I turned 20. I'm currently using Oil of Olay Total Effects Moisturizer Plus Cooling Hydration. I know it's branded as a moisturizer, but I'm really liking it as an eye cream. I was using Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel, but it was burning the area around my eyes. I immediately stopped using it afterwards. I really liked Origins A Perfect World for Eyes too, but I have yet to repurchase it...

Do you or did you have acne prone skin
I have the occasional pimple here and there, but not anything severe. I am, though, trying out acne products now because I really want clear skin.

Did you ever have to use Pro-activ
I have a kit that my co-worker gave me not too long ago because I was telling her that I was trying acne products.

What foundation do you use?
Currently I'm using my Dr. Jart BB cream or my Revlon ColorStay Foundation in Fresh Beige (summer colour) mixed with my Chanel Aqua VitaLumiere Foundation in Beige Rose Pastel.

How about concealer
Benefit's Boi-ing. I have the Confessions of a Conceal-a-holic kit and there are 2 concealers in that kit.

Do you know your undertone color
I guess yellow? But I also have a little bit of pink undertone too...

What do you think of fake eyelashes
Love it! But I don't wear it unless it's a special occasion.

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes. All makeup products come with an expiration date on the package. It looks like a little jar and has a number on it. That's how long the product is supposed to last.

What brand of mascara do you use
I love Makeup Forever's Smoky Lash and Cover Girl's Lash Blast.

Sephora or MAC
Both?

Do you have a MAC Pro-card
No.

What makeup tools do you use in make up application
Brushes- MAC, Sigma, Eco Tools, Quo...

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes
I use Urban Decay's Primer Potion. I also use MAC's Paint Pot in Rubenesque. I really want to get Soft Ochre, but for some reason I still haven't gotten it yet...

For the face
I used to use Smashbox's primer and then I tried the Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel, but now I don't use anything. I don't know if it did anything for me. It just made my makeup application time that much longer...

What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)
MAC- Satin Taupe, Smut (people don't talk about this shade all that much, but I love it!), Beauty Marked, Twinks, Woodwinked, Mauvement (LE pigment)

Urban Decay- Toasted, Hustle, Sidecar, Smog, Darkhorse

Hello Kitty for Sephora- Goodnight Dreams (black), Sugar Plum (pale lilac), Sweet Plum (purple)

Maybelline- the lid colour in the Stylish Smokes Natural Smokes Quad

I just made an order for Rock & Republic Eyeshadows so I'll see if any of them make it into this list.

Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner
Both. I use liquid for the upper lid lining and pencil for the bottom. I also use my favourite Make Up For Ever Aqua Creamliner sometimes. It is intense and waterproof.

How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil
Only when I'm tight lining.

What do you think of pigment eyeshadows
Pretty, but I have to be careful with fall-out.

Do you use mineral makeup
Hate mineral makeup! I tried Bare Escentuals and it looked so chalky on me. I tried different brands too, but I was never impressed.

What is your favorite lipstick
My current favourite is Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in 668 Prim-Rose.

How about lipgloss
My current favourite is Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in Peach Petal. It looks amazing on top of Prim-Rose.

What is your favorite blush to use
I still haven't found my HG yet, but I like Benefit's Thrrrob. It's light, but it shows up on my cheeks as a soft pink. I would like to try Rock & Republic's blushes someday. I do have Nars' Deep Throat, but it looks too orange on me. I know people love that blush. I haven't tried Orgasm, but I tend to like matte blushes.

Do you buy your makeup on ebay
Never. I get a lot of free makeup at work so I tend to pass on this. The only time I ordered makeup online was on MAC's website and Hautelook.com.

Do you like drugstore makeup
I loooooooove drugstore makeup. I'm no brand whore.

Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
Never. I would, but again, I get a lot of free makeup at work...

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
No, but I'm always open to new things!

Are you clumsy in putting on makeup
I'm very meticulous in everything that I do so I would say no.

Name a makeup crime that you hate
Red nail polish on long nails. Looks trampy. Oh, there's so much more... How about thick black eyeliner. Don'te get me wrong I love black eyeliner, but I hate the THICK ones where it almost goes up to the crease. Yuck!

Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones
Neutrals always look the best on me.

Which celebrity always has great make up
Megan Fox. I can't help it I love her eyebrows. I think Hilary Duff and Jessica Alba looks good too. I'm sorry because they are natural beauties, but I think they look amazing all the time!

If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Foundation.

Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
Never!

Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
I hate how I look without makeup on! I know that's sad, but I love my makeup too much. What's wrong with wanting to feel beautiful all the time???

In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
I haven't tried all the brands to know this answer. So far I'm really liking MAC, Urban Decay, Nars, Chanel, Dior, and Lancome.

What do you think of Makeup?
I love makeup! This is why I love being a girl (not that boys don't wear makeup now...). I love the feeling of beautifying yourself and looking put together. My worst fear is to let myself go. I know so many women go down that path where they start neglecting themselves. I don't want to be that person.

First Sigma order

hanks to YouTube I've been exposed to so many makeup gurus and the great products that they recommend. I was always into makeup, but I never really knew how to use makeup brushes and the different techniques in how to apply makeup. I started getting into makeup while I was on mat leave last year because I was so bored staying at home all the time. However, since I wasn't working it was difficult for me to spend money on non essentials. Now that I'm back at work I've kind of been going crazy with getting all the stuff that I wanted, but couldn't get. Just last week I placed my first Sigma order. I've been eyeing the makeup brushes for a long time, but again, I was hesitant to make the first step. But ever since they came out with their Sigmax HD brushes I've been wanting them even more. I decided to take the plunge and place my order. My order will take between 2 to 12 weeks (I hope not the 12 weeks!) and I'm so excited to get it. Here's what I got:

Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki- F80, $16USD

This is what got me to order brushes. I have the MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush, but the brush hairs are starting to curl in the middle and I find it is very abrasive on my skin.

By the way, their numbering system has a purpose. The 'F' in 'F80' stands for 'Face'. All the face brushes have a 'F' in front of the numbers. Eye brushes have an 'E' in front of the numbers.

Angled Top Synthetic Kabuki- F84

I don't have a brush like this in my collection so I wanted to try this out. Originally I wanted to get the set that comes with 3 Sigmax HD brushes, but it was sold out.

Tapered Blending- E40

I don't have a MAC Brush that is similar to this. I do have a Quo crease brush, but I find it to be okay. It's not that soft and I feel like it doesn't blend as well as I would like. Hopefully this will be much better.

Small Tapered Blending- E45

Again, I don't have a brush like this. It sort of looks like a larger version of the MAC 219 Pencil Brush.

Small Angle- E65

I have a Quo angled brush, but I want to have more angled brushes in my collection.

Medium Angled Shading- E70

You can see a pattern here. I ordered brushes that I don't really have in my collection and this is the case here again. I think I'm going to use this to apply the outer 'v' colour, but this brush looks like it can do many things.

Hollywood Glamour Retractable Kabuki- Pink

Last, but not least, I'm really excited about this portable brush. I hate carrying around makeup brushes and I think this is a great idea. Plus, I really love the name of it- Princess Grace. There's 3 other kinds and they are all named after Hollywood starlets- Something About Marilyn (red); Breakfast With Audrey (black); and Miss Taylor (purple).

Mine is the pink version. Normally I don't like pink, but I found this one to be so pretty. I was debating between this one and Breakfast With Audrey.

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!