helping hands

When it comes to makeup, I'm a huge product junkie. I have lipglosses in every shade of pink, stacks of eyeshadows, several bottles of foundation and mini makeup palettes that I take with me when I travel. I have now added another palette to my collection:

It's the CARGO Hands for Hope Eyeshadow palette and I love it! The texture is silky soft with great colour pay-off, so it's wise not to be too heavy-handed in application. The shadow will eventually crease if you put too much colour on. But with a primer, the colour lasts the whole day.

 A close-up of the hand design imprinted on each eyeshadow pan. 

At first, I was a little skeptical about some of the colour choices: Midnight blue? Fern green? Aqua? But for only $29, who cares? It's a great deal and a good introduction to the brand if you haven't tried it before.

r.i.p

It's so tragic, she was only 20 years old... My heart goes out to her family during this difficult time.

Photo coutesy of the Cut.

skoah turns 8!

And to celebrate, Skoah had a birthday bash at their Yaletown flagship store today (you have to RSVP to get on the guest list!). There was wine from Strut, appetizers and a preview of their holiday collection which is out now. Me and a coworker hit up the birthday party after our midterm (ugh), and I was a little too fond of the Well-Heeled White wine and was feeling a little tipsy. They really didn't have enough appetizers to soak up the alcohol. I bought myself the Naughty and Nice superglosses duo and got a free goody bag filled with coupons, a water bottle from Mavi, and a sample of Skoah's Smooth Talk Body Lotion. After much sipping and rambling and giggling, we decided it was probably a good idea to call it a night and headed home with our purchases and goody bags in tow.

it's a quarter of a century

It's Aritzia's 25th Anniversary and they're celebrating by having a massive sale. Now until Sunday, November 22, 2009, everything is on sale! Discounts range from 10-30% off, and some special items are discounted up to 50% off. I happened to stop by and snagged myself a really cute Ines dress for $39.99!

Image courtesy of aritzia.com

a-choo!

What a girl will do for shoes...

Like line up at 7:20 in the morning to wait for the launch of Jimmy Choo for H&M collection. Yep, I was one of many sleep-deprived fashionistas in the city (as well as some fashion misters), who stood in line for 3 hours in the freezing cold (it was 5 degrees out!) for a pair of shoes. As my toes lost all feeling and my nose was running a mile a minute, I wondered if it was really worth all this trouble for a pair of Choos. The answer: Yes!

There were shopping guidelines in place, in order to prevent cat-fights from occurring: The shoes, accessories and bags were sectioned off (a store within a store) and the first 160 people in line received a coloured wristbands with a time shift written on it. They were allowed into the designated area in groups of 20 with 10 minutes to shop for what they wanted. After two hours, the mini store was opened up to the rest of the public and you had to wait in line for a chance to shop the shoes, bags and accessories. The men's and women's collection were available to everyone with no time restraints. There was a limit of one item of each style per person, as they want as many people as possible to shop the collection (and to prevent scam artists from buying everything and selling it on ebay with a 200% markup).

There was a mad grab for all the clothes and by the time it was my turn, there were no more leather jackets on the racks. So I made my way upstairs to meet up with my shopping buddy, and he was able to grab something, although he didn't have any luck with the shoes. As he was trying stuff on in the changing room, I managed to snag myself a leather jacket in a size 6 and traded it up for a size 8! After paying for the jacket (I wasn't going to let it out of my hands!), I proceeded to wait in line for two hours by the designated section, in the hopes of getting a pair of Jimmy Choos. I ended up making some shopping friends (Hi Sonya and Raminder!), as we slowly inched our way up the line. As my turn came up at 1:30PM, I was surprised that they still had shoes left. I managed to grab a necklace, 2 bracelets, a long wraparound belt, a bag and a pair of leather high heels (4 inches!). Since you only have 10 minutes to shop with a personal shopper by your side at all times, you really don't have any time to actually try stuff on. It's more like, "I'll have one of those, and one of those, and that one... " and you make your way to the cashier. I'm going to do some returns in the end, because I don't know if I want all this stuff, so if you're lucky, you might find something in the stores later on!

I love this necklace, but what I didn't realize how heavy it was. I wore it out to a friend's birthday dinner and got lots of compliments on it. Definitely a keeper. :)

I returned the first bracelet, the rhinestone one, since it didn't really suit me. I like the chain bracelet much better.

I'm going to return this belt because it's just way too long. I feel like I'm lassoing myself with it.

As much as it breaks my heart, I did end up returning the bag. It looks really cute on the website, but it was massive in real life! You can literally fit everything and the kitchen sink in that bag and still have room to spare!

These are the crazy 4-inch heels that I bought. I have to practice walking in them. The most I can handle is 3-inches, so this will be quite the challenge. I have 30 days to return them, but I'm determined to make it work!

 Love my Jimmy Choo leather jacket! After losing my first leather jacket, I've been pining for another one. You don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone. I'm quite happy with this replacement, although I wish the collar was a little more substantial, but that's me being picky. You can't tell, but there are two hidden interior pockets.

can you tell me how to get to, how to get to sesame street?

This year marks the 40th birthday of the children television show, Sesame Street! I remember watching the show when I was a kid and counting along with Count von Count, wanting to play with Big Bird and Snuffleupagus and laughing at the antics of Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Grover, Bert and Ernie (and his Rubber Duckie!).

The show has evolved over the years, since I've last watched it and now includes a large cast of Muppet characters of and more adventures for them all, but there are still very many familiar faces around Sesame Street. I'm happy to see the show is still popular with today's children and wish Sesame Street another 40 years of fun and laughter!


Photo courtesy of Mommy Reporter. 

guess who the pope is

I finally found the time to watch the documentary, "The September Issue," and I loved it! First off, I wasn't expecting this documentary to delve into the deep, dark world of fashion or to look behind the hard-as-nails facade of Vogue's famous, or infamous, editor Anna Wintour. I doubt you would be able to get anything out of Anna "Winter," other than the fact that she enjoys playing and watching tennis. So, with low expectations in mind, I found the documentary to be exactly what it was: a light, frothy look into the fashion industry and how Anna Wintour and Vogue's creative team prepares for the September issue which will dictate the latest trends and styles to be worn by fashionistas everywhere.

I loved watching the behind the scenes action and I especially enjoyed watching the cat-and-mouse relationship between Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington. I've always admired Grace's talent and creative direction to style the breathtaking, fantastical editorials for Vogue and after watching the movie, I admire her even more. Everyone knows that story of how Grace was appointed the Creative Director of Vogue on the same day that Anna became Editor-in-Chief, so they've always had a relationship from day one. But to be able to see how their relationship works is amusing to watch as they try to push each other to the limit (creatively speaking).

I'll be adding this film to my DVD collection when it comes out... hopefully in time for Christmas!

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

friends with benefits

Benefit's Grand Opening at Holt Renfrew today!

After class, I was cutting through Holt Renfrew with a friend and somehow managed to get my eyebrows waxed in the process...

Sales rep: Hello! Do you know that today is the grand opening of the Benefit Brow Bar?
Me: No, I didn't.
Sales rep: Would you like to sign up?
Me: Sure, why not?
Sales rep: Would you like a free gift bag?
Me: Yes, thank you!
Sales rep: Okay, now line-up over here for your free brow waxing.
Me: Oh... kay?

This was pretty much how I came to be at the Grand Opening of the Benefit Brow Bar at Holt Renfrew. Despite my concerns about having my brows waxed (images of searing pain, burnt skin and half my eyebrow gone kept popping up), it was actually a very pleasant experience (not that I enjoy any waxing of any type, but it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be).

 My friend getting her curly eyebrows tamed at the Benefit Brow Bar.

Inside the goody bag: the Benefit holiday guide, the Brow Bar services menu, a Benefit magnet, a white chocolate cream cookie, and samples of Some Kind-a Gorgeous (the foundation faker), eyecon (brightening eye cream) and b-spot by Benefit eau de toilette.