Thrift Haul

The other day I went shopping at a thrift store and found soooooo many nice pieces. I never used to think that I would be able to find nice secondhand clothing. Before I would have thought it as a waste of time  to scour the racks and find nothing but ugly tops and mom jeans. But then I discovered DIYs. ;)

At first I walked into the store and smelt a weird odor. A thick kind of musky scent. I now call it Thrift store odor. I walked around and sort of skimmed through one rack to see if I can find anything. I then saw this nice fall tweed jacket that I had been eyeing last year at H&M, and it was my size "OMG!" I grabbed it and thought "What other treasures can I find?" I found a long sleeve top, three sleeveless blouses, a little black dress, a pair of shorts, two blazer sweaters, a jean jacket, which will become a vest and jeans that I will turn into shorts. Believe it or not I only spent $25. TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS!

So, essentially, I went nuts. And I'm about to go bananas at the end of this week because they are having a 99 cent sale. Stay tuned for that haul ;)


For now my pictures suck because it is 1:30 am in the morning and I am very tired and want to go to sleep. Goodnight zzzzz

Bright Pink!

Mother Nature can't make up her mind. Yesterday supposedly was supposed to rain all day. It seemed pretty ugly when I woke up in the morning but the afternoon got nicer when I went to go meet my friend for a photoshoot. It ended being hot and I kept sweating throughout the shoot.

Afterwards we went to a Nikon Lecture with Michelle Valberg. A photographer who traveled 27 times to the Arctic and took amazing photographs of wildlife and the people who live there. I was actually so intrigued. She spoke of how she got certain surprising shots, like the reflection in the water of a whale's tail, thousands of walrus' running into the water and a hot air balloon in the sky between two mountains. Her pictures were stunning, I wanted to become a professional photographer.

Photographs taken by www.tresroc.tk 

My Search for the Perfect Scent: Day 2

The search for my perfect scent continued yesterday as I hit another department store prowling the counters sampling every perfume. A very nice (and cute) sales associate offered to help me and asked what perfume am I wearing at the moment. I told him Euphoria by Calvin Klein, which he complimented, and then took me over to another counter to sample some perfumes that he recommended.

The first one I sampled was Amour by Kenzo. It's not too sweet and it's a soft fragrance that stayed on all day and night. I even got a whiff of it in the morning when I woke up.

The next was Dahlia Noir by Givenchy. I already had Givenchy (Irresistible) before, and I was trying to stay away from designer fragrances that I have already owned, such as Dior and Lancome. But he insisted, so I went ahead and turned my palm over.

Lately, very sweet and fruity fragrances have been starting to give me headaches, but this one, even though it was quite sweet at first, smelt wonderful on me later on. At the time he made me choose which perfume I had liked better and I had chosen Kenzo. But as time passed I liked how the Givenchy ended up smelling. It was a great fragrance that I thought could be very nice during the summer.

After sampling, he tried to sell me the Dahlia Noir, because that was the one he had liked the most. I felt bad, but nicely said that I was not ready to purchase a fragrance yet. He was not mad or annoyed at all, which was refreshing. Instead he secretly gave me a whole bunch of free samples to try out at home.

Seems like I got competition for Gucci Premiere. When I got home later, I sampled Gucci Premiere and thought it was a perfume to wear going out at night. Dinner, dancing or somewhere fancy. For now, I will keep Dahlia Noir on the top of my list of possibilities and probably put Gucci Premiere second runner up. Then again, maybe I can buy both to use on different occasions. ;)

My Two New Pairs of Jeffrey Campbells

New York City is coming up in less than a month and I have yet to start packing. So this morning, when I woke up, I decided to start putting a few things together. I thought before I start packing, that I should clean out my closet and my drawers. Instead I made a huge mess and ended up not cleaning because I got lazy and tired. So, I put on my cute studded top from H&M, a pair of Zara jeans, my Geox flats and went out for a long walk.

I went into a couple of shoe stores looking for something interesting and fun. Something that would catch my eye. (I need a new pair of shoes for my internship anyway.) At first, I was getting no luck. Everything kind of looked the same, and the few pairs of shoes that I did try on, would not be comfortable enough to last my feet a whole day of walking around New York City.

Finally, I walked into another store and saw a pair of Jeffrey Campbell black and brown loafers. The top was brown and woven, and the sides were black and cut-out, which was a detail that I had been looking to find for awhile. They were quite expensive, so I kept them in mind and kept on my search. I went into the mall and walked into a few more shoe stores. Then I decided to go to Topshop, and there I found some more shoes for cheap that I liked. Unfortunately, my size was gone in every single pair that I was interested in. The shoes were either too big or too small. I took it as a sign and went back to get the Jeffrey Campbell loafers. I tried them on and finally convinced myself that a pair $100 shoes were worth it. "They will last," I told myself.

As I handed the shoe box over to the sales associate, I saw another pair of woven white flats that looked really cute as well. I told him to get me those shoes in a seven so I can try them on. When he came back, I grabbed the box -without really meaning to - and tried them on. "They look so cute with my outfit and would look awesome with the millions of dresses I own." I told myself again. I am pretty sure at that point everyone thought I was crazy because I was talking to myself. But I had to voice it to convince it.

So, yet again, I persuaded myself and I purchased both pairs. I would get more wear out of them and they go with everything in my closet anyways. So, alas, I walked out of the store with two pairs of shoes and underwear from Victoria's Secret - they were having an underwear sale. I ran out of the mall before it took anymore of my money and walked home with my purchases actually quite pleased.

Yes, maybe I should not be buying new items for myself, but I needed shoes for my internship. Can't go to work looking ridiculous and these shoes will not see daylight until NYC ;)

My Search for the Perfect Scent Day 1

I was walking through the mall the other day, and there was a Bath & Body Works pop up kiosk in the middle of the hallway. As I was passing through, one girl gave me a small catalog and asked if I would like some samples. I said sure, thinking it was going to be those small sheets that I would be able to secretly  throw away as I left. Instead, I was given a small bottle of Forever Red Eau de Parfum and another of Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist. At that moment, it reminded me of how much I had wanted to purchase a new fragrance. It has been about two years and I am still using Euphoria by Calvin Klein. (Not the same bottle. I have bought two bottles since I started using it.)

What captured me most was the instant scent you get right when opening up the bottle. It comes off strong at first, but then subsides and becomes smoother. I get so many compliments every time I wear it and it is one fragrance that stays on all day and gets better as time passes. I have been searching for a while for something that can compete with my favorite fragrance and I think I may have found one. Gucci Premiere.

After she handed me the free samples, I walked over to the department store and started sniffing every bottle of perfume. Some were too sweet, which gives me headache, others too strong. Some smelt like old lady. Eee! I kept walking through the store until I stumbled upon the Gucci Premiere advertisement with Blake Lively. I thought to myself "ah, no harm in trying." I figured if they had a young actress in the ad, then it can't be that bad. I sprayed some onto a sample, and to my surprise it was actually quite good. I then sprayed it on my wrist and neck and, even better, it lasted all day.

I am still on the prowl for my perfect scent though. For now, I have my first competitor and we will see what tomorrow brings. ;)

Nutmeg, Milk, Origins Overnight Mask & Google

Yesterday I did some research on blackheads and natural exfoliation masks that can help get rid of them. I Googled "naturally get rid of blackheads", and the fist thing that came up was crunchybetty.com/5-natural-ways-to-remove-blackheads. I tried the #1 way because she swore by it. Nutmeg and buttermilk. I poured 1 teaspoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg into a cup and mixed it. Immediately the substance became a thick paste, so I poured a little more milk into the mix to thin it out. I then washed my face clean, as well as my hands, and used my hands to spread the mixture onto my face. As I started rubbing it into areas where I felt I had the most blackheads, the tip of my nose, around my nose and my forehead, it started to burn...a lot. I left it there for about 3 to 5 minutes and could not take the burning anymore so I washed it off with lukewarm water. When I dried my face I saw that all the blackheads had disappeared.

I also had done some research on what everyone, including Nylon Magazine, had sworn by. It wasn't a remover of blackheads but a thirst quencher for your face. Origins Overnight Mask. I put it on after I had dried my face from the nutmeg and milk and applied a small amount. After a few minutes of laying in my bed and thinking about my successful night at removing all my blackheads, I wanted to take a look at my beautiful spot free face. I got up went into the washroom and looked into the mirror and realized that my damn blackheads were back. This time they were not as prominent, but they were still there. I started thinking that maybe I did not scrub enough. So I washed off the Overnight mask reapplied another layer of nutmeg and milk, and scrubbed a little harder. Again I went around my nose, at the tip of my nose and then on my forehead. I washed it off, and they were gone again, but I was concerned that they would reappear.

Right after, I Googled "my blakcheads are back", and unfortunately I do not remember the site that I found the information from, but it talked about Sebaceous Filaments, and how many people confuse it with being blackheads. I of course Googled "sebaceous filaments", and on one site it explained it as being "an oily substance that prevents moisture loss from hair and skin." Which is not necessarily a bad thing because without it your skin becomes dry and flaky.

So after a night of experiments, I discovered that my blackheads were not blackheads after all and the nutmeg and milk did work for a while. I would use again (maybe twice a week) just to clear the dead skin. The overnight mask I will for sure use again (twice a week as well). I usually wake up and I feel like my face is itchy and dry. The mask made my face look smoother and less shiny, I did not wake up scratching. However, in the morning, my now sebaceous filaments, look less apparent and have disappeared from my forehead and the sides of my nose. 

Not bad!

Summer Treasures

This year I will be spending half of my summer in NYC interning. I woke up in the morning excited and wanting to go there now. So - instead - I went out to get myself a new suitcase for the trip. My plans were to start packing but I discovered a small bag in the back of my closet full of treasures for my feet.

Last year at the end of the summer season, I bought three pairs of shoes (all on sale ;)). I wore one of them a few times but it was too late for the rest as it started getting cold and snowing. So I put them away for the winter and totally forgot about them. And to think, I was gonna go out to buy more shoes haha ;)

DIY Disaster turned Inspiration

Yesterday I spent a few hours researching all kinds of DIY projects on YouTube. I looked up jean shorts, jean vests, necklaces, bracelets and bags. I chose a DIY video called Sailor Bracelet from a video blogger named LaurDIY (@LaurDIY on Twitter and Instagram). I never really wear bracelets because my wrists are so small that bracelets tend to look too big on me or they just fall off. But after seeing this video I decided to try the DIY project out for myself. However, what I really need to do is listen for instructions a bit more. She had mentioned in the video that she used a stretchy fabric and one of them looked like a shoelace. I was more interested in making the the black bracelet with the anchor because to me it looked much nicer. Well, I should have bought the stretchy one.

When I got home and sat down to do the project I realized I did not have enough material. Which, of course, sucked because you can never add. That was mistake #1. Mistake #2. Because I did not buy stretchy fabric to begin with, I couldn't even put on the bracelet. And Mistake #3. (This mistake ended up being a good thing.) The material I bought was just to thick that the ends of one of the bracelets kept unraveling. So I had no choice but to loosen it all up, braid it and make a necklace instead. Not so bad.

I think the end result can turn out really great with just a little bit more practice and I will definitely try this project again with clearer instructions at hand.

Below is the video and the results from my first try. And you can check out @LaurDIY on YouTube as well as on her website at www.desireandinspire.com.

Bye!  

Beach H2O

I just started watching Game of Thrones and I was tempted to stay in and watch it all day on Friday. But then I thought why let such a beautiful day go to waste. So I packed my beach towel, a few snacks and my Nylon Magazine and headed on to the beach. I wore my white club monaco jean shorts, tank top and jean jacket both from zara. 

It was a good day to do some self reflection and stare at people with my sun glasses on.(hehe)