summer has (almost) arrived

After doing my seasonal shoe closet switch-out (switching out my fall/winter booties and replacing them with summer sandals and shoes), I realized that my favourite pair of black woven flat sandals that I wore to death over the past 3-4 years have gotten to the point where I had to let them go :( But, the upside to my loss is that I get to go shoe shopping :)

I wasn't planning to get new sneakers. This purchase came about when I went to pick up my friend's New Balance 420 shoes on Robson Street (she's ordered the mustard colour on-line), and she asked me to try them on for her to make sure they fit (we're the same shoe size). Being the wonderful friend that I am, I obliged and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and cushy they are as I pranced (a little) around the store. It was like walking on a cloud. Of course, I now had to find my own pair and while they were sold out of the orange colour at the New Balance store, I managed to find a pair from Aritzia's on-line shop. Two days later, and they were on my feet :)

The 420's also come in blue, purple, grey and mustard from New Balance.

These Stuart Weitzman sandals I have been eying for a while. I first spotted them when I happened to wander into the Browns shoe store, and saw them from afar. They remind me of a silver and black pair of sandals that I got from H&M, which sadly, only lasted about two summers before they went kaput; the silver metallic discs were peeling off and the black was rubbing off the bottoms of my feet.

After months of looking from afar, Browns finally had a sale and I managed to score the last size 8.5 in these gold beauties. They are a little expensive, even on sale, but I'm hoping that investing in a better quality pair of sandals will mean they'll last longer than two years. Also, they're sparkly :)

My last shoe purchase for the summer (hopefully!) is from Coach. Coach was having a huge shoe sale and I got these for $69. The sales associate had to order this pair from their Florida warehouse because the only sizes they had left in store was a 9. I tried them on, but my foot slipped out of them, so definitely too big for me. I love these shoes; they're so comfortable but can dress up a casual outfit because of the fine glitter (that doesn't flake off as I prefer not to leave a trail of glitter behind me).

I like sparkles as you can see :D

So, those are the shoes that I've purchased (so far!). Now time to hide my wallet, lock away my credit cards and start saving up for fall :D

mo' money, mo' problems

But no brows, no problem!
 
They say that the eyes are the windows to your soul, so by simple association the eyebrows are the frames for those windows. All makeup artists (or at least the ones that I've spoken with) say that the eyebrows provide lift, accentuate the eyes and complete your face.

I've been trying to grow out my eyebrows after a bad threading experience a few years ago that left my brows thin, sparse and therefore non-existent on my face. With the help of some Clinique brow powder, I've made them look somewhat normal and that's pretty much all I do for my brow routine everyday. However, that's changed after today's visit to Sephora and meeting the Anastasia sales rep, whose name has completely left my mind (I want to say Emily but I'm not 100% sure). After 5 minutes of working her magic, my brows looked full, defined but still natural and not overly dramatic. Also, as luck would have it, Anastasia had the "No Brows, No Problem" kit that was perfect for me: it contains a brow enhancing serum advanced, Brow Whiz in Medium Ash and clear brow gel to keep the brows looking nice and groomed.

I'm excited to use the brow enhancing serum advance as part of my brow routine. While I'm not expecting any miracles with this product, if there is any brow growth, no matter how minute, I'll be a happy camper. The instructions recommend using the product twice a day for eight weeks. Eh, eight weeks might seem kinda long but I've been waiting years for my brows to grow back, so eight weeks isn't a big deal for me.

Let's see how well this works...

a little bit of Prada

It's my birthday, it's the long weekend and it's Prada. Unboxing pictures below to show off my new bag in all it's leathery glory:

It's the medium saffiano leather tote with double handles in the the colour Glicine. I believe it's a limited edition colour for the Spring/Summer 2013 season. It's my new favourite :)

And now I'm on a shopping ban for 2 months...  o_O

And the Coolest Canadian Award goes to...

Chris Hadfield for his amazing version of David Bowie's song, Space Oddity. This is EPIC.

feeling light blue

My new scent for the summer. Sephora describes this perfume as "surprising and colored: the liveliness of Sicilian citron, the happiness of Granny Smith apple, the spontaneity of bluebells. Feminine and resolute: the intensity of jasmine, the freshness of bamboo, the charm of white rose. Deep and true: the character of cedarwood, the fullness of amber, the embrace of musk."

The notes are: Sicilian citron, bluebell, Granny Smith apple, jasmine sambac, bamboo, white rose, cedarwood, amber, musk.

I don't really smell Granny Smith apple or bamboo, but I do smell the musk, cedarwood and rose. It seems to be more "deep and true" than "surprising and colored" if we're using Sephora's description. But I do find it's a lovely light scent for the summer and I will be wearing this as long as the sun is still shining.