The Joys of Working Retail

My background isn't in retail, so when I was thrown into a very customer service oriented retail job, I didn't know what to expect.

At first, I was shocked by the some of the rudeness that I encountered, and for a good month, I had to fight the anger inside of me.  Each time I would say hello and people who completely either ignore me or say to me "I'm just looking" or "You need to leave me alone".  Since when was saying hello a crime?  Over time, we changed our greeting tactics so that we get less of that kind of response, but it's still odd that in our society saying hello to a customer is viewed as a nuisance or a selling tactic.

I basically looked like this for the whole month of January and a little into February lol

But as the time went by, I started to not take things personally and I sort of feel sorry for people who are so miserable that they have to be rude to complete strangers.  It also helped that I've met some really awesome people working retail.  Some who have become friends and/or we keep in touch with on facebook.  It also helped with my shyness a bit and inability to speak to strangers.  I guess it's the combination of how I grew up.

Working retail is an emotional rollercoaster and only strong and stable people cope the best in this environment.  Now I'm not claiming I'm either, but you are more aware of human interactions and your own behaviors when you work in retail, and for that reason I've learned quite a bit over the last 5 months.

So next time you go into a shop, say hello back, we don't all bite ;)

Chanel Nail Vernis Fracas Swatch and Review

Hello gang!
This was my last Chanel purchase that I made. It was a total impulse buy, but then again most of my Chanel purchases are.  I found out yesterday that the new Chanel collection will be hitting the UK at the end of June, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person.

Fracas is a colour that I normally would not purchase, but I wanted a perky and uplifting colour for myself as winter was really dragging my moods down.  This colour is perfect though for this beautiful weather we've been having.

Fracas is gentle, flirty, and feminine - such the opposite of me as a person haha, but it is a nice change and wonderful addition to my current dark collection.

 

Nobody does subtle shimmer like Chanel

This one will be used quite a bit this Spring.

What is your favourite colour this season?

Chanel Nail Vernis in Malice Review and Swatches

Chanel is hitting us frequently with new collections and sometimes I just can't keep up.  I found out about Malice very late in the game, but I knew I wanted it as soon as I saw it the forums.

Malice is now sold out, but I would recommend calling around to different counters to see if you can land one.  I absolutely hate the outrageous prices that people want on ebay.

Malice has class. The colour is so rich and deep and it is just beautiful. It reminds me of an elegant ball gown that one would wear to a gala.  Of course this is all in my head as I have never been to said galas lol.

 

The application was excellent and thin coats glided onto my nail.  The image below is two thin layers. When applying more it becomes vampier and darker, but I wanted to keep my mani to lean more berry tone.

Once again, this polish gets two thumbs up.  Packaging is ace, application is ace, the color is ace. The only thing that isn't ace is the price, but £18.50 isn't too much to treat yourself to this little luxury piece.

Chanel Rouge Allure 99 Pirate Review and Swatch

Back in January, my lovely staff pooled some money together and got me a gift voucher for Debenhams.  How on earth did they know that I've wanted to buy this lipstick for ages, but didn't want to throw the cash down for it.  So I ran to Debenhams the very same day and bought this.

There is something so luxurious about Chanel lipsticks.  It's indulgent, rich, pigmented and the packaging just oozes classic hollywood glamour.  Pirate is no different.  It is a true blue red highly intense red lipstick.  This is not for the shy.

I've been a lover of red lips since last winter.  Prior to that, I was all about wearing a variety of nudes, pinks, and corals, but now it seems like I can't do anything but red lips.

My favourite bit other than the gorgeous application is how you push the tube and it clicks up and down to remove the tube. Sometimes it's the little things that make me smile, clearly I'm easily amused lol

The creamy application leaves your lips moist and glossy.  This colour also leaves a stain on your lips.  I usually apply this around 7:30am and drink coffee and by lunch time I need to reapply.  That's not bad at all as I spend all day talking.

This has easily been one of my favourite purchases and products of 2013 so far.

rrp £25, can be purchased at all department shops that carry Chanel.

Always be yourself

I find that I'm always in a tug a war situation when it comes to beauty (I use this term to encompass beauty industry, fashion industry and physical beauty).  On one hand, I won't deny that I am not subject to the millions of dollars worth of online marking and "pretty" packaging.  There is a huge up and coming Korean beauty industry that dictates what Korean women are suppose to look like as well.  So sometimes I succumb to the fake eyelashes, dying my hair lighter, and even do a double eye lid to make my eyes look bigger.  I think I look prettier, but do I really? or is this just what the beauty industry has convinced me to be?

Beauty is such a strange creature that is nurtered by something a bit darker such as capitalism and the notion of what true beauty really is.  What is true beauty anyways? Each decade it changes and each century society defines that term for themselves.  I find myself in a dismay in my adult life and I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way.  I feel I know what I like, but do I really? I know what style I gravitates towards, so I suppose that is what my true style really is.  Either way, I contemplate this today because I spent most of my holiday at home watching kdramas (don't judge me :p) and couldn't help but feel less of a woman as I see these gorgeous Korean women with plastic surgery, weighing 100lbs wet, and dressed in these frilly, girly dresses (all the damn time).  I felt I needed to redefine my style and re-confirm that I am beautiful no matter what (that) society says.  As cheesy and cliche as that sounds, what else is a girl suppose to do when she's put up against such an unrealistic level of beauty and in many cultures, self worth.


I'll leave you with this awesome meme I found online which had me on the floor laughing. Yes, I'm a huge animal lover and a closet nerd (not so closet I think these days), but it's all about embracing self confidence and that is very rare these days.  Self-confidence has always been hard for me, but I feel like I need to believe it and own it in order to feel it.

So cute, god I want to squeeze the crap out of that adorable kitten lol.

Have a lovely Friday everyone and remember to be confident x

TonyMoly Lip Tint Review

I've been doing a lot of shopping on ebay recently for Korean cosmetics, because there is no place to purchase it.  While I was purchasing an eyebrow pencil, I received this lip tint for free.

 

I was not very impressed with the packaging.  The sticker was peeling off, the bottle was awkward and doesn't sit straight up (yes I know that's just me being OCD), but what it lacked in packaging, it made up for in performance.

I don't know if I'm very interested in this product as I wouldn't just wear a drying lip tint on my lips on my own, but last week I used this before I applied a red lipstick on and that helped keep a tint on my lip all day long, so I was very pleased with the combination effect.

 

 

This is what happened after I blended it into my hands and this did not budge off my skin for over an hour.   Of course I had to use some warm water, soap and some extra scrubbing to get it off.

 

This product is ridiculously inexpensive (even when posted from Asia), long lasting, and does what people want a lip tint to do. What a great product and an even better freebie. I'll definitely look into getting product in the future as a base for my red lips.

Lush Cosmetics Feeling Younger Skin Tint Review & Swatches

Feeling Younger you say? Oh yes I'd love to look younger too haha.  Feeling younger is never a problem for me as at 33 years old I have the same dress style as some of the 18 year old that work for me. hahaha. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Am I allowed to dress like a 18 yr old? :p

Ok sorry so back to this amazing highlighter that I have been using since November 2012.  I don't know why I haven't blogged about this earlier, but it's a permanent member of my makeup bag.

For £12, you are getting great value for money, because a little bit goes a long way. I've used this almost everyday since November and I still have about 80% of the product left still.  I have seen other bloggers who apply an abundance of this product on your skin, but you only need a little bit tapped onto the skin to create an instant glow.

The mouse like highlighter is great for all skin tones. On my fair skin, I get a lovely bronze/pink tint.
This is just a small dab and it spread throughout my entire hand.

The reflecting light it gives to my skin gives my skin a dewy fresh look.  I haven't yet mixed it with my moisturiser, but I think I'll give that a go this week.

The amazing ingredients are all attributes to the soft creamy texture.
Also, I haven't had any issues with applying this under my eyes.

I can't say much more about how much I love this highlighter.  Prior to this, I was using Becca's skin perfector and I loved that one very much, but I felt that there was too much packaging.  It's very similar in texture and effect, so if you love the Becca one, give the Lush one a try as it is made of natural ingredients and 1/3 the cost.

*This product was purchased with my discount

Pay Day Shopping Spree

I still can't get use to the whole "getting paid once a month" business.  So when I get paid, I live like a queen and by the end of the month (like today) I live like a pauper.

Tomorrow is PAY DAY! and I plan on paying bills, putting more money towards our cruise next year and treating myself to a few beauty products.

May's Shopping List

1. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua B20
2. Make Up For Ever Concealer Palette
3. MAC face and Body Foundation N2
4. Cruise payment


As you can see my focus this month is about the skin. I'll be trying new foundations and trying to get my skin looking radiant again.  With long busy days, too much coffee,  and eating on the go, my skin is suffering and I'm hoping to get it back on track.  Until it clears up, I'm hoping to find that perfect foundation routine.  I've been mixing and matching various foundations to get that right coverage.  So that's what I'll be doing this month :)

What's on your shopping list this month ??

Lush Cosmetics - The Kiss Lipgloss Review and Swatches

Now that's what I call sunshine! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the lovely Spring weather. I usually hate to post about products that are so limited edition that it's not available for purchase, but just in case there are some Lush shops that still stock this, I have to tell you all about my favourite tinted lipbalm/lip gloss.

The Kiss lipgloss came out during Valentine's Day as their limited edition product. 

I fell in love with the creamy strawberry scented and tasting lipbalm.  I remember applying it on and just knew that I wanted to buy a back up of it immediately.  

There is a slight pink frosty and milky tint to this that glides on the lips to create a glistening effect. I wasn't a fan of the tint, but the tasty and smoothing lipbalm won me over.

The best part of this lipgloss is that with all it's amazing Fair trade Shea Butter and cupuacu butter, that makes this more like a lip balm then a lip gloss to me, so this is a must have for people who suffer from chapped lips. 

Also great for those busy gals (like myself) who need purse friendly cosmetics. It glides on flawlessly and effortlessly so you don't even need a mirror.

This was £5.50 in shops and I felt that was a bargain, so I ended up buying 3.  If you don't have this then call your local Lush shop and find out if it's still in stock.

* This product was purchased with my discount

My favourite things this week

Hello lovely ladies x

Let's see...what on earth have I been up too? Work, work, work, oh travel (for work), and more work.

In the craziness of what I call my life now, there have been a few bits that have caught my eye and have become my favourite things this week.

Last week when I was in London for training, I popped into Muji. God I love that shop so much. I picked up a pen case and a set of pens. My obsession with Japanese and Korean pens have become a bit ridiculous, but hey ho we all have our quirks right? :)




The pens are fine pointed and the gels do not bleed. I love the colourful array of pens and I really like the transparency of both the pens and the pen case.


The set cost £9.95 and the pen case was over £2.50

The next favourite item of this week is by a designer called Gogo Philip. I can't even remember how I came across this designer, but the minute I discovered him I found myself scouring the internet for more of his jewellery. This one is my first piece by him.




I love how big and chunky this bracelet is! Very retro and modern urban at the same time.

This can be purchased at Asos for £20.



This post can not be complete without a Lush item.

Behold the adorable Mumkins!

I grabbed these two, because I absolutely love their facial expressions LOL!




The lovely raspberry smell is nice, but I just couldn't get over their faces! lol

If you can still find these they were £2.75 each and they are actually bubble bars.



And last but definitely not least, my new obsession....

The Ikea vanity table






This table is on a lot of blogger's wishlists and I'm no different. I love the sleek design and since I literally have no space where I am now, this slim table would be perfect! I'll probably end up getting the Alex as well this Christmas. Although I'd prefer the black version, I am warming up to the white.

What are some of your favourites this week?

My super late new years resolution

Late is an understatement here...Wow, 4 months late to be exact.  Where has the time gone? I've been very busy with my new job and by the time I get home, I have very little time with DH and pup and then I'm online either responding to personal or work emails.  That has been my life.  I don't even believe that I've had a proper shopping break nor one full day of doing absolutely nothing (nothing as in watching junk t.v. and lounging about in my robe).

So here is my super late new years resolution.  About mid January, I had to discard over $400 worth of makeup from circa 2006-2007 (right before my move to Miami) as I felt that they were too old to use.  They were all cream base and/or liquid textured.  I felt gutted when I had to discard this so I remember saying to myself that I need to chill out on buying so much makeup.  But how could I do that when collecting cosmetics was one of my hobbies, passions, and stress reliever?  It has been 4 months since that promise and I believe that it has been a uphill battle, not a battle lost.  These are the things I did to try to change my shopping habit.

First, I took everything that I owned out of their storage and laid them out.  I evaluated honestly what I knew I was going to use and what I was keeping just for the sake of saying that I owned it.  After I weeded out the ones I knew I wouldn't use, I divided that pile further into separate piles: swap, give away, toss, and donate.

Second, I bought a fantastic clear acrylic makeup storage set and displayed the products I was going to use inside of it.  I decided to take pride in what I had versus constantly eyeing what I didn't have.  My vanity table looked so much neater and I actually got to see what I had.  This was the hardest thing for me as I am always on the look out for the next hottest thing.  Well, the next hottest thing in makeup is always just around the corner and unlike shoes and bags you can't keep makeup forever.

Third, I took two of each type of makeup that was the oldest and kept them in a makeup bag inside of my handbag.  This forced me to use the oldest item first as I was never going to go through with having to toss that much product out ever again.  What a waste!  So I was able to keep track of what needed to be used up and kept it near me so I reached for it more often.

Fourth, I listed a whole bunch of items on makeupalley and other forums/fb groups to swap or sell as i figured it was doing me no justice just sitting here collecting dust.  This was awfully hard, but I decided that I'd rather swap 20 things in exchange for 1 item that I know I really wanted.

Fifth - and the most important one....Learning to let go.  That amazing NARS palette circa 2004 is not going to do me any good, no matter how much I love NARS and no matter how much I spent back then.  I don't know why I have such a hard time letting go, but I am learning slowly that these are all things and that my life needs to be filled with new and exciting things instead of things from my past.  

All of these things kept me occupied instead of looking at beauty blogs and forums and having my wish list increase.  I haven't been an angel and have definitely purchased some products since, but I am more conscious now about my shopping patterns of what I need versus what I want because some other blogger had it.  It's a vicious circle, one which I know I'm not alone in.

I know a post like this could seem the opposite of what a beauty blogger is all about, but I decided to post about things that I actually enjoyed now that I don't have to time to post about every product that crosses my path (ahhhh those were the days of working from home).


If anyone is in the same boat as me, please drop me a comment with your helpful hints ;)