Jelly Shoes?! REALLY?

I remember wanting a pair of jelly shoes sooooo much when I was 12 or 13 years old. They were the "in" thing and I was so excited when my parents FINALLY got me a pair. I have no idea how quickly they did or didnt jump on the trend and get me a pair, but I know I was dying for them and it felt like forever until I got them. And while I have no idea where MOST of shoes or beloved clothing went that I had when I was a kid (a pink dress I loved that my grandparents brought me back from a trip to Paris stands out in my head which is ironic since I hate pink and never DID like pink) these jelly shoes I know EXACTLY where they went. An ill fated swim at a 3 week sleep away camp was the downfall of my beloved jelly shoes. I was wearing them in the water and one fell off in the lake. Since plastic doesn't biodegrade I can safely assume that it is still in the bottom of that lake.

But that was my first and last foray into the concept of jelly shoes. And yet it seems now, more than 20 years later I am all of a sudden seeing them EVERYWHERE again. Maybe they have been around all this time and I have just had blinders on, but I have never noticed them before. And now all of a sudden, I see them wherever I turn. It almost seems counter intuitive that all these high end designers are coming out with them. And while $200-$350USD for plastic jelly shoes seems INSANE, its also kind of a great way to get a little piece of luxury at a manageable price point.

These Salvatore Ferragamo Preita Jelly Bow d'Orsay Flats retail for $240 and I will be honest. The only reason I do not have them on the way to me right now is I can not find the blue or the teal ones in my size! OBSESSED WITH THESE!!

While these Rockstud PVC Thong Sandals from Valentino do nothing for me and have me wondering what the appeal of them is,

THESE Valentino Rockstud Ankle-Wrap Jelly Sandals I am kind of digging!

Both Rockstud jellys come in at the $295 price point and while A LOT for plastic jelly shoes, its manageable for many. But the ones that finally hooked me and got me were these Givenchy Chain Jelly Flat Sandals. I just saw them and could NOT walk away. At $295 they are an insane price point for what they are, but also quite reasonable...... right? Yeah, yeah..... I know! But they come in Nude, Black and Fuchsia and I finally caved and ordered the black version of them. I wanted the nude ones but they don't seem to exist in my size and in a store that will ship them to me without raping me on the customs, duty and handling fees. $295USD is insane enough! Thats FOUR HUNDRED dollars! Not paying an additional hundred dollars in taxes, duty and importing fees!! But anyways, the shoes I have been obsessing about since I saw them:

Would you spend crazy amounts to get JELLY shoes? Even if not, are there any jelly shoes you are really feeling? I know there are some cute Kate Spade ones out there also! What are your thoughts on jelly shoes?

FACEMASK FRIDAY - Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment

OK, this really is not a face mask. But it kind of is. I am calling it close enough! And omg do I freaking love this. Its harsh. It leaves my skin very red. But my skin LOVES THIS. This is basically what you get if a scrub, a cleanser, a mask and a peel  were all had a big orgy and spawned this little monster. I really am not sure how else to describe this.

This is an EXPENSIVE product. As in "HOLY SHIT!!" expensive. As in $102 or $219 a tube. This is the itty bitty travel size which retails for $25.

Its a thin seaweed green cream that is very grainy. It smells AMAZING. Like a cinnamon, pumpkin, clove mixture that is so oddly refreshing and so unexpected based on the look of the product.

Directions say to rub a dime sized amount on to wet skin and let sit for 2 minutes.

It is irritating on, not really burning, but uncomfortably tingling. and it left my skin totally red and sensitive. But surprisingly, it also left my skin not at all dry or tight. And within an hour or so the redness was totally gone and my skin was smoother and more comfortable than it has been in AGES. I have already ordered another tube, though a little goes a very very long way. That travel sized tube should last at least 8 treatments so at least a month.

Chanel Rouge Allure In 05 Desirable

Just a quick post today to share my current lipstick obsession. Rouge Allure Desirable. Its a pretty shimmery pink-violet color that is totally NOT my normal colour or shade. And its got shimmer. Its pretty much everything I hate in a lipstick all put together in to one fabulous tube of something I somehow LOVE.

Joe Fresh $5 vs $12 Shadows - Is There A Difference?

I recently bought some eyeshadows from Joe Fresh. I really was digging some of these shades and decided it was worth breaking my "I dont buy single shadows" rule (because I never wear them, I just grab a palette) for. I realized as I was grabbing them that they were more than what I would typically expect to see for Joe Fresh items. It was only as I was walking away that I realized that they were the limited edition collections and that the regular ones were less than half the price. So I HAD to pick up a $5 shadow as well as the $12 ones so that I could see the difference. Or if there was one.

These two are part of the Future Effects collection. $12 each.

Here is one from the basic collection. Meaning it comes in at a mere $5. I think its even less if you buy multiples. 3 for $12 or something like that? Not quite sure, but its less if you buy more.

And these are three of the four from the Spring Pastel Palette collection. Also $12 shadows.

So with that, is there a difference? Yes. The difference is the $12 ones come in plastic packaging that is silver and the regular ones come in a clear plastic case. To be honest that is really the ONLY difference I could find between them.

Across the board the quality didn't wow or excite me on ANY of them. They were not at all bad, but nothing that makes me jump for joy. From my limited experience with drugstore beauty (lets be honest, almost nothing I buy or use is drugstore or has been in MANY years) these are on par with the offerings. Which is fine. And that is not to say that I don't think there are FABULOUS drugstore products out there that rival the luxury brand offerings. There are. I just have little patience to seek them out.

BUT - if you are going to charge more than 220% of the cost for a limited edition one, it sure as hell better be WORTH the price difference. And these are not. And they are not even a BIT better in quality which frankly pisses me off. There is no excuse for such an exorbitant price hike for the same quality. A dollar or so more, fine. Limited edition has a value (or a perceived value) that gives a brand some room to up a price. Yes, these are still affordable, but that to me is really neither here nor there.

I'm Back!

So after four long months of messages and comments (which I appreciate more than you will know) I am back! Its been a LONG four months. I started a new job days after getting back from Las Vegas mid April, finished writing all my exams for the semester and was ready to get going again after a few week break when a lot of personal stuff kind of snowballed. I am sorry for my long absence and the blog will be back up and running, business as usual by mid week.

Today however, I thought I would share this picture with everyone. A project I took part in a few months ago while in NYC sadly created some tension. I learned that unfortunately a lot of my family is far less open minded (is that a nice way to say what I am actually thinking? Trying to not be so disrespectful here) than I would have hoped. And when I saw how many people this STILL offends and insults it just makes me want to share it more.

Celebrity photographer Adam Bouska started the NOH8 campaign in 2008 as a direct response and social protest against Proposition 8 and to stand for marriage equality but the project has grown to stand as a statement against discrimination and bullying of all kinds.

Haul #2 - The Clothing!

Most of you know I am a big thrift store shopper. I love clothes and hate cheap quality and disposable items. So instead of buying something at Forever 21 that will fall apart in a week, I can spend that money at a thrift store and get something of fantastic quality for the same price point. Seems like a no brainer to me. 

With that said, I do love my J Crew, Ann Taylor, Loft by Ann Taylor, Top Shop and Banana Republic. They are always my go to shops for work clothing and such. It would however be nice if we had ANY of those stores in the city (or province) I live in. Sadly, it would bean 8 hour drive across the border to get to the nearest of ANY of those stores. Well, we did get a Banana Republic last year, so we have one of the five. Sigh....... They have to EVENTUALLY make their way here, right?

Anyways, that leads to shopping only when on vacation. Yet I was in New York, New Jersey and Nevada in the last month and did no shopping! So for the first time ever I thought I would give online shopping a try! The nice thing about all of the above stores is I am a pretty standard size 6/8 or M in the tops at all the above and a size 10 in the skirts. The only exception is Top Shop where I range from a size 4-10 depending on the top and cant for the life of me know until I try it on. So I wont risk the online shopping there. 

LOFT had a sale where it was 40% off the sale price, so instead of $51 these shirts ended up costing $11.93 each. I bought both the navy/black and the grey/cream.

From Ann Taylor, I got a similar idea of a shirt, in this chambray and navy shade. I love the faux layered look as its one less layer I need to actually wear to get the look. This retailed for $102 here and was on sale for $29.99 and an additional 40% off so I got it for $17.99.

Banana Republic had a sale on the website for 40% off the lowest price as well, but at the leather skirt I had been eyeing ($185) was only down to $96 and I still didnt want to pay $60 plus tax. A friend told me to go in to the store as it was much cheaper in the store so I went and it was $36.99 and then the 40% off THAT. Making it less than $20! This sweatshirt with mesh shoulder inserts is so comfortable an felt so nice in store I accidentally got sucked in. Retail was $95 bur the entire bill came to just under $50 for it and the skirt. So I guess it was about $25 before taxes. Overall, I spent under $50 on what would have been $300 so I guess it was an ok extra even if I didn't NEED it.

J Crew - I saw Mindy Kaling where this in a fashion blog and needed it. At $14.99 instead of the $116 Canadian price tag I think it was a score! Side note, I have to stop reading themindyprojectstyle.com! Ive already worn it a few times over a button up blouse!

Worn this way:

Would love the dark ink shade but will remain happy with the grey one!

This top from J Crew I bought and then had major second thoughts. But once it arrived I was happy to find I freaking love it. At $114 I might not have even tried it on, but at $28.19 I am glad I added it to my shopping cart. I don't own a white shirt to wear under it (I KNOW!!) and the black button down didnt quite work so I went with a sky blue button down underneath. A white has been added to my shopping list!

$114 for a thin sweatshirt? You gotta be kidding. For a glittery one though...........  I know I know. But it was on clearance for $17.49 so it became an easy yes. Its actually super thin and more of a sweater with cuffs of a sweatshirt than a true sweatshirt. It is however a big regret. It came full of pulls, J Crew was amazing and said not to worry about sending it back, they express shipped a new one that arrived two days later. But it GOT a pull the first time I wore it. Not very noticeable, but its a super super fragile top and pulls if you look at it the wrong way. With that said it IS super cute and I do really like it, though I wish the slits didn't go up quite so high up the side.

And lastly, I stopped in to Anthropologie (that never ends well for my wallet) and found this dress. It was  $169 but was on sale for $39.99 and 20% off THAT making it only $32. I bought it because, how could you NOT? and then immediately took it to my tailor to have about 6 inches chopped off the bottom (ok, maybe only 3 if I am being honest) since I am....... vertically challenged. $20 later it is at the perfect length to just graze the ground when wearing flats. So I guess the dress really cost me $50 and not $30 but overall, still an amazing deal!

I Am Back! Sort Of.....

Just wanted to stick my head out of the rabbit hole and say hello to everyone. I am still having a bit of a hard time processing the last 4 weeks of my life let alone get caught up on the details! I got back home after almost three weeks in NYC and Vegas only to write an exam literally the next day. Just in case that wasn't stressful enough, I started a new job less than a week later. The job is great, the environment is so much better than where I was before, and there are no complaints. BUT.... It was a big overwhelming change. I was up at 4am daily to be out of the house by 515 for the first week and a half (a big change from waking up at 8pm like I used too!!) and then a week where I didnt get home from work until 1230am. I am now thankfully back in my regular schedule I have for the last two and a half years so I feel like I am just now getting back to "normal".

Anyways, I will stop babbling now and just say how much I appreciate everyones messages and comments asking about me. I have had quite a few hauls recently so those will be coming first, followed by regularly scheduled programming!