Call me a shoe-a-holic too I guess

So my usual MO after being denied at one site is to go buy from another. Ok, ok, gimme a break, at least I don't go all crazy and just get everything my heart desires one shot :D There's still that part of me that is budgeting away, figuring out if I can make the payments by the end of the month.

Despite the slight disappointment of my failed Bath & Body Works order, I bounced right back when I found out Piperlime would be having a 20% off discount for Cyber Monday. I mentioned previously that I had a 15% off discount from them when I signed up for their e-newsletter but the bigger the discount, the better right? I received the 20% off notification in my inbox before I found out about my failed order so there was a small part of me that wanted the BBW cancelation to happen so that I could finally get those Corso Como Festive Ballet Flats at a discount. I did rationalize that even if the BBW order went through, I still could get the flats cos they are on backorder on Piperlime and will only be shipping Dec 26th which means that till then, my card will not be charged but they'll honour the discounted price on the date that the item is available. Hence, I was waiting for 12 am Monday morning to roll around so that I could finally get the Festive flats I had been lusting over.

This morning when I checked my inbox and saw the BBW cancelation email, I thought, well, lucky for me that that didn't go through cos I had started feeling a bit stupid about getting 14.5oz candles to be shipped from the States - they would cost me a bomb! I immediately knew I would definitely be getting the Festive flats from Piperlime. But of course, I decided to do my due diligence first and look around to see if there were other places offering the shoes for less than I would have to pay with the 20% off.

I checked Google Shopping out and most were in the normal price range with no discount offer except for Zappos which I hadn't looked at before. I decided to google Zappos coupon codes and found that the site doesn't offer any promo codes which is a complete bummer. But while I was checking out the Zappos RetailMeNot page, I saw the link for Piperlime and decided to click on it for the hell of it.

And boy was I sooooooooo glad that I did cos there was a Black Friday 25% off discount on purchases, which I was not made aware off via any newsletter might I add, and it was ending in a couple of hours. That immediately spurred me to check out the Festive flats in my Piperlime cart and I was so glad to have made the cut off before the coupon expired. I managed to get the flats for 45 bucks so woohoo for that! And considering my card is only charged when the item is being prepared for shipment, I will probably have a long wait before it does and will only likely have to pay for them in January 2011. So yippee for that as well.

Since I've already gotten 3 pairs of shoes in the past 3 days, I figure I don't mind waiting for the flats cos my main concern was just getting them at a discount. I am okay with them coming whenever, it's not like I'll be shoe-less cos I will admit that I've gotten a number of pairs this year alone. I think I might be up to ten pairs as it is :P There's the Cynthia Vincent For Target cognac wedges, the Newport News clogs, Charles Keith black wedges, studded black ballet flats, Croc wedges, Skechers Shape Ups, Steve Madden Tsunamii, Vince Camuto Edon Wedges, Vince Camuto flats, Reebok RunTones and these Corso Como Festive flats. Right, that's actually 11 pairs of shoes gotten this year alone, hehe. That's not even counting the shoes that I already own, OMG. And there's still the TOMS wedges that I want but I'm waiting for a free shipping code to appear. I realize the TOMS company does good but I am really, really, really averse to paying shipping if I can help it. It's just the way I feel about that :) Up till then, I think I'm good on the shoe front, lol.

UPDATE (30/11/2010):
Sigh. Denied again. I was kinda surprised that I was since my sis has shopped at Piperlime numerous times and she has never had any issues. Oh well, will probably just try to get the shoes through her then. Just have to wait for another 25 off coupon, no big deal :)

Ok, this HAS to be it! I'm done for Black Friday!

Oh why, oh why, oh why am I such a sucker? I know I don't need anymore beauty products. I have more than I can use at one time but I was tempted by those Youtube Vloggers MacBarbie07 and MissGlamorazzi to get some stuff from Bath & Body Works.


Aside from that, I'm really excited about the stuff I got! LOL, what a turnaround but anyways, I got 5 hand sanitizers - mostly from their holiday collection. It was a buy 5 for $5 and I feel that for a buck each, it's a really good deal. I was convinced to get these by MacBarbie07 cos she was raving about them in her latest haul video. Sometimes I wonder at my own gullibility. The girl is half my age :) But I love her and find her completely adorable. I chose to get the Santa's Mallow Mint, Comet's Ginger Mint, Winter Candy Apple, Vanilla Bean Noel and the Twisted Peppermint pocket hand sanitizer. I have used Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers before and I do like them though I can definitely get the normal stuff which would work just as well. I just decided to indulge in some holiday editions simply cos I'm frivolous like that *wink, wink*


Next, I decided to get some fragrance mist. MacBarbie07 is obsessed with these. I think she has an inordinately LARGE amount of body splashes/fragrance mists and can't fathom how she manages to use up any if at all :) But she got me suckered into trying some out. I figured I didn't really want to get the large bottles cos I might not like the scent since I'm buying them sight unseen - or more appropriately scent unsmelled, lol - so I went for the travel size version. The site had a 3 for $10 deal going on so I could pick and choose whatever suited my fancy. I got 2 sets of the 3 for $10 simply because I liked the sound of all the notes of each of the scents. The first three I chose were Coconut Vanilla, Berry Vanilla and Sweet Pea. Ithink MacBarbie07 did buy the Coconut Vanilla and/or Berry Vanilla but I definitely know AllThatGlitters21 loves the Sweet Pea scent.


Then I decided to get the Japanese Cherry Blossom, Twilight Woods and Sea Island Cotton. I think I've seen reviews on Japanese Cherry Blossom and Twilight Woods on MacBarbie07 (I tell ya the girl loves her Bath & Body Works fragrance mists!) and she seems to like the stuff and the Sea Island Cotton I just thought the notes sounded really good.


Third on my list of Bath & Body Works wants was either the scent bugs or candles. I ended up getting the huge 14.5 oz candles - simply because they were going for 2 for $20 and one itself costs $19. It's basically 2 for the price of 1. I saw on Miss Glamorazzi's haul vid that she has the Homemade Cookies candle and I love the smell of baked goods. Plus the reviews were very positive for this scent. I got that and then I decided to have an opinion of my own (instead of being fed info via Youtube haul vids) and get the Sweet Pumpkin Cinnamon candle. I love the smell of cinnamon and I think the smell of roasted pumpkin is divine. I also read the reviews of this scent on the site and the overwhelming majority think it's great.

I'm now up to a lil over 40 bucks with all the stuff in my cart and can now qualify for the deal I had my eye on right after I was done choosing the pocketbacs. This 2010 holiday gift worth $115 going for $20 with any purchase of $40. Ok, I confess, I wanted the bag :P I think it's a cute tote and for 20 bucks I could also get a bunch of stuff that I can always regift. The set comes with full size bottles of the Secret Wonderland shower gel, body mist and body lotion. This set alone is worth more than 20 bucks. I can definitely repack this as a birthday gift. It also contains the full size Twilight Woods For Men shower gel which I can always fob off as another gift for one of my colleagues. Also included is a Wallflower Starter and Single Refill in Fresh Balsam, a full size Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Soap in Sunburst Tangerine, a pink gauze sponge and a packet of Fekkai Glossing Cream all which I plan to keep for myself. Last but not least, it has the Twisted Peppermint PocketBac and a sparkly PocketBac Holder. I am going to gift the PocketBac but keep the holder :)


I spent a total of $72.97 inclusive of shipping which cost me $7.99. I can't really believe I bought that much considering I just got myself some Lush Christmas sets but buy I did. I have to say that I was very aware when I made all the purchases to not get any bath stuff for myself considering I have an unopened 16oz bottle of Philosophy's Cinnamon Buns and the Snow Fairy and Glogg shower gel as well as Mandarin Tea Party soap, Shimmy Shimmy bar and Angel's Delight soap coming my way. I know I'm keeping all the Lush stuff for myself but I'm thinking of gifting some of the body splashes to friends since I don't think I want to keep all 6 of them. I don't have space to keep all the stuff on my vanity. That's it on the bath and body products. I am not allowing myself to get anymore stuff until I finish 98% of the thing's I've gotten!

Ok, this is also dependant on if the charge goes through. I've been having quite a bit of success on the whole US addy fib thing that sometimes I forget my AMEX is not invincible, hehe.

DISCLAIMER:
All images are from the Bath & Body Works site :)

UPDATE (27/11/2010):
Hmmm, I think I jinxed my BBW order. The order status is still at processing. It's been a whole 24 hours. That usually means that it's a no go. A teeny bit sad but that's the way things go, ain't it?

UPDATE (29/11/2010):
Right, let me draw a line through Bath & Body Works on my list of places I'd love to shop at. It officially goes on the "Places That Resist The Power of AMEX". Ah, well, what to do, that's just how it goes.

And buy more I did! The Black Friday hauling continues!

I thought I could make it through with just the endless.com purchase but why do I bother thinking I have self-control? I got an email from Forever 21 on their Black Friday deals and thought I'd take a look. I have had a few things in my cart from the site but have been reluctant to check out cos the items are all full price right now. Am waiting for the stuff to go on sale which, on F21, you can bet they will.

But when I saw the Black Friday deals being offered, I knew I wanted to get some of the stuff and decided to rope in my sister to help complete the 50 bucks min free shipping quota. I ended up getting two of the longline slouchy cardigans from the Black Friday deals and this horizontal stripes oversized tunic tee which I feel is just superbly casual and slouchy yet completely fashionable. Sometimes I wonder how I get all that from a simple striped top :P That was the only original item in my cart that I got since both my sis and I had to add one item each to make the 50 bucks free shipping.


So I got the cardigan, which was on offer for 9 bucks each, in the colour black and carcoal. I like the overall look of the cardigan - it has a bit of a slouchy blazer look and I'm sure I've conveyed how blazer-crazy I am. My sis also got one in black and another in cocoa. All in all we had 4 of these cardies in our order.

I have also been really into oversized slouchy casual tees of late and thought this striped tee would make a perfect addition to my collection. I like my oversized tees to cover my butt and judging from the pics, this one does. So far I've been pairing my various oversized tees with either my Unionbay skinny cargo pants, the Signature by Levi Strauss Totally Slimming flare jeans or my Signature by Levi Strauss Totally Slimming slim leg jeans. I can see this tee going well with all three of those pants as well.

My total in this Forever 21 Black Friday haul was just $29.80. I think that's a very reasonable amount to pay for my 3 fabulous items. Of course I had to make payment via my F21 app since that's the only way the charge will go through on my AMEX. I really can't wait now to get all my F21 stuff. I see the slouchy cardies going really well with the two dresses I got in my first F21 iPhone app attempt earlier in the month! LOVE IT!

DISCLAIMER:
None of the pics are mine and are courtesy of the F21 site.

Black Friday Is Here!!!!!!!

YES! I have been waiting for this sales event for months! MONTHS, I TELL YA! And now that it's finally come around.....at first I was completely underwhelmed. But I think that is cause I am sick this week. I went back to Homeland last weekend cos it was a long holiday in Workland and caught my nephew and nieces' bug.

Anyways, I digress. The point is - I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY DEALS! I have just completed my first ever Black Friday purchase and I love it! I was looking for interesting deals via The Budget Babe's site cos she has a special Black Friday/Cyber Monday section and saw an entry regarding Endless.com's 30% off on selected merchandise in shoes and accessories. I thought I'd take a gander and look around to see if any of the shoes I've had my eye on would qualify for this special discount.

And whaddayaknow? Of course there will be two of the footwear I've been dying to get qualifying for the 30% off discount AS WELL AS free priority overnight shipping! I got myself the Steve Madden Tsunamii motorcycle rainboots in Black and the Reebok RunTone in Gravel/Brazenberry.


I wanna talk about the Reebok's first. I have been looking at these shoes since last year when I was trying to figure out all these toning shoes. These atheletic footwear have a RRP of $99.95 but I have been averse to paying that much for a pair of sneakers. So periodically I will check around during the major sales events and the Reebok EasyTone/RunTone range ARE NEVER INCLUDED in the sales. I will always be majorly disappointed once I've put 'em in the cart and enter the promo code and it always comes back that the shoes are ineligible for the promo. So when I saw on endless.com that these athletic footwear would qualify for 30% off, I immediately did not hesitate to get them. I ended up paying USD69.97, woohoo! And even better that they had it in the black/fuschia color combo I had been eyeing. That's simply the perfect mix - great price and great colour. Love it!

The Steve Madden Tsunamii rainboots I've liked after seeing them on the Bloomies site at the tail end of Summer this year. They are a new release by Steve Madden and became available in September if I'm not mistaken. I have been wanting to get this since and have just been waiting for the right site to give me the best possible discount. I recently had it in my Piperlime cart cos I got a 15% discount when I signed up for their email newsletter but was holding out for Black Friday before I checked out.


And I'm soooooo glad I did. At $55.96 after 30% off, how could I not??? I have been looking for a good pair of knee high boots to wear that are not pleather. These are made out of rubber which could look (and smell) awful but because the material is quite matte, the boots don't look so plasticky. I originally wanted Hunter rainboots but in the end I came to my senses and decided that somthing below 100 bucks was reasonable. I also love the contrast zipper stitching in red. I think this detail gives the boots a very fashionable air and serves as a fashion piece as well as for the obvious practical reasons. The other reason I thought this would be a great buy is the fact that it has an adjustable buckle at the top of the boots so calf fit should not be an issue. Sometimes boots can be too loose/too tight at the calves so it's great to have the option of tightening/loosening the straps and that they actually serve a function and are not simply decorative. Also, love that these rainboots can be zippered into instead of having to pull them on/off from the top. Saves one time struggling to get in/out of them :D

Total spent was $125.93. I am sooooo happy with that. I think I should stop at this for Black Friday shopping but since the weekend is coming up and I have no plans, I'm most likely going to end up sitting at my laptop and browsing. And when I browse, I usually end up buying :P

DISCLAIMER: Images are not mine and belong to endless.com

Lush-erly LUSH Stuff!

Hmmm, the title makes me sound like a lush, hehe. Ok, play on words over - basically I got myself two Christmas gift sets from LUSH. And I'm very excited cos both sets contain the two shower gels I've been wanting to try - Snow Fairy and Glogg.


The first set I got was the Snow Fairy Gift. It's listed as GBP9.95 but since I'm not a UK resident, I got it for the tax free price of GBP8.47. Love it! The set comes with a 100g bottle of Snow Fairy shower gel which has a sweet bubblegum and candyfloss scent, Shimmy Shimmy Glitter bar which is like a solid aromatherapy body moisturiser/massage bar and the Angel's Delight soap that has a combo of blackberry mixed with tangerine and sweet orange oils to produce a jelly bean scent. Ummm, all of it smells yummy. I'm really happy to get my hands on the shower gel as I've heard so many great things about the scent and considering it's in the vein of my fave soap Rockstar, I'm guessing this is a winner for me. Fingers crossed. Found out about this from AllThatGlitters21 and thought I'd trust her nose and get it for myself.


Another recommendation from Elle of off AllThatGlitters21 is the Glogg shower gel. Reading the description, I love the sound of it! It contains brandy, cinnamon and clove. Glogg is actually the Swedish version of mulled red wine and according to some Swedes who have gotten this, the smell is true to its namesake :) Elle also talked about the Mandarin's Tea Party ginger infused soap. I thought this seemed like a good combo - zesty mandarin oil, neroli oil and ginger - and infused with Lush's Orange Blossom perfume scent, this should be a great morning working weekday soap. I was lucky enough that there was a gift scent named Winter Warmers that contained these two items and for the tax-free price of GBP6.77, I was sold.

I shared this purchase with my sisters. Both of them are crazy about the Bubblegum lip scrub I let them try out that was given to me by Oz friend so they badgered me into getting the Lush stuff since I already had an account with them. After dividing the shipping weight costs according to the individual weights of the items we individually purchased, I had to pay GBP9.04 for shipping which brought this purchase's total to GBP24.28. I think thats pretty okay since it is coming all the way from the UK :)

All of the products, apart from the Shimmy Shimmy Glitter Bar are Christmas items only and are limited edition products. Once the holiday season is over, you'll likely have to wait for next year before you can get your hands on them again :) I'm most excited to try out the two shower gels and can't wait for this shipment to arrive!

DISCLAIMER:
All images were derived from the LUSH UK site.

you know you've been living in La La Land too long if.....

sentences like "Oh forget reality, who cares about that!" actually come out from you mouth.

Hello blog! I'm baaaack. Oh, I have missed you, I truly did but when the lazies get ahold of me, sometimes it is just damn difficult to break free from its shackles. I like how every time I've been away from The Inner Workings Of A Frivolous Mind, I come back a lil bit stranger and as always dramatic :D

Regarding the title and the first line of this post, yea, I actually did say that. Just a couple of minutes ago which prompted me to come on here and blog about it. The moment the words left my mouth and I heard them, I just felt completely incredulous at my lack of grounding and just had to write about it. As a reminder that, kooky can be cute but crazy ain't a house of fun, hehe. I don't know where I'm coming up with this stuff, truly.

So in the weeks that has passed us by since my last sojourn on here, as can be expected, life has moved along. Things have happened, good and bad, whatever, am trying not to dwell too much. I realize that I tend to allow my life to be so mired in the past sometimes that it hinders me from growing as a person. And the reality is, despite this blog being called The Inner Workings Of A Frivolous Mind, I'd say that frivolity is not really a strong aspect of my personality. Ok, my shopping habits might discredit that but we're not talking about my need to self-gratify through buying things (I know that part of me shops because of this) but I'm talking about the overall general approach to living. I can totally live within myself and sometimes it results in my being a downright grumpy biatch.

Hmmm, how did this post become about my personality and psyche? I really don't know. It really was about me coming on here to take a moment to record the time I said, "Oh forget reality, who cares about that!" And the reason it came about had something to do with, incredulously enough, the US TV show Dancing With The Stars and a certain pro dancer I have recently become enamoured with. Sigh, I really uphold this dude as the epitome of male virility. He really looks like a perfect specimen of what a man should look like. Ok, what I deem a man should look like. Tall, dark handsome with the longest legs ever. Sigh. I get goosebumps just thinking about his legs, lol. No, its not Maks though I have to admit he gives my guy a run for his money. Maks, wow, he oozes sexuality. I used to think that ballroom dancers all looked poncey and Fabio-ish till I saw Maks. But Maks seems like too much of a man for me, hehehe. I don't think I could handle that. My guy perfectly balances out machismo and whatever else.

So which pro dancer is it that has me all in a tizzy? None other than the gorgeously delicious DMITRY CHAPLIN!


Geez, Dmitry, you are just soooooo good looking and tall and those legs are just always perfectly encased in your dance costumes. Sigh. Mega crush alert!

DISCLAIMER: Pic does not belong to me and was gotten via Google Image.

i'm on the bandwagon and i'm kinda lovin' it

I have an iPhone. I got it for free. It's not a new one and it's from the second generation but it allows me to use all these great iPhone shopping apps and I'm completely in love with it because of this.

As can be seen from the pic below, the iPhone's seen better days :D But I'm not complaining, I got it for free, free, freeeeeee. Plus, the phone is wrapped so all the scratches bar the ones on the back are superficial and only on the screen protector and clear sheet. I'm just too lazy to replace the screen sheet. The only improvement I made was to upgrade the software - it's a jailbroken iPhone btw - and cover the aluminium back with a fuschia sheet. I am never one to stray away from monochrome colours when it comes to my tech gadgets but with this - since I didn't have to actually buy it - I thought why the hell not give it a lil bit of sassy colour!

One of the first things I did when I got my hand-me-down iPhone was to download every single shopping app that I could find of sites which I have been unable to shop at like Macy's and Forever 21. I was particularly excited about the F21 app cos previously if I wanted to get anything, I'd have to go through my sister's card cos she has one that's based in a country the site ships to. But through this app, I'm able to use my AMEX to shop indiscriminately! I tried it out recently and got a bunch of stuff and the package has already been delivered to my Portland addy and is awaiting shipment to Homeland.


So the item that got the ball rolling was the F21 Twisted Shoulder Modal Sheath Dress in Stripes. I realize I have tons of long dresses but I don't own one in stripes. I had found one back in Homeland going for a lil over 12 bucks but the length ended a bit awkwardly above my ankles and looked totally funny on me. When I saw this dress going for USD9.99, I just knew I had to get it. I am aware that horizontal stripes can be unforgiving but I read that the slimmer the lines the better it looks when worn. Hence, I'm hoping it'll look good. Next to it is the same dress but in a solid navy blue colour. I felt for USD9.99, I could be generous towards myself and get another.

Right now on the Forever21 site they have reduced free shipping to a minimum purchase of $50 from the previous minimum of $75 so knowing what a stickler I am about NOT paying for shipping, I decided to make sure I upped my total to a lil over 50 bucks to qualify. I knew I needed to get a birthday prezzie for one of my gal pals and I thought this would be the perfect op to do that. I got her an embroidered floral knit top in a nice burgundy shade and the cascading faux pearl necklace. I don't have an image of the top cos by the time I decided to screen cap my purchases, the top was gone. I'm iffy about actually gifting the necklace along with the top since I'm kinda unsure if she'd actually wear something like that. When I saw the necklace, I just thought it was such a pretty piece and boughtit on a whim. Once I see it in person, I'll decide if it should go to my girl or to a different gal pal or even to myself, hehehe.

Lastly I decided to get the drawstring linen pants in gray for USD6.99. I thought they looked like they would be comfy travel pants and since I've been making a lot of drives to an out-of-the-way project site, I could use a good, roomy pair of flattering pants to wear during the 6 hour drive each way.

All in all, USD50.76 well spent. I actually shopped for all the items on my laptop, put 'em in the cart and then logged on to my mobile F21 app and made the purchase from there. It's kind of a drag to be looking at stuff via a teeny screen when I can do it comfortably via my 15.4 inch Asus. I just needed the payment facility via the iPhone app to make the purchase. I believe it goes through when I pay via the app cos mobile shopping is just starting to become popular but a lot of mobile payment facilities are not yet up to the same security levels as when shopping via the computer. Hence, card verification is less of an issue when done via mobile.

Whatever it is that allows me to shop F21, I'm not going to even attempt to dissect it. As long as it continues to allow me to shop there, good on me!

DISCLAIMER: Collage of F21 haul - images derived from F21 site