goodbye 2011, it's been a heck of a year!

It's the last day of 2011 and in a few moments, my side of the world will be ringing in the new year. What can I say about 2011 really other than it's been one of those years filled with extreme highs and lows and nothing in between. When it was good, it was great and when it was bad, those are moments I'd rather not dwell on.

It's been an eventful year not only for me personally but for the whole world at large. We've witnessed major political shifts worldwide not to mention the onslaught of every conceivable disaster Mother Nature could throw at us. The death of Osama Bin Laden and Muammar Ghaddafi. The Arab Spring and Occupy movements. The devastating tsunami that hit Japan back in March, earthquakes in Turkey and other terrifying natural disasters that swept across the globe.

As we enter into 2012, all I can think about is how much this year has given me in terms of personal growth and I am very thankful for that. So, thanks 2011 for all that you have given me, I truly appreciated it :)

the year i lived excessively

I think i did rather okay up till my sister's trip to the US and then everything just went haywire for me :)

My sister's Stateside vacay kicked off a major spending spree that hopefully stops today, right here, right now. Mainly because I cannot afford all the excessive spending and my conscience about savings (which there have been none to speak off for the past couple of months) has become louder the more I buy stuff.

Up till late October, I thought I would get away with no major designer handbag purchases. Then I got the YSL Sac Biker but at 900 plus dollars, was still a rather affordable purchase. Then I got my Tiffany bracelet (seen below) and the Balenciaga Giant City in Parme from the US trip.

After that, I bought my iPhone 4S plus the Mophie Juice Pack Plus case which pushed the overall phone total to over 1000 dollars. Next I was nudged to get the Dark Violet Balenciaga Velo by my sis. Which is this bag I'm holding right here, finally have it in hand!

Then I got this:

Yup, a Miu Miu Coffret. A style that I've always loved from this line. It was selling for a lil over 1500 dollars. And I'm modeling it wearing a couple of things from my F21 haul - the lace maxi skirt (which turned out to be something I totally LOVE), my black ruched sleeve blazer and my faux pearl bracelet. I think I have on the F21 black racerback tank underneath the blazer. All accessorized with my Dolce Vita Marci sandals and the Balenciaga City Parme (not pictured).

Then today, on the last day of 2011, I got myself this:

You're looking at the Marc Jacobs Stam in Purple! Which I got for 50% off!! That's the largest Stam size available and I paid less than 1000 bucks for it!

That's right, in this year alone, I managed to cross off 3 of the bags on my covet list!! Isn't that CRAZY?!?!?!

So it's no wonder that I feel like I've been living the excessive life - cos I have! Anyways's here's hoping the upcoming year will be one with more of a modest demeanor - can't keep up with my 2011 self anyways :D

i know i'm late to the party

BUT I AM IN LOVE WITH 'The Voice'!

I know the first season is over - done and dusted with the inaugural winner crowned being Javier Colon mentored by Adam Levine. Anyways, I love the entire concept of this show, it is just such a refreshing take on reality TV singing competitions. I believe the concept of the show was based upon a show from Holland called 'The Voice of Holland'.

Anyways, I was just flipping through channels yesterday and happened to catch a repeat of the quarter final show 1. I switched on the TV to keep me company while I was preparing my lunch and baking and thought that The Voice was a good choice since I wouldn't really have to 'watch' it to be able to follow the plot, you know. And since the contestant that was up was Jared Blake from Team Blake singing King of Leon's Use Somebody which is a fave of mine that it made me stop and stay on the show. When the two back-to-back epis ended, I switched on my lappie cos I had the season stashed somewhere on my computer but never got around to watching it, and decided to get all caught up.

Ok, the premise of the competition is very interesting and all but I'll be honest, what kept me watching was Blake Shelton. Yes, I'll admit it, I have a crush on Blake Shelton. I like him so much as a man and a person. I have no clue as to his artistry as a singer cos I'm really not a country gal but as a guy, he is sooooo attractive to me. Firstly, the height *swoon*. He's 6'5" according to Adam Levine and as I've made it clear, I HAVE A THING FOR TALL DUDES! Plus, he's cheeky and funny and not too bad to look at. And his rendition of Maroon 5's This Love with the suggestive hand gestures towards Adam Levine during the lyrics 'Sinking my fingertips' as well as his quick quip "That's what she said" when Adam commented on how big he was length-wise compared to the rest of the people on stage at the time was what completely endeared him to me. Adam totally laid up that comment for him though :)

Yes, I am aware he's married to Miranda Lambert but who cares really? It's not that I'm in love with him, I just like to have some man candy when I'm watching something :D

further transgressions

Ok, just so that I don't appear like I'm a crazy shopaholic (we may be beyond that already but I'll try to redeem myself anyways), I'd just like to state that these purchases were made prior to my posting the last two entries. So it's not like I talked about my needing to curb my purchasing power (:D) and then turned right around and bought some more stuff.

So, now that I've sufficiently justified my shopping addiction (hehe), let's just proceed onto the stuff that I got. First up, a rubberized hard case cover for the company issued Blackberry Torch.

I got this off of eBay and decided to go for the red case. Now, this is truly a departure for me as I usually streamline my gadgets to one colour only and that is BLACK. It was a 'BUY NOW' deal and cost me $2.98. The reason I decided to get this is because when my parents were up here visiting me, there was an incident where I dropped the phone, which had been sitting on my lap, getting out of the car, a 4WD, and proceeded to put one foot atop it. When I realized what had happened, I knew that there would be some kind of physical damage to the phone as it had fallen from a height and onto asphalt. True enough, the once smooth bezel of the phone was now pock-marked. I got truly annoyed with myself. Since then, everytime I look at the phone, I am reminded of that incident and the annoyance creeps back in. To save my sanity, I decided I needed to cover the damaged areas and what better way then to get a hard case. I went for red cos I felt it would be easier to find in my bag. It's been shipped but I don't know if it'll reach in time for my short visit Homeland next week. We'll just have to see ;)

Next, I got some skincare off of Strawberrynet. I decided to go full-on Murad and bought the Blemish Control Starter Kit, the Post-Acne Spot Lightening Gel and another bottle of the Skin Perfecting Primer Acne and Shine Control. Sense a theme here aside from the brand? ACNE :D I am on acne prevention control. God, I am nowhere near a teen but it sucks that I still have to deal with this. My hormones have just gone haywire for the last couple of months which created small bumps all along my jawline and I did a lot of things to try to get them under control but until I started taking the GNC Saw Palmetto pills, nothing worked to treat my hormonal acne.

Once I started taking the pills, along with the Sibu Sea Buckthorn supplements, I have seen a marked improvement in my skin. However, although the appearance of new pimples and amount of acne has decreased significantly, I still have to contend with the scarring. I am one of those people who get highly hyperpigmented scars from acne and it is so annoying to have to wait eons for the marks to fade. I do have the Ambi Fade cream but I need something stronger, something that contained a higher potency of Hydroquinone which is a skin bleaching chemical. So I decided to get the Murad, Post-Acne Spot Lightening Gel. The product comes in a 30ml bottle and costs $62.50 on Strawberrynet which is $2.50 more expensive than if I had had gotten it off of drugstore.com. The reviews for this product were 99% positive so I decided to just invest in this product.

Next I decided to get another bottle of the Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer Acne and Shine Control. It retails for $35 but on Strawberrynet it cost 5 bucks more at 40 dollars. I have been using the bottle I got off of drugstore.com for the past one month and I have to say I like it. It does control shine very well. I like that it also contains acne fighting properties. This primer has a 0.5% salycylic acid content to help control acne. Honestly, I use a 2% salycylic acid blemish treatment so 0.5% is really a negligent amount :) The primer is light but it doesn't have a runny consistency. It spreads easily and you don't have to spread it so quickly before it dries.

Lastly, I figured I've tried so many Murad 'skincare accessories' that I might as well give the basic skincare range a go. That's why I got the Blemish Control Starter Kit. The product I'm most excited to try is the Exfoliating Blemish Gel - I have heard/read soooo many good things about this product. The kit contains the Clarifying Cleanser in a 60ml tube, the Exfoliating Blemish Treatment Gel in a 30ml bottle, a 7.5ml tube of the Blemish Spot Treatment, a 30ml tube of the Skin Perfecting Lotion and a 0.9ml sample packet of the Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15. This kit cost me $39.50 but the RRP on drugstore.com is 36 bucks.

So I got these yesterday and they were already shipped and the package is currently in transit. This order was shared between myself and two other colleagues as we all wanted the additional 5% discount for orders containing 6 items and above. Also, currently Strawberrynet is offering an additional 10% off on the Christmas specials set and my Murad Blemish Control Starter Kit qualified for that. On top of all that, I had my 7.5% loyalty discount. In total, I paid $119.05 for my entire purchase with free shipping. Although I had a 20% discount from drugstore.com, I decided to just buy the stuff from Strawberrynet because any discount I got from drugstore.com would be offset by the amount of shipping I would have had to pay to have it sent back to Homeland. I think from now on, unless the discounts are significantly cheaper, I will just get my beauty products off of Strawberrynet if they have it in stock.

On a side note, I've tried various spot treatments and something I've noticed about myself is that my skin responds the best to products that contain salycylic acid. It does not like products that contain Tea Tree Oil so much and barely tolerates those that have Benzoyl Peroxide as the main chemical. However, all the salycylic acid is drying so I have had to really slather on Garnier Skin Naturals lightening moisturizer I am currently using as my go-to face cream.

since I'm airing out transgressions.....

I'd like to add that I also got myself the 64GB iPhone 4S, teehee! That's just the pic of the box it came in. It's resting atop my souvenir from Eldest Sis US trip, my Coach iPad cover and the box is being propped up using my old iPhone 2G stacked atop my Nokia N97 so I could take the pic at an angle. Using the iPhone 4S of course and the lighting was provided by the flash from the Blackberry Torch :D If that's not using mobile technology creatively, I don't know what is, hehehe. Behold!

Yup, in another spur of the moment moment, I managed to persuade myself that I could slip in an iPhone 4S purchase for this month. I am now truly up to my eyeballs in debt! Hehe, for some reason I find this hilarious. It's been a tad mind-boggling to look at the bills, specifically the ones from Tiffany and Balenciaga but I guess I thought that a USD950 purchase of an iPhone 4S could still be managed :D

At least I can say I am truly living up to 2011's mantra "Zlena's Year Of Living Frivolously". Or was it "Zlena's Year-long Milestone Celebration"? I forget, I come up with many mantras to justify one thing or another, I am aware :D. Anyways, despite the utter craziness of the amount of spending I have done in the past 2 months, I have been completely happy, ecstatic even, with all my new purchases.

And this iPhone 4S - I LOVE IT! Granted, there are moments when Siri and I are on the outs because she doesn't get my dictation down perfect but other than that, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! What would make it truly EPIC though would be when I can finally jailbreak it! Yes, I love jailbreaking my iDevices!

When making the decision to buy the iPhone 4S, I had already made up my mind to go for the largest storage capacity. I am one of those people who just need it. Plus, since this is going to be my main picture-taking device, I will need the storage space to store the photos/videos. And trust me, with the awesome camera hardware on this phone, it is encouraging me to whip it out all the time to take random, obscure and nonsensical pictures :D

And I have discovered how much I love to FaceTime. It's probably my newest addiction. I may be 900 plus miles away from my family but FaceTime makes it feel like they're just right there in front of me! I know the whole video conferencing/chat thing isn't new and I have Skype and the like prior to this but the quality of the calls made via FaceTime is tons better than with any other app I have ever used!

Aside from that, it's pretty much the same as my old iPhone 2G (which is moving on to my other sis now that I have upgraded), just faster. What I'm doing now is looking into accessories. I made a decision to get the Mophie Juice Pack Plus case after reading that the battery on the iPhone 4S drains rather fast. I can testify to this truth. I start out at full charge in the morning but by evening I'll have about 36% juice left. This is with hour-long FaceTime sessions and music-listening. Also, Wifi is always on. So, I only felt it was prudent for me to get the case with a built-in external battery pack since I wanted this device to not only be my phone but be my camera as well. And I decided to get the Mophie Pack Plus and not the cheaper Mophie Pack Air because the Plus doubles the battery life while the Air extends it to just below double. Plus, the Plus (hehe) which usually retails for $99.99 was on sale via Amazon.com for $64.95. But only for the magenta. It's a good thing I loved the magenta :)

I am also looking at getting the Olloclip lens kit. Like I keep mentioning, this is going to be my primary camera so I am planning to get serious with photography through this, hehe. ok, so not serious serious but actual recording/archiving of life events with this camera phone so I thought I would invest in some camera related accessories.

But this will have to wait in January cos like I mentioned, just spent a ton of money and I can't swing a $69.95 purchase of a camera lens kit *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* Ok, no seriously serious, I am only getting this when I am about to go on the yearly company trip which should be during the usual month of May. Plus the Glif tripod mount and the Joby Gorillapod Flexible Tripod. Told ya, I was serious about getting serious :D

So, ok, am ending this post now cos my eyes are actually blurring due to staring at monitors so long. Toodles!

DISCLAIMER:
Images of the Olloclip, Joby Gorillapod and Glif came from the respective websites.

i think my mental faculties have left me

I honestly think my brain has been shorted in the past couple of weeks. The part of the brain that got fried - my self-control! Remember me writing about getting this....

Yup, that's my Balenciaga City in Parme with Rose Gold Hardware. Weeelllll.....I accidentally got myself another Balenciaga! A Velo in dark violet with rose gold hardware to be precise. It costs the same as my City Parme. Geez, I'm kinda in a bit of a daze.

I totally blame my sister for being the MASTER INSTIGATOR. During her US sojourn, she became buddies with this SA in one of the Las Vegas Balenciaga stores and along with her enabler, I ended being convinced to purchase another designer bag! Sight unseen! But apparently, this is what it looks like -

Well, Scott, the Bal Enabler, emailed her the 2012 colour swatches and also a few images of the inventory that had already come in. My sis fell in love instantly with the dark violet with rose gold hardware City that was on display. So did I. Despite that, I managed to resist. But my Instigator Sister kept iMessaging and BBM-ing me with lil comments like "You would look soooo good carrying a dark violet Velo with rose gold hardware, Zlena" that I managed to convince myself that "Yes, I would look good with a Balenciaga Velo in dark violet with rose gold hardware!"

And thus, she put in our order and that was that. On the bag front - I hope :)

DISCLAIMER:
The pic of the Balenciaga City in Parme is my own but the image of the Balenciaga Velo in Dark Violet I got from a site called lovebbags.com. I had a few photos that Scott the SA sent to my sis but none was of the actual bag I ordered so I googled imaged it and was directed to this site. The picture belongs to lovebbags.com, I am just borrowing it :)

it's official

THE ICEMAN'S BAAAACKKKKKK!

After weeks and weeks of non-stop google-newsing, stalking F1 pundit twitter accounts and haunting F1-related forums non-stop, Kimi Raikkonen is finally confirmed to make a comeback to the premier motor racing event, FORMULA 1. I can finally stop feeling so anxious and agitated - for now that is, hehehe. Thank god I have about 5 months to prep for the 2012 season :D

The pic above is of Kimi in the official Lotus Renault livery I took from the official Lotus Renault website. Ok, I know the earlier post mentioned he was coming back via WIlliams but that's not how it all worked out and instead he signed with the Lotus Renault Grand Prix outfit. OMG, I am super duper, mega excited for his comeback!

Finally, after two years, Kimi is back where he belongs - in Formula 1. And I can finally stop feeling so lost, tossed around in a sea of uncertainty. I know, I know, such proclamations are more than a tad dramatic :D

Looks like I'm backing Lotus Renault next year! LET THE MADNESS BEGIN.....AGAIN!

UPDATE:
I'm in the midst of watching this, which is Kimi's first interview after the LRGP announcement was made, and I started noticing the old, and weird, habits are back - racing heart, smiling to myself for no apparent reason other than listening to Kimi talk :D Watching the revealing, albeit haltingly loading, video interview of Kimi, I feel as if he is even more laidback than before - but where else he used to be more guarded, this time he just comes across more relaxed. It's amazing to see the change in him. He said he missed wheel-to-wheel racing - I missed seeing him race wheel-to-wheel too! MUAHS KIMI! WELCOME BACK!

hopefully my one and only Black Friday haul *fingers crossed*

The title says it all.....damn you Forever21 for having a Buy 1 Get 1 Free promo for Black Friday! Sigh, am glad my declaration was no more clothes for 2012 cos if I had simply said no more clothes for the next year I would look like a total fool now wouldn't I??? Hehehe, I anticipated myself succumbing to Black Friday fever and that's why I said the no more clothes rule will be imposed beginning 2012. Seriously, I don't think I need anymore clothes, I've bought too many as it is.

But on to the more frivolous side of this post - my Black Friday haul! In total I spent $75.77 for 9 items. Isn't that a score?!?!?!? Btw, score is the word du jour at the mo - I seem to describe every bargain I get as a score. So, first up on the list is this totally pretty and whimsy watercolour-ish splatter print tunic.

It was on sale for $11.99. It's a sheer, lightweight woven tank which features an abstract print with a tiered construction and a keyhole button in back. I got this as one of my 'Free' gets.

The next item that I got is this sleeveless multi-tiered top. This sweet racerback tank was the 'Buy' purchase and I paid $15.99. I think this style is one of the most flattering for women. The tiered constructions hide a multitude of 'sins' so to speak and it truly gives off a romantic vibe.

Then I decided to go for this mid rise dirty skinnies. Like I've mentioned in a previous F21 haul post, I think that was for the Labor Day sale, I am currently totally obsessed with this cutting. I just can't seem to stop buying this style. I also can't seem to stop buying denim apparently as well. This was a 'Buy' and was also $15.99.

The 'Free' get that I got with the jeans was this tiered lace skirt in nude. It was selling for $13.99. Honestly, I have no idea if this will actually get worn :P I feel like it looks great and all in the pics but reality might not be so flattering.

Anyways, this longline knit and lace skirt is also in a tiered design. It has an elastic waist, is lined and is lightweight which would make it travel-friendly. I hope this skirt does not disappoint.

My third 'Buy' is this paisley maxi dress. Yes, I am a maxi dress hoarder, I will admit to that. This also retails at $15.99. I've always been partial to paisley designs so this was a no-brainer choice when I was trying to round up my purchases to USD50 to qualify for free shipping. It truly comes across as a very pretty dress.

The last 'Free' get is this belted flutter sleeve dress. It goes for $13.99. This black and white floral print cap sleeve dress features a round neck, elasticized waist, A-line skirt, and flutter sleeves that extend down to the waist.

As can be seen from the image, it has a decorative peekaboo accent on the front neckline. The same style can be found on the back. It comes with a black braided skinny belt with a leatherette buckle. It's a lightweight, unlined, fun and flirty woven piece.

Then comes these two really cute faux pearl bracelets. I got this firstly because I think both will greatly compliment my new Tiffany charm bracelet and secondly, it was a 2 for 5 bucks deal.

Look at how flirty and whimsical the pieces are. The bracelets came in four different hues but I simply love the two shades I chose. I think these two look the classiest out of the bunch.

And last but not least, a gift buy for my sister who celebrated her birthday yesterday. She chose this gorgeous Peplum Rosette blouse which I certainly would have snagged if I had seen it first myself.

But she saw it first :) It retails at $22.80 and I said I would fork out the shipping to Homeland as well.

So I am hoping the sale will go through - I forgot to get these via my F21 app and paid directly online which has always resulted in my orders being cancelled. Well, cancelled prior to my EVER being able to get anything from the F21 site. Now, that I'm a regular customer with them, I might have a slight chance of this going through :)

uh-uh, this is not your daughter's jeans!

My attempts at silly humour aside, I will readily admit - my shopping these past couple of weeks is out of control. So much so that I have loudly proclaimed to nobody in particular - I will not buy any new clothes in 2012. Yes, I am always making bold proclamations, let's not judge and just be supportive of this latest enthusiastic declaration :)

On to the point of this post. Was BBM-ing with my sis while she was Stateside and she kept raving about the jeans brand Not Your Daughter's Jeans. I have seen the ads in the magazines and whatnot but when compared to other premium denims, Not Your Daughter's Jeans hardly register with me. So when my sis started on and on about how the jeans were great and slimming and makes her butt look fantastic and how much I would love these jeans too, I just said that I'd wait to try hers on first before deciding if I concur or otherwise. The price she quoted me was a bit of a turn-off too - the average price of the jeans is over 100 bucks a pair. I haven't reached that level of consumerism just yet - I'll pay the ridiculous amounts for handbags but clothes not so much. I was thinking I'd try on my sister's jeans, see if I liked 'em then wait for one of the sample sites to host the brand for a discount god only knows when.

Well, apparently, when was that night itself and the discount was a lil over 50%. Did I try on my sister's pair yet? No, she is somehwere up in the clear blue sky right now. At 49 bucks per pair on HauteLook, I could do without the trial. And so I ended up getting myself a pair of Not Your Daughter's Jeans in the style Miss Courtney.

It's a bootcut (I know I just got a pair of bootcuts from F21, sigh) with 2 flap pockets at the back. I got it in the same size as my sister in the shade denim. I'm hoping that if I am not quite as enamoured by the brand as my sis, she'll take it off my hands :) Hopefully that won't happen and I'll love it like she does. I was reading the listed description and one of the things mentioned is the Lift Tuck Technology. It is supposed to hold your stomach in, lift your butt and reshape your curves to make you look and feel a full size smaller. Once I get 'em on, I'll deliver the verdict whether it's a yay or nay on the claims :) There were a number of styles on offer but this was the one that I felt looked the most stylish. The rest, if I'm being completely honest, looked rather mumsy. But what can you expect from a brand that's named Not Your Daughter's Jeans, no?

After all is said and done, the total paid inclusive of shipping and handling is USD56.95. Even with the S&H costs included, I save $61.05 as the RRP for this style is $118.00. I am hoping the jeans ship soon as my F21 stuff just arrived to my Portland addy and I want to have al the stuff shipped together. Anyways, here's hoping my second foray into premium denims will be a success!

Sephora's Deluxe Fragrance Sampler

Ever since I've known about Sephora, one of the things I've always wanted to get is the Sephora Deluxe Fragrance Sampler For Her. I would dream about the day I could step into a Sephora and get myself the kit. And even though I have access to Sephoras in my neck of the woods now, the unfortunate thing is - this box is made for the US/Canada market only. It totally sucks how some products are only available Stateside, y'know?

What's so special about it? Retailing at 50 bucks, it's basically a set of 12 fragrance samples of Sephora's bestselling women's fragrances plus a refillable fragrance atomizer. Pricey right? Oh, I forgot to mention that includes a voucher for a full-size bottle of the fragrance of choice :D.

When my sis went to the States at the end of last month, I had given her 100 bucks and a list of things I wanted but could never buy via comGateway due to their liquids restrictions. I ordered a few stuff from Bath & Body Works and this sampler kit. I wasn't too hopeful about her being able to score this fragrance sampler because from what I've read, it sells out pretty fast. But lady luck is on my side as most of the stuff I ordered, I've gotten and this Sephora favourite is one of them.

This years' kit includes the following 12 fragrance vials:

- 0.05 oz Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir Eau de Parfum
- 0.05 oz Clinique Happy Eau de Parfum
- 0.05 oz Coach Poppy Flower Eau de Parfum
- 0.05 oz Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette
- 0.05 oz DKNY pureDKNY Verbena Scent Spray
- 0.05 oz Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioa Eau de Parfum
- 0.03 oz Givenchy Very Irresistible L'Intense Eau de Parfum
- 0.06 oz Gucci Guilty Eau de Toilette
- 0.05 oz Juicy Couture Eau de Parfum
- 0.04 oz Marc Jacbos Daisy Eau de Toilette
- 0.05 oz Prada Infusion D'Iris Eau de Parfum
- 0.05 oz Versace Bright Crystal Eau de Toilette

From the list of twelve, there is a voucher from which you can choose which fragrance you want in the full 1.0 oz size. I told my sis that when she found this kit to immediately buy it, open it and redeem the voucher for the full size bottle as this promo is only valid in the US. Yup, even the Canadians who get this have to cross over to the States to be able to redeem their vouchers :) And the fragrance I ended up with:

I have actually sampled this before at my local Sephora back in Homeland so I'm happy with the choice. I had told my sis to pick between the Prada Infusion D'Iris Eau de Parfum and the Coach Poppy Flower Eau de Parfum and apparently the Coach Poppy Flower won by a landslide. I honestly have no clue what the Prada Infusion scent is like and my choice was superficially based on price - the Prada EDP was the most expensive of the bunch :D

I have no clue why I got this other than that I've coveted it for so long. I still have more than 3/4 of my Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau Fresh not to mention my Hilary Duff With Love is still more than half full. My Gwen Stefani LAMB perfume is close to finishing though. Anyways, it's not such a big deal. I can save the Coach Poppy Flower for when I finish one of the other fragrances I mentioned :)

crossing it off the list :D

Heeheehee! I feel like a complete glutton :D I know it's rather over the top since I just got my YSL Sac Biker two weeks ago but my sis offered a two month payment plan and I thought, "Why not!" - as I usually do, don't I?

So meet the new addition to my designer collection - Mademoiselle Balenciaga Giant City Parme!

I was originally going to get the Giant City with gold hardware in anthracite as I had originally planned but when I saw the pictures of this, I fell in love with the combo of salmon pink hued lambskin and rose gold hardware that all thoughts of going boring anthracite flew out of the window!

Ok, am hoping not to get anymore bags until after June 2012. Need to give my wallet a break - this purchase set me back USD1895 sans tax! I've been canceling off too many things off of my dream list this year it's making a dent in the purse strings, not to mention being in debt to my eyeballs to my sister :D So a hiatus is indeed due, don't you agree?

Beauty.com's 20 Off

I got a 20% off discount code from Beauty.com and decided to use it on some Murad stuff.

I have been using the Murad concealer stick and I like it well enough. I am currently using both the Medium and Medium/Dark shade and both are close to finishing. So with the 20% discount, I thought I'd restock the Medium shade as that's the one that's most close to the nub.

Then I decided to give the Murad acne and shine control perfecting primer a go. It is from the Murad Hybrids line. It is supposed to minimize pores while reducing and preventing future breakouts. The shine-controlling cosmetic formula is purported to even and refines skin to create a smooth matte finish. At the discount price of 28 bucks, I figured there was no harm in trying this out. It functions like a BB cream in that one shade fits all. The primer is supposed to colour-correct to your skintone. Hopefully this works as its advertised :)

F21 - Vets Day Haul :D

As much as I'd like to say I managed to restrain myself, I just won't. I didn't so why bother lying, let's just celebrate the brand new things I purchased.

On 11.11.11, I got an email from Forever21.com. In honour of this auspicious date as well as Vets Day, they were giving an 11% discount on normal priced items on the site. Also, there was a BOGO free promo going on for Sale items.

I had been browsing through the site the week before and had seen a number of things of interest. But at full price, I was still sane enough not to just click 'Checkout'. I was actually waiting for Black Friday or Cyber Monday but since a discount code from Forever21 is hard to come by, I thought I might as well just go for it. I'm starting with the normal priced items that were eligible for discount.

The first thing on my 'Vet Day Get List' (hehe), was the open front kimono style jacket. This satin-y jacket has a front draped shawl collar and an allover dusty-pink/brown ethnic-inspired print. The kimono-stle sleeves are 3/4 length. It retailed for $27.80. I just saw this jacket whilst browsing and thought that it would go great with the Premium Denim flared jeans I just got (which I am totally in love with btw - totes RZ vibe).

Next was the ruched sleeve jacket. I know, I know, I have blazers aplenty but I just can't help myself. I am still in search for the perfect boyfriend blazer so anytime I see a black blazer I usually end up getting it in the hopes that it'll be 'THE ONE'. Ok, yes, I realize I am pinning too high a hope on this F21 blazer to be it :) But at $27.80, it's still pricey enough to warrant such lofty aspirations.

The third get was love at first sight. The tuxedo inspired blouse had me at 'Hello' - if it could speak, of course :) At $17.70, I think this blouse is a total steal. It comes in a cream-black combo, this sheer blouse with contrasting collar and sleeve caps has a 6 button closure down the front center and two buttons at each cuff. It also has an optional tie at the back of the neck. I saw this and was immediately smitten by it. Tres magnifique!

Last of the discount haul is the Divine Rights Of Denim Bootcut Jean. This is my first pair from the Divine Rights of Denim line and I am quite excited about it. I wanted a bootcut style and I saw this as ticking all the right boxes. With an RRP of $27.80, it doesn't hurt the wallet too much either.

Now we come to the BOGO free purchases. The first one was the raglan burnout tee. I'm in need of some casual tees to hang out in and thought this fit the bill perfectly. At $8.99, it was a steal. And I do like the cute colour combo of grey and pink. To round out the purchase, I decided to go for the french terry pants in navy. It was going for $8.26. I also needed a pair of lounge pants so these definitely were affordable enough.

In total I spent $99.05. The order has been shipped to my Portland addy and should be arriving there later this week.

eco speakers

OpenSky emailed me to say they're giving me a USD10 credit just because that would be valid for one day only. Now, credit is free money and who am I to deny them the pleasure of my business. I decided to go to the site and just have a look around.

And I spotted these:

The sale curated by Andrew Zimmern is for Design-it-Yourself Travel Speakers and is going for USD16. PERFECT! I have my 10 bucks so essentially, I'll only pay 6 dollars for the speakers and an additional 6 for shipping. That comes up to 12 bucks.

Aside from the price, the main reason I decided to get these was because the ones I got last year have already gone kaput. So I am in desperate need of some portable speakers. The 16 dollar price tag with 10 bucks credit didn't hurt at all :)

The description reads that it's plug-and-play. I am actually kinda confused about how these work because apparently it doesn't need batteries nor an outlet so how are the speakers powered? My best guess is that it's drawing power via the battery of the player or computer it's attached to. I kinda like the idea of it but it'll probably drain the battery faster. Not so much an issue for me seeing as I have my devices plugged in and charging most of the time I'm using speakers anyway.

The cute thing about these speakers is that you can create your own design. The set I got, which is the clear plastic speakers, comes with 6 non-permanent markers that allow you to write/draw whatever your heart desires on the sides of the speakers. The other version of these speakers are made out of cardboard and comes with 6 colour pencils instead. It's a very kitschy cool concept, too bad I'm not the artsy creative type :P

Another reason why these speakers are a great choice for me is that it's easily dismantled to lay flat making it truly travel-friendly. It takes up practically no space at all in it's original form. And one of the more important things to note is that it's compatible with any devices with a 3.5mm jack

The best aspect of this purchase is that these speakers are eco-friendly. The ones I chose are made out of 80% recycled materials. This means that not only do I get to enjoy the functions of the speaker but I can feel good about playing a part in reducing waste on earth, hehehe.

a long time coming

In October of last year, I had done a post on a treat I wanted to give myself to celebrate my milestone birthday. In that post, I talked about getting a lil something something from Tiffany & Co - the iconic jeweler close to many a woman's heart.

Although my birthday was in March and I have crossed that milestone then, I believe a milestone birthday is a year-long celebration. So, a lil over a year on since I wrote that post, I am finally the proud owner of my first Tiffany pieces - the 7.5" oval link clasp bracelet in 18k gold and the Tiffany Notes Letter charm in 18k gold. My sis got them for me as she's currently on her extended holiday in the US where the price of Tiffany jewelry is much more affordable than it would have been if I had gotten it here in my Homeland. She was in Orlando, Florida which had the lowest sales tax rate out of all the places she was visiting so I had requested that she get it for me in that county. In all, the amount was USD2350 plus 6% tax bringing the total to USD2491. The price of both pieces have individually gone up a tad since my post. The bracelet went up by 150 dollars while the charm doubled to USD400. Nonetheless, if I had gotten the items here, the mark-up would have been significantly higher.

My sister was commenting that most people start out at Tiffany's getting something in silver, which is definitely the more affordable option, but I am the type of person that thinks "Go big or go home". I don't want to be spending my hard earned dollars on something silver which, if I'm being perfectly honest, is as common as ever. My milestone birthday should be meaningful and be represented accordingly :D Yes, I get how snooty the overall statements above are.

I'm happy with my purchase. What I got will have sentimental value to me and that is really all that matters in the end. As long as it makes me feel good. I don't worry about what other people think although I know some of the girl's from the group of six will probably have a comment or three about the amount I spent :)

I'm thinking that my next purchase from Tiffany's will be a ring, specifically the Etoile band ring as seen above. It retails for USD2100. It's an 18k gold band ring with round brilliant diamonds set in platinum. I just need the ring to complete my collection of precious metal jewelry. Then I can officially close the book on expensive jewelry, excluding additional charms for the bracelet of course, and concentrate all my funds on techie gadgets and designer handbags, hehehe.

what's this???

A "What's In My Bag?" post! The YSL Sac Biker edition. Hehehe :D

Ok, that first pic musta looked really weird. It's a shot of what's inside my bag but since the bag is really deep, not a lot can really be seen, lol. But a "What's In My Bag?" post wouldn't be a "What's In My Bag?" post if one did not take out the contents of what's in ones' bag, no?

I think the contents (and amount of content) speak for themselves but I'll give a rundown anyway.

1. 15 " Macbook Pro & case
2. Spiral-bound yearly planner/notebook (free from insurance company - get it every year)
3. Bottega Veneta wallet (2010 birthday prez from gal pal group)
4. iPad & case
5. iPhone 2G (free from boss when he upgraded to iPhone 4)
6. Nokia N97
7. Namecard case
8. 32GB Kingston thumb drive
9. Apple earphones
10. Apple iPad SD card reader connector
11. BoxWave iPad stylus
12. Passport & passport holder
13. Bliss Spa pouch containing my medic kit
14. 2 pens
15. Chloe sunnies with case
16. Biore makeup removing wipes
17. A pack of tissues
18. Bliss Lemon & Sage body butter travel size
19. L'Occitane hand creme for dry skin (lavender scent)
20. EOS lip balm in mint flavour
21. Chanel lippie in the shade Escale
22. Boots Peppermint Field Balm Stick
23. 2 Dr Scholls Blister Defense stick (note how seriously I take the issue of blistered feet :D)
24. Clean & Clear Oil Control film sheets
25. Tide-To-Go pen (quite the clothes saver)
26. Coin purse with 2 sets of keys inside (bought in Turkey - the purse, not the keys)
27. Tintamar bag organizer (makes switching bags easier)
28. Attached YSL pouch currently empty save for the authenticity guarantee cards
29. Blackberry Torch (not pictured since it's taking the picture)

Gosh, one shy of 30 items, seems kinda crazy when laid out like this. I would like to point out that I could comfortably fit in AND carry an iPad as well as a 15" Macbook Pro in this tote without it looking stuffed to the brim. Case in point, photo below is a picture of the YSL prior to being emptied out.

Oh yea, I guess I forgot to mention that I have a company issued Macbook so I can try my hand at iOS development. Yup, am back to my programming roots now, goodbye database administration. Ok, that's really not the case, I'm still doing the database work on top of researching iOS development.

Anywho, that is what's in my bag :D

hauls of months' past

So I enjoy detailing my online shopping forays but when it comes to having a "viewing party", I tend to procrastinate. Don't get me wrong, i love to do the whole dress up and pose thing, I'm a narcissist that way but I get lazy to do photo edits. That's just a pain in the neck for me. Anyways, it looks like I'm in one of my more hardworking moods :)

First up is the latest F21 haul, my two pants and the black tank alongside my Necessary Objects tweed open front jacket, my gifted blush-hued blazer, Marco Santi Imola peeptoe pumps, Michael Kors Oversized Runway watch and an F21 gold etched cuff. All were bought this year.

I love all my new gets. The Premium Denim flares totally channel Rachel Zoe. I had been thinking of cutting the hem a tad but once I slipped them on wearing my Marco Santi Imola shoes, I completely reversed my decision. It's exactly how RZ would wear them! I love my cuffed hem pants and the belt that came with it. They are perfect for work and are very on trend. The material is high quality too which is more than I expected from Forever 21. Also something I love worn with my Imola pumps. I even love my $3.80 black tank. As you can see, I paired it with both of my pants and it goes fantastically with either or. All of the new F21 stuff is perfect. I also totally love the blush jacket my sister gave me. It's the perfect blush pink shade I've been looking for after I was cruelly denied the Material Girl blazer I had been eyeing from Macys. Yes, they still resist the power of a platinum Amex. Then there's my Chanel-esque open front jacket that I got off of Amazon a couple months' back. I have worn this out a number of times and gotten compliments. It makes me really happy that a lot of people love my 19 dollar jacket. The whole aesthetic is feminine chic. Some accessories I wore to illustrate how I would dress up my monotone cuffed hem ensemble were by using the F21 gold etched cuff and my MK gold bracelet watch. It breaks up the monochrome look with flashes of gold which really makes an already classy look classier IMO :)

Next up, are my Marco Santi Madeleine wedges which are in Homeland. These are just some views my sis took of the shoe with one of her modeling the shoes for me.

I'll be getting my hands on my pretty ballerina-ish shoes this saturday when I head to Homeland. Working at the head office for a week.

Then we have my beautiful, beautiful YSL Sac Biker which I actually have in my possession right now. My second last F21 haul and the Marco Santi Madeleine's are all in Homeland but my YSL Sac Biker and last F21 haul made it up here with my sister when she transited here overnight on her way to the US of A. The pics, taken on my sis's BB Storm, do not do the bag justice.

And of course I'm gonna put up a pic of my Imola pumps. I was hesitant about the height but these shoes are truly comfy and for the price that I got these for, they are such a bargain for a pair of genuine leather shoes. I'm totally happy with my first Sole Society foray. I hope the Madeleine's will be equally as great.

And last but not least, a pic of moi wearing the cheapie tortoiseshell glasses I got off of Forever21. Now, I personally like it but apparently the rest of my family think I'm bonkers for getting these, what more replacing the lenses with prescriptive ones, lol.

So that's it for this edition of haul viewings :) Once I get my other new stuff, I'll do another collective post like this one. Till then.....

P.S:
Just FYI, the pics I took of myself were taken using my company-issued Blackberry Torch. I think the picture quality is pretty decent for a camera phone, no?

listening to..... an assortment of people

Haven't really talked music in a while. The last time was probably when I was raving about Lee DeWyze. Or Linkin Park, it's a toss-up between those two. On a sad, side note, Lee DeWyze was dropped by his studio. Poor thing. His album just didn't do well and all the bashing his season received surely did not help him in any way. On another somewhat related note, I caught an epi of Body Of Proof and his runner-up, Crystal Bowersox, was on playing a reforming convict. That was rather odd watching her act. She did a great job though :)

So back to the tunes, I have been rather obsessed with a number of songs. Namely, Glee's version of Train's Hey Soul Sister, Glee's version of Katy Perry's Firework (and basically all of Glee's versions of Katy Perry songs), Flo Rida's Club Can't Handle Me (I always picture Kym Johnson and Hines Ward dancing to this on DWTS Season 12 - so totally cute!), Nicki Minaj's Super Bass, Jessie J's Price Tag, Adele's Rolling In The Deep and a rock throwback to Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive (due to my unending obsession with Deadliest Catch) as well as the Richie Sambora led I'll Be There For You.

I have these songs on my playlist which I usually listen to on my ride to the site office but if any one of the songs come on rotation, I almost always end up putting them on repeat. Sometimes I end up listening to the one song perhaps close to 20 times in a day :) At least I'm not listening to just Linkin Park and Lee DeWyze anymore. There's some variety this year.

Just to end with something kinda off-tangent, I can't recall if I've ever mentioned this before but whoever it was at Discovery that decided on Wanted Dead Or Alive as the theme song for Deadliest Catch should totally give himself/herself a pat on the back for choosing the most APT song as the theme for the series. God, the lyrics just completely resonate with what the show is all about. I realize it's actually about biker dudes but hell, a fishing vessel can be a steel "horse" as well. Ok, closing the topic of music now :D

putting my (drugstore) dollars to work

I've mentioned before about drugstore.com's shopping incentive where every time a purchase is made from your account, you get 5% of the total amount credited to you which you can spend every four months counting back from the month you made your first purchase. Phew, that was rather a mouthful of an intro :D

This month I didn't really have a lot of dollars to spend, just $2.08 but then they gave me an additional 5 bucks if I spent it on forty dollars worth of product. So in total I would be getting $7.08 off of whatever it is I wanted. Which is why I decided to get something in the end rather than let my drugstore dollars go to waste.

I have been loving my latest makeup regimen which mainly consists of using products by Jane Iredale namely the PurePressed Powder foundation in Riviera and the PureMatte Finish powder in translucent. These two combined give me the most natural looking flawless skin finish that I have ever been able to achieve. And considering that my skin went through a weird purging phase for the past two months and is only returning back to normal, the combo of these 2 products along with a mix of the Murad Acne Treatment Concealer stick in medium dark and MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC30 has allowed me to give the illusion of flawless skin without further aggravating the condition.

However, the PureMatte Finish powder, although an essential in my makeup bag, doesn't fully provide the matte part continuously throughout the day. I can't totally rely on it for more than 6 hours and that's even when I have sprayed some Urban Decay All-Nighter on as well. Hmmm, perhaps it's the setting spray then? But anyways, I found another finishing powder from Jane Iredale that I thought I would try which is the Jane Iredale Beyond Matte powder. The description of the product reads as below:

"Based on a proprietary technology, Beyond Matte® not only eliminates shine for hours, it also absorbs oil, lessens transference, makes skin look smoother, refines pores, and increases the water resistancy of our minerals. Always on the lookout for environmentally sound ways to enhance product performance, Jane has included soothing jojoba seed oil into this formulation so skin appears touchably radiant as well as shine-free. For a High Definition-proof complexion that's always ready for its close-up, focus on Beyond Matte®. An HD matifying powder, available in four shades: Translucent - Use on any skin. Lilac - Use to brighten sallow tones. Peach - Use to warm up pale skin. Dark - Use on ethnic skins or as a bronzer

- Ultra water resistant formula guarantees complexion perfection, even under pressure
- Sensitive-skin appropriate, HDTV approved
- Proprietary technology eliminates shine, lessens transference, refines pores and gives skin a flawless, smooth appearance
- Environmentally responsible formulation and packaging"

Ok, so I realize descriptions are just that - descriptions :) But if the shine-free for hours claim is true then I will be more than a satisfied customer. Also, the part about minimizing pores would be a great bonus as well. That's something I like about the PureMatte Finish Powder, it truly minimizes the appearance of pores. I decided to get the refill as I don't need another compact case since I have 3 already and it costs waaay less at $32.00. I will try to use up my first PurePressed compact in caramel so I can put in the BeyondMatte powder once I have it in hand. Naturally, I chose the shade translucent since it is suitable for all skin tones.

To round up my purchase to 40 smackaroos, I got myself another tube of Acnevir. I like this homeopathic salicylic acid topical gel. I finally figured out the right amount of product to slather on and it has miraculously reduced the number of those mini-bumps that seemed to pop up on my face 2 months ago. This will actually be my third tube of the stuff. I got it for $8.49.

All in all, my total came to $40.49 but with my $7.08 discount and free shipping, I was charged $33.41. I'm happy :)

i actually didn't really want to talk about this.....

But I'm getting truly excited and I just can't help myself. I know there's a possibility of things blowing up in my face but just the mere speculation of it has me back to my old ways - obsessed with Kimi Raikkonen and Formula 1.

It's been two days since the rumours of a Raikkonen F1 comeback gained serious momentum and I am back to my pre-RallyKimi days; trawling Google News for, well, news of the comeback/confirmation of its truth and haunting the PlanetF1 forums to see if anybody can provide me with the latest scoop from the rumour mill.

The word in the pitlane is that Kimi is poised for a seat with the Williams F1 team. I have been following F1 from afar for the past two years and know that the Williams team are no longer in the top tier of the series but I feel they are on the verge of a turnaround. Next season the team will be outfitted with Renault engines - the same ones provided to the current kings of the track, Red Bull Racing, and with the appointment of highly-rated Mike Coughlan, formerly employed by McLaren Mercedes and a key player in SpyGate back in '07, as the new technical director, the Williams team have no where else to go but up. And having Kimi Raikkonen as their lead driver could definitely galvanize that turn of fortunes. It's important to note that Kimi has had a working relationship with Mike Coughlan from his days driving with McLaren.

The last "news" bit floating about is that Williams will be announcing the signing of Raikkonen for the 2012 racing season at the last race in Abu Dhabi which is about a week and a half away. I am hoping and praying as hard as possible that this is going to turn out to be a reality. I didn't quite grasp nor realize how much I missed having Kimi Raikkonen on the grid in Formula 1 till I was at the Singapore GP and found myself feeling empty as I rallied for one driver after another - having no anchor driver really takes the joy out of watching the sport. It made me feel like a wishy-washy airhead for some reason or another :)

Anyways, Kimi Raikkonen, you still have so much more to offer Formula 1. There are more than a couple hundred thousand F1 followers who would love to see you back on the grid. Even those in the F1 fraternity would love to have you back. Most importantly, I miss dedicating every other weekend to watching my most favourite driver piloting an F1 car. Please let this news to be true.

perhaps my next tech gadget won't be a Panasonic DMC-G3.....

I fell in love with the iPhone 4S. I love the gimmick that is Siri. But my main reason for wanting this is because I am completely bowled over by the phone's photo and video capture capabilities - which completely negates the need for a fancy camera if I have my heart set on owning this phone in the immediate future. And the dual core A5 processor and maximum 64GB storage really does help make the decision easier. My last phone purchase was the Nokia N97 two years ago so I'm due for a smartphone upgrade.

My sis is on an extended holiday in the States right this minute and should, hopefully, be around during the time of the release of the iPhone 4S unlocked. I have put in a request for the 64GB version of the iPhone 4S in black. It's RRP is USD849.00. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to have this by the end of this month when my mum and dad come up for a visit and bring it along with them. Of course, this is only a possibility if my sis actually manages to get the phone in the first place.

DISCLAIMER: Images are not mine but were gotten from the Apple Store site.

my next techie get - the Panasonic DMC-G3

Ever since I first heard about the micro four thirds category, I wanted one. I like taking pictures but I'm not serious about it. I want an upgrade from my point-and-shoot Canon Ixus which will provide better quality pics without the heft of a DSLR and the "creation" of the micro four thirds cameras fit the bill. The desire to get one increased manifold after my silly Canon Ixus "hung" on me during the Linkin Park concert and essentially corrupted all my really fantastic close-ups of Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Phoenix and Joe Hahn. Yes, yes, the Linkin Park F1 experience I have yet to write about - I'm in a funk about the stupid photos. In all fairness, I guess it's only fair I do not have any photos since I didn't even manage to take one of Rob Bourdon who I claim to absolutely adore. Anyways, I didn't think a camera could hang on you in the first place. The internal crack on the digital viewfinder screen has also compounded the need I have to get something new.

Enter the Panasonic DMC-G3. How did I decide that this is the camera? I googled "best micro four thirds cameras 2011" and the overwhelming results were in favour of this model :D Ok, I also did some digging on the specs and whatnot and though some of the details go way over my very shallow knowledge of photography in the first place, I am sold!

I won't bother going over the specs and pretending I know much about it other than it's got 16 megapixels and has a rotating touchscreen viewfinder which is what caught my interest in the first place and I left it at that. The price is a bit steep at roughly $640 to $699 but it does come with one of those fancy interchangeable lens. I really like this one but am still keeping my options open. Will see what this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales come up with before making a final decision.

F21 Columbus Day Spree

LOL, by this time, I have given up on myself. I, Zlena, love to shop and shop I will.

My Forever 21 Labor Day haul just arrived to Homeland last week (along with my OpenSky Sibu Sea Buckthorn health supplements). And then Columbus Day came along, I had a look at the site and ended up with a pair of jeans, pants and a tank. For a total of USD50.84.

The item I really wanted was the pants. I've been really liking this style for the past month or so and the week I was in Homeland, ended up getting myself a pair of harem pants - a style I thought I would NEVER get into. Surprisingly, the cut is really flattering and I can't wait to figure out how it'll fit into my wardrobe for the next couple of weeks. Anyways, I think these cuffed hem pants (as they are called) in the shade charcoal from Forever 21 look like a more tame version of the harem pants. I am really into the tapered leg look right now for reasons unknown :) The pants cost me a whopping USD24.80. Whopping because it wasn't on offer at all - got this full price. Something I rarely do but this shows how much I wanted the pants. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I edited my cart multiple times during the two days I was mulling over the pants. An item I had in my cart even disappeared because of my wishy-washyness. I looked over a bunch of things and in the end, decided to "splurge" and get the Premium Denim Classic Wide Leg Jean in dark denim. The jeans are on trend with the whole seventies revival currently going on. Although if I'm honest, I feel like the seventies revival thing has been going on for the past couple of seasons :) Anywho, I own quite a number of jeans but sadly, I feel like none seem to flatter the figure anymore (reads: I feel fat). Instead of splurging on some designer denim, I thought I'd just get some Forever 21 premium jeans. This way, I do not need to be too bummed if the pants don't fit the way I imagine them. The jeans were going for a small discount as part of the site's Daily Specials. It normally costs $27.80 but on that day was going for $22.24. That's a savings of a lil over 5 bucks.

Last but not least, I decided to get the racerback tank in black that went for USD3.80. I bought a bunch of racerback tanks from F21 back in July which I liked and since I never got one in black, thought I might as well round out my 50 bucks for free shipping with this tank. I've been trying out ensembles with my newly acquired harem pants and found a combo of the racerback tank tucked into the pants and paired with my Sole Society Imola heels make for a combo that screams casual chic. Well, IMHO that is, lol.

I decided to give my AMEX a rest since it already is burdened with the YSL biker tote and put this on my other card. Surprisingly, this time F21 has managed this order relatively quick as I put the order in on Friday and the order has already received a tracking code. Usually it takes at least four days before there is a status change, sometimes longer. Not that I'm complaining cos then the stuff will arrive along with my Bluefly and Sole Society order. Oh, as well as my second order of Sibu Sea Buckthorn supplements from OpenSky. I haven't actually tried the stuff out but the other day I had 20 bucks worth of credit on OpenSky which needed to get used before they expired so I decided to go for another box of the supplements (which are USD21). I ended up paying just 5 bucks - four dollars for shipping and the balance of USD1 for the supplements. These should arrive in Portland by the end of this week - or so says the email from the OpenSky customer service. Whatever it is, all these things will be shipped to Homeland together and I'll be able to get them when I go back in early November. Hehe, the line rhymes. Lol, am such a nerd.

DISCLAIMER: Images all derived from Forever 21.

my ysl from bluefly

Major procrastinator alert! I know I'm supposed to blog about my LP experience but a part of me just wants the night to be my own a lil longer. I do realize this blog is a closed open journal so I really wouldn't be sharing the memories with anyone but myself. And I know its oxymoron-ish to leave it open yet call it closed but that's the way I want it. If someone happens to stumble upon this place, so be it but I will not actively pimp it out. I don't allow any sort of google linking after my write-up about my brush with The Amazing Race got some attention from some diehard fans of the show. I realized that I was uncomfortable having my life dissected by people in forums. Not that they said anything bad about me but still, it was a totally surreal experience to read about yourself as these people passed comments on the stuff you've put out there.

Aside from being a procrastinator, I also love to go off topic :) This post is supposed to be about my new YSL Biker tote that I got off of Bluefly last week. As we speak, the tote is headed for my Portland addy. When I make a trip back to Homeland in early November, I should be able to get my hands on the latest addition to my designer collection. And as is the norm with any of my online purchases, I CAN'T WAIT!

The handbag I got is from the Yves Saint Laurent 2010 collection so it really isn't one of the "in season" bags nor is it one of YSL's many IT bags. Neither gives me pause, I simply don't care about things like that. All I know is, I saw it on the site when I was getting my Linea Pelle Dylan messenger bag and fell in love with it then. It's a design that isn't fussy, looks roomy, functional, chic yet sturdy and, as is a requirement of mine for bags of this nature, is in black. It is named the Biker tote. The RRP for this leathery goodness is USD1895 but at Bluefly, the tote was discounted to USD1439.99. I may have liked the look of it as a heavy duty carrier that will be able to fit all the stuff I like to lug in my purse but for that price, I wasn't gonna bite.

When I got my Linea Pelle Dylan messenger, I also received a "Welcome To Bluefly" discount code. I could get 10% off of any purchases worth USD100 and above. I saw that and thought of the YSL tote. At 10% off it would then be USD1295.99. Still pricey so I decided to hold off on it, I had until October 14th to make good of the coupon code. Last week, as a member of Bluefly I receive members only e-letters and in this particular one it mentioned a 24-hours only 25% further reduction on selected items on the site. I clicked through to the site via the email and found myself at the first page of the 'Handbags and Accessories' page staring at my coveted tote going for $1,079.99. I quickly ran the calculator app and put in an additional 10% off of the price shown which gave me a total of USD971.99. Less than a thousand bucks for a huge leather YSL tote? I am so in. I had no plans to get any high end purchases this year - NO PLANS. But here I am, the proud owner of my first YSL handbag. I'm cool with it :)

I guess, to look at, you'd probably wonder what's so special about it. It looks like an ordinary large, roomy tote slapped with a YSL tag. And that's just it. Not the bit about the YSL tag but the large, roomy tote part. I have wanted a decent, sizable tote to carry around my stuff and have never quite found what I'm looking for. With this purchase, I hope I don't have to look any longer. Till a couple of years after I've worn this out that is.

It is made of smoothed, grained calfskin leather with a black canvas lining and polished silvertone hardware. It has an open top with no closure, three sets of snaps at top of bag on both sides can be snapped together for a ruched look, it has a total of 4 adjustable zip details to the corners for added depth, spiked stud detail at top sides, four metal spiked stud feet at base, double leather handles measuring approximately 16½'' long with 8'' drop and a non detachable hanging zippered pouch on the inside. The bag's dimensions are approximately 12'' at widest x 14'' tall at center x 7½'' deep (when fully zipped and snapped) and it weighs 3½ lbs. And as is one of the things I make sure of before I make any designer purchase, I make sure it's NOT made in China (am looking at you, Rebecca Minkoff!) - this bag is pure Italian goodness!

As can be seen from the image of the figure modeling the bag above, on the 5'6" tall "model", the bag looks pretty substantial :) The photos below are of the interior of the bag. The bag appears to be divided by the zippered pouch. I am not sure if that is really how the bag is designed or the angle of the photo makes it appear so. I'm pleased either way.

The total I was charged came up to USD979.94 inclusive of S&H. All in all, a really good buy for the price. From the looks of the tote, I feel I am getting as much "bang for my buck" as the saying goes :D

DISCLAIMER: Images screen capped off of Bluefly.com