{wardrobe staples} office and work attire

Hello again, hope everyone had a fun and relaxing long weekend! Decided I'd snap a photo before work quickly a few days ago since the sun's out alot earlier now which makes it possible to take photos. I find it especially challenging to really dress up during winter months in heavy sweaters and jackets but since it's finally spring and warmer now, it feels more natural to brighten up my outfits! And as the quote goes, when in doubt, overdress ;)

For me, wardrobe staples for work consist of blouses, pencil skirts and shorts, and black pumps and kitten heels. Look for blouses that are conservative yet dainty and flowy so that they are comfortable. For pencil skirts, I think that every girl should invest in at least one "go-to" black pencil skirt with a classic cut that can easily transition in to each season, is fitted well and is made of good fabric. I bought this skirt almost 4 years ago and I've never had to look for another black skirt since. It was a huge splurge for me at the time and I wasn't sure if it would be worth it but I'm so glad I made the choice to buy it :) And if the conventional black is getting dull for you, experiment with neutrals and one or two bright skirts! A pair of black stiletto heels and a pair of black kitten heels are also wardrobe staples that you'll get a good wear out of for a very long time so I think it's worth splurging on a good pair as well!

Blouse: Forever 21

Skirt: T. Babaton {Aritzia}

Heels: Christian Louboutin

Thanks for reading! 

{April Beauty} Hits and Misses

Hey guys :) Here's a hits and misses this time for the month of April! I skipped March because I was on vacation so I didn't get a chance to actually use any new products, therefore I decided to leave it for April when I'd have time to be my own test dummy 8) Enjoy!

1) Physician's Formula "Classic Nude" palette HIT

This was one of the products ChickAdvisor sent me and I love it so much! I rarely use eyeshadows but I still adore this palette and appreciate its pretty packaging :) The funny thing is, I was so close to buying this palette at Shoppers a few days before receiving this in the mail and even pondered giving in to Urban Decay's Naked palette. I was still really skeptical on both and reading reviews constantly because I really just couldn't wrap my mind around spending that much on an eyeshadow palette when I rarely wear it to begin with. But anyways, I'm so glad I didn't buy it, otherwise, that'd be wayyyy too much eyeshadow lol I've read alot of bloggers compare these two and consider this palette to be a dupe of UD's Naked so for some, this palette could be a cheaper alternative! The colours blend together so well and are quite pigmented. I prefer to use bronzes and browns over charcoal greys and blacks to create smokey eye looks so this palette works really well for creating subtle smokey eye. It also works good for my skin tone (I have fair - olive skin depending on if I tan or not in the summer). 

2) Yes To Tomatoes roller ball spot stick MISS

This was another product I got from ChickAdvisor. So the Yes To Tomatoes spot stick claims to target combo, oily, and/or acne-prone skin as well as unclog blocked pores. It also claims to "reduce redness faster, soothe irritated skin and calm inflammation". The main ingredients in this roller ball spot stick are salicylic acid, pomegranate fruit juice, water, witch hazel (one of my favourite skin-clearing ingredients!), bark/leaf extract, grapefruit juice, alcohol, aloe leaf juice and lavender oil. There is a bit of tea tree oil, tomato extract and ginger root extract but not much. I always hear mixed opinions on salicylic acid so I guess it really depends on your own skin type and how you'll react to it. My skin reacts good AND bad to salicylic acid depending on the concentration of it and what product it is for some reason so I've never made a conclusion on whether I fully love it or hate it lol. With the stick, you're instructed to just roll the ball tip over the acne-prone skin area and after a few uses, it should be noticeably clearer. I waited until I had a pimple to use this on (lol) and I actually really hated this; it didn't do anything for my skin except make it peel really disgustingly and you can smell all the chemicals in it (or whatever else is in it, it just smells awful). I'm not sure how something that has so many good natural ingredients so high on their ingredients list could smell so processed and work so ineffectively. I haven't tried anything else from this brand so maybe they have better products but from now on, if I want natural, I'll stick to Lush lol

3) Givenchy Le Rouge in #304 Mandarine Bolero and Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipcolor in #860 "Pink Pop" HITS

I know these are nowhere near the same brands but I figured since they're both lipsticks it'd just be easier to review them together since I ended up liking them both anyways lol. I got this Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids lipstick from, again, ChickAdvisor so I wasn't able to choose a particular colour and therefore, although this pink is very pretty, it doesn't compliment my skin tone too much so I probably won't be wearing it. That, and it also is a little too bright for every day wear but I could probably get away with this at a rave or music festival this summer? Haha. But the texture is nice and it's somewhat moisturizing similar to the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters (I love these!!). However, the Revlon lip butters are still way more moisturizing. The Givenchy lipstick came in a very bright red which I love and doesn't dry out my lips at all. I'll most likely get more wear out of this one as the colour is more practical for every day wear

4) Holika Holika Medi-Medi Magnesium Pack HIT
Since I had a positive experience with their previous products that I bought, I went back to buy some more 8) This is a pore cleaning mud mask that is made for combination skin types. You're supposed to leave it on for about 15 minutes then wash it off. It's not as thick and exfoliating (I prefer scrubs that have more of a sand/grit-like texture) as I'd like it to be but I love the smell of it and how soft my skin is after! 

5) Milani Liquif'eye Pencil Liner MISS
I had really high hopes for this pencil liner especially after my favourite youtuber and beauty guru Hollyannaeree said this was one of her fav's, but it just wasn't working for me. It was a pain having to sharpen it all the time, and then it wouldn't get sharp enough to make a sharp winged, cat eye effect BECAUSE it was too creamy, and then after all that, it was hard to remove. It was just too messy to deal with for me so I switched back to a real liquid eyeliner. But as you can see from the image, it does go on smoothly for the most part and does have that "liquid eyeliner" feel to it. Nonetheless I was glad I still tried it and I still love you Holly!! Lol

Thanks for reading guys have a great week! 

tiffany and co inspired nails

Hi guys! Hope you're having a restful Tuesday evening. I know I am, as I'm getting ready to grab some late night desserts with a few girlfriends. Anyways recently I removed my bio seaweed gel nails after about 2 years of having them constantly refilled every 3-4 weeks (there was nothing wrong with them and I'll definitely get them applied again within the next year since they're so low maintenance and easy to take care of! I just wanted to try something new for now). Some of my more memorable nail designs and 3D art can be seen here if you're looking for nail inspirations or designs you'd like to try ;). I wanted to try doing 3D art and designs myself so I went shopping on the weekend and loaded up on Essie nail polishes, nail glue, top coats and some 3D crystals, pearls and bows! My first design? Tiffany and Co inspired :) I've seen a ton of girls recreate their own Tiffany-inspired nail designs all over instagram and pinterest so I decided to try one out for myself. It's not AMAZING but it's the best I could do for now and I'm sure with practice, it'll get a little easier lol. Enjoy!

urbanebloc swap x shop event

Hey guys! I attended my first clothing swap on Sunday afternoon hosted by Gloria at urbanebloc. I've read her blog before through my friend Christine and it was so nice finally meeting her - she's super sweet and outgoing!

I'm sure most of you know how clothing swaps work (kind of like the cookie swap I went to but with clothes instead!) and it's pretty self-explanatory. I brought 5 items with me to part with, and took home 5 "new" pieces. I was helping out with the event so unfortunately I didn't get to see everything that came in at the beginning (it was like boxing day where most people come really early with a ton of clothing, and as the day continues, there's slightly less guests and the racks get a little more bare). The venue was small and cozy - very grungy feel but made light and feminine with the girly decorations hanging from the roof

LOFT bags of way too much vitamin water and popchips lol 

My 5 "new" pieces! From left to right: A slouchy oversized knit cardigan from Joe Fresh, a gray v-neck sweater from HM, a purple silk sleeveless blouse from Wilfred, an emerald green sleeveless top from Banana Republic, and a navy green H&M dress. I can't wait to mix these into my closet and make new ootds!

For helping out with the event, we were given these cute little "thank-you" packages with make-up inside. From left to right - Live Clean Exotic Vitality Monoi Oil leave-in conditioner spray, Givenchy Le Rouge in #304 Mandarine Bolero, L'Oreal Colour Riche in Beyond Pink, Colour Club nail polish in Warhol and a mini tub of black sparkles (i have NO idea what this is and there's conveniently no label lol) I initially assumed it was eyeshadow but it's extremely loose powder so I'm thinking it might be for nails? I dont know lol Owell, either way, I'm excited to try these out and review 'em!  Thanks again so much Christine and Gloria! 

annnd this was my outfit for the afternoon !

top & pants - Forever 21

belt - HM

bag - Michael Kors

smoking flats - Nine West

necklace - another mini diy project of mine 8)

Thank you for reading and I hope you have fun at YOUR next clothing swaps ;)

DIY Flower Crown

Hi guys! I've been really into doing alot of small DIY projects as of lately and one of the really fun ones was making this flower crown! I always wanted to make one though I may never actually wear it in public unless I'm at a rave or a music festival lol For inspiration I went to Michael's to find flowers and colours that I liked, cut off the stems once I bought them, and hot glue gunned them to the outside of a stretchy headband. Other ways you can find inspiration is to check out some Etsy floral crowns and youtube! Or, if you have other floral pieces lying around at home from fake flower displays or old hair clips, you can integrate those in too! The lighter purple flower on the right-hand side of my crown in this picture was actually an old hair clip I had - I ripped off the clip in the back, added a pink flower from the Michael's bouquet to make the light purple one blend in better, and just glue gunned both in, layered over one another. It was super easy and super fun to do!

Ta-da!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Banana Republic gift card here! :)