Half Yearly Sale at Nordstroms!

Hello Lovely Blogger Readers!

I hope everyone is getting back in the swing after the looooonnngggg weekend.

Guess what time it is right now?!

It's Half Yearly Sale at Nordstroms!!!!!

Growing up in Seattle, I've always been a fan of Nordys. From my experience their sales associates are always amazzziinnnng and very attentive. Of course just as in any company I've had some hit/misses but I've never had any negative experience.

If anyone lives in the Seattle area and is looking for a designer handbag- let me know! I would LOOOVVEE to introduce you to my favorite sales associate in the designer handbag department. I'm even on a "face to face" basis with the manager of at the Bellevue designer handbag department. Yes, I might have a "window shopping problem" :P 

So throughout the Half Yearly Sale at Nordys I would LOVE to share with you some of my top picks!

Dresses:

Although I love the freedom that jeans and pants gives a girl, I do like to wear dresses. Theres something feminine and whimsical about wearing a colorful dress and pairing it with strappy sandals. I've been wanting to purchase a laced dress FOREVER and I want to add coral to my wardrobe.

Photo from Nordstrom.com

Adrianna Papell's Lace Fit and Flare Dress is 45% off! The original price is $218 but its now $119!!!! 

I'm loving how the floral lace designs are more larger than usual laced dresses. The dress also comes in white! This dress would be perfect for a wedding or you can wear it casually by pairing it with a black motorcycle jacket or even a denim jacket! 

I've been wanting a pair of glitter pumps for quite a while. I tried on Jimmy Choos and they were the perfect fit. But as someone who lives in flats, spending over $500 in a pair of heels (at most) I might wear once a month doesn't seem like the brightest idea. 

Photo from Nordstrom.com

Meet Ivanka Trump's "Kayden" pump. It's currently 33% off, the original price is $130 but during Nordstrom's sale you can purchase it for $87! Glitter pumps are a perfect way to add some glam to any outfit and are pretty multifunctional since what outfit doesn't look more fab with some sparkle? ;) 

I rely on my phone as my "watch". I know I should purchase a watch but there's never really a time when I'm away from my phone (or else I panic that I've left it somewhere). However it is a bit rude to keep your phone out while you're out for lunch with a friend or when you're talking with a professor during office hours or when you're at Starbucks and "accidentally" bump into the handsome guy from your physics class. 

Photo from Nordstrom.com

Meet Skagen's "Mesh" Faceted Glass Bezel Watch. The watch is stainless steel but its dipped in gold. And has mother of pearl in the middle decorated with Austrian crystal. Its currently 40% off the original price of $140 and only costs $83.98! The mesh design adds a new dimension to the watch, the minimal crystals adds just the right amount of glam and the mother of pearl is the epitome of sophistication! The watch would be a perfect addition to any wardrobe! 

Check back again sooooon when I'll continue to share with you my favorite picks from Nordstrom's Half Yearly Sale!

XOXO
-S

Welcome to the HAUTE place for Fashion

Hi everyone!

My biggest apologies for not blogging recently.

I wanted to let everyone know about an amazing site that all you fashionistas need to check out!

Socialbliss.com

Its a great place where users can "haute", "spot"and comment on fashion and the like!

Socialbliss also recently deployed their own Marketplace, where you can sell items from your own closet!

Shop With Me :)

Wake Me Up, Before You Go-Go!

So as I mentioned in a previous post I'm a coffee addict!

I don't usually drink coffee at home, I'm mainly drink tea at home, but when I do drink coffee at home (which maybe I should do more often and thus save money….) I save the coffee grounds to make….

A DIY COFFEE SCRUB!

It's simple, it's easy and so much more budget friendly compared to the $12 to at times $30 coffee scrub you can buy at the stores!

There are several recipes out there online

DIY Cinnamon Coffee Sugar Scrub Recipe
   This one includes cinnamon, honey, sugar and coconut oil.

DIY Cellulite Scrub
   This one is a mix between brown sugar and sea salt, along with almond oil or olive oil. This website also really tries to sell the fact that since coffee beans have caffeine in it- the scrub would fight off cellulite. I'm not sure how true of a statement it is though….

But the DIY recipe I used to make my own coffee scrub was

DIY Cellulite Fighting Scrub
Again this site really tries to sell the fact that coffee since its with caffeine would help with cellulite- but does it really? I'm a bit skeptical BUT the coffee grounds (alone with the sugar) is a great exfoliant and would help get rid of dead skin) and the oil would help moisturize your skin.

Its just 3 simple ingredients- coffee grounds, sugar and oil (I used olive oil, but coconut oil or almond oil would work great as well :) ).

For my recipe I also added peppermint oil- to give a great tingly effect! I've also read several recipes where they use vanilla extract.

Its a great and easy scrub to give you that extra pep when you shower! I should warn you that the coffee ground does get messy in the shower and will leave a "looks like you just showered in mud" look if you don't wash it off. But the coffee grounds didn't leave any mark on my tub nor did it clog my shower.

Also on PETA 
They have this recipe minus the sugar- so just the coffee ground and the olive oil as a DIY facial scrub. I haven't made it yet- but I wouldn't mind using it on my face either- I'm sure it would smell great and be a great pick me up in the morning!


What kind of extract/essential oil would you use for your DIY coffee scrub?

How do you reuse your coffee grounds?

XOXO
-S

Lush Your Feet in…LUSH!

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I was having really bad heel pain in my right foot and I started to look for a foot lotion to moisturize my sore tired feet.

I've always been interested in the company, LUSH- they are against animal testing, everything is fresh and handmade. But I've always been put off by the fact that a boy I had a thing for- his girlfriend used Lush products so eh- bad association :P 

But the mall I really like has a LUSH store and so I decided to check it out to see what they had to offer!

BTW the SA's of LUSH are great! They listen to your concerns and they really take their time with you- its great! Also they have a  "hand wash" area so you can actually try their products.

So after I told them about my concern about my feet they recommended- their Fair Trade Foot Lotion



The color reminds me of Pepto-Bismal- but let me tell you its a great product! It doesn't leave a tingly feeling on my feet (as I really want) but it still has both peppermint and spearmint oil. The lotion also contains arnica which helps with discomfort and pain. Arnica is a type of plant that belongs to the sunflower family. It supposedly helps with swelling and pain.

I asked for a sample and the SA was more than willing to give me a sample to use at home.

So did I end up purchasing it?

No…and why?

1) I'm not the biggest fan of the smell of the lotion- its not just a minty smell…not sure how to explain it other than it reminds me of smelling my grandfather's medicine cabinet. Not that bad- but not something I want to be smelling at the end of the day.

2) It is expensive- about $24 for 7.9 oz. A little goes a long way, but at the end I really want a lotion that actually feels tingly when I put it on my feet. It does feel tingly on my arms and what not- but its my feet that needs the lovin'.
         I should add that Burt's Bees Foot Cream (which I haven't tried yet, but plan to) costs about $9 a bottle for about 3.38oz so if you compare it to that, I guess Lush's Foot Lotion is thaaaaaaaaaaaat expensive.


How do you take care of your tired feet?
What is your favorite foot cream?


XOXO
S

Specially Made Just for You

So after trying Ole Henirksen's Lemon Flash Peel and thinking that my skin was about to burn off  I went back to Sephora to ask what they would recommend next….

First Aid Beauty's Facial Radiance Pads 


(picture from Sephora.com)
A little info about the product: It has no harsh chemical or colorants. Active ingredients are lactic acid (to exfoliate the skin) and glycolic acid (to exfoliate and balance the pH of the skin). It also has cucumber and indian gooseberry to tone the face and lemon and licorice root to make the skin bright and glowing.

Its a facial pad just like PTR's and I applied to my skin after showering.

No tingling feeling, no itchy feeling, no nothing. It went on my skin without irritating it, it was great.

I would recommend this to anyone with sensitive/dry skin or who can't stand the itchy/tingling feeling of other facial pads.

The reviews on Sephora are also great- many of the users have sensitive skin and all report that it works great on their skin. Many report fading of past acne scars, tightening of their skin and overall glow of their face.

Have you tried First Aid Beauty's Facial Pads?

What is your go-to facial pad?

XOXO

S

Helllllllllllllllllllo Sales :)

I love sales.

I love 30% offs, buy two, get one free, or my favorite buy one get one free (those are hard to come by but a lot of drugstore products do them every so often).

And guess what company is currently having a $1 sale on their sampler votives?!


Photo Credit: Yankeecandle.com


Yankee Candles 

I've always thought that candles add that romantic and elegant touch to any room but I've personally never been too much of a candle person. I mean you have lights indoors and I don't spend that much time outdoors in one place to need a candle. 

But as I get prepped for my impending all-nighters I thought having a candle by my side would be great to add 1) a relaxed feeling 2) a reason to keep on going a little bit longer 3) just for fun :)

So I purchased a total of 7 of sampler votives this past Friday for the total cost of $7.67 (of course that last 67cents is dependent on the tax in your city). They regularly cost $1.99 and when I checked out a drugstore to see how much their sampler votives cost it was $1.67. So all in all I think it was a great purchase!

The scents I purchased are….

Fresh Mint (I bought two of those since I LOVE mint)
Juicy Watermelon
Juicy Peach
Meyer Lemon
Fruit Fusion
Mango Peach Salsa

I'll do a review of each scent as I burn them but all in all I'm really happy about this purchase (I might even stop by Yankee Candle to buy more before the sale ends :P)!


What are your favorite Yankee Candle scents?

Do you have any good tips to get the most out of your candles? 


XOXO
S

Bye-Bye :(

I like to keep my hands clean. I wash my hands pretty often and when I do wash my hands I scrub them pretty well- make sure I really get rub and wash my fingers. If I'm away from soap and water and I really want to wash my hands (hello having a job as a nanny and being OCD about germs) I walk around with hand sanitizer.

Sadly washing my hands a lot and using hand sanitizer quite often leads to my hands getting rough and dry.

That's why I was a big fan of Bath and Body Work's Anti-Bacterial Hand lotion!

Granted, when I first started using the product I didn't really see the need in having anti-bacterial hand lotion and especially something that smelled like sweet pea. BUT now as I use my hand sanitizer more often I'm so disappointed to report that Bath and Body Works have discontinued their Anti-Bacterial Hand lotion collection :(  I thought it's the perfect product for people who want to make sure their hands are germ free but also offer that additive of moisturizing your hands!

Do you have a favorite hand sanitizer/anti-bactieral gel? Let me know!

XOXO,
S


P.S. I know theres debate over if using anti-bactieral and hand sanitizers all the time is actually a good thing. (Have I mentioned I'm a Biology major?) The worry is that by using hand sanitizer and killing off so many germs that sooner or later we would find ourselves with a virus or bacteria that is resistant to the said hand sanitizer/anti-bacterial making it impossible to treat it with the current medicine we have- causing a big huge outbreak! (okay maybe I'm exaggerating a bit…) Thus several top scientists/researchers/doctors recommend washing your hands with plain old soap and warm water instead.