Net-a-porter International Sale now LIVE!

This is really just a PSA more than anything else, but I just wanted to let you guys know that both the Net-a-porter International Sale and the Net-a-porter Asia/Pacific Sales are now LIVE! After waiting weeks since the US sale (which recently took its second markdowns!), everyone else can now CLICK HERE to shop!

Some helpful tips: I recommend shopping around both sites, as the exact same items may cost different depending on which site you’re viewing. General rule of thumb: European brands are cheaper on the UK site, and US brands are cheaper on the Asia/US sites. Shipping to Singapore from the UK site is 20 pounds, or 15USD from the Asia site. Don’t bother trying to split your order to avoid GST on the Asia site, NAP already factors in the 7% even on orders below $300SGD and you pay tax on checkout. And lastly, shop quickly as stock tends to move fast!

Don’t forget to come back and tell me what you scored from the sale! I’ve already picked up a pair of rose gold MBMJ mouse flats, and a cute mint mini Mulberry crossbody. I’m also eyeing several Saint Laurent Arty rings, and I spotted the McQueen Dragonfly De Manta clutch going for an absolute steal! Happy shopping everyone 🙂

Droopy Celine Luggage totes

I’ve seen one too many pictures of celebs and their saggy luggage totes that I’ve come to the conclusion that time definitely affects us all. Droopy luggage totes were never a problem for me because my favourite Celine bag has always been the Phantom (that droopy tongue… those Dobby ears…) so the slouchier the better, but I’ve recently succumbed and bought a Mini luggage tote of my own. The first day I bought it I frantically googled, “Do Celine luggage totes sag over time??” (yeah don’t judge), and to my horror I discovered this thread on PurseForum.com, where I found the following pictures:

 

                  Spanking new kelly green mini. Credit: Syma on PurseForum

                                             Yes, yes I do sag.

 

                       Perhaps “melt” might be a more appropriate word.

Yeah, I actually found all this quite funny. Horrifying, yes, but definitely funny too. Apparently this sagging can happen even if you leave your luggage tote in a cupboard and don’t use it – imagine not touching your precious Celine for 6 months, finally taking it out of its dustbag again aaaaaand it’s turned to goo. Mad depressing, but funny no? I think I would burst into hysterical laughter, then cry. Definitely cry.

You can bet I’ll be monitoring my luggage tote over the next year! If it really starts sagging something horrific I’ll be sure to post pictures for  you guys to see. I got it in Oct’12 and it’s grown some tiny wrinkles (just like my face…) but nothing major. To anyone with a luggage tote/trapeze/phantom (the main saggy culprits) of your own, have you experienced this with your bag? Let me know!

Balenciaga GWP: Free Tiny First/Tiny City bag Charms!

 

 

Balenciaga is currently offering free Tiny Firsts and Tiny City bag charms for everyone who buys a Classic/Giant 12/Giant 21 Arena bag from their online site! I must say that this is one of the most generous GWPs (Gift With Purchase) I’ve seen a designer do, since these tiny babies cost a couple hundred dollars a pop at retail, plus they’re seasonal. What’s better than a Balenciaga bag? A Balenciaga with a tiny Balenciaga bag hanging off of it, of course!

Swarovski Crystal Dipped Hello Kitty Mirror

Last year I bought this mirror from Sephora:

Today I went on the Sephora website and discovered that they’ve since added this:

The same mirror. Covered in hundreds of pink Swarovski crystals, and packed in a black velveteen pouch and a jewel box so you can keep your pretty jeweled Hello Kitty mirror safe. All for just $350USD, a mere ten times the cost of the original mirror! Why, Sephora, do you do these things to me?? But wait-

Last year I also bought this Hello Kitty brush set:

And guess what? Yup, this happened:

Hundreds more pink Swarovskis, and at $495USD the blinged-up brush set is also 10x the price of the original, un-blinged up version. Seriously, why was I born an Asian girl with a love for all things Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty and shiny, now this is just unfair – why am I supposed to resist these?? Maybe if I hadn’t just dropped about 500USD today on one of those Miu Miu bag charms I wrote about 3 months ago (I bought the pink one!!), I might feel less guilty about blowing another couple hundred on shiny Hello Kitty things? Oh God, I’m hopeless. I think I’m going to drool at these blinged-up pictures for a bit more, moan a bit to myself and then go out tomorrow and buy a bajillion crystals so I can bling up my mirror and brush set myself. While I’m at it I’ll probably bling up my phone, and maybe my camera too…

Miu Miu Jeweled Patent and Velvet Sneakers

 

Er. I really have nothing else to say besides that I need these shoes, and I need them as soon as these land in my nearest Miu Miu store and I get to run my fingers over that gorgeous aqua velvet, and ogle all the shiny stuff over the toe cap. I love almost every jeweled shoe Miu Miu makes (um, not the Oxfords), and I just bought a pair of their jeweled heel ballerinas in May. First Louboutin, now Miu Miu are out to tempt me with their designer sneakers! I suppose some people will look at these and see a very impractical shoe – velvet and jewels on a sneaker, why should a sneaker cost $585USD, how are you going to do anything in them without getting them dirty, yada yada. That doesn’t faze me in the slightest though, since I’m not even the least bit sporty! Wearing these probably counts as being sporty enough for the year for me, actually. So these will just make people think that maybe I run sometimes, when actually I won’t be doing anything of the sort (no trekking through mud or whatever it is outdoorsy types do) at all, and my shoes will stay pristine. Perfect! Now only to wait til 15th October when the pre-orders ship…

 

Here’s a picture of the top of the shoe, so you can ogle the jewels too:

 

Ooh, shiny

 

If you want to pre-order your own pair, you can do so at Sak’s Fifth Avenue!

Hello Kitty Crocs

Oh no. The instant I saw these shoes I felt my heart sink, because I absolutely love Hello Kitty, but… but… but… these are Crocs, and I absolutely hate Crocs, and it feels like my love for Hello Kitty is being tested against my hate for Crocs, to see which I love/hate more. I mean, these don’t even look that much like Crocs! Sure they’re rubbery, but rubber flats have been SO in fashion lately! And they’re black, and black matches everything, and that pink rubber bow is actually pretty cute. But wait-

The back looks a bit… childish, doesn’t it? A wee bit twee? But if I didn’t like childish things I wouldn’t be looking at Hello Kitty shoes now would I? Look look, these have Hello Kitty’s face on them!!

And see, they look quite alright with black tights now don’t they? In a, they don’t look that bad from a distance kind of way? I’m SO confused right now. If I buy these, is that proof of my love for all things Hello Kitty? Or am I just buying the most well-disguised Crocs in the universe? Either way I think I lose. If you want a pair though, these are currently £14.99 at  50% off and you can buy them from Schuh.

Balenciaga Giant City Gold in Old Rose

 

I bought this bag two weeks ago from the Balenciaga US Online Store (SO HAPPY), but no pictures of it yet because I literally took it out of its dust bag to admire and then put it right back in for my mother to help me carry back to Singapore! I’ve been eyeing this bag since the Spring 2011 colors first launched on the US site, naturally because of its lovely pink color – light enough to be girly but not scream bimbo! I wasn’t sure if it was just non-buyers’ regret that I didn’t get the Giant City Rose Gold in Bois de Rose from the Fall 2010 season, which I fell in love with the first time I saw, but a friend bought it so according to some Girls’ Law out there (like the female equivalent of the Bro Code, only this says you can’t buy a scarf in the same color as your friend or a bag they own already) I couldn’t buy it after I’d seen her carrying it. Especially since Balenciaga produces the same styles of bags, just in different colors each season! I was quite crushed, but it’s okay because apparently my friend’s bag (a very light white-pink) has since faded to gray, and you can’t really tell that it used to be pink. That’s what you get with Balenciaga I suppose, as the brand’s leather isn’t known to be the best and the color tends to fade! I think this color will still look gorgeous slightly faded though, and I like gold hardware better than the rose gold.

 

I went down to Barney’s in Boston too see the bag in person, but they were out of stock and placed one on hold in New York for me. But when I went to NYC that weekend the store had none, even though their computer said that there should still be 4 somewhere! I managed to take a look at the other styles in this color though and knew that I definitely wanted the City in Old Rose, so I placed my order online and had it shipped to Boston. No sales tax 😀 I had it shipped via Complimentary Ground, and although the Balenciaga site has options for Next-Day and 2-Day delivery it still made it to me in 2 days, with the white Balenciaga box inside a nondescript regular brown cardboard box, and with signature confirmation in case anyone else tries to make off with my bag in the mail!

 

Overall I’m very pleased with the Balenciaga online store and my new bag, and I’ll definitely be getting as much wear out of this bag before next season’s colors come out! This does match most things in my wardrobe (pink) after all..

Brian Atwood Maniac Pearl-pink Silk Satin Platform Pumps

 

I seem to say this about almost every shoe I feature here, but aren’t these just beautiful? Such a classic shape and color really don’t need me to describe them further, but if I did, I’d say something about how these would be the perfect classic bridal shoes, but still versatile and elegant enough for any other dressy evening event. Add something about that faint blushpetal pink and stunning sheen of the silk-satin, and curved almond toe platform pump shape that only Designers tend to do to perfection and voila, post done! Here, have another picture:

 

What was that I said about the perfect curve of this vamp again? Oh yeah, designer shoes cost $480 and you can pick this pair up from Net-A-Porter here.

Christian Louboutin Brandaplato Satin Mesh Heels

These shoes are my latest obsession. I’ve been staring at them for the last two days wishing my feet were a US Size 9.5 or 10, and that I had a spare $1,125 just lying around. Here, see another picture:

Aren’t they gorgeous? If you’d mentioned “satin mesh peeptoes” to me I never would have imagined the perfection that is this shoe, but of course that’s why Mr. Louboutin is the Master and I just show you his shoes! I love how the mesh really ends up looking like delicate lace and not say, fishnet stockings, and the swirl straps give off a very elegant feel. Here’s a side-view:

I love the cursive ‘L’ you can make out along the side, and is it just me or do the straps almost look like wings here? I imagine if Hermes were female and stylish he would have worn these to deliver his messages to the Greeks, instead of the winged sandals he wore!

Now take a look at the black version:

No less droolworthy, mm?

And from the back:

So vampy! I’m quite glad they’re both sold out in my size, lest I be tempted to buy them. If they’re still available in your size though, you can buy these from Barney’s here for the Gold and here for the black. I’ll just have to be content with making their picture my desktop wallpaper…

MAC Flighty Collection up on MAC Online!

Just a headsup to everyone that MAC’s Flighty Collection is now available online here! Use code FLIGHTY for free standard shipping.

There’s been a bit of a controversy over Temptalia’s review of the collection (you can read her review here) – she originally gave these a B- , and after MAC Senior Artist Romero said in an interview that these were supposed to be “long-wearing”, she dropped the grade down to a D. From her pictures, they really don’t look like they last very well at all, and if a product doesn’t do what it claims to then I get that it should be graded lower. I can’t help but wonder what MAC thinks about the downgrade after taking the time to do an interview. Christine has been nothing but completely honest as a beauty blogger, something I find refreshing when it seems like most people now just write good reviews so they’ll get free products! All this being said I’m not much of a fan of cream products myself, preferring pigments and pressed eyeshadows, so I wasn’t exactly going to run to a MAC store to pick these up anyway (the MAC Mega Metal eyeshadows though was another story!) My advice is, if you’re thinking of purchasing these please try them at a store first, and don’t just buy them online because you like the color!