July Favorites

Hello hello again! Summer is in full swing here in Toronto. Having finished up my work term, I am now enjoying a short, but sweet, summer off before I begin law school!! I just came back from a week-long trip to London, England and I’m still reminiscing over the beautiful architecture and history-rich city!

I am very excited to share with you some of my July favorites that have been absolutely perfect for my summer.

1. Harrods Pink Teddy Bear Tote // Though I didn’t buy this one during my latest visit to London, I have been using this Harrods tote bag frequently this summer for my mini-vacations and whatnot. It’s durable and waterproof and the size makes it perfect for carrying my laptop and a few notebooks snugly. Harrods is a famous English department store and a definitely must-go if you ever visit London. During my trip, I did buy a smaller Harrods tote-bag with a cut cartoony pattern of the Buckingham Palace guards (pictured below with a hilarious solar waving Queen Elizabeth statue that I found in a store on Carnaby Street).

2. Body Shop Tea Tree Mask //  I did previously warn you that I’d probably be featuring a lot of Body Shop’s tea tree products! This cooling mask is great for the summer heat!

3. Essie “Hi Maintenance” Nail Polish // Matching with my pink Harrods bag, I recently bought this Essie nail polish and love the pink sheer color. The first coat gives my nails a clear shiny layer, but with a few extra coats on top, the pink starts coming out ever-so-lightly.

-Mich

June Favorites

Writing this post just in time for curating my June Favorites! This month has been crazy busy both with work and personal happenings so that explains the lack of posts for this month. To make up for it, here are my selected items that I absolutely loved this month; I hope you get inspired!

1. Benefit Feelin’ Dandy Lip & Cheek Kit // I originally wanted to get the Dandelion blush on its own, but when I saw that the blush came in this awesome kit, though smaller in size, I decided to go with the kit because it came with the blush along with a few extra items (though smaller in size than what you would get if you bought each separately) that I always wanted to try from Benefit. I’m glad I made that choice as the set comes with the Posietint, High Beam, Dandelion Blush and the Ultra Plush Dandelion Lip Gloss. I’ve loved using this kit this month, it’s perfectly light and pink all around! The box is also adorable!

2. Rayban Clubmaster Sunnies // I have been wanting for a pair of Rayban’s Clubmaster sunglasses for so long and finally got a pair this past month. Definitely will be my staple sunnies for the summer!

3. Jcrew Barrette // This one has been a great hair accessory. I recently cropped my hair short and with this barrette, it makes for a classy updo!

-Mich

May Favorites

I’ve decided I’m going to start this monthly “favorites”-themed posts. Always a big fan of them while exploring other blogs, I find that I often get really excited when I discover new products/music/events and want to tell my friends all about them!

1. Rifle Paper Co. Calendar // My absolute favorite desk calendar right now! I eyed this for a while, and right when I was ready to order it, it was out of stock! Luckily, being a persistent person, I regularly checked back and the item was back in stock after a few weeks into the year. I snatched one up as soon as I could! This paper company has amazing products and basically has been my obsession lately.

2. Body Shop Skin Clearing Lotion // I would say this is less of a lotion, rather it works more like a oil-control coat. Particularly helpful during the more humid and warmer days, I’m glad I discovered this product. I’ve been using it consistently since the end of April and throughout May. This lotion is part of Body Shop’s tea tree line, which I love by the way, but note if you’re not a big fan of the smell, I would say look for an alternate. You can’t really get away from the tea tree smell!

3. NARS Satin Lip Pencil // Yes, this item already has a dedicated post to it here. But, seriously, my go-to lip make up at the moment and probably for a long time coming.

4. Aritzia Phone Case // ^____^ because it makes me so happy!!

-Mich

Pop of Blues

Following my previous post, I’m sharing with all of you the outfit that I wore to the afternoon tea at The Peninsula!

This dress is one of the newest outfit pieces that I bought from J. Crew. I’ve been pretty obsessed with their stuff lately, especially because they make work outfits look like so much fun to wear. Funny story is that a few days after buying this dress, a skirt from J.Crew caught my eye and I decided to buy it, only to find out that it was the exact same pattern as the dress above! So, I guess this validates my purchase? Given that I went for the pattern twice in various outfit forms. I especially like the bold shapes on the dress and the various blues that pop out. There are also two zippers that run along both sides, which gives you an option to have a dress with a side slit.

In this outfit:

Dress // J.Crew
Shoes // Forever 21

-Mich

Afternoon Tea at the Peninsula

It feels that I’ve been traveling quite a bit this year, mainly to the west coast and of course, finding fun events to go with friends is always a big part of the adventure. The other weekend when I visited LA, Hannah, Natsumi and I went for afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Living Room, fittingly named for where the tea was held, was a great girls day outing! While the afternoon tea menu was on the pricier side than most that I’ve tried, the service, food and decor easily made up for it. With traditional scones and finger sandwiches (they had my favorites–curry chicken and smoked salmon), I was excited to try all of them! Not a big fan of sweets, I found that they still had a good selection with desserts on the lighter side such as the blueberry macaron and rose panna cotta. Yum!      

Outfit post for this will be going live shortly! Until next time, Los Angeles!

-Mich

Head to Toe Uniqlo

Two weeks ago, I got to visit San Francisco–beautiful city and beautiful weather! In case you’re wondering why it took me so long to blog about it, I got pretty ill last week and didn’t have much time and energy to write much, so apologies for that! But now that I’ve gotten over my seasonal cold, I am so excited to share with you a mini-haul post of what I go from Uniqlo.

Even with less than 72 hours in the city, I had to stop by Uniqlo.This is pretty much a must in every city I’m in that has a Uniqlo because I hardly ever get to shop there unless I’m in Asia. Although, the good news is that they’re finally opening a store, actually two I believe, in Toronto, but in fall 2016–ugh it’s about time and let’s cross our fingers we get sufficient stock in the Toronto stores! Ah, it’s one of my favourite stores for basics (I swear, their heattech line is the best for winter basics) and they also have really great work clothes with various simple patterns and colors.

I was so pleased with what I found during my visit to the store. First, a striped cotton cashmere dress, which is super soft and not to mention on sale for $15USD. The second item I got was a pink polka-dotted purple blouse. I knew I wanted to pick up a blouse this time around (my last one that was similar from Uniqlo got bleached by accident in the wash–that’s one thing I don’t miss about college-using communal washers). The blouse was also the promotion item of the week and again I got this for only $15! Lastly, I got a super funky tee from the men’s section. I seriously love graphic print shirts with bold designs. Neat typography is another thing I get drawn to. This one is the Men USA OMIYAGE Graphic Short Sleeve.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), travelling with only a carry-on limits what I can bring back, so until next time, Uniqlo!

-Mich

P.S. some behind the scene pictures courtesy of this little one! Thanks a lot missy, I spent a few minutes straightening up everything!

Sephora Birthday Gift

This year’s Sephora gift once again did not disappoint! I am always so excited to see what they have in store for their birthday gift, and this year, it’s two Nars lip pencils! The box included the Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (don’t you just love the creative names?) and the RIkugien Satin Lip Pencil. What I love about the two lip pencils is how strong the pigments are. Just a quick brush over your lips and the color truly pops out, you can see this in the second picture (Cruella being the bold red line). I do admit that I generally shy away from bold lip colors, so I’ll probably be sticking mainly to the Rikugien Satin Lip Pencil.

I generally like to add a base coat of lip balm or nude lip butter (currently, using eos lip balm and nivea lip butter) before I use the lip pencil. This gives it a smoother application and when used with lip butter, there’s a glossier look. Below, have the Rikugien Satin Lip Pencil on!  

-Mich