on shop tripping and the vibrating mascara

I was walking through Selfrges today to see new Chanel earrings when I wondered through the beauty section. And as always, when I'm shop tripping, I pick a brand and give the sales staff a bit of a test on how they really know their product. I've been doing this ever since a friend told me that for some brands they only train the temps on the day. I think for Selfridges you can single them out. Check out for badges with names rather than ones just saying Sales Associate. I assume Sales Associate badges are just distributed on the day. It's not to say that all temps are bad at their job. In fact last night, at Bare Minerals, the one with the Sales Associate badge was better than the one with the name badge.

Anyway...on to the vibrating mascara. First question for the sales staff was if it was battery operated. She said yes and that the battery lasts as long as the mascara does...3 months. Now ladies, there's more reason to throw away this one after it's intended shelf life. You don't really want a "non vibrating" vibrating mascara would you? Then I asked what I can do if the battery ran out. And she just repeated herself saying, "No it will last as long as the mascara does." So I'm assuming no batteries sold for this one. Then she said or you can still use it without the vibration. Bingo! Wrong answer...she just said the product can still be attractive without it's unique selling point..very bad...again who would want a "non vibrating" vibrating mascara? LOL

I asked her to apply it for me because I was afraid of blinding my eye with the vibrating wand..how weird it is to say that! You really couldn't feel it move much. In Elle, it has been mentioned that Oscillation moves upwards and downwards instead of sideways. I guess that would explain why you didn't need to use force in helping your lashes to curl upwards. No need for pre-mascara eyelash curling as well! Your lashes will be nicely separated so you can say goodbye to your lash comb too.

I wanted to try it for a night out but alas prediction of snow stopped the girls from heading out. I fell asleep for a while and it smudged as expected. The good part is that even after wearing for about 8 hours my eyes still didnt itch which usually happens to me when I wear mascara. One will just need to get used to pressing the button during application. As if applying a mascara with open mouth wasnt enough! LOL

Damage to your purse will be 28 pounds but you can say goodbye to your eyelash curler and your lash comb...let's just hope the battery doesnt run out!

Photo from Lancome USA website:

LFW must watch: Valentino The Last Emperor

Yes, Londontown fashion citizens have been given the chance to see the film about His Tanned Highness next week!

It will be shown at the Everyman Hampsted Cinema so click click away to your own invites!

lfw seats for sale

I enjoy going to fashion talks. For an industry so visual i've always enjoyed hearing what the industry top dogs have to say. To date, the best one I've been to was Stefano Pilati in conversation with Colin Mc Dowell. So I was yet again on the look out for talks in Laaandon...so far nothing that's really my cup of tea. Giles Deacon will be at the V&A on March 5 for 8 pounds...I'm skint and he talked for free at LCF so I'm definitely opting out. Hussein Chalayan will be at Shoreditch Town Hall on March 11 for 15 pounds. This one I'm still debating on...it would be good to hear from him once I've gone to the Design Museum to see his exhibition. After all, next to Stefano Pilati's talk in my rankings would be Viktor & Rolf's symposium at the Barbican last LFW.

So anyhoo, what I found while searching for events was Cavendish Group selling LFW packages. London version of AMEX in NYC??

Cavendish Group Events

To the tune of 425 quid you can choose early morning, lunch or afternoon to go see ONE show, drink champagne and receive expert advice.

I wonder which shows they can secure for their patrons?? Hhhmmm...And more than that..which rows??

wellies for moi??

yes..it snowed in london!!!my first white encounter was at grand canyon..desert snow storm in spring... it was my first time to experience snow the whole day and i loved it!

so yes for the first time in my history...i really DO NOT have proper shoes for the season!!!! Weather reports say that it's going to snow still but for how many days it's not certain...

B and I were discussing options and we have both concluded that for snow one needs to invest on one pair of Wellies that they can use over and over. This will not be true for those who live in countries where snow is the norm. Remember, we are both from tropical countries where people collect flip flops (Havaianas, ahem ahem) so buying footwear for snow is not something we give priority to..not to mention for these shoes it's more utility rather than aesthetics...in B's words...I look like a fisherman...My words..No..you would look like a daughter of the fisherman!!!

she ended up with her Burberry wellies below:


Unfortunately for moi, I do not have enough moolah to spend on wellies...so for the time being I will just walk ever so slowly and rely on my trainers which I must say have done a good job keeping it up with the snow...If ever I spend on wellies the two below fwill be competing for my purse strings:

Hunter Limited Collection Jimmy Choo Wellies

Hunter Limited Edition Fortnum & Mason Wellies

Throughout snow day, I've lost count on women I've seen with the Original Green Hunter boots. Why oh why??? In B's words, I wouldn't want to look like the trash can! LOL
I wonder if the retailers were prepared for this sales opportunity?? And I wonder how many women pestered Burberry for their Wellies....

the gender flowchart

a friend forwarded me the link to these photos so i did a bit of googling..

Campaign Title: Thank God You're A Man
Client: Gold Star Beer
Agency: McCann Erickson, Tel Aviv Israel
(data from www.adsoftheworld.com)

The first one here is the one I like the least...out of the lot it is the most stereotypical...or better yet the one that's most going to be controversial...Imagine if they only published this flow chart...hhhmm...feminist parties will come in packs! Maybe me included..personally a night out with copius amounts of alcohol is never a venue to find a guy who will be suitable for a long-term relationship..then again that's just me..


The second one here is the most hilarious!!! It is right on the bat on how we ladies go to the loo in groups. It wouldve been better if they expanded on the drinks choice for ladies though...Maybe a picture of the beer on the side with questions marks then a picture of a fatter you so you go back to your cocktails...beer=liquid carbs!!! the most evil word of them all..caaarbs...Never mind the calories from alcohol and too much sugar in our cocktails..LOL

This third one has got to be my favourite...


I am guilty of this one on all accounts!!! What I remember with this one is a list of Guys' Rules which my Citi friends had circulating back in the day..one of the rules said men should not be drinking fruity cocktails at all...it's you know...too feminine...wonder what men really think of this? ;)

a chic lit box office battle

and then there were two...

Becky Bloomwood's conspicuous consumption

Pic from and trailer here: Official Site

VS

Greg Behrendt's telling you to forget that guy
Pic from and trailer: Official Site

I've read both books, Confessions of a Shopaholic and He's Just Not That Into You and I must say, I am not too excited about the movies. First off, I was quite disappointed that Confessions is set in NYC and not in London as in the book. No offense New Yorkers, but I've always pictured Becky as the quirky London shoppper who daily peruses high street and high fashion racks. Also, I didn't imagine her to be such a fashion victim! Then again, that might be the comedic tone of the movie...but I believe we it was her cuckoo personality that was funny, never imagined myself laughing at her outfits.

As for the guys who are not into you, I wonder how they could've resisted the stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore and hello Scarlett Johansson! For talent fee costs alone, this movie must really make it in the box office! I don't find any of the male leads particularly gorgeous..yes even Ben Affleck is off my radar. This leads me into saying...why the hell was he not into her??? It would be interesting though to see which cases they picked for the movie.

So yes, low expectations for both movies...so I guess it's easier for both to impress me ;)

on trend analysis

I've found this matrix last year and im really looking forward to seeing more of it in WSJ's fashion section. One can say it's a bit of intellectualising fashion and I love it at that! What better way to put this trend mish mash era that we are having.

One thing that it is useful for is for shopping these days. It's the last day of sales and when on the hunt for bargains, one should make sure of the longevity of wear remaining in the garment. It's very convenient to see retro to futuristic trends at work and at play. Come on ladies...if we must spend then when we must spend on must still be in style!

For the real thing with write ups: Wall Street Journal Spring Fashion 2009

at zero longitude...

london has been all gloom lately..what with the recession rearing it's ugly head plus the rain clouds finally pouring in...with that said i'm quite glad K and I decided to go on a touristy day just before uni started...first full day for one of my best sale finds...15 pound gray boots from zara which was originally 69 pounds..

it was a rather quick ride from baker street to canary wharf to cutty sark dlr..must have been the endless blabbering we were doing... first stop was greenwich foot tunnel with the cheap thrill of knowing you are underneath the river thames..

then we were off to the maritime museum to visit a friend...spent some time at the nelson part of the exhibition...they even had his hair which nelson saved in order to be given to his wife! we waisted no time in heading to the observatory hill to see zero longitude...another cheap thrill of being in two places at once...or none at all!



im not so sure if it was a completely picturesque view provided by the hill...amazing breadth but then again from that point you could also see the london smog...makes me want to walk more everyday...
a day of walking for us always ends up either with food or shopping..as we were near borough market (my fave foodie market) I decided to give K a tour...we had a rainy day must eat of grilled swiss cheese sandwiches and shared a falafel wrap..



no sweet tooth can escape a visit to konditor & cook! K got the orange whiskey bomb and I got the banana walnut cake. it was quite a shame that there was only one table for customers to eat. not to mention it was outside! perfect drinks for our cakes were from next door monmouth coffee company then again we couldnt bring food from outside..so we just headed back to baker street where we could comfortably eat our cake and sip our coffee while looking at holiday photos..

the cakes were oh so delish..they were moist and dense and had just the right sweetness in the frostings..the latte and cappuccino from monmout coffe company were strong and simple..perfect pairings!

on buying something you dont need

"Part of the promise of style is to lift us out of the dreariness of necessity."
-- Stuart Ewan, sociologist, describing couture world as beyong the real

Can we all quote him when we buy that pair of shoes you just can't leave behind?

on buying fashion magazines

Reading fashion magazines was probably the leading factor/influence that got me into fashion. I was 13 when a cousin from the US brought home Seventeen. I loved it and dad (metrosexual dad) got me a subscription. It was 2 months late because of the turtlish Philippine post but I was always ecstatic when it was time to open my brown envelope with crisp new magazine (sans barcode). Back when i was in Uni the first time..16-20..ahem ahem..I would read at least 5 magazines a month from cover to cover. Then came the internet addiction and the addiction to fashion blogs ans websites..slowly slowly my love for my glossies waned. I got the information I need from news online and the lush fashion editorials always got posted online. The fact that my storage space in London is almost non-existent didn't really help..at home in the Philippines I have like a decade worth of magazines neatly arranged in my bedroom/warehouse.

I don't think magazines will go away. It's in the same way radio didnt really disappear when TV came. There will be changes in how magazines are produced and consumed and I hope they are for the better. Now, I'm just happy to buy glossies that are collector worth. So in the last couple of months my purchases included the all black Vogue Italia, Carla Bruni cover for Vanity Fair (which I decided to buy for a friend instead) and most recently this amazing Harper's Bazaar with Stephanie Seymour Swarovski cover.


Stephanie Seymour is my fave Super...I cant get enough of her face! Nine kids and she can still manage to go naked on a cover of a magazine! And the Swarovski detailing of Marc Quinn is lush. He is more famously known for his gold statue of Kate Moss. The contents of the magazine are top as well.

That is what I'm talking about..With new media rising, the challenge for magazines is to come up with innovative and relevant material that will entice the audience to hit the newsstands, grab a copy and turn the pages instead of just sitting and clicking away. I must say number 1 and 2 on my list are Vogue Paris and Vogue Italia. Now..if only I could read them..;) then again isn't it luxury to have someone read it to you..;p