안넹! Winter in Korea

Back in February, my family visited Korea during the Lunar New Year holidays.

It was already the end of winter but it was still snowing lightly in Seoul.

Some people say that winter is the most dull/sad of all seasons in terms of fashion but I think it's just a matter of accessorizing and wearing a pop of colour instead of just black/gray/navy.

The temperature was below zero daily, the day we landed it was -19 Celcius, one night it was -25. I LOVE the cold! Here's what I wore to keep myself warm and toasty throughout the trip:

At Incheon Airport, in comfortable plane-wear

Sneakers for sight-seeing days

Collar necklaces instantly transform an otherwise blah outfit

Wooly snood and balaclava

Loving my sister's cape

Snoooowwwwww! The wind was really cold at the ski resort and we had to cover our faces as we walked

Cute papa

Removed our face-covers for a pic. So cold that my nose, lips and cheeks were turning raw

Checking out headgear in the shops

More sightseeing at Mount. Sorak; beautiful views

Family!

Showing us whats under her cape

Lotte World! It's been 10 years since my first visit!

One of the not-so-cold days

The first thing we did was get kitty-ears to wear

My most favouritest (is it even a word?) cape-jacket!

Underneath my cape...

I brought 3 jackets with me for the week (too little? too many?) but they all kept me very warm. I need fashion that functions, but if I had to choose comfort over looking good- I'd definitely pick looking good.

Life is too short to dress down; or eat crappy chocolate.

*There have been no edits to any of the pictures above except for adding frames.

November Purchases & Gifts!

I am developing a liking for a CHANEL blushers! Last month I bought myself two, the Ombre Contraste in Notorious which is a limited edition sculpting powder (from Les Essentiels Fall/Winter 2012) and 73 Star Dust from the Eclats du soir de Chanel Holiday 2012 collection. 

Notorious is perfect for contouring and initially, I sniggered at the morbid colour, wondering who would want to look ashen and dull. But I take it all back!! It is the perfect shade of "shadow" and looks so good on. 

Star Dust was a bit of an impulse buy, I grabbed it without testing it out. It gave off a daytime appropriate glow which I used for friend's morning wedding gatecrash. The fine sparkles gave me a nice subtle glow look when dusted over my cheeks. I really like the quality of these blushers and would love to add a few more colours to my stash.

Rouge, a deep red, from the Byzance collection (pre-Fall 2011) is one that I missed out on and have been eyeing for a piece to pop up on eBay to no avail. When I read that they re-released it in Australia as part of the permanent line, I got a friend to pick it up. So happy!! I will have my Rouge end of this month!! I also picked up the polish in Malice and a CLARINS lippie in Lilac Pink.

I am still on a skincare/bodycare ban- all of the below were either gifted to me or samples from counters.

L'OCCITANE, GUERLAIN, THALGO, MELVITA, CLARINS

Random items from DAISO, the best place for cheap thrills. At MYR5 a pop I picked up Hello Kitty plastic bags, a mouspad, bunny aluminium foil.. and other odd bits.

Haven't bought clothes for the longest time ever! H&M x Maison Martin Margiela belt and leggings, H&M basic dresses for work- so affordable plus good quality too. The last I visited, the MMM collaboration was being sold at 50% off, a little less than 3 weeks after it launched! I only picked up a belt and leggings so I didn't feel the burn. But for those who splurged especially on the leather pants and shoes, OUCH! Sparkly belts from Dorothy Perkins.

A pile of clothes from Kenanga Wholesale City- this place is crazyyyyy, 8 floors of shopping- super affordable and surprisingly good quality for the price, the fabric used are thick and heavy. Items I picked were going for MYR25-35 per piece (around USD8-12). The only downside to the place is that you'd have to buy ALL the colours/sizes to get the low prices. And not all shops are of the same quality so you have to check each piece. But all-in-all, it was a good deal! 

December is here which means 2013 is just around the corner. The older I get, the faster time flies I swear.

ME-time!

I haven't abandoned this blog- the past few months have been hectic.. I had been writing beauty reviews for a lifestyle website, and on top of that work has been craaaaazy busy. I rarely saw my friends and was getting easily agitated from the lack of sleep.

But you know what, all that's changing TODAY because though I am at work this very moment, I will be flying off in a few hours to MELBOURNE! 

I usually pack 1-2 months ahead of my trips but this time? I did almost overnight *proud*.

Am very excited to see my little sister again and stroll the streets of Melbourne. 

10 TEN 10 days of r&r with the family. Life is good.

Will leave you with random pics of my trip to Melb back in May..

 MY HOLIDAY OFFICIALLY STARTS IN 30 MINS!!! 

Wheeeeeeeeeee~

New & Old..

NEW: I did quite a bit of damage in the past week- I'm waiting for my ASOS parcel to arrive, my GMarket mini-haul (which is being shipped to my sister in Melb) and I now have an item on "lay-by" HAHA. *looks at Jagi*. Most of them are investment pieces which I can picture myself wearing 10 years down the road so I'm feeling less guilty about my purchases.

Recent ZARA purchases include a skirt which I lusted over back in February.

♥ 

Two-tone silk top 

Seamed skirt, but in the colour above 

OLD: Tatty and worn out, but they served me well..

The last time I bought shoes was back in May (on Holidays) so this is a MAJOR improvement, I used to buy shoes almost every week. I have close to 10 pairs which are brand new and untouched, and no I am not exaggerating.

I have a weakness when it comes to shoes- my rationale is that, I might grow out of my clothes but I'm always a constant size when it comes to shoes (and bags).

After throwing those 4 out, I treated myself to a brand new pair..

Ciara from Wittner

They look similar to a certain pair from Miu Miu, but only cost a fraction of the price.. plus they are on sale too! ♥ Buy here 

No more (major) shopping till December! I hope :/

Change of heart..

..towards ZARA! I never used to like this brand because I felt most pieces were overpriced, mass produced, cheaply made and NOT fashion forward at all! I mean, once in a while there would be a few *okay* pieces in there but most times were huge disappointments, not to mention the horrible SAs who think it would hurt to smile a little now and then.

I am pretty sure I have less than 5 pieces of clothing from ZARA. But my opinion towards this brand has changed! The current collection they have in-stores is gorgeous! I saw so many pieces which I wanted (not needed). Am currently on a shopping ban at the moment so all I can do is lust over it.

Here are a few of my favourites:

♥ ing the shirt and skirt..

Dress with patterned hem
MYR199.90

Skirt with pockets
MYR199.90

Studio plain top
MYR359

Accordion pleat skirt
MYR279

Syudio Gaberdine cape
MYR499

I also saw many lovely shirts in-store but I cant seem to find them online. Anyway, if you like clean, streamlined, stylish clothes, I suggest you pop in to your nearest ZARA for a look! A little pricey, but the quality makes up for it.

Sidenote: I am almost done uploading pictures from 2010 on my FaceBook, Taiwan pictures to come! I'll leave you with a pic of me taken in Dec (:

Have a good weekend!