My US Shopping List

I'm off to my annual San Francisco (plus LA this time) trip this Sunday and I'm now in the process of researching about LA and compiling my shopping list. One reason why I love going to the States once a year is that there are certain brands or products that are only available in the States or are cheaper there. I love making lists so here is what I have so far:

Even though there are Urban Outfitters shops in the UK, the US UO things are so much cheaper! For example, a graphic T-shirt is around 23 pounds in London but around 28usd in the States. One item I want to check out is the Lux cinch dress. It looks so easy to wear and pracitcal -one of those items that can take the dresser from daytime to nightime activities.

Another thing I just found on UO's website is this Lux dress. It looks really cool in the picture but it could look cheap and awkward in real life so I really must check it out.

I've never been to an American Apparel shop before and I've been wanting to go so I can't wait. So many people seem to love American Apparel at FashionSpot. American Apparel sells really boring, basic clothes so I probably shouldn't have such high expectations but I do love plain clothes. The first thing I want to check out is this tank dress (and any other useful basics).

The other item is this cardigan. It looks perfect to wear to school this fall -simple and goes with jeans. Afterall, who has time to think before rushing to class?

Onto beauty products, after reading so many rave reviews on Urban Decay's Eye Primer Potion (at MUA and from you guys,) I am determined to buy a few bottles -one for me and a few for friends who have requested I buy it for them too!

OPI nail polish, which is my favourite nail polish brand, is very expensive in Hong Kong (about HK$120 per bottle,) so my mum and I are definitely going to stock up. BG tells me they sell for around 6USD in the States so I'm hoping they're about the same price in San Francisco too. The most important thing is the base and top layer.

Then onto basic (but fun) colours -red and nude.

I recently saw a friend who had wine/ maroon-ish purple nails and they look so sophisticated. But I really can't tell the difference between the many shades of purple! Perhaps this colour is becoming fashionable because OPI's new Russian collection seems to be all about this colour!

And finally -books! On my list so far are Charmed Thirds by Megan Mccafferty (in paperback finally,) Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel (only because I love Wurtzel so much,) and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

Opinions? Anything else I should add onto the list?

Image credits: www.urbanoutfitters.com, www.americanapparel.com, www.opi.com, www.amazon.com

Blemish Concealer

10 days ago I made the grave mistake of squeezing a blackhead on my cheeks. You'd think that I'd know by now after reading countless beauty magazines the beauty commandment that thou shalt not squeeze your pimples/blackheads by yourself. But this time I really couldn't resist since it feels like that blackhead has been there forever and no matter how much I exfoliate it didn't look like it was coming out anytime soon. So I gave in- and now I'm still living with the mistake.

I now have a huge red bump on my cheek- after 10 days! :( So I've tried many methods to try to conceal it. I don't want to wear foundation everyday nor use some really heavy concealer that might block my pores even more and make me break out. Here is what I've been through so far...
I first went for my trusty Bare Minerals foundation, using my concealer brush to blend it. The beauty of this of course is that it is minerals so it won't block your pores and cause more pimples AND it absorbs oil so you won't look shiny. The downside though is that the coverage is too sheer (and you cannot use more as otherwise it'll look patchy) the area gets kind of dry and obvious that you're covering up something.
The next thing I used is the Benefit Galactic Shield because the texture is more creamy (less dry and flaky!) AND has salicylic acid to prevent pimples! Except it only has three shades and the coverage is still not that good and looks kind of obvious. Maybe its just me and my lack fo skills?

Clinique just came up with something similar. I'm thinking of trying it.... anyone tried it yet? And any other suggestions for blemish coverage that won't cause more pimples??

Image Source: Sephora

A Big, Roomy Messenger Bag

My favourite trend from SS07 (which I assume will carry onto FW07) is big messenger bags that double as handbags. They are SO useful and cool.

I'm on summer holiday at the moment so I've been able to use my non-school-bags. I haven't bought a bag since last summer so I've hit a bag dry spell. Luckily, my mum bought a few bags for herself and I managed to 'borrow' her Marni balloon bag. I'm really loving it right now. It's SO roomy so it fits pretty much everything in it -when I went to the hair salon, I stuffed a magazine and book in; after I bought skincare products, they fit into the bag too. It's just so convenient to be able to just grab a bag and run out of the house. Plus I love the dark purple -it's the perfect shade of purple to make the bag look pretty, but just dark enough to make it look almost black thus making it versatile. Plus, huge messenger bags seem to go with volumous clothes. Right, I should stop gushing. Here are some others that I found online:

Kooba's Charlie bag from SS07 is so pretty and simple that I can't get why shopbop still has stock (-on sale!) The style reminds my a bit of a less feminine version of Miu Miu bags. And the metal hoops add some detail to the otherwise boring design.

Urban Outfitters has this canvas convertible bag online. It looks kind of like Balenciaga's motorcycle bag. Think what a great school bag this would make!

I usually don't like Marc by Marc Jacobs' handbags, but it surprisingly has a collection of pretty bags this season. Now this Dr. Q tote would make a fantastic travelling bag because it's huge and soft (so you can stuff the bag into hand luggage comparments.)

I absolutely adored this Miu Miu bag when it first hit stores last FW. Who knew it would still be around, albeit in different leather and colours? It's super girly yet it's still practical. Why oh why didn't I buy one last FW?

Because I love this bag so much, here it is in another colour. I can't decide whether a mono-coloured leather version (the one before) is better or this one. There is a contrast between the brown leather and tan kanvas that makes this bag seem more casual and easy-to-use. OK, I'm going to stop obsessing over this bag now -but don't you just love it?

Lastly, I just can't resist tagging on a picture of Ashley Olsen with one of last season's hot bags, Givenchy's Nightingale. I'm not in love with this bag myself but see what I mean about messenger bags? The bag looks so practical and pretty, and you can just throw things in quickly!

Image credits: www.barneys.com, www.shopbop.com, www.justjared.com, www.urbanoutfitters.com

Office Fashion: Dresses

Having been in my black suit "uniform" for a month now, I am ready for something different. Something a little more girlier and fun, but still suitable.
Rummaging through my closet, I came up with my Ralph Lauren shirt dress this summer. I've always thought it was a bit formal for everyday casual wear (though I wear it anyway), but now thinking about it for work, it just seems too casual. Kind of like I'm going to spend a day at the country club instead of a serious day at work. Although it IS a shirt dress, complete with a collar and all.
Going a bit deeper, I found this black silk and chiffon dress. I actually thought about wearing it to dinner and then to a club the other night. But decided that it was too formal for a club and it looked like it was for work. Then again, the chiffon and the silkiness of the dress makes it seem too dressy for work.....Next in my wardrobe comes my Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress. I ended up wearing this to dinner and club the other night. This is classic. It is supposedly perfect for all occasions. But then my only worry is (and yes, I know, I worry too much, people probably don't even care), is this too nice for a summer intern?

So ladies, what do you think of the dress in the workplace? Is there such a thing as too formal for work? And what does it convey about our professionalism?

Image Source: Net-a-Porter, Ralph Lauren