Choosing The Right Chanel 

I mean, I don't think I'll ever promise to write a 'series' again as the last time I wrote about this topic was 16th November 2016.

Over a year later, I have decided to finish something I started.


If you're looking to invest in a Chanel recently, I thought I'd give you a rough idea about where to start.

When you walk into Chanel, there are a lot of bags on display. Trying to pick a bag you like can be daunting. Firstly, it should be known that not all their stock is on display, ESPECIALLY their classic bags. Most bags they display are their seasonal ones, which they change regularly. Therefore, it is a good idea to have done some research on the bag you actually like & want, and go in with some knowledge. If not, you'll probably walk out Chanel-less or with a bag you didn't really want but ended up with.

If this is your first Chanel bag, I can guarantee you, you will want a Chanel bag you can wear for a long time. Therefore, start at classic. Classic bags are timeless pieces, this includes a Chanel Jumbo Flap bag. 


For reference, in 2006 the classic flap bags were roughly $1700, now they retail at $5500. These bags will always hold their value! These bags come in 3 sizes; small (which is the most popular and is still quite big), medium (which is quite big), and jumbo (which is huge). 

The reason I chose my seasonal compared to the classic is because the flap itself takes up a lot of space in the bag itself! Mine doesn't have a flap, therefore I can fit a lot more stuff in, and was more convenient for my everyday life. 

Saying that, these bags are of course exppppeeensive. If you're dedicated, keep an eye out on the seasonal bags as you can find very classic styles with a slight twist (as it's seasonal). The one I have, is a plain black lambskin with silver hardware, however it has a small difference above the CC sign! This small difference, and the fact it was seasonal made the price retail at less than half the price of the classic flap! It is very very similar to the classic flap bag. 

Materials - there are two classic types of material; the caviar leather & the lambskin leather! The caviar leather is the grainy type of leather, while the lambskin is the softer leather. Caviar leather will hold its shape more, whilst lambskin leather will look softer, but is easily scratched. Although it's more susceptible to scratches, light scratches can come out quite easy, as they are still quite durable.
Other types of materials that are normally seen in Chanel bags are the velvet type, tweed etc. You may want to stay away from this type, as this again may something which is quite trendy right now, but in 4 years, you may not want to wear it at all!

Be aware of buying online/from an untrusted seller! Even replica Chanel bags can come with receipts, authentication cards, and made out of good quality leather!

Stick to a CC design on the clasp if it's your first Chanel! Going for another type of clasp may not be as great in a few years time. Of course, it's your choice though.

One mistake when I bought mine, was going for silver hardware. At the time, I loved the silver hardware. Now, I just feel like the Gold hardware is more luxurious!

Boy bags - very very nice. Many styles, many materials. But, can we predict if you will want to wear this type of bag in a few years time? No. Again, your choice though. My tip is, if you do go for a boy bag, stick to a classic colour (black/beige) , classic hardware (gold) & classic material (lambskin!). It's not a classic bag.

Chanel bags come with a lifetime warranty. My chanel chain broke, and as soon as I took it to the Chanel store, they sent it to Paris, and replaced it within 4 weeks. I find this type of service worth buying a luxury bag!

I wrote this in my previous post, DO NOT BUY A BAG IF YOU WILL BE BROKE AFTER. Your bag will not buy you food.

Overall, consider your lifestyle. Will you actually get usage out of the bag you are considering? Consider the size, the material, the style and then decide.


25 November 2017

Starting a Designer Bag Collection: Part 2

Hi,

The last time I reviewed a Huda eyeshadow palette, you all loved it, so I thought I would review her smaller yet still so cute eyeshadow palettes!


I so far own the mauve obsession palette, and they all retail at £25! 

Compared to the desert dusk palette which is £56, this is pretty good! I thought I would compare the consistencies & tell you if they're worth it. I will also show some swatches, like I did for the desert dusk palette


Here's the palette. Despite its size, they actually do contain full size pans. This is really good for £25, and also makes this palette super travel friendly. It also comes with a decent size mirror, which is also great.

The swatches: 








& all together: 



My review: 

- Firstly, if you find the glitters in the other HB palettes difficult to work with, these are a lot easier. They're easier to use with fingers or a brush. They're creamy and they do feel like a premium glitter shadow. They still have the same colour pay off. They are super glittery! My preferred method is using a finger with the glitter though (I do this with most of my palettes). 
- The matte shades are very very similar to the other HB palettes. They are very pigmented, and are buildable. They're pretty easy to work with. 
- £25 divided by 9 is roughly £2.78. Per pan you are paying around £2.78, this is pretty good value for money, and for good quality shadows too!
- I prefer eyeshadows that are named. It helps me to remember what I actually used lols, this doesn't have that but I guess that's the compromise you have to make to have a travel sized palette!  
- I really like the way Huda categorised these into 4 different palettes, so people can choose which colours they prefer, and not have to buy a huge palette which is more expensive, with all the colours in it. 

Buy the other palettes here: 


22 November 2017

Huda Beauty Mini Obsession Palette!


Because I got your backs boo boo's, just thought I'd let you know that Dishoom has opened a new store in Kensington!

Until Wednesday 22nd November, ALL food is 50% off!




They've got plenty of tables, and during lunch, there wasn't a queue & we were seated pretty quickly.


Kensington Special: Mutton Fry :)



& as usual, their decor was lovely.

Go go go.

20 November 2017

50% off Dishoom!


20 DM's later about this place, I thought I'd write this post and share some of the pictures. This magical place we went to is called Enchanted Woodland in Syon Park. It's on only 3 weeks in November.

I went last year, and second time round, it does noooot get old. It's a secret place which is much better than Winter Wonderland.

Everyone loves Winter Wonderland, but that can get pretty repetitive. This is a 1+ mile walk full of lovely magical lit up features. It's quite literally lit. -_-

It's a walk around Syon Park, which has a castle & a beautiful conservatory. These are lit up and have light shows.

There's also a BBQ outside, and an indoor food area which sells jacket potatoes, chips & other great stuff.

Adult prices were £10 each which is definitely worth it!





















Bye. :)

14 November 2017

Enchanted Woodland.




Anyone who knows me knows how much I love CT products. I received this as a present & was super excited to play around with it. :) 

This is Charlotte's first palette which isn't a quad. I wanted to go over if this is worth it, as some people have asked me whether this palette is good or not! 


So this palette comes in Charlotte's traditional brown packaging. It is narrower than I expected, but when you open it up, they have a good sized rectangular pan. 

The packaging is so pretty, it's like a gold bar, like most of Charlotte's products. 


It comes with a a transparent sheet on top with 1, 2, 3 on them. 
1 = prime
2 = enhance 
3 = smoke 

This is really really good for beginners. It'll tell you what to use where, so prime would go all over the lid, enhance will go in the middle of the lid/in the crease & smoke will go on the outer corner. 

What I really like about this palette is that it's an everyday type of palette. You can see that from the way Charlotte categorises from day eye to disco eye. But what I mean is, no colour is so outrageous that it can't be used. They're all subtle but not too subtle. The glitters are glittery, but not the type of glitter some palettes have where it's like woah. Basically, Charlotte's glitters are really different to other palettes. 

One thing I wasn't so sure on - I used the date eye - I felt like I needed a matte prime shade, rather than a glitter, but of course, you are not confined to just using the shades in the date eye. In fact, when you mix them all up, there's so many combinations. 

So the matte's are very identical to the mattes in the quads. They're not extremely pigmented when swatched, however I feel like they blend really well and are buildable so you can control the amount of pigment you want for your look. The glitters are not as glittery as in the Dolce Vita palette, but I imagine that was the point - to have a different type of glitter.

The glitters go on better with your finger rather than a brush, but I like to do that with most my glitters.

Price - yes this palette is expensive compared to others on the market. I honestly think that it's worth it as an everyday palette. If you were to get one palette, this would be it. There's so many combinations. I also feel like most the glitters can be used on their own, and your eyes would look fab.

I've already recommended this palette to people. I knew I'd like this palette, but not as much as I do!

Purchase this palette here.




Here's one of the looks I created - using the shades in 'date eye'.

13 November 2017

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette Review.


So, I have come to a point in my life where I am reviewing a brush cleaner.. Yes, a brush cleaner. LOL. Many of you will tell me to get a life, but some of you may actually find this useful.

I've seen a number of ads on Instagram for this brush cleaner, which claims to clean AND dry your brushes in seconds. As many of you who have followed me for a few months, it is my hobby to find a quicker & easier way to clean brushes, so when this turned up on my feed one day, I was like omg dead.

I took to eBay straight away to find one - as the one I saw on the sponsored post was in America & $50 and nobody has time to waste $50 & going through customs when you can just get a cheap knock off.


So the one I purchased on eBay was £12. Proper good 'init'..

Until I opened the box and saw these parts ^. I felt like I was doing DIY. Literally felt like I was a builder.



These instructions also did not help. It took me fricking 25 minutes to understand wth I was meant to do.

BUYING A PROPER £12 CHEAP KNOCK OFF DID NOT PAY OFF. THE LITTLE THING DID NOT FIT INTO THE LITTLE HOLE. - I can't be bothered to go into detail about this, but basically, one of the parts didn't work, and it wouldn't stay on/work. If you want to know what I'm talking about I have a video so message me and I'll send it to you for lols.

.. Let's fast forward a few days.. I managed to get hold of someone good at DIY (my father) & superglue, and he fixed it for me. So now we have overcome the fact that the parts were faulty and we have a fully working machine. Is this any good?


So these interesting features are silicone holders, you place your brush into the one that fits. I'm actually well impressed with the fact that they gave me so many different sizes, because if I owned this machine I'd sell these parts as add ons depending on what size brushes you use and make money out of people lol.

 I tried to find a brush of mine that wouldn't fit, and nope -there was a size for all my brushes, so thoroughly impressed.


You put water & cleaner into this bowl and spin it in there for 30 seconds and then lift it above the water and dry it.


This was the state of my brushes before hand, and I want to tell you that I'm a great blogger and took an after picture, but I simply didn't. But here's my review: 

- This machine works amaaaazingly on eye brushes/any small brush. It really does work. It cleans and dries within a minute or so. 
- Foundation/huge brushes are not good. First, they're somewhat too heavy for the machine so they don't spin as fast and secondly, they end up falling off the holder lol. 
- The method I've seen is to place your cleanser in the water and spin. This does not work. I found putting the cleanser onto the brush itself then actually spinning it in the water works greeeat! 
- By the time it gets me to set up this machine, I can clean all my brushes by hand -_-

In conclusion, would I buy again? 
No. It's too much hassle, it needs batteries, it's not great at big brushes, and if you buy it from eBay, it most likely will not work. 
However, I will still use it until the superglue part breaks again. 

Buy a similar brush link here.





3 November 2017

Should You Buy This Brush Cleaner?

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