The Shopping Diaries (4th of July Special): TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, J. Crew, GUESS, Bath & Body Works

Hey all!

It has been about six months since I've last posted anything on this blog ><. I know I'm such a terrible blogger but I hadn't been inspired for some reason. I don't know. I feel like I'm going through this odd phase of not really knowing what I want or what I want to do in life, even though I enjoy fashion. I am attempting to get an online associate's degree in fashion merchandising from SNHU, so hopefully by taking these courses, I'll feel something that'll help shine a light on the path I want to take :). There are other personal reasons that have been plaguing me, but let's not get into that.

I must say that I have to give myself a pat on the back for not shopping in over a month. I would've liked to have extended that but the sales were absolutely RIDICULOUSLY good for the weekend holiday. The first two items were bought by my mom, but the rest was bought by me. Let's get into it! 

White Laser Cut Cover-Up: This was something my mom saw and thought was super cute (hence the reason why she bought it for me). To be honest, I don't go to the beach and I haven't swam in at least 5-6 years. This is supposed to be used as a cover up for your swimsuit, but when I tried it on, I thought I could still wear it with some leggings or a nude slip. I think this is a great, airy summery dress, especially for Hawaii weather. The cutouts are really delicate and feminine, which is something that I usually don't gravitate towards, or at least right now. It was originally $40 and TJ Maxx listed it as $24.99. The brand is Solitaire Swim.

Palm Island Shea Butter Soap: Once again, my mom found this and saw that there were two, so she got me one ^^b. The reason why she got these soaps was because the scent was freaking amazing! The scent is Grapefruit Ginger and while I don't like to eat grapefruit, it works as a soap. When I smell this soap, I think of a luxury tropical spa, a perfect setting for Hawaii I think! This was originally $10 and listed price was $4.99.

Embroidered Black Bralette (TOPSHOP): Nordstrom Rack was having their Clear the Rack sale, which was amazing because you got an extra 25% off of red-mark clearance items. So of course I had to check out the long lines of sales racks. Because I'm such a big fan of Topshop, I'm always subconsciously searching for their items whenever I'm here. Was I ever so surprised to find this bralette AND in a size 2! I definitely remember this from last year, but hey I have no problem getting it more than a year later for $11 (say wuuuttttt?!?!?). Yes, you read that correctly! This was originally $40, then was on clearance for $14.97, and with the extra 25% reduction, it was $11.34. I couldn't pass up this great deal hehe!

Hazy Floral Print Top (TOPSHOP): This was another amazing find that I almost missed. I had just gone down one side of the rack and thought that was it, but then quickly realized I had another section to browse and that's where I found this top. There was a sheer lavender floral peplum top that I was tempted to purchase too, but as a size 4, it was a little flowy and loose, which I wouldn't have minded, but I got a second opinion. That's all right because to be honest I felt more strongly about this top rather than the other. This was a size 4 and this too was much more flowy but it wasn't as loose. Another reason why I couldn't pass this up because it was exactly the same price as the bralette. This was originally $44, reduced to $14.97, then extra reduction to $11.43!

Black Straw Hat (J. Crew): I've been on the look out for a chic black summer hat to protect my face from the harmful sun rays. J. Crew was having an amazing sale. I usually don't go into this store because it's quite pricey, but they had an extra 50% off on their sale items. I must say there were a lot of cute items that I would've loved to take home with me, but I was able to resist. Plus, I was with my mom and she's a real Debbie Downer lol. Anyways, this hat was on sale for $24.99 (orig. $34.50), so this meant I only paid $13.40 tax included for this hat! I was incredibly happy and now I own something from J. Brand hehe :P

HW Bleached Cutoffs (GUESS): I went into Guess the previous week and my eyes immediately zoomed to this pair of shorts. I just really loved the bleached effect and I already knew that Guess high-waist shorts were the perfect pair of sexy-cute without being desperate if that makes any sense. Plus, they covered the bum, which is the most important part! I hadn't purchased it then, but I did end up getting it! I consider these mid high-waist because you can still see the belly-button, so I need to pair it with some mid-length crop tops to balance it out since I don't like showing a thick band of stomach. If it's just a sliver, then that's fine for me :).

Simple White Wallflower Burner Plug (B&BW): My last stop was at B&BW because I needed another wallflower plug since mine had burned out. I think that's the one annoying thing about these things is that they easily burn out after using 4-5 wallflowers. That's about how long mine lasted. I don't mind repurchasing these because I think it's a better way to scent your room instead of using candles (tho now I have a butt-ton of candles that I still need to burn lol). I don't mind burning candles every now and then, but having to not worry about fire hazards is really convenient. I was tempted to buy the cute plugs with the sailboat or koi, which were $8.50, but I figured if these don't have major longevity, there's really no point. I love simple white items so this was perfect. I had a 20% off coupon off one regular priced item that my mall was having for the weekend, so I applied this to my purchase. The simple plugs are about $4.50, so I ended spending $3.60.

Here ends the shopping haul for the weekend. This was an eventful 4th of July weekend if I do say so myself. I went to the driving range for a bit and spent the rest of the day in Kailua to wait for the fireworks display, which was really lovely. You can catch a video clip of the fireworks if you click onto my instagram. Then the next day was shopping with my mom. The day after that, I saw How To Train Your Dragon 2 with my dad. While I wasn't into the first movie (actually I never make it past 10 minutes), I thought this was really good. There were some heart wrenching parts that I wasn't expecting, although for the first half hour or so, I kept on thinking how did Hiccup lose his foot since I never finished the first movie lol. But overall, great movie.

I do hope to continue blogging. I had prepared some other pictures for future posts, but never got around to it. I'm hoping now that I'll be inspired to post more. And if I'm feeling really adventurous, I may post in my cooking section if this one recipe that I'm going to attempt to try works out! I won't say what to keep it a surprise, but if it fails, I'll mention it in a future post :P

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

The Shopping Diaries: Forever 21 Waikiki

Hey all! Welcome back to another addition of the Shopping Diaries. Funny thing is that I had been thinking of trying to make it a resolution of mine to not shop for clothing before going to Vegas in April (I've got tickets booked, so it's official!!! XD), but obviously I break my resolution within hours -_-. If anything, I really like the pieces I picked out hehe! As if that's enough of a justification.

After I had gone to F21, I always make a trip to Brandy Melville because I might as well if I'm paying for parking. I really fell in love with this gorgeous cranberry long knit cardigan that I really wanted to buy, but the $55 price tag was stopping me from getting it. Perhaps if I had gone to Brandy first, I probably would've gotten it. But ugh, it was really hard to part ways with it, especially since I feel red hues aren't really me but this cardigan really worked with it. If it's still there the next time, I think I will get it so that I can use fate as an excuse lol.

Sorry for going off on a long tangent and let's get to my picks from F21!

Flowy Beige-Yellow Specked Top: I'm not sure if you can see the yellow speckles throughout the top, but it's there! Anyways, I first spotted this on a mannequin and it was paired with some grey lounge-inspired pants and I totally dug the look. I couldn't find the pants, but I found the top. It has the slightest bit of detail to still pass as a basic and what I love about basic tops is that you can pair it was a statement necklace. This was $15.90 and an XS so I figured I should get it :P.

Maroon and Black Striped Crop Top: I've been looking for more crop tops to play with and I thought this would be a good one to add to the collection. It's not ridiculously short or tight, which I really like, but I'm still not sure if I want to keep this one. I'm like 60-40 on returning this top. Maybe it's because of the red, which I seem to have a problem with the color lol. The quality is really good in my opinion and it was only $10.80. So we'll see...any opinions?

Gold Geometric Bib Necklace: Now I've been dying to get my hands on a piece like this but I had never found the right one. I love the simplicity yet it really draws the eye. I think this would look fantastic with any collared top or a low scooped top so that it rests nicely on your decolletage. And it's not bad for $6.80!

Gold Charmed Chain: I wanted to get more gold chained inspired necklaces and I found this one! I'm a sucker for anything that is remotely European inspired, especially if reminds me of the U.K. I like the mix of fleur-de-lis charms and Victorian-esque coins. Once again, it'll be great to pair with a basic top, like the one from above, or with collared shirt.

And that's it folks! I'm still on the fence with the crop top, but hopefully I can make up my mind by Saturday since I usually go out on those days. I might take it along with me and if I find something different, I can do an exchange. But hmmm...usually if one is not sure about a top, it's best to return it right? If you don't seem to like it, you don't really need it? Advice please!

Thanks for reading!

-LAUREN

A New Year, A New Effort...starting with 福袋 (fukubukuro) ２０１４ feat. Spiral Girl

It has been such a long time since I uploaded a post on my blog. Looking at my post list, my last post was at the end of September. I don't really know what happened that made me lose interest in posting...actually it may have been due to my obsession with the Game of Thrones series and I abandoned everything to read the books lol. I'm reading the fifth book called A Dance With Dragons and interestingly enough, I'm having a difficult time getting through the book. 

Anyways, I'm trying to get back into blogging again so I'm therefore making it  resolution of mine to do so. And what better way to start of the new year with a fukubukuro purchase! I was incredibly happy that I was FINALLY able to snag a Spiral Girl bag since I failed to get one last year. This is what the bag looked like:

It was a pretty huge bag! What's also great is that it's a good reusable bag with a zipper on top. This was the $50 bag that had a value of $200, which is absolutely wonderful. I ended up adding the original prices of everything in the bag and it came out to more than $300! Maybe next year I'll try for the $100 one hehe. To be honest, I thought this bag was worth it because of the great stuff that they put in here and I liked 90% of it. So here are the items!

Striped Neon and Heather Grey Peplum (MIIA): Yes, I'm kind of over the peplum trend, but honestly, peplum shapes look flattering on me. I really like this one because it's not so form fitting. It reminds me of this other peplum that I have from Free People and I kind of prefer this style over the form fitting style. I had seen this on the rack during early summer (?) and I had really liked it but I wasn't about to pay $49 at regular price. In the end, it still found its way back to me :).

Light Grey Shift Dress: Looking at it in the bag, I wasn't sure if I would like it. I'm not a major dress person at all since I prefer separates. But after putting the dress on and adding some pieces from my closet, I felt much more comfortable and made it more appealing to my eye. I would love to show you all how I would style this dress. Perhaps I can do a lookbook? The material is quite thin, which makes it quite sheer. I need to find a slip that will go well with this dress before I wear it out!

Hot Pink Cami Dress (Spiral Girl): This is probably my least favorite piece because it's definitely not my style of dress at all. What I'm thinking of doing is cutting it into a top so that it could be used for layering as an under piece to something or other. Or I might give it away lol.

Light Grey Dolman Top (muse muse): I may or may not have seen this when this was on the rack, but when I tried this on at home, I fell in love with it. I've always appreciated the draping effect of dolman cut tops on me, so to add this to my closet was an absolute delight! I love the neutral color, which will definitely make it flexible piece. The material is a little heavier than usual, but the feel of it is luxurious.

Lace Detailed Dress (muse muse): This was definitely an iffy piece to me while I was browsing through my bag. I thought it was going to be one of those boxy dresses that would look way too big on me. I ended up loving it a lot. It kind of had this Free People boho feel to it, which I like a lot. If you look carefully, a slip was included in my bag as well, but it seemed to be sold as a separate piece. The slip alone was $39 and the dress was $89. I got really lucky because the dress was really sheer and the color of the slip blends in nicely with the dress. I don't know if the people who put the bag together put these two pieces together on purpose, but if not, I'm super lucky!

Floral Leggings (Royal Party): I don't have leggings of this sort in my collection, so it's nice to have one handy for the upcoming spring season. To be honest, I've been really boring with my legging collection and picking out monochromatic patterns or just basic black. Hopefully, this will inspire me to add a bit more color to my life.

Neon Yellow Tights (Royal Party): And if that doesn't work, I'm pretty sure these tights will do it! I need to figure out a coordinate where I can wear these tights without it standing out so much. I'll probably need to research some inspiration for this piece ;)

Fabric Chandelier Earrings (Spiral Girl): Now these I'll definitely have to give or sell because I don't have pierced ears nor do I plan on piercing my ears. I wish I had gotten a necklace, but I'm not complaining with all the other awesome stuff that I got!

And that's the end! I'm absolutely ecstatic with this bag since it was quite worth it despite not liking one or two things. I'm already looking forward to next year's batch. I wish we could have semi-annual fukubukuro events hehe!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: EXPRESS, 2020AVE, Ross

Hey all! I wanted to upload a more happier haul than the previous. An update to the Sheinside purchase, they responded to my email three days later and instead of giving me the return address immediately, they wanted to know which product and why it didn't work out. Yeah I know it's kind of like protocol when you return something, but I was already irked and anxious to return it anyway. So I told them my reasonings and now I'm waiting for them to respond again -_-.

On a brighter note, I made some purchases here and there and I'm really excited about the items that I got from Ross. Ross is usually 80% miss, 20% hit when it comes to finding stuff that I like. I just happened to be in Hawaii Kai for a Costco run and I decided to check it out since I hadn't been to that location before. I thought they had a great selection and an abundance of different styles! I don't know if I just happened to catch them on a good day or what, but I'll definitely visit them more when I have the chance! Before I get into the Ross haul, let me show you my items from Express and 2020AVE:

Wild Horses Tee: I check into Express every now and then. I really wish I could wear more of their stuff but sizing is a major issue unfortunately. I saw this horse tee on a mannequin in their denim section and automatically I knew I had to have it. I've been an avid horse lover for almost all of my life and it's quite interesting to see that horse/unicorn motifs are starting to become more popular for the Fall season!

Night Crawlers: I'm super excited about this online store based in L.A called 2020AVE! I really like their chic street-style and free shipping for purchases of $50+, which also includes Hawaii, is a freaking major plus! These were $37, but they had a code for free shipping on any amount on Friday the 13th. I wanted to take advantage and started perusing. I came across these great gold double strap buckles that have side cutouts to expose the ankle. The style is definitely inspired by Jeffrey Campbell Roscoes but I like this better. It is incredibly comfy since the heel isn't too high. I'm usually a size 6, but they only had a 5.5 and other large sizes, so I really chanced it with this. I'm not that gutsy when it comes to buying shoes without trying them on, but I thought that due to the style of the boot, a 5.5 would probably still work. Luckily, it did and I'm so glad I took a chance! I'm looking forward to many new purchases with 2020AVE!

We Are Dreamers: I immediately thought of Brandy Melville when I saw this top. What draws me into the design is the vintagey American heart. I like that the colors are subdued. Also, I like that the motto is "Young & Free: We Are Dreamers" instead of those "Young, Wild, and Free" ones. I think this one suits me more, especially since I'm not a wild child lol. The length is long enough to cover my bum so that I can just wear black leggings underneath when I don't want to wear denim.

Vintage Cameras: This top screamed Brandy Melville as well. I had been eyeing the vintage camera motif tops that they had at Brandy, but I never was willing to buy it for some reason. I think it was because it came in only a tank or muscle crop version. I wanted more of a t-shirt version and I found it at Ross! There are also some cute sayings in some of the boxes. It has a hi-lo hem, but not long enough to wear with leggings, but that's all right because the material of this shirt (and the previous one too) is super thin and soft that wearing denim is no problemo!

Floral, Lace, n' Ruffles: This top definitely had a Free People feel. I was seriously getting all these feels of higher end brands when I was picking out my piece lol. I love the bohemian vibe of Free People, but it is quite pricey. So when I saw this, I thought it was reminiscent of the brand. I absolutely love the see-through lace detail and the floral/viney stitching down the chest. This was my most expensive piece at $13.99!

Ruffle Short Sleeve Blouse: I got a bit of a feeling of Liz Lisa from this top. I've been slowly shying away from sweet/lolita-esque items since I'm not really into it at the moment, but this top, despite having that sort of image, was a bit more demure and subtle compared to true lolita fashion. I love this minimalistic bib design on the front, which was one of the selling points for me. I'm a denim girl at heart so a pair of black trousers and Night Crawlers will give it that cool juxtaposition of sweet v.s cool.

Burnout Striped Cardigan: The subtle design of the burnout stripes was the selling point for this item. This fabric makes it lightweight and perfect for cool Hawaii nights. Plus, it's a great cover up for any of my tanks or muscles tees, i.e Young & Free. I'm always gravitating toward white, as you can see from my purchases at Ross, but it's such a versatile shade (as is black) that it's hard to put it back on the rack AND it's at a great price ($7.99).

I hope you all enjoyed this post! I felt pretty proud of myself for this round of purchases because of the great deals that I snagged. I still ended up doing a lot of shopping, but on the bright side, I've been scaling back on food bills when I go out to eat! I think I've been doing a great job at that and I'll continue to try to be more conscious about my shopping habits ><.

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: sheinside.com + Review and Rant

Hey all! Sorry for getting this post up late. It had to do with a little bit of laziness and being engrossed in reading A Clash of Kings and Divergent. So today's post will be about this cute bunny sweater that I had actually ordered last month and I was waiting to upload this post later because of another order that I put in afterwards. I received my other order a couple days ago and I was extremely disappointed. Sheinside.com had advertised a Wildfox No 9 Potion sequined sweater for $31.15 and there was a visual picture of Taylor Swift wearing the actual Wildfox sweater. Although they didn't show her face, it was pretty obvious it was Taylor Swift.

Screenshot of advertisement

Yup, it's Taylor Swift

Anyways, I thought it was cool that Sheinside was selling the sweater, so I took advantage of the Labor Day sale and paid $26. I waited for about 20 days and the sweater arrived. I took it out of the postal packaging bag and already I knew it wasn't the same sweater that they had advertised. Then I took it out of the actual bag and saw that it was just an imitation of the actual Wildfox sweater. The fabric is pretty good quality and the sequins are nice, albeit it being crooked on the sweater, but the bottom line is that it wasn't what I thought I'd be receiving. Also, there were some weird light spots near the sleeves...

Full shot of the sweater from Sheinside

Closeup of bottle. Slightly crooked and definitely not by Wildfox

I wasn't mad that it was an imitation. I was mad at the false advertising. I thought I was getting an actual Wildfox sweater. Now, if they said somewhere in the title description that it was "Wildfox-inspired" or just "Love Potion No 9 Sweater" AND used a picture of the sweater that they were actually selling, then at least I would know, as the customer, what exactly I would be purchasing. But because they used a picture of Taylor Swift and said in the title description "White Long Sleeve Wildfox No 9 Perfume Sequined Sweater," I was basically deceived and mislead. I'm in the process of waiting for an email with the return address so that I can send back this sweater and get my money back. I'm so disappointed and mad to the point where I'm not sure if I ever want to purchase anything from this site again. Yes, this site is great for a wide-variety of styles and looks, but because of this one incident, I'm not sure if I'm willing to continue supporting this site.

Now with that over, let me talk about the purchase that I got before my letdown.

I've always wanted a Fifi Lapin printed top. She's such a fashionable bunny! Perhaps five or so years back, Forever 21 had done a collaboration collection. Back then, I was only really getting into the swing of fashion and what my style was. Unfortunately, I missed it and since then, I've been looking for something like this. It's a cute lightweight cardigan and I love the different outfits she's wearing. This was under $20, so this was basically a steal for me.

Shipping and handling went smoothly as well. It came in perfect condition and I didn't have to wait as long compared to the Love Potion sweater.

Well, this is the end of this post. I really hate to be kind of mean sounding about the sweater, but the thing is that I'm not satisfied with what I thought was being offered. I'm not sure if this was some sort of ploy to sell these sweaters fast but Sheinside should take this as a lesson and do the right thing next time. They may have just lost a customer for good.

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: Brandy Melville

Hey all! I'm excited to share with you a Brandy Melville haul today. I purchased these when I was shopping around at Forever 21. Whenever I'm in Waikiki, I usually make a stop at Brandy just because it's such a hassle to go to Waikiki just for that store. So if there's still ample time left in the parking meter, I make a quick stop. This time around, I came out of the store with a few purchases that I couldn't resist. Here they are:

Brown Autumn Floral Crop Top: For $10, I could not NOT get it! I think it's the best crop top to transition into autumn. It has this almost velour look to it, but it's just plain, stretch t-shirt material. I actually really like the roses in this muted brown tone. I tend to have a hard time coordinating my outfits with this color, but as I said, for the price I can't go wrong.

Sunflower Skater Skirt: I finally got my hands on another skater skirt. I literally only had my plain black one from Topshop. This was $30 so the price is comparable to Topshop. I love the tiny sunflower pattern and what really sold me was how freaking soft the fabric of this skirt is. You literally want to wear it all day everyday, no joke! With the skater skirt style, it is bound to flatter any girl's figure.

Sunflower Skater Dress: Yes this is the same pattern from the previous item. I really only wanted to buy one, but I had such the hardest time trying to decided that I just thought f*** it, let's buy them both. The fabric is different; it's not that soft, plushy feeling as the skirt. It has a more lycra-esque feel to it. Because the dress is quite skater skirt-like, it fits like a glove, like it was meant for my body. To be honest, I rarely wear dresses and for me to want this is a rarity in itself. The fit was so amazing that I had to get it. This was also $30 and that's not bad for a dress that fits amazingly. So you can see why I was so torn about only getting the skirt or the dress, but I'm glad I got both!

Gold Heart Ring: Another rarity: a ring that fits decently on my finger. I love dainty rings like this and this actually fit not too badly on my pointer finger and my middle finger. It was only $4 too! I love to combine this with my other gold rings for extra oomph. I'm glad that gold jewelry is quite trendy because I think this complements my skin tone better than silver jewelry.

And that's it for this haul! I'm hoping that Brandy has a pretty good Black Friday sale. They usually have 30% off the entire store. I'd rather do the online sale for Cyber Monday, but we'll see!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: Forever 21

Hey all! Today's post features purchases from Forever 21, both Waikiki and Ala Moana locations. I got these on last, last Saturday. My intention for going to Forever 21 was to get the Guns N' Roses tank since I happen to be a fan of their music and Sweet Child O' Mine has been stuck on repeat in my head. During my hunt for the tank, I ended up picking up some of these other pieces as well hehe.

Half Sleeve Dapple/Black Sheer Panel Top: I got this at the Waikiki location on the top floor. I tend to gravitate more towards the Love21 section of F21. This sub-brand tends to be a little more pricier I suppose, but it's still pretty cheap. The reason why I picked this up was because of the draping black panels on the back. I think the mix of fabrics totally balances casual with sexy. Also, I love basic tops like this so that I can play around with accessories. This was an XS, which I thought was really rare. I had found other tops in XS that I didn't end up getting. I suppose F21 very recently put these out on the floor, so I lucked out on the size.

Layered Collared Necklace: I've been looking for the perfect style of this necklace for a long time. I love the color combination a lot. I'll definitely be wearing this with a lot of my collared shirts. This is the type of necklace that you wear to spruce up a basic top or shirt. It was only $10.80!

Bazinga!: Since the F21 in Waikiki only had size L for the tank, I decided to take a chance at the Ala Moana location. Before finding the tank, I came across this cropped sweater and I knew I had to get it. Despite it being a size M (you know I desperately want it when I'll put up with a medium), I thought it was doable. The sleeves are a bit long, but rolling it up is no problem. The only difficult thing about this top is that the cut is a bit too wide for my shoulders, but I'm still able to work with it! Plus, I absolutely adore Sheldon Cooper and the show all together, so I couldn't pass it up XD.

Guns N' Roses Tank: Finally, the reason why I went to Forever 21! I was only able to find a size M for the tank, but the fit was still fine. It's more of a tank dress because the length is quite long, but it's not incredibly loose around the torso. I paired this with a black bralette and leggings to keep that rocker vibe. I also added the necklace from my previous Charlotte Russe haul, which emphasizes that feel. I'm really happy that I have this tank now!

And that's it for my Forever 21 haul! I just started reading Divergent and it's not bad. I think because I just got done with A Game of Thrones, I'm not used to the change in writing style and I'm favoring the former rather than the latter. But to be honest, Divergent has The Hunger Games type of vibe so I'm still looking forward to the rest of the story.

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN