(REVIEW) & (MINE) Nordstrom

I ordered 4 items from Nordstrom in August.

The international shipping fee is crazy!

(I did a research and people were comparing Nordstrom with Bloomingdales and most of them claimed that Bloomingdales's shipping fees are way more expensive. Which is untrue because Bloomingdales are cheaper-did a recent purchase with them in Nov and Nordstrom shipping fees are not cheap at all. Borderfree is in charge of the shipping.)

Initially I intend to get only 3 items.

1) Dogeared Necklace

2) Tennis Bracelet

3) Knit Sweater

and to my horror,the shipping fees add up to be about USD40(~SGD50)

Everyone should know how teeny weeny dogeared items are. Tennis bracelet, another tiny one. Knit Sweater can be folded.

SO HOW DOES IT END UP TO BE USD40?!

Oh Lord!

Maybe because I was so used to having free shipping(OHILOVETHEMSOMUCH!) or a flat rate shipping fee from other websites. But, the shipping fees are calculated based on the number and type(and maybe weight?) of items, so it makes no sense why such small items have such high shipping fees. If you calculate it per item(USD40/3= USD13.3 per item) which means there is a shipping fee of SGD17 per item.

So I decided to add in another item, a bracelet to 'justify' the expensive fees and the total shipping fees add up to be USD44.37(~SG56).

I placed the order on 4th August 2013 and received a confirmation mail on the 5th. They sent me an order shipment confirmation mail on the 8th (Shipping fee: USD21.67) with only 2 of the items and another shipment confirmation mail on the 9th for the remaining 2 items (Shipping fee: USD22.70).

Emails state that there are no additional shipping charges..

The 2 parcels

 The 1st parcel: Sweater and Bracelet

2nd parcel: Necklace and Bracelet 

I don't get it. They could have place all the items in one package. I wonder is it because of this that's why the shipping fee is not cheap. (Because the shipping fees are sometime based on volumetric weight which is the volume or space of the parcel. Thus it is not worth it if you ship something very light in a big box.)

All the items are carefully packed and sealed in plastic with labels(details of the item) on it.

Nicely packed in Nordstrom box is the...

Vince Camuto 'Call of the Wild' Chevron bracelet

Tildon Cable Knit Sweater

Packed in a plastic cover with 2 hangers.

 Dogeared Necklace

Nordstrom Tennis Bracelet

Will I ever go back to Nordstrom?

It really depends.

The prices are decent. The processing of the order is fast. The packaging is good. The items are fine,no defects or anything. The shipping time is all right.

I am quite satisfied overall.

But the shipping fee...

(MINE) Balenciaga giant cuff bracelet

Guess what lovely (and expensive) item I got for myself during October?

It's a

B..

B..

B..

Ba..

Bal..

Balenciaga!

Le Balenciaga Box.

Shrieking while I'm opening it.

Totally glad that there's a 'baby' dustbag for my precious bracelet.

And Tadaaaaaa!

Ain't she GORGEOUS?!!!

This purple is SO PRETTY!

I was torn between getting the silver hardware or gold hardware because apparently purple is cool tone and silver hardware seems more compatible with it.

But when Purple and Gold gets together, it's a real royalty!

Though it is really stunning, I'm trying to think what can I wear it with.

Maybe Edgy Military style? Casual Chic?

Mega thumbs up for Balenciaga because the colours for Fall/Winter 2013 are so fabulous! 

Normally only up to 3 colours per season looks decent enough but this season the colours are really rich and beautiful.

Ultraviolet, Rouge Cardinal and Tournesol are my favourites!

Cigar Fonce is very nice too!

Click here for the colours.

(STYLE) 4Minute Gayoon at YSL launch event

4minute's Heo Gayoon went 'Vampire Chic' for a Yves Saint Laurent event (27 Aug 13).

A translucent silk/chiffon turtle neck white blouse with her black bra peeking through. Sexy~

Layers of gold necklaces, cause one is definitely not enough.

Black leather pants, the "in" thing now.

Black leather boots.

Gold knuckle ring, which I find it so cute and cool at the same time.

Black nail polish and Red Lipstick- scream "Vampire"

Credits: KpopStarz

Style points: 6.5/10

Instead of choosing an ankle high black leather boots, She should opt for something of a different material or texture and it should be ankle length or below ankle. The reason is because she is wearing a pair of black leather pants and the ankle high leather boots look like it is part of the pants(Not so flattering).Thus, I choose shorter boots with different textures/ details (Refer below pic)

I would much prefer if her pants are abit tighter. (no, I'm not a pervert!) Just feel that her pants are not that flattering as a leather pants would be.

Adding an unique box clutch(eg. Alexander McQueen) or a small gold chain black bag(eg. Rebecca Minkoff) will spice up the outfit too.

(STYLE) 4Minute Gayoon at YSL launch event by yanhearts-1 featuring a black nail polish

TIBI silk chiffon blouse / H&M long sleeve top, $46 / Mango embellished top, $54 / H&M slim leg jeans, $31 / AllSaints skinny leg jeans / McQ by Alexander McQueen skinny fit jeans / Acne Studios black ankle booties / Topshop black ankle booties / Zara black ankle boots / Gorjana ring / Topshop jewelry / 2b tribal jewelry / Spike necklace / Bee Charming long beaded necklace / Hive & Honey tribal jewelry / Black cat necklace / Jennifer Meyer Jewelry heart charm bracelet / Club Manhattan necklace, $27 / Crislu 18k necklace / Matthew Williamson silver and gold jewelry, $23 / Ileana Makri feather pendant / Gold jewellery / Essie nail lacquer / Black nail polish / OPI nail color

(STYLE) Serinda Swan

One of the trends of Autumn 2013 is Winter White (All white).

And Serinda Swan managed to capture the trend with ease for a recent charity event (18for18: Summer Soiree Honoring Somaly Mam Foundation).

She wore a lovely white Stella McCartney dress and pair it with white simple strap heels.

Of course, not forgetting a white clutch bag.

One crucial point that she did is to add a plain white belt which helps to accentuate her figure.
Though I'm unsure about the straps around her knees.

Credits: Superiorpics.com

Style points: 9/10

Even though it is simple, it is highly sophisticated.

(STYLE)Serinda Swan at Somaly Mam Foundation event by yanhearts-1 featuring Alberta Ferretti

Oh My Love white strap dress, $54 / Topshop lace panel dress / BB Dakota ivory sweater dress / Alexander Wang t strap leather sandals / Gucci white patent pumps / Gianvito Rossi strappy stiletto / Givenchy envelope clutch bag / Alexander Wang ostrich print handbag / Givenchy envelope clutch bag / Joseph white studded belt / Alberta Ferretti belt / ASOS cross belt

(THOUGHTS) Hype over Brows

I get bombed by tons of  Entertainment or Fashion notification about Cara Delevingne.

One word: OVERRATED. Ok make it two words. F* OVERRATED.(I decided to censored it because the word is too ugly and vulgar, OHWHATEVER!)

Nope. I have nothing against Cara. No, I'm not jealous cause I have extremely thick eyebrows too. Just that there are already women who are famous for their beautiful pair of eyebrows and it's definitely not Cara who set the trend nor is she the queen/ goddess of eyebrows.

Legendary eyebrows

Audrey Hepburn

Elizabeth Taylor

Grace Kelly

Brooke Shields

Just as amazing

Jennifer Connelly

Lily Collins

Camilla Belle

Hilary Rhoda

and then it's Cara Delevingne

No offense but I actually prefer others compared to Cara's. 

All in all, having thick eyebrows is definitely a good thing! Because it not only makes you look youthful and energetic, it also makes your overall facial features striking and shows that you have personality. The most important thing about having bushy thick eyebrows is to groom it if not it look like caterpillars crawling on top of your eyes. But don't over groom it please, lest you will be a goner.

 Cheers to thick eyebrows!

Articles about Cara's eyebrows:

http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/perfect-power-brows-cara-delevingne-200200938.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/woman/fashion-beauty/how-to-get-bold-brows-like-cara-delevingne-29145698.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2391190/Cara-Delevingne-eyebrows-reason-falling-tweezer-sales-says-Google.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2371751/Can-real-women-pull-Cara-Delevingnes-eyebrows-FEMAIL-puts-trend-trial-HD-Brows.html

http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2013/08/cara-delevingne-and-her-bold-brows-are-trending.html

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/08/cara-delevingnes-brows-endangering-tweezers.html

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG10169579/The-secret-of-Cara-Delevingnes-model-looks-and-those-eyebrows-Her-Gaga.html

Pic Credits:

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/1235005h

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/elizabeth-taylor

http://collider.com/nicole-kidman-grace-kelly-grace-of-monaco/

http://www.elsaelsa.com/astrology/tag/grace-kelly/

http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-photos/brooke-shields/?photo=b988e764-df09-4cd0-a684-92008970bacb&gallery=11989

http://www.jenniferconnelly.net/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2934314/

http://fiftyshadesofgrey.wikia.com/wiki/File:Lily-collins.jpg

http://viktorialexandre.blogspot.sg/2011/04/camilla-belle-in-love.html

http://www.wookmark.com/image/183546/hilary-rhoda-hd-wallpapers-hd-wallpapers-arena

http://german.fansshare.com/gallery/photos/357293/Hilary-Rhoda-Celebrity/?displaying  /Estee Lauder

http://fashnberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/hilary-bazaar-uk-4.jpg   /Harper's Bazaar

http://coolspotters.com/models/cara-delevingne

(THOUGHTS) Sales Sales Sales

OMG, THERE ARE SALES EVERYWHERE!!!!!

Singapore, Japan, USA! Nooooooo, shit! 

I must restrain myself!

The sales are so tempting!

I'm starring in a drama all by myself, and it will be called "The Temptation of the Sales"

There will be no car accidents, life threatening disease/cancer, time travelling, hot guys, dirty bitches or third party/ affair in this drama (*cough*korean drama*cough*)..or maybe not.

Because this drama most probably gonna drag til 100+ episodes.

Oh, save me please.

[MINE] Kelly Green Proenza Schouler ps1

[I WANT THIS!] & [SEEN] Valentino Rockstud Ballerina

Studs are so "in" nowadays and you can find studs almost everywhere from accessories, shoes to bags.

Valentino infused this punkish, edgy trend together with feminine, classy style in a good way. 

The end result? This incredibly stunning studded ballerina flats that makes me fall in love with. 

WHY SO PRETTY?!

I TOTALLY WANT THIS!

 Credits: Valentino

and as seen below: Topshop studded ballerina flats (inspired by Valentino)

If you did notice, yes, the ones from Topshop has one lesser horizontal strap at the front compared to the ones from Valentino and the colour difference. And is it me? or Valentino's studs seems unexceptionally unique compared to other studs that we have seen all over the the place?

But the price differs quite alot. And I mean ALOT!

The price for Valentino's costs USD $875

and the price for Topshop's costs SGD $76 (updated)

which is around USD $50~60+ (depends on which country you got it from).

You can save a whopping USD $800+ on a pair of shoes!

DAMN!

I'm feeling broke already. 

(REVIEW) Zalora

Rewind 2 years back and you most probably wouldn't even know Zalora. (because it doesn't exists!) 

Whenever a company just set up, the growth tends to be extremely slow, now why did they managed to have so many customers in such a short time?
Answer: Their incredibly aggressive marketing strategy (Their ads are on almost every website I went to, annoying! and they even have a television commercial. The TVC is cute though.) It goes to show that the aggressive marketing works.
Now, why do I start with the "Marketing" aspects of this particular company instead of introducing this company? Ok, I gotta tell you what it is first. It's an e-shop in Singapore(they have other regions too, but I only focus on SG) that sells multiple brands.

Now, back to the question. Because, despite being very well known and having so many good terms (Eg. Fast delivery, Able to pay cash on delivery as an option.), they seems like they are unable to deliver what they promised.

I bought it without reading any reviews and when I decided to research on the reviews 2 months AFTER I bought my stuff, I was surprised! I'm one of the lucky minority!
I bought a pair of nude pumps because I need a pair of nice formal shoes for an event that I'm hosting (but I ended up not using it, because the requirements stated black shoes after that, Damn!)

I count myself very lucky because
1) I received my stuff within 2 days.
2) Item is received in a good condition. (Though I wish they could have handle the shoes more carefully because there's a bit of flaws due to slight mishandling on the packaging part I guess?)
3) Size is rather accurate (Got a pair of shoes)
4) It comes with free AngBao packets. (I bought it in Jan, Chinese New Year is coming, that's why)

You must be thinking it's pretty much the normal outcome of online shopping(except for the AngBao part), why am I even lucky?
Cause you haven't heard the horror stories of  them not receiving their products after months of waiting and others (I shall not elaborate much about that).

Though I pretty much have a positive review of this, but looking at other bad reviews have made me think twice before making my next purchase.



Note: I am in no way affiliated to Zalora. NOBODY asked me to write about them and I gain absolute nothing good in return for this post. I shall remain objective and neutral towards this company due to the positive review I had and considering other negative reviews.
All I can say is it's best to do some research before you do online shopping.