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Haul :: Leather and Denim

I only went into town for an hour... *cue guilty face*...

Fox Bracelet and Jade Bracelet : Dorothy Perkins : reduced from £6.50 to £1;
Topshop Ring, Freedom Range: reduced from £8.50 to £3.50

Sleeveless Denim Shirt : Zara : reduced from £25.99 to £9.99 

I love the slightly baggy fit paired with a distressed look, and as you can see, the arm holes are huge - perfect for layering!

Leather Jacket with Gold Studs : Topshop : reduced from £60 to £20

I had been searching for the perfect leather jacket since early last year to absolutely no avail. I wanted one that was cropped, but with long sleeves, reasonably fitted, but with a decent amount of "jacket" so that I'd be able wear it on colder days... haha, not demanding at all. Anyway, when I found this in Topshop in a size 6, it ticked ALL of my boxes, except, my perfect leather jacket I had fabricated in my mind had no embellishments T___T"

I don't dislike the gold studding, but ideally, I wanted a simple black leather open to personal customisation. After a brief personal debate, a leather jacket for £20, (reduced by £40), I figured I could just work with it ;D

(NB. Not real leather, but that doesn't bother me very much.)

*not in sale* Knitted Headband : H&M : £4.99 each

These headbands are super adorable, I love the knot detail at the front, and the sequins integrated into the knit, I'm a sucker for anything with sequins or sparkle. I purchased the greyish one a while back, and went back this time to buy it in maroon.

DIY :: Studded Shoulders and Outfit Post

You may be sick and tired of seeing studs and spikes everywhere lately, but I actually own very few studded items and felt like revamping one of my baggiest, most relaxed fit jumpers, into a more intriguing, on trend piece. 

Maroon sweater: H&M

This winter, for me, is all about comfort, so at the time of purchase I decided to go for a size 12 because I wanted a super long, relaxed fit. This jumper actually goes past my bum xD 

The netted feature makes the fit extra slouchy, and because it refuses to sit evenly on both shoulders I often wear it off the shoulder.   

The camera has photographed this under a very heavy red/brown tone. In real life, the sweater looks much more maroon with more of a purple hue.

All in all, studding this piece took me only 20 minutes of my time, (and that's because I was being OCD about the measurements and spacing). 

Anyway, moving on to how I did this~~

Wish List #2

Yves Saint Laurent, Arty, silver plated ring with a glass stone in shades of sea green, accented with mother of pearl.

Beautiful doesn't quite cut it.

It matches my blog right? haha. 

With love~

Viv

(from Google images) 

BeautyBay - Mario Badescu and Tweezerman :: Skincare Review

As well as shopping on Adambeauty for cosmetics (see post here), I also visit BeautyBay for, well, literally what it says on the tin, beauty products and skincare. This time, just to replace a pair of tweezers and to top up on a product I enjoy using.

What's great about BeautyBay is that they provide free international delivery! It's so difficult to find places that ship for free these days, but BeautyBay is one of them, and the products they sell, (after some research and price comparison on my part), are cheaper than other online beauty stores and Ebay. (Please keep in mind though, that because I live in the UK products usually need to be shipped to me internationally, so I have to take into account delivery expenses.)

BeautyBay's simple and sweet packaging

Moving on to the products I purchased. 

Creepin' in Red, White, and Black

Hooray, my creepers finally make an appearance! I'd been wanting a pair from Urban Outfitters for months and months, and finally purchased some off Ebay the other week! The height this pair gives me is nowhere near that of pairs from Urban Outfitters, which I'd actually found to be too chunky, and weighty for my feet. This pair only have a platform of around 1 inch, but I love them regardless because they're really lightweight, and I love the black suede.

My hair is madness, I swept it to one side because it resembled too much a lion's mane otherwise.  

 

I'm feeling an MJ vibe from this look...

 

My Zara bucket bag is literally Mary Poppins' bag, I can put so much stuff inside, it's like it has no bottom. Only downside, because it is made of real leather the bag itself is quite heavy, whenever I use it I'm quite conscious to carry as little as possible because additional items make the bag heavier, and harder to carry. Which kinda defeats the whole purpose of a big bag... But at least it's a good workout? So maybe the downside isn't actually a downside after all...

Black beaded cross top: Primark
Red skirt: Pull & Bear
White Blazer: River Island
Bucket bag: Zara
Tan belt: H&M
Bow tights: Accessorize
Thigh high socks: Primark
Black suede creepers: Ebay

With love~

Viv

Wish List #1

Marc by Marc Jacobs, Grey and Rose Gold Chronograph Bracelet Watch

How beautiful is this watch! I've been eying this baby up for several months now, but unfortunately, I don't have £280 to spare.

What's on your wish list?

With love~

Viv

(Photo from Asos)

Shades of Grey, Flashes of Gold

Outfit Details
Grey sweater: H&M
Heat tech: Uniqlo
Pencil skirt: Primark
Gold mirror belt: Ebay
Satchel: Urban Outfitters
Black wedges: New Look

Seems like such a waste of effort to make an effort in this weather. Temperature in the UK is currently fluctuating between freezing level (0°C) and 3°C, we even saw a brief period of snowfall this morning. Subsequently, all my outfits are concealed by thick coats, and chunky scarves, no one sees them in the end haha. You may not be able to tell, but I'm also wearing 2 pairs of tights, and a long sleeved heat tech top underneath the jumper in a bid to retain more heat. The joys of a British winter.

Anyway, I wanted to do an ootd with this pencil skirt, because I'm really enjoying the super tripped out effect the repetition of black and white lines have, which in turn combine to create the intermediate grey tone. I find that the streamlined pencil skirt always has an air of formality/office feel about it, to dress the look down, I threw on this loose fitting grey jumper and rolled up the sleeves.

So there wouldn't be too much grey for the eyes, I belted everything at the waist with a reflective gold belt I bought on Ebay. I have a pretty small waist, so I actually had to bend the gold plate in to a smaller curve to mould around the shape of my body, and then tie a knot with the two ends of the belt behind my back for a tighter and more secure fit.

Because the overall look is quite neutral and bland, to add colour, I have my floral print maroon satchel from Urban Outfitters, and Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in 040 Rendevous on the lips.

I like how this bag combines darker and lighter shades of maroon for a vintage vibe.

I'd actually planned to take some better quality photos using my SLR, but daylight is so fleeting, by the time I got round to it, there was barely any natural light left, and photos came out grainy even after editing...(see below) Sigh, maybe next time.
 

 

With love~

Viv

Park Sora

Let's just take a moment to appreciate the beauty that is Park Sora. 

Korean model for the popular South Korean online store Style Nanda

 

She looks so fabulous in literally anything and everything. 

 And her HAIR, her wonderful wonderful hair.

Okay, that's enough fangirling from me now. I'm always striving to replicate effortless looking, fresh off the beach, tousled hair. Tutorial? 

With love~ 

Viv

(All photos from Tumblr)

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Adambeauty :: Beauty Review

So, after realising that I was running low on various skincare products: face masks, serums, and the like, as always, I proceeded to visit my favourite online store for (mainly Japanese) cosmetics. I live in the UK so the only way I'm able to access Asian brands is via the Internet. I did visit Hong Kong several months ago, but I was there for such a short period of time, I had no time to replenish any of the products I use.

The website is: adambeauty.com 
 
For those of you that are unfamiliar with this site, they stock and sell skincare products, bodycare products and makeup from a plethora of Japanese brands. Although I'm uncertain as to whether these brands are sold at a cheaper price elsewhere online, I shop at adambeauty because they charge only US$2 for delivery, regardless of how much you purchase. I would also recommend this site because even though they are shipping internationally, delivery is always prompt, and any queries I may have have are answered in under 24 hours. I've been a regular customer with adambeauty for around 2 years now, and have had absolutely no problems. The only downside I might add is that their website isn't the most user friendly online store I've seen, it's not exactly a joy to navigate, particularly if your aim is just to browse, but that's easily overcome if you know which brands you're targeting.

Anyway, back to my predicament. As always, I have the links to the products I frequently use saved on my mac, after some effortless copy and pasting into the address bar, products added to basket, couple of clicks, PayPal, done! Pas de problème!

3 weeks later, I thought it unusual that I hadn't received my package yet. So, after (thoroughly) checking the emailed invoice, I realised that my default address saved on PayPal was the address I had moved out of last summer T___T" I never check the emailed receipt, and this will clearly always be to my detriment. If I had bothered to check the invoice as soon as I placed my order, I would've been able to rectify the mistake I'd made. Anyway, I used to live in halls of accomodation in central London, so my only concern is either that, whoever currently lives in my room has taken/claimed my package, or, that reception have already disposed of/sent it back cause no one had claimed it. I guess I'll find out this tomorrow...

What are your favourite websites/places to shop for Asian cosmetics? 

With love~

Viv

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Memories of Paris

Outfit Details 

Khaki coat - H&M Paris, although I've also seen this coat in UK branches
Faux-fur scarf - H&M here
Knee high tights - Ebay
Ankle wedge boot - Paris

~

This outfit conjures up so many “far from fond” memories of Paris, (where I bought the boots and coat), an experience I’ve shifted to the back of mind purely because I spent every day trying to change myself, trying blend in, trying to make it so that I wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye, trying to stop people staring - (hence the camouflage feature of the khaki coat xD). I don't know what it was, but Parisians seemed to catch on to the fact that I wasn't actually from France. Their reaction? Stare until I ran away D: In order to stop sticking out like a sore thumb I became increasingly conscious of my appearance, subsequently compromising the way I would dress. My year spent abroad in Paris wasn't a pleasant one...

Not long ago, I heard something in a sermon that reminded me of me, the way we compose ourselves, the way we behave, act, speak, dress, all of the above and more. Everything that constitutes “who we are, is who we think other people think we are”. Yeah, it took the congregation a couple of minutes to really think that through too ;D The opinions of other people, the expectations of the world, they matter too much to us.  

I feel as though 2012 has taught me so much in terms of self esteem and confidence - I’ve learnt to consider the regard of others as, not quite as having “no importance”, but as having lesser influence upon the way in which I compose myself. I understand clothes, and “fashion” may very well be something far too trivial or superficial for most people, but I don’t hit high on the creativity scale, so the way in which I channel my personality and self-expression is precisely this, through the clothes that I wear. The very essence of your personal style is that is it entirely personal, it belongs to you and you alone.

2013 will see me dressing as I please, that doesn’t mean I want to be headstrong and stubborn, or rebellious in any way at all, but the way I’ll choose to compose myself will be in a way that makes me happy.

Lastly, the message I took away from the sermon was that our identity shouldn't be determined by other people. We are God’s children, His chosen people, our identity lies in Christ.

With love~

Viv

New Year, New Blog

Okay, so I'm aware we're already 9 days into 2013, but I'd been meaning to launch a personal blog after several prompts from a friend of mine. I currently use Tumblr as a platform for personal posts: (viviyunn.tumblr.com), but I'm mindful that I use it far more often as a photo diary of sorts, usually to reblog photos that appeal to me.

So, after a fair bit of hesitation on my part, I've decided to create my very first blog with Blogger! (Blog's a bizarre word isn't it?). Et voilà!  

Moving on to what my posts will be concerned with: I will primarily post outfit details, so look forward to seeing photos as well as a brief textual illustration to accompany the visual, if called for ;) I'm also looking forward to posting both beauty and restaurant/food reviews! As you may or may not know, the people I hang out with are enthusiastic foodies, and we spend most of our time together at restaurants pigging out. Our love for food will never waver.

So, I guess my posts will pretty much serve as a chronicle of my day to day life, as well as revealing personal musings and ramblings...

All in all, I'm hoping that this blog will encourage me to carry my camera around more often so that I'm able to document all those ordinary, and extraordinary moments in better quality. (If you're wondering, I use a Canon 550D I bought on Ebay a couple of years ago.)

I'm super unfamiliar with this site, so if you guys have any tips on how to customize my blog I'd be very grateful =) Leave me comments, I'd love to read them! 

That's all for now, thank you for reading!

With love~

Viv