Belated Valentine's Day Post

It's been nearly two weeks ago since Valentine's Day, but I was away and kept busy

Initially I thought I was going to be alone for that day, which I'm absolutely fine with 

But Dale ended up changing his flight and was able to stay a couple of days longer with me so I got to spend it with him 

We were still in Buffalo NY on Valentine's, and I think the nicest thing about the day was how it started 

When I woke up that morning, the first thing he said was "Happy Valentine's Day Hun." 

Dale is very sentimental and even though I'm a lot less so, it was so touching. And for each of the three mornings in Buffalo, he got me breakfast and brought it to me in bed (while I was still half asleep and incoherent LOL). I can't recall if I've ever been brought breakfast in bed by anyone else other than Dale. 

It's these little things that he's done for me, that I don't discuss on my blog, which matters most to me 

And it's what I think of when I reminisce about our times together.

All you know about Dale are the gifts he has bought for me - and it appears extremely superficial. I have not discussed many of the reasons I care for Dale on my blog as I'm not sure you'd be interested in reading about it

On Valentine's we quickly stopped into a Sephora. While I was checking out some products, I turned around and saw Dale on the other end of the store at the check out as he had just bought something. And it was a gift for me! I was a bit overwhelmed as he had already bought me so many lovely gifts...but he said he wanted me to have something to open on Valentine's. Awww

Armani Code is still my favourite perfume and this was the gift set he bought for me from Sephora

Mid January, Dale told me he wanted to get me something for Valentine's. 

He asked if I would like a new TV or if I had something else in mind. I graciously accepted his offer for a new TVas this was my old TV 

Bye Bye old TV

So I went to Best Buy and did some research. With Dale's help we chose out my new Samsung 40"!

The TV was delivered and set up while Dale was with me a few days before Valentine's - I love it :)
It's really sleek, the size is perfect for my condo the image quality is really good

And these were the beautiful lavender coloured roses Dale left me with before he flew back out West

It was my first time getting lavender coloured roses - they were gorgeous 

It's tough - it's been a year since I've known Dale and I'm starting to take a liking to him. He's been extremely supportive of me especially during some tremendously difficult times lately. I miss Dale from even just writing this post...*sigh* Hopefully we will see each other in a month :)

How was this past weekend for you? 

Speaking of shoes....

Remember my friend Dale? 

We had a falling out late in the summer. But, we got back in touch with each other this month while I was away in Asia.
He sent me a parcel two days ago to thank me for being there for him this past summer when he was going through personal challenges, which was really sweet of him :)

My favourite perfume :) 

Haha look at that toy hamster. So cute! 

And if you love sour cream & onion chips, Ruffles does it best

 I LOVE this brand & flavour of canned tuna. 

Makes me laugh that Dale is giving me canned food. He's like my parents! LOL

 A watch he picked out from Guess for me. 

 I like the large face and the crystals around it. The colours remind me of Springtime 

 And also like my parents he cut out an article on makeup/beauty tips for me LOL

 Ahhh and if you know me, I luv luv luv peep toe platform heels!! 

He got me this pair and the next from a Guess outlet store. The style name is "GFCORNELL"which if you ask me, is identical to the Guess "CHIEF" heels except for the fact that the "CHIEF" heels have a built in rubber sole (but they're like $50+ CDN more than the GFCORNELL ones)

The parcel definitely made my week :) 

How is your weekend coming along? 

Review: Victoria Secret's Love Spell Eau de toilette

Fragrance is really important. It really completes a whole outfit when you smell nice.

It doesn't matter to me how esthetically pleasing someone is if you can smell their BO or they have bad hygiene.

Victoria's Secret only opened up in Canada this summer. So earlier this year when Dale went to the States, he visited Victoria's Secret because he knew that their Vanilla Jasmine perfume was one of my favourites. And gosh darnnit they discontinued that perfume!

Since they no longer sold my favourite perfume there, he had asked the sales lady what was a popular fragrance of theirs and she mentioned Love Spell.

So Dale bought me three of them because it's either $10 each or 3/$24.

Honestly I don't think Dale knew how selective I am about perfume or else he would not have bought these for me...anyways I appreciate the thought but this stuff smells cheap and synthetic.

I sprayed this stuff on me once and I wanted to take a shower right after.

It's just sooooo synthetic smelling. I honestly don't know how this is a popular seller. It reminds me of all the other 3/$24 fruity synthetic fragrances that La Senza sells.

Don't get upset if you're one of those people that live by this scent. Fragrance is subjective but all I can say is I won't wear this scent and I won't buy this scent as a gift for someone else unless I knew that for some reason, they really liked it.

The upside? It works as a good room spray and bathroom air freshener especially when travelling....because when travelling, those Glade/Air Wick aerosol canned air fresheners will blow your luggage open under pressure so that's the only time these cheap fruity synthetic smelling fragrances have come in handy for me.

Have you smelt those La Senza or Victoria's Secret cheap fragrances?

Yay or nay?

Review: Victoria Secret's Love Spell Eau de toilette

Fragrance is really important. It really completes a whole outfit when you smell nice.

It doesn't matter to me how esthetically pleasing someone is if you can smell their BO or they have bad hygiene.

Victoria's Secret only opened up in Canada this summer. So earlier this year when Dale went to the States, he visited Victoria's Secret because he knew that their Vanilla Jasmine perfume was one of my favourites. And gosh darnnit they discontinued that perfume!

Since they no longer sold my favourite perfume there, he had asked the sales lady what was a popular fragrance of theirs and she mentioned Love Spell.

So Dale bought me three of them because it's either $10 each or 3/$24.

Honestly I don't think Dale knew how selective I am about perfume or else he would not have bought these for me...anyways I appreciate the thought but this stuff smells cheap and synthetic.

I sprayed this stuff on me once and I wanted to take a shower right after.

It's just sooooo synthetic smelling. I honestly don't know how this is a popular seller. It reminds me of all the other 3/$24 fruity synthetic fragrances that La Senza sells.

Don't get upset if you're one of those people that live by this scent. Fragrance is subjective but all I can say is I won't wear this scent and I won't buy this scent as a gift for someone else unless I knew that for some reason, they really liked it.

The upside? It works as a good room spray and bathroom air freshener especially when travelling....because when travelling, those Glade/Air Wick aerosol canned air fresheners will blow your luggage open under pressure so that's the only time these cheap fruity synthetic smelling fragrances have come in handy for me.

Have you smelt those La Senza or Victoria's Secret cheap fragrances?

Yay or nay?

ChickAdvisor Event: Womanity Perfume by Thierry Mugler

I was really happy to join a party hosted by ChickAdvisor for the perfume launch of Womanity by Thierry Mugler this past Wednesday

There was pink champagne by Peller Estates (yay!), pink frosted cupcakes, figs to munch on to name a few....not to mention the nice ambiance, friendly faces and all the ladies that attended got a gift bag to take home :)

The first several pictures here were taken by photographers at the event. I randomly selected a few pictures to post but the credit for these pictures go to here on ChickAdvisor's facebook page (where you can find more pictures from the event)

I love the chain handles and the shade of pink on the gift bags

These flowers are really beautiful. I have no idea what kind they are - do you know?

This is Ali - the co-founder of ChickAdvisor

The perfume bottle - it reminds me of a Versace perfume bottle....

This is the lady who delivered the presentation

Can you spot me in the picture above? I know, it's difficult to see - but I'm there!

That's me! And on the left is Lisa

This is me being interviewed!

I thought the camera man looked like Lance Bass from N'sync. Don't you think so?!

I told him and he laughed and was like, "OMG!" - and I said I meant it as a compliment too! I hope he didn't get offended. Lance is good looking!

Ali complimented me on my nails - how nice :) So this is a picture of my manicure. See my index finger on my left hand? It's my froggie ring!!


The pictures turned out amazing!! It's incredible what (1) good lighting, ideally sunlight + (2) a great professional camera & lens will do for your picture. Even if you check some of my first blog pictures they were quite terrible. I've been through 3 digital cameras since the start of my blog a year ago and you can see for yourself what a good camera does.

The rest of the pictures in this post were taken by myself using my Canon SD1400.

Inside the gift bag....

Samples :) PERFECT size to put in my small purse when I go clubbing.

And each sample has a string loop so you can loop it to your keys or anything else...

This opened up into a CD and booklet about the perfume

And, we all got a 30 mL bottle of Womanity to take home as well :)

Aha! Now that I read the back of the bottle, I was right. I thought I was straying by thinking I could smell woody notes in the perfume. It smells woody and sweet to me - the figs give it a really warm, unique sweet scent.

The lady who gave the presentation mentioned that Mugler wanted to make Womanity a combination of salty and sweet - the first fragrance to do that. She had mentioned that you cannot smell salt, but you can taste it. True - I didn't think of that before! I honestly cannot smell the salty part of the perfume (enhanced through the caviar in the perfume)

What's neat about the bottle: it is refillable (the cap screws on/off) and it comes with a pouch you can store the perfume in :)

I find that 30 mL is the perfect size bottle for my handbag.

My favourite scent for the past 2-3 years is Armani Code....I have two of the largest bottles you can buy (75 mL) one of which I am almost finished and the 30 mL bottle I carry in my purse.

I have not strayed far from Armani Code. It is by far my favourite scent. Most of my other perfumes are untouched for the most part - because I love Armani Code that much.

But I am really impressed with Womanity. I really love this perfume! I'm honestly taken by surprise. It's such a warm welcoming scent, whereas I feel Armani Code smells cold in a sensual way if that makes sense.

I most definitely will be buying the largest sized bottle of this perfume when I get to a store next (80 mL I believe). I was honestly a bit worried that I wouldn't like this perfume and that I would have to lie about it at the event if they asked me for my opinion LOL. That's because I actually am not a fan of Mugler's best selling Angel perfume. I highly recommend taking a whiff of Womanity the next time you pass a perfume counter. You might love it as much as I do!

A huge thank you to ChickAdvisor and Thierry Mugler for hosting this event and for introducing me to my new alternative favourite scent :)

How has your week been? What do you have planned for the weekend? :)

Review: St. Ives Clay Mask + Biotherm Homme Force Cologne

I was in my early teenage years when I first started buying the St. Ives Clay Mask

I'm in my mid 20s now and I still use this mask twice a week. See, I'm loyal! ;)

I love the minty scent (I love peppermint scents!). That and I like the temporary effect of my skin feeling taut. I have sensitive skin and this works great for me.

I noticed last weekend that my younger sister who is acne prone, was using her Proactiv Refining (clay) mask as a zit treatment overnight.

I tried the same thing with this St. Ives Clay mask this week and it works - better than my 100% tea tree oil!

So now I'll be doubling this up as an overnight zit treatment too :)

By the way, my younger sister told me Proactiv does not work for her and she will not be repurchasing. Plus, with the Proactive Refining mask you cannot buy it separately - you have to buy it as a set along with other Proactiv items.

So I picked up a new tube of St. Ives Clay mask and the packaging is new now. It took me a few minutes to find it on the shelves! I'm not sure if along with the new packaging came along a new price. I paid just over $9.50 CDN for this at Shoppers Drug Mart after tax. I could have sworn it was only $5 two months ago.....*puzzled look*

Biotherm Homme Force Cologne

I got a couple of these samples in the mail this week

I know scent is very subjective and different fragrances can smell differently on different people, but I don't like this one. It's a spicy scent but it smells cheap.

I put it on Evgueni and he said it reminded him of that cheap cologne they put on him at the barber shop when he was young in Russia. Needless to say, he didn't like it either.

I have been asked by male friends to help them pick out colognes plus I take note of what men are wearing if they smell really good, so I know which ones I like on the market at the moment. My top cologne picks for men are La Nuit De L'Homme YSL, Givenchy Play Intense, Armani Acqua Di Gio (I'm disappointed with the new female version of this scent) and Armani Code for men (the female Armani Code is my personal favourite and go to scent). My younger sister loves what her boyfriend wears: Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male.

What skin care product are you loyal to?

Do you have a top cologne pick?

What are you up to this weekend? :)

Favourite Vanilla Scent

Vanilla is such a sexy scent....and for me, I prefer a more subtle approach to it.

My favourite vanilla scent to date is Victoria's Secret Vanilla Jasmine perfume





It was the only perfume I brought along with me on my trip three weeks ago so that says it all...and sadly I have finished off the bottle. Too bad they don't sell this perfume at any store here - I have to order it online.

Do you like vanilla scented perfumes or body sprays? Any you would recommend?

The latest perfume I picked up a couple of weeks ago was MAC's Asphalt Flower:




I would say it's a Fall scent...a bit musky, very floral and a tad bit strong. For 6 mL, yes it is a bit pricey at $24 CDN but what the heck - it's a very convenient size (I can fit it into any small clutch for on the go)

And it's a roller ball applicator. It helps control the amount I put on and for someone like me who is spray happy, this is good news ;)

What was the latest perfume or body spray you picked up?

Hope you're having a lovely week.

=) Karen