Fashion Candy: Spectacle Love

I've been wearing glasses since the third grade, so I guess I can be considered an expert when it comes to these things, heh. I also hate contact lenses, because I don't really like the hassle involved in cleaning them, lugging eye drops around, having to take eye drops every so often, and I hate how they make my eyes hurt at the end of the day. This is why I can't live without specs, and I have to change them every few years when they get scratched, acquire a tint from age, or when my eye grades change.

I was already planning on getting new glasses for a while, but I just haven't had the time to go to the optical for a checkup. I probably also kept delaying it because I really loved my last pair - Ann Taylor Loft black frame with striped black and white sides. However, the lenses have gone all yellow and I was getting headaches because of the scratches. The frame itself was kind of losing its color on the front, and I couldn't deny it any longer. I really needed new glasses.

Luckily this optical store kind of struck up a deal with our office and they were offering free eye checkups and really good deals. Since they had branded, metal frames though, I thought that the deals weren't that good for corrective glasses. If you weren't counting on wearing the glasses for years, the price wasn't worth it. However, for people like me whose eyes have very high grades and have been wearing glasses all their lives, the glasses were a steal. First of all, my high grade, ultra-thin lenses that are usually super expensive only cost half the regular price. Then they also gave me a discount on the frame that I chose. It was metal and plastic like my others, and I usually get branded metal and plastic ones because they last me years. I've had trendy and cute ones, but plastic glasses break on me after just a few months. Either they break on the nose bridge or the side stems or the lens just randomly pop out. Plus they yellow and get brittle easily. Case in point for branded metal glasses: I got my last pair back in 2009! It has been 3 years and they've been sturdy as heck.

So that is how I wound up with a pair of really cute Levi's glasses. I love the denim-covered case, plus the little belt buckles and Levis name in a girly font on the stems. I usually get black ones because I hate it when my glasses clash with my outfits haha, but hey, I used to wear hot pink ones back in grade school! The best part is that I spent half of what I normally spend on glasses for these. Very cool.

Makeup Madness: A Neutral Experiment

When it comes to lipstick, I'm more of a bold and bright kind of girl. I usually go for orange, hot pink, chili red, and other loud shades. Lately though, I've been kind of loving neutral makeup. Maybe it's the sudden influx of neutral eye shadow palettes in my makeup kit, I have no idea, but I'm liking pale makeup looks that, true to my style, appear modern and not girly or romantic. 

Recently, I came up with a neutral look that really surprised me. Here go the deets! Face: MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC35, NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus. Eyes: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, Wet 'n Wild Eye Shadow Palette in Walking on Eggshells, Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Brow & Eye Liner in Mink Brown. Lips: Dior Addict Lipstick in Beige Casual, Origins Liquid Lip Color in Pink Sands.

It was a pretty simple combination of products. It was really light, I didn't use concealer, and it didn't look too polished or perfect either, which is just the way I like it. I'll go on a rambling spree about the products next time. 

Fashion Candy: Bleach Catastrophe Quote Clutch

The problem with shopping for gifts is that sometimes, the gift I'm buying turns into a gift for myself. Take this Bleach Catastrophe Quote Clutch, for instance. I bought one for a friend, in a different colorway and with a different message, but I just couldn't leave the store without buying one for myself. It's just so freakin' cool, and right there in the middle of Greenbelt 5 I decided the clutch would be my "on-the-go" purse. 

This cloth clutch has two zipped compartments and opens up to reveal two clear plastic things inside that can hold cards and such. One side says "Buy something frivolous", which is perfect for my shopping/discount/privilege cards, and the other side says "Order dessert", which holds all those stamp cards you get when buying yogurt or milk tea and such. I'm using the middle part for an ID card and a credit card. I love how organized and how handy it is! 

It's great because I was finally able to unload stuff from my gigantor, beat-up XOXO wallet, which became way too heavy after I overloaded it with so much junk. It still holds my money, my other credit cards, and more ID cards plus my coins, but it's a heck of a lot lighter now. When I'm going to lunch or getting coffee or something, I just grab money from the XOXO wallet, stuff it into the Bleach Catastrophe clutch, and I'm all set. I cannot say how much I love this clutch enough! I'm so glad I got it. 

p.s. It's good that it's the end of January and I still haven't finished all my Christmas shopping, or else I would've gone broke buying myself a version of all my gifts to others, heh.