Thursday 26 May 2016

Savvy Student | Cleansing my Closet through Consignment


Hi Dolls!

I recently wrote a smart list for YP on Vancouver's Top Consignment Shops for Designer Clothing and it has motivated me to take a second look at my own closet and ask myself, "do I really wear this anymore?" Turns out, I tend to only wear approximately a third of my closet and generally will stick to my favourites. Haha but I am not the only one! Approximately 90 percent of women do the same, we reach for our favourite outfits and ignore the rest. 

So I am cleansing my wardrobe and asking myself the hard question of am I going to wear this anytime soon? Have I worn this dress in the past year? If the answers are no, I am going to consign those pieces for cash to update my wardrobe! 

There are 6 luxury consignment stores listed on the smart list, but I am going to focus on my few favourites that are relevant to what I am looking for. There are a couple of stores on the list which solely focus on luxury handbags and accessories, so if you are looking for a pre-loved Chanel Boy Bag, then check out the full list

For those of you unfamiliar with Consignment it is when the company takes your clothing and it puts it on the sales floor. If the clothing sells within the set time frame, the company will give you the agreed upon percentage from the selling price. Unsold pieces are returned back to you. 

Many consignment stores also have the option of direct sell. Selling is exactly how it sounds. The company assesses your clothing and offers you an amount on the same day. So you do not have to worry about coming up and picking up your clothes if they do not sell within the consignment time frame. 

A Vancouver favourite as well as my favourite pre-loved fashion store is the the infamous Front & Company! If you have not been inside, you most likely have driven by their storefront on Main St and caught a glimpse of their elaborate window displays. The cardboard dragon was my favourite from Summer 2015! 

Front & Company is great because they only accept items for consignment that are no older than 2 years. Therefore, you will always find the latest trends on their racks. Along with pre-loved pieces, Front & Company has sample pieces as well as some new items from Vancouver-based companies such as Herschel. I love hunting for unique finds at Front & Company as they have a diverse range of brands from Missoni to Oak + Fort. I once found a men's Dolce & Gabanna cashmere coat for 120 bucks! That is an absolute steal! 

Though Front & Company has a diverse selection of brands, they keep their racks well stocked with pieces from Aritzia. This is perfect for me because my closet is probably 3/4 Aritzia.... #myAritzia!!! I even spoke to one of their sales associates and she told me Aritzia is their bread and butter, so they basically will accept any Aritzia item for consignment. Perfect for me as the clothes I am thinking of letting go are predominantly purchased form Aritzia. 

So hopefully in the coming weeks, I will go through my closet and consign my hardly worn Aritzia clothing for cash or probably even credit at Front & Company because I am sure I will find some pieces I love! 


My next favourite is only a few doors down from Front & Company and happens to be new comer to the eco-fashion scene in Vancouver, The Main Exchange. In their short time, Main Exchange has definitely established itself as a trendy boutique with amazing street fashion pieces. I love how owner Miranda Dendewich has a keen eye for trendy pieces and only pieces that pass her strict requirements make their way to the shelves. Only thing to note is that Main Exchange carries women's pieces only. 

Along South Granville, Turnabout Luxury Resale has been stealing our hearts for 36 years with their vast collection of pre-loved fashion and accessories. They also recently had their ribbon cutting party to their new 2 level flagship store! Super proud of owner Joy! 

I am not as familiar with Turnabout Luxury Resale as I am with the former two, but from what I can gather, fashionista's in Vancouver refer to Turnabout Luxury Resale as the Nordstrom of eco-fashion! Along with street style pieces, Turnabout Luxury Resale has pieces from internationally renowned fashion houses including coveted Chanel, Prada as well as Chloe. Turnabout offers two options for the pre-loved clothing you bring in, you can either consign or sell.

I plan on going through my closet this weekend and pick out the pieces I no longer wear. I will definitely put up pictures of all the pieces and let you know where I end up consigning them and if any of my pieces are not accepted by the store. Wish me luck! 

BYES

Saturday 14 May 2016

Chic Finds | Prism Brush Bar


Hey Dolls!

Who is lazy and rarely washes her makeup brushes - ME! Haha I know, disgusting, but it is just so much work. I use MAC makeup brushes and their makeup brush spot cleanser. For a deeper clean, I usually will use whatever shampoo I am currently using, lately it has been the Bumble and Bumble Gentle shampoo. 

However, do not be like me because dirty makeup brushes harbour a huge amount of bacteria. After freshly cleansing and moisturizing your face only to  smear bacteria all over your face by using a dirty makeup brush is counterintuitive. Also, if you have acne prone skin like me, you definitely do not want to be using dirty brushes as you will be spreading the acne bacteria to other areas of your face. Furthermore, your makeup brushes are not going to last as long. 

I had a fun new treat waiting for me in my PO Box, the Prism Brush Bar. The fabulous Nina over at Prism Brush Bar sent me the Aqua Aura original to test out. Haha I wonder if she knew my dirty little secret of rarely washing my makeup brushes?

Prism Brush Bar is a Canadian-based company which hand makes all of their bars in Toronto using only natural and vegan ingredients. I always make it a point to try and work with Canadian-based companies, so I was really excited to learn that they were Canadianna eh! 


I do not wear makeup often, so I have been trying to wash my brushes after each use. The Prism Brush Bar is super easy to use. Wet your brushes, swirl them on the bar and then then rinse. The best part, I did not have to repeat the soap and rinse! With the MAC solution and Bumble and Bumble hair shampoo, I would have to repeat the cleanse and rinse a few times. Perhaps this is why I am so lazy when it comes to washing my makeup brushes. Way too much work for moi. 



The prism brush bar came wrapped in wax paper nestled inside a tin container. Really glad that Nina packages her prism brush bars in the tins because after I am done cleaning by brushes, I pat the prism brush bar dry with a paper towel and store it back in the tin. Keeps it clean and less likely a guest mistake my brush cleanser as hand soap! 

I suggest holding the bar in the palm of your hand when swirling your makeup brushes on it. I tried to do it with the bar on my counter and it started sliding all around. I have cleansed my brushes using the prism brush bar a number of times now and it leaves my makeup brushes soft and clean! Definitely a great makeup brush cleanser that is worth a try! 

Lastly, can I just take a moment to say how gorgeous the Prism Brush Bar is! It is a sparkly blue galaxy in a chic hexagonal shape. Super gorgeous! Probably the prettiest bar of soap I have ever seen! 

BYES

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Edible Obsessions | Yummy Pasta from Ask for Luigi's

In the front, the Sane e Pezzi and in the back is the Bolognese Rigatoni!!!
Hi dolls!

my two favourite cuisines are italian and mexican; therefore, I generally am hitting up restaurants that are pasta or taco heaven! This was my second time dining at Ask for Luigi's and it was more delicious than I remembered! I kind of am struggling to form coherent sentences because I am practically just drooling all over the keyboard as I reminisce about their perfectly al dente pasta. 

This time around, my friend and I went for lunch (last time was brunch) and we shared two pastas: sane e pezzi, lamb sausage, chickpeas & kale as well as the italian classic, rigatoni & bolognese. Luigi's knows how to make good pasta - the right amount of firmness and chewy texture. The best part, you get to watch out the talented chefs roll out fresh pasta steps away from your table! 

The bolognese sauce was creamy and rich with rich flavour. Personally, I would have preferred a different pasta shape instead of rigatoni. Last time, the bolognese was served with tagliatelle which is a long flat pasta like linguine. I think the tagliatelle was a better choice as it soaked up the sauce better. I found the rigatoni to be very chewy since it is a thicker pasta shape. 


A slice of the Chocolate Budino Cake! 
The Sane e Pezzi was a new one for me. I would have never thought of pairing chickpeas and kale in a pasta, but it worked! Haha made me also feel like I was being healthy because it had kale. The lamb sausage was great and the flavours worked well together. 

Between the two pastas, the bolognese sauce was better - you can never go wrong with a classic - however, I preferred the pasta noodles from the sane e pezzi. 

For dessert, we shared Luigi's in house baked chocolate budino cake. The rich velvety chocolate cake slice was topped with fresh whipped cream and praline pieces. The chocolate budino cake is like between a chocolate torte and a chocolate sponge cake. I do not know how to explain it, but it is a rich chocolatey cake that was DELICIOUS! Next time around though, I am going to try Luigi's Panna Cotta!! 

Let me know what your favourite is at Ask for Luigi's and if you have pasta noodle preferences like me! I cannot be the only one?! 

BYES

Saturday 7 May 2016

7 Lattes & Wishes | Mother's Day last minute gift ideas




1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 

Heya Dolls!

Mother's day is tomorrow and sometimes it can be tough picking out the perfect gift for your mum. Honestly, how do express all your love with a materialistic object? That is why I generally leave it to the very very very end. So if you are like me, hope this list helps! 

For me, it is about giving my mum something she is going to genuinely like as well as USE! There is no worse feeling than to give someone a present and only to realize they never even used it :( makes me really sad. 

My mum has always given me everything in my life. She would far rather spoil me with goodies and gifts than get herself something nice. I know she would love Longchamp's iconic large le Pilage tote. She would definitely use this tote because I have the exact same tote in navy blue and she loves it. It is time my mum had her very own!!! Best part, it is a luxury handbag that I can afford to give to her. 

The days are warming up in Vancouver and we are getting lots of lovely sunshine. Time to get my mum on trend with a cute summer hat and Birkenstocks

I am not into the cliche "best mom ever" monogrammed items like jewelry or mugs; however, I could not pass up this Foxy Mama decorative cushion! It is so cute, but also cheeky! Even though I said I am not into specific mother's day presents, I do love the Q&A a day five year journal for moms. I have had mine for over a year and really enjoy taking a moment every night to reflect. 

Most mums love drinking tea or coffee at least once a day. I am in love with the mugs at anthropologie as they are one of a kind. Slash, I just really love this mug hehe it is so cool! 

Lastly, this may not be for every mom, but my mom loves feeding birds in the morning. We do have a bird feeder, but this bird feeder is really pretty! It is time that generaric plastic green bird feeder got replaced with a much more unique and whimsical bird feeder! Maybe your mum will love it too? It is a unique and different gift idea that you might not even have thought about. 

Hope this helped you all! Be sure to give your mums a big hug and just express to them how much they mean to you! At the end of the day, you do not need to give them a fancy present because sometimes the smallest simple gift is the best gift ever. Like making them breakfast or getting them some fresh cut flowers. AKA it is PEONY SEASON DOLLS!

BYES

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Chic Finds | Phantom Glass protecting my Blackberry!!


Hey dolls!

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Phantom Glass asking if I wanted to try their product out. They sent me two screen protectors, one for my Blackberry Classic and another for my Nikon D5500 DSLR. 

We all have cellphones or tablets or some sort of hand held device that we keep with us at all times. With daily use, your screen is inevitably going to get scratched. However, I am one of those people who do not have a phone case nor ever use screen protectors because they are just annoying. I hate when screen protectors begin to peel or when they are so cloudy, you cannot read the screen clearly. But I also am a person who constantly drops her blackberry on a daily basis... WHOOPS! 

So why did I decide to try Phantom Glass? It was something new and I said what the heck, if I hate it, I can always just peel it off and chuck it in the bin. So no harm done. 

The phantom glass screen protector has been on my Blackberry Classic screen for almost a month now and I am loving it. These are my thoughts after one month of use. 

The protector is actually tempered glass, so unlike the traditional "sticker" like screen protectors, the tempered glass feels and reacts like my original Blackberry screen. Also, the protector has not shown any signs of peeling. This is important for me because it is a huge pet peeve of mine when screen protectors begin to peel because dust and other gross gunk begins to collect underneath gah! 

Furthermore, the glass does not interfere with clarity. The colours are not distorted nor is there any sort of reflective glare. I actually held off on applying the screen to my Nikon DSLR because I was skeptical of there being colour distortion which is very common with screen protectors, but there is none with this one. The best way to tell, open up a blank white something on your device. If it comes through crisp white, perfect! So after testing out the product for a month, I am only now applying it to my Nikon LCD! Which is awesome because I want my camera LCD to be protected, especially since Nikon has moved to touch functions. 

What I received in the kit:
• Alcohol swab
• Micro fiber cloth
• The tempered glass protector

It is very easy to apply. First clean your screen with the alcohol swab and microfiber cloth. This is very important because you do not want any oily residue or dust particles on your screen when applying the protector. Then just apply protector. Boom, Done. I suggest not being too picky aka peeling it off and re-applying the screen until it is perfectly aligned... ummm cause I did that on my nikon and now there is dust trapped underneath ... fail me. 

The protector is very durable. However, if you are like me and your devices takes a beating, aka drop your phone on the sidewalk everyday, there is going to be some damage. My Phantom Glass has a very small chip in the upper left corner. However, I can see that there is no damage to my actual Blackberry screen. That is the most important part to me. The little chip does not bother me so I am not going to bother replacing it any time soon. I actually expect to have this screen on my Blackberry until I switch to a new device :) Phantom Glass does offer a lifetime warranty for breaks, so technically I can get a new one, but like I said, it does not bother me. 

So if you have been considering getting a new screen protector, I highly suggest checking out Phantom Glass. I am not an easy person to please haha so if I liked it, I can assure you, you will too! 

BYES

Sunday 1 May 2016

7 Lattes & Wishes | May 2016 Wishlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Hey Dolls!

April has been an insanely crazy month for me with finals wrapping up and a whole lot of other work! Now that my insane schedule has calmed down, I am excited to get back on top of Pink Tea Latte! I have some fun things planned including a couple of posts related to nutrition, I know a few of you have been asking me to utilize my nutrition degree. 

With the start of a new month means a new Wishlist of course!!! For May, I want to pick up some on trend pieces. I have been seeing a lot of shirts and dresses with eyelets. The simple white eyelet shirt from Aritzia is going to be great for the warmer days with a pair of denim shirts. Also, denim is all the rage for spring/summer 2016 and so I think a denim vest would be cute over a summer dress! Plus, since it is a vest, you will not be sweltering in the summer heat. 

Another piece I want to add to my wardrobe this season would have to be an exposed shoulder dress. And because I am obsessed with Aritzia, yup this white off the shoulder dress is from there and I NEED IT. It would go great with a cute tassel flap cross body bag from Nordstrom. 

I might be a little late to the party with the Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, but hey, I will get them soon enough and I am going to rock them all summer! Also, since I have a back and neck injury, you will generally see me with a backpack if I am carrying more then just my wallet. The Rebecca Minkoff Lola Backpack is screaming my name and it is totally on trend with the tassels. Also, the front pouch detaches to be a cross body. Genius - plus savvy student hehe. 

Do I have vinyl records? NOPE. But is that going to stop me from wanting this super cool portable record player that comes in mint green? Absolutely NOT! Haha The Crosley Cruiser briefcase record player is super cool as well as chic and I need it in my life. Plain and simple. 
That is what I am lusting over this May and fingers crossed I can tick off a few pieces off of my wishlist this month. 

Let me know in the comments below what is on your wishlist! And also if you think there is something I definitely need in my laugh haha

BYES