Goodbye Miz Mooz - a send off shoe review

In March of 2010 I forever changed the course of my life by taking a major leap of faith.  I had fallen in love with another man and willingly chose to be with him, because, well, he's quite spectacular. However, there was a catch.  I was engaged to someone else; I won't share too many details out of respect for the key players, but I am forever grateful that I reconnected with Scott two years ago.  I do not condone my actions, because those actions do not represent me as a person, but they did help to create a path which led me to Scott and ultimately brought us here to Australia. The first few weeks after cutting off my engagement were shaky at best.  There was a lot to process and a lot of packing; I stayed and the ex moved.  I was working two jobs at the time in order to help save for the wedding that never was; I ended up diverting my extra earnings to help support myself until I could move to be with Scott.  Those few months on my own proved that I could land on my own two feet and allowed me to shake my fist at the naysayers.  My parents were super supportive, without them and Scott I don't think I would've made it; they gave me a shoulder to cry on and offered perspective whenever possible.  A few weeks after making up my mind, my parents flew out to be with me.

Like old times, my mom and I went shopping.  We both know a thing or two about shopping; as I was growing up, we spent nearly every Saturday together at the mall near my hometown.  As we were shopping in Nordstrom, my eyes were bewitched by a really cute pair of ballet flats.  I tried on several pairs that day, but these were too lovely to pass up.

These shoes became my liberation shoes.  They went with everything I wore and were really comfortable for long treks or for the days when I worked both jobs.  Miz Mooz released these shoes in the US at the start of Spring 2010, prime time for our shopping adventure.  I later purchased them in red, but I returned them the very next day; red's really not my colour.

For all of the places I've been, they were with me… Miami, Amsterdam x 2, Las Vegas, Singapore, Australia and Italy.  I travelled a lot during 2010/2011 and I'm so happy they came along for the ride. I finally had to deem them as unwearable; I started getting blisters from them and even brought them to a cobbler because they were in such disrepair.

While Scott and I were shopping in Italy, he found a suitable replacement - a beautiful pair from TOD's.  My Miz Mooz shoes were retired once we returned home from Italy last month.

Goodbye to you Goodbye to everything I thought I knew You were the one I love The one thing that I tried to hold on to

Miz Mooz, if you ever come out with another pair like this, please let me know.

Burberry Makeup Review

Burberry cosmetics have finally landed here in Ozlandia (Australia to you); David Jones now carries the 16-month-old makeup line alongside their existing popular perfumes.  The counter might be small in size, but their storefront showcases sleek and slim lines much like their packaging and models.  In the cosmetic world Burberry is still young, however their trench coat and classic plaid pattern have both paved the way for such an iconic brand. Upon spotting the counter recently, I quickly made my way over to see what they had to offer.  The colors are reminiscent of Clinique, but still different enough for me to want to try a few things out. I've been meaning to purchase a bronzer, so I asked to take a look.  However, it was mid-day and I was sporting an unflattering sheen from the heat of the day; the sales girl's suggestion was to give Burberry's Sheer Foundation in Trench # 6 a whirl in order to fully see how well their bronzer can perform.  I decided to purchase a shade in Nude Glow # 3, but declined to be up sold on the foundation.  A day later, I went back and added Trench # 6 to my arsenal.

Trench and Nude

Trench

Sheer Foundation No. 6

Nude Glow No. 3

Nude Glow No. 3

Nude Glow No. 3 swatch

Trench and Nude Glow

The coverage of Burberry's foundation is very light, but you can certainly build it up if need be.  I tested the foundation a few more times after making this impulsive/expensive purchase and then disaster struck… my skin broke out!  I unfortunately had an allergic reaction to the light perfume scented foundation.  The following Sunday, I reluctantly returned the bottle and purchased these instead.  Thankfully, I didn't have any sort of a reaction to the bronzer - at least I can continue to sport a sun-kissed glow with my old standby.

Light Glow in Tangerine # 6 and Sheer Eye Shadow in Rosewood # 9

I am a huge sucker for blush, what can I say?!  As for the eye shadow, I have yet to try it out.  As soon as I create a new eye look, I'll be sure to post the final results.  Below I am wearing my new blush and Gorgeous Cosmetics Shimmer Dust in Sand Shimmer.

close up

The Bagful breakdown:

Cost of foundation and bronzer:

• $75 and $70, respectively - I think I paid more for the lovely packaging

Cost of the eye shadow and blush after the exchange of the sheer foundation:

• $40 - I wanted the free gift; there's a sucker born every minute!

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 7 out of 10 bags

Likelihood to purchase from Burberry again:

• Despite my reaction - extremely, but only when I hit the bottom of the pan

HRH - Regality at its finest - weekly nail review

I've been getting my nails done regularly for the past few months; as a result, my nails have become strong and beautiful.  The investment has been worth it, because I am really hard on my nails.  My daily job deals a lot with paper, typing and everything in between. I sometimes even use my nails as tools - terrible, I know.  Now that I pay for maintaining my nails, I am especially mindful of not nibbling on my nails or using them in lieu of a staple remover. Scott's the first to admit he doesn't know much about fashion, but I figured he might want to pick out my colour this week; his input - green or purple.

Purple it is, better know as HRH (Her Royal Highness) by Butter London.  I think Queen Elizabeth would be green with envy; a few random cosmetic girls even gave me kudos for this shade.

Time out - for a rant

I figure I can use the power of my words to convey a very important message to my readers and fellow shoppers.  I love to go shopping in stores and see things in person; reading reviews is sometimes never enough.  Opinions are shared and some of those opinions just might be marred by a good/bad in-store experience.  Should I or should I not buy the product(s)? When I was old enough to purchase my own makeup, I chose to buy things my mom never used (my own form of rebellion).  We both, sadly, have very sensitive skin and for years we purchased Clinique due to it being "non-comedogenic", etc., etc.  If my hard earned money was to be used for cosmetics, I made sure I bought what I wanted from wherever I wanted.  I remember walking past one of Benefit's boutique-like counters in Boston with my mom and thought, ooh, pretty!  I was hooked.

Visually, Benefits' packaging is rather cute and their customer service was fantastic.  During my college years, I purchased a lot of Benefit - loose powder eye shadows, Benetint, 10, assorted lip glosses and F.Y.eye.  I didn't really have a dedicated place from where I would purchase their goods, but I always went back to buy more.  Over the years Benefit has consistently evolved to stay on trend, while still holding onto their pin-upesque bevy of beauties adorning their products.  Benefit really is like a time capsule bringing forward potions from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's.

And that's where my love ends for Benefit.  I am not too sure where the disconnect lies, but I have been turned off by the customer service offered at Benefits' counters in Australia and even back in Massachusetts.  The sales associates are too forceful with their sales tactics; I am often left feeling battered and abused after walking away with nothing in hand.  I refuse to purchase anything when I believe the seller doesn't know how to read their customer.  The retail world is something I have a bit too much knowledge on, because that world supported my education and life from 2002-2010.  The Gap, Vera Bradley, FYE, Pottery Barn - I've been an employee of all of these companies and I've been taught how to treat the average customer.

• Greet upon arrival
• Offer help upon being approached
• Be as knowledgable as possible about the products you are selling
• Always treat someone the way you would like to be treated

Very simple, transferrable ways to support the customer during their shopping experience.  I've had a few hits and a few misses (hey, everyone can have a bad day); but repeated bad days, come on now.  Case in point, I visited the Benefit counter in Myer hoping to try Cha Cha Tint when it first came out; one hello later I found myself sitting in a chair getting judged about the condition of my skin.  I didn't want or need an opinion and it didn't end there.  Eventually, the sales person began to paint Cha Cha Tint on one of my cheeks and then she left me hanging!  Another customer walked up to our general vacinity, asked a question of the girl (totally acceptable) and before I knew it half of my face was sporting makeup and the girl was wandering elsewhere with the customer in order to show off Benefit's full range.  I waited a few minutes to see if she would come back to help, but she didn't.

In this instance, the sales girl should've excused herself, found additional assistance for the other customer and then come back to me.  I snuck off without being noticed and again, left without purchasing a single item.  Since then I have tried to revisit the same location, but I always run away from the staff feeling scared, irked and bewildered.  I think I might have to start shopping online and forgo visiting some stores in person.

If retail shops really want their consumers to keep coming back instead of shopping online, then providing great customer service should be their key focus.