Not a sponsored post... shopping at Sussan with someone else's money!

Last Thursday night I trundled along to an exclusive Sussan Adelaide Store Event hosted by InStyle magazine.  And no, this is not a sponsored post... I was in fact invited along by my boyfriend's mother, "S" (hello if you're reading!), as her plus one after her friend piked out.

The event was well organised.  There was food and drink along with 20% off store wide as well as a chance to win a $200 voucher... which I won!  Each guest was also given a 'goodie bag' upon leaving the store.

The highlight of the event was a Winter fashion wrap up by Instyle's Fashion Director, Katherine Green, who spoke very well about this Winter's style trends and how there are no rules.  She went on to provide some simple styling tips, such as aiming to wear three colours when putting together an outfit (so as not to look "flat") and when wearing patterns and prints - to pick one colour from the print as the accent colour.  Further statement jewels were touted as THE accessory to inject life into one's existing wardrobe. Most of the shop girls and Instyle crew were wearing said statement necklaces over their silk shirts buttoned all the way up to the collar with the necklace sitting tightly underneath the collar. It looked quite cool. 

The navy and black clad Katherine Green issued a plea to her audience not to be afraid of colour, pointing out that one could wear the latest coloured jeggings, if not keen on wearing colour around the face.  I'm not sure where you all stand on this issue, but I definitely will not be seen wearing the true 'jeggings' as pants, opting instead for coloured jeans and trousers.

I spied that Sussan took some inspiration from last season's J.Crew collection in designing their 2013 Winter ensemble... The most telling piece was this sequin chevron dress:

Images from www.jcrew.com and www.sussan.com.au

This sequin fabric has also been cut into a very flattering tube skirt, which according to Katherine Green, sequin skirts are suitable for day!  Maybe if you work in a creative field, but not me... I opted for a skirt a little more neutral (yet still edgy for a corporate office) and some statement jewels:

The grand total of my loot was $3.85 after using $100 of my winnings - the other $100 I shared with "S". 

Thanks Sussan and Instyle magazine!

March... Bumper eBay sales but only one wardrobe addition!

In the month of March I sold in excess of $2000 worth of old stuff... 67 items to be exact.  When I say old, I mean clothing sporting the old Country Road label and pieces by brands long forgotten.  I also sold some coveted pieces from years gone by, such as the Chrissie coat by Lover the Label and the "Twiggy" dress by Sretsis.  Gone are also a number of items I had been hoarding in my so called 'twilight zone' - I decided it was time to let go. It feels so good to be free of this stuff!

After paying off our enormous credit card bill for March which included things for the home and a number of indulgent nights on the town in February, I only had enough spending money left to buy one item... the following dress from Country Road:

If you are like me (a little fat from eating too much cheese) and enjoy filling your wardrobe with lots of boring pieces, I implore you to go and try this dress on. It is so amazingly flattering on!  In it, I look two sizes smaller than I really am, even though the size label on the dress is two sizes larger than all the stuff I sold (stuff, which obviously was two sizes too small for me now).  It really is a great dress.

Empties and shopping my beauty stash (February & March)

I have been a little slack with updating this blog, so I'm having to combine my 'empties and shopping my beauty stash' update for the months of February and March into this one post.

I must confess that I experienced a small hiccup some time in February when I succumbed to purchasing some of the new CLINIQUE Chubby Sticks for Eyes in Ample Amber, Bountiful Beige, Fuller Fudge and Whopping Willow.

I felt incredible pangs of guilt upon buying these, so I made up for it by selling two unused eyeshadow palettes by theBalm.  I have since given away the Chubby Stick in Whopping Willow as I decided that it did not suit my skin tone after all.

I used up the following products:

1. BIOTHERM Softening Exfoliating Cleansing Gel (finished). This was good, but nothing special. No better than a cleanser by a drugstore/supermarket brand.
2. CLINIQUE Moisture Surge Intense (finished). I rationed the last few drops of this. I love this stuff!
3. ANTIPODES Divine Face Oil (finished). I quite enjoyed using this, but rate the KOSMEA Radiance 24/7 Youth Boost more highly. I was lucky to be given a bottle of the Kosmea for my birthday (after hinting to my boyfriend that I wanted him to buy it for me).
4. JURLIQUE Daily Exfoliating Cream (finished). This stuff was horrible! Like putting 3 day old soggy oats on your face.
5. L'OREAL Ever Sleek Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner (finished). I loved the fragrance and the fact that is sulfate-free, but I believe the 'Smoothing' range has been discontinued in Australia, so it doesn't matter anyway. I found that I enjoyed using this product more in Winter rather than Summer as it was quite heavy for my fine hair.

I 'shopped my stash' and opened the following deluxe samples in my search for something to replace my CLINIQUE Moisture Surge Intense:

1. ARCONA Reozone 40. I have since binned this. I literally had to wash it off within 5 minutes of putting it on as I felt like my face was on fire. I was red and blotchy for hours. Avoid this product if you have sensitive skin.
2. KATE SOMERVILLE Daily Deflector Moisturiser. I have been using this during the day. I am not blown away by its performance, so I would not purchase a full-sized tube, but I will finish the sample.
3. SHISEIDO Bio-Performance Super Restoring Cream. This is quite rich so I only use it at night.  Surprisingly though, it is not as moisturising as the CLINIQUE Moisture Surge Intense, since I wake up with dry flakes. Given the price of this product, it is a disappointment and I would not buy a full-sized jar.

I'm still trying to use up the MARIO BADESCU Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream, but I'm wondering whether to toss it instead. Although nice and very light in texture, I have noticed that the it has developed a plastic-y smell. That can't be good?!

February... Wardrobe additions and finally putting a dent in my cull pile

I'm still here... still culling... still eBaying... still shopping!

For the last couple of weeks I have really focused my energy into finally photographing and listing all my culled items.  It's a massive task, but seeing racks and tubs of stuff which could be crystallised into cash was really starting to grate on me.  So just the other day I spent 5 hours washing, ironing, and photographing, before finally sitting down to list the items on eBay.  I presently have 41 items on there - the most ever!  This after already having sold a fair few items over the past couple of weeks.  I'm actually getting rid of more stuff than I'm bringing into the house lately, which feels awesome!

Some items are surprisingly popular, while others are just sitting there looking like they might not sell.  6 years ago, had I listed a bulk lot of Country Road and Witchery tops, bidders would be falling over themselves to try to secure a bargain. Today, my listing has 1 watcher. That's right, 1 watcher!  I smell a recession...

Anyway, part of the reason for my furious eBaying is that in February I completely exhausted my eBay kitty which I had diligently saved since last October.  I also spent all the Myer One vouchers which were burning a hole in my wallet (so much for saving them for a new laptop).  Although I've done my bit to keep the economy spinning, it makes me officially poor. Well, poor in the sense that I can't buy what I want anymore (a first world problem, I know. It's not like I actually need anything).

So what did I buy, I hear you ask:

1. T.L. Wood dresses x 3 - the sleeveless ones are so comfy like you would not believe and machine washable too. I also think the black spotty one will look good layered in Winter.
2. SABA white t-shirt - I actually don't really need this, but I bought it to make up the amount to be able to use a $50 voucher SABA sent me. It's loose and comfy.
3. Country Road embellished shoulder 3/4 sleeve top - I was tossing up between the navy and the khaki stripe and ended up going for the khaki to wear with my taupe IM Dickers as the matchy-matchy element of my outfit.
4. SABA breton tops x 3 - I love these.
5. Country Road black ballet flats - the jury is still out on these.
6. Rag & Bone "Newbury" knee high boots - I stalked these online all season. 

I will sign off on this blog post as I always do and say that my pant and skirt wardrobe is severely lacking.  Although I am moving forward in that I did have a bit of an Oprah light bulb moment today whilst trying on all the skirts in Country Road. I realised that I shouldn't even go there until I lose some weight. It's pants for me for now...

January purchases and contemplating some future wardrobe additions

January shopping highlights

A few marginally successful eBay sessions resulted in some spending money for me, so in January I purchased the following items:

• Veronika Maine vibrant blue silk blend tank
• Etoile Isabel Marant faded khaki linen blazer
• Etoile Isabel Marant Ariana knit jacket (pictured above)
• A.P.C. striped boat neck knit (pictured above)
• SABA silk front white tee (this has proven to be an awesome staple!)
• Missoni grey toned zig-zag infinity scarf
• Witchery sleeveless gather dress
• J.Crew black and white silk boy shirt in heart throb (pictured above)
• J.Crew red mini skirt 

Hopefully the J.Crew pieces fit.  They are sitting at my US parcel forwarding address while I wait for one more parcel to arrive.  I have loved the black and white heart print blouse from day dot and the red skirt appeared long enough for work, but we'll see.  Fingers crossed.

I'm sort of at the point now where I justifiably cannot buy any more discretionary clothing items without afterwards checking myself into a rehab clinic. Slap me if I tell you I have no tops to wear to work, as I have worked hard to fill this particular gap this Summer.  I just need to get into the habit of regularly steaming and ironing.

The gaps in my wardrobe are now blatantly obvious and I will focus my energy now into filling these. My major wardrobe gap is work suitable bottoms (skirts and trousers).  I seem to have a lot of average fitting pants and skirts.  Come Winter, I will need some new work dresses.  Some of my favourites that I have been wearing for the past two years are looking tired.

I would also like new pair of knee high boots this Winter (incidentally a pair I have been stalking just went on sale), and I would not say no to a new pair of leather ankle boots (maybe tan?).

My black J.Crew ballet flats are looking a little battered too as I have started walking to and from work a little more, but I do not change into sneakers.  No longer do I look down at my feet and feel polished. This must be fixed ASAP. 

I also have a wedding to attend in mid-March, if I can I would like to avoid buying something new, but we'll see.