Nostalgic sights from Paris

Hi everyone. 

Wow - where should I start? It's been almost 3 months since my last post and I deeply apologise for the sudden hiatus. 

In short, life hasn't been too gentle on me. Stress took a major toll on me and I would often wake up to nightmares. Yeah, those crazy nightmares that deters me from staying in bed. 

The whole transition back to Singapore became such a shock to my system, and I had to switch from being a reasonable work-life balance person to working 90-hour work weeks. I'm shaking my head in disbelief as well, trust me. I didn't think I could do it, but somehow I am. 

Thanks for being ever so patient on me and I truly look forward to coming back to my blog when things are more settled - hopefully in April. For the time being, I have a few pictures of Paris hiding in my backlog of photos. Going through them now reminds me of the better things in life, and how precious those moments of freedom can be...

Shopping in Vienna ~ Inglot Eyeshadows

Christmas shopping in Vienna is delightful - shops displaying their latest christmas merchandise, streets alit with glistening lights, stalls serving hot wine and chocolates and Austrians flocking to the stores ticking off their christmas shopping list. Temperatures have been hovering above the zero mark, making it a lot easier to venture around the off-beaten paths. Above is the main shopping street in the middle of Vienna called Stephansplatz, aptly named after the main catholic church.

Vienna reminds me of quintessential Copenhagen, but perhaps in a more grandeur style; there's always violins and cellos on the streets and the way that the buildings stack up next to each other ooze this cozy feeling that you're still living in the 19th century. And, there are two fragrance shops you must visit when you're ever here to visit. One, Duft & Kulture on a street behind Petersplatz, and two, Le Parfum right in front of the Petersplatz church. I purchased quite a few of my fragrances here, with the most patient sales person. I can't wait to show you the fragrances that I picked up, but I want to test each one first before I express my thoughts. Once my fragrances unite with the rest of my others, I will of course show you what I own. I love my perfume is all I can say. 

I also discovered Inglots' newest store in Vienna, located quite a bit away from the city. I was dead set on getting those darn eyeshadows that everyone is raving about. Curse the blogosphere/Youtube space because I was on a mission like no other. Even it if meant that I had to jump on 3 trains to get there...

After reading reviews of the Inglot eyeshadow palettes, I was informed NOT to get it. 

Instead, I used MAC's new pro 15' palette. Here's the caveat: inglot eyeshadow pans are NOT magnetised which means that you had to source for your own magnetised sheet. It was worth all the effort eventually. But, I'm just too lazy to care about building a stash of eyeshadow palettes. 

I picked up a total of 11 eyeshadows. The eyeshadows are so beautifully pigmented and there's just too many to choose from.

I had also considered getting a Z Palette - it's cheaper and they give magnets too. I couldn't be bothered to purchase them separately online anyway, so I settled with the MAC. The fit is not perfect - there's about 1 cm gap left on the width and about 2cm on the length. 

Here are all the swatches of the eyeshadows for reference. Each inglot single pan eyeshadow costs 7 euros.

What are your thoughts on inglot eyeshadows? Are they worth all the craze?

My first Celine

In celebration for my career milestone, I decided to reward myself with something beautiful. And so I did. I paid for a ticket to Paris, stayed in one of the cute boutique hotels, ate macaroons and fresh baguettes, visited mega art exhibits (Dali and Hopper), and sniffed perfumes till my senses were completely overwhelmed! And, I picked up my first Celine. 

This little gem was one of the main reasons for me wanting to go to Paris. The Celine luggage tote was heavily contested by Asian and Russian patrons who were visiting Paris for the festive season. It was a rather stressful purchase because I needed time to consider, and meanwhile having a few customers standing close by waiting for me to let go of the handles. 

I was torn between a Celine luggage tote and a classic Chanel flap bag. Well, the latter was sold out in the medium size in the whole of Europe. I eventually thought that I'm just not ready to have a Chanel in my life. It's not quite my style, not yet anyway. Maybe when I'm older. 

I bought my Celine in the micro size, a perfect size to fit all my essentials: wallet, phone, diary book, and more. I'm glad I didn't get the mini (the larger tote), because it is somewhat heavier. The shade here is in khaki green, in heavenly leather. 

Thanks for reading!