The Body Shop Bargains

If you live in Melbourne, you are very lucky! Not only because it is one of the 'most livable cities in the world' but also because you have easy access to The Body Shop Clearance Centre! Who doesn't love TBS! Great products that smell amazing and are made with integrity. What's not to like! And then when you can buy these at upto 70% off RRP, that just adds an extra cherry on top of the soap-cake. ;)
So, today I decided to head to Bridge Road to visit my favourite Body Shop shop...

Half the store has rotating stock on sale, including gift packs from as little as $10!! The other half has all the favourite TBS lines that we all love like their White Musk, Strawberry and Japanese Cherry Blossom ranges, if you like consistency (sometimes these are discounted, too).

Like every good Clearance Store, they have 'Clearance Bins' in the middle of the store filled with assorted 60ml shower gels and hand creams for $3.50 each, 50ml body butters for $5, loofahs for $1.95 and many other exciting things just waiting to go to a good home.

And "Super Specials" on Make-up with eyeshadow palettes at $10, bronzers at $13.50, blush at $6 along with other Make-up favourites at full price.


Although, I was very tempted by a lot of these great bargains, I stuck to my list and only bought top-ups for my shower supplies...

        60ml Sweet Lemon Shower Gel: $3.50

      60ml Neroli Jasmin Shower Gel: $3.50

  

250ml Peach Shower Gel: $6.50

As you can tell, I'm a bit of a shower-gel-junkie. The 250ml one will stay at home and the 60ml ones, I find, are great to carry around in my gym bag or while travelling. They all smell great, but the Neroli Jasmin one is especially divine! 

On my way back, I stopped at the 'Spud Bar' in South Yarra to refuel and had this very interesting potato...uhh..."salad"...

Potatoes + Garlic Butter + Tasty Cheese + Bacon + Light Sour Cream + Chives

Not the healthiest salad, but definitely the tastiest ;). But don't worry, since it was such a lovely sunny day, I walked-off the carbs by visiting my favourite stores on Chapel Street :). Didn't buy anything though :(. May be next time...

Fashion AND Food sans fortune!

Man have I had a busy weekend or what! It was one of those times where I felt like I had done a year's worth of stuff over 2 days! Both fun and (really, really) non-fun stuff.

Anyways, at least in all my stress, I was dressed well! :P Here's what I wore on Sunday when I went for a (late) lunch+coffee with my girlfriend...

Black Snood: *$5 (Cotton On)

Boyfriend Blazer: *$35 (Factorie)

Floral Satiny Top: *$7.50 (Jay Jays)

Pleather/Wetlook Leggings: $29.95 (Glassons)

Shoes: $29.95 (Rubi)

* = sale prices

Necklace: $11 (Ebay bid)

Bracelet: $10 (H&M)

Outfit total: $128.40

We went to 'Naked for Satan' on Brunswick St. (very cool place, will definitely go back) and ate these...

Yummy Pintxos $2 each!

Food sans fortune! ;)

My Favourite Things...

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad....

Nothing like a good, hot, aromatic cup of COFFEE!

CHEESE! In any way, shape or form, with or without accompaniments.

FRIENDS MARATHON! Cheers me up, no matter what my mood - especially when my friends are too busy or worse, too far :( 

WEEKEND BRUNCH on a sunny day, with coffee, of course!
(and when my Blackberry takes good photos like ^this one)

LATE NIGHT DRIVE to destination unknown....(and a pitt stop to pick up some junk food!)

\

Edgar Degas' Ballerinas and DANCE - a beautiful form of self-expression, just like fashion.

And last but, by no means, the least....

SHOPPING bags full of great BARGAINS! :D Its called 'Retail Therapy' for a reason. 

If you're wondering "why this post?" - well, 2 reasons for that:
1. Since I'm new to the blogging world - this is a good way for people to get to know me a bit better.
2. I was watching 'The Sound of Music' on Sunday, and when the song was on, I thought, "hey, what a great idea, talking about 'My Favourite Things'!" Original, right? :P


Next post: "I am 16, goin' on 17...." Lol! Just kidding!... I'll always remain 16! (In my head!) ;)

Wild Weekend

If you thought this post was going to be about a crazy Saturday night party, tequilla shots, loud music, fire-twirling, smeared mascara...you thought wrong. Sorry! The "wild" in my weekend doesn't refer to my Friday or Saturday night's adventures. Friday was a night in with friends, eating pizza, drinking a yummy strawberry+raspberry+champagne concoction and watching 'The Inbetweeners'. Saturday I met some girlfriends for coffee and long conversations about...fashion! Surprise, surprise! 
The "wild" refers to my weekend's shopping adventures...Bye-bye boys! Hello girls, I knew you'd stay!..The "wild" refers to - you got it, Animal Prints!

Confession: I'm scared of animal prints! But I love them, in small doses. So here's how I decided to inject some fierceness into my (relatively) tame closet.

 Betts - True Animal Print Flats

Original Price $69.99, I got a further 25% off and only paid $52.49! 

BARGAIN ALERT: If you sign up as a Member at Betts, you get 25% off your purchase.

Sportsgirl - Erin Animal Bamboo Scarf

The other leopard in my wardrobe, is this scarf from Sportsgirl, $19.95 on sale for $9.95.

BARGAIN ALERT: Sportsgirl has $10 off selected scarves and beanies instore.

And here's how I wore the scarf on my evening out with the girls...(yaay! my first outfit post!)

Top: *$35 (Bardot)

Scarf: *$9.95 (Sportsgirl)

Bag: *$20 (Forever New)

Jeans: *$69 (Jeanswest)

Shoes: *$15 (Rubi)

Earrings: *$11 (Portmans)

Outfit Total: $159.95

* = sale prices

(Bad photos: courtesy my Blackberry not-so-Smartphone :( can't wait to get my iPhone in June!)

I wore the flats to work today. Unfortunately, I don't have pics but just FYI, I wore it with a red full-sleeves top, white cardigan, grey coat (its bloody cold in Melbourne!), jeans and dull/oxidised gold bracelet and necklace, with my hair tied up in a high bun.

Signing out for now, see you next time...where the wild things are ;)....

A/W 2012 Wishlist

Contrary to popular belief, I don't buy ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I want. I WISH I could! But I can't and I don't. I'm certainly not an impulse-shopper. My purchases are ALWAYS well-planned and researched (a process I thoroughly enjoy) because I hate buying something and then going into the next shop only to find something better or heavens-forbid...cheaper! So, I never swipe my card until I've weighed all my options. But before this meticulous researching, I make a wishlist for the season. Some items from this list make the cut, others don't while some become part of my permanent, neverending, wishlist.
Here's what I'm currently coveting for Autumn/Winter 2012...

 

Faux Fur Vest and/or Faux Fur Snood/Collar

Forever New Cape-Style Coat (or something similar) 

Open Asymetric/Waterfall Cardigan or Jacket

Navy Lace skirt/dress/top

Something in this rich wine colour

Statement Necklace, preferably gold

Now which of these wishes come true and which don't, you'll have to wait and watch...

Until then, I leave you with this quote from George Eliot -

“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.” 

OMGG!

Gossip Girl (GG) is one of my FAVOURITE tv shows! And like the many million fans of this show, what attracts me most to it is the fashion and the brilliant styling. All hail, Eric Daman! The storyline is of secondary importance. Like most television dramas its a roller-coaster ride of sometimes intriguing, sometimes predictable and often annoyingly unrealistic plots. But 'fashion' is the constant star of the show! I rarely go back thinking 'I really want to see what happens next', mostly its 'I really want to see what they wear next'. 

Some of my favourite moments from the show...

Blair's (Leighton Meester) pretty, playful, girly yet sophisticated outfits & Serena's (Blake Lively) sexy, sassy, über chic looks:

Even the minions of the show like *Jenny (Taylor Momsen), *Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) and Ivy (Kaylee DeFer) had/have well-defined, individual styles...
* = characters no longer appearing on the show

Jenny Humphrey: Rock Chic

Vanessa Abrams: Boho Chic

Ivy Dickens: Wannabe Serena

I have to admit, I only watch GG around pay-day because every time I watch this show, it makes me want to go on a shopping spree and make myself look like Eric Daman styled me (on a tight budget, ofcourse). I can't resist things that look to me like "very Serena" or "very Blair" styles. 

IF Serena and Blair, fondly referred to as S & B, were to shop in Australian shopping malls on my budget (and that is a verrrrrrrrrrry BIG "IF"), I'd say their favourite places to shop would be categorised as follows:

"Very S & B" stores = Forever New, Portmans   

"Very S" stores = Bardot, Charcoal, Sportsgirl  

"Very B" stores = Dotti, Barkins, Myer Miss Shop

  

Recently, whilst watching the "It Girl Interrupted" episode I fell in love with Serena's look...

...and her skirt reminded me of one that I had seen at Forever New that I'd liked, but didn't realise how much until seeing S in something similar.

Siri Pleated Skirt

Lucky for me it was down from $59.99 to $49.99 less 40% off sale price and a further 20% off because the belt was broken (which is fine, I have many belts that go with it) and so I ended up paying $23.99 for the last one in my size! Patience pays. Now all I need is the perfect Bretton top and I'm all set.

You know you love it! XOXO, miss_pre.

DFO Haul

I think it is my duty to warn everyone out there - Spencer St DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) in Melbourne is a DANGEROUS place! Once you go in there, you WILL NOT come out empty handed! Here's what I found myself coming home with the last time I was there...

Glassons Quilted Jacket

I bought this jacket because we're planning on going on a ski-trip in the winter and I thought this baby would be a great companion in the snow. 

Umm, no we haven't booked our holiday yet...no, I don't know where we're staying....no, sorry we haven't decided which Ski Resort we'll be going to. But hey, a girl's gotta plan ahead! 
The best part, the price; originally $59.99 down to $55, further 50% off sale = $27.50, I had a Glassons gift voucher so I only paid $17.50 for a winter jacket fit for the snow!!! Best bargain ever! (Sorry about the bad photo, will definitely do an outfit post when I wear this jacket.)

Here's a similar Burberry jacket for your viewing pleasure:

On every trip to DFO I never leave without stopping by at Cotton On Body...

Cotton On Body Floral PJs

Floral print on PJs

I picked up these PJs (again, sorry about the dark photos) for $15 and a couple of basic cotton tops for gym and home at $5 each.

Good thing is Spencer St DFO shuts at 6pm. Bad thing is...Topshop is open till 7pm! So from Spencer St, I made a quick dash to Chapel St and made it just before the doors closed (because I had to take a train and then walk) but it didn't matter because I knew exactly what I wanted...

Topshop Colour Block Shorts

...these Colour Block shorts for gym - originally $58 down to $23. 

OK, I better go now, I've been really naughty....its past midnight and I'm still up!...Oh, you thought I said I was naughty because of all the shopping I did...well, you ain't seen nothing yet! Tip of the iceberg. ;) Good night! xx