April Shopping Reflections

This month, I shopped a fair bit. Much of it was inspired by my upcoming trip, and I was also struck by another one of my sudden impulses. Altogether, I'm almost fully caught up on spending most of my $170/month budget for each month of the year so far, so any plans of making a larger jewelry purchase are on pause now. Next month will likely be similar. I've made a pre-order of a few silk tees from Grana (referral link: if you sign up and make a purchase, I'll earn $20 in store credit, and you'll get 10% off). I have a similar silk tee from Uniqlo from a few years back, and it's one of my favorites for both casual and business casual wear, though the quality is not very high and the shape and print are somewhat reminiscent of hospital scrubs. 

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My beauty and skincare spending was also higher than normal this month. I still have trouble resisting those Sephora VIB 15% off sales, though I know that it's silly of me given how I buy almost all of my skincare products elsewhere (except for the Josie Maran Argan Oil Light, which I somehow prefer over all other argan oils) and how I almost never wear makeup to work anymore (I might have developed an allergy to eye makeup). I'm very unlikely to hit the minimum spend for retaining VIB status for next year, so that temptation will eventually disappear.

Also, Ann Taylor brought back the lace shift dress I reviewed last summer, which also happened to be one of my favorite buys of 2015. The cotton and nylon lace is lightweight and summer-appropriate, but the lining is polyester, so the dress might not be good for the most hot and humid days. With tights, I'm also able to wear it throughout the cooler seasons. I'd wait for a sale, of course. 

Fashion - (TOTAL: $252.99)

• Everlane Ryan Tank - $20.00 - I purchased two last year after trying out the Cotton Tanks and the Ryan ones. I prefer the Ryan because I like how the rayon drapes. I've accidentally put these through both the washing machine and dryer and mine came out fine, with no shrinkage. 
• Everlane Short Sleeve Silk Dress - $98.00 - I haven't actually received this yet because I ordered it after exchanging the Updated Silk Tank, which just didn't look good on me. Although the Silk Tank has a relaxed fit and flared out hem, it ends up being more fitted at the chest than the silk button down blouses. Like with the Silk Camisole, even if the chest measurement for the piece in my usual Everlane size was big enough that it could have worked, the design of it just wasn't flattering on my rather busty self due to being too snug at the chest. 
• Skagen Anita Watch - $134.99 - (Link to Macy's, where you can get a better price than I got from Skagen's website with the Macy's Friends and Family sale, using the promo code "FRIEND.") I was struck by a sudden longing for a larger watch than my trusty Skagen Freja (also on sale), and I ended up with this one, which I discussed here. 

Beauty - (TOTAL: $71.94)

• Sephora VIB 15% off Sale - $46.28
• Nails Inc. Nailkale Superfood Base Coat - I haven't had a chance to use this yet, but one of my friends loves nail art and swears by this product. When she did my nails using it, I saw chips only on the third day, which is practically a miracle for me. I often get chips less than 24 hours after doing my own nails (with Essie First Base and the Seche Vite rapid dry top coat). My friend also uses the same Seche Vite top coat. 
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof 12-Hour Concealer - My favorite concealer. This is my third tube. 
• L'Occitane Hand Cream, Almond - Not really a need, as I mainly added this to get to the free shipping threshold, which is one of those ways that my spending can get away from me a bit. I do use up all of my L'Occitane hand creams eventually. 
• Neem Oil - $6.67 - I use this as an acne treatment, typically applying it as a spot treatment as the last step of my nighttime routine. It's my only acne-oriented product that is gentle on the skin. Beware, though, as neem oil has a strong and distinctive odor: I'd describe the scent as being that of a pungent sauce for Thai or possibly Chinese food, with a savory peanut oil with a dash of sesame oil smell. the color is a sometimes cloudy dark brown, and the substance solidifies slightly in cold temperatures. It doesn't do much for my acne by itself, but I like using it to supplement my Paula's Choice 2% BHA and prescription Retin-A Micro tretinoin 0.1%. A bottle this size lasts for ages. 
• Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask, Pack of 15 - $18.99 - I bought this to get free shipping for the neem oil. This is my third time buying these masks on Amazon, and I enjoy using them. (They fit my price and other criteria for buying sheet masks.)  I still have a fairly robust stock of sheet masks from my trip to Korea last year, so this wasn't really a "need." I'll use it up eventually, but it might take a while.

I'll be linking up with Franish and the Budgeting Bloggers this month, as usual. Please do go check out what everyone else bought this month!

Another Impulse Buy

via Skagen's twitter feed

Well, I recently had another one of those sudden impulses that fuel maybe half of my purchases. This time, it was for a watch, and I ended up picking out this Skagen Anita (non-affiliate link, on sale) with a mother of pearl and crystal face. I certainly didn't need it. That Skagen Freja I bought last year is still in perfect condition and as versatile as ever. Even so, I thought it reasonable to want to mix things up by adding another more substantial watch to my wardrobe. 

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My "personal style" for jewelry has changed substantially in the last year. As recently as last March, I wore statement necklaces to my internships almost every day of the week. Nowadays, I mainly stick to one barely-there bezel-set pendant (similar fashion jewelry, similar fine jewelry), that Skagen Freja, and the same pearl stud earrings (actual, similar price and specifications). Unexpectedly, this decisive shift towards preferring subtler jewelry was still accompanied by this recent impulse to find a larger watch, maybe one with a more unisex design. Now that all the jewelry I regularly wear is extremely dainty, why not contrast that with at least one substantial and more noticeable accessory?Also, one of my colleagues, who has excellent taste, rocks one of those unisex Shinola watches, so I got some inspiration there. I went in a different direction, though, and my pick has overtly feminine details: the thin 14mm band, the rose gold tone metal, and a constellation-like design on the face with mother of pearl chips and tiny crystals.

I had to really think about what size watch I wanted: I wanted something larger than the Freja, but I often don't like the look of very large watch faces. When I compare the 40 mm Skagen Holst (actual colorway) that I purchased for K's Christmas present on my wrist, I find it awkwardly large, which suggested that some of the larger bracelet watches that were recently popular (i.e. from MICHAEL Michael Kors) would be wrong for me. I don't think it's the size of my wrist so much as it is my own idiosyncratic opinion: Many women that are more petite than me look very nice in large watches, i.e. Extra Petite (wearing 38 mm). The 34 mm face of my new Skagen Anita feels like just the right size, compare it to the 26 mm Freja above.

Of course, I don't plan to retire my old watch anytime soon: if I have an occasion that demands business formal, the Freja would fit the outfit better. Also, I actually find that I like the smaller watch with my casual outfits, even if my recent "must find larger watch" impulse led to my thinking the Freja was a bit boring when paired with my usual business casual.

Best and Worst Buys of 2015

Now that I'm looking back at all of my purchases for the year, I'm actually quite pleased. Although there are a decent number of items that I've yet to fully utilize, mostly because of season-specific needs that did not arise, I'm reasonably confident that I will eventually get good use out of the vast majority of what I bought. I don't have any data on my shopping from previous years, though with the many rounds of closet clean-outs that I undertook before reading Marie Kondo's book and my several additional rounds of closet decluttering after, my general satisfaction with what I bought this year likely means that I've seen some real improvement in terms of learning to buy less, buying things I'll use, and having a better handle on my personal style. 

I don't have one real methodology for picking out my "Best Buys" of 2015. There are other items I bought this year that I wear more often or that filled a more important niche. I suppose my main criteria here was that the purchase in question brought me an unexpected amount of joy, such that I find myself reaching for the item significantly more than I would have expected. So these best buys are more my "sleeper hits" of 2015 rather than my most used items.

Best Purchases of 2015:

• Lou and Grey Ombre Waterfall Cardigan - When I bought this, I actually wanted a different color of the same sweater (a non-ombre grey and white), but it sold out. Even with that sticking point, I've gotten plenty of use out of this, in both my casual and business casual outfits. Although I've become a bit of a snob about avoiding synthetic fibers in my sweaters, which might make me reluctant to buy another mostly-acrylic sweater in the future, I have to admit that I don't actually notice many real downsides with many of my mostly-synthetic sweaters like this. 
• Uniqlo Cotton Cashmere Sweater Tunic (similar in other colors) - Both tops I bought at Uniqlo in February ended up being great buys for me, and with the unseasonably warm winter, they continue to be featured in many of my weekend outfits. I didn't previously own anything in light gray, but I've now added a few other light gray sweaters to my closet. 
• Skagen Freja Watch - I wear this almost everyday, in both my casual and business casual outfits. I like most of Skagen's women's watch designs and the quality has been great.
• Loft Floral Peasant Blouse (similar in different print and solid colors) - It's strange, but I almost never wore long-sleeved blouses to work before I owned this top. I had a few long-sleeved silk blouses, but tended to wear them exclusively with my casual outfits, which is probably idiosyncratic. One of my main influences in starting to wear long-sleeved blouses to work was seeing some of Adina's long-sleeve blouse-and-skirt work outfits. 
• Ann Taylor Lace Dress - This dress could potentially work for a wide range of occasions any time of year. I can even see myself wearing it in my casual outfits in the summer. For now, I mostly wear it to work with thick tights.
• Madewell Northstar Pullover (similar in other colors, similar from Loft) - I'm still not sure about the quality of this piece: all my merino wool sweaters from everywhere-but-Uniqlo shrank the first time they encountered a machine-washing, even when I made sure to use cold water and a mesh bag to protect the items. This makes me too scared to ever machine-wash this sweater. It's still holding up okay though, and I just love the color and the casual, slouchy feel of the design. With this purchase, I'm realizing that some of my favorite colors are dark jewel tones like this forest green. 

It was much easier to pick out my "Worst Buys" of 2015. These were all items that I wasn't able to use as expected at all, or that I wore once or twice before realizing that the item just didn't suit me. See the list behind the cut:

On Sale: Skagen Watches

 

This kind of shopping post is not normally in my wheelhouse, but because my Skagen watch from a few months ago is now such a major part of my accessories wardrobe, I thought I would point out a few good sale prices for similar ones from around the web. My gold-tone Skagen Freja was deeply on sale when I purchased it, and a similar sale price for the rose gold is now available on Amazon for $84.99. Skagen is also having another sale on their website, and there are a few designs that I would seriously consider if I was still in the market for a watch: the Gitte with the black leather strap on the left is only 94.99 and the gold-tone Ditte on the right is currently $114.99. There are also quite a few other women's watches on sale, in a wide range of styles. 

I'm not very creative when it comes to picking out watches, and I'm perfectly happy to own just one as long as the design is versatile and looks professional. Any of Skagen's metal band watches would certainly fit the bill and go with just about any outfit. I am very pleased with the one that I bought. I've been wearing it frequently since it arrived in February, and it remains in perfect condition.

As an aside, because I'm an avid GOMI-reader who has many thoughts about how commercialized blogging can be, I feel self-conscious every time I write a post that's mostly about a product I like. Even if I genuinely recommend something from personal experience (after spending my own money) and I currently am not monetized and have no plans to do so, I still feel a bit awkward whenever I write something that starts sounding like ad copy. I don't, by the way, object to the use of Shopstyle links or sponsored posts from bloggers who carefully pick sponsorships that are a good fit. It's just many blogs I used to adore have moved in a direction where I have trouble trusting their current recommendations because of questionable sponsorships. I fully respect the "hustle" that it takes to turn a blog into a business, but it does take away much of my enjoyment as a reader in some instances.

What do you think about the generally commercialized state of blogging? Does it affect how you approach writing your blog?

P.S. Speaking of GOMI and monetized blogs, there is now a fascinating discussion of income and fashion blogs taking place on their forum here.