January Shopping Reflections

Because I kicked off my shopping month by buying a coat, there wasn't room for other fashion purchases if I was to stick closely to my $2040/year or average of $170/month target. As was my general practice last year, I wouldn't sweat it if I go over $170 in any given month, but I do want to avoid going dramatically over at any point in the interest of staying on track for the year.

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With my monthly average spend at $170 rather than last year's $250, I have to be a little more careful about planning things out. For my needs and habits, my number tends to allow me either one larger purchaseor a handful of smaller ones each month. I don't have a Five-Piece French Wardrobelist for now (I largely wrapped up the last one and it's still winter), but I do have a list of things that I might be planning on in the near future. I'd like a pair of black leather flats, most likely ones that are more structured life loafers, rather than ballet flats, in hopes of the shoes having more longevity. The Dieppa Restreppo Dandy loafers (in black) are something I've thought about, though with my budget, I'm more likely to end up looking to the Everlane Modern Point shoes. I'm also eyeing a boatneck striped sweater from the late February release from Uniqlo's Ines De La Fressange line (but in white and navy, and I was only able to pin the awkwardly transparent linked photo). 

Although I do not have a strict beauty and skincare budget I'm trying to be better than I was last year. I ended up with a few splurge-y and arguably unnecessary skincare purchases while I was in Korea and then at the end of the year. Also, with the winter Sephora sales, I kept VIB status for 2016. I'll try to be more faithful about documenting my beauty spending this year, so you'll be able to follow along with how I'm doing on that count. Last year, I missed a few items here and there.

Fashion - (TOTAL:  $112.08) **Edited on 2/3 to reflect price adjustment.

• Ellen Tracy Wool Blend Stadium Coat - $112.08* - Worn here. I bought the orange-red Pumpkin shade, which I really like. I started wanting a brightly-colored coat after I saw one of my friends wearing the J. Crew Stadium Parka, but that was out of my price range, especially given how many other coats I bought in the recent months. The quality is not the best, with the slightly-scratchy wool-blend fabric (though that doesn't affect the wearer because of the full lining), but I'm very satisfied. Nordstrom applied a further discount only a few weeks after I originally ordered it, but thanks to the insistence of Pret a Porter P and Dorigamii, I decided to give Nordstrom a call about a price adjustment, and their customer service was kind enough to grant it! That frees up a little extra money for future months.

Beauty - (TOTAL: $11.83)

• Hada Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Lotion - $11.83* - This is one of my skincare staples. When they say "lotion," they mean a moisturizing toner, which I apply directly to my face, using my hands, as the third step in my routine after cleansing and applying the Missha First Treatment Essence (I plan to try the CosRx version soon due to better price and Missha's recent reformulation). This item isn't too special because it's sole purpose is to moisturize, and many other products do the same thing, but it's well-priced. The Amazon price tends to fluctuate a bit so it is currently higher than when I bought it earlier this month. 

*indicates that sales tax is included in the listed price 

Linking up with Franish and the Budgeting Bloggers as usual this month. Be sure to check out what everyone else bought!

On Pretty Notebooks, Aspirational Consuming, Etc.

Things got a little crazy at work recently. I might even confess to shedding a momentary tear or two on one of those evenings, purely from being overwhelmed with six active projects going forward all at once. I must admit, given the nature of my workplace and what I signed up for, it'd be more of a surprise if things weren't crazy on any given day or week. As a very new first-year biglaw law clerk though, this was my first brush with how hectic things can get.

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Stress is one of my shopping triggers, but I'm still on track with my month's shopping budget. That coat I bought (seen here) will likely be my only fashion purchase this month. I did, however, give in to another one of my long-dormant shopping vices, a fondness for nice stationery, by buying the pictured notebooks from Rifle Paper Co. in a bid to be better-organized and better-equipped to handle the next crazy period. It wasn't completely silly. My system of using different company-issued legal pads for every project starts to fall apart when I'm fielding surprise phone calls and tasks on many things at once. Half my notes are in their rightful place while the other ends up split between post-it notes or the mini legal pad I keep by the phone. Combine that with my stream-of-consciousness compulsive note-taking style, where the important details are often buried in random places in the middle of a two to three page sea of for-my-own-information but not-that-important context, and things were messy. I'm using these notebooks to keep track of essential details: my daily to-do list and concise details about assignments, and it's working out so far.

That got me thinking about how I'm no stranger to shopping as a way of aspirational consuming, to try and buy my way to being some shinier or better version of myself. With clothing and shoes, the desire was often to look like and eventually be like someone who fit in with classmates or successful NYC professional women. With the steady stream of blank notebooks and journals I used to buy, the desire was to be this vision of a writerly person sitting and looking cool in this or that coffee-shop or cafe, writing thoughtful things in a pretty notebook that fit the aesthetic of a hip, creative person. Never mind that I've never really lived in a neighborhood (whether in California, NYC, or Hong Kong) where there were never any nearby coffee-shops that ever had free seating. Also, I get antsy when working anywhere but home, so coffee-shops and libraries have never been productive settings for me. Finally, I've never actually stuck with journaling for any extended period of time.

Part of the general process of decluttering and working towards an almost-minimalism that works for me (I continue to be reluctant to call myself an actual minimalist because I'm so focused on saving money as my primary motive) has been to question my consumption habits and try to limit myself to buying only what I actually use and is actually a "need" or a well thought out "want." To that end, I think I've been good about cutting down or out many spending categories that I used to deem natural or necessary but weren't: home decor and knick-knacks, most types of makeup because I don't particularly enjoy it, all those blank journals, hard-copy planners because that's what Google Calendar is for, and so on. This brief return to buying pretty notebooks is just a blip. It wasn't the most frugal way of addressing this particular need, but it was a "real" need.

Have you ever looked back and realized that certain things that you habitually shopped for weren't actually things you used or needed? Have you been able to stop buying those items? (And did it make any noticeable dent in your spending?) I generally spend less month-to-month in most of my discretionary categories now than I did as a student, though with my rent and student loan payments, my total monthly spending is higher. 

A Bright Orange Coat

Coat: Ellen Tracy Wool Blend Stadium Coat, Pumpkin, 6P

Scarf: unbranded, gift (similar via Chinese wholesaler) 

T-shirt: Forever 21, old (similar from Madewell)

Jeans: Rag & Bone/JEAN, The Skinny Mid-Rise Jeans, Coventry Wash, 27

Shoes: Sam Edelman Sara Flats, Leopard Print, 7.5

While browsing the post-Christmas sales, I was seized with another one of my sudden impulsive wardrobe desires: I desperately wanted a brightly colored cocoon coat, most likely in orange-red. I might or might not have been strongly influenced by seeing a friend who looked fabulous in a orange-red  J. Crew stadium cloth Chateau Parkas. At this point in the season, though, J. Crew was sold out of of pretty much every relevant design and color combination in my size. Furthermore, even with their semi-frequent discounts, their price point was a little high for something that was going to be a major style experiment for me.

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Both the shape and color are dramatic changes from what I typically look for. I've previously tried on an Aritzia cocoon coat (sold out, pictured) that was a distressingly unflattering look, though a big factor there was that it was meant for someone taller. Orange is also a color I have very little experience with wearing: I did know that coral clothes and lipsticks are not great on me, which potentially made orange-red not too promising, even if the colors are different. 

Does anyone else sometimes end up buying something because of direct inspiration from seeing a friend wear an extremely similar item, by the way? I've done so a few times and it makes me worry just a little that it'd be construed as slightly creepy. It only means that I think the person in question has excellent taste and looks fabulous in the item in question, but I suppose I'm a born worrier.

My shopping process came down to two choices: the Ellen Tracy coat I got and a Kenneth Cole design with a bigger discount but slightly busier design that didn't fit with the image of a simpler cocoon coat that I had in mind. The Ellen Tracy coat is probably not perfect: the quality is maybe not the best as the wool blend feels a little bit scratchy, though that doesn't affect the wearer because of the lining. Still, the price and the design are right, and as with the rest of my purchases, I plan to take good care of it. It should last me at least a good two to three years, and probably longer, with occasional wear from fall to spring, barring any dramatic changes in my size.

Size and fit-wise, this coat runs large, particularly around the chest and stomach, and maybe a little long, and not all of that is accounted for by how cocoon coats typically run a bit oversized. Most of my other coats are regular sizing, which is typically fine despite my 5'3'' height and short legs, and I'd typically expect the size 6P I'm wearing above to be a bit small in the chest. Here, the 6P is a bit roomy, though I like my coats to have room for thick sweaters and giant scarves and I do think the cocoon coat look requires the coat to be a touch oversized. 

Getting Started with Asian Skincare: Sheet Masks

When I traveled to Korea last year, I purchased a slightly absurd quantity of sheet masks (more than half of which are not even in this photo). 

I've been an adherent of what many American fans would describe as an "Asian," "Asian-inspired," (by which we mean Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese), or "K-Beauty" skincare routine for almost two years now, and it's been working out well. I once described my routine in very general terms while trying to calculate the hypothetical cost over the course of a year, though the numbers were always a bit off due to price fluctuations and the listed routine is out of date. I also posted a more recent list of products I've used and enjoyed. Today's post focuses on sheet masks, which can often serve as a relatively low-cost and easy to incorporate starter item for those interested in experimenting with Asian skincare.

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Sheet masks are typically thin sheets of cotton cut to fit around the entire face (with holes for your eyes, nostrils, and mouth) and soaked in moisturizing toner ("lotion" or "essence" in Asian skincare parlance) or lotion ("emulsions" or "milky lotions" in Asian skincare parlance). Hydrogels are also becoming popular. Those are made of thin sheets of solidified gel or jelly, which are still pliable and can fit around the face. Generally, they're more expensive than the traditional cotton sheet masks. I've tried a few hydrogels and I generally find them less moisturizing and, thus, not worth the price. Although I always worry about whether a new sheet mask will break me out or irritate my skin, my acne-prone skin has generally never had trouble with sheet masks. This is despite the fact that they do tend to be scented. I've only had one real dud in all my years of experimenting: the Missha Pure Source sheet masks are terrible. 

My approach to using sheet masks might be slightly idiosyncratic. I just don't think one is likely to get dramatic results from something that is single-use and sits on your face for around 20 minutes max, so all I expect from my sheet masks is a bit of extra moisturizing and soothing. I imagine that some masks have ingredients that allow for longer-term benefits like brightening up hyperpigmented spots, anti-aging, etc., but I already address those needs with other products in my routine. Thus, one of my main rules for sheet masks is to stick to cheap ones, generally ones that cost less than $2.00/mask. I like to keep a few types in stock at one time because it is fun to switch them around, though that makes noticeable extra benefits besides moisturizing or soothing even less likely. 

Here are some of the sheet masks I would recommend to someone just getting started with Asian skincare while residing in the US. As always, everyone's skin is unique and your mileage may vary. These are all products that fit my price criteria, are easy to obtain (typically via Amazon), and that I enjoy:

• My Beauty Diary (MBD) Imperial Birds Nest, Black Pearl, Hyaluronic Acid, and Aloe Masks: MBD is an extremely popular Taiwanese brand and they make a wide range of sheet masks. The listed varieties are ones that I've tried and loved, though I'm also reasonably confident that any other variety of MBD masks would be reasonably effective and unlikely to break out most skin types. In the past, people worried a lot about getting counterfeits, but in my experience, each of the Amazon sellers I've tried (CP Cosmetics and G-Market) have sent me legitimate ones. They do update their packaging and change how the masks are cut very frequently, and the boxes and mask shape can differ depending on whether it was made for the US or Taiwanese market, so don't be too freaked out if yours look different from someone else's. One thing to be aware of, however, is that they've started cutting their masks extremely small, at least in Taiwan, such that the mask barely fits and leaves about a quarter to half inch of uncovered face all around. I do have a slightly bigger than average face, maybe, but I've never had that problem with any other brand of sheet mask.
• Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Masks: These are an update to the Innisfree It's Real masks that are also on Amazon. The main option here is to buy a mixed set of 15, and it is unfortunate that you don't get to pick and choose, but I've liked every single mask in this set after buying it around three times over the years. A few of these masks (the Shea Butter for sure, and maybe the Manuka Honey) are soaked with what a US user would describe as lotion, rather than the more typical liquid toner, which might not suit oily skin types as well. 
• Dermal Snail and Pearl Masks: I actually got my first set of Dermal masks from a friend who visited Korea. They're a little cheaper than the other two brands . As with the MBD masks, I'm listing the varieties I've tried, though I'm reasonably confident that other varieties will have similar good results and be well-tolerated by most skin types. I will say that they feel a little less moisturizing than either the MBD or Innisfree masks I mentioned above, so these are not my favorite, though they're a good "starter" sheet mask.

Have you tried sheet masks before? Which ones do you enjoy? I'm thinking of ordering a set of Tony Moly masks from Amazon once I've worked through more of the pile I brought home from Korea and Taiwan last summer. Dorigamii has also ordered Tony Moly and Etude House sheet mask sets from from Amazon, and you can read about her experience here.