I'm sure we all have a splurge item that we might slightly regret- be it due to the product itself being a disappointment (which is the absolute worst), or we find ourselves unable to justify the price we paid despite liking the product.

I have a constant feeling of guilt every time I look at my Tom Ford lipstick. I was really convinced I would never pay $58 for just a LIPSTICK, especially as I don't even wear my lipsticks all that often. And yet one day, tempted by a $10 voucher from Holt Renfrew, I bit the bullet (aha!) and threw all caution to the wind.




I do like the lipstick, I really do. But as I feared, I just haven't used it very much. I say I will, and then I don't- and of course, I've purchased other lipsticks since then that I love even more. (I would like to say though, that Tom Ford's lipsticks are one of the few that I don't find too drying even after a few hours- they stay buttery soft and smooth for me.)

But of course, foolish people are the ones that repeat the same mistake...which is why I'm writing this post right now. With the release of Tom Ford's 'Lips & Boys' collection last year, I got sucked into it all over again. I really do love the packaging of his lipsticks...and the mini size was far too cute to pass up. (Confession: before even looking at the shades, I tried to pick out all the names of boys I'd ever had crushes on, lol.) Luckily for my wallet, I found out that the Tom Ford website doesn't ship to Canada. I was safe....or so I thought.

The announcement last week that Holt Renfrew would be carrying the collection on Black Friday brought back those tempting feelings again. I hadn't planned on buying one...which means that I of course ended up buying one. I'd only gone in in the hopes of picking up something from the Chanel counter (which ended up being sold out), and dramatically, from across the room, I spotted the Tom Ford counter, and I swear I heard it calling my name....and I just gravitated towards it. I don't own any dusky rose/nude shades, and I'd really been wanting one ever since I tried Dior's 'Radieuse' from their holiday collection this year (which sold out pretty quickly), so I swatched all the nudes that I could. The salesperson suggested either Jake or Austin, which honestly looked almost identical to me, except Austin was slightly slightly more shimmery. I ended up going for Jake, figuring that if shimmer was what I was looking for, I'd just add a touch of gloss. (Confession #2: Jake Gyllenhaal. That is all.)

I was worried it'd be no bigger than a deluxe sample, so here's a comparison.

...and here it is compared to the regular size!

(awkward lip swatches since the ones on my hand were NOT working out. sorry.)

So, here's to ridiculous splurging and making the same mistake twice. I have used this a few times already though, and it's only been a week, so I have high hopes. It's so tiny that I've also been keeping it in my jacket pocket, so that might aid in my sad cause!

Ah yes, it's definitely that time of year again- when my credit & debit card get so much use I'm surprised they don't melt, and my room becomes overly cluttered with Christmas gifts! To be honest, most of the time, I barely shop at Sephora more than twice a month, but come November/December, that's when my wish list gets a bit out of control (mainly thanks to pretty packaging- I'm drawn to products I don't need!) I was blown away when I found out VIB members would also be getting 20% off this year, so I quickly started browsing the site daily to see what I should stock up on. However, I reaaally didn't want to shop online despite them having better stock on there, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped they'd still have what I wanted in store.

Here's what I got in the end:

Ever since my post on Dior Resort 2014 nails, I've kinda gone a little crazy with the runway inspired ideas, and have more or less been switching up my designs every two weeks or so...(which means this will most likely be a long-running series!) At the moment, I'm dabbling with some ideas from the Chanel Fall 2015 show, but here are some Carven ones I did a few weeks ago:



I can't remember if I've talked about the colour I have as a base before, but it's something Revlon sent to me ages ago and I'm still unbelievably obsessed with it (especially in the fall). It's 'Nude Beige', and though it looks really tan in the bottle, it actually is the perfect nude shade, I find- literally a 'your nails but better' kind of colour, and it looks amazing when you have longer nails (plus it's not noticeable when it chips a bit, which is a plus in my book!)

And as always, here are the looks I used: