Dance The Blues

Put on the red shoes and dance the blues 

- David Bowie

Zara's summer sale is a huge deal for me and my colleagues. Although they don't offer the best quality, their speed and ability to deliver the newest trends in their collections is just so impressive. Working in fast fashion, we are always looking at new trends and inspirations online. Being a girl, you kind of just want everything you see! & you could always find what you want at Zara. They offer miscellaneous styles that don't break your bank. Environmentally speaking, this sucks. It's a bad cycle that I find hard to step out of. The fast fashion industry is offering us, the modern consumers, exactly what we need - cheap products that we don't feel bad about throwing away and new things we could afford to purchase every other week.
Nevertheless, going to the huge Zara near work and spend lunch hours there trying to find the best deal during their summer sales as become a ritual for the past weeks.

Sephora Collection Skincare

Whenever season changes, I always look for excuses to purchase new clothes, makeup or skincare products because I feel the need to update them so they are more suitable for the current weather. It's officially summer and I've been trying to add brighter colours to my outfits, experiment with prints and my skin is in need of products that are not as heavy as my winter routine so it can breath and not get too oily during the steamy and heated weather. I stumbled across Sephora's skincare collection during lunch break last week and I think I've found the perfect moisturizer and serum for summer!

Italy - Throwback

My boyfriend and I have been living in different countries since before we were together so we get the chance to travel to new places to spend time together from time to time. Since I had a week off last October, we decided to go to Italy. His favourite food being Pizza and my love for ice cream made Italy the top choice when we were planning our trip ;)
Here are some beautiful throwback photos as I'm currently planning my next holiday to Thailand whilst sitting in my boring office! Hope you enjoy the photos.

Charles & Keith Spring 17

Charles & Keith is a new found love of mine. I was looking for a new bag as a new year present for myself and came across the label. I usually just carry a slouchy and cheap bag because I literally put my bags on the floor all the time and I don't want to worry about them getting ruined. However, when I splurge on something, I like bags that have a vintage feel to it. This bag from the Charles & Keith Spring 17 collection is ideal and exactly what I was looking for.
I also picked up a pair of dark grey suede boots that were on sales ;)

Etude House Holiday My Little Nut Collection

Korean makeups always have the cutest packaging and so is the Etdue House's holiday collection - My Little Nut. The collection features 2 eyeshadow palettes, 2 mascaras, 2 eyeshadow pencils, 2 highlighters and 2 eyeliners. I picked up the Lucky Red Eyeshadow Palette and the Cashew Nut Beige Lucky Cheek Beam and oh my god, don't they look festive and gorgeous?!

The Pumpkin Shade

The 'pumpkin' shade is all the rage right now. This matte lip cream by Ofra is the perfect pumpkin shade. 

2016 Beauty Favourites

In 2016, I restrained myself from getting too many new make-up or skincare products because I do this too often to the degree that I could never finish any product up 98% of the time. They just rot in my makeup drawers and it's such a waste. So instead of going for quantity and experiment everything, I tried to stick with the products I have and buy good products that actually work from time to time. Although, there are products that didn't work on me or I just didn't like, the amount of beauty products I bought last year has reduced a lot comparing to 2015, which I think it's quite an accomplishment for me.
All the mentioned below are favourites of mine from 2016. I used them constantly throughout the year and they are things I'd definitely re-purchase once they run out. Keep reading and see if any of them were your favourites too :)

2017, First Day

2016 was a rather good year for me and I'm so grateful about it. A lot of amazing things happened and these things allowed me to learn more about myself and what I want for my life. I've been counting my blessings for the past few days, going through all the wonderful things that happened in 2016 in my head and it's now time to move forward! 

2017 is here, who knows what's gonna happen? I already have so many ideas in my head, starting this blog being one of them and hopefully these ideas will lead me to something new and adventurous. I aim to work harder, learn as much as I could from work, try to do my best on everything. I want to travel further, go to places I've never been to or simply just re-visit places. I am going to love more, be kind to everyone and to myself, which means eat healthier and exercise more often. Nothing specific for my new year resolutions but I hope to get the best out of everything that happens. 

Yesterday, I went to the Yonghe Temple (Palace of Peace and Harmony, also known  as the Lama Temple) with my family to pray for my family and friends. The temple is in the centre of Beijing and it is surrounded by Hutong (alleys), they are one of my favourite places to go to in Beijing. A lot of the time, living in Beijing, you forget that you are there because of the modern buildings and neon lights and all that but when you are in the Hutongs, you just know you are at no place else but Beijing. You feel it from the traditional architectures, the old shops with hundreds of years of reputation, elderly people with their strong Beijing accent...etc. You really get to experience the real Beijing lifestyle. 

 lipstick - Rio Rio by Topshop mixed with Beige Rose by Kiko (Velvet Passion Matte lipstick)

hat - asos

down coat - only (china)

boots - etam

bag - h&m

It was pretty warm but I still decided to wear my down coat because it is much lighter than wool coat. I used to hate downs but they are getting much more trendier and cooler in recent years and I love the one I'm wearing as it's got no obvious stitching lines and when you close the collar up, it looks really really cool!

Anyway, Hutong is a definite must go if you ever travel to Beijing. Hopefully the photos will make you fall in love with Beijing as much as I do. 

Victoria