Mini Haul from "Kirks"

Recently my Mum and I did a day trip down to Wellington and a visit to Wellington is never complete for us without popping into Kirkaldie and Stains (or Kirks as I like to call it).

Kirks is a premier department store in the Wellington CBD, if you're from Auckland then it is similar to Smith and Caughey's or in Australia David Jones.

The number one reason I love Kirks is their beauty department.  They have Dior, Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Nars, Stila etc which aren't available in the provincial city I live in so it's an absolute treat to be able to go into Kirks and see all the gorgeous high end products that I don't get to see too often.

There were just two items on my shopping list that I wanted to pick up - yes only two!  Makeup and beauty items here in New Zealand are double or triple the price that you would pay for in the USA so often when I am buying quite expensive products I do research them first and test them where I can before laying out quite a bit of money. 

So - what did I get?


First item I got is one that I can actually purchase in my city however I picked it up on this trip to Wellington because I hadn't had a chance previously to get to my nearest Shiseido counter - a box of the Shiseido Facial Cotton.

Jodi from Goo Roo Beauty on You Tube (I will leave a link to her channel down below) has mentioned these a couple of times now in her recent videos and I was really keen to give them a go after her rave reviews.  

Now, facial cotton, cotton rounds, cotton pads, however you call them - how are these any different to the value packs you get at Kmart or the Supermarket?  I think there are two ways to describe this - firstly, it's a bit like the Rolls Royce of facial cotton and secondly, it is what I would imagine a cloud would feel like on your face.  So soft, so thick and just a beautiful luxurious feel.  Now, I don't feel like these are too expensive, in New Zealand they retail for $8 for a box of 60 pads which I don't think is unreasonable at all and I am quite willing to pay that price.  I will probably reserve these only for use on my face (i.e. I will use cheaper ones for removing nail polish). 

The second item I got is one that I am super excited about.  My very first Nars product. 
Everyone raves about Orgasm, Laguna, Turkish Delight but I wanted something that I don't have a lot of already.  So, after much research online I came across the highlighter called Satellite of Love.  My picture above doesn't do it justice but it is a gorgeous champagne highlighter with beautiful light reflecting particles making it gleam and glisten (I wouldn't say it's glitter but if you're not into glitery products then this isn't for you).  Now, this highlighter is from the Andy Warhol collection which originally was released towards the end of 2012.  I managed to get my hands on the last one at Kirks so I was super happy about that.  This is a pricey product and set me back $59.

If you have the products I have mentioned above I would love to hear your thoughts so please do leave a comment for me :)

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo

Katie

Goo Roo Beauty
Shiseido Facial Cotton
Nars Satellite of Love (click shade options to see Satellite of Love)
Kirkaldie and Stains
 

Popping my LV Cherry

Every girl dreams of THAT day.  The day of walking walking into a Louis Vuitton store and being able to purchase something.  At least I would hope!

So cue my first time.  2nd January 2014, Surfers Paradise, Australia.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a label basher.  I'm not someone that has to have designer everything.  I have loved Louis Vuitton for a good ten plus years now and I have dreamed of the day of actually being able to justify purchasing a product from there. 

I knew going on my trip to Australia over the summer holiday break I would be purchasing the Louis Vuitton Monogram Key Pouch.  It was an item for me that is practicable, I would use on a daily basis and was in my price range.

For those reading this that haven't been to Surfers Paradise, it's a city on the Gold Coast in Queensland, and as the name of the city might suggest - it is a haven for surfers.  The beaches are absolutely stunning.

As the reason for going to Surfers was for a day on the beach I was only dressed in very casual attire and I thought that walking into LV I would be ignored due to not 'looking the part' but I was super surprised to be greeted by a sales associate almost immediately who looked after me and even congratulated me on my first LV purchase. 

I did do a lot of research before commiting the money to this item.  In Australian Dollars it was $215 and for such a small item, spending that amount of money is an investment so I wanted to be sure that I was spending my money wisely.  The greatest help is always found on You Tube and Jerusha of Jerusha Couture cannot rave enough about the Key Pouches.  (If you haven't checked out Jerusha before, please do, her bag collection will make you green with envy! ).

I've been using the Key Pouch ever since returning to New Zealand and I absolutely love it.  The pouch itself just holds the swipe card for me to get into my apartment building and the key chain holds my house keys and car key.  The only downside is that my house keys won't fit onto the clasp.  Instead I have these hanging off another key ring that is attached to the clasp.  The clasp can also be a a bit fiddly to work first time, I wasn't shown so if you are considering purchasing this item and haven't seen this type of clasp before do ask the sales associate to show you how it works, otherwise you'll be like me having to ring the local Louis Vuitton store (which for me is a six hour drive away) to try and get them to explain over the phone to me how the mechanism works!

Overall I'm delighted with this item and so proud of to own.

Next on my wishlist from LV is either the Pochette Accessories or a Speedy 25, however these purchases won't be any time soon - unless I win Lotto!

XOXO Katie