Oohh!!! It's HERE!!! Linea Pelle Dylan Medium Tote in Scotch is Here!

It's Here....It's Here...IT'S HERE!!!!

Photo Credit: Lineapelle.com

I got the new bag today! It looks and smells divine, as expected. I just wanna stick my head in it and inhale. I giggle at this side by side because the new bag is how the old bag USED to look! That's 3 solid years of almost daily use and travelling and general abuse!  I got this new one to have a crossbody option, which is a big thing for me lately with my former bag being stolen, and with someone having reached into the current bag (on left) to steal my phone. I like the option of wearing it across me when I shop. I do hope I can get by using the strap on the old bag occasionally too. But I plan to alternate.  

PRODUCT REVIEW: Bobbi Brown Corrector and Creamy Concealer

Photo Credit: Bobbibrowncosmetics.com and Macys.com

As you probably know from reading this blog, I am a bit of a stickler with concealers. If I am forced to layer, I am not paying for department store products. I also expect concealer to be  completely opaque. I'd rather have it look dry and heavy under there and actually cover entirely, than have it be not totally opaque and look "creamy". What's the point if it doesn't totally conceal? If I have to layer or build coverage, it's simply not acceptable, and frankly, should not be allowed to be called concealer and maybe "minimizer" or something.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Ojon Damage Reverse™ Restorative Hair Treatment

Photo Credit: QVC.com

I have dilly dallied in using this stuff, mostly because it absolutely stinks to high heaven. To say it stinks is a gigantic understatement.  It's some kind of disgusting cigarette stink smell that I can't seem to describe any better than that. It is probably the single "stinkiest" product I've ever tried out.  

I LOVE Japanese Office Supplies....

I just love Japanese...stuff.  I think I really need to go there, and buy some of the little gadgets and gizmos available readily there, like the chip-picker-upper I saw Karl Pilkington use on Idiot Abroad. I like to not have chip dust on my fingers.  Though then I'd have to "lick" a chip-picker-upper clean instead of my hands...Hm. I might need to rethink this...

Anyway...I was on a "mission" for a semi-flat but multi-zip-compartment makeup bag solution so that when I get my Dylan Medium Tote later this month, I didn't have the apparently 5 different pouches floating around in there, or really in this one either. How did I get 5...I can handle the Splenda one...but I don't need my walking Walgreens to take up 5 pouches!!!

Someone on the Purse Forum had mentioned JetPens.com having great pencil cases, and linked me to the below case, which I hadn't even thought of...pencil bags.  I ended up finding the perfect one, and in a totally great bright green.

Here's the winning case:
http://www.jetpens.com/Nomadic-PE-09-Flap-Type-Pencil-Case-Light-Green/pd/7583

It got here Saturday, with super fast and free shipping, since I spent $25 on stuffs.

Besides that case, I was poking around in the Japanese office and craft supplies, and found a bunch of those whiteout pens that are the dry tape ribbons, in a few widths, my favorite was the 2.5mm width, PERFECT for checkbooks.  These are seriously the perfect width. I got a few, and kinda wish I'd have gotten 10 more. I also got a few nice finer point ballpoint pens.

My favorite part of all these things is the packaging. For example, the hangcard on the bag has diagrams in Japanese to show you what is supposed to go where!  Love.  A few other things I wanted were sold out, so I put in a wait list request. One of which is a multi-size corner-rounding punch tool...I might get several for invite work!

Check it out, it's a cool site, and you might find some really neat stuff that is otherwise unavailable here in the states.

Here's a funny little diagram telling you where to put all the stuff in the pouch....

And here's all my crap. This is just from the FRONT SECTION of my bag....that's insane!  I did pare a LOT of this down. A lot. So other than my splenda dispenser and mints I believe everything is in the new green pouch.

Saw the most amazing thing ever today...CHILLS!

The STL people will know the landmarks...

I was driving to pick up cupcakes at Jilly's for my friend's baby shower, and as I am driving up 270, every overpass from 55 to 40 (didnt go beyond 40 til 170) had firetrucks, police cars and ambulii with lights and sirens on, and huge American flags hanging from their ladder lifts. I kept saying to myself  what the hell is going on??? The President would not be on 270 if he was in town, besides it being totally closed when he's here anyway... But as I progressed up towards Big Bend and Dougherty Ferry, all along the sides of south bound, on the side of the highway and off ramps and some along on ramps on north bound, people of all ages and a lot of older men in uniform, saluting in the pouring down rain for the military funeral procession led by 5 hwy patrol cars in a staggered formation, then a million motorcycles all with flags on them, then the hearse, and there were two semis in the far left and two in the far left lanes south bound with flags on the sides of the trailers back by the hearse. 

I actually cried the ugly sobbing cry in my car as I passed it. I think everyone on 40 probably thought I was a crazy sobbing person...but wow. I wish I had taken pics or video. My mother in law had told us about it a few months ago when she was in town, and I have never seen it before but I know it's "commonish" here, as we have J.B. national cemetery and any time word gets around about a fallen soldier, the motorcycle community makes it happen as does the law enforcement sector. 

I love it. I wish EVERY returning soldier got it, even if they were alive, they wouldn't obviously be in a hearse. It actually pisses me off that they don't get a great return home.

Either way...I am STILL getting verklempt and that was at like 1130am.

Two Great New Travel Wallet options...

I get asked a lot about my travel wallet, and especially lately since the Tumi I use isn't available anymore other than maybe on Ebay. I am always on the prowl for new ones, despite yknow, not really NEEDING one.

So I was thrilled to spot a couple on Nordstrom.com today:

This one by Cole Haan has a pretty awesome layout and might actually be the best one I've seen as far as interior sectioning. I LOVE having the option for cards on both sides, esp since I usually cram tons on the slot behind my ID, and I like that the zipper goes up, not down like the Tumi....Dear, divert your eyes. I won't buy it. I promise. Despite loving the orange option!

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/cole-haan-village-travel-zip-around-clutch-wallet/3240870?origin=category

This one by Halogen, a Nordstrom Store brand, comes in 5 colors and has a pretty neat layout, I like the option of the slots on both sides. I personally love this navy. 

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/halogen-zip-around-patent-leather-travel-wallet/3275742?origin=category

If you pick either of them up, I'd love to hear what you think! 

photos from Nordstrom.com

Woohoo! The Dylan Medium Totes for Spring are Here!

My favorite handbag brand of all (besides I guess, Hermes, which ...not in my lifetime!) is Linea Pelle. I have been carrying the Dylan Zip Tote for several years, and have it in a couple colors, Scotch (the perfect camel/tan) and Iron (another amazing gray), and am a huge fan of their leather and the Dylan design. It's not loaded with logos, it's not flashy. It's casual and looks handmade, but the big win and the reason I love this brand---THE LEATHER.  I have owned many a bag, and I really only buy leather bags. This is the best leather I think I have ever encountered, and it's spoiled me for every other brand. No one has leather this amazing.   It's thick, it's buttery, it's unprocessed, and it's fabulous.

MINIREVIEW: Edward Bess Platinum Concealer

Photo Credit: Sephora.com

I saw a few bloggers (specifically Best Things in Beauty and Cafe Makeup) discussing Edward Bess cosmetics, both of which either reviewed the concealer individually or the line in general. Both compared the concealer to Cle de Peau, and said it was better than the CdP, which frankly, water is better than.  So on a tear last week, I decided to pick up an Edward Bess at Sephora.com, and try it out. I got it the day I came down with a pretty gnarly case of whooping cough, something I was not aware was back around. Hello 1840? I have your sickness, you can have it back now.  I'm especially surprised that since I had just gotten my booster in November, I still got it.  But my doctor and pharmacist both say that it's due to the fact that many parents are more scared of their kid developing autism from vaccinations, than dying from some hellish illness, that whooping cough came back in a big way. I won't go into why I think that's insane, but that's their choice.