After lots of mixing and matching fun at Esprit Kids, Little Edison was a little exhausted. So, he took a break while I explore the women’s collection on the first level.

There are three main product lines here – Women Collection, Women Casual and edc by Esprit. I focused on the first two collections, which I think is more suitable for my age.

In my opinion, all the collections in Women Collection are perfect for work in an office environment, with elegant details, and at affordable prices. There is also a spectacular array of blouses, tops, pants, denims and shorts for weekend casual outings in Women Casual.

The first item that caught my eye is this wrap-over effect jersey dress in green. The material is soft and it provides great comfort and maximum freedom of movement. After I tried it on, I felt that maybe green doesn’t look good on me. If I wear this to work, my colleagues will start speculating that I’m expecting my #2.

Next, I tried on a belted black dress. This piece looks simple off the shelf, but when I put it on, I love it so much for its femininely fitted cut and a leather-look belt. Perfect for work or attending business lunch. In this picture, I was wearing a size “M” so it looks slightly loose at the sides. Then, I tried on an “S” and it looks so much fitter.

The next item that I picked is the beige business trousers paired with an all-over print stretch top. I seldom buy pants from international brands because most of the time, I need to send them for alteration as they are always too long for me. However, this piece caught me by surprise. I was wearing a size 32 (UK size 6) and it fits me perfectly! No alteration is needed at all!

This top has a loose, figure-skimming cut with an elasticated gathered waistband. I like the striking cut-away shoulders and retro print design. If you like this design, you can also try out the dress. And it’s exceptionally comfortable too!

I also tried the slim fit ¾ pants in stretch cotton. It is made of dense fabric with a soft handle and stretch for maximum comfort. White is always my favourite colour as I can pair it easily with any tops.

I also tried out on the denim. In this picture, I’m wearing a low-rise, extra slim leg ¾ cotton denim. It’s robust with a soft stretch and a gentle washed-out effect. This denim is extremely comfortable as it is made of 99% cotton.

Esprit also has a fantastic collection of shoes. I like their trendy wedges so much. My personal favourite is the denim wedges with a platform of approx. 3cm (top left in the picture). It is made of dark denim with a comfortable, genuine leather insole. The open-toe flat strappy sandals (bottom in the picture) is the perfect choice for weekend outing – especially if you’re going out with the kids or going on a long shopping trip.

If I had to choose a favourite among all the collections that I’ve tried on, I’d say that the cotton denim ¾ pants is my favourite. But the beige business trousers and the retro print top looked great too. And the black belted dress. Tough call.

At the end, both of us picked three sets of outfits each. These are all the collections that we brought home, and we were extremely satisfied with our shopping spree.

A big THANK YOU to ESPRIT for sponsoring our shopping spree. We also like to thank Pei Ling, our stylist, and Shumin for this extraordinary shopping experience at ESPRIT. We truly enjoyed ourselves!

Recently, we were invited to a sponsored shopping spree at Esprit. We were extremely delighted with the generous offer, and of course, we said “YES! Count us in!”

I’m sure all of you knows Esprit. It is an international youthful lifestyle brand offering smart, affordable luxury and bringing style to life, with product lines encompassing women’s wear, men’s wear, kid’s wear, edc youth as well as shoes and accessories.

Our shopping spree took place at Esprit Liat Towers. This flagship store has 12,000 sq ft of store space that is spread over two storeys. It’s our first visit to this store, and we were amazed with the extensive collection of the brand’s various lines, which include Women Collection, Women Casual, Men Casual, edc by Esprit, Accessories and Esprit Kids.

When it comes to children’s wear, I like bright colours, practical designs, comfortable and durable materials. Now, I have them all here at Esprit Kids! I chose a few items and outfits that caught my eye, and I got our boy to test them out. So, here they are!

This is my favourite outfit among all – green checked cotton Bermuda shorts with elastic waist, paired with a white cotton printed T-shirt and a blue cotton zip hoodie.

Coming up next is the tight straight leg bleached jeans, paired with a blue printed T-shirt and a dark blue jacket in soft denim for a more rugged look. Little Edison loves this one too!

He also tried on the blue cotton Bermuda shorts, yellow printed T-shirt and a red 68 cap. I can’t tell you how much he adores this red cap, because it makes him looks like “Little Bill” – his favourite cartoon character!

The blue Bermuda shorts proved to be a perfect match for this grey printed T-shirt too! All the Bermuda shorts come with elastic waist, so we can adjust accordingly as our kids grow and for maximum comfort.

After this shot, our boy started to lose patience with the numerous changing of outfits. So, I let him take a break while I took the pictures of the remaining designs that I’ve chosen. These are all my selections.

They are all so beautiful! Deciding which ones to pick is so difficult because I want them ALL!

Now, which outfit do you think looks best on Little Edison?

In my next post, I’ll share with you their women’s collections and you’ll see me modeling them. For the first time. So, please stay tuned!

To shop is to live, to live is to shop – that’s what a shopaholic truly believes! Do you?

If you lead a busy lifestyle, you may not have time to buy the things that you need, let alone the things that you want. If you spend a lot of time on the internet, you are in a good position. That is, of course, when you can shop online without the travelling and waiting time. You can browse online stores at a speed that you could never do at the shopping mall.

Yah yah yah, this is another post about online shopping. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll probably know that I’m an avid online shopper. I receive parcels on a weekly basis. The Husband always cringes whenever he sees a parcel delivered to me.

My loots this week!

New skincare products from Paula's Choice!

Based on my own experience, here are some tips for a safe online shopping experience.

# 1: Look for the customer service contact and warranty information

This is the first thing that I check! Any online store should have a reachable contact number and e-mail address. It will be a bonus if the product that you’re buying has a warranty, because this may be the only way to gauge its quality.

Recently, I came across this online store that sells Fitflop shoes at discounted prices in Singapore (it says save up to 50% – 60% and free shipping too!). At first glance, there isn’t anything suspicious with this website. It has many good reviews from its customer too.

Later on, we Googled about it and we found that this store is not an authorized retailer of FitFlop shoes. Again, as we read in Fitflop Sg Facebook Page, it is likely to be selling replicas too. Last but not least, this online store does not operate in Singapore. The name of store – BuyFitFlopSingapore – really mislead the customers.

If you look at the website carefully again, you can’t find any contact person or number. Now, I wonder if the reviews are fake too.

# 2: Check for a Security Certificate

When shopping online, we must ensure that the website asking for credit card information is secure. How do we check this? I’ll check the website’s URL – it must begin with “https” where the “S” represents “Secure”. Then, I’ll look for the padlock symbol in the status bar at the bottom of the browser window.

When you’re accessing confidential information such as online banking or a payment transfer (i.e. PayPal), you’ll notice the format change above and you’ll know that your information will most likely pass along securely.

# 3: Check for the final charges, including shipping and packaging costs

In general, please check for the return policy, shipping method, shipping and packaging costs. If you’re buying products from overseas stores, please take note of the currency and exchange rates too.

# 4: Ensure that all the information is correct

To avoid delay and other problems such as wrong size / colors etc, please make sure that all the information is entered correctly before you submit the order.

# 5: Always keep a record of all your purchases

After every purchase, I always print out the invoice or confirmation page as a record. I’ll do a check against my credit card statement. Any unauthorized charges or discrepancies should be reported to the bank immediately.

Are you an online shopper too? Do you have any other tips to share? I love to hear them!  

I’m a self-confessed skincare junkie who would always look for new products to try, even when my bathroom is already overflowing with bottles and jars.

These are all the new products that I bought this month – Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup from Robinsons, Chacott Finishing Powder, Kao Megurism Steam Hot Eye Mask, Shiseido Tsubaki Water Mist and Shiseido Spotscover Concealer from BlingAlways.

I just love the thrills of trying new products, even though I’m fully aware that not all of them will deliver the good results that I want.

When I was in my twenties, I used to be a mad shoe junkie who would never stop searching for the most fabulous footwear around. I bought at least two pairs of shoes every month, oh well, that is like a pair every fortnightly.

I used to stay in Bishan Central (before I was married) and the Charles & Keith store was just a stone throw away. That’s the main reason why my shoe cabinet was overflowing with shoes at all times! I can even buy the same shoe design but in different colours. Yes, I was crazy as that.

However, I don’t buy a lot of shoes now, mainly because I don’t go to shopping malls so often. Motherhood also changed my style in the shoe department. I traded in my heels and platform shoes for more sensible flat shoes. After all, I can’t chase after our active 5-year-old in these fancy heels.

Also in my twenties, I was a bag junkie. I bought a handful of fashion bags – affordable (aka cheap) ones and in assorted colors and designs to complement my outfits.

Now, I don’t buy these fashion bags anymore because I know that I won’t use them for long. And I don’t want to waste a lot of storage space in my wardrobe. So, I rather invest in good quality designer bags, maybe two or three bags a year, and they are all my favourites.

Lastly in the clothes department, I’m not addicted to new clothes as I am to skincare products. I can survive a month without buying any new clothes for myself. In any case, I prefer to buy new clothes for my son instead.

So, among skincare products, shoes, clothes and bags, my priorities will be 1) skincare products, 2) designer bags, 3) clothes and 4) shoes.

What about you? What is your shopping style? I’d love to hear from you too!

This draft post has been saved in my blog since almost a month ago. I meant to complete and post it during the Chinese New Year but I was so tied-up. Time slips away like sand, and we’re now into the mid of February. Hope that I can complete this post tonight.

First of all, does the title “Unveil the Surprise” ring a bell to you? Some of you might have heard it before. It’s from Reebonz – a members-only shopping site where genuine clothing, lingerie, bags, wallets, shoes, watches, and accessories from luxury labels such as Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Givenchy, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, Hansel, and more are sold at amazing discounts.

I registered as a member few months ago, and I constantly receive e-mail updates on their sales and events. However, every time I log-in to their website, the items that I’m keen to buy are always sold-out. Gradually, I learnt that I must react fast on the first day the event starts (usually at 12noon) in order to catch the good deals.

On Friday 20-Jan-12, the sales event of this particular brand started. So, I rushed to my desk after lunch and log-in to Reebonz website immediately.

I wanted this bag for a very long time, and I was extremely delighted to find it at Reebonz. Without hesitation, I dished out my credit card, punched in the numbers and submitted my order.

Much to my surprise, the bag was delivered to me by courier the very next day. I was completely speechless – can’t believe how amazingly fast and efficient Reebonz is.

It came in a beautiful black box with a gold ribbon on it.

The Husband quipped, “Wow! Another Prada!” He still remembers that my Prada bag from US came in the same black box!

And I quickly replied, “No, this one is just one third of a Prada – not expensive one”. That is to prevent him from nagging!

Here are some pictures to share:

The black box with a gold ribbon and sealed with plastic

Our boy was excited, he can’t wait to open the box for me!

Black inner wrapper with “Reebonz” label

First clue revealed – it’s a Burberry dust bag!

I love the signature checks!

Tadaa! This is the bag! Came with red packets because of CNY…

This is a Burberry Small Nova Check Tote Bag, a bag that I’ve admired for a long time. Truth is, I always have a soft spot for Burberry signature checks. This is my second bag; V bought me the first one during our honeymoon in Japan.

I’m so in love with this bag now. It’s $120 cheaper than retail price (15% discount). Good deal? I think so. Will definitely shop at Reebonz again!