Daily, Fashion, How I Style, Photos, Reviews

A new addition to my watch collection

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I feel so lucky to be able to have a blog where I can review products and brands I’m passionate and enthusiastic about. I mean, if you’re not convinced by a product or item’s value, your post won’t portray it either.

This is why I reach out to my favourite companies more than I let them come to me. Don’t be passive. If  you want to work on something, ask to work on it.  The worst someone can say is no. Also, stay positive. Sometimes all you need to get your foot in the door is a good attitude.

I know I’ve stated before that you should let companies find you and have a ton of patience. Well, sometimes you do have to work for it, as it won’t always fall into your lap at the perfect time. For instance, I’m still in awe that I get to work with Fossil Canada, and since that took a lot of persistence, I did get my foot in the door and established a wonderful relationship (both professional and personal) with the women there. Everything takes time and effort. It’s all a process on how well you connect and interact with various people.

I didn’t realize I was such a huge fan of watches until I started noticing the growing collection on my dresser. This watch I received from The Watch Co, is no different. In fact, in 2012 Fossil purchased Skagen and some of its partners. Let’s sing it: “It’s a small world, after all.“Guess I have a love for all things Fossil related. Fossil watches still ranks #1 to me though :)

Skagen-watch-box-002

A new addition to my watch collection. The Skagen ceramic. skagen-ceramic-watch-in-box

I research my watches to an abnormal amount of time before deciding on a final product.  I saw the ceramic Skagen watches for the first time on a popular blog a number of years ago, and it just always stuck out to me. At the time being a newly hired designer at a job, it was out of my price range at $225. However now that I think of it, it’s quite an affordable watch

When I contacted The Watch Co for my second review I knew exactly what to pick out. Initially I went for the same style Skagen watch but in black. Unfortunately it was out of stock. Even after receiving the crisp white watch, I contemplated just buying the black one until my Boyfriend (and I quote) “You have a nice white one now.  No need to get carried away.  :)”. True enough. Having two white watches (Fossil Stella, and Skagen ceramic) and then two more black one’s (I have a Fossil Stella in black) would be getting a little carried away. You can see my watch collection here.

Skagen-watch-boxThe box that the Skagen watch came in was well designed and packaged. As a Graphic Designer, I can appreciate the thought process that comes into creating a showcase to present the product. The watch itself was settled into a plush leather pillow which was perfectly secure in the box.

Skagen-007I love larger watch faces on my small wrists. The ceramic band makes wearing it carefree and luxurious, and it won’t break the bank like some of the more expensive versions (Michele, Rado, or Armani to name a few).

The Skagen, I want to say is a more sophisticated version of the Fossil Stella I own. While the Fossil watch is fun and playful, the Skagen has an up scale design with a low profile, as it doesn’t lift off the wrist very high. I didn’t notice that it was on and I kept having to check my wrist to see if it was still there. I ended up having 6 links removed from the watch in order to have the perfect fit on my toddler sized wrist. Skagen-Instagram4

Ceramic material is used in all sorts of ways, these days. That’s not to say that your ceramic watch is going to be completely durable. Some of the materials used in ceramic watches are brittle. You can certainly wear it on a daily basis, but you need to exercise caution. The watch can shatter or crack if hit against a hard surface. The links are replaceable, so it’s not the end of the world if one gets damaged.

This is the first ceramic watch I’ve owned. Now, there’s pro’s and con’s to owning ceramic watches which I didn’t realize until the woman at the watch repair shop removing the links, mentioned to me.

  1. Do not put your watch on your wrist with tiled floors below you. If you’re clumsy like me, and drop the watch it will shatter.
  2. Ceramic is highly scratch resistant. Great if you plan on wearing it on a daily basis.
  3. Ceramic is incredibly shiny and very durable. Yes, ceramic jewellery is very long lasting.
  4. Although ceramic is strong and scratch-resistant, it can chip. So store it on its own in your jewellery box or watch box.

Do you wear a watch on a daily basis? I don’t always, but most days I do.

What is your favourite accessory? Mine are watches and bracelets!

Have you seen my how to style/care for watches post?

Or how about my watch collection.

I did receive this watch in exchange for posting a review of The Watch Co. on my website. While the product was free of charge, the opinions, as always are 100% my own.

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Daily, How I Style, Wasting Time

Skin saviors for Winter

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I’ve been on a skincare kick lately. Trying to hydrate my skin and keep it moisturized. While I don’t wish to have oily prone skin, I do appreciate that the people who have oilier skin types age slower than those with dry skin.

When I got my facial last Tuesday, the aesthetician asked me if I was in my early to mid twenties. I laughed and told her I appreciated the compliment, so suppose I do look after my skin as it is already if I look like I’m in my twenties. I also enjoyed hearing I have close to invisible pores! Those magnifying mirrors had me thinking otherwise.  At any rate, I want to get back on topic and talk about some of the things that have been tried and true in my body skin care routine for winter.

skin-saviors-for-winter Eucerin-calming-cream Eucerin Calming Cream $12.99 — My Mom purchased this huge tub of cream for me when I complained about dry itchy skin on my hips one year and it’s been a staple in my moisturizing routine since. I only use it during the colder months and it soothes the skin instantly, and keeps it moisturized for the entire day. It lasts a long time since it’s a bit thicker than you’d normally find in a body lotion/cream. You don’t need much. I coat this everywhere: feet, legs, torso, arms and chest.

Hydrocortison-CreamHydrocortisone Cream $4.99 — people have complained that this cream thins out your skin. While it does do that in due time. It only happens if you apply a higher percentage and lather it on more than 1x/day. Since I do not rely on this cream year round I am safe to use it on the crooks of my elbows. My pharmacist neighbour in Newfoundland, and I had a discussion about creams over Christmas. He’s pretty knowledgeable!

Avene-Lip-BalmAvene Lip Balm $15.50 — I only found this out this week, but apparently this is the only lip balm that doesn’t get dissolved by saliva. Meaning it will last an entire 8 hours on your lips keeping them moisturized. It was first created to soothe ulcers (that’s what the Shoppers Drug Mart lady told me. Huh!) on the lips (ew?), but I just coat a thick layer on my lips right before I go to bed and I wake up with brand new soft lips. Note: If you apply a lot, you’ll get a white cast on your lips. It’s not a huge issue for me since I’m fine with looking a little odd from time to time ;) but for some, they may hate that.

What is your skin type?

How do you keep your skin healthy during the winter?

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Daily, Design, Fashion, How I Style, Photos, Reviews

How to care for, and style watches

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This was a difficult post to solidify into words. When creating my outfits to wear to work, I also accessorize and decide what shoes I’m also going to be wearing with the certain pieces.

If a certain watch doesn’t go with the item I thought worked, I pick another one. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think there are any rules with fashion, and what you should/should not wear. So here are some very light guidelines that I’ve laid out for myself. Basically, if it looks like you put some thought together into what you’re wearing, including the watch — it looks great. Bottom line, a white watch like the ceramic Skagen, you can wear during every season. It can look striking if coordinated with what you’re wearing.

White watches for instance, especially ceramic you can wear all year round. I have both black and white watches but I gravitate towards the white more so in the winter, I think it’s a sharper look in a colder climate.

I’ve accumulated some arm candy and love to mix and match different bangles and bracelets with my watches on a daily basis. Here are some of my favourite creations on how to style Skagen watches:

New trick, doubling up scarves to make a completely different look. Polk a dot + leopard. Looks neat right? The claw ring was from eBay ($0.99), and the two bracelets were from Etsy. Isn’t the watch a beaut? I’ve been posting it on Instagram and twitter lately, and everyone’s been loving on it. It’s from The Watch Co. Skagen-006

This combo shouts spring to me. Fun playful shirt with some inexpensive accessories. The ring is from RW&Co, the purple bracelet from Ardene and the cloth purple hair tie (hard to see) from Sephora. Skagen-008

I like to call this a preppy look. I love pairing expensive with inexpensive, to make it look chic. For instance the jeans were from H&M, belt (on clearance for $1.94!) and white sweater from Joe Fresh, the orange bracelet from Etsy, and rose gold bracelet from H&M last summer.Skagen-005

This is an outfit I wore to the mall the other day. Everything kept pretty neutral. Paired the Skagen watch with rose gold accessories.Skagen-004

Urban hippy. That’s what I’m going to name this photograph. I was eating breakfast and thought I’d take a snapshot of what I was wearing and liked the outcome. Sweater is from H&M and was purchased last week, the wooden bracelet is also from H&M, and the one behind it with turquoise rocks poking out was a gift from my cousin who visited Thailand recently. Skagen-003

I’ve been on a rose gold or gold wearing kick the past year. Recently I noticed that I didn’t have any silver bracelets to pair with my new Skagen so I went scouring eBay for some deals and found these David Yurman knock-off’s. The one that looks like rocks was given to me by my co-worker. The ring is from an independent store in my local city. The purse was bought from ASOS online in the fall.Skagen-002

Finally, I’ve added a little splash of colour with this watch pairing. The red bracelet is from MaeMovement and the white bracelet next to it is from H&M, as is the blazer peeking through the photo. Skagen-001

Since you probably didn’t get the hint that I like pairing bracelets and rings with my watches, here are the other one’s I own. You know, in case you want ideas on how to style other types of watches: arm-partyTop row, left to right: With white watches I feel you can play so much more. Here is my Fossil stella paired with some bright fun coloured bracelets which add a pop of colour. Keeping things classy with black on black on the top right image.

Bottom row, left to right: This is my favourite combination. I wear this trio shown above more than any other combo I’ve created. Love the brown and rose golds. As you can tell in most photos, I like to keep it pretty natural, and stick to mostly neutral colours. I try to steer clear of trendy watches, one being the Rose Gold trend that has been going on for a few years. I wasn’t sure how often I’d wear that colour of a watch, so I ended up purchasing mine on eBay last summer for less than $30. So far so good!Or you can wear your watches plain, to blend in with the clothing you’re wearing (see bottom right). Minimal yet smart.

If you want more ideas on how to style your watch, go here for some great visuals.

Lastly, I like to keep my watches in top notch shape. Watches are so easy to clean.

How to clean ceramic (and resin) watches:

  1. Wipe over the watch with a soft cloth to remove any loose dust. Sometimes I use a q-tip and toothpick.
  2. Spray the cloth, not the watch directly with window cleaner or water. (My preference being water).
  3. Wipe gently and then dry with a clean soft cloth.

Simple as that. Ideally you could store them in a dust-free case. Whereas mine are right now being put on display on my dresser. I wear them enough so they don’t collect dust.  But if you don’t wear wrist watches often, I would put them back in their boxes or a nice decorative tin.

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