bag Archives - Reviews and Other Stuff

The circle bag is back and as you may have noticed, it’s currently having its moment all over social media. I did somehow had seen its resurgence ever since last year. There’s just something really different, chic, and unique in a sleek circle bag and I myself is a fan of it. In fact, I debated in my head for a while as to which circle bag I should get. For a long time, I’ve had my eyes set on the Mansur Gavriel Calf Circle Crossbody ($795) which comes in several eye-catching colors, but for its price and for its size, I do have my hesitations. There are also other brands that have the same style as the Mansur Circle Bag, one of them is The Daily Edited (TDE) Circle Crossbody Bag ($170) which definitely closely resembles the original Mansur Calf Circle in terms of style and size.

With 7 in Height x 7.6 in Width x 2.7 in Diameter (The Mansur being 7.5 in H x 8 in W x 2.5 in D) and made from 100% Saffiano outer leather, there is a lot to love in this beautiful TDE Circle Bag. It’s got either black or pink satiny fabric lining, full zip-around closure, and lustrous gold hardware. It can be worn handheld or as a crossbody, and the detachable leather shoulder strap is adjustable and has the longest length at 47.2 in. The strap drop is around 22 inches give or take. The handle height is about 2.4 in., and the base is supported with four golden metallic studs (the Mansur ones don’t have these). Inside the bag, there are two credit card slots.

The bag itself is lightweight and is pretty much easy to carry. It reminds me of a hatbox back in the good ol’ days. It definitely looks cute, quirky, and chic. I like wearing it with or without the strap, and the adjustable strap length is comfortable for my petite frame and height.

I first had the pink shade when it was still available and I’ve been using it on rotation along with my other mini bags. I did notice some color-transfer on it at first, but it’s very easy to clean. You just dab and rub a wet tissue on the stained part and it’ll go away. Lately, I haven’t noticed any of that problem anymore. A couple of weeks ago, I added the black color in my collection as you guys may have seen on my Insta Story and I love it just as well as the pink. As to what can fit inside this bag, oh well, I was actually kind of surprised that this bag can fit quite a lot. Though I wouldn’t want to put a lot of stuff in it since the Saffiano leather could bend easily.

For this photo, I was running some quick errands and I grabbed some basic items with me and threw them inside this bag. My apologies if the products looked all over the place, but these are mostly what transpired inside my purse. As you can see, I could still fit more products inside the bag, but I prefer not to overstuff them. Also, with most circle bags, you kinda have to arrange your belongings in a circular way, which can be quite a game of round Tetris when you have a lot of stuff to carry.

Take a look at what can fit inside:

Fotoprotector ISDIN Fusion Water SPF 50+ – got this from a relative in Spain and I’ve recently been using this on the face. Love it for the lightweight non-greasy feel, and it definitely doesn’t sting the eyes.

Purell Hand Sanitizer

Bausch & Lomb Rewetting Drops for Sensitive Eyes – I wear contacts most of the time and my eyes could get dry easily, so this helps a lot.

iPhone X

I’m Nicer When I Like My Outfit Mini Pouch – available from Saks Off Fifth in-store

Pocket Hair Comb with Mirror – inexpensive and very useful

Sephora Card Holder – got this from Sephora Rewards

Sephora Herbal Rose Blotting Paper – reviewed HERE

Viktor & Rolf Liquid Diamonds Eau de Parfum Travel Spray – signature scent, reviewed HERE

Car Key/House/Mailbox Key+House Alarm Remote

I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the Mansur Gavriel Calf Circle Crossbody. It’s still a very pretty bag in my opinion, though I’m afraid that its leather may be quite prone to scratches. What I do like about this TDE Circle bag is that it’s a lot more affordable than the Mansur, and it’s very well-done quality-wise. It can also be personalized by having your initials engraved on the bag. Overall, it’s perfect for just about any occasion and it’s really an attractive chic bag.

Do you own any circle bags? Are you a fan of TDE products?

The TDE Circle Bag is currently available at http://www.thedailyedited.com

The Mansur Gavriel Calf Circle Crossbody is available HERE

Hello You! It’s been a while since you guys took a peek at what’s inside my purse. Lately, I’ve been obsessing about this Saint Laurent (YSL) Monogram Quilted Leather Wallet on a Chain Bag in Black (1.1 lbs: $1,650). Without any intention, and for some reason, I realized that YSL is becoming my favorite bag brand and I am slowly morphing into a YSL girl. Last time I checked, I seem to own more Saint Laurent bags than any other brands out there. I guess I just really love their versatile and edgy style.

Since the YSL Wallet on Chain is my bag of choice this Winter, let’s take a look at the things I stuffed inside it and how this bag had held up so far for me. Take note that I’ve had this bag for barely a year but I’ve been using this a lot on a daily basis at most.

Size

Since this bag is more of a wallet as opposed to a real purse that can hold a considerable amount of stuff, expect to see this bag to be pretty small, or you could say that this is more like a large wallet with a nice luxurious chain strap. The shoulder drop of this bag is about 19 inches and the height is around 6 inches with a length of 9 inches. So this looks more like an envelope wallet purse with an expandable width of about 1 inch to a few inches more. I wouldn’t stuff this bag with a lot of things or else its look could get deformed.

Style

The style of this bag is very versatile. It’s perfect for just about any activity or occasion, and it just elevates any wardrobe. Depending on its color, like my black one here in this review, this bag can carry you from a daytime gathering to a nice and formal glam evening. The chain strap is on the heavy side so it helps to make the bag more stable on your shoulder, and if it’s in gold-tone like mine, then it makes the bag look even more elegant and dramatic. Further, this bag is easy to use with its snap button closure.

Functionality

This bag is really light and pretty much easy to carry. The chain is on the heavy side which rolls around a lot and tends to have a life of its own (lol) but it makes the bag feel really well-made. I like the height of the shoulder drop of this bag which is not too long and not too short for my petite frame (5’3) and I could wear this as a shoulder bag or as a crossbody. Inside, this wallet on chain purse can fit twenty card slots and has one coin pocket with a zipper closure in the middle. I haven’t really placed any coins in the coin pocket so far, but I do place my very important cards, bills, and any documents in it that I wanted to be secured. When it comes to the card slots, I do think that this Saint Laurent Wallet on Chain bag is the perfect purse for storing just about any cards you may have, but you might be wondering why I’m still carrying a separate card case like the Gucci and the YSL one below? That’s because from time to time I may have to carry a large bag or a tote for some work-related activities and I need to easily transfer my personal belongings from one bag to another, also I’ve been traveling a lot recently and I didn’t carry this YSL bag with me. On top of that, card cases are much faster for me to use and grab instead of diving my fingers inside this purse that has a dark lining and tight slots, which require some breaking in period. Eventually, I would have to stuff all my cards into this wallet purse and then I might be able to add more stuff later on, like a small eyeshadow compact plus some other flat-shaped objects.

What Can Fit Inside?

For now, here’s a bunch of stuff I managed to fit inside this wallet in chain purse.

Nars Velvet Matte Lipstick Pencil in Walkyrie (0.086 oz: $27) – burnt coral red, one of my favorite lip shades this Winter. Love the texture and finish of this lip pencil.
Chanel Rouge Allure Liquid Powder in 960 Avant-Gardiste (0.3 oz: $30) – love this shade a lot and this is a long-lasting easy-to-use innovative lip powder. See the swatch HERE.
Boscia Black Charcoal Blotting Linen (100 Sheets: $10) – this blotting sheet has black bamboo charcoal and it absorbs any excess oil from the face. See my favorite blotting sheets rounded up in this review HERE.
Gucci GG Marmont Matelassé Leather Card Case in Dusty Pink ($250) – love the soft leather feel of this card case so much and the color is just so pretty. This has a center slip pocket and four card slots.
Benefit Cosmetics “Laughter is the Best Cosmetic” Small Flip Mirror – got this for free from my Sephora Rewards Points. I wanted a flat mirror to store inside this YSL wallet purse, so this Benefit small flip mirror fits the bill and it looks really cute.
Saint Laurent Monogram Quilted Leather Card Case in Shocking Pink ($275) – a finely-pebbled calfskin leather with YSL-metal initials card case that looks chic and has an interior pocket with four card slots.
L’occitane Mini Hand Cream (1 oz: $12) – this is a tiny classic L’occitane Shea Butter hand cream that can fit inside this bag. Love this cream for this winter since my hand gets dry easily. I wish I could fit my Chanel La Creme Main hand cream in this bag (reviewed HERE), but this classic staple from L’occitane is a good alternative.
Beter Pocket Comb ($3.57) – got this in Spain years ago when I realized I forgot my 16-year old comb (yeah that ancient, lol) which was given to me by my best friend in High School. So I went into panic mode and walked to the nearest convenience store in Passeig de Gracia where I found this really flat and handy Beter comb. I’m not a fan of its narrow-spaced bristles as I prefer a wide-toothed one, but this comb is cheap, fits anywhere, great for teasing, perfect for keeping my side-part style, and it’s good enough to make me look human, LOL.

iPhone X – yes this bag can also fit an iPhone, even the larger ones, but definitely not an iPad or an iPad Mini. As you can see, I’m listening to Troye Sivan while taking photos for this review.

Other Things In My Bag

I’ve got a few weird stuff that is honestly inside my bag. Number one, a Bravo Gift Card given to me by one of my good friends because I love to eat at Bravo, LOL. Two, I also have a pink Parker pen – my pen of choice (brand and color). I always keep a pen inside my bag just in case I need to write something or if someone wants to borrow a pen (girl scout). I also love to collect Parker pens because they write so well, so I make sure that I always have a Parker pen in each of my bags. The last thing in my bag are these two fortunes from the last fortune cookies I ate, LOL. Yeah, I’m the type that reads every fortune after eating any fortune cookie, and I tend to keep some of them just for the fun part. So, if my fortune tells me right, I really need to find out who this acquaintance is. Hmmm…

Durability

Since I got the bag, I’ve been using it a lot almost non-stop. I haven’t really seen or noticed any scratches, not even at the edges. I have placed this bag anywhere and everywhere and it still looks good as new. However, it hasn’t been a year since I owned it, so I’ll take note of its wear and tear after a couple of years. But so far, I am impressed with this bag and its overall quality, and I think it really helps that it’s made of embossed grain leather.

Drawback

One thing’s for sure, you can’t stuff a lot of things inside this bag. This is really pretty much a straight-up wallet on chain type of bag where you can indeed store a ton of cards in it and a few necessities, but that’s about it. All your other important stuff has to be inside your pocket or in another larger bag. This is more of a made-for-quick/casual-gathering type of bag or for a formal evening bag. Can’t put my groceries in here, LOL.

Verdict

Why I love it? Even though this bag doesn’t hold much, not even my necessities like my house and car keys which I now put in my pocket, but this bag has taught me to carry only the very important stuff, just the things that I really need and this has made my life a bit easier and simpler. Since this bag is lightweight and can be worn crossbody or as a shoulder bag, this is so much easier to carry than my other bags and they keep my hands free.

Do you also own this bag? What do you like most about it? Are you a fan of YSL bags?

The YSL (Saint Laurent) Monogram Chain Wallet is currently available at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges, Harrods, and Barneys New York

Other items seen in this review

*Hourglass Palette is the Ambient Lighting Edit Volume 3, swatched HERE. Latest Volume 4 is still available HERE.

*Dior Addict Lip Tattoo, reviewed HERE

*Sunglasses from Balenciaga, found at Saks Off Fifth in-store

*Giorgio Armani Rouge D’ Armani Matte Lipstick, swatched HERE

Reviews and Other Stuff

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The Daily Edited (TDE) Circle Bag Review

What’s In My Bag? The YSL (Saint Laurent) Monogram Chain Wallet Review

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