loccitane hand cream Archives - Reviews and Other Stuff

Hey Bag Lovers! I’m back with another review of my favorite bag of the moment. I’ve had this bag for a couple of years now, and it has been used quite a lot. It’s a very functional bag due to its practical size that can hold a substantial amount of stuff, and is an ideal bag for transitioning from one season to another. It’s also versatile because it goes with anything, whether you’re rocking a biker chic look or an office attire. It can also be casual for running errands or just a walk around town kind of look. Truly a bag of all seasons, of shifting weathers, and a go to for anyone who wants to look polished yet edgy and trendy. We all know this bag, the Balenciaga Classic Metallic Edge City. A modern and even more edgy twist to the usual Balenciaga Classic City that we know. The bag is made of a strong yet supple grained goatskin, hand stitched handles and a removable shoulder strap.

It also has its signature gold metallic edges and golden studs. The Balenciaga Classic Metallic Edge City retains the same size, interiors, openings, zips and compartments as the Classic City, and comes with the removable leather framed mirror. The handle drop is around 4 inches, while the shoulder strap drop is around 8.5 inches. The bag itself is about 15 inches in length and 9 inches in height with a depth of 5 inches. It is quite heavy, around 1 pound or more, but it can hold a ton of stuff. The leather looks luxurious, robust, strong and quite resistant to scratches. Though the bag tends to get more supple with time, its beauty and resilience remains the same, if not better. I usually carry it during winter and down to spring. I even carry it during long haul flights without any issue. This is without a doubt, a multitasking bag for me.

Here’s what’s inside:

Iphone 6 Plus – The case is from Sonix, available HERE.
Wide-Tooth Comb – Believe it or not, this comb is 15 years old. It’s practically antique. Got this when I was still in high school. I don’t even remember anymore where I bought this from. But I’ve been keeping it because of the sentimental value. LOL. On top of that, it detangles my hair well, and prevents split ends. Still looks good as new too.
YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Oil-In-Stick in Shade 48 Smoking Plum. My most favorite YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Shade. Reviewed and swatched HERE.
Louis Vuitton Key Pouch – Contains my two favorite lip products as of the moment; the YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Oil-In-Stick in 48 Smoking Plum, and YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 66 Bois De Rose.
YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 66 Bois De Rose. My favorite YSL Lipstick shade of all time. Reviewed HERE.
Louis Vuitton 6 Key Holder – Vernis Leather in Indian Rose shade. Love this for keys and keychain cards organization.
Burberry Classic Cashmere Scarf – Love the Ash Rose shade of this. Ideal for when the temperature gets chillier than usual.
Supermarket Pocket Facial Tissue – It’s always important to have this.
Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Dear Brachiosaurus Blotting Paper – I’m crazy about these blotting papers. It comes in 3 kinds; Mulberry, Green Tea and Mattifying Charcoal. Love that these don’t disturb your makeup, comes in compact case with mirror and a sticky puff.
Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Matte Foundation – Great for controlling oil on the skin. My shade is Warm 100. Reviewed further HERE.
The Woman In Cabin 10 Book – From the author Ruth Ware. Given by my cousin in Lahdahn. Haven’t finished reading this yet. Will soon make a review on the “Other Stuff” section of this blog.
Stella Mccartney Falabella Shaggy Dear Flap Wallet in Navy – even though it’s not made of real leather, I love the sleek look of this wallet, and it’s always good to be cruelty-free.
L’occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream – My favorite hand cream of all time. Reviewed HERE.
Lancome Color Design 5 Shadow & Liner Palette – Love that this is an all-in-one eye makeup product. Reviewed HERE.
Gucci Guilty Rollerball – A sexy and daring scent. With notes of mandarin, geranium and amber.
It Brushes for Ulta Airbrush Serum Foundation Brush #131 – Love the dense fibers of this particular brush, plus it’s great for contouring. More It Brushes reviewed HERE.
Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist – Ideal mist for traveling as it won’t leave your face dry. It also makes the skin luminous and glowy.
Kevyn Aucoin The Contour Duo On the Go – For all the contouring fanatics out there and the contouring ladies, this compact contour is made for us. Reviewed HERE.
Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray – Got this from one of my Sephora Play! subscription. Works to make your makeup last a long time.
Tarte Frxxxtion Stick Exfoliating Cleanser – Also got this from my Sephora Play! box, and it’s very convenient to use anywhere and everywhere.
Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara – My current fave mascara. It’s very volumizing with just one stroke.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Whiskey – Reviewed HERE.
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Soft Brown – My favorite eyebrow makeup product ever.
Bite Beauty Line & Define Lip Primer – Really love this menthol-flavored lip primer. Does an ok job of making my lipsticks stay longer.
Clinique Pouch – A free pouch that you usually get when you buy some products from the Clinique counter.

There you have it! The contents of my Balenciaga Classic Metallic Edge City. A one fine functional bag that can carry a lot of stuff. Sometimes, it can even act as shopping bag, because the bag expands and is very robust, despite its goat leather. I’ve taken it on several cross-country flights, and not a dent or scratch happened. The only caveat is the annoying shorter-than-usual shoulder strap. I don’t really see the use of the provided shoulder strap because it’s hard to wear the bag with that too short of a strap, and sometimes wearing the bag on the forearm with a lot of stuff inside can be really heavy. So I suggest and plan to purchase the longer shoulder strap that Balenciaga now provides for this particular style of bag. I think it’ll work much better and could improve the bag’s usability. Other than that, this bag is indeed a work of art and performance that gets better with time.

Ciao! Stay tune for my next in-depth bag review.

For the meantime, follow me on Instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

Need help with skin moisturization? because Baby It’s Cold Outside and you don’t want your skin to be all cracked, itchy and dry. I swear, dry cold days can be harsh on our skin apart from not seeing the sun for a while. Sigh… Anyways, fear not! because I have a few product recommendations for y’all that’ll bring back that supple skin you’ve always enjoyed. These products are made by L’occitane. They’re known for the Shea Butter ingredients in their products which moisturizes and heals dry skin.

Now, pronounce “L’occitane”. Ha! I could barely even spell it, even more so pronounce it. I’ve heard a couple of folks say “Lok-chi-tah-nay” (Italian?) hmmm. Some say “lok-si-tain” (American?). Others would say “el-ok-si-tain” (Hahaha). Duh! whatevs! But here’s what I got from my research. It’s French, so therefore, moreover, and furthermore, 🙂 it’s “lok-si-tahn”. Not, “look-she’s-tanned!” Hahaha, enough of that, we’re here to talk about my favorite products from L’occitane and not how to say it, right? These products are very timely because of the chilly days we’re having today.

Here we go:

Shea Butter Liquid Hand Soap (Verbena):

– This detergent-free cleanser is ideal for dry to sensitive skin. The scent is heavenly, like a fresh lemon/citronella and has an aloe-extract. In fact, I like this scent a lot better than the Lavender one. Also, I like this hand soap much because it doesn’t irritate my hands which usually suffers from dryness during winter. FYI, I have been using this hand soap for almost 7 years now and I usually just purchase the refill which has a slightly lower price than the ones that comes with the pump container. The refill typically lasts about 2 months on me.

Shea Butter Hand Cream:

– The best-selling product of L’occitane, the one that’s made them known for. This shea butter hand cream is truly a life-saving product. With 20% Organic Shea Butter, blended with honey, almond and coconut oil, this creamy and non-oily hand cream is hands down, by far, the best hand cream I’ve ever tried. It feels thick, luxurious and it is absorbed directly by the skin. The scent is clean, fresh and never boring. Most importantly, they keep the hands moisturized and soft. No wonder they get sold every 3 seconds all over the world. Good job L’occitane!

Certified Organic Pure Shea Butter:

– This organic pure shea butter is a multi-purpose cream that can be used to deliver maximum hydration on areas or parts of the body that has suffered extreme dryness, like cracked dry lips, elbows, cuticles, dry feet, and frizzy hair. It’s also great as a lip balm, after-shave, or eyebrow grooming. But what do I really use this for? Well, can you guess it right? As a makeup base. Either as a moisturizer or as a primer. I even mix a bit of this together with my favorite matte liquid foundations so as to prevent my face from looking flat like a freshly baked ciabatta bread. LOL! But yeah, this is really great to add a natural, dewy and subtle luminosity on the face. Just be careful not to put a lot, or else you’ll look very oily.

What d’ya think of these? Have you tried them? What are your favorite products from L’occitane?

Happy Wednesday! Stay warm.

Don’t forget to follow my instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

Reviews and Other Stuff

loccitane hand cream

What’s In My Bag? The Balenciaga Classic Metallic Edge City Review

Favorite L’occitane Products

reviewsandotherstuff