Brief Reviews of Bags I've Sold (Or Returned): Hermes Edition

Last year I was on a different kind of Hermes journey: one where I tried a bunch of secondhand bags from the brand (and not on the one to get the Birkin lol). The thing about not being able to try on bags before buying them is that you’re going to make a lot of mistakes. And with Hermes, there has been a lot of trial and error since I couldn’t try most of these bags in a store (now I know a bit better and will try things out in store at The RealReal if I’m contemplating an Hermes purchase).

Hermes Lip Balm vs. Augustinus Bader Lip Balm (and tint)

Since we’re in the thick of winter, I decided to finally write this review that’s been in my drafts folder for almost a year now. When it comes to lip balm I’m sure many people are like “lip balm is lip balm” so why pay more?

December 2024 Recap

December was a rough month with the delay of our business opening and my first colonoscopy 🫠

Brief Reviews of Bags I've Sold: Elleme, JW Anderson

I should know by now that impulsively purchasing a bag just because it’s on sale is ALWAYS a bad idea for me. And most years I manage to avoid these sale impulse purchases but for one reason or another (but mostly because of YouTube) I fell for it this year. And two out of two of these Shopbop sale items are a total miss.

My Most Used Bags For The Last Half of 2024 & Least Used Bags Of The Year

Back in June, I wrote a post about my most used bags for the first half of the year, so here’s the ones I used the most for the latter part of the year.

Quince Men's Clothing Review

I rarely talk about men’s clothing here because let’s be real, males are not really likely to read this blog (unless they’re researching a gift for their gf/wife/mom/sister). But in that same vein, I thought I would at least mention some items I’ve purchased from Quince for my husband since they can make great gifts.

5 Things I'm Glad I Bought For the Last Half of 2024

I have really cooled it on my purchases for the last half of this year so unlike the first half of the year, I don’t have 10 things I’m glad I bought but just five.

November 2024 Recap

I’ll be honest, it was a pretty disappointing November to say the least.

Most Used Quince Items In 2024

In the past I’ve done posts about my most worn Quince items for the year, however this past year I only got a couple of clothing items from Quince. I ended up getting a lot more non-wardrobe products from them, so this year’s round-up will be my overall most used items across all their various categories (but honestly mostly from the Home section).

Madewell Harlow Wide-Leg Pants Review

I’ve been meaning to write this review for ages since I’ve had these Harlow wide-leg pants from Madewell for well over a year now. In fact I liked them so much in black that I got another pair in khaki (even though I rarely purchase items new these days). And the fact that they’re still a best seller over a year from when I purchased them must mean they’re must be a good pair of pants.

Hermes In-The-Loop 23 Bag Review

This In-The-Loop 23 was the second bag I got straight from the Hermes boutique (the SF one), but my first new bag after getting back into Hermes (the first was my Evelyne, which I ended up selling). And for awhile it stayed on my shelf because I found the top-handle only style very inconvenient to carry.

October 2024 Recap

In October we went on our first (and last) family trip of the year!

The Row Sofia 8.75 Crossbody Bag Review

Of the three kinds of bags from The Row that I’ve owned thus far (the Margaux, the Park tote, and this Sofia crossbody), the Sofia seems to be the least popular. And I can kind of see why. It’s the smallest of the bags but just as pricey as the Margaux 10 (current retail for the Sofia is $3990!). Luckily I got mine secondhand (from Brandear) and paid about a third of that price. So do I think it’s worth it?

Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo Robot Review

I first found out about Ecovac and their line of vacuum and mopping robots through a Japanese Youtube influencer about a year ago. And ever since then I’ve wanted one because I dislike dirty floors but also dislike mopping. So was the Ecovac Deebot T30S Combo worth it?

Hermes Picotin 22 Review

As I mentioned in one of my monthly recap posts, I got this bag from the Hermes boutique in Waikiki during one of my visits home. I found a really nice SA there who offered me this after the purchase of the Roulis wallet. Even though Picotins are pretty common on the resale market, they’re also commonly faked so I decided to play it safe and get it straight from the store (even though it’s about $1-$2k more than resale prices). So how do I like it?

Buying Luxury in Hawaii 2024 {Updated October 2024}

Growing up in Honolulu, about a 10-15 minute drive from Ala Moana, I never realized how blessed I was when it came to luxury stores. Some luxury brands offer a “Hawaii price” that’s cheaper than the Mainland (that’s the continental US) price. Not all brands do this and the following list (in alphabetical order) details which of them do (or don’t) and what percentage is offered.

September 2024 Recap

September really blew by didn't it? For this month I did some health check-ups and continued to watch more K-dramas (as well as obsess over K-bags and K-style 😂).

Unsponsored Cocokind Review

I’m not sure where I first heard of Cocokind but it’s probably Instagram since I feel like they’ve been marketing on social media pretty heavily. So I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about. Here’s what I thought about some of their products:

Korean Bag Brand Reviews: Nothing Written, Dunst, Couronne, Monorow, Facade Pattern, Roh Seoul [Updated January 2025]

First there was K-Pop, K-Dramas, and K-Beauty. Well now there’s K-bags 😂. Since going to South Korea I have a greater respect for the fashion brands coming from that country. They tend to be on trend but also super affordable. Let’s just say these Korean brands make really good dupes without being an exact carbon copy (they usually make it just different enough). The construction also tends to be fairly solid, but as I found out the materials used can be a bit of a mixed bag (pun intended lol). So far I’ve tried these Korean bag brands and this is what I think of them:

My Current Skincare and Makeup Routine

I haven’t done a post like this since 2021 and since many of the products I use have changed since then, I thought I’d do an updated post. Here are the products that I’m currently using that are really working for me.

Fairly Curated

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