|Review| Louis Vuitton Sarah Wallet (new model)

I've always loved me a long wallet. I insist that my bills be perfectly placed length-wise in my wallet. I believe they call this OCD. If you too enjoy a full length wallet, this will make your heart race.

Measuring at 7.5 by 3.9 inches, the Sarah wallet is a force to be reckoned with. You are looking at the newer model, featuring an envelope style snap closure. Other new elements give this wallet character and optimum functionality. It is like the original model... On steroids.

As soon as you snap open the front closure, you will have immediate access to 4 card slots. This convenient feature is available in both the older and newer model. The calf leather lining inside provides some grip for your cards, so don't worry about your cards sliding in and out.

On the opposite side of the 4 card slots is another 6 card slots. This is another feature to the new model Sarah wallet. 
The interior is very spacious, with 2 large compartments for bills, receipts, and the like; 2 flat (almost secretive) compartments; 1 full length zippered coin compartment; and yet another 6 card slots. The old Sarah wallet on steroids.

Be forewarned that the lining inside the coin compartment makes it a little tricky take your change out. Coins almost... "stick" to the inside. It's not something I'm put off by, but worth mentioning.

Unlike Louis Vuitton's Insolite wallet, the Sarah does not stay flat. The more stuff you fit in it (and it fits a lot), the bulkier it will look.


The back of the wallet features a flat, open pocket. It's not very deep, and the leather is prone to stretch, so it's hardly functional... Although it would be a great place to put movie tickets, bus tickets, or stamps.

I love my Sarah.
Which do you love?

With Love,
A.

Lancome L'Extreme Mascara: Awesome but Overlooked

I've been told before that women will only date their mascaras, never marry them; that we may love, love, LOVE one mascara... yet our wandering eyes just cannot help but to pick up another one just to try. I can agree with that to some degree. I have tried plenty myself. I am always looking for the next best thing, the latest technology, the best wand, the best formula as if there's one final, ultimate, magical, perfect mascara that would once and for all cease the production of all other mascaras because it is the best one in the world.. period! 

If you understand how I feel, and you're nodding in agreement as you're reading this then one, we're both probably a little bit crazy and second, you have to try Lancome's L'Extreme Mascara. Now it's not the final, ultimate, perfect mascara, but I still adore it, even after 5 years of dating. It's a lengthening, extending, and curling mascara. The two things I appreciate most about this mascara is the formula, and the wand. The formula is creamy right out of the tube and stays creamy a little longer than other formulations. For someone who likes to really wiggle their mascara into their lashes to build depth and thickness, this means you can do so without the clumping, and without the spider legs effect. It is almost obvious that I would love the wand, because I am a traditional gal... when it comes to mascara. I've tried many of the new plastic wand type mascaras and there hasn't been one (not even one) that my short, sparse, Asian lashes liked. The only wands that work for me in building length, and volume are the traditional teddy bear brushes. The Lancome L'Extreme mascara wand/brush combs and extends each lash, and I can layer and layer with this badboy without my lashes sticking together.

 This mascara is often overlooked, given Lancome's massive mascara portfolio... most of which are pretty good, by the way. I used to date Hypnose for a long time, and then I started dating Definicils, but after awhile I started seeing Hypnose Star. Lancome L'Extreme is one I always go back to. I use it the most often, no matter the occasion, and the only mascara I've repurchased time and time again. It's not marriage, but it's pretty close.

With Love,

A.

Agave Oil Treatment: The end of dry hair

Years and years of dyeing, bleaching, and flat-ironing my hair has left me scrambling to find a product to reverse the damage I've done. 

In trying to keep up with the Joneses in high school, I turned my naturally black hair to blonde, red, copper, and purple... in that order... in three months. My hair has never been the same. I've tried every hair cream, serum, lotion and potion, from drugstore brands to exclusive salon labels, but nothing worked. They were quick fixes. My hair would feel good to the touch as I'm working the product in, but a short while later, my hair would be back to its dry, lackluster life.

And then I came across an advertisement for Agave Oil Treatment. "Smoothes, restores and transforms dry, damaged or frizzy hair", the bottle said. Sounds good. But didn't all the other products say that? Yes. Yes they did. I bought it anyway, even having strong doubts it would work, because I owe it to my hair to try every product. At $40 (USD) for a 4 oz. bottle, it was definitely a risk. I will tell you right off the bat, it is worth every. single. penny.

I won't get into the entire ingredients list. Suffice it to say that it is concentrated with a cocktail of delicious oils and plant extracts, like sunflower, coconut, vanilla, agave equilana leaf, just to name a few.
It can be used on damp or dry hair. No need to rinse; it is a leave in treatment. It is very lightweight, and absorbs nicely into the hair. Be mindful of how much oil you dispense, and how much you are applying. As with most hair products, your hair can only take in so much at a time. The product itself is not greasy, but if you over-apply, it will feel greasy.
This oil treatment has changed my hair. I don't mean my hair is soft and silky (although soft and silky, it is). I mean it has improved the structure of my hair from the inside out. My hair is hydrated, nourished, and shiny... even without the oil on it. My hair is now significantly less frizzy, and more light-reflecting, less tangled, and more smooth.

...And to go one step further because I'm excessive, I use this treatment as a hair mask every other week. I saturate my ends with the Agave oil (i.e, apply twice as much as I normally would), throw a disposable shower cap on, let my hair take in all the nourishing goodness, and then shampoo after 15 minutes. It is miraculous how my hair feels and looks afterwards. 

It's been more than 3 months since I purchased a bottle and it is still half full, in case you're wondering about return on your investment. On that note, there are products that have more value than the price that you pay. Agave Healing Oil is one of them.

With Love,
A.