Online Shopping Survival Guide

I am a chronic online shopper ( I seriously have a problem). There is nothing better than receiving clothes in the mail. Its like...Christmas to me. Who doesn't love Christmas? I do not go in store to purchase any of my clothing, shoes or accessories simply because I like the ease of turning on my laptop and shopping at my leisure. No cluttered stores or pushy sales persons and the way my schedule is setup.....yeah, online shopping is definitely for me. 

Most persons I know aren't fans of online shopping for various (typical) reasons. If you're like most of these persons you're either afraid of purchasing the wrong size, that the quality of the clothing won't be great, that you will be charged unnecessary fees or you simply wont get the product on time.

  

Don't let this be you.

Well, if you're one of those persons,I've created this guide just for you. Below is a list of some of my online shopping tips and tricks to hopefully help you feel better about this process. 

Tip #1: Read Reviews

Its important to read or watch reviews on the site that you intend to use, especially if its your first time shopping there. YouTube has been a huge influence in the way I online shop. I've found so many gems just by watching online clothing hauls from some of my favorite YouTubers. With that being said, some of those hauls are sponsored by the sites that these YouTubers feature. A way around that is to watch a haul from someone who doesn't have that many followers or viewers to get a more authentic opinion on the site. 

Another option is to google reviews for the site. There are tons of sites that offer platforms that allow regular persons like you and I to give our opinions on different websites and their products.  Maybe there's a particular item you're interested in purchasing, reviews on that item can help when there are women and men talking about their experiences and thoughts on that item. You should also use your discretion when reading these reviews. Some persons just use those platforms to bitch. If you've read more good reviews than bad then more than likely the site is a winner.  

Tip #2 : Check the sizing chart

Always read the sizing chart to find out which size would be best for you. Kind of a no brainer.  You can also pay special attention to reviews that you may have read on sites or items you are purchasing to find out how accurate their sizing charts really are. Note:  From my experience, sizing charts on Asian sites aren't very accurate. 

Tip #3: Google for Coupons

This is one of the most important things to do when online shopping. I always do a quick google search for coupons on sites before I checkout to ensure I get the best possible deals on the item. A cool site that you can sign up for is Retailmenot  https://www.retailmenot.com/ . You get to choose which sites you would want to get coupons for and they send you emails with a list of coupons or deals those online or actual stores may be running for that day/week.

Tip #4: Sample Shop

If you're concerned about the quality of the clothing you may get or the wait time to receive your items, you can do a sample purchase where you buy one item to test out the site. Never jump head first into making a large order from a site you know nothing about. I made this mistake once and  piece by piece the items I ordered were said to be out of stock. I ended up cancelling the entire thing and waiting an entire month for a refund.

Tip #5 : Read up on the Rates

I can't express enough how important it is to "Know ya boys". Read up on the shipping rates of the sites you intend to purchase from and the allotted time for each shipping choice. Most reviews written about clothing sites let you know how reliable they are when it comes to shipping so that can also help with your decision to make a purchase. 

You should also take note of any additional fees you may incur when ordering online. For me, I use a freight forwarding company and have to pay custom duties as well as additional duties to the company I use to ship my items to the Bahamas. I personally don't think its a big deal because a lot of the items here are kind of overpriced and at the end of the day I end up saving a few bucks. 

Well, there you have it. My top 5 tips for online shopping. Hopefully I made an online shopper of someone out there. I just want everyone to win and possibly become an addict like myself. Happy shoppers like company too. So go out there and win! 

                                                               She is so winning

Besos Loves.

Why aren't you married yet?

So I'm getting closer to the dreaded 3-0 . For a single woman, society's made us think that's what it is - but I don't dread it all. As a single soon-to-be 29-year-old, I embrace it. This isn't one of those blogs that take shots at relationships or marriage, I'm just a girl...not just a girl...and this is my take on it.

You know what really grinds my gears? People asking me when I'm going to get married and settle down. Bitc....hold on....almost lost my cool there. I will settle down when I want to. I don't need anyone asking me or pressuring me to do so. 30 is not the end of the road for me and I refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. What if I never get married? Does that make me any less of a woman? Does the fact that I'm not hitched downplay my other accomplishments or traits? I think not.

I know of too many women who settle for crap from a guy just to get a ring. News flash hun, if he's cheating on you now and you're putting up with it, what makes you think he'll stop when you're married? What do you aspire to be? The wife of a cheater? An AIDS/HIV statistic? Oh,...but you love him? That's nice. Let me know how you feel about him when he gets his sweetheart pregnant or she's calling your phone at 3 a.m.

Not knocking the marriage thing at all because I do want that some day. I have a few friends who are married and its working wonderfully for them. Shout out to you guys. One day that will be me. But for right now I'm just...chilling. I have things I want to accomplish and places I want to see, so sorry if I'm not completely focused on that aspect of life. Not that getting married would hinder me from doing any of that stuff, just saying, I'm not focused on it because I know it will happen for me and when it does happen that will be one lucky guy .

There's this guy I know, he's kind of been on my line for awhile, but I've never given him the time of day. He said to me the other day, He guesses " I'm not ready for something serious yet because I keep pushing him away" and he's " sure I don't want another 2 years of sitting in a crowd of weddings", so he will wait me out. Seriously? You have nothing better to do than to wait for me to be ready to be with you?

Before you think I'm a bitch, hear me out. This dude legit has nothing going for himself. No dreams or aspirations. He lives to Instagram stunt (totally a thing) and lies about the money he makes and he some how thinks that I will be so tired of waiting for "Mr. Right" (not that I am waiting) that I will just fall into his arms. Ahahahaha

I may not have an exact  physical  type of guy that I'm attracted to but I need a guy that can mentally stimulate me. One that I can learn from. I love a smart and passionate man. There is nothing sexier than a man who is focused and works hard for the things he wants in life, because that's the kind of person I am. I need a man whose drive matches mine. I know no one is perfect but not having drive is kind of deal breaker for me.

Anyhoo, like I said before, I'm not perfect either and I'm working on myself daily and at this stage in my life I am just over the bullshit and games. I honestly don't have the energy or patience for it. So I chose to be single. I don't think anything is wrong with that, especially if you use the time to better yourself. The goal isn't to be Ms. SingleindependentIdontneedamnan  but I want to be a better version of the person I am today.

 I'm not trying to find someone to complete me because I am complete. COMPLETEly happy, COMPLETEly secure with myself, COMPLETEly and unapologetically me, and when the right guy does come along I'll be ready.

A View to Kill

So I'm super late with this post but better late than never right? The past two weeks have been kind of crazy so I haven't really had time to sit and post but I promise I wont let that happen again.

The Bond event was really fun. There were fire dancers, photo booths, an open bar, human lamps, gold swans, an open bar and did I mention there was an open bar? So you can pretty much tell how that night went. The wine was flowing freely and the vibes were good. What more could a girl ask for?

So the look I decided to go with for the event was none other thannnn *cues drum roll*......

Solitaire from the 1973 James Bond flick, Live and let Die.

photo cred: OX Studios

The Dress I chose was the Biddy Deep V Plunge cross back midi dress in the color red, from Missguided. That dress, paired with gold strappy heels from Fashion nova, gold midi rings and a necklace from Forever 21 all brought the look together nicely. 

In the photo I referenced, Solitaire wore very little accessories and an exaggerated smokey cat eye look with gold gems on the face to make the look a bit more exotic. The look was completed with a bright cherry red lipstick.I decided to make it a bit more wearable and to add my own flare to it. I did a simple smokey eye with a brick red lip.

Because I wear a weave, it was hard for me to get the top knot she wore. So I wore my hair down in a deep wave pattern which also worked out really well.

All together, I was pretty happy with the way everything came together and I think I chose the perfect dress for the event. What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Until next time, Besos Loves.