Shoe HAUL: Forever 21, JustFab & Payless

Why hello there, fellow reader!  I thought it was about time to update my blog and I bring to you a shoe haul with reviews.  I recently went shoe and handbag crazy (an upcoming post).  Now let's get on with the pic heavy show!

DISCLAIMER: Please do not mind the grown-out pedicure. =) I also purchased all items myself and will give you my honest opinions.  All shoes are in size 8.

FOREVER 21

First up is the Night Moves Peep Toe Stilettos in black from Forever 21.  They are sexy and stylish but have ONE CON: the bottom of the shoes are so SLIPPERY!  Whose idea was it to put a suede or felt-like material on the bottom of the shoe so that you will slip and break your ankle and neck while walking on linoleum, marble or other slippery surfaces? Luckily, I had some non-slip grip pads from Payless laying around and that fixed the problem. I highly recommend those.

4.5" heel, faux suede, $36.80, comes in Black and Nude

I put on a pair of my trusty Summer Soles on these babies. Also, the flash washed out the goldtone hardware. Forever 21 has good pics.

My go-to heel height is 4", or 5" with a 1" platform. The extra half inch on these heels make a difference on my feet though- I notice a lot more pressure on the ball of my foot and the bottom isn't cushiony.  So after a while, they may hurt.

They fit my feet with some room to spare at the toe area and the material doesn't rub my feet raw.  I really like these!

PROS:
~Nice faux suede material
~Good fit; no need to size up or down

CONS:
~SLIPPERY BOTTOM (grab some non-slip pads from Payless for about $2)

JUSTFAB

Next up are a few shoes from JustFab (yes, I succumbed to the temptation).  Be aware that JustFab is a subscription service that charges you $39.95 each month but you are able to skip any month as long as you log in to your account between the 1st and 5th of each month and select the "skip" button. If you're interested here's my invite link where you can get 50% off your first purchase.

JustFab Gianna, 5.5" heel, 1.5" platform

Meet GIANNA.  I love the look of Gianna with her teardrop t-strap design and cork bottom.  But wait for the cons!

PROS: 
~Non-slip bottom! (A+ for that)
~Not too heavy
~Chunkier heel than a skinny stiletto 

CONS:
~Black DYE from felt-like material RUBS OFF ON YOUR FEET. After taking these shoes off after 10 minutes, I had black marks under my toes, on the side of my feet and on the back of my heels. It wasn't cute.
~Top part of the back of the heel irritates my skin and would rub me raw. I had red marks on the back of my heel just by standing in them. It wasn't because of the fit but the roughness.  I applied and trimmed some heel grips that I got from Payless to the inside of the heel and that seemed to solve the problem.
~Cork pattern may not match on both pairs.  Scroll down to the picture with an anomaly on the back part of the left heel.  There are two bold dash marks in the cork pattern that is noticeably different from the other shoe.  I'm not really happy about that but I can live with it.

The anomaly on the left heel that doesn't match the other shoe. It may bother your OCD.  In fact, it bothers mine, lol.

I like the design of the straps. It's like 3 U-shapes coming together at the center.

I believe they are still available in black in limited sizes but the Yellow is sold out.

Meet CAMBRIA in Coral and unfortunately, I believe this color has sold out.  It's a peachy coral that reminds me of orange sherbert.
Is it just me or is a really high wedge really wobbly, because I can handle a skinny, thin stiletto any day. 

JustFab Cambria in Coral, 5" heel, 1.5" platform

PROS:
~Fits comfortably with some room to spare
~The straps, material and inside parts don't rub and are comfortable

CONS:
~Bottom sole of the ball of the foot is REALLY SLIPPERY! It has a suede-like material there while the rest of it is a grippy rubber.  I don't know why they didn't just omit the slippery part.  So I put another pair of non-slip grips from Payless on the bottom of these shoes, as well.
~They're heavy but you'll expect that from a wedge.
~Raffia material gets frayed.  I had to trim off some stray pieces with scissors.
~My pair had a dirty black smudge on one of the straps of the left shoe that wasn't cute.

The super slippery felt-like bottom that my hair is sticking to.

The quick fix for the slippery bottom. Just run to Payless and get some non-slip grips. They're usually by the cash register.

The dirty smudge on one of the straps that I wasn't happy about. =/

This is RYDER in Chestnut and I haven't been able to wear her out yet because the weather got too hot.

JustFab Ryder in Chestnut, 1.25" heel, 15" calf circumference

PROS:
~The calves are not tight and the boots fit true to size.  They fit very snugly without being uncomfortable.

CONS:
~Cheap material and feel
~Boot zips up only half way instead of all the way up, which may be a disadvantage to some people but I have no problems with it.
~The back part that cups your heel feels like hard cardboard

All in all, I still like this boot.  It's cute and I got it on a BOGO so it was worth it.  I'm sorry I don't have a picture with the boots on but I will update if I get a chance.  These are actually the first pair of flat boots I own because all my others are heeled.  So welcome to the collection, Ryder!


This cute, 3 1/2" low wedge is called JACQUI. They were sold out in my size 8, but I heard they may run a half size too big, so I snagged a 7.5 and they happily work for me!  I just really love that snake texture with the mint- supercute!

Dat mint, tho!

PROS: 
~Comfy and lightweight

CONS: 
~The bottom sole is a nice, non-slip rubber but the ball of the foot is covered in a slippery felt-like material. It would've been better to omit that part.
~The end of the strap on one shoe is already fraying, or peeling apart somewhat, and I haven't worn them out yet.
~Gives me pinky toe cleavage!

Wearing JustFab Jacqui wedges in mint and Legacy bag in Poppy. Legacy is gorgeous and very Birkin-esque.

PAYLESS

The last two pairs of shoes I hauled are from Payless Shoe Source.
This shoe is called HASHTAG by Christian Siriano and it's a blue faux suede shootie. Don't step on them! Heh.  They are super cute but have a flaw.

Hashtag by Christian Siriano, 4" heel, split down the vamp

PROS:
~Nice faux suede material. Good quality of materials all around, even the inside pattern is fun.  I also like the different texture of the faux leather heel in contrast to the faux suede upper.
~Bottom sole is made of rubber so it's nice and non-slip

CONS:
~THEY FIT WEIRD. My heels with my usually size 8 were slipping out of these puppies, so I tried a 7 and a half but they were too short and tight in the toe area, but weirdly enough my heels were still slipping out of the shoe when I walked.  Maybe it's the curvature of the back of the heel that's too deep? I had to put some heel grips on the inside of the shoe.  Even though my right foot is a little longer than my left, I had to strangely put two pairs of heel grips in the right shoe to keep my heel from slipping. Odd, huh?    

Very sleek. I love them!

Had to add heel grips to keep my heels from slipping out

Image credit

And finally we have MAGGIE by American Eagle in brown.  I thought I'd finally get a lower- heeled, comfortable shoe and that's just what this shoe is!  I like to call this a "wedgie" because it's like a wedge bootie since it's high on the ankle.  A sandal wedgie.
I saw these online and just skimmed over them because I wasn't interested. But at the store, I tried them on and thought they looked cute in the mirror.  Then the comfort is what got me to buy them.

MAGGIE by American Eagle, 3" wedge heel, woven upper

PROS:
~Rubber, non-slip outsole
~Very comfy
~Lower heel is a plus for some

CONS:
~NONE

Where's my other leg? o_O

Image Credit

...And we are done! Thanks for taking the time to read or skim through this post.
My upcoming posts will probably be a handbag haul or a rave about Smashbox Studio Skin foundation that I've been using for a year and a half.  Until then, reader!
-Lady Lostris :D


Copyright © 2014, Lady Lostris Beauty

Lil' Saturday Haul: Shoes & Lipstick!

I headed out today ONLY to get these over-the-knee boots from Forever 21 and ended up hauling three more items I didn't intend to.  Don't you hate when that happens?  I tell myself not to whip out the credit card, but I just had to get these really cheap Madden Girl shoes at Ross.

First up are these Matte Leatherette boots ($39.80) that I've been feening to get since I saw them on Forever 21's website.  I like the matte finish and opted for these instead of a faux suede, since that would get way too linty.  They fit true to size (I'm an 8) and there's still room to wear a thin pair of socks if I choose to.  The toe is semi-pointy - sort of almond shaped - but they do not squeeze my toes like my other almond-toed shoes (see last pic below).  I don't even think I need to break them in!  The zipper goes up two-thirds of the way, and there's a patch of elastic banding on the back of the boot at the very top.  A seam starts from the tip of the toe all the way up to the shaft.  I notice that they kind of bunch up at the ankles, but other than that, I'm in lurve with them!  Also, the lining is super soft if you choose to wear them bare-legged.

Then I headed over to Target to pick up another Maybelline Color Sensational (~$5.69) lipstick in Totally Toffee.  In my previous post, I had swatched Warm Me Up, but it was too much of a berry-pink, whereas Totally Toffee is more of a brown tone with a hint of pink - totally up my alley!  You can see in the swatches how much pinker Warm Me Up is compared to Totally Toffee.  It's funny how both of these colors are in the "Naturals" family when Warm Me Up is clearly a pink color.  Hey Maybelline, you got that wrong!

This holiday season, I may be traveling to another state, so I wanted to try out a dry shampoo.  I usually have to wash my hair everyday since I have an oily scalp, and it gets gross and greasy the latter half of the second day if I don't wash it.  So I picked up a dry shampoo from Sally Beauty Supply by Batiste.  I haven't tried it yet but hopefully it'll work for me, because I want to cut down washing my hair if I won't be staying at home for the holidays.  As a guest, I don't want to be hogging someone else's shower for too long!

Lastly, I found a cute pair of Madden Girl peep toes at Ross for only $17.99.  Score!

SOMETHING EXTRA

 Ever try to stretch out your shoes using the Freezer Method?  These almond toe pumps were killing my toes!  So I filled up a Ziploc bag a quarter way with water, stuck it into my shoe and let them sit for almost 24 hours.  When water freezes and turns into ice, it will expand and stretch your shoe out.  Well...it worked somewhat, but I still had to wear them around the house with some socks to further stretch it out.  I may try it again with more water.

I just thought this pic was funny. Hey, just throw your shoe into the freezer with a large tub of Cool Whip, Magnolia Ube ice cream (bomb!), pizza and waffles!  At least the Boca Burgers in the red box are healthy!...lol

Have a great weekend! =)

Boot Crazy!: AMI Clubwear, Target & Ross

Let me take a break from makeup and spend some money on boots! I went boot crazy and I still want some more. LoL =) Enjoy all the eye candy.

AMI CLUBWEAR

I first heard of AmiClubwear (A-M-I) from reading Pursebuzz's blog, and if you haven't been on YouTube lately, everyone is raving about their shoes. I've been eyeing their boots for a while and decided to order shoes online for the first time, but I was wary because I didn't know how they'd fit. Well, if you want a straight up answer to: Do their shoes fit true to size? The answer is: YES (but read my Gray Boots review). I'm 5' 4" and I wear a size 8. All the shoes I bought were also size 8.

At the end of this section, I'll also list a price breakdown of my AmiClubwear order and the code I used to get 30% off. Yay!

Also, if you were wondering, they ship from the City of Industry (Los Angeles) and I received my package in two days. Be sure to click the green links for more info.

CHARCOAL SUEDE RUCHED ROUND TOE LOW HEEL FLAT BOOTS
(as described on their website)
(yang-01charcoalsu)

• PRICE: $12.99
• BRAND: AMI Clubwear
• MATERIAL: Smooth micro suede (as described on their website); I'd describe it as faux suede. The inside material is a soft foam and the bottom sole is a textured somewhat rubbery material. The outside is very soft.
  
• TOE SHAPE: Very blunt, round toe and not like a typical round toe (like the other two boots)
• HEEL: Flat
• TYPE: Pull-on; there's no zipper so it's hard to adjust your skinny jeans inside them. (Folding up the bottom of my jeans before putting on boots helps a bit.)
• COLORS: Also available in camel, black, brown and fuchsia
• FIT: Like most people's feet, one foot is slightly bigger than the other so I fit all my shoes to my right foot, since it's a tad bigger. I noticed my left foot fits perfectly but my right big toe hurts just a little because it fits very snugly. I tried it with socks and my left foot still fits perfectly but my right big toe hurts a bit. I'm thinking if I break these in they'll be ok, but I don't know if a half-size bigger would be too big. I can still wear them, though. You may want to consider going a half size up if you order these particular boots. I blame the very blunt, round toe shape for this problem because the other two boots fit absolutely perfect.
• QUALITY: These feel the cheapest of the three. The hard part that hugs the back of your heel feels like cardboard and the shaft is just the foam and faux suede sewn together, but it's very "cushiony." If I try to pull these on too roughly, it feels like something might rip. BUT, for the price, I still like them. Don't expect these to be the best quality - their quite "cheapy." But they're still cute.
  

TAN SOFT FAUX LEATHER KNEE HEIGHT FLAT BOOT
(tory-3tan)

• PRICE: $16.99
• BRAND: ALBA
• MATERIAL: Faux leather but the really squeaky kind. They're a little noisy when walking and if you rub them together, they sound like sneakers on a gym court. It has the same type of soft foam lining as the gray boots but not as cushioned. There's also a cute satin ribbon detail on the top of the shafts that run through four eyelets. It would be great to wear in wet weather.
• TOE SHAPE: Round toe
• HEEL: Flat; rubber non-slip sole
  
• TYPE: Pull-on; there's no zipper so it's a little hard to adjust your skinny jeans in them.
• COLORS: Also available in dark brown and black
• FIT: Fits comfortably, even with socks. The pointier toe - although still round - doesn't hurt my right toe like the gray boots. True to size.
• QUALITY: Better quality than the gray boots but if you hate squeaky faux leather, then you may want to pass on these. But I like them. EDIT: Actually, I really love them now. =)
  

BROWN SUEDE CUFFED BOOT

(as described on their website)
(cher-80brown)

• PRICE: $25.99
• BRAND: Breckelle's
• MATERIAL: Microfiber upper; I guess it's faux suede but it's not described as such in the description. It has a cushioned, soft, fabric lining.
• TOE SHAPE: Round toe
• HEEL: About a 3 1/4" stacked heel; slants toward the front of the foot so it may feel a little different from other boots with heels towards the back of the heel.
• TYPE: Has a side zipper that zips all the way to the top - easier to put on.
• COLORS: Note- This pair is dark chocolate brown, not black or light brown so don't let the flash pics fool you. Also available in gray (I want those!), tan, black, taupe, purple and light brown
• FIT: Fits perfectly, even with socks. True to size
• QUALITY: Good quality and the best quality of the three I bought. I'd recommend these and I like the split collar cuff on the outer side of the boot. What I don't like is the bottom sole because it's a little slippery on linoleum, tile and marble. Go outside and scuff the soles up when you first use them. Final words: Love 'em!

FINAL THOUGHTS ON AMI CLUBWEAR BOOTS

I'm HAPPY! I got three pairs of boots for a total of $42.80, which averages out to $14.27 for each pair. Good deal, right?

If you spend $50 or more you get free shipping and I suggest you spend at least $50 because shipping was around $15 before I used the code: AMISHIPPED. Then I used a 30% off code: AMIUSWEEKLY30 (check Retailmenot.com) for extra savings.

I would definitely order from them again, plus, they have NYX makeup so you can add that to your cart if you need a few dollars more to get free shipping.

ROSS

I was searching around two weekends ago for these exact style boots - scrunchy, split collar cuff, round toe, high heels, black, faux leather and under $25. I found these Nicole boots at Ross for $22.99. Yay for Ross! I freaking love these and they're my favorite of the bunch. The pleather material isn't squeaky like the tan boots, but I still love those, too.

TARGET

These Mossimo Kaylen gray peep toe booties are from Target and are really comfortable. It has a 4" heel (wrongly described on the website), a side knot, a side zipper and it's made from faux suede. It's a little pricey for Target shoes at $29.99 but they're really cute and the sole is so flexible.

Target also has these sexy Velicka peep toe pumps (pictured below in the Wishlist) that I want to get, also. Ah, so many shoes!

OTHER STUFF

Skinny jeans are not Badonkadonk-friendly but you gotta rock 'em with boots!

I went to Burlington Coat Factory - which is just like TJ Maxx, Ross or Marshall's, but bigger and often better - and I got this tunic length plaid top with a belt.

At Kohl's, I got a pair of skinny jeans at the lowest price of the season - only $13.99. I always passed up Kohl's So brand when it came to jeans, but they're actually pretty good; they're not thin at all.

FOREVER 21 ACCESSORIES

I can't find this bracelet on the website but they have a lot of other items. Oh, and this is the same bracelet but different sides. It has turquoise, red, orange, green, brown and white in it.

Shimmer Flower Ring
The green one is pretty, too, but I wish it was silver-toned rather than gold.

EDIT: I forgot about my really cheap leaf necklace. I think it was only $2.80.

WISHLIST

Make sure you protect your new shoes with a fabric protecting spray, especially for shoes with faux suede. I like to use Kiwi Nano Super Protector spray and it's about $6 at Walmart or Target. Test a small area first to make sure that it doesn't change the color of the material, but I've never had a problem with it. I even use it on all my handbags.

Thanks for reading! =) I had to bust out in some Yoga poses, trying to not take these boot pictures through a mirror. LoL.

Copyright © 2009, Lady Lostris