Quick Review - Darlington Disappointment

My fall orders have been slowly rolling in (everything seems to be on backorder this time around!) and I recently got my hands on the Darlington Satchel in Indigo.



AudreyBella did a great review of the bag over at Life is Short...Buy the Shoes and she really loved it. Me? Not so much.

And here's why - it's not big enough!!!! I like my bags BIG (ask Rosa, Dina, and Drewablank) and this bag really isn't much bigger than an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. The online measurements are listed as 9"H x 14"W x 4 1/2"D, but the pictures made it seem big enough for my needs. Well, I should have paid more attention to those measurements because there is no way you can get more than a few files, a wallet, and an ipad/kindle in here. My laptop barely fit, and it's small and very slim. And for a girl that has been trained by many years in grad school that bags must hold EVERYTHING, that just doesn't cut it!

So although the bag is a beautiful color (it's a little darker with a more navy cast IRL than in the online pictures) and well constructed (see AudreyBella's great pics), it just wasn't for me. If you don't carry lots with you on a daily basis though, it might be worth tracking down - the indigo and light camel color are currently sold out online, while the black is still available.

Sealed With A Kiss Update

It seems like others may agree with what I said in my post on July, 27. Like nail polish, lipstick is an easy way to transition to a new season without spending a lot of money. My amazing friend and fellow contributor to this blog, Rosa, and creator of her own RosaLovesDC blog (it's amazing so you need to visit) tried to order the new Poppy King for J. Crew lipstick and told me that it's backordered until September. I was lucky enough to see it live when I went to my favorite J. Crew about two weeks ago. Well, I didn't buy it. Why? On my lips it was an EXACT match for Maybelline's Coral Crush that I already own. So, if you don't want to spend $18 or you are sick of waiting for your order to come in, I recommend going to your local drugstore and checking out Maybelline's Coral Crush.

If you're interested, there's also an article on page 216 in this month's Lucky about the lipstick and one of the three shades of nail polish, Hot Pepper (see below), a result of J. Crew and Face Stockholm's new partnership. I bought this color and love it. The polish is $12.

The article, J. CREW, BOTTLED, says, "Who doesn't want to channel the gorgeous, preternaturally refreshed models in the J. Crew Catalog? (Behati Prinsloo, we're looking at you! See image below) Especially that the amazing lipstick shade-you know, that can't-put-your-finger-on-it, reddish-pink coral? Now, lipstick guru Poppy King has concocted a single universally flattering shade that totally J. Crew-ifies your lips. (It's on the sheer side, so you can customize the amount of pigment you want.) Similarly inspired, Face Stockholm created a collection of nail lacquers based on the brand's best fall looks. The mango shade is pretty amazing with the aforementioned lipstick." In my opinion, the nail polish is more of a reddish-pink or watermelon shade than mango.

Image of lipstick and nail polish from J. Crew.com

Image from vanityfair.com

Obsessed! The Madewell Fall Lookbook is Amazing!

Madewell recently posted their Fall lookbook in their website and I became obsessed with these outfits. So many looks I want to recreate and so many items in my wish list for Fall. I cannot wait!

Up for grabs: codes and coupons

Hi all!  I've got a couple codes/coupons up for grabs:

• J.Crew free shipping codes: I have two of these available.  They expire tomorrow.
• Virtual Dollars from The Limited: They are good for $25 off a $50 purchase, and can be combined with each other (but not other coupon codes), as long as you meet the combined minimum (so $50 off $100 purchase).  I have two of these.  These expire August 7th.
• Tiered dollars off coupons from The Limited: $15 off purchase, $30 off $100, and $50 off $150.  I have two of each code. These expire August 7th.

If you know you will use these, please e-mail me at truecrewlove@gmail.com - first come, first served.