Introducing TummyTox

I'm always excited to try new skincare and beauty brands, whether products or beauty gadgets and when it's both, it's double the fun! Recently I was introduced to the lifestyle brand Tummy Tox, and in this post, I will be sharing the products they kindly sent me and my respective opinions on each, plus a little offer for you if you read till the end!

The products kindly sent to me by Tummy Tox Malta

TummyTox was founded by girls, for girls to help us look and feel better every day. Their range of products covers everything from weight loss to beauty, health, and detox. When the brand reached out to me, I gladly accepted to test some of their products from the beauty and detox ranges out, and share them with you. So, without further ado, let's get into the products in no particular order.

Starting with some gummies, I chose the Multivitamin Gummies and the Shine Bright Gummy Bears, with the former being my favourites as far as taste is concerned. When taken as part of a healthy, balanced diet and active lifestyle, supplements have more of a beneficial effect and when they come in the form of gummies, they are of course more fun to take than a pill. To actually see results, you would need to take at least 3 months' worth of vitamins (6 months will give you better results) and I was given one month of each. I cannot really comment on the effect of the multivitamin ones but I have seen a difference in how hard my nails are ever since I started on the Shine Bright ones and my skin seems to be clearer too. I don't really like the taste of them too as I find it too sugary. However, they have apparently changed the formula to resemble the taste of the Multivitamin gummies so I would be willing to try them again seeing that they already gave me good results.

Both Vitamin gummies are vegan and are rich in essential vitamins and minerals and they are free from gluten, lactose, gelatine and GMO's.

 (Retail Price: €15 each for a month's supply)

Moving on to another beauty product, the K-WOW Face Mask, made out of kaolin clay to deeply cleanse oily skin types. When you first open the mask, it looks as if it has separated. Don't worry, that's normal; you just have to stir it into a homogenous mixture with the provided spatula, apply on clean skin and leave on for 10 - 15 minutes before rinsing it off thoroughly. I find that after using this mask, my skin looks clearer and brighter and it feels fresher too! The product information claims that by time, pores will diminish in size and thus prevents the formation of blackheads. The mask has a 4-in-1 action: deep cleansing, detoxifying, toning and brightening. I can attest that results can be seen from the very first application, so definitely give this a try if you have oily skin prone to blackheads! (Retail Price: €15 for a 75ml pot)

The thing I was most excited to try from this pack was of course the Tummy Tox Vacuum Pore Cleaner. I have been wanting to try one but they are always so expensive so when I saw the Tummy Tox one, I knew I had to try it and share it with you! It comes with 5 different suction heads to suit every skin need (always read the enclosed leaflet to choose the best one for you), 6 filters and a charging USB cable. It has 3 varying speeds, which of course you need to adapt according to your skin type/needs. This nifty gadget claims to 

• suck out all the dirt stuck in your pores by removing blackheads, impurities and excess oils 
• lightly exfoliates the skin 
• improve micro-circulation in the skin
• lifts and tightens the skin and reduced the appearance of double chin
• massages the skin and improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

I have been using this once a week as part of my skin care regime (paired with the K-WOW Face Mask) and my skin seem to look more radiant. I have also been using this on hubby who has much oilier skin than I do and is also more prone to blackheads and well, it being gadget, let's say he enjoys using this 😜 and is always pleased with the (disgusting) results. (Retail Price: €35 for the full set).

Going back to supplements, I have been given a pack of 15 Beauty Drink (now Collagen Drink) sachets which I have been taking day-in, day-out with my main meal. I really like the blueberry taste of this and combined with the Shine Bright beauty gummies, it will give you better results since they both work for the same results. Collagen is a protein and it is the basis of hair, skin and nails. Maintaining it's levels is important for younger-looking skin and prevention of sagging skin so any help is always appreciated, especially if it comes in the form of a tasty drink. (Retail Price: €20 for 15 sachets). 

Lastly, I have to rave about this Lash'N'Brow Enhancer which I have been using religiously every day on my brows. I love how easy it is to apply and it lasts so long! I love to apply it every morning and evening as part of my skin care routine for stronger brow hairs. Growing up, I never had bushy brows and the hairs are on the finer side. To top it off, plucking and waxing caught up with time and my brows have become more sparse at the front part. Luckily, with the Tummy Tox Lash'N'Brow Enhancer, I am noticing that I'm taking less time to fill my brows when doing makeup so I guess it's working! As for my lashes, I cannot say that I am enthusiastic about trying it as while I was initially testing the product, I was suffering from seasonal allergies and had puffy eyelids and crusty skin around my eyes so I cannot say if it was wholly due to the allergies or if the product had anything to do with it.

As a thank you for supporting my page, Tummy Tox have agreed to offer you a €5 discount when mentioning my page for any order over €25 or FREE delivery when purchasing just one product. For orders, you can either place your order online at www.tummytoxmalta.com, contact 79816974, or email sales@tummytoxmalta.com. Don't forget to mention Lara's Pint of Style to avail of the above offer!

PR Products. All opinions are my own based on my experience using the products.

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The Real Cost of Luxury

Luxury bags and shoes are objects of desire and thus, while they are definitely not a necessity, they are obviously nice to have; I mean they are luxuries for a reason. In this post, I wanted to talk about the real cost of luxury, specifically bags and shoes as they tend to be the most sought-after items from designer houses. By this, I don't mean the hefty price tag they carry when in reality they cost a fraction of that to produce, but rather some points and extra costs to consider when buying a luxury designer bag.

1. Are the bag/shoes easy to integrate with your wardrobe? 

This first point looks like a no-brainer, but you wouldn't believe how many times I have heard people recounting how they had to either sell their bags/shoes because they couldn't style them with anything from their wardrobe, or else, they had to buy a considerable number of outfits to match their new purchase. This would of course result in an extra expense, potentially losing you money that could have easily been put towards your next designer purchase. If you're still starting out your luxury collection, I advise you to stick to safe colours you know would work well with what you already have rather than being adventurous, especially when making such an expensive purchase, then work your way up from there. 

2. Insurance

Congratulations, you have bought a designer bag! You're probably already planning outfits in your head with it taking centre stage and thinking of all the fabulous places you will carry your bag to. Did you think about insuring it though? Nowadays, most people have a home and contents insurance policy in place and that's fine. However, I do suggest you add your designer bags as nominated high-risk items in your insurance policy especially if they cost over €2000, just like you would an engagement ring or luxury timepiece. Insuring your bags will give you that extra peace of mind just in case your bag is lost or stolen. Different companies have different policies and insurance products, so it's best to consult with your insurance provider to see what best suits your needs.

3. Wear and tear restoration costs

No matter how kind you are to your bags, wear and tear is bound to happen and that is not usually covered by insurance policies. Some of the bigger brands have what they call a bag spa (same for shoes) and it usually costs a pretty penny for them to restore your goods. You can always look at other options but unless local entities have a sterling reputation for repairing and restoring luxury goods, I would rather pay and have the items in question restored by the brand's artisans themselves. Bear in mind that this make take months and as I said before, it can be expensive.

4. Bag charms and other accessories

If you are familiar with Dior and Hermès, you often see photos of their bags, specifically the Lady Dior, Kelly and Birkin sporting a Twilly scarf (or in Dior's case a mitzah) or a leather bag charm. I for one, have recently added a mitzah to my Lady Dior bag because a) it looks pretty and b) it protects the delicate lambskin leather on the handle. At the time of writing, the Dior mitzah will set you back €195 while the Hermès Twilly costs €165. However, the primary aim of these accessories is to make the bags look prettier (and cause you to spend more money on a particular brand 😝). In my opinion, the Hermès leather charms are way too expensive for what they are; they cost upwards of €400 and in my opinion, I rather put that money towards something else than add a charm that is doing nothing to protect my bag. But, if you like the look of them, by all means, go ahead!

My Lady Dior with the Dior Millefiori Mitzah tied as a bow

5. Bag Inserts & Storage Solutions

After buying an expensive bag, the last thing you want is for it to lose its shape and structure and start getting all slouchy. Not only will this make the bag itself look cheap, but in the end, it will also put you off using your bag. Bag inserts (specifically tailored organizers or pillows) are a great way of preventing this from happening but, as is often the case, the good ones come at a price. Some people prefer to invest in clear boxes which make for a beautiful display, yet at the same time provide a practical solution to protecting the bag when not in use. Moreover, as your collection grows, you might need to consider better and bigger storage solutions.

Key Holders, Card Holders...

Lastly, we not only want to protect the bag from the outside, but also form the inside, especially bags with leather interiors. For this purpose, you might want to, for example, consider buying a key holder which will help prevent scratches. Again, this will set you back another €200 or so, depending on what you opt for so you might want to keep that in mind as an additional cost to the ultimate price of a luxury bag. Furthermore, when buying a smaller/evening designer bag, you might want to think of downsizing the size of your wallet, hence, you might want to buy a cardholder. Cardholders come in at different price points so be sure to look out for the one that best suits your needs and budget.

That concludes my post about additional costs to luxury buys. I hope you found this interesting, enjoy your luxury shopping!

Buying My First Chanel Bag

Here we are again. The beginning of a new year which we all hope will be better than the last. Although to be fair, 2021 was already better than 2020 for me personally - started with a positive Covid test (luckily it didn't affect us much) and ended with buying a Chanel bag 😅; not to mention I got to travel twice, as opposed to once in the previous year. I really can't complain!

So as you can tell by the title of this post, and by popular demand from the answers in my Instagram poll, I will be sharing my experience in buying my first Chanel bag. Now you should know that I have dreamed of owning a Chanel bag ever since I was like 13 years old, and even though I couldn't afford one at the time, that didn't stop me from dreaming that one day I will have my very own Chanel bag. That day my dears, was to be the 28th of December 2021, and I still can't believe I finally did it!

Chanel as a brand (and designer) doesn't need any introduction and if you follow the world of luxury designer goods, you might know that Chanel is considered to be a halo brand, in the sense that their items tend to increase or hold their value. Some people also argue that buying a classic Chanel bag is a very good investment as it is guaranteed that the value of it will increase. However, brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Dior for example, tend to increase their prices (or adjust, as they like to refer to it) often. In fact, during the pandemic, Chanel alone has had 3 or 4 price increases, and to be honest, it was driving me mad and I kept putting off buying a Chanel bag for that particular reason. But in my heart of hearts, I knew that I still wanted one but I still wasn't ready to pay over €7K for a Chanel bag so I waited it out until the perfect bag at the 'perfect' price point comes along.

So last August, while we were in Rome, I went into the Chanel store at Piazza di Spagna to buy a brooch and I remember seeing a bag (can't remember the model but I'm pretty sure it was not one of the classics) in a gorgeous shade of green but I knew I'd feel guilty if I bought it as well as I still needed to go to Hermès to buy a pair of Oran sandals. You might laugh at this, but when I say that bag still haunts me, believe me, it does and if I could, I would honestly kick myself for passing it up because it was reasonably priced. After this episode, I decided that 2021 was going to be THE year I finally pull the trigger on a Chanel bag. That is if we were going to travel again as we still don't have any big luxury brand stores here in Malta.

Luckily, along with my family, we planned to visit Vienna for Christmas; thus, fast forward to December and I finally bought my very first Chanel Rectangular Mini from the Cruise 2021/22 Collection. So without further ado, let's get into the details of that fateful day 😄. The Chanel Vienna store is situated in a very beautiful area of the city of course, where all the big designers are. We had to wait outside for about 20 minutes as the number of people inside the shop was being limited because of the current situation of course. When we were allowed inside, we were greeted by a very lovely sales associate who made my experience truly memorable right from the start (I even got the tour of the boutique). I didn't have a specific model in mind as the Chanel website is not that user friendly and they do not upload all the bag models there so I just asked for a bag in mini or small size (what suits me), not black (already have the YSL and Dior Wallets On Chain) and not pink (already have the Lady Dior) and, with gold hardware. 

She pulled out this beige and black Rectangular Mini right away and some other Classic Flap models too but as soon as I saw this bag I knew it was what I wanted 😍. Like I said, I didn't even know it existed as on the website they only have the black and white models and the fabric ones. I took my time to examine and try on the bag and I further confirmed that it was meant to be when I looked inside and saw Made in France under the Chanel logo! I honestly don't think I could have done better for my first time! Just to paint the whole picture, Chanel bags are either made in France or Italy. Although this by no means affects the quality of the final product, in my eyes, having a Chanel bag that says Made in France is the best combination simply because France is the brand's home country. I felt like I was going to cry! I just cannot believe that I finally managed to buy a Chanel bag all by myself!

I love the colour combination and given how hard to come by caramel and beige tones are at Chanel, that was a score on its own. The leather is lambskin as Rectangular Minis don't come in caviar (textured) leather anymore and the hardware is champagne gold. On the inside, there is one big compartment, one small pocket at the back, and a zip compartment. On the outside, at the back, there is a Monalisa pocket like the bigger sized classics and the opening is a single flap with the familiar interlocking CC twist-lock. The chain is in signature Chanel style with lambskin leather inter-woven with the chain links. 

Typically, a Mini Flap will come with only 2 grommets for the chain as it is meant to be worn as a cross-body. However, you can cheat your way to wearing it as a shoulder bag by tying the chain on the inside as shown in the photo (use a white ribbon to avoid colour transfer), or you can also use a chain adjuster clip but I wouldn't recommend this for lambskin leather as it can mark it. The total chain drop is 58.4cm.

Lastly, the price; the leather Rectangular Square Minis are still reasonably priced at €3800 as they are seasonal pieces. They are not cheap, far from it but they will most likely keep increasing in price so if you're thinking of buying one, don't wait until tomorrow. Remember Chanel increases prices on their popular items quite frequently.

Thank you so much if you have made it this far, let me know your thoughts about this bag and Chanel in general in the comments. f you're not done yet and want more tips on buying designer bags, check out this other post - https://laraspintofstyle.blogspot.com/2020/03/tips-on-buying-your-first-luxury-handbag.html.