Tina Lee

2019: The Year in Review

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*It’s that time of the year when I round up all the wonderful, wonderful events of the year past and cram ‘em into a single post.

Personally, 2019 was over in just a blink, do you feel the same way? This year was pretty chill as far as my personal life goes but professionally, good lawrd. There were so many ups and downs. I’m lucky because most of these events were ups and I was able to survive really shitty situations! Let’s begin:

We started the year with a newborn and no yaya. Did I mention that I don’t have a fucking clue how to take care of a baby? I haven’t even held a newborn in my life before having Damien so you can imagine the kind of adjustment that we made throughout this journey.

It was sorta fun too because I got to know Damien more and more. And it’s quite liberating, caring for a newborn with no yaya, it made me appreciate mothers even more. My husband, was, of course, the real MVP. 

This year, I’ve grown a lot as a person and I’m gradually getting used to this parenting thang. Damien is such an active baby and good lord, he’s almost a toddler now!

Fam Reunion

There was discord in the family while I was pregnant and the only time I saw my family was after I gave birth when I let them see Damy. So them visiting the baby was like a mini family reunion of sorts. It was nice, seeing everyone and marveling at my son. He’s beautiful, after all.

I thank God that I had a healthy pregnancy because the people around me stressed me out. But you know, whatever, all’s well that ends well.

Losing the Baby Weight

There was also the matter of losing the baby weight. I gained 45 pounds while pregnant with Damien. A few weeks after giving birth, I lost 25 pounds. I had to wait for 6 months before I could work out because I was healing from the C-section. The first picture was taken in March 2019, three months after giving birth. I had no business visiting the gym at that time but I wanted to test the waters, so to speak.

The second picture was taken in September 2019. It’s funny because I didn’t really lose a pound in between these pictures. My flab turned to muscles, guys, I’m not lying. I was not dieting because I sort of like my new lifestyle now. 

Work became topsy turvy around Feb and March, I lost two long-time clients. Still grieving about it but I guess that’s how it is when you’re working from home, nothing really is forever. I was unable to replace these clients from March to September, can you believe it? To make matters worse, my then 4-year-old phone died on my birthday!

All these situations would’ve put me in a dour mood I didn’t really want to waste time feeling sad and moping around, we’ve got a mouth to feed. Around March, I decided to launch a couple of businesses, one of which is an online store. It was a really scary time because I wanted to save money but at the same time, I know I simply cannot depend on my other clients at that point. I just was not earning enough.

Granted, I was planning on launching the business in 2019 but my plan was to do it in July so I have enough time to save up. But you know, with the other clients letting me go, I had to act quickly. It was really a gamble, honestly. Though my businesses aren’t really earning enough for me to quit my day job, they gave me a bit of financial freedom.

The online store is at the point where it could sustain itself. I only need to market my stuff twice daily and I make enough for the month. The other business isn’t doing well, it’s just breaking even but that’s better than not earning anything at all. 

Now that I’m getting supplemental earnings, I’m not as worried about another client letting me go. I can maintain my lifestyle and keep the business going. In fact, two of the designer bags that I bought this year were from my business earnings, how cool is that? 

One thing that I realized after setting up my online shop, I no longer feel the need to buy more bags. It’s as if my focus is no longer to acquire these gorgeous bags but to earn more and save more money. That’s a true Christmas miracle.

Around May, I started getting it together looks-wise. I had a lot of time to do it but I was too distracted with my work issues that I didn’t do it until I have to. I had the ugleh pregnancy skin tags removed and then got a fresh cut + hair treatment. I felt like my old self again, guys.

Around June, we were preparing for Damien’s christening. I don’t like putting together an event, much more host the said event but I’m a mom now and I gotta do it. It was nice seeing some of the hubs’ friends because I know how much he misses them.

Here’s us together with the priest. And below is Damien with his perper before the ceremony began. 

I don’t have any pictures of the reception, which was set up in my parent’s home. I was so busy entertaining the guests, guys. But we’ve got pictures from the hub’s photographer cousin so there you go.

The succeeding months were a flurry of activities as I juggle work, an online store, and a baby. Also, my sister came home several times this month so we were always in the mall during these times. Here’s a random picture of the Lee siblings:

In November, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary in Clark Marriot and to put it mildly, the entire experience was not only a waste of our time, it was also a waste of money. Customer service sucks, read my bizarre experience here. 

Initially, we wanted to celebrate at Raffles since we had such an amazing time during our babymoon. But after spending hours stuck in traffic several drives back to the city, we thought it’s not worth going to the city at all. Bad move. Anyway, you live, you learn.

Before Damien, our December wasn’t as colorful. We don’t really bother with the decors. But this year’s different! We’ve got a tree and we hung Christmas stockings, the whole nine yards.

December is also my son’s birth month so we decided to book a stay at Marco Polo Ortigas for a mini celebration with his city-bound kin. We celebrated his birthday by booking rooms for his cousins and aunts. 

Marco Polo has two Christmas trees! We missed Santa by a few minutes. Not sayang because I can tell that Damien would cry at the sight of Santa, hahaha! 

We also hit the buffet, lol. Below is a pretty random picture of Damien after getting his first cut. I will upload the video on YT and then update this post with that video. My boy suddenly looked so big na!

On Christmas eve, we took pictures of Damien in his Christmas PJs. We decided to make his Christmas PJs a yearly tradition although this one’s totally unplanned. The PJs were given by his aunts! 

Here he was just a year ago!

And there’s our Christmas tree. This tree was decorated by my sister, my brother, and myself!

Instead of slaving away in the kitchen for our Noche Buena, we decided to order food from a caterer friend. We had roast beef, lasagna, rolled lechon belly, and baked salmon in garlic butter sauce. Too bad we didn’t take any pictures because the yaya is away and we had to eat inside the bedroom with our sleeping munchkin.

Yeah, I seem to forget about the pictures more and more. New Year will be spent here at home this year. We are planning on a NYE staycation next year and we will make this our little family tradition. We figured that we’ve spent Christmas with our relatives every time, why not spend NYE in the city and see the fireworks!

The clincher is that we are having another baby! That’s pretty much the reason why I forgot to publish my year-end review, it’s the pregnancy brain again.

Needless to say our hands will be full this year. I am already having a fabulous year and I know that it will keep getting better and better. Happy New Year to all of you! May we all achieve our goals this 2020, cheers!

 

 

Pregnancy Journey: Here We Go Again!

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It’s funny how we were planning to have another baby later this year or early next year only to find out days later that I was already 1 month along, hahaha!

So without even trying, we’ll be expecting a sibling for Damien sometime in September 2020.

I suspected that I was pregnant about two weeks ago when I started feeling crampy after an intense workout. Yes, I was working out like there’s no tomorrow for the past several months and it’s a good thing that this didn’t affect the baby so far. That’s gonna stop soon, I’m afraid.

A couple of nights back, I felt persistent cramping in my lower abdomen after spending hours at the mall with Damien and the hubs. That’s when I asked the husband to get me a pregnancy test. I couldn’t wait for the morning to take the test so I took one as soon as we got home. It tested positive and I just stood there for a second trying to process the whole thing.

I showed the test to the hubs and we literally spent the next one and a half-hour in shock. Not that we’re unhappy for being pregnant – quite the opposite because we wanted Damien to have a brother or a sister before he turns two – we just didn’t think conceiving would be this easy. And that we’d be conceiving this soon.

This early, I am already thinking of a good baby name. I felt that I’ll have another boy but I am crossing my fingers for a girl. Dorian Rocco is the working name right now. I like Rocco because it’s modern and Dorian is the name that we’ve already had in mind for a second boy. Vivienne Celetine still, if it’s a girl.

The good news, we’re doing this a second time so I feel that things will be less stressful to handle as far as where to give birth, what baby stuff to get, etc. Our only issue now is finding a full-time yaya for our little Peach!

So yes! Our family is growing soon so watch this space!

Review: DR. Ci Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion [You NEED This in Your Life]

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Hey guys, I’m back doing beauty reviews! Apart from having my hands full, I stopped using makeup after giving birth. I don’t feel my best most days and was not motivated to beat this face any further. But I’ve slowly dropped the extra weight and started feeling like my old self again.

No, I haven’t piled on the makeup but I focused on skincare even more. After giving birth, my skin was a sad mess but slowly, the dry patches were gone (I will write a separate post on how I restored my skin post-pregnancy). But my skin looked lackluster, the pores are larger, and I feel like my skin has become blotchy. That’s why I’ve been searching for the right product to even out my skin tone, brighten my skin, and minimize the pores.

Thankfully, my sister, who is an even better skincare junkie than yours truly, gave me this toner as a pasalubong: DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion!

Darlings, I say this with no exaggeration at all, you need this is in your life. The results are the reason why I felt compelled to do these product reviews again. This product also inspired me to take better care of my skin and shop for similar products.

What is it: DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion

According to the brand, Super-Keana Lotion “tackles the pores from all fronts, to make them tight, upright and invisible to the eye. This is a lightweight toner that unclogs the pores, refines the skin texture, and hydrates the skin:

UNCLOG – with AHA and Lactic Acid

TIGHTEN – with Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid SHIELD – with Pore Care Complex Blackheads are formed when the pore is clogged.

The DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion is enriched with water-soluble collagen and hyaluronic acid that give the skin a youthful, smoother appearance.

It has a refreshing orange scent and a cooling effect on the skin. I typically steer clear off orange-scented products because the fragrance triggers my migraine but this one has a light, pleasant smell.

The toner itself (the Japanese call it a “lotion”) looks like your average toner. It feels and looks like water. Just soak a cotton pad with the stuff, spread the product all over the skin after cleansing, and then leave the cotton pad on your problem areas. In my case, it’s my nose and chin, I have blackheads and whiteheads on these areas. I just leave the damp cotton pad on for a good 2 minutes and then follow up with my moisturizer.

Quality and Packaging

My sister got me one in a limited release packaging. She said that the product is often paired with other skincare products. The lotion came with a full-sized Neutrogena sunscreen spray, which I thought was so cool!

The product itself is housed in a simple plastic bottle with a silver screw cap. It feels so high in quality, the packaging. It’s not eco-friendly but I am a sucker for great packaging and the Labo Labo brand looks so luxe with this kind of limited release packaging.

Performance

I know this will come across as an exaggeration but guys, I’ve only used the DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion 3 times and already saw results. This is the truth.

I hate posting unflattering pictures but just to show you the difference, here is an unintended before and after  (I say this because the BEFORE pic was not intended to be compared with the after pic, it was a random close-up photo that I took in two different times but of the same month) The lighting was the only thing that’s different between these photos. One was taken indoors and the other at the mall.

Photo 10-27-19, 2 24 42 PM
Photo 10-29-19, 9 08 21 PM

In the first image, my skin looks rough and dry because it is. It’s not so obvious but I had dark spots also. The sides of my nose, for instance, are discolored. In the other picture, my skin looks smooth, clear, and bright. No makeup on both images, no retouching, no editing, no filter. These are all un-enhanced images.

I was so elated by the results, I literally scoured the four corners of the internet to buy a couple of bottles as a backup. This product is not available in the PH and I didn’t want to get this on Lazada for fears of getting fakes. I got extras from yesstyle.com. If you can hook me up with a local seller, that would be lovely.

A 200 ml. bottle of DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion retails for PHP1,400+, which I thought was reasonable given that you’re getting a big bottle of the product. A bottle is supposed to last a month or so when it’s used twice daily. I am only using this at night because the stuff is drying.

DR. Ci Labo Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion has AHAs so it will speed up cell turnover and promote collagen production. The downside is that, it causes dryness, at least initially. Right now, the sides of my nose are peeling but this should go away once my skin has adjusted to the toner.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been dealing with the troubles that come with skin-aging, if you have dry, rough, and blotchy skin, you NEED this in your life. I’ve been using this toner for more than two weeks now and the effects have been consistent. I saw and felt the effects just a few days of using this toner, applied once every night.

Review: Weekend At Clark Marriott Hotel (Elegant Interiors, Bad Customer Service)

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[This review has been recently updated]

Last weekend, the husband and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary. Initially, we wanted to go to the beach but Damien is still too small to travel so we had to celebrate nearby. We didn’t really want to go on a 3-hour drive to Manila for the celebration so we booked a weekender at the Marriot Hotel in Clark.

It’s our first time booking a stay in Pampanga and we really didn’t know what to expect. Clark Marriott is a new five-star hotel in Pampanga and it shows (we’ll get into that later)

The grand lobby and the interiors are gorgeous, everything looked chic and the perfumed air smells delightful.

The floor to ceiling windows are intricately frosted with these eye-catching patterns and the effect is no doubt luxurious and elegant.

The seating area looks uncomfortable – and it is – but it’s a work of art.

Guests are greeted with fresh blooms in every corner of the lobby. Overall, the interiors are fabulous.

We stayed in the executive room, which gives us access to the executive lounge. The room itself is thoughtfully designed, the bed is fabulous, the pillows, not so much.

The bathroom is okay, it’s clean and it has all the essentials but not really worth writing home about:

We were greeted with a chocolate bar, it was a nice gesture. The view from our hotel is gorgeous.

We hung out at the executive lounge shortly after we arrived in our room. Our room is literally just a door away from the executive lounge, which is cool.

We had a couple of cups of coffee then waited for a bit before heading to the pool area. The pool area is nice although the views were ruined by buildings being constructed all around. In the angle below, you cannot see the construction sites but the other side is chaos.

We also checked out the casino on Clark Marriott Hotel’s sister hotel, Widus. We didn’t really win anything, heheheehe!

Gorgeous Hotel, Bad Customer Service

As you can see, the Clark Marriott looks every bit a 5-star hotel. No expense was spared to create these gorgeous interiors, fabulous works of art, cozy ambiance. It’s a nice hotel. But the customer service, I find lacking and this is the reason why I am writing a separated review for the customer service.

Bad Customer Service

The minute we walked into the hotel, I felt that I had to keep my expectations low. We parked at the back of the hotel and we had to walk for a bit to get to the entrance. No was there to offer assistance with our bags. When we got into the hotel lobby, no one offered a hand with our bags.

When we got to the front desk, I asked if our room has a bathtub because I saw a bathtub in the booking.com pictures for our specific room. We were told that our room has no bathtub. I was surprised and disappointed that there is no bathtub. The rep was like, “Oh, I will let our marketing team know that the pictures were all wrong.” I didn’t mention that we were celebrating our anniversary na and just let her confirm the booking but I knew we’re in for a shitty time and I was right.

We were also expecting a complimentary high tea but again, the girl said it was not a part of the room perks. I was, again, surprised because I checked booking.com’s list of inclusive incentives and I could’ve sworn that high tea was a part of it. Again, whatever.

So we got to our room and headed to the executive lounge to have coffee. The snacks and coffee were all complimentary and are available all day. When we got there, no one was there to assist us. Literally, the staff members were just floating around or looking at the computer screen, not minding the guests.

When a family of foreigners came to the lounge, they were all over the whites like freakin’ hyenas in heat. I’m being very specific with female staff members. We felt discriminated, honestly. It was actually my husband who noticed all these, I was drinking my coffee and busy with my phone. No one was minding the guests until the foreigners arrived. And this happened to another Filipino couple too, they were simply being ignored while the whites were getting five-star treatment, it’s hilarious and sad.

We saw an old white guy sitting beside what looked like a GRO (Google to know what this means) and they got better treatment than us. Not that I’m shitting all over/judging the GRO’s hustle but she got better treatment at an executive lounge because she’s with a white guy? Come on.

You cannot make this shit up.

Bending the Rules

Kids aren’t allowed in the executive lounge and yet, the whites’ kids are welcome to run around. In the pool area, teens (foreigners also) were running around in the shallow parts of the pool. No one was there to warn them to slow down. One of the teens inevitably slipped, almost split his skull in the process and ended up sitting out the rest of their time in the pool. Yan kase.

Inexperienced Nurse

Got a bit of a stomach ache at around 3AM and asked for meds, the staff won’t give meds because “they are not allowed to give meds.” My husband asked for a nurse so we could get a fucking buscopan and when the nurse arrived, she just stood by my side, asked me to describe the pain (which I did, thrice), and was just saying “Aaah,” everytime I describe the pain. Convo went around like this:

Nurse: Panong sakit po ba? Nangangasim? (Can you describe the kind of stomach ache you’re experiencing? Is it acid-induced?)

Me: No, parang cramps, basta masakit sya pero hindi ako nangangasim. (It’s like muscle cramps, it’s painful but it’s not hyperacidity)

Nurse: San po masakit? (where does it hurt?)

Me: Dito sa tyan bandang gitna. (right here in the middle)

Nurse: (didn’t look where my hands were placed) Dito po ba sa may taas, baba…? Banda po saan? (Is it the upper abdomen, the lower abdomen…?)

Me: Miss, literal hawak ko yung part na masakit, ayan o *sabay turo sa part na masakit* (I’m literally holding the part that hurts, points to the part that hurts)

Nurse: Aah, dyan po ba? (Oh, that part) *Nakahawak sa hot compress, not offering it*

Me: (takes the hot compress) Akina na lang nga yan. (Just give me the hot compress.)

The nurse didn’t give her recommendations, no suggestions for meds, she was so fucking inexperienced it’s as if the hotel didn’t know how to handle basic things like this. We ended up phoning the front desk out of frustration and asking their staff to get us fucking buscopan. And they did after 30 minutes, sana umpisa pa lang sinabi na nila na pwede naman palang magpabili.

To Sum Up

Essentially, the bad customer service, the weird discrimination we received, the initial disappointment with the bathtub, and the subsequent experience with the inexperienced nurse totally ruined what could’ve been a fun weekend for me and my husband. We stayed at a PHP15K a night room and honestly, we got better treatment at GO! Hotels (a budget hotel for travelers). We overpaid for such crappy service and the room isn’t all that either. Wasted day, wasted money, wasted time celebrating an important life event.

Never again.

[Update] A Word from Clark Marriott

So a rep from Clark Marriott got in touch with me to address the discrimination that we experienced at the hotel. I won’t be posting the entire response because it addressed some other things that aren’t really as important as the preferential treatment that the staff members have shown to white guests:

Likewise, we apologize that you and your husband felt discriminated during your stay. If you could allow me to share, apart from being a leisure venue, we mainly operate as a business hotel. Having said that, we do receive a lot of corporate repeat and extended stay guests, both of local and foreign nationalities. I can imagine that you might have noticed that there is a certain familiarity with certain guests amongst our associates and I can understand how this may be perceived negatively in comparison to the interactions they have with other guests. We definitely see this an opportunity for improvement and will be addressing this to all our associates accordingly.

Here’s my response:

“Familiarity,” between guests and hotel employees is not an excuse to show better treatment to other guests, Charmaine. We all paid equal amounts of money for our time at the Marriot and deserved equal treatment.

It’s quite coincidental that the majority of your hotel staff members are so nice to the foreigners but are quite neutral to local guests. You are working at a 5-star hotel, not a guest house.

My husband stayed at the Marriott Hotel in India and was so embarrassed by the way your hotel staff treated local guests. Literal daw na parang baby sila sa India pero dito sa Marriott PH, may discrimination kasi hindi sila puti. I mean, seriously Ms. Charmaine, there’s no justifying that. Medyo nakakahiya kayo sa mga kababayan natin.

Your staff is bending the rules sa mga foreigners, even sa executive lounge but are ignoring local guests. Your staff is providing better treatment for foreigners. I’ve been to nicer hotels and I can see that Clark Pampanga is not ready to provide the level of customer service that the Marriott brand is known for, so sad and disappointing.

I know your marketing team and no doubt, your hotel staff members have read my review on my website. Take that review as a sign to re-train your hotel staff members so you don’t end up ruining the Marriott name even more. There won’t be a next time, unfortunately.

Just goes to show that there was preferential treatment at the Marriott and it was not just us. It must be so easy to forget that you’re working at a 5-star hotel, interacting with all these repeat customers and all. Gurl, you treat everyone with the same level of service and courtesy, hindi lang dahil kilala mo.

Here’s a tip next time you get the same complaint (which I hope you won’t) write this instead: It is truly with great regret that we were unable to provide you the experience you expected, rest assured that we will be addressing this to all our associates accordingly. We sincerely apologize.

Ganun ka-simple, none of the excuses, none of the fluff; go straight to the apology for a crappy customer service.

I rest my case.

What the Heck is a Beauty Fridge (and Why You NEED One Right Now)

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Let’s talk about something totally frivolous but surprisingly useful: a beauty fridge. Also known as a cosmetics fridge, a kikay fridge, a car fridge, or a skincare fridge, a beauty fridge is exactly that: it’s a small fridge for your skincare products.

My dwindling passion for self-care was all fired up once again after trying out this really good Japanese toner, which I will review very soon. This led to me, going on a shopping spree, for more beauty products because, you know, why not.

As I was going through product after product, I realized that skincare products feel nicer when they cool the skin. This isn’t a unique idea at all, in fact, I know most beauty junkies store their skincare products in the fridge.

But I thought, I know some Asian beauty junkies use an actual mini fridge for their skincare products and perhaps, I should get one too. For, you know, research. What followed was a fervent, two-hour e-window shopping on Lazada looking for the most perfect skincare fridge and when I found ~THE ONE~, I shamelessly asked my husband to get it for me.

[Thank you to my dashing benefactor for giving me all the useless, most ridiculous things that I ask for]

Two days later, my beauty fridge came, behold:

I chose the white one because I’ve plans of filling the door with stickers. The stickers are taking too long to arrive but whatever. I ordered this from Lazada via Latest Gadget and honestly, this is the same model that some insta stores are selling but is much, much cheaper from this store. There are even cheaper ones but I chose this model because the side door has a tiny shelf for more beauty stuff. See?

Setting up this baby is easy because it’s essentially a plug and play device but it does have a cooling/heating option so you have to choose the right setting first.

Once plugged in, it works quietly, I couldn’t even hear it humming. This beauty fridge comes with a removable horizontal divider but I took it off because some of my skincare products are tall. Filled it with stuff and waited for the mini-fridge to do its magic (the orange bottle is the toner I was talking about!)

Don’t expect the mini-fridge to be freezing cold though. It won’t produce ice at all. On the manual, it says that this is more of a cooler than a mini-fridge and I agree, it will just leave your stuff cool to the touch. I love how it cools my toners, the application feels so nice and refreshing.

The body of the mini-fridge itself is made from hard, durable plastic.  It’s not gonna survive WWIII but I think it’s durable enough to withstand a few bumps. There is a handle at the top of the mini-fridge so you can tote this baby around like the badass that you are, lol It also comes with two types of electric cords, one for home use and another for car use.

The white mini-fridges are currently sold out but the pink ones are still available in case you’d like to score a beauty fridge [NOT A SPONSORED POST, just helping a sister out]. So ya, I suggest you get one. It’s not expensive at all. I know cooling your skincare products won’t extend the shelf life of the products but it does make application even more pleasant.

BTW, My website is in the midst of a migration process so not sure if everything’s showing right.

Reveal and Review: The Balenciaga Bazar Shopper

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As promised, here is a review of the Balenciaga Bazar Shopper. I’ve been wearing the bag frequently and I am enjoying the experience.

The Bag: Balenciaga Bazar Shopper XS

The Balenciaga Bazar Shopper tote was launched in 2016 for the house’s Fall/Winter collection and it certainly perplexed fashionistas because of the inspiration behind the design: Thailand’s ubiquitous sampeng bag. It’s literally inspired by a market bag, guys.

This bag comes in so many colorways, most of which are quite colorful. I’m not into colorful bags at the moment so I had my eye on the color and black combo. Since that’s nowhere to be found, I opted for the sky blue and gray combo, close enough.

My bag comes in XS aka the Mini size. I believe the bazar shopper comes in five sizes – but don’t quote me on that – the XXS, XS, Small, Medium, and Large. I usually don’t like bags that stand too tall and since the Bazar’s lambskin material softens over time, the larger sizes lose their structure even more. The XS is more structured so it doesn’t lose its shape.

Also, the small size is too big for me. I’ve been wearing mini bags as of late and the small is too dang clunky to wear, I can imagine.  I also don’t like the way the top slouches when you put a lot of stuff in the bag so I opted for the cuter size.

The Quality

The inspiration behind the Balenciaga Bazar is a cheap market bag and I feel that the design reflects that. No, the bag does not look cheap but it emulates that aesthetic if that makes sense.

For starters, high-end designer bags tend to have tone-on-tone stitching. That’s not the case with the Bazar, the stitching is white against the black leather trims and the white thread stands out  – a little too starkly, to be honest. That’s part of the look.

The stitches are also fewer than the usual, just 4 stitches per inch, which is supposed to “mimic the inexpensive craftsmanship that you would find in a traditional market bag.” That’s not to say that the bag isn’t durable. The seams are reinforced so the cheapened appearance is just that, for appearance.

The Bazar is crafted from supple lambskin, which might’ve been treated to achieve its somewhat glossy, crinkly finish. This is the first time that I’ve touched lambskin leather and it feels so nice. I sort of understand the hype over lambskin Chanel classic flap now. The material is thinner than any of my calfskin leather bags for obvious reasons but the lambskin reduced the weight of the bag. It’s so fucking lightweight.

The striped leathers were stitched together to create the “body” of the bag, which also adds to the durability of the purse. As far as the quality goes, the Bazar is one sturdy bag.

The Details

The bazar has palladium hardware. As much as I love gold hardware, I think the silver hardware looks better in this particular colorway. I like the quality of the leather, it does feel durable but is so freakin’ lightweight. All of my bags with the exception of this one are all made from calfskin. The bigger ones can be hella heavy at times. No such problem with the Bazar XS.

I love the strap, the length is just right. I can wear it as a crossbody or shoulder bag and the Bazar does not look awkward at all.

Although light, the strips of leather are actually reinforced – especially the bottom! The Balenciaga Bazar has two zippers, which I thought was a great touch. The zips do not glide as smoothly as I would like, however, but that’s just a minor thing, not a deal-breaker at all.

This is the third mini bag in my collection and honestly, there is nothing mini about it. It’s a sizable bag for sure. It fits my makeup pouch, my continental wallet, key holder, wet wipes, and even my foldable umbrella.

Even when filled to the brim, the Balenciaga Bazar still has room for more on either side of the interior. Both sides have size pockets for more stuff, one’s an open pocket and the other one’s a zipped pocket. If you love the look of mini bags but you’re not used to the cramped space, you will definitely love the Bazar!

The Cons

The hardware feels light. It’s not flimsy at all, don’t get me wrong, just light. I’m so used to my other bags having hefty hardware, I guess. Also, I feel that the top part of the bag that zips up will soften and deform at some point. The extra flaps get in the way when I get my stuff in and out and if I use the bag often, these parts will be the first to deform.

Mod Shots

Final Thoughts

In all honesty, this is one of the best bags I’ve purchased. Don’t let the size fool you, the Balenciaga Bazar is one roomy tote. It’s stylish with a classic shape, the color combination is sooo cool, and it makes any outfit pop. Even when full, the Bazar mini is able to hold its shape, something that’s not possible with its bigger siblings. I favor structured bags and the bigger Bazars are definitely slouchy so I feel that I got the perfect size.