Shop Talk : Earth Elements in Savannah Plaza

Bush tea, aloe vera wash out and garlic remedies are all familiar to you if you live in the Islands. Now that the world seems more focused on the benefits of going natural, the natural/organic industry is hurriedly harnessing the wave to sell us all kind of natural/organic labelled items. Amidst all of this jabber, I was directed by a fellow blogger and youtuber Michelle,  to Earth Elements, a store specializing in natural products.

Earth Elements is located at Shop #3A in Savannah Plaza on Constant Spring Road in Kingston Jamaica. This is the plaza across from popeyes. I visited there last week and picked up a bottle of Argan Oil and an all-natural Blackberry Soap because my skin is irritated and is still suffering from the wicked sunburn I got the other day. (Rave Review coming soon!).

The store is small but the two workers who were there were very pleasant and everything was clearly labelled with the ingredients listed on each label. Happily, all the products I examined were bottled in Jamaica and I did not see one sulfate of any kind on any labels, nothing with added fragrance and nothing with added mineral oil. Their products are varied - from natural soaps like the one I picked up, to raw shea butter and cocoa butter in tubs, to bath salts, various body oils and scented oils and loads of candles.

The prices ranged from $100 up to $800 (JMD) which, I thought was pretty affordable. The ladies were eager to help and they were knowledgeable about each of the products that were there (gasp!) which is a special treat for me as a Jamaican consumer. Remind me to tell you about my experience trying to shop for a wedding dress here.

The Argan Oil I picked up was $360 and a little goes a long way. The blackberry soap was $200 and best believe I will be visiting that store again very soon. If you are looking for a product and want to make sure they have it in stock then you can give them a call at 926-4428.

I am not associated with Earth Elements or the persons who work there or own it. I just really like what I saw and I think they deserve some support. So if you check them out let me know how your experience was. :) Also, if you are a hair product nerd they have a wide array of natural products. I am currently on a ban until I finish the products I am using.

I will be doing a post/video on my hair routine or my top hair products pretty soon but I have a couple more shops to recommend to you guys so look out for that!

Till later,
Jane

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Will the Real Red please stand up? Chanel Red Review

If you know me you will have probably heard me preach about the universal appeal of red lips just about every chance I get. I have constantly been on the look out for a great red lipstick with excellent colour pay off, real moisturizing properties and actual staying power.

I have sung the praises of lip stains and lip colours that last longer than the 3 hours it takes for me to eat my lisptick and have been convinced to think that this was as good as it was going to get. Boy, was I ever wrong!!

When I was sixteen I promised myself that I would get a Chanel red lipstick, having fallen in love with the classic appeal of the brand. There is no Chanel counter in Jamaica as far as I know and if there was one there would probably be no chance of me being able to conscientiously spend the money in Jamaican dollars. So, when I got the opportunity to travel to London recently (more on this later) and spotted the Chanel store in Covent Garden I knew it was time.

The black and white sign might as well have been neon and I dragged my companion promptly towards the store between the crowd of tourists and the rain. I immediately bee-lined for the lipsticks and started swatching. I kid you not, I nearly swooned. It was perfect! And it was that much sweeter a satisfaction because I had previously gone into Selfridges to check out the Tom Ford lipsticks but I had been sorely disappointed with their colour pay off and semi-sheerness.

When the store clerk came over and asked if I was taking it I had no choice but to say yes. My memory isn't very clear on what took place afterwards, because I was still swooning and all, but I think it was something like 25 pounds. I'm not quite sure, I'm sorry. I got the Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense lip colour in # 99 'Pirate' - you can see it here on the US site where it is listed for $34.00 USD (yikes?)

The colour and application was smooth, velvety and luxurious. One coat and it fully swathed my lips in rich opaque colour. Which is like a really big deal for me since my bottom lip is very very pink.The tube is a rich black casing with a gold-coloured interior on a spring that you push on gently so it slides out and you apply. Very fancy and va-va-voom if you ask me.

Now by all means, I am not saying you should go out and spend this much money on a tube of lipstick, but as my best friend religiously berates me when I moan about spending 'you get what you pay for'. If you spend this money it WILL be worth it. I wore it out on the town last weekend and even though I had applied  it at almost 9pm, it lasted me through till I woke up the next morning (yes I was bad and didn't wipe off my lipcolour). So the lipstick (along with the lipliner I purchased in duty -free - I blame Laura for this! lol) lasted me through one heineken, food, two mixed drinks and popcorn. I would call that a success right?!

Anyway, I will be inserting pictures of the packaging, of it swatched and such shortly in the meantime here are pictures of the packaging etc. I haven't gotten up the nerve to waste it on the back of my hand yet. lol

  

Till later!
Jane

ps- let me know if you want a video showing how to get the perfect red lip. :)

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Female Money - Moolah Talk for the Ladies

One of the very first differences between men and women that I recognized as a child when my parents would get together with their friends is that women would take about their lives and the men would talk about politics and money and business. And it seemed to stand fast as a rule of thumb no matter what part of Jamaica we were living in at the time.


As a newlywed wife, and a young Attorney I have come to the realization that I have a whole lot to learn about money, and I have a short time to learn it in. I am not going to bore you by complaining about the economy and so forth but I feel like it's important to share what I have learnt about money and my attitude towards it and what has been working for me, especially as a woman.

I need a legitimate, tangible reason to save and a deadline for it: Saving for a 'rainy day' didn't mean squat to me. Tell me when that rainy day is coming and how much it's gonna cost me and I'll save for it. Investments I cannot go online and watch or call in and check on? No sah! I want to see my money doing what you say it's doing! This attitude meant that my savings accounts were low and my spending was high. Bad formula for grown-up spending.

When I got my first permanent job, I was pounced on by agents from several institutions telling me about ways to put my money away for the future and taking care of my parents and future children and marriage and I made some mistakes by choosing options that didn't satisfy me but through it I learned what did work and why. This is the guide I now use to inform me how I want to save and invest and hopefully, it will be of some use to you:

1. Lie to yourself - as much as I hate to admit it, you do have to put money away and not touch it at all for the 'future' however darn elusive that may sound. Get a pension - and get it on a standing order so that it comes out before you notice it and then lie to your self that your pay check is actually the amount remaining. Make sure that it's something you can track though or else you'll feel like its a waste.
2. Wishlist it - set a spending ceiling for yourself for each day/week/month depending on how often you find yourself tempted - if you see something you want that is above that ceiling then put it on your wishlist. I have a wishlist on my phone and whenever I see something I want I type it in and leave it. Do not take a picture of it though, you don't wanna trick yourself into liking it more than you do. At the end of the week/month/year look at the wishlist and prioritize and only get one or two things
3. Keep it tight - Have your spending account separate from the account your salary goes into. Look at your mandatory expenses for the month and transfer that into your spending account with a little to spare. In an emergency you can always run to the ATM or use a credit card. And emergencies are just that - few and far between and not apart of everyday, normal life so don't panic, k?
4. Easy is fun - short term goals are easy. Break up long term goals into short term goals so they are easier to meet. For example if you want to save $100,000 in a year, then go for 2 or 3 extreme saving periods and take breaks in between. The breaks will allow you to relax and enjoy life and the extreme/super time will not seem so torturous because they will be for a short time
5. Women do Know best : women generally are not risk takers and are very observant. This should not stop us from going in on investments. Look at your options  and choose a group of low-risk investments and investigate them and track their progress. Interested in stocks? Look at the Junior Stock Exchange Market; interested in bonds? Look at some Government Bonds. Don't want anything that you have to watch for? Saving on an insurance policy short term is a good idea as well. My rule of thumb is I do not invest any amount that I don't have to spare after I save and pay for mandatory expenses and tithe. And if you invest and make a profit, pull out your principal and invest the profit only. If you are a chicken like me or are unsure of the viability, only re-invest a third of the the profit and tuck away the 2/3rds you made. And for heaven's sake stay away from investments that aren't done with regulated financial institutions. 

I would say you need a budget but those things depress me and when I'm depressed i spend more. So I'm gonna say try it out and see how it makes you feel, and if it works for you more power to you!

If you have any questions at all, leave a comment and I will respond. I will be doing a post on how I saved good money towards my wedding over on my other blog that I will be introducing to you guys soon. When the post goes up I will link it here.

In the meantime. here are some sites I enjoy for smart money advice - 

www.money.msn.com

www.financiallysmart.org

Till later,

Jane

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