You’ve seen these classic bags: monogram tote, speedys, crossbodys, wocs (wallet on chain) all covered in lv print damier azur, ébène, monogram, but it hurts my heart when people say that these iconic bags have become basic. I think they’re referring more to the print than the actual shape of the bag. I don’t know about others but for me when I first started my collection I did a lot of research and I watched a lot of the YouTube reviews and videos. And all of these reviewer‘s said the same thing: start with iconic first. There are so many reasons why these styles and prints are dubbed iconic.

1. They have notable features that make them stand out from other bags. For example, did you know that the LV never full can hold up to about 200 pounds? Try doing that with a knock off I dare you. and the handles don’t dig into your arm compared to cheaper versions.

2. They will never go out of style. Classic bags such as anything with the Louis Vuitton canvas’ print Will always be in because of its roots-this has got to be one of the oldest and richest luxury brands in the world. Google the conglomerate LVMH; You’re welcome.

3. Resale value always increases so you always get your money back. So if you end up purchasing an iconic bag there is no reason that you would not be able to resell your bag a year or so down the road and get what you paid and a little extra due to price increases every year. You would never be able to do this with a knock off and there are so many credible companies out there that can authenticate this and no customer will just blindly pay you for a knock off bag without having authentication done first.

4. They literally go with any and every outfit. These bags are statement pieces. I mean of course you wouldn’t wear a speedy with a very formal outfit such as an evening dress but there are definitely styles within the fashion house that have canvas’ that are suitable for day and night such as the Felicia.

If you’re building your designer bag collection, I 100% suggest to start with the classics. I did research on this process before my first luxury purchase back in 2010 – damier azur speedy 35:

She’s still one of my favourite canvas’ and I have zero regrets choosing her as my first!

Check out my favourite youtubers and what they have to say about these bags:

Chaseamiee_

Minks4all

I watch a lot of YouTubers but the ones mentioned are my influences.

So no I don’t agree with people who say that these bags are played out or basic- there’s nothing basic about these icons except that THEY ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF YOUR LUXURY COLLECTION! 😍

Sincerely,

#Bellesbaqwaas

Losing my bff

What a year this was. Lost my best friend out of the blue. No reason why. She just got sick of me I guess. I don’t know. She’ll come around. She always does. She’d be proud of me for starting my blog finally. She always pushed me but I always hesitated.

But the hardest part isn’t losing her, it’s her leaving and not even explaining why.

Getting rid of fake friends

But deuces to my best friend aforementioned. Because I also did that to someone just after. Someone who called me her best friend for several years. Even though she talked shit about me profusely to my friends behind my back. The thing with this girl is she was so manipulative, that even when she ran her mouth to my friends, they didn’t tell me who she really was. My friends were stupid too to be manipulated. They say they didn’t think I’d believe them. I think they just didn’t want the extra drama. I’m okay with that cause either way truth comes out eventually. I think at this age you just don’t have the energy to explain yourself. And when someone does me wrong, and I finally have proof from reliable sources, I will cut a bitch off real fucking quick.

If you have doubts about certain people around you, you’re most likely right. If you think someone can’t be trusted, follow your instinct. Honestly, I wasted too many of my early twenties trying to figure people out when the red flags were there from day one.

Let that shit go.

Social media anxiety

I have anxiety. It started when I was 16-17. After a bad car accident. It got bad as I got older, and then worst since the dawn of Instagram. I feel like there’s this mentality, the more likes you have, the more liked you are. It’s the truth. Everyone thinks that now a days.

I just recently came back from a long trip and I think during my trip I just drew myself away from Instagram for a while. The further I got from Instagram, the more in tune I felt with myself. I’m tired of being sucked into social media for validation. It’s really consumes you. I love posting pictures still but I’ve cut down a lot just because I need real raw relationships that I am around day to day to fulfill my sense of validation. Instagram is a disease and will consume you if you let it. I only care about those who are in my life truly, those are the only people who matter at the end of the day. I love the support I get from my followers, but I don’t like the feeling I get when I don’t have “enough” likes. And that’s what social media has created. Unhealthy competition between bloggers and influencers. I only post shit now when I feel like it. Not when I feel like I’ll become irrelevant if I don’t.

Xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas

Muslims believe in kismet. Everything is already written. Muslims are also given the right to choose for themselves- meaning free will. How can there be both?

I’ve grown up hearing the same lore time and time again: when something bad happens- it wasn’t in your destiny, when something good happens- you worked hard for it and your choices led you to it. But how can destiny be changed if it’s already pre-determined? Can destiny and free will co exist? Like, okay, if God had already written my destiny for me, how can there be free will? Isn’t it kind of contradictory? These questions boggle my mind. What is the point of trying for anything when everything is pre determined?

All I go back to is the notion that prayer can change destiny. Pray for a good destiny and so maybe my choices will correspond to a better kismet. But when terrible things happen that I had no control over, I can’t help but think what was the point of all my efforts when bad shit was going to go down anyway. And then I’m told “it wasn’t in your kismet”.

Ok then. God, I have so many questions for you. 🤔

Xo

#bellesbaqwaas

Can we talk? Female vs female. Yes, it’s always been a competition because hello that’s what kept our ancestors reproducing. Survival of the fittest and all. I guess this inherent trait is what keeps females from being supportive and happy for other females. Because facts. It always was a competition from day one. To attract mates, you had to be the flyest hunnie with the best assets. It just makes me sad that now in THIS time and era women still feel so threatened by one another. Hasn’t it been evident that it’s already a mans world? Shouldn’t women empower each other and -excuse the cliche -stick together?

I personally feel that as you get older, you become more comfortable and secure in your own skin and other women don’t feel as threatening. But this doesn’t apply to all women. Now let me get something off my chest. All the women I thought were my well wishers and supporters didn’t say one word of encouragement/support when I started my blog. Not a fucking word of acknowledgment. But let’s be honest, I don’t write for other people. This is my escape. My place to rant. And maybe entertain on the way. But it hurts. People I support and lift up don’t reciprocate. Like I know I’m a great person and friend. My intentions are pure and people who know me know this. So their issue isn’t about me. It’s about them and their inner self esteem.

You spend time and effort to wake up early get dressed up put a good outfit together nails did hair did makeup on point. Doesn’t it feel good when another GIRL notices and says “hey girl nice outfit”. How many times does this actually occur? I know how hard it is to manage that shit as a university student so if I see someone look ON FLEEK I’m gonna make damn sure I tell her. Cause lord knows in between work and school and studying homegirl barely has time to WASH her hair let alone style it. And doesn’t it feel 1000x better when a female compliments you rather than male? It’s just so much more endearing. It’s more genuine. It’s a token of appreciation.

Now let’s talk about what happens when you do give a bitch a compliment. You ever get a weird look or a snobby vibe in return? That’s the reason females don’t fuck with other females SMDH. Because if you do compliment a girl she thinks she’s better/hotter than you all of a sudden. Yeah I’m calling all you shady bitches out. I see you. Can we play nice? Like how about instead of a snooty “yes I know I look good you didn’t have to tell me” vibe being thrown off, what if the girl gives a compliment in response? Like “thanks girl your nails look cute.” Or how about just a simple smile and “thank you”? Shit girls can’t even handle compliments without getting their head up their asses 🤩 Absolutely baffling.

Try complimenting a girl today. Yes you the person reading this. I’m talking to you. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world. For real though.

And if a girl compliments you, don’t be a bitch about it.

Xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas

Ps: Next post will be about how I fixed my skin. I had to post this today. 🤭

Let’s talk about retinol. It’s really good for you to use after you hit age 25 because sadly this is when our bodies stop making as much collagen 😭😭😭 The force of gravity pushes our facial skin down words which causes sagging. This is why collagen synthesis is very important because collagen is what makes your skin firm and tight. The less collagen you have the more likely you are to see the effects of gravity on your face a.k.a. sagging.

You need to start taking care of your skin from an early age to see the results in years to come. So when I found out the anti-aging properties of retinol, I was super excited to try out Sunday Riley’s Luna Oil. I loved the smell of this oil and I love facial oils in general. I got the duo pack which also came with Sunday Riley Good Genes. Good genes is a AHA based product. It’s an acid. Basically it exfoliates your skin really really well. So on the packaging of this duo, the directions stated that for best results use the two products TOGETHER every night. Rule #1- when introducing retinol based products to your skin SLOWLY introduce them to your skin. Rule #2- don’t mix retinol with any acid EVER!

My skin before using these products:

My skin three months after the “purging” phase (what I thought was a phase):

Why I didn’t stop using the products:

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t stop using these products as soon as I started noticing the breakouts. Whenever you use a retinol product or AHA product your skin purges which causes your skin to basically break out. These breakouts can last for up to three months. But if you can make it through the purging stage, then you shall reap the benefits afterwards – clear beautiful youthful skin. I was dedicated to having plump youthful skin so I continued this for three months. Biggest. Mistake. Ever.

After using these products, being fully committed for three months and not noticing anything but an earthquake on my face, I finally stopped using these products. It took me one year to fix my skin. It’s actually still recovering but it doesn’t look nearly as bad as what it did from the previous photos.

My skin now:

Next weeks post will be about how I fixed my skin.

Xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas

I was working with a certain individual, we’ll call him Eric. Eric use to put bronzer on his face, use Anastasia Beverly Hills on his brows, and Mac on his lips. Okay cool.

So to me I thought it would be polite to refer to Eric as a “she”. I thought Eric would be into that because Eric has feminine traits. Eric would also refer to himself as “she” when speaking about himself third person. I really thought Eric would be into me referring to him as a girl. My manager told me the next morning that Eric didn’t take well to my approach and wanted me to refer to him as a male.

I want to point out very clearly that I’m not here to thrash the lgbt community. This post is just to address the fact that I get really confused. Is that just me? You got cross dressers, transgenders, gays, straights. It’s hard to tell the difference nowadays until you actually get close to the person.

From his point of view

I thought I would show this post to Eric before posting it to get an honest opinion. I don’t want to sound insensitive or ignorant. He thought it would be useful for me to include the information that he identified himself as gay so I should’ve automatically known that he is identified as male. However, I didn’t assume this. My bad 🤭

He also asked me why do you want to post this. I answered: “I want to post it because I’m sure there’s a lot of other people that think this too but you probably don’t realize that because you know how to communicate with LGBT probably better than people that are not in that community.”

What is the proper etiquette when addressing an individual whose gender preference you’re not sure of?

Eric’s response:

“Honestly, it just depends on the person. But, I’m sure it’s always better if you’re unsure about an individual’s pronouns, is to just ask them instead of just bluntly referring to them as [a he or her]. Some will take it to heart, some will be slightly salty about it if you use the wrong one (AKA me 😂), and some won’t mind.”

There you have it.

Don’t be an idiot, just ask.

Xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas

1. You shouldn’t have to change yourself

No. I completely disagree with this statement. Yeah, I get it. Whatever happened to accepting each other for the way they are. Look, I’m not saying you need to change your values or ethics. But if your man thinks you’re too loud, to be it down a bit. He has to live with you now. It’s different.

Yes, the loud girl is was me. I hated how my man was such a pushover. I told him he needed to speak up more- tell the waiter there’s an item on the receipt we didn’t order. Why the hell you wanna pay for that when we didn’t eat it? Dafuk? Another thing he hates about me is my potty mouth..

When we would talk about my loudness or his pushover ways, there was a battle inside us. Why doesn’t he/she accept me the way that I am? Look, even your closest home girl has things you can’t oversee if you start living with her. I tried staying at my bffs for 2 weeks at her place and I was so annoyed by the end of those two weeks I was relieved to be going back home NGL.

And if your spouse thinks there’s things that could be tweaked about you, others probably think so too.

2. The first year is the honeymoon phase.

Unless you two were living together before marriage, prepare for a hell of a rollercoaster ride ahead. Sorry to break it to you but there is no honeymoon phase in the first few years at least. You know that alone time you craved when you came home after an 8 hour shift? Or the clean bathroom you love having your spa rituals in? Or the ugly that is you that you get to unravel after being formal and well mannered all day long? Those blessings will be tampered with real quick.

You don’t know how someone is until you live with them. You only know the good side of your partner when you two live separately because you control what parts you share of yourselves to each other. That annoyed AF you won’t be annoyed AF when you talk to your hunnie on the phone – all you have to do is tell him you’re tired from so and so and exchange some pleasant words and off to bed you go. Done.

You’re literally around each other all the time when you live together. Your habits, your pet peeves, your routine, it all gets disrupted enter a new person. Two individuals are trying to mesh into one without disrupting each other’s comfort zones- that shit takes ALOT of adapting and energy, and most importantly – time.

My husband and I are two very different personalities. I am more introverted and he is 100% an extrovert. He couldn’t care less if the bathroom mirrors are wiped down or whether the sink area is wet. I on the other hand am a perfectionist and love a clean bathroom. Adapting to someone else’s lifestyle is not easy and it can be very stressful!

Needless to say, there was a lot of clashing during our first two years. Definitely not honeymoon like. Those first two years were very nerve-wracking for sure.

3. Don’t go to sleep angry

I can’t even count the amount of times that this piece of advice has gotten my relationship into even more trouble than it was from the initial argument. Imagine you’re working a 40 hour work week, which a majority of us do. You’re exhausted. Now imagine you and your spouse get into a fight over something small or big or whatever it is. You try to talk it out maybe for an hour or two but it’s already 7:30 PM and you have to be in bed by 11 so you can wake up for 6 AM to get to work. You ain’t even got kids yet. You really think hashing out an argument till five in the morning is going to be good for your mental health? Trust me we tried this method the first 3-4 years of our marriage. And most of the time trying to talk to him when he was just trying to get to bed for work the next morning made the argument even worse. I didn’t have to wake up early the next morning for work because I don’t have a full-time job. Husband on the other hand is the breadwinner of our home and when I wouldn’t let my husband sleep it would make him even more angry.

I try not to do this anymore. It’s really difficult to do this however when there are really big fights and you’re insecure about your future together. So I’m not saying use this method for those kind of arguments. But personally If its something that can be dealt with later and you think getting some headspace would be good for both of you just leave it alone and call it a night. Your issues will still be there the next day to deal with. Giving each other time to cool off is essential. The next day your argument probably won’t even matter anymore.

xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas

All I remember about this product is the feminine dude at Sephora told me that this oil had 1000 times more vitamin C than an orange and I was sold. Not sure if that’s true though but I’m not complaining. Before my move to Calgary I needed something to keep my skin moisturized since it’s super dry naturally. I didn’t want to fork out $54 for this small little bottle of oil, like who does that-oh right I did that. He was a good salesman or sales girl. Enough about him/her, let’s talk about this product:

It contains Seaberry oil- this comes from the ocean and it’s amazing for collagen synthesis.

-It smells amazing.

-instantly brightens your skin

-helps minimize dark spots from acne scars

-contains omegas 3,6,7, and 9

-ingredients slow down aging

Theres a ton of other oils in here too which you can read from the ingredients list on their website -> https://www.fresh.com/US/serum/seaberry-moisturizing-face-oil/h00002664.html/H00002664.html

You only need 4-5 drops. Rub that in between your fingers and pat on your face before your moisturizer. If you don’t live in a dry climate area you don’t need to use a moisturizer after this. Calgary is super dry so I still need that extra step. But when I was in BC the face oil was enough. Over the last few years I’ve been becoming obsessed with skin care and have added on more facial oil‘s to my vanity. Like the amazing drunk elephant marula oil. But I never go a nights-sleep without using my Fresh seaberry oil.

If there is anything that I can thank for my skin’s overall appearance right now at 30, it’s this product that I’ve been using since I was 23.

Thanks fresh, I’m your biggest fan 🎀

Xoxo

#bellesbaqwaas