black out

top, TALULA. skirt, NOISE + SILENCE. shoes, ZARA. socks, AA. jewelery, TIFFANY & CO, MARC BY MARC JACOBS, CLUB MONACO, F21, and random kiosk in Venice Beach. bag, unlabeled.
photos by Rosanna

Love love love the new black jewel ring I bought in Venice Beach. Every time I look at it, I feel that it's telling me a story behind it. Definitely one of my favorite purchases from our LA trip. Bought this Talula sweater on sale for 50% off a few weeks ago and finally had the chance to wear it last week when the temperature dropped. It's more comfortable than I imagined and the perfect go-to sweater for lazy fall days. The Raw Diamond is going to the Talula Babaton F/W Trunk Show tonight and we can't wait to share our good finds. As excited as I am for a change of wardrobe and season, summer never feels long enough. Enjoy what's left of it everyone! xx.

Creme de la Crumb Bakeshop

Surely the cream of the crop.

Creme de la crumb has become the hot spot for breakfast and lunch for those who work in downtown, as it is conveniently located on West Pender and Granville in the heart of downtown. Even though they've only been opened for about 2 months, and their grand opening just 2 weeks ago, Creme de la Crumb has already made it to the #9 spot on Urbanspoon’s “Talk of the Town”, this is because their baked goods and sandwiches are to die for.

What makes Creme de la Crumb so special is that everything is freshly baked in the store and creative chef Lydia Lai combines extraordinary flavours to ordinary baked goods. Take for example, their vanilla pear scones, apple cheddar scones, and flavour of the week specials like pineapple dark chocolate scones. What also drew our attention was their cranberry and dark chocolate rice crispies. Talk about being unique!

I would highly recommend this amazing bakeshop to everyone.. but please be aware: their scrumptious scones and cinnamon buns are highly addictive! I'm drooling as I am typing right now. Part of me wishes that I worked and lived in downtown, so I could have their fluffy scones for breakfast everyday.

Here are the pictures of my favourite bakeshop:

Photos by Rosanna

xxxo,
Fi

- City of Angels -

It's been two weeks since we, the girls of Raw Diamond came back from a fun filled weekend in L.A. Spent a whole lotta money, made plenty o' good memories, and gained a hefty 10 lbs.! Totally worth the $$ airfare to sunny Los Angeles, California.

Highlights:

• experiencing thee most amaaazzzzinnggg Ban Xeos for the very first time
• laughing till our tummies hurt and some of us farted (lol)
• visiting shady late night massage parlors for as little as $9.99!!!
• realizing how sketchy some parts of LA can be, namely Venice Beach and Santee Alley. There were couple instances where we had to put our cameras away in fear of being robbed. *cringes*
• LA clubs closing earlier than Vancouver clubs. Heh, who knew...

As many times as some of us have been to LA, it's safe to say that LA never gets old.
Until next time, beautiful palm trees and shady camera-staring latinos.

Prettiest Girls by Pharrell, from Despicable Me. Catchy.

I love the Minions!!! SO CUTE I COULD DIE!!

XXXO

This song is damn catchy(thx fi!)



This one's gotta be an all time favourite.

Aritzia fall/winter 2010 collection

TNA, TALULA BABATON, WILFRED, and LE FOU.

blurry photos by me

Was at the Aritzia fashion show on Thursday and I must say, me and my fellow bloggers went home with quite a few inspirations in mind, along with a very generous goodie bag :) Saw a lot of carrot pants/trousers, feminine silk blouses, open back body-hugging dresses, shoulder-padded boxy blazers, and over-sized clutches on the runway [all that I love!]. J'adore the second last outfit the most with the combination of high-waist, bustier, and long grandpa cardigan! What do you guys think?!?

The Raw Diamond is going to LA in 3 days!!! We're all unimaginably excited for this long-anticipated trip and we can't wait to tell you all about it when we get back. Have a lovely week everyone :)

brighten up

t-shirt and shoes, ZARA. skirt, SILENCE AND NOISE. watch, MICHAEL KORS. jewelery, TIFFANY & CO, CLUB MONACO, H&M, and FOREVER 21. unlabeled bag.

photos by Rosanna

I know I've worn this t-shirt before but its versatility just amazes me. I tend to drive away from graphics but this top is definitely an exception that goes straight to my list of summer favourites. This skirt is slightly out of my character as I haven't own something this bright with such a wide spectrum of colours for as long as I can remember; yet, I like the fact that it reminds me of retro-looking curtain patterns :)

Only 16 days till The Raw Diamond goes to LA!!

Still a Salon Waxer?

For those who don’t know me, I try to be as frugal as I can nowadays, hoping to save up for some bigger and better things in life (the perfect house in the west side? better car? early retirement?). However, I am still a sucker in beauty products, salon waxing, fancy facials and pedicures! These habits are harder to get rid of than drugs! (not that I do any..lol) I do need some TLC with all the stress from work.

Anyways, in order to save money, I figured… why not try waxing at home!?

I got a Veet Ready-to-Use Wax Strips Sample Kit in the mail (SCORE!) and I couldn’t wait to try them out.

According to Veet’s Website, theses wax strips can:

“Free up your beauty routine and enjoy a new simple solution to sexy smooth skin. Because Veet Ready-to-Use Wax Strips leave you silky smooth for up to 4 weeks you’ll have more free time in-between waxes! It couldn’t be simpler.

A few seconds is all it takes to warm a wax strip between your hands, apply and remove. Each one has been carefully chosen to leave you feeling pampered and ready for anything.

So now you can always feel silky smooth and radiant. Just wax and go!”

I tried it on my upper lip, I was very disappointed with the results. Yes, it was extremely convenient and it smelled great. However, the wax was unable to grab any of my hair. I pulled the strip and THE STRIP DID CAME OFF, but the gooey wax stayed on my face. It was horrible. It took me 20 minutes to manually scratch the wax off my face with my fingernails (how painful!). The ‘perfect finish wipe’ did not help much either. Good thing they were free, if not, it would have been a waste of $15 for 20 strips.

Pros:

• convenient
• time-saving
• no heating needed
• easy to use

Cons:

• ineffective. IT DOES NOT WORK!
• gooey wax that sticks on to your skin
• a mess to clean up after pulling the strip
• painful to pull off the strip
• even more painful to remove the remaining gunk on skin

Alternatively, I would highly recommend the Nair Cire Divine No-stripe Wax.

“A microwaveable wax - creamy yellow with a sensuous Tahitian Gardenia scent - that easily and effectively removes unwanted hair. Save time by not having to use cloth strips, with a wax that’s effective even on short hair. Results last for up to 4 weeks. Simply smooth on wax, peel off, and savor your soft, silky skin.” (from Nair’s website)

I bought this last summer as an impulsive buy for $13. I have no complaints since the first time I have used it. It works every single time! I’ve tried it on my legs/ underarm / upper lip and I absolutely loved the results.

Pros:

• very effective, even on short hair
• great tropical scent
• good value - a small tub lasted me over a year
• feels similar to a salon waxing experience
• no strips required

Cons:

• more time consuming – needs to heat it up in the microwave (hence the better result?)
• a bit painful but tolerable

Overall it’s a great waxing kit and I would give it 4.5 stars. Go to their website and they have $2 coupons for purchases. :)

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Until next time,

Fi