Aritzia Favourites

I've been trying to find something to blog about for a while now, and Kerri's post inspired me to do my own Aritzia Favourites List. Before that though, I do hope you're all enjoying your holidays and hopefully received some great gifts too!

As all the people I know are aware of, I shop at Aritzia a lot. I honestly do not own that many clothes (compared to people that I know or other bloggers), but a huge chunk of my closet is filled up with stuff from Aritzia. I've found that Aritzia is still the only store that carries clothing that consistently fit me well and that reflect my style.

Aritzia is having their boxing week sale at the moment so the pieces that I'll be listing will most likely be on sale. However, don't expect the sale to be great since these pieces are styles that they carry every season due to their popularity.

Review: Jeffrey Campbell Lita Spike

I'm sure if you read fashion/lifestyle blogs and/or watch youtube, you've come across the Jeffrey Campbell Lita shoes. These shoes have seriously blown up and have become an "it" item. I definitely liked the way they looked in stock pictures, but a lot of the pictures of people actually wearing them were not too appealing. Admittedly, I never understood why people liked them so much because I felt like they made some people's feet look like hooves.

I actually ended up trying them on in person and I liked the way they fit. I hate wearing heels, but these were one of those high heeled shoes that did not make me feel like I was going to topple over. This was obviously due to the platform. I did not end up buying the ones I tried on because I could not justify the $200 price tag. Luckily enough, I found an incredible deal on the Lita Spike on Solestruck as part of the site's Black Friday sale.

Review: Chanel Le Vernis (April)

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I picked up this particular polish. Although I don't have any other polishes similar to this colour, the only reason I got it is because my birthday is in April.

April is a wine coloured creme shade. It's definitely more maroon than most of the swatches you'll see online. I only used 2 thin coats with no base/top coat in the picture below. Like most of the Chanel polishes I own, I didn't have any problems with this streaking or chipping (I've had it on for abour 4 days). It's also super glossy even without a top coat. The drying time is average (similart to OPI or any other nail polish brand).

Overall, I actually regret getting this polish (I should probably say I regret asking my bf to get it for me lol). Even though the colour, application, and staying power are all good, I don't think the colour is unique enough to warrant the $25 price tag.

Splurge vs Save: Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf

I've always thought the ever popular Alexander McQueen skull scarf was really cool. Though this probably has more to do with my interest with slightly macabre items and accessories. However, I'm not the type to spend upwards of $300 for a scarf (not knocking people that do; whatever floats your boat right?).

A fellow Mallvibes member bought a very similar skull scarf from Zara and commented on how she thought the Zara one looked better because it was more detailed. While I've never seen the McQueen scarf in person, I was surprised at how nice the Zara scarf was. It's a lightweight fabric (light enough for summer actually) and the skulls are quite detailed.

Unfortunately, the scarf that the Mallvibes member bought was no longer available so I purchased Zara's newer version of the skull scarf. It has larger skulls in the middle and smaller skulls for a border, with copper studs on some of the smaller skulls. While I love the detailed skulls and fabric, I hate the ugly copper studs on it. I think it makes the scarf look cheap. If they had chosen different coloured studs (gold or even gunmetal) it would have been ok. I'm planning on taking the studs of myself. I've taken of one stud and there was no glue residue. The fabric also held up at the part without the stud.

If you're looking for a more affordable, but not ugly and cheap looking skull scarf I suggest getting the Zara one! It's $29.99 CAD.

 

Review: Wildfox Couture & Revolve Clothing

I've been browsing around Revolve for quite some time now, but I've never bought anything. After seeing this Wildfox sweater though, I knew I had to have it. It's obviously no the most "mature" looking sweater, but I think it's cute and it's amazingly comfy.

 

Wildfox is an L.A. based company and has been incredibly popular with celebrities (just google wildfox baggy beach jumper and you'll see what I mean). You can read more about them on their website. I think the particular sweater that I got is a Revolve Clothing exclusive. I haven't seen the same sweater in other online retailers. It took about a week and half for me to get my sweater, but I was lucky enough not to pay any duties or taxes. I also got 10% off with the code TULIP. Revolve also ships to Canada for free. However, if you're returning the item, you have to pay for shipping (they don't provide a prepaid label like they do with orders shipped to the US). 

Even though the sweater isn't made of particularly luxurious material, it is SO soft! The only weird thing about it is that it arrived looking slightly pilled. I'm not sure if that's part of the design since this is my first sweater from this brand. The heart part of the sweater has some weight to it and I haven't had any problems with the glitter getting on everything (a complaint some have with the white sweater with red heart). Also, the sweater is made in the USA, which is probably why it's priced at $107USD.

I got it in a MEDIUM, but I could probably go down to an XS or S. The sweater fits about 1 size big, but it is meant to fit oversized. I've also already washed mine and it didn't shrink. Here's a picture of me with it on at F21 (for reference I'm 5 feet tall):

 If the price is too steep, I suggest getting this sweater from Forever 21:

 

The F21 sweater is $21.80CAD and it is just as soft as the Wildfox sweater. However, I did get a LARGE of this sweater, because I find that F21 clothing tends to shrinks no matter how you wash them! The large in F21 fits a tiny bit bigger than the medium in Wildfox.

Overall, I didn't have any problems ordering or receiving my sweater from Revolve. The quality and look of the sweater also met my expectations. I like it so much that I'm planning to get another one soon!

Bedroom Reveal

I finally got around to fixing, moving stuff, and taking pictures of my new bedroom. As you'll see in the pictures, almost all the furniture is from IKEA. I generally chose these pieces, because I wanted furniture that would be easy to integrate when I move out and get my own condo or townhouse. My closet, study/work table, and shelves are custom-made (by my parents). You can't see it in the pictures, but my room is tiny! It probably would have been better to get a twin bed, but I hate sleeping on small beds and I really like the look of the IKEA bed frame. For the paint colour, I ended up going for something that wasn't even one of my original choices. The paint colour is a slightly darker colour than Blair Waldorf's (Gossip Girl) room paint colour. I do think it fits well with the furniture though.

I'd have to say that the best part of the new room is the custom closet. This closet is really small, but since my parents put in the new shelving and drawer, I can put so much more stuff in it. I'm so happy that I finally have shelves to put my bags on! It's also a lot easier to organize everything. You can't really tell in the pictures, but the clothes are actually organized by type and colour. My mom was saying that I have OCD judging from how my clothes are folded and how disturbingly organized the clothes are -_-

Breakdown of Items & Prices (in CAD):

Paint / Valspar China Blue ~$40 (Lowes)

Bedframe / IKEA Birkeland Queen $399

Drawer Unit / IKEA Alex $149

Makeup Table / IKEA Malm $129

Wall Mirror / IKEA Ung Drill $19.99 (reg. $29.99)

Black Velvet Hangers / JYSK 50 pack $16.99 (reg. $24.99)

Here are some pictures of the room:

 

While I have most of the larger furniture all set up, I still need decorating items. The room looks really bare and plain right now. I'm finding it really difficult to find just the right thing to decorate my room though. I was planning to get a large world map (with all the places I've been to marked on it) to put above my headboard, but I feel like it doesn't really match the furniture, paint colour, and general look of the room. I'm thinking of putting wall decals there instead (though I'm not sure what kind yet).

I'm still in need of the following items: lamp, door hangers (hooks), closet hooks, jewelry stands/holders, decorative pillows, and wall decorations. I feel like I've been to pretty much every store in Vancouver and I STILL can't find the things I need at a reasonable price. Everything I've seen that I do like is way over my budget (ex. a $400 lamp). I've looked online as well, but I haven't found anything that has "clicked".

If you have any suggestions on where to buy bedroom/decorative accessories, please leave a comment below!

A Bright Idea

For the past few weeks I've been debating on whether or not to colour my hair again. I've been colouring my hair since I was in highschool, but I've never had a 'out of the ordinary' shade. My typical colouring range is black to medium brown. However, I've been really obsessed with red hair lately. I mean bright maroon red and not orangey red. I have done some research on colouring hair bright red and I know that it's extremely difficult to maintain it, BUT I still really want to try it out!

*all images from Google*

This is the kind of red I'm interested in:

IF I do decide to colour my hair red, I'll probably do it after next week. I'm going camping and I do not want to be worrying about making my hair look nice in the middle of a forest. If all goes well with the red, I'll definitely post some pictures!

Have YOU ever coloured your hair an "out there" colour? 

Was it worth the upkeep hassle?

Life Update & Rambling

To my small number of readers, I am truly sorry that I've been MIA for so long! I'm in my last year of school so every semester is extremely hectic. I have literally been doing research paper after midterm after analytical paper for the past few weeks. Coupled with the fact that I haven't been doing well in two of my classes, I've also been pretty down lately. The things being taught in my classes this semester have really challenged the way I normally think and view things and I have been really struggling with that. After taking 3 years of accounting and being taught to think a certain way, it's difficult to all of a sudden think the opposite way.

I haven't blogged about anything, because I honestly have not done much nor bought much in the past month. I've been home studying and doing research. I'm also still in the process of decorating my room. All the painting and flooring is done, but I still need to buy a new table, some chairs, and accessories. As for purchases, I haven't bought very many clothes (I've been pretty good at sticking with my clothes shopping ban). My only big purchase is a pair of boots, which I will be doing a post on once I get them.

As for my future plans for this blog, I'm thinking of doing more editorial-type posts instead of strictly purchases and outfits. I may be one of those rare people that love reading blogs with long posts and not just ones with tons of pictures on it coupled only with one or two sentences (no offence if you enjoy that though!). I have never considered this blog a fashion blog, which is pretty obvious with my totally unprofessionally-shot ootd pictures... It's always been about whatever I want to write about and I'm going to keep going with that, so you might see a lot more random posts about comics, movies, pet peeves, etc.

Anyway, thanks again for all the readers that have been so patient with this blog even though the content leaves much to be desired at times. Now I'm off to do even more research for another paper!

Aritzia & TNA Private Presale

Every year, Aritzia and TNA host a private presale where almost everything in store is on sale. The good thing about being invited is that you have first pick of sizes, which is VERY important in Vancouver where pretty much all the girls wear the same (tiny) sizes! There are two different sale times, depending on if you qualify for Tier 1 or Tier 2. There's been a lot of debate on how exactly people get on the list for this sale. Some people think you have to spend a certain amount in a given year and others think you get on the list depending on how long you've shopped at Aritzia. I honestly do not know haha

Personally, I've gotten the invite for around 4 years in a row even though I've drastically reduced my spending at Aritzia and TNA. The funny thing is that I never got the invite during the years when I spent more money there...

What I do every year is compile a list of things that I want from both stores and look for those right away when I get to the store. I think this really helps speed up shopping and it prevents me from buying items I don't really love (because honestly, the sale isn't that amazing). I've noticed that a lot of people shopping during this sale fall into the trap of buying stuff just because it's on sale. I didn't purchase as many things this year compared to last year and most of my purchases are things that I've wanted since last season!

I ended up getting the following items up front:

I went into Aritzia first and didn't see anything I had to have (other than the Rebecca Minkoff 5 Zip). I couldn't find my size for a shirt and two sweaters I was planning to get. I couldn't believe that small sizes for so many sweaters were out already, because the store just opened for the day. I went to TNA after and it was totally dead in there. The strange thing is that they didn't have completely size runs for the stuff that I wanted too.

I had to order the following two items. It sucks that the ETA for the Elliott pants is September 5th, because I really love the way they fit and I want to wear them now. I'm debating on whether to get the mint green ones in a looser fit...

Bedroom Paint Problems

So I'm in the middle of redecorating and repainting my old bedroom. My parents have already started laying hardwood flooring down and we're going to start painting this week! The problem is choosing the paint colour... While my mom thinks that we should paint the room a dark purple, I want a robin's egg blue (aka. tiffany blue). The flooring is going to quite dark so I don't know if a lighter colour will go better with that. Also, my room is pretty small and all my furniture is white.

My parents also want all the rooms in our house to be a different colour and my two youngest sisters want their room to be purple. We already have pink, blue, and green rooms.

What do you guys think? Any other colour suggestions?

**I'll probably be doing another post with all the furniture/decorating stuff that I'm planning to put in the room!

Here's some pictures to give you guys an idea:

This was the *only* picture that's close to the dark purple my mom wants!

 

My personal favourite. I like how this one is more of a muted, slightly grey-blue.

Casual Sweaters

I've been looking for the perfect casual pullover sweater since last winter. I didn't think it would be that hard to find one, but I've only found my favourite one today after months of searching. I know it totally sounds like the wrong time to buy a sweater, but the one's I've been looking for are the slightly sheer, lightweight ones that can be worn in the spring/summer.

I usually check Zara and Aritzia for new sweaters, but I haven't been liking the new ones lately. I find that Zara's pullover sweaters are too boxy for my body type and I dislike the necklines. Also, even though Aritzia has sweaters that are cut the way I like, those tend to be too delicate for everyday wear. The coral sweater I bought a few months ago already has a hole in it (I snagged it on a bracelet)! :(

The one I bought is a Monk & Lou sweater from Plenty, which retails at $42. It's thin enough that I can wear it with my Mackage Kenya or an oversized cardigan on top, but the price point is low enough that I don't have to baby it for fear that it's going to rip. I like it so much that I ordered a white one too.

 

 

The celebrity outfits below are ideas of how I'll be wearing the sweater. A lot of the outfits are variations of the same basic pieces (ex. different coloured/printed pants, high heels or flats, etc.). Some people might think that's boring, but the verstality of this type of sweater is what makes it such a great piece. It's also really easy to throw on when you're in a hurry or just being lazy like me!

All About Flats

Even though I'm really short, I've never been a heels girl. I strongly dislike wearing/walking in heels, which is why I only wear them for really special occasions. If I can get away with it, I'll wear a pair of flats 99% of the time. By flats, I mean loafer, ballet flats, converse, TOMS, etc. After reading a thread on Mallvibes about a girl asking everyone what their favourite flats are, I went and looked at all the flats I have (clearly I have nothing better to do).

I counted over 15 pairs (there are a few that are in another closet....). I didn't even know I had that many! My favourite ones are listed below.

1// Unif 'hellraiser':

These are the most comfortable (lambskin leather), but it can get difficult when I'm trying not to scratch everything up around me (like my bf's car).

2// Coach 'skyla':

My first slightly expensive pair of flats. I bought these close to two years ago, and I still love them. These will probably be my favourite flats... until I get the Ferragamo ones! The only bad thing about these is that the patent leather is really easy to scratch and they're not incredibly comfortable if you're walking for a long time.

 

3// Modcloth 'you'll be the mist':

One of my many pairs of nude flats. These are a darker pink than a true nude, but I love them nonetheless. These took the longest to break in, because the leather was quite rigid.

4// Aldo 'buschur':

My first pair of loafers. I get a lot of questions about these shoes when I wear them. I think it has to do with the fact that they sold out completely within a week in stores and online. Also, leopard flats were all the rage when I bought them (a few months ago), but the other shoe stores in Vancouver seemed to carry ones that had a cheaper looking pattern to them. These took a while to break in too.

5// TOMS:

I have 3 pairs (classic, stone washed, glitter), but I'm planning to get the crochet ones as well. I know some people hate TOMS because they can make your fit stink if you wear them a lot. The good thing about TOMS, though, is that you can just throw them in the washing machine when they get dirty/stinky and hang them up to dry. I'm lazy so I just put them in the dryer and they always come out fine. Beware of washing the coloured ones though, because they do bleed/fade depending on the colour!  I haven't washed the glitter ones; obviously because the glitter is probably going to come off!

The stone washed ones are the softest out of the three and are also the most comfortable. I usually wear them to school or if my feet hurt. TOMS also donates a pair of shoes to children in need for every pair bought. This is the primary reason why I hate knock-off toms (like the ones from Aldo). The Aldo ones are priced the same as the classic TOMS for $55. If you're going to pay the same amount, you might as well buy the pair that will benefit someone else too!

All the shoes I talked about previously are all over the place in terms of price and comfort. However, the one pair of flats I owned that were EXTREMELY comfortable were from non-other than.....


......FOREVER 21!

I bought those flats 3 summers ago and I wore them almost every single day. They only lasted around 4 months, but they only cost $11.50! I think that if you're looking for a pair of everyday flats, don't be afraid of buying a pair from a cheaper store like Forever 21 or H&M. A lot of the times, their flats are way more comfortable than the $70 ones at Aldo or other retailers. However, if you want a pair that's going to last a very long time, you have to be prepared to splurge!

Review: Tobi.com

I've been purchasing a lot of dressier tops for the summer lately. By dressy tops, I mean button down shirts, sheer/chiffon tops, etc. In previous summers, I pretty much lived in loose t-shirts and shorts, but I'm going to try to stay away from that this year.

I love the button down shirts from ZARA and the chiffon tops from Aritzia, but it's just not practical or economical for me to buy, let's say, ten shirts at more than $70 a piece. I decided to buy some tops from Tobi, because they have tops that are very similar to the Zara/Aritzia ones at a much lower price.

Tobi has 30% OFF new arivals and they put up new stuff everyday (I think an average of fifty or more pieces per day). I did purchase these tops close to a month ago, so they will not be 30% off anymore, but they're still affordable.

These are the ones I purchased:

From left to right:

1. Ellison Good Morning Button Down Shirt $32 (reg. $47)
2. Everly Mother of Pearls Button Blouse $32 (reg. $47)
3. I.ner Dobby Top (I bought this in black & cream) $22 (reg. $32)
4. I.ner Zipping Off Top $43

Quality:

All the tops are made in the USA and are polyester. The quality is very similar to Zara's TRF pieces and the higher quality pieces at Urban Outfitters. Obviously, since the tops are polyester, they're not really comparable to the tops from Aritzia (most of which are silk or silk blend). Compared to the polyester tops at Zara, these are not as silky. I actually prefer this though, because too-silky tops for summer are a nightmare. You don't want to be sweating and wearing a top that sticks to the worse parts of your body! In particular, top #1 is actually closer in texture to the Talula Tinsley top from Aritzia. The zippers and buttons are good quality as well. Here's some pictures to give you an idea:

Colour:

ALL the tops are slightly darker than the pictures on the website. Top #4 has the most colour difference, it's more of a medium beige than the cream coloured pictured above.

Fit:

All the tops fit bigger than the size label. For example, all the tops I purchased were size small, but fit more like mediums or slightly larger than a small. The measurements of the lengths provided on the website are very accurate though. I also find that the way the top drapes on the model is almost identical to the way these pieces draped on me. The only obvious difference in draping and fit will be how small or large your bust is.

Repurchase?

I will definitely be repurchasing from Tobi. However, I'll stick to getting basic button downs as they're more likely to fit better and be closer in colour to the pictures than the more trendy pieces.

Review: West Restaurant + Bar

It was my birthday yesterday. I'm not really into clubbing and drinking... I also hate having to set up big dinners with a lot of people, because it stresses me out to have to figure out a time that suits everyone's schedules. I was originally going to go to a shooting range with a few close friends and my bf, but I decided to do that another time. I didn't plan anything else, so the whole day just consisted of eating (way too much).

In the afternoon, I went to Fisherman's Terrace in Aberdeen with my family and bf for dim sum. This restaurant is my favourite dim sum restaurant in Richmond. Although it is definitely more expensive than the standard dim sum place, the service and food are a lot better (ex. the chinese donut rice rolls aren't hard or too crunchy, the hot and sour soup is actually spicy, etc.). Also, the servers didn't just slam everything down on the table like most dim sum places. I didn't take many pictures, because I didn't eat breakfast and I was starving! I missed taking a picture of my favourite dish; the deep fried taro with meat. =(

The one picture I managed to take:

After brunch, we went to Richmond Centre to get my free Starbucks drink. The weird thing about the postcard is that it says it's "only valid on your birthday", but it also says it's valid until May, 5th. Anyway, I just got my usual iced soy caramel machiatto with extra caramel (venti this time though). I think it's such a waste of money and resources when people get crazy drinks just to see how expensive they can make their free drink and then they just throw it away after because it tastes disgusting.

 

My bf and I also had reservations at West for dinner. My friend recommended this place as a good birthday dinner/date place. The place looks a lot bigger on their website's pictures than in person. While the decor wasn't amazing, I really liked the design for their bar (you can see what I mean if you look at the pictures on their website). West is one of the most expensive restaurants I've eaten at so far and although the food wasn't mind blowingly good, I did enjoy eating there and I thought it was a good experience.

All our servers were genuinely friendly and the food came quickly. However, it was a not-so-busy Sunday night, so I'm not sure if the food comes any slower during peak hours on Fridays and Saturdays. I'll definitely be returning to West to try out their tasting menu, even though those are priced at $70+!

DRESS CODE: Even though the dress code is apparently business casual, I saw three guys wearing tshirts and blue jeans. Another guy was wearing a 'Tapout' shirt...

THE FOOD: Please keep in mind that I am in no way a 'foodie' or an expert food reviewer so my description and "review" of the food is pretty simple.

We started with a fish croquette amuse bouche. Nothing much to say about it since this is pretty standard 'intro' dish.

Since we were still full from dim sum, my bf and I decided to share our first course. We chose the Thiessen farm quail. The beet puree went well with the quail, but I felt that the taste of the beet slices were slighty overpowering. The quail was cooked through, but was still tender. If you've never had quail before (like me), it's sort of tastes like a combination of chicken and duck.

 

I chose the herb crusted lamb loin as my main course. I'm not a big fan of steak or fish, so I usually pick duck or lamb when we eat out at these types of restaurants. Again, this dish had tons of beets (puree, slices, sticks, etc.). I really enjoyed the herb crust on top of the lamb, which had a sort of cheesy taste to it. The lamb itself was tender and tasty, but I didn't feel that it was all that special (i.e. something that you can't get anywhere else).

 

My bf's main course was the 10oz beef ribeye (28 day dry aged angus). I tried a bit of his food and it was pretty tasty. The beef was very tender and the mashed potatoes were extremely soft. My bf was joking that the consistency was even better than babyfood; you didn't even have to chew because it just melted in your mouth. The balsamic jus went really well with the steak, although I did feel like it tasted a little too much like soy sauce at one point.

 

For dessert, we tried the chocolate tasting dish. This consisted of a chocolate sour cherry cake, chocolate profiterole filled with milk chocolate cream cheese mousse, and warm manjari chocolate pudding with condensed milk ice cream.We both really liked the chocolate profiterole. 

Although the filling was milk chocolate mousse, it wasn't too sweet. The outside of the profiterole didn't really taste like chocolate, but I'm sure that if it did the whole thing would be too sweet and wouldn't taste as good. The cherry cake was light and fluffy, but nothing too great. 

The chocolate pudding, on the other hand, was very heavy. It tasted a lot like chocolate cheese cake. I really liked it, but my bf found it to be way too sweet. The ice cream tasted like standard vanilla ice cream.

Trooper

Spring has finally arrived in raincouver Vancouver. I've been looking for a spring jacket and I was really interested in getting the tan-coloured Mackage Kenya. I ultimately decided against it because:

a) I don't have a job at the moment
b) I probably won't wear it that much
c) It's a lot of money to spend on a "trendy" (coloured) jacket.

I actually had a black Mackage Kenya before, but I ended up selling it. Although I loved the jacket, I was terrified to wear it everyday because it was so prone to scratches and rips (I take transit a lot). I actually know a girl that ripped part of her Kenya after it got caught on a hanger!

Aritzia: Talula Trooper jacket $120 CAD (colour: surplus)

So instead of getting a Mackage, I ended up purchasing the Talula Trooper jacket. I know a TON of girls in Vancouver have it, but I couldn't care less. I'm trying to re-adjust my thinking and I feel like if you like something, you shouldn't be scared to purchase it just because a lot of other girls own it too.

Although I love the jacket, I can't decide if I should return the green and buy the grey one instead. I know military green is a classic colour, but grey is nice too.

This is the grey one (from the Aritzia website):

*Excuse my gross mirror! I cleaned my room, but I somehow skipped the mirror haha

I'm wearing the surplus coloured one in XXXS

Review: Fairmont High Tea

On Thursday I had afternoon tea with my bf at The Fairmont. I was lucky enough that there were still spots available as I was using a Dealfind coupon that over 10,000 people bought! I really wanted to go there on Saturday, but the receptionist told me that they had specific days for people with the dealfind vouchers. The receptionist was also very rude. When I told her that I probably couldn't make it on a weekday, she said: "you better make an effort then or else you can go on a wait list for Saturday". >=(

Afternoon tea at the Fairmont is $36/person, but with the voucher we only paid for one person (+tax & gratuities on the regular price). The setting was a typical hotel restaurant; nothing particularly special.

After we were seated, they gave us a little menu with a list of the pastries/sandwiches that are going to be served. It's also the same menu you pick the tea from. I forgot to take a picture of the menu, but you can find it on the Fairmont website (just search "afternoon tea"). The servers were very nice and polite and they would tell you what everything on the plates were.

Personally, I like the petite sandwiches a lot more than the pastries. The pastries were average, but the chocolate cupcake didn't even taste like chocolate =(

I chose the Versailles Lavender Early Grey and my bf chose the Kyoto Cherry Rose. The lavender early grey is slightly more bitter than a regular early grey and the cherry rose tastes like ginger lol

This is my first time having afternoon tea and overall it was a good learning experience. I liked the ambiance and the idea of it all, but I didn't really enjoy the actual food. I'll probably try a different place for high tea next time, because I don't think the Fairmont's afternoon tea is worth the money.

Also, it says on the Fairmont website that the dress code is smart casual, but I saw a girl wearing leggings and UGGs, and several other people dressed casually with light blue jeans and casual tops. I guess they're not serious about the dress code.