First Impressions Review: Tory Burch Caroline Black Patent Leather Ballet Flats

 This year, I'm embarking on a new fashion philosophy - one of buying and wearing fewer, nicer items and curating a wardrobe that's small but truly tailored to me, my body and my style. It's called building a "capsule wardrobe" and it's something I plan to talk about more on Beauty Babble in the coming weeks. So far, it's been a great learning experience, but not an easy journey since I'm a total deal seeker and have trained myself over a number of years that anything more than $30 is too expensive. Slowly, but surely, I'm exploring higher end brands, but being as value-conscious as I am, I'm still focusing on getting those items at a discount, when possible. More on this soon, as today's story is about flats. Specifically ballet flats.

For the last year and a half or so, I've worn my trusty spiked ballet flats from Target on a nearly daily basis when the weather allowed. They were so broken in and comfortable, and I always got compliments on them, but after such long wear, they really started to fall apart, and I knew I couldn't ignore the fact that they needed to be replaced. As such, I started on the hunt for a new pair for the upcoming spring/summer season, and the first thing that came to my mind was those gorgeous Tory Burch flats that I see everyone wearing and that I've been eyeing for years. I always thought they were way out of my price range at $225, especially considering my Target flats cost just 10% of that.

I have to admit that I'm struggling a little bit in my new philosophy in terms of being a "brand whore." I think ultimately, I'll narrow in on the brands that I actually feel suit me and fit me well, but when you're just starting out with buying nice things it can be hard not to give in to the hype of trendy brands you've been drooling over. So even though I had heard terrible things about Tory Burch flats - that they were gorgeous, but incredibly uncomfortable - I still wanted them. (Is that stupid?) At minimum, I decided that I'd be a smart consumer and do my research before making any impulse purchases.

As I read the reviews, it seemed that everyone was complaining about the Reva flat - apparently its scrunched up back was a killer that rubbed your heel to no end and didn't seem to have a realistic "break in" point (some people said theirs still weren't broken in after a year). I started to get discouraged until I stumbled upon the Caroline flat, which was praised in reviews as being the exact opposite of the Reva thanks to the elastic ribbing that surrounded the shoe and the straight, flat fabric that went across the heel.

My excitement soared! I grabbed my coupon codes (10% off and one for free shipping) and placed an order for two sizes, so I could figure out what would fit best in the comfort of my own home.

When I got the shoes, I immediately tried on the 9.5 (I fluctuate between an 8.5-9.5 in shoes) and knew the size 10 I had ordered would be way too big, as these felt comfortable, if bordering on a little wide across my foot (the site recommended ordering a half size up so I thought these two sizes would be a safe bet). I did some initial walking around my apartment and they felt comfortable enough - my toes had sufficient room to breathe, the insole felt padded and I didn't feel like my foot was slipping out. Plus, they were just as gorgeous as I had expected.

The next day, I excitedly decided to give the shoes a go and wear them to work. Even just slipping them on in the morning made me feel special and like I was doing something luxurious for myself. That is, until I made the 1/4 mile walk from my apartment to my car and things started to go downhill. While my right foot still felt totally comfortable, I noticed that the left foot was starting to rub against the back of my heel. Bothersome, but nothing terrible at this point. However, another 1/4 mile walk, this time from my parking garage at work to my office, and now my left heel was raw, red and totally in pain.

I work a desk job, so normally I'm sitting throughout the day or walking short distances to the kitchen, bathroom or meeting rooms, but on this particular day, I needed to walk to another building (about 1/2 mile each way) for a special meeting. It was torture. By the time I made it to the building, both my right and left feet were in terrible pain. My left heel was rubbed so raw that I physically couldn't put the shoe on the back of my foot and on my right foot, I could feel the start of a small blister.

By the time I got home from work, the pain had spread beyond my heels to my toes too - a few of them felt rubbed and were red, but nothing compared to the poor state of my left heel which I had to put neosporin on and cover with a band-aid. Two days later, the wound is still healing.

In fairness, I fully recognize that almost all shoes require some breaking in period before they feel comfortable, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this is the case with these, especially because they really are one of the most gorgeous pairs of shoes I've owned. Unfortunately I'm skeptical, especially since the shoe is one in which the elastic is designed for a snug fit, so it doesn't seem like the rubbing will ever really stop. I guess time will tell, as I'm likely stuck with the shoes now that I've worn them outside!

At this point, I don't think I know enough about the breaking in period and long-term comfort of the shoe to warn anyone against buying them. Rather, I'd say to go into your purchase knowing that for some people, even this style isn't immediately comfortable and you may have a few days of pain before the pleasure kicks in!

Do you have a pair of Caroline flats? If so, were they comfortable for you? Are there any other high quality ballet flats you've purchased that were crazy comfortable, right from the start? Let me know in the comments section below.

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils

I'll admit it - I'm a mascara junkie. My natural eyelashes are thin and light-colored, yet I drool over the pin-up girl, doe eyed look, so I am constantly on the hunt for the best, darkest mascaras that really add volume and length. Add to this fact that I'm also incredibly picky (I prefer wet formulas with natural fiber brushes and have a zero tolerance policy for clumps) and it means that I spend what feels like hours returning mascaras to Sephora or throwing products away before they're used up. No bueno.

Since I'm a member of the Influenster community, I was given the opportunity to try Yves Saint Laurent's newest mascara for free and am excited to share my thoughts with you. Apparently this product - known as Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils, or for my non-French speaking friends "luxurious mascara for a false lash effect" per the packaging - is a re-issue with a new formula. It's not clear to me why they ditched the old formula or why this came off the market, but YSL is trying to make a big splash for its reintroduction.

Let me start with the positives:

• The packaging is beautiful. Yeah, I know this actually matters relatively little when you're evaluating a mascara, but there's something so luxurious about holding this gold metal tube in your hand. Even the way the mascara wand clicks into the base feels high end, and for the price you're going to pay for this ($32), I guess that becomes more of an expectation than a nice to have!
• The formula feels really nourishing on my lashes. It's a wet formula with a natural fiber brush (two for two!) and comparatively speaking, really doesn't clump very much. It also dries on the slower side, so you're really able to work with the formula and apply a few coats to achieve the look you desire.
• It does add volume, and with a little work, provides nice length too. I would say on its face this is more of a volumizing mascara than a lengthening mascara, although if you're patient and focus on just the tips of your lashes after applying a couple of coats, you can definitely achieve a lengthening effect as well.
• It lasts well throughout the day. I haven't had any weird flaking or chipping off, although it's not the easiest to remove at the end of the night.
• It has a pleasant fragrance, but it's not overpowering. I'm not great at labeling fragrances, but I'd guess it's akin to a subtle floral or rosy scent. When applying the mascara, I don't notice anything, but I did purposely sniff it (and got mascara all over my nose as a result), just so I could comment on it for you!

Despite the positives, as with any product, there are a few negatives:

• This is one costly mascara! We all know you're supposed to ditch your mascara every 3 months (although this one says it'll stay good for 6 months - not sure I trust that), so that starts to add up. 
• The ingredient list is terrible. I'm a huge proponent of searching for, and using, mostly natural and organic products that have healthy ingredients, and this is as far from that as you can get. Usually mascaras don't have parabens, but this has all varieties! It also has paraffin, triethanolamine, PEGs and lots of artificial colorants. I never quite understand why all of these harmful ingredients are even necessary, but ultimately it means that once this baby dries out, I will NOT be re-purchasing it. 
• I wouldn't go so far as to say this delivers on a false lash effect. Sure, it's volumizing and can be lengthening, but I don't think anyone would look at me and believe that I was wearing falsies.

Overall, I don't really have many negative things to say about the quality of the mascara itself, so if you're not one that's particular about the ingredients and price isn't an issue, I would definitely recommend that you go check this out! YSL is carried at Sephora, as well as many department stores, or you can go straight to the YSL Beauty website and purchase it here. 

Have you tried this mascara? Do you have another holy grail mascara that other ladies should try? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!