Haul of Fame

London Shopping Spree

Work travel is 200% less glamorous than it sounds. While it's nice to be in exciting cities, long days are spent in meeting rooms and conference centres, which look and feel the same no matter what city you're in and all serve the same overpriced stale sandwiches.

But one of my favourite trips of the year is always to the UK for the International London Book Fair. One of my best friends from high school now lives in London, so it was great to stay with her and her partner for the weekend before work started and enjoy the city. She was also a horrible influence and encouraged me to spend way too much money, amplified with the awful exchange rate of the pound. We spent a day travelling around Covent Garden and the amazing old department stores Harrod's, Selfridges, and Liberty. These are the things that I made room for in my carry-on bag home.

Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Pillow Talk

The last thing I needed was a new lipstick shade, but the flagship Charlotte Tilbury store in Covent Garden has exclusive shades that you can only get there. This shade, the lipstick version of their bestselling Pillow Talk Lip Pencil, is the perfect pinky nude, with just a bit more colour than my own lips. A bit more beige than the Secret Salma shade I already had, I've been wearing it non-stop since I purchased last week.

Reiss Balm Dress

Reiss is one of my favourite high street shops in the UK, and a favourite of Princess Kate Middleton, who is frequently photographed wearing their stuff. While we now have Reiss in Toronto, the mark up from the exchange means that we often end up paying so much more. I didn't think this dress would suit me, but I tried it on out of boredom while my friend was in the fitting room and I fell in love with the fit. It's got the trendy off-the-shoulder ruffle that I'm seeing everywhere this year, but is super flattering paired with the structured shift below. 

Vivienne Westwood Vian Dress

I was in London the summer after I got engaged and I almost bought a dove grey Vivienne Westwood Corset dress as my wedding dress before I decided to wait since it was the first dress I'd tried on - a decision I've frequently regretted when I remember how great I looked in that dress. This was the biggest splurge of the trip, but it was a fraction of the cost I would have paid for it at home, and it was a sure deal when the saleswoman said the magic words, "You look like a Kardashian in that." It's a dress that's so expertly draped to be flattering and fitted in the right spots while skimming over others, and really emphasized an hourglass shape. The fabric is jersey, so it can be worn more casual or dressed up. And it was so fun to shop in the flagship location of this iconic British designer.

Whistles Striped Bardot Knit

Whistles is another favourite high street store that we unfortunately don't have here in North America yet, filled with monochromatic, minimalistic fashions. One of my favourite YouTubers, theannaedit (formerly known as viviannadoesmakeup) seems to buy her entire wardrobe from here. I always love stripe tops with simple black flats as a spring uniform, and this version is really lightweight in a beautiful fabric. 

Zoeva Buffing Brush

Zoeva is an amazingly affordable, but hard to find makeup line that I saw in Selfridges. You'll frequently see their brushes and palettes all over YouTube, but I like to be able to see a product before I buy it, and overseas shipping to Canada can be pricey and have hidden duties - a pain even when these products are such a deal. I was thrilled to see a counter in the UK, and had to buy their iconic foundation brush, which is really great for a natural finish. 

Now I'm eagerly waiting for the weather to change so I can wear some of my new clothes. What was your biggest splurge purchase on vacation?