Fashion Outlet of Chicago

When we decided to go to USA we were recommended to go to a Premium outlet. We had our eyes on one in San Francisco, but since we didn't end up there we had to rethink that plan. We asked our friend Google if he knew a place in Chicago and was told to go to Aurora. Good thing, we thought, but wasn't sure how to get there. We found a tourist information and went in to ask for help. The lady we met told us that they had opened up an outlet center close to the airport, and that it was a lot easier to go to than the one in Aurora. The center was called Fashion outlets of Chicago, which is why we didn't find it googeling Premium outlets.

From city center we took the train from Clark Lane to O'Hare, and a shuttle bus to the outlet. When we got back home we found out that you could take the train to Rosemont instead and get a free shuttle. We paid about $20 for our shuttle.

The center has 130 stores, which is quite a lot compared to the malls I'm used to at home. And the prices are not to talk about. USA is really cheap compared to Sweden to start with, and with all these sales I can tell you I was in heaven!

To give you a hint about the prices in USA compared to Sweden, I bought a shirt for my brother that he has been looking at here. I didn't buy it at the outlet, and it wasn't on sale, but still it was less than half price of what I would have to pay here.

When we arrived we went to the information desk because we wanted to buy Green Saving cards with additional discounts. As we told them we were from Sweden we got the cards for free (instead of $5/each) if we could show our ID-cards, proving we were visitors. Most discouts were something like "additional 10% off if you shop for $100". We did use quite a lot of those discounts, so they would have payed off, even if we hadn't got them for free.

We arrived around 11a.m. and left after 6p.m. And we did some great findings! Brands that I would never be able to buy at home, to prices that I usually spend. US Polo and Calvin Klein became the stores that we opened up our wallets to the most. Did some fantastic deals there. If I did have to pick my absolute favorite from the outlet I think it would be my DKNY "cozy", a cardigan that you can wrap in several different ways. Original price on the price tag was $175, I paid around $50, including taxes.

We found the center big enough to have everything we wanted, but not too big so we were able to check out all the stores and still go back if we realized we missed something. There was a big food court so it wasn't any trouble finding a place to sit when you needed a break.

We would really recommend going to this outlet center, especially if you're used to European prizes. Keep in mind though, that this is the first one I visit and have nothing really to compare with. We will for sure go back there next time we go to Chicago.

 

 

 

Glossybox September

Hi everyone!

Yesterday the Glossybox of the moth arrived. It's like Christmas every time. The theme of this box is Eyes. I loved the theme from the moment I heard about it. Eyes are my favorite part to focus on when I do my makeup. This is what I got in the box this month.

Garnier - The Miracle Cream

A face cream with an inovative color technology that's supposed to fit all skin tones. It will hide fine lines and even the skintone.

Absolute New York - Perfecting Eyeshadow Primer

This is perfect for me! I've been in the need to buy a primer for a while, but I tend to forget about it everytime I go shopping. Thank you Glossybox for taking care of this task for me.

Monu - Warming ginger oil

A massage oil to build up the skins elasticity and keep it soft and smooth. Hope M will help me use this one after a long day at work!

Benefit Cosmetics - It's Potent! Eye Cream

I'm excited to try another product from benefit. I know it's a quite hyped brand, but last time I got to try a product from them I wasn't really convinced. Hope this one gives them a jump up for me. It's supposed to tone out darkness under the eyes, even fine lines and moisturise the eye area. Convince me you're great, Benefit!

Make Up Store - Eyedust

I've always wanted to try products from Make Up Store, but it has been too hard for me to chose colours, and to expencive to buy plenty. In my box this month I got an eyedust in the colour Bamboo. It's a very lovely green shade, and I already know this will be a big time favorite this fall. It's very well pigmented and shimmery. Don't be surprised if a make up using this one turns up on the blog, sooner rather than later.

Bonuses!

The Body Shop - Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate

Make Up Store also offers make up consulting in one of their stores for me and a friend. Will see if I can find an opening for me and my sister to go to this one. Would be fun to see if they have something to say that I haven't thought about.

Over all I'm very happy whit the box this month. Definitely one of my favorites so far.

Stay tuned, a few more posts about our trip to Chicago will be posted in the next few days.

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Chicago - The Cheescake Factory

Hi there!

As both me and M are big fans of desserts and Big Bang Theory we couldn't not go to The Cheesecake Factory, as we found out they had one in Chicago. It was the perfect thing to do before we went to pick up our things and go to the airport for our trip back home.

When we got the menu we realized we wasn't in for an easy pick. Everything sounded so delicious. Since I'm crazy about raspberries my choice wasn't too hard in the end, and I think M was a bit affected about my love about Dulce de leche ice cream and the fact that I told him a few times that sounded like a nice one. So Dulce de leche and Lemon Raspberry Cream was served. We decided to split them and eat half-half, just to get a real taste at both. They both tasted like a little bit of heaven, but the final winner was the lemon raspberry. Mainly because the Dulce de leche was way to heavy for us. The first two bit was amazing, but then it just got too much. Lemon Raspberry was a bit lighter and was just perfect!

The service was great! We got a table quite quickly and we didn't have to wait long to get served. The girl taking care of us was lovely. Can't really remember her name. Vicky, I think? The only thing that we didn't like too much was that it was so cold in there! We weren't really tempted to sit there, so we ate up and got out as soon as we could. A bit warmer and we could have stayed longer, enjoying or cheesecakes to the fullest. That would have been perfect!

 

Chicago - Hotel Felix

Hi there!

In Chicago we stayed at the Hotel Felix. Since we booked last minute, we got a good price of the hotel, and it was much worth the money.

I'm used to staying at cheap places in London where you have to struggle to get the big bags up, or down, quite narrow stairs. That was far from the case this time! It felt quite luxurious stepping in to an elevator and having a well dressed man delivering the bags up to your room. A room that was very nice and clean. Not very big, but just perfect for two persons staying three nights. And that bed was impressive! It was so comfortable. I rarely sleep well away from home and my own bed, but here I slept like a baby. Free WiFi that worked without any trouble! Perfect for us that would be charged plenty from our operators if we used the 3G-net. Now we could still check out maps, transfer and other information we needed.

The staff at the hotel was really friendly, and helpful. They answered all of our questions and gave us useful tips about the city.

The location was great. It was close to everything in the city center. About ten minutes walk from the John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place. In the other direction it wasn't far to Millennium Park and the train station to the airport.

There are a few minor things that could have been better. For example they took a deposition of $50/night that they didn't inform us about until we questioned the way to high amount of money drawn from our card. Money that still isn't transferred back. Maybe this is common in the States, but for a first time visitor we would have wished for this info in advance.

We we're also hoping to be able to have a late check out, but the fee of $50/half an hour, was way too high in our opinion.

Overall, we were very happy about the hotel and can defiantly see this as a place to go back to next time we visit Chicago.

Chicago, we will be back!

Hi there!

Yesterday we got back from our little weekend in Chicago. Just in time to celebrate my birthday today. Woke up this morning to my family and boyfriend singing Happy Birthday (a Swedish version of it) and giving me some really lovely gifts. And my little dog was the center of attention as usual trying to help me open everything up. Oh, the disappointment when he realized there wasn't anything for him to play with.

Anyway, Chicago. What a lovely city! Both me and M are in love with it and have promised each other we will go back sometime! We have a few more places on the list, so it might take a while, but we will be back! No doubt about it.

What we liked about it was that it was so cozy even though it's so big. Also a big plus for how easy it was to get around by foot. Our hotel was at a very central location, so we could walk everywhere we wanted to go, except the airport and the Fashion Outlet of Chicago. And we loved the people! Everyone was so friendly, everywhere you went. In Sweden everyone is quite closed and private, but here people started talking by just the look from a stranger.

These two pictures are a  good example of what we loved about the city. In the level of sight it looked so nice and intimate, but when you looked up the town was rising to the sky. Pretty awesome! The highest building in our city felt kind of small compared to this town.

We went down to the pier to look at the city skyline, and happened to get there as the sun was setting. It was so beautiful! Had to take a selfie there, which we sent as a postcard to family and friends. Using an app from the Swedish Post, it arrived before we did! Very appreciated by the receivers.

Last day we had really lovely weather and we felt like we had reached our shopping budget, so we went to the Millennium Park to stroll around and watch the cool sculptures. I really enjoyed watching the modern art. Most places I've visited before is known for it's old and close to antique architecture, and I love that, but this was something completely new and exiting in it's own way.

During the week I will post more specific posts about the hotel, places we've visited and tourist tips that we learned during the trip. Stay posted if you're interested in more about our Chicago trip!

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We're in USA!!

Hi everyone! 

As you may know, me and M had planed a trip to San Francisco. Since we travel on standby-tickets we have to be prepared for a sudden change of plans. So was the case this time. The flight to San Francisco was fully booked last night so we had to look for other options. The result? We are in CHICAGO!

After a long flight and a long taxi drive, we have checked in at Hotel Felix, which we like a lot so far. We are way to tired to do anything productive today, so we just went to 7eleven to pick up some snacks and relax on the room. What we could see from the taxi windows it seems to be a very cool city. Can't wait to explore it closer tomorrow!

Tutorial - Green eyes

Hey there!

The other day I got the question if I had an olive green eye shadow to recommend, so I thought I'd share what eye makeup I use when I want to match my green wardrobe.

To this look I've been using the following: 

1. Undressed Palette from MUA, colours Puff and Hazle.

2. Eye shadow from Sephora in colour Python bag No 45

3. H&M eyeliner in Soft Green

4. Felt Eyeliner Pen from Primark

5. Black eyeliner from Färg

6. Diorshow Mascara

7. Lip pen from Makiash in colour 2 cold plum

1. I'm starting off with Puff from MUA all over the eyelid, up to the eyebrows.

2. MUA Hazel over the lid

3. Sephora Python Bag in the outer corners and the crease.

4. Closest to the lash line I use my felt liner, and just above it I use the Soft Green eyeliner from H&M to make the green colour pop a bit more.

5. For the final look I've added black eyeliner from Färg inside the lower lashline, the Diorshow mascara and my absolute favorite lipcolour at the moment, Cold Plum from Makiash.

Did you enjoy the tutorial? Something I should keep doing? Anything I should do differently? Comment below to let me know your thoughts. 

Also, do you have any favorite colours of eye shadow that isn't the black/grey smokey eye or the more natural brown/beige look? 

See you again soon!