So, the Fall FabFitFun box came and … it was alright. Honestly, I don’t feel like writing about it but I feel that I have to given my past posts. You know those people who write glowing blog posts all about “this cool new favourite thing I can’t live without” and then never mention that thing again? I don’t want to be that person, so I guess I’m stuck writing about FFF until the end of the year (when my annual subscription expires).

Alright, here goes:

I was predisposed to be disappointed with this box after some less than great interactions with the company over their communications regarding the Fall box. I hashed out that situation on my IG Stories, and don’t want to belabor it here, but suffice to say, FFF pulled the highest value item from the Fall box at the 11^th hour (after the customization window opened) without a real explanation; then, I saw it pop up on an influencer’s post as being included in the box she received. I guess FFF sends advance boxes to influencers, and this one went out before they decided to pull the item. I took me numerous messages back and forth with FFF to get that much of an answer out of them, and the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway. This box arrived looking messier (and emptier) than in the past.

I selected this hair towel as one of my customizations because I have a similar one, and find it useful. It’s not a “wow” product by any means, but the other options were even less appealing for me. (I’ve heard good things from friends about one of the other alternatives in this category, an eye makeup set. I don’t use eye makeup anymore, which is why I didn’t select that.) Retail value was listed as $18USD, but you can find similar towels at Winners for under $10CAD.

This Aveda hair product came in all boxes. The Ouai leave-in conditioner that came with my Spring box is about to run out, so I will use this as a replacement. I haven’t tried it yet, but it has good reviews, it seems. Retail $30USD.

This is supposed to be a lunch bag but, honestly, I might be able to fit my breakfast in there at best. It’s also a really blah colour, which is weird since it’s a Kate Spade product – you know, a company known for its bright, whimsical, colourful prints. Anyway, I plan to use this as a make-up travel bag. Retail $30USD.

This was another customization which I chose for lack of better options, but I ended up loving this scent. It has sandalwood in it, which I love. I don’t know that it does much for me in terms of relaxation, but I enjoy wearing it as a light perfume on weekends, or layered over my everyday scent, Maison Margiela’s By The Fireplace. I forgot to note down the retail price but it was probably under $30USD.

Same story here – my pick out of a disappointing selection. I have a good skincare regime for my face at the moment, and I don’t want or need to add more exfoliants to it, so I will be using this on my body instead. Or gifting it – haven’t decided yet. I would have preferred a different product, for sure. Retail value $32USD.

This body cream came in all boxes, and I wish it had been a Sol De Janeiro product. I received some DMs on IG telling me that it’s surprisingly good. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will eventually once I finish my current jar of SdJ cream. Retail value $18USD.

These scrub cubes also came in all boxes. They’re a fun product to try, but I found them too rough for use anywhere except my legs and feet. Retail value $16USD.

Last but not least, this hair straightener ended up being the highest priced item in the box (and available in general, I believe). I don’t need a new straightener yet (my old BaByLiss is still working just fine) but I figured I could always use this down the line. Someone told me that they use one for “ironing” creases out of clothes on the go, so to speak, which is the kind of life hack I’m all about. On the other hand, another IG follower DM-ed me to warn me that there some potential safety issues reported with this particular brand/model of straightener. Duly noted. Retail value $80USD.

Overall, I was very underwhelmed by this box, and it’s the first case where I didn’t feel like I got my money’s worth. To be clear, there are enough products in the box to make up the $80CAD that I spent on the box including shipping (even accounting for the inflated retail values), but not enough that I personally needed or was excited to receive to make up that value. I could have spent $80 at Winners on random beauty products, and been happier.

As I mentioned above, my subscription includes one more box; after that, I will decide whether to continue my subscription or not. I am currently leaning towards “no” after this most recent experience, but we shall see how the Winter Box fares.

If you’ve got questions or comments to share about FabFitFun, let me know in the comments.

Slytherin

I am not really a Potterhead but I took the official quiz and I’m House Gryffindor. This came as a surprise because, honestly, I feel like I am (at best) Ravenclaw or maybe (realistically) Hufflepuff. The stuff of magical realm heroine, I am not. Anyway, this Zero+Maria Cornejo dress is making me think that I’ve been sleeping too long on the best house of all: Slytherin. You can’t see it in these pics, but these Poppy Barley shoes have an embossed snakeskin finish; a colleague called them “dragon shoes” and I was, like, HELL YES. Dark, moody green dress, swamp witch pendant, dragon-creature shoes. It is a look, and that look says one thing. The hat was wrong.

Notes: Zero+Maria Cornejo dress (thrifted, $19); Poppy Barley shoes (thrifted, $27); Rafael necklace (eBay, $150).

Here is a close-up of the dress which shows its colour better:

Vest is Best

Alternate title: vest on repeat. The other one sounds better, but this is more factual. I have been wearing this blazer-vest a lot lately. The small houndstooth print is a nice neutral and the elongated line of the vest allows me to play with the proportions of my outfits, which I always enjoy. What’s not to like? Also really, really good? This skirt. The brand (Suno) was unfamiliar to me, but I knew it was quality just from touching the fabric; it’s a thick, smooth silk with beautiful drape and weight to it. My friend Google tells me the brand is now defunct but was originally quite pricey. I can believe it; one look at the way this skirt carries its tulip shape (all those little pleats around the waist!) is enough.

Notes: J. Crew Factory top (retail, $40); Elizabeth & James vest (thrifted, $18); Suno skirt (thrifted, $9).

Here are a few more ways I’ve worn the blazer vest:

An Explosion of Colour

Funny coincidence: I used to own a Ted Baker top in this very same print 3 or 4 years ago. OK, maybe that’s not so funny, but it’s a coincidence to find the matching maxi dress all these years later. I got rid of the top a while ago because it had ruffles and I don’t do ruffles anymore. As for the print itself, I’m a bit torn. On one hand, I love all the colours. On the other hand, it’s … well, a lot. The fabric is polyester not silk, which is disappointing but par for the course for this brand, in my experience. Ted Baker does eye-catching prints, but the quality is meh. Anyway, I will hang on to this dress until next year when I’m planning another family trip to Mexico (it will be a good resort dress), and then evaluate whether to keep it or not. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing around and seeing how it works with the rest of my wardrobe.

Notes: Ted Baker dress (thrifted, $13); Line sweater (thrifted, $8.50); Wilfred blazer (thrifted, $12), Arnold Churgin boots (thrifted, $20).

White After Labour Day

This dress was made for breaking old fashion style rules because who can wear a sweater dress between May and September? Well, ok, I probably could because Edmonton summer is a theoretical concept only. Ahem. On one hand, the fact that the dress has a substantial turtleneck but no sleeves is a bit odd – how warm is it meant to keep you? – but on the other hand, it’s perfect for layering. I love layering! Ergo, I love this dress. Well, mostly. It is rather bodycon, about which I have mixed feelings. But it goes well with this leather jacket, and that’s an important point in its favour.

Notes: Moth dress (thrifted, $5); BlackNYC jacket (retail, $38); Tory Burch boots (thrifted, $20).

When you’ve been doing this blogging thing for as long as I have, it’s inevitable that people in your “real life” will become aware of it. In my case, I’ve been lucky that my social media presence has never posed any issues at work, but it does feel awkward (to me) at times when co-workers refer to it in a way that makes it seem like I’m some kind of actual influencer. For example: a bunch of them recently suggested that I might be a good person to give a presentation on building a personal brand. My first reaction was “umm, thanks guys, but I am NOT qualified in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER insert Homer-Simpson-disappearing-into-bushes-gif” That being said, their suggestion did get thinking about, well, how does one build a personal brand in the course of a professional (non influencer) career? With the proviso that I am writing here as a non-expert average Jane, here are my thoughts.

Authenticity

Obviously, the first step of building a brand is deciding on what that brand will be. I have pivoted in my career several times (at least twice in a major way), but in my mind, the core of my “brand” has remained the same throughout: integrity, efficiency, dependability, pragmatic & critical thinking. This might sound really generic, but it highlights what I perceive to be my strengths – things I know I can deliver no matter the situation. We all might be afflicted with impostor syndrome at times when faced with challenging circumstances or roles, but you shouldn’t feel that you have to “fake it till you make it” when it comes to your brand – people can generally sense when someone isn’t who they’re purporting to be, and nothing will undermine their trust faster.

By way of example, “rainmaker” was never a brand that felt authentic for me, and I didn’t try to pursue it even though, during my years of private practice, it was highly sought-after (and remunerated) by firms. Which is not to say that I didn’t do my share of business development activities, or devote considerable attention to nurturing client relationships, because I did and I built up valuable skills doing so; it just wasn’t my brand. Your brand isn’t your job description or your resume, it’s a kind of calling card. Put it this way: in the pantheon of fictional detectives, Sherlock Holmes’ brand isn’t a list of his cases or the title of consulting detective; rather, it might be something like “brilliant deductive skills”.

Trust

Trust goes hand in hand with authenticity. If people don’t trust your brand, it doesn’t matter how good it (or your talents) are. I was at a seminar earlier this year where the presenter talked about how trust is built. The basic formula is:

Credibility (words) + reliability (actions) + intimacy (emotions) / Self-orientation (motives/intentions)

Your words, actions and emotions (the way you make other people feel) contribute to trust, and perceived self-interest undermines it. In this context, I can’t emphasize how important consistency is. It’s not just doing what you said you would do, but doing what people expect as being in line with your brand. For me, this is a “gut check”. It’s not a question of living up to people’s expectations of you, willy nilly – it’s living up to expectations that are reasonable given your brand.

The only other thing I can’t emphasize enough is that trust takes time to build, and can be seriously undermined or lost in a split second. Sometimes, it’s tempting to do something that’s easy versus something that’s more difficult or takes more time, or pursue “easy money”, or whatever; ask yourself if cutting the corner, or getting the extra bucks is worth the hit to your reputation and brand. Don’t underestimate the value of those things in that equation.

Goodwill

I think of goodwill as a kind of personal currency. You can build up a lot of goodwill through your personal brand, and it’s a buffer when things go sideways. Nobody is perfect, and if you have a decent amount of goodwill built up, a misstep doesn’t have to become a “crash and burn” situation. Goodwill gives you a second chance, or a third, or fourth. It’s an exhaustible resource, though, so you do need to be mindful of keeping that tank full.

Goodwill has other perks too. It gives you leeway to dispense with certain conventions or expectations (provided they are not fundamental to your brand). For example, my boss trusts me to work from home occasionally because (a) face-to-face interaction is not always essential for my role, and just as importantly (b) she knows that she can trust me to be efficient, dependable and reliable no matter where I work. You might wonder at times how some people “get away” with not following certain rules; consider that they might have “earned” that privilege through the goodwill built over time in conjunction with their personal brand.

There are exceptions; people who, for a short period of time, can sustain a certain image or brand and accumulate goodwill that’s not backed up by actual work or tangible results. Personally, I don’t believe that this type of front can be sustained for extended periods of time; people catch on pretty quickly.

OK, your turn: I would love to hear your thoughts on personal branding (in real life or social media!) so drop me a line in the comment section and check out what others have to say.