After getting my two bal bags, I started to read the threads extensively and I wanted to share what products I used and how I feel about them for reference purposes
To start, when I first got my 2013 bleu mineral Mini City, the leather was pretty dry, but I had not actually noticed it until I was on the forum and then seeing pictures of non-dry leather, and then comparing it to my 2013 Black mGSH City, whose leather is much much nicer.
A couple of days after getting the Mini City, I went back to the Bal boutique to see if they had anything to help moisturising the leather, and I got the Balenciaga Cream. I was told to use it once a month to protect the leather.
Balenciaga Cream
After applying it the first time, using a makeup sponge, the sponge had some colour transfer and turned blue. It didn't concern me too much because the bag colour did not fade (although who knows what would happen in the long run). The cream came in a tin container and a cotton cloth, but the cotton cloth fiber would transfer to the bag because the cream is sticky after the first application and stick into the veins. I had a hard time getting the fibre out even after the bag dried and the bag was no longer sticky. After the first application, i didn't find the leather to look or feel any less papery so i tried it again the week after. I did this for a couple of weeks (maybe 5 times in total) and although the leather was slightly less papery, i didn't feel like there was any significant changes.
Leather Honey
After two months of using the Mini City five days a week for a month, I started to notice that there are some scuffing around the edges and white wrinkles after the break in, and that really concerned me. The next thing I did was purchase Leather Honey from Amazon and applied it to my the mini City using my fingers. Like almost what everyone says, you don't need to use a lot of it. I just used my fingers to rub the Leather Honey in in a circular motion and let it dry. I did 2-3 coats over the course of 3 days and I did notice that the bag is much softer and significantly less papery. There was no real colour change besides me feeling the colour became richer WIN! Love this product. More info can be found in this thread.
Zelikovitz Leather Top Coat
As for the scuffing along the edges and piping, I took the advice of this thread and used the Zelikovitz Acrylic Leather Sheen Top Coat in SATIN. The item shipped from Ottawa. When I received it, I had no make-up sponges with me, so I used cotton pads instead. I think this is perfectly fine for the top coat because it's not something you need to rub into the bag and the fibers from the pads won't get into the bag. After using it on all the edges, you don't even notice the scuffing anymore and it has not scuffed at all since. I reapplied it after 3 weeks just because I felt like babying my bag, but it wasn't necessary at all. Keep in mind the stuff can be a bit sticky as you apply but it dries without stickiness. ANOTHER WIN! PERFECT PRODUCT!!
Collonil Waterstop+ UV Protection Spray
The next thing that I wanted to do was to protect my bag from fading and spills. Both the Leather Honey and the Top Coat have water repellent properties, but I wasn't sure how extensive the protection is and I wanted it to be on the safer side. After some research, I decided on the Collonil. People ask which one from Collonil and this was the link from which I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WBSGE6/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. When it came, it said Nude on the bottle, which concerned me a little so I sprayed it on a white piece of paper first, and it had no colour, so it was okay. However, what did concern me was that I have a friend who sprayed her Chloe Paraty with the Michael Kors water protection spray as her only care for her bag and when she sold me the bag, the leather started to peel like crazy!!!!!!!!. Now I wasn't sure whether or not it was her spray that made the leather this way (no one from the chloe forum could attest to theirs peeling) or the way she stored it (in canada, and the weather is super dry) but I was worried. I gave this a shot anyway because i didn't read any bad complaints about it and sprayed it on the bag a couple of times to get an even coverage and immediately, I felt like the leather wasn't as soft as it was before, which is understandable since it essentially placed a coat of plasticky film over the bag. Even after it dried, I find that the bag feels a bit papery and crackles a little when you smoosh it. I don't think it will actually dry out the leather since i had it moisturised before (altho some ppl claims it makes your leather a bit drier) but I won't find out in the short term. Most ppl with Mulberrys are using it without a problem too. I am keeping my fingers crossed. So far, I would recommend against it unless you have a bag that's really really prone to fading and you know it would be much worse off. I haven't heard of any Bals peeling anyway, so there's hope to that.
Pictures?
I didn't take any before or after shots, even tho i can probably dig up some photos. But I find that lighting can be pretty deceiving and overall you won't be able to tell the difference over camera (scuffing can completely disappear on picture with the right lighting). So I am writing my experience based on what i can see and feel. Hopefully it will help with your product choices!
To start, when I first got my 2013 bleu mineral Mini City, the leather was pretty dry, but I had not actually noticed it until I was on the forum and then seeing pictures of non-dry leather, and then comparing it to my 2013 Black mGSH City, whose leather is much much nicer.
A couple of days after getting the Mini City, I went back to the Bal boutique to see if they had anything to help moisturising the leather, and I got the Balenciaga Cream. I was told to use it once a month to protect the leather.
Balenciaga Cream
After applying it the first time, using a makeup sponge, the sponge had some colour transfer and turned blue. It didn't concern me too much because the bag colour did not fade (although who knows what would happen in the long run). The cream came in a tin container and a cotton cloth, but the cotton cloth fiber would transfer to the bag because the cream is sticky after the first application and stick into the veins. I had a hard time getting the fibre out even after the bag dried and the bag was no longer sticky. After the first application, i didn't find the leather to look or feel any less papery so i tried it again the week after. I did this for a couple of weeks (maybe 5 times in total) and although the leather was slightly less papery, i didn't feel like there was any significant changes.
Leather Honey
After two months of using the Mini City five days a week for a month, I started to notice that there are some scuffing around the edges and white wrinkles after the break in, and that really concerned me. The next thing I did was purchase Leather Honey from Amazon and applied it to my the mini City using my fingers. Like almost what everyone says, you don't need to use a lot of it. I just used my fingers to rub the Leather Honey in in a circular motion and let it dry. I did 2-3 coats over the course of 3 days and I did notice that the bag is much softer and significantly less papery. There was no real colour change besides me feeling the colour became richer WIN! Love this product. More info can be found in this thread.
Zelikovitz Leather Top Coat
As for the scuffing along the edges and piping, I took the advice of this thread and used the Zelikovitz Acrylic Leather Sheen Top Coat in SATIN. The item shipped from Ottawa. When I received it, I had no make-up sponges with me, so I used cotton pads instead. I think this is perfectly fine for the top coat because it's not something you need to rub into the bag and the fibers from the pads won't get into the bag. After using it on all the edges, you don't even notice the scuffing anymore and it has not scuffed at all since. I reapplied it after 3 weeks just because I felt like babying my bag, but it wasn't necessary at all. Keep in mind the stuff can be a bit sticky as you apply but it dries without stickiness. ANOTHER WIN! PERFECT PRODUCT!!
Collonil Waterstop+ UV Protection Spray
The next thing that I wanted to do was to protect my bag from fading and spills. Both the Leather Honey and the Top Coat have water repellent properties, but I wasn't sure how extensive the protection is and I wanted it to be on the safer side. After some research, I decided on the Collonil. People ask which one from Collonil and this was the link from which I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WBSGE6/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. When it came, it said Nude on the bottle, which concerned me a little so I sprayed it on a white piece of paper first, and it had no colour, so it was okay. However, what did concern me was that I have a friend who sprayed her Chloe Paraty with the Michael Kors water protection spray as her only care for her bag and when she sold me the bag, the leather started to peel like crazy!!!!!!!!. Now I wasn't sure whether or not it was her spray that made the leather this way (no one from the chloe forum could attest to theirs peeling) or the way she stored it (in canada, and the weather is super dry) but I was worried. I gave this a shot anyway because i didn't read any bad complaints about it and sprayed it on the bag a couple of times to get an even coverage and immediately, I felt like the leather wasn't as soft as it was before, which is understandable since it essentially placed a coat of plasticky film over the bag. Even after it dried, I find that the bag feels a bit papery and crackles a little when you smoosh it. I don't think it will actually dry out the leather since i had it moisturised before (altho some ppl claims it makes your leather a bit drier) but I won't find out in the short term. Most ppl with Mulberrys are using it without a problem too. I am keeping my fingers crossed. So far, I would recommend against it unless you have a bag that's really really prone to fading and you know it would be much worse off. I haven't heard of any Bals peeling anyway, so there's hope to that.
Pictures?
I didn't take any before or after shots, even tho i can probably dig up some photos. But I find that lighting can be pretty deceiving and overall you won't be able to tell the difference over camera (scuffing can completely disappear on picture with the right lighting). So I am writing my experience based on what i can see and feel. Hopefully it will help with your product choices!
