Monday, February 27, 2012

Oscars Fashion 2012

As if February isn't crazy enough - it is my birthday month and there are only 28 or 29 days to squeeze  life into - it is also one of the best fashion months because of Awards Season and two fashion weeks!

So I love being able to watch the Awards Show and the red carpet arrivals live and so far here are my favourites....


Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford
I love how Gwyneth always goes for simple outfits (who can forget the pink Ralph Lauren in 1999!) and this is just genius! It looks a little crappy in pics but she looked glowing on the video coverage.


Kristen Wiig in J Mendel
People gave her Kristen a hard time for wearing nude yet again but she just looks ethereal and beautiful. And love the vampy dark nails as a little bit of contrast! But I am a bit obsessed with Mendel.

                                                 
Milla Jovovich in Elie Saab
I think Milla is definitely dominating the votes for best dressed and I tend to agree that this is an amazing outfit - beading done to perfection with the block colour background. It does help that she's drop dead gorgeous though!


Stacy Keibler in Marchesa
So Clooney's girlfriend is lucky to be blessed with amazing looks and a to-die-for body, but this dress is just perfection. It looks a little too shiny in this pic (the fabric looks a little cheap?) but when I saw the coverage this just glowed. The fabric complemented the perfectly balanced design features and she looks beautiful.


Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen
I remember having seen this gown before and I always liked it, but this just floats on the red carpet. I'm not sure if it is exactly that Oscar appropriate, though definitely red carpet appropriate, but it's a beautiful design worthy of attention. And she's wearing $2 million of Harry Winston jewels!


Rooney Mara in Givenchy
Rooney usually wears black so she got a lot of attention for wearing a different hue (albeit still monochromatic). I like this outfit but don't love it...she does pull it off well though and I can see the wearability in this.

Glenn Close in Zac Posen
While she's not in the most stunning outfit to walk the red carpet, this is just so age appropriate and the blazer is a nice point of difference! Glenn Close just looks so youthful despite her age and her body is smashing in this gown!

Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton
People are definitely voting Michelle on the Best Dressed List and while I like this outfit I think it's almost a little boring? Cute, awesome for a party, but just not my favourite. But the fabric and detailing is definitely pretty.

And now for just one I dislike...and I feel bad saying it about an Aussie but I'm sorry Rose Byrne, I don't care that you're wearing Vivienne Westwood, Chanel couture jewels and Jimmy Choo shoes, this midnight blue sparkler just looks a little ill-fitting on you when you have such a long lean body! Maybe I'm the only one who feels that way though?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

#15: Karl for NAP

So I know it has been quite a while since the Karl range was released by net-a-porter.com but I've actually made two orders since then and thought I would share some of the photos.

Unfortunately I haven't actually been able to see the items or take photos myself as I had all the items sent home to Australia (and I'm here in the US!) but I still love the look of the items so I've decided to take the risk on them. And my lovely mum took some photos to help me decide :)
Do you like the box and my Philippe Starck Ghost Chair? <3


I also ordered the cameo brooch collar, tuxedo jacket and a black tank top. More photos of those to come if I can convince my mum to take better pics :)

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the tote bag - I mean the fabric looks a little flimsy? But I use tote bags all the time so decided to keep it!

Did you snap up any cute Karl items?

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Sweet Treats!

I'm eating my way through the awesome American treats available here and it's really hard not to be tempted when half the time they are so pretty looking!!

Here are some of my favourites so far...
Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate with oozy strawberry filling. This is so amazing because I love Dark Chocolate and the strawberry is the perfect sweet consistency.

I was naughty and bought lots of Godiva <3 treats when they had a 20% off sale. This was what I purchased online - those truffles were from Christmas so they were 50% off I think!

Yes, that's right a whole box of Georgetown Cupcakes! Yum yum yum! These were for one of the work girls' birthdays :)

And these are Crumbs cupcakes. I wish I had something next to the picture to give perspective of how large these were but these are like giant muffin sized cupcakes. Let me just say, these were very very rich, heavy and calorie laden!

I didn't actually eat anything from this vending machine but it's like Australian Streets ice cream but called 'Love Ice Cream'. What's not to love about that?

And last but definitely not least - I got my hands on lots and lots of Girl Scouts cookies this week. These are AH-MAZING! They're caramel de-lites or 'Samoas' and I love them so much because they're like a caramel slice without all the effort of having to bake it!

What are your favourite American treats?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Westfield: Win a $10,000 Dream Holiday!

As you can imagine, I love a good competition (I mean, that was how this blog started in the first place!) and here's one I just couldn't help but share.

Westfield is giving away the chance to win a whopping $10,000 Dream Holiday!!! Imagine winning that!


Click here to enter for a chance to win! As they say, you have to be in it io win it :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Whitney Houston (1963-2012)

I know this is all over the blogosphere and internet but I just had to write my own tribute to Whitney Houston in honour of her talent. I was so stunned to hear about her passing away when I was busy talking to friends on Skype and suddenly saw all over my facebook page people talking about the big news.

I don't know if it's just me but I feel like lots of iconic artists and performers have passed away in the last few years! I remember the exact day I heard Michael Jackson passed, and now Whitney! I suspect it's partly because I'm at the age where the iconic artists who have been around for decades (and around the time I was born, so icons for my whole lifetime) are moving on in their lives.

Anyway, I'm sure everyone has their own connection to Whitney's songs but I suppose I can say 'I will always love you' was one of the first songs I learned to sing at karaoke as a young kid! Strange, I know, but it was around the time The Bodyguard was released so maybe that's why. I've always had really strong connections to songs so of course everytime I hear that song I connect it to memories from my childhood.

In honour of one of the best female voices of our time, Rest In Peace.

New Toys...again!

A few weeks ago I got my paws on some new technology....a new Canon camera! My sister wanted to upgrade her camera so I agreed to give her my old Powershot S95 (which incidentally I love, and still perhaps love more than this new camera) and bought myself the upgrade: the new S100.

I can't say I like the new upgrade as much as my old one but mainly because I am so used to all the features and had all my custom settings configured but there are a few things I love including the vignette or 'toy camera' setting and the new quick record video function.

Old and new!
I know I attached this to the post below but this is the vignette function I'm talking about - the toy camera instagram like framing! <3 And of course I'm loving my Nars. I took the plunge and bought Gaiety on the weekend as well and I love that even more...I think I'm addicted!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

US: Make Up Shopping!

So I've been naughty and done more make-up shopping despite not needing anymore! I just couldn't help myself at the fantastic US prices, plus these were things I've actually been wanting to buy for a while so it was justified.

I hit up Sephora a few weeks ago on a rainy Saturday when shopping was the only thing worth leaving the house for.

I went to the NARS counter looking for the infamous 'Orgasm' blush, or any other natural looking shade and she suggested Gaiety a new shade that has been released for Spring. Let me tell you, it looks ridiculously candy pink and Barbie like in pan but it is AMAZING on. I'm going to buy it this weekend hopefully so I'll post when I do get my paws on that but for now, you'll have to settle for my Sephora purchases.

I only purchased two items with the third being a free sample that I'm really happy with! The concealer brush was just something I needed to buy (I've been just making do with my crappy brushes for now), but the main item was of course...

Nars Orgasm/Laguna Duo - exclusive to Sephora! At US$41 it is such a bargain compared to buying each item separately (the blush alone is $29) especially when one item in Australia costs $50! Yes, we continue to get ripped off. 


I love the contouring that can be done with Orgasm and Laguna for everyday wear so I'm excited to finally have my hands on one of the most loved items in the make up world.

Then the freebie sample was a sample sized duo of Fresh lip balm in clear and rose tinted. I had never heard of Fresh before but they've been around for a while and their lip balms retail for $20+ each! I know this is sample sized, but these are a really great way to try it. I love the zingy freshness of the balm which is ultra moisturising without feeling sticky or oily. And the rose tinted hue is perfect for a little bit of colour!

Who else loves make-up shopping in the middle of Winter?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

#14: Sale haul!

This is so delayed but I've been busy with lots of exciting things here in the US! Anyway, the sale is already over on the NAP International site and only now am I posting some of the awesome things I bought. I actually ended up returning some of the items because they weren't quite I wanted which meant I saved myself some $$$ for my Karl haul :) More on that later!

#1: Jimmy Choo thigh high boots
So I was so disappointed by the leather of these :( They were uber cheap (I think like 300 something pounds from 800?) but the leather wasn't soft and wearable like I expect and usually see from Choo so I ended up returning these. But never fear, I have since bought some pretty funky thigh highs here in the US!


And so then the other 3 items I bought were cutely wrapped all individually - look!

#2: Eugenia Kim earmuffs
Oh em gee! These are soooo cute and amazingly practical because they fold inwards. Since arriving here in the US I realise that's only something you can get in the more expensive ones and though these weren't cheap, they were definitely worth the money for fashion, fun and warmth! My friend in NYC actually emailed me about these saying she thought I would love them and she must be a mind reader because I had already bought these!

#3: Marc by Marc Jacobs belt
This was a little bit of a last minute add on to my shopping basket - I've been needing a new waist belt and this seemed easy and a cute summer colour. Adjustable too!


#4: J Crew dress
So this didn't turn out to be the fabric I imagined so I ended up returning it but this was only 30 or 40 pounds I believe! Sorry for the terrible crumpled pic, but that's how it arrived and I promptly wrapped it up again to return it.

And finally....

#5: Burberry rain boots - pair #2!
So I already have a black pair but these were sooo cheap (50 pounds!) and a girl can't have too many pairs of rain boots right?

What do you think of these - all practical buys?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Life in Photos: January 2012

It's been a while since I've done one of these so I thought I'd do a bit of a photo blast of some of the things that I've been up to :)

This was me trying to soak up some last minute sun before heading overseas!
My last beach sighting for the Summer!
Within a day of arriving, I had already had a first dose of my Godiva elixir - Dark Chocolate decadence drink! <3 I love this so much I get it every country I visit that has it.

I have done a fair bit of shopping lately...will post about that another time but here is a pair of beautiful J Crew shoes from $300 I think down to $70! They fit, but I let them go because they were a little pinching on the toes and alas, I do not need anymore shoes =(

And what is a visit to a shopping mall without at least one visit to American Girl Place for some expensive glamorous dolls!

Georgetown in Washington DC is officially one of my favourite little suburbs in the US! I love the historic old-school feel of it. This is a view from under the bridge going through the town...

And I've had my first viewing of Gossip Girl live while here in the US! I hadn't watched in months (maybe even a year) so I had no idea what was going on and this wedding episode was an absolute shock to me! The bridesmaids dresses are pretty hideous though...don't you think? Vera Wang got it all wrong, how disappointing!