View My Stats

Sunday, 8 August 2010

Abbey Lee Kershaw for German Vogue

One of our favourite faces at the moment, Abbey Lee Kershaw models alongside her musician boyfriend Matthew Hutchinson in the music issue of Vogue Germany.
Photographed by Alexi Lubomirski and styled by Christiane Arp, the feature 'Fashion Session' goes back in time to feature retro-inspired pieces and classic looks in front of a music studio and jam rooms. From flower power to poodle skirt to folk French, Kershaw can flaunt any look from any decade.











via 2threads.com

Saturday, 7 August 2010

Seasons are a changing...

I've spent a few minutes browsing my favourite northern hemisphere online retailers and sighed in despair as everyone was preparing for autumn/winter, whereas spring is about 3 weeks away in Melbourne.  This morning it's beautiful and sunny, and I'm about to start making french toast using my dad's recipe.  Maybe I'll post some photos!

Don't get me wrong, I hate winter, but the upcoming trends would make it manageable, if only just.

Days are still cold and I long to add all the latest A/W looks to my days, but what's the point?  By the time they arrive, there won't be much point and by the time next autumn arrives, they'll long be forgotten, languishing somewhere in my wardrobe while I stress about having nothing to wear AGAIN.

One of my favourite shows during the AW 2010 collections was Ralph Lauren - so ME and so WEARABLE.  Loved the greys, the browns, the tweeds with a touch of floral and colour.

This is what I wish to work on Monday.  Warm layers... bless!


style.com

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Wishful Wednesday

This Wednesday I wish that I had more money to do the things I really want to do. You know the saying, work to live, not live to work?




I also wish that the alarm clock didn't exist.  Interrupted sleep is world's worst invension.  Snooze!


all photos via trumblr

Tuesday, 3 August 2010

Hello Australia

You'd forgive people for thinking that in Australia, riding a kangaroo is a form of transport.  You'd forgive people for thinking that Sydney is the nation's capital.  You'd forgive them if they didn't know that we can go swimming at a beach, or skiing at the slopes all within a couple of hours of each other.

But if you were a major company launching in Australia, wouldn't you do your research and figure out which land mark belongs to which city?

People at Gap seem to think that Centrepoint Tower and the Opera House belong in Melbourne and that the Arts Centre spire belongs in Sydney.  And that you also ride the green tram in Sydney????  At least they got Melbourne's Luna Park in the right city though.  Ignorance is bloss.

image from Gap Australia website

Lets talk make up!

For someone to who hardly wears make up on a day to day basis, I have a lot of it sitting in two draws at home.  Samples? YES.  Gift with purchase? SURE.  Sad thing is I use most of it once, twice and often never.

I do have some Holy Grail products however that I have come to love over the years and repurchase once they run out.  It's not a huge aray or products, but it's worth sharing with you, my readers.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser
I know you're rolling your eyes and thinking "couldn't she be a bit more original" but really this product deserves all the praise it receives.  It's wonderful for us lazy time pressed folk who are rushing out the door in the morning.  Applied with fingers like a moisturiser, it plumps and gives skin a bit of colour and glow.  It's not going to provide full (or even medium) coverage or cover pores if they're large, but it will be be enough for a quick pick up.  It really is fabulous.

Chanel Teint Innocence SPF 12 Foundation

My skin has an olive undertone but on face value (pardon the pun) looks rather pale, so make up counter girls are forever sending me off with really pale foundation that makes me look like a washed out Morticia in photos.  When I broke up with my ex a few years back, my cousin came to stay with me.  She was working at Chanel at the time and had a suitcase of make up with her - and that's when I fell in love with this foundation and found the right colour for myself, by playing with various shades and taking photos of myself to find the right one!  I sometimes alternate with Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, but I still think this is one superior.  It glides on really nicely, blends well, stays put and provides great coverage without looking caked on.  EXACTLY what one expects of foundation!




I do however ALWAYS apply foundation with the Giorgio Armani Foundation Brush.  It's a lot less messy and a lot more hygenic than using fingers.


Diorshow Mascara

Need I say any more?  Only mascara that I've ever used that fattens my lashes and leaves them soft and supple rather than dry and brittle.  It's also easy to remove with cleanser and warm water without scrubbing or washing the face 3 times.



Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen

In my humble opinion, this is so much better than YSL Touche Eclat.  YSL TE goes on really cakey for me and I find it to be really "thin" and "runny" and not really effective at what it's meant to do.  The Dior Booster Pen is great.  It helps diminish shadows and I often it wear it even if I'm not wearing any other make up.  My eye area is very difficult to maintain and this product is a treat.  I'm so glad I found this.

I also love myself a light dusting of MAC Mineralise Skin Finishes.  I have a few.  They will last me 30 years but they're so pretty and versatile!


Smiths Rosebud Salve

You maybe thinking that all of my products are high end.  And yes they are, apart from this Rosebud Salve which costs a grand total of $7 a pot.  It's an amazing lip balm, dry skin saviour, cuticle cream and elbow skin softener.  Do not EVER go anywhere cold without it.

The reason most of my products are high end, is because I have a skin tone that is tricky to match and in Australia at least, Priceline (the 'low end' make up mecca) does not actually have samples of anything bar lipstick.  Things are usually packaged, then sticky taped, then security tagged that I feel like a criminal touching them.  More security than at Tiffany's!  Why would I want to pay $40 for a Rimmel foundation that I cannot try, when I can get my favourite Chanel from a counter like a civilised human being for just a bit more?  And because I don't wear make up every day, most of these products last me 6-12 months. 

Now tell me, what are your HL products?  What can't you live without?  What do you always repurchase?  I would love to know!

Chloe Winter 2010




images thanks to Chloe

Monday, 2 August 2010

Astor Courts

My love of white interiors is no secret.  The few photos from Chelsea Clinton's wedding that have been released caused me to hunt for some photos of the venue - Astor Courts - in upstate New York, which is currently for sale for a cool $12 million.

Love!























Photos by Bruce Buck and from Luxist

Birthday Week

Friday is B's birthday.  But forget the day, he deserves a week.  Last year a few days before his birthday, his grandmother was involved in a terrible car accident, which meant that he spent his birthday in the waiting room of the ICU with the rest of the family not knowing for weeks what would happen to her.  It was his first birthday that we were to spend together, but it was not to be, so this year I plan to make up for it.  He doesn't read this blog, but in case he does I'm not giving too much away.

Unfortunately the upcoming week is also really busy for me.  The to-do is brimming!


Lots from column 1 and not a lot from column 2 I'm afraid.



Monday


There's a lot of ironing to action.  And I mean a lot.


Tuesday

An urgent after hours meeting to repair the damages that are threatening to ruin September's gala dinner and concert that I'm co-hosting.  So much to do, so little time!  So many things going wrong.

Wednesday



Dinner & exhibit with B at the museum...


And hopefully having time to bake B's favourite cake for his birthday...

Thursday


Desert Flower premier... B gets to come along!!  I need to head there right after work, so the office-to-party outfit conundrum is making me sweat!  Zero ideas!

Friday


Cooking, cooking, cooking!! And hosting a few friends (in our tiny apartment!!) for B's birthday.  And I'm hoping that nobody ruins the surprise for him!



I love entertaining.. I wish I had a bigger space to be able to do it properly... I'll have to make do I suppose.

Hope you all have a fabulous week, and hopefully I get some time to post/visit your blogs.  

x





Sunday, 1 August 2010

Cool runnings

I love running.   In winter however, I'm often forced indoors at the gym on a treadmill, which is less than inspiring.  It's far too cold to venture out for a run before work (I am in awe of people who have time to wash their hair in the morning - WHAT is the secret???) and after work it's too dark and depressing, as it's pitch black by 5.30pm.  

A weekend run around The Tan is my saviour. The fresh air and small glimmer of sunshine sets me up for the rest of the day.  The thoughts that pass through my head while running sometimes verge on insanity.  The iPod and I journey for an hour dreaming of new purchases, holiday destinations, what to do tonight, the friends I haven't seen in weeks, 5 year plans, what my parents are doing and often guilt at not calling my grandmothers overseas for months.  The thoughts that pass through my mind sometimes scare the living daylight out of me!  I don't even know where I come up with such crazy ideas. 

It's expensive yes, but I love Stella McCartney for Adidas.  In particular the shorts.  Regular cotton running shorts have that tight elastic around the waist which rides up my hips and drives me crazy!  McCartney's shorts sit low on the lips, are made from lovely light fabric and make running a pleasure!  And her tops are all nice and long which solves the problem I have with everything being too short and exposing my stomach - a pet hate!





She continues to redefine and challenge the notion of what we wear whilst keeping fit.  I love her silhouettes.  

Another item that's made running pleasurable is the Triumph Triaction Racerback Sports Bra.  Before I discovered this beauty, running was verging on painful, even though I'm not the most endowed person in the chest area, as I've grown older the bounce has become worse and nothing I've tried (including wearing two bras) has made much of a difference.  I bought one of these in January and it's really put the pleasure back into running.  I highly recommend it!

Triumph sports bra - AUD29.95