Beautiful Gifts at Fresh

I don't a woman who wouldn't swoon over the luxurious, delectable products at Fresh. The skincare, makeup and fragrance store has a wide variety of products for every lady. And the packaging is beautiful and simplistic at the same time. The toughest question won't be if you are going to buy - but what you are going to buy. Check out these gift suggestions and if you haven't been to the store yet I hightly suggest a visit.

What a girl wants for Christmas

Hey, Barney's Girl and I are going to take a 2 week break from the blog. Both of us are going to be on family vacation, celebrating new year with friends and head back to college in Jan. But before the break, I'm going to leave you with a list of fabulous Christmas ideas -basically what I would like to recieve, and I'm sure many of you would at least like one thing on the list.

Girly beauty items. Girls always need eyeliners. Afterall, eyeliner is essential to some people's day looks and most people's night looks. And I absolutely love MAC's powerpoint eye pencil.

Brush cleaner is another (but not obvious) must to one's beauty collection. Please do remember to clean your makeup brushes regularly!

Speaking of brushes, my sister was just saying how she would love a set of brushes -another essential to one's beauty collection.

Moving onto other girly things, as inspired by BG's list of essential bags, the LV Speedy 25 is a popular and very practical bag for a girl to own.

Another cool bag is the Chloe Paddington clutch -good for day and night, and effortlessly chic.

I love classic jewelry, and the first that comes into mind is Tiffany & Co's basic silver collection. These Elsa Peretti earrings are so classic and versatile. Hmm... maybe I should get them for myself.

The MacBook is SO small and cute, although I don't quite like it's keyboard and function inside. For more a more impressive laptop, get the MacBook Pro -much sleeker and impressive. I stood in the Apple store playing with these Macs for two hours a few weekends ago when my old laptop died, but ended up opting for a regular laptop instead.

Sony cybershot DSC-N2 -it's got 10.1 mega-pixels and a huge 3.0 LCD touch screen. And very importantly, it's cute!

Get your friend a DVD set of your favourite TV show that your friend hasn't watched before. I totally recommend Veronica Mars -it's one of the coolest and most underated show on TV.

Lastly, with more than 20mil viewers in the States each new episode, you can't go wrong with a Grey's Anatomy calender, (unless you know your friend hates the show.) A new year of staring at the entertaining cast of GA and Mc Hotties!

Merry Christmas and have a stylish (refer to earlier posts) new year people! See you in 2007!

FW06 Beauty Trend: The Smoky Eyes

Yes, I know that we are technically at the end of the FW06 season, but I've saved this very gothic look for the festive season. I absolutely love this season's gothic look. We're not talking about high school emo/ rock chick/ gothic look here, we're talking the sophisticated one.

Rochas had chimney sweepers as the inspiration of the collection, including the super smoky eyes which looks like a lot of shades of matte black and charcoal grey.

Alessandro Dell'Acqua -Sparkling and fluid-like black. The whole eyelid looks literally all black.

Marc by Marc Jacobs and Valentino -Marc's (left) eye makeup is soo funky -it looks like the makeup artist used a black eyeliner and drew random lines all over the model's eyelids (which I'm sure were well-planned)! On the other hand, Valentino has got the very sophisticated look, with mainly dark eyeliner at the bottom, complete with red lipstick. A bit too mature for me, but maybe some of you would like to try it.

Nars eyeshadow -Pile on the sparkling black, artistically of course. For those who want a bit of colour, dark purple is great for most skin tones.

Nars liquid eyeliner -Lots and lots (and hope that it doesn't run off throughout the night!) If you want the smudged eyeliner effect, then opt for pencil eyeliner instead. I usually recommend MAC's black eyeliner to my friends.

And lastly, mascara! From experience, Diorshow gives the most dramatic effect, although it did smudge a bit on long nights.

If you think all this black is waay too dramtic and dark for you, then you can try dark brown. See how Rachel Bilson looks mega-gorgeous in dark brown smoky eyes? (But then again, she looks gorgeous in most looks.)

I've always thought Christmas as a family event and New Year countdown as a friends' event. Personally, I think this look is a bit too extreme for family Christmas dinners, but I'm seriously considering doning this look for New Year. Now all I have to do is master the art of putting on all that black eye makeup without looking like a panda and find myself a super pale lip colour!

This Week BG is Loving. . .

This gorgeously delicious rose buckle belt from McQ!
I love the beautiful and intricate design of the rose buckle. It is feminine yet cool. Matched with the perfect width belt, they will be just the thing to spice up and pull together an outfit. I’ve been looking for something like this for the longest time.
Although I might just end up with something even simpler this season. A black patent leather belt with a simple buckle and the perfect width, not too wide or too thin- like this one here from Shop Intuition. I saw something very similar the other day at Lafayette and I really wanted it because it would just match with everything, but alas they were 65euros. I’m not sure something so simple is worth that much. Thoughts?

Travel Essentials: Shoes

One of the things that take up the most space in a suitcase is footwear. Seriously, when I packed up my dorm room, I literally had a whole box full of shoes and I didn't even realised I owned that much footwear. So what are the essentials one packs for a holiday?
A must have are nice comfortable sneakers. Shown here are Hogan (left) and Puma by Alexander McQueen (right) sneakers. I personally am loving my black patent Hogans, because not only do they look good and are comfortable, they're waterproof too! No wet feet-ever.
As a girly girl, I must also have a pair of comfortable pretty shoes to go with everything. What better than flats? For winter, I am loving flats, whether is it ballerina style or loafer style (as the one shown above from Tod's). For summer, I have my metallic RL thongs, although these one shown are Musa from net-a-porter.
Then of course there is the fashionable and not neccessarily comfortable shoes. For winter, I bring classic ankle boots (they also save space!), like these ones (left) from Steve Madden. For summer, I love my Miu Miu platform sandals from last season. These ones shown here (right) though are much more seasonally versatile and they're from Burberry.

Last but not least, there are the party/evening heels that one simply MUST bring. Bring black pumps (pointy or otherwise) for winter (these adorable ones are from Dior) and bring silver sandals (like these sexy Jimmy Choo's) for summer. That way, they match all color outfits. Every girl needs a pair of smashing heels right?

So these are my footwear essentials (I know, I don't live lightly!), what are yours?

Travel Essentials: Bags

Having travelled a lot lately, I've constantly faced this dilema: Which bags should I bring??
It's been tragic. I always want to bring absolutely everything. When I went to Paris for 10 weeks, I brought with me my big Coach tote for school and since I'd just gotten it then, my Miu Miu leather Satchel. Function and style (like this YSL Muse bag here) is obviously high on my list.
Although during that 10 weeks, there were times when I wished that I'd actually brought a smaller size bag just to save my shoulders and for days out when I don't need to bring my school stuff and I don't want to use my super stylish bag. Something like this Longchamp bag (which is SO french) and this Vuitton bag (which I very smartly brought with me to Sydney this time) would've been nice.
The other bag I'd brought to Paris was a black Prada sparkly evening shoulder bag (which I'd "borrowed" from my mom's collection)that can barely fit anything. While these evening bags are nice, sometimes I just wished I'd brought something more casual that is not limited to nice evenings out. (above: LV (left) and Rodo (right)).

Something like these small shoulder bags/clutch would've been ideal. I really missed my blue LV shoulder bag (bottom). A simple black shoulder bag like the top one from Juicy would not have gone amissed. And come to think of it, I REALLY want that small Chloe Paddington Clutch (middle)!! Its stylish and can be both casual and formal. Dear Santa.....

So now that I've shared my travel bag essentials, care to share what bags you can't live without?

Christmas 2006: Cocktails and Formal Parties

So many people have also been asking about what they should wear to parties -not casual house parties, but the more formal cocktails and parties.

Checks and metalics are huge trends this year. Both dresses from Top Shop -I've tried the purple version of these dresses on, and it's such a fun dress.

Very 'american'-feel dresses, left one by BCBG and right one by ABS. The dress on the left feels a bit too prom-ish, but is undeniabely pretty.

Diane von Furstenburg of course makes loads of fabulous dresses. Wrap-dresses are very flattering, versatile, and not to mention very useful in the future too. For those who want to look more sexy, DvF also makes non-wrap-dresses like the strapless one on the right.

Cocktail dresses from Urban Outfitters. It's so hard to find dresses like these -cute, trendy, affordable and don't look cheap!

LOVE these dresses. Soooo pretty! Dresses by Miu Miu (left) and Derek Lam (right). With dresses as short as the Miu Miu one, wear tights underneath to keep warm and look lady-like.

Dresses by Top Shop. Don't be afraid to wear mini (although not too mini) dresses to parties (but not the most formal parties). Again, wearing tights is a good idea, and please, do wear underwear!

These two dresses are acceptable for quite formal parties and look fun! Who wants to look stuffy at a Christmas /New Year party? I love the satin and silk material because it makes the dress look so much classier and gorgeous. Dresses by Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and Ya-Ya (right).

I hope this gives everyone some ideas of what to wear. I can't tell you exactly what to wear, but this should hopefuly inspire you! Put a shawl (may be or may not be fur) on, then you're set for a fun and gorgeous night!

Style Scene

Check out Style Scene's new web shop for fabulous indie designer finds. I absolutely love these dresses by Laura Dawson. The lightweight fabrics and beautiful textile designs are a nice combination.

This Week HG is Loving...

One or two birthdays ago, BG gave me the DVD of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. My old laptop wouldn't read Region 1 DVDs, so it took until last Tuesday for me to watch it, and oh do I wish I watched it earlier. I loved it! All 4 actresses were great and each of the four storylines were so loveable and touching.

First off, I love the idea of having a small group of tight friends whom you can depend on and have fun with. It's even more fun when the friends are so different yet so compatible (like the 'sisters' in Traveling Pants.)
Fashionwise, the movie wasn't quite inspiring. But that's not the point of the movie is it? There is, however, enough differences in their fashion sense and beauty style to show their different personality.

OK, so as said, there were 4 storylines, all linked and witnessed by the amazing pair of jeans, which fit all 4 girls. My favourite one was Lena's (played by Alexis Bledel) story. Lena goes to Greece to visit her family and sketch. She accidently meets a gorgeous guy and they fall in love. Sounds so typical, but it's seriously so sweet. It doesn't hurt that Alexis is so perfect for this role.

Another storyline is Bridget's (Blake Lively). She goes to soccor camp and starts chasing after the coach. All this is not your typical romance plot, as it actually disguises a much deeper issue with her parents.

Then there is Carmen (America Ferrera), who visits her not-quite-there-dad and finds out that he is preparing to marry another woman and annoying new family. She tries to deal with her problems with her dad and body figure.

Lastly, there is moody Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), who works in the local supermart and tries to make a documentary on the local people. She stumbles upon a little girl, who in turn starts to follow Tibby around. Tibby finds out the girl has a disease and realises life is bigger than what she thought it was.

All these storylines are linked by the symbolic jeans, and the letters and encouragement from each other. See? It's seriously such an incredible moving to watch both, quietly and with your closest friends. Who else has seen it? And if you haven't seen it, go buy the DVD! It's SO worth it.

Shoes at Piperlime

Gap Inc. has launched it's own shoe e-shop called Piperlime. I am assuming to capitalize on the success and compete with e-shops like Zappos. I have to say I did find the site much more appealing and easier to navigate than Zappos. And I found some really cute flats. Soho Lab Crue flat in Chocolate $50.00 and Bronx Dorothee in Navy $75.00.