Ruffles

This week has been so hectic! It feels like there are not enough hours in a day to do everything I need to do plus rest! Despite working a full time job (9-6.30pm) on weekdays, I have teaching on weekdays and weekends, plus shoots for the blog, TradeMe and also occasionally some paid filming/photoshoot work (shouldn’t complain about those because they pay very well). There are definitely not enough hours in a day to fit all that work in.

So I’ll keep this week’s posts nice and short in photo content as I just haven’t had time to get around to shoot (plus the weather has been pretty dull and wet lately). I may not have as much internet access as I would wish to have next week so hopefully my other half Nicole will stay on top of it.

Anyway, below is this gorgeous chiffon dress that Nicole purchased at an American store last weekend. Unfortunately it doesn’t fit either of us as it seems to just be that much too big, so it’s up for grabs on Trade Me at a bargain starting price of just $35.00 (it’s brand new too with tags attached still) ! As said in our last post, we are madly in love with greens/teals and dots,spots and abstract patterns this season so we are very sad to let this little treasure go (this dress ticks all the boxes of our loves!)

❤ Michelle

Size: Small

Brand: Steve Madden

Condition: Brand New!

A/W: Knit Picker

With the recent blue skies and humid days, it’s hardly believable that autumn is just looming around the corner. Haven’t really been able to enjoy much of the sunshine as I’m always inside during the day and now on weekends I have teaching. Work work work no play.

However, my other half – Nicole has been able to source some amazing knits! They are definitely a must have for the colder season coming up.

One of our favourite colours this season is this gorgeous teal green! It looks amazing paired with bright leggings or jeans. It has also been a hit colour on Nasty Gal & ASOS. If you’re not too keen on the brights, we have some subtle white knit (loose knit and cable). Also looks good paired with bright/printed/pattern leggings.

Tip: I don’t really like wearing wooly knit because it feels really prickly but one way you can go about it is to wear a shirt/blouse underneath – we are really liking the collared knit look. It provides are more sophisticated look and is suitable for work or play (not to mention an extra warm layer underneath too). You can always find ways to jazz up a plain knit.

These will be up for grabs next week!

P.S if you haven’t already , LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. We post different things on there so don’t want you to miss out!

❤ Michelle 

Teal Knit Dress, Pink Leggings, Jeffrey Cambell Lita

Loose Knit Button Up Cardi, TFNC Blush Blouse, TopShop Velvet Texture Leggings, Forever 21 Heels
Red Button Up Collared Knit , Zara Leopard Leggings, ShuBar Flatforms

White Textured Knit Jumper, Boohoo Aztec Leggings, Zara Lace Up Booties

*SOLD*White Knit, TFNC Blush Blouse, Zara Panel Leggings, River Island Flatform Brogues, Suzy Smith Leather Shoulder Bag.

Review: Chanel Hydra Beauty Serum

I purchased this exquisite serum not so long ago (August). I was on a lookout for a different skincare line as I was using Estee Lauder and my skin felt terrible and the products just didn’t seem to have an effect anymore.

This serum is a fairly new product on the market (version 2 based on Chanel hydramax + active serum). This product was promoted to be suitable for all skin types. It has a gorgeous fragrance to it as well – not too overpowering.

What are serums anyway? And why bother paying so much for them (they often cost more than other skincare products)?. Serums are concentrated so that the active ingredients can penetrate deeper into the skin.  Moisturizers only work on the epidermal level whereas some serums can penetrate deeper into the dermis to reverse/slow down signs of aging and increase collagen production. So in fact, a moisturizer may take ages and ages to produce some results whereas serums maybe able to do it in a shorter amount of time.

I needn’t go in depth about the ingredients in this serum, but in a nutshell it will maximize moisture and enhance hydration of the skin which will ultimately reduce the signs of aging skin. Undoubtedly handy for those of us who are in our early-mid 20s slowly realising we are not so young anymore and don’t want wrinkles. Not so much for those who already have them… (unless you have dry skin in which it will do magic!)

 Price Factor: 2/5

Value for money, not so good. I went through my 30mL bottle in less than 3 months (mind you I used it twice a day (day and night)). But even so, I believe that is quite expensive. For the 30mL I purchased it for $127 at a Life Pharmacy. It is truly a beautiful product, but I wouldn’t recommend everyone to go out and get it just because of the price.

Another con is that it is in a pump bottle so you can’t access the last blobs of the serum which is a pain (especially when the product is so expensive).

 

❤ Michelle

Sydney Purchases

As promised, here are photos of some of the items I got from Sydney. I also have a lot of clothing that I’ll be putting up for sale soon, so keep an eye out for them (most of them are brand new items for a bargain price!)

❤ Michelle

Tribal Dress from Princess Polly, Jeffrey Campbell Lita

(They have a website and also ship internationally)

Aztec Print Midi Dress by Alice in the Eve, Flatform Sandals from Shubar

Knitted Aztec Skirt by Subtitled, F21 Shoes, Slouchy Knit

Velvet leopard print tassel sleeve dress by Evil Twin, Flatform sandals from Shubar

Sydney – I love this city

Just got back from a short and sweet trip (3 day) to Sydney. The city is amazing, the more I go the more I fall in love with it. There wasn’t much time, but we did definitely do a bit of shopping and swimming.

We stayed at Four Points by Sheraton in Darling Harbour, which is more or less a short  5 minute walk to George Street (main street).

It feels like the city has developed a lot since I was last there which was around 2 years ago, it feels more urban than what it already was. To me it some what ressembles Hong Kong or other metropolitan cities in Asia – with high end shopping and eateries.

Definitely a possible city I would move to in the near future.

We did plenty of shopping whilst we were there, mainly at Bondi Junction and the Westfield in the city.

We also visited our friend who practically lives on Maroubra Beach (30 minutes from the City in the East Coast) and we had a quick dip there. I can’t believe how packed Sydney beaches can get, it is insane. We were in Maroubra and it was packed I can’t begin to imagine what Bondi Beach would be like.

There are some pretty amazing eateries in Sydney. We went to Medusa (near Darling Harbour) – the best Greek restaurant in Australia in 2011. It was very delicious, the food was less traditional greek with more of a contemporary twist. Unfortunately I didn’t get any snaps of the food, but it’s definitely worth a try if you are nearby. (*the fresh pita and dip is amazing! better than what I had in Greece!)

Here are a few snaps of my brief trip in Sydney. A look book of the clothes is coming your way shortly.

❤ Michelle

Maroubra Beach

View from bridge in Darling Harbour

Crocodile tempura and wallaby shanks

Reflection of sunset

Some of the dresses I bought

Flatforms

2012 – Spotted trends

We were browsing on a few websites in search of the latest trends in the northern hemisphere. Little did we know that we actually had a collection of older pieces (such as from our mother’s wardrobe, items that haven’t been worn in years) which surprisingly ressembles this years trends.

Stars

As seen in the Dolce & Gabbana RTW Fall 2011

Conceptual Designs

This trend encompasses numerous abstract patterns (such as aztec, geometric shapes, stripes etc.) Can dig out older pieces that haven’t been worn in years.

Pastel Blocking

Colour blocking was a prominent trend in summer, for spring 2012 pastel blocking is a must have.

Matte Shine

Matte shine, pretty contradicting huh. Well what we see here are fabrics that conventionally shine but appear matte. Kind of like matte nail polish in a way. Fabrics that are used include satin.

Double Breasted

Double breasted trenches are in again as seen in Burberry Prorsum FTW Autumn 2011. I am madly in love with winter coats and most likely 2 months later it’ll be time to bring them out again!

Furry Love

Ossie blends in, we only wear faux fur.

Night Box & Organizational tips

Not long ago i received this MOR gift set from a friend as a Christmas present and inside this pretty pink box contained a body moisturizer and lip gloss. This box is obviously too precious to chuck in the bin so instead I reused this box to create what I call my “Night Box”. This box is quite big considering it only contained a small tub of moisturizer and lip gloss but its the perfect size to fit in all my skin products I use at night.

So here are a few skin products I use every night for the past few weeks. I have positioned the order of the products I use from first to last ( Left – right).

1) lancome primodiale cell defense

2) lancome primordiale skin recharge

3)  Clinique eye cream

4) lancome night moisturizer

5) Triology rosehip oil ( a very good product for scars)

6) Crabtree and Evelyn body lotion ( I use this as a hand cream because its not thick and sticky which is perfect for before sleeping)

7) Mogitate kaijtsu peach lipbalm ( japanese lip balm.. I have been thinking of changing this lip balm to a mint flavour because it soothes your lip more than a fruit flavoured lip balm.)

……and last but not least my vanilla cream fragrance flower ( just makes the box smell nicer) This is everything in my box… I didn’t list all the products above because some products I only occasionally use.

Here is just a picture of what was in this box before I transformed into my night box!

So this is the end of my night box post! I encourage many of you to create your own night box just because its a funner and a more girly way of organizing your skin products!. Hope you enjoyed this post. 🙂

♥ Nicole

Advice: Oily skin, Tips and Myths.

Living in New Zealand where the climate is relatively dry, hardly ever humid, there is a need to maintain hydrated skin. Hydration of the skin is vital as the moisture helps to maintain the natural barrier function of the skin, improve skin appearance by making it feel soft and look smooth.

There’s a common myth with hydration and oily skin. People with oily skin tend to excessively cleanse their skin and avoid putting on any moisturizer or toners to minimize oil production. A big no no. Oil is produced by sebaceous glands which are most prominent on the face and scalp. Lipid is very important for the skin also as this layer helps to retain moisture and protect the skin from bacteria.

By not applying moisturizer it not only strips the skin of moisture, but your sebaceous glands may work even harder to produce oil to hydrate the skin. Avoiding any moisture on the skin is not the solution to oily skin. There are numerous ways to reduce oiliness such as using a gel instead of a cream and mattifying serums. There are huge differences between gels and creams and lotions. I’ll clarify them below so you can find out which one is ideal for you.

Gels – predominantly water based, may contain alcohol which is a drying agent – therefore is highly ideal for people with oily skin. This is also great for people with normal skin who want a lighter moisturiser for the day. A great gel suitable to normal- dry skin is Chanel Hydramax Active Moisture Gel Cream 50mL (RRP: $120 NZD)– this is a mixture of a gel & lotion which is great for day and night wear. Clinique Moisture Surge Gel Cream 75mL (RRP: $110 NZD) is also a great gel moisturiser and is fragrance free too which is suitable to people with sensitive skin. A common face gel seen prescribed by doctors for people with acne proned skin is Differin Gel with the main ingredient – adapalene (a retinoid) which affects the rate at which cells multiply to reduce pimple formation.

Lotion – contains water and oil, but consists of a higher portion of the water component.Again this would make an excellent choice for daywear as it is light and easy to apply. This would also be ideal for a night use for those with combination/slightly oily skin.A great lotion is Estee Lauder Hydrationist Lotion (RRP:$90 NZD) (suited for normal-combination skin).

Cream – a thicker consistency which means that it has a larger oily component compared with water. This is the most moisturizing of the 3 as the oily component prevents the evaporation of water from the skin.Not really recommended for those with oily skin even at night as it could further block the pores and cause breakouts. A great cream for very dry-dry skin is Chanel Hydramax Nutrition Cream (will be reviewed later) – Only recommended if you have very dry skin/ normal skin and want something very hydrating for night time use.

Mattifying serums contain ingredients to soak up oil. Once you apply these types of serums on you should notice that your skin will feel smoother and less oily almost instantly. It also acts as a really good primer for foundation as it produces this smooth effect.Great matifying serums include – Estee Lauder Pore Minimiser, Clinique Turnaround Serum (will be reviewed later on).

Hope this has given you a decent insight into all the available formulations of moisturisers. There are significant differences, so pick the right one for your skin.

I’ll be doing a post on other skin conditions such as acne, ezcema and face treatments soon.

❤ Michelle