LIGHT & FANTASTIC • Pastels and Neon Brights

 VOGUE UK - FEBRUARY 2008

Photographer: Javier Vallhonrat

Model: Suvi Koponen

Hidden Treasures • Promoting new blogs

 I woke up this morning with a great idea!

I always complain that Bloglovin’ is a great tool for readers but that it doesn’t promote new bloggers enough - considering its status. Bloglovin’ does have a list of the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Blogs but it feel like Bloglovin' is only about the popular blogs. This is where my great idea comes in.
I decided that I would talk about the new bloggers myself!

So today, I am hosting my first edition of Hidden Treasures.  Every once in a while, I'm going ask you guys
to submit 1 (one) fashion blog that you really like and that you consider a hidden treasure. The twist? The submitted blog has to have less than 500 followers. It will be a great way for all of us to share the love and support the fashion blogging community.

My hidden treasure is...

StylingPhotoDiary

This blog is about personal style and photography. 

Because I like this blog so much, I asked Cristina - the blogger behind it - if she wanted to be a part

of my Who's that Girl feature.  I cross my fingers that she will agree to do it!

Who is your hidden treasure?

- Marie

Photo Credits: Vogue UK April 2002

Revlon Just Bitten, CG Outlast, NYC Smooch Proof // REVIEWS

THE PROMISE

Revlon Just Bitten ($8.99), CG Outlast ($7.99) and NYC New York Color Smooch Proof ($4.49)  

promise a "flush of color" that will last for hours.

MY NEED

I hate lipstick and lip gloss because they never last and you can't kiss your boyfriend without smudging them all over him. Let me tell you an anecdote. Last winter, my boyfriend asked me if he could borrow one of my lip balms because he had very dry lips. I gave him the most "manly" lip balm I had and he put it on. A few minutes later, I kissed his greasy lips. And it was quite an eye-opener: it was one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced in my life. I have no idea why guys still want to kiss us! It was disgusting. From that day on, I decided I would never put my boyfriend through that again. Lip stains sounded like the best alternative.
I wanted a lip stain with very natural color – as close as possible to my lip color but with a pinkish tone - with a non-greasy feeling that would last as long as possible without drying out my lips.

THE RESULT
Revlon Just Bitten - I tried the color Twilight. The color was too dark for my taste. It was very difficult to control how intense it looked because the color was so pigmented. My lips were a little dry before I applied the product and the color was darker on these drier spots. It really stained my lips so it was very hard to wash-off. It lasted longer than any other lip stains I tried. After a while, it started to wear off in random spots and got patchy. I liked that it came with a lip balm but it still felt like a regular lipstick with the lip balm on - not what I was looking for.
Cover Girl Outlast - I tried Everbloom Kiss #400. This product took a long time to dry and left my lips feeling very sticky. The color was fine but - just like Revlon Just Bitten - it didn't stain my lips evenly. The tip of the applicator got blunt very fast. This product made my lips very dry.
NYC New York Color Smooch Proof - I tried the color Persistent Pink. The color was the perfect shade of pink for my lips. This lip stain has a pointier tip than the others. It gave me precision and the tip didn't get blunt. I outlined my lips with the pointy tip and use the flat side to fill in the lines. This lip stain didn't dry my lips out and when it came off, it faded gradually and evenly leaving me with my natural lip color. I don't have any bad comments about this product other than that the advertisements might be pushing it when they say that it lasts up to 16 hours.

OVERALL

I will not buy CG Outlast again. 

I might try Revlon Just Bitten in another color and - hopefully - get better results.

NYC New York Color Smooch Proof is part of my makeup daily routine and is almost half the price of the others.

- Marie

FEEDBACK • Jealous [of The Blonde Salad]

This post refers to a previous post titled JEALOUS [of The Blonde Salad]


I would like to thank the people who took the time to express their opinion on the post JEALOUS [of The Blonde Salad] and for bringing me back down to Earth. I guess I hit pretty close to home with this entry because you guys told me that a lot of you felt the same way and understood my jealousy. Thank you for listening and for understanding! I would like to respond to a few comments that I received...

Thank you Caro for being such a loyal reader. You are the best! I am glad that I made you laugh because even though I was feeling frustrated about my situation I wanted to do it in an entertaining way. I checked out Andy from the Style Scrapbook and I realized that she has more than 16 000 followers! Why is it so hard to feel good for these people? :) // Thank you Mademoiselle Lala – You are right about the fact that 1 new follower means more to me than 10 followers mean for The Blonde Salad. I want to build a community with my blog; I want to have conversations with my readers and develop friendships. I don’t want a shrine dedicated to my life so that people can admire me. Thank you for helping me remember the purpose of my blog. //  Thank you Pio – I read the post you wrote about being pissed off by the blogosphere. It is very frustrating and disappointing that hard work doesn’t necessarily translate into success. We do have to stay strong, as you so wisely said in your comment.  // Thank you Raquel – Thank you for being the voice of reason. I am usually the type of person who analyzes all the different aspects of a situation before making up my mind, but last week I was too frustrated to do it. Thank you for doing it for me. You are right that it must be a pain to have all the blogosphere talk about you and your life.  // Thank you Best of Palm Beach – Someone once told me to stop rooting for the opposite team and root for your own. You are right that nobody is perfect, even if they sometimes appear to be.  // Thank you MakeShiftModel – Thank you for your wonderful email and for the time you took to write it. You made me see the whole situation from another angle.

Now what?!  After reading all of your wonderful comments I realized that I was only jealous of her success because I don’t even want my blog to look like hers. She doesn’t inspire me. She is just a torture device.  So if she is not an inspiration, why do I keep visiting her blog? You will be happy to learn that I removed her blog from my blog roll. I don’t know how long it will last but I think it is Step 2 in the recovery process – surrender to a higher power! :)

-Marie

Photo Credits: Me

MARY KATRANTZOU // Designer

 

After I saw Anna Dello Russo wearing this amazing piece of art last week, I was so impressed by the originality of her outfit that I immediately wanted to know more about the designer behind it.   

Designer name: Mary Katrantzou

INTERVIEW 

What are your design signatures?

“A hyperrealist aesthetic, bold graphics and industrial jewellery.”

How would you describe the Mary Katrantzou woman?

“She has a liberated spirit and a strong sense of style.”

What is your trademark piece?

“For spring/summer 2011 it was the lampshade skirt.”

How does London influence your designs?

“It's a constant source of energy and inspiration to live and work in London. It has a reputation for great fashion, influential museums and strong education. That all becomes part of your formation.”

"For spring summer 2011, Mary Katrantzou has conjured up another intelligent and beguiling collection of energetic prints on beautifully structured pieces - entitled “ceci n'est pas une chambre” (this is not a room).  The collection takes its cue from the surrealist world of René Magritte, as Mary further explores her now classic hypper-real vision, inspired by art and design."

 "The central theme is that of rooms: charting her inspiration from the graphic interior sets of Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton’s iconic fashion shoots, to the inner environments found in Architectural Digest, from the grandeur of the White House to the glamour of 70's east coast hotel rooms. Elements are taken from a series of rooms and spliced together literally, to create an entirely new space, depicted in clear geometric symmetry through a bustle of exuberant colour."

"Texture plays a key role this season: dresses are finished with extravagant raffia detailing, embellished with embroidery and intricate beading, whilst curtain imagery flows out into swathes of material falling from the hips, as she plays with the 3-D effect, distorting the blend of supposed reality with the surreal. The line includes increased amounts of separates: alongside intricately cut dresses and lampshade shaped skirts, there are sweet shorts, neat short-sleeved jackets, jacket dresses and delicate silk blouses."

"As ever colour is key, bursts of Bourdin-esque strong greens and reds to soft South Beach style pastels mixed in with fuchsia and cool blue tones, giving an effortless summer-vibe. Embellished by her signature statement jewellery, grand brass pieces shaped as sconce half-chandeliers finished with crystal pendants, Mary’s vision is complete."

CREDITS

Interview: London Fashion Week

Press Release Mary Katrantzou Spring Summer 2011

SWATCH WATCHES

SWATCH is a Swiss company known for their colorful, casual and trendy watches.

As we all know by now, the major trend for this spring/summer is bright colors.

You wouldn't be caught dead wearing orange or yellow?

For all the color shy girls out there, a Swatch watch is a great way to add a pop of color to your outfit.

- Marie

More Swatch...

L'Oreal The One Sweep Eye Shadow// REVIEW

THE PROMISE

L'Oréal One Sweep Eye Shadow promises to "achieve a beautiful professional

look from our one-of-a-kind applicator. Mistake-proof results have never been easier."

MY NEED

I don't want to brag but I don't need help when it comes to makeup.  I have been doing my own makeup for many years and my friends always ask me to do theirs for special occasions.  I wanted to buy this product because there are some mornings when I am very busy and I don't have the time for elaborate makeup.  L'Oréal advertised an easy-to-get professional look so I thought their product could be a nice alternative to my usual makeup.  I bought the color "Playful for Green Eyes".  I don't have green eyes but I wanted a green eyeshadow like the one I already use.

THE RESULT

I am not usually disappointed by L'Oréal products but this makeup kit was a total waste of money.   The applicator doesn't apply the color evenly and doesn't achieve anything close to a professional look.  The problem is that the brown color is really shinny and the other two colors are more matte.  When you apply them, you see the brown color very well but the other colors are so subtle that you can barely see them.  I had to do a lot of retouches which took an even longer time than usual.  I thought: "Everything is not lost, I can ditch the applicator and just use only the eyeshadows individually."  Again, I was disappointed.   The color is called Playful for Green Eyes but the green color is not playful at all.  It's too matte and too subtle to achieve a good result.  I had to put on a lot of green to finally see something and even then I could barely see the green on my eyelids. The brown color is nice though - very sparkly.

OVERALL

Sorry L'Oréal but I will advise my readers to buy something else.  Instead of buying this product, use the money to buy a new brush and a new eyeshadow.  We want tools to make our lives easier - not more complicated and this product doesn't make the cut. 

- Marie

NEXT WEEK 

I will review 3 lipstains - 

Revlon Just Bitten, Cover Girl Outlast and NYC Smooch Proof Lipstain.

and tell you which one is the best!

Miles Aldridge for Vogue Italia May 2011

Miles Aldridge is one of my favorite photographer because his work is always very colorful.  

His latest work is a poolside/summer themed editorial for Vogue Italia.

Very Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita!

I love the retro sunglasses, the pool toys and the coolie hat.

What do you think?

- Marie

  

VOGUE ITALIA - MAY 2011

Photographer: Miles Aldridge

Model: Ashley Smith

 Via Fashion Gone Rogue

Cute Belts Under $50

Buying a new belt is a great way to update an old and boring outfit.

I looked at more than 1300 belts for you guys to find the cutest ones under $50.

- Marie

 

More Topshop...

JEALOUS [of The Blonde Salad]

I have a confession to make - my name is Marie and I am jealous of The Blonde Salad.  {sigh!}  I finally said it out loud!  They say the first step to recovery is to acknowledge the problem.  Jealousy and envy are my problems! There are bloggers who inspire me and who I look up to because I think that they are amazing.  But it's different with The Blonde Salad.   I feel like I'm in high school again, wishing I were the popular girl because she is everything that I am not.  This is so pathetic.  I should know better by now.  But my jealousy is making me wonder: “Are there bloggers who are there just to make us feel bad about ourselves?”

You may wonder: “Why so jealous?”
I'm not sure but let’s make a list of options and analyze the whole thing!

1. “She is gorgeous.” Chiara – the girl behind The Blonde Salad - is very tall and skinny with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair is always gorgeous – perfectly messy. She reminds me of Blake Lively – a cute blonde with an easy-going personality. No wonder she uses a Barbie as part as her logo.

2. “Her boyfriend is gorgeous” Also true but he is so not my type.

3. “They make the cutest couple” Okay, now I am getting warmer. I must admit that they are damn cute together. How do I know?  Because they make cute little videos.  Their videos are exactly what you wish your home videos looked like. Chiara and her boyfriend are beautiful, young, funny and in love. My boyfriend and I are really happy and in love but we don’t look like we were cast for a TV show!

They made this video for their 3rd anniversary.
This video makes me hate them even more! :)

4. “She is rich” I am not really envious of that. Yes, she does have very nice designer clothes but I am not really into labels. There is one exception though.  Last winter she was wearing a Dior sweater that I had just blogged about because I was so in love with it. The sweater was worth around $3000. I still haven’t gotten over the fact that she was wearing it!

5. “She is famous” I don’t want to be famous – too much stress – but I would love to have more readers. I have to say that last week – when she received flowers from Louis Vuitton for her birthday – I was reconsidering the whole famous thing.

6. “After 1 year of blogging, she had 60 000 visits/day” This is what really gets under my skin. Who is that successful?! I have been blogging for over a year and I am happy when I have more than 100 visits per day! Okay, I may not be as cool as her but I’m sure I work as hard – maybe even harder than her.

Have I forgotten something? Oh, yes – that all 6 points are about the same person! Life is so unfair. I don't mean to complain but it's just a fact that life is unfair.  Some people are cooler, more successful and more beautiful than others. I like my life – I have a good job, a great boyfriend, and fantastic readers.  But when I saw that The Blonde Salad walked the red carpet in Cannes wearing a gorgeous Alberta Ferretti gown– I couldn’t help but sigh and think “You’ve got to be kidding me?!”

Why do I keep reading her blog? I don’t know. Maybe it's because I like to torture myself, maybe it’s like watching an accident happen – you don’t want to look but you do it anyway or maybe I just wait for a sign that she is not that perfect. The mind is a very complex thing!

Now it’s your turn.  Who is the blogger who makes you feel like a charity case?

Don't forget to read: Feedback • Jealous [of The Blonde Salad]

- Marie

Photo/Video Credits: The Blonde Salad

My Lookbook • The Tapestry Pumps

Do you remember these shoes?

I advertised them on my blog last winter as part as my wish list.

I loved them so much that I finally bought them.

They look so unique and cool.

They are a little bit too high though - even for me who is used to sky-high heels.

But I just had to have them!

- Marie

Quote: The title of a Fiona Apple song.

I am wearing:

RED DRESS - Victoria's Secret
TAPESTRY PUMPS - Aldo
PEARL NECKLACE - Forever 21

More Emily and Ashley...