Crystal Renn Is Super Sensual In Grazia France

I just love Crystal Renn anyway,

but the raven haired beauty is magnificent here 

as she smolders her way through

the pages of Grazia France.

Lensed by David Roemer,

Flawless makeup by Lottie Stannard

Bridal Beauty 101 ~ Where Do You Start?

Looking Your Most Beautiful On Your Wedding Day – Where Do You Start?

 

image courtesy of Phoenix Bride and Groom Magaine

You just got engaged.

Congratulations!

Or maybe  your wedding is fast approaching - regardless of where you are on the road to holy matrimony, the time to start working on your skin is now.

image courtesy of Phoenix Bride and Groom Magazine

On your wedding day you want to look fresh and beautiful and radiant, and the first step is to have your skin in the best condition possible. Whether you are going to be in makeup, or whether you are planning on being au naturel, gorgeous skin is essential. So where do you start?

 

image courtesy of www.darrinjamessalon.com

The first thing to do is go have a facial. If nothing else, while you are lying there being pampered you can come up with a plan!

If you don’t already have a facialist that you see on a regular basis, ask around and see if you can get some recommendations from friends, family and co workers. A referral from a happy client will seldom lead you astray.

If you don’t have a referral from anyone, check out day spas and medi-spas in your area.

If your budget doesn’t have wiggle room for facials look at the aesthetics schools in your area. Prior to graduating students have to clock in hundreds of hours of facials and beauty treatments, and as such you can get a fabulous facial very economically.

Once you have found your place for treatments, you and your facialist need to come up with a plan for getting your skin ready for the big day.

Sometimes that will only mean having a facial the week before the ceremony, other times it will be a more comprehensive plan that involves hydrating facials, deep cleansing facials, exfoliating treatments – whatever is necessary to give you that polished, beautiful look.

One of the most fabulous things you can do for your skin is to have a microdermabrasion treatment.

This is where a machine is used to remove the dead and dull skin on the surface leaving you with a smooth, fabulous, glowing complexion.  Dermasweep is a highly evolved form of  microdermabrasion that follows the intense exfoliation with infusion treatments. 

You walk out the door with the most exquisite skin, and feel like a million dollars!

While you are there, talk to your aesthetician about your eyebrows.  If you haven’t started grooming them, now is generally a good time to start.

Well maintained eyebrows are so very important  - they’re like punctuation marks on the face.  Eyebrows can make or break a great look. The most beautifully executed makeup can be made marginal by a furry, untamed brow.

Ideally your first brow wax shouldn’t be right before your wedding, just in case you don’t like it. You may also have some upper lip fluff that she can remove at the same time – we want that upper lip smooth!

You may find that you need to change up your skin care products too. Maybe you’re not using the right components for your skin’s particular needs, or perhaps the products you’re using need modifying.

Your aesthetician can guide you and help you create the ideal skin care regime for your lifestyle and for your budget.

No matter how talented your makeup artist is, your makeup will never look flawless and perfect if your skin is not in good condition, and especially not if your skin is dry, patchy or flaky. 

Investing time in preparing your skin can give you a gorgeous, glowing complexion on your big day!

Learn Italian Hand Gestures With The Dolce And Gabbana Male Models....

I probably don't allude to it too much on this blog ( or maybe I do?), but for more than 20 years now I have had a crazy love affair with all things Italian.
Italy is my favorite place in the world to travel to, and I try to spend a month there each year. I adore the language, the culture, the history, the art, the food, the people (especially the men people) - basically everything.

This past holiday season we even had an Italian chef living with us for a couple of months, improving his "cooking english".

Marcello teaches Tuscan cooking to tourists at the beautiful Podere Cunina near Siena. Night after night he made homemade pasta and all kinds of fabulous traditional dishes, while I helped him put the language into colloquial form.
It was magnificent.
Apart from the fact that I no longer fit any of my clothes...



I also had Marcello teaching me all the bad things my Italian tutor won't teach me. The badder the better. But the only people I can use them on are my tutor and my Italian ex's, all of whom are delightfully horrified.

So I was endlessly entertained when my dear friend Nashville makeup artist Lisa Johnson sent me these links!
If you ever get to go live your own Eat Pray Love in fabulous Italy, let the Dolce and Gabbana Male models be your guide to

Italian Hand Gestures

Check out the gifs here. And then tell me just how hot Noah Mills is??

and here's a little bts at the Dolce Gabbana mens F/w 15 show

oh - and by the way ladies, you're welcome!

Six Things That Every Woman Should Own

Michael Kors clearly knows fashion.

He also knows chic, style, and women.

Style is not fashion - style is how you put things together, whether that may be the hottest new trend, 

or whether its piecing together old and new, or anything in between.

So anyway, I found an article where Michael Kors talked about the 

Six Things That Every Woman Should Own

and even though I've had it for ages, 

the concepts are still 100% on point.

So here I've co-opted his ideas and put my thoughts in there with them...

1. Aviators

There is a great pair of Aviators for every face.

I love aviators and have many different pairs of them - old, new, and in between.

Aviators can be the ultimate in casual chic, can be the unexpected twist to a super glammed up outfit, and can add a touch of cool to the most basic of outfits.

The trick is to try on many pairs and find the right shape for your face, rather than the shape that is the latest trend.

2. A Chronograph Watch.

I obsessed over the Chanel J12  watch from the first time I ever laid eyes on one, and have had an oversized, chunky watch on my wrist every day since.

I like the man sized chronographs instead of the smaller, more ladylike variety, and Kors has a great selection, all of which are affordably priced. You can have several, in different colors and finishes to suit your mood, or your outfit.

3. White Jeans

When it comes to white jeans, I like them crisp and tailored. 

To quote Kors " Throw them on with a black tshirt, and its instant Jackie Onassis, all year round"

image courtesy 9th Gate Consulting

The cut is everything though - especially for those of us with more curves than straight lines on our frame.

The wrong cut on a curvy girl can leave her looking like a giant marshmallow.

4. An Oversized Saddle-Colored Bag

I would add to this, with a long shoulder strap. There's something so fabulous about an oversized, slouchy bag that sits just right against your body and moves with you when you walk.

If the shoulder strap is too short it can make your torso look chunky, but if you are wide at the hips you want to adjust it a little above or slightly below.

When buying an oversized bag be sure to look in the mirror and see how it sits against your body.

There's something very rock n roll about about them, they are effortlessly, timelessly cool, and they just look better and better as they get a bit more beaten up and aged.

5. Dry Oil

A matted down, overly powdered face never looks fresh and glowy - it looks old and flat.

Dry oils give the skin a gorgeous, youthful, dewy sheen, and make the face look alive.

Kors says he has neer had a powdered, matte looking girl on any of  his runway show, or in any of his ads.

6. A Tailored Coat.

the ever fabulous Vicky B in an LBD paired with an immaculately tailored coat

I would add: or a super tailored jacket.

Kors loves the "front row calling card" - at runway shows all you notice in the front row are the coats and the sunglasses.

You can dress up absolutley anything with a  tailored coat, from yoga pants to jeans to a dress. The key is to get a timeless style, rather than becoming a slave to the latest trend.

For me, my absolute most favorite thing I have ever owned in all the world is an totally killer tailored Dolce and Gabbana black jacket. I dress it up, dress it down, use it to sharpen any outfit. I always feel like a million dollars in it. It's cut to work my body shape, will never date, and is so well constructed it will last forever.

The Morning After ~ Vogue Japan

Isn't this just lovely?

Korean actress ad model Kiko Mizuhara

is just charming in the February 2014 issue of Vogue Japan,

wearing top to toe Gucci from the Spring 2014 collection.

I just love that haircut!

Lensed by Ellen von Unwerth

The Morning After

Barbara Palvin For Marie Claire Hungary

I think Barbara Palvin won the genetic lottery.

How on earth do you get to be that beautiful??

In the new issue of Mare Claire Hungary

Palvin, the face of L'Oreal,

showcases her completely flawless features

in a black and white study for 

photographer Zoltan Tombor.

Makeup artist Robert Greene shows exquisite restraint,

making her complexion perfection, but bringing out all those amazing features at the same time.

The CHIC - Finder App Is Here!

Ever wanted to have your own personal stylist?

image courtesy of Diary Of A Personal Shopper

One who could put together outfits for you just like the ones you see on celebs or in magazines, but maybe at a lower price point?

Chic Finder, the website that keeps you informed on new trends or hot commodities in fashion,  lets you upload images of items that you like and then finds you visually similar items at a lower price has just launched its CHIC-Finder App.

Now you can access great looks from your mobile phone.

Chic Finder works with 300 online stores around the globe to bring you fabulous wardrobe selections.


With the App you can follow other people's style boards, similar to the Pinterest concept, giving you tons of fashion forward ideas. No matter where your sartorial predilection falls, you will find fashion friends to follow and inspire you.

Just check off the designers that you like, and the app does the rest for you.

Its fabulous!