Iconic Jean Shrimpton + Quotes

I love images of iconic actresses and models.

Especially in black and white.

And I love good quotes, so it's fun to combine the two.

British model and actress Jean Shrimpton was known as 

"The Face of the 60's", 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", and "The It Girl".

Shrimpton was the symbol of swinging London.

During her career she was thought to be both the highest paid model in the world and the most photographed girl in the world.

In 2012 Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential fashion icons of all time.

Jean Shrimpton

Be patient ~ the best things happen unexpectedly 

Doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever will...

Self confidence is the best outfit.

Rock it and own it.

In 1965 Shrimpton launched the miniskirt at the Victoria Derby in Melbourne

In the end people will judge you anyway.

Don't live your life impressing others ~

Live your life impressing yourself.

The Luxe List - Gift Giving Ideas From Tatcha

It's time to create your gift lists, both gifts you wish to receive and gifts you want to give.

Today I'm looking at The Luxe List. Exquisite gifts for the girl who enjoys something extra special, extra fabulous.

These make sensational business gifts, and hostess gifts too.

I am so completely enamored of Tatcha and their incredible high performance, luxurious skin care products. I have written about them before here and here.

Tatcha products are divine.

I recently found out too that every purchase you make from Tatcha provides schooling for an underprivileged girl. 

Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures

"The greatest secret I learned from the geisha was that beauty begins in the heart and the mind."

Victoria Tsai

Tatcha founder Victoria Tsai believes that the best way to help girls become beautiful is to give them the opportunity to develop their minds.

As such she began a partnership with Room To Read, an organization commited to changing the world through education. Through this partnership every full sized purchase of Tatcha's skin care products funds an entire day of school for a girl somewhere in the world.

Read about it here

Back to gift giving, here are three gift sets makinkg it to both my "giving" list, and the list of gifts I'm secretly coveting.

Kokoro Golden Lip and Mirror Set

This is such a perfect gift! A beautiful set with Camellia Lip Balm and a gold plated mirror.
Camellia oil is super healing and nourishing, and makes for the best lip balm I have ever used. I have Camellia lip balm in both my pro makeup kit and my personal makeup stash.
The packaging and presentation of every Tatcha product is sensational, making the opening of the products and event in itself.
I also love this one as a bride or bridesmaid gift.
Order here $48

Kokoro Golden Lip And Mirror Duo

Tatcha Kassei Rejuvenation Skincare Gift Set

This trio is named for the Japanese word for rejuvenation.
You get the Ageless Enriching Renewal Cream and the Revitalizing Eye Cream with a beautiful gold massager to boost circulation. 
It's divine. 

Kassei Rejuvenation Trio

order here $495

Tatcha Kaiseki Skincare Gift Set

Kaiseki means a little bit of everything.
This set is perfect for the traveler - business traveler or vacation traveler as it contains an assotment of travel sized skin care essentials in a beautiful wooden kiri box 

Kaiseki Skincare Gift Set

order here $350

How To Do Glitter Eyeshadow

The holiday season is here, which means party season is here too!

Glitter eye shadows are so fun to wear to winter festivities.
They look so vibrant and alive against the bleak, dreary backdrop of the colder months, and they also play well against crisp white snow.

Candle light and open fires pick up the sheen you've added to your shadow and make your eyes sparkle and look so pretty.

But if they're not executed correctly, glittery eye shadows are just a sparkly mess all over your face.

So here are my tips for 

How To Work With Glittery Eyeshadow.

1. Neutralize your complexion
To pull off a good glittery shadow you really need to have a good, smooth foundation, evening out your complexion. 

2. Keep The Shine Only To Your Eyes.
Its easy to make the whole face look too shiny when you have a high shine eye. Tone the cheek down a little, and don't add sparkle anywhere else. Sparkly or shimmery highlight paired with a glittery shadow will detract from the effect of the eye shadow and can end up making the face look oily.

3. Soften The Lip
If you are making a shimmery eye the focus of your look, help it out by toning down the lip. 
Most people can't carry off a big eye and a big lip at the same time. Go for something a little more neutral, and keep it either matte or just a low sheen. A big glossy lip with a glittery eye makes the face look too shiny and too busy.

4. Use Your Glitter Shadow As An Accent
Dont try to build your entire eye with a glitter shadow. 
Build the shape and drama of the eye in neutral creamy finished eye shadows (glitter adheres better to a cream base), and then bring in your shimmery/glittery product as the final event.
Bare lids won't hold sparkles.

5. It's all In The Application
To make this deal work, and not have glitter all over your face, you need to apply it correctly.
I like to dampen my brush by dabbing it into a tiny amount of Makeup Forever HD Primer (it binds and holds the product without being too heavy) and then pick up my glitter /shimmer product and gently press it onto the area I want to accent.
Don't try to paint the eye or sweep a glitter product over it, as the particles will flick all over the face and can be tricky to get off. You want to isolate the glitter/shimmer just to the eye, and the area of the eye that you are accenting.

Shimmer vs Glitter

6. Shimmer or Glitter?
I prefer a product that shimmers to a product that is super glittery. My favorites are Makeup Forever Star Powder and 
Face Atelier's Shimmer. The particles are smaller, give more of a shimmery effect, and stay on the eye rather than all over the face. You can carry off more sheen to other areas of the face with a shimmer shadow instead of a glitter.
If you want to use a glitter look for one with smaller instead of bigger particles.

7. Repair Job
If you wind up with particles of glitter on your face use a piece of sotch tape to gently lift it off

The Holiday Gift List ~ 5 Beauty Gadgets

Here come the holidays and all their gift giving (and gift receiving!) glory. If you are making a list, either for giving or for presents you'd like to receive, here are 5 of my favorite beauty gadgets that make incredible gifts:

Clarisonic

Clarisonic

I adore my clarisonic. I have had mine for years and it still works perfectly, so it's actually a great investment.
When I'm shooting a movie I need my actresses' skin to stay immaculate, so I get them each a Clarisonic - you just can't beat them. Read about Clarisonic here

Order a Clarisonic here:



Amika Switch Kit

Amika Switch Kit

This is my favorite new hair curling system. I love having the flexibility to switch out curling irons and wands without having to buy multiple curling irons.
Today I'm changing up my look and using the "beachy waves" wand.
Read about the Amika Switch kit here: Amika Switch Kit
Order an Amika Switch Kit here 


Sonic Diamondcare Toothbrush

Sonic Diamondcare Toothbrush

You can't beat a great smile with gleaming teeth!
This is the ultimate way to get superwhite, super clean teeth.
I love the travel pack too - it's convenient and functional



Q Redew

Q Redew

It looks like a torture device but its actually a hair refresher!
When your hair is looking flat, curls are lacking luster or maybe you just need to squeeze one more day out of your blow out, the Q Redew works like a cool air humidifier paired with a steamer. You won't make your head wet, and the steam won't give you crazy frizz, it just revitalizes the 'do and makes it look like you just finished styling your hair.
Order a Q Redew here:

Nuface Trinity Facial Toning Device

Nuface Trinity Mini

I'm a huge fan of microcurrent facial treatments.
Basically on a muscular level they tone and shorten the fibers, and on a dermal level they stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, the combined result being significant anti-aging. 
The Nuface Trinity Facial Toning Device lets you give yourself these amazing (and expensive!) treatments at home, saving you a small fortune.

Order your Nuface Trinity Facial Toning Device here:

Tips For A Stress Free Dinner Party

I love dinner parties.
I love hosting them and I love going to them.
I would rather do a dinner party than go to a restaurant anyday of the week.
It can seem a little overwhelming at first, but if you are the one hosting a dinner party, just having a few tips up your sleeve can turn it into a stress free and fun evening. And with party season upon us, there's no time like the present!

Tips For A Stress Free Dinner Party

Outdoor Dinner Parties ~ Image courtesy of www.blovelyevents.com

1. Plan Ahead

* For me this is a case of always thinking ahead. I like to keep notes on menu ideas, meal plans that look fabulous in magazines, things I see on cooking TV. 
I use many ideas from Lulu Powers' book 
(Lulu Powers From Food To Flowers) and website
My crazy schedule means that I have to do everything on the fly so having to come up with a menu plan at the last minute could be stressful.

* Keep core ingredients in the pantry. 

I try to always have essentials in the pantry so that I can throw something together at the last minute. From Thai Sweet Chili Sauce to coconut milk, from cans of diced tomatoes to jars of roasted red peppers, from boxes of couscous to bags of jasmine rice, I like to have game changers on hand. This makes it easier to shop for an organized dinner party, but also bails me out when guests arrive unexpectedly, or when a fun afternoon evolves into a dinner.

* Stock up a hostess closet.
Having table linens, cocktail napkins, candles and place settings within easy reach makes entertaining much more simple.
I pick up cocktail napkins and candles throughout the year as I find them, and I love to find beautiful table linens both locally and on my travels. On my Christmas List this year I want Valentino's new book on entertaining Valentino, At The Emporer's Table. 
 Valentino's table settings and flair for entertaining are legendary.

* Do as much as you can the day before
Trying to do everything the day of the dinner party can be stressful, and can eat up your personal glam time. A frazzled host is a vibe killer, so I like to get as much as possible done the day before ~ any shopping and food prep, setting the table, setting out candles, organizing music, making sure guest bathrooms are cleaned and well stocked, making sure my outfit is ready to throw on at the last minute.

image courtsey of blog.gracioushome.com

*Plan your guest list
Think about who you are inviting, and who mesh well together. A dinner party is more about the personalities around the table than it is about the food. No matter how brilliant the food is, if you're stuck sitting next to some total tool you won't enjoy yourself.
Try to put together a good blend of people who will enjoy each other, inspire and entertain each other. 

2. The Menu
*When less is more
Make fewer food choices ~ less fuss = less stress.
Have something you can throw in the oven, have a few things you can pick up ready made, and have something you are really good at making.
I find the very best, most successful dinner parties are the ones where the food is simple, the wine is abundant, the setting is lovely, and the company is well paired.

* When more is more
As in more wine. 
I like to have several choices of wine available. I hate it when the only white is chardonnay (I'm a sauvignon blanc/sancerre girl), or the only red is heavy and dense. Having a variety of wines available makes it festive and fun. 
(And if the food isn't working out you can always get everyone drunk!)
*Stay out of the kitchen
As in create a menu that doesn't have you slaving over a hot stove. In order to be the hostess with the mostess you need to be part of the fun, so keep the food simple.

3. Be Chill
Your mood will dictate the vibe of the party. If you are stressed your guests are going to feel it.

Lulu Powers. I steal all my best ideas from her books

*Allow yourself time for glam - half the fun is getting all prettied up for the party.
* Plan some great music
The soundtrack to your party sets the mood and keeps it flowing.
* Light candles
It's all in the ambience! And if something has gone wrong with the food copious amounts of wine coupled with candle light can mask pretty much anything!

Bon appetit!

Christmas Wish List ~ Coffee Table Books

I adore beautiful coffee table books.
In fact they are one of the few things I collect.
This year I have four coffee table books on my Christmas list.
Any of these books make a perfect gift for anyone who enjoys fashion and style, as well as the perfect gift for yourself.

The Little Black Jacket, Chanel's Classic Revisited By Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld

I am pretty much obsessed with Carine Roitfeld and everything she does. My Christmas List is topped with this gorgeous book celebrating Chanel's little black jacket. Her partnership with Karl Lagerfeld always yields the spectacular, and this glorious tome will not disappoint.
Order it here: The Little Black Jacket

Oscar De La Renta, The Style, Inspiration And Life of Oscar De La Renta

Somewhat bittersweet with his recent passing, this updated version of the 2002 book celebrates Oscar de la Renta's milestones in the world of fashion and style.

“Oscar completely understands who he is and who he is dressing… He’s never tried to be avant-garde or difficult. He just does really good clothes, never overtly sexy but attractive, colorful, and feminine,”  Anna Wintour.

Over 160 images in a beautiful hard slipcase.

Order it here: Oscar De La Renta The Style, Inspiration and Life



Valentino At The Emperor's Table
Celebrating the luxe lifestyle of the Last Emperor himself, At The Emporer's Table gives us a gorgeous glimpse into the lavish and stylish entertaining hosted by Valentino Garavani in his five beautiful homes (Gstaad, Paris, Rome, London and New York) and aboard his private yacht.
Showcasing his exhaustive collection of table settings and objets d'arte, with photography by Oberto Gili, the book is written by Andre Leon Talley and features recipes from Garavani's personal chefs.

Order it here: Valentino At The Emperor's Table

Tory Burch In Color

Tory Burch sees the world in color. This book takes you through her world, color by color,
exploring her world of style, home decor, entertaining, travel, art and of course fashion.
It gives you insight into the brand, and also a glimpse at her life.
And it's fabulous.
Order here: Tory Burch In Color

There's A Cold Winter Coming...

If flowers can teach themselves how to bloom

after the long, cold winter passes,

then so can you.

Sunflowers in Cortona, Italy

Your winter will pass,

there is a springtime coming.

Happy Monday

xo