Collection / She Loves Dresses x Crowned Bird

July 3, 20155 Comments

My internet pal Jenny of She Loves Dresses and Priscilla Barroso, mastermind behind Crowned Bird, got together for a truly exciting design collaboration, which I am so excited to be able to share with you today. Putting their inspiring brains together, they brought to fruition a capsule collection of adorable vintage-inspired dresses for all us retro-loving gals. In this collection you’ll find plenty of 60s vibes, in the way of peter pan collars, pinafores and shift dresses in cheery colours and patterns, and even the most adorable novelty umbrella print. The whole collection was inspired by Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, an excellent place to find inspiration, indeed. I’m so proud of Jenny, as I’ve watched her internet presence grow for quite some time now, so it is truly heartwarming to see good things happening to a very kind and inspiring person.

The collection will be available for pre-order here, so you can get your little mittens on one of these gems (or even a few of them) before the rest of the crowd.

Tell me your favourites in the comments below. Which ones are catching your lovely eyes?

Beauty / 60s Makeup

July 2, 20152 Comments

It was only a matter of time before I decided to share a 60s makeup look. It’s honestly a bit more eye makeup than what I’m used to wearing, but it really reminds me of the makeup I used to do back in my goth days. I don’t know what it is about this very Twiggy-esque look, but it makes you want to pull all kinds of silly facial expressions…mostly surprised and sad ones. Maybe it’s the drawn on lower lashes that make the eyes so expressive, which makes the rest of your face want to follow suit… anyway, I dare you to try this look and not make a silly face, it’s impossible.
Shirt & hat: vintage; Shorts: F21 (similar, similar); Bow tie: handmadeGET THE LOOK
– start by priming your lids, then apply white or cream coloured shadow to your top lid; I used this primer and this shadow palette
– using a liner pencil, draw a black line all the way along your crease, from the very inner corner to the outer, making it as pronounced as you like. then with a black shadow fill out the crease and blend so you create a softer smokey eye; I used a shadow from the same palette above
– using a liquid liner make a cat-eye and join it to your crease at the end; i used this liquid liner
– with a black pencil liner draw singular lashes on your bottom lid, fanning outward, just the way your natural lashes do
-apply mascara and curl those lashes with a lash curler and then add even more mascara. if you want to get extra crazy, you could add fake eyelashes to enhance the look; I used this mascara
– apply a nude or light lip colour; I used a combination of this lipstick (in shade 14) and this gloss (in apricot pucker)

*see more of my beauty posts here.

Collection / Gucci Resort 2016

July 1, 20152 Comments

Sometimes a collection comes along, and it stops you dead in your tracks. Such is the case for me with Gucci Resort 2016. It seems retro-inspired looks are making a comeback, and not just in smaller, independent labels. Big wigs like Gucci are letting their retro freak flag fly high, and I’m pretty excited about it. The distinct 60/70s influence, with bold patterns and vintage silhouettes are clearly what drew me to the whole collection initially, but when I looked closely, what I really loved the most were the matching sets. I am not joking when I say I could wear matching sets every single day. So I get pretty damn excited when I see brands producing items that are so flippin’ hard to find vintage. Not that I could afford Gucci, I never could, obviously. But you know that smaller brands and shops will be reproducing knockoffs of looks similar to this, and that, I can afford.

What do you guys think of the collection? Loving it? Hating it?

A Cloudy Accessory

June 30, 201513 Comments

Gus came back home from his surgery on Sunday, and boy has it been difficult. With back surgery, for the first 4-6 weeks they are not allowed to jump on and off furniture, go on walks longer than 5 minutes, do stairs, he needs strict cage rest when I am not watching, no playing, no sleeping in our bed (that is impossible, so I have taken to sleeping on the couch and him right next to me on a doggy bed)…just no fun what so ever. If you know Gus, you know that’s difficult to control. At 5 yrs, this little guy still seems like a puppy, both in behaviour and appearance. One would think it would be easy to keep him quiet because he would be painful and exhausted from surgery, but that is not the case here (dogs aren’t big babies like humans). Granted, he is on a slew of painkillers, but honestly, aside from his ataxic walking (and the giant Frankenstein incision on his back), you would have no idea he underwent back surgery less than a week ago. I’ve always felt my little cloud is the toughest little Bichon around, one of the very reasons he is so loveable.

All that to say, the little cloud is doing well, but he still walks pretty badly. The neurologist said that should continue to improve, but whether he fully gets back to normal is hard to say. We will be crossing our fingers (and so should you). As you can see, he came with us to take some pictures yesterday because I didn’t want to leave him alone at home. But he always makes any photo better with his adorable manner, so no one is complaining here. And thank you again to everyone who has donated and sent us loving messages. It means so much to me, you have no idea. My GoFundMe page is still up as we haven’t reached the goal, so if you feel at all inclined to help out, your kindness will not go unnoticed.

*photos by Ryan
Trousers: H&M
Blouse: thrifted
Shoes: Seychelles
Purse: vintage via Public Butter
Hair bow: Into The Woods instagram sale

My Morning Routine

June 29, 20152 Comments

With Gus being back home from surgery, I haven’t been able to get out of the house to snap some outfit pictures (plus, it’s been raining non stop), so I thought if I can’t really go out, I’d share something inside, in the form of my morning routine. When I don’t have to be out of the house first thing in the morning, this is what I get up to, every morning, before I start working or taking pictures or whatever it is I am doing that day. When I was younger I never ever started my morning off in a relaxing way. I’d always sleep in just until I had to get up, get ready and leave the house. As I’ve gotten older, I find the morning to be the most precious time of the day when I can have some me time and get my day started off on the right foot.
Skincare – I always wash my face first thing when I wake up, then tone, moisturize and use my avocado eye cream because I feel like it wakes my eyes up. My skincare routine has changed significantly since I last shared that with you, so at some point I’ll give that an ol’ update.
Coffee – I love coffee. I drink it every morning, and I don’t think I would feel normal if I didn’t. I usually boil my water while I am washing my face to save time. I used to have a coffee machine, but it was kind of shit, so we have been using our Chemex coffee maker, which takes longer and more effort, but it makes a great cup of coffee. However, it doesn’t keep the coffee warm for very long, which is slightly annoying. I love drinking my coffee in bed. I used to never do this, and it didn’t even occur to me before, but it’s a ritual of Ryan’s that sort of became a ritual of mine. Some people like to lie in bed for awhile before getting out of bed, but I like to get out of bed, make coffee and then hop back into bed and drink it.
Internet things – the morning is normally when I write blog posts and catch up on blogs. I usually edit photos the evening before and then write the next morning. I find my brain is more fresh in the morning and I have a much easier time writing up a post (which is what I am doing right now).
Smoothie – after I have finished my coffee and played on the internet for a bit, I will make myself a smoothie. Lately it has been banana, raspberries, strawberries, almond milk, water, oats and flax seeds. I like adding oats in to make it feel like a real breakfast smoothie that is a bit more filling. If I have vegetables on hand, I will also add kale or avocado.
And that’s my morning routine. Of course I do my makeup and get dressed and all that fun stuff after all this. But this is how I like to start my morning when I’ve got the time. I’d love to be able to do it every morning, but some days when you need to be out of the house at 6:30a, it’s just not possible.