MONICA QIN QING HU

Sarah Burton, since my last post on Alexander McQueen, has taken the reigns of the house of McQueen with convincing brilliance, but I still cannot forget the tragedy that is Lee McQueen’s death. For me, he was more than just a quirky zany designer, who pushed boundaries — he was a brilliant architect in his mad world, orchestrating an artform that is hauntingly beautiful. This is why, when I saw this collaboration between Yin Chao and Vision Magazine, I was stopped in my tracks. It’s a beautiful mash up of not just McQueen’s clothes, but a display of his art. For the McQueen fans, adorers and die hards out there, enjoy.

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• Source: Bloginity
• Vision Magazine is a Chinese magazine focused on “visual displays” of art, fashion and other media. Read about them here.

I’ve been noticing a lot of DIY posts on dip dyed items, ranging from paper bowls to stemware to jeans in various shades of gold, white and bleached. Based on a series of unfortunate events that has resulted in my staying home on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with next to nothing to do, I was inspired to try out the dip dyed trend. On my nails that is.

 Clockwise from top left // Honestly WTF // Decor8 // Move Slightly // Curbly.

What You Need:

My tools are quite simple. An angled watercolour brush, nail colours of your choice and base and top coat of your choice.

 I used the Cutex Nail Whitener as a base and Cutex Pale Peach(not pictured – not sure the name, I misplaced my bottle) as the base colour with a lovely Gold polish I found in a Korean Store.

How to do it:

I had already primed my nails with a base. In fact, this is really me just sprucing up the nails I did last week. But, if you are starting on an empty canvas, simply prime with a coat of your base coat of choice.

Follow by apply two coats of colour onto your dried base. I picked this nice translucent peach shade because it’s a nice everyday colour – looks done up but very natural.

Following that, apply the colour you wish your nails to be “dip dyed” in. If you’ve seen the dip dye tutorials, you’ll notice that most of them don’t actually dip dye their items, it’s usually painted on with tape making the edges look neat. This process is much the same. I haven’t used any tape here, but you can easily find French Mani tapes or simply use some Scotch tape.

The trick is, don’t follow the curve of the tip of the nail, instead, try to make it look like a straighter line across the nail. I would apply the dip dye colour close to halfway up the nail. Any less and you risk it just looking like a normal French mani (which isn’t bad, just not what we want). The trick is thin quick coats. If you’ve missed anything, just come back and add to it in your next coat (this is why your coats have to be thin, if it’s too thick, you can see the additions). For your writing hand, try to be as steady as possible – or, use your other hand to hold the brush still, and use your writing hand to move the nail and guide the paint.

Once done to your liking, wait for it to dry and then apply a top coat of your choice. I like the shiny-ness of the gold here, but a matte top coat would be gorgeous too.

Experiment with colours that you like. Neon is a really popular colour for DIY projects right now. Why not do a neon on white? Or blue on orange for a crazy pop.

This is a really good way to get more out of your mani – especially if you’ve chipped the edges. Simply apply a thin layer of nail polish remover with a cotton bud to make the edge less obvious and “dip dye” over with another colour. Opaque colours are better for this… you don’t want your chip to show!

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• Fabulous dip dye inspiration at A Pair and a Spare here and here.
• Awesome dip dyed baskets from Decor8 (these are actually dip dyed!)
• Lovely Givenchy inspired nails with new Chanel Le Vernis in Holographic.

I actually had a bit of struggle trying to find an editorial that really stuck with me. Maybe it’s January, maybe it’s busy Haute Couture season… or maybe it’s just the style of the moment. But I was just hard struck to find one that resonated with emotion or told a story or both. I mean, where are the editorials filled with raw beauty, or the ones that feel like movie stills, or even the ones that are humorous and entertaining? Luckily for me, this moment of despair was quickly set right when I saw the aptly named “Best in Class”. With Lily Donaldson, Jourdan Dunn, Cara Delevingne & Nyasha Matonhodze in the W Magazine feature, it was simply the best capture of the current trends in a quirky and beautiful manner.

I’m totally loving the Gatsby Chic at the  moment, but White hot has had a great little run too. What do you think guys? Which trend is currently your favourite?

Images from FGR. 

How to Wear Perfume and What to Wear With It

Despite the awful attempt at trying to be clever with the title, I have to admit I do take scents quite seriously. Between my mother and I, we easily have a collection over 100, varying from those that are mildly cultish and often mistaken for a female pleasure items, to the classics of the olfactory world (oui Mademoiselle, I am speaking of you). So I thought to myself, would it not be much fun to play an association game with scents? Here are three of my fondest scents and the outfits that can go with them. Continue reading to the end for some tips on using and preserving scents.

Look from Vanessa Jackman // 1 The Vamoose Fabric and Metal Necklace // 2 Karla Spetic Freedom Shirt // 3 Lanvin Ballet Flats // 4 Ruby Egyptian Nail Polish

This is a classically girly girl who just loves her various shades of pink and peach. She wrinkles her nose at the number five thinking it too overpowering for her delicate nature. She also knows how to have fun and sparkle and loves to add a dash of quirky childishness to the mix.

Wear  with various shades of pink. The more the colour matches the colour of the perfume the better. Be feminine but be flirty, because although it settles into jasmine and rose, the tops of orange and bergamot give it a delightfully zesty feel.

 Look from Vanessa Jackman // 1 Kate McCoy Rings // 2 Thakoon Shirt // 3 Alexander McQueen Belt // 4 Doc Martens Nevena Heels

Calamity Juliette is a girl who knows just how to wear the pants. She will delight and charm but when she’s serious, she gets down to business. With rock and roll in her blood and romance on her mind, she will never stop being fierce.

Wear with utility in mind, maybe a pair of beautiful skinny black jeans or something sharp ending in combat boots. But don’t forget the romantic touches — delicate lace will be the perfect bullet flying straight to your man’s heart.

Look from Street Peeper // 1 ASOS Pleated Drape Front Skater Dress // 2 Ooak Jewelz Floral Bangle // 3 Kate Spade Play Hooky Bangle, Play Your Cards Right // 4 Kathryn Wilson Julia Heel // 5 Kate Spade Eat Cake Terry Bag

The poster for Jo Malone’s bluebells is oddly misleading. The scent is sweet and fresh but in no terms a washout innocence that is boring and tame. The girl who wears this is both sweet and fresh but knows how to be cheeky.

Wear with subtle confidence over summery radiance with pleats and whites and florals and prints. Accessories with dashes of eccentricity and you’ve got it down pat.

How to Wear Perfume

• Wear on pulse points such as wrists, behind your ears and behind your knees for a longer last.
• Don’t rub! It’ll break up the perfume notes.
• If you wear a scent often, it smells duller to you. So don’t pile it on because it will seem stronger to other people around you
• Layer it with matching lotions for a longer lasting scent.
• Take a spritz and have some fun – scents trigger memories quicker than anything else, so it’s a great little thing to use to flirt with.

Extras

• Now Smell This Blog is an epic resource for all things perfume related.
• Fragrantica - like Wikipedia but for perfumes. Contains all the notes in a perfume and recommends similar perfumes.
• TFS threadon how to wear perfume.
• Image by Creyon Bonito

Many of you girl probably grew up on the Disney Princesses filling your life. Yes, there is general talk that they set up unrealistic expectations for women from a young age about what to expect in both the looks and romance department, but skaters gonna skate and haters gonna hate, right? After all there is nothing wrong with indulging in your childish romantic side, as long as you are being balanced about it, just as there is nothing wrong enveloping yourself in the decadence of that triple chocolate buttery mousse cake if you have a consistently balanced diet (plus, feeding the soul comes first in my book).  It certainly made sense then, to have them appear on the covers of our favourite magazines, indulging in that inner 8 year old princess. And for this Sunday Editorial, I present to you, the slightly different take on the magazine cover (not to mention witty).

All images from Petite Tiaras

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If you want more Disney action, check out these dedicated Disney Tumblrs:

• http://petitetiaras.tumblr.com
• http://simpledisneythings.tumblr.com/

Who’s your favourite Princess?

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A blast from the past (D&G):

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On two very different levels this is a blast from the past. Firstly, I’ve finally, after a year of deliberation and, dare I say laziness, I’ve re-instated this blog. It was a good break, really good for the so called “soul”. I’ve managed to crawl out of the slump of having no ideas to post in my head to my current state, where I will try  my hand once more at this place. Bear with me please, I shall be making a few changes.

Secondly, it is indeed the very pretty Lily Donaldson from the Vogue UK shoot of 2005. Although it is an old shoot showing older, kitschy stylings of fashion, there is very much a sense of urgency and “now”, in her youthfulness and in her innocent appearance. Yes, we are young and from heartache to heartache, we stand. And so yes, we are young and from falls to slips, we stand. Love may be our battlefield, but fashion, is no doubt our armour.

Images from FGR

How apt it is that regular posting is to be resumed right after I come back from a short trip. I guess following Miss Golightly was a good idea. For those who don’t know Melbourne, it is supposedly the culture capital of Australia. Whilst loyalty to Sydney is undoubtedly preventing me from agreeing to this statement, I have to conceded that there are some very cool places in Melbourne. Bar at 1806

1806, according to their Facebook page, is the year that the word cocktail was first defined in print. And although both cocktails I had tried where simply too potent for me to actually enjoy without my mouth wincing in pain, there is no denying the theatricality of the entire place. This is the kind of bar that has modern music, but also has bartenders garbed in ultra flattering waist coats (this is a fashion blog, comments on their “livery” must be made). This is the kind of place that is draped in majestic red and has a pirate skeleton that descends upon closing to shoo away the patrons. And, this is the kind of place that is open till 5am, for those night owls, out to explore the city’s offerings.

1806 is definitely a place worth visiting for the sheer majesty of the setting. Rightly or wrongly, it is exactly the kind of bar that fits with the portrayal of Melbourne as some place to lose yourself in. Just make sure you don’t order a blazer expecting some tasty, novelty cocktail drink that’s full of sugar and devoid of alcohol. Yes, it’s cool that they set it on fire and pour it from cup to cup. But the warmth of the alcohol draws out its strength and really makes it a very serious drink.

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1806, 169 Exhibition St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 – it’s easy to miss so keep an eye out. Also if you stand in front of the door, unable to get in… try pulling the door instead of pushing and avoid the rookie mistake we made.

Photos from the 1806 Facebook page (no I didn’t get to take any of my own photos… I brought my camera but unfortunately sans memory card…..)

Upon re-reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I can’t help but be quite confused as to what point Capote was actually trying to make. Same as Oscar Wilde’s Happy Prince – which as a child, I had naively thought was about a charming prince – it’s hard to tell if the author is being sincere or derisive, although when taking into consideration that it’s Wilde and Capote, it’s probably more of the latter than the former. Still, the sentiment expressed in Tiffany’s is quite applicable for me at the moment. Caught between the dramatic and the practical, I really don’t know “where” I’ll be living tomorrow. I’m not here to write about the fashions of one Miss Golightly/Hepburn, but I will take on the latter of the title – travelling. Here are some inspiring places I wouldn’t mind being at right now.

Giant’s Causeway –  Northern Ireland

Old street in Riga – Latvia

Bosra – Syria

Prvence – France

Nuremberg – Germany

Shanghai – China

Henningsvær – Norway

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Alright kiddos, that’s all from me right now. I’ll be setting my status to “be right back” for now as life is getting busy. Until then, don’t forget to dream.

Images don’t belong to me. Click on them for the source. Title image by LaraJade