The Designer and The Muse--Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week Kick Off Party!!

Meet The Designers...and the Muses that inspire them....Next Monday, October 12Th, I have been invited to the Kick-Off Party for Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. Fashion Group International's "The Designer and the Muse" will honor LA's most "prestigious and respected" fashion designers...and their muses. It will take place on the breathtaking rooftop of Downtown LA's Standard Hotel and is being sponsored by Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week, BUZZflkr, Flaunt Magazine and of course, The Standard, among others. Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn

Famous designers in the past have had a long-running relationship with their muses. For example, Huberty de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn and Alexander McQueen and Phillip Treacy and their muse, the late Isabella Blow, to name a few. This party honors this ongoing Designer-Muse relationship.Isabella Blow

Over THIRTY designers have confirmed attendance (or so I hear) including Magda Berliner, Project Runway Season 4 Finalist Rami Kashou, Lloyd Klein, and my fuchsia-haired girlfriend, the wonderful Tarina Tarantino. It's going to be LA Fashionsita Heaven--or maybe the designer claws will come out--Who knows! My design partner David Paul and I will be attending with our muse who will be wearing a look from our new Spring 2010 NIKOLAKI Collection!! (any guesses who that might be?)

Space is limited and you must buy tickets online at FGILA.org--click HERE for ticket info. Get your tickets and hope to see you there!

Nick and Andrae: Project Runway Coffee Klatching

We Should Have Our Own Show...On The Set: Andrae Gonzalo and Nick Verreos prepare for their video blog close-up

Oh wait, we do! Well, we have our own mini Vlog on MyLifetime.com where Andrae Gonzalo and I discuss our thoughts on some of the last Project Runway episodes. OK, I'm lying, we don't just discuss: We gossip like two DISHY QUEENS at a bar! But we're not at a bar, but instead at the Lifetime Networks Digital headquarters, high above in one of those LUXURIOUS Century City office buildings!

Click BELOW for our latest series in which we talk about the Newspaper Challenge and dear ol' Johnny Sakalis and his purported lie as well as the latest Divorcee Challenge and why it was soooo Oktoberfest!



And you can view all the rest of the videos HERE!!!

Korres Guava Lipstick and Cherry Lipgloss

I have wanted to try the Korres lipsticks and lip glosses for ages since I already love their bronzer, concealer, powder and eyeshadows. Pictured below are the Guava Lipstick in Nude no.34, Cherry Lipgloss in Light Pink no.11 and Beige Pink no.32.

The website describes the lipstick as "Extended-wear lipstick with intense colour and a smooth, moisturising texture. With Guava extract, rich source of vitamin C, that offers antioxidant protection".
The website describes the lipglosses as "Sheer high shine colour lip gloss. Cherry oil hydrates the lips while vitamins E and C offer antioxidant protection".

The Guava lipstick was a bit of a disappointment as I expected the nude to be more, well, nude! It has brown undertones to it and is far too dark for me. I really wish Korres would release some more wearable colours as they all look too dark on me. Saying this, the lipstick felt like it had good staying power and it also felt moisturising. So overall, formula is a thumbs up but colour is a thumbs down.

I would say the light pink gloss is more of a sheer pale peachy pink (very similar to L'Occitane Rose Petal lipgloss but not as pigmented). It's a pretty colour to add a bit of gloss over a pink or nude lipstick. This light pink gloss doesn't have any shimmer in it at all. The glosses are a nice texture and consistency, not too sticky and they have good staying power. I wasn't blown away by the light pink colour as I already have a couple of glosses that are similar, however the Beige Pink is definitely my fave! The shimmer particles in it are very fine so you don't get the gritty feel on your lips, it feels really moisturising. I love the colour as it's the perfect combination of nude and pink. If you're a fan of lipglosses then this is definitely one to check out.

YSL Golden Gloss

I just wanted to do a quick post on this YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Peony (no.10) which i got recently.


The YSL website describes this product as "a veil of shimmering gold with Golden Gloss. The gloss forms a mirror-effect on the lips which sparkles with mother-of-pearl. A complex of nourishing oils (Nigelle and Cameline Oils) protects the lips while providing total comfort. The magic and shimmer of gold captured on the lips"


The website also states that the gloss contains 0,2‰ of 24 carats gold! As you can see, the colour is gorgeous!It's a pink toned lipgloss laced with gold particles. Although I have to say that when I ordered it I was really confused by the colour tabs on the Boots website as this one was shown as a lilac/lavender colour???It's best to check out the external YSL site for proper swatches. This lipgloss has a small brush applicator and usually I would prefer a sponge like applicator but in this case the brush seems to be good quality so it doesn't bother me. Sometimes cheaper ones can splay all over the place and create a mess.

I really love the colour of this gloss and it doesn't feel gritty at all on your lips. I hate it when you can feel all the glitter particles in some glosses. The gold particles in this gloss are more shimmery than glittery as they are very fine. The gloss feels moisturising and it has great staying power, it didn't feel sticky either.

I tend to prefer to keep any shimmery/glittery products on my eyes and I wouldn't wear this gloss in the daytime as I think it would be a bit much. However, this gloss would be perfect to glam up your night-time look if you chose a suede or matte effect eyeshadow to balance the look out. You could also keep the cheeks slightly glowy rather than shimmery to make sure all the emphasis is on the lips. It feels like a really high quality product and the packaging is practical. This shade is really flattering and would really glam up a wide range of lipstick shades. I love it!

Have you tried these glosses? What did you think of them?

Exceptionnel De Chanel Mascara

After reading Bubblegarm's blog and in my quest for my HG mascara, I decided to check out Chanel's new mascara...Exceptionnel De Chanel. I don't generally buy Chanel makeup as I have never been that impressed by it in the past. I do like their lip glosses though. This mascara is marketed as "a dream mascara is one that is VOLUMIZING, CURLING and LASTING. EXCEPTIONNEL DE CHANEL achieves these three feats in perfect harmony. Its exceptional brush provides lash-by-lash application and creates an intense volume effect for precise makeup from roots to tips". This mascara has a weird 6 sided rubber brush that you have to rotate as you apply it, which can be a bit tricky. However, it's worth getting the technique right as the first time I applied it, I didn't bother rotating the wand and it showed. The second time, I tried using the recommended technique and it worked ALOT better! This is what effect it gave... I wouldn't say my lashes were particularly volumised, however the mascara did provide quite alot of length and curl. I wasn't blown away by this product though and I do own mascara's that do a better job overall (Rouge Bunny Rouge Big Lash & YSL Faux Cils). One good thing about this mascara is it doesn't clump.

The one thing I really can't tolerate with a mascara is smudging, it always seems to happen in the outer corners of the eye and it drives me crazy. This mascara smudged on me, within a couple of hours of applying it. I really would expect more of a higher end mascara and I was disappointed. I don't know if it's because I have different shaped eyes or different lashes to other people who loved this product...that may be the reason why it doesn't work for me.

So, overall, I thought this mascara was ok, but nothing out of the ordinary and I certainly won't be relying on it like I do with my Rouge Bunny Rouge or YSL one.

Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliners

I have wanted to try out these award winning gel eyeliners for a long, long time and I finally bought a couple this week. I chose Graphite Shimmer Ink (after reading Hele Says blog) and Bronze Shimmer Ink coz I've been looking for an intense bronze liner for ages. I already own MAC Fluidlines and Sleek Ink Pots so I was looking forward to seeing how the Bobbi Brown ones compared.

These gel liners are waterproof and smudgeproof so they are perfect for creating long lasting looks. I used the Graphite Shimmer one yesterday which is a really great alternative to black as it's just that bit softer. I absolutely LOVE this gel liner, it has the perfect amount of shimmer, it stays put, doesn't smudge around the eye and really adds a subtle intensity to your eye makeup. It glides on really easily and the consistency is alot smoother and slightly more liquid/thinner than MAC Fluidlines which can sometimes be a bit gloopy. This makes it alot easier to apply and I can really see these liners becoming a daily staple coz they are so reliable.

The Bronze Shimmer gel liner also looks amazing and I can't wait to use it! The only very small downside is that you get a bit less product in the Bobbi Brown than in the MAC Fluidlines. The Bobbi Brown liners are still my favourite though. I have found my HG gel liner!Hurrah!