FOTD: Keri Hilson = Gorgeousness!

I love this look so much!
She looks flawless and glowy!

Pending Hen Weekend,Nars and Philosophy

Hello ladies! This will be my last post until Monday as I am heading off to Edinburgh tomorrow to embark on my hen weekend.  I have a loose itinerary of where I need to be and what time but I have no idea what the girls have planned for me! I'm really looking forward to having a proper girly weekend with all my fantastic friends.  I am very lucky to have a lovely group of pals to spend my time with. 

No doubt there will be cocktails galore...bring it on! I really want to have a Mai Tai (or three) because I first tried them when I was on holiday in Barcelona and they are soooo yummy.  They are really refreshing!  Basically, a Mai Tai contains the following:

White Rum

Dark Rum

Amaretto De Saronno

Apricot Brandy

Orange Curacao

Lime Juice

Pineapple Juice

Ok, so it doesn't sound yummy when you write a list of the ingredients but believe me, they're lush! That reminds me, I better take some Ibuprofen with me! I was in Boots today stocking up on Scholl Party Feet and blister plasters for my skyscraper heels! (I'm still on the look out for that product in stick form that you can rub on your feet to prevent friction...).  I will give you guys all the goss from the hen weekend when I return...I'm sure I will have many a story to tell!

On another note, I finally got my hands on Nars blush in Silvana and Nars Sweet Revenge Lipgloss, which is a new shade.  Silvana is a terracotta with soft gold shimmer and it would make a perfect contour shade for when I'm paler and a great blusher for when I'm a bit more tanned for a really sunkissed look.  The shimmer is so subtle as you can see from the pan and swatch.  Sometimes Nars blushes can be a hit or a miss, but this one is smooth, extremely blendable and really pretty once applied.

Sweet Revenge lipgloss is described as a sheer pink grapefruit, however I would say it's slightly darker than you would imagine.  It's more of a peach with slight shimmer in my opinion.  It will look really good with a golden eye look and lashings of bronzer.  I've heard about Nars lipglosses developing a strange smell after a few months but I must say that I haven't noticed that with my Turkish Delight one as yet.  It's a shame because there are so many pretty shades.  I use so much lipgloss that I will probably use it up before it gets to that stage anyway.  I love the look of the Striptease shade which is described as a candlelit nude...sounds like my kinda gloss!  I do think these glosses are a bit overpriced given that alot of the shades are dupe-able. 

I also wanted to share with you an AMAZING hot salt scrub from Philosophy called Pure Grace.  I like my scrubs to come in copious amounts because I use so much of it on my body.  This is one heavy duty scrub and it made mincemeat of the fake tan remnants I had on my elbows (I was having a lazy moment and didn't apply moisturiser before tanning...cardinal rule broken!tut tut!).  Usually nothing would remove it and I would have to wait a few days for it to subside.  But this scrub removed all trace of it in one go although I would only use it once a week as it's too much to use daily.  I just scooped up a little scrub whilst wearing my exfoliating gloves and quickly went over my body in circular motions in the shower.  This scrub is oil-free, glycerin based, with a very light clean fragrance and leaves my skin super duper smooth and soft, without any oily residue left behind.  I like this so much because it's amazingly effective and it's great to use before fake tan.  Oil based scrubs leave a film of oil on your skin afterwards which means that it's harder for the fake tan to adhere to the skin evenly, so you end up with patchiness and streaks.  This stuff is definitely the best scrub I have used in preparation for self tanning.  Thumbs up!

On a completely different note, I caught on to Tanya Burr's vids on Youtube (the girlfriend of Pixiwoo Sam and Nic's younger brother).  I'm sure everyone else is already a subscriber and I'm just the last to know!  But in case you don't know...she is a freelance makeup artist in her own right and up until a couple of days ago, I had only ever seen her being used as a model for Sam or Nic to demonstrate makeup looks.  I have really been getting into her videos...I don't know about you but when I find YT channels I like, I tend to watch about 10 vids in one go, I'm excited to go through them all.  This is one of my favourites of hers:

I also just subscribed to her other channel which is a mixture of Vlogs and Hauls.  I always like to get to know the people behind the YT channel and I was watching a vid of Tanya and her boyfriend, Jim, where he does her makeup for her at the request of lots of subscribers.  Can you imagine your bloke doing your makeup???ha ha.  It's really funny, incredibly cute and they just come across as a really sweet couple who like to take the mick out of eachother:

The bit that made me laugh the most is how he rubs the primer into her face quite roughly and also the poking of the eyes.ha ha.  Let's be honest, more often than not, our other halves are usually so clueless about what it takes to apply makeup and the fact that there is actually skill involved! I know guys always say they prefer girls without makeup but I seriously think that they often aren't sure what is and isn't makeup! Chris looks at pics of Scarlett Johansson or Cheryl Cole and he's like "they look so much nicer au naturel"...I have to interrupt him and politely point out that their 'au naturel' look is all skillfully applied makeup!ha ha.  Boys...

Right, that's me off for now...time to plan my outfits for the weekend! Yahooooooo!

Millitary Inspired... Not so GREEN-- Marine?!! (Part II)

As it came to military inspired look my brain rebelled-- I like to think outside the box---how about Marine!!!


When I was talking to my friend, Isabel, yesterday, she said that Gwyneth paltrow showcased the very same J Brand cropped jeans on her blog too!! (oh, it is more like a company w/ a very organized website! ^^) You guys should check it out and I am glad that Isabel shared it w/ me!!

How interesting is that I just post her picture couple days ago and I'd love to love the same thing as Gwyn. Their Goop girls picked J brand green cropped jeans instead. Their latest spring fashion features military inspired outfit as well and their ideas came from Balmain! It seems to me that Gwyn loves that brand a lot! ^^


Anyhow, Pei and I loved the distressed/coffee-stain/mud details along the stitches on this khaki jeans better!! And I am trying to enable Isabel to give it a try!! ^^

Zara gray stripes shirt, RUGBY white cropped military jacket, J brand jeans, Chole ankle wrap sandal, Marc Jacobs white aviator sunglasses, Chanel 08' Gray jumbo classic. 

 

A butt hugging jeans... and the fabric is so soft!!

Here are my two funky/funny/pretty/Marni-like new shoes from Kron by Kronkron!!


Their shoe size is pretty standard. Since they don't have half sizes, I go up a half size instead. (Mia, I hope you read it!!) :)

There are 6 colors in this pair..pink (trim), pale coral, pale green, gray, blue, and yellowish beige!

There are not just polka dots, they are perforated polka dots!! :) 

You will have to wait for me showing the whole outfit!! ^O^

haha...is there something wrong w/ this pair, need more stitches and glue...haha.... lol.

More details at heel...

Stila Less than half price!!

A super quick post (it's 7 in the morning and I am already running late), but I couldn't let this deal go by without telling you all. If you are in the UK and in the market for Stila (which is pretty impossible to find) secretsales.com are having a massive sale starting today with tonnes of Stila products!

 Most of the products are less than half price with eyeshadows at £5 (RRP £11), tinted moisturiser at £7 (RRP £18) and their foundation at just £10 (RRP £26). This quad in marrakesh is also £10 (RRP £26). Bargainous!

Have a good day my lovelies, it's time for me to sprint to work :). xxx

Nick Verreos Hosts Swim Fashion Show at Macy's Valley Fair Santa Clara!!!

Vintage Swimsuit Beauties, Chocolates and a Birthday Girl...I Forgot My Speedo: Nick Verreos Hosts Macy's Valley Fair Swimsuit Event

Last Saturday, following my very successful Macy's Union Square "Sex And The City 2" Shopping Event, I drove down to Santa Clara (about an hour south of San Francisco), to host the Macy's Valley Fair Swim Event. My Bodyguard: My driver, Sam from Pacific Heights Limousine Service

Now, I actually didn't drive but my ever-so-gracious clients outfitted me with a SUPER-DUPER Hybrid Chevy Tahoe SUV from Pacific Heights Limousine and my very own driver, a very dapper Sam, who was of Egyptian descent and taught me a few Egyptian-Arabic words and phrases, on my drive down. Sold Out: The Scene at the Macy's Valley Fair Swimsuit Nick Verreos Event

As the Macy's "Host With The Most", I was asked to be the Master of Ceremonies of a fun fashion show highlighting all the new and latest in Swimsuit styles for the ladies (no boys, sorry!) for Spring/Summer 2010. Macy's Swimsuit Pageant: Nick Verreos and his "bathing beauties", Macy's Valley Fair

The entire Macy's Valley Fair Swim Department was set up with a runway stage, audience chairs, a DJ and even a Snow Cone Table. As I peeked outside the stage's curtains, I was excited to see that the floor was Standing Room Only with over 150 attendees!Turquoise Beauty: Nick Verreos points out how to wrap a sarong, Macy's Valley Fair

In case you want to know here's the List of What's In For Swimsuits This Summer:
Swimsuits with Ruffle Details, Colors like Canary Yellow and Turquoise, Tankinis will be VERY BIG as well as Animal prints. I was also there to celebrate Jantzen's 100Th Anniversary in designing and making women look beautiful. To honor this occasion, they have designed their Heritage Collection, with iconic 1930s, 40s and 50s styles that are fabulous for 2010, which were also shown on the Macy's runway.
Pool Diva: Model featuring stylist's Liz Baca's vintage Jantzen Swimsuit circa 1940s

The entire fashion show was styled by Liz Baca, who styled a Macy's Sacramento event I hosted back in March. Besides being a FAB stylist, she also runs the Gotta Get the Goods site, where she "Treasure Hunts" for Vintage goodies. On that note, she brought a Vintage Jantzen swimsuit from her own archives, a woolen jersey two-piece number dating back to the 1940s.And The Winner Is: Nick Verreos picks from the bowl, Macy's Valley Fair

After the fashion show, the event was capped with several giveaways, including a Shiseido Basket (stocked with many of their sun-protection products) worth over $350 and a pair of Burberry Sunglasses to perfectly compliment the new swimsuit you were going to get---after seeing my Macy's fashion show!
Among the audience I was so happy to see my cousin Christopher Verreos (above), who lives in San Francisco, and his lovely wife Regina, both of whom I haven't seen in years. Regina, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Paris as a Pastry and Chocolate Chef, hand-made the most delicious batch of chocolate bonbons--just for moi--and brought them as a gift! Merci Regina!
Nick Verreos Fan Club: Nick Verreos poses with Raquel (second from right), the Birthday Girl, and her friends, Macy's Valley Fair

Finally, I noticed a group of very excited young ladies in the audience and as it turned out, they were "big fans" and wanted photos (which of course I obliged!). In addition, one of them was having a Birthday, so I gave her a special "Uncle Nicky" hug and made the entire audience give her a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out! I think she really enjoyed that! And hopefully everyone enjoyed another great Macy's Event!