11/06/2014
Mrs Pinto x Amber Whitecliffe
In an ever-continuing quest to bring some fashiony-bits back to NW, I headed along to a blogger's preview night for Amber Whitecliffe's new collection at her Parnell flagship store. Fun fact: Amber Whitecliffe used to blog herself over on Amber and Hillary which is sadly no more. On the plus side, she's now bringing us a tonne of gorgeous, locally-made fashion pieces. Her latest collection Mrs Pinto debuted at New Zealand Fashion Week and it is stunning. Lots of reds, a watercolour print, florals and plenty of Summery frocks to choose from. We're simply spoilt for choice! It was a fabulous night and it was great for me to catch up with Tara and Ellen, Britney who I have not seen in ages, Helena, Christine and to finally meet Steph. The lovely Evelyn from Just So Pretty was also on hand to share her experiences about fashion journalism which was very inspiring.
I took my handy-dandy camera along with me and captured some of the night. These pictures really don't do the stunning collection justice though so if you live locally, head on in to Amber's boutique or have a browse online.
Look at all that gorgeous red! I love the Primeira Dama printed pieces. These shorts in particular stand out.
One of the highlights for us bloggers was being able to see Amber's designs up close and personal. There was a lot of delight over the different textures and fabrics. Can you tell I really liked this floral print? I believe Amber bought this fabric back from her travels in America recently.
The feature wall based on the backdrop of the lookbook images for the Mrs Pinto collection. Chillis and flowers. This was again a popular feature with us bloggers.
Delicious red Petal cupcakes, strawberries and Amber's fabric supplies. Those cupcakes were so good!
I seem to have taken a lot of pictures of this rack of clothing! Perhaps it was the sparkles that kept drawing me back to it?
Thanks so much for inviting me to check out the Mrs Pinto collection Amber! I love your work.
PS-If you want to see a rather rad vlog check out this one from Britney.
*What do you love from the Mrs Pinto collection?
11/06/2014
A Q+A & Giveaway With EmmaKisstina
You may not know this but I love art and illustration. I'm rubbish at drawing myself *sad face* so I can always appreciate the work of someone whose just a lot more skilled in that department. Kristina the brains (and beauty) behind EmmaKisstina is definitely one of those people. After spying her illustrations on Teen Vogue's site I have been obsessed. Just look at the illustrations above. They're so pretty! I was lucky enough to get Kristina to answer some of my questions and she's generously giving one of her prints away to one of you lucky people. Have a read of her little interview and then enter the giveaway if you're in the mood for some gorgeous art...
How did you get into fashion illustration? I've always been interested in art since I was
little so at University I decided to study traditional art. I learned
techniques such as charcoal drawing and oil painting and really perfected my
craft. It was really fun to learn all of these old school techniques and work
on my creativity but once I graduated I realised being a traditional artist
wasn't very financially viable. (I unfortunately wasn't a contemporary Picasso.)
I still wanted to find a creative career so I researched other options for
about a year and finally decided on giving illustration a try. I taught myself digital
techniques such as using Photoshop to color my outlined ink drawings and I
really liked the simple finished look. (I also loved that it involved no mess
of using paints and if I made a mistake I can easily fix it on the computer.)
In art school I could never really find my style or figure out what I wanted to
paint, this was a constant struggle. When I started to just sketch simple
perfume bottles and makeup products for practice I realised how much I enjoyed
it and thought they were really pretty too. I thought if I really loved them
other girls like me would love them too. So EmmaKisstina was born.
Which artists inspire you? I'm really inspired by traditional artists from the Roccoco
& Neo Classical period. I love the soft romantic colors and textures of
their oil paintings. I think they really inspire my illustrations even though I
illustrate in a much simpler contemporary style.
Who is the EmmaKisstina girl? An EmmaKisstina Girl is a girl of any age who appreciates
the happy, beautiful and simple things in life.
We love your 'What's In My Bag' (link) series with other bloggers? Whose bag would you love to see the contents of? I'm so glad you love the series, I love it too! I'd really
love to step back in time to see what the old Hollywood stars had in their
purses, such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. That would be so
interesting!
What does a day in the life of an illustrator entail? A lot less illustrating than you might think! Responding to
emails, packing orders, planning projects, contacting new manufacturers, visits
to the post office, writing invoices, answering interview questions, all take
away from my time drawing but I enjoy those roles just as much. Since I'm my
own boss I have to make sure to not only work on the current projects that I've
been commissioned to do but I also have to work on future projects and at the
same time make sure to spread the word about my work. Thankfully I have a lot
of discipline and really enjoy my work. Rather than not wanting to go to work I
actually have to keep myself from working all the time.
Which is your favourite EmmaKisstina illustration? I really love my 30 Nail Polishes print, which happens to be
one of my top sellers too. I just love
the cute colors and the different styles of the bottles. It's a simple, happy,
and fun illustration.
Career highlight? I think it's about to happen! I've finally gotten the guts
to apply to Formex, Scandinavia's biggest design trade show, this coming
January here in Stockholm, and I got in! I'm so excited to present my work,
current products, and lots of new work on such a huge and professional
platform.
Finally, what advice do you have for young women wanting to do what you do? Creative fields are really difficult but it doesn't mean you
shouldn't try. It took me nearly 4 years to finally go full time, and even then
I really had to budget my lifestyle, still do actually. It's not only
financially difficult but emotionally as well as you're your own boss and have
to constantly push yourself to produce more work that not only you will love
but also your customers too. It helps if you really enjoy what you are
creating. It will definitely show in your work and the way you present yourself
plus all the hard work will be worth it. Discipline helps as well.
I recommend working hard, and make friends with people in
your same field. It can get a little lonely and overwhelming when you work for
yourself, especially if you work from home as I do. It's nice to have people to
run over ideas with and to ask for help if needed. Also don't give up.
Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions Kristina! Now on to the fun part. If you'd like to win a 18x24 cm print then leave a comment below telling me which is your favourite print from the Etsy store. You must comment on this post to be eligible guys. For additional entries you can fill in the widget below. This giveaway is open internationally and Kristina will ship anywhere in the world. I'll draw the winner this time next week. Good luck! x
a Rafflecopter giveaway
11/05/2014
Zoella Beauty
It seems like ages ago since I started watching Zoe's videos and reading her blog, but it was really only two years back. I can't remember how many subscribers she had back then but it really was not a massive following. Caution: cheesy moment coming. Seeing how successful she's been though makes me so happy and while I don't know her personally, I can't help but feel so excited for her. Many of you will probably know that she's recently launched a range of bath and body products under the moniker, Zoella Beauty. Naturally I wanted to buy all of the things but the candle was unfortunately sold out online and the body mist won't ship internationally. What I did manage to get ahold of though has certainly delivered..
Creamy Madly Dreamy Body Lotion-First off, I love the Zoella Beauty packaging. Rose gold type, lace detailing reminiscent of paper doilies, dots and coral pink. All things Zoe loves. I feel like this range of products perfectly reflects Zoe from the design through to the scent. This body lotion is scented the same as the Fizz Bar and it's lovely. I thought it might be super sweet but it really isn't. It's floral, with a hint of sweetness but it's not overpowering in the slightest. It seems to remind me of fresh linen and is something I can imagine would appeal to a wide range of women. Oh, and it keeps your limbs nicely moisturised too.
Eyes Beauty Bag-This was by no means a necessary purchase but I am so glad it did make its way into my virtual basket. For a makeup bag it is ridiculously roomy. It fits all my brushes and the makeup essentials. Even the mammoth Real Techniques Powder Brush manages to fit itself in here. You'll see just how much it manages to hold in a video next week as well as another way you may wish to use it. Ooh mysterious..
Fizz Bar Fragranced Bath Fizzer-Aka the chocolate bar for your bath, but it's probably best you don't try eating it. As the name would suggest, this is a chocolate block style bar made up of fizzy cubes you break off and drop into your bath. They don't do anything exciting but they do make your bath smell good. You can use as many, or as little of these as you want but I tend to use one when I'm not wanting a bath that's filled with glitter or rainbow water.
*Have you tried anything from the Zoella Beauty Range? What did you think of it? PS-NZ+international non-UK friends, you can buy these products online from Feel Unique. They'll ship everything except the Body Mist overseas.
-Wowzers, it's Wednesday and November. I am finally done with Uni for the year and am now just that little bit closer to being finished. Today I'm heading out for a well-needed day off so I'll be wandering the city as you read this. See you all tomorrow with that giveaway I promised you and a little fashiony post xx.
11/03/2014
FOTD: The Fashion Edition
It's been a while since I've done a 'what's on my face' style post and also something fashion related around these parts. The occasion? Amber Whitecliffe's launch of her Mrs Pinto collection, more on that later in the week. I wanted to wear a red lip and also quite glittery eyes. Any excuse to dress up!
Base wise I opted for the Hourglass Primer with a bit of coverage c/o Chanel's Perfection Lumiere Velvet . I wear the shade B20 and it seems to be a pretty darn good match for my skin, but I want a matte base that's lighter for Summer. Leave me your suggestions down below! Tired eyes and blemish scars were sorted thanks to Bobbi and Nars, a quick dusting of powders from the Ambient Lighting Wardrobe and a touch of Tipsy on the cheeks and my base is done.
For polished brows you can't beat DipBrow Pomade and it's waterproof so if you encounter any rain you don't have to worry about your eyebrows ending up on your cheeks. I then opted for the new Hourglass liner. A few cotton buds later and I had a subtle bit of definition on my lashline that didn't look too Taylor Momsen-esque. Lashes were curled with these beauties from Kevyn Aucoin. Side note: These lash curlers are made in the same factory as Shu Uemura's and Chanel's and they're all sorts of amazing so get them. I used a mix of All That Glitters on my lids and also this pretty foil from Stila. For lips I felt like a bit of Cruella and it stayed put all night. Gotta love that Nars goodness. A quick spritz of setting spray and I was out the door.
*What are your special occasion 'face' essentials?
11/01/2014
October Roundup
Can you spy some of my favourite posts in the above image? This was meant to go live yesterday which I remembered just before I fell asleep last night. Whoops. Well, October. I feel like this month had a bit of everything in it which I actually enjoyed putting together because it meant I had the chance to write and photograph a range of different things. November looks set to be back in the beauty swing of things but there'll also be some more book related posts and maybe even some fashion.
Anyway, here's some posts from October that you may have missed. Enjoy! x
New Beauty Releases | The Video Edition-This was one of two videos that went live on my channel this month. As the name would suggest, the spotlight was on many of the new Southern Hemisphere beauty releases which are all out now or will be in November. I also threw in some recent beauty purchases too that I couldn't resist. Lush Christmas anyone?
October Favourites | The Miscellaneous Edition-Apparently I loved all the things in October so this month's favourites were split into two posts. One standout for me has to be Gone Girl which I enjoyed so much that I imagine it'll be read again at some point over Summer.
Blog Organisation-I talked you through how I stay organised when it comes to blogging and it seemed to go down a treat as it was my most read post throughout October. If you don't have a notebook for blogging, get one and where you can take photos in advance. If they don't work out or if you decide you don't like them it means you still have time to reshoot them before your post needs to go up.
Wellington Photo Diary-A recent trip to Wellington with my Mum and my camera naturally meant I got a bit snap happy, although not as much as I thought I would. Here are some of the pictures I did take though and mentions of some of my favourite places in Wellington. If you go one place, go to Fidels for their milkshakes. They're amazing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
