Sale shopping

28 Dec 2013

Ah yes, 'tis the season to be jolly! But seriously, not because of baby Jesus' birth and some silly shepherds. No way José, I am jolly because sales have started.

I'll probably be a lot less happy with that same fact once sales kick off in Belgium (the 3rd of January), since I'm working in retail myself for the moment - and let's be fair: not only are sale shoppers hardly ever nice to sales assistents, all they really do is make a huge mess.

But let us kindly forget those frustrations to come and focus on what's right in front of us: cheap (well, sort of) designer stuff!

Behold below the pieces that are in the running to make my bank account a whole lot lighter.

sales-winter-2013

1. Grey coat with white back (Stella McCartney, €600). 2. LBD with leather sleeves (Miu Miu, €699) - although I also have my eye on this one over at The Outnet. 3. Silk shirt (Equipment, € 191). 4. Cat eye sunglasses (The Row, € 226). 5. Patent boots with golden heel (L'autre Chose, € 252). 6. Camel oversized knit (Stella McCartney, € 295). 7. Jeweled sweatshirt (J.Crew, € 143,35).

Enjoy your weekend! And your sale shopping sprees, naturellement ;)

xxx

Ho, ho, ho!

22 Dec 2013

Hohoho and a holly jolly Sunday to you all m'dears!

I know it's not actually Christmas yet, but since I have no less then 3 Christmas parties to attend (that's what you get with divorced parents, thanks folks!), the first one is set on today. To channel an early Christmas mood, I have:

1. Decorated my gorgy porgy Christmas tree - cookies on a string included (ain't those brill? They're from Ikea, but if anyone asks, I baked them myself).
Cookies in my christmastree

2.Gift-wrapped all of my presents with dotted paper from Hema and kitchen string from Dille & Kamille (only two of my gazillion gifts shown here with 3 chocolate guinnes cupcakes).
Mom's birthday cakes

3. Baked cookies, made chocolate milk and played patience (so homy, don't you think?).
Cookies, cards and tea

Merry X-mas and cheerio!

xxx

These are a few of my favourite...beauty products

11 Dec 2013

Allô, allô and bonjour to you too!

Since you guys have been overwhelming me with questions on how I manage to look so ravishing every day - well, actually you haven't and also I don't, but a girl can dream, now can't she? Anyhow, I decided to share with you some of my favourite beauty products. If only for the fun of it, 'cause honesty compels me to tell you that I am by no means an expert. So, here it goes!

Beauty talk

A newfound brand that's been very kind to my hair is Kevin Murphy. I'm currently using the Maxi.Wash shampoo and the Born.Again treatment. They were gifted to me as a set in travel size, but I have a strong feeling I'll be buying large quantities of them soon. I love that they're paraben and sulphate free and haven't been tested on animals. The scents and structures are slightly different from what you get in most shampoos or conditioners, but these two make my hair feel so soft and smooth, I couldn't care if they smelled like poo - which obviously, they don't.

The day cream I've been using for the last months is by JYB, a recently launched Belgian beauty label. Their products are 100% natural and where possible organic. 'Have good day' gives my face UV-protection, a healthy glow and hydration. Triple score!

An alltime favourite of mine? Essie nailpolish! I love their packaging, their colours, and of course the wide brushes (on that subject: I recently got the chance to test a bottle of Essie Professional, a range that's only sold in salons, and was disappointed to see that they have a regular thin brush. Also the polish was way more fluid, which made it difficult to apply. My advice? Leave Essie Professional to the professionals). Currently I'm obsessed by the colour Marshmallow.

Another great product is Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya face scrub. My skin really needs a scrub from time to time or it start looking like, erm...grey, but it's also quite sensitive. This one scrubs my face in all softness. And since you have to leave it on for a few mins to let the fruit enzymes do their peeling work, it also gives me that luxurious feeling of a face mask.

The Sampar Glamour Shot Matte Perfection is a transparant mattifying cream that I apply after my day cream. It stops my skin from shining, without giving it an unnatural appearence and it minimizes my pores.

Also very kind to my hair is L'Oréal Mythic Oil. Any hair oil will do really - just to nourish the ends of my hair and add a tad of shine - but this one just smells soooooo friggin' delicious.

Lastly I love Une's Soft Minerals Powder Foundation and their creamy Breezy Cheeks Blush. Mostly because they're both quite afforable in comparison to other mineral make-up products, and also because I adore the mirrored packaging.

I hope I haven't bored because, ça alors, this turned out to be quite a long post. Oh, and don't forget to tell me what your go-to products are!

xxx

P.S.: In case you were wondering, the tray in the pic is from Zara Home and the necklace from Forever21.

Blue ensemble

9 Dec 2013

Bongiorno fashion peeps!

No, today ain't no Blue Monday. It is however, a perfect day for a blue ensemble! Socks in sandals are a nice change to an ankle boot (these two here work extremely well together, I dare say) and black leather pieces provide the necessary edge.

However, if you're currently residing in Belgium (or a country with a similar climate) I would advise you to add a cosy knit and maybe a pair of gloves as well, - unless you want your lips and fingers to look as blue as your skirt - 'cause it is f-f-f-freezing!

Blue ensemble

Image. Jacket (River Island, € 120).Top (Zara, € 29,95). Skirt (Lela Rose via Net-a-porter, € 654,31). Ring (Wouters & Hendrix via Famousbox, € 198). Bracelet (Topshop, € 8). Socks (Forever 21, € 4,90). Sandals (Kate Spade via Shopbop, € 248,32). Bag (Asos, € 52,06).

Et alors, are you into blue?

xxx

Moi: Marant-ized

4 Dec 2013

Hi there!

While some of you may already be dreaming about H&M's next designer collab, I'm still enjoying the Swedish retailer's last one. A teensy tad of it, that is, for the scarf I'm sporting is by Miss Marant's hand (a nice left-over from the Belmodo 5 years x Isabel Marant pour H&M party). It's a 100% silk and way warmer than you'd expect. On top of that, I love it's edgyness and nonchalence.

Marant-ized
Speckled cardigan (Esprit). Leather jacket (Warehouse). Grey cardigan (Massimo Dutti). Jeans (Cheap Monday). Sunglasses (H&M). Earrings (Forever21). Nosering (Six). Scarf (Isabel Marant pour H&M - unique piece for press). Ring (Yves Saint Laurent). Watch (Vintage). Bracelet (Six). Shoes (Reebok).

Marant-ized

What's your favourite scarf-of-the-moment?

xxx

Bits of my life: Antwerp Citytrippin'

2 Dec 2013

Hi-di-ho!

Please excuse my silly salutation, but I'm struggling with a nasty case of Christmas jitters as of late. Must be an over-exposion to christmas carols during my numberous shopping sprees in Antwerp that caused this illness. Anyhow, as promised: the highlights of our trip.

The Zoo
Spotting Meerkats in The Zoo (Timon was always one of my favorite Disney characters, you see).

Sushi
Eating too-delish-for-words sushi at Ko'Uzi.

The MAS
Enjoying the city view from the top of the MAS. The rest of the museum was definitely worth a visit as well, by the way.

De Burgerij

De Burgerij
Eating a tasty burger with fries and corn at De Burgerij.

Cathedral
Gazing at starry ceilings in the Cathedral.

Of course that was not all. We also shopped at Your, The Recollection, Cos, Hay and Ladurée (just to name a few), stuffed our faces at ViaVia, De Arme Duivel - best stew I ever had - and Juliette, tasted a delish coffee at Caffénation, went for a peg at De Vagant and last but certainly not least watched a stunning performance of Swan Lake - I say, I was more than flabbergasted and if taking pictures during the show wasn't prohibited my camera wouldn't have had a moment's rest!

And now, after a few days filled with follyness? Back to reality it is! But then again, that ain't too bad either if you have sweet Beau to make you tea and cute cat to warm your lap, now, is it?

xxx