Happy Birthday Gemma!

Todays is 'it' model, Gemma Ward's 18th birthday! Seriously, she's appeared on so many magazines, ads and catwalks, and she's only 18 -sometimes it's hard to believe. The lucky girl got herself a whole issue of Australian Vogue all to herself, (see yesterday's post.) I read it yesterday, and the whole Vogue is basically a 'sneak-peek into Gemma's life' book. What more could a girl ask for her birthday?

Anyways I digress, so to celebrate my favourite model's birthday, today's post will be random things about her. Gemma is really quite a controversial model -there are fans (like me) who absolutely love her look, while there are others who think she is plain unattractive. It all really lies in whether you like that alien, baby-faced look which Gemma is so famous for.

Here are some brilliant photos that not only show Gemma as a model, but also as a teenager:

Gemma first burst into the international fashion scene when Miuccia Prada featured her in the Prada and Miu Miu S/S04 shows. The first words Ms. Prada said when she first saw Gemma: Bella!

Prada F/W04 ad. Gemma is seriously photoshopped here, but doesn't she look so much like a grown-up yet baby-faced porcelain doll here?

One of Gemma's most recent ads, Burberry F/W05. The main female models were her and Kate, but I guess now it only has Gemma.

Gemma is really good friends with Lily Cole and Lily Donaldson, two models who started at about the same time she did. Unlike the catfights and rivalry some may imagine the models would have, they are actually true friends and even hang out together out of work!

And suprise! Gemma reads! Here, she's reading backstage at one of the fashion shows. (The book looks like it's The Alchemist, but I'm not 100% sure.)

The innocent, alien face that made her famous.

Gemma featured in the Dec.05 issue of Vogue Australia. You can actually see that she has grown up -obviously she has always been this tall, but you can see that her facial features are more mature now.

Happy Birthday Gemma!

Supermodels Turned Editors: Gemma and Kate

This December's magazines are turning out to be EXTREMELY brilliant. I got so excited when I found out that my favourite model, Gemma Ward will be guest-editing Vogue Australia. And then previews of the Australian Vogue started appearing in fan forums and I got even more hyper!

Here's a sneak peek into the Backstage Diary that Gemma kept for Vogue:

"I turn up to Versace and have to refit my dress again, they are changing around looks, and still haven't seemed to figure out the running order. By the time I am done, backstage is awash with panic. I put my head in my hands and take a moment while they glue in the 500 mandatory hair extensions.

"When the entire contents of my make-up artist's bag seems to have been dumped on my face, I get into my first look and try desperately to hear the new directions over the excess of Italian screaming. Since the running order has been changed I have no idea who I'm doing the group walk with anymore but before I can ask the show is under way. Girls are clambering over each other to get into their second looks and all I can see are hands flying in all directions, one putting more blush on me, one tugging from behind, one pulling my dress down, one pulling my leg up and shoving a shoe on my foot. Milan is killing me."

This issue of Vogue AU is available for sale starting yesterday. I can't wait to buy it!

Moving on to Kate...

After Kate Moss was caught taking drugs about a month ago, a LOT has happened already:

• Kate apologised.
• Chanel, Burberry and H&M dropped Kate, while Dior and Rimmel kept her.
• Kate went to rehab for a 'one month intensive treatment'.
• During this time, Kate still managed to grace fashion magazine, W's Nov. cover and fashion spreads. (see above)
• Just out of rehab, Kate is already making headlines with the new Dec. Vanity Fair cover and eleven page editorial inside. The photos were taken last year but were never used until now. She is wearing Chloe in the cover photo.
• 
• Rumour has it that Kate will be guest-editing the Dec. issue of French Vogue. Although I really am not so excited about this because it's not like I can read French. Actually, I didn't even know Kate knew French. Oh well, in our books, fabulous style is an international language!

Winter Cropped Pants

Now we can take cropped pants with us into fall. They have been given the makeover with heavy winter materials, darker shades and plaid patterns-perfect for fall. And the way to wear it? With boots of course. So essentially it would be as if you'd tucked your pants into your boots-minus the hassle of actually doing so!

And no one does it better than Daria in this Zara shoot. She looks absolutely amazing and casually chic.
Other options would be this one from Top Shop, which looks really similar to the one Daria's wearing, except with more subtle stripes.

But it is actually really hard to wear this cropped pants/boots combo properly. I saw this girl on the streets wearing it, and it just did not look right. I didn't take a picture, but her problem is very aptly displayed in the Urban Outfitters catalog above. Does this model look stumpy and short to anyone else?

So to clarify, this cropped pants/boots combo should only be done with fitted cropped pants and sleek heeled boots. It also helps if you are tall, but thats not an absolute requirement. So please stop wearing gauchos with boots. But if you must, wear something fitted on top to balance it out.

Play It Up on Halloween

To most of us who are already past the trick-or-treating age, Halloween really doesn't mean much. It's not even a public holiday! And what is the point of Halloween anyways? This was what I thought of Halloween -that was until I watched One Tree Hill last week.

I instantly fell in love with Peyton's whole look, esp her makeup. Here, she was supposed to be 'angel of death', and she had a pretty pair of black wings to go with her theme. What really struck me was how well her makeup was done -it was certainly more creative than your usual gothic-style makeup!

This picture doesn't look as good as when it was on TV, but you can see what I mean by creative makeup. The redish eye shadow is not only applied to the eyelid but also around the eyes, making her more playful than scary. And those dark streaks in her hair and gothic lips make the 'angel of death' look so much more interesting.

It hit me that Halloween is THE perfect time to play around with 'looks' that we usually wouldn't wear. The catwalks always offer many beautiful, fun, yet totally unwearable looks. Today is THE day we can experiment and live up to the Halloween spirit without looking tacky!

Chanel FW05 -The Chanel mod look is one of the most talked about looks in style magazines this season, but have you noticed that nobody is wearing it on the streets? It's a really bold look which few can pull off nowadays. For those mod-loving gals, tonight is a chance to dress and get made-up completely mod and feel like you're in the 60s again!

Dolce & Gabbana FW05 -We all know the Russian look is 'in' this year, but unless you're Kate Moss, you really can't walk around the streets wearing a Russian hat. So why not play with the Russian look tongiht and dress fashionably at the same time!

Speaking of dressing creatively and out-of-this-world, how could we forget the recent SS06 John Galliano show? Whereas usually we can only think the Galliano show as a theatrical show, you can take inspiration and make it your Halloween look.

Another example of the gothic look, only this one is more lady-like. Large shimmers around the eyes make it so much more eye-catching and glamourous.

Or you can have a traditional ethnic look with an artistic twist. If you're too lazy to think of a Halloween look, then simply play up your (or other) nationality's traditions. Remember to fix up your hair too!

If you're feeling very playful in a non-slutty way, get this very fashionable girly alien look. Compliment this look with a light dress or ballerina outfit. Who says you can't look pretty on Halloween?

So don't be afraid to play up your makeup tonight!

Trusting Your Facialist

Obviously we all put a lot of trust in our facialist. I mean, this is not our legs, arms, feet or anything else that can be easily hidden under clothing if the operation goes awry. This is our FACE, we can't avoid showing that to people unless we plan to hibernate in our room forever. So my question is, how do we know who to trust?

The other day, taking advantage of the discounts offered by chicagobeauty.com in honor of the National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I took a leap of fate and randomly booked an facial appointment at one of the places listed. Fine it wasn't that random, we did make sure it was located in a respectable area so it couldn't possibly go that wrong. But who would've thought that such a small, rather cluttered and old facial place could exist there? Naturally when we got a glimpse of the place, we were hesistant and very concerned about the quality of the facial. We stucked it out in the end though. But I was so worried that I just couldn't relax properly.

I don't want to judge the quality of the facial just yet, because I'm still giving it a day or two of grace period to recover from all the redness before deciding. But this experience brings up the question of how one should pick their facialist. In my previous experiences, I usually go by the word of mouth (my mom) or pick one that is trustworthy by brand and reputation like Georgette Klinger or spa's located within 5 star hotels. I know that expensive doesn't always mean good, it does buy you a sense of security.

So when trying out new facial places you know little about, what inspires more trust and confident in you- a posh place with an ambience of professionalism, or a no frills place with a more home-made natural approach?

Cute Chunky Cardigans

LOL an alliteration. And yes I know. Cardigans are usually a tad old for us. But looking around and seeing girls looking so cozy, cute and effortlessly casual in their chunky cardigans, has made me think that maybe with the right combination, its not so bad after all! So here are some of my inspirations on how to wear a cardigan in a more fashionable and young way.

A sure way to avoid looking old is to get a cardigan that is way off the norm that it can barely be called a cardigan. Like this one from Free People, with the random patch work, short length and floral trimming. Definitely not something you'd see grandma wearing. I also love how they matched it with a bright colorful but plain spaghetti strap here.

Taking this the other way around, you can match a plain chunky cardigan, like this one from Top Shop. . .

. . and match it with an interesting, printed/patterned/striped colorful spaghetti strap.

Same idea here with this short sleeved cardigan over a printed long sleeved tee from Urban Outfitters by Lux. The layering of a chunky cardigan over a thin tee is just right and not too messy. Although I must say, I'm not very fond of this xmas color scheme at all.

But my favourite cardigan look is this one from Free People. Actually I'm not even sure if it can be termed as a cardigan, but it IS chunky, cute and cozy right? I just LOVE how they matched this outfit. I saw a designer do it this summer at work, and I thought, "wow, who would've thought a dress shirt and a cardigan would go so well?"

Then there are the more conventional long cardigans, like this one from Anthropoligie. Worn simply like this in a contrast with the simple tee inside, it just soo effortlessly casual. But again, maybe not red and green unless its xmas. Black and magenta? Dark purple and forrest green?

Grey and gold? Grey and red? (this one is from Abercrombie)

Then there is the traditional cream cable cardigan. This look, over a denim blazer and shirt, is so country American, that it can only be from Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport.

Of course, a splash of funky, dangly accessories (this one from UO) always helps to give a touch of style to an outfit!

So go out and have fun with cardigans! Fall is the perfect weather to wear it, don't wait until its too cold!

Hairstyle Trend Fall/Winter 2005 I

This season, 60s hairstyles are big -and I mean that literally. Here, I don't mean the super straight hair, mod hairstlye, I'm talking about the big and glamourous hairstyle. Think Jean Shrimpton. Here are some wonderful inspirations:

Dolce & Gabanna FW05
Dolce & Gabbana FW05
Alexander Mc Queen FW05

I LOVE the Dolce & Gabanna hairstyle -so gorgeous! The Alexander Mc Queen hairstyle is a bit too frizzy, but still a great example of this hairstyle. So let's break this hairstyle into two simple things we need to focus on: volume and tamed hair.

So how do you achieve this gorgeous hairstyle? Well, for the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk show, the hairstylists had to do this:

Obviously, we don't all have the luxury of having professional hairstylists do all that for us. So here's a simple way which we can all do at home:

Firstly, you need styling products to add major volume! I recommend Kerastase Volumactive and Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray. I've personally tried both, and both are great! I mean, you obviously can't expect the products to create the catwalk hair, but they def make your hair more alive, more bouncy!
Tip: Put these volumising products only at the roots. Putting them at the ends would just weigh down the hair.

Kerastase Volumactive

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray

Secondly, you need a round brush.

Tip: While blow-drying your hair, use the brush to brush each layer to the opposite direction your hair usually goes to create volume.

Thirdly, you need some sort of styling creme to tame your hair. I can't stress how important defrizzing your hair is. If you like, you could opt for a straightening product. Right now, I'm using Bumble & Bumble Grooming Creme. It gives your hair more texture and a soft hold. It also moisturizes color-treated hair and defrizzes. And it's not oily, so it won't leave your hair greasy.

Tip: Apply such cremes from the middle to end of your hair. Use your fingers to comb products into hair.

Bumble & Bumble Grooming Creme

If you're out for a big night and want some serious volume, spray some super-hold hairspray at the crown of your head and backcomb your hair to give it an extra lift. But don't do this everyday because it could damage the hair cuticle.

A final tip: It's optional whether you use volumising shampoos and conditioners, but do put more conditioner at the hair ends and less at the roots as conditioners tend to make hair softer, thus making your whole hairstyle flatter.

Now you all should know how to get this season's striking 60s hairstyle!