Beauty

It's Halloween. Trick or Treat. Ok, treat it is for you. There should be nothing scary about wearing red lipstick but for some people, the thought is positively terrifying. Having worn red lipstick on only a few occasions I've loved how special I feel when wearing it and how it instantly lifts an outfit. But that's the key; the outfit has to be kept simple to be able to pull off this look without appearing as though you're trying too hard. And seen here in these images, it's hard not to be tempted to try it. There's something so feminine about the hue, and it heralds back to another previous era when red lipstick was the only shade. I remember reading an article about how it took someone a year to find the right shade of red to match their skin tone, and I have to admit it all gets a little complicated knowing which skin tone suits blue or orange reds best. It's all about trying and testing until you find the one, and it's not for everyone but you'll never know if you don't find out for yourself. These images are beautiful and although the red is quite dramatic, the overall look that comes across is incredibly fragile and soft. I know I lost the guys somewhere between "wearing red lipstick" and "tempted to try it" but some men today are just as scared of women who dare to wear red lipstick as the opposite sex are to trying it. It may attract a little more attention, but it's not a trick. It's a treat.

Australian Talent

Holly Chalmers' distinctive style is recognisable from afar. Not only is she a previous work colleague of mine, she's also an emerging designer with a new blog to boot at http://www.hollychalmers.blogspot.com/. Her unique mix of fabrics mixed back with fun and flirty styles earns her a brush with fame; Taylor Swift recently wore her Stepford Sundress in Duck Egg and she looks absolutely stunning in it. http://www.hollychalmers.com.au
Another previous work colleague from the same organisation now presents for TV.com. Her name is Kate O'Shea and is a must see for anyone who loves celebrity news both from Australia and offshore. She covers all the red carpet events and hosts interviews with a very natural approach to asking all the important questions. http://www.youtube.com/user/littleredkitkat
Gosh I was lucky to work with such a talented bunch! Watch these names.

i heart nymag.com/fashion

I've just stumbled across a fabulous new website and it's a must see for anyone who loves fashion or shopping. It's not just for fashion though, you can find out about the latest trends in restaurants and bars in New York too... I found these incredible images of Russian model Sasha Pivovarova in the September issue of W and can't get enough of the idea of using shopping bags to style shoots. It's genius!!! See for yourself and delve into the wonderful world of all things NY: http://nymag.com/

Australian Model Watch

Jessica Hart currently faces iconic swimwear label, Seafolly. She's the naturally beautiful blond with the big gap in her front teeth, living in New York. But, not just a pretty face, she also has her own website (http://www.jessicahart.net/JESSHART.NET/HOME.html) featuring her photographic skills. And considering she has one of the most enviable travel itineraries for her work, she's captured some amazing scapes. Palma de Mallorca, Morocco, Turks and Caicos, The Maldives, Miami, The Caribbean, London, Argentina, Rome, Ibiza and of course some of Australia at Haggerstone Island and Sydney to wet your appetites. Her photographic style, in some shots, shows her eye for detail in the shadows she snaps or the branches she captures. (1) Turks and Caicos (2) Texas (3) San Fransisco (4) Mexico (5) The Maldives... I'm jealous, you?

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

Like a child on Christmas morning, my anticipation for the DVD release of Coco Avant Chanel is bumbling. Some of these quotes are incredibly trivial and other quotes by the famous designer are glittering with truths when it comes to style, not fashion. Take them in your stride...

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."

"Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face you deserve."

"Fashion passes, style remains."

"'Where should one use perfume?' a young woman asked. 'Wherever one wants to be kissed,' I said."

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."

"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman."

"I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny."

"There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time."

"A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future."

"If a man speaks badly about all women, it usually means he was burned by one woman."

"Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity."

"Fashion has become a joke. The designers have forgotten that there are women inside the dresses. Most women dress for men and want to be admired. But they must also be able to move, to get into a car without bursting their seams! Clothes must have a natural shape."

"Adornment, what a science! Beauty, what a weapon! Modesty, what elegance!"

"Fashion is made to become unfashionable."

"Jump out the window if you are the object of passion. Flee it if you feel it. Passion goes, boredom remains."

Lemon Meringue Pie

When it rains outside, what better way to fill in time than to bake. I travel the countryside for good lemon meringue pie, that's no secret. And the best I have ever found is at the Gumnut Patisserie on Bong Bong Street in Bowral (Southern Highlands, NSW), it's well and truly worth the distance. But attempting for the first time to make my own from the pastry up, it turned out slightly lopsided with the pastry only covering the base, not quite reaching the sides, but tasting exactly as it should.
1) Sift 2 cups of plain flour, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of icing sugar into a bowl.
2) Chop 185g butter and add to dry ingredients, rub in until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3) Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and about 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, enough to mix a firm dough. Refrigerate fr 30 minutes.
4) Roll pastry on lightly floured surface and use rolling pin to lift pastry into pie tin. Prick base and sides of pastry with fork. Bake in moderately hot oven, approx 160C, for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool.
5) In a saucepan, sift 4 tablespoons plain flour and 4 tablespoons cornflour. Also combine 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind, 3/4 cup lemon juice and 1 cup of sugar.
6) Add 1 1/4 cups water, blend until smooth, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens; this is important, the mixture must boil. Reduce heat, stir for a further 2 minutes (using all your strength!)
7) Remove from heat and stir in 90g butter and 4 lightly beaten egg yolks. Keep stirring until all combined and let cool. Spread cooled lemon filling evenly into pastry case.
8) In a mixing bowl for an electric mixer, combine 4 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water, and a pinch of salt.
9) Beat on high until soft peaks form. Gradually add 3/4 cup of sugar, beat well until sugar has dissolved.
10) Spoon on top of lemon filling, and bake at 170C for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Enjoy.

Model Watch

Now we've got the boys interested, we need to keep them here. Constance Jablonski is represented by Marilyn Agency in New York and has been a fixture on the runways for the last two seasons. She's French born, and it's her blue eyes and disheveled hair that draw you in right away. As you can see here, there's an easy elegance to the way she holds herself, and isn't as severe as some of the other models that are also garnering success at the moment. There's that slight unusual quality to her facial features that makes her a significant force, in my opinion, amongst the thousands of other hopefuls. The selected images speak for themselves.

Witchery | womenswear | menswear | SS09/10

And make menswear shopping more fun indeed... Witchery have launched their new campaign and I've selected a couple of images for you to enjoy. I love that they select the Australian climate as a backdrop each season. It compliments the clothes and sets this brand away from other high st chains such as sportsgirl, country road or sportscraft.
While we're still on the menswear path, witcheryman has effectively closed the gap in the market, where country road and now trenery, are just that little bit older and perhaps in a more senior professional role. Witcheryman is appropriate for the weekend or if you're looking for something smarter to wear to uni but still casual enough that you won't stand out too much. And there's a fantastic initiative at the moment, where proceeds from the White Shirt Campaign go to Ovarian Cancer research... www.witchery.com.au check it out.

Menswear SS10

Nothing like having your wisdom teeth removed to slow you down a little. But getting back on track, it's time to pay attention to the boys for a while. I love nothing more than a Paul Smith man, having spent time researching Paul Smith's menswear designs at uni. The garments are made with exceptional attention to detail, and his design technique is so subtly entertaining, when wearing his pieces I'd imagine it's like being in on a secret unbeknown to the outside world. Here's a couple of looks he's showing the boys for next summer. Dumbo ears and all, his smartly tailored man with his Clarke Kent spectacles is just as sophisticated as the casually elegant suited up version also selected here.
Then there's our man from Missoni, and he looks just the part for those cooler summer nights at the beach with his signature knit pullover on, and this summers biggest trend, the exposed ankle. We all know what that means. No socks.
Bottega Veneta didn't disappoint either, with the look all pulled together by the humble knit vest. Inspired by the Ivy League with a Milanese influence, I can see Australian men taking this look and running with it. It works for our climate and certainly doesn't take itself too seriously. Our boys may not look as preppy in a dinner jacket and jeans, but we don't want them to.
Getting some men to enjoy shopping may resemble the experience of teeth extraction, but trust me, having just been through that and back again, fashion for men should be much less painful and oodles more fun.

Showstudio = Celine + Phoebe Philo

http://www.showstudio.com/project/celiness2010?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=22_10_2009

Phoebe Philo couldn't resurrect a fashion house from the beige brink of no return more successfully than in this understated collection. Have a look at the link for yourself. Celine reigns luxury again, for the younger market this time rather than when Michael Kors was driving for the diplomatically correct more mature woman. And rather than wear a whole look, these pieces will work perfectly back into a wardrobe, providing the classic staples that we all need to transform an outfit from casual to formal, day to night. The collection really comes into it's own when all things shift to black and white, chiffon replaces leather and draped lines are clean, fuss free and purely chic. Enjoy.

Illustration | Lovisa Burfitt

I introduce to you, Swedish born, Paris based Lovisa Burfitt. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, have a look at the fantastic quality of colour in some of these selected images from her website www.lovisaburfitt.com
These are just a taste though, and you can view all her work online. I learnt this style of illustration whilst at university and I've always envied many people's natural talent to capture the right proportions or expressions in this way. Their minds and hands must be so free, and I can appreciate nothing more than the simplicity of the thick black line to capture so much of the mood expressed through these sketches. The injection of colour goes beyond the call of duty, and brings splashes of life to static drawings; they're vivid and captivating: oh to be so lucky.

Mrs Press

Her Dressing Room is on Darlinghurst Road, but it was on a little stroll through Fleur Wood in the Strand Arcade in Sydney that I discovered the divine scent of Mrs Press's candles. My two fave scents? Magnolia is a must and Warm Spice couldn't be better... You can purchase her candles direct from her online shop at www.mrspress.com and they retail for $50 each. They're well worth it though, the scent lives long after the flame is put out.

Sex And The City: The Movie Sequel

Ok, I'm really wishing they'd close the set for filming on this one. There's another spoiler so read no further if you don't want to know. I know I didn't...
We've heard the whispers that Big will cheat on Carrie, but now it's been revealed that Penelope Cruz was on set filming scenes with Chris Noth who plays Mr Big at New York's Empire Hotel. It's also been revealed that Jason Lewis, who played Samantha's boyfriend in the television series and the first movie will return, who knows what the story line is there?
We've seen the images of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha running around in their eighties get up, we've seen Samantha in a bridal gown and ugg boots, could these spoilers be getting any worse? So far they're not painting the best picture about what's install for us all. I'm still going to watch it, don't get me wrong, but I miss all the anticipation and the surprise element of the real rather than the fantasy that the television show achieved so well. It was concluded so well back on that fateful August night in 2004, that the movies just seem to be stretching it that bit too far. The one thing that stays constant are the girls, we love the girls. So no matter what, Sex And The City fans around the world will get their fix. As Carrie said the last time around, "stay tuned".

Books Wishlist

It's a growing list, but at the moment the book at the top is by Emma Magenta. It was published in 2006 and it's called 'A Gorgeous Sense of Hope'. Don't you just love the innocence of these illustrations, and the handwritten text speaks volumes, so simply. I'm going to stop writing now, these images although edited to a fraction of the story that makes up the book, say it all. Enjoy it for yourself.

Coco Cocoon

Karl Lagerfeld never ceases to intrigue me. "You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly." That's what he said in an article printed in the Daily Telegraph today, can you believe it? He also said that "the world of fashion is about dreams and illusions"... maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But Lagerfeld has to take some responsibility for portraying a sense of impossible body images. And to me, it seems a bit of a contradiction to the new Coco Cocoon for Chanel campaign, Karl Lagerfeld himself choosing none other than Lily Allen as it's star. She's so talented as a songwriter, her wit taking the world by storm... However her weight is often the main subject in the glossies and she's recently lost a significant amount. She's still considered curvy though, and she was on the catwalk at the Chanel show last week, albiet in a performance capacity. The article today was titled 'No One Wants To See Curvy Women On The Catwalks'. Go figure.