Is imitation truly the best form of flattery?

I will just go ahead and rant on this little thing that has been on my mind for quite a long while now. I just need to ask all of you fashionable beings out there if imitation is the best form of flattery. Some might agree with the statement, others might not. I, for one, highly disagree. 

 

I have this acquaintance I know whom I met a little while back. After a while, friends of mine started noticing that this person, let’s call this person A, started to become more like.. Me. Everything that I did, A did. Point in view, my lifestyle habits (not really when it comes to Fashion – I will just go ahead and declare that I’m a million more times more fashionable than this fashion catastrophe.), the things I do, the style of clothes I wear and stuff. 

 

It annoys the hell out of me when it seems like my identity has been stolen/robbed.. It’s very much like Katie Holmes “copying” Victoria Beckham in terms of style and haircuts. Okay. I will just say that I whatever A does, I do it so much better – who the hell wears flip flops to the city? – in terms of everything. 

 

A friend did exclaim recently: ” OMG that’s you! only looking less hot and in need of major plastic surgery, new clothes, new hair and a new character!”. Shocked, I was not. Annoyed, very much.

 

So, have any of you felt this way before? Have any of you been imitated to the point of annoyance? 

Izu – Crystal Scrub and Activator

credit: http://www.izucosmetics.com Izu is a skincare brand that I love. Celebrities like Charlize Theron, Jennnifer Aniston and the cast of Sex And The City use it as well. I was looking for a good scrub that would do the job, and I think I might have just found it! This works in 2 phases – the Crystal C Scrub (which feels like wet sand), and then the Activation gel. The crystal scrub is made up of Sodium Bicarbonate Crystals that exfoliates and stimulates old skin cells to maintain a smooth and radiant appearance. When I spread it on my damp skin, I felt it working as it sloughed every damn dead cell off the surface of my face. And then came the Activation gel. This dissolves the crystals and turns it into a mucky green. Squeeze a little out at a time and work into the skin surface. Continue to scrub away with this fabulous scrub. It smells so fantastic as it’s a little citrus-y, and it really left my skin clean and radiant. Of course, I followed by slathering some of my hydrating masque all over for optimum absorption of moisture after my Skinceuticals Phyto+ gel. I like that this scrub works and feels great. I can’t get enough of this fabulous scrub! 

Derma Nano – Intensive Moisturizing Cream

 A couple of weeks ago, I attended a seminar featuring this brand of products developed by a group of dermatologists. I was told that this brand uses nano-science technology, all natural ingredients and Deinoic water to optimize and complement the skin’s natural cycle, giving the skin a youthful and vibrant look. I stay in an air-conditioned room almost the entire day, even when I’m sleeping. (note to self: bring out that humidifier for sleeping!) This can cause my skin to feel dehydrated even though my skin’s naturally quite oily. At first, I was afraid of using this moisturizer as the word Intensive usually means heavy and thick and greasy. But to my pleasant surprise, this is anything but that! This cream  imparts loads of moisture and anti-oxidants and creates a barrier on the skin – also making it the perfect make-up base. The bottle is one of those that you squeeze on the top, and the cream comes out in the middle, so you won’t contaminate the cream by dipping your mucky fingers into the cream. The scent is a pleasant rose floral scent which is most probably natural, since this company is all about All-Natural skin care. When you apply it, it feels light and almost gel-like, but quickly absorbs into your skin after a light massage. What you end up with is skin that is soft, radiant and smooth. Another plus point is that it doesn’t even clog pores! A wonder to use! I have the entire set of cleansing oil (he pioneered cleansing oils! Yes, even before Shu Uemura came up with it!), cleanser and toner.  

Kerastase Chroma Protect

Kerastase never fails to wow me with their great, effective professional products. I’ve been a huge fan of their Resistance, Reflection and Nutritive lines. All their products smell great, are great to use, and most importantly, works! 

Sometimes when I don’t want to put in any of my styling products that feel a little gunky, I use this fantastic Kerastase leave-in conditioner. It’s actually for coloured hair, but I don’t see why I can’t use it on my uncoloured hair. 

 

This leave-in conditioner is like a polishing cream, leaving the hair radiant and shiny, without making it greasy. It smells amazing, and never fails to let me feel like I’ve just stepped out of my uptown salon, when in reality, I’ve just stepped out of my home. Simply apply a little bit into the towel-dried hair and just go out! It leaves the hair beautifully moisturized, smelling great, and looking radiant. 

British Vogue April Edition – Victoria Beckham

 British Vogue is one of the most prestigious books in the magazine world – one of the most expensive and the fact that only top fashion people, A-list actresses and celebrities. It’s quite refreshing that Alexandra Shulman decided to put one of the most famous and most photographed women in the world on the cover. She looks so much better than the Elle magazine shoot where Gilles Bensimon made her look like a too-serious fashion-fashion female fembot – I mean, it fits her outward persona, but it was a bit too serious, no? I love this new look on the cover of Vogue – very old Hollywood glamour with some English royalty in it. Very chic. Loads of diamonds, soft beautiful make-up (not as contoured as she usually has it).  I see that Nick Knight has done such a great job. I can’t wait to see the actual magazine. So far, so good…

Fall ’08 Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere

Heading a brand of rich history is no easy feat. Nicolas has done an amazing job for his Fall/Winter ’08 collection. What had resulted in this beautiful collection was a fusion and an entirely new take on the silhouette. Hips were given to the stick-thin models (love them!), and jackets with huge sleeves with a fitted end were added in.  What was apparent in this collection was the wonderful use of super shiny materials like plastic and mixing it into the garments, resulting in an interesting mix of a visual treat. Skirts had super high slits, and this added some sexiness into the collection. The most interesting look definitely has to be the velvet and taffeta draped tops that were refreshing (in a few colours) and looked so great with those skinny gray pants. Of course, who can forget the beautiful shoes? One cannot look through this collection without realizing the fabulous jewellery that adorned the wrists and necks of the models. Crystals, faux gems and pearls were used to recreate the archive pieces and in some cases, new designs. One can feel the slight tinge of fifties cocktail drama when viewing the molded back dresses, super high slit skirts and large armband sleeves, but made surprisingly modern. I love the first outfit the most. The white top complimenting the large-waisted slit skirt perfectly, showing loads of leg.   

Spring’s Beauty

 

Credit: style.com 

 

This picture from Burberry Prorsum sums up THIS season’s beauty model. It’s extremely rare that the faces of models this season is left almost unscathed by bronzer, isn’t it? Don’t you remember a couple of years ago when self-tanner and a deep bronze tan reigned supreme? I think it was featured so strongly in Versace and other major labels.

 

I think this look  in the picture is super easy to achieve. Super smooth and flawless skin is obviously the main focus, so EXFOLIATE AND MOISTURIZE! I like Dermalogica’s Gentle Cream Exfoliant. Moisturizer is vital. Try Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer (comes with SPF15, if you like). This leaves your skin surface moisturized and well primed. To give an extra radiance boost to your skin, don’t hesitate to use a primer. Try Laura Mercier Oil-Free Primer SPF20. It leaves the skin with a great glow and just enough radiance to seem like you’re glowing from within. 

 

 

Now that you’ve gotten the base right, lightly highlight your face with the very fabulous and my number 1 must-have product YSL Touche Eclat in Number 2 Ivory. Apply it to the planes of the face – your cheekbones, down the nose, the inside of your eye and the brow bone. Now, what you’ve got to do is to contour your cheekbones very lightly – none of that whole harsh lines thing going on. Lightly brush a little of bronzer – I love M.A.C’s Bronzing Powder in Bronze – under your cheekbones to give it a little of definition. Don’t go overboard. Very-much-less is more.

 

 

As you can tell, the eyes were kept very natural – I reckon a touch of the YSL Touche Eclat can counter any darkness caused by late nights. As for the lips, a light pink gloss was used – those Stila lip glosses are superb at giving that shine!Tune in for more of my little tricks and tips! 

Fall ’08 Proenza Schouler

Construction, construction, execution. Yes. That was the name of the game for Proenza Schouler’s latest offerings. Menswear was given a spin that featured ultra-slouchy trousers that was held up with black leather belts. The construction of the garments showed super interesting cuts and the folds and shaggy look was seen in so many of the looks.

 

The look was very strong – an element of strength can be seen through the double-breasted coats, tweed and fierce trousers. Mustard, browns and purples reigned supreme. The gorgeous shaggy blouses, trousers and jackets brought an almost airy feel to the entire look. This collection has many little cocktail dresses with different colours and were adorned with sequins that added some shine into it.

 

My absolute favourite looks are  the double breasted coat-with-tights look, and the large bow white blouse with oversized trousers look. 

   credit:style.com

Fall ’08 Herve Leger by Max Azria

Bondage just got a little more mainstream. For many many seasons, I’ve come to appreciate the bondage dresses that have been ‘spray painted’ onto many celebrities’ bodies. This collection of bondage dresses was adorned with beads, feather, applique and colour panels. Also seen on the catwalk were gorgeous knee and full length dresses that had loads of volume in it. Fabulous touches of romantic teal and amethyst stood out among the darker, sexier colour palette.  The refreshing take on the corseted pants added a touch of freshness and newness to the collection. Touches of flowers were added to the fabulous dresses, like the red rose one on the dark violet dress, among others. One of the most gorgeous dresseswas the off-white dress with organza skirt and the silver bands down the neckline. The colour is fresh and unexpected for Fall, but yet so muted and wearable at the same time. The hair and make-up for this show was just so minimalistic. The skin was kept natural and glowy. Looks like this time round, make-up was kept to a minimal touch of just tinted moisturizer after a moisturizing mask to boost the dewy-ness and overall look of the skin. The hair was kept straight and well-groomed. Headpieces with feathers also crowned the models’ straight hair.     

The Return

Hi guys. I’m so sorry for the lack of posts. I’ve been incredibly busy this month – Chinese New Year, taking over someone else at work (meaning my national duty), and so much more. Anyways, I’m back to give you some of my favourites shows and stuff from the recent Fall ’08 Ready-to-wear shows. It’ll be spread over several posts, so do visit back often!