The Perfect 3

I have that old desire to purchase things again, as always on a Friday... Perhaps it's the sense of weekend freedom just round the corner and I'll be free to hit the stores. To buy or not to buy... maybe just to look?

Since you have been in town the last few weeks Feather, we've been able to window shop together. But you are off overseas again soon and I will be again using our beloved blog to show you all the cool stuff I find. So I figure I might as well get back into it.

There are several items I'm always in the market for. A bucket hat, Boots and handbags. These are the things I've been hunting forever and I assume always will be. There is always something not quite right. I'm constantly on the hunt for the perfect fit or shape or colour, and they continue to elude me.

So today's theme is my perfect 3...with a twist.

1. Bucket Hat from https://www.rikefeurstein.com/ Love, love the shape.

But then again, maybe this one is better to see me through Winter '09?

2. The Boots.

Ok, so what I'm after is the biker boot. Slight heel. Buckle. Dirty Charcoal Black. Think Brenda Walsh. You know what I'm talking about Feather. One day I will find me a pair. In the meantime I'm loving this heeled boot from http://www.asos.com/

3. The Handbag

Many a bag has passed through my hands, many have spent months under my arm or in my grip. Not a one has been special. Not one. Oh I see beautiful bags all the time, I do. But most bags suit me that day, or that out fit or a particular mood. I'm looking for the bag that is perfect come rain hail or shine. Will it be quilted? A satchel or a tote? I'm thinking it will be Gucci or Marc Jacobs who delivers, but you just never know.

Today, I like this one from Marc Jacobs :

And this little Fendi :

And finally from this buttery goodness from Dior:

All bags can be found at eluxury.com

Zephyr

Hey Zeph
Well, I can't say I'm not a little hurt ;) I got you a handbag once, so beautiful, so useful, day or night, work or play.... when I think of it it still seems to really suit you, so maybe I'm delusional!
I love that first hat, its sooo nice. Its similar to a beautiful grey one that Katie Holmes wears in her new movie:

These are called Cloche hats - a little something I learned from Tongue in Chic.
Me no likey the boots-y, but I love the Fendi handbag.
xxFeather

Yo Feather, I totally forgot about that grey bag! My wardrobe is a mess and it often means Im coming across long lost treasures buried deep within. I love it - its so soft and the red & white striped lining is so me. So, as an added note my above post...I have lots of nice bags, and one very special one.

Z

The gowns of the 2009 Oscars

Hey Zephyr!
I forgot how much fun watching the Academy Awards red carpet is - I felt happy to the core.
There were so many mistake gowns - Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Biel, Amanda Seyfreid, to name a few - but there were some beautiful dresses too. And as a lot of them were already in white, I could indulge my wedding fantasies that much more easily this year!

Before I get into my faves, let me mention my least faves:
poor Amy Adams looked plain and terrible and just plain terrible.
Angelina Jolie, well she somehow turned smugness into a fabric, black of course, had a dress made, and wore it with emerald earrings. She looked sensational but man was it boring.
Angelina, yes, you are queen of many things, but if you think you are so totally awesome in black, if you sooo dont care, then why even be there? Skip the red carpet!
(Ironically, Jennifer Aniston did skip the red carpet, and due to a friendly and positive glow, she looked better than Ange without even trying.)

Ok, I'm done, here are my top 5... +1 (pics are from JustJared and smh)

5. Miley Cyrus - let this dress be a lesson to all, from the bodice to the skirt, the FIT was perfect.

4. Anne Hathaway - tragic eye makeup, but shimmering pailettes was a stroke of genius.

3. Freida Pinto - the most beautiful attendee of the night, in Galliano with an Indian sari feel.

2. Taraji Henson - Oh, the delicate pale pink layers! I bet it was even more beautiful in person.

1. Marisa Tomei - Power + Princess. Possibly the best I have ever seen at the AAs. LOVE.


Honourable Mention:
Demi Moore, whose dress never saw the red carpet but helped her host an after-party.
How how how does she look so incredible?



















How about you Zeph?
And did you laugh your head off at the fashion disasters?
xxFeather

Hey Feather,

Oscar time again...oh we love it! So much genius, and so much horror all in the one place! All the better for us to debate and rate.

Before seeing your post F, I feared our list would be identical or close to it - and where is the fun in that? You and I have such similar tastes...but then there are the moments we see things very differently. Luckily, because the dresses were so varied this year, so are our lists.

First the bad stuff out of the way.

I totally agree - Angelina + black (again) = boring.

Loved Winslet's hair, hated the dress. Reese Witherspoon - really confusingly bad dress. Miley Cyrus, great fit yes but I loathed the dress. And Nicole Kidman...wtf?

And now to my faves..

Side note, I had issues with much of the hair and make up, so my decisions were based on the dress alone.

5. Sarah Jessica Parker. I loved this gown on her. It's a Barbie/princess look for grown ups.

4. Natalie Portman. Her lack of curves and the boyish hair don't make the dress pop at first glance, but the colour and the detail is beautiful.

3. Evan Rachel Wood. I think this is a sophisticated dress. Love the colour. This is what a Hollywood starlet should look like.

2. Taraji Hensen. There is a reason we both have this dress on our list. Can't fault it.

1. Penelope Cruz. This one didn't grab me at first, but the more I look at it, the more I love it. Simple, but stunning.

xx Zephyr

Vanity Fair

Hey Zeph
Such a rockin' comeback post!
I'm sorry, you can largely blame me for the drought, I disappeared into a black hole. In retrospect I can see that stopping blogging to you was among the first signs things were going downhill for me. I didn't know it would feel this good to be back - it's amazing! So, now that I am, I'd say 60% whole again, lets get going...

I have been trawling Asian beauty blogs to satisfy my recent obsession with skincare (and I can honestly say that none are as beautiful to look at and lovely to read as F&Z. Seriously, a lot of them are a complete mess!).
It all brings me to this post, inspired by travel...and vanity... and fate I suppose.

Three environments of my past, present and future, and their effect on (my) skin...




Past: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
It was Madonna who said "...the air is just so moist here, it's great for the skin" about London, and when I moved there I immediately stole the phrase for my own conversations. (a) it sounds so glamourous and (b) it's totally true.
Each time you step outside in London, it's like that part of a facial where the therapist directs a fine mist at you and says "You just relax, this will give your skin a nice drink, and I'll be back in about 10 minutes". And while the city is bustling and polluted, and it tempts you to alternate super-cheap fried chicken meal packs (Perfect Chicken, Royal Oak tube station, yum!!) with your fresh itsu sashimi, even those with problem skin like me can have their year of flawlessness.
Method: Anything goes, with slapdash use of Elizabeth Arden 8-hour Cream as required.




Present: CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Um.... so when I got my passport stamped coming home from the UK, did they also blast my face with dehydration flames (just made those up, scary huh?) or what...
Ok, Canberra is not the desert, but in general Australia is DRY. It is so dry, that it may just be the "scariest environment imagineable" for those who have difficult skin, like that meteor was for Owen Wilson in Armageddon. And not only is it dry, it's ridiculously hot this time of year, so I get dangerously dry and then I get dangerously oily. Yep, I find it hard here, and this time, being a stressful return home and all, it has been even harder.
Method: chemical aid in the form of The Pill, Cetaphil cleanser a million times a day, and 30+ sunblock.




Future: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
People from the West have more to worry about frizzy hair-wise than bad skin-wise in the tropical paradise-city that is KL. So I am not worrying too much about my face in the upcoming adventure that will see me living there. It is so humid in Malaysia that I'm pretty sure, as has happened on past visits, I will regain lost moisture and there will be rejuvenation. Hallejulah! All that's left is to mattify during the day and thoroughly cleanse off pollution at night.
Method: 1 Starbucks Green Tea Latte and 2 litres of water per day. And I will try combination skin products like FANCL oil-based cleanser (available in Singapore) and Clarins Hydra-Matte day cream. The Body Shop seaweed range is also a good fallback in humid conditions.

So there we have it.
Life is a journey, hey Zeph?

xxF

[Thanks to MeccaCosmetica I am now testing the following Philosophy products: Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, Purity 4-in-1 Cleanser and Hope in a Jar. The sales rep said to use them all in that order, but there is no way I am using two cleansers on my face when one is a '30-second peel' and the moisturiser to follow contains a chemical exfoliant (!) I will do Wash + moisturiser, then Purity + moisturiser. Using the samples this way should last about a week, after which I'll update this post with the result.]

UPDATE:
Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash contains fine granules and does not a lot more than baking soda as an exfoliant - in fact, you can mix baking soda with Cetaphil and trump this product.
Hope in a Jar is light and medicine-y, it gives ok hydration and subtly evens skin tone.
Purity 4-in-1 Cleanser is low-foaming and cleans well, even heavy mascara, with rubbing.

Overall, these products are ok, but didn't deliver anything special, and therefore they are definitely not worth the Philosophy price tag. I've come to the conclusion that the Philosophy skincare range is for people who have given up their search for great products, for a simple life of basics that work. i.e Not me!!