Best dressed at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Many highly anticipated films had their premiere at the 2012 Cannes film festival and naturally they were attended by the film industry’s crème de la crème. Among the stars invited to the numerous parties and red carpet events, Kirsten Dunst, Freida Pinto and Diane Kruger outdressed the rest in my opinion with their impeccable finesse. Carine Roitfeld, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain also stood out for me. So without further ado, here are my favourite dresses from this year’s festival:

 

 

 

Brilliant new short film by Prada!

Prada revealed a short film yesterday at the Cannes film festival, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Helena Bonham Carter as a rich, blasé woman and Ben Kingsley as her sombre psychoanalyst. The film revolves around their therapy session where Carter relates her latest dream, but the doctor seems more interested in her purple furry coat! It’s really funny, and it’s interesting to note that Kingsley never utters a word, yet steals the show with his performance. You can watch it here in the Prada website.

Inspiration: 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

The fashion in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was impeccable and continues to inspire and scintillate even to this day. Even though the lifestyle of Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn's character in the film) may have had various ups and downs, she always carried herself off with style. Her outfits were mainly monochrome consisting of dresses and coats that were either black or brightly coloured, and were paired off with jewellery (anything except diamonds, as according to Holly diamonds did not befit someone her age), hats and sunglasses. If you wish to emulate the 'Holly look' to perfection, don't forget the bouffant hairdo and signature eyeliner, and you'll be ready to go!

April Favourites

1. REN Clearcalm3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser.

This is a face cleanser by organic skin care brand REN. It is clay based, meaning it doesn't really foam up, but it does a marvelous job of drawing out impurities from pores and leaving the skin feeling extremeley clean. Suprisingly enough, it doesn't dry me out at all which is definitely a bonus! I'm on my second bottle and I see myself getting a new one when I run out.

2. Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Therapy

I got this as a gift from a friend and I really love it. It's a very thick cream with a lovely, unique scent that soothes my hands even on the coldest days. Even though it has a very rich texture it absorbs nicely into the skin, leaving behind a waft of aroma.

3. Dr. Wu Anti-Oxidant Whitening Lotion With Fullerene RS

I didn't really know anything about this lotion before I purchased it, so I didn't know what to expect but now having used up all of it I can say that it's a very nice product. What I love most of all is the texture: it's neither too thick nor too runny, it gets absorbed like a charm, and it's a joy to apply. I haven't noticed any whitening effects per se, but my skin is moisturized and plump and I have peace of mind knowing that the lotion has anti-oxidants inside that MUST be doing some kind of work, fighting the anti-aging good fight ^_^

4. Bumble & Bumble Leave In Conditioner

My hair is super tangly so I'm always in need of a leave-in conditioner to be able to comb it through. This one by Bumble and Bumble is light with a very discreet scent, does not weigh my hair down and makes my it quite manageable. Thumbs up!

5. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

I decided to buy this after all the good reports it was getting online and it lived up to the hype. A while ago, I had a massive break-out with embarassingly huge pimples and this concealer helped me through it. It sets fairly quickly on the skin so you should work quickly with it but once on, it doesn't budge. I wore it for more that 10 hours straight and it was still working its magic!

Review: CHI Silk Infusion

    Silk Infusion by CHI is a leave-in conditioner for the hair that contains pure natural silk, wheat and soy proteins. It is a treatment designed to reconstruct the hair as well as provide protection against thermal styling and enviromenmental damage. 

    I love this product and have been using it religiously after every hair wash. It has a sleek, oily texture that you can warm up between your palms, and a lovely scent that reminds me of Davidoff's Cool Water perfume. I apply it after towel-drying my hair and I have found that it calms down the freeze when my hair eventually dries. I also apply it between washes to condition the ends of my hair and give it a little bit of shine. The best testament to how well the Silk Infusion has been working for me is that even my hairdresser commented on how soft my hair felt when I went for a trim recently. 

    What are your favourite leave-in conditioners? I have a bit of an obesession with them! The next one I bought to try out is the Kerastase Elixir Ultime. I hope it will work out as well as the Silk Infusion!

Tag: The products I am currently using

I came across this tag recently and decided to fill it in because tags are fun and oftentimes surprisingly informative reads. Please go ahead and add your own version to your blog (or in the comments section, if you prefer) as I am really curious to read about your choices!

Face

❥ Cleanser: Gel Surgras by Dermagor
❥ Toner/lotion: Magnolia Brightening and Firming Lotion by Naruko
❥ Serum: Concentrated Reconstructing Serum by Algenist
❥ Cream/Moisturizer: Skin Plast by Dermagor
❥ Sunscreen: Senka SPF 50 by Shiseido
❥ Facial mask: Mint Collagen Mask by My Scheming

Body

❥ Shower gels/soaps: Douche Creme Lait de Vanille by Le Petit Marseillais
❥ Hand cream: Vitamin E hand Cream by Boots
❥ Lip balm or lip treatment: Shea Butter Lip Balm by Korres
❥ Perfume: Sun by Jil Sander

Hair

❥ Shampoo: Tsubaki by Shiseido
❥ Mask: Elvive Triple Resist by L'Oreal
❥ Leave-in conditioner: Elixir Ultime by Kerastase

Make-up

❥ Primer: White D-tox Make-up Base by Biotherm
❥ BB Cream: Clear Smooth BB Cream by Maybelline
❥ Powder: Pressed Powder by Paul & Joe
❥ Concealer: Lasting Perfection by Collection 2000
❥ Eye Liner: Aqua Eyes by Make-Up For Ever
❥ Lipstick: Matte Lipstick in 'Lady Danger' by MAC

The 2012 MET ball

I am not a fashion connoisseur but I could easily discern two prevalent themes in the attire of choice of last night’s MET ball’s attendees: feathers and peplums. Beyonce, Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger and Kate Bosworth all wore dresses with feathers adorning the hem (or in Kate Bosworth’s case, the whole dress), while Elizabeth Banks, Emma Roberts, Eva Mendes, Linda Evangelista and Solanze Knowels chose peplum gowns – thankfully in different colours.

The ladies that stood out for me were the more understated ones; I loved Claire Danes in her white J. Mendel dress, Emily Blunt in her pink (and spring appropriate) Calvin Klein confection, and Ashley Greene in her princess-y Donna Karan gown. The exception to my demure-is-best rule were Rooney Mara’s Givenchy lace dress, Karolina Kurkova’s head-to-toe (literally!) golden ensemble and Emma Stone’s bright red/orange Lanvin cocktail dress. 

As it inevitably happens, there were a few appearances that failed to impress me, notably Sarah Jessica Parker in a gown that resembled a tablecloth and Alexa Chung in a dress that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a shirt-dress or sweetheart neckline dress. Also, Carey Mulligan’s metallic ensemble – it seemed really uncomfortable! 

Overall, I don’t think there were any dresses that especially wowed me and I think most guests opted to play it safe rather than make a bold statement. What are your thoughts for this year’s MET ball fashion? Was there any dress you particularly liked or disliked?

Inspiration: 'To Catch A Thief'

   

   

   

Here is some sartorial inspiration from the beautiful film ‘To catch a thief’ that I recently had the pleasure of viewing. I was absolutely amazed by the stunning cinematography and costumes. Ah, French Riviera in the 50s must have been a great place and time for fashion lovers!