Bright On: Shay Mitchell Outfit Inspiration

I've never noticed before how trendy Shay Mitchell dresses off set, they always put her into really casual clothes you would wear around the house on PLL. I don't follow celebrities though, so I guess that may be the reason why.
She wore this lovely ensemble out to an event, not sure where or when but it would have been recently judging by colours and cuts. I didn't go online shopping, my bank balance had a nice relaxing weekend, but I did go online window shopping to find some lovely pieces similar to the ones Shay was wearing in that photo. Here's the end result:

I was originally going to name this "Shay Mitchell Look For Less" but the shorts and blazer were a little bit too expensive for it to be called cheap! Eep, they were both nearing the $85 price mark each. I can't say they don't look good, but I probably wouldn't spend that much if I can find cheaper alternatives offline. Call me cheap, but I just don't wear most pieces in my wardrobe enough for me to pay that much for them :(.
Putting whatever else aside, these pieces are rocking pretty, and they scream right now. The neon colours are really trending right now, they look amazing with simple black and white, and if you're like me you'll love to mix it up with the boring black phase I've fallen into over winter.
Black is out, neon is in, and it looks amazing with white, really gives it that pop of colour you need for springtime...that is if you live here in Australia. I was getting so sick of winter towards the end of it, but these last few days it has been so nice and sunny that I've completely forgotten about all my worries.
This outfit is great for pre-summer, you can team it with some skin coloured stockings and you're good to go.
Even though Shay didn't have a clutch with her, I thought I would go that extra bit of length. I found this clutch in store at Colette about a week ago and I really liked the bright yellow/lime and how the style of the hardware went so well with the bright pop of colour. Your screen may be fooling you when you see yellow! That clutch is actually a lime/yellow shade, but it looks super pretty and on trend so even if you end up ordering it online I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
I wanted to attach a nice bracelet and ring combo, but the picture was getting a little too crowded already, diddums. You get the idea though :) I probably would've teamed it with a nice rose gold ring pack and simple studded bracelet, as you can mix your rose golds in with your golds, it will look pretty and on trend. I love mixing my metals!

I hope you all like this bright copy cat outfit! I tried to find really similar pieces, that's why I couldn't name it a Look For Less, but I still think it looks great.

Have a lovely day girls and guys :)
xoxo
Xeni

Neon Mania

I'm preparing for a photoshoot I have on Saturday as at, and I've been obsessed with neon winged eyeliner. I mean, how amazing is it? Neon colours are really making their way back into fashion. I remember a few years ago they came out but I wasn't too fussed about it. This time around I feel like I'm a fifteen year old school girl over again with a first love and I cannot get enough.
So, even though it's getting extremely late here (for me anyway because I'm a young soul with an old ladys bed time), I thought I would share some pretty pictures that inspired me these last few weeks.
Enjoy and I hope these inspired you as much as they have myself :)
Goodnight xoxo

Are Celebs sending us broke?

At this moment there are literally almost a dozen glossies just covering my bed, nope just don't ask. One of them had an article whos' title read "Are celebs sending us broke?"...well are they? If you were to look at my wardrobe, it would be a yes and no. Why? Because if I see a killer pair of heels on one of the Kardashian sisters, I won't go out and buy it...again, why? Simply because I've already spent my money on other things I do not need which may or may have or may not have been inspired by designer wear...oops.

It's hard not to get lost in a classic Rachel Zoe "I die" moment with my  job  though, working with costume jewellery can be a little hard on your part time job bank account at times unfortunately, nevertheless I love my job.

More importantly getting back to the original reason of this post, I think most of us are being sent broke because of them. Yes, there are those fashionistas who prefer to go another way, and dress in very unique pieces but at the end of the day we are all celeb wardrobe victims. Don't even try denying that you have never watched tv, read Vogue or seen a videoclip where you went "oh gosh, that bag looks amazing...let's pause to see which designer it's from, ah right Versace". It's true, I probably do this on weekly if not daily basis.

The truth is that it's hard not to get your heart racing over something amazing you just saw on a celebrity when it just looks so damn good on them. If we're pointing fingers and famous people, we may as well point them at famous designers as well. The latest craze right now are Michael Kors watches, which may be simplistic they are still fabulous at the same time. I personally am really inspired by designers, to the extent where I have a Hermés look-alike from Miss Shop. This $20 bargain has served me well the last couple of months though I must say that.

I honestly think that bloggers and designers inspire my wardrobe picks more than any celebrities out there. I don't follow their everyday life that's all, whereas I read blogs and see all these photos on my newsfeed about various designers. I don't know about anyone else though...

I've been so inspired to do a whole bunch of OOTD's but I can just never get myself around to doing them! Charging my camera at the moment so by the morning it should be charged, hopefully tomorrow I won't be so lazy as i have been in the past :(

Toodles xo

Xeni

Realising that you need a new digital camera!

I've been sitting over this one particular post I wanted to do. It's a hair special, can't tell you what though until I actually post it. Before I even think about posting it , I have to make a video, but for that to look normal I have to take a video with a camera that doesn't skip bits, or fuzzy them up. Aah, the first world problems of fashion bloggers!
I think my iPad can take decent videos? If so then a video shall be up tomorrow! Yay, I can't wait, it'll my first ever video.
What the point of this post was to let you know that I haven't forgotten, or gotten lazy to write anything! I just have something really cool in my head, that I want to do and I just can't think of anything that great to write about meanwhile :)

xoxo Xeni

Flowers 'Blossom', even in Winter

I always venture on Facebook to find new and exciting stores to be inspired by, to shop from, or to just recommend to friends. In saying this, a couple of months ago I bumped into a little FB store called 'Blossom' ran by a lovely university student. She hand makes amazing vintage look head bands, but I would rather call them hair pieces as they are so delicate and beautiful.

You know when you see a piece of clothing or accessory, and you can tell that they were made with love? Well whenever I see a piece made by her I can tell she really puts effort and love into every bit of it! I hope she doesn't get upset at me for posting her pictures (and I hope it's legally allowed, eep).

The floral head piece trend has been around for a while, yes, but I think her pieces are just so different and one of a kind. I love stores like Blossom, as they're small and inventive. It's always stores like this that make me take that second glance at them and buy things. Although I haven't bought anything from her yet (due to my lack of job, I am confident that she makes quality products by the customer feedbacks she receives. For international readers I'm not entirely sure if she posts world-wide, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I was just going to post a bunch of pictures of pieces that she's posted on Facebook but they really don't do justice of how great they really look until you see it on someone.




















I haven't written a post like this before, although I think I'm going to from now on. It's important for these
small home based, hand made stores to receive good advertisement as these are the ones that keep our (Australian) economy running and they're honestly so much more inventive, one of a kind and different than chain stores. It's difficult for a small store to stay in business for a long time, as large chain stores usually have more advertisement. They give your outfit more character, and people will no doubt stop you to ask where you got that interesting piece you have on from. These stores also inspire me to be more creative, to keep on sewing.

If you would like to find Blossom on Facebook just click here and a window will open up with all her goodies! Make sure to like like like :), also here is her Big Cartel Store, where you can also buy pieces from. She also sells at the Young Designer Markets in Southbank Brisbane on Saturday mornings, so if you can get there make sure you check these pieces out in person.

That's all for today, ciao for now :) <3
xoxo
Xeni

Ps. I was not in any way asked to or endorsed to write about Blossom, I did it just because I genuinely love her designs :)

My undying love for Lauren Conrads Style

I honestly think Lauren Conrad is underrated, and even bashed on by online critics unnecessarily. She's so pretty, with great style (without showing too much skin) and she's never one of those celebs that get locked up for drink driving or anything. I loved her in Laguna Beach and The Hills, Whitney leaving that show was one thing, but when Lauren left I stopped watching it altogether. Lauren has always been a style inspiration to me, as she has such a romantic, girly style.
When I heard she is designing clothes I got butterflies because I was so excited to see what she has to share with the world! I haven't bumped into an online store that sells her clothes and sends them to Australia yet though. I just bumped into a Teen Vogue link to a Summer 2012 collection by her for Kohl's. I haven't heard of this brand yet (I'm guessing it's not the cosmetics brand she's doing a line for anyway hehe), but I like what I see so far. Especially because this line was done by LC. There are a lot of pastels in these clothes, and I love love love! She models them too, and she has such a lovely smile how can you not love the clothes?!

 The whole photoshoot has an 'afternoon tea party' feel to it. It's so sweet, and girly.
I'm especially loving the mint trousers, they're such a lovely fit and also a really trendy colour this season. The floral shorts in picture 4 also caught my eye, it's such a versatile piece to have in your wardrobe, you can dress it down or up.
I wasn't sure whether the blue dress in picture 3 was something I would wear, but then I thought about it and it's definitely on my wish list! If you read ahead, I also found the link as to where you can purchase any of these pieces for (hint hint: they're on sale right now, yay). I just hope they post to Australia, my biggest barrier when online shopping is that the good places never post to where I live.

 This maxi dress made my jaw drop! I love the fishtail detail and it's just so pretty altogether. Lauren has such great style, it's really great that we are now able to get a piece of her style in our wardrobes!
I'm not a really big fan of the jewellery, it all looks a little 'beachy' to me, with the beads and the type of flowers but who knows they might grow on me as well.
The heels are quite nice, but  they're nothing overly original, still something I would wear though.

I love the whole feel of picture 9, it's so sweet, they really nailed it with the hair as it gives it that whole 'LC' feel to it. The rest of the clothes were so sweet, romantic, and there are versatile pieces that you could either dress down or up.
If you're wondering where you can get a piece of Lauren Conrads' style into your wardrobe here's the link:
Shop 'LC' by Lauren Conrad
They're quite affordable, compared to prices here, but it all depends where you live. I just checked and they don't ship to international addresses, only to the U.S., which is so depressing as no good stores ship here or if they do their shipping costs something ridiculous like $70-$150.

I hope you like Laurens' line just as much as I do, and make sure to let me know if you purchased anything, I would love to see these pieces on. You can post pictures to All-the-Pretty-Goodness FB page , I set it up a few days ago so it's quite new but nevertheless make sure to like away, and send to your girl friends to like too!
Have a splendid day :)
xoxo
Xeni

Big and Bright, how you can incorporate runway into your day!

This time last year, what we were seeing all over the runways were colours of top of colours! Colour-blocking took over the runways, and before we knew it our wardrobes too. I personally love it and I still cannot get enough of it. The more the better, and the crazier the better I sleep at night.
What are we seeing this year you ask? Oh...colours on top of colours, on eyes, lips and cheeks! And guess what? I'm in double love as I always like to mix it up a little with makeup, as well as my clothes. I'm not a big fan of winter (and right now it's as cold as it gets here in Brisbane), and as thrilled as I am to be seeing these makeup trends I'm not sure if I would be daring enough to wear these colours on my eyes. I may try though? Just start wearing it around the house, and get used to it.

(Philip Lim: fall 2012 RTW; picture source: style.com)

I usually get looked at for the trends I wear out and about, they're never too extreme that people should wear. I just like to think of it as 'people aren't ready for this yet'. For example, when I arrived back from Hungary last July, people looked at me like I was a lunatic for colour blocking, and boo them because now they're the ones wearing it!
End of my rant, let's get back to business. I would opt to wear this with freshly sugar scrubbed lips and no lip stick, just lip balm as this look is pretty OTT.

What's next? LIPS! I've been rocking bright lips for quite a while now, and I love them. I mostly use NYX lip sticks, as they have worked really well for me up to this point. They have perfect pigmentation and a really great moisturising effect.

If you're ready to be noticed, this look is definitely for you! I love wearing bright lip stick, partially because it allows me to spend less time on my eye make-up, and because it's effortless glamour. When done right, this trend looks amazing. Done with a flawless base on the face, a little contouring with bronzer and concealer (if you're not sure how this is done, there are some amazing videos on YouTube that show you step-by-step), tiny bit of eye liner on the top water line, a light matte brown eye shadow to accentuate the cut crease and mascara (it takes longer to read this sentence than to do the look hehe)

My fave look to wear with bright lip stick is the 60's cat eye liner, and flawless base. It's so easy, and you can incorporate it into your every day looks. It may sound a little OTT with the bright lips, but trust me that it looks amazing during the day too.

Last but not least....the winning hair! I literally just stumbled upon this look about two minutes ago and thought I would add this too since it caught my eye.

This hair was worn with vampy deep red lips, with that "just bitten" effect. It looks amazing. I love it! If you're loving this as much as I am, but you're not ready for it just yet, you can buy metal pony tail holders on ebay for about $7. I have one and they look great when on!
I just spent the last fifteen minutes trying to Google what exact runway those metal pony tail holders were from, but I was quite unsuccessful. I have a gold one though, and it looks superb! :






As difficult as this second hair would be, I'm in love and will practice until I succeed! Valentino really outdid themselves in this one. I'm a huge Valentino fan as is, but this really set me over the edge from love to in love. Why so amazing Valentino?

PS. yes this was extremely difficult! Do not try this at home unless you have at least half an hour to sit around and figure out which way the braids go, as I had to sit for about that long and couldn't even get it right :(






I could go on for years about what looks I'm loving right now but I really should stop as I have been sitting in front of my computer for a few hours now.
Ciao for now, have a lovely day :)
xoxo
Xeni