The Little Black Jacket Exhibition - Sydney

Last Saturday began with a lovely little Chanel exhibition. Mallhaciel invited me to go check this out with her, an exhibition that she has been absolutely dying to see and as I do love it when fashion meets art, I did not hesitate to say yes. The most difficult part of the outing really was what to wear as I did not own many Chanel items. It all boiled down to this one piece.

and a black tweed jacket I purchased from Ally's for $40 for my 'very Chanel' look. Of course Chanel makeup was in order too. Eye-cream, Powder, lip-liner and lipstick the rest of the look was Burberry and Dior, Oh I cheat.

It is a beautiful place, the Pier. Just remember to avoid wearing heels cause it gets stuck in the gaps in the floor. Walking in from the sunlight into the dimly lit exhibition space was daunting at first, but the excitement got us over that really quickly.

The first and last piece of the show that I saw was a series of stills of Yoko Ono with a video of her posing for the shots, shot from Karl Lagerfield's iPhone. It was meant to be an interpretive dance, her take on her life. And it was mesmerising. Poignantly tragic, but like a car accident, you were drawn to it and couldn't turn away from watching. Tragedy and Art goes well together.

If you go, you have the option of receiving any of Theophilus London, Astrid Berges Frisbey, Anna Mouglalis, Elle Fanning's posters to take with you. A little reminder that you were part of this exhibition. And they are generous gifts. I really appreciated getting mine as I had to brighten up the teenage boys' room I currently live in somehow (the posters below covered up theirs of Cars and NBA players) instead of removing their childhood memorabilia.

Mallhaciel's got a way better and more informational post than mine. I only tagged along to have a good time. But after work, whilst the sun's still up, or this weekend, why not stroll over to enjoy this?

Exhibition information:

PIER 2/3

13 HICKSON ROAD

WALSH BAY

SYDNEY NSW 2000

11AM - 7PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION: + (61) 2 9900 2910

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The perfect Asian smokey eye

The night before at the Big week of beauty Burberry event, we met Wayland who promised us the perfect Asian smokey eye. As you can imagine, with that promise, we were very happy to visit the counter again the next day.


Tada! It is a darker shade for a real glam look, but the same technique can be used with a very sheer pink shimmer shade to enhance the size of the Asian almond shaped eye.




The instruction class was part of the VIP gift with purchase which incorporated a complimentary Makeup masterclass, if you go, do make an appointment with Wayland at the Burberry beauty counter, he is fantastic with colour matching and makeup tips and tricks. I learnt so much from him this weekend refining my makeup application technique (which are so antique now as they were learnt from magazines from when I was a teenager).




We went home with a personalized face chart each, ours were the Burberry iconic looks and I must say that there are two products on here that I would love to own some day. Burberry's sheer foundation that gives awesome coverage but doesn't even feel like its there! And the gold gloss, it's so luxurious having it on my lips- both the look and its feel.




If you compared the eyes (both mine of course) on the top, the technique on the left was done by another makeup artist for an evening out. But contrast that with Wayland's technique on the right, Observe how my eye really pops and is better accentuated on the left, which is the real difference between using techniques that suit and don't suit the shape of your eye.

The clouding technique is the secret. Deposit the eye shadow colour very close to the upper lash line and then blend it upwards on your eye like painting little clouds of smoke to create a gradual effect. The last touch is to accentuate the bottom outer corners of your eye with a little bit of eyeshadow just to add depth to the eye.

It's harder to describe really, the best way is to head down to David Jones Burberry beauty counter and ask to be shown your personalized Burberry iconic look!

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The Ultimate Beauty Glam-A-thon

David Jones Sydney last night hosted Beauty beats, a night full of extended hours of beauty consultations and samples galore. We didn't anticipate the extent of the celebrations as we were really only there for Marie Claire's Burberry Beauty event, the launch of the new Burberry Beauty counter. Alex Noonan, beauty editor for Marie Claire was there to introduce the festivities and share on her thoughts on the latest Burberry makeup colours. I couldn't hear very much, so intent I was soaking in the richness of her Burberry Lip Velvet lipstick colour and how gorgeous that Burberry Rose Gold Trench coat was on the model.

Then they unleashed the crowds on the beauty counter. Being new, everything on display was in mint condition: the check patterns on the makeup pallettes all intact. We were so shy to test. Perhaps I haven't been testing colours on myself for a long time. I recall my teenage years lurking around the drugstore painstakingly swabing every colour and employing all the magazine beauty tricks to 'find my colours'. I haven't done that in a long while having found my basic palettes and having stuck to them for years. But Alex Noonan says, "Lipstick is back, gone are the days of lip gloss" And I agree whole-heartedly, I just wasn't brave enough to venture into the deep plum reds quite yet, the bold on-trend statement look of now.

So Mallhaciel and I milled around chatting, sipping bubbles and nibbling at pink macarons whilst Alex Noonan, like any gracious host keeps socialising and imparts even more gems like how she embraced a bold lip colour and the secrets behind her au naturel yet very sophisticated eye makeup.

The third time she comes around to attend to us, she hands forth a lip wand. 'Go play' she encourages with the gesture and with that I began. The Lip Mist is puzzling. It's gloss on a stick. It adds colour but is really sheer and and wet. I note herewith that I loved the Blueberry of this range. If I ever venture into deeper lips, I will revisit this one as my foot into the door.
This here is my haul for the night:

With purchase of 2 items and above from the Burberry collection, we received a gift consisting of a full sized concealer, Burberry Body mini, Burberry mirror, Burberry Master Class Gift voucher and the beauty pouch as pictured above.

This was all the goodies, purchased, gifted and samples all inclusive. Gawd I had forgotten how awesome counter shopping is meant to feel with the beauty consultants pampering you with more value than you pay for via free samples of the things you wanted but didn't need. It just isn't the same purchasing from online retailers, not having that personal touch.

These were my lip velvet colours. I decided on the Peony Rose but was generously given the Antique Pink sample too, a shade browner for a sophisticated night time look when I need it.

As you can see, not much of a difference in the two shades when you look at them but check out the swatches below. #unfiltered.





I also bought the Sepia lip liner that complemented the Peony Rose. Something old world and glamourous embalms the use of lip liners. It stays with you all day long after the lip has lost its sheen, but I was taught to try something different and layer the liner on top of the lip stick to seal it it. I shall road test it fully today and see what results it yields.





Another trick I was taught at the counter was how to underline my eye with a crayon eyeliner. A trick that is smudge proof for my asian eye. I shall practice and share back on how that goes too. Now, I should go get ready for today's outing, tomorrow's post, but I can tell you, it's with Mallhaciel again (can't get enough of hanging with her *wink*) and we were promised a lesson on the perfect Asian smokey eye.

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Drape Necklaces from Topshop

Drape Necklaces from Topshop by happy-e-after featuring a box chain necklace

ASOS dress / Box chain necklace / Necklace / Beaded jewelry / Antique gold jewelry

Overlaying a revealing dress, do you think the jewelry replaces the need for a bolero with a more dramatic flair?

Chanel Vitalumiere Éclat Comfort Radiance pressed powder

Chanel Vitalumiere Eclat Comfort Radiance Compact in Beige Rose Sable is my latest best friend. After five years of Dior Snow, I was ready for a new setting powder.

I am not really a makeup snob but I do feel a significant difference between using Rimmel, Cover girl and Body Shop foundation and setting powders the few times I have deviated from Dior. The texture and the finish is never as smooth or fine.

Who knew though that there was such a difference even between applying CD and Chanel!

Background: I have been using the BRTC Gold Caviar BB cream with SPF 50 for a long time now. That product is oily and thick and the high SPF makes me look pale. So I have had to rely on a powder to matte the finish and darken the tone so that I look more natural. I stopped using sponge application about a year ago now, finding that the powder gets cakey and takes off the BB cream if I hadn't let it settle.

With the Chanel powder, it says that brush application gives a translucent finish where else the sponge application provides a natural coverage. It provides you with both!







It glided on with the brush with a silky touch. It was like it almost wasn't there. But you can see the light matte finish and it applies very evenly. Not gathering in your laugh lines or anything so the finish is very very natural.

I touched it a few times throughout the day just to make sure it was still there. And it was velvety to touch. Incredibly comfortable to wear for the whole day ( I never reapply anyways)

I don't know very much about the radiant glow it is meant to emanate, but I know that I look more youthful because it looks like I have hardly any makeup on. And it was still like that when I got home last night at 7.30pm after work. That's about 12 hours coverage.

I am very impressed with the sheer yet complex powder. Other bonuses includes it has floral notes to it as it contains Jasmine and lavender wax to preserve moisture in your skin. And another extra SPF10, cause you can't have too much SPF in Australia (Broken Ozone layer and all).

It ticks so many of my boxes that I am very happy to add it to my repertoire. Strawberrynet sells refills for $65 and get this, when I purchased this from Malaysia, the entire compact was $65 too, definitely works out cheaper than buying from counters here unless it is an emergency buy. Sorry I can't help but keep comparing it to CD (it's the only thing I've known for 5 years!) This compact costs the same as the Dior Snow compact when I was in Malaysia but it gives you an extra brush and has a far superior finish. I don't think I am looking back ever again.

Priceline beauty discount

Who says beauty is only skin deep? It is as deep as your pockets I'd say. And if they aren't quite that deep then well, you'll just have to take advantage of these offers such as store wide 20% off all cosmetics and skincare products at Priceline today and tomorrow. You can shop online too!

I shopped and saved on the following essentials that needed replacements for my bathroom:

 

And although there wasn't a discount for the nail polish remover, with my Priceline Club quarterly discount voucher of $4.56 I still ended up saving more than $17 in this haul. Glee!

Those aren't the only things I need replacing by the way.

I have hit the pan on my Dior compact, which is truly the end of an era. Because since staying true to their makeup for about over 5 years now, they have relentlessly discontinued or repackaged (so that i can't get refills) my favourite products no matter how many times I have found a close substitute within their range.








So with that, I bid Dior adieu and look forward to trialing a new house of makeup. Hopefully my next five years will be better served.




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Pashli frenzy in the office

I think I have coveted, no obsessed with this bag for a really long time. Ever since catching this pic on Instagram by Moda operandi 68 days ago according to my Twitter records, I have wanted one for my very own.

That was a long time ago. Then, Shopbop only carried the mulberry, gold and fuschia. Many things pointed me towards getting it, such as seeing it in real life at the VFNO and also getting a 20% discount code at the Shopbop pop up store.
But I was trying to pace myself. It was the month I wanted to purchase the iPhone 5, but I had the money set aside for that anyhow. I wanted a black classic one, and cleverly found one on Shopbop even though it was labelled under jade and long after I saw the mulberry one sell out cause I wasn't convinced that colour was gonna last me forever. So all things pointed to me buying it and it wasn't until the family and friends sale occur last week when everyone on Twitterverse began Shopbop mass shopping. The sale didn't extend to 3.1Phillip Lim but I had that discount still from VFNO, and the bag was flashing as low in inventory, so I ordered it last Wednesday and today it is here!
Did you know that all Designer boutique items come gift wrapped? This gorgeous box:

Housed this gorgeous parcel:

And voila,

A happy camper at work during lunchtime:

Even my colleagues got excited and started taking pics and examining the bag:

Here it is sitting on my desk:

Bigger than imagined (which I like) but too heavy to put too much in. I might get away with putting an iPad in but a laptop *shudder* the weight will kill my forearms. Oh and it doesn't fit under the shoulder at all and looks awkward being carried by its shoulder strap.

The girls loved it anyhow. They all thought it a Power bag. A 'Dont mess with me I mean business' bag. I like that.

Will be flouting this bag for a little while and sure it is coming to London with me.

Sydney Festivals - Crave and Art and about

Something about Spring makes Sydney come alive. Its great weather and loads of things to do. We found the Rubyos 4 course Brunch on the Crave festival website and trooped down to Newtown for a scrumptious feast. $25 for a champagne cocktail upon arrival, Haloumi/ Bacon Bruschetta, Salmon/Ham/Spinach Eggs Benedict, Ricotta Hotcakes and a Fruit and Yogurt platter. It's beautiful and a great start to the weekend.

After a heavy meal, it wasn't difficult to trek down to Carriageworks for the Eveleigh Markets, trying to catch it before it closed at 1p.m. As Farmer's markets go, the prices are premium but the produce are so different from what you may have been conditioned to accept from the Supermarkets. We picked up some poppy peonies and heirloom tomatoes and basil. I am looking forward to recreating my favourite Heirloom tomatoes salad tonight.

 The evening was spent checking out the Art and About and its moveable feast. The city is once again decked out with installations that are eeriely beautiful and reminiscent of a Sydney of yesteryears, The Last Drinks at Martin Place, the theatres at Lees Court, The kid that just stands on a corner of George and Barrack Street watching the cars zoom past.

The moveable feast is a streetfood fest with children kept entertained with a showing of Ratatouille and adults by live music and loads of streetfood selections ranging from burgers, hotdogs to pork belly buns and pulled pork. Yumm! Even seagulls didn't leave us alone that night.

I am paying for the day out now, tucked in bed nursing a full fledged cough that keeps me awake at night. But for that lovely day in Sydney we had yesterday, I'd say it was worth it.

Today I saved - Priceline haul

There's always something a girl can find to buy at a drugstore. I wandered into Priceline today knowing I wanted to buy something, not knowing what. There's been a lot of agonising over aging here lately.

Models Prefer Mini Hair Straightener 15% off, I saved $2.25 but given a GHD is over $200, this is a real real steal. Of course it doesn't work as well as a GHD, it just serves the purpose in removing the kinks at the end of my bob.

 Models Prefer Thermal Radial styling brush. I needed a radial brush and this one was only $10.

This here is the real reason I went to Priceline. I needed a neck cream. Getting closer to 30 is showing on my neck nowadays. Noticeable creases are forming and if they are like the fine lines around my eyes, I know they won't go away. I'll only be able to minimise the appearance of wrinkles. The Loreal Youth Code Night cream was on special so I thought it was worth a try over the Olay anti-ageing cream which wasn't discounted.

The pleasant smelling cream was thick and oily, hard to absorb into the skin, but it promises that after one night my skin will be rehydrated and results within a week. I will report back. I saved $11 on this.

Garnier invisi mineral deodorant 20% off so I saved $1.10 on something that is just an everyday staple since I had hit adolescence.

With the discounts, I saved $13.35 which is decent. What's a girl gonna do when there's bargains and beauty promises galore? Not shop? Didn't think so. *wink*

Commitment of the heart

I went to a wedding last night after work. Don't ask, kinda don't wanna waste twenty minutes of your life, just wanted to share on the thrills of helping out with wedding plans again. It's been so long.

I was the first person to arrive at the venue. Eventhough I was family (in-laws), I really had no idea what was the reception schedule, I could only base it on how we had it done last year, find out what the venue's boundaries are and say I will follow up when the family arrives and I have found out the answers they seek.

I did rock up with music though. Stolen off Mr.HEA's computer as he has less Indie taste in music. Then half an hour before the reception start time it was a whirlwind as the wines arrive, reception decorations were set out, the cupcake tiers set up, table numbers and seat charts communicated and wishing well assembled. I got given duties to man the reception table.

I was rather lonely, attending the wedding by myself without Mr. HEA, the last time I did this, it was a while ago and I wasn't surrounded by family. Sob story aside though it was fun playing with the kids at these family events. I didn't care if I was considered the clucky lady chasing down any child that would let me hold them or take them around.

Here are some aspects of the night to share with you all, I am back on my crappy iPhone this week so bear with the once again lower resolution pictures. At least I don't have to block out faces I suppose (I don't like showing pics of children on the web usually, but the below I hope are not clear enough to be in any way incriminating for them).

Cupcakes that the groom's sister made. How loving!

Pretty bouquet of ranunculas and roses

Check out the little flower girls in their cutesy dresses from Target. They wore floral headbands too (K is for Kani style)purchased from the Marrickville Markets, but the headbands had fallen off by this time of the night as they went crazy hyper from the sugat in the icing and kept twirling in their flouncy skirts. You remember what that was like?

Wondered if you'd be interested in seeing her dress. It was simple and elegant, with the sash straps extending to the small of her back and ending with three dainty sash rossettes and a sweet little train. Childhood sweethearts of twenty years, finally tying the knot. If that is not a commitment of the heart as any, then there is no hope for the rest of us.

Oblivious to the festivities, a child sits in the middle of the stage, kept entertained blowing bubbles.

Happyeverafter one year

It has been a long day. So different from a year ago from today but I had a very lovely package today waiting at reception. I am glad he remembered, but couldn't cope with others asking questions. So I hid it under a trusted friend's desk until I left the office.


There were two boxes. He got a vase so that I could keep it at work, but I really didn't want to remind anyone else it was our one year's.
 
He sent such a lovely card. I had tears well up in my eyes before I blinked them away. It was just the most beautiful sentiment, to know he loves me.


He sent white roses and pink lilies. The Lilies are my favourite, but the roses are graceful, There was a massive heart-shaped chocolate bar the size of my palm too in the box amongst the flowers.

  We had plans to make rendezvous over the Internet. A virtual date where we vowed to eat one favourite dish and share a photo with each other. I meant to have sashimi, but it was too cold. Noodle soup was close and oh so comforting. I had a salad too because if I had my way, a salad for lunch is what I'd prefer.

We used facetime on the bed at the same time. We replicated pillow talk. But being about to go to work made it difficult to make anything meaningful out of it. But we decided we were going to postpone the celebrations. I will be in London in exactly two month's time, so we'll make some fancy reservations and enjoy our marriage and being in the same place again at once.

Give me a shout out of where you think we should visit in London for Lunch?
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Collective menu at 414 Bourke Street

Let me tell you the story of how a group of old friends gathered around a pork-a-licious pot last night, eating a wholesome meal of carefully prepared dishes, chatting over excellent wine and parting with full stomachs.

The story began after we left Beresford Hotel where we hung out waiting for our 8.30pm reservations. Sydney has become this place where if you are a big group, you simply can't expect to be seated at a decent hour for a meal.

Our table wasn't ready when we got there, so we all waited at a bar table where we were brought steaming hot bowls of Chorizo popcorn (yummy savoury things they were) to try to appease our raging stomachs. We wasted no time in ordering the collective plates to share amongst the group and was guaranteed the food would come as soon as we were seated.

We got given fried bread, a 'bad chef'  kinda dish where it tastes so good but is probably so bad for your heart.
Just before our bodies realised what we had just consumed, we were whisked to our table and promptly fed Iggy's bread with olives. It was 9p.m. when the flavorful fun began.




Miso Smoked Salmon
Lemon Curd and Fennel Bread

I really wanted to try this dish when I first saw it on the menu and was so glad it was part of the collective plates tonight. Whilst the miso flavor was too subtle for us to pick up, it was such a delicious dish, we didn't complain.

Ham Hock Terrine
Crumbed Pigs Ears and Apple Sauce

When Pig Ears are crumbed, even little children will eat them, its just that yummy. I'd eat pig ears uncrumbed anyways for the record.

Chicken Wing
Parfait, Crispy Tortilla and Apple Chutney

The Parfait was overpowering. Good if you like your pates, but if you didn't, best to eat the thoughtfully deboned wing without the parfait.

Whole Stuffed Rainbow Trout

On to the mains, excellently paired with our NZ Reisling Pinot Gris Gewurtztraminer, the sweetest, most complex wine I'd ever selected. The trout was slightly overcooked on some ends, but moist still in the middle choice parts. The lentils stuffing was excellent, and I think if one was pregnant, this would be the perfect sorta dish to make every night.


Fennel and Orange Salad

I love fennel salads. This one is a classic and was kept light and crunchy to go delightfully with the trout.


Roast Pork with Apple
Colcannon and Pickled Cabbage

And then, I kid you not, the climax of the story. By now we had switched to a bottle of Tempranillo to accompany this dish. I got given a slab of apple, a slice of perfectly cooked fatty pork, some cabbage and ham hocked sauce drizzled all over it. Divine when topped with the crunch of the crackling which we saved out of the sauce before it all got too soft. We couldn't finish it, because we had feasted too much on the other food before this. But oh it was so good, I almost cried when they were clearing this unfinished plate from our table, but we needed room for dessert, so we let it go.

Mixed Grain Salad



I woke up craving more of this salad. The nutty flavour, the brown rice texture, the wholesomeness of it all, imagine it soaks up the fatty pork and combines with all that bad to make it all that good. I miss consuming quinoa too, which was abundant in this salad. More please, I keep thinking this morning. Why was I too full to eat anymore?

White Chocolate Sandwich
Dulce de Leche

Dulche de Leche heaped to look like poo, but that was the only bad thing about this dessert. It had everything else that was so right about it. Delicious vanilla-like ice cream, blends perfectly with the sweet sweet caramel and it all becomes very amicable in your mouth really.

Bounty

My friends preferred this dessert because it was less sweet and it was bitter chocolate powder with coconut flakes, which was a lot healthier than the other dessert I suppose.
And just like that, we ended our dinner with Colin Fassnidge. No really, he was sitting at the table right next to us. Thank goodness for Masterchef, we now know the face of the people who cook our fancy meals and can recognise them when they are dining amongst us.

The service of the place was very friendly and professional, and the restaurant is one of those dimlight, noisy chatter place with an open kitchen in the corner. I know my iPhone pics don't do the pics any justice. And my throbbing head this morning from all the wine I'd consumed doesn't help me revive the memory beyond the purple haze my iphone is showing me, but I knew it was good. Very good and we all happily paid our $85 each with no complaints and went home haply ever aft.

- The End -