PAINT THE TOWN RED

I wonder if my great mood this past weekend had anything to do with the long weekend? Hhmmm... Most probably but actually upon reflection I realised it probably had much to do with the weather, and that the sun shone through out like Summer had come early.

Well a huge thank you very much to Mr Sun for shining and for allowing me to play dress up. The only thing worse than bad weather is wasting good weather. I did a lot of hanging out with my brother Saturday afternoon and with some of my mates Sunday, all on a mission to paint the town red.

My nostalgia for summer inspired this cute outfit made up of my favourite red sandals passed down from my momma, tutu skirt that I have had for some years now, dress T that I now know doubles up as a top, and a new addition to the kids: fringe/tasseled bag.

Chaa-w for now Honies. :)

BOOTS AND ALL

It's been a while since I scooped something that will go with everything in my closet. The last time I remember a new buy that I'm excited about was the denim T, which has since been swapped for the tartan shirt. I cannot wait to pair these bad boys with EVERYTHING. I can see the the obvious, an all black ensemble, made up of a midi tight fittng LDB, or a tulip skirt paired with a polo, or that polo paired with demin skinnies or tights. These are items I thought of from the top of my closet, but I know that the one piece leather item I keep dreaming about would also be perfect with these. :)

Chaa-w for now.

TARTAN FEST

It's quite interesting how I never used to like anything Tartan. That's generally my attitude towards anything I feel is being overdone and there was a time I used to see tartan-everything EVERYWHERE! So anyway here I am in awe of how obsessed I am with this shirt. It's my go to item when I'm having a laid back easy day, and I'm just in the mood for a more chilled look. I pretty much throw it on with anything or probably just wear it alone when I'm channeling the chilled-sexy mood(yes that is a mood, and it exists). By the way this shirt is an item taken from the boyfriend's closet, who reckoned it would look better on me than it does on him which I disputed because, well, love , but also because tartan hardly looks bad on anyone when done right. Confession here is that I'm also getting lazier cause you know, winter does that to people, sooooo I'm pretty chuffed that I can have items in my closet that support the hibernating process but still look fabulous enough to wear when a day out in the town comes calling. FYI: monochromes with a pop of colour still apply here. :)

 Chaa-w for now. :)

FOXY

I may have gone away on a mild hiatus and haven't been posting as often as I had promised myself I would. Which is terrible because I really love coming here and spazzing out all these cute looks for you guys. I am so sorry but I am here and that's all water under the bridge cause I've finally come up for air and I'm feeling pretty foxy. As foxy as I did about a few weeks ago when I stepped out in this vintage leather coat I copped from my fabulous mom's closet. These are the the looks I live for.  Effortless, chique and classic. A bit of or a lot of sexy too never hurt. And how else to pull it off but in all black? Huh?

Leather dragging on the floor.

CHAA-w for now.

Ella and Audrey loved Hip Hop

There's definitely a lot of Audrey-esque inspiration here. There's also a whole lot of Ella Fitzgerald and Lauryin Hill playing in my head at the same time. Also I just feel like life would've been perfect in a world where they all lived in the same era. It would be stimulation overload on the senses which for me is never not needed. I thrive on a copious supply of the things I love.

Chaa-w for now.

6th Avenue

 

"I don't like how serious they take themselves.
I've always been me I just know myself."

Rememeber I said sometimes I walk out of the house and there's a jam playing in my head that resonates with my mood? Well here it's Dreezy's "Know Yourself". 

Chaa-w for now. :) 

SKHAA-ed SKIN

SCAR | SKHAA: Skin has an accent

So when it comes to some of things I take seriously, good skin is right up there with beautiful clothes, a classic pair of stunning shoes and a flattering shade of lip colour. Though I’m no expert on how to have good skin and maintain it, I think I’ve done well with intuitively choosing to not compromise on certain products that have kept my skin happy and healthy looking. 

Interestingly I never really used to care about my skin routine, neither did I have go-to products I used religiously in the name of having good skin. But at some point my mother kept insisting I pay, literally, PAY (more from my pocket) attention to keeping my skin looking youthful and radiant. Mom could easily say this though cause her skin is absolutely gorgeous and I had hoped that mine would magically look as good as hers did as though she was the one in her early 20s. \

Now that I have listened to mom, these are the products I really swear by for skin and body. And that I would buy even my worst enemy because you can’t dislike anyone to the point of wishing them bad skin. If anything, everyone deserves good skin. It basically dictates how good we feel about ourselves and is serum booster to our confidence.

Without further a do I now introduce you to the stars of the show.

1. Body scrub from the Body Shop. I don't know what I was doing before I started exfoliating. I remember when we were kids, our mother did not dispose of the empty orange sacks at home because they later on functioned as our body scrub. I so didn’t get it then, but I so get it now. I want a good analogy for the need to exfoliate but the best I can do is no one should be ok with ashy dull skin. Stop that.
2. Serum: the life support of good skin. I swear by my Double Serum and Bright Plus. And it was hard to even reduce my love for Clarins to just three (last one is coming next). God’s very hands made the Double Serum. Be as it may that I do not really fall within the target market the double serum was aimed at, but the biggest selling phrase I’ve bought into is that anti-aging products can be used from your mid 20s, basically the earlier you start the mission to keep your skin looking young for as long as possible, the better. So I use the double serum two to three times a week, as part of my exfoliating face routine, and also on days where I feel like I haven’t slept enough. Then my BFF of skin products, Bright Plus -toned and glowy. Right now my skin guys is really is the best its ever been. 
3. Beauty Flash! Which is that precisely and everything. An effortless face lifter disguised as nothing more than moisturiser in a tube. I wear it alone, or as a base for make up. Then it triples up as a night cream. Then it quadruples up as a face mask. So you get why I don’t think I could live without this dynamite in my life?
4. Bio Oil. This comes from someone who’s really tried most and almost everything. But Bio Oil is my truth. 

Lip colour gal I am. this winter I’m really obsessed with ombre lips and lip liners. So my constant shade of lip line is Vixen from Revlon Colourstay. It’s godly. And I swear by it cause it suits every skin tone. Amen to beauty products that do not discriminate!

Revlon Colourburst matte balm | 205

Smudge lip liner | Cafe LL277

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm | 215

CHAA-w for now. :)

TALK TALK TALK

I think the best thing about discovering yourself is knowing you can be whatever and whoever you want to be without feeling what you are already is not enough. The opportunity to reveal more of what I am and are still to become excites me.

I have fought often against coming across as something I am not because I am afraid my temperaments are dispositioned from what people are often used to, and more importantly, what I am used to.

But you realise that you are meant to evolve and change, grow (and break), unfold and mould, it is all very necessary. What is unnecessary is the impression that we cannot be incomplete, when self discovery is a life long endeavour.

:)

QUEEN KUNTA

I don't know what it is about having a head wrap or wrapping your head up in a bun that has you knowing for sure that you could rule over the seven kingdoms tomorrow. Or is it just me?

Here I basically didn't really feel like anything high maintenance, since I was headed to a pop up market. But then my boyfriend's top and my favourite high wasted jeans also felt like the outfit was incomplete, until I decided to do my hair like so. :) 

And what are my outfits lately without some ruby woo Mac Loving?

Also I've realised that there are *songs that are playing in my head when my outfits are complete and I'm ready to walk out of the door. So here I'm jamming Beyonce ft. Nicki Minaj's 'Feeling myself' and Kendrick Lamar's 'King Kunta'. Nothing can stop me now. :)

Whilst we're talking about queening, Naso was the lady behind the lens and I really loved so many of the shots she took that it was so hard to just post only a few. You are a gem Naso!

And Chaa-w for now. ;)

DREAMING OF CANNES

I've been definitely dreaming about going to Cannes. You could swear I've been there the whole week. Blame it on that dreamy Raf Simon's cruise collection for Dior Resort 2016, which I still feel LIKE I deserved to have been part of. But isn't that what all fashion lovers deserve? I can't be alone.

Typically, I decided to channel my energy away from the envy and rather towards this ivory white on white ensemble that I believe resembles what the French are known for: romance and perfectionism. White isn't for the faint hearted, it's to be worn at your own risk but when you do pull it off, the end result has you feeling like you should indeed be walking the streets of France or cruising along the coast of the French Rivera enjoying champagne and looking at admiring beautiful people draped in beautiful clothes.

As per usual, I have to mention that my favorite item for this look is this recent find, my long length sleeveless blouse. It's gonna be a classic in my wardrobe. And  I think it works well for both summer and winter seasons. So if you're concerned about the colder winter nights, throw on a trench coat or parker, and that should do ok. Just note that my secret for winter is to layer layer layer, on top or underneath. Just layer.

Chaa-w for now. (read as Bonjour) :) 

DARK SUNSHINE

I’m finally embracing the cold mornings and evenings with warm afternoons in between. So I've decided to channel my denial towards looking for anything black, grey or white in my closet (or at Cotton On, Zara, Mr Price, Top Shop, a thrift shop etc.) for a borderline monochrome look. For these two reasons:

1. Everything (most people too) looks good in these colours. You just have to make sure you wear it right, FOR YOU!
2. The plan isn’t to always up look like a dark cloud. My plan is to do the monochrome look often, yet add one bright item that pops out, like I did here with these bright orange block heels, next time it could be a scarf, or a hat.

This will be a winter rule for me. Please do join me. This is so that we don’t forget that the sun will of course shine again.

Chaa-w for now.