Fashion Friday: Top 10 Looks from Spring 2014 Haute Couture Collections

Happy Fashion Friday!

So this week was Spring Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris, a week when the best of the best of fashion present the most magnificent outfits and gowns that only the elite are able to wear. Most of these outfits and gowns are one of a kind making them priceless and memorable.

There are only a handful of designers that are considered to be "Haute Couture" which means high sewing, some being Chanel, Christian Dior and Givenchy. To become a couture designer, you have to be a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and your pieces need to meet certain standards.

I went through all the collections from this past week and I decided to pick my Top 10 outfits and gowns, but I'm only choosing from designers that are members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture or who are correspondent members.

Top 10:

Atelier Versace

 

 

This suit is absolutely gorgeous! I love the tailoring and the hood just adds a chic touch to this beautifully made suit. Donatella Versace said that her inspiration for this collection was a strong and powerful woman, like Grace Jones, and this entire collection definitely embodies that look.

 

 

Top 9:

 

Giambattista Valli

 

This collection was fun and youthful with its extremely high hemlines and bright pops of color. This dress was my favorite it because its different, yet stunningly beautiful and I could see Blake Lively wearing on the red carpet.


Top 8 and 7:

Valentino

 

I LOVE Valentino because when I think of the brand, I think of romantic gowns and stunning embroidery, and that's exactly what was presented in this collection. Valentino's inspiration was the opera, having the opening piece be a gown designed with the score of one of the opera's that inspired the collection on it. I though that these two gowns embodied the romantic essence that I love from Valentino.

 

 

Top 6:

 

Armani Privé

 

 

This gown by Armani Privé literally made my mouth drop to the floor. Usually Armani is very striking with his collections, using intense fabrics and colors to leave a memorable impression, but this dress was just the opposite. Its color, fabric and detailing took my breath away making it one of the most memorable dresses in my eyes. I pray that someone wears this to the Academy Awards and if not... I might cry.

 

 

Top 5, 4 and 3:

 

Elie Saab



What can I say? Elie Saab is literally a fashion God! His collections are the ones I look forward to seeing the most during fashion week, and he never disappoints. His dresses are always red carpet ready and always make the best dressed lists because of their classic silhouettes and glamour. He used some beautiful colors in this collection, including soft blush rose and different shades of purple. If no one wears any of his pieces to the Academy Awards (which I highly doubt no one will) I will also cry...


Top 2 and 1:

Chanel

 

 

 

As you will probably come to find out the more I blog about fashion, Chanel is my all time favorite designer. I have studied Chanel for a few years now, both in college and on my own, and I just cannot comprehend the genius that is Karl Lagerfeld. With this, in my eyes, being one of his best shows yet it makes me desperate to see what this man comes up with next. Now I know Chanel isn't for everyone, but to me there's just something so mysterious about Chanel and I love how Lagerfeld takes pieces from Coco Chanel's older collections and revamps them into show-stopping outfits and gowns like these two dresses. I don't think I will ever stop loving Chanel and hopefully someday I will be able to see one of Chanel's show in person.

 

 

 



I hope you enjoyed this weeks Fashion Friday! Make sure to follow this blog, my Tumblr, Polyvore and Instagram!

Have a great weekend!

~Nicolina xx

 

 



Makeup Monday: Queen Elsa Tutorial

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

And also Happy First Makeup Monday!!!

I have been working on this tutorial for about two weeks now! I went to the movies two weeks ago to go see Disney's Frozen and since then I haven't been able to get the characters, music and story out of my head!! The movie was incredible and all I do now is sing the songs and watch clips of the movie, aka I'm addicted...

"I'm Olaf! And I like warm hugs!"

While watching the movie, I took mental notes on Queen Elsa's makeup, because it was just so beautiful and she is also my favorite character! So I decided to do a makeup tutorial based on Elsa's makeup. This makeup tutorial is really simple and fun! So I hope you like it and if you have any ideas for a future tutorial, leave a comment below!



Queen Elsa

These are all of the products I used in the tutorial:

 

 

So I first started off with a fresh face (and of course Elsa's hairstyle):

 

 

 

Starting with my face I used Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Foundation in the color 10 Classic Ivory. I then used my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to blend it all over my face.

 

 

 

 

Next I used my Rimmel London Match Perfection Concealer and Highlighter in the color 125 Fair, using my Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, under my eyes to brighten any dark spots.

 

 

 

Next I used my Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in 001 Transparent to set the foundation using my Real Techniques Powder Brush.



 

 

Lastly, for my face, I used my L'Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Blush in the color True Match C5-6 Rosy Outlook/La vie en Rose. I used this on the tops of my cheek bones, lightly brushing this on with my Real Techniques Blush Brush.

 

 

 

 

I then went and filled in my eyebrows to fill in any gaps with my MAC Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow, using my MAC 266 Brush.

 

 

 

 

Now for the eyes: I used my bhCosmetics Cool Shimmer Eyeshadow 88 Color Palette. I used four colors circled below (unfortunately they do not have specific names, so I labeled them by number).

 

 

 

Using Eye Shadow #1, I used my Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush to blend it all over my lid, crease and brow bone. Then I used Eye Shadow #2 on the inner corner and middle of my lid, blending it out towards my outer lid. I also used Eye Shadow #2 under my eye to make the color pop more.

 

      

 

Using Eye Shadow #3, I put it on the outer corner of my lid, blending it with Eye Shadow #2. Next I put Eye Shadow #4 into my crease, while blending it in with the other shadows.

 



 

 

 

Next I used CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus in the color 200 Black Onyx to line my eyelash line and my water line.

 



 

 

Next, I used my Too Faced Lash Injection mascara on my top and bottom lashes.



 

 

Lastly, I used one of my favorite products, Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in the color 010 Raspberry Pie.

 

And this is the Final Look! 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial and leave a comment below if you have any ideas for future tutorials! Also remember to follow me on my Polyvore, Instagram and Tumblr.

 

~Nicolina xx





Fashion Friday: My Top Five Best Dressed at the Golden Globes

Happy Friday!

Welcome to my first "Fashion Friday" where every Friday I will be posting fashion related entries and on Monday's I will be posting "Makeup Monday's" where I'll write about makeup and do tutorials.

For my first Fashion Friday, I decided to choose my Top 5 favorite dresses and looks that were at the Golden Globes. I also decided to go onto my Polyvore and put together an outfit that I would wear to the Golden Globes, if only I were so lucky..

So to kick it off my Top 5 is:

Emma Watson in Christian Dior Haute Couture

 

 

When I first saw Emma walk out onto the red carpet I thought it was kind of boring and not like a typical Emma Watson look, since she usually takes fashion risks. But when she turned around and revealed she was wearing pants underneath her dress I DIED!

 



I always appreciate Emma and her style because she understands fashion and she takes risks, and this was a risk that paid off and landed her on all of the best dressed lists!

My Top 4:

Allison Williams in Alexander McQueen

Black and white was a major trend on the red carpet and I thought Allison Williams looked chic and beautiful which made her stand out from the rest. Alexander McQueen is one of my favorite designers but sometimes it is very difficult to wear because it is so avant garde, but Allison pulled it off beautifully. She is definitely one to watch in the fashion world!

My Top 3:

Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior Haute Couture

This dress is either a hit or miss. Many people who I know hated this dress comparing it to Ariel wearing the sail when she met Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid.

 

 

But when I saw this dress on the red carpet, I liked it! It's different and memorable. Also Rachel Zoe was Jennifer's stylist and to me, Rachel does no wrong! Rachel Zoe is the reason why I want to be a celebrity stylist and I know that when she puts an outfit together it ends up on the best dressed list! Overall, I really like this dress and if anyone could pull it off, it's Jennifer Lawrence.

 

 

My Top 2:

 

 

Olivia Wilde in Gucci Premiere

 

 



Olivia Wilde literally pulls off pregnancy better than any human being in the entire world! She looks absolutely stunning in this Gucci dress and when I saw her on the red carpet, my mouth dropped to the floor. The color is gorgeous, her hair is gorgeous, everything about her is GORGEOUS!!! Well done Wilde.

And My Top 1:

Lupita Nyong'o in Ralph Lauren Collection

I always love seeing new fashionista's come out of nowhere and steel the thunder on the red carpet! Lupita, from 12 Years a Slave, blew everyone away in this dress! The color, her makeup.. everything is just PERFECTION! And because of this look, I cannot wait to see what Lupita wears to and Screen Actors Guild Awards this Sunday, and of course the biggest award show of them all, The Academy Awards.

So like I said earlier, I put together an outfit that I would wear if I were blessed to go to the Golden Globes... and this is it:

 

 

Dress: Elie Saab Haute Couture

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik

Clutch: Alexander McQueen

Jewelry: Art Deco Navette Diamond Ring

Lipstick: Nars Orgasm

Nail Polish: Essie Encrusted Holiday 2013

Perfume: Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

 

 

You can find more of my outfits on my Polyvore,

I hope you enjoyed my first Fashion Friday, and come back on Monday for my first Makeup Monday where I do a makeup tutorial based on one of the characters from Disney's Frozen!

~Nicolina xx

Beautiful Day in Boston

It's a bit chilly but I am loving the cool air in Boston. Unfortunatly, I am not able to experience it since I'm training for my upcoming spring semester at college as a resident assistant. Luckily, I was able to sneak out for a few minutes to enjoy the fresh air!

I will be uploading a new makeup tutori in the coming days inspired by the Disney movie Frozen, so keep an eye out for that!

~Nicolina xx

New Year's Day at the Newport Manisons!

Hello!

So yesterday I spent a lovely day with my sister Lauren at the Newport Mansions in Newport, Rhode Island.

View of Newport Bridge from Jamestown

I absolutely love visiting these incredible estates, especially at this time of the year because they are decorated for Christmas! If you do not know about the mansions they were built by wealthy families like the Vanderbilts and Astors during the Guilded Age. The were called "Summer Cottages" and were only occupied during the summer season, which was about six to eight weeks!

The Breakers was the first mansion that we visited and it was built in 1893 by Cornelius Vanderbilt and it is the largest mansion that the Preservation Society of Newport County owns. It has 70 rooms in all and looks out into the beautiful Atlantic Ocean.

Here are some pictures of The Breakers and the other mansions (Unfortunately I was not able to take pictures inside the mansions except for the beautiful decorations):





In front of The Breakers



Grand Staircase

Christmas Tree <3

The View

Me in back of The Breakers

The next mansion we visited, which is my favorite one, was Marble House (1892), which was owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt's younger brother William K. Vanderbilt and his wife Alva Vanderbilt. I love this house not only because of its beauty (this house cost $11 million dollars in its time to build!) but also because of the history surrounding it. From Alva Vanderbilt and her daughter Consuelo's difficult relationship to the Women Suffrage rallies that Alva Vanderbilt would hold, this estate is just filled with history!

Marble Houses Christmas Tree <3

The last mansion my sister and I visited was The Elms, which is famous for its sunken garden, was the summer estate of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind and was completed in 1901.This house is absolutely gorgeous! It's very open compared to the other mansions that I visited which is why this is my second favorite mansion in Newport.

 

The Elm's Christmas Tree <3

The Elm's Sunken Garden

I had such an incredible day with my sister, and after visiting the mansions we spent some time in Downtown Newport shopping and then we went to my favorite restaurant Brick Alley Pub on Thames Street. If you have never visited Newport, I encourage you to do so. Whether you visit in the summer, which is a large tourist spot, or in the calm winter, Newport is beautiful all year round with many wonderful things to do and see.

Lastly, since this is technically a fashion and beauty blog I should probably explain my outfit :)

Coat: Asos
Scarf: American Eagle
Bag: H&M
Leggings: Wetseal
Boots: I got them forever ago so I don't remember where they are from, either delia's or alloy, but I am not sure.. 

Thank you for reading my post and I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Year! Also you can learn more about these incredible mansions on the Preservation Society of Newport County's website.

~Nicolina xx