Edelman, Edelman

CTRL COPY

Zalando pop-up store

Muted tones of autumn | Outfit

COIF/LIFE

I'm catching up! This event took place only - ahum - three weeks ago. Being the daughter of a hairdresser, I immediately mailed for an invitation when I heard about the event via Media Mania. I always loved walking around hair expos with my mum and colleagues when I was little. So much crazy hairstyles and new hypes I discovered there. Take for example spray tan, more than 10 years ago you could already test it out on hair/beauty expos. I'm pretty sure that my fascination for eccentric hair colours and styles stems from all of these wonderful expos and shows. 

#Antwerpfashionfestival2013

Time flies, especially when you're out exploring Antwerp and meeting up with friends. If there was any doubt before, now I'm 100% sure my next residence will be located in A-town. A month ago (yikes) my beloved city organized a fashion festival. We can only applaud a weekend filled with fashion and friends. Many thanks to Marnix & Ally for all of their hard work and for inviting us to the chic kick off of the festival. If you want, because what else is there to do on a Sunday evening, you can read some top-notch reports by my fellow bloggers: The Ginger Diaries, Archistas, Bags & Chocolate, Golden Mirrors & Pink Bows, Anouk meets Fashion, ...

What about my report? I decided to talk a little about two (jewellery) brands that stood out for me. Don't worry, I also included a dozen of pictures.

The Big You IV

This was already the second time we were invited for The Big You and now at least one of us was in the country, we be jet-setting all the time. So while Sabrina was living it up in Venice, I was finally enjoying everything that UPR had to offer. I'm sure you can expect some belle immagini coming your way in the near future. 

The event. We were welcomed in the beautiful loft were it all started for UPR back in 2001. I definitely wouldn't mind placing my desk down there. It was very nice to finally meet the faces behind the weekly press releases ☺.

Why do I like Rituals?!

Yesterday was the launch of Rituals' biggest Flagship store in the heart of Antwerp. Having no breaks at all - read: not coming out of the house except for finals - I thought what the hell Sabrina, just HAVE ONE. I'm that kind of girl that feels bad and full of guilt when I'm doing something fun during a period where discipline for studying is the greatest of all. 

Anywhooo! I don't talk a lot about beauty on the blog, maybe some more? What do you think? 99 % of the time I always stick to my favorite brands and hardly try a new one. Traditional? Maybe. But I do have a range of different brands I use so having 135435461 kind of products that give more or less the same result but just has another name isn't really my cup of tea. 

Rituals is one of those pampering brands I absolutely adore. Just only by entering the shop it's like I'm in beauty heaven. It gives a zen-feeling when walking around and it smells SO. GOOD. This Flagshipstore doesn't offer a whole new range of products which they already offered online but it is just much much bigger than the usual Rituals shop. I LIKE. Because most of the time, if there are a lot of people in the shop, I almost feel like a sardine in a box :-). 

But but why do I like Rituals?! 

• I'm no coffee-lover AT ALL but when it comes to tea, ahhhhhh. Hammam-Mint and Jasmin Delight are my cup of tea.  

• Last but not least, this one is an absolute recommendation! The Qi - Stress Relief Serum. Last year during second semester it was SO HOT that walking from my exam to the train station, the only thing that came to mind was 'I want to jump in a pool, I want to jump in a pool,...' . When passing the Rituals shop I just had to enter because the temperature inside was bearable. The shopassistent immediately said to me 'Oh, gosh you look stressed and tired'. I thought, okay it's that obvious I look horrible.. She gave me a little of the serum and rubbed it on my wrists and behind my ears and a little bit on my forehead. IT WAS AMAZING. Because of the mint-flavor it completely brings you zen and I didn't feel that hot anymore. It was true magic for me!

Everyone knows what Rituals is of course but in my opinion it was worth mentioning it ;-).

Now some more studying, 5 more days to go!
Sabrina, x.

An evening with Ici Paris XL

My mumsie!

Picking out nail polish

Just roll some cotton on the sharp ends of the sticks and you have perfect touch-up tools

I'll spare you the silly pictures with plastic hair net

Every now and then my local Ici Paris XL store organizes special evenings. A while ago I attended a Dior workshop with my darling mum (thank you for sponsoring!) and I wouldn't be a blogger if I hadn't taken pictures to shower you with.

 

Every good evening starts (and proceeds) with some bubbles of course. After a warm welcome we were guided to our first table: nail time! We could choose from a wide range of Dior nail polishes and in the meanwhile also listen to professional tips & tricks. These ladies know what they are talking about! Moving on to the next table with facial care: different products & textures to test. Every pretty house needs a solid foundation people! Thoroughly cleansed skin can better withstand all the make-up madness. At the last table things got serious: make-up. Here it was very important to listen attentively to the instructions if you didn't want to end up as Two-Face. One half done by the professionals and next it was your turn. Starting with a proper foundation, a highlighter around the eye area, some fixating powder, moving on to eyeliner and eyeshadow, and finishing with some appealing lipgloss. Et voila, allurement all around.

With success and my mouth full of scrumptious sandwiches, this enlightening evening came to an end. On top of that we could go home with a goodie basket and prolong the pampering some more. I also bought a dior topcoat nail polish, fast drying nails? Yes please! You can visit the Ici Paris XL Mechelen facebook page or general Ici Paris XL page for more information and regular updates on special offers & discounts.

Conclusion: bring on the beauty workshops! 

Cheers

Naomi, x.

Cocktail-'o-clock with Cointreau

Want to try out something new that involves cocktails? 

This past weekend we decided to do something different and having read lots of reviews about the Cointreau Fizz Garden my curiosity-antenne was on a roll! So we decided to go to Brussels and visit this magnificant garden. Although it was snowing outside, the interior gave me an immediate spring/summer feeling! 

And I must admit it was cosy. The room was provided with different places to sit; in that way we had a lovely tête-à-tête. It was filled with amazing flowers (by Thierry Boutemy!), from the ceiling to the walls and tables were decorated with exotic fruits. Hmm-mm-mmm!

This fairy tale garden wasn't only delightful for the eyes but also for our taste buds with their cocktails. You can choose out of 14 cocktails and they all have special ingredients such as the Cointreau Fizz with Cucumber and Basil or even with Cherry tomatoes. They also served the common cocktails like a Margaritha and Sidecar but with a splash of Cointreau of course. If you want to put an extra personal touch to it, that's possible as well. I actually never tried Cointreau before that night, weird right? But it was very tasty. Personally I wouldn't drink lots of cocktails with Cointreau in it just because it has - for me - a distinct flavor. But certainly something to remember for my upcoming summer garden party (yes, it is too early to think about it but I don't care).

And a guest DJ (differs from day to day) made the atmosphere complete. What more can I say? Good setting, good music and good drinks. If you have the time and craving for a summer mood with cocktails, do try it out. Doors open from 18:30 on thursday, friday and saturday.

Cointreau Fizz Garden 

Wolvengracht 48

1000 Brussel

Cheers.
Sabrina, x. 

Estall Magic

Last Thursday we were invited by dynamic duo Marnix & Ally to discover a new design concept: dress your lamp. Needless to say, we were immediately charmed by the idea. With our blog we want to convey the message that everyone's life is unique and that you have to 'dress' it in your own way. Interior design is a very convenient way of expressing yourself, so what's better than a lamp that you can dress according to your mood, interior decoration, season, time of day,... 

For Wouter and Ainhoa it all began when they gazed in awe at hundreds of colorful paper lanterns, lighting up the dark sky in Vietnam. They wanted to bring this magic into people's homes and embarked on a two year design adventure. Eventually this led to the establishment of Estall and a first collection of lamps and coats.

Wouter Allaert & Ainhoa Estella

Estall's first lamp is called DL 01. The lamp is available with a pendel for hanging or a base for standing. As a nice bonus, the lamp also fits most standard light fixtures, if you already have a spot for it at home ;-).

The first collection of coats is called Journey and consist of 11 colours. All coats are made of 100% wool felt, which gives a special touch to the lighting, different for every colour. 

At the event we received a short presentation about the collection and straightaway it was clear that this brand strives for simplicity and elegance. The coats are really easy to switch, I examined it myself ;-). 

Estall magic

superb location & tasty treats

  

Starting today you can explore the brand yourself on their website or facebook page. In my mind I'm already decorating my loft-to-be.. How do you want your lamp dressed?

Thanks again to Marnix & Ally for having us!

Adios!
Naomi, x. 

Rihanna for River Island | VIP shopping night

Last week I received an invitation from Belmodo to attend the launch of the Rihanna for River Island collection on Monday. Big thank you once again! While an extravagant Rihanna bus was taking us to our destination, Oona spoiled us with gallons of Tao and a delicious Exki lunch box. Best sandwiches of my life (Pauly D style)!

Sandwiches already in my tummy - Exki

We arrived in Amsterdam - fashionably late -  and were welcomed by fresh cocktails and fun beats. Too bad they didn't have an after-party in the store, I was so in for it! Luckily we had our after-party karaoke in the bus on our way back home ;-).
 
On to some snapshots of the collection: my favourites were the striped top and leather cap.

Thugs 4 life - me & Ines

What do you think of the collection? For me personally, the items were a tad overpriced and since nothing blew me away, I went home empty-handed. Although, I loved the clothes on other girls!

My partners in crime - Anouschka, Eline & Astrid

What's a VIP night without VIPs? Joy & Charlotte

The cool guys

Wearing: Top - H&M / Sweater - River Island / Necklace - Didi / Pants - WE / Flats - Forever21 / Bag - Primark

I definitely had a great night! Under my umbrella on repeat.

Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

Naomi, x.

THE BIG YOU 3

Last Wednesday we were invited by UPR to attend ‘The Big You’! After reading loads about this BIG event we were extremely excited and curious. Immediately impressed by the beautiful building, we walked into a room where there was this thing you can only describe as loads and loads of pampering! :) It was all about eating cupcakes, having appetizers, drinking smoothies and delicious sodastream lemonade, trying out different beauty products and tasting illy coffee as a real pro, or at least pretending to be one. ;)

Melanie joined me because my other partners in crime were living it up in France. Yes indeed Naomi and Sabrina, this is the big green envy monster talking! Needless to say TBY3 was fantastic and I completely forgot all about my missed vacation. A big thank you UPR!

Interim Blonde to the rescue

 

Greetings, 
Elke & Melanie, x