I've Missed You, Ron'

M*A*C Nailpolish

I just had to have these! I can't showing off the new colors of my nails!
I <3 the M*A*C's Quite Cute-nailpolish collection: little girl type & mischievous mint.

The Quite Cute collection is now available at your local M*A*C-store or counter...

Alexander McQueen at the Met

Practically once a week I nag my boyfriend that I want to go back to NYC. And this Alexander McQueen-exposition wasn't helping at all. But now apparently there's a limited edition-scarf to go with it? Come on, you're killing me here!

Photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen/Harper's Bazaar

Liège - April 77

No need to tell you how amazing the weather was yesterday. It was lovely to finally walk around barelegged in one of my favorite spring dresses. As it would have been a shame to pass the day inside, we decided to head out to Liège and spend the day wandering around the city.

It was so much fun: we visited my favorite store Irina Khä, had a nice lunch outside on one of the city's busy squares and we were about to head back to the parking lot via a different route when we stumbled upon a store I hadn't visited in 5 years. I even don't know what the store is called. All I know is that -as former Fornarina fans- my sister and I were regulars at this tiny store. At first I didn't want to enter the shop, as I definitely left that clothing style behind me, but I guess the 'Liquidation Totale'-sign lured me  in.

Now, I'm not that kind of person who'll just buy something just because it has a Sale-tag on it. But as soon as I saw that the soon-to-be-gone store carried April 77-jeans, it got pretty interesting. I found the skinny jeans all over the shop, in all colors and fabrics but none that suited my 'new style' (think: suited enough to wear to the office). And then, there they were: my all-time favorite velour silvery, skinny pair of April 77! The ones I wore 24/7 during spring/summer 2008! In my size! At half price (120 euro - 50%)! I immediately grabbed them to go and try them, wondering if they would still fit me since I hadn't worn the pair I have at home in ages, as they are to worn-down anyways and I'm too scared that they'll rip-apart in a very public place. But these, these were 'brand new' and they fit me all right. And as the belt-loop had come off, I got my all-time favorite pair at -75%! My parents often think I'm crazy, because I usually buy my favorite items twice, weary of the day that the fabrics give up and the shoes, the jacket, the shirt, whatever just falls apart, but this was a damn good deal!

So if you're a fan of April 77-jeans, make sure to visit the shop at the corner of Rue de l'Université and Rue de la Cathédrale, 'cause probably the next time I'm in town the shop will sell out!

Crème de la Mer Ultimate Experience

The past few days were hell. It had been a long time since I felt this ill and therefore I've spend the last 4 days camping on the sofa/in bed, which bored me out of my mind. And this while knowing that I've got plenty things waiting for me to finish up at work. And the only thing I craved for -besides a decent meal, I've been surviving on bread sticks- was the full body massage I got at work last week, to loosen me up and liberate me from this constant headache.

Last week I got to opportunity to be a model for a La Mer-expert, that needed to train her massaging skills. When a friend of mine at work told me about it, at first I thought that it would be nothing more than a mini-facial along with some skincare tips. Little did I know she signed me up for the Crème de la Mer Ultimate Experience. It was amazing: my feet, legs, stomach, back, neck and arms, literally every inch of my body got exfoliated, scrubbed and massaged with La Mer's top-rated products. And if that weren't enough I got a complete face treatment as well. I believe I almost fell asleep when the La Mer-exepert started to massage the contours of my eyes with The Eye Concentrate's applicators, and it wasn't just because calm ocean sounds were playing in the background. I've been a regular at beauty spa's, especially after stressful exams, seeking for some treatment to calm me down. If I only knew that La Mer gives the best spa treatments! But then again, back then I was living on a student budget...

I know what I'm getting my mom this upcoming Mother's day. I'm getting her a gift card for this 2,5 hour lasting treatment! Not only because I want to pamper her with some of the best beauty products out there (she's a huge fan of The Moisturizing Gel Cream btw) but also, I've been bragging about The Body Refiner so much lately, that I've probably made her very curious.

During the massage last week, the La Mer-expert said to her trainer that 'indeed, The Body Refiner-scrub gave my skin a sparkly glow'. When I asked them both how so, they told me that I had about 2 carat diamond powder on me. I couldn't believe it: diamond dust in body and face creams? After the treatment, I checked the mirror and yes, I was sparkling from head to toe. But more importantly, my skin felt incredibly soft and smooth. And I couldn't stop looking at my skin up close, never mind talking about how fun my day at work had been. So now, on my wish list: I want The Body Refiner!

PS: And since my boyfriend broke his collar bone today, maybe I owe him a La Mer Ultimate Experience-massage as well in four-to-six weeks ...

Roberto Cavalli FW 2011

Since my boyfriend is out carting, I decided to spend this dull sunday afternoon catching up with what's happened in the 'fashion world' the past few weeks. I'm watching all of the videos on Style.com.

And oh, I love Lanvin's 'cape-dresses' and Gucci's vintage feel when it comes to this seasons bags and furs -although I'm not a 70's type of girl, I want that red chiffon dress!-

But my favorite collection has to be Cavalli's: I loved the combo of embroideries and silk! As you may know, last year I was obsessed with the Italian house's silky leopard scarf and now, this year the items Cavalli designed feel like an extension of that. Furthermore, I think Eva is completely right: some looks do feel like armor. They immediately reminded me of late medieval fashion and oriental influences. The girls looked like they just came back from the crusades wearing elaborate decorated doublets, even though the clothes had a very modern cut. These are the pieces I would fight for, I want them in all-black though.

Btw. I don't know why but when I watched the video again, Lily Donaldson-look in Etro Spring Summer 2008 flashed through my mind.

credit: Photo: Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com; video: InDigital Media

La fille d'O Meets Lily Cole Meets Mini Cooper

What's not to like about this video?!



My sister and I talked it through and we're heading to Ghent this month for more la fille d'O! I still need to figure out what I'll get since I want it all (and want it now)!
Read our reviews about favorite lingerie brand here: by Shark Attack 1 and Shark Attack 2.

Credits go to Belmodo.tv for finding and recommending the video.

Clinique - Chubby Stick

Presenting my new favorite lip balm: Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm. I've been meaning to start bragging about this amazing new lip color ever since I first tried a sample a few months ago but what's the point in getting everyone's hopes up if it wasn't for sale yet. Great news: now it is!

The reasons why I'm totally in love with the Chubby Sticks are simple:
- the jojoba-oil, shea and mango butter ingredients render my lips soft and moisturized (very important during harsh wintertimes!) while nourishing them with anti-oxidants.
- the colors are amazing! I hope you can tell from the picture below: the Chubby Sticks have a soft, natural yet intense color, and this while feeling as light as a regular lipstick (I've never been a fan of super shiny and sticky lip glosses by the way!) And so, I'm planning to get this balm in even more tints, and for my mom and sister as well.
- the Chubby Stick's crayon shape is not only cute - I keep one at work in my pencil case - its design is also handy since you just twist the cap on the bottom to use it (no smudging!).

And so my beauty wish list expands: Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Chunky Cherry.

Super Strawberry and Woppin' Watermelon

Prada Ad

I'm not crazy for the bananas but I do want that pink/black & white striped boa!
This is one of the coolest ad campaigns I've seen in a long long time.

High Fashion on the Big Screen - Rodarte's Black Swan

Patricia, my Fashion Film-partner in crime sent me this Style.com-link the other day, something I most definitely would have overlooked due to packed agendas: High Fashion on the Big Screen. I was delighted to see this lovely overview, although it made me miss working on my thesis. And I learned a few new things as well: I never knew that the Wizard of Oz-slippers where by Salvatore Ferragamo!

all images via Style.com

Yesterday I saw Black Swan by the way. Although it's a movie about the dance industry, I was glad that it wasn't a 'Save the Last Dance'-type of movie. The story is quite dark and scary, and Portman's performance is amazing -great moves by the way! Many things were said about Rodarte not getting any credit for their costume designs (I guess not much has changed in the last 100 years since fashion films emerged). Yes, the outfits in the movie are perfect. As I took ballet-classes when I was a kid, I would love to wear any of tutus shown in the film, but the White and Black Swan-outfits were beautiful but not as fashion-forward as I thought they would be, especially since it caused such a stir. They were just so conservative for being by the hand of my beloved Rodarte. What do you think?

Eitherway, on a different note, Patricia and two of her fashionable friends have launched a new fashion blog: Ella & Louise! I love it since it so versatile. Street style, personal style and fashion news; Great combo!

Jason Wu F/W 2011

I'm not a Jason Wu-type of girl. But that golden, embroidered dress is stunning!
And the 24 carat hair is by Aveda!

Bill Cunningham New York

One of my favorite site by newspapers is The New York Times. One page I always check when visiting the site is On The Street with Bill Cunningham - Just see for yourself to understand why. So when I spotted the trailer of this documentary about the photographer on The Sartorialist I got really excited! I really wish that they'll show this 'fashion film' (I miss my thesis badly!) in Belgium or I'll just have to order it on Amazon.com once again... Btw. has anyone seen Valentino The Last Emperor yet?

Estée Lauder & Derek Lam F/W 2011

Mister Tom Pecheux, you make me wish for fall 2011!
Estée Lauder's Creative Make-up Director never fails to excite me (remember the Blue Dahlia-line?) and so when I saw his latest creation for Derek Lam's show my heart practically skipped a beat. I'm crazy for metallics, especially when it comes to eye shadows, so how could I not love this sleek look called Pure Color. It has this glamour, party make-up feel to it, but is still very sophicticated and classy.

I can't wait to get my hands on it and try for myself. Only a few month to go, right?

Makeup: Tom Pecheux for Estée Lauder

Cayman Collection

Finally I got the chance to see my new case -since I had it delivered to my parents' house. I absolutely love the flashy color, the croc-texture and the smell of the Italian leather, which reminds me of old southern shoe shops. Just as I thought it would be the first time I spotted the case on carolinesmode.com

My leather goods are becoming a bit too matchy-matchy though.

D&G Bag - Graphic Image-case & Marc Jacobs-key ring

Btw. The service by Graphic Image is amazing - the case wrapped nicely in a cotton cloth/nice box and the package arrived from NY in only one week.

Barneys

I don't know why but I think this picture is amazing. I didn't even notice the crabs at first. Maybe that PS1-has something to do with it though.

Picture: The Barneys catalogue
Read the whole article here

M*A*C Cosmetics

 Great news! One of my favorite make-up brands just launched a brand new website for Belgium and The Netherlands! Visit http://www.maccosmetics.be/ and http://www.maccosmetics.nl/ to find out more on their latest products and collections (make sure to sign up for the newsletter) and to view Do It Yourself-videos.

iPhone Case

Wanted: a nice, leather iPhone-case.
Yesterday we spent the day shopping in Dusseldorf (great shopping city by the way: Chanel, Tiffany's ... ) and I decided to start looking for a protective case for my phone, since it bothers me that I can't put my keys in the same pocket as my phone 'cause it would scratch it. So it's either a new bag with more pockets in it or a case. Finding a bag I like usually isn't the problem but since I already have too many, I decided to go for the latter. Problem is that the only ones I could find, are too -let's say it like it is- ugly.

First stop, the Louis Vuitton-store at Köningsallee. And since I'm not a huge fan of the classic monogram or the damier graphite buying a 180 euro case wasn't an option.

(Source: Louis Vuitton)

Next stop was Gucci, but those were just horrible! See for yourself.

(Source: Gucci)

While my sister was looking for some new shoes, I asked the sales assistant at Prada's if he could help me out. He said all of the iPhone-cases were sold out but gave me brochure so I could see what they were like. Maybe I'm too picky but these are just plain boring. Why can't Prada make an iPhone-case that matches my credit card holder? 

(Source: Prada)

And so my phone is still without a cover and I'm in need of your help! Do you know where I can find a cool one? 

Givenchy Couture - Pt. 2

I have missed most of the men fashion shows and I'm still catching up on all the articles regarding the Couture-shows for spring 2011. But without seeing anything else from the other designers, I already know Givenchy will be my favorite, once again! (and I don't even like pastels btw.)

Pictures by Givenchy

Estée Lauder Nederland

Just a quick shout-out to Shark Attack's Dutch readers to join the brand new Estée Lauder Nederland-fanpage! If you're looking for an interactive platform to discover and communicate with this first-class beauty brand, this facebook-site will be the place to be.

Kimora Lee's Closet

Okay, I can somewhat understand those golden Louis Vuitton, but what's up with Hello Kitty?

Clinique - New Clarifying Lotion

Of course when I meet up with my girlfriends, we often discuss our favorite beauty products. And although most of them use the best skincare products in the world, it surprises me that, when I ask them what they are using to exfoliate their skin, they usually answer 'nothing'. 

Exfoliating your skin is crucial. It removes dead skin cells, which will give you a more radiant look, while clearing your pores. Furthermore, it helps the moisturizers and other products you use afterwards to be more effective since they can treat your skin more thoroughly without having dead skin cells literally blocking their way. And a great plus is that exfoliating helps speeding up the renewal of cells, which makes your skin look younger and brighter. 

My favorite exfoliator by far is Clinique's Clarifying Lotion, which I use twice a day. Since I need mild treatments for my sensitive skin, Clarifying Lotion 1 works wonders for me. I love the fresh feeling it leaves on my skin when sweeping this water-like product on a cotton pad over my face. And now, this Clinique classic has been updated. As from today you'll find the new Clarifying Lotions in store, which help clearing your skin from everyday pollution, stress and a hectic lifestyle. In brief, it has the same benefits as the previous formula but will protect your skin even more from external influences.

All of my other beauty favorites I can do a day without, but when it comes to the Clarifying Lotion, I can really tell by the appearance of my skin when I skipped a day. And so I always have a backup bottle just in case, but then again that goes for the entire 3 Step Skin Care. 

A tip I usually give my girl friends: I know that great beauty products can be expensive, and even more so when you can't immediately find the ones that work for you. Of course getting the right advice from your sales assistant is essential but a good way to give Clinique a fair try without splurging, are the Introductory Kits. You can find 3 Step-sets, which includes the Facial Soap, the new Clarifying Lotion and the DDML, for about 30 euro. And trust me, they go a long way. 

San Pellegrino Meets Missoni

Love that new design of my favorite sparkling water!

Aveda Shampure Shampoo

Reading this beauty-post by Garance Doré the other day, made me realize that I haven't told you about my favorite shampoo yet!

I'm a huge fan of Aveda's Smooth Infusion-line (more about that later this month), but my favorite shampoo for everyday use must be Shampure Shampoo. It makes your hair feel superclean and healthier. Plus, I love the fact that it foams so much, but my favorite feature of this products is its 25 flower and plants extracts, which gives it an incredible yet natural scent. It's been crazy for this shampoo ever since I discovered it through the samples in our NYC-hotel bathroom. So next time you're near an Aveda salon, hop right in and smell Shampure's signature aroma!

P.S.: And what's even cooler is that this shampoo is so gentle that it's the perfect product to clean your make-up brushes with.

Old silver

Can anyone tell me how you can treat your old silver? My Tiffany & Co-bracelet and pendants have been mistreated the past year and appear black. What product can I use to make them look like new again, so that I'll have as much pleasure wearing them as I did the past year?

As you can tell from the picture, I've dropped my T&C-heart pretty hard twice in the last weeks and now has two bad dents (luckily on the backside!) aside from the many scratches. It now has more character alright but I wish I would have taken more care of my jewels the past year. How's that for a new year's resolution.

Anyhow, have a lovely new year's eve!

Estée Lauder Idealist

Every friday evening I leave my life in Brussels/Leuven behind me and I head back to my hometown to spend some quality time with my family. So it is only normal that I have many of my favorite beauty products twice -one for home and one for my home away from home- and loads of back-up products in case of emergency, right?

This tactic proved itself quite useful the past few days that I spent in my hometown for the holidays. I had ran out of Clinique Pore Minimizer Refining Lotion but luckily had a valuable alternative nearby. I gave Estée Lauder's Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher a go and was very much surprised. First of all by its lovely scent. Even though I'm no fan of perfumes in my beauty products, the lemon'y scent is subtle enough for me to love. And although the texture of the Idealist is thicker than Clinique's Pore Minimizer, which is more like a serum, it still feels incredibly light on my skin and has a silky finish to it. And it leaves my skin very smooth, which I love. So I'm thinking I'm going to get a new Pore Minimizer but I will keep using Idealist faithfully every weekend.

Next on my beauty wish list: Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex.

Shark Attack Twitter

Although I still have no idea how Twitter works -while I had and passed plenty of ICT-courses at university the last few years- I figured out how to add the microblogging site on Shark Attack 2.

You can follow SA2 simply by clicking the box on the right, just below the Facebook-link! Now the only thing left to do is find out what in the world to communicate through it without boring you to bits...

PS: you can follow my sister/Shark Attack 1 on twitter here. 

Fashion Apps

It took me the last two hours to figure out how to
1. install the new updated version for the 4G
2. get my contacts from my sim-card into the phone, without typing every single contact directly into Adress Book
3. call my boyfriend, since apparently I had to de-activate the simlock

I've got the phone connected to gmail and I've found and installed the facebook-app. But now I'm stuck, the only useful fashion app I can find is that by style.com. Can someone tell me which other fashion mobile-applications I definitely need to have on this new toy? And where to locate them?

And does blogger.com have an easy to use/blog app?

Wishlist - Bobbi Brown Book

I know there is no chance that I'll find this item under our Christmas tree tonight, since no-one in my family, nor my boyfriend for that matter, knows that this book exists. But I really would love to have a copy of Bobbi Brown's Beauty Rules-book. And the Makeup Manual-book too.

At work, I got a sneak peak of what the books are all about and they are perfect for everyone, not just for make-up fanatics. I'm a huge fan of Bobbi Brown's foundations and since she has the best make-up tips and tricks, I'm pretty sure that this book is a must!

Be sure to check out Bobbi Brown's Learn-page before doing your make-up for your Christmas party tonight!

picture from BobbiBrowncosmetics.com

I recently got the Moisture Rich Foundation SPF 15 in 0 Porcelain and this superrich foundation is perfect for harsh weather conditions. Some foundation make cause your skin to dry out, especially during the winter but the Moisture Rich Foundation is the absolute best! My skin feels hydrated and soft, and looks flawless the whole day through. Belgium really needs its own Bobbi Brown-store asap.

Winter Boots - pt2

Despite a severe headache and a cold, I forced myself outside today to clear the way. My cat won't go outside and is terrified of the snow you see. Only when I stepped outside in the snow, I realized how much it has snowed in my hometown the last few days. I'm so happy I bought some winter boots last weekend, 'cause neither my All Stars nor my Dior Sprint'ers, my only two pairs of flat shoes, would have survived the week.

Anyhow, may all of you be safely inside now, with a hot cup of cocoa. Happy holidays.

Wishlist - A new bag

Dear Santa, I'm still in love with this lovely Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton-bag. I'm willing to pay for it myself, completly.. Could you just ask LVMH to lower the price just a tad?