Frizzy hair no more after my Keratin treatment

I’ve always had to deal with my thick, unruly, frizzy, wavy hair for as long as I can remember. I spend 60 minutes on average to blow dry my hair to transform it into a decent, cascading natural waves that women often envy. That’s a LOT of minutes, especially when you have an active toddler constantly seeking your attention.

Living in Singapore has not been easy, because being Indonesian, I’ve always been spoiled by cheap salons and my miracle workers that turned my hair from a huge mess to a huge YES!

I decided to put an end to it by going to Covo,  my favorite salon in Singapore and I was excited to meet Shinobu, one of its new hair stylists because they’re super skilled and meticulous when it comes to any hair treatments. Oh and they’re patient with my thick mane! If you think I’m exaggerating, let the picture below speak for itself. 🙂

I chose Keratin over rebounding because I still want the volume without the frizz, and keratin allows me to do that. Rebonding leaves your hair utterly flat and that’s a big NO NO for me. After Shinobu ‘assessed’ my hair, she then washed it and so began my three-hour hair transformation journey.
  Remember my two previous blog posts about ombre hair some months ago? Although the result was amaze balls, it kinda left my hair a tad on the dry side – it doesn’t help that my hair is very dry to begin with!
  Shinobu put the keratin mix into my hair, which can be customized according to your hair texture by the way which is great because everyone’s hair is very different.After she left it on for half an hour or so, she then straightened my hair whilst leaving the treatment in my hair, so she didn’t rinse my hair at all. She straightened it with a special hair straightener especially for keratin treatment.

After my hair was straightened, I had to have it washed and that marked the last step of my Keratin treatment. Below is the end result after more of Shinobu’s magic touch with a curling iron. The whole treatment took three hours because.. yup you guessed it.. I have a LOT of hair. 
  Keratin treatment can last anywhere between 3-6 months and I decided to buy the whole range of after-care goodies to make sure it lasts because Singapore’s humidity does a lot of damage to your hair.

I’m loving my hair so far because my hair is a lot more versatile now. I can still have my waves…
Or I can have it straight like this. Most importantly, it now takes me ten minutes to do my hair instead of sixty minutes!

xoxo

Natasha

Singapore Fashion Week: My thoughts on the Diane von Furstenberg talk

by CARMEN. 

Fashion goddess. Fashion Icon. Fashion Revolutionary.  These are some of the words used to describe Diane von Furstenberg. Last week I was invited to hear the inspirational story of the woman behind the iconic wrap dress, held at the futuristic glass-walled Lasalle College of the Arts Campus. This series of “fashion talks” marked the kick off to (insert name of non existent car sponsor here…wait what goodbye Audi??!!!) Singapore Fashion Week, and we will give you our thoughts about the shows in another post.

Some facts you may not known about DVF : Diane was born to Jewish parents and was born in Belgium. Her mother survived Auschwitz concentration camp. Later in life, Diane was a real princess when she married into German royalty, although has since lost the “Princess” title after divorcing her husband. Her influence on women’s fashion is so profound that she even has some designs showcased at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Diane shared how in her early 20’s, she landed in the U.S. with a suitcase of five dresses she had made in Italy from Jersey cloth (as she considered this fabric to be most flattering for women but also made you feel a million bucks when wearing it) . DvF managed to secure an appointment with the well known socialite editor of Vogue, Diana Vreeland – an advocate of celebrating uniqueness. Vreeland loved DVF’s simple style and elegance and this set the stage for the remarkable growth and success of DVF. Within six years of entering the fashion world in 1970, Diane had created a fashion frenzy and was selling 25,000 dresses a week. The journey of the dress sees the brand now in over 70 countries and enjoys worldwide recognition.

Some of the first DvF dresses above.. Did you know it’s the 40th anniversary for the wrap dress?!

Fun fact: Natasha accepted an invitation to visit the flagship boutique in the Meatpacker’s District in Manhattan and is often seen wearing a DVF wrap out and about in Singapore. It’s getting a bit too hot for me to do the same in Hong Kong, but I do love my DvF dresses and think they are perfect when indoors and the air-con has been working in overdrive.

Diane has become quite the philanthropist and takes pride in inspiring young women in the industry to succeed. One of her mantra’s that she mentioned at the talk was “your only regret in life should be not doing the things you want to”. WOW. On a personal level that really spoke to me, as after leaving corporate world to start up my own business “Survive Asia“, I do have days where I wonder whether it would have been easier to stay in my previous line of work with all its security and benefits. But then i hear those words from DvF’s and I realise that i WOULD have regretted not trying, so it made my heart skip a beat. And during the talk I sat next to other inspiring entrepreneurial women in Singapore who have also taken a leap of faith, and we were all moved by this. It was also inspiring to see that via the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), Diane and other designers who have “made it” are able to mentor the new generation of designers coming on board – it’s what she now refers to as the “legacy” stage in her career.

Another positive note from the talk: Diane mentioned her latest “muse” is women who are comfortable with themselves in their own skin (now we’re talking, if only all designers in the industry thought like this!).

After the talk (the lecture hall was packed with not one seat left), there was some classic  “mingling” with fashion folk in the courtyard of La Salle, and I managed to chat to gorgeous Brittany Hampton, the winner of the E! show “House of DVF” and Ambassador for the DVF brand.

Brittany already has her own designs in Nordstrom stores throughout the US and in DVF stores. She also styles celebs in Hollywood including Ariana Grande and Jaden Smith!

Overall the reception from the DvF talk was very positive – the crowd were pumped after her inspiring talk and it was great to see a positive side of the industry that was supportive, inclusive and celebrating women everywhere  (because let’s face it, the fashion industry can feel anything but the above sometimes!).

Carmen x

 

 

 

 

 

Shades of ombre at Covo Hair Salon

Here’s the thing about having your hair colored once – especially if you love the result – you want to keep doing it again and again. You always want it to be darker, lighter, more red, more blonde, more brown, you get the point. Natasha did ombre hair back in February and by April, she was itching to go back to try a lighter color. Since her awesome hairstylist, Asako, from Covo hair salon did such a fantastic job, she went back to have her hair done again. Yes, it’s addictive. We did a blog post on Covo a while back, whereby Natasha was excited to find a place that can perfectly do what she calls a ‘Indonesian style blow-dry’. To refresh your memory, Covo is a Japanese hair salon located in two locations, one on Keong Saik Road, the other on Tanjong Pagar Road. The salon on Tanjong Pagar is smaller than the one on Keong Saik, but more convenient because it’s close to the MRT station. It’s literally next to Tippling Club, so it’s super easy to find. So, as we were saying, Natasha came back to try a lighter shade of ombre and was super excited to see the result. But first, a quick reminder of what her hair looked like before she had it done. Ta-daaaa! As you can see, the top half was still quite dark, she had the bottom half bleached once. Natasha asked for Asako again, because she’s super awesome. She listens, YES a hairstylist who actually listens and does what you ask them to do! Asako carefully assessed Natasha’s hair and after a brief consultation, Natasha decided to bleach her hair for the second time to go lighter. Hey, if you can’t see the result, what’s the point? That’s what we think anyway. Go bold, or go home, With three magazines by her side, Natasha was ready. Ready for a three-hour wait. And yes, that’s what happens when you have Indonesian hair, you have a LOT of hair. What we like about Covo is the small details – quintessentially Japanese. At Covo, they give you a glass filled with lolls, and a small bowl to put your jewelry in. We always end up putting our jewelry in the inside pocket of our handbag, which is dangerous for forgetful busy bees like us. Another small detail at Covo is that the hairstylist covers your eyes when you have your hair washed. How thoughtful is that! No awkward moments where you kinda don;t know whether to keep your eyes open or closed – you know what we’re talking about! Here’s Natasha getting a hair treatment. The result is amazing! Natasha’s hair is naturally frizzy, curly and quite coarse in texture. This hair treatment relaxes the hair and it lasts for at least 2-3 washes. Three hours, two lollies (ok, make that 5 or six) later, the moment of truth has finally come. Ta-daaaa! Needless to say, Natasha is a one happy camper with the result. the bottom half is light enough for it to be noticeable, the top part is still natural looking, but you can definitely see that it’s much lighter than the first ombre. Yayyyy, once again, bravo Asako! Here’s a closer look at Natasha’s new awesome ombre! Covo hair salon: Keong Saik branch 43 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089147 Phone: 6221 4585 Tanjong Pagar branch 32 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088453 Phone: 6225 9706 http://www.covosg.com/english/index.html

C&N ♥ Shirt Dresses

Every woman should have a reliable and nicely tailored shirt dress as a wardrobe staple. They’re almost as important to a girl’s wardrobe as the go-to white shirt and jeans.

Here’s why. They’re versatile, classic, flattering and stylish. Even on fat days, you can totally get away with it – unlike a warp dress (no offense, DVF, we still love you, sometimes it’s just tiring to suck our guts in throughout our meal).

Put a thin belt to cinch the waist and pumps to wear to the office. Don’t put a belt, and replace the pumps with a cute pair of ballerinas or even a pair of funky runners for the perfect brunch outfit (don’t forget to roll up the sleeves and make it look a tad messy, even though you’ve been trying to perfect the look for 30 minutes in front of the mirror!! Just saying.).

We recently tried a shirt dress from Alex Black,  a British designer who lived in New York and is now based in Hong Kong, and loved it! The quality of her shirt dress is amazeballs, because the cottons are supplied by the wonderful Hong Kong based company, Esquel,  the supplier of cotton to Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren. Natasha (pictured above) chose a black Josephine shirt dress with ruffle details on the placket and accesorised it with a thin black belt and wedges, and a black clutch to complete the look. This look works for casual Fridays work attire, or even lunch/brunch with your girlfriends.

Carmen chose the Eloise striped pale blue and white shirt dress, which is super classic. She combined the look with her electric blue suede shoes and it looks awesome. Again, perfect for the office, or even for a weekend look.

Alex Black will be in Singapore this weekend at the Boutiques Fair at the Pit Building. Use the discount code ‘carmenandnatasha’ to receive 15% discount (applicable online, too!).

ALEX BLACK Collection is available for worldwide shipping on line at www.alexblackcollection.com and soon in the new Rue Madame store in Singapore.

WEBSITE: www.alexblackcollection.com

FB: www.facebook.com/alexblackcollection

IG: @alexblackcollection

PINTEREST:  AlexBlackDress

C&N ♥ black and white

We’re always trying think of new locations to snap pictures for our upcoming blog posts, and after a few cups of coffee, we finally hit a lightbulb moment – Haji Lane and Arab Street!

We love this little neighborhood – although parking can be a bit of a nightmare after lunchtime. It’s definitely becoming more hipster with all the cute little boutiques, cafes and restaurants. This area has so much character and we love exploring the little alleys to find hidden treasures (read: cute background for our blog or Instagram pics).

There are so many cool graffiti on the walls of Haji Lane, the one in the picture above was done by Oak and Bindi, a local illustrator which reads ‘this is not your practice life. this is all there is’. In fact, that exact illustration can be found on Lululemon Singapore’s limited edition tank.

We’re seeing a lot of black and white this season, and we love this all-time classic color combo. We decided To play it up a little by combining different patterns and textures. Natasha wore her Forever New embellished top, Kate Spade houndstooth full-skirt, combined with her ever-so-comfy Pedder Red black and white striped wedges. Carmen wore her Maje strappy heels, with a gorgeous flowy and ultra feminine polka dot dress, and topped off the look with beautiful pair of earrings and a laser-cut grey bag by a Taiwanese designer, Jamei Chen.

After two hours of walking around in the sun, and laughing over silly things (hey, laughing burns a lot of energy!) we decided to call it a day and head to Mrs. Pho, our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the area. How cute is the restaurant’s décor! It reminds us of sitting on the roadside somewhere in Ho Chi Minh City (minus the pollution and motorbikes, that is!).

C&N ♥ Toms

We know what you’re thinking. It’s been FOREVER since we last did a blog post. Between traveling and moving house, well let’s just say we’ve been busy bees!

Anyway, it matters not… because we’re back! YAY! And on this blog post, we’d like to openly declare our love for……. TOMS! Not only are they cute, they’re also super comfy and trust us they’ve been tried and tested.

We both like floral pattern as you can see from the picture below.

We went exploring behind Hong Kong Street  and found awesome backdrop for our blog shoot. Here’s Carmen taking a break in her Alice and Olivia leather mini skirt, which is super adorable and comfy. We’re also loving her laser-cut grey leather bag by a Taiwanese designer Jamei Chen. Oh and also Carmen’s versatile necklace by Ivanka Trump jewelry.

The picture below is one of our favorite shots of all, because not only did we spot the blue building that perfectly matched Natasha’s top, but a blue car just happened to be driving by at that exact moment. Sigh. Serendipitous indeed. We vaguely remember the driver giving us  thumbs up as he drove away. We’re glad he gave us his seal of approval. 🙂

Natasha is wearing a skirt from H&M, Chanel tote bag which can pretty much fit her whole life in because of its size and a silk top by Bysi (which has been in her wardrobe forever!).

There you have it. We hope this post shows how versatile TOMS shoes are and the fact that the shoes can survive Singapore’s heat and humidity? That totally scored brownie points from us.

Japanese hair salon Covo, an awesome little hidden gem on Keong Saik Road!

NEWSFLASH! Natasha has found her favorite hair salon in Singapore and that is  a HUGE deal. Why? Firstly, she’s Indonesian. Many Indonesian women are obsessed with their hair. Like, obsessed. Secondly, she has had plenty of hair mishaps in Singapore – the kind she chose to bury deep inside her long-term memory bank. There have been emergency weekend trips to Jakarta because she had to save whatever was left to be saved of her tragic hair. Thirdly, the salon is not located in a mall, it’s located on one of Singapore’s hippest streets, Keong Saik Road. YAY! That means we can avoid that little impromptu “window shopping” moments that end up in “I have to buy these shoes, because they go perfectly with my new hair!”. And lastly, it’s Japanese. Who doesn’t like anything and everything Japanese? We do!

The name of this great hidden gem is Covo. If you can’t find it, look for the bright neon orange door with the writing KjStudio on top, which by the way is also owned by Covo. If you still can’t find it, then look for Potatohead because it’s approximately across the road from it.

You now know where to go if you’re having a super bad hair day, yet you’re heading out for a date night or dinner and drinks with your girlfriends. Pop by Covo for a quick blow dry and out you go to enjoy some yummy cocktails and dinner. Lucky for you they close at 8 pm!

Natasha loves the sleek and minimalist décor of this Japanese hair salon. No frills, yet speaks volume in quality.

Natasha went for a quick wash and blow dry and specifically requested for Covo’s senior hair stylist, Asako, because she’s amazing (not to mention pretty). She went to Covo two weeks ago to try out Ombre hair and loved the result!

She did it with such care and precision, not to mention the service quality in Covo is amazing. You don’t often get quality and great service at the same time, but Natasha’s experience at Covo was a really great one.

After having her hair washed, Asako asked if she can massage Natasha’s neck and shoulders. Seriously? I think she may have said yes a little too enthusiastically.

Feeling sheepish, Natasha apologized for having such big thick hair. To which, Asako laughed and said “don’t worry, you have beautiful hair” (thank you Asako, you sure know how to make a girl happy).

After air drying Natasha’s hair, she took out the most powerful straightening iron she could find (okay that part we made up), and straightened the crap out of Natasha’s frizzy, stubborn hair.

TA-DAAAA!!

Then Natasha can finally breathe a sigh of huge relief, because her hair eventually became super decent as Asako showed her skills with the curling iron.

And voila! Awesome hair!!

Here’s some exciting news for our lovely readers!  From 3 February to 3 March, you can get a blow dry for $25 (u.p. $35), 20% off Covo hair services for first timers (applicable on service only, not on Covo product purchases). Simply say Carmen and Natasha to get the discount.

      One more thing worth mentioning is that Covo is currently collaborating with ePloof!  – which is a super cute kids online shop selling high quality toys from around the globe. To all the mamas out there and also to the friends of mamas, the toys make an excellent gift idea. It’s definitely worth checking out!

COVO Hair Salon, 43 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089147 (Near Outram Park MRT), (+65) 6221 4585, www.covosg.com/english/index.html

Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat & Sun, PH 10am-7pm

Hong Kong Fashion week: WORLD BOUTIQUE – Carmen’s favourite picks

World Boutique runs alongside the HK Trade Development Council’s Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter. These two fashion fairs draw HUGE numbers of buyers from all over the world – so Carmen went to check out what all the fuss what about.

Firstly – awesome displays:

 Secondly: fashion combining tech/electronics? Love it!

  Thirdly: local fashion! Hong Kong designers  were also showcased, including Eri and Philip Chu (below):

    Some bigger brand names were also prevalent, including Marc Cain, Zalora, & Shanghai Tang.   Lastly – you could also shop at World Boutique! Check out some cool finds below:
 

Overall – a great experience for those who love fashion! It was fun to see what some local designers were up to.  The shopping was OK in the end (there was a serious mish mash of “bargain basement” sellers combined with wedding gowns and designer jewellery… and Carmen did leave empty handed…boo!) but we’d recommend visiting next year’s as the displays were worth seeing for themselves!

Shopping *clearance* event with a good cause in Singapore

A fashion + homewares clearance sale that ALSO supports the Singapore committee for UN Women? Prices starting as low as $5sgd?? Yes please!

The annual “Glamourous Giving” event is back and is considered one of the bestlocal shopping events in Singapore – for those who complain they can’t find any “unique” pieces by local stores or brands, you can’t miss this event with 35 independent local brands attending!

Brands include: Baliza Shop, dragonfly resort wear, From Babou to You, Ginny at Lemonykit, Hola Linda, Inverted Edge, Little Friends by Lamasso, Maissone, Paperbag Princess, Retail Therapy, RIA Menorca, Ribbon and Roses, Shiva Designs Bespoke, Stones that Rock, The Cinnamon Room, The Society of Black Sheep,  Tramma Bags, Triologie, Verandah Living, Veya Designs and White Ginger.

Want to know more about the Singapore Committee for UN Women and all the good work they do? Representatives will be on hand during the event to discuss their work and the benefits of membership.

When: Wednesday 21 January 6-9pm and Thursday 22 January 10am-4pm

Where: Hollandse Club, 22 Campden Park (off Adam Rd), Sg 299814. Plenty of Parking

Getting fit never looked so trendy, thanks to lululemon!

Yoga aficionados and aficionados and gym junkies,  I hope you’re as excited as we are with the opening of lululemon’s first flagship store in Asia and they’ve chosen Singapore to be the first destination!

We’ve been hearing rumors and seeing the sign – okay, we didn’t really see the sign – we walked past the lululemon store at ION Orchard when it was still under construction. 🙂

Natasha was beyond excited when she got an invitation to take a peek at the 3,700 square feet store, which only officially opens tomorrow. Yes, TOMORROW! Let us warn you, though, Orchard isn’t looking too pretty at the moment with all the last minute Christmas shoppers (no, not us, we’re not one of them. Really!). Natasha’s first encounter with lululemon was a few years back in Melbourne, and Carmen first saw the lululemon store in Sydney. And after we tried on their signature black stretch leggings, we never looked back since.

With aggressive store expansion across Asia – Hong Kong is next on the list – we’re super proud that lululemon chose Singapore to be its first in Asia. lululemon has chosen Singapore as the location for its first store in Asia because of the strong support from the local community. Remember the yoga beat event on Orchard Road held last month? We’ve never seen so many people doing the warrior pose on Orchard Road! The great success showed just how much interest Singaporeans have towards yoga and wellbeing in general. Go Singapore!

Pricewise, it’s definitely not cheap but trust us, their clothes last for ages! the black leggings have been tried and tested. And after numerous downward dogs, gym sessions and countless spins in the washing machine, it still keeps its shape.

We love their sports bra as well, and these are some of Natasha’s favorites:

Gorgeous, right? And these are the legging options currently in store. We’re digging the mesh black ones. They have men’s collection as well, but they’ll only be revealed for the first time tomorrow.

If getting fit is part of your New Year’s resolution, you can start by heading over the lululemon store tomorrow and buy a kickass exercise ensemble. If you’re going to be active and sweaty – be it at the gym, Botanic Gardens or yoga studio – the least you can do is sweat in style! 🙂

xoxo

Carmen Natasha

lululemon boutique:

ION Orchard Singapore, #B1-11.

C&N ♥ The colour RED

Carmen & Natasha are seeing red everywhere… and no, that’s not because people are being exceptionally annoying during *the most frustrating time to shop for anything thanks to the frenetic crowds consumed by retail madness and taking pictures with Santa* period.

It’s just that the colour red really IS everywhere – in store displays, shopping centers, the street, including our respective homes , so we decided that red is our fashion pick of the week. Yay! This is our take on wearing red during the holidays season.

Carmen’s outfit: Asos top, skirt from Chatuchak market in Bangkok, Isabel Marant shoes, Zara jacket and Chanel handbag. As for accessories, well Carmen painted her nails in a funky Christmas pattern (see picture further drown below).

Oh and red lips is also considered fashion accessory by the way.

Here’s Natasha’s outfit details: Mango brocade top, Zara faux leather black pants (which every girl should have in their closet by the way! It’s surprisingly versatile and add a lot of pizzaz to your outfit), Ferragamo laser-cut ballerina flats, Chanel black clutch, Viktor & Rolf glasses, and Carolina Herrera bracelet.

The fact that red and black is a winning combo is no surprise. It’s as classic as black and white, only with a bit more oomph and sass put into it. Don’t be scared to mix leather with feminine texture or shape such as the A-line skirt that Carmen wore or the brocade top that Natasha threw on.

There you have it. Happy Christmas shopping, darling readers!

xoxo

Carmen and Natasha

C&N ♥ Hermes Bags

First of all, can we start by drawing your attention to our new blog logo and header? Isn’t it gorgeous? Yay! We’re super happy with it because it really encapsulates us – Carmen and Natasha – and our demographic location! We’ve been meaning to do it for a while, so we’re super happy to have finally done it.

Secondly, we’re starting a new ‘series’ of blog posts called ‘C&N loves’ – which involves our top fashion pick of the week (okay it may not happen every week, lets be realistic!). The whole idea is Carmen wears that particular fashion pick in Hong Kong and Natasha does the same in Singapore. So this blog post is the first of such series!

Our pick for this post is our ever reliable Hermes bag. And no, not the Birkin or the Kelly. There’s time for everything, and it’s certainly not time for us to carry those lust-worthy bags.  Natasha’s go-to bag is her Hermes Evelyn bag in Jaipur and for Carmen, it’s her Hermes Garden Party bag in Etope. This bag goes with a lot of outfits and can fit a lot of things (and trust us when we say we always have heaps of junk that we dump in our handbags!).

So this is how Natasha’s outfit pairing:

Natasha can’t believe her luck when she saw the wedges at Nine West because the color was exactly identical with her bag!!!

And this is Carmen’s outfit combo:

Carmen is in love with her awesome Alexander McQueen for Puma pumps! Not only are they comfy, but they’re surprisingly versatile.

So there you have it, our darling readers. Stay tuned for the next ‘C&N loves’ post 🙂

xoxo

 

CHIC(K) FESTIVAL FASHION at Clockenflap

It was Carmen’s first time at Clockenflap (THE music festival in Hong Kong) – and what a heady one it was! A myriad of music, art, fashion, food, and did anyone else see the robots that danced to the UK TV theme show The Apprentice? I bet some of those robots are more clever than some of the contestants… but moving on.

The focus of this blog is more tilted towards fashion, so let’s talk about that. The overwhelming theme of festival fashion is flannel shirts and Clockenflap this year did not disappoint… HOWEVER there were some people that really went all out with their fashion, and here are the faves;

Fashion stalls were also rocking on the day. 

Probably the coolest t-shirt of all time below.

And then the coolest shoes! These were hand drawn and limited edition of Nike Air’s – Carmen’s absolute favourite fashion pick.

You could also get fresh flower hairbands at the festival where they mixed real and fake flowers to create creative headpieces! 

An ingenious fashion accessory below – these garters contain sneaky pockets to stash your valuables which are great for those who travel, go clubbing or are festival goers and just wanna dance freely!
Super lightweight (and funky) sunglasses:

What did Carmen wear? Well she changed THREE TIMES in the morning thanks to the weather being all cray cray (it went from sunny to cloudy to argh nooo it’s not going to rain is it or is it?!)

First outfit change: 

Second outfit change – more boho chic:

Final outfit selected (because it was definitely going to rain): jeans are from C.Wonder, tee from Bangkok and sneaks are McQueen for Puma.

Patricia Rox Rocks!

We’re always super excited when a new brand launches in Singapore, because it means we can be part of its journey from the very beginning and it’s amazing how much the fashion landscape in this island has changed in the past few years! When Natasha received an invitation to attend the Singapore launch of Patricia Rox, she was beside herself (especially after taking a peek at the website and semi-stalking her collection on Instagram). The event not only commemorated the launch of the Patricia Rox brand, but it also showcased the Spring/Summer 2015 The Fantasy Capsule, which is full of amazeballs exotic, intricate prints and bright bold colors, which we both LOVE! Check out this gorgeous scarf below – the vividness of the color on silk is just simply breathtaking! Natasha had the honor of chatting to Patricia Haywood, the genius behind the Patricia Rox brand and found out that she lived in Jakarta for four years (which is where Natasha is originally from). She’s a global citizen through and through and lived in Paris, London, Scotland, Toronto, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Uganda, Indonesia and Singapore. Another surprising fact about Patricia is that she used to be a fashion lawyer – seriously, she must’ve been one of the hottest lawyers around! We’re just super glad she made the quantum leap from being a lawyer to a super talented fashion designer instead! Her collection, the Fantasy Capsule, is everything about Patricia’s whimsical childhood fantasies. And fantasies they must have been! Natasha was in awe with the silk kaftan style dresses with floral-inspired prints, vibrant and circus-inspired scarves, and buffalo horn and enamel jewelry (check out the picture below). Her design is effortlessly chic, and also versatile for resort, traveling or fancy cocktail parties (which makes us want to throw a garden party just to have an excuse to wear her dress). This one below is Natasha’s favorite! The turqoise color with tasteful embellishment around the neckline really makes the dress standout. Dress it down with wedges or take it up a notch with a pair of killer strappy Jimmy Choos. Each print is a labor of love and painstakingly hand drawn by an artist, with some prints taking 200-300 hours to draw! We are also loving her gorge silk scarves and there’s a story behind every print, which you can find out from her website. The one below was produced in a family-run silk mill in Como. Come on, how beautiful are the colors and the paisley-inspired print! Currently, her scarves are available at gnossem, the Singapore online store, but you can also find her collection in Bali’s Aman resorts and shopzaozao in Hong Kong. Rumor has it there’s a plan for the opening of her first flagship store on the shore, but hey we’re just super glad Patricia followed her passion which led her to this beautiful Fantasy Capsule!

Last night at Matches fashion popup event in HK: D&G, Peter Pilotto & more!

The Matches fashion event held at Duddells Hong Kong last night was a fashionista’s dream come true. Plenty of designer niche labels were on display across womenswear, menswear, high end jewellery, handbags and arguably the most important category…shoes.

For those who don’t know about Matches, they are a UK luxury fashion retailer who curate a range of talented designers (famous and emerging) from across the globe. They are truly loved by fashionistas whom appreciate the brand’s ability to spot talented emerging designers, and are incredibly approachable when it comes to talking about fashion (unlike SO many other brands out there!). In other words, they really aren’t up their own a**.

The other good news is they ship worldwide from their online store, and held their first pop up event in Hong Kong last night! Here are some of Carmen’s top picks from the event:

Talitha floral embroidered kimono: 

Malone Souliers shoes – which according to Matches, will be the next Louboutins! They are such works of art! 

Peter Pilotto dress: We just love the combination of colour blocking, geometric design and prints all in one!  Chrissie Morris shoes: you just KNOW these would be super comfortable! We would team the heels on the right with a simple white pencil skirt. 

Toga Pulla & Anya Hindmarch:  Toga Pulla was founded by former costume designer and stylist, Yasuko Furuta. 

Mansur Gavriel bag: Simplicity in fashion = love. 

Gripoix jewellery: The French atelier has been creating luxury costume jewellery since 1868, they are one of (if not THE) oldest in the trade. Stunningly beautiful pieces. 

Rochas gold tassle fringe shoes with pink contrasting trim:

High end jewellery from Monique Pean and Dina Kamal: Carmen really loves the bracelet on the far left below. 

Crystal embellished ring by Maison Martin Margiela:

Alison Lou jewellery: Heart rings! 

THE coolest clutches ever below by Sarah’s bag (back and right with the cars) and Les Petits Joueurs (front and left with the smile and peace sign):Charlotte Olympia “I am a fan!” bag: love the name and love the bag

Dolce & Gabbana shoes: oh gosh where do we start with this? These shoes are art and if we see anyone wearing these we may tackle them for wearing such beauties (but follow that by a hug for their impressive taste in shoes):

Valentino clutch and shoes: we’ve seen these everywhere in Asia but doesn’t mean we are sick of seeing it….

Karl Lagerfield clutch by Yazbukey: 

Givenchy high top shoes: O M G Carmen wanted to stop everyone in their tracks to look at these but managed to calm herself down (eventually):Palm tree clutch by Edie Parker: loving the mother of pearl! 

Dolce & Gabbana floral skirt: This brand is simply killing it right now (if you love florals!)

Strapless dress by Osman: TRUST US – this dress would look a million bucks when worn.Love the simplicity of this J.W.Anderson white shirt dress below.  One of THE standouts of the night, this skirt by Stella Jean. 

THIS swimwear by Paolita: 

There you have it! You can shop online at matchesfashion.com. If you saw any pieces above that aren’t on the website, we would recommend emailing the Matches fashion crew – they were super friendly to Carmen last night so fingers crossed they get back to you!

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage fashion, classic cars and more in Hong Kong!

Carmen recently attended the Hong Kong Classic Car and Vintage festival – and it was amazing!

Hair and makeup were provided free of charge by the Paul Gerrard salon – so here is the modern day beehive that Carmen rocked! (Lots of backcombing required)

 

And the top fashion pick on the day? This awesome new brand called DOLL DIZZY that creates corporate friendly dresses and retro skirts that can be worn over the dresses for a fun look from day to night (not to mention the skirts are reversible so you have THREE different looks to play around with!).

Loved all the below outfits – how very glam! Notice the two flared skirts below are actually wrapped over dresses – so clever!  Absolutely in love with the dizzy girls – their look is a breath of fresh air!

 

And here is Lily the makeup artist from the Paul Gerrard team (we LOVE her look!): And some vintage accessories also spotted on the day:

Shoes below from Bang Bang! Vintage store in HK. Carmen wished the red shoes below were in her size! 

These NORDIC watches below will soon be sold in PMQ – can’t wait to check out their store!

Vintage earrings galore!

Really wish there was more time allocated to shopping on the day – aren’t these shoes below just so damn fun?!

Sweet clasp bracelets spotted too – the red rose one was just so elegant -we could imagine rocking it with a cheongsam! Oh yeah…. there were cars too! For those car nuts – here are some of Carmen’s favourites! 

 

 

There was certainly something for everyone at this event (foodies also had a great time with Butcher’s club and Fatty crab dishing out tasty nosh too!). Already looking forward to next year’s event!

 

 

 

 

 

More new shops in Seminyak!

Yes, we did a comprehensive ‘guide’ to shopping in Seminyak a while back (read the article here) , but Seminyak has so many nooks and crannies so we always find new cute little shops that we’re dying to share with you!

The clothes below are from Uma and Leopold, definitely NOT a new store, as a matter of fact Uma and Leopold has a few outlets scattered throughout Seminyak just like Magali Pascal. This particular store is located right near to Bambu Restaurant (an awesome newish Indonesian Restaurant, and if you haven’t tried it you absolutely MUST! Book early, they get full super quickly).

Pricewise, not cheap (then again, what is cheap in Bali nowadays?!) but also not crazy expensive. It ranges from SGD60-350, but the material is delicious and the bead work is amaze balls on some of the dresses!

One day, after a two-hour massage down the road, Natasha strolled down one of the alleys right next to Seminyak Square and found a whole lot of new shops that kinda just magically appeared as they often do in Bali. Her new favorite shop is called ‘my cup of love’, which sells many many pretty and very reasonably priced things. Think homeward – pretty plates, cups, aprons, to lots and lots of cute jewelry, knick knacks, etc. etc. We’ll let the pictures speak for the themselves!

How gorgeous are these rings!! And they’re only about SGD25 each! They come in silver and gold.

Natasha decided to buy a ‘super mama’ rings, which she wears on one of those challenging days chasing her active toddler.

We love these bracelets below – oh and did we mention that they’re SGD7 each? Take them off before you jump in the shower, because otherwise the glue on the clasp kinda doesn’t hold it together.

There’s another cute store right next to ‘My cup of love’ called ‘Kiosk’. The clothes on the rack are super cute and they have both men and women clothes. Natasha spotted a few cute playsuits and camisoles with print she hasn’t really seen in other stores in Seminyak. Pricewise, very affordable starting from SGD50 to about SGD100.

So there you have it! Next time you go on a little getaway to Bali, make sure you check these stores out. You won’t be sorry.

xoxo

Carmen and Natasha

Hipsters Rejoice! Urban Outfitters is now in Hong Kong

Carmen went to the Urban Outfitters launch party in Hong Kong a few weeks ago (check out DJ Miss Yellow spotted above who spun the MOST WICKED tunes ever and is one of Asia’s most in demand female DJ’s!!). We really love the Urban Outfitter’s brand, as they not only draw inspiration from the 50’s “preppy” style,  60’s hippy era (think loud prints, floaty dresses) and 70’s era (fringes on EVERYTHING which was spotted at London fashion week too) BUT they also include pieces that have such a modern twist on all of the above.

And in true fashion style, they are known as a brand that creates some serious “WTF” pieces, but we love that they take risks and steer away from the norm.

Carmen decided to wear a MINK PINK dress (one of the labels that is available at Urban Outfitters). The dress is paired with shoes from Kate Spade/ Keds collaboration.

Tthe fashion bloggers, models and other socialites attending the launch party did NOT disappoint, with some amazingly unique and personalised outfits.

 

Mesh anywhere + black = urban outfitter’s dream!

Moschino alert! Spongebob squarepants clutch spotted below. 

 

Loved the red floral coat spotted below. 

The clothes

Reasonably priced (most of the price tags seemed to be in the range of $50- 200USD. As mentioned previously you can really see many different styles below so pick whatever you feel comfortable with and roll with it!

{ COLOUR + PRINTS }

{ GRUNGY URBAN }

{ GRUNGY GLAM }

{ HIPSTER }

{ PREPPY PRINTS }

 

The fun accessories:

Say whaaaat – Alexa Chung’s “it” book! Awesome.

 

These hip flasks are super hipster but we are loving them – our favourite is the one in the middle. 

Chunky, urban jewellery was available – this necklace below was a fave.

Great gift guide alert below! For those who love sneaks (Carmen is becoming OBSESSED) this book below is the perfect Christmas gift (hint hint). 

Some fun homewares can also be found – fun pillow alert! Around $40usd from memory. 

Oh yes more hip flasks – I DON’T GET DRUNK, I GET AWESOME should be printed on everything….

Looking for a gift for a man who has everything? Get him these awesome socks – especially the dollar bill ones!! 

For those who would prefer to drink *ahem* non alcoholic beverages such as water (or let’s face it, an awesome cocktail) these drink carriers below are for you!  

Some more jewellery spotted…

Nail polishes galore can also be found! $80hkd each (around $14sgd each) in some super fab colours. Sick of shiny happy colours? Grab the matte top coat to look uber urban. Beige shoes below are an awesome twist on boring pumps and the black bag below is an absolute classic (you simply couldn’t go wrong with anything in the below pic). 
Address: 
Urban Outfitters:
93 Queensway Plaza Hong Kong
https://www.facebook.com/UrbanOutfittersHK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Channeling our inner Carrie Bradshaw in Asos skirt

You know how some days you wake up and you say to yourself “I’m going to channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw today!” – and no, we don’t mean the tutu-wearing Carrie, or the bird-feather-on-your-hair Carrie (although that’s cool if you want to dress that way, we’re not judging!). We mean the floral-skirt-and-pretty-yet-killer-stiletto kinda Carrie. Well, that’s how Natasha felt like today.

Immediately her eyes fell on her gorge Asos skirt that she bought a few months ago – for a mere SGD40! We love scouring for awesome beauty and fashion deals online, who doesn’t?! Oh, speaking of online deals, we must share this little secret with you – and trust us, we were contemplating on whether or not to let you in on our secret. We recently discovered amazeballs fashion and beauty items on CupoNation. We won’t say much because it will just spoil the fun, so just have a look yourself!

So, back to Carrie Bradshaw. Natasha decided to combine the skirt with the ever-so-reliable white shirt. A girl can never have too many white shirts (and jeans, shoes, bags, accessories, etc. etc. etc.). She chose her Malene Birger shirt, and her gorge brocade Schutz stilettos with jade embellishments on it (while silently chanting, please don’t rain, please don’t rain!). And a YSL clutch bag seemed like a good idea to complete the look. Can you please take a second to admire the beautiful shape of the Schutz heels? *collective sigh*

By the way, ballerina flats would’ve been just as cute – and way more comfortable, too. And to make the look more casual, put on a white t-shirt and add a wide belt to cinch the waist. Oh and a statement necklace would look amazing with the t-shirt. 

 

Looking for gift ideas? The Kase at ION is a good place to start.

Every year Carmen and Natasha always aspire to be organized Christmas shoppers. “Must not procrastinate, must beat the Christmas rush, must go Christmas shopping early” – we chant the same mantra every year, but of course always fail to actually execute our grand plan.

Soooo this year, we’re on the hunt to find great gift ideas for our loved ones. We were thrilled when we found The Kase, a French international mobile phone and tablet accessories brand that was launched in 2012.

It’s a small store located at B2 of ION Orchard, but it really packs a punch. Natasha was there for nearly an hour looking at all the case options – there’s definitely no shortage of options! Pricewise, really reasonable, depending on whether you want to get a customized case or not. The ones for iPhone 6 are SGD49.90, but they’re really worth it if you’re thinking of birthday or Christmas gifts for your BFF or even your sibling. Not only do they get a cool personalized gift, but you get brownie points for being extra thoughtful. Yay!

These are examples of the personalized cases. Pretty cool right? You can put anything on the cover! To do that, all you have to do is send a picture of your choice to the Kase’s email address and they will do a mock-up on the computer screen for you. And once you’re happy with the way it looks, all they have to do is digitally print it on. The whole process takes about 10-20 minutes, so you can even do it during your lunch break.

Natasha is loving the cute prints below. They would make a pretty cool fashion accessory!

Here are some of Natasha’s favorite designs:

 

We don’t know about you, our darling readers, but we think our SECOND best (the first being our loved ones of course!) companion (our mobile phones) – deserve to be dressed up once in a while. Perfect for the holiday season, we reckon (did someone say office Christmas party or New Year’s soiree?).

Oh, the Kase also has cases for iPads. Natasha likes this one in particular 🙂

So after spending an hour in the shop, Natasha finally walked out with two cases, one for her and one for Carmen who’s spending a bit of time in Hong Kong these days.

Ta-daaaa! Here’s what she bought. A personalized case with a picture of Natasha and her cheeky monkey of a daughter and a Survive Asia case, which has Carmen’s company logo on it. Oh yes, we forgot to mention that the personalized cases also make an awesome marketing tool for those business owners out there!

The Kase:

ION ORCHARD B2-27 (next to H&M)
2 Orchard Turn
238801 Singapore