The summer’s over- it’s time to get back into work mode! New semester, new you– and that means new hair of course! For great hairstyles to try for school, there’s always going to be a limit on how creative you … Continue reading
Summer means shorts. And this year, it’s all about the micro-short in an array of different fabrics, prints and embellishments.
They’re the perfect wardrobe item to add a little zing to your outfit. High-waisted or low rise, you can keep them casual by pairing them with a light shirt or cami, but also dress them up for night-time glamour with the addition of a chic blazer and heels.
But how are our style icons making the most of the trend? See how my favourite stars wear the look:
Rosie Huntington Whiteley makes the most of her toned Victoria’s Secret pins by donning these embellished cut-off Daisy Dukes. She matches the vibrant print by keeping it simple on top with a classic white shirt for a cool summer festival look.
Olivia Palermo shows that even taking her dog for a walk need not be an unglamorous affair. She nails two great shorts styles in one, opting for a pair of smarter running-shorts in high-octane leather.
Finally, Miranda Kerr makes a perfect casual summer statement in denim cutoffs, paired with a gorgeous print tee and shades.
The high-street offers some amazing options for you to recreate these celebrity looks. Take a look at some of my favourites below:
From Left to Right: H&M, $23 / Republic, $16 / H&M, $20 / Monki, $31 / Old Navy, $21 / H&M, $16
Over in the UK, we’re always super excited when it’s that time of year again: tennis season. And of course, the highlight of summer sports has got to be Wimbledon.
This year, a host of well-dressed stars attended the tournament, including Grace Jones, Victoria Beckham, and the beautiful Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
For me, Kate’s outfit choices always encapsulate summer style, and her Wimbledon wardrobe was no exception. She was seen in a number of stunning ensembles by designers including Temperley London, Joseph, and Alexander McQueen.
In fact, she’s pictured below wearing a gorgeous Alexander McQueen cable-knit dress from one year ago, which she re-wore at this year’s Wimbledon. You see? She’s clearly an ‘Inexpensive Chic’ girl at heart- even a Princess repeats outfits like the rest of us!
Here are my choices on how to recreate Kate’s classic look:
Kate is known for keeping her silhouette very sleek, so this cute cardigan from House of Fraser will give your outfit a chic and streamlined effect, balancing out the slightly more voluminous skirt from Danish label, Monki. While Kate’s chosen a dress, the style is broken up by the striped pattern, so that’s why a skirt and pullover work equally as well for recreating her look.
The Duchess usually favours a classic court shoe or wedge in nude or black. Nude offers a flattering leg lengthening effect, but you can never go wrong with black. Kate’s pair match her outfit perfectly, and luckily, there are so many great high street replicas like this fab Dorothy Perkins pair.
Finally, to add a little glamour to the outfit, a silk scarf like this one from French Connection is perfect for added texture and detail come summer. Like Kate’s nautical tie, this one will lift your outfit and provide that extra interesting feature.
In this outfit, you’re sure to channel a classic ‘Kate’ look. And who wouldn’t want to look like Royalty?!
When it comes to Summer hair, it’s natural to want it up and out of the way. But that doesn’t mean you should neglect your gorgeous tresses- up’do’s should be about really making a style statement!
See my favourite Summer hairstyle trends, and how you can recreate these catwalk looks.
1. The glamorous side-pony
Image: elle.com
As seen at Jaeger S/S 2012. The models all had glowing skin and sported a shiny low side-pony with just the right amount of volume and bounce. To achieve the look, I’d recommend creating an extreme side-parting with a fine-toothed comb on whichever side suits you. Then, start by blow-drying your hair in sections with a large round-barrelled brush, before combing a small amount of serum through in order to create shine.
To create extra volume at the top, you can secure heated rollers to the crown of your head and continue to blow-dry. After this, gently sweep you hair to one side with a soft bristle brush and secure at the nape of your neck with a kirby grip. Take a fine elastic band (you can get these at any drugstore), and tie your hair low at the side of your neck as you would normally do. Finish with a spritz of texturising spray/hairspray to set the look!
2. The Beehive
Image: Glamour Magazine
As seen at Derek Lam F/W 2012. Don’t worry, you won’t end up looking like Amy Winehouse by creating this style! It’s the ultimate classic, and can take you to 60s chic in an instant. To create the look, you just need a fine-toothed comb, volumising spray and hairspray- (lots of it!)
Start by roughly blow-drying hair and spraying a little volumising spray as you go along. When dry, part your hair at the crown and divide small sections using grips. Work around your head, gently backcombing each section at the root with a fine toothed comb. When each section is complete, spray with hairspray as this ensures that the hair stays lifted. Finally, use a soft bristle brush to smooth over the frayed fly-aways and secure your bouffant with kirby grips at the back. You can style the rest of your hair as normal!
3. The sweet low-pony
Image: Glamour Magazine
As seen at Anna Sui A/W 2012. I think this is a summery and demure way to change up your usual ponytail. The look is easy to recreate too! Just start by blow-drying your hair in sections from the top with a large round-barelled brush to achieve volume. Add volumising spray if necessary. Then when dry, take the voluminous part and secure at the back with a kirby grip.
Tie your hair low at the base of your neck as normal but leave a thick strand free. This is for wrapping around the tie to achieve that beautiful coil of hair, separating your pony from the rest of your hair. Once you’ve wrapped the strand around, make sure you secure the end in place with another kirby grip at the base of your head so the whole style is tight and secure. You’re ready to go!
Kate Bosworth, Zoe Saldana & Hilary Rhoda at the CFDA Fashion Awards
We’ve been seeing a huge trend lately for dresses featuring gorgeous cut-out designs. At the recent CFDA Fashion Awards, glamorous beauties Kate Bosworth, Zoe Saldana, and Hilary Rhoda all worked the trend to perfection. This is the perfect trend to try out for summer, as it reveals a little bit of sun-kissed skin, without looking trashy. See my favourite picks above, which all retail for under $80! So you can look like a fashionista without breaking the bank.
I particularly love the two dresses above- (the striped Topshop number and printed Miss Selfridge piece), as they tick off two summer trends at once: summer’s obsession with Aztec and Navajo print, and Beetlejuice stripes. Of course, you can choose one which shows off your best asset. So if you have a small waist, choosing a midriff bearing dress will flatter, and if you want to highlight your curves, why not choose one with cutout sides? If you’d rather not reveal any flesh but still channel the trend, a cutout dress featuring sheer panels adds a great contrast.
Remember, less is more so don’t bear too much and keep it subtle! Another tip is to keep the look less revealing by adding a cropped jacket, or choosing a style which features long sleeves, such as this stunning white, ruched Topshop dress, (above).
Summer is all about achieving that gorgeous glow. Everyone wants to look like they’ve just rolled in from the beach with gorgeous tousled hair and sun-kissed skin. But how do you look casually coiffed instead of a hot, sticky, and frizzy mess? Read on to find out.
1. Invest in foundation primer
Beautiful skin is the most important part of your Summer look. Not everyone realises this, but in hot weather it’s particularly essential that you use a good foundation primer. Why? It combats oil, and stops make-up from sliding in the heat. My favourites are Laura Mercier’s Oil Free Primer, and NARS Pro-Prime. The first keeps skin matte, and the second contains essential SPF 30 protection. Another secret; eye-primer. Do you get frustrated when your eye makeup runs and creases in hot weather? This is often a problem for me and it can be annoying to keep touching up.
My top tip is to always use an eye-primer. The best one I’ve found is Urban Decay’s eyeshadow primer. It keeps makeup in place and best of all, it comes in a variety of skin tones, or you can choose the transparent version.
2. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate!
It’s not a secret as such, as everyone knows the key to radiant Summer skin is to slough away dead cells with a great exfoliant. But did you also know that you don’t have to spend a cent in order to do this? In my opinion, the best exfoliants are those kitchen staples: good old salt and sugar! Much better than any products on the market- I’ll only use these to exfoliate as they seriously make your skin so soft.
My top tip: take an old jar and add a little oil- (I’d recommend olive, extra-virgin coconut or rose oil). You can also fill the rest with any left over body wash you might have. Add in 1-2 cups of coarse sea salt or brown sugar, and mix. The best thing? It’s homemade, quick, easy, chemical-free, and cheap! You’ll have the smoothest skin in no time, and the perfect base for applying a summer tan.
3. Stop the Summer frizz
The heat can make hair dry and out of control. To stop this, my secret is to always use a good leave-in conditioner. These are so useful in the summer because they restore lustre and shine to sun and sea-damaged hair, and smooth and detangle. Just apply liberally after washing your hair and you’re giving your locks a boost of protection. My favourites are Bumble and Bumble Leave-in conditioner, and Herbal Essences ‘None of your frizziness’ Smoothing Leave-in Creme.
4. Less is more
In summer, I swap my heavier foundation/concealer for a tinted moisturiser, as it’s lightweight yet provides good coverage. Plus, its gives skin a great dewy glow. My favourite is Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturiser, as it blends flawlessly into skin, and contains that crucial SPF 20 protection. What’s really important though, is to banish your loose or pressed powder in hot weather. Naturally, when the heat makes our skin oily, we want to fix it by applying more mattifying powder. But in truth, this just makes things worse as you’re caking your skin which will lead to it produce more oil.
My top summer secret is to stay away from powder and turn to blotting papers. You can get packs of these really cheaply and they do a fantastic job of keeping your skin shine free. I like Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets and Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Paper.
5. Take care of your lips
The skin on your lips is particularly delicate. If you’re prone to chapped lips in the summer, the best tip is to stay hydrated. I’d also recommend exfoliating lips by smearing a little Vaseline on an old toothbrush and gently scrubbing the dead skin away. This will also help to boost circulation. The one thing I’ve learnt, is that your main lip-balm shouldn’t contain petroleum jelly, as this actually takes moisture away from your lips, rather than locking it in. So products such as Vaseline are great for a temporary fix or as an emulsion when exfoliating, but in the long term, they’ll dry your lips out even more. Instead, I’d recommend using an ultra moisturising lip balm or lip conditioner. My top pick is Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm, as it contains beeswax as opposed to petroleum jelly, to offer much better hydration.
It can be challenging shopping for the perfect swimsuit. With so many styles, its hard to stay on trend and flatter your figure at the same time. It’s so tempting sometimes just to stick to a classic black suit, but this summer there are so many great printed pieces and vibrant styles that just can’t be missed! Check out my guide for the swimwear that’ll look amazing on your shape:
The Triangle Bikini
Bikini- H&M, $12.80 / Bikini- Topshop, $36 / Bikini- H&M, $26
The classic triangle bikini flatters most shapes. Particularly for you gorgeous small-chested girls, this style can work wonders for adding definition! This is because the plunge shape gives the illusion of cleavage, and hides the lack of volume at the top.
For you stunning girls with a full chest, this style might not suit as there’s less support.
If you’re bottom heavy, choose a tie-side style like this vibrant yellow H&M bikini so you can adjust the size and prevent the straps from digging in.
The Bandeau Bikini
Bikini- H&M, $26 / Bikini- H&M, $26 / Bikini- Old Navy, $40
The bandeau bikini offers great support for you girls with a sexy larger chest and can give a great boost to create gorgeous curves.
If you’re flat chested, choose a style with shape and structure like this stunning lavender suit from H&M, and avoid bandeaus which go straight across as these can flatten an already flat chest.
The One-Piece
Side-tie Cutout one piece- alloy.com, $28 / Swimsuit Waka C- Mango, $45 / Bqueen Black one-piece bathing suit- bqueenshoes.com, $49
If you have a boyish shape, a one-piece suit can be a great alternative to a bikini. One-pieces that feature super-fashionable cut-out patterns can be great for giving the illusion of curves and draw attention to your stunning slim figure. A halter-neck one piece, like this eye-catching Mango print suit, features a dramatic plunge neck to draw attention to your gorgeous shoulders and neck.
The Underwired Bikini
