Bowtifull

Today I’ve prepared a fun tutorial for you guys. I would like to thank OfficialMassieBlockBlawg for suggesting I do a D.I.Y post so you can learn how to make some gorgeous hair bows. There are two different types of bows you can make but today I will be teaching you the bow tie style one and then I will show you how to make the butterfly one in a later post.

Ever since I started learning how to make bows late 2010, they have been my signature piece du jour. Just as Massie Block has her golden charm bracelet, I have my bows. Once we were sitting in assembly and my friend Alicia (spalpha4life) and Emi were late. I was sitting in the very back corner of the room and when Alicia pointed me out to Emi. Emi was like how can you see so far?! Alicia replied, I can see her rainbow bow from here. Since then, my bow collection has grown heaps, mostly handmade by me although I have some store bought ones given to me as gifts. I have experimented with heaps of different materials; denim, lace, sequinned fabric and felt.

1. Fold your fabric in half and mark out your desired size. I recommend you use thin fabric because denim and canvas can be hard to manage.
2. Cut your fabric out using fabric scissors and pin together, right sides facing.
3. Using your sewing machine, stitch around the open border leaving a 2cm/1 inch gap. If you do not have a sewing machine, hand stitch around the border twice.
4. Turn fabric inside out and hand sew the gap together using thread that matches the colour of your fabric.
5. Cut a small strip of fabric out, this will ‘tie’ your bow together.
6. Fold your bow concertina style and hold the edges together using some pegs.
7. Place the small strip of fabric in the middle and sew the strip together at the back.
8. Slip a bobby pin or clip through the ‘tied’ loop. Alternatively, you can slip a safety pin in and wear it as a brooch.

Lucky Love

Hey everyone!

Happy early Valentine’s Day! Whether you have a special boy or not, you can still enjoy the day by surrounding yourself with people like your friends and families who love you more than you probably are aware. If you’re feeling lonely, I hope you feel the love (or the actual heat) radiating from your computer screen because I heart you all beauties.

Although I attend an all-girls school, everyone is quite into Valentine’s Day which is funny because no one really did much at my coeducational old school. You can order flowers for your friends which will be delivered to their roll call on the morning of the 14^thand you can also pay the student representatives to embarrassingly serenade your friends with sappy love songs. We’re going to get one of those for my friend who just celebrated her birthday. Ha-ha sucks to be her. There’s also a V-Day breakfast so we get to stay in roll call for longer than usual and snack on sweet heart shaped goodies.

I like to get in the spirit of things and dressing according to occasion is fun, at least for me. Here are several cute looks that I hope you can put to action. (all courtesy of Seveteendotcom)

Classic Beauty

You love the old-time romance of Valentine’s Day! Get inspired by your fave Hollywood movies with a look that’s equal parts romantic and prim. Use liquid liner to get that classic cat-eye look. To get your lips extra kissable (this is Valentine’s Day after all!), swipe on some ruby-red lipstick. Bonus points: the rich color will make your teeth look whiter, so your bright smile will totally catch your crush’s eye. For your hair, try a vintage-y voluminous ‘do. Tease hair at the crown and back comb for mega lift. The retro vibe is extra glam!

Girly

You love Valentine’s Day for all the pink colors and pretty white lace. Celebrate the holiday by embracing your girly style with a pretty cream pink blush and a golden luminizer to give you a glow from within. Simply sweep your cheekbones and bridge of your nose for a subtle radiance. Candy-coat your smile by swiping on lipstick, then layering on a high-shine gloss in a matching hue. To top it off, rock some false babydoll lashes. Your eyes will do all the flirting for you!

Edgy

The typical red, white, and pink V-Day isn’t for you. You always like to put your own unique spin on things and this holiday is no exception. Go for classic looks, but with a twist. Instead of matte red lips, go for a funky glittery red lip. Rather than a classic chiffon, pump up your look with a wild up-do. Spritz a texturizing wax through dry hair and tousle with your fingers. Pull straight back. Leaving extra volume in front. Then use a brush to tease the pony for some wild volume! If you’re feeling extra daring, stick a colored extension (try red or hot pink for the holiday!) in your pony — so fun.

Who says you need that beau to give chocolates, go and spoil those who know you best; your besties of course! A fun D.I.Y project thats original and sweet (courtesy of LaurenConraddotcom)

Here’s what you will need…

• 1 shiny, lucky penny
• red or pink ribbon
• mason jar
• hot glue gun
• gift tag
• 1 bag of Sweethearts (or your other favorite candy)

Instructions

1. Using the hot glue gun, glue your lucky penny smack dab in the middle of the tag (heads up, of course).
2. Next, take a letter stamp set or a Sharpie and write the message “Here’s to getting lucky in love” onto the gift tag around the penny.
3. Use the ribbon to tie the tag onto a mason jar and fill it with Sweethearts or your other favorite candy.

So who cares what others think? Go and spoil yourself, buy some chocolates (they don’t have to be heart shaped, god.) and I have one last question for you?

Will YOU be my Valentine?

xx Karen.

My, aren't you Naut-ty!

Hello Sailor!

Picture the scene. You are getting ready for your very first cruise. So what do you wear? What clothes are fashionable on a cruise? How to select cruise clothing for life onboard ship?

In the past, your first thought, when selecting cruise clothes or dressing for a cruise, might be relatively formal, particularly for dinner and evening wear; evening gowns, cocktail dresses, lounge suits, tuxedos or dinner jackets.

Naut-y Clique by fashioncrumb featuring two tone shoes

So the emphasis on cruises these days is firmly on casual wear. After all cruises are not all that expensive these days if you take advantage of non-peak seasons

It may be a bit of a cliche, but why not plan your cruise clothing around a nautical fashion look? Think saucy sailor or french matelot. Choose clothes in navy blue with white stripes  and a dashing of red for example.

The great thing about the nautical fashion look is it can be expressed in anything from a bikini, through shorts or sundress to a more formal dress or a warm greatcoat for chilly evenings on deck. Accessories too from bags, shoes, broaches and other jewelry can all reflect that ocean-going feel. Cruise clothing inspired by a uniforms are smart but can also be sexy and sassy. The sailor suit is a classic example of nautical fashion.

In the morning, a nautical mini dress together with a swift walk around the deck to get your lungs filled with sea air could be a great way to start your first full day afloat.If its cold on deck then wear the dress with some slacks, trousers or leggings. A good choice would be navy bell bottomed pants to keep the nautical theme going. After breakfast, if its warm enough, then replace the trousers with shorts or dispense with the trousers all together.

If you fancy sunning yourself by the pool or taking a dip then look out for a suitable bikini or swimsuit.Show your true colours is a well worn Naval expression. Remember just because you are thinking sailor it doesn't need to be blue. Bold red strips can be equally salty! Talking of swimwear, do remember that even if the sea breeze makes you feel cool, the sun will burn just as much on a ship as ashore. Do limit your time exposed to the sun and use high factor sun lotion or sun blocker. Oh and high waist-ed bottoms are very IN this season, perfect for hiding that roll of mishap.


Ahh-hoy, Karen.

Retro

Howdy

I don’t know why but sometimes when I see a photo shoot featuring one of my favourite celebrities I go, gawd that is so pretty, how could I recreate that make-up/hair look? So when I stumbled upon this gorgeous picture of Selena Gomez, I knew I had to post a beauty tutorial featuring the up-do, red lips and winged eyes. This is my first ever tutorial so let me know whether you like it or not! If you’re not into make up and hair, I’ve added some back to school confidence tips below!

TOOLS OF TRADE: MAC Superslick Liquid Eyeliner Nocturnal One Size, $18, MAC Lipstick Creme Cup (C) One Size, $15, NARS Trio Eyeshadow (Limited Edition) Calanque One Size, $45, MAC Cremestick Liner Summerfruit (C) One Size, $15, NARS Blush – SexAppeal, $27, Bobbi Brown Brow Pencil Mahogany One Size, $20, NARS Illuminator – Orgasm, $29, Bobbi Brown Luminous Moisturizing Foundation, $46, NARS Eye Liner Pencil, $21, Conair CD117 Tourmaline Curling Iron.

THE HAIR (IN A PARAGRAPH)

Note: I got all the tips from my hairdresser! Taking random large sections throughout the hair, curl from the midshaft to ends. Jakkob recommends not worrying about getting too close to the root as you’ll be pulling it back. After curling the ends, gather into a ponytail using a brush and secure with a holder. Pin the front section of the hair into a pompadour (the twisty part). Spray with L’oreal hairspray (I just picked a new bottle up last week and it works well) to lock in the pompadour.

THE LIPS (IN NUMBERED STEPS)

1. I suggest you head off to Sephora, a department store, M.A.C or a drugstore (if you dare!) with a friend who you can trust to tell you what looks good and what doesn’t. Try orangery reds if you have fair skin; go with deep brick shades if your skin is dark. Medium and golden skin tones look great in true reds.
2. Sit down in front of your vanity, bathroom mirror or iPhone mirror (not suggested!) and gather all your tools. Next to the photo of Selena Gomez, I have listed the products I used for this whole make up look. This isn’t something you can do in the car – red lipstick requires precision and perfection. Before you put it on, de-flake lips with a wash cloth, then apply (and blot off) lip balm to create a smooth canvas. Next, outline your lips with either a matching red liner or a shade close to your natural lip color to prevent bleeding (unless of course it’s Halloween and you want to look like you’re bleeding). Smudge with your finger to soften the line; then fill in lips with the pencil. Apply lipstick on top, using a lip brush. Blot with a tissue, then reapply.
3. Fight off fading – before heading out, be sure to tuck your lipstick into your purse for touch-ups. But you don’t have to start from scratch (phew!). Since you already have that great pencil base, you’ll just have to reapply after meals.

THE EYES (IN POINT FORM)

• Using a black liquid liner with a very thin brush gently drag the brush along your lashline starting from the top inner corner of your eye toward the outer corner of your eye.
• Be sure to follow the natural shape of your eye. When you try to change the shape of your eyes with liner, it actually makes them look smaller. Very counterproductive.
• The trick is to line as close to the lashes as humanly possible.
• The firmer you press the brush, the thicker the line will be.
• Use a hands-free mirror and keep your eye relaxed and slightly open as you line.
• This is very important: Once you finish lining your eye, do not blink for at least 10-15 seconds to allow the liner to dry.
• After you have lined both eyes, be sure to compare the liner on each eye. Are they even? If not, simply take a pointed q-tip and lightly drag the line along the eye to make it symmetrical to the other eye.

I know many girls have already started school or are starting today so here are my go to confidence tips on making an entrance and surviving your first day. Pristiegouswood Academy starts next Friday for freshmen and I’m actually a little excited about going to school!

1. Check your posture. Walking the halls looking like a comma says I’m not worthy. Strutting around like an exclamation point says I have arrived!

2. No nail biting. Every time you bite your nails or pick your cuticles it tips people off that you’re nervous. And no one likes a nervous nail nelly except maybe a manicurist. There are so many fun nail accessories this season. Pick one of those instead. Choose a pretty ring and twirl that around instead.

3. What’s your theme song? Haven’t you learned anything from Massie and the Pretty Committee? Every girl must enter the room to the beat of her theme song. Something fierce and fabulous. A personal favorite is Don’cha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me by the Pussycat Dolls. Yes it’s a few years old but it never lets me down. Save the mellow dramatic woe-is-me songs for the mirror concerts you perform for the stuffed animals in your room.

4. Follow the One Glance Per Day rule. After you have prepped for school take one last look in the mirror. You look ah-mazing, right? Good. Now don’t look at yourself again. Hold on to that image of you looking amazing all day. And you will project amazing. Sometimes I will catch my reflection and realize I don’t look as ah-dorable as I thought I did and then I get bummed. Then I look bummed. Then I feel bummed. And my mood is ruined. But if I can avoid mirrors I can imagine I look fabulous. Then I feel fabulous. Then I really do look fabulous. Get it?

5. Pay Attention In Class. You are at school to learn, right? We can’t forget that. And there’s nothing like being smart to boost your confidence. Because being popular in school is fleeting. Being smart is forever.

6. Only brush your hair/apply gloss/ blush/ mascara/etc. in the bathroom. Do nawt do any of thse in the classroom or people (especially if you go co-education) will think you are either a) a try hard b) vain times ten or c) you’re actually a witch with green skin who has to cake on foundation every five minutes. In addtion, there is no need to overdo your makeup school, go for the au natural look and people will think you are a natural beauty.

Beauty Sources: Here, here and here. Back to school tips: Lisi Harrison’s Blog! (except for the last point). I created the Selena Gomez  polyvore myself.

Karen

Spring Trends

Hola...

All from ValleyGirl.com, I don't own!!!!

Terrible effortless post, I know, sorry! But if you are from another country, I hope you find this interesting especially if you're in the southere hemisphere (just not AUS!)

Karen.

Gossipy Fashion

Hello Upper East Siders,

Wait, correction, if you live on the upper east side, you probably don't care about what I am about to say. After all, you have enought money to but the real deal so why care about knock off clothing lines like these? Anyways, that was so totally not the point, let's get on with the exciting news.

Gossip Girl is releasing a fashion line, on Sunday!! Not an avid fan of the show but an avid fan of Blair Waldorf's preppy wardrobe, I'm so hoping they bring the line down to Australia.

The collection--created by Romeo & Juliet Couture in collaboration with Warner Bros.--will debut the line, which features outfits inspired by those worn by Blake Lively and Leighton Meester's characters Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, at the Coterie trade show in New York.

Embellished tops, novelty sweaters and draped chiffon dresses will be featured in the fashion range--which is priced from $80-$200 (so I guess it actually is quite expensive) and will be available from department stores including Kitson, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. An accessories and handbags line is set to follow next year.

It’s not the first time the show has inspired a line (Anna Sui created a collection for Target based on all the main female characters) and Gilt Groupe once curated a boutique themed around the show. It makes sense that Gossip Girl‘s own production company would finally get in on the action.

Here is several pieces from the line:



Now that I think of it, I don't actually like any of the clothing pieces. What about you?

Toodles, Karen.

Peachy Keen

I adore the colour peach. It's not too girly and still very very pretty.The title of this post is the name of one of my peach coloured nail polished, so cute, right?! Below are some polyvores I have made over the month that are peach related.

Peaci Fifi by fashioncrumb featuring a drape jacket

Beige-Peach-Orange by fashioncrumb featuring an orange blazer

Peachy Keen by fashioncrumb featuring clutch hand bags

I got Glee foreign exchange, Teen Vogue October and Seventeen October at the library today! Glee is on tonight and the wait is finally over, so super excited! Yay x 100000000000

Gleerific

Hey,

Glee is airing in America tonight. I don't know when it's coming to Australia but I absolutely can not wait. Yes, I am a total Gleek! I checked online for spoilers and was very very shocked to hear WARNING DO NOT READ THE BULLET POINTS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!

 
• The winner of Oxygen's The Glee Project will show up in the season 3 premiere, and their primary storyline will be as Sue Sylvester's rival, a character she hates more than the glee club.
•  Sue is also getting a big, 20-episode story arc, one that most likely relates to her running for Congress (which is actually happening). She'll move from targeting the glee club to targeting President Obama, and she'll also be getting a love interest. There are no details, but combined with the news about the winner of The Glee Project, my theory is that her new rival could be the son or daughter of Sue's new boyfriend, and that the kid (who will, of course, be a McKinley High student) isn't so happy about having Sue as a potential new mommy.
•  Ryan Murphy wasn't very specific on which kids are seniors who will be graduating and leaving Glee at the end of season 3, but it sounds like the majority of them are in that boat. So get ready to say goodbye to some of your favorites like Lea Michele and Chris Colfer. On the bright side, he does specify that Chord Overstreet's Sam is probably not a senior.
• However, not everyone will be graduating. Murphy adds that some of the kids aren't great students and may not pass (Brittany, obviously), so some will stay behind.
•  Season 3 will feature fewer big guest stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and there will only be one big theme week, but it's from an artist Murphy has been trying to get since the start of the series.
•  Despite the fact that Murphy has said in the past that he doesn't want to do a storyline with Rachel's gay dads, he seems to have reversed his thinking, which means everything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt. His exact quote? "I'm really interested in seeing Rachel's gay dads who we've never met. I've said that I don't want to do that. But maybe now is the time to do it."
•  Murphy clearly loves Michele and Colfer, but he also says that other characters who've been in the background (like Mercedes, Mike and Tina) will get big storylines in season 3.
•  He says that Glee will scale back on the musical numbers per episode, maybe settling on four each week instead of six to 10 like they did in season 2. However, he said the same thing before, so I'll believe it when I see it.
•  Season 3 will deal with Santana's lesbianism, but Murphy says it will be different than Kurt's storyline. He added that "I do think it's sort of unreasonable to think the world treats gay people like they do with Kurt, where his father embraces him and his classmates all embrace him. He was bullied, yes, but for the most part he is allowed to be free and wonderful in the world and that doesn't happen to everybody who is gay."
• The word on Rachel is that she and Kurt are anxious about graduation, and both will seriously ponder moving to New York after they receive their diplomas. Speaking of Kurt, things with Blaine might get a whole lot heavier, since he’s supposedly transferring to McKinley High. Rachel is also reuniting with her mom this season, and we will get to meet Mike Chang’s parents as well (and they sing!). 
• Our favorite Cheerios will also do some major life exploration this season. Quinn is going bad girl on us, as she has a whole new posse this season in addition to taking up smoking and dying her hair pink. Santana is discovering that she is attracted to girls (and also gets kicked out of the New Directions), while Brittany starts dating Damian from ‘The Glee Project,’ who she thinks is a leprachaun when really he is just a foreign exchange student from Ireland.
• Besides Brittany and Damian hooking up, romance is also in the air for Mercedes and Mr. Schuester. Mercedes has a new boyfriend that we will meet this season, and it sounds like Mr. Shu is going to start getting serious with Emma.
• More news on the ‘Glee’ spoiler front is the fact that Artie is a junior (when did that happen?), and that there will no guest stars this season. Also, Samuel from ‘The Glee Project’ is a relative of Puck (all four finalists will appear on the show), there will be four musical numbers each episode, and you can expect a Tom Jones cover in the premiere episode.

I cannot, unfortunately confirm that all these spoilers are true.

For all those preppy Rachels or loud Mercedes, check out this website: http://fashionofglee.com/for great fashion of glee as the site address obviously suggests

Flutterby Eye

Hey,

I stumbled on this beautiful picture on Tumblr several weeks ago and I knew I had to reblog it. Today I looked in my archives and I couldn't find it, so devo. So I googled butterfly eye makeup and I couldn't find it either. I tried searching tumblr tags and weheartit but the result was positive. However, when googling, I did manage to find several other pretty ones.



So gorgeous and whimsical, right? I adore the colours and they go so well with the eyes which I would suspect are edited. Imagine if someone's eyes looked this colour, that would be a bit too freaky and on the border of alienish. Unless you are going to a fancy dress party as a lifesize butterfly, under the age of ten or you are celebrating Halloween, no one should be caught wearing such a thing so here is a more simple look that is, perhaps, inspired by the picture (the colours are different, I know).

From a Guerlain advertising campaign.

A purple smokey eye tutorial sourced from here

Step By Step

• The first step is to use put a piece of tape on the part of your eye to offer a sharp outer edge.
• Put on eye shadow foundation by applying the NYX Jumbo eyepencil in Purple color, in the outer portion of your eye, and the NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk, in the inner part of the eye and below the brow.
• Use a dull white eye shadow using NYX White Eyeshadow, use it in the inner portion of your eye and then take that up towards the brow, and a little in your inner lower lash line.
• Use a sparkle Double Stack Palette, and select the bluish purple color that she has pointed out on this video. Set that on the outer portion of your eye using the MAC 239 brush, after that move it inwards where the white base stops, then just mix together it upwards a little bit.
• Take a blue shade that she has pointed out on this video, use it at the top of the bluish purple color using a feathers brush to help merge it out.
• Now use a MAC 217 merger brush, select a dark blue color that she has pointed out on this video tutorial from the Double Stack Palette. Apply a little part of that color, just touch that at the outer portion of your eye. Then mix it.
• Take a black color from the Double Stack Palette, it's a shining black. Take a sharp brush, put it on very outer portion of your eye, after that blend it out with your MAC 217 merger brush.
• For the draw attention to, use a MAC Vellum eye shadow, place that under your brows.
• ·Use some lilac color on the central point of your lower lash line, and joint it to the outer part of the eye.
• Apply the shining black color again, set it on your outer v to connect the purple dark shade.
• Take a black eyeliner using Lancaster black kohl pencil, use a little bit on your lower lash line. Perform the same action on the top lash line. Smudge the line using a brush to get a smoky kind of black eyeliner.
• Now take a white eyeliner, use Maybelline white kohl pencil, place it on the waterline of your eye to make brighter your eyes so it's not would too darker.

Need MORE help? Here's a great YouTube video.

                                                                         Karen.

Couture with Cupcakes

Welcome.

This is my blog: Couture with Cupcakes

"When dressed in couture, one should not consume too many cupcakes." - Karen

This is a fashion/food/beauty/celebrities/life ramblings and all those in betweens type of Blog. In simpler terms, this blog will cover a lot of things especially fashion, one of my obessions. It's still relatively new but I'm going to work on it a lot in the following two weeks as it will be Spring break, here, in Australia, where I obviously live.

Karen