My one wish in the land of birthdays

Image from Stylecaster.com

As a child I was seldom seen without a book, usually something by Enid Blyton. A particular favourite was 'The Enchanted Wood' where Jo, Bessie and Fanny climbed the faraway tree and had the most magical adventures.

I have never forgotten the final scene where the children visit the Land of Birthdays and are each allowed to make a wish in celebration of Bessie's birthday. Fanny wishes that she could fly and is given a beautiful set of magic wings. As a child I couldn't imagine wishing for anything else - how could you not want to fly?

These days my adult feet are firmly and happily on the ground (at least in my waking hours), and my one wish has changed. I wish I could draw! Now, kind readers, before you insist that of course everyone can draw I want to be clear about something: I cannot. Stick figures are about all I can manage, and Pictionary usually ends in tears. Give me a pencil and I can whip up a poem or a rhyme in no time, but any attempt at art is woeful.

When I saw this beautiful, whimsical fashion illustration by Rebecca Taylor for her forthcoming collection at New York Fashion Week, I was once again 8 years old and wishing I could scale the faraway tree. Somehow, Rebecca has climbed inside my head and drawn the outfit I would draw, if I could.

I have always loved Rebecca's clothes and am lucky enough to own a couple of her dresses. In the exclusive interview for Stylecaster.com Rebecca talks about finding inspiration in the contrast between the laid-back New Zealand countryside and the fast-paced New York lifestyle (read the interview here). If this is a sign of what's to come for her next collection, my bank balance is in serious trouble.

What about you, lovely readers? What would your one wish be if you chanced upon the Land of Birthdays?

x

Beauty icon: Marilyn Monroe

'Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.'

I love this photo of Marilyn Monroe, taken before she became known for her iconic platinum curls and red lips. She looks so young and unaffected and her natural beauty is breathtaking.

I find it sad that celebrities seem to be smoothed and refined and shaped into variations of someone else's vision of the 'perfect woman'. Of course, Marilyn (or Norma) had gorgeous genes to begin with, but I can't help wishing we saw more of her 'beneath the makeup'.

Once a week, I will post a photo of a woman I believe shows beauty beyond what we have come to accept as normal. I want to celebrate those brave souls who stand strong against the tide and embrace their uniqueness.

Who would you like to see on Beaunz, lovely readers?

x

If only I had...dark hair

Cybele Radiance long dress SS2012.

Shopping for a dress for wedding season is a minefield! We have three weddings to go to in early 2012, and because there will be a number of 'repeat guests' at each, I can't trot out the same dress every time. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to shop but for some reason when it comes to dresses I am forever drawn to exactly what I shouldn't buy.

There are dozens of gorgeous cream or white dresses out there this season, but if you wear white to a wedding that's not your own it's a fine line before you start to look like a wannabe bride.

Black can sometimes work for weddings (my own bridesmaids wore black cocktail dresses and looked gorgeous) but after living in dark all winter I'm desperate for some light and prettiness.

The above Cybele dress is my favourite colour, but it's also my fashion equivalent to window shopping at Hagen Daaz - I just shouldn't! Paired with silky dark locks, daffodil looks fresh and dreamy. Put the same colour on a blondie like me, and it's like those headless mannequins they use at department stores. All you see is the dress, the woman wearing it fades into oblivion.

I know, I know - we all want what we don't have, the grass is always greener, yada yada. I am happy to live out my days as a blonde (although I have been contemplating a return to my more strawberry-toned natural roots), but would someone with dark hair please buy this dress so I can live vicariously through you?

What about you, dear readers? What dresses will you be wearing for wedding season?

x

It's a shoe-in: Celine

Celine AW2012 from Style.com

Once upon a time, exposing your ankles was not just titilating, it was downright shocking. These days, we're more likely to debate whether to show legs or cleavage (or if you're channelling Lady Gaga it's probably both - and some!) but this little peep of ankle between the saucy sliced trousers and black stilettos is the sexiest thing I have seen in a long time.

Women's ankles are dainty and feminine, especially when enhanced by a clever little shoe like this one. Sorry Jeffrey Campbell, but your clunky, clompy platforms have finally hit saturation point! I'm on the hunt for a pointy toed stiletto.

What about you, lovely readers? What shoes are you coveting for the new season?

x

Away with words

I'm a sucker for beautiful words written in beautiful fonts, and a couple of months after having my daughter, I finally summonsed the courage to have a tattoo on my inner arm. It reads 'S'asseoir, regarder le ciel' which means to sit and look at the sky. I love the saying as it reminds me to stop, take a breath and look around me to find the inspiration I need. As of this morning, only a handful of people know about my tattoo but I guess that's about to change!

At New Zealand Fashion Week, I spotted this embroidery on the inner arm of Peter Shand's WORLD suit and he was kind enough to let me take a photo. It reads 'Je vais continuer' or 'I will go on'. The other arm reads 'Je ne peu pas continuer' - 'I can't go on.'

Peter had the suit customised, and it turns out he also has tattoos on his inner arm, although the lights went down for the COOP show before he could roll up his sleeves to show me.

What about you? Do any of you have a secret tattoo? Or even a not-so-secret one with beautiful script or words?

x

Zambesi beauty at Fashion Week

It was so refreshing to see makeup used to make women look beautiful at fashion week.

That may sound strange, but in recent years the trend for war paint, bleached brows and goth glam was more about striking catwalk images than wearability. Last week, MAC outdid themselves creating dozens of gorgeous looks, most of them a variation on either the winged eye, the statement red lip or sometimes a combination of both.

My favourite look of the week, and one I hope to emulate for the party season, was the blue eye and red lip combo at Zambesi (as seen in my first post here). It is rare to see a successful break of the eyes OR lips rule, but this manages to be fresh, feminine and cool all at once.

What do you think, lovely readers?

x

les femmes frecklé*

What better place to start my blog than with an image of beauty very close to my heart?

As a child, I was tormented by my freckles and did everything to fade them. I sponged them nightly with lemon juice, I smothered myself in sunscreen, I even saved all my pocket money to buy a special 'freckle bleach'. You won't be surprised to know that none of them worked.

As an adult I subjected my poor face to the hot snap of photo rejuvenation, which gave me porcelain, freckle-free skin - until they all came back again. If it wasn't so painful I would probably be in a permanent state of yoyo-freckling, but lucky for my bank account I couldn't put myself through that procedure more than once.

So, today, I am at peace with my freckles. My makeup artist friend, who has worked on some of the most gorgeous women in the world, thinks they are beautiful. And I realised that if my own daughter had freckles I would find them adorable on her, so why not on me?

It got me thinking about beauty, and how it creeps up on you sometimes, and how we need to find beauty in the every day. So I decided to finally put myself on the blogosphere with a little daily dose of beauty. It might be a person, it might be a song, it might even be a pair of shoes or a new lipstick - I hope to make this blog a virtual scrapbook of beautiful finds.

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to a number of shows at New Zealand Fashion Week, and of all the glitz and glamour and fashion, this photo was my favourite, taken back stage at Zambesi. I don't even know her name (update: apparently her name is Olivia Lefebre - thanks Kat) but her freckles make this photo beautiful. I hope she is the first of many femmes frecklé on this blog. For anyone interested in how to recreate her makeup, the Zambesi face chart is here.
The only thing I ask of you, lovely readers, is that you come back often and talk, talk, talk. Tell me what you think. Leave your comments. Share your thoughts.

xx


*OK - so technically, the word frecklé does not exist, or at least it didn't before now. To be freckled in French is to be covered in 'les tâches de rousseur'.