The Monochromatic Fall Makeup Look

To be honest, up until this season, I've never been the biggest fan of the colour brown, especially when it comes to makeup. Especially lipstick. It gives me 90's flashbacks, and I'm not the biggest 90's fan. But...sometimes you get inspired by what you see on Pinterest, and the next thing you know I'm creating a brown monochromatic makeup look.

I like to do this as a really mattified look, so I went with my e.l.f. Mad For Matte Eyeshadow Palette for my eyes. You can't be the price ($10.00!), and it has a really nice selection of matte brown shades, which are perfect for this look. As per usual, I couldn't decide on one NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream for my lip colour, so I ended up blending two colours together: Los Angeles and London. These Soft Matte Lip Creams are the best. The colours are so pigments, they last all day, and they feel really comfortable on the lips, considering they're a matte lipstick. These shades were both part of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Vault I got from London Drugs last Christmas.

To keep up the brown matte look, I also went for a mattified contour look without a highlight. Here, I used the NYX Highlight and Contour Pro Palette just under my cheekbones, and up towards my temples. You know what's fantastic about this palette? You can even buy replacement singles for the contour palette, so if you run out of one of the shades, you don't have to re-purchase the whole palette! Talk about eco-friendly beauty.

And that's really it! Just finish up with your favourite lines and mascara (here I've used Maybelline's Waterproof Liquid Liner, NYX Noir Satin Finish Liner and La Roche-Posay Respectissme Mascara), and you're all done.

Happy Styling ! xo

~ Britta

Vancouver Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018

The fall season is here, and so is fashion week season! As per usual, I had to catch at least a day of shows at Vancouver Fashion Week - after all, I'll never give up a change to dress up and see some incredible runway shows.

I had almost entirely forgot about this highlighter dress that I thrifted from Value Village months ago. And then I thought: what better time to wear it? I joke that this dress is the epitome of eco-friendly fashion, because it's actually from H&M's Conscious Collection (their eco-friendly capsule collection), but I didn't purchase it from the store, I bought it second hand from Value Village: doesn't get much more eco-friendly than that!

Keep reading below to see some of my favourite designers from Day 3 at fashion week.

[Photo by @simbaimages]

Atelier Guarin

If there is one collection that I could imagine myself wearing almost in its entirety, it would be Atelier Guarin's. The flared pants, ruffled sleeves and skirts, knee high boots with mini dresses...all of it! I'm especially in love with the pants and the mini dress you see below.

Autum Jules Designs

I always love being introduced to local, emerging fashion designers in Vancouver. Autum's collection is inspired by her indigenous Tinglit culture, from the traditional beadwork and moccasin boots, to the beautiful sequin dress you see below, which imitates the glistening of running water and Jules' deep connection to the earth. The collection covered a wide range of styles, from more traditional, to leather-clad and glittery glam.

Hunsel

These shoes are such a brilliant idea! Hunsel makes high end sneakers that you can completely customize. The front panel of the shoes can be switched out for whatever pattern you feel like. This is a really eco-friendly concept too: rather than buying 10 pairs of sneakers, all you need is one!

JAAJ

As much as I love seeing pieces on the runway that I would want to wear tomorrow, I also enjoy seeing some inspiring couture collections. And JAAJ certainly fit the bill! I was particularly drawn to the combination of leather and burlap: what an interesting combination, certainly something we don't see every day.

Madame Katjina

I really loved Madam Katjina's collection. Definitely lots of 'badass woman' vibes here. I've always been a bit fan of mixing leather with more feminine details like lace. And what I also really enjoyed seeing was the addition of embroidery! Right on trend. What was also eye-catching was the puffy collars seen on some of the pieces. A unique feature I haven't really seen before.

Mouton Blanc

This was definitely a very moody collection, and I totally loved it! Why? Because of the combination of dark, edginess and traditional business wear. You can see the work wear shapes are there: the loosely tailored pants, the button up top, the lapels...and yet Mouton Blanc puts a serious twist on all that with its goth-like style.

[Runway Photos by Getty Images for VFW Management]

In case your wondering which talented humans were creating all those amazing runway hairstyles, the team at REDKEN was behind the scenes! They were even on-hand to do hair touch-ups in between shows, so I took them up on it and had some fun waves added to my 'do. I wish I could have someone do my hair like this everyday!

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

How to Wear Overalls and Look Chic

Overalls have made a major comeback this year (hello, 90's trends), but I've been hesitant to jump on the trend for fear of looking like a hillbilly! Let's be honest, overalls aren't always the most flattering, and usually I would imagine wearing them while painting or something non-glamorous. But I thought I'd give them a shot, and I'm actually quite happy with the results! Turns out, you actually can make a pair of overalls look pretty chic.

Especially for Fall, I thought going with a pair of blackoverall would probably best, instead of a lighter blue wash.Those tend to look more casual and would be better for Spring or Summer. These Ripped Rolled Denim Dungarees from SheIn are perfect. I ordered a Large because I had an inkling the Medium might be tight on my legs. A good decision! They fit great. The mid-section isn't too long though, so they're definitely best for those who are petite to mid-height, not tall.

My must-haves for any chic outfit are black and white. So I chose a black and white stripe shirt (similar), black bow flats, and my oversized cat-eye sunglasses (similar) to add to this look. It's already feeling pretty Parisian so far! By the way, aren't these bow flats cute?? They're such a great deal - just 30 bucks from H&M. Then I added a nice bold red lip, this amazingly creamy Teeez Cosmetics Material Girl Lipstick in Tainted Love, and topped off the outfit with some classic accessories from Nobis & Grey.

Once the weather is a little cooler, I think these overalls will also look really cute with a graphic sweatshirt. So you'll likely see that here on the blog in the near future.

If you were iffy on trying the overalls trend before, I hope you're a little more inspired to try them now!

Shirt - Simons (similar) | Overalls - c/o SheIn | Sunglasses - (similar) | Earrings - c/o Nobis & Grey | Bracelet - c/o Nobis & Grey | Shoes - H&M

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Fall Makeup for Green & Hazel Eyes: Deep Wine Red

Shocker, I put away my cat-eye liner for this makeup look today! After surfing through Pinterest for some Fall beauty inspiration (see this post from last week for my Fall beauty inspiration board), I got hooked on the idea of doing a monochromatic makeup look, featuring a deep wine shade. After all, as soon as I've bid farewell to summer, I get pretty excited about delving back into my supply of rich, deep makeup shades. You'll want to try out this particular makeup look especially if you have green or hazel eyes, as I think the wine colour really compliments them.

So I did some digging through my eyeshadow palettes and collection of lipsticks to find some matching deep wine shades to feature here. I ended up settling on my NYX Perfect Filter Shadow Palette in Rustic Antique (you could also use this NYX Ultimate Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Palette), and my NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in Madrid and Rome.

The great thing about this look is that it isn't at all complicated. If you're not a big eyeshadow person, this look is easy enough. I just packed on 3 pigments from the palette (top second left, bottom right, and bottom second right) over top of each other, from lightest to darkest. Then just blend, blend, blend! Make sure to use a clean brush to do your blending around the edges. It's as simple as that. If you want to make the eyeshadow extra pigmented, spray your brush with a little makeup setting spray like I did, before dipping into the shadow.

I also added a bit of shimmer by putting some Makeup Revolution Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights to the inside corners of my eyes. It has the most gorgeous golden glimmer to it! Then I just applied a bit of black liner to my waterline, and then added a few coats of my La Roche Posay Respectissime Volume Mascara to both top and bottom lashes. If you have sensitive eyes, you've got to this this mascara! Even if you don't have sensitive eyes, you'll love that it gives awesome volume and length to your lashes. Finally, for the lips, I blended together the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in Madrid and Rome because I like the combination of the deep mauve with wine red. And that's it! If you give the look a try, make sure to share some pics!

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Styling Tips: Mixing Prints This Fall

As soon as the leaves begin to turn, the first print to emerge eagerly from my wardrobe is lots and lots of plaid! To get a bit more adventurous today though, I've added two my prints to this fall look: tortoise and leopard. Browns, reds and blues go nicely together, so while it may seem a bit ambitious to wear 3 prints at once, it's really just about matching the colours of the prints with each other.

I built the outfit around this sweet SheIn Belted Checkered Shell Top. I was surprised that the belted bow actually is separate from the top - and it takes a bit of fiddling to get it just right - but once it's on, I love how it looks! Plus, since it's separate, you could totally also use it as a hair bandana, or as a belt on any other shirt. Pretty versatile, and did I mention it's only $16??

As for accessorizing, that's where you can start to have fun with some more prints! My leopard heels are a favourite for fall, and I wear my tortoise glasses from Clearly (similar ones here) all the time at work. If you're in need of a new pair of glasses, theirs are super affordable. The yellow/browns in these glasses and the high heels both match quite well, while also complimenting the blue and red in the top. You could also opt for a leopard belt or clutch - but maybe stick to just two other printed items max. I'm a gold accessories girl, so I've also added a gold bangle and earrings from Nobis & Grey to tie everything together. And that's it!

What's your favourite print to wear this time of year?

Shirt - c/o SheIn | Glasses - c/o Clearly (similar) | Pants - Zara (thrifted) | Heels - ShoeCult (via NastyGal, similar) | Bracelet - c/o Nobis & Grey | Earrings - c/o Nobis & Grey | Purse - Richmond Night Market (similar)

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta