Vancouver Vogue

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Fall Beauty I Can't Wait to Try

I'm very grateful that, living in Vancouver, we have all 4 seasons. From food to fashion and beauty, I always enjoy the transition from season to season. When Summer turns to Fall, I yearn for the transition from white wine to red wine, Summer clothes to Fall clothes, and of course Summer makeup to Fall makeup. Today's post is all about the Fall beauty looks and products I'm most excited to dive into wearing this season!

First, let's take a look as some of the gorgeous Fall beauty looks that will be inspiring my makeup choices. After a full Summer season of wearing bright lipsticks, one of the most exciting part of Fall makeup for me is the switch to dark, vampy lipsticks! I also love switching up regular nude lipsticks for more mauvey shades. As for eye makeup, I'm ready to start playing with some deep smokey eyes and dramatic graphic liners. Just like with lipsticks, it's time to put away the bright corals and pinks and change them up with deeper shades like navy and red. One Fall trend I'll also be adding to my fall routine: metallics, for both eyes and lips. Take a peek at all the inspiring Fall looks below, and then keep on scrolling to see some Fall makeup products you'll want to get your manicured hands on!

(Left to right, top to bottom)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Fall Lipsticks

Fall Eye Makeup

Fall Nail Polishes

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

A Fashionista's Dream: Daily Grand $50,000 Shopping Spree

If you've been following Vancouver Vogue for a while now, you know I love to share great fashion deals with you. After all, dressing well doesn't have to cost a fortune. Thrifting is one way to do that...another is to win yourself a shopping spree! If you live in British Columbia, keep your eyes trained right here, because I have some VERY important info on how you could win a $50,000 shopping spree!

So here's the deal: Daily Grand is a national lottery game that offers two unique top prizes: $1,000 a day for life, and $25,000 a year for life (and in case you're wondering, they actually mean for the rest of your life!). That would be pretty grand, wouldn't it?

Now here's where you want to listen up, fashionistas! BCLC wants to give people who are 19 years and older a chance to imagine and experience living grand with a $50,000 Daily Grand Shopping Spree Contest. If you win the contest, you'll have four hours at Metropolis at Metrotown mall to spend that 50 grand on October 28th. My mind is already racing with all the things I would buy!! It just so happens fall is coming up, so I know my fall wardrobe would be 100% covered.

I know you want to get in on this fabulousness, so here's where you can enter for a chance to win this crazy massive shopping spree: www.DailyGrandContest.com. Make sure to get those entries in by October 1^st!

But even if you don't win the grand prize, don't despair, because Metrotown shoppers like yourself will also have a chance to win secondary prizes on October 28th at Metrotown (which includes four $5,000 gift cards!!). Even $5,000 would go a long way to nailing your new fall wardrobe.

Stay tuned, because I'll have another blog post coming up in October where I'll be sharing what I would buy on a small shopping spree. I'll talk shopping strategy, and when and where to choose between quantity vs. quality – that way you’ll be all set strategy-wise for your own shopping spree if you win!

Can you even imagine having $50,000 to spend on a shopping spree?? What would be the first thing you would buy?

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by BCLC

Monday, September 4, 2017

Fall Fashion Trend: The Statement Sleeve

I'm sure you've heard of statement earrings, statement necklaces and even statement bags, but how about statement sleeves? This spring, we started to see an influx of styles that centered around shirt sleeves: bell sleeves, ruffled sleeves, tied sleeves...the list goes on. It was hard to go a block on the street this summer without seeing them. And now it looks like this statement sleeve trend is going full steam ahead into Fall!

This SheIn Lantern Sleeve Belted Back Crop Top is definitely a statement piece. The billowy sleeves are eye-catching, meanwhile two straps wind around the waist, tying in a bow around the back. The shirt is a crop top, but I like how you can adjust the straps to cover more or less of your waist. At $24 US, this shirt doesn't break the bank, either. I was a little concerned about the sizing, but Medium ended up being a perfect fit.

The way the billowy sleeves end just above the wrist, they also nicely showcase any jewelry you're wearing. These gold accessories from Nobis & Grey were on heavy rotation in my wardrobe during summer, but will also look great with my camel-coloured outfits this Fall. I find gold to be a very "rich" colour, and I prefer wearing it with greens, browns and deep blues especially.

Of course, if these sleeves seem a bit too ambitious for you at first, there are plenty other styles you can try that are a little bit more subdued. I've linked up a few below for you to check out!

Shop this look:

Other statement sleeves:

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Friday, September 1, 2017

Fall 2017 Beauty Trend: Twiggy Lashes

I've done a pretty thorough search of the makeup trends spotted on the runways for Fall 2017, and one that caught my eye was the return of Twiggy's iconic eye look. It's all about the thick eyelashes on both top and bottom, and eye-popping white eyeliner. The effect gives you a wide-eyed look, and even better, it's super easy to achieve!

You'll just need 3 drugstore products:

Here's a closer look...

Maybelline Waterproof Liquid Liner

This is my all-time favourite liquid liner! I use this everyday for my cat-eye liner, and it never smudges at all (thanks to the waterproof formula). It's even survived crazy winter winds when my eyes were pouring out tears. Seriously. Amazing stuff. And it comes off easily with micellar water. Anyway, rather than my usual cat-eye, for this look, you want to just do a nice thin line, ending at the edge of the eye. Simple as that.

Revlon Mega Multiplier Mascara

This is Revlon's brand new mascara, and as it turns out, it's perfect for this Fall look! Thanks to Influenster for sending me a complimentary tube to try out. This mascara is meant to give you an oversized lash look - exactly what I was looking for to give me big, Twiggy-inspired lashes. The innovative formula combines fibres and 360 degree tube technology, which extends and plumps your lashes.

For the ultimate Twiggy effect, I applied quite a few layers of the mascara on both my top and bottom lashes. I was really happy with how it turned out: clumping wasn't a problem, and even with the amount of layers I did, it wasn't flaky at all. The cone shaped brush was also ideal for getting in there along the lash line and coating the smaller lashes too. An added bonus: it's water resistant!

NYX Faux Whites Eye Brightener in Honeydew

No Twiggy look is complete without that pop of bright white liner. This time though, I'm switching it up just a bit with an off-white liner. NYX has these awesome liners for brightening up the waterline, and instead of just in white, they come in variety of light colours. Here, I chose the shade Honeydew which is a light yellow-green to match my green eyes. Pop! Automatically your eyes look way brighter, and the lash line is accentuated.

And there you go, one super easy trend you can rock this fall, with just 3 products! Let me know if you give it a try.

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

A Taste of the Holidays with Chapters Indigo (AKA My Gift Go-To)

I think I've mentioned it quite a number of times here and on my Instagram how much I love Chapters Indigo. I own what might be considered a ridiculous amount of items from Chapters - from tins of tea to home decor and beach towels. I also rely on them for a large amount of my gift shopping, whether that's birthday, mother/father's day or Christmas gifts. And in case you haven't picked up on it already, Chapters has a whole lot more than books in their stores. I'm talking amazing fashion, home decor, gift and novelty foods sections.

All of this to say, I'm always super excited for the Holiday Preview Chapters hosts in August, because it gives me a sneak peek of what I can expect for the upcoming (albeit a little ways away) Christmas season. And in the spirit of giving (ok it's a bit too early for holiday sayings, isn't it?), I wanted to give you all a peek too!

First of all, Chapters always has the more adorable Christmas tree ornaments, like the donut you'll see above!

Oh lordy, don't even get me started about the kitchen goods. I would own every single one of these if I could. See that plaid baking dish? I need that in my life. Badly. Wouldn't that also make a sweet hostess gift?

Chapters' fashion section is a favourite of mine. I can see that sparkly glitter clutch being the perfect accessory for all my holiday outfits!

I actually own a set of gold bar glasses very similar to the ones above here, from a previous season. In fact, I own an insane amount of gold-laden bar wear items from Chapters, which are featured on our bar cart year round. I also spotted a marble mobile charger that would make an awesome stocking stuffer, or a small gift for friends (especially marble-obsessed blogger friends!).

I swear I would actually bake more if I had sweet dishes like that Bon Appetit one above! Adding this to my wishlist.

Aren't these mugs so pretty? I love the light turquoise with gold. One for me, and one for everyone on my Christmas list.

Remember when I said my entire bar cart is from Chapters? Great, now I want all this bar wear too. That rainbow Moscow Mule cup!! Oh and then there's that Naughty and Nice glass and shot glass set. What a cute idea.

I know a few people who are going to loooove all this Canada-themed kitchen goodness!

The embroidery trend is still hot for winter! I'll take one of each phone case, please Santa. If it's not too early to send requests...

The best shopping buddies!

[Left to right: Aurora of Style By Fire, me, Vicki of Style By Fire, Alicia of Go Live Explore]

Now if you're like me and you're now already visualizing your Christmas wishlist, guess what?? Chapters has already started an Online Holiday Pre-Order Shop! So pre-shop your hearts out, folks.

Happy Holidays (just kidding..it's still August!) xo

~ Britta

Monday, August 28, 2017

Diner en Blanc in Vancouver

Labour day isn't here yet, so let's squeeze in a few more white dresses before then! Actually, to be honest, I have no issues breaking that age-old "rule", but it just so happens we had Diner en Blanc in Vancouver this week, so it was the perfect excuse to wear this summery white dress one more time this summer.

I know some people consider Diner en Blanc to be a bit pretentious of an event, but to be honest, when there's an event that offers me the magic of being in Paris right here at home, I'm not going to say no. We met our group leader and then were whisked away by charter bus across downtown Vancouver to our 'secret location', which turned out to be along Coal Harbour - a beautiful grassy park along the sea wall. All 6,000 of us brought our white tables, chairs, plates, glasses and meals with us to dine altogether al fresco with french music playing all around us. Oh, and of course, all dressed in white too. It's a pretty incredible experience to say the least. Especially in Vancouver, it's honestly quite amazing that 6,000 people managed to get their act together and all dress up nice!

For this year's Diner en Blanc I was so excited to wear this pretty Chicwish Echo of Exquisiteness Chrochet Dress. I bought it after spying it on Pinterest earlier this year. And I'm so glad I did!! Have any of you ever gotten hooked on a new fashion find after finding it on Pinterest? I love the chrochet detailing, and the bell sleeves are right on trend. If you have a party to attend, or even need a dress for a bridal shower, etc, this is such a unique dress for it! And at $54, it certainly doesn't break the bank (it's 23% off right now!). For reference, I'm wearing the size S/M. There's only a few left in stock, so I've linked up some similar dresses below too. If you're looking for something even cheaper, I found this almost exact match from SheIn: their Bell Sleeve Scallop Edge Geo Crochet Dress. It's only $30!

If you're looking for some tips on dressing for your first Diner en Blanc, make sure you check out this post and this post!