AG Jeans + Alexa Chung + billie = Denim Heaven

A few days ago, the ladies of Bouquet of Frocks had a chance to catch the new Alexa Chung/AG Jeans clothing collection at our local billie boutique right here in Montreal. It was an evening of music, makeup and fashion. The winner of the night had to be a killer denim number with the flouncy neckline that Debbie and I really drooled over... A button-down denim mini-dress also caught our eye along with some of the softest jeans I've ever felt! No doubt about it, denim is a wardrobe must and it's always fun to see what kind of new details and silhouettes designers come up with!

                                                

A Little Spring in your Step

Skirt and Tee: Joe Fresh / Jacket and bag: Thrifted / Shoes: Converse / Hat: Target

With this sudden burst of warm spring weather, I'm starting to feel inspired by fashion again. I, along with many of you I'm sure, was experiencing a bit of a winter slump. But finally, I can say I feel revived. No more black clothes, I'm all about white, white shoes, white jean jacket, bring it on!

French Connection 2015 Fall/Winter Preview

 

Yesterday, I had a chance to take a quick peek at the French Connection Fall/Winter 2015 line and although I gotta say, I have barely begun to explore Spring and Summer, a few pieces from their collections really caught my eye.

The themes of the day were the usual suspects: lots of patterns, blacks, grunge, punk rock and retro styles, with some pop of colours like bright yellow and tomato red. There were also plenty of oversized sweaters and coats, with faux fur collars and capes (which you all know I adore!) But the pieces that really caught my eye were the party looks for Christmas and New Years, not to mention how they incorporated the same kinds of details in more casual pieces as well. It was all about the embellishments and little details. Tons of fringe hems, feathers, sequins and beading! There were so many fun party pieces that really made me rethink my whole winter hibernation habit. I gotta start finding more parties to go to...
                                   

Bridal Glam

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black

Sephora Collection Medium Shopping Bag Makeup Palette

Ardell Glamour Demi falsies in 101

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Annabelle lip liner in Nude

NYX Pump It Up lip plumper in Elizabeth

I have to say...

I LOVE THIS LOOK. I am not normally a smokey eye kinda gal. It looks a bit heavy in person but it photographs so beautifully, which is the main thing I'm concerned about for my bridal look. It probably helped that I used a combo of taupey and deep browns instead of straight up black, but the effect is so striking (if I do say so myself!) And you can tell by the second photo I definitely need to practice more...the shadow application is a bit uneven from lid to lid and check out those wonky falsies! Anyway, you get the idea...

I would definitely pair this eye look with a more muted lip and go light on the blush. This look is all about the eyes! And I gotta say, I love how the shadow and eyelashes accent the almondness of my eyes. I've always loved my eyes, they are one of my favourite features.

No doubt about it, look number 2 is making it to the wedding finals!
                                                                

New Word: Athleisure

Pants: H&M / Sweater and Hat: Joe Fresh / Jacket: Thrifted / Shoes: Nike 

Finally, a trend that gives you permission to wear your jogging pants outside the house, hah! With the rise of Athleisure, I've been trying to experiment a little more with jogging pants. Since I never really liked Yoga pants, I went with this plain black cotton pant from H&M which is fitted around the ankle and fleecy soft on the inside. I think these are probably some of the most inconspicuous jogging pants out there which reveals that I may not be ready to fully commit to this trend which is strange because I typically love anything that can be described as "cozy." Nonetheless, this look works well on a day where you might wanna hit the gym in the morning and finish off with a stroll through the mall, amirite?

Classic Bridal Makeup

Frockers, as you may or may not know by now, wedding bells will be tolling for me in about a year and I'm knee-deep planning. We're going to tie the knot in Vancouver since both of our families live out west and I've spent the past two months researching for a venue that 1) fits into our $10,000 total budget and 2) will do as much work for me as humanly possible for what I understand is a very small budget. Naturally, our little destination wedding will be a lot more complicated to plan since we're on the other side of the country and can't meet with vendors, venues, caterers etc. I used to live in Vancouver, but I didn't exactly frequent wedding venues on the regular. I just really wanted to find a place that's hassle-free and an all-inclusive kind of a deal so that any additional work on our part would be minimized.

Well, we've just booked a lovely little historical house turned restaurant called the Brockhouse, situated right along Jericho beach in the heart of VanCity. Their garden and lawns seem very lovely, their tent will come pre-decorated with drapey ceilings and chandeliers, they'll play classical music during lunch, provide all the tables and chairs, linens, silverware, food, servers....we practically just have to show up! And since we're reserving during the shoulder season, the price is one of the cheapest I've been able to find anywhere in the city! Even though we haven't actually visited the site yet, we were pretty confident to just sign the contract and visit later. Since we got engaged, the venue was the main thing I was concerned with since the intersect of my requirements (see above) didn't leave very many viable options. Now that the venue is booked, I feel like the biggest chunk of the puzzle has been figured out and I can start solving the smaller (and more fun) parts. 

LIKE MAKEUP! We're trying to save money wherever we can and nearly everything that's not taken care of by the venue will probably be a DIY job. However, before committing to the whole DIY makeup thing, I do think I'll need to practice, test and experiment, and that's where you Frockers could help me out. I'd love to post the makeup looks I'm considering for your feedback and tips! Let me know what you think looks good cause that'll really help me figure out if 1) I'm good enough to really be doing this on my own and 2) what would look the best on the big day. I haven't gotten a dress yet and don't really know what style I'm going to go for, which will really affect my final styling decisions, but I gotta start practicing now! Y'all may think I'm some kinda makeup guru-expert with tons of beauty know-how, but what you don't see on the blog (or in life for that matter) are all my failed attempts and terrible decisions. Really the only reason I'm remotely confident enough to walk out the door with any makeup on are a couple of undeniable facts on which I guide my makeup life: it's all about experimenting and finding out what works for you.

This first look is what I like to call the "classic bridal" look. It's a soft goldish-brown, muted smokey eye with some shimmer to it, paired with a nude-blush lipstick. I also slapped on some BB cream, powder and blush, but did not bother to do anything with my lashes (imagine I'm wearing some natural-looking falsies.) Mostly, I just wanted to test the eye shadow look and what kind of a lip would look good with it.

And I gotta say, I impressed myself with this attempt. I've tried this look before and it has never turned out this well. Maybe it was the several YouTube videos I watched right before trying this, but I really like how it looks. It feels like just a soft and pretty smokey eye. It's noticeably more made up than I normally would be, but not too harsh or vampy. Apologies for the weird lighting, I was sitting in front of the window and there's a bit of a glare. Also, shout out to the broken closet door behind me! I don't know if you guys can tell, but apparently, I'm super strong cause I broke the door by just attempting to close it. HULK SMASH.

Anyway....so what do you guys think? Should I put this look in the bridal makeup running?

Sephora Collection Mini Shopping Bag Makeup Palette
Annabelle Trio Eye Shadow in Quartz (just the darkest colour)
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Nude Delight

L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick in Nature's Blush