PINK Fashion Show Summer 2018 - A Fashion Festa

A picturesque garden in Floriana overlooking the majestic Grand Harbour, the King George V Recreational Grounds were transformed into a small village the time of the traditional Maltese festa. And indeed, a feast it was! This edition of the PINK Fashion Show was actually the 10th one and like the ones before it, it was an immense success.

Ever since the first edition in November 2013, held at the Malta Aviation Museum, the PINK Fashion Show has set the standard for local fashion shows and I think anyone who has ever been to one or more of the shows agrees with me when I say it is one of the best local fashion shows. The team behind it all always manage to surpass our expectations - the choice of venue, sponsor stands and of course, all the goodies from the different sponsors.  

For this edition, the theme couldn't have been any more appropriate - the village festa. The show was a celebration of fashion, colour, summer (which is when most festas occur in Malta) and of course, the 10th edition from when it all started.

Traditional festa banners and festoons adorned these historic gardens which were originally built for the exclusive use of the Knights of John and today, these grounds can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. For me, the venue was not new as my father used to take me and my brother there when we were young.

We were treated to a lovely show of summer clothing, accessories and swimwear collections by Orsay, Cortefiel, Carla Grima Atelier, Coccinelle, Emthunzini Hats, Furla, Ipanema, Isle & Aqua, O’hea Opticians, Oltre, Pedro del Hierro and Women’secret. The models were at times accompanied by the Vilhena Band (Floriana Band Club) which also opened the show with some popular marches.

Following the show, we were able to see what the different sponsors' stalls had to offer - food, makeup and drinks too but the showstopper was definitely the Magnum stand where the concept of creating your own ice-cream was introduced. I can say it was worth the wait! I had mine topped with raspberry and pistachio crush and it was divine!

I am grateful to the Pink Magazine team for inviting me along for yet another edition of this fabulous show and I'm already looking forward to the next!

Photography by Mark Soler & Justin Ciappara

Styling A Cape Blazer

Summer is well underway but we're still getting colder temperatures in the evening. My way to beat them? Add a cape blazer! 

I bought this white cape blazer from Zara a couple of months ago and whenever I wear it, I get asked where it's from countless times and the second most common question is - 'what can I wear it with?'

Here are three ideas how you can style a cape blazer for the early summer days.

1. All black and a dash of white

Paired with black, this jacket really is a stand-out piece and I love the look of it with trousers as it has a long-line cut. If it's a bit chilly, go for something with lace sleeves to balance the look out and have an interesting detail peeping out from beneath the cape sleeves. Also, wearing a cape blaze with trousers does give off Khaleesi vibes no? ;)

2. Wear it with a crop-top

I wore this blazer again with a more colourful look for an event and I paired it with this bright blue crop-top, skinny jeans and colourful shoes and I must say it worked well too! The blazer balances the look all over, lending it a more sophisticated, structured feel and tones down the bright colours.

3. Chic in Monochrome 

Photo by Neil Psaila

For the last day of shows at Malta Fashion Week, I wore this blazer again, this time with a knee-length dress which I found still works well with this blazer. I love how this whole look turned out and it is possibly one of my favourite ways to wear this blazer.

See, cape blazers are not as tricky as we think they are! Which outfit is your favourite?

Eylure Lashes Review & How To Care for your False Eyelashes

I used to shy away from false eyelashes until I was introduced to Eylure Lashes. I love the fanned out look that false lashes impart yet I used to brush off the idea of applying false eyelashes myself because i) it can get tricky and ii) I tried buying some cheap ones off Ebay once and the strip was just so hard it kept poking me in the eyes so I gave up altogether.

Towards the end of last year and up to a few weeks ago, I started receiving Eylure lashes from the local representatives and I kept them on my vanity for some time before I decided to give them a go. Well, clearly I was missing out!

Eylure Lashes come packaged in attractive boxes I must say and of course my favourites in that regard have to be the limited edition Enchanted ones. Each pair of lashes comes complete with a mini sized glue that can be used countless times and is the perfect size to take away with you in your bag for any touch-ups you might require.

Wearing the Limited Edition Roses & Thorns pair on different occasions

The lashes comes in a huge array of shapes made to suit all tastes and requirements yet they all look quite natural. The strip is thin and feels comfortable on the eyes and they can be re-used. Speaking of re-using lashes, here's a quick guide to cleaning lashes and make sure they are kept in tip-top condition:

1. Pour a little eye make-up remover into a small plastic container and put in a pair of the dirty lashes if they have a ton of glue or mascara on them. Leave the lashes to soak in the make-up remover for a couple of minutes.

2. Alternatively, if they only have a little glue on them, just pick at it gently with tweezers until it's off.

3. Carefully, take out one lash at a time with a pair of tweezers and place on a paper towel.

4. Gently remove any traces of mascara from the lashes with some more makeup remover. Put the lash back in the container and repeat until no more mascara comes off.  Do the same with the other lash.  Remember to clean the underside of the lashes as well.

5. Take off any left-over lash glue from the strip with your fingers and wipe the lashes clean.

6. Brush the lashes through with the lash comb to separate them and allow to air dry for a few minutes.

7. Store the lashes back in their original case and voila'! Lashes are clean again and ready for another use!

Wearing the Limited Edition Divine Crime lashes

Wearing Eylure No. 070 lashes

Thank you Eylure Lashes for easy-to-use, comfortable lashes! Now I look forward to putting on a different pair each time!

PR Samples

A Portrait of Me

Last April I took part on local gameshow Ħadd Għalik and my team managed to win a game which had a voucher for a photoshoot as one of the prizes tied to it and well I utilised it to take some portrait shots.

Initially, I was going to review the makeup products I used to achieve this look and we will still get to that in a minute but first, I wanted to talk to you a bit about what really goes on my life when I am not posing for pictures or attending events.

When I first saw these pictures I was elated with the results, something I not always am when I look at photos of me - I'm either not happy with the way my face looks, or certain poses make me look fat, others accentuate my problem areas (read my hips and thighs) but sometimes, there are those photos which I really love and want to share them with all the world because I look good and feel good looking at them! A case in point, being these portraits.

Behind the shy smile in these photos, is a strongly opinionated individual that is passionate about a myriad of subjects besides fashion and beauty - stamp collecting, history, politics and science being some of them. My full-time job, in fact, involves me working in a medical laboratory at the hospital, which of course occupies most of my time. Blogging does take up a lot of time too but it is something I truly enjoy doing for I get to share my outfits and new products with you as well as getting to meet fabulous people all along the way, be it other bloggers/influencers, followers, brand managers, photographers, etc...

Now, as promised, here are a few words about the products used to create this makeup look. A couple of months ago I was sent some products from the local representatives of Rimmel London which I haven't got to feature properly on my blog. This shoot was the perfect opportunity to show you this colourful palette and this beautiful red liquid lipstick.

I enjoy planning ahead, be it outfits for events, or activities for a day off. Summer is my favourite time of year and I enjoy spending days at sea whenever we have the chance to go and thus, to be honest, I was going to go for a more colourful look. However, when I had these pictures taken, summer was still not sure it wanted to make an appearance, so colourful makeup wasn't really on my agenda. The eye makeup was done with shadows from the Magnif'Eyes Colour Edition palette. The palette comes with 12 colourful shades ranging from warm neutrals, to blues, greens and even purples. The eyeshadows are mostly shimmery, with only 3 shades being matte. All shades have good pigmentation but the darker ones are a bit powdery in texture. Albeit, the colours I used all lasted well throughout the day and I think they came out really well in these photos. I think the khaki greens and beige shades used really brought out the colour of my eyes, which I admit are one of my favourite features to play with it when it comes to makeup.

For lips, I used the Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colour in the shade 500 Firestarter which has fast become a product I reach for very often. It has insane pigmentation and I don't need to touch it up during the day! This shade of red is one of my favourites ever and works well for day and night! I believe red lipstick gives you a confidence boost like no other and when you find the perfect shade that works for you, you're unstoppable -  to a certain extent of course ;)

Lastly, for contouring, correction and highlighting, I used the new Insta Conceal & Contour Trio and the Insta Duo Contour Stick respectively. My favourite out of the two is the Contour Stick, especially when it comes to the highlighting part. I like the highlighter on this one better than the trio palette because of the shimmer, whereas I prefer to use the lighter shade from the trio as a 'highlighting' concealer on the bridge of my nose and chin. I find both products have a creamy, easy to blend formula and I especially like the contour shade from the duo stick because it fits right under my cheekbone and is easy to blend seamlessly. On a side note, I think that the shades in the trio should have been labelled the other way round, don't you agree?

Doing my makeup and choosing my outfit for a night out is part of the fun for me and it is when I am most relaxed especially when I get to try out new products, so thank you Rimmel London Malta and thank you Paul from The Foto Grafer for these fun portraits :) I hope you enjoyed this post and got to know me a bit better too :) What are your favourite features/traits in yourselves?

Portraits by The Foto Grafer.
Featured makeup products were sent to me for PR purposes.