Sandra‘s Closet

Today, I would like to give you a sneak preview of the make-up holiday 2010 season. The collections always include limited special editions and hit the stores from the end of October until end of November. Herewith you will find my pre-selection of the soon-to-arrive must-haves. The overall trend is lots of gold and silver sparkles. Glitter against the Christmas Tree is the motto! Deep browns and burgundy reds combined with popping fuchsia let you shine during cold gray winter days.

Chanel’s new limited nail polish is so-called Pulsion, a beautiful bright fuchsia shade. Get yourselves on the wait lists now! The matching lip gloss in Pink Pulsion is also a must. The divine blush duo with tweed effect (Les Tissages de Chanel) in Tweed Fuchsia will give you those young rosy cheeks everybody loves.

Les 4 ombres in Tentation Cuivre is an eyeshadow set including copper brown, light beige, shimmering pink and plum copper that will work for every skin type.

Les Ors de Guerlain is a feast for the eyes! The gold theme that features the famous Guerlain bee, will introduce a silky loose powder creating a light-reflecting veil with a subtle golden iridescent finish, in a gold copper shade (Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder Face & Body).
The It-lip colour will be a subtle shiny, violet shade: Rouge G Le Brilliant in B64 Bee.

My favourites are the 4 eyeshadows in 410 Velours d’Or, including two shades of violet along with gold and an intense black liner, embossed with a honeycomb Arabesque pattern taken from past imperial Guerlain bottles.

YSL has created a decadent collection for the holiday season, bursting with the beloved cocktail hour shade gold in combination with pink, chocolat and red. Get your hands on the limited Palette Metallic Colorama, a pink-gold face highlighting powder.

If you are more on the wild side and are looking for some crazy colour combinations, Mac will offer you a lot of choices with their Tartan Tale collection. So stunning! I am completely in love with the packaging and how the pattern is for example imprinted into the eyeshadow.
Best Shade: Semi-precious – an aubergine with chocolat Tartan striping.

I am always a big fan of the Dazzleglass Creme colours– lipglosses with a lot of glitter.
Best colour: Lightly Prancing – a light peach with gold pearl.

Nars is this holiday season all about shimmering nail colours, lustrous lipsticks and glistening glosses with gold, rich berry reds and purples leading the way. The limited eyeshadow trio in Okinawa ( silver, deep cobalt blue and black onyx trio) is a must along with the single eyeshadow in Etrusque, an antique gold.
The two nail colours Bad Influence ( a smoky taupe) and Pokerface ( a lilac) are also on top of my list.

Christian Dior Evening Gold

But I saved the best until last: Christian Dior’s Evening Gold collection offers some fabulous products. The perfect gifts for your fashionista girlfriends or the best treats for yourselves:

The Dior Minaudière is the star product for Holiday 2010. The It-accessoire was inspired by the little cosmetic pouches the ladies were carrying at the beginning of the 20th century – the forerunners of the clutches that we know today. It includes 3 eyeshadows and 2 lipglosses that are covered with a gold plated flap to protect them (love that!) and comes in two different colour combinations: 001 Grey Golds and 002 Pink Golds for CHF 120.- each.

992 Noir Lamé

Also divine is the new Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in 992 Noir Lamé – for your sexy winter moments!

LoL, Sandra

Minaudière 001 Grey Golds

Minaudière 002 Pink Golds

When I wrote in the beginning of September about the upcoming Lanvin for H&M collaboration, I promised to keep you posted once the first look has been revealed.
Et voilà, here it is!

The ad campaign, which stars from left to right, Hannelore Knuts, Jane Schmitt, Tati Cotliar and Natasha Poly, was shot by David Sims and styled by Camille Bidault Waddington .

The clothes will hit the stores on November 23rd. I am completely in love with the sleek, classy black looks and the beautiful details.
If the quality delivers what the photo promises, then this collection will be a huge success!

LoL, Sandra

I love the colour combination of ink blue and teal with grey. Those shades just belong together. The outfit above proves my theory perfectly:
The gorgeous grey dress by 3.1 Phillip Lim (€305.-) and ink-blue belted long-length blazer by Elizabeth & James (€430.-) look stunning combined with teal accessories like the velvet ankle boots by Maison Martin Margiela (£455.-) and the cross-body bag by See by Chloé (€305.-).
For daily glamour add a statement necklace like the crystal-embellished one by 3.1. Phillip Lim (€590.-) and a cool leather bracelet by Chan Luu (€175.-).

Indigo eyeshadow by Givenchy (one of my favourites) and the OPI “Ski teal we drop” nail polish will top off your outfit amazingly!

Feeling blue can be fun!

LoL, Sandra

Are you tired of your traditional business attire? Have you seen your classic two-piece suit too much and feel like wearing a uniform?
Why don’t you try something new, that still looks classy but makes you feel like a woman without loosing your serious business allure?

Tia Carrere with me

Tia Carrere, American actress (True Lies, The Relic Hunter…) shows it perfectly: A comfortable and appropriate silk shirt looks amazing combined with a well-tailored pencil skirt that should defintely end a little above or below the knee. The last length is very à la mode at the moment. The leather gives the skirt a very feminine and kind of sexy look. Instead of adding a blazer, you could opt for a slim cardigan.

Patent pumps will make your legs look so much longer. Keep your jewelry simple, a nice watch and some diamond studs work always very well. The most fashionable item of your look could a statement bag, like the large Alexa by Mulberry. This detail will underline your style in the best way possible.
I am sure that the compliments will be all yours and the business deals anyway!

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © Sandra Bauknecht

Feathers are a trend that seems to be always there. For F/W 2010 designers showed that fine feathers make fine birds. From beautiful marabou plumes to ostrich feathers, the creations were versatile. Being dressed in full feathers stands for a certain glamourous allure.
So Ladies, start looking for your feathers of prey:

A marabou jacket or cape is a piece for eternity. It adds the right amount of sophistication to every evening outfit or ball gown. I especially adore the ones from Balmain this season and would opt for a colourful piece.

The Gucci dress from the F/W 2010 runway collection is a smart choice as it comes with a removable feather-trimmed bolero.

In case you do not like to ruffle your feathers, I recommend a feather print or just a little detail like the ostrich-trimmed satin bag by Lanvin.

For F/W 2010, the possibilities are numerous. If you turn up your glam factor, you will surely not be shedding feathers.

And good news is, the feather trend is going to stay for S/S 2011. So those pieces are definitely great investments.

Ladies, it is time to adorn yourselves with borrowed plumes!

LoL, Sandra

Some of you wanted to get more information about the bi-colour fur vest I was wearing recently. This divine piece is from Louis Vuitton’s Pre-fall 2010 collection. In Paris, it was like a secret code among fashion editors, spotted quite often. Carolin Sieber, well-known London stylist, whispered in my ear with a wink at the Africa party: „I have the same!“

The lining is made of beautiful heart-printed silk. I especially love the white-grey fox fur combined with the beige colour where the inside pockets are located.

If you are interested, contact the Louis Vuitton store near you. It is definitely a piece that you buy now and will love forever!

LoL, Sandra

Thanks for all the lovely feedback on my Paris Fashion Week posts! Many of you were asking me about the leopard bag I carried at the Louis Vuitton show last Wednesday. This tote has been a must since Phoebe Philo presented it for her first Céline S/S 2010 collection followed by even more stunning versions for F/W 2010.

The designer who had been Stella McCartney’s assistant at Chloé before taking over the helm at the well-known French fashion house, was the mastermind behind the Chloé Paddington, one of the most popular It-bags of the last decade. Now with Phoebe’s return into the world of fashion (after some time off dedicated to her family), Céline is a hit both with fashion editors and customers alike.

The so-called Boston bag from the luggage collection is just perfect. It comes in three different sizes. Classic and modern, attention-seeking without being overloaded – those attributes might describe it the best. The only problem is that it is available in so many material and colour combinations which makes it a nightmare to choose. The medium leopard one was screaming my name. Under which spell will you be falling?

LoL, Sandra

As Chanel is always a big trendsetter for make-up looks, I was eager to have a closer view at what is coming next for S/S 2011.

Since 1994 (the launch of Rouge Noir), Chanel has consistently turned out must-have nail polishes. So what is it going to be next spring?
Et voilà, question answered: It will be all black and white.

But it would not be Chanel if it was an ordinary black. Black Pearl is more a metallic green-gray colour reminding me of an oil-black sheen. On the toes, it was all about Pearl Drop, a milky white, beautiful for summer.

The make-up itself was focused on the eyes, emphasizing them with a smokey look. Peter Philips, Chanel’s gobal creative director of make-up, used an emerald tinged onyx black shade and for the lips and cheeks just a little rosy shimmer. It might seem a little dark for summer but I always like the spot on the eyes. Very pretty!

A total invention was the sleek hair with a liquid eye pencil line down the model’s center part. Who is up for this?

By the way, the show was absolutely amazing, more coming soon…

LoL, Sandra

Spotted everywhere during Paris Fashion Week, the It-shoe of the season: Valentino’s most fierce kitten heels. Editors, stylists and celebrities have been rocking these pumps lately.

The studs and the straps make this kitten heels sizzling hot, adding this touch of sexyness most 3-inch heels are missing. Even the flat version seen on Alexa Chung is amazing.

The most popular shoe of Paris Fashion Week comes in different material and colour combinations and is still available at NET-A-PORTER.COM. But hurry, they are selling out fast.

LoL, Sandra

... they are stylish and comfy in one!

I love mine...

With the big sock-in-shoe trend, it seems all natural that designer have come up with a very convenient way of doing it: Inbuilt rib-knit stockings.

As for me, I  have found it always difficult to decide with shoe size to buy if I have to fit in some thick ribbed wool socks, too. Now, my problem is solved.

Pull those boots on with a mini skirt and your legs will look surprisingly long! You can play with the length of the stocking, taking it all up as a dramatic choice or chopped down for a cool style.

I am all up for it, and you?

LoL, Sandra