Sandra‘s Closet

Today, I would like to introduce you to Yves Saint Laurent’s newest nail polishes duos Les Manucure Couture Les Fauves that are available now in four different combinations, only in selected department stores for CHF49 each.

Duo N° 1 – Griffe Dorée – Gold and Black Shatter

Duo N° 2 – Griffe d’Argent – Silver and Black Shatter (on my nails below)

Duo N° 3 – Griffe de Sable –  Beige and Black Shatter

Duo N° 4 – Griffe de Jade – Khaki and Black Shatter

What looks like you just stepped out of a nail salon is actually quite easy to apply yourself and it is a lot a fun watching the effect happen. So how does it work exactly? Shatter polish is a special top coat applied over your regular nail colour that gives a “crackled” effect on the finish. As the shatter coat is matte, you can apply a topcoat for a high gloss finish if desired.

OPI was among the first ones to introduce the shatter polishes. Below you can see some of my favourite combinations.

LoL, Sandra

OPI Spark de Triomphe (gold) with OPI White Shatter on top

NARS Ecume (white) with OPI Blue Shatter on top

The name Nina Ricci is famous, especially the house’s most famous perfume, “L’Air du Temps” (created in 1949), but the brand has dropped off the fashion radar for quite some years. The French fashion house was founded by Maria “Nina” Ricci and her son Robert in Paris in 1932, and has been owned by the Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig since 1998.

After Maria Ricci’s death in 1970, the label went through a difficult phase, with different owners and designers. In 2009, designer Peter Copping, who had worked for Louis Vuitton, took over and since then Nina Ricci has been on the rise again. I absolutely adore Peter’s designs.

When designing the F/W 2012 collection which will be presented this Thursday during Paris Fashion Week, Peter Copping, Creative Director of Nina Ricci, asked himself what the Nina Ricci uniform would be. First and foremost among the house codes is the little black dress.

Here you can see me in Paris, posing in front of the Nina Ricci store window on Avenue Montaigne in the same dress that was on display:
Ruched taffeta and lace dress by Nina Ricci, tweed and leather jacket by Antonio Berardi, Black Mamba gold-plated snakeskin-effect cuff by Yves Saint Laurent, studded leather ankle boots by Valentino and Constance leather clutch by Jason Wu.

Tweed materials are another house signature; here Copping whipped them up in a feminine and soft style. Combined with a floral skirt, it takes your summer wardrobe to the next level.

Tweed coat, open-knit crew-neck sweater, mini pansy-print skirt, ruched linen wedges and Liane top handle bag, all by Nina Ricci.

For all perfume lovers, I recommend Nina Fantasy, a gorgeous Limited Edition version of her classic Nina fragrance, which will be availbale in Switzerland in April, just in time for spring.

Slightly sweeter smelling than the original, the scent combines top notes of bergamot, mandarin and pear with the delicate, powdery heart notes of cherry blossom, rose and heliotropes. Base notes are mate and brown sugar.

The white procelain bottle in the shape of a flamboyant apple is very fairytale-like. It draws inspiration from spring and magical moments. It is finished with a golden stem and leaves, engraved with the Nina Ricci signature, and has some sweet illustrations in golden pink.

Eau de Toilette, Limited Edition, 50ml, CHF 77.-

LoL, Sandra

Here are more interesting fashion news!
Yves Saint Laurent‘s press office announced earlier: “Today we announce the departure of Creative Director Stefano Pilati, who since 2004 has stood at the creative helm of the house. Please join us in saluting him for his extraordinary work and his determination in forwarding the awe-inspiring heritage of Monsieur Saint Laurent.
Stefano’s final fashion show – F/W 2012 womenswear – will take place next Monday, March 5, 2012 in Paris.”

Raf Simons, who showed his final collection for Jil Sander in Milan, was rumored to have been Pilati’s replacement. While French newswire AFP and French magazine L’Express both had reported Hedi Slimane, who designed menswear at YSL in the late 1990s before taking over Dior Homme, will replace Pilati. Let’s see you will make it!

The fashion carrousel is turning fast at the moment…

LoL, Sandra

Last night, the 84th Academy Awards 2012 were held in Los Angeles. Question is who won but even more important who wore what! Here is your fashion recap from the Oscars 2012:

White ruled on the red carpet! The sparkling hue of winter worn by Rooney Mara, Milla Jovovich and Cameron Diaz, among others, emerged as one of the evening’s top trends like a fashion blizzard.

My favourite of last night was stunning Gwyneth Paltrow, who totally nailed it in a striking white cape dress by Tom Ford. The “Contagion” actress kept the rest as sleek and elegant as her gown, a sparkly cuff bracelet and her hair held back in a low ponytail. She definitely deserves the Fashion Oscar of last night!

H.S.H Princess Charlène, wife of H.S.H Prince Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco,was dressed in an Akris couture gown created by Swiss designer Albert Kriemler and carried a matching Mini Allegra bag. Her appearance marked the first time a member of Monaco’s royal family is in attendance since Grace Kelly won the Oscar in 1955 as best actress.

Needless to say, red is always a great choice for the red carpet. Best seen on Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman and Emma Stone.

Whatever happened, those ladies came already like the Oscars and one took it even home! Stacy Keibler, love of George Clooney, is quite literally a trophy girlfriend in her golden Marchesa gown, don’t you think?

Dressed in matching black outfit, the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stood out on the red carpet. The couple knows how to draw attention and that does not only mean showing your leg!

The Academy Awards winner of last night were:

Best Picture: The Artist (Thomas Langmann, Producer)

Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

Directing: The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)

LoL, Sandra

The last days that I spent with the Gucci crowd were amazing. I have so much to show you and I am still far behind with my New York adventures…

This was my outfit that I wore to the Gucci F/W 2012 show. It was quite difficult to pick something as we had to go straight after to the train station leaving for Florence. I am completely in love with the colour combination of emerald, blue and red. Isn’t it so chic?!

Midnight blue long military-style coat, red belted dress, emerald fur stole and shoes, all by Gucci, ring Diorette by Dior Haute Joiallerie and blue Boston python bag by Céline.

LoL, Sandra

Photo: Courtesy of Snappylifestyle
All other photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

This is your invitation to the Emilio Pucci F/W 2012 fashion show!
Watch it tonight at 7pm CET (1pm EST ) here on Sandra’s Closet livestreamed from Milan’s Palazzo Serbelloni.

I am so excited to see what Peter Dundas has come up with for the next season. See you later!

LoL, Sandra

My Gucci adventure started on Wednesday with the F/W 2012 show in Milan. Just one word. Amazing! Frida Giannini created a dark glamour, opulent looks that were sensual and sophisticated at once, recalling the Victorian era mixed with a certain vampire allure. She even used masculine accents such as oversized shoulders and military-style coats and capes. Her very dark vision might be a welcome change after all the vibrant colour-blocking of the last seasons.

„This is modern-day romanticism. A dramatic sensuality, a dark glamour. With subtle tones of provocative intellect.“

– Frida Giannini

The materials were rich. Opulent brocade, devoré velvet and floral prints on jacquard fabrics plus beautiful 3-D embroideries on the long flowing evening gowns. Exotic animal prints on silk looked great on the runway. My favourite were the pieces that were made completely out of beautiful shimmering dark green feathers.

Colours are dark, black paired with green in different shades, plum tones and burgundy.

The accessories had a lot of equestrian references. The new Stirrup bag, roomy as well as classy, has a revisited metallic spur closure (mark it on your F/W 2012 wish list, a season’s must).

Footwear is either flat (those crocodile boots, OMG!) and masculine or slipper-like with a sharp high heel.

I am a big Gucci fan and this collection has just made me love it even a little bit more…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Gucci

It is Milan Fashion Week but the buzz is all about something else. As you know, I am in Florence with Gucci at the moment and during the day all those twitter messages came in that Raf Simons, Creative Director of Jil Sander since 2005, has confirmed he will be stepping down following the F/W 2012 show this Saturday. This is breaking fashion news!

Rumours are out and huge that the avant-garde Belgian designer will take over Dior succeeding Galliano who left last year after his anti-Semitic comments. Looking closely at Raf’s S/S 2012 collection for Jil Sander, you could totally see some Dior references (see above), so let’s see if the speculations are true or not… At the moment, Dior collections are created under the supervision of Bill Gaytten, Galliano’s former studio head.

But it gets better: It is looking more and more like Jil Sander, herself at age 68, will return to the eponymous label that she founded in 1968. All good things go in threes: The German designer, who sold in 1999 75 percent of her company to the Prada Group, left the label in 2000 after a falling out with the owner, Prada’s Patrizio Bertelli. Later, following a brief return in 2003, she departed again and began working on other projects, such as the very popular high street collaboration with Uniqlo. If she comes back now, it will hopefully be for good!

This will be a very interesting week…

LoL, Sandra

Something for my Swiss readers: The annabelle magazine features in their recent issue the newest fashion trends presented by “creative people of Zurich”. If you are curious who was photographed for this project, have a look at annabelle’s backstage report by clicking here.

Needless to say, I was very honoured to be part of this wonderful shoot which they named “We are trend!”. The two ladies in charge, Daniella Gurtner and Monica Pozzi along with photographer Gregory Derkenne did an amazing job. The only downer is that they have retouched my beauty mark, which is my signature feature!

My look: Studded leather jacket, skirt and top, all by Versace and my own studded suede platform sandals by Yves Saint Laurent.

Below are some of the behind the scenes shots. Enjoy!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of annabelle and © Sandra Bauknecht

Today, I flew to Milan for an exciting Gucci experience. I am overwhelmed being one of the 16 handpicked bloggers from across the globe to be invited.

Some very sweet surprises waited for me in my hotel room…

We had a lovely welcome dinner at the very trendy Giacomo restaurant close to the Duomo.

Having fun: Tina from Dallas (Bagsnob) whom I had dinner with last week in NYC, Emily from London (Fashion Foie Gras) and me in Gucci Cruise 2012.

Next stop: 2pm Gucci F/W 2012 show! Cannot wait…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht