Sandra‘s Closet

I am a grown-up Roksanda Ilincic fan as you know and her pre-fall 2012 collection is one of my favourites for the next season. Inspired by her eighteen month-old daughter’s Legos, the uber-cute designs feature drop-waist dresses, puff skirts, Mondrian-like colour blocking and divine colour combinations.

You can shop a great selection at net-à-porter.com and matchesfashion.com. The cute Suzu wool-blend crepe dress to the left above has just found its way to me.

This month, the Serbian designer has launched her debut line for two to eight year olds, entitled Blossom Childrenswear. The range features mini-me clothes with instantly recognisable aspects from Roksanda’s womenswear designs and was inspired by the birth of Roksanda’s first child Efimia, back in 2010, who is perhaps unsurprinsgly, modelling the debut collection.

Roksanda puts an emphasis on material “to ensure the collection comprises of soft textures and loose, unrestrictive shapes”. This happens when a mother designs. She knows how to keep the little ones comfortable without giving up on style. The line is available at Liberty and on AlexandAlexa.com. I am loving it!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Roksanda Ilincic

Ladies, store your ballet flats! If you haven’t focused on the day-slipper trend, you really should embrace it. They are on the shopping list of every fashionista and a hot fixture on the fall high street. I went for leopard print slippers by Louis Vuitton in blue (for the previous post, please click here) – Poppy Delevigny has the same ones in red. 
For fall, Miu Miu‘s velvet embroidered slippers are my season’s favourites, so chic!

By the way, gentlemen, you are in the game as well. You can find the most extraordinary models for the fashion-forward of you at the end of this post.

Get involved now and shop those must-have footwear below!

LoL, Sandra

Shop the best slippers for WOMEN:

Embroidered velvet-covered leather slippers by Miu Miu

Embroidered satin-covered leather slippers by Miu Miu

Sequined leather slippers by Marc by Marc Jacobs

Intern tartan canvas and patent-leather slippers by Christian Louboutin

Sequin skull-embellished suede slippers by Alexander McQueen

Embroidered velvet slippers by Alexander McQueen

Swarovski crystal-embellished suede slippers by Giuseppe Zanotti

Wheel studded leather slippers by Jimmy Choo

Shop the best slippers for MEN:

Victory nude nubuck leather slippers by Kardinale

Leopard print suede slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Sloane zebra print ponyskin slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Coarse glitter slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Purple velvet slippers by Del Toro

Velvet slippers with crystal tassel by Giuseppe Zanotti Men

Suede and Swarovski embellished slippers by Giuseppe Zanotti Men

Embroidered velvet slippers by Stubbs & Wooton
(Stubbs & Wooton is a Florida-based label, founded in Palm Beach in 1993, that specialises in luxurious slippers).

At the moment, I am completely addicted to La Prairie face care products and took them all on my road trip through the US. This means a lot because the packaging is quite enormous. Of course, it looks very luxurious in your bathroom but if you travel a lot like me, it is not very convenient. I hope that the Swiss brand will come up one day with a travel-size collection. But packing them is worth the effort! The results that you can achieve in a short amount of time are truly amazing.

Here is what I use on a daily basis at the moment:

EYES

ESSENCE OF SKIN CAVIAR EYE COMPLEX (Day)
Instant Firming Eye Energizer

The perfect pick-me-up for the sensitive skin surrounding your eyes, this lightweight, rapidly penetrating gel acts like a mini eyelift. I like to carry it in my handbag when flying to hydrate from time to time the delicate tissue around my eye and to soothe away signs of stress and fatigue.

It also effectively “erases” slight imperfections and helps to increase the staying power of eye makeup. CHF 160.- (15ml)

CELLULAR RADIANCE EYE CREAM (Day & Night)
Restorative Eye Treatment

Unfortunately, I have very sensitive skin around the eyes and not all eye creams work for me. This one is amazing as it helps to refine, hydrate and smooth the delicate skin surrounding the eyes without being too aggressive. A brightening complex, which combines light diffusers with vitamins and minerals, fills in lines and wrinkles and provides instant luminosity, immediately wiping away signs of stress and fatigue. CHF 412.- (15ml)

FACE

CELLULAR RADIANCE EMULSION SPF 30 (Day)
Protecting Emulsion

I am using this product for quite a while now (for the previous post, please click here) and I truly love it because it improves my natural glow immediately, while working to help prevent age spots and discoloration over time. Firmness and moisture increase, giving the look and feeling of younger skin while SPF protection helps minimize skin-aging damage. CHF 570 (50ml)

CELLULAR RADIANCE CREAM (Day & Night)
Time-Correcting Treatment

As you get older, you are loosing unfortunately your youthful luminescence and radiance more and more, especially after being short of sleep or too much time in an airplane. This truly advanced de-aging treatment with unique radiance complex helps to diminish the appearance of lines and wrinkles while refining and firming the skin and enhances its reflective properties. Your complexion will become more luminous, more radiant from the moment of application. It will help you look as young as you feel. CHF 820.- (50ml)

CELLULAR POWER CHARGE NIGHT (Night)
Magical things happen at night

I have told about this magic potion for your skin already in April (please click here for the previous post and the detailed information). It is no joke, it helps you to turn back the clock overnight by taking advantage of your skins natural resting state to perform necessary recovery functions. CHF 544 (40ml)

CELLULAR LIQUID SOFT GLOW (Day)
Airbrush your face

Designed to create shimmery accents to contour and highlight any area of the face, this unique formula is flattering on all skin tones. This silky, lightweight fluid enhances the natural skin tone with a brightened luminosity and creates a “soft focus” effect to blur the look of lines & wrinkles with the help of an invisible light diffuser. It may be worn alone, or blended with your favourite foundation. CHF 72.- (30ml)

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © Sandra Bauknecht and Stills: Courtesy of La Prairie

Giorgio Armani‘s exclusive fragrance line, Armani Privé, has expaned its ‘Les Eaux’ collection with a new edition: FIGUIER EDEN – a real ode to nature.

With their ingredients and precious bottles, ‘Les Eaux’ each illustrate the colourful emotions and fragrant scents of legendary gardens.
Personally speaking, I love fragrances that have a fig accord and this one smells amazingly well, a very sophisticated scent.

The story of FIGUIER EDEN

A heritage of Mediterranean culture, the beneficial fig tree is deeply rooted in mythological and Biblical tales and legends. A symbol of wisdom associated with the goddess Athena, it grows alongside the olive tree at the heart of the Garden of Eden, offering the flavor of its fruit and the shade of its branches in this pure, calm and luminous space.
‘Les Eaux’ are a tribute to history and nature.

Top notes: Citrus, bergamot and pink pepper.
Middle notes: Fig, Moroccan iris and spicy notes.
Base notes: Woody notes and amber.

Armani Privé – Figuier Eden is available as 100 ml EDT for CHF 189.-.

If you are at the counter, have a look at the other Armani Privé creations as well. The four fragrances from ‘Les 1001 Nuits’ are a journey inspired by oriental legends: Oud Royal, Rose d’Arabie, Ambre Orient and Cuir Noir are among my favourites as well.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Giorgio Armani and © Sandra Bauknecht

On my last evening in Maui, I went for a lovely dinner at Spago restaurant, located in my hotel Four Seasons Maui at Wailea, which was definitely the perfect way to end my trip to the beautiful island. I still have so much to show you but I am already off to new adventures.
Texas, here I come!

My look, of course with more Hawaiian prints:
Floral blouse (30% off on sale), navy blue stretch pants (50% off on sale), red Antigona envelope clutch, all by Givenchy, green leather pumps by Prada and bowtie pasta and cameo clip earrings by Dolce & Gabbana.

LoL, Sandra

This month, CHANEL‘s S/S 2012 Haute Couture makeup collection BLUE ILLUSION will hit the stores.
As free as the air itself, blue has always been an invitation to travel, from inky nights and clear lagoons. In a design-forward fashion show setting recreating a long-haul flight in midair, Karl Lagerfeld‘s designs were presented with the clouds and moon floating above the audience last January. In a halo of light and strong lines around the eye, blue eyeshadows caressed the eyelids to echo jewel dresses, accompany tomboy postures and soften rebellious hairstyles with a new chic look.

Peter Philips, Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup, borrows the intangible hues of summer blue. Like a cloud-strewn sky, eyes take up shimmering reflections that change with the light.

The juvenile grace of an almost nude face showcases eyes with marine depths, mellowed by the radiance of blue tones.

On eyelids, ILLUSION D’OMBRE takes on a scintillating and satiny effect that makes eye makeup glow with each bat of the lashes. Two airy shades of grey blue, one pale, DESTINATION, and the other more intense, APPARITION, adapt to all faces. Eyeshadows are applied according to inspiration: in sheer washes or deep colour blocks, in mono­chrome or gradations.

Mascara-laden lashes accentuate the graphic tracing of the eye contour with a sophisti­cated note. LE CRAYON YEUX BLEU AÉRIEN borders the eyelids with an intense stroke, like a horizon line over the ocean. The effect can be optimized with LE CRAYON KHÔL and LE STYLO YEUX WATERPROOF, chosen in the MARINE shade, perfect to intensify the depth of the eyes or create evening makeup.

The natural complexion is simply dressed in a tender pink blush with JOUES CONTRASTE ROSE ÉCRIN.

LE CRAYON LÈVRES NATURAL becomes one with a subtle shade of ROUGE COCO SUPERSTITION, a golden beige, the favorite colour of Mademoiselle.

For the final step of this chromatic journey, LE VERNIS SKY LINE sweeps nails with a delicate shade of pearly blue that captures and softens the light in its pearly reflections.

Don’t miss those limited edition must-haves:

Illusion d’Ombre (Apparition/Destination) – CHF 47.-
Le Vernis (Skyline) – CHF 38.-
Le Crayon Yeux (Bleu Aérien) – CHF 33.-

Available this month in Chanel stores worldwide and at Jemoli in Zurich.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel

Continuing the theme of ‘portraits for successful living’, Diesel’s Screen Test F/W 2012 ad campaign puts fashion and strong personalities together to create a set of highly stylised performances to camera.

Iconic fashion photographer Steven Meisel creates the series of modern Screen Tests, featuring some of the most exciting contemporary models – Karen Elson, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Jamie Bochart, Fei Fei Sun, Coco Rocha, Mirte Maas, Sid Ellisdon, Ethan James, Yuri Pleskun, Sallieu Jalloh and Dae Na – inviting each character to enter his frame and role-play to the camera.

Each subject is engaged in a creative, playful act, expressing their individuality with confidence and attitude; props swiped from a dressing up box provide the riff for each invented persona. On digital screens the incorporation of animated cinemagraphs allows each image to come alive with the slightest movement.

In an irreverent grid layout, the characters become inadvertently connected and we see an accidental social network develop. A mix of styles and identities play against each other to create a singular, defiant, ‘Diesel attitude’.

In a global age of instant communication, Diesel presents a campaign beyond genre conventions. Taking cues from sophisticated high fashion as well as street style, the campaign mixes codes and references without fear or rules.

It is this ‘anything goes’ attitude to fashion that underpins this provocative and playful campaign, which will come to life in F/W 2012 with a 360° media approach, which will include print and online implementations, and a strong approach on social networks.

I like and you?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Diesel

It’s time to put the latest Isabel Marant shoes on your radar for fall. The designer, who’s credited with knowing what women want before they know it themselves, scores again with covetable footwear, including those must-have wedge trainers in new hues and high-kicking boots, like the fringed rodeo-inspired pair.

This is your chance to shop them for three days before they are available to all mytheresa.com customers. Just click on the highlighted text below each shoe to be transferred directly.

In case that you are not fast enough, go to matchesfashion.com for another great selection or net-a-porter.com which will receive a great delivery this week.

LoL, Sandra

Jacob fringed wedge boots

Bird wedge sneakers

Dicker suede ankle boots

Lazio wedge boots

Jenny suede ankle boots

Bekett suede wedge sneakers

During my stay in Maui, I watched many beautiful sunsets. The light is so amazing – colouring the sky in shades of yellow, orange, blue and purple. I captured some of those moments for you with my camera.

One of my favourite places on the island to have dinner and watch the sundown is the Italian restaurant Sarento’s On the Beach in Kihei, Maui. Great food, great service and great location.

My look: White ruffled dress by Tibi, coral shape heels by Chanel, glitter sunglasses by Miu Miu and necklace Pearl Drape with horse clasp by Gabriele Frantzen.
On my nails: Believe created with Cher by Deborah Lippmann
(a shimmering metallic gold beige).
Curls all natural!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Kristen Stewart has officially made the transition from teenage dream to high-fashion icon.

The ad campaign for Balenciaga’s new Florabotanica fragrance features the 22 year-old “Twilight” actress in a floral dress, looking fierce at the camera. I am convinced that the new scent will get a lot of attention with its modern, attractive flacon and unusual ingredients, such as mint, rose, carnation, caladium leaf, vetiver and amber.

Balenciaga Florabotanica will be available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum.
In Switzerland from October 2012, exclusively at Marionnaud.

And I have finally a scent matching my floral Balenciaga dress.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balenciaga and © Sandra Bauknecht