Sandra‘s Closet

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

You cannot be everywhere… The same day I flew to Paris for the amazing shoot with Dior, I was also invited to London for another special event.

La Mania – the Polish fashion house under the Honorary Patronage of Karl Lagerfeld – and Galerie Gmurzynska hosted a multimedia event, so-called “Fairy Tale Mania”, presenting La Mania’s F/W 2012 collection and exhibiting the new work of artist Marco Perego. You might recognize Perego’s work from last year’s post when I met him in Zurich.

In case you haven’t heard of La Mania before, here are some facts. The label is the brainchild of Joanna Przetakiewicz, launched in 2010 with the one-of-a-kind blessing by her friend Karl Lagerfeld who has been offering guidance and inspiration to the Polish designer. Joanna is not only wearing her designs, she is also one of the rare Haute Couture clients in the world. The last time I saw her, was at the Stéphane Rolland show in Paris.

The exhibition “Fairy Tale Mania” is open to the public until the end of February at the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, 5b Pall Mall, London SW1 (free entry). It represents Poland in the International Fashion Showcase project, organized by British Council and British Fashion Council as part of London Fashion Week.

Below you can see some photos of the event in London.

LoL, Sandra

Marco Perego
MY SOUL: Don’t leave me empty…
Painted metal, resin
2011

Isabelle Bscher, daughter of Krystyna Gmurzynska, and artist Marco Perego

Lapo Elkann, Zaha Hadid and Marco Perego

Joanna Przetakiewicz with models in her F/W 2012 collection

Joanna Przetakiewicz with her partner Jan Kulczyk, a prominent Polish business oligarch

Mathias Rastorfer, Zaha Hadid, Isabelle Bscher and Krystyna Gmurzynska
Photos: © Brauer

Last week when I was in Paris for the Dior shoot, another amazing event took place in my favourite city Los Angeles. Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder and Milla Jovovich were among the guests who attended a party to celebrate the launch of Marni at H&M.

Held in a beautiful Hollywood residence, the evening was hosted by Marni’s Founder and Creative Director, Consuelo Castiglioni, the Director of the Marni at H&M campaign, Sofia Coppola and Margareta van den Bosch, H&M´s Creative Advisor.

The setting, the 1926 Sowden House in Los Feliz, designed by Lloyd Wright, couldn’t have been more magical. The Mayan architecture, tropical palm trees, kilim rugs and cushions were the perfect backdrop for Marni’s signature, playful and tribal aesthetic. The guests were eager to see the collection, which was beautifully displayed in the house’s walk-in closet.

Sofia Coppola, who shot a campaign film for the collection in Marrakech, Morocco, was also at the event, wearing a gold brocade top from Marni at H&M. Many guests at the party were dressed in Marni at H&M included Jessica Chastain and Drew Barrymore. It is a great way to see the collection on real people. For the detailed post on the looks, please click here.

Drew Barrymore

Jessica Chastain

Freida Pinto

Felicity Jones

Consuelo Castiglioni, R Jones and Sofia Coppola

Mel Gibson and Consuelo Castiglioni

“It has been an inspiring night, surrounded by a perfect setting and a great crowd. LA encapsulated the dream! It is not long before Marni at H&M is in the stores, and I am happy to share these magic moments with everybody.”

– Consuelo Castiglioni

Another highlight of the night: Bryan Ferry‘s performance. Remember his show in January at the IWC Top Gun gala event?!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of H&M

Here they are: The official photos from the Dior shoot for Dior Addict Extrême, the new lipstick and nail polish collection.

I love them so much. The ambiance, the roses, the colours, the gorgeous Dior accessories such as the pink Lady Dior bag are so divine. Enjoy!

Sweet Sonya, who is in charge for the Swiss PR joined in the fun for a photo together. Gosh, we had a blast! She also took the photos of me below.

I am still in heaven thinking about those days…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Dior and © Sandra Bauknecht

My make-up look for the photo shoot was based on the “It”-colour Plaza, a wonderful pink tone. It is inspired by the glamour of the Parisian luxury hotels, such as the eponymous Plaza Athénée hotel. The colours are dramatic, deep and sophisticated.

My skin was prepped with the new Revitalizing Foundation from the Dior Prestige line which is only available in Asia (To all my Asian readers, lucky you!). It is an amazing product, you have to try it. For us Europeans, Diorskin Nude is a great alternative.

For the dramatic look, the make-up artist started to contour my eyes with a black eye pencil.

Then, she used the darkest shade of the 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palette “970 Stylish Move” and applied it with a beveled brush as an eyeliner.

She made the line thicker toward the outer edge and extended the upper line out beyond the corner of the eye, to form a cat’s–eye-like shape. The lighter colours of the palette served as a base. Then, she applied the new Diorshow New Look Mascara in black.

On my cheeks: Diorblush in 839 Vintage Pink.

On my lips: The new Dior Addict Extrême in 476 Plaza, lasting lip colour with radiant shine.

On my nails: Matching the lips, the new pink 579 Plaza nail polish was applied.
Love it so much!

Stay tuned for the official photos!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

The last days have just been amazing. My blog has taken me on such a wonderful journey that I sometimes think it must be a dream. After getting back from NYC Fashion Week on Wednesday, I had a little time to pack a new suitcase. Thursday morning, I flew to Paris for a fairytale-like event hosted by Dior.

Together with other bloggers from all over the world, I was invited to explore the Dior Addict Extrême experience. The new nail polish and lipstick collection which is taking the iconic Dior Addict to a new “extreme” level will be available in Switzerland from the second half of March. As you can see, Kate Moss is again the face of the advertising campaign.

I stayed in an awesome suite at the Plaza Athénée which is just across from 30, Avenue Montaigne, the home of the house Dior.

Arriving at the Dior Haute Couture Salons felt like “Sandra in Wonderland“, no wonder looking at the gigantic chair and all those dreamlike Haute Couture creations. This place is full of magic and the people working at Dior are all extremely lovely.

Love for detail: Even the sweets came in the shades of the four new must-have lip colours.
Below from left to right: Lucky (coral pink) is the “It”-colour (on Kate Moss), Riviera (orange), Incognito (nude beige) and Plaza (creamy pink).

A detailed post on the amazing make-up I wore for the shoot and the official photos will follow soon! In the meantime, enjoy this little teaser below.

Thank you, Dior, for letting me be part of this fairytale!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

It is so exciting! Today is the big day! The Polyvore Live Fashion Show presented by Covergirl will take place at 6:30pm EST. You can watch the live webcast here. All the models will be bloggers, including me. Here are some photos of the final rehearsal we had this weekend.

Enjoy the creations of Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama, and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.

LoL, Sandra

Tonight, I went after the Tommy Hilfiger F/W 2012 show straight to the Bloglovin’ Awards (I promise you that there will be soon a Bloglovin’ button to the left to follow me there).

The event took place at the famous Edison Ballroom right off Broadway. I spotted many familiar faces and had a truly good time.

Derek Blasberg presented the awards and needless to say was very sarcastic and humorous.

Olivia Palermo who won with her team in the category Newcomer of the Year.

I am repeating myself, but I love him! He is gorgeous: The famous Bryan Boy!

Sweet Carolina Engman (Fashionsquad) and Andy Torres (Style Scrapbook) who won Best Business with Werelse.

Olivia Palermo with me.

Leandra Medine from the Man Repeller (love her humour) with me.

Tibi designer and owner Amy Smilovic with me. Stay tuned for awesome photos from the Tibi F/W 2012 show where I was sitting front row!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Today, I had the fitting for the Polyvore Live Fashion Show presented by Covergirl which will take place next Monday. It was so great to seeing the Polyvore girls again, meeting the designers and some of the other bloggers who will walk the runway.

Please enjoy some of the behind the scenes photos:

I will be wearing one gorgeous red chiffon dress by Dana-Maxx Pomerantz. Here you see her talking to me. Her creations are colourful, feminine and with a light, beautiful vintage touch. I like her style a lot.

My own ankle boots with studded heels by Stella McCartney (They are also available without the bow. If you are interested, please click here).

The second outfit that I will presenting on the runway is designed by Lauren Bagliore. She has a very edgy style and her clothes can be easily layered. This black “Theophila” dress can be worn in many different ways. Pretty cool!

Don’t forget to watch the livestream of the show on Monday!

LoL, Sandra

Anda, the stylist for the show.

Photos: Nadia Hussain, © Sandra Bauknecht