Flower Power

"Earth laughs in flowers.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 'Hamatreya' "

Flowers have always been associated with love and romance in history but since 2009, floral has been a powerful pattern and has became a must-have in the wardrobe. It is seen everywhere and in everything: from scarves to shoes or even to entire outfits!

However, the floral pattern has been around for a longtime, since the Egyptian Period (2800 BC-28 BC), during which, Egyptians would use this pattern for blanket design, temple offerings, and guest wreath. During the Greek period (600 AC-150 BC), a symmetrical theme was added to floral patterns, but the Greeks still used this pattern for the same reasons as the Egyptians did.

During the Middle Ages (476 AC-1000 AC), although there was a decline use of Floral patterns, florals were used to define the borders of manuscripts by painters. It’s only in the Modern period (1500 AC- ), more precisely during the Age of Discovery ( 15th-17th century), that floral patterns were introduced into clothing fabrics, after it has originated from Asia.

      [Wearing]: H&M Floral Skirt | H&M Floral Top | H&M light blue and pink sandals | H&M accessories | Charlotte Russe Floral wallet

Hello Lovelies, 

I hope you enjoyed the little history about the floral pattern. I have always wanted to know where it came from and now, after reading this post, we all know it came from Asia during the Exploration period!

Lots of Love

INSPIRATION: Gabby Douglas

Hello Lovelies,
If you have been watching the Olympics games (Gymnastics), you sure have already fallen in love with the girl of a million dollar smile: Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas aka Gabby Douglas.

This morning (08/03/2012), Gabby Douglas, who is a young girl (16 years old) from Virginia Beach (VA), became the first African-American woman and first woman of color to win the gold medal in Gymnastics at the Olympic Game!

She started training at the age of six after her older sister convinced their mother to let Gabby enroll into the school's gymnastics classes and since then she's been training hard and today the hard work has paid off. Congratulations Gabrielle!

Her last performance was accompanied by the song "We No Speak Americano" and the 'Flying squirrel' aka Gabby was absolutely perfect and flawless in her routine.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: Anti-aging guide by Allure

Hello Lovelies,

Here are 7 tips to keep your facial skin youthful that I got from Allure, Edition for August '12:

1. "Shrink your pores" : Use a cleanser with Salycilic acid because it helps remove dead skin that can lead to clogging, which causes the expand of pores as we age.

(click here if you want to know more on the Salycilic acid and here for the reviews on the best cleansers)

2. "Let it Rip" : use once a week pore strips to remove dirt that can cause the clogging of pores and to diminish the appearance of blackheads, which usually appear on the nose.

3. "Get More Beauty Sleep" : Try to get more sleep time by incorporating nap sessions in your planner or just by going to sleep 15 min earlier for four nights in a week to get an hour more, which will reflect on the improvement of your under-eye dark circles.

4. "Pile on the Antioxidants" : These are among if not the most powerful weapons against sun damage and pollution and you know what, these weapons are tasty. Some of the best source of antioxidants are: Berries, beans, fruits, vegetables (like my mom used to say: "eat your veggies or you're not gonna grow up; she should have said veggies + eat = Forever young ha!), beverages such as green tea, red wine (I guess those Sex in the City women know what they are doing when they are drinking wine at every occasion), coffee, and fruit juices, nuts, grains, and Dark chocolate!

5. "Wipe Out Dark Spot" : Dark spots make the skin look uneven and although wrinkles are signs of aging, Allure tells us that most people view mottled skin as even-older looking. Remedy: Use some hydroquinone put directly onto the spots every night according to Allure. Personally, I would never use hydroquinone because of all the dangers that come with it (for more on the dangers, click here).

6. "Brighten Up" : Use twice a week a glycolic acid peel that you can make at home, to remove dead skin cells that pile up all over the face as we age (click here to learn how to make a homemade glycolic acid peel).

7. "Think of your Neck and Hands" : We usually forget about both of these body parts. We think about washing our face but forget about the part holding that face and our hands, we only remember them when we want to get a manicure ha! Give your neck and hands the same daily, weekly, monthly care as you do for your face, because they have betrayed many women by pointing the fake age on their passports even when their face did not show their real age!

What I use:

(Left top-Bottom right)

1. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne wash with 2% salicylic acid ($ 5.97)

2. Clinic Dark spot Corrector from Macy's ($75.00)

3. Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4. Biore Deep Cleansing pore strips

5. Rasberries!

6. Gold Bond Ultimate healing hand cream

7.  Cote d'Or, Lindt Lindor, Nestle, and so on: I'm addicted to chocolate!

8. Sugar (I use sugar in my homemade solutions to remove dead cells, I will soon share my recipes)

9. Naked Juice Green Machine ($4.04)

Inspiration: Pretty Little Liars

Hello Lovelies,

Who watched the Pretty Little Liars (Season 3 episode 8: Stolen Kisses) on ABC Family on Tuesday night (7/8pm)??? 

(I'm not going to completely spoil it for you if you haven't watched it yet, ha!)

The episode was a FASHION Show and a PREVIEW of Fall fashion 2013, seriously! All the pretty little liars, with their own style, managed to look fab in all the must-haves for Fall, especially Hanna in my opinion, who wore a beautiful red vest, then a black and white top over a maxi skirt that looked mustard yellow to me but my friends argued with me that it was lime! Then, this mysterious new character (in the last picture) only appeared twice during the show but both times, she was owning the 'f' show with her royal blue attire that she paired with a brown scarf and with her low shoulder dress, which is by the way a trend on the rise.

Dress: Betsey Johnson | Belt: BCBGMAXAZRIA

Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) was owning the fashion show: she looked super chic in all her outfits so she got the Oscar of the 'best dressed' in my heart. 

Jeans: Andrew Charles | Shoes: Sheik | Belt: BCBG Max Azria | Shirt: Pins And Needles from the Show stylists Laura Schuffman and Saba Salehi

'Lydia' dress by Rachel Zoe | Belt: Nordstorm

Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) was nominated for the 'best dressed' but came Second although she pulled off perfectly the red vest over the printed multi colored (tribal) bustier and also pulled off the black and white top that she paired with a MUSTARD yellow skirt.

Top Bustier: Urban Outfitters | Skirt: Zara

Tank: Vintage Havana | Skirt: TOPSHOP | Boots: Guess | Tights: American Apparel | Cardigan: Emporio Armani | Earrings: Elie Tahari

Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) also managed to pull off some good outfits. I really liked the outfit below the most, although it's not really my style, and the handbag, ouh la la!

Parrot shirt with diamante on the collar: Zara

Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) was the only one who was not participating in the Fashion Show in my opinion but I understand. She's still having trouble remembering what happened 'that' night after her short memory loss (I promised, I'm not going to spoil it for you!) and she's having trouble with the fact that someone drugged her that night.

The appearance of this new character into the show just captivated me so much and had me falling head over 4-inches heels: Fitz's mom, Dianne Fitzgerald (Mary Page Keller).

She might not have "any generous bone in her body" like her son Fitz said but she sure has a whole exoskeleton of fashion taste! 

Which outfit is your favorite and what do you think about what's going to happen after this episode?

Lots of Love,

Xoxo Lovelies