Z A R A . L O V E S : CHRISTINE CENTENERA

As Vogue's Editor in Chief, Christine Centenera is expectedly appealing in terms of style. Though it is a job requirement to live and breathe fashion if you are the Editor of such a magazine, it's really Christine's street style that has captured the hearts of many; particularly mine.

Her blog exposes her street style and lets us ordinary folk into the scenes of Fashion Week. I just can't express my love for her, she's amaze.

Z A R A . L O V E S : KAREN WALKER X ADVANCED STYLE: FOREVER CAMPAIGN

The Karen Walker Spring 2013 Forever Campaign starring Ilona ROyce Smithkin, Joyce Carpati, Linda Rondin, shot by Ari Seth Cohen of Advanced Style. Bravo for such a refreshing campaign, this makes me look forward to growing older!

Bree xx

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : AW13: BAROQUE

AW13 brings along a trend we have long been waiting on to reappear again...

Baroque is inspired from an era in the 1600's in Rome, Italy where artistic style used exaggeration of detail and exuberance. Our modern take on the trend uses patterns from architecture and religious paintings.

I personally love this trend, it looks lavish and expensive but can be brought from selected outlets at much cheaper prices. A tailored baroque inspired dress gives all the detail you need, keep the focus on the dress and wear simple heels and jewellery. Nothing is worse than having too much going on, especially with this look as it can be really dramatic!

Left to right: Dolce & Gabbana, Carven, Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana, Aquilano Rimondi, Karen Walker, Lanvin

Courtesy of http://universityfashiongroup.com/baroque/

Courtesy of Elle.com

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A scarf is a great way to introduce the trend into your wardrobe. Wear this with black skinnies and pumps and your classic white tee!

Courtesy of http://www.eatsleepwear.com

Bold and beautiful - Baroque on Baroque! 

Bree xx

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : SPORTS LUXE

Sports Luxe - think about mixing in a hint of leather and clashing patterns with trainers and weathered jackets. Heels and hats? Why not? It's a trend I never got a chance to try this summer, but I'm really loving it. I know i'll still be flirting with it by bringing bits and pieces of this look into my AW13 wardrobe!

A great site for inspiration is Work Out Life. It ties gym gear in with street wear really well and sports some really great gear - check it out!

With compliments to http://workoutlife.com

Another great site is http://bustin.co - This site is your place to go for caps. It incorporates the shiny leather look in with many different summer florals, great for the ladies who are trying the sports luxe look but don't want to delve too far in just yet. Chuck on the The Bobby (below) with a winter parka, oversized tee, knitted tights and some simple black heels.

The great thing about this look is you can dress it up or down quite easily. Mix in a fitted 3/4 pencil skirt with a winter vest (Josh Goot "Hooded Vest Marble" as seen below) with some patent heels for a smart street wear approach, or play it down by throwing on a weathered running jacket with a loose knit, pleated skirt and trainers. 

Make it your own! 

For more inspiration, see below!

Josh Goot

 Credit to tribalblaze for this look

 Assembly Spring Summer 2013

See this look here

DKNY SS13 look

Bree x

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : A/W 2013: BOMBER JACKETS

You NEED a Josh Goot Bomber this winter!

New Bomber by Josh Goot

Clean Silk Rose Bomber Jacket by Josh Goot

Quilted Leather Bomber Jacket by Josh Goot

Need I say more? Thank me later ;)

Bree x

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : A N N I V E R S A R Y S

Yesterday- Friday the 1st of February, 2013 - I celebrated my first anniversary with my beautiful boyfriend. As we have commitments, we both worked in the day, but planned to have a lovely dinner together in the evening.

I wanted to make the day one to remember for him. So two days before hand I began blowing up 365 balloons for him to wake up to. My fingers were blistered, swollen and bleeding from tying so many balloons, at times I felt like I was about to pass out from a lack of oxygen but I knew I wanted to keep going with it... 1 balloon for every glorious day we spent together...

Then I cut 52 pieces of cardboard and put a hole puncher through it, tied it all together with silver curling ribbon and wrote 52 reasons why I love him for the 52 weeks we endured as a couple...

Then finally, I made 12 chocolate balls for the 12 months we have been together! Conveniently, "I love you, Luke" would spell out perfectly on each one.

All the effort put into this was worth it, he deserved every part of this. His face when I opened the door to these surprises was priceless, stunned and shocked, I knew he loved it.

 He's given me a year of wonderful experiences, surprises, unconditional love and support. By far the most forgiving, sweet and hilarious boy you'll ever meet. He has always treated me and my family with such respect and kindness and encouraged me through some really rough times. I know as long as I have him I'll never have to face anything alone. He's most definitely a keeper... especially if you consider the beautiful gifts he gave me - pink roses, a beautiful card and my first little blue box which presented a gorgeous Tiffany & Co bracelet from the 1837 collection.

Later that evening, he picked me up from work and we made our way over to Double Bay for dinner at Pink Salt. I was so impressed with the design and location of the restaurant. But it wasn't until I had the food that I was really blown away.

We started off with drinks - the "Watermelon Vanilla with Rose Petal Martini" was a hit - then we ordered an entree. We decided to go with the "Taste Tester - Chef's Choice" which included pepper squid, salted chicken with plum sauce, zucchini pastries and a variety of cheese dips. Then we ordered our mains. I had the "Grass Fed Beef Fillet (200g) w/ Roasted Mushrooms and Spinach", while Luke got the "Roast Spit Lamb served pink". The mains were to die for! They had so much flavour and were bigger portions then I had expected. We followed with desert - "Dark Chocolate Fondue with Yoghurt and Vanilla Sorbet w/ Raspberries" and the "Popcorn Brûlée". Then we had a latte and cap to finish it all off. The service was extremely fast and the restaurant manager kept bringing us little free things to try as it was a quiet night. The atmosphere was amazing. A perfect way to celebrate! I would definitely reccomend!

Bree x

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : S K I N C A R E

During my eight months at David Jones, I became very fond of beauty books. My supervisor at the time would show me all the new books and products we had coming in every shift and I admired our bond we had developed over our interest in make up and skincare.

There was one particular book she introduced to me, which is called "Amazing Face" by Zoe Foster. It's now become a weekly read for me, my bible if you must! "Amazing Face" is witty, funny and very helpful, especially to women who'd like to learn more about taking care of their skin and learning how to properly apply make up with little background knowledge. Perfect for me!

'Amazing Face' by Zoe Foster RRP: $ 31.99 AUD (Click here to purchase)

This is where I developed my skincare routine from! Below I've listed notes and steps on my day to day skin care routine.*

Mornings:

The first thing I do in the morning is cleanse my face which is a must to get rid of all that thick night cream from the previous evening (leaving it on will clog pores!). I apply a small amount of Sukin's Foaming Cleanser to my palm and work it into the skin on my face and neck. This product is perfect for me as I have naturally oily, sensitive skin and by using this, the cleanser balances out my oils and clears my pores without being too harsh.

After cleansing, I spritz Sukin's Hydrating Mist Toner across my face which is great to freshen up and tone tired skin. After that, I apply sunscreen (one specially formulated for the face) to the face, neck, and skin between the collarbone and breast. After I apply my sunscreen, I apply my daily moisturiser on top (sunscreen always goes on before the moisturiser). I use Sukin's Facial Moisturiser which is really lightweight and soothing.

Then I apply my make up and I'm ready for my day ahead!

Evenings:

Before bed, I use make up remover wipes to take off as much make up as possible, then I massage 3-4 drops of Rose Hip Oil  into my face then wipe clean with a cotton ball to get rid of any excess make up. This works well as oil attracts oil so this will bring any soaked in make up out of the skin.

After this I cleanse.. twice! This is so I can get rid of all the impurities from the day before as my skin would of been exposed to many different products such as rich moisturisers and sunscreens. If you combine that with natural oils and sweat and you have a concoction for bad skin if you don't remove it all! After this I spritz my toner again, and then apply a night cream (Biotherm does a great one) and I am set for the night!

*Please remember this is what I have tried and tested for what works best for me! I have sensitive, oily skin which means I need to use organic products that give my skin a good balance (something not too rich and something that won't dry my skin out). It's recommended by many professionals to test a product for at least a month and if you have not seen the results you want, then its time to try something different. Always remember if you notice any skin irritations or tightness to immediately stop using the product and consult a professional. It took me years before I found what works best for my skin and budget, but I hope this gave you an insight into a beauty routine you could be using if you're in your 20's!

Bree

www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au

Z A R A . L O V E S : S U K I N

I'll be honest, I've never been the girl who looked after her skin. I never cleansed, I never toned, and applying sunscreen or removing my make up properly was always out of the question! It was only when my skin got oilier and oilier that I thought I should try out a so called "beauty routine" to control the breakout of blackheads. 

A few of my friends were using harsh beauty products like Proactive, which, if you have extreme acne, will help regulate your natural oils, but for anyone with a few spots here and there, will completely dry out your skin. I was recommended products by my doctors like Cetaphil and Duac which worked really well for awhile, until my skin decided it wanted to become sensitive as well! I went through a stage where I couldn't use any beauty products without getting hive-like lumps on my face because of the chemicals in the skincare. I used common, popular brands such as Nivea, Dermalogica, Neutrogena... either nothing worked or it was too expensive to maintain! I still had blackhead-prone, oily, sensitive skin after spending way too much money on what seemed to be really shit skincare.

Then, on a rainy afternoon, I was reading the "Body and Soul" pull out from the Sunday paper. There was an article about the negatives of using chemical-based skincare, so I decided to look for something more natural and hoped to the gods it would work out for me! The following weekend I took a trip to The Chemist Warehouse, located within 10 minutes of my house in South-West Sydney. I looked around at the different products available, and then I came across what would eventually become my lifesaver... Sukin!

There was a small brochure which gave a limited amount of information on the products but from what I read, it was worth a try. Sukin, is an environmentally conscious, Australian owned personal care company who strives to provide families with luxurious, affordable and natural products which are free of harsh chemicals. So basically, the perfect skincare brand.

I'll admit, I was a but weiry as I had been let down previously by so many different brands. I wasn't sure what to expect - but I figured with all the products being so affordable, I wouldn't lose out on much if they didn't work anyway! So I purchased the Foaming Cleanser, Rose-Hip Oil, Revitalising Facial Scrub, Hydrating Mist Toner and Facial Moisturiser which in total cost me under $50!

After using the products for two months now, I can honestly say this is the best skincare routine I have used to date. Its natural ingredients are great for my super sensitive skin and the Foaming Cleanser has worked wonders for my blackhead problems. I absolutely adore the Facial Scrub (Exfoliant) which contains particles of bamboo so it actually feels like it is taking away the layers of dirt, and don't get me started on the Rose-Hip Oil! It's great for everything, from make up removing, to freshening up the skin, and to soothe over any sensitive sections which has been effected by extreme weather conditions. 

The only negative thing I can say about Sukin is that none of their products provide any sun protection which is an absolute must on a daily basis! I'm still trying to find a daily moisturiser and sunscreen in one that provides SPF 30+ and doesn't make my skin feel greasy.

You'll have nothing to lose if you try Sukin! It's worth a try!

Bree
www.zarasroar.blogspot.com.au