Instant Goddess gets all fancy!

Oi Fancy Pants!

The A/W 12 trends are starting to filter through into the shops and I’m pleased to see that my predictions in a previous Instant Goddess blog are proving to be spot on! First off I’ve been seeing a lot of striking fabulous print pants.

Zara print trousers $599, a serious take on the geometric prints from Prada’s A/W collection. Zara jacquard loom print trousers $599, ticking the print and opulent A/W 12 boxes. ASOS jacquard trousers $540, not only print and opulent but in a berry shade bang on trend for A/W 12.

Still looking for versatile bottoms that will give you lots of different options for your top half? Massimo Dutti may have the answer with these “Black Bermudas” and black “Silk Pleated Trousers”. The silk trousers are very lightweight, so it’s bearable in the hot weather, or you may want to invest for when it cools down.

Black Bermudas $690 and Silk Pleated Trousers $890, both Massimo Dutti.

Peplum plus embellishment two of the A/W trends ticked off in one fell swoop. Note the leather skinnies! Leather is going to be big this season and I reckon if you’re going to do leather trousers then these are the answer. Both top and trousers are available from Zara.

Zara embellished peplum top $899 and stretch leather trousers $2999.

And ever the jewel junkie, I couldn’t let these H&M beauties slip unannounced off the radar.

Necklace with flower $199, bracelet $199 and necklace $349 all H&M.

Buying for the now?

Forget next season, still in need of some pieces to wear now? These are my online picks; you don’t even have to leave the house!

ASOS Warehouse Zig Zag Print Dress $648, Warehouse Animal Print Dress $945.

ASOS Warehouse embroidered bodice dress in midnight blue $1688, ASOS River Island Geo Print Dress $371.

ETSY does it again!

This week I’ve found two new designers that I’m loving on Etsy. First off is US jewellery company: Fine & Funky Jewelry, which specialise in lush leather cuffs embellished with semi precious stones and very reasonably priced, which of course, the Instant Goddess LOVES! Go on treat yourself to a little surprise in the post when you come in after that long hard day of work, parenting etc.

 

Leather cuffs with various semi precious gem stones all $358, available from Fine & Funky Jewelry on Etsy.

My second find on ETSY is a Chinese designer called Xiaolizi who has some fabulous maxi skirts again very reasonably priced in great prints. Perfect for now teamed with a simple T or vest.

Etsy maxi skirt $470, red print maxi $374, and ethnic blue $445 all Xiaolizi.

Hair

This week Andrea Clark, Creative Director, of The Mandarin Salon at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong helps us out when we’ve overdone it!

Have you had a hangover lately? What about a hair hangover?

If you have had a hangover, then you must have had a hair hangover as the hair suffers too from the fun of the night before. Last weekend, because of the intense humidity, the best choice for my hair was to put it up in a low chignon (a loose bun style that many celebrities are sporting at the moment) using a lot of spray and a pins to hold in place! Great night, but the state of my hair when I got home was eek!

The best hair hangover cures I have found is to return home, remove all pins and apply “Elastisizer”, which is a pre-shampoo hair treatment to soften and condition the locks, remove makeup, then into the shower to shampoo the treatment out. It worked for Audrey Hepburn… so it should work for me. The product was originally created for her as she was worried all the spraying and back combing was ruining her hair.

Now, if that is all too much trouble and your bed is calling you, another handy hint to get rid of the effects of the night out is to grab your hairdryer, put it on cool and blast your hair, freeing it of any smoke odours or pollution that may be trapped in or stuck to your hairspray. This will make your hair less unpleasant for you or anyone else to wake up to.

Midweek Meal Inspiration

This week’s midweek meal inspiration is Roasted Chicken and Leek Fusilli Pie. I made this last week for the first time and loved how easy it was to prepare, but best of all it’ tasty! I came across this recipe as the hubby said he wanted simple roast chicken but that didn’t do the trick for me…I wanted some frills (as per usual). When I was shopping for this there were no leeks to be found on Robinson Road so I ended up using a couple of “Peking Onions” which look like a gigantic spring onion and were a suitable substitute, but leaving the onion aside as I thought it would be too oniony. Full recipe here courtesy of Delicious Magazine in the UK.

Tip: leave yourself enough time to cook this as you roast the chicken first for about 25 minutes and then need another 20 minutes to further bake when you add the cream etc. If you can’t find crème fraiche you can use sour cream instead.

Yogi tea saying of the week: “All limitations are self imposed”.

Instant Goddess saying of the week: “I’m off on my hols… toodle pip”.

Instant Goddess will be away sunning herself for a week, so until I get back Goddesses, remember you are always, always worth it. Pass the sunscreen. XX