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The Instant Goddess has Spring Fever!

Style & BeautyPost Category - Style & BeautyStyle & Beauty

Goddesses it’s time to spring forward and start working on that spring/summer wardrobe!

COLOUR
Top of the shops this week has to be Nine West in the Central Building, and to kick off my key themes for spring, it has to be COLOUR!

Bold, brash, zesty, block colour combos are the order of the day and I take my hat off to Nine West, who showcased a superb array of fabulous spring colour in inspiring combos at the Central/Central Garden Party last week. Enough to put a spring in anyone’s step.

Hot colour combos to watch for are fuchsia pink and orange, emerald green and citrus yellow, fuchsia pink and purple, tangerine orange and turquoise, electric blue and hot pink. Don’t be afraid to clash it up… be loud and proud, Goddesses!

My fave colour combo for spring has to be Nine West’s ‘orchid’ and ‘poppy’ combo above a purple-y pink and bright orange… I am lovin’ it!

Prices are around the HKD$1000 mark for dresses and pants.

Available at Nine West, CENTRAL/CENTRAL, 1/F Central Building, Central, Hong Kong, 2147 5838 (see all other Nine West locations in Hong Kong here).

PRINT
Another S/S 2012 theme is bold print in bold colours. The lovely ladies at favourite newcomer boutique Polkadot have some great splashes of colour and print going on at reasonable prices… yay! Jamie Wenker, one of the co-founders, is excellent at styling and putting together great combinations; she’s very approachable so don’t be shy asking for assistance. They have great belts and jewellery to add pizzazz to old wardrobe favourites.

From left to right: “Elroy” raw silk vandula tank $780, “Lillia” silk seam skirt HKD$780, Gold braided belt HKD$240; “Lillia” silk tribal shirttail dress HKD$880; Tulle mod dress HKD$200, beige west belt HKD$200.

From left to right: Magenta silk de chine ruffle dress HKD$980, silk watercolour dress HKD$820, navy strapless dress HKD$560, Lime silk de chine ruffle dress HKD$980HKD

All from the GLAM label, new in at Polkadot.

Polkadot Boutique, 1/F, 39 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong, 2521 0636.

MONOCHROME
If all this colour is little bit much for you, you’ll be pleased to hear that good old monochrome is also a S/S 2012 theme, and I was happy to see this blazer style repeated from last year.

This black and white crepe blazer with a tuxedo collar costs HKD$1690 from Massimo Dutti. A cheaper version is available in Zara for HKD$699 (on the right). If you’re after more of a daytime look, try the look on the right – a short sheet blazer (HKD$1690) and striped silk shirt (HKD$650), both also from Massimo Dutti.

See all Massimo Dutti locations in Hong Kong here.
See all Zara locations in Hong Kong here.

NAUTICAL
The tried and tested favourite of nautical stripes, anchors, red, blue and white is also making its presence known in the shops this season. Layer on chunky gold jewellery for that luxe look.

Glam it up with a dash of sequin, like this blue & white stripe top (HKD$149, H&M), or try this striped anchor t-shirt for an everyday nautical look (HKD$450, Massimo Dutti).

See all H&M locations in Hong Kong here.

SAFARI
You know me, always partial to a bit of animal print, so I’m pleased to see that the safari trend is also doing the rounds again. I’m loving these roomy bags at Steve Madden (HKD$990), great for hiding all the baby paraphernalia and available in two prints.

See all Steve Madden locations in Hong Kong here.

LADYLIKE CHIC
Nothing new here… it’s ladylike chic knocking again. I adore this Karen Millen lace dress (ok, a bit of vamped up ladylike chic!) but it has a whopping price tag of HKD$3700. I checked ASOS but unfortunately it’s not available there. So if you know someone going to the UK, get them to pick one up for you, as it works out over HKD$1000 cheaper, at around HKD$2551 in the UK (£210). It’s also available in a goldie yellow if that’s more up your street.

See all Karen Millen locations in Hong Kong here.

BEAUTY
My little girl is sick again! We’ve had a real run of it over the past month, beginning with monster teething with the first molar coming in, then a cold, then the dreaded hand, foot and mouth (our first encounter) followed by another cold which has turned into bronchitis… so Goddesses, I could do with a bit of a makeover! The eyes are always the first to go…

So, this week’s top beauty tip (from my favourite make-up artist Jaime Smith of Smudge Make-Up Artistry) is all about covering up those dark bags! Jaime says: ‘Wanna fool people into thinking you have had a full night’s sleep?’ Instant Goddess says ‘Hell yeah, after yet another 5.20am start!’

Jaime’s top three quick fixes for covering up those sleepless nights with baby are:

1) Use flesh-toned eyeliner on the bottom inner wet rim of the eyes to make the eyes appear wider and to neutralize any redness in the eye.

2) When applying your concealer, don’t forget to apply to your upper eyelids, an often overlooked area. The pigment on the eyelid is more purple-red then the rest of the face and by concealing this, it gives us an immediately well-rested look.

3) A dab of YSL Touche Eclat or similar highlighter formula on the brow bone can refresh and create a wide-eyed look, regardless if we are really feeling this way inside!

Find all YSL Beaute counter locations in Hong Kong here.

FOOD

What’s cooking good looking? This week’s mid-week meal inspiration comes from a jar. Oh yes, you heard me correctly… whatever next?!

A jar, yes a jar! Sacla Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce to be precise. I knocked up a Salmon & Prawn Lasagne in no time at all with the aid of this. I know, I know, it’s a bit of a cheat but we all need to cut a few corners every now and again, don’t we Goddesses?! So now the secret is out and those lovely friends of mine who came over for dinner last week and who were praising me for my culinary skills may not think I am deserving of such! Anyhow… full recipe here.

Salmon & Prawn Lasagne
Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
9 Sheets of Lasagne
6 salmon fillets, skinned
300g frozen prawns, peeled and defrosted
300g baby spinach
2 jars of Sacla Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce, or similar
200g buffalo mozzarella

Instructions
1)     Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

2)     Place 3 sheets of lasagne in the bottom of a 20cmx30cm oven proof lasagne dish. Cut the salmon fillets in half horizontally and place 6 pieces evenly on the lasagne. Sprinkle over half the prawns.

3)     Wash the spinach and quickly stir-fry it in a wok to wilt it. Thoroughly squeeze out the excess water from the spinach, otherwise the water will make the lasagne too watery. Add half the spinach to the salmon and prawns in the dish.

4)     Spoon over 1 jar of the Sacla Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce and season with black pepper. Repeat adding another layer of lasagne, salmon, prawns, and spinach. Finish with a layer of lasagne and cover evenly with the second jar of sauce (if you don’t think that you will have sufficient sauce to cover the lasagne evenly, add some milk to the sauce to make it go further, but do it gradually so it’s not too runny).

5)     Slice the mozzarella and place on top. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes and serve piping hot with asparagus and green beans.

Sacla Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce from ThreeSixty, 3/F and 4/F The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong, 2111 4480

Yogi tea saying of the week: “To feel fulfilled you have to do the impossible for someone else”. Instant Goddess saying of the week: “Love is the answer… and a little shopping on the side”.

Until next week Goddesses… and remember you are always, always worth it!

Check out all of Katie’s Instant Goddess columns here.

 

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