your bespoke signature makeup step you must meet

 via here

Believe me, this will rank amongst one of the most worthwhile exercises you'll ever do.

Every girl who loves makeup or uses makeup will need this sometime. We've all got one of those freak days when we sleep past our alarm clocks before jolting up, grabbing the clock and shouting out loud, "Shit! Five minutes and I'm supposed to be out of the door or I'll be late!" in a frenzied squinty haze. During my first episode a few years back, I remember declaring somewhere, "It is now possible to wash up, dress and look quite made up in five minutes". In retrospect, that would never have been possible if I didn't know that one vital step of makeup my face loves. Five sweet seconds of eyeliner bliss, shading in the crease line of my double eyelid, and out of the door I flew. Whilst I can't profess to be as proficient as this or this,

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Set aside about fifteen minutes for this exercise. Begin with a clean face devoid of makeup. Pick one feature, and apply some makeup to it quickly. Just one or two products.

The rule: this must not take more than fifteen seconds. 

For the eyes, 
(a) A quick wash of eyeshadow on your lids
(b) A simple flick of liquid eyeliner
(c) White eyeliner on your waterline-- an instant I Look Awake trick
(d) Some white/coloured eyeshadow on the inner corners of your eye
(e) A single coat of mascara
(f) Using kohl to  colour along the crease line of your double eyelids. This works wonders if your eyelids are not deep-set!

We will call each face according to its alphabetical assignation. For instance, I may try Face (c).

Take a good look at that face and examine if it has the right effect for you-- does it make your face pop? Does it make you look more polished or more awake. Take a quick photograph or two of that face.

Remove the product(s) you just added.

Try on another face. Repeat the same steps, including the photograph.

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Ideas for the cheeks and lips include: (g) blush on the apples; (h) blush under the apples of your cheeks to sculpt your cheekbones; (i) one coat of nude gloss; (j)painted red lips.

Brainstorm and come up with a list before you begin, and add to the list as you explore. Be sure to label each photograph-- or at least know which Face each photograph maps to.

Line up all the photographs on your computer screen. Or if you want, print them; or use Polaroids.

Pick out the one that has the Ta-dah! effect on your appearance. That will be the emergency look and the quick-fix within your bag of tricks. If you're greedy like me, produce a stellar lineup of your Top Three Faces.

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 via here

Personally, I think this tip is useful for situations beyond emergencies. If you're staying in for a period of time, upset that you're looking frumpy because you're busy doing chores or rushing out certain deadlines. Just that magic five, ten or fifteen seconds can make a difference, if even to yourself when you glance at your reflection. Or, if you're away camping and want to look just a little enhanced, this could come in handy. Otherwise, take the lessons learnt from this exercise into knowing what to add to your current everyday makeup face when you're suddenly required to look extra-good. A surprise last-minute date? A meeting in which you're going to present your work? A friend inviting you for a party after work or school. . Go figure ;)

anatomy of a wicked summer picnic

Oh, summer! The sun is shining comfortingly, the grass is lusciously inviting, and everywhere you feel life teeming voluptuously. So why not picnics? I love picnics. . unfortunately I only remember having a few in my childhood and never any more later, with no idea just why. So inspired by The Best Friend's picnic photos, I declared to D we must have a picnic, with work and general distractions seeing the months pass by, before eventually materialising in a very greedy, spontaneous affair up on the Tor in June. The Best Friend and her boyfriend were planning to visit Brighton for my birthday weekend, so like two happy chirpy girls, we decided that a picnic (and loads of photographs!) would be on the agenda. Within a mad flurry of messages exchanged via Facebook, we racked our brains for a theme-- and the excuse for a dress-- and like the vintage-lovin' girl that I am, suggested the 50's era. To say it was a wonderful picnic would be a massive understatement-- our amazing other-halves cooked a storm, provided delightful company and took us fantastic photographs-- here's to fantabulous picnics in the future, and here's how

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Pick a theme, and a dress!

Our theme was vintage. More specifically, 50s. Easy-peasy, with the number of 50s dresses available online, in the markets and in my wardrobe. . Denise was really excited about it, telling me that she immediately went to Ebay to scout for her dress. I was intending to wear this playful red-and-white polka-dotted dress when D presented me with this gorgeous floral dress on my birthday complete with a crinoline, telling me "You can wear this for the picnic!". . and it would be rude not to* ;)

And on a sidenote, I love crinolines since I was a little girl, always wanting to "steal" them off brides before the wonders of Ebay and Amazon made shopping internationally convenient, the prohibitively-high shipping costs notwithstanding. Living in the UK, however, I'd always end up buying other stuff other than crinolines, so D has been so sweet to get me one. Our dresses in place, Denise was quite upset that she forgot to pack her crinoline to Brighton. On Saturday, I happily quipped, "Why not buy one here?" and she went, "No, P! I'm not going to waste any money buying more crinolines". On Sunday, however, she told me, "P, let's rush down to town and grab a crinoline". Wahoo! It'd be the two of us bulldozing down the flat in our ethereally-light crinolines. .

So yes, pick a theme, and pick your dress. Execute a detailed plan on what you are planning to accessorise your look with the night before with your friend, and let your friend talk you into carrying a Chanel handbag for a picnic, because you just feel like being a little decadent. Nevermind if the men are not going to participate in the theme, even if D deadpans, "Shall we both be naked and in dicky-bows" because . . you know they're going to love the dresses and The Look. After all, it's that which adds to the fun and bonding with gurlfriends. . . 

The dress and crinoline are by Hell Bunny; shoes from Dolce & Gabanna; handbag by Chanel; headpiece by Accessorize; and pearl necklace worn as bracelet by Diva.

*"It would be rude not to"-- as what D always says. It would thus be rude not to quote him. 

A gorgeous picnic hamper-- with everything strapped in

I panicked a little when I realised that we had no wicker basket or anything pretty to put our food in. A cursory Google search revealed so many awesome picnic baskets, and then I found Fine Food Stores, thinking to myself that if an empty basket from them would set me back by about £60, why not top up £30 to get loads of luxury food. Denise replied me, "I thought a picnic was frugal! Like sandwiches!" and that ricocheted me back to earth. Oh.

No more caviar and smoked venison then.

Maybe I should get a regular wicker basket, I thought. Denise went to hunt for one but with no joy, and by Wednesday I had found a pretty cute and simple one at Bert's whilst I went shopping for kitchen organisation. Then D came home from his own kitchenware hunt and told me excitedly, "There was this shop, and this amazing lined picnic basket. Proper posh. I'll take you there tomorrow. You're gonna love it".  Brighton really has the most amazing stores, I may never want to leave. Lined in mint-green cloth, its beautiful utensils, porcelain plates and wine glasses were lovingly strapped in leather. And there was a salt-and-pepper shaker. And a utility knife. I fell in love. It went home with us on Friday, where I gleefully unveiled it to Denise, who went, "P I thought it was meant to be frugal?" but she fell in love too.

As I told D, I had no idea picnic baskets are so cool. He explained that the British take their picnics seriously, and hence everything is beautifully strapped up. 

Verdict: This beautiful and utilitarian (best of every world!) piece from England At Home is worth every penny. A picnic basket, is, afterall reusable.

Cook up a storm

Whilst Denise and I raced down various parts of Brighton to grab her crinoline and other groceries, the boys whipped up a storm in the kitchen, and we stepped back into a gastronomically-tantalising world that took over the flat. A failsafe food plan for picnics would include sandwiches, salads, cupcakes, dried and fresh fruits, chocolates, boiled eggs, and olives. Also, remember to bring lime and lemon for your drinks.

Part of our 'search' for food began the day before at the Brighton Saturday markets, where we hauled home biltong, fresh walnut bread, pretty cupcakes, chocolate truffles; whilst D proudly unveiled king prawn rings earlier that morning.

Otherwise, this guide provides you with 101 picnic recipes prepared under 20 minutes. 

Throw in your favourite drinks-- wine, juice, ginger beer-- and even a canister or two of coffee and tea.

 Essential notes

Cool bags (easily available from the 99p store, no matter how ugly) and non-leak tupperware are musts for storing your foodstuffs.

As are plastic bags for wrapping up the dirty cutlery and crockery-- you don't want them to dirty your beautiful picnic basket. Of course, never forget napkins and wet tissues. For the latter, a big packet of baby wipes are highly economical. Just in case.

Finally, a picnic mat where all of you can lounge on.

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Prime location and awesome weather

By the sea, in the park, in public gardens, on your roof garden, in a secret hideaway you discovered-- anywhere that catches your fancy.

D picked Hove Park, a sprawling beautiful expanse of greenery, and found us a shaded location under a few massive trees, away from boisterous children in other parts of the same park.

Set up your tripods!

Jason is an amazing photographer (who joked that he was invited for the weekend for his camera, which is not true!) and he came with his lenses and tripod, industriously snapping away, whilst D kept going, "We can eat first then take pictures later".

But,

(1) It is a sunny day and you don't want to wait for your makeup to melt in the sun
(2) Your lipstick will progressively fade away as you drink
(3) Capturing moments is what it's all about, too.

D shakes his head at the three cameras snapping photographs of everything, because the only other alternative would be to hire a photographer for the event, which would be less fun and more expensive and not to mention, over-the-top! I'm sure D is fast learning these principles. . .

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Food photography is mandatory

Because it helps you improve your photography skills. For a long time, I used to take horrendous pictures of everything, including framing a friend's shot so much so that her head looked like it was post-execution on a platter. My only saving graces were photographs of cats and food. Now after much practice with food photography, I think my people photography has improved by leaps and bounds. And of course, after picking up tips from friends and from D.

But that aside, food photography is mandatory because. .  you can trawl the pictures up in the middle of the night and drool. And, you know these pictures will always evoke lovely memories. 

Pictured: Salad with boiled eggs and Kettle Chips by D and Jason; D's Wicked Gourmet Sandwiches; pretty cupcakes purchased at below half-price (a.k.a. benefit of going to the market when it is about to close!); king prawn ring (we tucked into two); Crabbies' ginger beer.

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Feed the dogs

You know how in Mary Poppins, you are asked to Feed The Birds? Well, feed the dogs when you're picnicking! 

Denise accidentally dropped the rest of the biltong* onto her dress and the grass, so she threw some onto the grass, and the olfactory senses in Buster (the dog in the picture) and his girlfriend Betty immediately went into high alert. 

D took the whole packet and gave it to the owners, who joked if they could join our picnic. And four very happy dogs were wolfing down biltong. Karma Points for D!

*A type of cured meat from South Africa

Feed the humans 

Extra Karma Points for D! ;)

(My hair is only so beautiful because Denise is a genius!)

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Pose with your picnic basket

Hold on to the smart-looking strap to balance!

Take fun photographs 

The more WTF!?, the better. 

Celebrate friendship

It's one of the most beautiful blessings ever. What more when these memories are captured in picture-perfect moments, and in matching crinolines to boot.

Take beautiful portraits

It'd be criminal not to, when you're all dressed up. . 

Celebrate Love

Again, I secretly quipped to Denise, "I'm so happy we both found chefs". Although we do know it is beyond the Chef Factor :)

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Take a nap 

Loads of love

We could have done without the fanciness but not without the love. It's the company that maketh the difference. .

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 Have you had any picnics this summer? Do tell your experiences and your tips for the best picnics! x

best face forth & stop traffic with those gorgeous legs!

image of Dorothy Malone via here

So yes, I am giving a guilty little smile as I realise how my absence from Devilishly Pleasurable has been one long extended one. In between that all, I have been either very lazy or very busy, turned 25, had the most amazing 50s-style picnic over the weekend, The Chocolate Robber (a lovely staple on this site) has officially gone missing and is presumed dead :(, am quite happy with how The Lair looks like now, in the thick of summer and relishing the last two-and-a-half months before the last three years of school life officially begin. . . Cooking up new ideas and directions for the site as well as other projects on the side! 

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Gorgeous summer glow!

Every girl has got loads of unwanted moisturisers, eye creams that don't work that well, and in a nutshell, a little lake of lotions and creams building in her collection. Especially when (1) you can't wait but try every pot or tube at the same time (2) one works better than another (3) something makes you break out slightly on your face (4) you have sachets of samples from magazines, friends, the beauty counters, etc

And then there may also be those bottles of liquid foundation and perfumes that you don't really use lying around collecting dust. Else, they are in the wrong shade. Personally, it pains me to see all these go to waste. Especially when you've spent £15 on some tube of moisturiser that your facial skin doesn't like.  But, these can be co-opted rather ingeniously for a gorgeous all-over summer glow (or even winter, if you so desire!)

All you need is (1) a large dispenser bottle-- a gorgeous one would be lovely! (2) your growing stash of creams and lotions (3) some foundation and/or bronzer and/or illuminator (4) a few drop of perfume/essential oils.

Painstakingly decant and squeeze your creams and lotions into the big bottle. That would be 15 parts. Add 1 part of foundation/bronzer/illuminator-- this can be less, depending on how much tint you want. Bronzing powder will also do. Another good idea is to add in some anti-aging cream so your mix can do double-duty. 

Then squeeze in a few drops of your favourite essential oils or perfumes. Mix whatever scents your nose loves. Spicy yet refreshing? Try black pepper + bergamot. Mysterious and sexy? Frankincense + ylang ylang. Or orange + vanilla + cinnamon to smell like pancakes and ice cream soda. Shake the bottle vigorously because you are concocting an amazing witch's brew of a cocktail. Give it a final stir.

There! Place your gorgeous bottle somewhere in your bathroom or bedroom where you will always remember to use it. Now slather it all over your you, feeling like your favourite Goddess, before going out to stop traffic with those gorgeous legs and a head-turning smile, smelling absolutely divine.

In a nutshell, this is the perfect way to smell divine, have glowing skin, cover some little imperfections (like those bruises you may get from knocking into corners all the time. . well, at least I do), eliminate wastage and clear clutter. Plus it will also be enriched with the properties of the lotions and creams you add in.

Don't have any such creams but are keen to try something like this? Buy a large bottle of unscented lotion and concoct away!  

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 image via Liz Earle

And, for a quick facial perk-me-up,  masks are de rigeur. But sometimes, they take a little too long. One of my favourites is an "instant mask" by Liz Earle, the Brightening Treatment Mask that never fails to impart instant radiance. Containing camphor oil and toning witch hazel, as well as soothing aloe vera to boot, all you have to do is massage it onto clean, dry skin for 30 seconds to a minute before wiping it off with a warm muslin cloth. A quick-fix that makes your skin oh-so-smooth, letting your makeup glide on beautifully! 

how to make everyone drool over your winter coat

 original images via here and here

I used to fantasise about winter coats all the time. The Best Friend and I would nip into Zara, try on all sorts of coats and drool. Whilst knowing that my limit would be buying sharp workwear when I was a student, or fuzzy cardigans in tropical Singapore, it would be massively insane for me to splurge on trench coats. Not even for vacations. Perhaps just a simple coat or a puffer jacket. Then in the dizzying chain of events between March and October 2009 where I received my acceptance letter and subsequently prepared to ship myself off, I assembled a 'starter kit' of trench coats. That collection, of course, expanded in the first two months when I landed in the UK. One year later, I think I am slightly wiser about Dressing Up The Winter Coat-- THE piece de resistance of your outfit. Because sometimes, you never remove it, nobody really gets to see what's beneath. So, puff up your shiny plume, dress yourself up and amp out the outer beauty ;) 

original images via here, here and here

Not all coats fit properly. Sometimes we find such irresistibly-beautiful ones in thrift stores or via other miscellaneous sources online but they might be that tad too big. Here's the belt to the rescue-- for a nipped waist, and a more flattering fit. Besides, not all of us look good in straight-cut clothes so the belt feels like sweet salvation. The best belts for coats, to me, are chain belts. They hook on and off easily, rather than having to deal with buckles. For a starter kit, a gold one and a silver one would suffice to match colour palettes and jewelry. And, the best thing about these belts is that they can be found easily in vintage or charity stores.

how to steal away for a devilishly pleasurable bath

 

I spend loads of time in the bathroom. It's my Sanctuary to unwind, a place where I like to take my time rather than to rush. I take pride in it and constantly clean it, whilst finding the best ways of enjoying my experience there. Baths are divine and there is nothing better than a luxurious long soak-- what Lulu calls as my Holy Baths. I also dream of claw-foot tubs and, high on my list of Dream Tubs is this copper one which I found floating about the internet eons ago-- rustic, charming and full of character, that I envision myself spending lazy weekend afternoons in whilst the world whizzes by. But these remain a phantasy until I own my very own abode and can fit in the furnishings of my dreams. In the meanwhile, we all know that looking good comes from feeling good. . So how about a guide to a Devilishly Pleasurable Bath Time?

a guide to orthotics-- pretty shoes despite foot problems

Hello there! Today on Devilishly Pleasurable we have another guest blogger, Colleen of Scrap and Run, continuing the series on shoes. For those of you who are new here or haven't been here for a bit, I ran two earlier features on shoes, one where I celebrated my collection of shoes through the years, and a guest post by Megan of Two Birds Boutique on indispensable tips on wearing your shoes all year round regardless of seasonal changes. That was the first time DP featured a guest blogger, and this is followed by Colleen, who dispenses advice for those of us requiring orthotics to deal with foot problems, allowing you to stay comfortable without sacrificing aesthetics. So often are we bombarded with images of the beautiful and pristine, yet the pursuit of fashion, style and beauty is not as straightforward for all of us. As Colleen puts it, her confidence has increased; and let's hope that you too can pass this information to your family, friends and colleagues who might be plagued with similar problems, spreading a little (shoe) love. . .

 

365 days of shoes-- how to wear ALL your shoes ALL year round!

Last week at Devilishly Pleasurable, I unveiled seven years of Dearly Beloved Shoes in my post To All The Shoes I've Loved Before. As a woman who finds shoes devilishly pleasurable (and making more time on my part for this site), I am launching a series of shoe-related posts. The following is by the lovely Guest Blogger Megan of Two Birds, dishing out her fabulous tips on how to maximise mileage on your shoes and letting them see the light of day all year round. Living in a country with four seasons? No problem! There's always a way out, and a stylish one at that. Not to mention, cost-effective. Life couldn't get better!

original image source here

It looks like it’s Shoe Week here at Devilishly Pleasurable…and I couldn’t be happier. Who doesn’t love shoes? They add to an outfit, sometimes even make an outfit. I have been known to plan a whole outfit based on just my shoes. They are probably my favorite accessory. But, here’s my problem – I live in Minnesota. About three months out of the year, it’s nice and warm – the other nine months, cold and colder. I have all of these beautiful summer shoes that I can only wear three months out of the year, and a ton of fabulous boots that I miss by the time summer rolls around. So I decided to think outside of the box, and luckily, fashion has been right beside me. I have found that there are so many stylish ways to wear “summer” shoes in the winter and “winter” shoes in the summer. I never have to store my shoes away; I can wear them year round!

baby steps to better blogging-- graduating to new heights!

The emergence of the blogosphere as a considerable force needs no introduction. It used to be the question, how to be a better person, that philosophers such as Epictetus, Balthasar Gracian and Marcus Aurelis would meditate upon-- a contemplation that remains even more relevant today. Hyperfragmentation in post-modernity, however, dictates that separate, distinct pigeonholes of categorisations, and guides on how to be a better (insert title) abound. And so it is for fashion bloggers in this week's Friend Friday, focusing on the blogging process and evolution, best encapsulated as 'Baby Steps to Better Blogging-- Graduating to New Heights!'

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roll on your red socks & rock your mini

The thing about women is that we invariably tend to link outfits with occasions in our memory-- e.g. "Oh! THAT event, I remember now, you were wearing (insert shoes) and (insert dress)"-- or worse still, have an extremely acute recollection of the last time we wore some item. This condition is particularly accentuated when you have enough pieces to last you at least three years if you wore a different look every day without buying anything new. I know how I tell my mother or D that I have worn something before "three times!" triumphantly, and they'd go "Oh, great achievement huh?". Well, there are people with loads of clothes sitting in their wardrobes still with the tag on from five years ago-- clothes they bought but do not dare to wear out because they have some mental lookbook in their head following the diktats of Latest Trends Everybody Wears, which really defeats the purpose of even buying anything. I maintain that my ethos is still much healthier. Hey, at least the clothes get worn! And as long as I remain the same size (fingers crossed!) it should all be alright. One danger of having too many clothes, though, is that if you suddenly pluck something out and wear it, you'd get questioned "Is that new? I have never seen it before" and a big smile lights up your face whilst you recall how happy you were to discover that piece in some boutique or jumble sale or the oohing and ahhing your best friend and you did over that, whilst doing mental sums and jumping up in semi-fright at how time has passed by.

"No! It was six years ago! I got it for Christmas during the Mango sales, and I picked it up from this branch in__ and. . ." was my latest retort. I was telling the truth. Well, I'll be honest, sometimes I still wear clothes I bought at 12 (err. . they look good still!), which was a bone-chilling twelve years ago. I figured that if Wear History all the time with vintage clothes and pieces from my grandmother and mother, why not old pieces by me. I have a confession to make. Half the time I walk around with no idea what the latest trends are (not that I really care), it is only when I see enough people in a certain Look that it starts to dawn upon me. By which I am even less bothered after being visually desensitised. After all, Latest Faux-En-Vogue (let's face it, loads of them are really ugly and a dime a dozen and often quite boring) always has prices jacked up ridiculously and everybody wears the same thing, the last time I remember wearing uniforms was when I did my ALevels in junior college. Plus I also am attracted to odd stuff-- shiny things, ostentatious decadent looks, curtain prints (yay for wearing curtains!), and humongous jewelry-- way before anyone will start telling me "How are you gonna wear that? It's too __" a.k.a. nobodywearsthem. Well sometimes I am too glad I don't have this StyleDiktatGhoul whispering into my ears as auto-reflex and thus putting the brake on me buying odd stuff. After all, another amazing thing about odd stuff is that if nobody buys them, you'll be guaranteed great bargains during the sales! Well I could write an entire treatise on that.  I also have no idea what goes on during the various Fashion Weeks save for the blogs I surf around-- hail blogosphere education!-- and, well, enough confessions for now. Inspired by the lovely stylish Collette of Statements in Fashion's upcoming RE-Style section where she discusses re-wearing clothes bought eons ago and even charmingly labels their ages in a photograph, I thought, why not!  I trawled up old photographs of the other times I wore certain pieces-- a way to examine how you've evolved or revisit ways of styling something. My first attempt-- a colourful printed mini I wore recently; and then back in July 2008. Well, actually the only two times I've worn it.