Jonathan Saunders

Wow. I thought most of the collections at fashion week, in both London and New York, were quite drab, boring and uninspired this Feb. But, there is one stand out. The balls behind the colors and patterns in Jonathan Saunders fall '11 collection are astonishing. I would never have had the guts to put them all together. The beautiful structure and exquisite design help to make this collection work. Overall, this designer is the reason I love fashion.

Massive thanks to The Sartorialist for continuing to expose us to beauty and ingenuity in fashion.

Click through image to see more shots and visit The Sartorialist

I recommend visiting that site if you're looking to rest your eyes on something lovely or just looking to get a little inspiration.

Take a Picture! It'll last longer!!

Getting a haircut? Getting dressed for a night out? Take a photo of yourself before you leave. The mirror can be deceiving as our objectivity is warped for some reason. I'm not sure why, but we sometimes see what we want to see in that darned thing, and not what's actually there. A photo is a great way to see what's really happening.

I recently had 6 inches of hair cut off and I was hedging when it came to how short I should really go. I convinced the hairdresser to be conservative. She was. When all was said and done, I took a look at myself, and although I really liked it, something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I wasn't 100% thrilled. Straight afterwards, I had a photo taken of me as I was sitting around a bonfire with my family and I got to see it. The haircut wasn't short enough! But I'd looked in the mirror and it looked short as hell! But what I'd seen in the mirror and what was there in real life were TOTALLY different! Luckily, I was able to go back and get another inch taken off - MUCH BETTER! In fact, I should've taken another picture before I left because I think I could've gone even shorter..

It's cheesy, I know. But, so many of us have built-in camera's on our phones and computers these days that it's a super easy way to get what we want out of our wardrobes and hairdressers.

More Wine!! (part III)

This beauty was a delicious red sparkling number. Never would have dared to touch it, but it was worth it. However, I am unaware of its cost - it was a gift to a friend from another friend..

Oh lord. This is my FAVORITE wine at the moment. It is delicious and only $10.99. Thing is, it's pretty popular and hard to find, so when you catch a glimpse of this one grab a bunch - you won't regret it. Yum.

I'm not 100% sure whether I've mentioned this one before. It's a proseco and was ordered by a friend at dinner once, so I didn't catch the price. But it was crisp and dry. Very nice.

The Best Hand Cream

Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Hand Cream

Don't you hate oily/greasy hand cream? What's the point of bothering if it's gonna make your grip sticky or slippery? Well, let me tell you guys, THIS hand cream is awesome. It smells AMAZING and it absorbs quickly and without a trace of grease. AND it moisturizes your hands. The 1Oz size is perfect for a gift bag or stocking-filler.

The Best Eye Cream

Skyn Iceland - Icelandic Relief Eye Pen.

I am entering that phase of life when the crows feet are appearing around my eyes. It's not too bad, but on days when I am tired or I wake up dehydrated they can look like canyon crevices. After using this cream every night for one week my lines were visibly lessened and even some of the puff was gone! Of course, nothing cures wrinkles and bags better than drinking loads of water, but this cream is a god-send. It really works.

The Best Stain Remover EVER!

This is no joke!

I LOVE me some white clothes. In fact, it just may be my favorite color to wear. But, as everyone knows white don't say white for long. I hang on to my old, armpit and NYC-street-water stained clothes out of sentimentality. But I was just coming to terms with the fact that I'd probably have to stop buying white - it was becoming too expensive and wasteful - and throw out my prized pieces.

But then, as a last ditch effort, having scoured the internet over and over again for some kind of miracle whitener I gave it one, final, google: Best Stain Remover Ever?

And I found this:

Best Stain Remover Ever

July 17, 2008 in Homekeeping

You’d never know that a toddler ate played with blueberries in this shirt.

When our white t-shirts start to look a little grungy by midsummer, it’s time to freshen them up. For stains that don’t go away after trying other stain removers, here is what works for practically anything:

1. Heat up some water in a big pot on the stove. Make it hot, but not boiling.
2. Add 2 scoops of an oxygen base cleaner and a small squirt of liquid dish detergent.
3. Put the clothes in the pot and cover it with the lid.
4. Turn off the heat and soak for 4-6 hours, or more if needed.
5. Wash clothes as usual in the washing machine.

Tip! The generic brand of oxygen cleaner at the dollar store works just as well as Oxi Clean. It’s the same thing.

I like that it doesn’t fade colors (but it wouldn’t hurt to test a small spot first, just to make sure). It can remove the yellow storage stains from vintage linens. It can even help to lighten perspiration stains. I’m not kidding, I tried it.

[This is the link to the actual site: http://smallnotebook.org/2008/07/17/best-stain-remover-ever/]

I had a go. Collected my old, dingy, yellowed, nasty, used-to-be-whites and did the procedure on them. IT WORKED!

Some things to keep in mind though:

1 - Put the Oxiclean in a bit at a time. I threw both scoops and the dishwashing liquid in as soon as the water was hot, gave it a stir then watched as the foam grew and grew eventually spilling out over the rim and all over my stove and, as I moved the pan to the sink, all over the floor. So take heed, it gets VERY FOAMY at first.

2 - The clothes will naturally float to the top so you should a) make sure that you saturate them in the solution, and b) give them a good stir a few times over the course of their soak.

3 - if you use an aluminum pan the solution will react with the bolts that attach the handles, which, in turn will stain your clothes.. don't fill the pan too high.

4 - If you're soaking an item which has an iron-on logo or any other kind of non-ink logo it will peel off.

I also left my clothes in the water for about 10 hours as I had to go out. I don't know if that extended time had anything to do with my success. In addition, I gave the clothes a good rinse in cold water before washing them primarily because I don't own a machine and didn't want to ruin the other clothes in the laundry bag as i took them to the laundromat.

But, sincerely. This works.

2 thumbs up to the lady who wrote the blog that saved my whites.

Now to figure out how to do my bed sheets!

The Best Facewash

Epicuren Citrus Herbal Cleanser

It's made from organic ingredients. It's gentle. It actually cleans your skin.

The only downside is that is't pretty expensive. $24/2oz

But you don't need a lot of it to make it work.

I've tried every other face wash I can find that'd be OK with my sensitive skin. But this is the only one that actually cleans my face AND protects it (i.e., doesn't irritate it).

Highly recommended.

The BEST MASCARA - I swear!!

MAC Mascara X

Why isn't this the top-billed mascara in every magazine in the word?

Forget everything you've heard about every other mascara out there. This stuff truly NEVER CLUMPS and it always looks natural. It comes in a number of colors and is basically what every woman has always wanted in a mascara.

It's $14 but you will use it happily from the moment you buy it until the bitter end.

You know when you get a new mascara and it takes a few weeks for it to get to the consistency you want it? Well not this. From the get-go it's perfection.

Thanks to Shannon for telling me about this truly great product!

The Best Lip Balm in the WORLD!

Josie Maran Argan Oil Moisturizing Stick

Generally, lip balm is made with a petroleum-based product which always make my throat tickle and my lips crack. This is not. It's all natural and just simply heavenly. You can use it for a number of things and I always carry it in my purse. It has a rough texture to it when you've had it for a while and under the delightful, citrus scent it can smell a little like weed.. BUT it is a miracle product. I hope Josie Maran continues to make this and the Argan Oil even if everything else fails because it is pure magic - cosmetically speaking.

The BEST moisturizer in the world!

Josie Maran 100% Organic Argan Oil

Expensive ($48/50ml btl), but WORTH IT!

Put a couple drops straight on to skin or mix it in with a cheap cream moisturizer like Cetaphil and you're in business. It's amazing. My skin loves it. You can put it straight on your lips, on your hair, you can even eat it (although I never had and feel weird about it). It smells a little like olive oil. I don't think I could live without this stuff.