TOP CHICRET

I know, I know, two posts in two days, but this is MAJOR. Legit. Charlotte Free has just been confirmed by P'Trique as the new face of Maybelline New York. Yes, the one with the pink hair.

Charlotte will be,joining the ranks of Christy Turlington and Erin Wasson. The news was broken to the general fashion universe today thanks to P'Trique and her iphone. The whole thing was captured on video. See example A.

      I think she was a bit of a gamble for Maybelline, but I like it. 

What do you think?

xx,

J

Justina x Nadja

                                                                       Photo courtesy of Nadja Seale

You've probably seen her stunning photo's on Lookbook, or read one of the countless blog posts about her. I found her when attempting to trace back a gorgeous picture on Tumblr. So for my first ever interview on the blog, I bring you Nadja Seale, the girl in front of and behind the camera, with a makeup brush and cupcakes.

Justina: What is one word to describe you?

Nadja: Can I make it two ? Decisively-Indecisive

 

 J: Walk me through your average day, good, bad, and gorgeous.

N: Well, on a good day I get phoned-up a few hours before the time where a magazine would want me to do make-up for celebrities. Usually I do not know who it is that I will be doing make-up and style for, and only find out once at the location. I prefer it that way in order to not be intimidated. The moment intimidations steps in, it robs you of your  creativity. I come prepared to shoots so I have all my goods with me and (hopefully) my God-given talent and that’s all I need. When we do themed shoots, it will take weeks of preparation for styling and make-up, but then it is just working with models. On a bad day, I have to do admin work because I work for myself. That might be hours in front of the laptop writing emails.

 

 J: Who/what would you claim as inspiration?

N: Africa. In many senses. Nature, people, atmosphere. It is so diverse where I stay, you have Bushveld, and then you get the beach, so it never gets humdrum.

 

 J: Now something I’ve always wanted to know: How do you choose the titles for your lookbook posts?

N: Mmm.... that’s a good question. Sometimes when I work with the photos, after a time you can’t look at the photo objectively anymore. So what I then do is I walk away from the photo that I want to post and after an hour or so, I will look at it again and then think of the first thing it reminds me of and build a name around that.

 

J:  What’s it like being Nadja?

N:I guess it’s great; I haven’t been anybody else yet, haha. No, I have a very privileged life. I have God in my life, great family, and get to do work that I love. Just still waiting for that right person, then I guess the picture would be complete!  

 I'd like to thank Nadja for answering these questions for me!! To get to know her a bit better, check out her blog, Nadja Seale. Lily Bloom

         Who would you like me to interview in the future?

  xx,

J

On My Mind

When I saw this photo, I just knew I had to bring it to you. 

Now tell me..

What's On Their Minds?? 

 The person who comes up with my favorite caption wins...well, I'm not sure yet, but it will most likely be amazingly fabulous.

xx,

J

Coachella started it.

I feel as though I should be in a field or something, listening to a band no one has ever heard of, in a sundress, with daisies in my hair. Instead I'm in the city, listening to Amy Winehouse, in a beautiful sundress with daisies in my hair. :D But never mind. Festival season is upon us! The first weekend of Coachella has closed, Earth Day is Sunday, and summer is on it's way in a mustang. Allow it. And as we all know, there is a special way to dress for this. I've put together a quick inspiration collection, mostly made up of Free People and flower children.

 

click to zoom +

 Go grab some daisies and make yourself a wreath, you know you want to.

Did anyone go to Coachella this weekend??

xx,

J

ps. Who else is SUPER DUPER excited for the launch of Atelier Indigo??

                     

                          pps. Check out Free People's gorge new clothes, they are beyond fabulous.

I Mean To Have You, Even If It Must Be Burglary: The Romwe Bag

Ever been trawling through Chictopia, or tumblr, or whatever, and seen a bag, or shoes, or someones outfit, and thought: " I have GOT TO HAVE THAT.". Then you see the price tag, or you realize they don't sell it anymore, or they don't ship to deserted islands, and *poof* the moment is over. Well, this happens to me all the time, so I'm going to share the things that set them off, in the hope of prolonging it.This series will be called " I mean to have you even if it must be burglary", in case you didn't see the title. And the first item is...

     The Romwe Bag

          romwe.com, $120

 I don't even know what this bag's real name is. Everyone just calls it  "The Romwe Bag". It seems like everyone has one, they're quite the instant classic. I'm attracted because of the bright color. It's like a starburst on a strap. (Starbursts are my absolute favorite candy) I also like the simple shape. If I had this bag, I'd probably take it everywhere. It's not too casual, and not too stuck up, as many bags can tend to be. It's just a really awesome bag. I just don't have one yet. :D

 I'm probably going to do one of these once or twice a week. Depends on how often I find something simply ah-mahzing. If you want to see all of them in one place, click on the "Stolen" tab at the top. If you see something on tumblr or twitter, and think I may be interested, hashtag/tag it with #abentpieceofwire.

        THEY'RE SO BRIGHT!!!

    xx,
   J

When it is Easter, dress as an Easter Egg.

Happy Easter Y'all!

So last week was spring break for me, and over the aforementioned break, I decided I was going to start putting more effort into photo's for you guys. When better to start than Easter? So I did a WHOLE PHOTO SHOOT, just for you :) This is my first attempt. These were taken outside my house. I don't have the worlds greatest camera, but I think they turned out alright, oui? In the first three, I enlarged the plant behind me, because I'm a master picnik-er like that,  but other than those three, these are the original photos. No retouching or anything.

I apologize for the goofy smile. I must have thought something going past was really funny. 

                                                     Really REALLY funny.

                                                       Hahahahahahahaha

 Ok, now is time for me to go pig  out (Or in the spirit, 'chick' out?) on Easter egg candy.

xx,

J

What's on my face!?!?!?

I love watching make-up tutorials. As for filming them, not so much. But I kept getting asked what products I couldn't live without, as I generally wear the same makeup everyday. I like to keep it simple, and fun. So here is my (failed) attempt at a stop-motion makeup video. 

I bet your eyes are tired now.
I'm sure there's a tutorial to make them look un-tired.

xx,
J

ps. Check out our YouTube for more videos, and the upcoming ABPOW TV!!

99 + 1

"100 (one hundred) is the natural number    

             following 99 and preceding 101. "

100 followers. Wow.

I know it's a cliche, but..

Next Stop: 1000.

I love you all.

xx,

Justina

That oufit is just asking for slime.

Ok, so normally I would NEVER write about the Kids Choice Awards, for the same reason I never write about the MTV Music Awards. They kinda freak me out. That neon orange carpet, green slime everywhere..yeargh. And plus, they aren't very fashionable.  But this year, I am making an exception, because there is some credit that must be given. So lets talk about what the birds were wearing, shall we?

  

Katy Perry

This could have been cute if the skirt matched the top and shoes, and if that ..whatever it is on her head was melted down into some chunky bracelets.

 Selena Gomez

 I did not like this outfit. I'm sorry, but there was just too much going on, and that belt is awkward, and the shoes don't match any of it. Plus, her eye makeup looks like someone punched her. Not one of your best moments Selena..

 

Kristen Stewart

I am not a fan of Kristen Stewart, her movies, or the way she usually dresses on the red carpet, but she actually managed to pull it together and shape up this time. No complaints.

 

Emma Stone

Oh Emma. Emma, Emma, Emma. WHY!?!? WHY would go blond again!?!?! I just..can't. Blond makes her look so...washed out. And this outfit is not helping. Red hair back please. 

 

 Madison Pettis

Right. Ok, let's talk about this outfit. Or specifically, lets talk about all the things I DON'T like about it. What you are looking at is a 13 year old girl. What she looks like is a  25 year old. This dress is too tight, not age appropriate, and too short. The rest of this..ensemble is just accomplice to the crime. Normally, I love Madison. And I'm not a prude when it comes to clothes. But this really just isn't classy.

 

Sarah Hyland

And here we have a reverse problem. This is a 20 year old who looks twelve. Sarah is so pretty, and I actually like this dress, but that hair is killing me.

Victoria Justice

This one has potential to be a great outfit, but I'm not sure about those shoes. I probably would have gone towards cute flats. And what is up with everyone and the flat hair?

 

Jennifer Stone

I genuinely like this outfit. I might have had solid orange shoes rather than..um..alligator skin? But it does work here, so yay for Jennifer!

 

Keke Palmer

Uh...no. Someone lose their prom dress?

Points for the ah-mahzing hair though.

 

Isabelle Fuhrman

I run the risk of sounding like a broken iPod, but I love everything here but the shoes. And I only dislike them a little bit. For her first time, she did a brilliant job.

 Willow Shields and Amandla Stenberg

What you are looking at is two 13 year olds. What they look like is two 13 year olds. I commend them for dressing their age, (Remember Madison?) and looking fabulous while doing it. Amandla's dress and shoes were gorgeous (as always), and Willow just looks so cute!

Ariel Winter

 Another beautiful girl, in a beautiful, (AGE APPROPRIATE) dress. Nothing to say but sunshine.

Gracie Dzienny

So, this one was a bit short for my taste, but Gracie pulled it off AND IT WAS SPARKLY!!! I even like the shoes! I can't wait to see her on a red carpet..

 

Miranda Cosgrove

 What am I even supposed to do with this? It's SHINY. and she's wearing WELLINGTONS. 

So anyway, the whole point of this was for me to tell you that not dressing your age makes you look silly. And to not wear wellingtons. Or prom dresses. 

Even if you ARE about to get covered in slime.

xx,

J

p.s. I know it's really dorky to admit this, but I get excited when y'all write comments. Keep it up.  

p.p.s Thank you to yahoo for the photos.