sneak preview... my latest design

oooohhhh, i am excited! i have just received some photo's back from a recent shoot i did with the FABULOUS Nicole Ritchie, a cool Sydney photographer... our lovely model Eve wore this outfit with just the right amount of "attitude" and the pics look just fabulous! Accessorised with vintage gloves and cane, the black & white corset is hand-crafted from a funky print by legendary wallpaper designer Florence Broadhurst (now there's a fascinating story...) and the silk Dupion skirt features a ruffled train and bustle at the back. i have recently been collaborating with the divine Sandie Bizys, a milliner in Annandale, Sydney, and she created the MOST AMAZZZZING hats to match each outfit in my shoot. More pics to appear on my website soon.....so check it out! xxx lisa

Haute Couture Heaven!

Hooray - it's that time of year again....the July Haute Couture shows in Paris and Milan -

W O W !!! i've just been online to check out the latest from the world's greatest fashion designers of today - eternally cool Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, the amazing John Galliano at Dior, my multi-culti fave Jean Paul Gaultier, glam man Elie Saab, and the list goes on.... check it out at http://www.style.com/

Every year in January & July, the European Haute Couture shows are held, and whether they admit it or not, fashion designers around the world look to Paris & Milan to see what these masters are creating, for inspiration, direction and new ideas. Colours, new fabrics & textures, new ways of working with pleating, embroidery, draping, etc, are all on show here, the absolute best of the best. The collections are , of course, exaggerated versions of what most people will actually end up wearing in a year or two from now (yes, it often takes that long for a new trend to be accepted by the general public!) but it's always impressive and often mind-blowing to see the new concepts of beauty and fashion...the sheer amount of work that goes into each artisan- made creation (Couture gowns sell from USD$20,000 and upwards!) with such fine tailoring, magnificent patternmaking and cutting, and legendary craftsmanship... oh, it brings tears to my eyes! I LOVE FASHION!!!!! xx lisa

Day 93 - Easy Does It

I did a side pony on day 15, but that one had bangs.  Now that I'm going to keep the blog going until Feburary, I'm going to need to do some variations of previous styles, so I did this side pony without the bangs.  Does it count?

From Day 15:

Day 92 - Sleep on it

Who really wants to do their hair on New Years, after staying up to watch the ball drop?  Luckily for me, my NYE hair held up well enought to use for New Years (and my Birthday!)

Expensive Wedding Dress

A young designer has decided that he needed to make the most expensive wedding dress in Vietnam. Via

Day 90 - Biggest Loser Braids

I LOVE Ali Sweeney's Hair on the Biggest Loser.  It's always different.  Today's hairstyle was inspired by Season 8, Episode 8 (http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/video/episodes/#vid=1173917)

Day 91 - NYE (Canary Doodle)

So, I mentioned that the NYE Party was a Bond theme and that I was picking from some Bond Girl pics I found online.  A Pantene Beauty Maven, Ashley gave me some tips (see below) on the style from Casino Royale, so I decided to try that one.  The name Canary Doodle came from my hubby thinking the hair looked like a poodle & that my shirt was canary colored...

Here's the quote from Ashley (I modified it a bit, so what I did is at the very bottom)
Hey, it's Ashley the Pantene Beauty Maven-- And I love these looks! They are so glamorous and fun! I love the bottom style from Casino Royale. It seems like she has subtle flirty curls, and those are always a hit! Here are a few steps to help achieve this look!
1.Start with Pantene Ice Shine Shampoo and conditioner to leave hair clean and shiny
2.Part wet hair, apply Ice Shine Mousse and blow dry.
3.Section hair and spray with Ice Shine Hairspray before wrapping hair in a tight spiral pattern around a curling iron. To get fuller curls, start at your crown and wrap hair around the iron.
4.Continue to curl while periodically tousling and pulling curls gently downward to loosen.

Hope this helps!!! Have a Happy New Year!! Follow us @Pantene!

Since I didn't have all the Ice Shine Products, I used what I had.

I started by using some Full & Thick Mousse and the Smooth Serum in damp hair.  I'm really thinking the smooth serum is what gave my hair that Pantene shine.
I blow-dried my hair upside down for volume, and then use velcro rollers and shots of hot & cold air to increase the volume.
I then did layers of curls as recommended above starting from the bottom back & working my way to the front.  (I find that if I do the front first, I'm bored by the time I get to the back, but if I start in the back, I HAVE to pay attention to the front cause it's the front!)  After each layer of curls, I sprayed them with the classis non-aresol hairspray.
I waited for all the curls to be completely cold & dry (from the hairspray)
I flipped my head upside down and shook out the curls.
I then smoothed out the curls (with my head rightside up) with my hands.


Best of all, it made for some great morning after hair!