Paris Fashion Week SS08 Wrapup I

Paris! Exciting week this is. I know some of you aren't fans of fashion shows (or the posts) but I really do need to blog about the shows to let my brain sort out what trends will be coming up. Besides, sometimes it's nice to just stare at pretty clothes...

Balenciaga

Ah, the show we've all been waiting for. This season is all about the flower prints on Balenciaga's bold silhouette. Truth is, when you first look at them, you're going to think that Ghesquière simply draped old, colourful curtain cloth onto the models to form that Balenciaga silhouette.

Gosh, everything is so luxurious. Look at the bold prints and colours, and that amazing silk!

SO pretty. Obviously I have no plans to wear huge shoulder tops/ dresses come spring, and yes, they are not your everyday silhouette, but the more I see this collection the more I love it!

The show ended with some plainer, but no less structured and brilliant clothes.

Karl Lagerfeld

I'm usually so-and-so on Karl Lagerfeld's collections, but I really like this one.

These clothes are young, edgy with a hint of elegance.

I love how sweet yet edgy Vlada (left) looks in the black and white outfit. And I really want the white outfit in the middle. I still can't tell if it's a dress or a top plus skirt. The oufit is so simple, yet with subtle details. Notice that there is more than one material used (esp the top part.) These clothes have motivated me to check out Karl's collection next time I'm in a high-end department store.

Valentino

This Valentino show made all the headlines because it's the Valentino's final ready-to-wear show.

The show was filled with his signature elegant dresses.

Such pretty black and white dresses. Can you imagine, you can buy one of these and still wear them every year onwards and they'll not go out of style.

In the usual Valentino fashion, the last few dramatic dresses had lot of frills and layers. The next thing everyone would be intersted in is what direction Valentino's sucessor's would take the House to.

Image credit: http://www.style.com/

Hair Serum

Shiny smooth hair. The best accessorie a girl can have. How do we achieve it? Well, we've been told (and I'm sure all of you have too) that hair serum does the trick by adding shine and de-frizzing, to create a shiny sheen of hair. But how many of you have actually achieved the perfectly shiny and smooth hair look simply by applying hair serum to damp hair and letting it air dry? I know I haven't. Hair serum just takes you half way and for the full effect a team of professionals and weeks of intense hair treatment are probably needed. Nevertheless, to make sure that we DO get half way and not have hair that resembles dry hay, a good hair serum is essential. Here are a few that I've tried.
On recommendation from HG and a friend, I tried the Kerastase Vernis Nutri Sculpt this summer. But while it did deliver shine and made my hair feel soft, it also seem to make my hair feel more heavy. So I'm not a great fan of it now, perhaps I should save it for the winter months when my hair will need maximum protection from the heaters.....Currently I am using the Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum, which I've heard many swear by. It indeed defrizzes and softens.... but I personally don't find it as spectacular as the talk made it sound like. Especially for that price, I'd rather get my old one...
....which was the Bain de Terre Recovery Complex, Silky Shine Serum. Similar effect with a marginally lower price tag, I liked this one better because I felt like the texture had more consistency. Once I forgot to shake the Biosilk before I used it and a whole load of liquid came pouring out, catching me completely off guard.

So here is my tidbit on hair serum, from my very limited experience. What does everyone else use in an attempt to achieve the shiny smooth hair?

Ps. A neat trick to defrizzing (for me anyway), is to put almost dried hair (+serum) in a bum and just leave it to dry that way. Once released, you'll get a nice wave and minimal poofiness.

Image Source: Bain de Terre, Kerastase and Biosilk