Ryan God Gosling.

For every woman out there, wait, scratch that.. for everyone that has a pulse, I am sure that at some point, Señor Gosling quickened it. Significantly.

Whether it was his star turns in Drive, The Ides of March, shirtless in Crazy, Stupid Love (that’s the only thing I remember about that movie), his Funny or Die clips, his ‘Robin Hood’ like heroic, chivalrous, make-all-the-ladies-swoon attempt to break up a fight, or heck, just posing away like the hunk of man meat he is, Ryan Gosling set hearts aflutter.

Forget Kelis bringin’ all the boys to the yard with her milkshake. Pffft.

Gosling’s gonna bring every man, woman and dog to the yard. (The dogs, probably because they wanna set the record straight on that whole ‘Is Ryan Gosling Cuter Than a Puppy’ fiasco (ryangoslingvspuppy.tumblr.com.)

Verdict: Yes, he is.

Food

Unless you’ve been living on Mars, under a rock, with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears, you would know that in food for the past year, it’s been everything Mexican.

I’m certainly no expert on the matter – just a lover of food, but I’d hazard a guess that it all started (or at least gained momentum) with the opening in 2010 of Mamasita. Queues became commonplace, corn was given a new lease on life becoming barbecued and seasoned like nobody’s business, and the humble taco said farewell to Old El Paso’s pre-mix, or Taco Bill, and hello to new pulled pork offerings, beef brisket options or spicy prawn concoctions.

Mexican street food became the trend du jour and everyone wanted a piece of it. The Taco Truck bustled into town, roaming the suburbs (namely the Brunswick, Northcote and Carlton parts), Movida’s Frank Camorra redeveloped Movida Terraza into Paco’s Tacos and Fonda opened on Swan Street to great fanfare.

Fashion

John Galliano opened his mouth and subsequently lost his job as head designer for Christian Dior, the late, great Alexander McQueen saw a resurgence thanks to designer Sarah Burton and (it has to be said) Kate and Pippa Middleton’s wedding and bridesmaid dresses and the big overseas stores finally came to Australia. We welcomed Zara and Topshop with open arms and ridiculously long queues, and can hopefully soon do the same for H&M, Forever 21 and Uniqlo, to name but a few.

There were a plethora of colours on offer too, with colour blocking making a name for itself and if you happen to take a peek outside your window, you’re bound to see ladies adorned in bright coloured jeans and denim cutoffs (some cut off way too soon in my opinion – but hey, that’s just me), tie dye maxis and multicoloured wedges.

Beauty

Some of the biggest launches on my beauty radar in ’11 were Clinique Chubby Sticks, Tom Ford’s cosmetic range (swoon), Rae Morris’ makeup brushes, a number of brands such as Kiehl’s, NARS and Yves Saint Laurent dropping their prices (hello!), Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shines and of course, how could I fail to mention the massive wave of adulation when BB creams finally hit the Australian market.

What are some of your top picks for 2011? Pull me up on what I’m sure are some huge things that I’ve missed.

And the hero. These baked eggs have hash browns inside y’all!

Yeah, you heard right.

And again.

Social Roasting Company

307 Racecourse Rd, Flemington, VIC

Open: Mon–Fri | 7–4

Sat–Sun | 8–4

Sheesh! Everyone?

Well, I’m probably one of the few who has not purchased a single gift as yet, nor do I have an itemised list for all the present-worthy family and friends in my life. Le Sigh.

For any others out there who happen to be in such an unfortunate position as myself, Calie Jean Handmade Jewellery has you sorted.

Not only are there brand spanking new designs available from earrings to necklaces and bracelets, but you can also purchase gift vouchers for Calie Jean ranging from $30–$200!

Don’t forget there’s a bridal section as well, for any impending brides or bridesmaids out there, and make sure you sign up for Calie Jean’s VIP mailing list as well, to ensure you’re the first to hear about news and special offers and get yourself free postage when you shop online. Click on the link below, do not wait a second longer! GO!

Calie Jean Handmade Jewellery

He is one of my favourite directors and I can happily watch his movies over and over and over again. Fight Club and Seven are high on my list of favourite movies (we’re talking top ten high) and the ones that I could watch on endless repeat and still watch it just once more.

Plus I really, really like Panic Room, The Social Network (particularly Trent Reznor’s score) and to a slightly lesser extent, Zodiac. Let’s face it, the man knows how to make a damn fine movie. And if the trailer (and oh, that score, with a spectacular reworking of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song featuring Karen O!) is anything to go by, this should be no exception.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is slated for release in Australia on 12 January 2012.

With three weekends left till Christmas, you know there’s a slim to none chance that you’ll be lucky enough to find a car park at any one of the numerous shopping centres throughout Australia. Unless you’re willing to be one of those people that park next to a parking spot, (you know the ones, they’re usually in the part that you’ve got to drive through) thinking that if they’re close enough, it’s probably good enough. (Sigh.)

Well, leave the stress and hassle of Christmas shopping to the others and have your credit cards at the ready for Adore Beauty’s VIP Christmas Shopping Night.

Beginning from 5pm tomorrow and running until 5pm Thursday 8 December, you will find exclusive offers from 20 of Adore Beauty’s best brands. On top of that, you’ll also receive a FREE 3-piece goodie bag with any order over $49 and FREE standard shipping on any orders over $99.

You’ll find special offers from brands such as: Benefit Cosmetics, L’Occitane, Alpha-H, BECCA, Antipodes, Burt’s Bees, Thalgo, MOR, love + toast, Clarins, Laura Mercier, OPI, Biotherm, O&M, Guinot, Lancome, Apivita, Jane Iredale, KEVIN.MURPHY and on all fragrance gift sets.

If you’re torn on what to get, some of my favourites from the above brands include:

Benefit Cosmetics – They’re Real mascara, Watts Up! highlighter

Alpha-H – Liquid Gold Skin Perfecting System

Burt’s Bees – Tinted Lip Balms, Radiance Day Cream

Clarins – Beauty Flash Balm, Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Cream

Laura Mercier – Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser, Secret Concealer and Secret Camouflage

Biotherm – LONG WEAR Detox foundation

Guinot – Vital Lip Care, Beauté Neuve Radiance Renewal Crème

Lancome – Hypnose Drama mascara, Teint Miracle foundation

I love their amazing, unique, incredible, one-off designs.

I love their street style, artistic, offbeat but by no means lacking, creative and beautiful prints.

I love this.

And this.

I have this.

And love it.

A lot.

I love that many of the prints are signed by the artist.

I love that the prints are designed to fit perfectly into Ikea Ribba frames.

I love that Blacklist Studio Prints do not charge exorbitant prices and are based in Australia.

I love this.

Because who doesn’t love Elton John?

Blacklist Studio Prints

]]> http://ampersandmel.com/2011/11/17/blacklist-studio-prints/feed/ 0 Picture 3 ampersandmel RemindMe-Main AnchorMe-Main loveislovely-large2 holdmecloser-large2 http://ampersandmel.com/2011/11/10/viktor-rolf-flowerbomb-christmas-edition/ http://ampersandmel.com/2011/11/10/viktor-rolf-flowerbomb-christmas-edition/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:44:34 +0000 ampersandmel http://ampersandmel.com/?p=1272 ]]> You know Christmas is in the air when Viktor & Rolf release their limited edition Christmas Flowerbomb.

In ’09 we had the pink and silver glitter bomb, in ’10 we had the ballerina pink tutu collar, fashioned from the tulle featured in their 2010 spring runway show and now we have a new, prettied up version of their famous Flowerbomb.

Limited Edition Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum 50 ml ($159)

 If you happen to be a ‘more bang for your buck’ type, then check out the amazing Viktor & Rolf Christmas sets.

The Flowerbomb Christmas Set ($99) features a 30 ml Eau de Parfum, 50 ml shower gel and 50 ml body lotion while the Flowerbomb Christmas House Set ($159) comes with a 50 ml Eau de Parfum, 50 ml shower gel and 50 ml body lotion (and it comes in a pretty Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Doll House).

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb is one of my absolute favourite fragrances and seeing as though mine’s almost empty, I’m definitely getting my paws on a set. The Christmas sets are available from 13 November and the limited edition Flowerbomb is available from 27 November at Myer and David Jones.

Have you tried Flowerbomb yet, or any of the other Viktor & Rolf fragrances?

What’s your favourite scent?

I was lucky enough to meet Rae at a previous beauty workshop at the 2010 L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival with the lovely Lemon-Living and get the inside scoop on all things smoky eye and contouring. One of the things that stood out to me about Rae is her down to earth personality and immense passion for make up and getting the most out of what you have (whether it’s the tools and products in front of you, or the face that your mama gave you). There’s no airs and graces with Rae and you could easily sit down and just chat for hours.

While in Sydney for the ABBW, I was fortunate enough to be invited along by the gorgeous girls at Sweaty Betty PR to get a sneak peek at Rae’s new range of make up brushes. Held at Rae’s own studio, you really feel like this is where the magic happens. Rae happily chatted to each and every girl in attendance and then sat us all down to present her brushes and talk us through the production process.

Although the official launch wasn’t until the following day at IMATS, we were given the opportunity to touch and play with each and every brush, watch a video of how they were handmade in China, with Rae flying there to oversee the process and get a first hand look at the construction.

You really get a sense that Rae herself has been involved in every single aspect of creating these brushes and was there, front and centre every step of the way. These are like her children and you believe it when she says that if she’s putting her name to something, it really is going to be the best darn thing!

USA Peta approved, made from recycled bamboo and consisting of one of the most softest furs available; Blue Squirrel (which is second only to Mink), Rae’s brushes are all custom designed and handmade and feature one of the niftiest ideas I’ve ever seen; each brush has a magnetic section allowing it to just SCHWING and stick to anything with a metal surface. How cool is that? It’s like Iron Chef for beauty.

The brushes have no hard edges; so the soft bristles coupled with the rounded shape ensures that they don’t tug or move the skin and works to seamlessly blend make up. Plus the brushes are all animal cruelty free and environmentally sustainable.

As if that all wasn’t enticing enough however, the moment my jaw really hit the floor was when Rae pointed out that she’d be selling each brush for only $35.

$35!!

For a handmade, blue squirrel Rae Morris brush, that figure just blows my mind! So many brushes are priced at over $100 and don’t necessarily perform all that well ­– or perform at a $100 standard, and yet you can pick up one of these for the price of a decent steak!

There are 26 brushes altogether in the set and you can get your mitts on them through www.raemorris.com for $899. Admittedly that may be a bit steep in one go, and unfortunately they aren’t available to purchase separately just yet, but a little birdie (the gorgeous Molly) says that they will be available to purchase individually in the coming months.

Another standout feature of the brush collection is that there are handmade drawings that accompany each brush showing you where that particular brush should be used on the face. Too easy!

The following day at IMATS, Molly and I saw Rae again who remembered us, gave us both a big hug and took the time to chat again and take some more pictures. Isn’t she lovely?

Joining an extensive list of leading skincare and beauty brands, including Lancôme, Clarins, Biotherm, BECCA, Benefit and Laura Mercier to name a few, SK-II will have its full range of products stocked by Australia’s number one authorised beauty e-tailer.

If you haven’t already paid a visit to Adore Beauty, then you should definitely hop to it. If you’ve been an avid reader of Ampersandmel, you would have noticed that pretty much every product on here is stocked at Adore Beauty, so it is by far the easiest destination to get your beauty, hair and skin-care fix. Shipping is super quick; more often than not packages are posted the same day you place your order, and there’s always a confectionery treat thrown in with your goodies.

Food AND beauty? Now that’s the way to this girl’s heart.

With reviews on all products, expert advice to increase your ‘Beauty IQ’, a forum for beauty aficionados to swap stories and ask questions, and sales aplenty on the site, you really should be hitting up Adore Beauty right this second.