NOVEMBER: Passion Palette
Every month I will be sharing my Favourites List, or as I like to call it, my ‘Passion Palette’. This list will cover fashion, beauty, products for my family and general culture/lifestyle activities I am loving right now.
1. BODE
Fascinating brand started by Emily Adams Bode Aujla. She originally produced one-of-a-kind pieces, from antique fabrics and deadstock, using many crafting techniques like quilting, mending, applique, sashiko and others. Her designs have incredible attention to detail in everything, from stitching to the buttons used. The clothes tell a story, drawing on historical references often. Pieces are priced at the luxury end of the market. There is a real sense of bringing back the artisan world of craft and strong emotional connections woven into each piece.
A more natural light cover cream. There are still some questionable ingredients in it, for die hard clean beauty fanatics. But it’s a lot better than the average make up brand filled with all sorts of known endocrine disrupters amongst other things. I don’t wear make-up daily, but some days I like to even out my skin tone, using this product.
3. JOY Costumes – Princess & party costumes for kids
If you are looking for beautifully made, girls dress up princess dresses, check out this small brand.
Run by a mother with a background in fashion design, I found her stunning products searching around late one night on Instagram. I needed to find a dress-up-dress, for my youngest daughter and I needed it quickly.
Teresita was so sweet and helpful, she has twice sent costumes to me very quickly, from the US to Singapore. So many US brands are completely unhelpful when it comes to shipping to Asia and it gets very frustrating. This has been a pleasant surprise.
The dresses have really good workmanship, soft, non-itchy, comfortable to wear, no glitter dropping off and wash well. Plus you are supporting a small mum business. They make fabulous birthday and Christmas gifts for all the little princesses in your life!
4. Facial cupping and Korean facial massage
My latest obsession is facial massage! I have been absolutely blown away by the results of regular face, neck & scalp massage. If you are a ‘notox’ kind of girl, I highly recommend exploring Asian style facial massage, the results have been way more powerful that I ever imagined. It does require some time and dedication, but can easily be incorporated into your nightly routine before bed, or early morning and a dedicated daily 10 minutes can make a bug impact. . I also sometimes incorporate some breast massage and all the tissue around the armpit too. I have always been a huge fan of body massage and any kind of body work in general, which I have experienced deep healing from.
Here are some of my favourite accounts to follow online for learning home techniques:
I started massaging my face quite by accident when I saw that I was forming a deeper line in my forehead, over time I completely reduced this wrinkle and was quite surprised. After that I took an online course, I started using facial cupping regularly at home and visited a Korean facial salon for their famous Korean Golki facial massage, aka bone setting massage. The pressure is strong and its an intense feeling, my face was red and a bit sensitive afterwards, but soon calmed and my skin looked brighter and tighter afterwards. I plan to make it a monthly event. Along with my skin feeling better, releasing the tension in the face, neck, scalp and upper chest has made my mind feel clearer and more energized too.
5. All things olive & khaki colour
The catwalk had a healthy splash of olive-y green and khaki this autumn winter 24’. We are seeing it filling the stores now. Olive/khaki tones give us that grounded earthy feel, often seen in autumnal palettes.
It’s hard to categorize ‘olive’ as one colour. You get yellow-olive tones, think of a ripe green olive fruit, or think of the silvery green leaves on the olive tree, or the khaki military olive green with more black added to it. Green represents harmony between mind, body and emotions, helping to make us feel balanced. The more yellow the green has, the more energized the colour will feel. Too much olive-y-khaki can start to feel stagnant and decaying, so be careful how you feel in it and how you use it.
If you wear mustard yellow, warm browns, aubergine and deep burnt orange colours easily, then choose a more yellow based olive or blackened khaki green. Warm olive will also go beautifully with the above colours, it looks especially striking with aubergine purple, or a blackened ox blood. Or pair with black, gold or cream for a feeling of luxury.
On the other hand, if you feel more energized in blues, pinks, cooler browns with grey added, you might want to opt for a more silvery / grey based olive tone. Use silver, bright white, black and navy blue with grey based olive tones.
Whenever, I give any colour advice, it must come with a huge warning – this is a generalisation, colour is very nuanced and specific to each individual!
Some of my favouite olive / khaki clothes in store at the moment:
Cult Gaia
Remember for your holiday /Christmas parties, you don’t need to be stuck on black.
A sparkly olive/green/khaki dress can be a stunning alternative!
This special and unique dress from the insanely gorgeous Cult Gaia is the stuff of dreams and the price tag of princesses.
Beyond the Vines
Stylish, durable, nylon carry all, their products are very reasonably priced and really well made. I dump my laptop, gym stuff, and any number of random items in mine. The stitching is strong and the craftsmanship solid.
Has a top zip, so can be used for travel, diaper bag for mums with young kids, and day to day carry all.
Cos
Fabulous slouchy lightweight jacket to layer over warmer jumpers if living somewhere cold. Or use for aircon and light rain for those of us in the tropics.
Michael Kors
This casual, organic, cotton everyday dress from Michael Kors diffusion line is an absolute winner at 599 SGD!
Love the slightly rock vibe with the black / stud like belt.
But if that’s not how you roll, you could combine with more earthy, natural, raffia type belt with some nice texture too.
Faithful online
Drapey and ruched light weight khaki dress from Faithfull, with a soft boat neck.
Cos
I am a massive fan of Cos knitwear. They do fabulous cashmere, the quality and workmanship is very good and the price is very fair.
Zara
Great Zara basics buy here, it’s a tee with padded shoulders in 100% cotton, which we love.
Especially if you have rounded shoulders and need some sharp definition to your silhouette, or if you already have square shoulders and liken to repeat your natural pattern.