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2017/05/24

Giving Yourself a Break / SPA at Home

In recent months I've become aware of the fact that in today's society taking a break from your everyday routine is really looked down upon. Being constantly on-the-go, working early mornings/late nights, spending your free time doing something "useful" is what it is celebrated in the Western Society nowadays. But let's face it. Everyone needs to take a break from time to time: from their school, job, family, problematic situations, or their lifestyle in general. Occasionally switching off from everything is exactly what keeps us on "our A-game" 24/7, so taking a break for yourself, your mind and body, should be our priority.
Because I feel really passionate about taking care and treating yourself on a weekly basis, I came up with a few tips, which will help you achieve, what I like to call it, "the perfect Spa at Home."

Airplane mode

I know I've been an avid advocate of this in my recent posts, but let me bring it up once more for you. The first thing you need to do is to switch everything off. In this case, airplane mode is my saviour. No buzzing, no light, no notifications. Completely switch it off and put it away. Just for this one short hour. You can do that, I believe in you!

Creating the perfect environment

Moving onto creating the perfect environment, which will surround you during your one relaxing hour. Put on a relaxing YouTube playlist, light up candles, prepare your favourite food and drinks, put on a movie - whatever works for you.

Change into comfy clothes

This is kinda an obvious one, but you know you gotta do it. Changing into comfy clothes, taking off makeup and putting your hair up in a bun or messy ponytail is what every girl dreams about.

Choose your HG products / Pamper routine

Once everything is set perfectly the way you want it, then it's time for the main event of your hour-off. Choose your favourite skincare, haircare and bodycare products for a little pamper routine. I always like to create my own little Spa at Home, with my favourite Afrodita products from their spa range. If you're not a pamper routine kinda gal, then miss this step and maybe watch a movie or do some exercise at home (like yoga for example), which will help you clear up your mind, strengthen your body and instantly set you in a better mood.
As I've mentioned above, when it comes to creating the perfect spa at home, I fully trust the spa range of products from Afrodita Cosmetics - especially their strawberry and argan range.

100% Spa Body Scrub

I start my body care pamper routine with a scrub, which gently but very effectively removes the dead skin cells. It regenerates and nourishes the skin and leaves it soft and smooth to the touch. Another added bonus to this scrub (or the entire range of products to be exact) is the delicious sweet fragrance of strawberries.

100% Spa Body Mousse

I continue the routine with two more nourishing products. First up being a body mousse, which deeply moisturises the skin and prevents it from drying out. The skin feels extremely nourished and soft to the touch + it contains a non-greasy formula, which quickly and easily absorbs into the skin and consequently protects it form premature ageing.

100% Spa Massage Oil Strawberry Kiss

The last step in my spa at home routine is to apply a massage oil - to relax and pamper with this gorgeous strawberry fragrance. It is suitable for all skin types - it's enriched with a macadamia oil, which provides intensive body care. In the end you are left with a silky soft skin.

And if I'm not in the mood for a sweet sensation provided by the strawberry range of products, then I opt for a similar pamper routine, but this time with the argan and vanilla-scented range.

100% Spa Sugar Scrub

As before, I start off the pamper routine with a body scrub - this time with a sugar (vanilla-scented) one, which again effectively peels off the layer of dead skin cells and provides smooth and soft skin to the touch.

100% Spa Body Butter

Continuing with the nourishing products: body butter provides relaxing care for a moisturised and nourished skin. It is suitable for all skin types, especially very dry skin, and again results in smooth and soft skin.

100% Spa Massage Oil Organic Argan

Of course the last one, but certainly not the least important, is the Organic Argan Spa Massage oil. It deeply moisturises and renews skin. Just like the strawberry option, it's undoubtedly an important step in a pamper, Spa at Home, routine.

Continue with it

And now for the last part of this Spa at Home pamper routine: if you don't have anything particular planned for that day/evening then continue with your pamper routine. Try to do it at least once every week/two weeks to recharge and take your mind off things. And it's even better if you share this experience with your friend/partner and enjoy their company.

Hopefully you enjoyed my little tips, which will relax you for a bit and make you devote your fullest attention to your body and mind for at least once a week. Take an hour off and just enjoy!

-a

photos: Epopteia Photography

This was shot in a beautiful hotel in the centre of Ljubljana, Antiq Palace Hotel, so thank you for letting us carry out this amazing project!

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2017/05/21

Trend Alert: Pink and Red

Spotted: my favourite colour combo for the spring and summertime.

Pink and red traditionally don't really go together - it definitely feels like the whole black and blue combining fiasco all over again. But this has apparently been one of the upcoming trends and that's why I decided to give it a try. Sort off.

I've said this so many times before, but just to do it one more time: be careful, when it comes to trends. Not everything that is IN at the moment will suit you, your style and aesthetics. Be open-minded and selective at the same time. That's the best advice I could give you. Therefore, as always, I was really picky and careful with this season's "hottest trends", so I chose a more minimalistic approach to tackle this specific trend: mixing red and pink together.

I never thought I would like combining these two colours, but hey, people change their minds all the time, don't they. It's actually a really easy trend to style, in my opinion, because you get to choose from so many options: you can colour-block with a shirt and skirt/trousers, you can have both colours already combined in one dress, with shoes, accessories - bags especially - and so on.

I opted for a safer option out of all the mentioned above and mixed a fun pleated skirt from Mango with a simple handmade choker.

Because I don't own that many pink items in my wardrobe, I chose a flared beige/muted dusty pink skirt (it definitely looks more pink in person than it does on the photographs, I promise) from Mango, which has to be by far my "most spring item" in my closet.

I paired the skirt with a simple white tee and red MKS tassel choker, to bring some colour back into otherwise quite basic outfit. I finished everything off with a pair of metallic slip on sandals from Mango.

When it comes to minimalistic outfits, you need to pay special attention to the textures (pleat, metallic, tassels, etc.), which bring the interesting factor out of what at first appears to be a simple (basic) outfit.

photos: Epopteia Photography

-a

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2017/05/10

My Life on Instagram / April

Yeah we get it, we are in May already. I feel like I and the rest of the bloggers write this kind of post every single month. It always starts with a remark that "I can't believe it's already the next month and how the time is flying by way too fast." But not to focus on that and change things up a bit, I decided to look back on the month of April and instead of posting my favourite item of the month, I would post about a few important things and events that happened during the month of April.

So here they are, 7 events that marked the month of April (even though there are 9 photos in the collage below).

LJFW + MBFWLJ / SHOWROOMS

April was the month of fashion weeks. Technically LJFW happened at the end of March, but the so-called fashion season continued into the beginning of April with MBFWLJ. It was a great one - I captured everything right here on Blush, so if you'd like to read more about it click here. As part of the fashion week season, the designers spreaded their own showrooms around Ljubljana, where they presented their collections to clients and other fashion enthusiasts. I visited Janja Videc in ZOOFA shop, Aleksandra Brlan with her collection presented in Bazilika Cafe, and last but certainly not least, Petja Zorec and her fashion show in MSUM (Museum of Contemporary Art).

Interview

I also had an interview with Micna.si, where I talked about my style, blog and different style inspirations. God I was nervous before going into the interview, because I'm not used to these kind of situations. But I pushed it through, plucked up the courage and once I was there, I didn't feel nervous at all. I was really impressed with the whole process of interviewing and of course the end result. Now I can't wait to do this all over again, someday.

Collaboration with Antiq Palace Hotel

Shooting in Antiq Palace Hotel: as part of a special collaboration with Afrodita Cosmetics (coming soon), me and Zan from Epopteia Photography had the chance to shoot in a lovely hotel, right in the center of Ljubljana. Their atrium, which is embedded in greenery, was the perfect spot for this collaboration. So stay tuned!

Holidays

During the Easter Weekend me, Klemen and Anton decided to make an impromptu portrait photoshoot. The main idea was to make classic black and white portraits, which we could use wherever we wished, but most importantly, proudly look it back in the old age. I think we did an amazing job, because the photos turned out amazing. April was definitely friends&family oriented month and I realised how blessed I am to have them by my side 24/7. Finishing on that thought and of course ending the month of April - the last Saturday in April we went on a surprise trip to Haludovo as part of Klemen's Birthday celebration. I was both amazed and shocked at the sight and condition this hotel is in. The Haludovo Palace Hotel (built in 1972) is an abandoned resort hotel on the Croatian island Krk, north of Malinska. Definitely recommend you to stop there sometime in the future and explore this wonderful place yourself.

That's it, a whole month of events in just a single post.

-a

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2017/04/27

The Truth About Fashion Week

In the last few weeks, many designers decided to present their newest collections in showrooms scattered around Ljubljana, as part of the idea of FW after FW: to show their clients and nosiy fashion enthusiasts the designs up-close. This reminded me that I still haven't posted about my fashion week experience, so here it is.
It's time to tell you the truth about fashion week.
As glamorous as it may seem to others, it actually isn't, trust me. There's a lot of work that goes on behind-the-scenes we never show, or even talk about: outfit, hair and makeup preparations, rushing to get there on time, with little to no time to eat, photoshootings before the actual event and making sure you always look great. And then repeat that for a few days in a row. I had 5 total days of Fashion Week this season, here in Ljubljana, and I can't imagine what it's like for those who do this everyday throughout the fashion month. Even though Fashion week is really exciting and a wonderful opportunity, it can also be really exhausting!

Where you sit is everything

If you sit front row, you officially made it in the fashion world. It's just how things work. Fashion hierarchy is still very much present and everyone is strongly aware of where they are sitting in relation to others. Front row is usually reserved for editors, fashion buyers, celebrities and socialites, while bloggers, other less important editors, etc. occupy the rows behind it.
And then there is always some drama behind the sitting arrangements - if someone isn't given a seat they think are worthy off, they often request to be re-seated to a better position. Then there's people moving around, people getting angry, taking offence, etc. So many problems for those 10 minutes of watching models walking down the runway. Worth it? Doubt it. Which brings me to my next point.

It's more important about being seen than the clothes

Fashion week is all about networking with other people in the fashion industry, as well as taking pictures and showing your outfit to all your social media followers. You usually sit too far to properly see the clothes anyway, so you save your time for that when attending designers' showrooms a few weeks after the fashion week has ended.

Shows end in no time

If you are a first time attender, you will find this very odd, but it's just how it is - fashion shows usually last a total of 10 minutes, following by networking, interviews and taking pictures. In about an hour you're all done and already on your way to the new show.

Blisters are inevitable

You are constantly moving around and even if you wear flats, you're bound to get blisters. A couple of days spent mostly on your feet and on-the-go, will definitely left some evidence on your feet for the next couple of weeks.

People are always late

Shows ALWAYS start at least 15 minutes late, sometimes even an hour, if the organisers are waiting for a VIP guest to arrive. Usually it's because the models are not ready (make-up/hair), are still getting dressed or the designers decided to change the models / making some last minute alterations to the clothes. As you can imagine, this is really annoying, but you unfortunately get used to it quite quickly.

There is nothing good in any of the gift bags

At the end of every FW day, the organisers prepare/give you a gift bag to take with you home. To be honest, they are usually really uninspiring: a few magazines, leaflets, sometimes some testers, water/drinks from the sponsors (which make the bag heavy af) and a few coupons for makeup, facials or drinks we will never really use.

Press/Bloggers seriously don't get any sleep

Sleep is unfortunately the price to pay, if you want to stay relevant.

My day usually consists of first getting ready quite early, because the shows are late in the evening and if you want to make an outfit post, like every proper blogger should, you of course need daylight in order to do that. ORGANISERS do something about that! Why can't we take examples from the Big Four (New York, London, Milan and Paris) and schedule shows throughout the day, scatter them around the city on different locations. That way we could get great street style pictures, attend more shows and schedule our day, not just the evening, around fashion. That would be a proper fashion week, with the city living for fashion those few days every season.

+ WE, BLOGGERS, NEED DAYLIGHT TO SHOOT PICTURES FOR THE BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA. WE DON'T DO EVENINGS, IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T NOTICED THAT (or at least provide good / picture-friendly lighting inside the venue).

Anyway, continuing with a "normal fashion week day". Then I drive to a photoshoot (because street style photography during fashion week just doesn't exist here in Ljubljana), finally attend the show, go home late in the evening and go straight to my computer, where I choose and edit the pictures, write a blog post and publish it. This usually takes me around 3-4 hours, so when I finally manage to do everything, is already really late into the night. And then repeat everything for the next few days. You are really exhausted, if you want to do everything properly, so concealer is my best friend during the FW season.

My humble advice to the organisers: stop fighting, join forces and make ONE outstanding fashion week here in Ljubljana. There's no need for two FWs, if they are both mediocre. Inviting foreign designers to fill in the blank is not the solution here, when we have plenty of talented Slovene fashion designers that you could host on ONE fashion week.

Well, that's my two cents on fashion week. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion and fashion weeks, but I needed to talk about the things people don't really see or talk about. Just keeping it real!

-a

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2017/04/21

My Secrets to Perfect Lashes / Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl

Lashes are, besides my rather bushy eyebrows and long nails, my thing - they are definitely by-far my most complimented feature and to be quite frank with you, I absolutely love my lashes. People always ask me, how I manage to achieve the look of fake eyelashes, so here are some of my secrets or tricks I like to do, to achieve great looking lashes.
First of all, I of course have to start with genetics. It's all thanks to my dad and his side of the family - they all have absolutely amazing lashes. So yeah, part of it is of course genetics, but don't get me wrong, that is just a starting point; I also have to include some steps into my daily makeup routine. So here they are, 7 tricks and my favourite mascara at the moment, to help you achieve the best looking lashes out there.

Wipe off excess mascara on a tissue

You may have heard about this on YouTube or other blogs before. It is a make-up artists' secret and works best with brand new mascaras, which can usually transfer a lot of extra product on the brush and consequently create clumpy lashes. So before you use your brand new mascara, wipe off the entire brush on a tissue, napkin or cotton pad to remove any excess mascara. Your lashes will then look perfectly separated and really natural.

Layer waterproof mascara on top of your regular one and prevent it from smudging

This is a bit of an excess tip, but if you have extremely watery eyes and feel like none of the tested mascaras works for you, then definitely try out this one. Of course we all know that waterproof formula is great for holding a curl as well as preventing your mascara from smearing all over your perfectly done makeup. My tip is to try applying two coats of your normal mascara first and when it completely dries, finish everything off with a coat of waterproof mascara. That is how you will lock everything in, for a care-free makeup day.

Warm up your mascara tube

If your mascara is on its last end + it's still in its three-month expiration date (be careful with that to prevent any eye infections) then try to hold your mascara tube for a few minutes, to warm up and loosen the product from the sides. You can also add a few drops of saline solution to re-wet the formula, for a smoother application (which I now know thanks to Google). These two tips will help you use up your favourite mascara completely.

Layer baby/translucent powder or cotton between the first and second coat

Of course the internet is your best friend when it comes to mascara and lash hacks. I found this one on YouTube (on Huda Beauty Youtube channel). Powder (translucent or baby) or cotton have a grip that will help your lashes to stick to it. Apply powder with a blending brush or cotton with a spoolie brush in between each coat of mascara - this will make your lashes appear more voluminous.

Find the perfect mascara

I think I have officially found my favourite mascara. It is simply everything that I love in a mascara. The formula is dry, which means you get a beautiful curl, which will hold in place all day long. It doesn't smudge or flake, so you can wear it worry-free. The brush is big and curved - that is why you can easily style every lash from the root to the very end. This mascara makes your lashes look volumized, lengthened and completely separated, while still looking extremely natural. This combination is a rare one, but this mascara has done everything on my list to perfect lashes.
The only downfall to this mascara is the price: at $29.50 is not really the cheapest mascara I could recommend, but believe me when I say this: my lashes have never looked so good before.

Reuse your old, used up mascaras

As a huge makeup lover and collector, I usually keep all my purchased mascaras in my collection, even though I might not be using them anymore (a bit excessive, I know). But I have found a great use for all my old and used up mascaras. I specifically pick out the ones I love especially for their brushes, clean them in order to prevent any eye infections and store them in a special compartment. So whenever I try out a new mascara and love its formula, but would prefer to use another brush, I simply switch it up with an older one. I love the brush from Benefit They're Real mascara and use it all the time - usually in a combination with a Maybelline formula, because they offer the best drugstore mascaras in my opinion, but I'm not really fond of their brush choices all the time.

Comb through your lashes with a toothbrush or a dried-out mascara

This is another great example of how I like to reuse my old mascaras. We all get carried away with our mascara application sometimes. But not to worry, I have a trick for you prepared in these kind of situations. Simply comb thorough you lashes with a dried-out mascara - the bristles will grab the excess mascara and get rid of all the clumps. In case you don't have any old/dried-out (and clean!) mascara with you, then you can also use a toothbrush (again, grab a new clean toothbrush). Works exactly the same!

photos: Epopteia Photography

-a

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2017/04/08

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Ljubljana / Day 3

ABOUT DAY 3

Day 3: we did it! It's the end of spring's edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Ljubljana and the official ending of fashion week season here in Ljubljana. These past few days were exhausting and stressful, but still very entertaining nonetheless. New connections, new experiences, new way of thinking and approaching certain situations. This is the best way to describe my fashion week experience.

SHOWS

Day 3 was the most disappointing out of them all regarding fashion: with the exception of D'Alpaos nobody really impressed me with their presented collection. That's why I decided that I won't go into details about every single collection, but do recommend you to check out D'Alpaos official website. He is a really talented Italian designer that definitely deserves more recognition and exposure. My favourites from spring's editions still remain Peter Movrin, IVANMAN and Milica Vukadinovic. All talented designers, with innovative ideas and a clear vision of their brand.

LOOK NUMBER THREE

This is without a doubt my favourite fashion week look. Maybe ever. The main focus of the outfit is of course this stunning red, structured jacket with striped zipper and sleeve detailing - it is from a Slovenian designer Almira Sadar. Her new spring and summer collection is absolutely beautiful, so I would recommend you to check it out (click here). I paired the jacket with a plain white t-shirt from Mango, vintage jeans and rose gold heels from Public desire.

THE END

Ending of another fashion week season. It's been a fun experience, which of course didn't go as smoothly as we would hope. But that is expected in the fashion industry and blogging in general. I really want to share some of my thoughts about what really goes on behind the scenes so stay tuned for my upcoming post: The truth about fashion week.

photos: Epopteia Photography

-a

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2017/04/06

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Ljubljana / Day 2

ABOUT DAY 2

The day was marked with meeting new people, staying true to yourself - making certain fashion statements and of course Mozart hair. It was a very long, but extremely entertaining night, filled with fashions shows, which were divided into 3 different parts.

SHOWS

1st part

Young@Squat opened the shows of day two. Three young designers presented a modern, fresh and eccentric collection, which I believe impressed all the fashion enthusiasts in the audience and brilliantly set the tone for all the shows that followed, just like Peter Movrin managed to do for Day 1.
Julija Kaja Hrovat who was the winner of last year's Mercedes-Benz award presented her first fashion week collection, which was focused around vibrant colours, patterns, embellishments and careful detailing.

2nd part

Milica Vukadinovic was my favourite of the night. The entire collection was absolutely beautiful - I was again very impressed with the accessories (aka the awesome backpacks she presented).
SUSNYARA presented a collection, which was a true let down. This may be a really unpopular opinion, because she is a well-established fashion designer, but I have to say it like it is. The collection didn't feel modern, inspirational, expensive or beautifully designed. It looked like a designer, trying hard to present something different, but in the end sadly failing at it.
Draž presented another beautifully executed collection. They fully understand their clients and definitely design in a way that would suit their clientele.

3rd part

Sofia Nogard is a brand led by two fashion designers, who presented a collection right up my alley. Almost all black collection with the addition of green detailing showed us structured pieces every minimalistic lover with a passion for edginess would love to wear.
Atelier Terra Urbana is an environmental-consciousness brand. The duo of designers presented an all vegan collection. It was definitely the most cohesive show I've seen on this edition's of MBFWLJ and I really appreciate the way they presented a full story on the runway. If I'm honest, I actually didn't know who they were before I've seen their show last night, but I was really impressed with their work and the message they want to spread around the fashion industry.
AKULTURA presented a black&white collection, which is quite predicted colour scheme for the fall and wintertime, but a timeless combinations for us, who love to dress minimalistic. I really love the way she incorporated pleated details into the collection.

LOOK NUMBER TWO

Look number two was focused around a minimalistic black Janja Videc dress, which was part of her Basics by Janja Videc collection. As I've mentioned in my previous post, the theme of my fashion week outfits for the spring edition of #mbfwlj 2017 is notions of ethno and tradition. Because of that I decided to wear a dress of a Slovenian designer - to support local design and a great designer in general. If you haven't already read an interview with Janja Videc, click here. I draped a structured neoprene Topshop jacket over my shoulder and accessorised the look with a loose striped ribbon in my hair (a big upcoming trend I've talked about in my previous post), black mules and a fury phone case. Because I needed a pop of colour in this minimalistic, all black look, I put on a matte red lipstick with an orange undertone from Revlon.

photos: Epopteia Photography

-a

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2017/04/05

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Ljubljana / Day 1

THE OPENING NIGHT

It's finally here: the spring edition of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Ljubljana. The opening night is always something special. We started off with a fashion video created by the Mercedes-Benz team, which officially opened three days of fashion shows. The night continued with three collections from Peter Movrin, IVANMAN and Natasa Persuh.

SHOWS

Peter Movrin opened the shows of the spring's edition of MBFWLJ. He presented an eccentric, vibrant and exceptionally gorgeous collection. I especially loved his play on handbags - the way he designed and showed them was really refreshing to see on the runway of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. His collection felt modern, inspirational and satirical at times, which is a trait I especially admire in his deisgns. Peter Movrin has once again shown his exceptional talent and proven to us, why he is one of the leading Slovenian designers today.

Collections continued with IVANMAN, who showed us the perfect menswear collection for the fall/wintertime. I honestly loved all the shown pieces, which were all very classic and well structured. I especially liked his play on accessorising with loose ribbons - a trend I was planning to incorporate into my MBFWLJ outfits even before I saw it on the runway. So this is I guess the trend to look for in the upcoming seasons. The colour of the show was violet, which I already dare to predict will be THE colour of 2018. Again, very impressed with IVANMAN, like all his collections before!

Natasa Persuh finished the shows of Day 1. She presented a collection of shirt dresses, with gorgeous sleeve detailing and frayed-hem trousers. Even though it was a beautiful collection, I was a bit disappointed, because I was really impressed with all her previous work. This collection felt so NOW and not something that would inspire me for the upcoming seasons. I guess she was targeting her current audience and designed pieces, she intends to immediately sell off the runway.

I absolutely loved the shows of Day 1 and I cannot wait what the designers have in store for us today.

LOOK NUMBER ONE

The theme of my outfits for #mbfwlj 2017 is notions of ethno and tradition. For the first day of fashion week I decided to put a modern spin on tradition and opted for a vintage (second-hand) brown stripped dress, combined with a leather jacket from Mango - to put some edge back to the outfit. I wanted to bring some interested to the outfit, so the easiest way to do that is to choose metallic accessories. I decided to wear a silver choker from Zara and silver sandals (slip-ons) also from Mango. That is officially the end of Day 1.

Day 2, bring it on.