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best dressed at the 2012 SAG awards

January 30, 2012 in fashion

The Screen Actors Guild Awards last night were the last big States-side awards before the Oscars and, considering this was the final chance to experiment with gowns, I was a little unimpressed with the red carpet. I hope the stars step up their game again for the BAFTAs!

Blacks: There were some great black gowns including Emma Stone‘s Alexander McQueen tea-length dress, Tina Fey‘s beaded Versace, Jayma Mays‘ Reem Acra sequined gown and Stacy Keibler‘s lace Marchesa.

Whites: I couldn’t go passed Best Actress Viola Davis in her spectacular Marchesa gown but I also loved Julianna Margulies in Calvin Klein, and Rose Byrne‘s Elie Saab jumpsuit.

Reds: I think Michelle Williams looked amazing in her red Valentino lace edged gown, Kyra Sedwick rocked her cutout Pucci and Ahna O’Reilly was elegant but modern in Nha Khanh.

Silver: It’s a colour we haven’t really seen this season so far but last night, the stars loved it. Octavia Spencer wore Tadashi Shoji, Lea Michele wore Versace and Naya Rivera showed off her amazing figure in Naeem Khan.

I have two favourite gowns of the night – Michelle Willams in red Valentino (above) and Natalie Portman in her divine plum Giambattista Valli strapless gown with the oversized rosette. I thought Michelle’s shoes were a tad heavy for the dress so Natalie just pips her at the post this time – but Natalie didn’t do the red carpet so Michelle gets the photo. Whose look did you like best?

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battle of the perfume misses

March 7, 2011 in fashion

Dior and Chanel are two of the most well-known and famous French couture houses. Both also make a significant portion of their profit on perfume sales (because, let’s face it, that’s pretty much all most of us can afford to buy!)

It makes sense then that both brands would attempt to lure in the “mademoiselle market” by each marketing a perfume specifically at the demographic.

One brand ambassador is an Oscar winner, the other has been Oscar nominated. Both portray an air of confidence and effortless beauty. One was even the other’s decoy in The Phantom Menace (true story!)

Natalie Portman’s Miss Dior Cherie ad has been on television here for a couple of weeks and I’m quite a fan. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out below.

Keira Knightley’s Coco Mademoiselle ad campaign will launch on 1 April but pictured is a sneak peak (head over to Elle Espana for more photos).

Both campaigns are classy and a little cheeky but here’s the million dollar question – which perfume would you choose based on the ads?

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at the movies: no strings attached

March 1, 2011 in movies

No Strings Attached has been out for a few weeks now but in honour of Natalie Portman’s Oscar win yesterday, I decided it was high time I ran this review.

You might have noticed that Ms Portman is in about four films that are either out or near release, and this is the fluffiest of the bunch (though I suspect Thor will be the worst of the films).

Emma (Portman), a medical resident, and Adam (Aston Kutcher), a television production assistant and aspiring writer, become friends after a few accidental meetings and decide to use each other for sex (yes, this isn’t a film for the kids – it’s rated R in the US and MA in Australia). The rule is that they will just say friends and not develop feelings for each other.

Of course, this is a fairly predictable romantic comedy but it has some good laughs and the chemistry between the leads is pretty good. Kevin Klein is fabulous as Adam’s girlfriend-stealing father and I would personally love a copy of the Period Mix he makes for Emma (you’ll get it when you see it).

Overall, a fairly entertaining film for a date or a girls’ night.

Rating: ***

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best dressed at the 2011 oscars

February 28, 2011 in fashion

It’s the night the stars have been practicing for – the Academy Awards, film’s night of nights.

Winners were almost all as expected, with The King’s Speech scooping the pool with Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Colin Firth. Awards darling Natalie Portman also took home a little man for her Best Actress turn (or should that be pirouette?) in Black Swan.

The glam factor usually steps up a notch compared with the earlier awards ceremonies (even the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards) and this year was no exception.

There were some hot, new trends on the red carpet as well as some old faithfuls.

Nude sparkles: Combining two popular themes from earlier ceremonies, many stars chose to adorn their elegant nude gowns with a bit of bling. While there were many fabulous gowns (including Mandy Moore‘s Monique Lhuillier, Gwenyth Paltrow‘s Calvin Klein and Michelle Williams‘ Chanel), my favourites were Halle Berry and True Grit cutie Hailee Steinfeld, both in Marchesa.

Red: Blending into the red carpet was one of the top Oscar trends this year. Penelope Cruz went for sparkles in L’Wren Scott, Sandra Bullock went classic in Vera Wang, Jennifer Lawrence went sleek in Calvin Klein, and Oscars host Anne Hathaway went Hollywood glam in Valentino.

Purple: One of my favourite colours was also a favourite of the stars this year. All shades were covered from palest lavender (Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Haute Couture) to laced lilac (Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Haute Couture) to rich aubergine (Natalie Portman in Rodarte) and even deep magenta (Scarlett Johansson in Dolce and Gabanna).

There were so many beautiful gowns, it’s difficult to choose just one! My favourites are Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Hudson in shocking orange Atelier Versace, Helen Mirren in Vivienne Westwood and, of course, Natalie Portman.

Who gets your vote?

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at the movies: black swan

January 25, 2011 in movies

I’ve been hanging out for this film for a while and at long last, Black Swan is out in Australia – and it’s as brilliant as I’d hoped it would be.

Natalie Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a ballerina whose desire is to be perfect. When the company’s prima ballerina is forced to retire, Nina is chosen by director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to dance the lead in the new production of Swan Lake.

Nina’s perfection makes her ideal for the role of the White Swan but that same perfection means the evil and seductive twin role of the Black Swan is difficult for her to portray. The company’s new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), is a perfect black swan and a rivalry grows between the two ballerinas. As Lily helps Nina to discover her dark side and opening night draws closer, Nina finds it hard to maintain her grip on reality.

Without a doubt, this is a spectacular film. Portman is eerily perfect as Nina, and not just because she trained in ballet for years – she also elegantly portrays Nina’s mental and physical fragility as her desire for perfection destroys her.

The film gets its strength (as well as its shock factor) from presenting a mental breakdown from the inside. For me, it was the use of mirrors (a staple of ballet studios as well as the object that shows us ourselves) that was particularly brilliant. I also loved the Clint Mansell and the Chemical Brothers’ reworking of the classic Tchaikovsky Swan Lake composition to create an edge-of-your-seat score.

Black Swan really deserves the awards buzz it’s been getting and Natalie Portman definitely deserved her Golden Globe – I expect we’ll see a few more nods when we get to Oscar time.

I don’t care who you see this with – just see it (though if psychological themes freak you out, perhaps take somebody to hold).

Rating: *****

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