Spreading the love, and a bit of Brigadeiro...

My Akira Isogawa wedding dress:

I am guilty of procrastinating to acknowledge & reciprocate the tags & awards that were so generously given to me by some lovely bloggers in the past month or two (so sorry! I'm not very good with these). The latest two 'tags' have prompted me into action (better late than never I always say). This may be one incredibly long post (for which I apologise).

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (getting to know a bit about Brigadeiro):

I've been tagged by the amazing XS (have you seen her pics?) to answer a few Q's:

Describe your personal style.

(I left this question to last, as I found it the hardest to answer. It seems so hard putting this ‘down on paper’, or more accurately, up on cyberspace, as it seems so definitive and final…)

My personal style has always been eclectic (I love a bit of everything), and I vacillate between minimalism and maximalism. I used to be very experimental, and had a 'Carrie' (SJP in SATC) approach to fashion. However, in recent years, I have found that most of the time I sit somewhere in the middle, my outfits are much more subdued and dressed down (and boring), as I seem to have conformed to my surroundings (no one seems to dress up where I live, nor in the circles I move in) and lifestyle (no longer heading out every weekend to clubs and parties). I am drawn to pieces that have something unique about it, be it the fabric (love textiles, which is probably why Dries Van Noten & Akira Isogawa are my favourite designers), or cut, an interesting/unexpected detail or a different take on something mundane (eg. Stella McCartney's silk Ging Gang Goolie bomber jacket). My favourite looks are draped, oriental and nautical.

Sorry about the long-winded response!

What are the staples in your wardrobe?

Coats and jackets are the favourite items in my wardrobe, and I seem to be using dresses more now that I cannot fit into pants (barr my Harem pair, which have replaced my jeans as a staple, which I no longer fit into). Staple jacket would be my Costume National brushed velvet tux, staple coat…too many, but I lived in my Spikjers en Spijkers last Winter), and I'm a huge fan of accessories, most often than not, they make the outfit.

What’s your signature look?

Draped, oriental (especially kimonos) & nautical (well, they’re my favourite looks, so I wear them often). Several years ago, my friends would see an off-shoulder top/dress and think of me. Presently, my harem pants seem to be deemed my signature look by some…

Who is your fashion muse?

I don't really have one, but I am now taking inspiration from fellow bloggers (from minimalists to maximalists) and am slowly trying to get out of my wardrobe rut.

Favourite purchase of all time?
Ooh! This is a tough one (tic toc tic toc)…probably my Chloe large brown leather bracelet bag, the leather is so incredibly soft…I still can’t stop touching it when I have it with me.

Biggest splurge.
My Akira Isogawa wedding dress (the main picture above, and more pictures if you click on the words)

What’s your beauty routine?
Skincare:
On a very good day (I'm very lazy with my skin): cleanse (morning: Dermalogical Microfoliant, night: SKII cleansing oil to remove makeup), SKII Facial Treatment Essence and Dermalogica Skin Smoothing cream (a smidgen of this moisturiser as it is rich, so I get value for money, haha). I really must find an eye cream (I should have started using this well over 10 years ago, so if anyone has a recommendation, please feel free to share, I have very bad dark undereye circles…)

Make-up:

Giorgio Armani Face Fabric Second Skin Nude makeup (what a mouthful!), NARS bronzer in Heat, NARS blush in Orgasm or Torrid, mascara (usually Shu Uemura Fibre Xtension, but I’ve run out, and am using a freebie that came with a magazine).

What jewellery do you never take off?

My engagement and wedding ring.

What are you wishing for?

World peace (has anyone seen ‘Miss Confidentiality’?), and for this crazy economic situation to improve/stabilize/return to normal. Fashion-wise, I am so wishing that I go back to my 'normal' size so I can fit back into my clothes, and that I find these pairs of Dries Van Noten shoes (if anyone spots these in a 38, you know where to find me...).

(www.style.com)

What are your obsessions?

Food and shopping (well, 99% of my shopping is online). Loving food as much as I do has made it hard/not possible to fit into all the stuff I bought…go figure. And my family (parents in Brazil, sisters in London), not quite an obsession, but I love them and miss them like crazy.

I tag: The Glamourai, Rebecca from The Clothes Horse, PretaporterP, and Amee.

AWARDS (thank you so much!)

The amazing hrose of Capture the Castle and i.d. of just.fashion.art sweetly gave me this award (and how fitting, it's in Portuguese, and must've originated in Brazil):

"Blogs who receive this award are "exceedingly charming," says its authors. The award is a fine one because it focuses not on the glory and fanfare of blogging, but in the PROXIMITY to one another through this online-world. "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

Hrose (if anyone fits the above, it definitely is her, I always look forward to her lovely/long comments, and hope she's having an absolute blast in Paris, where she's currently visiting, am so envious!) only passed it onto one person (me) instead of eight, and I may do the same, if that's ok:

Susanna-Cole of Girlmeets NYC (her beautiful words never cease to inspire me)

i.d. also passed this cute Lemonade Award to me:

The concept behind this award is that the blog creators have shown an uncanny knack for silver linings and making the best of bad situations (ie, lemonade from lemons).

I hand this award over to the gorgeous Graziela of Medium for Fashion

previously of For Fashion's Sake.

Next the lovely Claudia from Pepper in Fashion passed me this 'selinho'

RULES:

1. List your 5 obsessions/vices - Mine are: canja de galinha (Brazilian chicken soup), food in general, shopping in general, cracking my knuckles (vice), and obviously, fashion.

2. Link the person who gave you the award

3. Pass it on to 5 other people

4. State the rules when doing so

And the talented Rhianna from Life in Fashion passed me this 'Your blog is Fabulous' award.

RULES:

1.) Put logo on your blog or post;

2.) Nominate 10 blogs which you think are fabulous;

3.) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post;

4.) Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog;

5.) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award!

I'm going to cheat and stop at five, and give both to:

1. Primoeza (newly found blog, and I love it)

2. H of Candid Cool (one of the first blogs I ever read, and I absolutely love her style and blog)

3. XS (also newfound blog, and I am in absolute awe of her amazing outfit pictures. When I grow up, I wanna take pictures just like that...

4. Mathilde from Notes on Becoming Fearless (haha, yet another newfound blog, but I love her style, her talent for making gorgeous, beautiful & ingenious creations, and her blog)

5. Sunniva of Style Spot (no introductions required)

Thank you all so much who gave me these lovely awards, you are all too kind!

xoxo

PS. The formatting is driving me nuts (I keep correcting it, but it stubbornly returns to 'crazy' settings', sorry about that guys!)