My Monica Vinader Personalised Charm

At home, with my family, we don't really give each other presents at Christmas time, because we celebrate St Nicolas in the Netherlands instead, but I was still very spoiled and got a couple of lovely presents friends!

One of the presents I got was a gorgeous personalised silver charm by Monica Vinader. Shame on me but I'd never really heard of this brand before. Turns out that Monica, a Spanish born, UK jewellery designer is very popular amongst the celebs with an ever-growing stylish following including Cameron Diaz, Claudia Shiffer, Keira Knightly and Elle MacPherson.

"From a strong desire to wear jewellery in all the varied moments of life, Monica Vinader brings us pieces that balance elegance and luxury with practical and simple designs. Silver and 18 Carat Gold is hand set with semi precious stones, bespoke cut and faceted to showcase their personality. The jewellery reflects the designer's passion for the shapes and colours found in nature, her search for the timelessness of the simple form."

Monica Vinader is a regular these days in glossy magazines such as Vogue, Harpers, Elle and Grazia and now lucky little me owns a beautiful personalised charm by the brand!

My flatmate got me a small round pendant in sterling silver that she got engraved for me! You can wear the pendant on a necklace, bracelet or combine it with a Monica Vinader chain adding more pendants or stones as you please, this way designing your own necklace (link)

I love my 'Roxy Rocks' charm! I'm pairing it here with my Tiffany & Co bracelet!

Had you heard of Monica Vinader before? 

There are definitely a few items on her site that I'd love to make my own....

Best Dressed: 2013 People & Critic Choice Awards

This week both the 2013 People's Choice & Critic's Choice Awards took place in Los Angeles. Here are my best dressed picks from the red carpet.

Emily Blunt is absolute perfection in this white Miu Miu dress! The back of the dress, the flawless makeup, the red lips and the glamorous hair...just WOW!

Lea Michele sparkled in this pink Elie Saab dress. The mix of lace and sequins is cute and the colour is just so fun. Her legs look smokin' hot and I really like the purple makeup (she even manages to pull off purple lashes!) to complete her look.

Taylor Swift was a sexy vision in white in this daring low plunging gown by Ralph Lauren. The dramatic bronze makeup and turquoise earrings completed her essemble perfectly.

How cute is Julianne Hough's sparky number! Her make up is impeccable and love her fun and messy bob hairstyle.

Noami Watts looked amazing at both award shows where she was nominated for Best Actress for her outstanding performance in the film The Impossible. I watched this movie on Sunday and admit that I haven't cried so much at a movie for ages! A very touching and intense story about the 2004 Tsunami; so if you go and see it (which I truly recommend you do) make sure you bring a box of tissues!

Jennifer Lawrence in a Prabal Gurung gown with leather detailing and a sheer train. Loved her edgy yet elegant look.

Two other honourable mentions needed are for Amy Adams and Helen Hunt. Both look beautiful. The white and navy Grecian high split gown is sexy and really compliments her lovely porcelain skin. Helen shines in red; the lace detailing is stunning and how incredible is her body for her age; she turns 50 this year!

Who were your favourites of these Awards shows? I can't wait for the Golden Globes and Oscars.  I just love award season :)

Vintage Hairstyles & 1920s Party Photos

When I posted some personal photos on Instagram back in December from my work 1920's themed Christmas Party, some of you commented on how you loved my hairstyle! Well as I admitted here; a lot of us ladies had our hair professionally styled by Jess from Powder Puff & Pin Curls who specialises in vintage hairstyles. We recently received the professional photos from the party and thought I'd share some of the gorgeous black and white pictures that really add to the whole vintage feel of the event :)

More photos after the jump....

Keeping warm with my Etre iPhone gloves!

One little fact you probably don't know about me is that I can't handle the cold very well. Now, I know that no one really enjoys being cold but for me cold weather can actually be quite painful. Ever since I was young I have suffered from Raynaud's disease. Now that sounds all very serious but it just means that I have a condition that causes some areas of my body (mainly my hands and feet) to feel numb and in pain in response to cold temperatures or emotional stress, caused by a problem with the blood supply to the skin. The condition occurs because your blood vessels go into a temporary spasm which blocks the flow of blood. This causes the affected area to change colour to white, then blue and then finally red as the blood flow returns. Raynaud's is not a serious threat to my health but it can be quite annoying to live with.

Anyway this means I am always trying to keep my hands as warm as possible because even the slightest moment of coldness can tricker an attack. I have a large supply of toasty warm gloves for the autumn and winter time but because we all have smart-phones these days, I was finding that my fingers would still trigger attacks when I removed my gloves to call or txt (or just to look at google maps to find my way around London haha).  So I decided to hunt around for the perfect pair of iPhone gloves. In my search I came across a few brands but the one that stood out to me most was Etre Touchy! This is a British company that started a sensation back in 2007 with their Etre Touchy Gloves, which have missing thumb and index fingertips to provide you with the freedom to use your smartphone, iPod, iPad, camera or other electronic devices.

I love the look of these striped (surprise, surprise haha...) Etre Touchy gloves for example!

But unfortunately for me the missing finger tips solution is a no-go! I need all my fingers covered at all time to ensure they stay warm. Luckily the clever people at Etre also design the Etre fivepoint wool gloves! They have special contactwoven fingertips, that do what other gloves don't: they let you use touchscreens without having to take them off! Woop woop :)



They come in various colours but I got the classic black ones with charchoal tips - £40 (link)

Before buying these, as they are a bit pricer than other versions you can find online or in technical stores, I did do my research and found these were truly the warmest ones on the market. Other gloves are often made with synthetic fibers which means they work perfectly with your smartphone but don't do such a good job at keeping your hands warm. The Etre Fivepoint gloves however are high quality and made with 95% virgin lamb wool. I absolutely love these gloves and can't live without them anymore! So don't let the cold get between you and your facebook or twitter updates this winter ;)

Etre Touchy or Fivepoint gloves are available from their very own online store, Etre Shop, and other selected stockists worldwide. How do you keep your hands nice and toasty during the cold winter months? 

Win a pair of L.K.Bennett sandals & win shoes for a year!

L.K.Bennett definitely know how to start 2013 off with a BANG!
To celebrate their Win Shoes For A Year app, I’ve paired up with them and I am super excited to announce that I am giving you the chance to WIN a pair of their gorgeous snake print Sandy sandals.

To be in to win these sandals (worth £225) - all you need to is the following:

Enter below via Rafflecopter and leave a comment on this blog post to enter!
To even further increase your chances of winning you can get some EXTRA points if you:
- Like the DutchessRoz Facebook FanPage (link) +1 point
- Follow me on Twitter (link) +1 point
- Plus get an additional +2 points if you tweet about my giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Oh and don’t forget to also enter their fantastic Facebook app competition. You and a friend could each win 6 pairs of beautiful L.K.Bennett shoes. Now that's what I call the perfect New Year treat!
Enter here before the 7th January: http://bit.ly/LKBshoes

My giveaway is open internationally and closes Thursday 10 January!

So what are you waiting for? Enter NOW :) Good luck!

Jewellery Trend: The Statement Necklace

One popular jewellery trend of 2012 has definitely been the statement necklace. Chic and bold; statement necklaces are extremely popular because they can transform any simple outfit into something more special. Statement necklaces can be beaded, embellished, layered, twisted, feathered or geometric. The trend has featured in designer shops to the high street, all in different shapes, sizes and styles. You can wear a statement necklace with several different outfits to create many eye-catching looks. For example a statement necklace can instantly transform a LBD for a party while a casual t-shirt can be accessorised with a dramatic piece to add some flair to your day look.

Being a fan of this trend, a few weeks back this little beauty from Zara definitely caught my eye!

ZARA Cobalt blue stone with metal & ribbon woven statement necklace. Now sold out but you can still buy it on eBay it seems! (link)

The blue, green and orange in the necklace really brighten up any simple outfit! What do you think of the statement necklace trend, is this something you have been wearing? If you are worried about how to pull this trend of then just remember to keep rest of your outfit simple and and let the necklace make a statement all of its own!

Zara shopping spree purchases!

Zara is dangerous teritory for me at the moment. I can't seem to go into their stores without wanting to buy absolutely everything in there! Loving their recent collections. Saturday was another classic example of this problem. I was out trying to do some Christmas shopping and I thought I'd just take a quick peek in Zara. Big, big, BIG mistake! I ended up buying quite a few things and have realised that on top of my already out of control stripe addiction I am currently having similar symptoms for anything burgundy or checked.

Sigh...want to see the damage?

TRF Draped bird print dress with gathered waist - £29.99 (link)

TRF Dress with combination shoulders - £29.99 (link)

TRF Combined leather look front dress - £29.99 (link)

Zara Woman green and black checked shirt - £29.99 (link)

I personally would not wear this all buttoned up btw so not a fan of this Zara promo picture.

Zara Basic burgundy knitted scarf - £9.99 (link). Perfect for winter!

This is me wearing my new scarf and green checked shirt on Sunday.

And then there was this black and burgundy striped dress...

Zara Woman Burgandy and black striped dress - £49.99 (link)

I'd spotted it on their web store and seen it in the shop a few times and I just loved everything about it. So I finally tried it on this time and I wasn't 100% convinced on the fit but I still got it haha...

...BUT then after my shopping spree at Zara I walked past French Connection and they managed to lure me into the store with their 50% sale signs all plastered over the windows! In the sales rack I then spotted yet another burgundy and black striped dress, oh oh!

French Connection bands of colour bandage knit dress - £97 but at the moment 50% off so only £48.50! (link) So I tried it on and loved it, dilemma much?! I knew it would actually be a bit mental to keep both dresses so I decided to also buy the French Connection dress and then decide later which one to keep. At home I tried both on again and together with the flatmate we decided that the French Connection was the keeper! I think the fit was just more flattering and think I will get more use out of it because it is a bit longer which means I can wear it to work and easily dress it up or dress it down! Do you think I made the right choice? :)

And last but not least, I couldn't help myself when I saw this cute cotton blue/white cap sleeved block dress at French Connection. It's more of a summers dress but while on sale for only £21 and it being a classic 'me' dress, that I know i'll get plenty of wear out of....it was just a bargain couldn't pass on!

Soooo yeah, I didn't get much Christmas shopping done but love my new clothes haha! 

What do you think of my new purchases?

Tim Walker - Story Teller at Somerset House

One of my favourite photographers is Tim Walker. I think he is, without a doubt, the world's most visually exciting and influential fashion photographer. Walker's work is dazzle with life, full of magic, and plenty of humour. You can imagine my excitement when I found out that Somerset House is currently hosting a major exhibition of Tim Walker's iconic photographs and props at their East Wing Galleries in London.

Supported by Mulberry, Tim Walker: Story Teller showcases 175 of Walker’s most fantastical works from the pages of the world’s leading magazines: British, French, American and Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and The New Yorker among many others. A couple of weekends ago I made my way to Somerset house to check out the exhibition! Here some sneaky pictures I took during my visit to share with you all..

 

The exhibit is free and open to the public until 27th January 2013 (link)

I love going to museums or exhibitions in the weekends, do you?

Mint winters day OOTD & new cross bracelet

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you would have already seen my picture post of two bargains I picked up in the H&M sale last week. I was quickly popping into my local store buy some socks (of all necessities) and got distracted by the sales racks where I found this lovely cropped mint knitted jumper for only £15! Even though it's now winter and you might see mint as more of a spring colour I see no reason why to shy away from brightening my winter days with colourful outfits. This is me in my new jumper on Sunday, where I combined the mint jumper with my favourite bright pink winter wooly snood scarf.

Do you like this colourful look for winter?

To keep warm I paired it with my super snug tan UGG boots!

I have also been meaning to show you this new fine side cross bracelet that I got from ASOS a few weeks back. It is from their ASOS collection and you can get it in silver, gold and rose gold. It looks more gold in this photo but mine is the rose gold one.

Get it here for only £6 (link)

I was back home (yet again!) this weekend to celebrate St Nicolas with my family. It is my favourite Dutch tradition because it is an evening full of laughs, presents and the most yummy St Nicolas treats!

I definitely indulged in a fair amount of Speculaas this weekend....

Dutch Speculaas Chunks - you can find my recipe here (link). The gym is definitely calling my name this week after my indulgent but fun family weekend but hell it was worth it ;)

Victoria Secret Fashion Show 2012

Its no secret that I love Victoria Secret and every year I cant wait to see their annual amazing fashion shows (see photos of previous years here and here). This years extravaganza went down in NYC on November 8 and it aired this week on CBS in America.

During the show the famous Angels strutt their hot stuff on the catwalk in the most glamous and fun outfits showcasing some of the upcoming pieces from the lingerie retailer. The show this year consisted of six separate themed segments being; Circus, Dangerous Liaisons, Calendar Girls, Pink Is Us, Silver Screen Angels and Angels in Bloom.

There were a handful of memorable ensembles — Alessandra modeled the 2012 Fantasy Bra, covered in $2.5 million worth of gems, while Miranda donned a Swarovski-embellished corset. Doutzen Kroes looked incredible in a pink pom-pom ensemble, and Lily Aldridge, whose Kings of Leon rocker husband, Caleb Followill, was in the front row, took a turn down the runway in a patriotic flag skirt.

In addition to the Angels, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Bruno Mars also took the stage with some great musical performances. Rihanna definitely stole the show, she looked beautiful and simply smokin' hot! She could easily be one of the next angels! ;)

 

My current favourite Victoria Secret Angels would have to be Doutzen Kroes, Miranda Kerr, Candice Swanepoel and Erin Heatherton.

I think Doutzen (a fellow Dutchy) has the perfect body; I mean just look at her..WOW!

Who are your favourite VS Angels and did you watch the show this week?