visual icon - kat von d

I’ve had something of a girl crush on Kat Von D ever since I first saw her on the Discovery Channel on Miami Ink. Not least because she totally rocks the hoop earring and red lipstick look that I totally love. What’s really awesome is that she also exemplifies my love of tattoos, art, Mexican culture, and rosaries.

I also love her iconic lightning necklace that’s known as her trademark.

Being that she’s a total inspiration, I’ve been totally obsessed with following her webcasts on what inspires her on youtube.

This obsession was started when I read her book High Voltage Tattoo that I got for my birthday.

 

I also love her latest engagement ring – it’s something that totally expresses her personality. Although there has been some backlash in the media due to her being proposed to via twitter, it turned out that it was actually really romantic as she met her fiancé on/via twitter…

 

Max Black / Kat Dennings - my other red lipstick icon

There has always been a soft spot in my heart for curvy brunettes – so was really chuffed to discover Kat Dennings as Max Black on the awesome sitcom 2 Broke Girls.


Her style both on and off the show makes her someone after my own heart as it turns out that I like to dress in a similar way to her...

I guess you could say that in many ways she is one of my modern style inspirations, especially given that she totally rocks the red lipstick and large dangly earrings look…

For those who are really into the dark red lipstick look, apparently the one she wears on the show is Tarte Lipsurgence in Envy.

As I have a tendency of being somewhat fanatical about jewelry and accessories, obviously I had to make a search as to what she wears on the show…

Here’s pics of her necklace and earrings.

Considering how rare her necklace is to find, those who have the budget and inclination should snap this up real quick on etsy.

N.B. In a shout out to my fellow etsians...you can find Max's earrings here too!

T2 Teas - Black Rose tea

For Christmas 2 years ago, I was given a teaset and a bag of sassafras blend tea courtesy of http://tealeaves.com.au/ as they lived in Melbourne. Given that my dad is a total tea nut to the point that he always gets gifts of expensive teas whenever he pops back to China on a business trip - I guess I've completely inherited his penchant for good teas. So was rather disappointed to discover that access to said tea from this particular shop would cost me a flat rate of $9 regardless of the tea (which was also pretty pricey).

As temperatures go up, so does my taste for making iced teas - for which the http://tealeaves.com.au/store/75801-Sassafras-Blend was perfect for. Being fruity without being high in tannin taste. This meant that I needed to source something similar that was a bit closer to home...

Enter http://t2tea.com/tea/scented-flavoured/black/black-rose/ which smelled deliciously fruity strong - an essential point to look for when choosing something to make a fruity iced tea as I really like being able to taste the 'fruity' part.

So all I basically needed to do was go with my tired-and-true method of making the tea in a coffee/tea filter jug with hot water and 3 teaspoons of white sugar. Sit until cool, then bottle and place in the fridge...

Red Lipstick Icons

Having been on something of a self-improvement kick lately, I discovered that in terms of ‘visual appeal’, I’ve had a fascination with red lipstick and hoop earrings. In fact I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick ever since my parents gave me permission to wear make-up...

Of course, there was a time where I preferred not to wear make-up at all, due to several traumatic experiences with stage make-up that I was forced to wear in dance shows from the age of 6. Hence, I will never wear anything on my face that makes me feel like I have a layer of paint sitting on it.

This led me into thinking about ladies who inspire me, both in character and style…what they have in common is that they also have a fondness for wearing red lipstick.

The two whom stick out for me the most at the moment are Anais Nin and Frida Kahlo (coincidentally who both also happen to be strong, creative, sensual women).