Showing posts with label givenchy. Show all posts

the currency gouging index

i'm starting to include references to this more and more as i post. you'll notice it mostly in posts related to cosmetics, because those are where there is a clear difference in canadian versus u.s. prices.

canadian vs u.s. dollar 2010- 2011

basically, the story is this:

the canadian dollar is worth more than the american dollar and has been for several months. in fact, for the last couple of years, we've been dancing with parity on an ongoing basis. many canadian consumers can accept the fact that our import taxes are a little higher, or that there is duty to be paid on imported goods, but considering that for every canadian dollar paid, american companies are making money if they charge the same price as they do to americans. [e.g., using yesterday's exchange rate from the bank of canada- a product sold at $25usd to a canadian customer would net $25.81usd if the customer paid in canadian dollars]

we are a reasonable people. most of us do not mind paying a couple of extra dollars for the convenience of being able to buy in our own country [although even saying that seems weird], but there are limits and many companies insist on pushing those limits. and so i give you the cosmetics "currency gouging" hall of shame/ fame for summer 2011. [i'm choosing cosmetics because the price changes from country to country. buying music is paid in usd and costs the same no matter what currency is in your bank account, which makes it an awesome time to buy music. i'm perfectly willing to look at any other industries if people are interested.]

hall of shame

armani- hmm... one eyes to kill eye shadow in the u.s.= $32. in canada? $42. one rouge d'armani lipstick in the u.s.= $30. in canada? $38. are you f**king kidding me? armani products are stellar, but you're going to have to do a lot of convincing to get me to believe they're that much better in canada than they are in the united states.

m.a.c.- well, at first glance, the differences don't seem so huge- $14.50usd vs. $17.50cad for a lipstick or eye shadow- until you consider that m.a.c. are a f**king canadian company. seriously, despite the fact that they were purchased by estee lauder, their head office is still located in toronto [ok, technically newmarket, but they're seriously a block and a half north]. they should be charging us less!

givenchy- you'll see in my previous post that the pricing for a gloss from givenchy is $29cad versus $26.50usd. that's not so bad, right? well no, but on my on line order, i got dinged an extra $1.88 on the givenchy gloss only for "duty". what the hell is the inflated canadian price covering if it's not the extra import taxes we call "duty"? you're double dipping, givenchy.

hall of fame

guerlain- i was originally just going to make this a hall of shame, but i felt that i would be doing a disservice. guerlain are a really expensive brand, which is kind of sad because more people should be able to enjoy their products. the one thing that you can say about guerlain is that they're pretty much equally out of reach no matter what side of the border you stand on. price of a rouge g in the u.s.? $46. in canada? $50. price of a limited edition rouge g lipstick in the u.s.? $47. in canada? $50. that little differential is actually a key component of the guerlain pricing strategy. in fact, permanent products are priced above [but not grossly above] the exchange rate, but limited edition products are priced much closer to the current exchange rate. in fact, guerlain's limited edition blush/ bronzer powders are priced the same or less in canada as they are in the u.s. why do that when the regular products maintain a difference? guerlain is being very smart. they know that with the canadian dollar at parity or above, selling at the same price is a winning proposition. so for products that are only available a limited time, why not offer them at the same price? for permanent products, they are betting that, over the long term, the canadian dollar will be lower than the american, so it makes sense to guard permanent prices higher to protect themselves from a cad collapse. smart, smart, smart business and an excellent way to curry favour with the folks north of the border.

making faces :: product review [givenchy, urban decay, makeup forever]

as per my last post, i indulged in my lip colour fetish again and placed an order with sephora. this was my first time ordering on line from them, something borne of just not wanting to make my way all the way out to pointe claire [although seeing the employees there would have been nice]. overall, the service was a little slow [i'm comparing here to other on line retailers based in the united states] and they made a small mistake in my order. [sephora offers free samples with each order, which you can choose. they got mine wrong. i'm not about to raise a huge fuss over something i got for free, but still, what was in the box didn't even match the invoice included, which was correct.]

all of the products i ordered and paid for were included, which, true to form, were very lip-heavy. i ordered an eye shadow duo and lipstick from hourglass, which i'll address separately, since it's my first experience with the company. in this round, i'll cover the others...

givenchy gelee interdit "celestial black"

givenchy gelée interdit "celestial black" :: this was sort of an odd purchase for me, because i knew from reviews and from reading about the formula that these brand new jelly-like glosses from givenchy were going to be sheer. normally, sheer isn't a big thing with me. but the images of celestial black just looked so gorgeous [in spite of the fact that you already have about a half dozen black-based sparkly glosses? -ed.] that i couldn't resist.

true to what i expected, the formula is quite sheer. on my hand, it looked like a slightly greyed clear gloss with a couple of sparkles. not so exciting. on my lips, i was surprised that the pigmentation seemed better. it seemed to make my lips pinker [fuchsia, almost!], as well as giving a darker cast. because of the settings i use on the camera to get clear photos, i didn't capture the plumminess it adds, but trust me, it's there.

the colour and, to a certain extent, the texture, reminds me of Mac's "Dazzleglass" lip gloss formula and, in this shade, i'm particularly reminded of the colour "date night". however the magic in this gloss is in the formula. and magic it is.

i didn't put much stock in the fact that givenchy claimed that these glosses were moisturising, because, in all of my makeup wearing life, i don't think i've ever come across a gloss that wasn't moisturizing. it's a gloss, they make your lips feel softer. it's what they do. however, the second i applied this one, i could feel that there was something different. my lips almost immediately felt "plush", the term i'll use to describe the condition between extremely moist and plump.

there is some science at work here, although how much is subject to debate. givenchy claims that "hyaloronique microspheres" create a plumping effect by, basically, causing the lips to retain water. sounds weird, but there is some reason to believe them. hyaluronic acid is naturally present in the body as an industrial-strength lubricant [in cartilage] and in the basal layer of the epidermis helping, among other things, in the healing of wounds by promoting the skin's inflammatory response. [inflammation means plumping. and don't worry, it's in a good way.] hyaluronic acid is a popular skin care ingredient because it is so good at carrying moisture and at hydrating basically everything it touches. the effects can are immediate, but can be long-lasting if they form part of an ongoing regimen.

i agonised over describing the scent as fruity vs. floral for a while before i happened upon givenchy's own description "lychee-scented". yup, that's it. smells like a lychee martini pretty much exactly. unfortunately, there's a strong undercurrent of vinyl when you first apply, which is about the only thing i didn't like about this gloss. yes, part of me kinda hoped it would be more pigmented, but it more than met my actual expectations, so i can live with that.

the bottom line? there are enough interesting colours in this line [and enough standard colours, including a transparent one if all you want is the feeling] that it's definitely worth picking up at least one. if you're a fan of sheerer, more sparkly glosses, grab more than one, because they're as good as having a medicated balm and coloured gloss in one.

$29cad/ $26.50 usd [rates them a "medium" on the currency gouging scale- extra taxes in canada do make things more expensive, but not much]

available at sephora

urban decay lipstick "voodoo" :: i swear i had this colour a while ago- back before i moved to montreal from toronto- but it went totally awol. i remembered it being a somewhat frosty, very orange-tinged deep rose-pink and, now that i have it again... yup, that's what it is.

although i wouldn't think of this as being a really hard to duplicate colour, i have to say that, in my 200+ lipsticks [yup, that many, accumulated over long years], i don't have another colour like it. i think it's because it occupies such a strange "no man's land" between pink and orange. most shades will pull some red in, but this one truly doesn't. as a result, this shade is a perfect medium-tone that can go pretty much anywhere, isn't light but isn't super-dark and is different without being shocking.

urban decay have a real thing for scenting all their lip products differently, for better or worse. "oil slick" has a delicious caramel scent. "voodoo" smells like licorice allsorts. it's a bit candy-sweet for my tastes at first, but i found i minded it less the second time i applied.

i am a big fan of urban decay lipsticks since they reinvented them a few years back. i feel like they have so many cult products and that their eye shadows are so revered that the lipsticks get forgotten. and that's a loss. i have no idea what happened to my first tube of "voodoo", but damn i'm glad i have it again. the kind of shade that every woman should have in her arsenal.

as an aside, one of the "freebies" i got with my order was urban decay's cult favourite "primer potion" [primer for eyelids to keep makeup from creasing or applying unevenly] in "greed". ok, i give up. what is the fuss about? the stuff caked onto my eyelid unevenly as i was applying it and creased before i applied makeup. i do not need a "pre-crease" treatment. yikes. glad it was a sample.

$26cad/ $22usd [moderate on the currency gouging scale]

available at sephora

makeup forever rouge artist intense #15 :: the first time i had any experience with makeup forever was when i got my makeup done there for a friend's wedding. she and her bridesmaid were getting made up there, so i figured i'd join them. what i chiefly remember is that the girl spent a long time on me- longer than anyone else, which is enough to make you feel a bit insecure- and that what she tried was different than anything i had done before. different. i'm not sure that i liked it better. but i ended up trying a few of their products and having a mixed reaction. i still have one of those products- a flesh-coloured lip and eye pencil that is truly a godsend. since then, however, i've been a little iffy to embrace them because some of the other products seemed way too heavy and stiff, the kind of thing that one could work with in a theatre, but not in real life.

i was drawn into their revamped lipstick line with its massacred french/ english name because there seemed to be so many beautiful intense colours. the shades fall into frost or semi-matte finishes and are known, as i might have expected from my previous experience and the name, for being pretty intense.

shade #15 is one that drew me in because it's a beautiful purple base- a bit like mac's "violetta", but cooler- with blue early shimmer throughout. hot dammit, count me in.

i found the formula runs dry- not so dry it was hard to work with and not drying which refers to how it feels on the lips, but dry in the sense that it didn't spread incredibly easily and that it required a couple of passes to get even coverage. evenness was a bit of an issue, because i also found that it wore a little unevenly, so that when i reapplied, i had to sort of dab carefully to get colour only where it was needed. however, like most drier lipstick formulas, it had good lasting power. even after a drink and a snack, i only had to reapply because i wanted the nice blue sheen to be more visible- there was still plenty of colour left.

i've heard that the frosts in this line can actually be a bit more difficult to work with than the other shades, so i might not have gotten the best impression of the formula. not that i hated it, but it wouldn't make me rush out to buy another. the reason i chose this one was because, of all the ones i'd seen, it struck me as being the most unique. the matte shades, while they might be easier to work with, also seem to lack depth. we shall see.

$22usd/ $19usd [moderate on the currency gouging scale]
available at sephora

and here are a couple of looks that show the products in action...

"voodoo"

this was something i did in five minutes because i wanted to snap pictures of both the lipstick and the funky new haircut that dom and me did. that said, for five minutes, i think it's pretty cool. it says something about the power of palettes- having colours laid out in front of you, rather than having to hunt for little individual pots- because that was how i got everything i wanted. i looked down and it was there. the per'fekt cheek colour was included by accident in my order, so i thought i'd try it out. not bad. probably wouldn't buy it, though. there are enough natural gel cheek colours and none of them really excite me.

face ::
diorskin nude hydrating concealer "001"
nars sheer glow foundation "mont blanc"

eyes ::

mac e/s "family treasure" e/s
mac e/s "gaelic gold"
mac e/s "heather belles"
mac superslick liquid liner "on the hunt"
makeup forever concealer pencil "ivory/ beige 100"
yves rocher lash-plumping mascara "grey-black"

cheeks ::
per'fekt cheek perfection gel "blushed"
guerlain terra inca sublime radiant powder [really, this went everywhere]
mac blush "clove"

lips ::
urban decay l/s "voodoo"

"15"

i have just got to work on my titles. the photos here are a wee bit crappy, but i just was having no luck. and aside from the bad luck with the photos, it was a dry, hot, dusty day in montreal, so my eyes were puffed like i'd been punched. hoorah. i chose to keep some of the clumsy photos, because i do find that it gives a good sense of the shade of the lipstick and how it catches the light.

face ::
nars sheer glow foundation "mont blanc"
diorskin nude hydrating concealer "001"

eyes ::
mac e/s "crystal avalanche"
mac e/s "illegal cargo"
mac e/s "vile violet"
mac e/s "restless"

mac eye liner "black swan"
stila sparkle eye liner "curacao"
makeup forever concealer pencil "ivory/ beige 100"
ysl faux cils mascara

cheeks ::
per'fekt cheek perfection gel "blushed"
body shop bronzing powder "01" [note- this is old- i've no idea if it corresponds to what's currently available]
mac blush "new vibe"

lips ::
makeup forever rouge artist intense "15"

mufe #15 + givenchy celestial black

one note: i thought that the mufe lip colour would look just freakin' awesome with the givenchy gloss. and at first, i thought i was right. then i noticed that, when i applied the gloss, it made the lipstick, already prone to unevenness, more uneven. splotchy, in fact. so i wiped away the lipstick + gloss combo and started over.

Immediately upon application, Hyaluronique Micro Spheres create a plumping effect on the lips by holding naturally present water within the skin's surface.

Source: beautycrazed (http://s.tt/12qCv)

Immediately upon application, Hyaluronique Micro Spheres create a plumping effect on the lips by holding naturally present water within the skin's surface.

Source: beautycrazed (http://s.tt/12qCv)

Immediately upon application, Hyaluronique Micro Spheres create a plumping effect on the lips by holding naturally present water within the skin's surface.

Source: beautycrazed (http://s.tt/12qCv)

today happiness is...

a big box of goodies

trying out new crayons

making ourselves look scary in the name of research and beauty

and a cat who finds you a little bizarre at the moment...

needless to say, reviews will be forthcoming...

making faces :: lips locked

mac :: mystic [the lipstick, not me]

well, the cycle is complete. if you've been checking in at on my 30 days of lips page, you'll note that yesterday was day 30 and i did indeed complete my objective to go a full month without a repeat- even including a couple of days where i changed makeup to go out at night. [i have to admit, one of those times i did it so that i'd be able to squeeze an extra look into the month.]

i could keep going, but i have a few new things that i'm really eager to try out, whereas i was trying to concentrate on the unsung heroes of my collection rather than the flavour of the week, which would be getting attention anyway. and i think that that's pretty much what i did.

a lot of the colours i selected have been with me a long time. i chose to end the experiment with my very favourite mac lipstick ever, mystic. it's a satin finish colour, meaning it's richly pigmented with just a hint of a sheen. the colour is a deep plum-red, not dark enough to be a really "vampy" shade, but quite intense. one of the things that i find makes it unique is the fact that, despite being a deep plum, it's not warm or brick-toned. rather than brown, it seems to have a little deep grey mixed in so that the colour stays comparatively cool. it does make a very nice nighttime shade, but i also find that it's conservative and classical enough for wear during the day or at the office. unfortunately, i guess i'm the only one who thinks of it that way, because mac has chosen to discontinue it, along with many of the satin finish lipsticks that have been part of their lineup for years. i guess that in comparison with newer, creamier, more lustrous formulas, those dusty old satin finishes just don't measure up. i wish someone had pointed out that most people are more concerned with the colour of lipsticks even more than the finish, and that it might be a good idea to make sure that you weren't removing a bunch of unique shades because the finish wasn't as popular. whoops.

if you're one of the few and proud who are mystic fans, you can feel free to chime in with any dupes you've found. so far, in my esarch, the closest i've come up with is yves st. laurent's rouge pur couture #4- rouge vermilion. it's a smidgen warmer, but it'll do in a pinch. i didn't have it to compare side by side, but i swatched revlon's colorburst lipstick in plum and that also seemed like a reasonably close approximate.

speaking of yves st. laurent, i feel like i owe them a wee apology for excluding them entirely from the lip sweepstakes this month. while i was trying to balance my choices, i did end up giving preference to mac, because they still represent the lion's share of my lip colours. but somehow ysl got ignored entirely and chanel got grossly underrepresented. ah well, no system is perfect. i've heard tell of people who use random number generators to determine choices when it comes to using items from a large collection equitably, but i really don't see that working for me. i'll spend twenty minutes flipping through songs on my iphone before finding one that suits my mood. applying tactics of randomness to clothing, shoes, makeup or anything would be dooming me to a sort of paralysis. some day, though, i am going to put together a database that can make suggestions based on me entering a few key factors- my mood, the weather, what i have to do that day... and i'll still probably reject them.

i know that over the last month, i've ended up using a lot of colours [not just mystic] that have been limited edition or that are discontinued. i didn't want to bog things down by offering alternates for all of them, but if there are any that interested you in particular, i'm happy to give it my best shot. on the other hand, if you notice that there are some i used that are now unavailable, for which you've already found a good duplicate, please feel free to share.

big, multi-coloured kisses to all. i'll have to think of a new challenge for myself.

for the moment, i'm testing out samples of mac's new "big bounce" mousse-cream eye shadows. i have a few colours to try and i'll let you know my detailed findings within the next few days.

making faces :: product review [sephora haul]

if you're a lady or a lad who's into making yourself look good, sephora is sort of like the antechamber to paradise. it has everything you need to make yourself look, smell and probably taste perfect in every way before you make your big entrance. unfortunately, and for no reason i can understand, when sephora opened stores in the montreal area, they put them in the suburbs of laval and pointe claire, rather than establishing a presence downtown. well, i suppose that keeps my wallet happy, but it means that going there is something i can't do very often.

but this week, for the first time, i made the pilgrimage out to pointe claire to see what i'd been missing- all those brands for whom sephora is the sole distributor in canada. and, yes, i was like a kid in a candy store. i decided to let myself have a couple of treats, because what's the point of making the trip if you aren't going to come back with some kind of trophy? i also decided that i would stick exclusively to things that i can't get closer to home. i did pretty well on both counts. i don't know why i ended up with only lipsticks, but i do find that they're just such a good way to get oneself introduced to a brand...

i would like to take a moment and say a big thank you to heather and daniel who were way beyond helpful and truly did make the outing there like a fun adventure in toyland. who doesn't enjoying a few moments of escapism on a dreary day in march?

SEE WHAT GOODIES I RETURNED WITH AND MY THOUGHTS ON THEM

here are the trinkets i returned with [pics are clickable]:

oil slick

urban decay :: oil slick :: this is actually not my first experience with urban decay by a long shot. i have a couple of their eye shadows (sin and asphyxia) at the moment and have had more. i even owned one of their lipsticks before, a lovely (discontinued) shade of greyish lilac called "pallor". back when they started, urban decay embraced their name, featuring colours that oozed with the decrepit beauty of the inner city at a time when everyone else was still introducing six new shades of soft pink a season. but, as often happens, others noticed what was happening and soon they had a lot of competition. with the originality of their colour palette diminishing, urban decay was left to fight on the strength of their products, which, at the time, was not great. however, they've made incredible strides in recent years and are now one of the most respected brands around, particularly among the younger demographics (which wouldn't include me, but anyway).

oil slick

"oil slick" is actually an old colour for u.d., but it has, like the rest of their lipsticks, undergone a reformulation. where older lipsticks tended to be dry and cakey, the new formula is unbelievably moist. it smells faintly of caramel, which doesn't bother me, although it does make me crave creme brulee at the most inappropriate times. it's a sheer colour, which means that a lot of your natural lip colour will show through. i've seen pictures where it looked almost colourless, but in fact, it can be built up with a couple of passes to a very visible stain. the base colour is a blackish brown shade and there is loads of silver shimmer added. the shimmer and the moist texture combined mean it's incredibly reflective and catches the light just beautifully. the shimmer isn't gritty, although you may notice little flecks of it in odd places on your lips.

given the sheerness of the shade, it doesn't have great lasting power, but i wouldn't really expect it to. the only thing i found myself wishing was that, given the name, they had made the shimmer multi-coloured, like the rainbow sheen on an actual pool of oil. but perhaps that's for another revision. until then, i'm happy with this sort of "summery vamp" shade. ($22cad)

candide tangerine

givenchy :: rouge interdit candide tangerine :: well, as you can see, i'm still getting over my orange crush from last week. i didn't really see myself as needing another bright orange shade, but the second i laid eyes on this one, i knew that i had to either wear it or eat it, which meant that one way or another, it was coming home with me.

i have to say that i wasn't really aware of givenchy's cosmetics. while i expect that lesser-known brands like urban decay will only be available at sephora, i see givenchy's perfumes everywhere (dom actually wears their men's scents fairly regularly), so when there was no adjacent cosmetics counter, i just figured that they weren't in the business. in fact, they seem to have a small but beautiful selection that i wished i'd met sooner. their pricing is actually a little lower than chanel or yves st. laurent, who i would see as their natural competitors, so that's a welcome surprise. it's not a lot but, hey, i'll take it.

candide tangerine

"tangerine" is an absolutely perfect name for this shade, because it's exactly what it looks like. an intense reddened orange, tantalisingly juicy, different than any shade on the market. it's a limited edition from what i understand, part of the company's spring collection. i'm late getting to it and, for those in the montreal area, i grabbed the very last one at sephora pointe claire, so you'll have to take your chances at the laval store (or online at sephora.com). it's a luscious shade and a wonderful, moisturising formula. it's not quite opaque, but a couple of passes basically meant there was nothing of my natural lip colour peeking through. applying a single layer would give you more sheer covereage, obviously, which might be preferable for those who like their lips a little tamer. there was a very faint "cosmetic" scent on application, but that faded very quickly. i can't say whether the rest of the rouge interdit lipsticks are the same quality, but i can guarantee that i'll be checking them out.

as a shade, "candide tangerine" is deeper and much shinier than mac's "neon orange", brighter and redder than guerlain's "gipsy". i also found that it was less warm than either of those shades, which probably makes it a better bet for those who have cooler complexions. delicious. ($32cad)

drop dead red

too faced :: drop dead red :: ok, if there is one thing i do not need in my life, it is more red lipsticks. but put one like this in front of me and i'm just a girl who can't say no. this goes double if dom is around since, as i've mentioned, he's a man who loves the bright lips.

i'd heard of too faced, but i had never bought anything from them before. they're overall look reminds me a lot of benefit in its cuteness and cheekiness- it looks a little like something old-fashioned, but viewed through a modern eye. they have a number of well-priced kits that allow you to sample a number of their products at once, all of which are housed in adorable, music box-like packaging. for individual products, their pricing falls around the same level as mac.

as a colour, this one is killer. even for an intense shade, the pigmentation is incredible. it stained my hand when i swatched it and removing that stain took some work with makeup remover. on the lips, that translates to maximum staying power. it goes on shiny, but settles pretty quickly to a semi-matte finish. while it's not drying, it doesn't add any moisture to the lips, so if you might want to apply a light coat of balm first.

drop dead red

the colour looks more red in the photos (particularly the close-up) than it does in real life, i find. to me, it looked like a very strong reddish pink, a deep berry colour, rather than a true red, although it's close enough to go either way. it's quite cool and it's a colour i really can't see working on warmer tones. on fair skin, as you can see, it makes a real statement. on darker complexions, it would be a strong shade as well, but not as "shocking". the pigmentation is pretty much completely opaque, even with a single swipe, so i don't think that it's going to vary much from person to person. personally, as a lover of dark, intense lips, this is perfect for me. ($18cad)

the awful part about this is that i already have a list of things that i want to go back for. normally, you'd have a lot of trouble getting me to go near a suburb (particularly since i have a bad tendency to get lost in them). now, all of a sudden, i can't wait. hurry up and open a downtown store already, sephora. just make sure the staff are as awesome as the place in pointe claire.

Kurt Hummel on Glee in...

uk is way behind on the glee calendar. we've only just started season 2 this year, but monday nights will never be the same again. yesterday saw the screening of episode 4: "sing!", or simply the duets episode. kurt wore a few interesting outfits, including the above sweater with the hand painted palms. is that from alexander mcqueen spring summer 2010? if so, man they wear nice things in mckinley high.

love that buttoned up white shirt, makes all the difference. effort.

alexander mcqueen spring summer 2o10 / ph: alexander mcqueen

and erm, doesn't the model above resemble kurt's dad in glee??

in the opening scenes, kurt wore a green/orange tartan shirt with studded shoulder detailings. i really couldn't remember if i saw that in h&m, does look a little gi-ven-chic doesn't it?

givenchy spring summer 2010 / styled by jean luc francaise, ftape.com

am going to the glee concert in june, can't wait! do-do-do-do-do-do-do...

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Kurt Hummel on Glee in...

alexander mcqueen spring summer 2o10 / ph: alexander mcqueen

and erm, doesn't the model above resemble kurt's dad in glee??

in the opening scenes, kurt wore a green/orange tartan shirt with studded shoulder detailings. i really couldn't remember if i saw that in h&m, does look a little gi-ven-chic doesn't it?

givenchy spring summer 2010 / styled by jean luc francaise, ftape.com

am going to the glee concert in june, can't wait! do-do-do-do-do-do-do...

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Hyun Bin [현빈] at premiere of "Come Rain Come Shine" in Seoul in Givenchy

hyun bin / ph: sina.com

south korean actor hyun bin attended the press conference of his new movie "come rain come shine" in seoul last thursday. the lanky actor wore a really well cut and flattering black suit, and walked on the wild side with the leopard print givenchy shirt from spring summer 2011.

i thought he looked absolutely amazing.

hyun bin / ph: sina.com

not exactly sure why there were two pens inserted on the suit pocket. i'm hardly adventurous when it comes to prints, but i really like the whole styling. i personally feel that buttoning all the way up is crucial to the look.

givenchy spring summer 2011 / ph: gq.com

givenchy spring summer 2011 collection is available online at luisa via roma.

"come rain come shine" / ph: hancinema.net

the movie "come rain come shine" is also selected in the main competition for the upcoming 61st berlin film festival. i hope hyun bin will attend the ceremony in an equally exciting outfit.

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Hyun Bin [현빈] at premiere of "Come Rain Come Shine" in Seoul in Givenchy

hyun bin / ph: sina.com

givenchy spring summer 2011 / ph: gq.com

givenchy spring summer 2011 collection is available online at luisa via roma.

"come rain come shine" / ph: hancinema.net

the movie "come rain come shine" is also selected in the main competition for the upcoming 61st berlin film festival. i hope hyun bin will attend the ceremony in an equally exciting outfit.

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Hidetoshi Nakata [中田英寿] at Givenchy Fall Winter 2011 in Givenchy

hidetoshi nakata / ph: eric ryan, getty images | givenchy fall 2010 / ph: gq.com

on the penultimate day of paris menswear fashion week, my favourite front row guest attended the givenchy fall winter 2011 show in a givenchy suit/coat from fall winter 2010. just when i thought he would be wearing his usual denims and light brown boots, he threw me off with those rather heavy trousers and boots. looking like a ninja on the front row, he again arrived well before other guests.

oh i'm going to miss seeing pics of nakata after fashion week.

givenchy fall winter 2011 / ph: gq.com

givenchy was one of my favourites for fall winter 2011. there were dogs and plaids and well cuit suits and timberlake lookalikes, what's not to love.

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Hidetoshi Nakata [中田英寿] at Givenchy Fall Winter 2011 in Givenchy

hidetoshi nakata / ph: eric ryan, getty images | givenchy fall 2010 / ph: gq.com

givenchy fall winter 2011 / ph: gq.com

givenchy was one of my favourites for fall winter 2011. there were dogs and plaids and well cuit suits and timberlake lookalikes, what's not to love.

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