We live in a world where first impressions are everything. We judge the opposite sex by the first glance (yes, he’s cute – and I wonder if he’s single – or no, unfortunately he’s not). Fickle yes, but it is human nature right? Our first impression of Dunedin, New Zealand was actually of the Southern Alps as the Pacific Blue plane started descending and it was stunning. It was just the perfect time of day where the lighting was just right with light cloud cover. I wish I took more photos but after a lay over and two hour delayed flight from Brisbane I was ready to hit the ground running!

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So we’re off to experience the fashion train that is iD Dunedin Fashion Week (iD stands for identity, not iD the magazine). Stay tuned for a few more personal posts coming up (among the usual newsy/gossipy posts of course). While I wished I had the style of the BryanBoy’s, Susie Bubble’s and Jane Aldridge’s of the world so we had more excuses to take personal photos but I don’t (nor do I have the budget) so instead you’ll be hearing about some of the experience and see the odd outfit photos if I deem them ‘acceptable’.

We’ve heard the lovely area where I’m staying in Dunedin is home to the one of the best surf beaches in the country, even though Dunedin is known for having a rather cool climate. But surfers are surfers anywhere in the world right? We’re also looking forward to sampling some of the New Zealand’s fine wines, having breakfast with the butterflies, perhaps meeting Zandra Rhodes (who’s in town for iD Dunedin Fashion week too) and discovering some new (to me) New Zealand fashion designers.

Should be a great long weekend. We hope you join us for the ride!

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We’re in the midst of packing for our upcoming trip to iD Dunedin Fashion Week (where the fabulous Zandra Rhodes will be in attendance). While searching for fabulous things to wear to Dunedin, we came across Lyloh, the perfect sarong which can be transformed into over eight different looks.

It all started when Amy Camilleri had suffered the very fate all women dread – attending an event and someone else is wearing exactly the same dress. Without any sewing skills, Camilleri played around with what she had and created her own interesting looks from a sarong. When friends and strangers constantly asked her how to create the looks, Lyloh Outfit in a Box was born from her home in the popular beach town of Bryon Bay in Australia.

You don’t need sewing skills to turn a sarong into a jump suit, a halterneck dress or pants, Lyloh proves that all you need is their Outfit in a Box. We’ve been day dreaming of another holiday to Hawaii, so we’ve imagined a whole holiday filled with Lyloh sarong looks because it would make it so easy to pack light on the way over and pile your suitcase up with holiday buys. We’re just suggesting… Prices range from AUD$44.00 to $64.00 and inside your Lyloh Outfit in a Box you get a kit that includes a beautiful sarong, a snazzy buckle, elastic beads, pins & the Lyloh How to Create an Outfit Guide.

Check out their great ‘How to’ video below – it’s so easy even we were able to pull of all the looks in the video.

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So it’s the start of a new year, a new decade of fashion and style. And already we have a few questions…

• Will the next few years bring another Sienna Miller vs. Kate Moss style-off like early the 2000s
• Will we look back at Jezebel’s top 5 models of the 2000s (Gisele, Tyra, Heidi, Natalia and Gemma Ward) with fondness?
• Will blogging be cool at the end of this decade or will it be how we look at it as how we “use to” consume media like we look at newspapers?
• Will Ugg Boots and Crocs dissapear from public memory like a distant memory by 2020? In the same vein, will we look at Alexander McQueen’s Armadillo heels as a footwear abnormality or the start of a new trend?

No matter what the answers to those questions are, we thank everyone who’s visited SASSYBELLA.com in the last year and we hope you stick around for more exciting fun and games in 2010. The best has yet to come, for us and you.

xx Helen

Image source: topnews

While I don’t claim to be a beauty expert by any means, I do love testing products that land in my mailbox (what girl doesn’t?). My latest love-of-the-moment is Unico’s Leave In Spray. Created by Melbourne hairdresser Sofia Basile, the brand is eco-friendly which keeps you and the environment happy and healthy. While we make sure we moisturize and slap on the sunscreen, sometimes we forget about the hair – which is why this bottle of eco goodness comes in handy, it’s rich in UV filters which protects the hair from colour fade and excessive damage from the sun’s UV rays. And living in a sun soaked country it definitely comes in handy!

We hope you all spend this special time of year with loved ones, whether it be friends, family or just someone that means something special to you.

We’ll be back with some post Christmas sale offers very soon.

Photo from my snap happy little sister.

Try as I might, I couldn’t stop myself from turning a year older and have decided I really want to hit one of the big 4 fashion weeks in 2010. Watching, reading and listening to everyone’s experiences while sitting at home in Sydney is not as fun as it sounds. Warmer and cheaper, but not as fun. So if you could do one thing for me… help me come up with ideas on how to get to New York or London Fashion Week? KthanxBye.

Currently I am loving this little bottle of brilliance sent to me from Avon. I always knew manicurist had QuickDry oil but for one reason or another I never thought to buy it. You see, I have a tendency to paint my nails about 10 minutes before I’m suppose to walk out the front door which means I almost always leave the house with one fudged up nail because I had to grab the keys out of my bag. But Avon’s Nail Expert Quick Dry Oil solves that problem. Just brush over polished nails and in 30 seconds you can touch it and in 4 minute it’s rock hard. Perfect – gives me another 6 minutes to paint my toes ;)

In the lead up to Christmas SASSYBELLA.com have some top gift picks to share…

My new obsession is playing Texas Hold em poker on my mobile phone, but playing it with a group of friends with your own Juicy Couture Poker set would be so much better. Everything has been Juicy-fied, complete with the playing cards, chips and the pink case. Add it to your wish list or give it to your poker fiend friend this holiday season.

In the lead up to Christmas SASSYBELLA.com have some top gift picks to share…

Gifts for the guys can always be tough, but I’ve found they’re not against beauty products when they are gifted them – saves them from standing at cosmetic counters and discussing the pros and cons of certain products. For something truly luxurious for the special men in your life, we think Molton Brown’s Madagascan touring gift coffret is perfect. It’s part of a bestselling range that is seeped in the aromas of Madagascan black peppercorn oil and contains a re-charge body wash, body lotion and eau de toilette.

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In the lead up to Christmas SASSYBELLA.com have some top gift picks to share…

What do you a get a girl who loves jewelry but you can’t bear to buy her a necklace or bracelet in case she secretly hates it and never wears it? A fabulous jewelry stand. We love this one from Urban Outfitters thanks to it tree-like shape. It will look pretty on its own or covered in pretty dangly things.

At $28 it’s a nice buy and you could also include a necklace from a vintage market if you want to spend a few dollars more.

I have people left right and centre talking to me about digital cameras, digital SLR cameras, camera’s on their iPhone’s and Blackberry’s… and it’s starting to make me wish for the old days of the 35mm film cameras when people had to wait for the film to be developed before vetoing photos. My camera choices for this holiday season is the Leica M7 Edition Hermès camera (above left) or the Diana Mini Lomography Camera from Liberty (above right).

We love the Leica M7 Edition Hermes because it’s Hermes (duh) and in the name of luxury you can get yours covered in orange or green Veau Swift leather. We don’t know the specs, but we do know that it will set you back a tidy $14,000 which equals about 10 DSLR’s, about 46 Canon IXUS’s and quite a number of iPhone’s and Blackberry’s.

That said, the Diana Mini Lomography Camera is a little more affordable at £44 – and it really is mini in size too. Like the old school camera’s still uses 35mm film and would be a fun way to recapture those times when you had to wait until you got the film developed to see how beautiful/horrible you look.

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