Boudoir 1861

Recently, the Bouquet of Frocks girls attended the official launch of the brand new Boudoir 1861 boutique. We already loved the original 1861 boutique and it only seemed natural that they would expand and open a sister store that was specialized in all your bridal fashion necessities. The wedding gowns themselves are so lovely and romantic and more importantly, affordable to the average Montreal girl. They have all the necessary bridal accessories you could think of and even some selections for bridal parties. In keeping with the image of the 1861 brand, the boutique has that perfectly vintage and romantic decor which is so undeniably charming. The event also featured the usual array of tasty hors d'oeuvres but most memorable was the live music provided by Shy Shy Schullie, a local musician who specializes in burlesque style retro tunes that just warm your heart. Definitely a great evening. 

Boudoir 1861 is located at:

3668 Saint-Laurent Blvd

http://1861.ca/collections/bride

Shy Shy Schullie

http://www.shyshyschullie.com/

The Little White Dress

The search has begun for THE dress. The dress to end all dresses. The one time in your life you can really look like a fairy-tale princess and instead of furrowing brows of bemusement, you get nods of approval and the occasional gasp of awe. 

They say you know THE DRESS as soon as you put it on, but as with THE ONE, I don't really believe in that stuff. Odds are, I'll probably get too frustrated with the many choices and limited budget and end up picking something that "will do." In all honestly, my dream dress would be a flowing Elie Saab number with floral appliques or a Reem Acra beaded cap sleeve dream....But alas, the thousands-of-dollars price tag is enough for me to know it is not for this lifetime, so anything else would probably simply have to "do."

Luckily for me, I'm skipping the next few rungs of the dress ladder down past those poofy bridal gowns synonymous with tying the knot. I really have no interest in looking like a fairy-tale princess. I'd rather use this as an excuse to buy a pretty dress I could wear again. Also, I find those bridal salons to be quite intimidating. So, I have started the dress hunt at a little Montreal boutique called Boutique 1861, where pretty abounds. This is my kinda place! Retro-inspired pieces, lovely special-occasion dresses that aren't your typical taffeta gowns reminiscent of traditional prom dresses, and a collection of little white dresses that could make for very unique and affordable wedding dresses.

Here are just some of the dresses I ended up trying on. What do you guys think?

 

                                                            

Coral Bride

Marcelle Double Precision Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Intense Black

Maybelline Great Lash waterproof mascara in Very Black

Ardell human hair falsies in 116

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Black/Gray

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Red Cheeks

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Corallina

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Maybelline Colour Sensation lipstick in Vibrant Mandarin

NYX Butter Gloss in Cherry Cheesecake

This look is all about them rosy cheeks and pink pucker. It's neon sweet. I've been particularly obsessed with coral these days and I think this look would make a positively radiant bride. I find that pinks don't necessarily translate as beautifully on film as they do in real life however. Maybe it's the camera, but I really wanted more of a colourful effect with this look. It would depend on the dress too of course. 

What do you guys think of this sweet and simple bridal makeup?

                                                                            

The Retro Bride

Marcelle Double Precision Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Intense Black

Maybelline Great Lash waterproof mascara in Very Black

Ardell human hair falsies in 116

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Black/Gray

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Corallina

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Sephora lip liner in Real Red

ELF Moisturizing Lipstick in Velvet Rope

Here it is, the bridal look you've all been waiting for. One of my favourite looks for regular life, truth be told. It's the classic vintage cat-eye liner with a bright red lip. I already know this works on me, I wear it all the time. It's just a very clean face kind of look where the focus is on the eyes and lips. For my wedding, I would probably kick it up a notch with an even thicker eyeliner, more highlighting shimmer shadow on the lids, and a deeper and peachier blush to tie it all together. 

If you compare the last two images, you might notice the last photo has much longer and fuller lashes. I couldn't decide if this look really needed falsies or not so I'm asking you guys what you think. On the one hand, falsies really add such a feminine, striking touch to any look and I think your wedding is where you can really go all the way in the makeup department. But on the other hand, falsies might take over the eyeliner, which is a key feature I would really want to highlight.

Either way, this is one of my staple makeup looks that I would definitely be confident creating on my wedding day. I think this look is making it to the finals!

                                                 

Bridal Glam

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black

Sephora Collection Medium Shopping Bag Makeup Palette

Ardell Glamour Demi falsies in 101

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Annabelle lip liner in Nude

NYX Pump It Up lip plumper in Elizabeth

I have to say...

I LOVE THIS LOOK. I am not normally a smokey eye kinda gal. It looks a bit heavy in person but it photographs so beautifully, which is the main thing I'm concerned about for my bridal look. It probably helped that I used a combo of taupey and deep browns instead of straight up black, but the effect is so striking (if I do say so myself!) And you can tell by the second photo I definitely need to practice more...the shadow application is a bit uneven from lid to lid and check out those wonky falsies! Anyway, you get the idea...

I would definitely pair this eye look with a more muted lip and go light on the blush. This look is all about the eyes! And I gotta say, I love how the shadow and eyelashes accent the almondness of my eyes. I've always loved my eyes, they are one of my favourite features.

No doubt about it, look number 2 is making it to the wedding finals!
                                                                

Classic Bridal Makeup

Frockers, as you may or may not know by now, wedding bells will be tolling for me in about a year and I'm knee-deep planning. We're going to tie the knot in Vancouver since both of our families live out west and I've spent the past two months researching for a venue that 1) fits into our $10,000 total budget and 2) will do as much work for me as humanly possible for what I understand is a very small budget. Naturally, our little destination wedding will be a lot more complicated to plan since we're on the other side of the country and can't meet with vendors, venues, caterers etc. I used to live in Vancouver, but I didn't exactly frequent wedding venues on the regular. I just really wanted to find a place that's hassle-free and an all-inclusive kind of a deal so that any additional work on our part would be minimized.

Well, we've just booked a lovely little historical house turned restaurant called the Brockhouse, situated right along Jericho beach in the heart of VanCity. Their garden and lawns seem very lovely, their tent will come pre-decorated with drapey ceilings and chandeliers, they'll play classical music during lunch, provide all the tables and chairs, linens, silverware, food, servers....we practically just have to show up! And since we're reserving during the shoulder season, the price is one of the cheapest I've been able to find anywhere in the city! Even though we haven't actually visited the site yet, we were pretty confident to just sign the contract and visit later. Since we got engaged, the venue was the main thing I was concerned with since the intersect of my requirements (see above) didn't leave very many viable options. Now that the venue is booked, I feel like the biggest chunk of the puzzle has been figured out and I can start solving the smaller (and more fun) parts. 

LIKE MAKEUP! We're trying to save money wherever we can and nearly everything that's not taken care of by the venue will probably be a DIY job. However, before committing to the whole DIY makeup thing, I do think I'll need to practice, test and experiment, and that's where you Frockers could help me out. I'd love to post the makeup looks I'm considering for your feedback and tips! Let me know what you think looks good cause that'll really help me figure out if 1) I'm good enough to really be doing this on my own and 2) what would look the best on the big day. I haven't gotten a dress yet and don't really know what style I'm going to go for, which will really affect my final styling decisions, but I gotta start practicing now! Y'all may think I'm some kinda makeup guru-expert with tons of beauty know-how, but what you don't see on the blog (or in life for that matter) are all my failed attempts and terrible decisions. Really the only reason I'm remotely confident enough to walk out the door with any makeup on are a couple of undeniable facts on which I guide my makeup life: it's all about experimenting and finding out what works for you.

This first look is what I like to call the "classic bridal" look. It's a soft goldish-brown, muted smokey eye with some shimmer to it, paired with a nude-blush lipstick. I also slapped on some BB cream, powder and blush, but did not bother to do anything with my lashes (imagine I'm wearing some natural-looking falsies.) Mostly, I just wanted to test the eye shadow look and what kind of a lip would look good with it.

And I gotta say, I impressed myself with this attempt. I've tried this look before and it has never turned out this well. Maybe it was the several YouTube videos I watched right before trying this, but I really like how it looks. It feels like just a soft and pretty smokey eye. It's noticeably more made up than I normally would be, but not too harsh or vampy. Apologies for the weird lighting, I was sitting in front of the window and there's a bit of a glare. Also, shout out to the broken closet door behind me! I don't know if you guys can tell, but apparently, I'm super strong cause I broke the door by just attempting to close it. HULK SMASH.

Anyway....so what do you guys think? Should I put this look in the bridal makeup running?

Sephora Collection Mini Shopping Bag Makeup Palette
Annabelle Trio Eye Shadow in Quartz (just the darkest colour)
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Nude Delight

L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick in Nature's Blush

                                                                            

Does This Ring Make Me Look Engaged?

You read it right Frockers. Yours truly is apparently going to tie the knot! I know, I didn't see it coming either. Which is weird cause I was the one who proposed....

I never really understood marriage, as in, what is the point? Especially in a place like Quebec where the common-law rights are almost identical to the married ones. But one cold and dreary November evening, I was sitting at my desk, hard at work solving stats problems (or that is what I choose to remember) when it kind of just hit me. The older I was getting, the more I saw of the world and people, the more I realized how lucky I am. I didn't always "get" people, and they didn't always get me. But I had someone and we got each other. Kyler makes me smarter, he's always game for anything, and truth be told, there's no one I'd rather do most things with. I mean he's pretty much the only person I can stand travelling with. And you know you really like someone when you can travel with them and not want to kill them. So, I just decided as we sat there on the couch, to butcher one of my favourite Aziz Ansari jokes about marriage and ask "do you want to hang out with me forever?"

Spoiler alert! He said yes.

 You could say I'm a little impulsive when it comes to my feelings. Marriage just suddenly made way more sense to me and literally the day after this realization, I popped the question while in my PJs. Which by the way, mad respect for all the dudes (and ladies) out there who decide to propose cause even though I hadn't planned anything crazy, I was so nervous and sweaty. It was like giving a presentation in front of hundreds of people. In French. Proposing is hard y'all!

Anyway, I'm not really one to believe in true love or soul mates or dream about some kind of princess wedding. Don't get me wrong, I believe in love and falling in love, but I think something as pragmatic as a relationship and especially marriage, is about making a decision to be together and working hard to, well, make it work. And I really believe that in order to make it work, we need to be fully-formed beings who together, make some kind of super-human-mega-ultra person who is good at deciphering computer mumbo-jumbo, juggling knives, putting together any outfit AND writing insanely good internet copy. It's like we're already awesome Power Rangers but we're about to transform into that big robot thing they have. You know the one I mean. I forget the name.

I mean life can be rough sometimes. Many a late night at the office, nervous breakdowns, algebra problems I couldn't remember how to solve from my high-school math (how do you isolate an exponent???), and getting lost while only two blocks from our hostel in Prague, made me really realize why people don't want to go it alone in life. The world is big and complicated and having a real partner in life, who's always there for you, not only makes it so much easier to wade through the madness, but more fun too! And sure, we are already together and committed, but suddenly instead of uncertainty, there was a clarity in saying "Hey, I've never met anyone I like more. I can really see this going on for a while...."

Long story short, I liked it, so I put a ring on it. Metaphorically-speaking.

                                                            

A Royal Affair

Le Chateau dress/Delilah fascinator/lia sophia necklace (c/o)/vintage handbag/old wedges

Le Chateau vest/Simons shirt and bow tie/Mexx trousers/Browns dress shoes 

It may not have been a royal wedding, but that wasn't going to stop me from whipping out my lovely fascinator for the very first time. Seriously, it was collecting dust on my dresser, I've had it for so long and never worn it! I mean it's not exactly a skinny jean in terms of versatility and cute-but-casual wear. And I am the first to don some sequins to school or the office, but going to Stats class in a fascinator would be a bit too crazy, even for me.

But I was recently invited to a lovely fall wedding and decided to take this baby out for a test-drive. And what a scenic drive it was! I paired it with a lovely retro-inspired Le Chateau dress that coincidentally was almost exactly the same colour. Normally, I hate being so matchy-matchy, but this time, it felt right. In this fashion fantasy, I could practically be on my way to Prince Harry's wedding or something!

Pulling off such a statement look is a delicate operation nonetheless. I wanted to go more muted on the other accessories, namely sporting a simple black wedge and minimal accessories. The lead actor in this story is definitely the headpiece, everything else is a supporting character. The necklace (gifted by lia sophia), was the perfect mix of glam, class and restraint. And my favourite tapestry bag added a nice muted pop of detail and vintage vibe to complete the look.

I have to say, this fascinator might be the hardest fashion piece I've ever had to pull off. But I love a good challenge! And like I always say, at the end of the day, it's really all about confidence.
                                                                

September Wedding

Dress: Costa Blanca / Hat: Parkhurst / Shoes: Zara / Jacket: F21 / Purse: Thrifted

Alright Frockers, I have to admit it, I was a little rushed while getting myself ready for this wedding and the reason is, well...I was working on the blog! Luckily, the first thing I tried on passed the test and I went with it. The result is the simple outfit you see above. I guess you can never really go wrong with a black, white and red color combination. Stick to the classics and you won't be sorry!