Hora Confess

My Item of the Week

2012-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

...and my first published article :)

I call it my "Snowball" jumper.

I bought this knitted jumper in Camden, back in December'11. My family & I were spending the day wandering around all of the different markets in the area.

After hours & hours of wandering, we ended up at Camden Lock Village (also known as Canal Market): my favourite market in Camden. They have a great variety of food stalls, awesome little jewellery stalls, all sorts of phone accessories, & lovely clothes stalls.

This jumper was hung up on display of a quirky knitwear jumper stall. I bee-lined straight towards it & tried it on as soon as I saw it. I have not stopped wearing it throughout the winter (and don't intend to stop wearing it until warm weather forces me to :D).

I've included Camden Lock Village market in my first published article "God Save London": a mini guide of my favourite places in lovely London.

The four-page article is published in Harper's Bazaar Spain February 2012 issue.

Hope you are having a great start to the week :)

Shooting Love

2012-01-26T02:24:00.000-08:00

Photo by Cuco Cuervo

Hello from Barcelona!!

I arrived here yesterday for a campaign shoot.

A couple of weeks ago I was ask to shoot with one of my favourite Spanish desginers, Ángel Schlesser for a feature in Spnish magazine Love. We spent the morning shooting in his Spanish flagship store by Serrano street.

The pictures came out yesterday in this week's issue, along with a little video made by Villarrazo Madrid I thought you may like to see (click here to read the full post in their blog about the shoot).

It was lovely day. It was lovely to be able to work with such a nice & friendly team. Thank you to Villarrazo, the "Ángel team", & Love for the result :)

Nail Stickers

2012-01-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry for this past week of absence.

I've been a bit busy gathering new footage, sorting out my new blog, getting my phone stolen (you don't realize how useful an iPhone is until you don't have it)...and editing lots of footage!

Ever since we got back from London in November, I'd been promising Andrea I'd go over to her place & do her nails. So a couple of weeks ago, we met up for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I brought over some "nail stuff", and my camera :D

I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a Nail Art Tutorial.

Huge shout outs to Andrea: thanks for being such a lovely hand model & helping me out with the video!

The Roshamp Method- Part 2

2012-01-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

Photo by Luciano Insua

(To read in Spanish click here)

About a year ago I posted about the Roshamp Method- or Rotatory Shampoo method.

It consists in using different shampoos & conditioners at the same time. So, if you wash your hair 3-4 times a week, you use a different shampoo + conditioner each time. You use the same 3-4 products the week after, and combine them differently. That way you are able to exploit all of the different properties your hair has: like volume, shine, colour, etc., plus your hair doesn't get "used" to that shampoo as quickly (click here to read first post).

In the previous Roshamp post, I made a small list of shampoos I'd tried & liked (if you tried them, I hope you were happy with the results). Whilst I was clearing the millions of shampoo bottles the other day, it occurred to me that I still hadn't posted about the second part of the method: conditioner.

I use mix about 3 conditioners a week: one to enhance volume; another that protects colour; and another to hydrate my hair & make it shine. If I feel my hair is slightly dry or damaged, I'll use a hair repair conditioner.

Here is a small list with my favourite conditioners:

I'd like to start the list with Pantene's Aqua Light conditioner. Since I haven't stopped using it first tried it when it came out in 2010. The problem with most conditioners (for those of us who don't have very much volume) is that they are a bit too heavy, and make your hair stick to your head. This conditioner is super light, giving your hair more volume.

I discovered this conditioner when I lived in London for a while. English hair stylist James Brown (who works for the likes of Kate Moss, Anne Hathaway, Sienna Miller, Emma Watson, & Lily Allen) created his own haircare brand. His most recent range, Photo Fabulous, is amazing. This volumising conditioner gives my hair natural waves & volume. It also smells really good.

I've been using L'Oreal Elvive's Nutri-gloss conditioner for years, it never fails. I always have a bottle at home, just in case my hair gets a bit too dry and needs a little boost of shine.

Every time I use this conditioner, I end up wanting to eat/drink it. It smells sooo good. Aussie's Myracle Hydration is made from macadamia nut extracts, and leaves your hair shiny & soft. I use it specially during the summer to protect it from chlorine & the beach.

Another that has a lovely scent is Sebastian's Colour Ignite Multi Conditioner. It comes out of the bottle in micro bubbles and helps protect your hair colour, whilst also giving it a nice shine. It is better to dry your hair a bit before applying this product. After leaving it on for a couple of minutes, you can rinse it thoroughly.

This is a special recommendation for blondes. John Frieda's Sheer Blonde range is amazing, & Go Blonder conditioner is one of the conditioners I use the most. It has natural camomile extracts that bring out the natural highlights in your hair. I use it mostly in the winter, when my hair tends to get a bit darker.

If I notice my hair starts to feel a bit too dry, I like to use Green People's organic vitamin conditioner. It has aloe vera & avocado extracts to give my hair a little vitamin boost, as well as helping me prevent hellish split ends.

I end this list with Schwarzkopf's Hair Repair conditioner- one of the newest conditioners I've tried and really like the results of. I use it after photo shoots (when my hair's been curled, straightened, etc with different products, brushes, etc); and always use it if I spot any split ends. The keratin makes it all lovely and soft.

As I said the first time I wrote about "Roshamp", everyone's hair is different, & you'll slowly (if you haven't already) know which products suit you best. It will be much healthier for your hair if you can achieve the result you want without needing streaks, curling tongs or straightening irons.

I hope you've found this list useful :)

My Item of the Week

2012-01-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

Hello from Madrid!

I arrived last night & I'm happy to be back into work mode.

American Apparel is a great brand when it comes to basic items of clothing. Their designs are usually quite simple and easy to combine. Another good thing about American Apparel is that they sell the same collection all year around. Most of the collection they have, they never stop selling. They'll incorporate new designs, but rarely taking any items out of the collection.

In my case, this was both good and bad. I saw this jumper 2 years ago, and absolutely loved it. I 'don't usually want to wear pink stuff, but for some reason, I really wanted this pink rose jumper/top. But because I knew they'd have it in stores for ages, I always kept telling myself I'd "buy it another day".

When I went to London for the weekend with my mum & sisters in December, we paid a little visit to the American Apparel store in Camden. My mum wanted to get me a Christmas present, so when I told her the story about the Pink Rose Jumper, she knew it would be something I'd like and wear- all of the time.

She was right, I've worn it throughout most of the Christmas holidays. I'm making up for 2 years of lost time (thanks mum!).

Hope you are having a good week :)

Five Days A Week

2012-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

Hello 2012!

After a couple of weeks of relaxing, family, fun, & TONS of eating...it is time to get back to work.

I've been a busy bee with new projects, as well as new ideas for HCs for the past few months. One of these projects is my new blog on StyleLovely.com, Five Days A Week.

As I explain in the vid, I'll be updating this new blog 5 days a week, with one recommendation a day.

Mondays: gadgets, apps & anything tech-related
Tuesdays: beauty (from shampoo's to treatments to lip balms)
Wednesdays: nails nails nails
Thursdays: my accessory of the week
Fridays: SURPRIISE!

The blog launches on January 9th on stylelovely.com/laura-hayden-blog, and you can read it both in Spanish & English.

Hope you've had a good start to the year, as well as a lovely time during the Christmas holidays- or having a lovely Christmas break if you are lucky enough to still be on holiday :)

Lx

2012

2012-01-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

2011's VMB

2011-12-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe the year is (almost) over!

This year I'm spending new year with my family & close friends in Barcelona :)

On the same day last year, I wrote a post called 2010's VMB (Video Memory Box- click here to see last year's). As the year ends, I like to remember the positive, happy things that have happened throughout the year.

That is when I decided I'd write about 2011's VMB, with some of my favorite memories of 2011:

1. HB x HC: Bambi (March'11)
This video was one of the results of my collaboration with Harper's Bazaar Spain, which started in January. I have loved every minute of it. It has been a wonderful learning experience, and met good friends along the way.

I chose Bambi out of all the collaboration videos because I love her- she is simply amazing to be around. Also, we shot this video durning Paris Fashion Week (my first Paris Fashion Week!), and it will always remind me of that. The collaboration with HB continues in 2012 :)

(To read full post click here)

2. Dcode Festival- Foster The People (July'11)
Foster The People's track "Houdini" was all I could listen to during London Fashion week; and "Pumped Up Kicks" has been stuck in my head for the past year. It was lovely to be able to talk to them for a bit during Dcode Festival (Madrid).

This video also reminds me of 2011's adventure with Mtv Spain- an amazing adventure I'll remember forever.

(To read full post click here)

3. Keep Calm, Carry On (September'11)
My new tattoo! It was right after the summer & I'd been wanting it for a couple of months, so I got it :)

This video- apart from reminding me of what a baby I am- reminds me of the lovely summer days by the sea with my sisters & friends. It also reminds me of when I got my first tattoo (Tokyo'09).

(To read full post click here)

4. Chanel SS'12 (October'11)
I still can't believe I was there. It was like a dream come true. Can't wait to be back in Paris next March :)

(To read full post click here)

5. Mustang FW'11 (June'11)
..this is a new video! Mario Casas & I have been the faces of Mustang shoes for almost a year.

We shot the SS'11 campaign in January (which you have already seen the video of); and got together again in June for the Autumn/Winter'11 campaign. My little sister Hanna came along & helped me film some of the footage.
Here is the result. Enjoy!

Hope you have a lovely evening.

All my best wishes for 2012 :)

Xmas Competition Winner

2011-12-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

And the winner is....

Rochelle from Barcelona, Spain (click here to see her blog).

It has been sooo hard to decide!

Most of the manicures you have sent in have been amazing. Here are a some of my favorite Christmas nails (it is never too early to start getting ideas for next year).

Thank you participating, for the pics & the lovely messages :)

Christmas pudding nails (they look good enough to eat :p) by Chloe (Yorkshire, England)

Snowflake nails by Carlota (Barcelona, Spain)

Click here to see her nail art blog.

Hello Kitty Christmas nails by Nerea (Málaga, Spain)

Snowman nails by Margaux (California, US)

Click here to see her blog.

Christmas print nails by Celia (Barcelona, Spain)

Snowman nails by Raquel (Cádiz, Spain)

Clic here to see her blog.

STAY TUNED- more competitions coming soon!

Forever 21

2011-12-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

My sister Emma turns 21 today.

She came home for Christmas a few days ago, but went back to London (where she lives) yesterday. It has been so lovely to see her over the holidays!

My dad decided to bring out our baby pics on Christmas day. Emma and I are very close in age (only a year & half apart), so it was like growing up with a twin sister/friend.

We used to get into all sorts of mischief. One of the funniest memories was when we decided to play Spiderman- my mum walked into the living room & found us climbing up a 2m bookshelf :D

I stole a few of the pics (thanks Dad) & scanned them to make the little collage above.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

It feels so good to be home for the holidays!

I arrived here a couple of days ago & intend to do nothing but relax, eat, and spend time with my family & friends for the next few days.

My mum has made the house all Christmassy & lovely...even our cat (Missy) is in the Xmas mood!

I just wanted to write a quick post to wish you a Happy Christmas: I hope you get to celebrate it home (or wherever else you wish to be) surrounded by your loved ones.

If this year has taught us anything, it is that this time of year we should enjoy the holidays & find happiness in the festivities- not focus so much on the gifts.

All my best wishes from Barcelona :)
Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-12-20T01:30:00.000-08:00

...and Online Shopping.

As much as I love browsing online, I'd never had the "courage" to buy an item of clothing online. Not even shoes.

I am like one of those superstitious old ladies when it comes to online shopping. As good as the site may be…I don't really trust it. I'll see loads of stuff I like, then ask myself questions like "what if the package never arrives?" or "what if it doesn't fit properly & I have to send it back?". I get frustrated at the thought that the process of buying a skirt will take over a month. Or at least that is how I used to be.

The evening before my last trip to England, I bought my first item of clothing online. I came across Spanish fashion brand Fashion Pills- a fairly recent brand that only sells online.

I fell in love with a dress on their online store. I had no other choice but to try the online shopping system.

My little dress arrived whilst I was in England (it was very nice to have it waiting for me at home). I headed towards my package as soon as I walked in through the door of my apartment in Madrid & tore it open.

It was even better than I had imagined. The dress fit perfectly & the fabric felt lovely. I wore it to my photo shoot for Vanidad magazine last friday, where these pics were taken.

I'm glad I tried shopping online & no longer feel weird about it (it is way more comfortable than normal shopping). That is why I am giving away the "Online Shopping Experience" in my Christmas Competition: the winner gets any Fashion Pills item they like delivered to their house (click here for details).

Hope you are having a lovely week :)

Christmas Competition

2011-12-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

Hello from Madrid!

I got back a from England a few days ago, & spending a couple more days here before I go to Barcelona for the Christmas holidays .

The reason for my "Rudolph" nails (besides the fact that it is Christmas next week & I wanted to get in the mood), is the first competition on my blog.

Last week, I decided (after 2 years) it was time for a little Christmas competition. And all you have to do is paint your nails in a festive mood to enter it :p

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Details:

It can be anything you like: trees, reindeer, presents, Father Christmas/ Santa Claus, Christmas colours, etc.

Once your nails look nice & festive, all you have to do is email me at laura@horaconfessions.com with the following:

- picture of your nails (it doesn't have to be both hands)

- name & city/country you live

- name of your blog (if you have one)

You have until December 29th to send in pictures of your manicures.

Prize:

Any item of clothing from Spanish fashion brand Fashion Pills.

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The winner will be announced in a post on December 30th. I'll post the name of the winner, along with pictures of my favorite manicures :)

Good luck!

S Moda

2011-12-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, Spanish newspaper El País launched a new, weekly fashion supplement called S Moda. I was really happy when they asked me to be part of their feature on emerging talents.

My little feature in S Moda came out last Saturday (December 10th)...so I can post the video I made of the shoot.

We shot it a few weeks ago, just before I came to England...& guess who I ran into?

Hope you enjoy the video & have a lovely start to the week :)

My Item of the Week

2011-12-09T05:01:00.001-08:00

I've never really been a bracelet kind of person (for some reason, I only ever seem to wear rings). This bracelet, however, is the only bracelet I have worn constantly for years. I've had it since I was a little girl.

Since we were babies, my mum would take us to England- we'd go to Somerset & spend a few summer holiday weeks with our grandmother. One of my favourite things to do when I was there was visit Wells' (the smallest city in England) market & browse through all of the amazing silver jewellery they had for sale.

When I was about 12 years old, I asked my mum if I could have a charm bracelet for my 13th birthday. I saved up some of the money I'd been given, & took it to Wells- where I found my silver bracelet. I had a few charms & pendants I'd been given since I was a kid (like the dummy, or the little doll from Tous), so I started my charm bracelet by adding them onto it.

Ever since then, I've been collecting little charms from birthdays, Christmases & other events I wanted to remember. It is nice to have so many good memories to remember every time & look at it.

I've had it for so long, & worn it so many times...I thought it was time I made it My Item of the Week :)

HB x HC: Aline Weber

2011-12-07T02:55:00.001-08:00

(To read this post in Spanish, click here)

Hello from London!

After spending a lovely weekend with my family, they went back to Barcelona. I have to stay here & catch up on some work in London (any excuse is good to stay in UK ;p).

A couple of months ago (2 days after getting back from Paris Fashion Week), I went over to Barcelona to interview beautiful model Aline Weber- the cover of Harper's Bazaar Spain's December'11 issue.

At the age of 22, Weber has walked shows for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Proenza Schouler, Narciso Rodriguez & Calvin Klein; as well as being the face of brands like D&G, Missoni, Moschino or H&M.

I think the moment we all "fell" for Aline was when Tom Ford chose her for "A Single Man" as Lois - the beautiful, mysterious student.

It was a pleasure meeting her, chatting a bit about Christmas, work & holidays; as well as watching her work.

The December issue of Harper's Bazaar came out on November 20th, so I can finally post this video, which is the last of this year 2011 in collaboration with the magazine. The collaboration will continue in 2012!

Hope you enjoy the video, & have a lovely week :)

Sweetest Sixteen

2011-12-01T06:53:00.001-08:00

Hello from Barcelona!

I arrived yesterday to celebrate Barcelona Shopping Night at Harper's Bazaar x Carolina Herrera party.

It was a great party. It was lovely to see & catch up with people I'd worked with throughout the years. My good friend Maria & little sister Hanna joined me for the evening, which made it even more special (click here to see pics from last night).

After spending the morning in the city centre, I find myself back at my family home. There are empty suitcases & clothes everywhere...and I've taken a break from packing like a crazy lady to write this post. Let me explain:

Hanna, my little sister, turns 16 on Sunday.

My other sister (Emma) is living and working in London. My mum wanted us all to be together for Hanna's birthday...so tomorrow morning- my mum, little sister & I are going to London for the weekend. I can't think of a better way to spend the first days of the last month of the year :)

Hope you are all having a good week, & wish you a lovely weekend.

Happy December!

Meeting María León

2011-11-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Towards the beginning of last October (I'd just got back to Madrid from Paris), I was asked to participate in Vogue Spain's "Christmas Special" editorial.

They'd chosen 10 girls/women for the shoot & doing it all in one day, so I was sent the list with the names, as well as the call time for each of us. I was having my make-up done with actress María León.

I'd been hearing her name mentioned non stop- on how she'd captivated the audience with her role in La Voz Dormida. A few days before the shoot, I watched María accept the Concha de Plata award from Spanish San Sebastián film festival for her lead role in the movie on tv.

On October 7th I walked into the studio for the shoot, & heard laughter & voices coming from the make-up room- it was María. She'd been asked about who'd done her make-up for the film festival: she told the make-up artist she'd done it herself, & telling him exactly how she had done it.

I don't think it could have been more fun. María is one of the funniest, sweetest people you can meet.

The December'11 issue of Vogue came out last week. It was nice seeing the result, as well as remembering what a good time we had during the photo shoot.

After the shoot, we decided to go and grab a coffee...and sat down for a little interview. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed filming it :)

HB x HC: Elisa Sednaoui

2011-11-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

(To read post in Spanish, click here)

Last week I ran into Elisa Sednaoui at a party in Madrid. We started chatting, and talking about when we met back in June.

Elisa had been flown into Barcelona for Harper's Bazaar anniversary party- and the presentation of the July-August'11 issue, which she happened to be on the cover of.

I'd heard many nice things about Eli. It seemed to be that everybody who'd worked with her had nothing but wonderful things to say about her & the way she worked. I met her at the party, and we decided to meet up the next day for a little interview. When I sat down to talk to her, I understood what people meant.

Elisa is like a wave of positive energy. Spending time with her is nice because of how calm & friendly she is. She's realistic about life & has her feet on the ground- she knows what the industry she works in is like. She's the kind of person you could sit and talk to about anything for hours on end.

When I got back from the party after seeing her last week I realised that, for some silly mistake of mine, I hadn't posted the interview. I started rummaging through my room & looking through my external hard drives to see if I'd saved it anywhere...and found it.

Here are my 5 minutes with Elisa- talking about her career, life as a model, Harper's Bazaar, & the cover editorial she shot with the magazine in Maldives. The video also includes footage from the shoot (filmed by lovely Melania Pan)- a good waay to forget about the cold weather waiting for us outside ;p

Enjoy the video, & enjoy your weekend!

GQ Men of 2011 Awards

2011-11-24T01:30:00.000-08:00

This time of the year is always full of award dinners & events!

Marie Claire celebrated their awards last week; this week it has been GQ Spain's turn to host a lovely dinner to honor their "Men of 2011".

Last night I attended their event at the beautiful Westin Palace hotel in Madrid (click here, or here to see what I wore), & thought I'd to post some pics from the party.

It was a wonderful evening. I got to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while- like Johann, Juana & gorgeous Alba.

Hope you are all having a good week :)

Big thanks to Chanel, Bárcena & Ángel Schlesser for lending me their clothes, jewelry & clutch fot the evening.

My Item of the Week

2011-11-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

(Pics by Jordan Fish & Gerard Estadella)

After a lovely & relaxing weekend in Barcelona, I find myself packing again to head back to Madrid.

As you know, I've been posting frequently on HC's about the H&M x Versace collaboration. I was so happy to finally see the result in "real life" last week!

I'd seen the collection items in pics, as well as on the runway video; but I didn't know what to expect once I got to try them on & feel them.

At first, I really wanted to buy one of the dresses. I wanted to get something I could wear Up until a couple of days before the collection was out...when I saw the plain black plaid skirt.

So last Wednesday, on November 16th, I attended the launch party in Madrid with a few friends- including lovely Andrea (pictured above) in search of the only item I wanted: the simple plaid skirt.

I don't think I've ever seen so many women (and men) grabbing clothes of the shelves and racks so fast. Skirts, dresses, jackets & accessories were flying off of the shelves faster than you could say "knitwear".

It felt like we were in one of those movie situations where people are just running around the store with huuuge piles of clothes, desperately trying to find their size before somebody else got to it faster than they did. I must confess that I, too, was desperately looking for my skirt. It was nowhere to be seen.

Just when I was about to give up, I heard somebody say that there was a whole other section in the store downstairs with more collection items and...BINGO.

I found my skirt, the new addition to my winter wardrobe ;p

Marie Claire Fashion Prix

2011-11-18T00:42:00.000-08:00

Hello from Barcelona!

I arrived this midday to spend the weekend with my family.

Just wanted to write a (very) quick post about last night's Marie Claire Spain fashion awards, held at the French ambassador's house in Madrid (click here, or here if you want to see what I wore last night).

It was a lovely evening, surrounded by lovely ladies! It was so good to see Veronica Blume again; as well as catching up with Natasha Yarovenko & Malena during dinner.

Ángel Schlesser received the award for best designer. It was such an honour to be wearing one of his beautiful creations for the evening :)

One of the special guests of the evening was beautiful Elisa Sednaoui, who'd won the award for fashion icon of 2011. I hadn't seen her since the Harper's Bazaar party in June, where we sat down for a chat...and a little interview which you will see very soon!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend :)

Thanks to Tous & Chanel for lending me the rings & accessories for the evening.

My Item of the Week

2011-11-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

(Photo by Jordan Green)

...more hat rambles.

Soon, I'll have to turn this section into "Hat of the Week"!

(Seriously though, if it were any other hat, I would have resisted the temptation. With this one, I simply couldn't).

Let me introduce you to my new guilty pleasure: my Snow Leopard SpiritHood.

I discovered this brand a few months ago through Jordan, & had secretly (and not so secretly) wanted one ever since. When I saw it first, I didn't know who had made it, or where it came from. All I knew is I kind of (really) wanted one of these animal hoods sitting on my head- so I decided to do a bit of investigating :D

SpiritHoods is an American (LA-based) brand that has been making faux fur animal hoods and selling them online since 2009. They started with a wolf- then they made the owl, the leopard, bear, & so on.

The company has done nothing but grow ever since they started. Every time I check their website I find new animals & special editions added to their collection. One of the latest additions have been the ProBlue hoods- where they donate 10% of the profits made off of each hood from this collection to a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the particular animal the hood represents.

I finally got my hood a couple of weeks ago when I was in England- and did not take it off for the next 48hrs (not even around the house). The feeling of warmth & happiness (it is already pretty cold over there) was simply blissful.

The day after I'd got it, I wore it to meet my lovely friend Andrea, who was visiting London for the weekend. What started off as a brief shopping spree in Central London, turned into a fun day running around the city...and rolled into an evening that made 8yr-old Laura very, very happy: I got to watch Britney Spears live at the 02 Arena.

Here is a little video of that eventful day in London. Hope you like it!

Versace x H&M (II)

2011-11-09T07:06:00.000-08:00

It is not long before the collaboration hits stores around the world!

Last night they presented the collection in an event in NY, thought you'd like to watch some footage, as well as the fashion show :)

Enjoy,

To view pics from the whole collection, click here.

HB x HC: Carla Nieto & Tous

2011-11-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

(To read the post in Spanish, click here)

...I have come back to a freezing cold Madrid!

It has been more than a month since I was here, and the weather was amazing. But everybody who's been in Madrid for the winter season knows just how cold it gets.

The reason for my weather rambles- apart from the fact that I am in bed with the flu- is the video I had to edit for this post, which was filmed at the end of September (when it was still lovely & hot).

About a month & half ago, I had the pleasure of filming the Harper's Bazaar shoot with Spanish actress Carla Nieto. The reason for the shoot was the new Tous handbag, the "Rose bag" (also my item of the PF week).

I first met Carla in Spring'11, when I interviewed her (to see the post, click here). I don't know if it was the fact that we both grew up really close to each other, or our passion for football that got us talking for ages. We exchanged numbers and decided we'd have to get together for a chat more often.

It was a fun & lovely shoot, surrounded by great women like stylist Almudena Guerra (& the rest of HB's team), or photographer Cristina López, as well as Carla. Here is the video for proof :)

I hope you enjoy it, I'm going to crawl back into bed & try and get rid of this silly flu. Would anybody volunteer to bring me a cup of tea?! ;P

Ask Me.

2011-11-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

New section on HoraConfessions.

...can't believe it is already November!

I hope you all had a good Halloween. I am still in England, enjoying my last few days before I leave (I go back to Madrid on Sunday).

For the past couple of months, I was thinking about adding a new section to the blog. I'd been receiving questions from some of you, but didn't really have anywhere to answer them. So, for the past couple of days, I've been figuring out & setting up "Ask Me": a section for post/blog-related questions & doubts.

You can find this new section in the menu below the header pic; & can send me your questions in Spanish or English on Twitter, Facebook, or via email at laura@horaconfessions.com. If you prefer, you can just ask the questions by commenting on any of the posts.

There'll be one post a week on Ask Me with some of your questions answered. I hope this section will make HC's clearer, & I hope you'll enjoy being a part of it :)

Have a lovely end to the week & a good weekend. See you in Madrid!

Nail Bling

2011-10-27T01:22:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I seem to have entered the "glitter" phase...with a bit of a Japanese twist?! Don't really know what to call it, but it has happened.

This all started a couple weeks ago. I was spending a few days in Barcelona. On my way home from a day out in the city centre, I went into a cosmetic shop to pick up a quick-dry clear top coat nail polish (I'd left mine behind in Madrid).

It was a simple task. Until I stumbled across the German cosmetic brand Essence.

I know that now. At the time, all I saw were rows and rows of amazing nail colours, nail stickers, and lots & lots of glitter. Not only was it extremely appealing, the prices for the products were amazing. All of the nail colours cost around 2€, nail patch art/stickers cost around 3€, etc. It was all extremely colourful...and sliiightly tempting.

So tempting that I spent 30min looking through all of their nail range...and walked out with embarrassing amounts of nail "stuff". I've been trying out the different products I bought for the past two weeks & really really like them.

I thought I'd write this post introducing the brand (to those who didn't know it) & recommend my favourite products :)

Nail foils/patch art/ stickers:

The great thing about the stickers is their price: they are way cheaper than most of the other brands'. For the price, the quality is great. If you apply them on properly, they'll last 5 days to a week. I find the way to get them to last longer is to cut them a bit shorter than your nail, and paint a line of colour on the top of the nail.

Nail art freestyle & tip painter:

These are perfect for painting the line above the sticker, as well as French manicures. The brush is really slim and perfect to write & decorate your nails. They have them in all sorts of bright colours.

Nail Art Pen:

This is great for writing on nails, and a good alternative to to the Freestyle & Tip Painter (above). I bought it in black.

Nail Art Sticker:

I thought I'd give them a try, and now actually really like them! I find the ribbons look nice on thumbs and/or index fingers. They make me feel like a little girl again :D

Glitter Topper:

This is my favourite Essence nail product so far. I bought both of these colours (you can see the silver glitter in the top left photo; the green glitter in the top right photo). These colours look nice on simple colours & on top of the nail art Stickers.

Quick Dry Top Coat:

Aha! This is what I was initially looking for (before I discovered all the rest :D). Their top coat is perfect for applying on top of any of the products I mentioned above: specially when using the nail stickers. I would also recommend you apply it on top of the Glitter Toppers, just to even out the glitter lumps & so the glitter doesn't come off after a few days.

Those are my 6 recommendations to "nail lovers" reading my blog. I hope you like them! I was happy to find a brand that had so many nail art accessories..and the fact that it is so affordable allows you to try & experiment more (it is kind of like having your own nail salon at home ;P).

Time to stop rambling about my obsession with nails & head off to Central London- I still have one week left in England!

My Item of the Week

2011-10-24T03:01:00.000-07:00

The Perfect Beanie.

I can't believe I'm dedicating this post to a beanie.

To be fair, they are pretty useful for the cold, winter months ahead. I love wearing them in the winter. Also, before I found this one, I'd been looking for the "perfect beanie" for two years.

If you have never worn one, you are probably going to think I've gone sliightly insane. But those of you (girls AND guys) who wear them often..you know what I mean.

By perfect beanie, I mean a knit hat that sits on your head, keeps it warm...and doesn't slide up and make your head look like a cucumber. They are not as easy to find as you'd think. Most of them seem perfect- for the first half hour. 30mins into putting it on...it starts sliding up, making your head look really long & cucumber-y.

About a month & half ago, when my little sister came to Madrid to visit, we wondered into Mango to check out their Autumn/Winter 2011 collection...and I found it. Had to wait a while before wearing it, but as soon as it got a bit cold- the beanie was on.

I've been wearing it everywhere ever since. It came with me to Paris last month, now it is keeping my head warm in the UK. Also, it is also perfect for when you want to sleep on the plane/train- it is big enough to pull entirely over your head :D

I hope you are all having a good start to the week!

Versace x H&M

2011-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

England is sooo cold...but so fun!

I'm Excited to be here doing something I thoroughly enjoy. I managed to find an area with decent wi-fi & decided to write a post about H&M's upcoming collaboration.

Once a year, H&M teams up with a luxury designer/brand to create a more affordable & approachable collection. Since 2004 (the year they first started the collaborations), they've been working with designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel, Viktor & Rolf, or Stella McCartney.

Yesterday I woke up to an email from H&M with news that the collection will be in stores around the world on November 17th..and the email also included the full lookbook :D

After missing out on the Lanvin collaboration last year, I have made my mind up & decided not to miss out on this year's fun. I went through the entire lookbook and found 3 dresses I really, really like (to view the ENTIRE women's lookbook, click here).

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Off to London..

2011-10-17T01:21:00.000-07:00

Hello from Barcelona airport!

After a lovely week with the family, I spent the weekend shooting Mustang's Spring-Summer 2012 campaign. As always, it was lovely to catch up with Mario Casas and the rest of the Mustang team to shoot & make the most of the last warm days of the year in Barcelona.

It is 9am, and I'm sitting in the Easyjet terminal, waiting for my flight..and thought I'd write a quick post before I left (since I don't really know if I'll be having proper internet for the next week).

This is all a little bit exciting. I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks in London to start up a new project I am extremely happy about & cannot wait to write about/ show you…but I have to wait just a liiiiittle bit before I can do that.

I'll still be posting on HoraConfessions from London, and you can also catch up with me on beatmewithyoursugar.com, or on Mustang's blog.

Right, time to get on the plane. I hope you have a lovely week :)
See you in London!
Lx

My Item of (PF) Week...

2011-10-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

...and Lanvin S/S'12.

(Photos by Fernando Mañas)

Hello from Barcelona!

After a few days of unpacking, packing, cleaning, sleeping, & trying to get rid of my silly cold- I rescued my cameras from the bottom of my suitcase & started sorting out all of the Paris footage.

A couple of days ago my friend & street style blogger Fernando Mañas sent me the pics above from the Tuilleries gardens just before the Lanvin SS'12 show...a few hours after I'd arrived to Paris from Madrid.

I don't think I'd ever packed that many clothes for a week, ever (and that says a lot coming from somebody who ALWAYS packs too much ;p). The entire evening before the trip was dedicated to packing. For some reason, I chose to ignore the weather forecast (26º and up), convinced it would start to be rainy & cold as soon as I got there. I was very, very wrong.

27kg of clothes and (very) few hours of sleep later, we arrived to Paris. It was beautiful, and summery....and extremely hot. Way too hot for any of the (five or six?) coats I packed.

I headed directly to the hotel & started unpacking to figure out what l I was going to wear to the Lanvin show, which was a few hours away (I'd deal with the rest of outfits later). After fishing out the lovely See by Chloé shirt and shorts...came the lovely Rose Bag.

A couple of weeks earlier I'd been to the Harper's Bazaar party in collaboration with Spanish brand Tous (known specially for their jewellery) in honour of the launch of Tous' new handbag, the Rose Bag. You could see the bags in different styles, watch them being made, etc.

I have not stopped wearing it since I got it. To me, it is a perfect day-to-day bag. It's compartments make it perfect to carry everything (from your laptop to gym clothes) around without spending 10min looking for your keys/phone/money at the bottom of it.

The wi-fi at the hotel was down (and would be down for the rest of the week), so I stuffed my laptop & cameras into the bag and headed towards the Tuilleries for the Lanvin show...where I filmed my favourite looks of their Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

I hope you like the video, and have a lovely weekend :)

See you in London!

Chanel S/S'12

2011-10-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

"What The Water Gave Me"

(To read the post in Spanish, click here.)

Hello from...I don't exactly know where.

All I know is that I am somewhere in Spain. I am writing this post from the AVE (fast train). I arrived to Madrid from Paris last night, and got on the AVE to Barcelona in the early hours of this morning.

Somewhere in between Madrid & Barcelona, I thought it would be a good idea to sit down & write a bit about Paris (this post won't be the only one about this trip...I have footage to last me for a whiiile ;D).

I don't really know where to start. My second Paris Fashion Week (I was also there a few months ago, back in February) with Harper's Bazaar Spain.

This past week has been so much fun & passed so fast...it almost feels like a dream.
I guess the best way to start writing about the Paris trip would be to talk about the Chanel Spring/Summer 2012 show.

Chanel has been one of my favourite brands since I was little. I don't know if it was the pearls, the shoes, the tweed, or the beautiful handbags- but I have loved that brand since I was a little girl.

About a week & half ago, the girls at Chanel Spain headquarters got in touch with me asking if I'd be in Paris for fashion week, & if so, would I like to go to the show.

I'd been sent to Paris with a couple of their outfits (to wear to the show), and received the invite when I arrived to the beautiful French city...but didn't quite believe it- until I was standing in front of Le Grand Palais on Tuesday (10 minutes before the show was going to begin).

It was everything I'd expected and more. The beautiful location, set, model casting, music selection (Florence + The Machine), and, of course, the collection.

I still can't quite believe I was there. All I can do is thank Harper's Spain & Chanel for this amazing experience that (I am positive) I'll never forget.

I took my camera with me to the show and made a little video with some of my favourite looks of the collection.
I hope you enjoy it...and have a lovely weekend!

Un bisou,

..Bisous de Paris!

2011-10-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

(Photo by Moises de la Renta)

Bon jour from Paris!

I arrived to the beautiful French city yesterday for Fashion Week.

The city looks beautiful, and I intend to be as much of a tourist as I can & make the most of my time here to enjoy the art, fashion, architecture, amazing food (apologies for all of the food tweets by the way), etc. The summery weather is making this an even better experience (the pic was taken yesterday as we got into the city...I had to take all the layers off it was soo hot).

Currently sitting in McDonalds (the only place I've found with working wi-fi), I thought I'd write a quick post & wish you all a lovely weekend :)

Un bisou plus grand,

HB x HC: Miriam Giovanelli

2011-09-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Miriam Giovanelli for Harper's Bazaar Spain.

(Para leer el post en Español, haz clic aquí)

After a couple of months off (for holidays :D), I'm back to collaborating with Spain's Harper's Bazaar. I can't think of a better way than to start it than by writing about lovely Miriam.

Miriam is an Italian/Spanish actress. She was born in Italy, & moved to Spain as a kid. At the age of 22, she has starred in numerous movies (Miguel y William; Mentiras y Gordas) & tv shows (Física o Química; Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso).

2011 has been a busy year for her. With Italian movie Gli Sfiorati (directed by Matteo Rovere) about to premiere, Miriam has just got back from Italy, where she has been filming Bram Stoke's Dracula (directed by Dario Argento).

A couple of months ago, HB team got together with photographer Rafa Gallar at the Palace Hotel in Madrid to shoot Miriam for the October issue of the magazine. When I was told about it, I didn't think twice about heading over there (with my camera) to see how the shoot was going. I was really excited & looking forward to seeing her wear some of Thierry Mugler's amazing creations- not only for professional reasons.

The picture above was taken almost a year ago. I'd just moved to Madrid, and Miriam was one of the first people I met. Moving to a new city where you don't know many people is always scary. But you come across people who make it all less scary & a lot more fun.

Miriam is one of the people responsible for making this past year as fun as it has been. After movie, coffee & party dates; tons of evenings in playing board games, bikram yoga lessons, & god knows how many dinners at her amazing restaurant (Los Olvidados)- I don't only respect her as an actress, but also as a good friend & person.

She looks amazing in the pics. Here is a 5min mini interview & video of the shoot. Enjoy!

I need to get back to practicing my french...& sorting out what to pack in my suitcase. I'm off to beautiful Paris for Fashion Week in a couple of days!

Nous nous voyons à Paris :)

My Item of the (Fashion) Week

2011-09-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

Ángel Schlesser

After a busy long weekend at Cibeles- Madrid Fashion Week, I find myself in bed, with a cold...and just a general state of Fashion Hangover (no alcohol, just fashion). It was all worth it though- specially when you get to go with friends...and little sister :)

This picture was taken a couple of months ago, whilst shooting with Spanish designer Ángel Schlesser for Glamour magazine. They were celebrating the launch of his new parfume, Flor de Naranjo.

Angel is one of my favorite Spanish designers. I'd had the chance to see a few of his fashion shows, & worn a couple of his dresses to events.

They only needed one picture for the magazine, so it was a pretty relaxed shoot. I got to spend the morning in a beautiful hidden garden in the heart of Madrid with Ángel, talking about fashion, music & life in this city.

The day after the shoot, I received a package. Inside, was the beautiful orange playsuit I'd worn during the shoot. Not only did I absolutely adore the playsuit, but the fact that the designer had wanted me to have it was overwhelming.

I hung the playsuit up in my closet, & decided I would wait for a very special occasion to wear it. A week & half ago, I received the invitation to his Spring/Summer 2012 collection: the perfect occasion to wear my little "Schlesser Treasure".

The show was absolutely amazing, I loved it. I loved his proposals for 2012 Spring & Summer, specially the playsuits. Here are the last minutes of Schlesser's SS'12 show. Shout outs to Annabel & Ángel Schlesser for everything, & congrats on another beautiful new collection!

Hope you are all having a good start to the week :)

My Item of the Week

2011-09-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Jeremy.

I was tidying up my messy bedroom when I came across my Item of the Week (which need to be thrown the washing machine), when I thought I'd take a break & write about it.

I've had a lot of love for Jeremy Scott's collaboration with Adidas since I discovered it a year and half ago.

I've written about his lovely collections in other posts & "Item of the Week". In fact, remember this- and this?

Jeremy Scott makes sportswear fun, he gives it a awesome fashion twist. What I most love about his collections is that you can't exactly wear one of these items to a gym, but can't wear one of them out and take yourself seriously.

These are a few of his items of clothing of his S/S'11 collection I simply couldn't resist to :D

My latest addition to my Jeremy Scott x Adidas collection are the military trousers from the F/W'11 line. I have worn them everywhere since I got them a couple of weeks ago, including to shooting locations & on planes. They are perfect for traveling comfortably. If you want to make them "less sporty", you don't need to wear them with trainers- you can just throw on some military-style boots :)

Right, time to get back to sorting out this mess. My little sister Hanna is spending the weekend here, so I thought I'd clear a bit of space so she can sleep in here (as much as she loves shoes...I DOUBT she'd appreciate sleeping on a pile of them ;D).

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. See you after Madrid Fashion Week!

Fashion's Night Out

2011-09-13T02:18:00.000-07:00

Chanel & Nails.

For the past 3 years, Fashion Night Out has been like the alarm on a timer, telling us that Fashion Week is about to begin in all of the different countries which his night is held in (16 countries celebrate this event).

Madrid is one of the cities that take part in this event. Last Wednesday I pulled out the lovely tweed Chanel dress that had been lent to me for the evening...and the clutch pictured above (which I am now completely in love with and don't want to give back ;D).

Along with the dress & clutch, I got sent a little gift. Actually 3 little gifts- the "Jeans de Chanel" nail polishes, created specially for the event.

That is probably the best gift to give a nail freak (specially when they love Chanel's nail colours as much as I do :D). When it comes to nail polish, I absolutely adore their selection. I remember saving up when I was a little girl so I could buy them. The quality and the colour are fantastic, specially the limited editions & summer colours.

A couple of months ago, I got to try out their new top coat, the "Mat Top Coat". A top coat that you can apply on top of any other nail colour, and it will take away the shine & leave it looking completely mat. I absolutely loved it, and I'd wanted to buy it ever since. It came out earlier this month, and I was able to get it.

So for Fashion Night Out, I thought I'd try out "Blue Rebel"- one of the colours I'd been sent, with the "Mat Top Coat" I'd just bought...and thought I'd show you the "before & after" this top coat :)

I had a great night. It was lovely to see everybody out on the street at night, having fun & taking part of an event that celebrates fashion (click here if you want to see the outfit I wore for the evening).

After an amazing weekend in Barcelona with my family, I am back for work in Madrid. Fashion week starts in a few days!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend :)

Keep Calm, Carry On

2011-09-05T03:26:00.000-07:00

2 years of HoraConfessions.

This is quite a special post for me. This is post nº200. Post 200, in 2 years.

It was over two years ago that my lovely friend Heather Burton & I started this blog in Tokyo, wanting to show our friends & family what life was like all the way over there.

After 3 awesome & unforgettable months in Tokyo, Heather left back for Los Angeles...& I kept writing. It felt like writing a diary (actually, I don't think I've ever even kept a diary for that long!).

It was also 2 years ago I got my Forget-Me-Not flower tattoo on my wrist. That was probably one of the most hilarious moments in my life. Heather wrote about it on here a couple of years ago, click here if you want to read it :)

If you didn't read it (if you think I ramble now, you should go back and see how much I used to ramble 2 years ago :D), you should know that it took almost 2hrs to do...and I ended up puking out of nerves. It hurt. A LOT. That was when I realized I was a complete baby when it comes to tattoos.

I've never regretted it though. I love my tattoo & what it represents. This said, the idea of getting another tattoo was completely out of the picture. Until a month ago, when I got my new tattoo :D

2 months ago, I dreamed I had a turquoise blue tattoo that said "Keep Calm, Carry On", & two lines that went around my wrist. You'll probably recognize the sentence from the famous British red & white poster "Keep Calm & Carry On". It was created in 1939 to strengthen the morale in England (it was the beginning of World War II).

I liked the idea very much. It was the first time in 2 years I'd thought about getting a new tattoo...so I decided that if I still wanted the tattoo in a month, I'd get it.

Needless to say, a month passed & I still wanted it. So, when I was on holiday in Barcelona, I asked my friend Francisco at Inkdelible studio if he could help (I made sure I previously warned him about being a bit of a baby). I dragged my good friend Kyke (who has tons of tattoos & would make mine look like nothing :D); and my lovely little sister Hanna- who's taste I trust 100&- and knew wouldn't let the tattoo size/colour get out of hand.

Well, the good news was, it only took about 35 minutes this time. Also, I didn't puke (pheww!). However, I was still a bit of a baby. And my statement comes with video-evidence :D

Here is about 3mins of me being a baby (what kind of diary would this be if I didn't document it?!).

Shout outs to Fran for my new tattoo; huuuge shout outs to Kyke and my sisters Hanna & Emma (Emm accompanied me to get the lines gone over) for keeping my babinness under control throughout the process.

Thank you to all the people who've been a part of my adventures, specially to Heather (I probably wouldn't even be writing this right now if it wasn't for her).

Thank you for joining me on my little adventures- whether it was 2 years ago, 1 year ago, or 1 month ago, you are all a part of it now :)

I'll stop being cheesy & let you watch the vid.
I hope you've all had a lovely weekend, & a good start to the week!

Nail Rambles

2011-08-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

It is time for a quick ramble about nails :D

I have a small obsession when it comes to nail colours.

Recently, things have been getting sliiightly out of hand.

I've had leopard nails, stripy nails, dotted nails, flowery nails, & lord knows what else. This crazy nail phase started a few months ago when I walked into Sephora looking for a nail colour...& stumbled across Sephora's Nail Foils. Or, as they like to call them, "Nail Patch Art".

The designs were great. I'd wanted leopard nails for a whiile, so when I saw their leopard design I thought I'd give them a go. I must admit I wasn't sure if they'd be any good...since I'd tried nail stickers before & wasn't too happy with the result.

As soon as I got home, I couldn't resist it. Slightly confused as to how they'd work/stick, I opened the pack. It turns out the patches/foils are made out of nail polish, and stick to your nail pretty easily. I wasn't too sure how I'd cut them to my size, but as soon as you stick it onto your nail, the foil starts getting softer with your body heat & becomes easy to remove the leftovers with your fingers.

So far so good. It had taken me around 20-30min to stick them on...but once they were on, I didn't need to wait for them to dry. Almost two weeks passed by, and they were still shiny. They weren't chipped or scratched, they were intact. I was very happy with how they'd lasted & also protected my nails. So I headed back to Sephora & bought the whole lot so I could wear & try out throughout the summer :D

Once you get the hang of it, they become extremely easy to apply on. I've put them on in taxis, festivals, planes (the guy sitting next to me asked if I could put them on him also..), etc.

After trying them all out & seeing how nice the result is & how long they last on, I thought I'd tell you about this little discovery & recommend it to anybody who wanted to give it a try :)

Riight. Nail rambles are over. Hope you are all having a good week!

Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Playing in Playsuits

Playsuits are perfect for summer.

They're airy, like a dress; but 100% air-proof, therefore avoiding unwanted "Marilyn" situations on windy days.

When I visited London with my friend Melanie for a weekend at the beginning of July, I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything. That is when I came across the McQueen Skull ring, remember?!

I also fessed up to buying something at Topshop...well, pictured in the photo above is the other "something" I simply couldn't resist to. My lovely little flowery Lipsy London playsuit.

This UK-based brand is good when it comes to little day dresses & playsuits. The prices are pretty affordable (prices start at about 35€); they have an online store & ship over the world. Also, you can find them at different multi-brand stores...as well as the huuuuge Topshop in Oxford street.

I'd managed to survive 2hrs there without picking up a single item of clothing...until I was heading out- and saw it.

Without even trying it on, I picked up my size & headed over to the till. I was staying in London for a couple of extra days, so I knew I could change it if I didn't like how it looked on me (it is always more comfortable when you get to try it on at home :D).

As soon as I arrived to the hotel, I tried it on and loved it. I've been wearing this lovely playsuit throughout the summer: Benicassim, Barcelona, London..& most recently, during my quick trip to Tenerife!

I know summer is almost over, but this is the kind of thing you can wear from now until the end of summer, then save it for next year (plus, I checked on Lipsy's website & it is still available, so I'm not teasing ;P).

It is back to work for me now! Yesterday I got back from my last holidays in London and Tenerife, & even though I'm sad my holidays have come to an end, I'm excited about the busy months ahead.

Hope you are enjoying the end of your holidays...or, for those who have already gone back- fully recovered & free of any symptoms of PVD (Post Vacational Depression).

See you after the weekend!!! :)
Lx

Foot Notes.

2011-08-18T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hello from Madrid!!!

I arrived here last night & currently find myself in my apartment, packing like a mad woman. Let me explain.

The picture above was taken with my dear friend Scarlett a month ago at FIB (Benicassim Festival)...moments before her lovely boyfriend proposed to her :)

So my Scarlett is getting married! As one of her friends (and bridesmaid :D), I need to be there for the engagement party- which is tomorrow evening in London (this is all too exciting).

I've have less than 24hrs to get ready & head back to the airport. Which means no time for pampering. Well, at least not any serious pampering.

A few months ago, my stylist at work Yolanda gave me an amazing tip for making your feet look nice without having to go and get a pedicure. It is one of the best beauty tips I've ever been given, & I thought I'd take a break from packing and share it with you :)

All you need is 2 plastic bags & Nivea Creme.

Step 1: You are going to need a big pot of this-

Step 2: Cover your feet in creme until your ankle. The more the better.

Step 3: Put a plastic bag on each foot & knot it. Leave it on for as much time as you can (up to 1hr, hour and half).
(WARNING: the less you walk, the better. These things are pretty hard to walk in.)

Once you've sat down for a while looking like you are slightly insane (it is always better to do this when alone ;D) all you need to do is wash the creme off your feet, put some light moisturizing creme on...& off you go! It works wonders if you do it on a regular basis as well.

Right. Time to get back to packing- which takes about twice as longer when you have bags on your feet :D

Hope the tip was useful (if you didn't already know it). Give it a try & let me know your thoughts :)
See you in London!
Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-08-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

(BBB Shorts)

Barcelona. Family. Friends. Summer. Holiday. Bliss.

It has been a very long & fun year, so being able to take a few weeks off to spend in my hometown is exactly what the doctor ordered.

I don't think I'd ever craved the beach more than I was craving it this year. All I wanted to do was drag my family & friends down to the beach for a nice day in the sun. Forget partying. It was all about enjoying every hour of the sunny days as much as possible (ok, & maybe a few girls' nights out ;D).

A couple of days before flying to Barcelona, I walked past one of my favorite little shops in Madrid called Me Two. It is a small multi-brand store in the center of Madrid and, twice a year, they have a couple of sale racks with vintage clothes that customers can bring in and sell.

I was looking for shorts. Something not too short & extremely comfortable that I could wear on holiday..when I found these BBB shorts (Baggy Beach Boy shorts), pictured above. They are a pair of vintage Levi's jeans cut off into shorts, and customized with studs. I'm not really one to wear boy shorts...but the studs made them simply irresistible :D

They were exactly what I was looking for. A couple of days ago I wore them to the beach, where I was spending the day with my lovely friend Claudia, where we spent a whole 8hrs laying in the sun, the sea...& getting our tan on!

I can't believe my holiday is almost over. I feel so thankful that I've had this time to spend at home. Now it is time to get packing for a quick stop in Madrid tomorrow...then off for a weekend in London!

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays :)
Lx

BRB

2011-08-03T03:43:00.001-07:00

(Don't really know how this post will show on the computer screen.. I'm using Blogger from my iPhone to post for the first time &.. let's just say it is taking longer than expected to figure it all out properly :S)

I arrived to Barcelona last week, & have taken a couple of weeks off to spend with my family by the beach and catch up with a bit of reading, relaxing by the sea..& rediscovering the meaning and pleasures of "siesta" time. I decided I'd leave my laptop at home & forget about the Internet unless absolutely necessary (hence why I'm using my phone to write this).

I hope you are all having a good summer, & hope everybody gets (at least) a week off to relax, recover, enjoy your loved ones..& charge your batteries for a busy year ahead!

See you in a couple of weeks :)
Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-07-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

(or, MY BIZARRE "HOW TO" STUD A JACKET)

I'll see an item & in my head I'll picture the perfect way to customize it. I'll sit down with a pair of scissors in hand and whatever else I need for the "project": I'll start cutting, sewing (in my own, clumsy way)....and will end up completely wrecking and destroying that item.

That is usually what happens when I decide I want to "be creative".

A couple of months ago I walked into H&M and spotted a nice cream-coloured jacket. As I tried on the jacket, I realized how much better it would look if it had a bit of "studding" in the back (a skull was too much ;D).
An hour later, I was on my way home with the jacket & the studs (which had cost me more than the jacket itself :S). Now, all I needed was time to sit down and "stud".

It took me aaaages. Tons of evenings of staying in and studding. Also, figuring out HOW to stick the stud through the fabric was a tricky one. Alas, I came up with my own little "how to".

To stud one jacket you will need:

1 jacket (the cheaper the better. You won't feel so bad if you end up completely ruining it)
hundreds of studs
1 tube of superglue
1 ruler
1 pencil
1 corkscrew

Before you start studding, you need to do 2 things:
1) Cut the lining of the jacket at the seams, in a way you can sew it up later.
2) Use the ruler to mark the dots (where you will make the holes for the studs) in straight lines.

It seems slightly insane, but I found a corkscrew (after hours of trying different objects) was the perfect tool to make holes in the fabric, the size of the hole was the prefect size.

Once you have made the hole, you fit the end of the stud (which is like a screw) through the fabric. Another (slightly weird) recommendation is that you use a tiny bit of superglue on the end of the stud before you screw the top of it on. That way you secure the stud & avoid it awkwardly coming to pieces at the most inconvenient moments.

I tried to finish the jacket in my free time, but didn't know when I wanted to stop "studding". I realized hours before my flight was due to London that I wanted to take it with me, so I quickly sewed up the lining (I have to hide the inside of the jacket because my sewing is sooo bad :S) & took it with me.

3 weeks later...I have not stopped wearing it. A couple of weeks ago I wore it to Bilbao BBK Live Festival, where I had the huuuge honor of interviewing Chris Stein & Clem Burke from legendary 70's band Blondie.

Bilbao gets cold-ish in the evenings, so it also kept me warm for the Coldplay gig. I hadn't seen them play live since I saw them at Summer Sonic festival in Tokyo 2008...and had forgotten just how amazing they are live. I couldn't resist filming it. I didn't have a camera on me, so just used my iPhone. The quality isn't amazing...but this is what you can expect from a 2hr Coldplay set in 10mins!

Enjoy :)
Lx

Shooting "Woman"

2011-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I was asked to be part of a shoot for Woman magazine.

It involved my hometown (Barcelona); stylist Marta Lasierra; amazing models Veronica Blume, Carla Crombie & Gara Noel...and lots & lots of Chanel.

So on May 5th, I flew to Barcelona to shoot "Coco Girls". It was a lovely sunny day, surrounded by an amazing team, amazing girls...& lots of laughs.

I took my camera with me..and filmed every second I could. It was really fun because there were a lot of friendly faces at the shoot. It was lovely to work with amazing make up artist David Bello again (whom I'd previously worked with in shoots for Vogue & Man); with Veronica, Carla & Gara, all of them are models at my agency who I'd speak to all the time, but had never worked with. I only met Marta Lasierra (fashion director at Woman) on the plane, but we got chatting for so long that by the time we arrived to the shooting location, it was like working with a friend.

The pictures came out a couple of weeks ago in the July issue of Woman, which meant I could finally put the footage together & show you what happened during the shoot!

I hope you enjoy the (almost) 7 minutes of footage, including a few interviews with Marta Lasierra, Carla Crombie & Gara Noel ;P

Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-07-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

Hello from Bilbao!!!
I arrived here yesterday for the 3 day festival being held in this beautiful city.

It was just a few days ago I got back from London. After 3 weeks of working non-stop (even weekends!), I was well in need of a weekend off.

So last weekend I packed my (small) bag, got on a plane & headed to London, where I was meeting Melanie (who'd been working in London for the past couple of days) for a weekend of good food, site seeing & plenty of sleep.

It was sooo relaxing. I love being a tourist in London (even though I've been there like a gazillion times :D)..we even got on a city tour bus & everything (Duck Tours are pretty awesome, in case anybody is planning on going there anytime soon). I also went to the Tate Modern & got to see my lovely friend Scarlett for lunch, it was so good to see her!

Shopping was also a must on the menu. We (of course!) found time for a small (not really) shopping spree. Because I'd only brought a small suitcase with me, I didn't really want to buy anything whilst I was there. Actually, my goal for the weekend was to not buy anything. But that is almost impossible in London...let alone during Summer Sale season. London is amazing during that time of year (and not so amazing for your bank account).

I was proud of myself. I'd managed to keep calm & collected at all times. I contained myself & didn't look at anything via the infamous "I don't need THAT!" phrase.

All was going well...until we walked into Alexander McQueen.
We'd figured out when they started their sale & wandered over there, not really expecting to find anything. As soon as walked over to the counter & saw the skull ring, I knew the "no shopping" goal was over. I'd been wanting that ring for ages & not found it, the price had been reduced...PLUS it would fit perfectly in my suitcase!

Those were more than enough reasons I needed to convince myself about the ring. I walked out with it as happy as can be. I may have also made a quick stop at Topshop...but let's not get into that one!

Right, time for me to stop rambling about my shopping issues & get back to work.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!! :)
Lx

Dcode Festival (Pt 2)

2011-07-04T02:02:00.000-07:00

Foster The People

As promised, here is Part 2 of Dcode festival!

Last weekend, amidst all of the heat & festival madness, I had the pleasure of sitting down for a chat with Mark Foster, Mark Pontius & Cubbie Fink- 3 guys from Los Angeles (California) who got together a couple of years ago, started making music (indie pop, indie electronic) for fun. They came up with a name for their band (Foster The People)...and released an EP.

I heard the EP at the beginning of the year...& really really liked it. I've had tracks like Pumped Up Kicks or Houdini on repeat since I discovered their work.

So after a very successful EP, the guys have recently released their debut album, Torches.

I was eager to hear the album and watch them play live. I was very happy when I saw they were part of the line-up at Dcode.

Here is what they have to say about Torches, touring..& themselves.
Enjoy!
Lx

Dcode Festival (Pt 1)

2011-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

My Item of the Week

After an extremely busy month of work, shoots, festivals & fun (& lots of footage I cannot wait to show you!), I am sitting in a hotel room in London (which I'll talk about in a later post), relaxing & slowly putting all of the footage together (my cameras & iPhone did not have any memory left in them...an urgent clean up/sorting out was well & truly necessary :S).

Don't worry- I won't blurt it all out in one extremely long video with a million pics & videos. It has been a while since my last Item of the Week, so I thought I'd start with that :D

I don't think I've ever worn diamanté studded t-shirts. Ever. They've never really appealed to me. Or at least they didn't until a couple of weeks ago when I walked into a shop in Madrid and saw this t-shirt (the one in the pic above)...which was hung up beside a ton of t-shirts with studded diamanté skulls.

I don't think my declaration of love for skulls (or anything skull-related really) is a surprise to anybody, considering (almost) everything I own has something with a skull on it. Diamantés don't really catch my eye...but get a skull involved in it and my eyes won't be able to resist it.

After about 1hr of diamanté skull t-shirt heaven, I walked out of the store with 5 t-shirts...all of them belonging to the same brand: Queen of e.vil.

This time last week I was getting ready for a weekend of music at Dcode festival in Madrid & decided I wanted to add a bit of e.vil bling to my outfit ;D

It was a lovely weekend at the Complutense University in Madrid (the chosen venue for the festival), surrounded by nice people, lots of heat (we spent the weekend under the sun at 40º temperatures), & enjoying the music from all the different bands that were part of the line-up.

I ended up chatting to one of my favorite new bands for 2011, that I'd been wanting to see for ages. I filmed it all...but I think I've rambled enough for today!

STAY TUNED- I'll be posting part 2 of Dcode festival...with an interview with one of the bands!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)
Lx

(22) Hello...

2011-06-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

...from London!!!!

I arrived here yesterday to celebrate my 22nd birthday, and just wanted to write a quick post to thank everybody for the lovely birthday wishes :)

It feels so good to be back in England! I'll be staying here for the next few days, catching up with friends like my lovely Scarlett!!!

Scarlett and I met whilst I was living in London for a bit in 2009. For those of you who who don't know Scarlett, or don't remember the tons of posts on this blog about her...here is a reminder ;D

I think it may be time to go back to the sofa for a little siesta (and recovery from last nights' party :S).

Hope you all have a lovely end to the week!!
Lx

Primavera Sound'11

2011-06-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

First of all, I apologize for my week of posting absence. I am finally relaxing after the past two sliightly intense (work-wise) weeks..& packing for London- where I'll be spending my (22nd) birthday :)

Exactly this time last week I was on my way back from Barcelona (my hometown), where I'd spent the weekend enjoying the sunshine & music at Primavera Sound Festival.

For 11 years, Primavera Sound has been the festival that brought artists & bands like Iggy Pop; Antony & the Johnsons; Lou Reed; Animal Collective; Patti Smith; Justice; Diplo; Dizzee Rascal; Florence & the Machine; Motorhead; Sonic Youth; Neil Young; to play at the festival, held at the Parc del Fórum in Barcelona.

I've been going to Primavera every year since I first went a few years ago.

This time was the first I was visitng for work: I was there with Mtv, but spending every spare second I had with a few friends that had come to enjoy the festival.

There were quite a few of us (Melanie; Maria; Sara; Rodrigo; Maria & Jemima; Tara; Iván, Alex & Joan; etc.), & things were slightly hecitc. But when we'd finally sorted ourselves out & decided what everybody wanted to watch, we were able to catch a few bands like Belle & Sebastian; Interpol; Deerhunter; The National; Fleet Foxes; etc. & whitnessed the return of Pulp, who played their first live show in 12 years.

Aside from the music, there was another part of the festival I enjoyed. Adidas not only had a relaxing area- where you could sit down & eat pretty good food (for a festival); watch the Champions League final & go to a toilet that wasnt't portable (portaloos are probably the biggest turn-off at a festival)... I thoroughly enjoyed the space they had dedicated to their collaboration with Jeremy Scott. You had to walk into a huuuge shoebox to see the expo (which I thought was pretty awesome ;D).

I entered the huuuge shoebox...& walked out looking like this:

I'd wanted that hoodie for months. As soon as I'd put it on...there was no way I was going to take it off. I walked around the venue in ears, paws...& a tail (I still can't believe it is miiine!!!).

It was an unforgettable weekend, filled with good memories & tons of laughs...& even though my muscles are still recovering from all the walking from one stage to another (the venue, Parc del Forum, is enormous); I can also safely say I'm still suffering from "PFD" (Post Festival Depression).

Before I go, I'd like to leave you with a little video I made at the festival, in hope it will make anyone of you who is considering going to a festival this year want to go...festival season has only just started!

Lx

Mustang S/S'11

2011-05-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

This week is an important week. Not only because Primavera Sound Weekend is coming up (which I've already started packing for ;D)- but because of the launch of 2 new blogs I'll be collaborating with.

Let's start with my collaboration for Spanish shoe brand Mustang (which I am the face of, alongside actor Mario Casas).

It has taken me waaay too long to write about this (considering the Spring campaign came out a couple of months ago). But Mustang have been changing the layout & updating their website (which now looks awesome). And after lots of calls, emails & even Skype calls...we've finally got things up & running.

My collaboration with the brands' website will consist in 2 weekly posts:

1) Monday posts (or how we like to call them, "Mustang Mondays"): every Monday from now on I'll post a street style pic on the Mustang site of what I've worn to an occasion or event that has occured in the past week.

2) Random: the second post of the week (posted on either Wednesdays or Thursdays) will consist in me rambling about stuff I don't usually ramble about on HC's (there is enough rambling going on here as it is ;D): such as fashion news & trends; movies; Spotify playlists; the end of the world; etc.
For those of you who are interested in reading these posts (which will be published in Spanish) you will find them every week on www.mustang.es.

And now for the video :D

Shooting with such an amazing team (I am a big fan of photographer Sergi Pons' & stylist Beñat Yanci's work) &, of course, lovely actor Mario Casas (whom I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting until the day of the shoot) was an unforgettable experience.

Yesterday I posted the official campaign videos (if you haven't seen them yet you can do so now by clicking on the "Laura" section, which you can find right underneath the header pic on HC's).

Here is my edit of shooting Mustang's S/S'11 Campaign...including a small interview with Mario ;)
I hope you enjoy the video!
Lx

Pretty Ballerinas...

2011-05-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

...and Carla Nieto.
(Photo by Cristina López)

In an ideal world, us ladies would spend the entire day in gorgeous, extremely high heels. We'd look taller, our legs would look longer...& we would probably get more guys, too. We would feel like we could run the world with our daily boosts of 10cm confidence.

This sounds amazing...in an ideal world. In the "real" world, we spend our days running around cities that, unfortunately, are still not ready for heels like ours (and it only gets worse if you are as clumsy as I am ;S).

Those extra 10cm of confidence become a complete nightmare: they make us clumsy, we lose time walking at a "heel-friendly" pace (so we don't fall over flat on our faces)...and if that weren't enough, we get home at the end of the day & all we want to do is soak our feet in a bucket of warm water & throw our shoes (which we've spent tons on) out the window.

The key to avoid this situation? Flats (aka ballerinas). They are comfortable, easy to combine and you can wear them everyday, for any kind of occasion. Ballerinas have become an essential basic in our wardrobes.

Shoe brand Mascaró (who initially specialized in making ballet footwear) realized this & wanted to create a brand that focused on ballerinas: Pretty Ballerinas.

Pretty Ballerinas is like the sweet shop/candy store of this type of footwear. Both their flagship / online stores are full of all ballerinas of all types, shapes, textures & colours.

The brand has not stopped growing in popularity since it was created in 2005. Pretty Ballerinas have become a must-have for women around the world.

Harper's Bazaar Spain featured the brand in their May'11 issue. I stopped by the photo shoot in their flagship store in Madrid, where Pretty Ballerinas CEO David Bell posed with lovely actress Carla Nieto (Lope, Angel o Demonio). I wanted to find out a bit more about the brand...and a bit more about Carla :)

I hope you enjoy the video!
Lx

My Item of the Week

2011-05-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Scott x Adidas at SOS 4.8

It is good to finally be home after a weekend of festival mayhem.

But what an amazing mayhem. It was good to be surrounded by good music, & catching up with friends who'd come to enjoy the festival..& although the weather was rubbish (it looked like it was going to rain ALL the time, then suddenly- the sun would come out), it reminded me that summer is on its way- and will be here very soon.

In with the tons of stuff I packed into my (rather large) suitcase, I managed to squeeze in my wellies.

The situation is a bit despairing. Before I bought them, it would rain all the time & I'd keep saying: "I need to buy wellies, they'd come in very handy in situations like these". As soon as I bought them, I have not been able to wear them since...because it has not rained properly in my area. Not once.

This weekend was supposed to be different. I'd been looking at the weather forecast, I was most certain they would end up being my handy Item of the Week.

I woke up on Saturday morning & saw the sky. It was completely grey and was (slightly raining). I ran for my suitcase and grabbed my wellies- I was ready for the rainy day & knew my feet wouldn't get soggy at the festival.

I was wrong. Very wrong. As soon as I arrived to the venue...the sun came out. It was too late to go back to the hotel. I was doomed. It did not rain..not even a little bit.

I spent the whole day in wellies, interviews and all. People would keep asking me why I had them on, & I'd keep saying "it is going to rain soon".

By 12pm I'd just finished working and given up. Before I stayed on to meet friends & see some of the acts, I needed to take the stupid things off of my feet.

I ran to the hotel, threw the boots into the suitcase & pulled out the awesome new Jeremy Scott for Adidas jumper. I'm not much of a "sport jumper" person- but bring Jeremy Scott into the picture & I will not hesitate twice before wearing it.

It is my most recent purchase & I'd been waiting for an occasion to wear it. This one was perfect.

After that little ramble (& whilst I am still waiting for it to rain), I want to leave you with a clip I filmed at the festival. I was able to escape work at 9pm on Saturday to catch White Lies perform live. I had the pleasure of interviewing them before, & love their live shows. They were my favorite act at this edition of SOS 4.8, and I want to share it with you.

I hope you enjoy it...& may the festival season begin!!! :)
Lx

Shooting Bazaar

2011-05-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hello from Murcia!

Murcia is a city in Spain, and the location where SOS 4.8 Festival takes place. After 4 hours on a train (and not many hours of sleep before that) I am happily sitting on my bed in my hotel room with a wonderful tray of room service, TONS of clothes on my bed (needless to say, I over packed AGAIN)..and of course, my laptop.

About a month ago I my shoot for Harper's Bazaar Spain May'11 issue. I had the pleasure of working with an amazing team formed by photographer Rafa Gallar & his assistants Pablo Mingo & Javier López; lovely stylists Almudena Guerra (whom I've written about before), Marta Peleteiro & Lorena Rodríguez; make-up artist Maria Cortés & Bea Maldonado.

It kind of felt like a dream. Shooting surrounded by an incredibly friendly environment is always amazing. It didn't really feel like work at all: I got to stand and be silly in front of the camera- dressed in gorgeous studded & leather garments by some of my favourite brands (such as Burberry Prorsum & Balmain ;P). It felt like even more of a friendly gathering when lovely Miriam Giovanelli (which I will be posting about in the very near future) stopped by to check out the shoot!

I had a truly amazing time. It probably goes without saying I took my camera along...& filmed the shoot!

Right. I need to get my ass out of bed & ready for the festival. I hope you enjoy the video and have a lovely weekend :)

Lx

HB x HC: Bambi

2011-04-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Harper's Bazaar Spain May'11 Issue is finally out. I'd been dying for this issue to come out since I got back from my trip to Paris.

The reason for my craving this issue was the model on the cover: Bambi Northwood-Blyth.

Bambi is different than most of the models. At only 1,71cm height (5´7") has turned into one of the most popular models this season & is becoming a familiar face on (as well as off) the runway.

Trying to make it as a model when you are smaller than 1,75cm is not easy. Clothes always look slightly too big or long on you...plus you need to get used to the fact that you will always be the smallest: from castings to the runway.

At the end of the day, it is always easier & practical for brands to choose models who are more or less around the same height (for group photo composition) & don't need any clothing items being altered. Not many girls under 1,75cm make it as a model in the fashion industry.

There are always exceptions. Let's take Kate Moss, for example. A model who has turned into an icon & muse to most fashion designers. At around 1,67cm-1,70cm tall (5´7"-5´8"), the British model skipped all the rules & height issues...and has established herself as a model & achieved every job a model could dream of.

Sometimes you come across models who have such a strong character & presence in front of the camera make you completely forget about their height. They make designers & stylists forget about composition and garment issues & just focus on the energy of the model.

This is the case with beautiful Bambi. The Australian model has only been modeling for a year...& already walked shows for the likes of Kenzo, Chanel & Balmain; as well as shooting campaigns for huge brands like H&M.

When in front of a camera, Bambi knows exactly what she is doing, she moves perfectly (with huuuge heels on, nobody is able to tell how tall she really is). The second the picture has been shot, you discover the real Bambi: fun, friendly, bubbly & relaxed.

She takes what is happening in her life & her career one step at a time; and she intends to enjoy every minute of it. Here is Bambi- in 4minutes.

I hope you enjoyed the video & wish everybody a HAPPY EASTER! :)
Lx

NailsNailsNails (Spring'11)

2011-04-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning & decided I'd paint my nails for the weekend. I was browsing through my nail colours...& felt slightly embarrassed at the amount of nail colours I'd accumulated in the past years.

This morning I realized I may have a slight obsession when it comes to nails. I tried to think about the last time I got a professional manicure...I was 16. And, if I remember correctly, the lady wasn't too happy I was telling her how to paint my nails.

After that sliiiightly embarrassing experience, I decided the money I'd save on getting my nails painted, I'd spend on nail colours.

Mission accomplished. Over the years I've accumulated lovely colours & I've learned how to paint nails properly. I am now my family & friends' official manicurist ;)

I know I'm not the only one with this obsession- which is why I've decided to list my 10 favourite nail colours for Spring 2011.

Matte

Summer Peach- American Apparel

Bicycle Yellow #543- Creative Nail Design

Bleu Asphalte #37- Bourjois

Ultra Lavande #10- Lancome

Shine

Sunny Pink #05- Max Effect/Max Factor

Pearl Drop #511- Chanel

Diving in Malaysia #68- Sephora

Austin-Tatious Turquoise- O.P.I

Rouge

Red Hot Tamale #85- Revlon

Enhanced Garnet #03- Esteé Lauder

HB x HC: Juanjo

2011-04-11T01:20:00.000-07:00

(Photos by Xavi Muntané)

After a week of chaos & "post absence" (followed by a weekend of relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather :D), I thought I'd start this weeks' rambles talking about actor Juan José Ballesta.

I had the pleasure of meeting Juanjo (short for Juan José) almost 10 years ago when, for circumstances of life, I ended up at a movie audition & was being considered to play the main part in a film called "El Viaje de Carol". Juanjo, who was 14 years old at the time, was playing the male lead.

At the age of 14, Juanjo was no stranger to the movie industry. He'd already won a Goya Award (the most prestigious movie award in Spain) for his lead character in El Bola (a film I highly recommend to all of you Spanish speakers ;) ).

I met Juanjo when I was 12, and he one of the most interesting, energetic boys I'd met. He was kind, friendly, hard working & made everybody around him feel completely comfortable.

After a couple of weekends of trials for the film, they chose actress Clara Lago to play the lead role (she did a wonderful job), & I knew the probabilities of seeing Juanjo after that were very thin- back then I didn't have a mobile phone & Mark Zuckerberg hadn't surprised the world with Facebook.

I met Juanjo again at his shoot for Harper's Bazaar Spain.
It has been an intense year for the actor. He'd starred in 2 movies in 2010 (Entre Lobos, Bruc) and was now playing Paulo, one of the main characters in Antena 3 tv Hit television show Hispania.

I wondered if he'd changed at all since I met him. Being in the public eye at such a young age & having to grow up so fast can change anybody. But not Juanjo.

At the age of 23, he has grown up & grown as an actor. With 11 movies, 4 tv shows, a Goya & Concha de Plata award in his career; he's found time to settle down with his lifelong girlfriend and is a proud father of a 3 year old boy.

Even after all that, he was still the person I remembered. He was still well grounded, found time to enjoy his family and hobbies, and still aspirational: he dreams of eventually becoming a film director.

It was really nice to see him again after such a long time & I was happy to see everything is working out for him. The shoot was very fun, everybody seemed to have a very good time. Juanjo is like a hurricane of positive energy and a delightful person to work with...and I can't think of a better way to describe it than with a video.

Enjoy! I hope you all have a lovely week :)
Lx

Loewe & Nataha Yarovenko

2011-04-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken with gorgeous actress Natasha Yarovenko on March 5th after the Loewe A/W'11 show in Paris. It might as well have been taken a couple of days ago.

3 days ago Spanish luxury brand Loewe organized a private event at the Botanic Gardens in Madrid to show the Autumn-Winter collection to all the people who'd missed the show in Paris.

The location was perfect: all the little paths around the garden were full of candles, women walking around in beautiful dresses & their highest of heels...& everybody was drinking champagne. It was lovely to see how Loewe had managed to bring the essence & magic of their Paris show to Madrid.

I loved the collection, & wasn't the only one that wanted to see it again. Amongst other ladies who'd turned up to see it for a second time, I ran into Natasha Yarovenko- main character in "Room in Rome" (which got her a Goya nomination for best new actress) & big fan of Loewe- & we chatted for a bit about the show.

The day after the show, whilst remembering the conversation I'd had with Natasha, I remembered that, once the show had finished in Paris, I'd sat down with her for a chat...& had footage of it!

Here is Loewe's A/W'11 show, with lovely Ms. Yarovenko as commentator :)
Enjoy!
Lx

HB x HC: Ms. Jablosnki

2011-03-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

(Photos by Nico for Harper's Bazaar)

Hello from Madrid! I'm back after a lovely week I spent in Barcelona with my family & friends :)

After months of cold weather & rain in what has (to me) seemed like one of the longest winters ever...Spring has finally arrived! Little by little the temperatures are rising. Slowly, we take all of our layers & layers of dark clothes off & change them for colourful, bright & happy ones.

Harper's Bazaar Spain has done exactly the same with their April issue: they've created a fantastically colourful issue with the beautiful Constance Jablonski (made up by the incredible Tom Pecheux) on the cover.

A couple of months ago I was able to go to the shooting (which took place in Barcelona) and- aside from wishing that the good weather would come as I saw all the beautiful "spring-y" garments (it was pouring down with rain outside) & taking my camera out for a little footage- I was able to sit down with the gorgeous french model to talk a bit about her & Estée Lauder campaign.

Congratulations on being the new face of Estee Lauder! How did you feel when you were approached about it?

Constance: It meant a lot to me. Professionally it meant a lot because, to be the face of one of the most prestigious cosmetic brands in the world is the best contract you can aspire to as a model. I could not be happier.
Personally it meant a lot because I am a huge fan of the brand. Its sophisticated & elegant image fascinates me. I love the products &, the same as my mother and grandmother have done for years, I always carry around Estée Lauder in my handbag!

What does you daily make-up routine consist in?
CJ: I would say moisturizing cream, neutral coloured gloss & mascara.

What are your favourite make-up tones for day-wear?
CJ: I love luminous tones, specially pink & beige tones.

What are your favourite evening make-up tones?
CJ: At night, I love to combine dark smokey eyes with a beige, skin-coloured, lipstick.

Tom Pecheux desgined the make-up for the Pure Colour Lipstick campaign. What was it like to work with him?
CJ: Tom's make-up is amazing. It is impossible not to feel gorgeous when Tom does your make-up. He is known for bringing out the most attractive side of women.

When did you start working in the fashion industry?
CJ: My brother sent in a few pics of me to an agency in France. They decided to take me on &...voilá!

Was this something you wanted to do since you were a little girl?
CJ: No. I dreamed of being a professional tennis player.

What do you like to do in your free time?
CJ: I like to play tennis, enjoy New York with my friends & go to the theater.

Which are you favourite designers?
CJ: I love Isabel Marant, Rag and Bone, Balmain & Yves Saint Laurent.

What is the best part of modeling?
CJ: The thing I like most about this job is the traveling: exploring the world & meeting wonderful people along the way. The worst part are the intense hair styling sessions during fashion week...my hair is reaaaally sensible!

You can find the full editorial photos in Harper's Bazaar Spain's April Issue. Happy Spring everybody!! :)
Lx

Paris je t'aime

2011-03-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the only thing I bought in my trip to Paris:

A mug (the only one they had at Charles de Gaulle Airport) to add to my collection of mugs. In a city known to be the city of fashion & design, Laura comes back with a SOUVENIR MUG.

I think I was so busy falling in love with the city itself & the fashion shows (and the crepes ;D). All I wanted to do was open my eyes and soak in the wonderfulness that is Paris Fashion Week.

I remember the last time I was in Paris: I was 17 and had just watched The Devil Wears Prada. I still don't know how, but I managed to convince my family to spend a few days in Paris. I remember stopping when I saw the Place de la Concorde & closing my eyes (making sure nobody was looking) & imagining what it would look like during Fashion Week, as well as the Jardin de les Tuileries.

Almost 5 years later, I returned to Paris to enjoy the first days of Fashion Week.

Exactly 2 weeks ago, on Friday March 4th, I packed my bag & got on a plane to Paris (feeling extremely proud that I'd been able to pack everything I needed for the weekend into hand luggage & the London incident would not occur again).

Once there I met up with lovely ladies Melanie & Almudena Guerra, who'd spent the whole day at fashion shows & viewing collections. That was when the chaos that is Paris Fashion Week began.

It was 3 completely chaotic and exhausting and overwhelming days...but oh SOOOOO fun.

In 3 days we saw Balmain's A/W'11 collection at the Paris headquarters (personally one of my favourite brands); the beautiful shoe designs of gorgeous British designer Tabitha Simmons; and the rock & chic Roger Vivier A/W'11 shoe & accessory collection in the company of 80's top model and Karl Lagerfeld muse Inès de la Fressange.

I don't even want to remember the huuuge grin on my face (mixed with a bit of shock I was actually there) at the Viktor & Rolf show; I'll always remember the happiness & joy I felt at the friendly Sonia Rykiel show; & the proud feeling I had as I watched Spanish brand Loewe show (which I think deserves a separate post).

We also found time to go for a stroll and visit stores like Colette & Céline; walk down Champs Elisees (with a huuuge crépe in hand); and experience the night life with my lovely friend William, who I hadn't seen since I was in Tokyo 2 years ago! We visited old Parisian clubs and bars like L'Arc and Le Pompon for a drink (and a bit of a party :D).

I was also able to attend the Harper's Bazaar Spain May cover shoot, & chatted for a bit with the cover model. I'm afraid I can't give any details on that...except for you'll love the model & the pics!

I still cannot believe I was there. Paris Fashion Week was not at all how I'd imagined- it was much, much better. So many unforgettable memories & experiences surrounded by so many lovely & unforgettable people in my life.

Luckily for me, I didn't get PPD (Post Paris Depression). Because every time I drink tea or coffee I get to remember what up until now, has been one of the best weekends in my (almost) 22 years of life. And if the mug doesn't do the trick, I can always watch this video :D

Time to get packing for Barcelona, I'm off to see my family for 10 days! Hope you enjoy the video and have a lovely lovely weekend!!!

Lx.

My Item of the Week

2011-03-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

The Big Black Bag.

LOVELINESS.
Currently sitting at home in my pj's- it feels so good to finally relax after the stress over the past couple of weeks! I just got back from a lovely weekend in Valencia for Mtv Winter Festival & whilst I was editing last weekend's footage from Paris Fashion Week, I felt the need to ramble :D

A few days ago I met up with my lovely friend & roommate Carla in the centre of Madrid for a coffee, chat, walk home & a bit of window shopping.

We happened to walk down one of the most popular shopping streets in Madrid, Calle Serrano.

Calle Serrano is probably one of the worst streets to walk down with me (a shopaholic), because I stop & look at the windows..& before you know it, I've wandered into the store.

On this little adventure down Serrano, apart from discovering one of the best bakeries in town (aka Brownie Cheescake heaven)...I couldn't resist the temptation of walking into Longchamp to check out Kate Moss' new handbag line.

I loved it. Specially the summery hippie basket/bags. They were amazing- but I have learned to (slightly) control my shopping habit & knew I had to stick to what I needed: a black handbag.

I've spent years looking for the perfect big black bag. Something casual yet elegant & timeless that I can use on a daily basis, wear with anything, throw around, travel with & carry my laptop in. I have various options in my mind, but can't seem to make my mind up.

As I headed towards the exit, I realized Carla was staring at the wall full of Longchamp's infamous Shopping Bags. As soon as I saw the one in black it clicked: I hadn't come across the perfect black bag yet- but I knew Longchamp had the perfect black practical & affordable bag I could use until I found The One.

I took the bag with me to Valencia, & it proved to be absolutely perfect for what I needed: laptop, changes of clothes, make-up, etc., & it proved to be even more amazing when I realized the handles didn't dig into my shoulders. I'm extremely happy & proud of this new little purchase ;D

This said, that is enough rambling for today. Back to sofa time for meeeeee.
Hope you all had a lovely weekend :)
Lx.

STAY TUNED for Paris FW Posts coming up!

QFPQ: Almudena Guerra

2011-03-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

(Photos by Cristina López)

From economic analyst to fashion stylist. A few years ago, Almudena Guerra decided to leave her job as an economic analyst in New York to pursue a career in fashion. She has worked for publications like Vogue & Vanity Fair. Today she is a stylist at Harper's Bazaar, as well as a freelance stylist & collaborator for magazines like El País Semanal.

I had the pleasure of working with lovely stylist Almudena a few weeks ago for a couple of pics for El País Semanal. That is when I decided it was time for another section on HoraConfessions: Quick Fashion Personality Questions- or, as I like to call it- QFPQ.
Here are the 10 questions for Almudena Guerra!

(The final pictures from the shoot come out in tomorrow's issue of El País Semanal)

1) How old were you when you realized you wanted to work in fashion?
Almudena: ...Not that young actually!

2) What was the first fashion show you ever saw?
AG: Sonia Rykiel F/W'08.

3) Describe your style in 3 words:
AG: Moody, easy & simple.

4) 3 things you ALWAYS have in your handbag..
AG: Lip balm, Kleenex & my Blackberry.

5) Your favourite accessory..
AG: Neck handkerchiefs.

6) An item of clothing you'd never wear..
AG: Denim dungarees.

7) An item of clothing that you can wear to any occasion..
AG: My black blazer.

8) A fashion icon..
AG: Jane Birkin.

9) A colour you'd never wear..
AG: I'd wear any colour!

10) Your favourite colour for S/S'11..
AG: Any fluorine colours.

See you "aprés Paris"!!!!!!!
<3L.

Peacocky for Cibeles (MFW)

2011-03-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

(Photo by Javier Garbeche- backstage at Angel Schlesser A/W'11)

Whilst I was on the hunt for something to wear to the Angel Schlesser show at Cibeles (Madrid Fashion Week), I thought it may be a good idea to add a few new eye shadows to my little make-up collection.

If there is something I like about MAC, it is the eye shadows. So I decided to go and see if they had any new colours in. To my surprise, their new collection, Peacocky, had just been launched in February- with 15 new eye shadows.

Minutes later I walked out of the store with 3 new eye shadows & 1 new lip gloss (I couldn't resist!). I decided to give it a try. AND filmed it- because there really isn't an easy way to explain (in written words) how I used it.

Before you watch the video & try out for yourselves, here is the list of Peacocky ingredients:

Prance

I find it is always good to apply a layer of a light, almost skin colour tone to my eyelids (specially when you need to go out & about after a long day/night). It makes you look fresh & awake (even when you are really, really not).

Mating Call

I'm not one to wear bright colours on my eyes...but this shade lives up to its name. You kind of can't resist it :D

Unflappable

I love these kinds of shades because you can use them as eye shadow (for evening occasions: parties, events, etc); or you can use them as soft eyeliner during the day. This shade of black-ish/ deep purple does the double function trick perfectly.

Woo Me

I love glosses that make your lips shine a bit, but don't alter the colour. This one just makes your lips slightly shiny (without you feeling they are stuck together).

I also forgot to mention the 2nd thing I like about MAC: the names of their products.

Right, time for me to get back to stuffing my clothes into a TINY suitcase whist trying to practice/remember my French, I'm off to Paris for the weekend!!

Hope you enjoy the video & "Passe un bon weekend" ;D

Un bisou,
Lx

HB x HC: London Calling (II)

2011-03-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my second post of the day & part 2 of my London travels!

As I said in my earlier post: during our little shopping spree in Central London, Melania Pan, Sara Hernando & I decided we'd enter the wonderful little fashion paradise that is Topshop Oxford Circus.

I asked Mel & Sara to pick out 10 items of Topshop's S/S'11 collection for HoraConfession's readers. Here are the items they chose:

(WARNING: NEVER enter Topshop Oxford Circus if you don't have at least 1hr to shop- you might end up "almost" missing important appointments/dates/commitments/fashion shows ;D)

White OMG t-shirt (see in online store)

White horse t-shirt (see in online store)

Knitted nude bodycon crop vest (see in online store)

Navy knitted stitch jumper (see in online store)

Flag print denim hotpants (see in online store)

Black leather tassle side hotpants (see in online store)

Navy zip front jumpsuit (see in online store)

Black strappy jersey maxi dress (see in online store)

Long line tunic denim dress (see in online store)

Suede stitch biker jacket (see in online store)

HB x HC: London Calling (I)

2011-03-01T02:09:00.000-08:00

This month is a special month for Harper's Bazaar Spain, since it was a year ago they published their first issue. For that reason, I wanted to do something different for the post in collaboration with them.

When they offered me the opportunity to go & watch the Burberry Prorsum A/W'11 show with Melania Pan & Sara Hernando, I didn't think about it twice: I had had had to go!!!

So on Saturday 19th February, I packed my bags (yes, I know I was only going for the weekend, but one should be ready for this kind of events :D), I took my camera with me & documented out express visit to London.

We had a bit over 48hrs to enjoy the lovely city before we had to go back to Madrid..so we needed to get everything we wanted to done- which meant we did not stop.

I could post a picture that represented the lovely weekend we spent there during Fashion Week, but I thought this video would illustrate our travels much better :)

In 48hrs we managed to get together for drinks; enjoy Spitalfields & Brick Lane Markets in all of their Sunday glory; shop until our bodies could not carry any more bags; watch Kele (member of Bloc Party) perform a the Mulberry party; & we were also able to check out Twenty8Twelve A/W'11 collection by Sienna & Savannah Miller!

We found time for a little visit to Topshop, where I asked Melanie & Sara to choose 10 items of clothing they would recommend to HoraConfessions followers for S/S'11- but I'm saving that for Part 2 of our London travels which I shall post later on during the day.

After our extremely productive visit to Topshop we headed back to the hotel as fast as we could (we'd got carried away in there & realized we had under an hour to get ready for the fashion show!).
We were ready on time: I wore a lovely can-can dress by Valentino Red- and TWO suitcases, since I had to go to the airport as soon as they show had ended (yes, I immediately regretted all the "outfit options" I'd taken with me :D).

I arrived to Madrid at 11pm on Monday feeling completely physically and mentally exhausted- but oh sooo happy. The Burberry Prorsum show had been amazing (we almost missed it because we got stuck in traffic!). It was an honor to be able to attend and a completely unforgettable experience. It has been a week & a day since I got back and I still can't believe I was there!!

Huge thank you to Melania & Sara for such an amazing weekend, & shout outs to the rest of the team that have made Harper's Bazaar Spain the magazine it is today- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

STAY TUNED- I'll be posting Part 2 in a few hours!!! :)
<3L.

My Item of the Week

2011-02-24T10:47:00.001-08:00

Finding the perfect rip.

With all the excitement of Madrid Fashion Week over, I finally have time to relax, sit down & blog about this past week's events! Before I sit down & do that I'd like to ramble a bit about a new addition to my wardrobe.

I've loved ripped skinny jeans for a long time. I've been trying to find a nice pair of ripped jeans- unsuccessfully- for years. I'm not too picky when it comes to simple jeans...but (apparently) I'm extremely picky when it comes to ripped denim.

The rips are always either too big or too small; the denim is never the right colour; if it isn't that then there is something wrong with the pockets; etc. There is ALWAYS something wrong.

When I gave up on finding the perfect pair I decided I'd do a little "do it yourself" experiment on an old pair- which went horrendously wrong (I got carried away & ended up having to throw away the jeans). I promised myself I would never try and rip my own jeans ever again.

With that option discarded, the only other thing I could do was wait to come across a pair I actually liked- which was exactly one week ago. Just as Madrid Fashion Week had started.

I'd been invited to Angel Schlesser's A/W'11 Show. I had the honor of being invited to sit at the front row of the show, & considering what had happened the season before (what I will always remember as the "Flip Flop Incident"), I thought it may be a good idea to look decent for the occasion.

I decided I'd get lost around the little streets in the center of Madrid (I still don't know my way around too well :S), when I found this small multi brand store. I walked to the back of the store and- all of a sudden- I was in denim heaven. There were amazing jeans in all different styles and colours. I'd finally discovered Hollywood Trading Company (HTC).

My eyes drifted straight towards these ripped jeans, which I immediately tried on. 20 minutes later, I thought it would be a good idea to walk out of the shop before I got out of hand and spent all my rent money on jeans & belts (HTC started out making belts before anything else..and they are amaaazing :P). I did buy the lovely ripped jeans though!

I headed home to get ready for the fashion show, & could simply not resist wearing them!

Right, time for me to go back to editing my London video (STAY TUNED!!!). Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)

<3l.

The Roshamp Method- Part 1

2011-02-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

(If you already know/remember what the Roshamp Method is you can skip the intro & scroll down to my recommendations ;D).

A couple of years ago I was about to cut my hair. When I mean cut, I mean shave. I was never really paranoid about my hair, in fact I'd never worried too much about it, but it was getting so bad I couldn't help but notice. The crazy things that had been done to my hair at shoots was starting to take its toll..& my hair looked horrible.

At that point I thought it may be a good idea to sit down & think about what I could do to improve it before putting the kitchen scissors to my hair and doing something I would have (for SURE) regretted.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd changed my shampoo & conditioner. I decided that if I couldn't change & control what was being used in my hair at work, I'd have to change & control the products I used on a daily basis to prevent my hair from getting any worse. I also needed to bring it "back to life".

So I headed towards the closest supermarket & bought 3 shampoos & 2 conditioners, all from different brands, & all of them for different uses: I wanted volume, shine % repair.

I'd shower with 6 bottles, I'd wash my hair 3 times a week, using a different combination each time. After a couple of weeks of doing this, I noticed my hair was looking much better. As I continued using the same method, my hair got better & better. To this day I do exactly the same thing.

Every time my friends & family would come over to my house & use my bathroom, they'd come out of this bathroom & stare at me as if I were mad (I think they'd seen all the shampoos in the shower..?).

So, like any crazy lady would do, I gave my little method a name: The Method of the Rotatory Shampoo- or to (elegantly) simplify it- The Roshamp Method ;D

So for those of you out there who find yourselves in the same situation as I did a couple of years ago & want to give "Roshamp" a try, here is a little list of shampoos I highly recommend you could use :)

Let's start with Volume: something I know many of you want to achieve for your hair. I'd been trying shampoos that were supposed to do wonders of volume to my hair, & none of them worked. This was until John Frieda saved the day when he brought out his new range, Luxurious Volume. This is the only shampoo that has managed to give my hair that extra bit (we oh so love) of volume.

We all want our hair to shine like the girls' in the ads. Dazzling Shine by Herbal Essences brings out the lovely shine in your hair & leaves it with that "bling bling" we see in the ads (it also smells AMAAAZING :D). All we need now is a shower in the middle of a tropical island.

A recent addition to my collection has been Aqua-Light- the new range by Pantene for fine hair with a tendency to get greasy (aka my hair in a city). It avoids the "hair stuck to head" situation extremely well, leaving my hair feeling nice &, as the ad describes it- swishy (I really did try not to use that word).

Some shampoos are good to keep in your bathroom cupboard in case of emergencies. H&S Citrus Fresh Anti-Dandruff is perfect for eliminating dandruff & leaving your roots & scalp feeling nice & fresh thanks to its citrus aroma.

Sometimes one goes a bit crazy & decides to do crazy things to one's hair. When the crazy moment is over it is time for damage control. Dove Intense Damage Therapy is great for those cases (I always use it after a photo shoot) & it prevents the much dreaded split ends.

Another good shampoo for emergencies is L'Oreal Absolut Repair. It is great for "healing" split ends & giving your hair that extra little bit of moisture. I like using this shampoo once (or more- depending on how much I've messed around with my hair) at the end of the month, so I can start the next month with strong & healthy hair.

For a regular use I find Korres: Juniper & Olive Tree is really good. There are no chemicals in it, which make it a great shampoo to add to the collection. It leaves your hair so soft & smooth it almost feels like you don't even have to use conditioner. You can actually try using it without conditioner once in a while (if your hair doesn't have a tendency to get extremely knotty) to give it a bit more volume.

Last (but not least) on my list is my recommendation for blonds. Blonder, by John Frieda is one of my favorite shampoos. The chamomile extracts in it bring out the natural blond streaks in your hair. It is good for all kinds of blonds: natural blonds will really notice a difference (specially in the winter) & dyed/streaked blonds will love it because it makes expensive visits to the hair salon wait a liiitle bit longer ;)

There is my list of suggestions. Now it is your turn! You'll see which shampoos suit your hair better as you try them out, & slowly you'll have your own list of favorites (as well as all the weird looks from your guests when they see the little shampoo collection you have going on! ;D).

PS: if you happen to have any shampoo suggestions, email me at laura@horaconfessions.com!

<3l.

My Item of the Week

2011-02-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Lovely Yolanda & my newly discovered passion for trainers.

I'm not a big trainer fan. Don't get me wrong- I love them on other people, & love them on their own..but the second I put them on my feet I feel like a clown. Clumsy + Clown Feet= Not an ideal combination. So for years, I just stuck to plane, fashionable basics: Converse & Vans- and I didn't even wear those often.

These weren't supposed to be mine. They were supposed to be worn for the day, then given back to the showroom they came from. They have now become a new addition to my shoe collection.

Last week we had to record the Top20 hit lists at the Motor Show Festival in Zaragoza. This meant we'd be wandering around the fairground all day- which meant high heels were not the best option to wear. So before going to Zaragoza, Yolanda & I went to look for outfits in different showrooms around Madrid.

I love Yolanda. Yolanda is the stylist for the hit lists, and she's awesome. She's fun to work with & will always respect your style when dressing you for the programs. I'm also convinced she has superpowers: she's managed to dress me in things I never thought anybody would be capable of convincing me to wear. I'm currently going through a salmon pink top phase- & I HATE wearing pink- which I'm convinced it is completely her doing. Enough about pink tops, I'll leave that for another post ;D

We were at the last showroom of the day. I was in a changing room (bigger than my entire apartment), trying on a pile of clothes by all sorts of lovely designers (no, sadly you don't get to keep them), & we were trying to figure out a sport-friendly outfit for one of the hit lists in which we'd have to kart race (I say "sport-friendly" because I doubt anybody would kart race in a Dsquared leather jacket :S). It wasn't hard to find the outfit, so once we got that out of the way, all we were missing were shoes.

I suddenly saw Yolanda's face light up. She asked me to wait in the changing room & said she needed to get something from the car. A few minutes later, she came back with these beautiful little pieces of awesomeness. I was all set for Zaragoza.

Needless to say, they were sooooo comfortable I didn't take them off unless it were absolutely necessary. I wore them all weekend- including the burlesque bar I was dragged to on our last night there (not the best wardrobe choice, but I was like a kid with a new toy).

When we returned on Saturday evening, & I decided I'd meet some of my friends for a cocktail (or two) in Madrid. With no time to change, I headed directly to the cocktail bar in the lovely trainers (I also wanted to use them as much as possible before I had to return them).

Coincidently, I happened to walk into the same cocktail bar as Nike Spain's Press Manager, who was chatting to my friends. Oh dear lord. Typical. I wasn't supposed to be wearing them. As soon as he saw them (and my awkwardness as I'd realized the situation) he burst out laughing & said I could keep them!

I am now the proud owner of these babies & have not taken them off all week- I'm making up for all the lost "trainer time"!

Shout outs to Chip & Yolanda for my new little treasures :)

<3L.

HB x HC

2011-02-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

(Photos by Xtema Yeste)

Ok, let's recreate the typical love scene in a movie: the girl enters a bar. She has got to a point in her life where she no longer believes in finding a man, let alone love. She sits down, turns around- & before she can even realize what is happening- there he is- the man of her life (even though she doesn't know it yet) & there is that instant "click".

Everybody knows how it ends: they end up living happily ever after.

About a year ago I had exactly the same experience…except a bit different.

It was nearly a year ago I entered a hair salon (it had been adages since I got my ends trimmed). I walked into the hair salon, dreading the sight of all of the unreadable fashion magazines.

Let me explain: I'd got to the point where I no longer read fashion magazines. I'd buy them, flick through a couple of pages, then leave them lying around somewhere in my room. Then, when they'd already been sitting there for a couple of months & had a huge layer of dust accumulated on them- I'd throw them away. I didn't think the content was readable or approachable, they'd turned into fancy "picture books".

I sat down in the chair, & before I could even realize, my eyes were fixated on the cover of the first ever issue of Harper's Bazaar Spain. Without being able to control it, my hand reached towards the visually stimulating issue of the magazine with gorgeous model Karmen Kaas on the cover, looking more beautiful than ever.

I opened the magazine and started reading…then realized I couldn't stop.

For those of you who have followed this blog for a while, you know that one of the main reasons I created HoraConfessions was to show my vision as a model working in the fashion industry. I wanted to stay clear of cold, distant & inaccessible fashion through my videos and posts & maybe make fashion "less scary".

I was thrilled. I'd finally found a magazine I could read. It was young, fresh, modern- with a touch of sophistication & elegance we all look for in our "fashion bibles". There was that instant "click"- like the ones you see in movies. Ok, I hadn't found my Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson- but I'd found my Fashion Bible. I think it goes without saying that it became the magazine I purchased religiously every month.

Things got a lot better when I moved to Madrid- where I met the incredible Melania Pan- director of Harpers' Bazaar (I'll talk about that little encounter on another occasion, it deserves a separate post!). She invited me to go to a photo shoot…I happened to have my camera with me &…cha-chiiiiiiiingggg!!!!

It is an honor for me to present you the new section of HoraConfessions in collaboration with Harper's Bazaar Spain.

Once a month I shall take my camera with me & film the "making of" of an editorial shoot. You'll be able to read about it & watch the video on HC or directly from the Harpers' Bazaar website (click here to read the post on their website).

So here it is, my first video! I had the pleasure of chatting to lovely model Nina Porter for a bit at her "Mínimo" Editorial shoot for the magazine back in December. You can find the editorial shoot in the February issue of Harper's Bazaar Spain.

This is the beginning of a lovely journey..& I couldn't think of somebody I'd rather share it with. Shout outs to all the team at HB for this wonderful opportunity :)

Enjoy the vid!!!!

<3L.

Technical Issues- RIP Lassie

2011-02-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Thia is the current state of my external hard drive, my LaCie. Or, how I liked to call it, my Lassie (if you haven't seen the movie then you should).

The accident occurred last week, when- after a year of wonderfulness & loyalty- Lassie decided she'd had enough stress, pressure & GB.

She died. She died, & with her death so did EVERYTHING in her. Including photos, movies...& (most importantly) movie projects.

Bloody Lassie. There I was, quietly sitting at my work desk, minding my own business, happily editing the first video of the year..when "Poooooof!". Everything in my external hard drive was completely gone.

After about 45mins of just staring at my screen in a complete state of shock, I tried to bring it back to life. When I realized what had happened, I burst into tears (not one of my proudest moments).

I was so upset. I never thought I could get that upset about a little plastic box.

I've spent the past week & half trying to recover all the files & resuscitate my poor little hard drive. I've managed to recover some files, but was really upset to learn half of them "wouldn't make it".

I don't think there has been a day this week where I haven't visited a computer store (I should have a gold membership card by now).

On the bright side, I stocked up & backed up all of the files I still have on new external hard drives (Lassies II & III) & almost nearly sorted out all of the technical difficulties.

BRB!!!

<3L.

My Item of the Week

2011-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Statement Tops

Yes. I DID. and i LOVE IT.

Statement tops...such a tricky thing to wear off & something you often get tired of very easily.
It often starts with a joke & you find it hilarious. Then the joke ends & you are left with a jumper that makes you look like a bit of a fool.
It sits in the back of your closet for ages- but you won't throw it out because you know you've only worn it about 2 times.

It has happened to me so, so , so many times.

But sometimes you find a statement top that says everything you need to say for you. That was my case with this one.

I just got back from a weekend in London- where I decided it was time to make some NSPs (New Season Purchases- the PERFECT excuse to shop ;D). It was going to be all about "stuff I needed", & "stuff I will always wear".

I love Topshop on Oxford Circus (click here to read my post about the store). That store is the equal of Fashion Heaven- on any other day than Saturday- on Saturdays, it turns into a complete nightmare with tons of people and queues everywhere.

After 3hrs of a successful nightmare (found TONS of stuff- but needed a day at the Spa after that). I had a huuge pile of clothes in my arms, I was dropping clothes everywhere along the way, crazy ladies bumping into me (in exactly the same situation as me), huffing & puffing, cursing fashion & the bloody NSPs- & I looked up and saw it right there- saying exactly what needed to be said about my current state at that time: OMG.

Didn't even try it on. I picked it up, threw it on my pile & decided it was time to go home before I found more stuff and my bank called to ask if I was "ok?".

The jumper is by YourEyesLie, a brand sold at Topshop.
I checked them out as soon as I got back and fell in love with their stuff. Was also extremely happy when I realized they have an online store & ship around the world! Check them out by clicking here :)

Another little random thing before I end this post- but this song has been on repeat since I started writing the post & when I realized its title I thought it fitted the post- & the Item- perfectly!

STAY TUNED- Next post is the NEW SECTION/COLLABORATION!!!!!!!
<3L.

Welcome Back!!

2011-01-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy 2011 & Welcome to the new HoraConfessions.com!

Sorry it has taken me long to start the year but, as you can see, I have been a bit of a busy bee during the holidays. I decided it was time for HoraConfessions to undergo some changes in appearance..& voila, this is the result!

My blog is ready for what seems will be a a pretty intense year. As you can see, there are a few new sections added to the blog.

First item on the list of changes/additions would be that HoraConfessions can finally be read in Spanish! The videos will remain the same in both Spanish & English parts of the blog, but hopefully being able to read the post in Spanish will make it easier for all Spanish followers :)

Another addition to the blog is the Music section. The little (almost invisible) list on the right side has disappeared & turned into a whole section. From now on, every time I post a video/making-of on HoraC's, you can go to "Music" and find the official video to the song as well as the direct link to find the song on iTunes. If you still want to listen to more music, you can always visit my Tumblr, beatmewithyoursugar.com.

Then there is the Laura section: sort of like an online scrapbook/directory where I can post anything I like (& don't force you all to look at it :D) related to shopping, other blogs I may find interesting, etc.

I also have an interesting collaboration to tell you about...but I think I'll save that for the next post! :D

Before I stop writing to continue chatting to my dear friend Scarlett (I'm visiting her in London for the weekend :) ), I would like to thank everybody for following & for your support since HoraConfessions started (if you don't know how it started, click here, it is pretty funny).

I hope you all had an awesome start to 2011, & hope you all like the changes that have been made!!!

STAY TUNED!!! (I've been quiet for waay too long & have lots to tell. I'm also in the mood for rambling- and editing :D )

<3L.

2010's VMB

2010-12-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

(Farewell 2010, Happy 2011)

30 minutes ago, I was packing for a nice, 3 day weekend.
I'm spending New Year's Eve in Lovely London!

Whilst trying to figure out how I am going to fit 3 days-worth of clothes into my tiiiiny hand luggage (story of my life), I decided I would take a break for a little bit of an evaluation of the year. One thing lead to another..and now I find myself writing this post.

I cannot believe 2010 is over...I feel like it has flown by. Yet so much has happened & changed.

This time last year, I was sitting at home with a broken elbow. I'd just got back from London (I'd been living there for the past 3 months); I'd lost loads of jobs..and I was a bit of a teary mess. I spent New Year's Eve quiet at home..as well as the next month & half (I think that was when I realized I wasn't a big fan of "calm & quiet" :D ). Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I had known how hectic it was going I to get!

Something I also realized recently is how useful this blog is as a scrapbook. Actually, more like a "VMB" (Video Memory Box).
So instead of indulging in a deep session of Laura's Ramblings (& drag you guys in it), I have decided to walk you through the past year via my little videos :D

Here are some of the memories I don't think I'll never forget:

1. Shooting Vogue Spain (Febuary'10)
I was soooo nervous. And soooo extremely happy. It was the first time since I'd broken my elbow I felt "luck" was on my side..and things were starting to look positive again. It was a lovely experience, and I was so lucky I got to work with such a lovely team.
(To read full post click here)

2. Shooting Marie Claire Spain (April'10)
Work, work, work. I'd been modeling in Barcelona for months & work was going really well. Booking an editorial for Marie Claire was like a dream come true, it was an honor for me to be able to work with amazing models Oriol Elcacho & Laura Ponte. (To read full post click here)

3. Reunion with Heather in L.A (July'10)
Hora wouldn't even have been conceived if I'd never met Heather in the first place! After living/working/blogging together in Tokyo (Summer 2009), Heather & I were reunited in LA for some more little adventures. It was lovely being able to see her again after missing her so much!
(To read full post click here)

4. Moving to Madrid (September'10)
Probably one of my happiest memories of the year. I packed my bags and moved to a new city, start a lovely new job..& a new chapter in my life. (To read full post click here)

All these & so many more lovely memories. It has been a stressy year & I have loved every part of it...but I cannot wait for 2011 & all of the exciting experiences to come! I also have lots & lots of news & plans that will be delivered over the next couple of months :)

I used to think you had to go "all out" on New Year's Eve in order to have an awesome year. I realized it doesn't work like that at all. It doesn't really matter where you spend it, just surround yourself with the people you love & make you happy. Work hard for what you want & make the most of every moment, try & learn from every experience to make you stronger. There is always a light at the end of a tunnel (even though they seem endless sometimes).

Right, I think it may be time for me to stop being so emotional & get back to stuffing my clothes into my suitcase :D

Thank you for reading my blog & for all of the support.
Wishing you all the very best for 2011,

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!
<3L.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2010-12-24T13:58:00.001-08:00

(My tree!!!! :D)

Dear readers,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

I am sitting at home with my family, in Barcelona. I've just has Christmas lunch..and eaten. LOADS. Waaay too much.

Currently enjoying my "lazy time on the couch", I wanted to write a short post to wish you Happy Holidays.

It feels soooo nice to be back home after 4 months away! Now I have 20 lovely days to spend here before I need to head over back to Madrid :D

I (& the rest of the team) spent a whole week hard at work preparing a Christmas Special, so for those of you that are in Spain & have no intention of moving from the sofa- you may want to catch Mtv's Best of 2010, airing tonight at 22.20.

Feeling very very lucky (& soooo full!!!), I hope you have a lovely day, & wish you all the best for the holidays. I hope you get to spend them surrounded by the people you love :)

Thank you for following,

2010: El año de Mtv
Tags: <a href="http://www.mtv.es">MTV Spain</a>

<3L.

My Item of the Week

2010-12-18T06:42:00.001-08:00

Leopard Print, Heather & The Cobrasnake

Before I tell you the story behind this jumper, I should probably tell you I don't particularly like leopard print. In fact, this is the only item of clothing I own which has leopard print on it...& I love it :D

This was a little special something I brought back with me from my holiday in Los Angeles last summer.

On my first day in LA, I decided to go for a coffee in Hollywood, and bumped into lovely photographer Mark Hunter (also known as The Cobrasnake), who invited me to visit the store he'd just opened.

I had to turn it into an "HC Matter" (HoraConfessions Matter) & dragged Miss Heather Burton with me to check out the store.

Actually, more than a store, it is a bit like a home.
Appart from all the awesome selected vintage clothing they sell & all of The Cobrasnake merchandise, you can also sit down and play videogames (perfect for parking your boyfriends- if they don't enjoy shopping) or have a chat on their huge sofa(if you feel like you need a rest after all the shopping) whilst drinking Vitamin Water (if you haven't tried Vitamin Water you definetly should).

Another factor that kind of keeps you wanting to go in again for a "little browse" is probably the cute little photobooth at the end of the store. We simply could not resist going in for a few pics. About an hour & half later, we walked out with tons of photos..& the jumper :D

Here is a little video of our "Cobrasnake Experience"!!!

Shout outs to lovely Heather (I miss you sooo much!!!) & Mark for picking out this jumper- I have not stopped wearing it all winter!

<3L.

The Great Shrinking of 2010

2010-12-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

Remedy, Revival & Return to Regular shape.

This jumper was love at first sight. I was in London for the weekend a couple of weeks ago..& promised myself I would not go shopping.
I always end up buying something (or lots of things) at All Saints EVERY time I visit. This time was going to be different.

All was good, I'd managed to stay out of shops..until Monday, at the airport. There it was, All Saints, right in front of me. I could not resist going in for a little "browse".

15 minutes later..I walked out with this lovely purchase :D

Now, I've been living alone for a while, and up until now I had been able to brag about the fact that I'd never had an "LI" (Laundry Incident).

I took the jumper out of the washing machine..& felt like crying. I'd managed to SHRINK it! I couldn't even fit one arm in it!

Luckily, there was a solution. Howcast.com had the answer for me. And to my surprise, it worked!!!

I realized how many more people this may have happened to, so for all of you out there that find yourself in the same situation, here is a solution in 6 easy steps :)

In order to resuscitate your jumper, you will need:
- Hair conditioner
- Flat Surface
- 2 Towels

Step 1: Fill Sink
Fill your sink with tepid water and 1/3 cup of Hair Conditioner (this is when cheap conditioner comes in handy :D)

Step 2: Soak
Add the jumper and let it soak in the sink for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Drain Sink

Pull the plug out and let the water drain. WARNING: do NOT rinse the jumper! Leave it in there until all of the water is drained. Then, to remove the excess water, press the jumper GENTLY against the sink. Do NOT curl it up to rinse!!!

Step 4: Lay FLAT
Lay the jumper out on a towel, then put another towel over it. You need to press it for 10 minutes (sitting on it is a good idea, but you need to take into account you'll get a wet bum).

Step 5: Stretch

Stretch the jumper into its original dimensions. This process unlocks the wool fibers away from each other & returns the jumper back into its original shape.

Step 6: Air Dry
Hang the jumper & allow it to air dry. Keep it OUT of the dryer!!

I am currently posting this in my jumper, which looks as good as new :)
Good luck with your jumper resuscitation!!!
<3L.

4 Weeks Later..

2010-12-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

First of all, I know it is a bit late, but I would like to thank everybody for the overwhelming support on one of the most stressy weeks in my life. Thank you for all the messages & phone calls throughout it all.

Now I know I need to apologize as well for this 4 week break. In my defence though, I extremely needed after the chaos at the EMAS, and everything that came after it!

I know I promised a video. However, looking at all the footage posted on the EMA website, I don’t think a video is necessary!

If you haven’t seen them yet (and are curious to see what I’ve been up to) go to www.mtvema.com, then click on “Videos”. You will find my video blogs under “Madrid Madness”, & backstage footage & interviews of the event on “Backstage 2010”. Due to me having to stand in front of another camera, I barely had time to drag out mine. And before I post a shit video, I’d rather not post a video at all (I think you’ll all agree with me) ;D

As I said before all the madness begun, the EMAs have only been the beginning of my job at Mtv. It was time to prove that 2 months of trial had been worth it, time to prove if I could actually do it!

So on November 7th , after a week of video blogs & EMA madness, I had to face the fear dreaded by anybody who has just started presenting: a LIVE show. If anything went wrong, there was absolutely NOTHING I could do about it. NOTHING whatsoever.

I don’t really remember what happened on the beginning of the evening. I was shaking and close to fainting on the “purple carpet”..and the sickness only got worse towards the live show.

“..and 3, 2, We’re LIVE!” were the dreaded words. My cue to start. It was too late to moan, too late to drink that Red Bull that was waiting for me, too late to pull out of it. It was time to start. It was time for 2 of the most nerve wracking hours in my life.

All I could think was- “does this fear go away? Will I ever do this without wanting to curl up into a ball and become invisible?”. To my surprise, an hour into the show, I wasn’t nervous! I had relaxed and loosened up..and I was actually enjoying myself!
The second hour flew by, and before I knew it, the live show was over & I was enjoying a well deserved drink at the after party watching The Pretty Reckless & Friendly Fires performances (the only two actual performances I got to watch that evening. Plus Rihanna, Shakira, Kings of Leon & Ke$ha rehearsals :D).

3 weeks later, I have now started as Mtv Spain VJ!!!! I now present the hit lists Top 20 Mtv Hits (airs Saturdays at 11am) & Top 20 Mtv Selection (airs Sundays at 11am).
So after all this stress, and now that I am completely settled into my new city and job (with TONS to learn still :D) , it is time to dedicate time to Hora :)

Before I finish this long-ass post, I would just like to thank all of the Mtv International team for a the opportunity they gave me & the amazing learning experience at the EMA’s. Oren, Jonathan & Romi- I miss you!!!!!!

I’d also like to thank the amazing make-up artists Katharina Nipzon (you’ll probably recognize her from the Freundin Editorial shoot, as well as many others) for doing my make-up throughout the entire week. It wouldn’t have been the same without your support, music & brilliant sense of humour!

Thank you to all of you that have shown me support through messages & phonecalls, Facebook/Twitter, etc.

STAY TUNED for a busy, busy December!!!!!!! The fun has only just started :D
<3L.

My ItemS of the Week

2010-11-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

EMAS

Red Carpet: Versus (A/W'10)
Backstage: Dolce & Gabbana (A/W'10)

Whilst I am currently trying to recover from last week (a very, very eventful, stressy & exciting one)- and before I post about the EMA's- I thought I'd post the 2 looks I wore on the big night :)

It was my first public appearance as Mtv VJ (yes, it is now official!!!!), and as the girly girl that I am, I wanted to look presentable.

Finding the right dresses to wear on the red (which turned out to be purple) carpet & for the backstage show was going to be complicated. I was stressing out trying to figure out my options when I was saved.
BIG TIME.

I don't really believe in Fairies. Not the ones with wings and wands and stuff. But what girl hasn't wished the fairy in Cinderella would show up and just make everything simple before an important party/date/event?!

Well that is kind of what happened to me.

A few weeks ago I met the lovely Melanie Pan- director of Harper's Bazaar magazine in Spain. As soon as she found out about the "dress issue" (via Facebook :D) she got in touch with me and told me to give her a call if I needed any help.

24hrs later, I was sitting in her living room and browsing through style.com whilst drinking a cosmopolitan. It felt like a modern version of Cinderella- plus cocktails!!!

Only a couple of hours later- we'd found the dresses (the Dolce & Gabbana dress was love at first sight), and Mel's friend & work colleague Juan had also joined us to help. So we ordered the dresses & shoes from the showrooms..and waited.

A couple of days later the dresses had arrived..and I was extremely relieved. If that wasn't enough, Mel booked me an appointment at a spa- which I can only describe as pure bliss. After that, I was ready for the busy week ahead!

I won't get into anymore details..I think I should save them for my next post :D

HUGE shout outs to both Melanie & Juan for all the help, finding beautiful dresses for me to wear...and the cosmos!!!!!

PS: unfortunately, you don't get to keep the dresses. So farewell lovely dresses- it was nice wearing you..we had a good time. I shall miss your presence in my cupboard very, very much ;D

<3L.

..Good News!!!!!

2010-11-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

European Music Awards 2010

Here is where adventure time begins!!!!

I think now may be a good time to tell you-

Starting TOMORROW evening I shall be reporting what is happening in Madrid for the EMA's 2010 with Mtv Digital International.

This means that- wherever you are in the world- you can just log into your local Mtv website, click on EMA, and a window should pop up.

That window, the EMA window, is where I will be- letting you know whats going dowwwwnnn in the previous days to the awards- as well as the award night!

Or, you can just go on mtvema.com ;)

I am not allowed to give anymore details...so you'll just have to wait and see :D

So for those of you who want to find out about the European Music Awards..I hope you'll join me on this weeks' adventures! (This should be fuuuuuuunnnn!!!! :D)

Ps: It took me all weekend...but I can finally say- I've found my dresses!

<3L.

My Item of the Week- BRB

2010-10-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could post a picture of me in a Halloween costume. Something like a Pikachu outfit (which I have, for some reason, been wanting to dress up as for an EXTREMELY long time & haven't found the right moment).
I'm afraid this year...that's not the case.

This year I'm spending Halloween at home. Looking for an outfit for next weekend. Let me explain:

I received some interesting news this week at work. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to talk about it yet (even though I want to a little bit :p).
It is extremely good news, and all I'll say right now it involves me going to the Mtv European Music Awards held in Madrid next Sunday (November 7th)...and it involves lots and lots of work!

It is all very exciting and very overwhelming. However, I really don't want the Flip Flop incident (or ANYTHING similar) to happen this time. Because that would not be a good thing to happen. At all.

Maybe I should just dress up as Pikachu after all :P

So whilst I literally go INSANE trying to find outfits & dresses for the eventful week that will be next week..I'll leave you with the new little addition to my shoe collection!

I have started to HATE airports.
The reason why I probably miss most of my flights or arrive just on time for boarding is because I want to avoid spending any time whatsoever in the airports' shopping areas. They are DANGEROUS.

But sometimes...you just can't help it.
Last weekend, the boarding gate from my Barcelona to Madrid flight (I'd spent the weekend there visiting my family) was riiiight infront of Zara.

Need I say more..?!
I haven't stopped wearing them all week!!!!!!!!! :D

STAY TUNED!!!!!!!! I'll be posting the good news on Tuesday (November 2nd)!!!

<3L.

Goats, Fashion & Freundin

2010-10-26T04:02:00.001-07:00

..or "Shooting Freundin Editorial"

I was so happy to see this editorial was finally out..I could FIIINALLY use the footage- which I've had for AAAAGES!!!!!

In my defense- it wasn't my fault. I was not allowed to post the video until the October issue of German magazine Freundin came out- which happened last month :)

It happens in lots of fashion magazines around the world- editors fly out to different countries for a bit of inspiration & change of scenery. They fly their team out (usually consisting in themselves as stylists, their assistant, a photographer...and TONS of clothes!) and book the models and make-up artists from local agencies. That way they give more variety in the contents of each issue, but preserve essence of the publication.

Well this is exactly what happened a few months ago with Freundin. They flew their basic team out, booked gorgeous model Cat, myself- & amazing make-up artist Katharina Nitzpon - whom I've worked with numerous amount of times & love to pieces :)

The chosen location was an old abandoned house in a small town, about an hour away from Barcelona. Such a beautiful house on the outside..but sooo dark and creepy in the inside! I decided I'd help open the windows to let in the light..NOT a good idea. Let's just say- and I am not proud to admit- there was a lot of girly squeaming going on (all mine). Oh dear.

ANYWAY.
Once the windows were open & the beautiful sunlight was beaming through, the house was absolutely beautiful. Dirty, but beautiful. We had overcome the hardest part of the job- now came the easy one :D

Katharina always makes me laugh during hair and make-up..but this time was particularly hilarious..thanks to her iPod.
Her musical selection is brilliant- except it makes one feel like they should sing along.

You can probably guess what happened. It was all under control until Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive" came on. Then we kind of lost it...unaware that model Cat was there to "capture the moment" (she'd borrowed the camera to film the goats that had invaded part of the garden. And yes, the goats are also featured in this video).

I should probably shut up now & just let the video speak for itself :D
HUGE shout outs to the whole team for such a lovely lovely day!!!!!
Enjoy :)

<3L.

My Item of the Week

2010-10-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

Marc by Marc Jacobs scarf.

Scarves. So insignificant, such a small detail in one's outfit.

I have openly admitted it before that I have a slight obsession about shoes & handbags (and this year I've added jackets to the craziness..but I'll save that little fact for another post!)

I have fallen in love with many handbags and lovely pairs of shoes (boots are my absolute weakness).

The symptoms are pretty clear- you see it/them & your heart stops. Everything else disappears around you. It is just you and, well, whatever item of clothing you've fallen for. You are almost scared of trying it on- because you know it will just make you want it more. We also tend to fall for "the impossible" as well. The slightly expensive items we know we cannot really afford...but really, REALLY want.

Before you know it, you are saving up as much as money as you can in order to make it yours.
Sometimes I wonder if we actually do fall in love with that item of clothing- or if it is the thrill of being able to afford it for ourselves out of our own pocket?!

If you think about it, we generally tend to take a lot more care of things we buy for ourselves..because we know how hard we had to work to get them.

Whatever the case, and before this turns into another one of Laura's Ramblings- I fell in love with a SCARF.

It was a month and half ago..during Vogue Fashion Night Out. I walked into the Marc by Marc Jacobs store and there it was.
For a whole month I tried to get it out of my head..but couldn't.

So last Friday I dragged my friends up to the store to go and buy it. And by friends I mean friends from back home!!!!!
They came to visit me for a lovely lovely weekend full of gossip, craziness and laughs..and shopping advice (although I knew I was not going to walk out of that store without THE Scarf).

Don't worry, I didn't just take them shopping ;D
I also somehow managed to convince them of renting a little rowboat for an hour at the lake in Retiro, a beautiful park in the center of Madrid.

4 girls on a boat- not the best of ideas (specially when none of them have ever rowed in their life). See for yourselves in this little video down here!!!!
Huge shout outs to Gala, Carla & Andrea for such an amazing weekend!

PS: I'm still in love with my beautiful scarf ;D

<3L.

Flip Flops & Madrid Fashion Week.

2010-10-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

(Front row at Lydia Delgado- Pic by Vogue.es)

When one likes fashion, one often dreams of what they would wear if they ever had a seat front row of a fashion show.

I'd often thought about what I'd wear in that situation. In those thoughts, nobody ever told me- or even hinted- that I'd end up sitting front row at some of the best shows in Madrid Fashion Week...in shorts, flip flops and and H&M top.

I should probably start by telling you how this all ended up happening.

As you know, I moved to Madrid about a month ago to start my new job at Mtv.
This means I've spent the last month trying to get my "shit together" in a new city as well as adapt to my new job & get familiar with having to talk in front of a camera.

This sounds stupid- but I am kind of shy when it comes to talking in front of a camera.
I have noooo problem whatsoever filming the world, and what I see in it. But when the camera turns around to me- it is a WHOLE different story.

So, as part of my training at Mtv, I am getting taken to all sorts of events where I have to interview the different people involved in them- such as designers, bands & artists, etc.

All of the interviews are filmed and shown to my bosses, so they can see my evolution and decide when I'm ready I can be trusted not to completely mess up in front of the camera :D

As you can expect, I was over the moon when they told me I'd be joining Johann (Mtv Spain's male VJ/Presenter) for Madrid Fashion Week.
Fashion + Music- couldn't possibly think of a better combination!

So for the first few days of Fashion Week, I was strictly working. I had an amazing time & it was suuuch a lovely experience. It was great to be on the other side of a fashion event.

I never thought I'd say this, but after the first 3 days, I was exhausted. Fashion had exhausted me- both physically & mentally. Although when I think about it, it was more the having to run around (or more like teeter around) in high heels that reaaaaaally did it for me. By day 3, I was already in flats.

By the last day of fashion week- day 5- Mtv had finished filming there, and I had so much work/research to do back at the office, I decided it would be best to put work before pleasure.

So there I was, sitting in the office, happy & comfortable as can be- in flip flops, shorts..and the H&M top- when Johann walks into the office and asks me if I want to join him for the last couple of shows at Cibeles.

Amaya Arzuaga & Lydia Delgado were showing their collections- and I really really reaaally wanted to see their shows. I couldn't resist- I wasn't going to let my rather informal attire get in the way of seeing the shows.

I had it all planned. I'd rush in & out, and nobody would really notice me in the back. It was all under control. HAH.

We arrived, headed to the first show where we were greeted by a lady who took us to where we were sitting.

I should have known. But it was too late. Before I knew it- I was sitting down in the front row..alongside with all of the Spanish celebrities invited to the event.

OH GOD. OH GOD. OH GOD.
This could not be happening.

I quickly dropped my handbag on my feet to cover the bloody flip flops. Once those retched things were covered, I decided to relax, take a deep breath and just laugh at the situation.

The shows were amazing, and I had a great time!
My outfit may not have been the best choice, but it was hilarious. And ever so comfortable :)

Here is a little video of my experience at my first Madrid Fashion Week!!!! It includes the shows of awesome designers Sita Murt & Guillermina Baeza.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

<3L.

My Item of the Week- BMWYS

2010-09-20T05:04:00.000-07:00

beatmewithyoursugar.com

..Now I know I saved this section of the blog for fashion & accessories.

But after literally showing you exactly what is inside of my closet in my last post, I though it was time to talk about my new little project :D

About a month ago, I decided to make my life a little bit more complicated and started a new blog.

I just wanted a space where I could share whatever I wanted, once a day, every day of the week.

Basically it is an add-on to Hora, where I post stuff that I've done/worn recently..or simply stuff I like (music, fashion videos, etc).

So after coming up with the weirdest name I could think of (Laurahayden.com was already taken, click here if you want to laugh)- I was feeling "adventurous" and decided I'd use Tumblr.
I felt exaclty like I did a year ago when I started to use Blogspot for Hora- completely LOST!

It is a work in progress. But I love waking up every morning and posting the first thing that comes to mind!!!!

There is also a section on the top left of this new blog called "Ask", where you are welcome to ask me anything you want :)

So, for those of you who want an "EDMDH" (Extra Daily Mini Dose of Hora), check out beatmewithyoursugar.com and let me know what you think!!!!

<3L.