BORDEAUX I LOVE U

Hello! 

I know I've been away for a while, but I'm back now. I wanted to post a little something about my trip to Bordeaux, France a short while ago, but faced some technical issues concerning the pictures, but now all is good. I hope you enjoy these!

So, it used to be weird saying, "I'm French, but I've never been to France." This summer, this finally changed, because I got to travel to my 2nd homeland, France, to attend Vinexpo, with Chateau St Thomas.

Chateau St Thomas is a Lebanese winery that I'm super proud of, and very loyal to, that also happens to be my own family's winery- a whole other blog post will be dedicated to this, where I'll be explaining everything and will be giving you a detailed tour, and closer looks -and that has been part of it since 2003.

 In case you didn't know, Vinexpo is the world's most prestigious wine fair, happening every 2 years, that gathers all wine buyers and producers from all over the world in one place, which obviously meant that my week in Bordeaux was already super busy. But, I still had a few hours to discover some of the must-visit places, in Downtown Bordeaux, that I got to visit. 

So, here they go:

1- Take a walk in Rue St. Catherine, known as the longest pedestrian street in Europe. This street is also full of small boutiques, to satisfy all of your shopping needs. All of my favourite shops in one street, super close to one-another, could it get any better?

2- Visit Le Grand Theatre, a historical monument in Downtown Bordeaux.

3- Tour Place Des Quinconces, known as one of the largest city squares in Europe. "Quinconces", because the trees there are planted in Qincunx, which is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square and a fifth at it's centre. The statue next to the fountain, represents liberty, and the whole monument is mainly in memory of the Girondists- members of a political sect during the French Revolution- who fell victim during the French Revolution period. Loads of details, I know. Moving ooon.

4- Unleash your inner child, at Les Maneges De Bordeaux, 2 minutes away from Le Grand Theatre, for a spin on the carousel's ponies & kitties - oh and for great pictures haha.

5- Place De La Bourse, one of the most recognisable sights of Bordeaux, where also is Le Miroir D'Eau, the world's largest reflecting pool, reflecting the buildings of Place De La Bourse.

6- Tour La Cite Du Vin,a museum that's architecture looks like no other, it resembles wine twirling in a glass, which is really fascinating. This place allows you to know more about wine located in Bordeaux, which is really interesting, PLUS the tour ends with wine tasting of an international wine of your choice - Chateau St Thomas is even available there, proudly representing Lebanon.

 

7- Make sure you stop by and have diner/lunch at the original L'ENTRECOTE,I promise you'll fall in love with their famous secret sauce, and you will definitely come back again before your flight back home. 

Not to forget about the yummy Canelés, which are the specialty of Bordeaux. These French bakery confections are little fluted cakes with a rich rum and vanilla interior enclosed by a thin caramelised shell. 

The mini cake in the middle is a Canele

I was lucky enough to have a thrift shop, more of a vintage mini shop, next to the hotel where I was staying, that sells everything you could possibly think of, LITERALLY. From clothes, to bags & accessorises, designers' and regular ones, and ended up grabbing a pair of vintage black and gold YSL clip-on earrings, that show a bit in the picture below.

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! <3 

To Be Honest,  Bordeaux isn't to be missed, you should all add it to your bucket list.

Video and pictures are taken by Mathieu Fontana you can check his shots over here : https://www.instagram.com/mgfon/. 

Mathieu & I at Le Grand Theatre

TbhJo

KENZO x H&M

To Be Honest,

I really hope you guys liked my first blogpost.

Thursday, the 3rd of November, was the launch of the collaboration collection by the French house of fashion KENZO & the Swedish H&M. 
It felt like a new world of creativity and playful energy. This collection features vibrant, street-inspired clothing, full of prints and bright popping colours with some really weird, yet cool & daring designs; not our usual H&M fashion. 

This year as well, the collaboration was a massive success just like last year's BALMAIN x H&M; but this time it was well organised and not as chaotic as before. Not to forget about the bags that I'm definitely not getting rid of later. I mean, they're too pretty to be tossed away. They are so uniquely designed!

 Anyways, people were lined up as the opening was about to take place at 8:00AM sharp. And it was literally worth skipping my morning class to attend lol. Adding up to that, I was lucky enough to bump into my all-time favorite fashion blogger Tamara Farra, known as "The Stylish Mouse", who inspired me to become a blogger in the first place.

 Enough with the talking for now. Let me show you guys some shots that were taken during the event, displaying my favorite pieces.

I did my fashion homework beforehand, and checked the night before the collection online, choosing the pieces I wanted to get, ahead of the event. Annnnd I was lucky enough to grab them before they sold out, including this black, oversized men’s sweater with blue writings, with the traditional KENZO PARIS label; the tiger, that covered almost all T-shirts and sweaters, just as shown below.

 

The second item was this really funky top, similar to the dress I previously showed you guys on my Snapchat (@tbh.jo) during the event. I'd probably wear this top with a high-waisted black skirt or pants. I am truly obsessed with it's great quality and creative prints all over it.

My other favorite items which I sadly didn't get, were the dress, shown in the picture to the side, long black leather gloves with pink print of KENZO PARIS on each, reversible silk-blend loose trousers and an off-the-shoulder crop top with bright popping jungle prints, that can be worn together, or separately, and a small leather white shopper bag, not to forget about the colourful wool and silk scarves. Almost all of the items got my attention, but the ones I just mentioned are probably the ones I'd personally wear. Oh & by the way, the items are even prettier live.

  

 

I honestly can't wait to see who H&M will be collaborating with next. No doubt it will be just as phenomenal.

What are your thought about this collection?

 If you've bought an item and need some fashion advice on how to style it or wear it, please comment below! If you just want to show me, feel free to do so also!

Thank you for your continuous love and support! 

TbhJo

Black Velvet

To Be Honest, 

I'm really proud to finally say that I've launched my blog. 

I have decided that my first blog post is going to be about one of this season's trends: velvet. I chose to show you guys this simple black velvet dress from ZARA, included in the FW16/17 TRF collection. 

There is a bunch of reasons why I chose this dress. First, for it's simplicity. Also, I love that it's suitable for any event, and can be worn with heels or flats and stay impressionable. Many brands and even designers used velvets in their new collections and designs as it is taking over the runways this season. In addition, velvet goes well with almost every style, from goth to punk, to classic and so on.

 To liven up this look, I decided to have a dramatic makeup, but still keep it simple. This is why red lipstick was my choice, and to be more specific, L'Oréal Paris, Color Riche's "Red Passion". I'm not certain if you guys have noticed that I applied red eyeliner, on my lower waterline, inspired by an episode of CHANEL Beauty Talks : Red Power featuring the face of their new campaign, Kristen Stewart. However, this particular eyeliner is actually Mary Jo K lipliner from Kylie Cosmetics, cause it's really pigmented. 

They say every girl needs a little black dress. Mine happens to be velvet.

I really like the photos shot by a good friend of mine, in Downtown Beirut. So here are a few more.

Thank you for your support and for reading this. The best is yet to come.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Don't forget to share and stay updated on my social media and future blogposts.

TbhJo