Thursday, October 29, 2009

ORGANIZING JEWELRY

I started running out of room to store my jewelry, which sent me on a problem-solving quest and led me to write about it. This is my jewelry cabinet. The wings on the side open up to allow me to hang my necklaces, but there are only 8 hooks total which required me to hang multiple necklaces on each hook, which in turn resulted in monstrous tangles. I don't know about you, but when I'm getting ready in the morning, I'm always running out the door at the last minute and I don't have time to untangle necklaces! So I told my husband to take to The Container Store so I could find something that best suited my needs. I ended up going with a basic tie rack which he installed on the back of my closet door. I was able to hang 25 necklaces on it without having to double, triple and quadruple stack them. What a relief! I think this is going to work out quite nicely! I decided to use the tie rack to hang my large costume jewelry so I can still use my jewelry cabinet for my more dainty necklaces. I keep my earrings on a shelf in these divided trays. One tray is for silver, the other for gold. It just helps keep things moving quickly in the morning. I also keep my scarves folded on a shelf in my jewelry cabinet. They are just large fabric necklaces after all!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

WINTER CLEANSING & FOUNDATION ROUTINE

Now that the weather is getting a little colder and the wind is starting to blow, it is time to change your cleansing and foundation routine to protect your skin. While I typically use mild products because of a sensitive, fair complexion, I go even milder with my cleanser and start using a moisturizer every day. I usually use Clinique Liquid Facial Soap in Mild. But I've just switched over to Eucerin Sensitive Skin Gentle Hydrating Cleanser. At night, I cleanse then use my Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 and go to bed. In the morning I cleanse, use the Clarifying Lotion then use a little Clinique Moisture Surge before I apply my foundation. I let it sink in a little first.
As far as foundation goes, everyone knows I love my discontinued Loreal Quickstick and will go to the ends of the earth to find it online. But for Winter, I'm switching to a combo of Lorac Oil Free Neutralizer and Clinique Almost Makeup Teint Naturel in Parfait. The Neutralizer is VERY light and is not ideal to wear alone unless you are extremely, and I mean extremely pale. It is meant to cancel out any redness on your face and even out your skin. When you combine it with another liquid foundation it comes out really well. This combo gives a pretty flawless and luminescent look. With the Quickstick, I use a foundation brush to blend, but I've found with this liquid combination that a sponge works a lot better.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

CHICAGO STYLE

I just returned from a trip to Chicago last Saturday. As a matter of fact, I still haven't unpacked. I think I'm in denial because I didn't want to leave in the first place. What a beautiful city. I love it so much I've decided I want to move there! Everyone says, "You wouldn't last one Winter." Well, being from Texas, they're probably right. But I can dream.

So I thought I would write a little bit about a few trends I noticed while I was there.

#1 - Urban Style Flat Black Knee High Boots. I must have seen these a million times! These are Naturalizer's "Jadis" boot. I saw this or some variation thereof all over the place. It makes sense in a large city where you have to do a lot of walking. They are very comfortable, have a very urban style and were worn most often with jeans tucked in them. I love these!

#2 - Wellies/Rubber Boots/Rain Boots. These are all the rage now. You can find them in a multitude of patterns and colors. In Chicago, I only saw them in black. Again, comfortable yet stylish and style born out of necessity. The weather report said it had rained 27 out of the last 32 days! So although these are a current fashion trend, they are very functional. These are by Hunter.#3 - Scarves. Scarves again are a definite necessity in such a cold climate. In Chicago I mostly saw large patterns like this in neutral colors. This one is by Juicy Couture.

#4 - North Face Outerwear. I saw a girl in Starbucks wearing this coat in particular. And while it looks like something an Eskimo might wear, it looked really great on her. She wore it with jeans tucked into boots similar to the ones I posted above and with a scarf. I don't think her coat had a hood or else it was down. Great look for someone tall and slim. Everyone else runs the risk of looking like the Michelin Man. Unfortunately, I could never wear this in Texas without dying of heat stroke!

Monday, October 26, 2009

SUPER SHOPPING SECRET #10 - People Style Watch Magazine

This week's Super Shopping Secret is People Stylewatch Magazine. This is my absolute favorite shopping magazine! While the outfits featured in Lucky Magazine tend to be a little more young and edgy ala Mary Kate Olsen, the clothes in Stylewatch tend to be more polished and sophisticated. I love that every single item is labeled as to the cost and where it may be purchased. They do not have as many giveaways as Lucky Magazine does, but they do have a solid page full as well as a solid page of discount offers and a few sweepstakes you can enter here and there.
This month's issue featured articles on "Need to Know Websites" - many of which I had posted on my blog in the past as Super Shopping Secrets. They also feature beauty bargains and styling tips. And I love the section where they show you how to do popular celebrity looks for less. I think you will love this magazine. It is very useful to someone who is a serious shopper but wants to shop smart. Individual issues are $3.99, but I think you can get a subscription for $1.99 per issue.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

UNDER EYE CIRCLES

A couple of people have asked me about under-eye circles so I thought it was finally time to address it. I did some internet research and this is what I found. A holistic approach would recommend 3 servings of cruciferous vegetables per week. One site I came across recommended encorporating cruciferous veggies daily. So girls, start eating your salads! Here are some of the specific veggies that were recommended, preferably raw of course: cabbage, spinach, leafy greens, and broccoli. Also recommended were avocado, kiwi, oranges, and grapefruit. The key vitamin I kept coming across was vitamin K. Other vitamins recommended were C, B, E, A, Lutein, Betacartene, Zinc and Fish Oil. Vitamins C & E were also recommended topically.

The product I've probably heard most about for undereye circles is Hylexin. Unfortuntately a small tube is $95 at Sephora. But if you read the reviews, people rave about it. People also rave about StriVectin-SD which started out as a stretch mark cream until people discovered that it also worked miracles in the way of wrinkles and undereye circles. StriVectin-SD Eye Cream is $59 at Sephora. The good news is that a church friend of mine found a copycat version at Walgreens called ProVectin Plus. It is an "Advanced Eye Cream for deep wrinkles and dark circles." An employee at Walgreens actually recommended it to her and it costs only $19.99. I've tried it and I have to say that while I don't suffer terribly from under-eye circles I could definitely tell a difference after just one night just as the product claims. The other good news is that it is Hypoallergenic and fragrance free. If you try it, let me know how it worked out for you.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

NYX

I love this lipstick! I had never purchased NYX before, but on my last Ulta excursion I picked up this perfect pink lipstick. It's called Tea Rose #628. What I love about it is that it isn't too pale and it isn't too garish. It's just the perfect soft light rose color. It looks great with a smoky or strong eye or with a daytime makeup. The gloss is great too. It's a nice frosty pink that's pretty enough to be worn by itself. The color is called "French Kiss." And the best part of all is that it's cheap!
Disclaimer: Please note that I purchased this lipstick prior to my declaration of a lipstick purchasing strike; therefore this purchase may not be held against me. :)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

EMERGENCY DESK SUPPLIES!

I thought I would share with everyone what I keep in my desk at work in the way of personal emergency supplies. I've written before about my little nail polish remover towelettes. Those are a must. I actually used one at work about a week ago. I keep nail clippers and a finger nail file in case of snags or broken nails. I keep cough drops just in case of a dry, scratchy or sore throat. I would keep aspirin, but my office keeps that stocked in a medicine drawer along with antacids, etc. I keep extra napkins in my drawer in case of spills or eating lunch at my desk. I also keep a Tide-to-Go Pen or Shout Wipes in case I spill something on my clothes. One time I spilled about half of a Starbucks Mocha all over my khaki pants. Out came the Tide To Go pen and about half an hour later when it all dried you couldn't even tell I had spilled anything. I was sold. And yes, I do keep chocolate in my desk in case of a chocolate emergency! Those are really serious!!! I also keep a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. Last week I had a dentist appointment after work and when I pulled out my dental supplies it kind of inspired me to share this info with you. So now I would like to know: What you keep in your desk at work?

Monday, October 19, 2009

SUPER SHOPPING SECRET #9

This week's Super Shopping Secret is http://www.sparklesforever.com/. Sparkles Forever offers all kinds of costume jewelry, many of which are copies of looks that have appeared in movies and celebrity magazine shoots. You can choose from categories like, Bridal, Celebrity Chic, Movies & TV, Red Carpet, Birthstones, and Designer Inspired. Their Designer Inspired jewelry features pieces that resemble Van Cleef, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier just to name a few. Most of their jewelry is 925 Sterling Silver or Sterling with 14 kt gold plate. I've personally ordered several necklaces which I've posted pics of, but they also offer rings, bracelets, earrings and more. I have been very pleased with the quality of the items I've received. Again, I recommend subscribing to their site, and they will send you special offers periodically.

These are all the necklaces I've ordered from Sparkles Forever.

The leaf necklace at left is a copy of the one Jennifer Aniston wore in "The Break Up." The other necklace is reminiscent of a Luis Vuitton logo.
The wishbone necklace at left is a copy of the one Jennifer Aniston wore in the movie "He's Just Not That Into You."

Thursday, October 15, 2009

More Fall Fashions

I love, love, love Ann Taylor's Fall collection. I've posted some pics. You can see more on their website at http://www.anntaylor.com/. If you subscribe they will send you special offers pretty much weekly!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

FALL FASHIONS

As mentioned before, Fall is my favorite season of the year. Not only do I love the weather, I love the clothes too! So I've been perusing the magazines and web-sites and I'm very excited about some of the collections I've seen. Today I thought I would post some pics from one of my favorites this year - Donna Karan. You can get a better look on her website: http://www.donnakaran.com/. You can tell these looks are really 80's inspired by the strong shapes and shoulders. I even noticed a stick pin in one of these photos. Those were the days...


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Welcoming Fall

Today I'm going to get off the beaten path a bit. I know this is a beauty blog, but I am so excited about Fall that I just couldn't wait to decorate the house and yard with scarecrows, pumpkins, mums, and hay and have some people over so we could sit outdoors and eat and chat. You have to understand that just a week ago we had a heat index of 105 to 107 with a plague of mosquitoes, so we are welcoming Fall in a big way! Anyhoo, I thought I would post some pics of our Fall decor, our little get together and the little desserts I made.
The front yard:
The front porch:My little Fall fairy...Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere...My cousins Lisa and Lee Ann. We snacked on baked brie, cheese, crackers, summer sausage, fruit, and olives then settled down to Bible study.Little pumpkin carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert. I got the idea online or in a magazine. Can't remember where I saw it. You could make them with a pumpkin bread or banana bread recipe also. I think in the photo I saw they used tootsie rolls for the stems. I used caramel candy corn I found at Walmart. The were orange and brown so the colors were perfect.This is the Nordic Ware pan I used to make the little pumpkin cakes. I bought it at Walmart.I had so much batter left over that I made mini cupcakes and topped them with caramel candy corns. I made about 24 mini cupcakes and 3 regular sized cupcakes. My husband took them to the fire station the next day.
Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Smashbox Sale!

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that www.hautelook.com has a limited selection of Smashbox cosmetics on sale for 50% off today. I think the sale extends through tomorrow, but stock is limited. Check it out...

Monday, October 12, 2009

SUPER SHOPPING SECRET #8

This week's Super Shopping Secret is http://www.overstock.com/. I'm sure you have heard of overstock.com. They have commercials on TV that mostly promote the availability of electronics and jewelry on their site. Overstock also has great clothing and accessories. They carry great designer labels like Anne Klein, BCBG, Betsey Johnson, Calvin Klein, DKNY, IZOD, Jones New York, Liz Claiborne, London Fog, MICHAEL by Michael Kors, and Tahari. Some of their most unique and pretty things are by labels you may have never heard of. This is my favorite place to shop for cute tops. I posted a photo of some of my favorites that I've purchased from their site. Items are returnable and one of the best things is that the cost of shipping for your entire order is only $2.95!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Rock & Republic Haul

This is my Rock & Republic cosmetic haul. I purchased all of these items from http://www.hautelook.com/ which was one of my super shopping secrets. I got everything at 40% off. I had never heard of Rock & Republic cosmetics, but when I saw all the beautiful colors I fell in love with them. When my order came in I was not disappointed at all. This is the happiest I've been with a cosmetics purchase in a long time.

First of all, the packaging was so luxurious. All the items come in beautiful shiny black boxes. Then when you open them up, the compacts that contain the eyeshadows and blushes are so beautiful and very heavy. They all contain mirrors. I was surprised at how large the blushes were. They are absolutely huge so you get a lot of product for your money. The glosses are also very large. And one of the things I love most about the glosses are that they are very pigmented. Many glosses are so sheer that when you put them on you lose the color completely. These may be used in lieu of lipstick. The eyeshadow colors are top left to right: Chain Link, Spy, and Asphalt
Middle left to right: Tempting, Exile, and Affair
Bottom left to right: Nailed, Snakeskin, and Diffused Blush colors left to right are: Tease (a plum pink), Spank (pink), and Call Me (peach)
Lip Gloss colors left to right are: Mistress and Sexy Beast.
This is my favorite color combo right now. Blush: Tease (plum pink). Eyeshadow combo left to right: Asphalt which is a matte charcoal color for the lower lid to the crease, Tempting which is a beautiful smoky purple for just above the crease, and Chain Link which is a very light and sheer silver for the brow bone. I switch out my lip gloss because both of these go really well. The one on top is Sexy Beast which is a plum color. The bottom one is Mistress which is more of a neutral color. Both gorgeous!

You may purchase their cosmetics, clothing and accessories on their website at http://www.rockandrepublic.com/ but they also sell their cosmetics at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales. They are pricey which is why it pays to subscribe to their website so they can send you offers and to sign up for other designer discount websites I've mentioned like Hautelook, RueLaLa, and more.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

DISAPPOINTING PRODUCTS

I thought I would give you a list of things I've tried that I didn't like. Of course this is my personal opinion based on my personal experience. So here it goes...

1. NARS blush in Orgasm. I can't tell you how many times I have read that this blush is universally flattering. Well, guess what? It's not. Too orangey and sparkly for me.

2. Stila eyeshadow in Kitten. Ditto above. Year after year this eyeshadow color pops up in magazine articles. I tried it. Twice. Returned it both times. Too sheer and sparkly and gold. Did not compliment my fair skin or my age.

3. Make Up Forever's HD (High Definition) Foundation. Wasn't impressed at all with this.

4. Perfectly Amazing Concealer. This is touted at one of the best concealers out there. I don't agree. Returned it.

5. Covergirl Outlast Lipstain. This is like using a marker to color your lips. I like the idea, but it didn't wear well at all.

6. Dermadoctor skincare line. I bought it for my sensitive skin. Ended up returning it.

7. Bumpits. This is supposed to give your hair that fullness at the crown like a 60s hairdo. Well, I followed the directions to the letter, but no matter what I did you could see the bumpit through my hair. I have a cousin that also tried it and had the same problem. It was also returned.

Do you have any products that disappointed you? Did you try some of the items I mentioned above and have a different experience? I would love to hear from you...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

LASH STATS

I came across some interesting statistics in the October issue of InStyle magazine. They are as follows:
1) 70 - Average amount of times a woman swipes her mascara wand over both eyes.
I find this hard to believe. I will have to count when I am applying my mascara tomorrow. I think I average 36-40. We will see. It would be fun if some of you would let me know what your count is so we can see if they are right!
2) 230 - Lashes on the eyelids (top & bottom).
3) 0.4 Inches - Length of the average lash.
4) 42 - Days in a lash's life span. Who knew or cared?
5) 6 months - after which you should toss open mascaras (they are no longer resistant to bacteria). Do you follow the 6 month rule?

All this lash talk led me to another question. Would any of you consider using a lash growth serum such as Latisse which is available only by prescription? I would love to hear from you all!

Great sale today at Hautelook.com

Just a quick update. Hautelook.com is offering Mario Badescu at 20-24% off today. Like I said before, I've never seen MB on sale except for on these discount web-sites. Also, today they are offering really nice Invicta watches at 75% off! You can get a $695 watch for $173. And Tahari coats are 55% off. I just thought they had some great sales today and wanted to share. I will be posting a real blog article later today.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Super Shopping Secret #7

This week's Super Shopping Secret is http://www.smartbargains.com/. They have fabulous clothes and accessories. They offer labels like Anne Klein, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Michael Kors, BCBG, Kenneth Cole, Tahari and more. I bought an awesome Ellen Tracy dress there last year. I get compliments on it every time I wear it. Happy Shopping!