Trending Now: Textured Nails

It seems that rockin’ the textured manicure is one of Fall 2012’s latest and greatest trends. I happen to love this! My two favorite are the velvet manicure and the caviar manicure.

Ciate Velvet Manicure- in berry poncho

Ciate Caviar Manicure- in black pearls

Both kits contain a solid colored nail polish, the “topping” (for the caviar nails: caviar pearls, for the velvet nails: crushed velvet),and a funnel (so you can put back the extra “toppings” in to their bottles. In addition, the velvet nail kit contains a brush so you can sweep away the excess crushed nail from your nails.

You can get your kits from Sephora ($19 for the velvet and $25 for the caviar). Of course these manicures don’t last more than a day or two but they are great for a special date or a night out on the town.

Back to Basics, Part Three: How to Buy Jeans

Jeans! Oh… JEANS! But how is a girl to find the perfect fit. Someone once told me that the average woman tries on 19 pairs of jeans before she finds one that fits right.  My first and best advice with jeans is to try and try again.

Piece of advice number 2:  Don’t go too cheap on the jeans.  The $25 pair of jeans does not fit or last like the $80, $100, or $200 pair.

I suggest Buffalo, 7 for All Mankind, and Joe’s Jeans. Buffalo is the most cost effective.  I like Buffalo because their jeans come in different lengths and cuts.  7 for All Mankind are my personal favorite because I have never met a pair of 7’s I didn’t love.  Joe’s Jeans are a favorite of many people. When going on a personal shopping trip with clients, Joe’s Jeans are my go-to brand because they fit lots of different body types.

The rise and cut of the jean is very important. The “rise” is the length from the crotch to the waistband.  In-store, you probably won’t ask or be asked for an exact measurement. The label will say low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise.

(F.Y.I: low-rise jeans DO NOT look good on most women. Low-rise jeans are often the culprits that cause the dreaded muffin top. If the jean’s rise hits higher on the waist the muffin top becomes less of an issue.)

The “cut” (or the leg opening) of the jean is the next important part to consider.  The “cut” of the jean is defined by width of the leg opening, compared to the width of the jean at the knee.

For example:  Straight legged jeans have the same width at the knee and the opening. Flared jeans will have a much larger width at the leg opening versus the knee.

Here are some examples (the opening has been folded up to the knee bend):

Skinny Leg Cut Jean — The leg opening is smaller than the width of the knee.

Straight Leg Cut Jean — The leg opening is about equal to the width at the knee.

Bootcut Jean — The leg opening is slightly wider than the knee width (presumably, to fit around a calf-high boots)

Flared Jean — The leg opening is much wider than the width of the knee.

The skinny jean has become very popular in past 7-5 years. HOWEVER, If you are self-concusious about your lower belly, hips and/or thighs, skinny jeans are not the jeans for you. Skinny jeans will only serve to exaggerate the size of the hips and the thighs. The best cuts for those of you who are concerned about the lower belly, hips, and/or thighs are wide legged straight cut jeans or boot cut. Straight legged and boot cut jeans will give you a balanced look from waist to ankle.

The wash of a jean (or the color) can be important as well. Darker washes are usually more flattering on most people. Other washes can be flattering if they are “discolored” in the correct places. When looking at a wash make sure that the lightest part of the jean is on the top of the thigh (bellow the pockets and above your knees) and that the side/seems of the jean (inner and outer thighs) are darker. The slight differences in color between the top of the thigh and the sides create a slimming effect!

Notice how the wash is a bit lighter on the top of the thigh and darker on the sides

So to recap what IS important when shopping for jeans:

• The Rise
• The Cut
• The Wash

What is NOT important…. THE NUMBER! The size on the tag is not important, no body can see it but you. What others will be able to see that you have tried to squeeze a muffin top into a teenagers low-rise skinny jean or… that you have chosen a classy pair of jeans that fits you perfectly and looks great on your body! Now that you have the knowledge you need to pick the prefect jeans… heres to happy shopping!

Kentucky Derby Fashion- 2012 report

The Kentucky Derby is awesome for three reasons: the race itself (often called “the 2 most exciting minutes in sports”), the drinking (everything from bud-light -to- Moet bottles of champagne with sipping tops -to- $1,000 mint juleps served in a 24k gold cup), and of of course, the FASHION! The Kentucky derby is the one sporting event that socialites and “common folk” come to show-off, drink, and gamble… AND nobody thinks it’s weird.

The Kentucky derby, since its founding in 1875, has been an event in which men and women come dressed in their best. It is a horse racing tradition for women to wear outlandish hats or fascinators. Many of you might recall the scene in the musical My Fair Lady in which Eliza Doolittle is taken to the races and dressed in a oversized flamboyant hat. Classic!

It wasn’t until the 70’s that big derby hats started getting bigger and bigger… and pricier for that matter!

This year the hats were just as crazy and I can’t say that I have a favorite. I know that big hats are a big deal at the kentucky derby and I’m all for that… but sometimes big hats can be a little bit much.

For example:

Simple fascinators,classic straws hats, and the “rebellious hatless” were the real winning looks this year.

For Example:

My Fashion winner was Jill Baffert, the wife of Bob Baffert (Bodimester’s trainer). Unfortunately, photos of her on derby day are very hard to find. Jill looked chic with a simple,to the knee, fitted, black, deep v-neck dress. Big sunglasses and a cream clutch where her only accessories. In a world were everyone is trying to stand out by wearing large, crazy hats,  those who took it a notch down made the real statements this year.

Hat designers to check out:

Louise Green
Rachel Trevor-Morgan

Back to Basics- Part two: The Tops

With a few simple (properly fitting) tops you can have the basics to pull off comfortable style everyday without struggle.

List of needed basic tops:
1 plain black camisole
1 plain nude camisole
1 plain white camisole
1 black v-neck t-shirt
1 white v-neck t-shirt
1 black long sleeve t-shirt

The key is to make sure that each of these pieces fit your body well. For example your camisoles should fit close and tight to your body because they will be worn under other pieces. If they are to loose they won’t do you any favors. A camisole should be worn to add thickness to a thin or shear top or under a low cut top to make it appropriate for professional situations. I like the basic seamless camisoles from Sugarlips Apparel.

V-neck t-shirts are always great to have. I love pairing them with skinny jeans and boots for a daytime and throwing on patent leather pumps at night. I love Alternative Apparel’s Burnout Deep V-neck. The neck is deep but not to deep and the shirt fits like a dream. I have loads of beautiful dress and designer shirts but my Alternative Apparel V-neck get just as many (if not more) compliments!

The best longs sleeve shirts I can find come from Target. Try Target’s Merona Ultimate Long Sleeve Tee. It isn’t to tight or to loose so you can wear it by itself or layer it under another shirt or dress.

Back to Basics- Part One: The Foundations

I am a sucker for high fashion! I love to dress up it the latest trendy skirt and heels but lately I’ve been thinking about creating fantastically stylish outfits with the simple basics. Basics are all important… YOU NEED THEM… and you need to invest in them. From Bra’s to jeans to simple long sleeves. Having proper fitting basics allow women to be comfortable and not look like complete slobs.

Let’s start with Foundations, yes I mean bras and panties.

YOU HAVE TO GO GET FITTED FOR A BRA! Believe me, you don’t know what size bra you wear. Go to Dillard’s or any other intimate apparel retailer and ask for their fit specialist. They will measure to and help you find bras that work for size and shape and what bras to stay away from. You should go every 6 months to a year to be refitted and re-buy (your bra that you bought 3 years ago isn’t doing its job anymore… it’s time to upgrade, you deserve it)! Bras’ lose the elasticity after 6 to 12 months of wear (depending on how often they are worn and how you wash them, hand washing will increase there “life expectancy”).

This is my list of all the types of bra’s a women should have in her wardrobe at all times:

1 nude t-shirt bra
1 black t-shirt bra
1 nude convertible bra (that can be strapless, racerback, or traditional)
1 black convertible bra (that can be strapless, racerback, or traditional)

With these four bra’s you should be able to have appropriate match for all your clothes.

Now for the underwear…

My first piece of advice for everyday is buy what fits and what is comfortable. In addition buy SPANX! Make the investment. With Spanx you will avoid the visible pantie line. I know some of you think you can avoid that with a tong… sadly many of you are wrong. The only thing worst that pantie lines going across some lady’s butt cheeks is seeing that nasty line across another woman’s upper hips… and you know where that line ends up… freakin’ gross right. Spanx are not the most comfortable thing in the world but the peace of mind knowing your lines have no chance of showing makes up for that. I suggest Spanx’s “Skinny Britches.” They are really thin and really useful and come is loads of colors.

Without the proper foundations you have already made a disaster of your outfit even before you slip on your dress or your t-shirt and jeans. Invest in the items you wear EVERYDAY you will feel more confident and that is the best way to pull off any outfit.

Makeup Your Mind NARS!!!

If you are a makeup lover like me you’ve probably have tried NARS makeup. It is all good. My personal favorites are the powder blushes in “Orgasm,” “Deep Throat,” (no, I’m not being dirty, those are the names of the blush colors) “Sex Appeal,” and “Angelika.” Eyeshadow duos you should run to get are “Silk Road” and “Rated R.” I LOVE the matte lip sticks and the the body illumater too… BUT… here is the ultimate guide… The manual to multiple makeup looks created by NARS founder François Nars… Here are two must haves if you love makeup! 1) Makeup Your Mind 2) Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself

The power of “making-up”

Click here to view photos of how make-up can improve ones appearance when applied the right way

I know some of the photos are “unfair” because these women were caught during their day and not smiling for the camera… but it all goes to prove nobody comes close to perfect without help, and more importantly, we are all beautiful with clean faces.

Outfit of the Month- May 2011

The prefect day-to-night outfit… Just slip off the sweater for a great night out! (click on images to buy and for the source too!)

by D.E.P.T

by Andrew Marc

by Donald Pliner

by BCBG Max Azira

What I Can’t Say About Kate

So the Royal wedding was on Friday April 29, 2011… I bet most of you watched it According to one newspaper about 3 billion people watched worldwide as William and Catherine exchanged vows. All-in-all it was a pretty emotion experience… Let’s just say I cried when Kate started to walk down the aisle with her father… and 4 minutes later I cried again as she FINALLY got to Will at the alter.

…BUT enough of the mushy crap. Let’s talk about the dress.

For me the dress was more than perfect. It was simple and classic and elegant and grand… basically Kate looked like a princess (as every girl should on their wedding day). I can’t say that Kate looked over done, too fashion-forward, or haute (no girl should look like this on their wedding day).

HOWEVER, after my bragging about how fantastic she looked my boyfriend only had one word for her attire “boring.” WHAT? That is right, boring, he said. My only explanation for this is that men think wedding dresses are all boring until it is their bride, their wife-to-be, is walking toward him down an aisle. A wedding dress should ALWAYS be an express of yourself. You should look like yourself on your wedding, a more polished version of yourself. You will probably be boring to most people who don’t know you (as if people who don’t know you will see you on your wedding day), but to the Man waiting for you at the end of the aisle and all the close friends and family celebrating that day with you will look just as you should, perfect and you!

*Okay just to be fair my boyfriend, after he called her dress “boring,” he put down the paper and added “It looks like the wedding dress from the Godfather, Godfather I.” HaHa boys!

To see the wedding (or see it again) CLICK HERE!

Inward and Outward

Sometimes we must look inward to improve our overall outward image. As pointed out in proverbs 31 “beauty is fleeting…” Ones behavior and attitude, rather than their clothes or hair cut, may affect their outward appearance more that perviously thought.

READ: What Makes a Person Ugly? by Dr. Robert Tornambe

Tell me what you think: Can someones personally increase their physical attractiveness?