Gossip Girl: Blair Waldorf Fashion

I’m a HUGE fan of Gossip Girl’s, Leighton Meesler (Blair Waldorf). She is the classic goddess who makes that show. The clothes she wears are impeccable. Whoever puts together her ensemble is absolutely talented: classic, dark, timeless, powerful, and sexy. Her fashion becomes her. I admire everything she wears.

I don’t care much for Blake Lively’s fashion (Serena Vanderwoodsen). Her character’s fashion in the show doesn’t really match mine, but I still appreciate it. I’m open to everything but I must say, Blair’s is top notch.

So with these designer clothes in mind, not many can afford it (including me). Below is a look I put together that resembles Blair’s outfit in the photograph above. These garments are affordable. No one has to go broke to look stunning. Garments are from stores such as: Forever21, Walmart, Target, Old Navy, and Newport-News. Yes, definitely affordable and gorgeous.

Click on the ensemble below to get to the link for purchase:

Sexy Flat Shoes

I always believed that flat shoes were not sexy until this year. After an hour shopping at the mall my feet got sore to the point of chucking my Carlos Santana heels aside. Walking around with shoes that scream, “Fabulous but painful” does not fancy me as much anymore. This doesn’t mean that heels are a thing of the past, but more so expanded my horizons to the world of flat shoes.

Apparently these two flat sandals above look stunning when matched with a dressy top with black shorts or skirt. Who said summer was only for casual clothing? It’s just a matter of finding the perfect flat shoes that accentuate how long and lean your legs look.

Flats on sale at Bakersshoes.com

Chic Bag!

Vanessa Hudgens came out with a chic new bag recently. Who the designer is of that bag? I have no clue but it definitely resembles a Chanel bag. Nonetheless let’s take into consideration that Vanessa sports around Balenciaga, Valentino, and etc. designer bags. It’s safe to assume that whatever good she has hanging off of her shoulder must and definitely be that of a designer.

Regular people such as myself can not afford to splurge on such goodness so instead I resort to what my checking’s account can afford. This is another entry of “Lust vs. Must”

Chadwicks.com features the Patent Cable-Quilted Bag in coloures black/white, white, and red. It’s also on sale for $59.00. Fabulous Fabous!!!

Post Faux-Nail Dilemma

There are so many of us who strip the faux-nails from our finger tips after a few weeks of showing off our polished, professional, manicure. We do this mainly because we do not want to take another trip to the nail salon to pay $10 for faux-nail removal, etc. Well it’s no surprise but the nails beneath become a hott mess!!! Ruined, scratched with bits of acrylic stuck. Yikes!

So to alleviate such shame, cut your fingernails to a desired length and then coat them with a coloured nail polish – one that has shimmer/glitter. That’s the secret!!!! The polish once dried has its own texture, therefore camouflaging the mess of your already ridged nails.

I recommend Sally Hansen’s, Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color in Forever Lilac Frost (Shimmery Purple Hue). It’s fairly inexpensive and can be bought at any pharmacy. The Lilac Frost has a glittery purple hue which dries with a bit of a texture – so it’s does the job! Use desired coloure.

Vacation

I know – I know. It’s been too long since my last post here. My wedding is in two weeks and the cash usually spent for self indulgence was and is being spent for wedding preparations. It’s insane how $$ can disappear when you pay out all the vendors. INSANE !!

So the handsome husband and I will get back from the honeymoon sometime in the first week of July. I cant wait get back to the normalcy of life! Then I’ll be able to blog on here like I’ve always had in the past.

Never fear… I will be back with exciting material.

Save Money

That’s right, I’ve been broke for at least a month thus… like economics… (if there is an increase in something then there’s a decrease in something else… and vice versa) my increased spending decreased my money in the bank.

Nonetheless, my wedding preparations have left me almost sleeping on a park bench like a vagabond waiting to finally get that break in Hollywood.

So here are a few money saving tips from zenhabits.net. Very informative and very helpful.

1. Use cash. Instead of charging things to credit cards or debit cards, use cash for non-bill spending such as eating out, gas, groceries. Spending cash makes the spending more real, and there’s an added advantage of knowing when you’re out of cash, instead of spending more than you
2. Small weekly savings transfers. I got this idea from my friend Trent at The Simple Dollar, who automatically deducts $20 a week from his check to savings. I decided that I could live with $40/week without really feeling it — it’s a relatively small transfer that I barely notice, and I save about $2,000 a year on top of my larger bi-weekly savings transfers.
3. Stay home. Going out makes you more likely to spend unnecessarily. You eat at restaurants, go to the mall, stop at the gas station for snacks. It’s hard to avoid spending when you’re on the road. Instead, stay home, and find free entertainment. It’s also a great way to bond with your family.
4. Don’t get catalogs. Or emailed announcements from companies trying to sell you stuff. Their announcements of sales or cool new products make it very tempting to buy something you don’t need. Instead, stop the catalogs and emails from ever getting to you in the first place, and you’ll spend less.
5. Keep a 30-day list. If you have an impulse to buy something you don’t absolutely need, put it on a 30-day list. You can’t buy anything but necessities — everything else goes on the list, with the date that it’s added to the list. When the 30 days are up, you can buy it — but most likely, the strong urge to buy it will be gone, and you can evaluate it more calmly.
6. Cook at home. I know, it seems more difficult than eating out. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Throw together a quick stir-fry with frozen veggies and either boneless chicken or (my favorite) tofu with soy sauce or tamari. Make home-made pizza with a ready-made crust, some sauce, cheese and veggies. Put some spices on something and throw it in the oven while you cook some brown rice. Not only is this much cheaper than eating out, but it’s healthier.
7. Exercise. Staying healthy is the best way to avoid costly medical bills later.
8. Use the envelope system. It’s the same idea as using cash for spending, but in addition you use envelopes to split your spending cash into categories. My non-bills categories are groceries, gas and miscellaneous spending. Three envelopes, and when they’re empty, I’ve spent my allotment.
9. Talk with your SO weekly. It’s important that you and your significant other be on the same page. You should have the same financial goals, and from there you should agree on a general spending plan and a policy for impulse buying that won’t have either of you wanting to choke the other. Make sure you both know what bills have been paid, what your balances are, etc. A weekly meeting of just 20 minutes accomplishes that. Communication is key.
10. The spreadsheet tracker hack. There are expensive programs like MS Money, Quicken, and the like that will do amazing things with your financial information. There are even free ones, on your desktop or online, that can do all kinds of things. Trouble is, I don’t need all that. All I want is a way to track my money easily, with no other bells and whistles, and a way to access that online so that I can view it from anywhere. The best way I found to do that is through Google Docs and Spreadsheets. I created a simple spreadsheet to track my bank accounts, that does everything I used to do with MS Money. It has the date of each transaction, the title and amount, a little field for memos, and a running balance. What more do I need? Keep it simple. Update: View a sample I put online here.
11. Pay savings and debt first. When you sit down to pay your bills (I do them all online), make the first bills you pay be your savings transfer and your debt payments. If not, if you pay them last … you’ll often end up shortchanging them. But if you pay them first, you’ll make sure you still pay your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries and gas … so you’ll just cut back on other spending.
12. Exercise at home. Some of you will disagree with me on this, which is OK — everyone should do what works for them. But I’ve saved a lot of money that I used to spend on gyms by just running at the local track or on the roads in my neighborhood, and buying some simple weights and a chin-up bar. I do a lot of body-weight exercises (pushups, Hindu squats, lunges, pullups, dips, etc.) and I don’t need a gym for those things.
13. Cut out cable TV. I’m not saying I don’t watch TV — I watch DVDs, so that I’m sure that what I’m watching is something great, rather than the useless stuff you find on TV most of the time. And there’s a lot of it online for free if you look. Not a huge savings, but it adds up.
14. Declutter. By getting rid of all the excess stuff in your home, you not only make your life much simpler and more peaceful, but you make it harder to buy stuff that will just clutter things up again. Once you’ve simplified your home, you won’t want to go back.
15. Lend and borrow. Give books and clothes and toys you don’t need anymore to your friends and family. If you need something, send out an email asking if anyone has it. Chances are, they’ll give it to you for free if they don’t use it anymore.
16. Barter. It’s a lost art, but lots of people will take your services or goods instead of money, especially if you’re friends or at least know each other. Get into the habit of offering to barter, and you’ll find yourself saving a lot of money. My website design was done through the barter system, so I saved well over $1,000 there, for example.
17. Use online savings. I use Emigrant Direct, but ING Direct is also popular, as are a bunch of other online banks. Not only do you earn like twice the interest of a normal bank savings account, but if you don’t get the ATM account it’s not as easy to withdraw money … making it less likely that you’ll get money out on an impulse.
18. Try frugal gift-giving. Giving people gifts is one of the most wonderful traditions, as it shows generosity and caring. Until it becomes commercialized. Then it’s just really really expensive. Instead, try giving the gift of spending time with someone. Try giving them something you baked or made yourself. Try giving them services they’d appreciate. It doesn’t have to cost a lot to be generous.
19. Teach your kids about advertising, saving, earning, and gift-giving. If you have kids, educating them about money will save you a lot of money in the long run. If they know about how advertising influences them in tricky ways, they’ll be less likely to demand (OK, beg and plead for) the latest fad toys. If they know about saving and earning money, they’ll respect the money that you earn, and that you are trying to save. If they know that gift-giving doesn’t have to be about spending a lot of money (see above), they won’t necessarily want expensive stuff.
20. Find happiness in life, not spending. Many times people buy stuff because they think (subconsciously perhaps) that it will bring them happiness. They just HAVE to have the latest gadget or shoes or cars. It’s so fun! And yet, you buy that stuff, and you’re only happy for a day or two at most. Then you just need to buy more. It’s a never-ending cycle. Instead, learn to love life. Find joy in nature! In the people around you! In doing something you love! In exercise and meditation! There’s so much in life to make us happy, there’s no need to find it in spending.

Gossip Girl & Fashion

Welcome Back to New York!!! After the last episode of Sex & The City, I nearly wept. But The CW’s hit show that is Gossip Girl is flawlessness in all of its sexiness!! As much as I get annoyed with 16 year olds fighting with their mothers publicly, I am surprised that I am infatuated with this show. This show is my other guilty pleasure that transports me into another world away from the harsh realities of real-life.

Nonetheless, we can all take fashion cues from this show (even the men are dressed well). And as we know, shows like these intend to lure the public with its marketing strategy of high society fashion (much similar to my favorite fashionistas from Sex & the City). The show has mentioned and featured many designers ranging from Michael Kohrs, Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik, etc… and jewelry designers such as Harry Winston and Cartier. It’s a bit on the high side but we must appreciate all of its glory because it is nice to dream of things.

The fashion in this show is a bit exaggerated and in most episodes, the teens wear uniforms since they go to a private school. But after school hours is where it counts the most. It’s where the parties at the Upper East Side take place and the fashion booms to unbelievable levels.

But I will definitely write about this show and its fashion more often. For the time being, check out their official website at The CW website: http://www.cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl.

Watch the first episode on sundayfetish’s youtube channel: or click here for the first installment of the first episode. It’s intriguing!!

April 2008’s Top Ten

Haven’t posted in a while. Bustin’ busy planning my wedding, but here we go, April 2008’s Top Ten:

1 – APOTHECARY JARS

There are a million things to do with these jars. Not only do they look chic and metro, they also look stunningly modern for your counters. I’ve used these jars to store my hair accessories, perfume, makeup-accessories, and sprays. Think outside the box and look at things beyond its function.

2 - ASIAN FACES

Taylor Chang-babaian, a professional makeup artist offers an innovative beauty guide designed to meet the special needs of Asian women, bringing together techniques, tools, and styles to enhance the skin tones and facial features of Asian women of all ages. Original.

3 – NINA RICCI: NINA

This is one of Nina Ricci’s first chic and modern scents that just came out not too long ago. I absolutely LOVE it. I have only sampled it at the mall but I keep coming back for more. Someday I will purchase it.

Scent: Calabrese Lemon, Cipirinha Lime, Red Toffee Apple, Vanilla Infusion, Moonflower, Peony Petals, Apple Tree Wood, Cotton Musk.

4 – BAKERSSHOES.COM: PLATFORM SHOES

I adore platform shoes. They give off a different kind of sexiness that can only be brought by strutting around with a nice solid pair. Bakersshoes.com have fabulous Platform Shoes. I much prefer their style than some of Victoria Secret’s heels.

5 – Dillard’s Este Lauder: Air Brush Makeup

Only Dillard’s Este Lauder counters feature the air brush makeup application. I went and got a makeover this previous weekend and it felt a bit weird but all in all… fierce flawlessness. Be sure to dabble into its goodness whenever you get a chance. It’s not Temptu Makeup, but it’s still quite an experience.

6 – MAC COSMETICS: 187 Duo Fibre Brush

A large full circular brush used for lightweight application and blending of face powder or pigments. Use to create soft layers or add textures. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres.

This brush has a mini version: the 188. What’s great about this brush is it gives you an airbrush effect when applying liquid foundation. It has many purposes but I use it mainly to apply liquid foundation. EnKoreMakeup has a video tutorial on MAC face brushes. Watch and educate yourself of the MAC brushes.

Sephora carries a similar brush – Platinum Stippling Brush #44.

There are similar brushes that are cheaper (coastalscents.com) but I don’t exactly recommend those because it’s of low quality. For testing the brush, I guess it’s fine, but it’s just not the same.

7 – Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Dabble into your inner Diva and purchase or subscribe to Martha Stewart Living Magazine. It’s fabulous in all of its glory. You can even check out the website. Both magazine and website will give you many techniques on organization, allows you to think outside the box, and shows you ways to make things from scratch. For instance, instead of buying a headboard, my fiance and I made our headboard by means of a rod and holder, thus hanging a modern pattern, leather, curtain, or quilt on the rod. Many variations which is what drew me to it. And it’s cheaper than purchasing a headboard. Martha Stewart is the domestic diva!

8 – MAC COSMETICS Eyeshadow: Ricepaper

MAC’s Eyeshadow in Ricepaper is great for highlighting. I haven’t found a shadow highlighter as good as Ricepaper. Nanogold was awesome, but was in for a limited time and thus it’s also sold out because of its awesomeness. But nonetheless, Ricepaper is there to stay and it’s a definite must have for any skin color.

Whatever you do, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER purchase MAC products from eBay. There are many shady people out there who will sell you generic brands that look like MAC. Buyer Beware!

9 – DRESS BARN

If you have a Dress Barn store near you, take full advantage of it. This store has many dresses for several occassion. It’s not a store for the middle aged. The store has many youthful, modern, and chic dresses. I bought two dresses there recently and they are fierce! Check it out and expand your horizons!

10 – April Showers… Umbrella

Spring 2008 is here with April’s showers! Why not accessorize with a fabulous unique print umbrella? Make a bold statement during a rainy day and up your style with a nice looking umbrella. Target has some nice ones as well. The popular ones are the burberry ones. I advice you to stay out of the bland patterns and go for something different.

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE !!!!

Makeup 101 – Sephora’s Classic Blockbuster

The goodness that is Sephora’s, Classic Blockbuster, is a hit in my book. One of the best makeup purchase I’ve made in a long while. A Definite must have for those who are beginning to experiment with eyeshadows, and a great must have for any makeup lover. It has the popular coloures that allow you to have endless combinations of looks. It also has lip coloures, a variety of shades for blush, and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

What it is:
The original Blockbuster is back! A triple-tiered palette for eyes, face, and lips, plus all the tools you need to put together endless looks.

What else you need to know:
Who says you can’t have it all? This sleek, mirrored, palette is loaded with 64 eyeshadows, 32 lip colors, seven cheek colors, one translucent shimmer powder, four double-ended shadow applicators, two blush brushes, and two lip brushes.

It’s pretty cheap for what you can get out of it. It’s even cheaper than drug store makeup. A Quad of eyeshadow in the drug store could be in the $9 – $15 range… and that’s only for 4 coloures. The Classic Blockbuster only sells at $48 and it has a lot to offer (read the red lines above) . The quality is superb… it’s Sephora!

So before you start getting on the makeup vibe and order a butt load of expensive stuff from MAC Cosmetics, check out this Classic Blockbuster first. It’s a definite must have for makeup lovers. Hurry, it’s here only for a limited time.

I am officially a Sephora Addict. LOVE IT!

Hello Spring Season!!!

What an unbelievable day! Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, I’ve been out enjoying the weather and I’ve also been busy at work and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Nonetheless, today is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING! It’s time to sing Glory, Glory, Hallelujah and update our lives with new pheremones!

That’s right, love is in the air and you better smell damn good! It’s time to toss out your last two years supply of Victoria Secret’s, Love Spell and move up that ladder of fragrance.

My Top Three purfumes I’ve come across this season that I absolutely endlessly love:

       

From left to right:
Carrolina Herrera - 212 Splash
Salvatore Ferragamo – Incanto Heaven
Calvin Klein – CK One Summer 2007

Even if you don’t like my top three, it’s about time to go out there and update your fragrance library! It’s Spring ladies and gentlemen… it’s time for new beginnings!

* Purfume/Cologne too expensive? EBAY IT!!! www.ebay.com – way cheaper *