some people are born fashionistas, the rest of us just need a little help
Hello everyone! Today I’m debuting another feature for Clueless Fashionista. I’ve run into quite a few women who say they’re not good at applying makeup or they don’t know what beauty products to use for their skin type and they don’t want to spend thousands of dollars trying them all out. I understand completely!
I have very sensitive, dry skin and lately my skin has been going through some changes so products I used to use aren’t working as well any more. While a trip to the dermatologist is definitely coming, I need something that I can use now. I have spent way too much time in the beauty aisle in Target, Walmart and Walgreen’s over the last couple of months trying to figure out what to buy. Ultimately I end up leaving with nothing but frustration. So I wanted to start a feature on here to share beauty product reviews. I will be doing some test drives myself but I want to reach out to the Clueless Fashionista community and involve you in this as well. We don’t all have the same skin type and I need some variety to make sure as many bases are covered as possible.
So I’m inviting you to become a part of the beauty test drive panel here on Clueless Fashionista. If you have tried a beauty product and would like to share a review, please visit the “Contact Clueless Fashionista” page and send me a message. The review should be in a video format so pull out your video cameras and web cams! The video should be no longer than 5 minutes and should be uploaded to a website like Youtube, Vimeo or Bebo. I won’t host them here but I need to be able to embed them in the post. I will post the requirements up soon so if you have questions, either send me a message or keep checking back. You can review any type of beauty product. It doesn’t have to be makeup. It can be face wash, face cream, lotion, body scrub, etc. Any product that is used to make you more beautiful.
To kick things off, below is a video review of E.L.F. brushes. I am a big fan of their beauty products because they’re very inexpensive (prices start at $1) and some of them work very well.
I would strongly suggest you subscribing to her youtube page. She does great product reviews as well as tutorials. I’ve watched many of her videos and done some of the tutorials and she’s very helpful and thorough. Here is a link to her page: www.youtube.com/user/xteeener
Hello there Clueless Fashionistas!
While I’ve been doing a lot of talking about current clothing trends, I realized that there are some cool makeup trends going on right now. I know that makeup can be a sticky subject for us Clueless Fashionistas. Either you don’t have time to wear any or you go without or you found a look that works and you stick with it, regardless of when you first wore the look! Then there are those of you that fall somewhere in between those extremes. Well I’m here to help with not only a list of makeup trends for spring 2009, but I will follow up with a “How do I wear that trend” series that explains how to incorporate the different makeup trends. I’m excited because the spring makeup trends are all about a natural, easy look. I think you will enjoy learning how to do these looks as well. If there is a trend you don’t see on this list, please send me a message. If it’s a trend you want to participate in, let me know and I will add it to the list and create a post about it.
Spring 2009 Makeup Trends
1. Soft eyebrows
2. Violet eyeliner
3. Glowing skin
4. Soft blush
5. Nude and pale lip color
6. Soft, smokey eye
7. Lilac eyeshadow
8. Bright eyeshadow
9. Thick, long eyelashes
10. Bold, red lips
So there you have it, 10 makeup trends for spring 2009. Stay tuned for the separate post about each one. I also hope to include a video showing how to do each look. Overall the idea for this spring/summer is softness and simplicity.
The wonderful folks over at the website, labellush.com have put together a list of the must have items for your spring/summer wardrobe. It is a great list that’s easy to take and use and if you don’t have all of these items in your closet, you can browse the labellush.com website and start picking them up.
1. White t-shirt
2. Camisole
3. Collared shirt
4. Cotton shorts
5. Khaki pants
There are 11 more items. For the full list, visit http://www.labellush.com/spring-summer-capsule-wardrobe-16-key-pieces-every-girl-should-have.html and then take some time to get started on the list by browsing around. They have the cutest designer clothes and accessories for very reduced prices. Happy shopping!
Our new first lady is quite popular and her conservative but polished style has become quite the rage on the fashion blogs and in fashion news. One classic piece that she made popular once again was the shift dress. For those of you who aren’t familiar with a shift dress, here’s a picture. I’m sure once you see it you will know exactly what it is. You just may not know that it is called a shift dress.
shift dress from http://55secretstreet.typepad.com/55secretstreet/2008/04/the-night-shift.html
So now that you know what a shift dress is, you should get excited! Shift dresses are wonderful creations because they are so simple but they can make you look instantly polished and well put together. All you have to do is put on a nice shift dress with some simple jewelry and voila, you look great! I have and always will be a fan of the shift dress. Plus, they’re great classic pieces that can be worn from season to season, year after year. They’re one of those great pieces that never go out of style.
So for you clueless fashionistas that aren’t very daring, this is a great piece to incorporate into your wardrobe. In fact, you can have more than one shift dress in a variety of colors. You can wear a shift dress with a jacket or without one. You can wear it with large, funky jewelry or you can wear it with a simple set of pearls. So go out and get your shift dress. And if you visit the web address under the image, you will see a page full of different types of shift dresses. It’s a great reference if you’re not sure what direction you want to take your shift dress search in. Happy shopping!
Happy first day of Spring!
It’s lovely here in Atlanta and I’m enjoying the mild temperatures. In recent months, pearls have made a resurgence along with all other types of fabulous accessories. While pearls are indeed a classic and never truly go out of style, they are sometimes related to the necks and ears of very conservative ladies. Now that accessories are becoming bigger and better with things like cocktail rings and statement jewelry, pearls are getting their just desserts as well.
However, if you want to take part in the pearl trend, you don’t necessarily have to do it with big pearl earrings or necklaces. You can still put on a pair of classic, small pearls and look very lovely. Besides, have you ever noticed how the addition of pearls to an outfit can make it go from plain to classic?
Don’t underestimate the power of the pearl!
Yes, budgets are tighter. Yes, the economy is going through some changes. However that doesn’t mean we have to stop shopping. There are some resources available to us out there that will help keep the shopping budget manageable. A great resource is through a company called Shop It To Me. When you go to the website and sign up, you can select your favorite designers and receive a daily or weekly email called Salemail featuring the items that are on sale that day or week. Plus, they just introduced a new feature called Sale Spot where you can view all of your sale items in addition to the ones in your Salemail. In essence, Shop It To Me is your own personal bargain shopper. I don’t know about you but I enjoy the thought of having my own personal band of shopping elves out there scouring the net for deals on the brands and shops that I enjoy visiting. Here is an invite so you can become a member of Shop It To Me. It’s free to join and they won’t email you beyond what you request when you sign up.
www.shopittome.com
I enjoy every SaleMail that I receive from Shop It To Me even when I’m not doing any shopping. Sometimes the deals are so great, I end up buying something anyway (naughty shopping is good shopping when it’s sale shopping!).
Happy Shopping!
Ok ladies, it’s officially March. The clocks have sprung up (way too early in my opinion) and those of you that observe lent are doing so. I know there are some of you still dealing with snow storms and very cold weather, but it is definitely time to start preparing for the spring/summer wardrobe changes. Shoes will soon be going from boots to sandals and we will start shedding those layers and wearing less.
I do realize that many of you have stopped doing the regular mani/pedi trips that become par for the course during the warmer months. Actually, I slow up on my mani/pedi trips some as well. With wearing boots and gloves, those things don’t seem as important as staying warm and cozy in the winter. However, this can be a bit of an issue when you finally do re-enter the nail salon after several months of no mani/pedis. The good thing about our hands is that even when we’re not doing a regular manicure, we still maintain them because they’re always visible. Actually some of you may still get a regular manicure even in the fall/winter months. I know some people (I’m guilty of it as well) do the whole mani/pedi thing as a package deal so when you stop doing one, you stop doing the other.
Well although I haven’t seen the inside of a nail salon in a few months, I still want my feet to be well maintained. I know what can happen when the pedicures stop and I didn’t want to deal with that this winter. I know many of you have seen the infomercials about the Ped Egg and how it makes horribly dry feet look lovely and smooth. I was a skeptic myself but after trying many different products, I decided to plunk down the $10 and give the Ped Egg a try.
Initially, it gave decent results but nothing mind blowing. But as I used it more, I started to get more comfortable with it and realized that it was a really cool product. Now it won’t instantly transform your cracked, dry feet into smooth, pedicured toes, but it will cut down on the dry skin buildup if you use it regularly. When I first got it, I used it every so often but not very regularly. Then one day I saw the commercial and decided to be more diligent with it. Now I use it at least once a week to keep my winter feet more sandal friendly.
Now my feet are looking pretty good. They don’t look like I’ve been to a salon but they also don’t look salon starved. I highly recommend that you visit your local Walgreen’s or other retailer and pick up a Ped Egg. You can order them online as well. It definitely isn’t a pedicure replacement but it can extend the life of one. Plus, when you do finally return to the nail salon, the technicians won’t look at you with a raised eyebrow or ask “It’s been a while hasn’t it?”
Let’s start getting those feet summer ready! For more information about Ped Egg (please forgive the informercial feel to their website), visit their website www.pedegg.com
Yaaaaa!!! Clueless Fashionista has been up and running for a year today. I look forward to continuing to grow and share more fashion tips and fashion advice made simple with you. Thank you for your comments and insight. I look forward to reading more of them and making Clueless Fashionista a place where you feel like you can ask questions and get information to help you become more comfortable with fashion and beauty.
Keep coming back for more Cluess Fashionista and remember fashion should be fun so happy shopping!
Please forgive my designing skills.
It is well known that New York is the fashion capitol of the US. Some would say it’s the fashion capitol of the world but I won’t make that proclamation, especially with cities like Milan and Tokyo holding it down overseas. However, while I was up there for 2009 Mercedes Benz Fall Fashion Week, I decided to do a little observing and see what the ladies in the fashion capitol of the US were wearing.
It’s so easy to people watch in New York because the major modes of transportation is by foot, taxi or public transportation. People are walking all over the place so one day while I ate lunch before going to work the Tony Cohen fashion show, I did a little people watching. I noticed that the main thing for ladies in New York at this time of year was layers. Since it does get quite cold there in the winter, layering is important, especially when you’re doing a lot of walking outside. In spite of their penchant for layering, I quickly noticed that the layering was often done in a chic and cute way. So that was the key. Cute layering was the name of the game for fashion in New York. So if you want to step up your trend appeal, here is a picture of the “New York look” for you to duplicate or adapt to your own wardrobe. I highly suggest adapting it because some of us in the warmer states would be hard pressed to sport this look as often as we may like.
pea coat, jeans and boots from http://wishfulcloset.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html
This is just one example of the look I saw on the streets of New York. You can adapt it in any way you prefer. Here is a list of the items of clothings that I saw most prevalently when I fashion watched in New York City.
1. Pea coats: these were a great way to stay warm but look great while doing it
2. Knee high boots with low heels or flats: since they do so much walking, this was a practical thing. If you are in a city that is more car focused, you can play with the heel height.
3. Tights: I saw mostly dark colors like black, purple, grey and brown
4. Skinny jeans or leggings tucked into boots
If you have a style trend that is very prevalent in your city, send them my way. Shoot me an email at info at cluelessfashionista dot com. I have to keep the spam low by writing out the email address. I would love to feature clothes on the street from your city.
The temps are changing! Slowly but surely, the weather is warming up. I’m sure it’s much slower for some of you in the northern portion of the US and much faster for those of you in the western portion of the US. But for me, down here in Atlanta, it’s starting to improve now that we’ve had our random snow storm for the year. Well the trend for today is one that can be worn during the winter months and the spring months. You may not be able to pull it off comfortably in the hot summer months when its in the 90s and above but its definitely doable on those milder summer days. So in essence, leggings can be worn all year round. They made a big comeback last year and are still holding strong.
I will say, though, that leggings can’t be worn by everyone. Because they’re very fitted pants, some people won’t be flattered by them. Before delving into the legging trend, I would suggest you go to a store where you can try some on. Since they’re pants rather than stockings, you could easily go to any store that carries them and see how they look on you. I would recommend visiting a Target or Walmart store. I know they sell them there and if you decide to make the purchase, you won’t be killing your budget.
Now if you decide to go try some on, take an honest person with you. These are the types of pants that can look great when worn properly and can look completely horrible if worn improperly. Make sure you take full advantage of the three way mirror on this one too.
Ok, now that you’ve done the test run and determined that leggings look good on you, it’s time to work them into your wardrobe. There are a few ways to wear leggings. A great way for those of us that aren’t so adventurous is to layer them under a short dress or a long shirt. One way to dress up this look is by adding some knee high boots (which look great with leggings) and/or a belt around your waist or hips. If you’re more adventurous, you can wear the leggings with a short, fitted shirt and layer over a vest. I’ve seen this look be really cute and I’ve seen it be not so cute so be cautious. Make sure you use your full length mirror (that we should all have at home per my post about having a full length mirror) and check the front and back of that outfit before you exit your house.
Leggings are a cute trend that can be a bit tricky if not done properly. If you decide to partake in the legging trend, just make sure you are completely honest with yourself. Don’t do the trend if it doesn’t flatter you. There’s nothing worse than looking bad in a trendy outfit.
I’m a writer and blogger that works in television and film production. I am a Clueless Fashionista dedicated to making fashion fun and easy to understand. If you’d like to learn more about me, visit my website www.ashiasims.com.
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