OOTD: Shirtdress front

Shirtdress is from Ross. I purchased two of the for$11.00, top that.

Sandals- Coach.

OOTD: Seaching for job #2's holiday party dress.

With my shopping endeavor to find something to wear to my office party, I had quite a dilemma on my hands. Just a quick background for you, I am one of the hottest girls at the hotel I work at. If this was high school, I'd be voted best dressed. People I work with are always complementing my fashion sense & they told me that they were waiting to see what I'd wear to this party. There are some trolls that I work with as well & they have perfected the art of hating, so you know I had to outdo them. I was left with the challenge of finding something that was unique & equally stunning.

I found a couple of dresses, especially from Jessica McClintock's collection (which costs my firstborn child) & was dismayed by a couple of sorry excuses for frocks- ones I wouldn't wear if someone simply handed them to me free of charge. At the first attempt, I found this great dress (the one I ended up purchasing) purple, satin fabric, with a one shouldered style (spaghetti strap on the opposite shoulder) and the one shoulder had a pleating detail both there and on the skirt. I'll upload more pictures as I get to a computer of me in the Jessica McClintock dresses, (yes I photograph everything, circa Cher in Clueless) especially the one that stole my heart as I looked at it on display. I am thoroughly convinced- Macy's planned to take my soul & their approach was flawless. The hunt was only extended to Macy's since I needed to use my Macy's card to purchase. This dress deserves an adequate description since at $189 USD, it was absolutely stunning. A one shouldered, metallic a-line cocktail dress with somewhat of a floral garland on said one shoulder. Everything in me "buy it" but my wallet screamed "don't kill me". When I came back down to reality, I realized that the purple dress was not only elegant but semi- affordable at $80 USD & this was what I debuted.

iWant: Next on my hitlist. Pump it up.

Pumps. Bakers.
I saw these when shopping for my office Christmas party & yes, I had to blog about them. I mean they totally warrant a blog in their honor. They are so effing classy & edgy at the same time. I was actually walking by Bakers & happened to look in the window & on the mannequin's feet, I saw them, looking hot as ever. They served their purpose & drew me into the store. When I fit them on they were actually comfortable (without the Dr Scholls insoles that usually save me) & the price was a bit heinous (a whopping 80 USD) but they were versatile enough to be worn many times. The finish on the shoe is a fushia suede & the thing that caught me was the cut of the front of the shoe. Just sexy. This its definetly next on my hitlist.

OOTD: Holiday party dress. Detail.

OOTD: Thermal wear close up

Lookbook: Shades of Purple

Urban Decay

Lookbook: Green streak

Urban Decay
MAC

OOTD: Cold day = simple thermal wear

Thermal. Miley to the Max (by way of WalMart)

Scarf. Plato's Closet

Jeans. PacSun.

Boots. Traffic

Rant: Nude is the New Black.

Nude is the new black. Plain and simple. In the 90's you could pretty much get away with wearing black shoes with everything but now, now you have this trend where instead of choosing something to match the colors in your outfit, you go completely neutral. I have this rule that if you can wear something with black, brown, navy blue & white- it's a staple. Versatile pieces like this are worth being invested in because, with that rule of thumb, you will be able to wear it more times than anything else in your wardrobe.

Shoes.
Nude shoes- heels to be exact, are great when it comes to business, semi-formal to formal wear. They're great in patent finish or matte, depending on what you prefer. I'm a huge fan of patent (even my wallet is patent) finish so that's what I opted for, but I'm glad they have options for everyone. The nude heel is the new 'little black dress' of your shoe collection.  They allow a classy finish and direct your eyes upward to the outfit. They act like a chamelion, virtually going with everything and anything.

Makeup.
Likewise, with makeup, Nude lips are becoming as frequent as the smoky eyes. They too can go with most makeup motifs and look great with any outfit on anyone. I usually measure trends started by and popular with the Caucasian population by the way it works with my brown skin. I've tried this and it seriously transforms your face. A nude colored lipstick with a clear gloss slicked over it has worked with all the eye makeup combinations and outfits that I've thrown at it and with a clean finished face (I use powder because I'm shiny) it makes for a really great, fresh look.

Nude will probably be here to stay for a while so if you haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet, we're all waiting for you.

Rant: In light of recent weight loss...

In light of recent weight loss, I have realized that I can now bring my zeros out of hiding. I'm super excited because I literally have an ENTIRE wardrobe based on the fact that I was thin & alone. I will do my best to keep my weight off so that the dreaded muffin top never makes an appearance in this blog... ever again.

I lost eight pounds during the course of my vacation, partially to upset stomach, partially to heartbreak, but I've always said heartache blows but it's the best thing for me when I want to lose weight. I'm excited, just thought I would share.

Review: Urban Decay Book of Shadows III

Urban Decay: Book of Shadows III

I realized that there was a need for primer, eyeliner & eyeshadow at the same time so I went over to Sephora & looked for a pallete that would suit me. My brown skin poses a challenge as I need truer pigments. so that they come out boldly against my skin. I also figured since I needed eyeliner & primer, I might as well buy a kit & holiday season usually brings them with decent prices.

A while ago I purchased the Sephora Mascara Deluxe Sampler & there are a few brands that I really respected as far as mascara goes so I went to those brands first. Smashbox, Urban Decay & Benefit made the cut so I went there first. Smashbox didn't have what I was looking for. Their colors were bold but the largest quantity I could get was a quad. Benefit was more disappointing since bold colors were nowhere in sight. So I made my way to Urban Decay & saw several options that were in the same ballpark of what I wanted.

Urban Decay sells several collections, some with 8 colors, some with 12 colors and the big guns with 16 colors. I deliberated between the Black collection (for smoky eyes) but it didn't bring eyeliner & I already have several smoky palletes from Physician's Formula. Then I saw the Book of Shadows III- the motherload, exactly what I wanted. This brings bold, vibrant colors, primer, and two eyeliners. I felt a little guilty spending 60$ on this but then I realized 16$ primer, 18$ Eyeliner & a 32$ Eyeshadow palette would be 66$ so in reality I would have spent more buying them separately. Can't wait to upload my experimentations with this!

Rant: Mismatching

I was walking through Downtown Disney & drinking everything in. I love Disney, I never went as a child so when I'm in Orlando now, I try to go at least once. I walked by this store & noticed that all the mannequins were wearing different socks with a decal over the window reading "Make your own style". Now I'm all for people being individuals & expressing themselves but this whole mismatching epidemic is awful. Its not okay that Disney is encouraging children not to match! Its bad enough that when they dress themselves that they demonstrate the coordinating abilities of a colorblind (or just blind) person, but encouraging them to put on anything as long as its colorful is a travesty to our generation.

Today's magazines aren't making it any better as they encourage you to throw any patterns together. I'm adventurous & will try anything magazines throw out there (and twice if I like it) but when I saw that this was the new trend, so to speak, the word "Hobo" flashed across my mind. Everything in me screamed at the heinous thought of going out in public like this. I know we're in a recession but that's no excuse to dress like we're homeless. I'm supposed to blindfold myself, reach into my closet & pull out the first two things, regardless of color & pattern? I don't think so.

OOTD: Changing it up with some boots

I'm on vacation in Orlando & like an idiot, packed one of my black boots. So the second night I was here, a cold front had me looking through my suitcases frantically for my boots, upon which I could only find one foot & had to buy another pair of boots to protect my feet from that weather. This photo was actually taken in Miami (I had to go home for a night to take care of some things) & I decided to switch it up from the usual uniform of sandals & it made the difference. Apparently, boots change an entire outfit.

Cardigan.
Macy's. This is what made the look classy.

Top.
Forever 21.
I also have this in blue as well.

Shorts.
Ross. They're all baggy now that I lost weight.

Boots.
Traffic. Newest addition.