DIY Garter Leggings & Giveaway Ft. Retro City Sunglasses. Cranberry-Orange Muffins. ‘Tis the season for baking…and for citrus! Here in the desert southwest, winter means trees chock-full of oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangerines, & more! We’ve got three orange trees at our house and have already started harvesting a few! So, I’m all about making some batches of cranberry-orange muffins. I first made these muffins for Christmas morning two years ago and they are SO good!!! Cranberry-Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping Ingredients: - 3/4 C sugar + one extra tablespoon - 1 1/4 C fresh cranberries (slightly chopped) Directions: Chop cranberries just a bit. . - mix together 2 T flour, 1/4 C sugar and cut in 1 T butter until mixture resemble course crumbs. Lighter Sesame Chicken. Lighter Sesame Chicken satisfies my craving for Chinese take-out, without all the calories that usually come along with it.
Well hello there, how was your weekend? :) Besides meeting some friends for an impromptu wild Friday night out (oy,) finally watching The Vow on Saturday afternoon (omg what a horribly sad movie, right?!) And witnessing the Hawkeyes get spanked (SPANKED) later that night, there actually isn’t too much to report on from the home front! The past couple of weeks have been kind of stressful, what with deadlines, projects, presentations, and visualizing a happy ending to a large foodie event I’m involved in a few weeks down the road (details to come,) so I welcomed the chance to zone out and recharge the batts, if you will.
As Luca Spaghetti said in the film Eat, Pray, Love (which I also watched this weekend): “Americans. Uhhh, touche, Signor Spaghetti. Enough of zee whining though, I got another Take-Out Fake-Out recipe for ya’ today! Then add 1/4 cup honey. Time to cook! Nail Art With Scotch Tape – Easy Nail Art. Looking for some New Year’s Eve nail art inspiration? You’re in luck! Our resident nail art expert, FP Shani, demonstrates three awesome and easy nail art designs using scotch tape! I love the simplicity of these designs and how you can customize them using different colors for different times of the year (think neon for summer!). All you need is some polish and scotch tape! Design #1: Chevron Nails For our first design, chevron nails, you’ll need scotch tape and three different shades of polish. Start by painting your nails with your base coat.
Use two pieces of scotch tape and place them over one of your nails so that all of the nail is covered except for a small triangle at the top. Paint over the chosen nails with your second polish color – for this color we recommend a lighter shade like white so that the third color will really pop! Again, it is important that you let the second layer of polish dry completely before moving onto the next step. Design #2: Cracked Ice Nails. Fashion Blog. In a style reminding me of a modern take on Lolita, Robert Harper photographed model Kristy Kaurova for an editorial in Velour Magazine for August 2011.
I love the long flowing hair with a 50′s style twist, while the clothing has a definite 70′s influence. With a lean towards a young, Lolita-esque beauty, this shoot is one of my favorites of the summer. Take a look below for some of the top shots. The bottle of Coca-Cola really gives an American feel, especially paired with bright 70′s style wedges and a light floral two-piece play suit! An apple gives the feeling of innocence and youth. Super cute high waisted shorts and bow wedges! A classic halter dress in a gingham print has got to be the ultimate in American style summer fashion. Seersucker being another classic American fabric, this playful jumper is perfectly crisp and fun!
Fashion Blog. Aside from all the amazing clothes, my other favorite part of seeing the various designer collections each season is checking out the beauty concepts debuted at each show. So far, one of my favorites has been Vera Wang. Cruising through Style.com for all the latest shows as they come out is one of the easiest ways to take a behind-the-scenes look at the newest and hottest beauty trends for the coming season. With a modern spin on the ever popular smokey eye, the team at Clé de Peau Beauté smudged beautiful shades of soft charcoal and what looks to be hints of camel and violet. It is ultra-feminine, yet still strong and powerful with the focus of the entire look being the eye.
A soft peach lip compliments the deep and smokey eye without overpowering the look. This is a look I will definitely be trying out this fall! Will you? All images from Style.com. Fashion Blog. Bad hair day? Running late? I hear ya. That’s pretty much me every day. So, in honor of my perpetual lateness to everything under the sun, I’ve decided to put together a little review session for all you lovely ladies on how to survive bad hair on a day when you have no time to fix it. Here we go! Option 1: Put on a hat. The process: Run a little anti-frizz cream through your hair, tease the top layer of your hair a little bit, and slip it on. Option 3: Fix up the front. Option 4: Braid the night before.
Option 5: Braid in the morning. Note: all of these style work SO much better when paired with dry shampoo. I hope this helps! Fashion Blog. If there’s one thing we girls are always concerned about, it’s good skin. We all want it fresh, clear, and glowing! As we all know, diet is a huge factor to consider when managing your skincare routine. With summer swiftly approaching, diet changes are a must to looking and feeling great. Things that should always be part of your diet are water, whole wheat products, lean meat (or other kinds of protein if you don’t eat meat), and low fat dairy products. In addition to these basic necessities, I found 10 foods that are essential to the well-being of your skin. 1. Tomatoes – These beauties are rich in anti-oxidants, increasing your ability to absorb free radicals, thereby reducing many skin problems. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
There are plenty more great foods out there, but this will give you a great start to healthy skin. What do you gals eat to keep your skin extra clear? Xoxo. Fashion Blog. I stumbled upon a tutorial on Stylelist, inspired by the nails on the Jen Kao Spring 2012 runway, and just knew I had to give it a try. So, let’s just see how easy it really is! The Supplies: Aside from the prep work (emery board, nail polish remover, you know…), you’ll need a base coat, two nail lacquers in the same color family, one light and one dark, and a clear top coat. Step 1: Trim and file nails into your desired length and shape. As you can see, I like mine as short as can be! Then apply a base coat. Step 2: Start with the darker shade (I went with dark purple), and paint from the cuticle base up to the halfway point of your nail.
Step 3: Swipe your lighter shade (I love this greyish lavender from OPI) from the middle to the tip. Step 4: This is the most important, and fun, part! Voila! Feel free to experiment with different color combos; I know I’m already eyeing some of the greens I have in my collection… (Runway photos courtesy of CND) Fashion Blog. Don’t you hate it when you drop your favorite eye shadow on the ground and see the pressed powder crumbling once you pick it up? Whenever I had this happen to me I would throw it in my makeup drawer and it would get buried amongst my other forgotten cosmetics. This was a regular occurrence until recently, I found a great way to use your crumbled polish to make awesome nail art. Using your broken eye shadows on your nails creates a matte finish polish that gives your nails a fresh look without breaking the bank. 1. Take the broken shadow and pour a little into a small bowl. 2. 3. 4. I love the options of limitless variations with this nail art idea.
If you want to fix your eye shadow afterwards, here is an easy way how: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. This should keep you all busy for a bit! Xoxo. Fashion Blog. Alright my lovely ladies, ’tis the season to ditch your old gym ponytail and frizzy clippies, because it’s (drumroll, please) . . . In the spirit of Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, and whatever else you may be celebrating in these next few weeks, I have compiled a list for you of my top ten favorite fancy celebrity hairstyles. 1. The Sparkly Pin As you can see here on Emma Stone and Kirsten Dunst, this style works for pretty much any style or cut. You can use an old brooch for a retro feel, or just slip in some inexpensive clippies from the drugstore for some quick sparkle. 2. This style works best for hair that’s at least chin-lenth. 3. Okay, so maybe I’m a bit obsessed with Jennifer Morrison, but she’s just so dang cute! 4. My bff in grade school used to give me guff all the time for rockin’ the bun, but it looks like I was just ahead of my time!
5. I love love love Hilary Duff’s leather-wrapped braid/pony/creation. 6. What could be easier than a headband? 7. 8. 9. 10. Now get stylin’! Fashion Blog. To ring in the New Year I wanted to examine some of the top trends from the Spring Runway shows. Although these are relatively classic looks, I love that they are being shown on the runway because it gives us all an idea of attainable beauty and celebrates the features of a woman’s face rather than creating a theatrical or over-the-top look.
Lets examine the best of the Spring 2012 Runway shows along with some products that can help you achieve the look. Giorgio Armani featured a beautiful version of a cat-eye with silver highlights and a swoop of smokey grey shadow. This is a really beautiful interpretation of a classic cat-eye and I just love the intensity without it being too over the top. Flawless, flawless, flawless! There is no decade when this look is not drop-dead-gorgeous. YSL makes an amazing lipstick, Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in Fuchsia. Bold pop of color has been a theme throughout most beauty reports and has been seen on many runways.
Fashion Blog. If you’re a visual learner, then these incredible hair tutorials by Collette Malouf are about to be your new best friend. This New York born and bred hair flair fashionista has been making her mark on tresses everywhere since the early eighties, and you just might have seen her work on shows like “Sex and the City” and “Gossip Girl,” as well as on runways of Michael Kors and Michael Lam. Colette is known for introducing easy yet classic styles to the public at large, including staples like the French twist, stick twist, and figure eight. Two decades later, Colette is still helping the everyday lady stay chic and fashionable with her online hairstyle tutorials. Whether you’re need inspiration for a down ‘do or a fancy updo, simply head over to her website, where you can click on the various styles below for an animated sketch tutorial.
Inspired yet? Now get stylin’! Fashion Blog. Who could be more iconic of the swinging sixties than French model, actress, and singer, Brigitte Bardot? Known for her sexy gap-toothed grin and a bouffant as voluptuous as her body, this French siren was one of the few overseas actresses to be just as well-loved in America as in her native Europe. Today we still lover her beauty, her style, and her photographic legacy. Fashion Blog. Hi there, we’re Sylvia and Samantha! We’re two Canadian sisters who are obsessed with fashion and all things DIY. On the internet people know us as Syl and Sam and we’ve run an online store called Lipgloss and Black for about 8 years now.
We make clothes, reconstruct things, do our nails, cook & make tutorials of the things we think people will want to learn to DIY too. We grew up making the things we wanted & love to inspire others to do the same. If you’re a regular reader here, LuLu*s recently featured us in their Blogger Spotlight, and we’re so excited to now be guest blogging here with some nail tutorials! So let’s get started with our first post… Here’s the look we’re going for: What you’ll need: -A base colour (we used black) -A top coat -”microbeads” (they can be purchased from eBay or Michaels Craft Store) -a large bowl We bought our microbeads from eBay & it was only a few dollars for a rainbow set!
Start with a couple thin coats of your base colour. No need to topcoat or anything. Fashion Blog. Spa treatments are a must for achieving that healthy summer glow, but heading to the spa can be so expensive! Before you throw on your fav pair of shorts or a cute summer dress, try these at home spa treatments with ingredients you can find in your own kitchen! Getting summer-ready skin couldn’t get any easier than this and all it takes is two ingredients (in equal parts) per treatment to help get your skin feeling its best. 1.
Rosewater and coconut milk make the most relaxing and soothing bath. 2. 3. 4. 5. Fashion Blog. Fashion Blog. Fashion Blog. Fashion Blog. Fashion Blog. Victoria's Secret Model's Full-Body Workout. Origami Butterfly by Akira Yoshizawa - tutorial. Beauty DIY: Glam Rock Nails.