"Recycling" Your Closet

I adore this printed Whistles dress that Pippa Middleton "recycled" from her summer wardrobe (picture on the right) to make stylish for fall.  It is amazing how some updated accessories (tights, boots) and a sweater in the right colour can transform an outfit for fall.  One of my favourite things is to add tights and a blazer to a summer dress and make it work for fall or winter, or vice versa.  I'm always on the lookout for versatile pieces that you can transition to other seasons.

Here is how you can take a simple summer dress and make it work for your fall wardrobe:

This Dorothy Perkins dress is super adorable on it's own and at first glance it looks like it would only work for summer.    But throw on a blazer, tights and some funky ankle high boots and you have a fall/winter outfit.

Tada!  Cute outfit for fall!

Beauty Tips from Miss M

Now that I'm 30, I think I have gathered a little bit of beauty wisdom that I can pass along to the world.  I've always been a girly girl...in fact, I was that girl in grade 4 that sneakily put on her mom's makeup before school.  And even if I got in trouble for it, I'd try again a few weeks later (only to get caught again).

When it comes to makeup and hair, especially as you get older, a light touch with good products for a base is always the way to go.  Here are some of my favourite products and how I use them.

For Hair:

Dry Shampoo
I have very fine hair that happens to get oily after 1 day of washing.  I like to wash my hair at night and then after a bit of air drying and usually a bit of using a blow dryer, I sprinkle in Cake Satin Sugar Hair and Body Refreshing Powder.  It does an amazing job of soaking up any oil that builds up overnight and even through the day.  The best thing about it is that it comes in shade made for darker hair that blends in flawlessly.

Leave in Conditioner or Detangler
Conditioners are even more important than the shampoo you use.  For me, a spray in product works better than your traditional rinse out product because it doesn't weigh down my fine hair.  I've used expensive stuff and honestly it works the same as good old Pantene Anti-Breakage Detangler from the drug store

Skincare:

Moisturizer
I have "droily" skin, which means it's oily but tends to get dry very quickly, in particular on the cheeks.  Having skin like this is frustrating - you use products to control shine and oil but then they end up drying out your skin, so then you use products to add in moisture but then this overloads your skin with oil leaving you back at square one.  It has taken years, YEARS to find that perfect product and recently I found two that work wonderfully for me: Neostrata Oil Free Moisture Infusion and Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion.

    

Eye Cream

A necessity in any girl's toolkit and again two that I love.  I use Dermalogica Total Eye Care with SPF 15  for day and Yes to Blueberries Eye Firming Treatment at night.  Both are light enough for my skin but never irritating.  I used to swear by Clinque All About Eyes, but found that it was too heavy for me and my eyes would sting when I got a little too close.

Make Up:

For day to day make up I use a light tinted moisturizer, a bit of concealer and powder, blush for some colour and never leave home without a bit of black eyeliner and one swoop of mascara.

Face

Tizo3 SPF 45 Tinted Moisturizer - Great in summer, great in winter and blends into skin flawlessly.  You can find this product at select spas around North America.  It uses mineral blends that are much lighter than most foundations or sunscreens.

Pur Minerals Mineral Glow Pressed Powder - Minerals really do work magic which is why I use products that contain them daily.  I recommend trying a mineral powder because they absorb oil  without clogging your pores but also have great coverage.

Clinique All About Eyes Concealer - I have deep dark circles under my eyes and have had them forever.  Most concealers are too light or too pink for my skin tone, but Clinque makes this product in multiple shades.  I love that it is light enough that it doesn't sit in any creases near my eyes.

  

Find some more products I can't live without on my Pinterest Board called "Beauty Products I Love".

Sexiest Shoes of 2011

Saks Fifth Avenue and Footwear News (yes, that's right, there is a publication dedicate just to news about footwear) conducted their annual poll to decide the year's sexiest shoes.

Which one do you think won?

Chrissie Morris suede & stingray (!) peep toe

Jimmy Choo's Swarvoski detailed sandal

P-to-the-rada over the knee leather boot

Lacy peep toe pump from Valentino.

The winner was (drumroll)....

The Valentino peep-toe?  For reals?  I mean it's a pretty shoe and all, but when I think sexy shoes, I think strappy, shows some skin, in a bold colour or sky high.  I don't think champagne and black lace with a little bit of toe sticking out.  Or maybe I'm just confusing a sexy shoe with an f@$%k me shoe??

Anyway, here are some shoes that should have won the contest.  Or at least been a runner up!

Fuschia Jimmy Choo pump 

Strappy Herve Leger sandal

More J Choo, this time a purple bootie.  Hot!

Sexy crystal cage bootie from Sergio Rossi.

Style Snobs Going Out of Style

Are style snobs going out of fashion?  It seems like every major designer is doing away with just designing for the style elite and instead partnering with retailers that appeal to the masses.  Why?  Well, first and probably most important, it makes them more cash.  Being exclusive to only one tax-bracket means limiting yourself to one very small market, a market that is at risk with economies all over the world in melt-down mode.

It all started with H&M teaming up with Karl Lagerfeld back in 2004, and since then designers like Stella McCartney, Versace and Jimmy Choo have joined in, as well as celebrities like Madonna and Kylie Minogue (she's still a celebrity in the UK, trust me).   Now there is Missoni designing for Target (or Tar-jay as I like to say), Giambattista Valli for Macys, etc, etc.  It's really the "thing" to do for designers these days.

So now, beautiful things don't have to be just for the rich and fabulous, and designers don't have to go broke, they just have to go downtown and design for people like you and me.  And the best thing?  The pieces are more chic than cheap:

SJP in the real deal - a red Giambattista Valli.

Valli's new line for Macy's.  Does that red dress look familiar?

Missoni's fall RTW collection

Missoni for Target collection. 

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Line at H & M?

Really?  Again, really?  I love the book series and I am so excited for the Hollywood version of the movies, but it feels like more than a stretch to suggest Lisabeth Salander has style that other women want to emulate.  She's strong, fierce and smarter than anyone could know...she's the unlikely hero.  We should want to be like her not for her style, but for her substance.  Thumbs down for the new line at H&M coming out in December.

Is Black the New "White" for Weddings?

Vera Wang recently unveiled her Fall 2012 bridal collection.  Now, she is the master, the MASTER, of all things bridal so naturally the dresses were utterly gorgeous.  No surprise there.  What was surprising is  that the dresses she presented were black and nude.  And these weren't dresses for bridesmaids...they were dresses for brides!  In fact, not one of the dresses she showed were white.

I'm not a traditionalist when it comes to fashion but the thought of a bride wearing a black dress on her wedding day just doesn't seem right.  I love black (and probably too much of it is in my wardrobe), but it is a colour that is associated with sombre events like funerals.  And stranger still is that Vera Wang said her collection was inspired by "witchcraft".   That doesn't really make me want to run out and buy one of the dresses from this collection!   Even if one of my style icons, Sarah Jessica Parker, wore black on her wedding day, it is just not for me.

That being said, the dresses are ethereal, feminine and stunning.  I would love to wear one, just not on my wedding day.  But who knows?  Maybe next summer we will see brides decked out in black dresses.  But, they stand warned.  SJP eventually admitted the one regret she had was wearing black at her wedding.

Viva Mexico

Barring any hurricanes ruining my 2011 travel plans again (still haven't forgiven you Hurricane Irene for messing up my NYC trip in August!), by this time tommorrow I will be in the Rivieria Maya area of Mexico.

I'm staying at some place called the "Grand Sunset Princess Resort" which sounds like a lame name but has great reviews.  I am sooooo looking forward to lounging on a beach like this very very soon!