The Most Wanted Nail Polish List: What's Your Favorite City?

What's your favorite city? You know San Francisco is mine! Both Yahoo and InStyle recently shared an article called "America's Most Wanted Nail Polish" and we need to get in on it. They found 10 nail polishes that are named after our favorite cities.

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I Win! I Win!! Kimberlee's Pick of the Week: Emilio Pucci Playsuit

I think I could count on one hand the number of things I’ve ever won in my lifetime, and not for a lack of trying.  I tend to throw my name in the hat for most contests or giveaways that boast prizes that appeal to me, but it’s a rare and surprising occasion that my name is drawn as a winner.  Once when I was a little girl of about 8 or 9 years old, I won a collector’s teddy bear complete with a fancy hat and string of pearls from an event I attended with my Mother and I felt like I was the absolute luckiest girl in the entire world.  That experience has now been trumped, and I am not sure that any contest winning will ever come close to that feeling again. 

I’m an internet shopper and blogger, so as you can only imagine how often my email is bombarded with sale after sale notice from retailers I may or may not recognize.  Chances are, very little of it is actually unsolicited as I do sign up for email lists, newsletters and fashionable contests on a regular basis, but never the less I still tend to delete most of it if the first 3 words of the subject line do not appeal to me.  Or I should say I USED TO delete most of it.  My behavior has been reformed, following an unexpected experience that brought me indescribable joy with two little words…You Won.

The Outnet.com plays host to a luxury shopping experience at slightly reduced prices from suggested retail, however with names like Emilio Pucci and Alexander McQueen in their repertoire, the reduced price is often still something most of us would have to save for months to afford to work into our shopping budgets.  Window shopping, on the other hand, is free.  I love looking at the amazing designs and daydreaming about what I would buy if I could get my hands on a Black Card, it’s almost as rewarding an experience as I imagine making the purchases must be. 

One day while cleaning out my email, I came upon a notice that the Outnet.com was celebrating their birthday with their annual $2 sale and that I could enter for a chance to be one of 2,000 people to shop.  Sure, why not?  I entered my information, not really sure what the $2 sale was exactly, and pretty sure that everyone that keyed in their first and last name was going to get a shot at whatever this deal was going to be.  A few days pass, and I get another email from the Outnet.com, and this time the subject line says “Congratulations! You have won a ticket to the $2 sale.‏” Yeah, ok, sure, I’ll bite…but still not sure what it is that I’ve won a ticket to, and sure that everyone who registered got this same email.  

 

Another day or two pass by, and I get a second email telling me that I need to watch my inbox for a special link to enter this sale and that I may only purchase one item for $2 and once I have made my one purchase, I am not allowed back into the sale.  Now, I am intrigued.  This level of detail sounds like it may just be something to check out.  I head to my favorite social networking outlet, Facebook, to see if there is any buzz about this whole $2 sale business,  and am surprised beyond all belief to read comment after comment on their Facebook wall from people expressing their upset feelings that they did not win a ticket.  Are you kidding me, have I actually won something here?  I’ll believe it when I see it. 

The morning of April 15^th arrives, and I receive an email telling me that the $2 sale is now open, and I’m ready.  

I jump into the showroom and am immediately overwhelmed in a sea of designer names attached to current and trendy beautiful couture pieces that are nothing short of breathtaking.  I start madly trying to add piece after piece to my shopping cart, but each time I click the Checkout button I find that someone else has purchased the piece more quickly than I.  After about an hour of this, I become frustrated with it, and call customer service to ask if I am doing something wrong.  The customer service person politely tells me that he sees nothing in my shopping cart and asks me to take a look at the site and tell him which piece I’d like to purchase and he will process my order for me by phone…quickly.  I request the first thing in my shopping cart, an Emilio Pucci pale green playsuit valued at $1,200.  He tells me my size is available, and begins the checkout process.  With each question he asks, I wait for him to tell me that someone else has just purchased it and I will have to choose something else.  After about 3 or 4 minutes…he tells me my total is $2 and asks what credit card I would like to use to pay.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?  I pay, and then wait by my mailbox in a tent for the next 4 days.  Ok, not really, but in my mind I did.  The piece arrives and it is so gorgeous and authentic that I am briefly stunned.  I try it on, looking for the most negative detail I can find, and decide it’s too small for me.  So I pout about it, hang it lovingly in my closet next to Nanette Lepore, and then walk away heartbroken but determined to tone up over the next month or two to make the fit work better for my body.  A few hours pass by, and I decide to try it on one last time just to be sure about my fit concerns,  and when I do I wonder what the hell I was thinking the first time.  Not only does this FIT, it looks exactly like I hoped it would.  I love it.  It’s soft and silky and a little slice of fashionable heaven.  As it turns out, I actually WON something worth winning. 

The moral of the story, I suppose, is to always enter contests you hope to win…and don’t delete every email.  It might be a $1,200 Emilio Pucci pale green playsuit. 

Blogs and Big Dawgs: People We Love

Do you ever wonder what keeps us going everyday? You of course! Here are a few of our industry influences outside of our favorite fans.  My top 3? The Style Rookie, Glamourai, and Cashmere and Cupcakes.

The Big Dawgs

The Style Rookie
Tavi. Need I say more?

Glamourai: She is a glamour girl with serious style. Why do we love her? Because she is resourceful, creative and lives in a small NYC apartment. She's real, she's beautiful and oh so crafty. We love her "costumes", her closet and her DYI section.

What I Wore

Cupcakes and Cashmere
This young beauty is another DYI goddess. She cooks, remodels and has a purse line named after her page. Ahhh...someday!


Sea of Shoes:
This mother and daughter duo is striking. Judy and Jane Aldridge have been making waves in the fashion industry for years. Kim is an avid follower of their page keeping up with their signature style and I had read about them in Vogue.  Judy's vibrant red hair is just a hint of her inner fire.

Bay Area Babes

SF Indie Fashion
I love Lorraine. She is a BRILLIANT mind and up on all things indie. A graduate of Brown (A.B) and Stanford (M.A.), she is an expert in writing, blogging and social media marketing among other things. Her site is a resource for SF street style, trends and Bay Area fashion.
The Beauty Bohemian
She goes everywhere and experiences everything. In the know at all times and up on the latest beauty and fashion trends.
Gal Meets Glam 

Inspiration and Knowledge

Copy Blogger
I use this pod cast all of the time and receive daily emails. I listen to the interviews with the industry experts such as Tim Ferris, learn about SEO and helpful tips for daily entries.


Inside Tim's Head

Blog Stylist

Food, Health and Wellness

Summer Tomato: Darya Pino PhD is all things delicious and nutritious plus you can trust her with a PhD from UCSF. Her page offers many resources and tips including a FREE guide on how to get started eating healthy, recipes and BS of the week. That's right, BS! She is a myth buster for Bulls#@t and will tell it to you straight. She is an advocate, a foodie and a Bay Area gem!

Interiors, DYI and Crafty Stuff

Lonny Mag
Design on a Whim
Also see Glamourai and Cashmere and Cupcakes above...

Spring 2011 Hair Trends: Bring on Summer With These Sexy Looks

The runways are boasting the new do's for spring. Bobs, braids and bangs are just to name a few.

 Center part by Stella McCartney

 Serious side swoop by Rodarte

 Soft and low ponytails and loose braids by Doo Ri

 Matte and messy by Peter Som

 Slick back by BCBG

Severe center parts were seen from Jason Wu

 Long, straight and oh so shiny by Christian Cota

Matte and Messy from Derek Lam

Sarah Liller's Designs - Spring/Summer 2011 from Low Tek Studios on Vimeo.

Loose sexy braids and messy tresses by Hannah Boone for Sarah Liller

Favorite Spring and Summer 2011 Accessory Trends

Spring is here and the sun is shining! Time for some SPF and some rays. We spent the weekend in the Central Coast wine tasting near Santa Barbara, home to numerous celebrities including Oprah and California Girl Katy Perry. SB is one of the hottest beach towns on the west coast and we spent our Sunday afternoon cruising State Street on Style Patrol to see what people were wearing. Deck yourself with these classic accessories this season; here are some of my faves.

Moral Coral
Show stopping Coral lipstick is all the rage. I love the coral trend on the lips and the nails. Pick up a tube from Nars for $24 and ask your manicurist to help you choose a shade that compliments your skin tone.

***Sugar Tip: If you have a pinkish, red skin tone, choose a coral with cool purple undertones.

For extra fun, add OPI's Black Shatter from the Katy Perry Collection.

Ray Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses
Protect your eyes from the suns rays while cruising the boardwalk with these classics. The iconic Ray Ban trend continues on. Launched for the first time in 1952, these graced the faces of Hollywood's hottest and clearly are doing so again. I saw these on every age trending among young women and older men. And when I say older men, I mean upwards of 65-80 years of age. I have seen an influx of men rockin' these Original Wayfarer classics ($145) with a slip on pair of Vans or oxfords.   Cool, classic and oh so perfect for a day at the beach.

Birds of a Feather

Is this the 80's in me or is this my love of color? I think it is the latter. I feel that the feather extension trend has passed but the earrings are still in the mix. Add these to any monotone outfit to add a little flare as I did in the photo on the left. These can be found at H&M or if you want a longer more defined feather look, go online to view the collection from Aya Papaya. (Pictured on right below).

Color Blocking, Neon and Pattern Play

L.A. Gear Magenta and Teal have made a comeback. Neon and pattern play are splashed on the cover of every major fashion mag.

Ok, I take it back, this is the 80's in me. 

I LOVE what Swatch is up to with their Casual and Color Codes collections. And for the price point, you can get the look for an affordable price. You can pair these with just about anything to stay on  trend without being too flashy.