A selective editorial on style
Posts by Nicole
Spring 2012 Eyeshadows
01 day ago
Spring 2012 is shaping up to be a great season for makeup, especially if you like wearing pastel colored eyeshadow. Every makeup line from Maybeline to Dior, and Stila to Estee Lauder have Springtime appropriate pastel colors in their eyeshadow palettes this season. I’ll admit I already own many pastel and jewel tone eyeshadow, and it’s true I feel compelled to wear them during the Spring. This season is no different, we’re seeing a lot of updated “Easter egg” colors, and tons of greens. Many of this seasons purple, yellow and blue eyeshadow shades aren’t appropriate for the business casual workplace, but they are perfect for nights, weekends and making your standard tee shirt and jeans outfit POP!
Most drugstore and designer palette’s this season offer colors in medium pigmentation that are translucent, but not sheer. The shades have satiny, and in some cases glittery finishes instead of the matte finish we’ve scene in previous seasons. Of course, all eyeshadow will look it’s best if you start with a base layers of eyeshadow primer. I just bought my first eyeshadow primer a few months ago, and it’s done wonders for me (no more creases). Here is Ellie’s review of some of the most popular eyeshadow primers on the market.
Here are some of my favorite Spring 2012 eyeshadow colors:
Chanel Eclosion Quadra Eyeshadow ($58) has a relatively safe warm-neutral pallet for Spring 2012. Each color has a slightly different variation of shimmer. The colors are very similar to Chanel’s Dunes Quadra and Spices Quadra. If you already own either of these Chanel palletes, you probably don’t need to drop more money on this new Springtime palette.
Clarins Blue Sky Eye Quartet Mineral Palette ($40) is part of the Clarins Spring 2012 palette Colour Breeze. Blue sky has three blue shades, two of which are actually work appropriate because they are ‘washes of blue’, and a white shade. The blues contain flecks of glitter in silver and blue jewel tones to help enhance the shade. Be aware that without a primer, you will lose some of the eyeshadow flecks to your face.
Dior 5 Couleurs Garden Edition Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palettes ($59) apply with a fantastic creamy texture. The look is more frosty iridescent than shimmery, which is a finish unique to Dior this season. Best part, the color really lasts all day. With Dior it is true, you get what you pay for!
Estee Lauder Pure Color Topaz Mosaic Five Color Eyeshadow Palette ($45) was inspired by the warm, sun-bleached tones of the desert. The neutral bronze and shimmery copper tones make this palette another safe, and somewhat affordable bet for the season.
Lancome Roseraie Des Delices Eyeshadow Palettes ($49) are filled with soft pastel shades that evoke lush gardens, white lace sundresses and indulgent Ladurée macaroons. The two high-end palettes for the season come in candy-coloured quartettes: one with feminine roses and peaches, the other in refreshing greens like seafoam and turquoise.
MAC Cook Eyeshadow Palettes ($38) are available for a limited time at select MAC counters. Pictured: Call Me Bubbles and Colour Added. The Spring 2012 MAC Cook shades offer a similar assortment of colors as the other major players this season. Call Me Bubbles is very desert chic, with nice sheen. While Colour Added offers the alternative, risky colors of the season. Makeup wearers either love, or hate MAC; so it is importnat MAC offers every “HOT” shade each season to continue to speak to the customers that love them…and make sure they don’t go running off to a competitor.
Stila Jewel Eyeshadows ($20) come in eight new shimmery colors for Spring 2012. These colors work against the whole pastel palette, and bring in more of s New Mexico, or Mjoave feel. The colors are all appropicately named after stones. I bet you can easily pick out “Opal” and “Amethyst”.
If you’re on the market for some pastel and jewel tone eyeshadows, Spring 2012 is the perfect season for you. Find you favorite shades, and stock up. We all know how quickly color trends change!
I Heart SF: Trunk Show at Gallery of Jewels Featuring Local Designer Betsy Barron
01 week ago
Tomorrow, the Gallery of Jewels will host a one-day trunk show to showcase local designer Betsy Barron’s loveable heart gem necklaces – just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The one-day trunk show will take place at Gallery of Jewels 24th Street location with private appointments from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. and open to the public from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m.
Her collectible delicate hearts can be personalized with gems reflecting milestones and charms reflecting your loved ones interests.
J’Adore Jennifer Fisher Jewelry
02 weeks ago
A few years ago Jennifer Fisher was a new mom looking for the perfect piece of jewelry, displaying her son’s name, to accessorize her wardrobe with. Unable to easily find exactly what she was looking for, Jennifer took matters into her own hands – which is when Jennifer Fisher Jewelry was born. Today Jennifer designs everything from charms, necklaces, rings and earrings in rose, yellow and white gold to larger, edgier and bold statement cuffs, bracelets and rings in brass. Her jewels have caught the attention of wardrobe stylists and consultants around the globe, and have been featured on Sex and the City the Movie, The L Word, Gossip Girl, and Entourage.
Jennifer says her upbringing in Santa Barbara inspires a lot of her designs. She also cites part of her inspiration from Tom Ford “Anything Tom Ford is a collector’s item in my book. He’s the s*it and the years he was at Gucci will always be one of my favorite times in fashion”. Her line has grown to over 400 charms, four types of colored gold and diamond options. She’s even introduced pavé black or white diamond gothic letters, studded cuffs, insect charms, and skull rings.
Jennifer Fisher Jewelry can be purchased at her web shop and at Barneys New York.
Online Store Of The Month: UnitedStyles
03 weeks ago
Each month, we’re going to take a look at a different online retail business that stands out from the rest of the pack (we found this idea on The High Low, which features an Online Retailer each week). We’re kicking off this new feature with UnitedStyles.
Shanghai based UnitedStyles is an awesome site for entertaining your inner fashion designer dreams. UnitedStyles founders believe that you should be designing your own clothes online, and buying online for the custom experience, as outlined in this Techcrunch post by Alexa Tsotsis. The retailer provides an easy-to-use platform, enabling you to design clothing to purchase. Still in beta – the retailer so far offers four dress styles and one top. For each style, customers get to decide trim, sleeve length and necklines from the preset options. Once the silhouette is finalized, customers are given an assortment of colors and prints to choose from. Each print can be shrunk or expanded to be the perfect scale! The custom made clothes are priced from $50 to $100. Shipping is a flat $20 and can be delivered anywhere in the world. Sizing runs from XS to XL, based on measurements at global chains like H&M and Zara, so figuring out the correct size to order shouldn’t be hard.
The site is truly making the self-design process accessible, and easy enough for non-tech moms to use. The site’s design, outfits, and order process flow is very well done. Their dresses and tops are named for global cities (like “Copenhagen”, pictured above). 3D garment previews, which buyers can access at the end of the design process, load smoothly. If you want to send in your measurements to have a dress cut to order, you can do that, too, for an extra $30. And whether you choose pre-fab sizing or the made-to-measure option, if the garment doesn’t fit, it can be returned and re-made, for free.
UnitedStyles, and other sites like it could represent a great start to the end of wasteful clothing production, since the company creates one item for every item ordered, which means no excess inventory. Though that won’t make the flash sale sites happy, less leftover stock and more customized clothing are ultimately good things!
Spread The Love: Valentine’s Day Gifts
03 weeks ago
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Guys, don’t forget to order the perfect gift for the stylish girl in your life. Here are some of our favorite pink and red pieces, perfect for V-Day gifting.
Top row:
- Clava coated canvas Wellie Market Tote ($44), with monogramming ($58)
- eyebobs Adult Supervision color block readers ($75)
- Mary Green “Kiss Me” sleep mask ($26.50)
- Clava heart-shaped luggage tags ($16 each)
- Mary Green “7 Ways To Say I Love You” silk knit boy short set ($159.50)
Bottom row:
- Long Tall Sally mixed fabric easy fit top ($65)
- Cleo “Lucy” balconette bra ($53) and bikini brief ($28)
- Long Tall Sally slim patent belt ($29)
- W.H. Petronela crocodile clutch with detachable chain strap ($695)
- Ilse Jacobsen natural rubber lace-up boots ($199)
Review: Fit To Flick Hat
04 weeks ago
My Fit To Flick hat arrived just in time for the nasty, wet weather in the Bay Area. I got the Charlotte ponytail hat in swope brown – and yes, Fit To Flick is a line of beanies and hair scarves with holes in them for ponytails and buns.
I’m not going to lie, at first, the idea of a knit hat with a ponytail hole seemed a little cheesball, and not exactly my style. Besides, I’ve already mastered how to wear my hair with beanies on. I love wearing low side swept ponies, buns and updos that fall perfectly below where beanies end, at the base of my hairline, so traditional ponytail hole-less hats have worked perfectly for me.
Fit to Flick hats have been dubbed as “the most fashion forward line of ponytail hats.” That said, I was pleased to take my new hat out of its box and find the hand-knit design, color, and especially the hole were classy, and well “fashion forward”.
I gave the hat a try for dinner last Saturday. Here are a couple of photos of my hair in the hat before Tyler and I went to A La Turca for a casual dinner (where I was able to leave my hat on the whole time).
I also wore the hat around the apartment on Sunday while watching the 49ers vs Giants game. Tyler and his little brother, Dallas, both thought the concept of a ponytail hat was awesome, and that it looked really nice. Dallas even thinks, “the hot chicks should wear these hats on the ski slopes so their hair still looks good.” He’s always thinking (Bay Area girls: Dallas is single, and ready to mingle)!!!
I must admit it’s pretty neat to be able to wear higher updos while wearing a hat. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like wearing low ponytails, this Fit To Flick hats are definitely for you. They come in a variety of colors. Check out the full assortment on Fit To Flick, there is a collection for kids too!
Custom Kajan Padraig Outfit Part IV
01 month ago
Towards the end of last year, I worked with Cake Carlos and Patrick Steber of SF based Kajan Padraig on a custom made outfit that would transition well from my causal daytime environment to a classy evening out on the town.
There were a total of four appointments I had with the designers for this custom outfit.
During the first appointment I shared my likes/dislikes about styles, colors, prints, etc. with Kajan Padraig to make sure we were on the same page. Then I tried on almost everything in their showroom that fit me, I love playing dress up! We decided that three of the looks worked best for me, with slight alterations (i.e. adding sleeves, shorts instead of a skirt , etc.).
At the second appointment we reviewed Cake’s sketches of the three outfits we liked best (shown below). Within minutes we all agreed on one look. Next, they took my measurements so that they could begin sewing. During the second appointment a non-refundable deposit of half the final cost is due.
I was able to try on samples of the custom outfit at the third appointment. They quickly decided what needed to be taken in, and let out. This appointment lasted 20 minutes, if even. Cake and Patrick are super efficient!
The fourth and final appointment is when I got to pickup my outfit. During this appointment you also pay the outstanding balance, which is half the outfits cost. Kajan Padraig is all about customer satisfaction, and ensuring the customer feels comfortable in the outfit. That said, I was asked to try my outfit on for them so that they knew I was 100% satisfied and to guarantee they didn’t want to make any additional alterations. As I expected, each piece fit perfectly!
Here are a couple of pictures with me and my new Kajan Padraig outfit. I know the lighting isn’t fantastic, but you can see the general look and feel of my outfit.
Bag I took my custom made outfit home in.
My bright new shorts and tank outfit folded next to one of my favorite CA based magazines.
Again, apologies about the color quality. We took these photos late last night.
Home Away From Home: Indulgence Divine, Malta
01 month ago
I’m in love with the retro beauty of Indulgence Divine, a 16th century townhouse rental in the ancient Maltese city of Vittoriosa, Malta that has been transformed to a modern-day residence by London-based art director Gattaldo. Throughout the townhouse custom-made furniture sits comfortably alongside retro “found pieces”, yet the history of this 16th century house aren’t diminished by its luxe overhaul by Gattaldo. This is the prefect home away from home retreat for two (there is only one bedroom). Indulgence Divine is a perfectly chic rental residence from which to explore Malta, the up-and-coming island that is somewhat of a secret party destination. The townhouse is located in the beautiful historic marina, and the staggering capital of Valletta. Just a short water-taxi ride away – Malta has some of the best architecture in the Mediterranean. Throw in a delightful rooftop terrace, and quite possibly the nicest wardrobes I’ve ever seen, then top it off with an affordable nightly rate, and Gattaldo’s splendid town house conversion may just be one of Europe’s most desirable rental properties.
Image source: Indulgence Divine
