Miscellaneous

My friend Adrien recently alerted me to a cool new iPhone shopping app called Lustr, which lets you shop what you want anytime, anywhere. This app is essentially a 24 hour event and shopping concierge and makes me briefly wish that I didn’t give up my iPhone for the new BlackBerry.

What I love about this app is that it keeps tabs on all sales and promotions so if you’re watching a particular item (like I always am- at the moment, Alexander Wang Nude Mesh Skirt), it’ll search all the stores that carry the item and display all the prices letting you comparatively shop without having to do any work. And if you’re bored and just want to browse, the app lets you shop all the stores from your phone, delivering you options within your chosen price range.

Another feature that I love about this app is that it works with independent retailers that you may not find on other apps.  I don’t need another app to tell me what’s on sale at J.Crew- but my favorite Meatpacking Disctrict boutique?  Yes please!

Check out ShopLustr.com for more info and to view their current deals and promotions!

Sure, you could proclaim your love for Team Edward or Team Jacob in the usual way by simply wearing a t-shirt, but why not showcase your love in a more obvious way, with lifesize cutouts of your current favorite Bella paramour?

Whether you choose to go with Kristen Stewart’s supposed squeeze, Robert Pattinson, or rumored Taylor Swift boyfriend, Taylor Lautner, Nordstrom is exclusively selling 6 feet high foam core boards of each of these Twilight stars for $33, with minor assembly required.  Given that a recent shower curtain emblazoned with Robert Pattinson’s face went out of stock on Etsy, I would say that you need to click fast to get a hand on these.  I have to admit I’m having a little difficulty tagging this entry as I’m not sure whether to tag it as “Miscellaneous” since I don’t know if a life size cutout of Taylor counts as an “Accessory.”

What do you think?  Too much or a cute gift for a die hard Twi-hard?

couple of days ago I came across this super cool site, Daily Drop Cap, which I have been obsessed with checking back every day since. Topograher and design guru Jessica Hische created the resource as a fun project to allow bloggers and web managers everywhere to add a little extra character to their pages. Daily Drop Cap puts forth a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap every day that is free for the public to use.  Each letter is truly a piece of art- I have yet to find one I don’t love!  She makes it super easy, writing out the HTML on her page that you can just copy and paste into your editor.

As someone who deeply appreciates beauty and creativity but without the personal design training or experience, I’m so excited to have found this site!  I’ve already added it to my Tumblr followers list and can’t wait to see the rest of the alphabet!

I’m soooo not a Techie, but do you ever have those moments when you discover something new that is so great, that you think to yourself, “Technology is so cool?”  For me, that thought came to my head yesterday, when I visited Poladroid.com.  I have  always loved Polaroid pictures: I love their dreamy, muted, look which give them an evocative and nostalgic quality, their instant pictures (immediate gratification), and because everyone looks good in Polaroid!  One of my favorite things to do is to browse Jeremy Kost’s pictures on Fashionista and those inspired me to almost get my own Polaroid camera: the only thing stopping me?  The $149.99 price tag.

Yesterday, my friend Sami, sent me over a link to Poladroid, a computer application, that turns your digital pictures into Polaroids!  I downloaded the application last night, and loved the results so much that I started Poladroiding all my pictures.  I began with the pictures from my last vacation to the Bahamas with my friend Sarah  (how gorgeous does that azure water look?) and you can check out some of “Before-Poladroiding” picture here.  The application itself is charmingly designed and easy to use.  The interface for the application is designed like an actual Polaroid camera–all you have to do is drag over your photos, one at a time, to the empty frame icon in the camera and wait for your pictures to “develop”.

Your pictures will slowly go from fuzzy to sharp, vivid color, as they would with a real camera, and after they are done “developing,” you get the option of saving them on your computer.  Each session allows you to Poladroid 10 pictures. Once the pictures are done developing, you get the option of saving them to your computer.  Poladroid software is MAC/Windows compatible, as well as free,but they are taking donations.

Visit Poladroid.com and share some of your favorites with us!

Ladies and Gents. This truly boggles my mind.

It seems that Conde Nast has launched a DATING SITE.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.

I read about it on Fashionista and then on Vogue.co.uk’s blog.   Supposedly this new property TrulyMadlyDating.com is an international dating site designed to unite “glamorous girls with fashion-conscious GQ-reading boys to create matches made in style heaven.” (more…)

It’s rare for feminine products, like deodorant and other not-so-glamorous necessities, to catch my attention for longer than the 20 seconds it actually takes for me to put them to use.  But when I spotted the newest Australian import, Moxie,  at my local Duane Reade, I will admit that I was definitely curious.  Moxie works just as well as the mainstream American  brands, but they actually took an extra step to make their packaging glam and feminine.   It’s a sweet picker-upper alternative to the grey cardboard tubing you’re probably used to. (more…)

I got a lovely treat last night from the folks over at InStyle- their September issue, Fedexed to me with sticky tabs on the pages that highlighted the editor’s top picks for fall! Now, as you know, fall is by far my favorite season for fashion.  I love the variety, the textures, the colors, the layering, everything. Not to mention, it’s a real plus when your clothes aren’t drenched in sweat after a few minutes in the sun.

To celebrate their 15th anniversary, InStyle put together a new shopping site: instyle15forfall.com where the editors picked their top pieces from 27 different collections ranging from YSL (my fav) to Karastan.  They are also giving away 4 $1,000 shopping sprees !

For more information, check out the site and be sure to pick up InStyle’s September issue for lots more goodies!

Last night I was invited to a special director’s screening of the most anticipated fashion film of the season- The September Issue.  Having watched the trailers on repeat multiple times in a row, I was very eager to see what promised to be an intimate look at a very mysterious industry.

What I loved most about the film is that it so realistically and genuinely depicts the fashion industry as it is.  Everything from the extravagance  to the nitty gritty bitch work are things that I’ve personally observed or am aware of.  In that regard, Cutler has done an amazing job of preserving the true flavor of the business.  This is not The Devil Wears Prada. Quite the opposite in fact, as for most of the documentary, the Vogue editors look exhausted and somewhat unkempt.  The glitz and the glamour take a back seat to a solid look at the business of fashion and the art of fashion.  Some people will find this refreshing and for the same reason, some will leave the film feeling very unsatisfied. (more…)

The newest accoutrement to my bag this Fall will not be the latest from Dolce and Gabbana’s makeup collection (although I am dying to try the lipstick after seeing it featured all over the pages of Vogue) or the newest gray nail polish, but the Tide To-Go Pen.  That’s right–not exactly the most glam accessory I’ve accumulated over the years, but I’ve determined it to be indispensable, even more so than my Nars Orgasm blush, which has always been my top choice for Deserted Island beauty products.

While the Tide To-Go isn’t exactly new to the market, I only became aware of it a few weeks ago when it saved me twice in the course of 3 weeks.  Exhibit A:  I was eating a salad yesterday with balsamic vinegar and my speared piece of lettuce was midway to my mouth, when it flopped all over my formerly crisp white button-down.  All attempts to run to the bathroom and dab it clean with cold water failed, and I despaired that I lost yet another shirt to a dark stain (see also light blue Lacoste polo, soy sauce stain 2008, RIP.) (more…)

True story: On multiple occasions, I have watched amateur Youtube videos standing in the bathroom over the sink of non-speaking 15 year olds from France demonstrating how to use a curling iron. The thing about Youtube, however, is that I never know if it’s going to be hit or miss – not to mention I hate it when something with an enticing title turns into a random spam video.

The good news is, I can now move my video tutorial needs over to a legit beauty source: Elle Magazine. The new Elle Video Star launched by the magazine is a mecca of beauty tutorials that range from applying red lipstick to how to look beautiful while undergoing chemo.  And there are already multiple vids on how to curl hair…with audio.

Elle Magazine realized that their readers are some of the most beauty savvy experts out there so they created the opportunity for their readers to share beauty tips to the Elle audience.  All you have to do is dig out your tricks, make an at-home video, upload to Elle Video Star and pimp to your friends.  Every week the owner of the video with the most ads get a stash of beauty loot from Elle editors as well as the opportunity to be featured in Elle Magazine.  In fact, the July issue, out now already includes their favorite beauty-how-to video stars.

Any tips on at-home blowouts would be extremely appreciated.