Perfume of the Week - Very Hollywood by Michael Kors

As days get warmer, most of us reach for the lighter fragrances. Smooth florals, light fruity smells and younger scents are on our lists. Very Hollywood by Michael Kors is exactly the kind of perfume most people gravitate towards on this time of year. The notes are mandarin, iced bergamot, wet jasmine, ylang-ylang, raspberry, gardenia, orris (which I have no clue as to what it smells like), creamy amber, soft white moss and vetiver.

If a perfume has mandarin and raspberry, you can expect that “lemonade” or ice-cream scent that is very fresh and playful and if it has any kind of jasmine in it, you can expect me to like it (gardenia is also from the jasmine family, just in case you didn’t know).

With a name like Very Hollywood I was expecting something glamorous and grown up so to speak. This fragrance however is very casual and young. I think it is perfect for those of you who are younger or maybe just starting to get into the perfume world.

Michael Kors seems to have decided to add a bright and sparkly scent to his perfume line in order to appeal to a more vast audience, who might have more modern tastes. I think this does the trick but if you’re in the market for something more sensual, you might want to try something else.

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Micky

How to: Use Colored Mascara

Green, yellow, pink, blue, plum, red... Sounds like I’m describing a rainbow but I’m actually talking about mascara. Since my post on blue eyeshadow, it has been requested that I talk about colored mascaras, which are a huge summer trend. I love requests (hint! hint!) and fun makeup trends are one of the things that “make my world go ‘round”, so here are my tips and ticks.

Apart from the obvious way of applying colored mascara – using it as you would a regular black or brown one, coating all your lashes - there are a few more ways in which I like to wear color on my lashes. For instance, why not try to only use the colored mascara on your bottom lashes? It’s the ideal way of rocking this trend if you are just starting out on the whole colored lashes world, it can be work appropriate, and is a lot more forgiving in the sense that you can go seriously wild with you color and not looking like it’s Halloween. Speaking of wild colors, Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo in Green is a really good choice if you ask me. If you like this application method, the black part can be used in you top lashes and the colored end on you lower lashes. You'll save yourself some time by not having to look for two mascara tubes in your drawers. However, if you choose to wear mascara this way remember not to coat your bottom lashes all the way to the end because you risk getting the spidery look.

Another very interesting way of using colored mascara is just coating the base if your upper lashes with color and coat the ends with your regular black mascara. This gives a particularly interesting result when you use a color that brings your eye color out. If you have green eyes, try purple or plum mascara; for blue eyes, try golden or any warm red-based tones; for brown or hazel, try pink or blue. If you use a dark shade of the color you chose, it will be a very subtle effect but people will notice your eye color standing out a lot more and they won’t really know why is that. Well, a girl has got to have her secrets, right? Take a look at Big Fatty Mascara Colored Mascara. The have some deep shades that will look very pretty.

Finally, a very popular way of using colored mascara is to only coat the tips of your upper lashes. It will give you hint of color and fun without being overwhelming. Blue will make the white of your eyes look whiter so it will cancel some traces of tiredness. Good for those nights you didn’t get much sleep (for all the right reasons, I hope). Have you ever tried BADgal Blue by Benefit? It's a true blue that leaves your lashes glossy and fun.

Sometimes colored mascaras have little color pay off. I personally suggest that you try the mascara on your arm hairs before you buy it to see if it’s worth it. However, if you bought one already and it isn’t quite what you expected it would be, try priming you lashes with a white lash primer (the ones on those double ended mascaras will work fine) and then carefully apply the colored mascara, making sure the white primer isn’t showing.

(Disclaimer: if you sell or manufacture colored mascaras, please don’t hate me for the next paragraph.) For a more DIY mascara, what you can do is purchase a transparent mascara, carefully load the wand with the product, swirl it really well in makeup eye safe pigment, apply and then clean the bush with warm water and soap. Loading your mascara wand at first is important because you won’t be able to double dip your wand if you want the mascara to remain clear for other uses. Though this technique can be a little tricky, it’s specially good if you just want to try and see how would you look with bright colored lashes and aren’t really willing to shed a lot of money for a mascara that you may never wear. If you decide colored mascara isn’t for you, you can always use the clear mascara simply as a tool to tame your lashes and help them curl or as a brow gel. Take a look at Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara for Lash and Brow.

Did you end up buying a brightly colored mascara and hated it? Be nice and give it to your daughter or niece so she can have super fun and bright hair highlights that will come out when she washes her hair. All she has to do (or her mom, if she's too little) is select a thin section of hair and carefully run the wand on it for a couple of times. Let it dry well and then brush to remove any lumps. Repeat if necessary. On the next day or so, when she washes her hair, no more highlights and no damaged hair. As you see, everything has a solution!

Whatever you do, have fun with your makeup! Will you be adopting a splash of color in you lashes this spring and summer or are you still uncertain? Let me know in the comments.

Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration

Micky

Storing Winter Clothing

To be honest with you, I can’t wait to start storing away my winter clothes. Not that I dislike them, it’s just that putting them away means that spring will be here for good. If you’re thinking about cleaning up space in your closet for your spring/summer clothes, here are some tips you'll find useful.

Don’t use cardboard boxes to store your garments, use plastic boxes instead. Cardboard has a smell that tends to linger in clothing, specially the ones with thicker fabric (wool, tweed, etc.). Even if you are going to wash everything before you wear them again next fall, remember that cardboard also lets in humidity and is much more prone to create mold, stain and allow nasty things in, such as moths (they aren’t much fun, trust me). Even with plastic containers, use products to keep insects away.

Wash everything before you store it. If a garment has any stains, perspiration, etc. on it, the longer it stays there, the greater the risks of it remaining permanent. For hard to remove stains, like fruit juice, or lipstick, try alcohol or ether (test on a small spot in the inside part of a hem or other not visible spot to make sure it doesn’t cause discoloration or further staining of the fabric), for grease try dishwashing soap, for blood try hydrogen peroxide, for coffee try very hot water and for wine try either alcohol or white vinegar (alcohol vinegar or rice vinegar). Never put a hot iron on top of a stain as heat can make it stain permanently. Sew buttons and new zippers where needed too.

Store garments as flat as you can. If you must hang something for a long time, pad the shoulders with some tissue paper to avoid deformation.

I hate the smell of most mothballs and sachets out there. They give me a very strong headache and I’m usually not that sensitive to smells. My solution to this is, I make my own sachets! I buy mint leafs, dry them outside but away from direct sunlight and then put them in little sheer cloth bags. You can cheat and hang mint tea bags on your closet but you’d have to hang more of them and change them every month or so. If you're using sachets on boxes and you are concerned that they might stain or damage your clothes in some way, try to attach the sachets to the lid of the box and make sure the clothes underneath don't touch the lid.

I also make my own sachets to keep humidity out of my clothes. Where I live, humidity is always very high so we have to pay attention to that. I use chalk pieces on my sheer cloth bags but feel free to use store bough silica baggies (much like the ones that come in purses and suitcases when you first buy them, except for closets you need bigger ones).

Store in dark, clean, cold, dry and ventilated places. Insects are attracted by light and dust and fungi love humidity and higher temperatures. If you need to, open your closet doors every now and then over night to make sure the air inside is renovated.

Remember that this might be the perfect time to choose what you want to keep for next year (whatever fits, is in good condition and you love), give away (what’s in good condition but doesn’t fit your body or your personality) or throw away (whatever is beyond repair).

I hope these tips were useful. Have fun with your spring-cleaning!

Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration
Micky

Micky’s Guide: Blue Eyeshadow... The Classy Way

Blue eyeshadow is a huge trend for spring this year and, sadly for some, there’s not much way around it. There are several guides and demos out there to help you use this particular color but since I still see so many “disasters”, I felt the need to write some tips.

Last Saturday I was quietly enjoying my lunch with some friends at a restaurant when, suddenly, I looked up (alright, I confess, when I stopped flirting with the guy who resembled a Greek god and happened to be sitting at the table in front of mine) and saw hell! It was a mature woman with cobalt blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows. I was temped to go to her and hand my business card but I just shook my head and kept flirting. I mean, eating – I kept eating.

When applying blue eyeshadow, here are some tips you might find useful.


1- Choose the right shades of blue for you. I wouldn’t recommend a shade that is lighter than your skin tone, just because it tends to look ashy. For all skin tones, take a look at this Eyeshadow Duo by Essence. It’s only $2.49 - so even if you hate seeing yourself in blue, you won’t break the bank. Ulta has these duos in many other combinations, if you're interested.

2- Choose a good base. Some people tend to oxidize blue pigments and after half an hour or so, the eyeshadow will look like a weird grey-is brown mess rather than blue. If you don’t have this problem, your regular primer will do just fine but if you need some extra help, use blue eyeliner (gel or pencil) as a base to color the space where you’ll want blue eyeshadow to be and only then apply your powder. If you’re using pencil, consider warming it a little before using on your lid or crease. Since the skin is so delicate in that area, you don’t want to have to press hard and risk hurting yourself to get a decent color payoff. Personally, I prefer cream eyeshadows that don't crease. This way, you have your primer and your base all in one. For $1, try Blueberry cream eyeshadow duo by E.L.F.

3- In makeup, the eye is often divided in brow bone, crease, lid and lower lash-line. Unless you are doing editorial or costume makeup of some sort, blue shouldn’t really be seen on the brow bone. Forget baby blue eyeshadow as a highlight unless it’s in the inner corner. Just, forget it!

4- Blue is best paired with neutrals for (every)day wear. For a night out, a smoky navy blue or a more colourful makeup is a good bet. But, back to the neutrals, two basic looks you can do are either use a medium blue on your lid with a warm golden brown that is 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone on the crease and black liquid eyeliner on the top lid only (use a neutral highlight, preferably matte and leave the bottom lower lash line bare. Use a couple of coats of mascara, too) or, alternatively, simply do a regular neutral look that isn’t too dark and dramatic on the upper lid and line your lower lash line with a pretty blue eyeshadow or eyeliner of your choice. Here you can use eyeliner to line your lower waterline as well. I do this often with different colours and it looks really pretty. Making a black liquid eyeliner line on your upper lash-line and doing another blue line on top of the black line while keeping the rest of your look toned down looks very classy as well. Have you tried L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in Midnight Blue?

5- Keep the rest of your face neutral. Neutral is not always nude. Go for a clear lipgloss and a peachy blush or bronzer and you’re done.

I know sometimes I sound like I hate blue eyeshadow but that’s not the case. I like it, but I think it needs moderation and some people just don’t know how to apply it in a tasteful way. Are you going to adopt blue eyeshadow for spring? Let me know in the comments!

Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration
Micky

Micky's Guide To The Perfect Pair Of Jeans (Re-Post)

Jeans! We live in them. They go with us to work, they're there with us on the fist date with that hot guy, they are with us when we're lazying around, and we wear them when we're just hanging out with friends and family. There’s no denying it, they're staple part of most peoples wardrobes.

The other day the funniest thing happened. I was shopping with a friend when we accidentally overheard the conversation between two other girls. They were staring at a wall full shelves with an amazing selection of Jeans. This place probably had every concievable wash you could think of. Yet the two other girls were still talking about how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans despite all of the options available in front of them. Me and my friend just nodded in agreement and all four of us just bursted out into laughter together. The quest to find the perfect pair of jeans was on. I know first hand how hard it is to find the perfect fit and wash, so today, I’d like to let you take a peek into my guide book that will help you find those jeans that you’ll forever love.

First and foremost, let’s talk about washes. There are light washes like these: Seven7 Boot Cut Jeans that are awesome for the casual weekend look,

Medium washes like this pair of 1921 Boot cut Pima Jeans are really no-brainers since they go from day to night, and from helping your sister with the kids, to that casual lunch in which you want to dress up just enough to let people know how great your sense of style without over doing it.

There are the retro washes that bring us all back to the 80’s and are so much fun.

And then, there are the dark washes like these $44 Flying Monkey Skinny Jeans. The real foolproof that will make you look and feel thinner. You'll look and feel stylish and chic. Super easy to dress up with a couple of carefully chosen accessories.

Now we can move on to fit. I’m positive you've heard about skinny jeans like this: Rich & Skinny Sleek in Garnet Pink. It's likely that you already own a pair or you probably tried some on. Here my tips are very simple- longer, flowy tops are forgiving to the rest of the body and balance out your silhouette amazingly. Wear with ballet flats, pumps, stiletto heels, or whatever, but please, please avoid over sized sneakers. You'll look like you're 13, and managing the “proportion distortion” it will give you, will be a tough job. Where length is concerned, you'll probably want to go for ankle length. Extra-long will make you look shorter and thus larger on the hips. Besides, what better way to show off those shoes you love so much? As for the high waist trend; First of all, high waist and skinny legs don’t mix. It looks odd and it will either make you look 7 feet tall (the “proportion distortion” again) or make you look like you can’t breathe. That said, high waist is not for everyone. If you have long legs and long torso, they’ll look amazing. If you’re curvy and mind that the leg must be a little flared as opposed to being straight you'll be fine too. However if you’re short or pear-shaped, the high waist trend might not be right for you at all – Go to a store and try it on, but don’t get your hopes up too high OK? One of the other more common fits out there are flared Jeans, which are wider on the hem. Strait legs are pretty self explanatory. So are boot cut Jeans. Of course they're a little wider from the knee down, but not as wide as flares. One more thing about fits and how to really work with denim; no matter the wash or fit you choose, a tailored jacket adds polish and a cropped one adds fun. In the end, it all comes down to you and your body. If you are on the petite side, try a hem that hits the floor since it will make look a taller. If you’re boxy or apple shaped, looser jeans with a more substantial waist band avoids calling attention to your midsection. You don't want people staring at your most problematic area, much less if that happens because of the dreaded “muffin top” effect. If you are curvy, dark denim and a hem that hits the ground or the top of your feet when wearing heels will slim all of you down. As far as the waist height goes, go for a medium waist, one or two fingers bellow the belly button and you should probably look and feel your best.


Micky’s Ultimate Jeans Tips and Tricks:

Dark washes like this Sang Real Dutchess Boot Cut Jean in straight or slight boot cut leg will flatter everyone. When shopping, try at least four different pairs because although they might be the same size on the label, the various treatments and washes they go trough can alter the real size and fitting. A little bit of stretch (18% to 30% are the most common proportions) will make your jeans comfortable at all times, even on “those days of the month” when you might feel a little bloated.

If you’re like me and you have over 10 pairs of jeans but really only wear four or five, listen carefully: In the opinion of Calvin Klein’s creative director Kevin Carrigan, you need a slight lighter wash for spring, like this Taverniti So Janis Skinny Denim.

White Jeans like these: Flying Monkey White Skinny Jeans are perfect for the summer. These are a steal at just $40.

A deep dark indigo Flying Monkey Skinny Jean at $44 would be good for any and every occasion.

Of course these are just a few must have basics and the bare minimum. The truth is you can never have enough pairs of great fitting jeans, right…? Fashion is Foremost Inspiration, so no matter what's fashionable this season, whatever your size, shape, personal taste, or whatever the occasion, be comfortable. Resist the urge to buy jeans that look great on the rack or that are a size too small hoping they’ll fit next month.

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Micky-