image by Brad Olson
makeup by Corinna Cooke

Are you dreading Valentine's Day?

Although it can be deliriously lovely for those who are in perfect relationships, Valentine's day can be plain awful for single girls, or girls who's significant other choose not to celebrate it.

You would be surprised how many girls are facing a February 14th spent alone. If you are one of them, don't go feeling bad - take the day into your own hands and have yourself some fun!

The Single Girl's Guide To Surviving Valentine's Day

Plan A Girls' Night Out

Chances are some of your friends don't have Valentine's dates. Get the gang together and go out somewhere fun! Plan something girl-centric, go to your favorite restaurant or go dancing - just make it fun.

Plan A Girls' Night In

Host a girl's-spa night in with wine and appetizers, have a masseuse, a nail person and a makeup artist come over. Turn your home into the most fabulous spa-zone ever!

If everyone else has a date and you are going to be alone, take the time to celebrate yourself.

Get Dressed Up

Even if you don't have a date get dressed up for yourself. Buy a pretty dress, do your hair and makeup, and celebrate you!

Get a Mani/Pedi

When your fingers and toes look and feel lovely, you feel lovely. So what if you are staying home with Netflix??

Take Yourself To Dinner

Get dressed up, grab a good book and take yourself out for a fabulous dinner. Who needs a dinner companion? read a great book instead.

Buy Yourself Some Roses

Who doesn't love flowers? Valentine's is nothing if not the flowers and chocolate holiday, so as kitschy as it may seem, buy yourself an armful of flowers, a box of chocolates and maybe a demi-bouteille of champagne.

Curl Up With A Good Movie

If all else fails, put on some bold red lipstick (the world is more exciting with red lips on!) put your flowers on the coffee table next to your chocolates and some popcorn, and curl up on the couch with Netflix for a romance movie marathon.

Kule Love T-Shirt - Raise Money For The ACLU

I love Kule tees.
The Kule striped t-shirts give you the ultimate french-girl-chic vibe.
They are made beautifully, super stylish, and ultimately cool.

Kule The Modern Love Tee in White

In light of the madness going on at our international airports this past weekend, I wanted to share with you a promotion that Kule is running with their LOVE t-shirts.
The LOVE tees are super soft, made in Italy, and printed in New York. Limited edition, custom made.

Kule The Modern Love Tee in Heather Grey

From now until February 7th 2017, Kule will donate 30% of the sale of each and every one of their limited edition LOVE t-shirt to the ACLU.

Kule LOVE Tee Long Sleeve

The ACLU is an organization committed to defending the rights of all people - regardless of the color of your skin, where you are from, how you choose to pray and who you love.

Kule Long Sleeve LOVE Tee in Heather Grey

Check out the Kule website here
Find Kule LOVE tees here

The 2017 Golden Globes Red Carpet

It's the 74th Golden Globes! This evening's red carpet had a major metallic trend. Metallic black, metallic silvers and golds, we also saw pops of color like the spring yellows on Natalie Portman, Viola Davis and Reese Witherspoon.

Here is a look at the Golden Globes 2017 Red Carpet.

Amy Adams in black metallic Tom Ford

Kristen Bell in black metallic sequinned Jenny Packham

Mandy Moore in Naeem Kahn

Lily Collins all feathered brows and bold red lips in Zuhair Murad Couture. Loved her updo with braids.



Drew Barrymore in silver metallic Monique Lhiullier.
I wasn't a fan of the hair and makeup.

Very pregnant Natalie Portman refined a la Jackie O in yellow Prada.

Reese Witherspoon in yellow Atelier Versace

Viola Davis in gleaming yellow Michael Kors Collection

Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton Sleek platinum hair with a black choker that pulled the entire look together.





Jessica Chastain another braid and a soft blue Prada

Emma Stone in pink Valentino with metallic stars

Kerry Washington in golden Dolce and Gabbana Moda Couture. As usual her makeup was fiercely on point. Absolute perfection.

Priyanka Chopra in Ralph Lauren

Sienna Miller in white sequinned Michael Kors

Olivia Culpo in Zuhair Murad

Emily Ratajkowski in golden Reem Acra

BEST BROWS

I wasn't that impressed with a lot of the makeup on the red carpet tonight. But I did see some lovely brows (and some hideous ones).
Here are the brows I liked:

Natalie Portman

Lily Collins

Michelle Williams



Sienna Miller

Jessica Biel

Emily Ratajkowski

Capturing Your Style with Aimee Song

So how was your first week back at work?
Mine was insane.
Before I dive back into the madness this morning I'm taking 20 minutes out with Aimee Song's fabulous book, Capture Your Style.

If you enjoy Instagram and if you want to up your IG game, you will love this.
Aimee who is undeniably one of the stars of Instagram has written a wonderful book all about defining your style, curating your Insta-grid and basically being fabulous! Tips from how to take the best images with your iPhone, to editing, to how you present and filter your images, all in an absolutely beautiful and easy to digest format.
I really love it!

I gave this as a Christmas gift to some of my favorite peeps, and everyone has been super excited about it. If you are not familiar with Aimee Song have a quick look at her amazing Insta feed @songofstyle

I've been talking forever in here about buying a Nespresso machine.
I've had a regular cappucino/espresso machine for years and have loved it, but I have really, really wanted a Nespresso. And this was the year!
I had planned on a big, chic, chrome affair, but in the end ordered a simple Nespresso Inissia Espresso Maker, Black
I LOVE it!!!
My black machine came in a dark grey/black and doesn't photograph well, but once I figure it out I will no doubt blog about it with pictures of my own.

It makes waking up each day worthwhile!

The chrome one I originally wanted was the Nespresso VertuoLine Coffee and Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Plus Milk Frother, Black. Chic, non?

Anyway, I now have a quick 20 minutes to enjoy a coffee and get some insta-inspo before I head out to work.

Enjoy your Friday!

How To Care For Cashmere Sweaters

I live in a pretty warm place, and don't really have many occasions to wear cashmere. Basically it's only cool enough to wear sweaters here in January and February, so any cashmere I do buy really only sees daylight (or soiree light) when I travel. 

Cashmere is expensive, so it can be devastating when you pull out that signature piece to find it has been an all-you-can-eat buffet for moths, or that it has pilled where the arms meet the torso, or when your fluffy cashmere comes back from the cleaners looking like a lack-luster polyester blend.

This article came to my inbox via Vogue.com
If you are a cashmere lover, you may find it helpful too!

Love Your Cashmere Sweaters? Here’s How to Care for Them, From Vogue.com’s Resident Expert

Written by Lynn Yaeger for Vogue.com

image by Arno Frugie for Vogue

Because I am very, very old, I have owned far more sweaters than you have. In the ’90s they were vintage, in the aughts their labels gradually improved, and today a lot of them are what I would modestly describe as extremely nice.

After all these years of tending to knits; of watching age wither them; and witnessing their sad, often premature demises, I have learned a few things about their care and handling. In fact, you might say, I’m a bit of a jailhouse expert on the subject.

So, in the spirit of the season, I have decided to share a number of my hard-learned secrets, carefully culled from decades of disasters.

Moths, the Enemy
First off, let’s deal with the worst-case scenario: the hell wrought by the revolting, insidious moth. These vile creatures appear to be endemic in Manhattan—a friend swears she laid a wet sweater out one night to dry and woke up the next morning to find a tiny hole. To add insult to injury, they invariably feast on your more expensive items, preferring a nibble at a Chanel cashmere buffet to chowing down on a Big Lebowski thrift shop number. To stem this encroachment, it is useful to employ the birth control metaphor. Forget cedar chests and closets, the moth-repellent equivalent of the unreliable rhythm method. What you need is an ultra-strong condom in the form of an impenetrable zip-top plastic bag. Then, after you seal the sweater in the bag, put it in a drawer that closes tightly. (Yes, purchase a separate chest of drawers if you must! You will thank me when your sweaters are hole-free.)

In the event that the damage is already done, you can also call upon the re-weaver. These skilled craftspeople will work miracles—but the cost isn’t exactly cheap. Still, if it really is worth $100 to make your turtleneck whole again, so to speak, it’s nice to know these geniuses exist.

Pills and Fuzz
Sometimes the problem isn’t holes but pills. These annoying bumps can show up after a single wearing of a new sweater. (Research reveals that more and more, cheap fibers are employed in sweater construction, unlike the better filaments used years ago, which is why your 1950s cardigan, now almost 70 years old, remains pill-free and that thing you bought last month is dying.) For this blight, you can try a battery-powered “fabric shaver,” which buzzes the fuzz off and is fairly helpful (your cardigan will look much better, but not like new). But remember not to use this contraption on lace or other delicate materials! (You don’t want to know how I know this.) You can also get one of those roller things with the sticky tape, which is better than nothing—though far more useful for picking up pet hair than for de-pilling. Also, the dry cleaner can sometimes de-pill, so be sure to specifically ask about this. Speaking of which—though most sweaters return happy from a trip to the cleaners, there are some knits that should never darken that door.

Washing Vs. Dry-Cleaning
Once I had a gray crewneck Calvin Klein cashmere sweater that I loved more than life itself. So imagine my despair, my horror, when my beloved pullover came back from the dry-cleaner as stiff as shoe-box cardboard. Vowing that this sort of tragedy would never befall me again, I asked around, and it turns out that cashmere experts—yes, such people exist!—recommend washing over cleaning.

This is easy enough if you have your own washing machine—put that baby in a mesh bag, set the dial for the gentle cycle, and cross your fingers. But if you, like me and millions of other deprived New Yorkers, are without the luxury of a home machine, then just go ahead and soak your cashmere in the bathroom sink—cool water, not too many suds! Tenderly squeeze it in a towel to get the water out, lay it flat, gently coax it back into shape, and pray that no moths are in search of a midnight feast.

How To Transition Your Look From Work To Cocktails

I was asked this week about transitioning from work to cocktails.
Of course this is super pertinent right now with all the Christmas/Holiday parties and events that we have to run to straight from work, with no time to go home and get changed.
In fact I had to do it myself today.

I'm a big believer that you need to plan it out beforehand, and you need to keep it super simple, very chic, and always make it look effortless.

A key piece in every closet is a killer pair of black pants. 
Find a pair that is the perfect cut for your shape, in the best fabric you can afford. Take them to a tailor and get them altered to fit you exactly. There are a million ways to style a great black pant.

While writing this I am feeding my Revolve.com addiction, so here are 2 great pairs of black pants that I just clicked the heart on.

This first pair is a new arrival, the Lurelly Flared Pant. It's perfect if you need a little swish to your step. You can see it here

The second pair is a Biker Leather Pant from Anine Bing. 

Isn't this leather pant just killer??? See it here

With your black pants as your base, start your day with a simple, clean makeup, wear your hair loose and free, and throw on a simple but cool t-shirt or top.

For the flared pant try a slim fitting t-shirt like this white Ramones Seal T. Simple, cool, chic. See it here

For the biker leather pant try something flowy like this LA Made Portabella Turtleneck T. See more here.

Seal the deal with a cool boot like this Magdalena Ankle Zip Boot from Doc Martens. See more here.

So now that your day look is easy chic lets look at a super quick transition to cocktails.

Using your black pants as a base choose either a body suit like this Rachel Pally Coty body suit

Or try a blouse with some drapey movement that looks both effortless and incredibly chic, like the Sophie blouse

Keep your jewelry simple and understated with this wickedly sleek and sophisticated Gold Bar Necklace from Rachel Zoe fave, AUrate.

You need to change into an evening shoe, so choose something sky high like this "So Kate" Pointy toe heel from Christian Louboutin. 

I found this shoe on Nordstrom.com

Sweep your hair up into a high pony, bun, twist - any easy updo that takes about 2 minutes to do.

After a long day at work one of the best ways to revitalize your look is to add a glow to your complexion. Juice up your cheekbones with Smashbox Halo Highlighting Wand. 

Once you have your glow on add some color with a cream blush such as Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Formentera 

and then set the night on fire with a bold lip. Try Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Hel's Bells