Valentine's Day Shopping Ideas

Valentine's Day is only 2 weeks away, which means you need to set up your plan and shop now!
Whether you are shopping for something special for your Valentine's date night, buying a V-Day gift for a BFF, or spoiling yourself (because you DO deserve it!!), here are some ideas to get you started.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillowtalk.

This is the perfect pinky-nude shade. Not only is the color gorgeous, but Charlotte's Matte Revolution lipsticks are really lovely to wear. (which is why I talk about them a lot!). They don't dry your lips out like most matte lipsticks, instead they keep them hydrated and beautiful.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in The Queen.

I love this shade for spring! This one is a cerise shade that will really fire up blue and green eyes. My absolute favorite lip shades at the moment are all red-crimsons, cerises and raspberries. I wear them everyday.

A Berry toned lace bra from Undies.com

Don't you love this color??? I would wear it under pretty much anything. You can always channel your inner french girl and wear it under a white blouse for maximum effect!
Undies.com has a Valentine's sale going on right now, with 30% savings.

AUrate is a company on all the fashionistas lists at the moment.
(In fact that's how I found them). Pronounced OR-rate, as in to speak, this super chic brand is a breath of fresh air to the gold industry. They make quality, chic products at an affordable price. Not your grandma's gold, but still, pieces that are timeless.

I love their Asymetric Pearl Cuff for it's simplicity and it's beauty.


I found this limited edition Rosa Mundi Diptyque candle on 
Space NK.com. 

It has Damascena, the damask rose and Centifolia, the May rose, as well as notes of currant and bergamot. 
It's beautiful.

Love Relentlessly. Isn't that just the perfect mantra for Valentine's Day?? I was given this new Tory Burch fragrance just before Christmas, and I love it.

Let's face it, who among us doesn't want to Love Relentlessly??
You can find it online at Bloomingdales.

The LOVE T-Shirt from Kule. Nikki Kule's eponymous line of super cool striped T-shirts are famous for their french girl chic. I've written about Kule before (read here).

In light of everything that just happened, Kule is donating 30% from every sale of a LOVE T-shirt to the ACLU, an organization committed to defending the rights of all people, regardless of the color of their skin, their nation of origin, the way they pray or who they love.

The Foreo Luna is a revolutionary T-sonic face brush and anti aging system. 

The Luna gently exfoliates dead skin cells, unclogs the pores, clears away any makeup residue, and improves the absorption of your skin care products. 

Valentine's Day with Undies.com

How do you feel about Valentine's Day?
Are you a fan?
I don't know how I feel about it. I always love getting flowers though, dread getting chocolates (because I eat them), love getting lingerie.

I recently read a blog post that was about how BFF's give each other V Day gifts when both are single, and thought it was quite a sweet idea.

If you have been following my blog for a while then you already know that I adore gorgeous lingerie, and sincerely believe that every girl should own some fabulous underpinnings. 



I just opened an email from Undies.com about their V Day sale, and got to thinking that your significant other is always going to enjoy watching you prancing around in fab lingerie, if you are single then now is the perfect time to buy yourself something new and slinky, and if you are doing BFF valentine's gifts, then what better than something gorgeous from Undies.com??? (at 30% discount!!!).




If you are not familiar with Undies.com, their products are super lovely and priced so that every woman can have yummy lingerie. Age, body size, where you live, who you live with are all irrelevant to the folks at Undies.com. They believe that everyone should have quality, comfort and exquisite

style at a price she can afford.
They sell panties, bras, collections - every girlie option you could want.

Dita Von Teese's 10 Golden Rules For Valentine's Day Lingerie

Valentine's day is nearly here, and honestly what says "Happy Valentine's Day" more deliciously than sensational lingerie??

Last week Vogue.com published Marjon Carlos' article Dita Von Teese's 10 Golden Rules Fot Valentine's Day Lingerie.
In the story the Burlesque dancer and queen of seduction, talks about what items you should have, shopping for lingerie and how to get things all steamed up for Valentine's day.
Dita also talks about what to do if you don't have a Valentine, because to quote Dita from the article "Seduction has nothing to do with other people, it's all about creating your own look". 
Brilliant, non?

Excerpted from the article:

A girl’s first piece should be in black lace . . .

Black lace is sophisticated, elegant, and erotic all at once, and it looks terrific on every woman. I say invest in a gorgeous set. Buy a bra that fits very well, plus two to three pairs of matching underwear, with varying shapes to add versatility to your wardrobe. The underwear needs to have double the life of the bra, so it’s smart to buy duplicates. Bonus points for the garter belt!

A corset over a waist trainer—any day!

Well, there’s a lot of misinformation about what a waist trainer is and what it isn’t, and there are all kinds of companies making these strange stretchy waist-training corsets. It’s important to look past the trendy celebrity-endorsed products—you can’t shape your waist with a Lycra corset, and that’s what they are all talking about.

Waist shaping can be accomplished with a true corset, which should be custom-made to your measurements. It is also no substitute for diet and exercise, and waist training doesn’t happen overnight; it takes a bit of time. I suggest looking to long-established corset brands like Dark Garden Corsetry or Mr. Pearl, and avoid all the new companies trying to jump on the bandwagon.

Let garter belts be your Valentine’s Day Gift to Bae.

Garter belts and stockings are the perfect thing to try! Wear them the French way: underwear over the top of the garter belt, not under. Black stockings and a black garter belt are sophisticated and erotic. Invest in good-quality pieces. I wear garters in everyday life, so the ones from my collections are very functional and made with six straps and power mesh to keep stockings in place. I have a drawerful of cute garter belts from luxe brands that are only really wearable for photo shoots, so when I created my own line, I set out to make garters that function properly. I’d say garter belts are my specialty.

Dita has some really great girl advice in the article, including this gem:

 "I always saw lingerie as a moment of beauty and luxury for myself."

I have always felt the same way about beautiful lingerie.

Another great Dita quote: "I never put lingerie on for a man. Ever since I was a little girl, I saw lingerie as something that was symbolic of womanhood and femininity."

You can read the full article on Vogue.com here

3 Valentine's Day Lip Looks

 Valentine's Day Lip Looks

Valentine’s Day – the official holiday of smooching - is nearly here, so it’s time to think about your luscious lip plan.

Today I am giving you 3 date night lip options combined with a little color theory class, breaking down some color options for those of you with a cool complexion and those of you with warm undertones.

Read on and pucker up!

Valentine's lip number one is for those of you who don’t want to do a big lip, but feel like more than just chapstick. Try using a lipliner to shape your kisser, and top it off with a colored lip gloss. In these images we've left the liner where you can see it, but in real life blend through it with your lip brush and make it invisible.

Icy and pink glosses such as Nars lip gloss in Striptease

 look fabulous on girls with a cool toned complexion, while soft peachy tones like Nars lip gloss in Giza

 are beautiful on a warm toned girl. 

Valentine's lip number two is all about your pink game. Moving into a full lipstick our warm undertone gets a lovely coral based pink which compliments the olives and golds in her skin. Try MAC "Flamingo Park" lipstick in Flocking Fabulous

Our cool undertone model got a blue based pink, breathing magic into her complexion and making her teeth look super white. I love MAC lipstick in All Fired Up

Valentine's lip number three is a feisty bold red lip – the ultimate Valentine’s lip! Girls with a cool toned complexion look amazing in a blue based red, I'm obsessed with Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Red Carpet Red

 

while warm toned girls are best in a true red or an orange based red. (pictured here in a true red).

If you are looking for an ornage based red lipstick you cannot go wrong with MAC lipstick in Lady Danger

The lip models in this story were actually 2 of my makeup assistants! Whitney is our cool toned girl, and Therese is my warm complected model. 

Here are a couple of bts shots.

Therese in the makeup room getting a soft, glossy lip

Whitney on set getting a muted red lip

This story was originally written for Phoenix Bride and Groom Magazine.
Check it out here:

Photography by Jessica Savidgewww.SavidgePhotography.com

 

50 Shades Of Lingerie

I'm going to a screening of 50 Shades Of Grey tonight. I read that there are no fabulous underpinnings in the movie, but even so I'm thinking Valentines Day this year will be all about 50 Shades of Lingerie.

Valentine's Day lingerie from Agent Provocateur

So without the movie to provide glorious lingerie I went googling to find some interesting undies to write about, and I found this article on Vogue.com  
It's well worth a read, with some 50 Shades worthy naughty pieces paired with some hilarious quotes.

Threesome
"If you’re planning a threesome for V-Day, you might as well go all-out and wear a pink lace jumpsuit with matching stilettos. It’s important to always be the best dressed person at the orgy."

The Breathless Guide To Valentine's Day Lingerie, One Night 11 Looks by Karley Siortino (click here to read the full story)

Matching bra and panties by Dolce and Gabbana

"If her panties match her bra when you take her clothes off, it wasn't you who decided to have sex....."

Valentine's Day Lingerie Ideas - Naomi Campbell For Agent Provocateur

Nothing says "hello lover" quite like naughty lingerie!

Let my favorite undies purveyor, Agent Provocateur inspire your Valentine's Day underpinnings game with their Spring 2015 campaign featuring the wildest model of them all, Naomi Campbell. No one shoots sexy quite like photographer Ellen Von Unwerth

 Wanted Badly