Be Travel Ready With 3floz.com

If you a travel a lot (like me) or even if you only travel a little, this is a fabulous website to know about.

3Floz.com offers more than 50 well known brands' skin care, hair care and sun products in TSA friendly
3 fluid ounce mini packs, that meet the guidelines for not only domestic, but also international air travel carry on items.

If you're not one for taking skin care/hair care/sun protection products on board with you, they are also ideally sized for vacation and business travel.

Airlines are enforcing strict restrictions on baggage weight and size, with hefty fines attached, so any opportunity you have to effectively downsize your packing can end up saving you a fortune!

I don't recommend starting a new skin care regime while traveling (with the exception of rescue products) as travel stresses your skin out anyway, and new products can exacerbate a freaked out complexion.

If you don't see your existing brand of skin care on the 3Floz.com website, purchase small, plastic containers to put your own products into.

On 3Floz.com you can purchase pre-made kits, or simply buy items individually.

Check out some of the cool products and travel solutions available on 3Floz.com

Lulu Powers Party Planning

I just got back from spending a few days in Hollywood, where all work aside, I got to go to some completely fabulous parties.

Lulu Powers is one of Hollywood's premiere celebrity party planners and caterers. Her events have a very distinct flair to them, and thanks to her gorgeous book, Lulu Powers From Food To Flowers, they are also quite duplicatable.
One of the events I was at this week was a Lulu Powers inspired event. This got me thinking (over several of her famous Bambootinis) now that we are in the summer party season, that some of you may be interested in her tips for how to throw a last minute party.

Lulu Powers From Food To Flowers is my entertaining bible. I constantly pull ideas from her book, whether it is flower arrangements in my house, cool drinks to serve at my pool parties, or fantastic finger foods that keep people talking for months to come.
If you are new to entertaining, or if it feels overwhelming to you, Lulu has lists of what to keep in your pantry for last minute entertaining, timelines for how to structure your day so that everything runs smoothly, even creative serving ideas.
On her blog, amongst other things, you can find playlists to download for your party. Its fabulous!

Here are a couple of ideas for a little impromptu summer bash a la Lulu.

Flowers
Bypass fussy arrangements in favor of plants that live in your garden. Try positioning low bowls of one color flower offset with moss on tables and shelves at a variety of different heights.

Sweet and Spicy Tacos

Lulu's recipe for sweet and spicy tacos is both quick and easy, and everyone loves them! (you'll find it in her book on page 232)
She also has delicious recipes for chips and dips that are not only divine, but make your event so memorable.

Watermelon

In hot weather you can't beat icy cold wedges of watermelon for dessert.
Sprinkle with sea salt, a dash of lime and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Lulu's book has some fantastic recipes for her signature cocktails too.
I haven't put a cocktail recipe on the blog for a while, but this one is refreshing and totally perfect for a summer get together.

The Lulu Powers Key Lime Martini

1 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons Torani vanilla syrup
3 tablespoons sweet and sour mix
juice of one lime
1 cup vodka (I use Grey Goose)
Jolly Rancher Lollipops

Shake the pineapple juice, syrup, sweet and sour mix, lime juice and vodka in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Serve in martini glasses garnished with a Jolly Rancher Lollipop.

(or make a carafe of them and place next to a bowl of crushed ice, and let your guests pour their own!)

You can find Lulu Powers From Food To Flowers in bookstores, or for instant gratification, here is the Amazon link.
Make sure you check out her blog, Living A La Lulu

The Red Bag

...and such was the POWER of the Handbag of Glory, that ladies wept when they saw it and those who TOUCHED it went straight to HEAVEN...


After the endless fun I had last season with my Russian Silver Fox (faux) fur bag from Rebirth Bags, I was at a loss for what to do for a replacement statement bag for the summer. The fur bag was becoming too hot to wear in the desert, but I wanted another bag that would really stand out, and that was constructed in the same vein.

Tracey Martin from Rebirth Bags came back to my rescue with the fabulous Red Malibu Hobo bag.

Cinghiale! With jewelry designer Michelle Mirkovich of Divinity Jewelry

This bag comes in a variety of shades, styles and finishes, with her trademark 2 1/2 inch wide leather shoulder strap, which not only supports the load of an overfilled bag (mine always are), but disperses and evens out the weight across your shoulder, so you don't have straps cutting into your skin.
The bags are made from rugs imported from India, each having its own detail and intricacies. I am obsessed with south and southeast asian cultures, so just hearing the story of the rugs made me have to have one.
The soft champagne suede lining interior has perfect pockets for cell phones and such, as well as a large zippered inside pocket on the opposite side.

They have finishes such as Fleur de Lis, antique crosses and peace signs in leather in the lower corner.

Grocery shopping in Cortona.  

On the menu? Tuscan flat bread with olive oil and sea salt, a chunk of pecorino al tartufo, salad and Sangiovese...

And they cause a scene.
Everywhere I go, and I do mean everywhere, I get stopped and asked about my bag.
In LAX I got stopped four times between security and my gate.
On Air France my gorgeous flight attendant put it on and walked around, loving all over it.
And in Italy, home to the fabulous bag, I got asked about it everywhere I went.

 

My work uniform is typically all black, or jeans and a white T,so I'm always looking for that one statement piece that lifts it and makes it interesting. 

As much as I love my Louis', right now they are everywhere, leaving you to blend in somewhat, just like a wallflower.

Rebirth Bags by Tracey Martin are not in stores yet, but you can find out more by clicking this link to their Facebook Page, (Facebook.com/Rebirth Handbags By Tracey Martin)

Mon Reve, La Folie Douce Des Nuances de Gris

... and when I'm too tired to find words

and when I'm too tired to breathe

I seek solace in black and white

via Frozen Fingertips...

Divine Stephanie Johnson Ipad Case

These days at every business meeting I take, everyone pulls out their ipad, and the meetings revolve around ipad generated info. Its all quite fabulous really.

I love going out for a cappuccino and reading blogs on my ipad.

Ipads are even used to pull references on shoots.
They're everywhere and are becoming as much of a part of our lives as smartphones.

As such your ipad case becomes an important accessory.

The glamour-girl-on-the-go needs to have an ipad case that is chic, unique and stylish, fashion forward and exciting. It needs to tell the world you're on your way.

Just as a great watch or a perfect earring can be the final touch to take your look to perfection, your ipad case ties your accessory look together.

So I was super excited to find that my much obsessed over and much loved Mumbai Collection from celebrity favorite Stephanie Johnson has an ipad case!

I have many signature items from the Mumbai Collection. I love its unique look and feel. Its exotic and glamorous. It evokes a life more exciting.
People always notice anything Mumbai that gets pulled from my handbag. There are always ooohs and aaahs.

The Mumbai Collection ipad case is the final touch of fabulous.

Check it out here at Stephanie Johnson

Whats In My Makeup Bag??

I often get calls from magazines wanting quotes about whats in my personal makeup bag.
I also get tons of emails/facebook messages/twitter DMs - you name it asking me the same thing - what do I use and what do I carry around with me.

When I leave the house each morning, I don't plan on doing any repair work to my makeup, unless I have to go out that evening, so I don't carry much of the main stuff.
Lets have a look at what I do carry:

image courtesy kellycappelli.com

Starting from the bottom right.
Its really important to have a well constructed makeup bag, as this is what is going to protect all the goodies inside. Mine is from the Pink Mumbai Collection from Stephanie Johnson. I use their cosmetic travel bags when I travel too. I'm obsessed with the Mumbai collections - I love the exotic Bollywood look and feel of them.
In the top left corner you'll see I have the matching mirror. (I also have the change purse in Mumbai Pink)

Next I have a couple of badger hair Corinna B makeup brushes in case I need to powder or add bronzer, and a couple of lip brushes.
I don't change my basic makeup routine particularly often, but what I do change is my lips. I'll often change them throughout the day depending on my mood, so there is always an assortment of lip changes on board.
Generally there are a couple of different toned nude lipliners (you can modify any lip with a good nude), I always have the amazing Julie Hewett Rouge Noir lipliner with me, either so that I can pull off a totally slammin red lip, or so that I can kick some life into a more subtle color. Rouge Noir is on the "can't live without" list.
Ellis Faas lip pen/bullet in shade L207. This is a beautiful, neutral nudey pink shade that goes with everything. I love these bullet products - you wind up color from the bottom, it disperses just the right amount, and it is totally self contained.
H.Wood.Beauty lipgloss in Cabo. The color pay off with these glosses is amazing. It applies completely evenly across the lip.
NUDE Skin Care lipbalm comes in a cute little square box, is intensely moisturizing, tastes like vanilla kisses and can be used just as a lip balm, or worn with a liner for a soft effect lip.
Immediately above the lipliners I have three fab lipsticks. From right to left, Cover Girl Lip Perfection in Spellbound is a sensational, bold fuchsia, in the middle I have Mak from H.Wood.Beauty, which is a soft, creamy pink/nude, and on the left I have Something New by MAC, which is another fuchsia lip, but less bold and less blue than Spellbound. (this season I am all about fuchsia...)

Very long work days frequently morph into late nights, when there's a dinner or drinks event after a shoot, late business meetings, or even after a long day at the race track with racing beauty Jennifer Jo Cobb when we have a last minute sponsor dinner to attend. My makeup has been on sometimes since as early as 4 or 5am, and now seriously needs a little love to make me look wide awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Girl's gotta have a game plan, and here's how it goes:

A spritz of skyn ICELAND Arctic Face Mist (travel size bottle) instantly refreshes and revitalizes both your skin and your makeup. It also gives your skin a mega dose of vitamins, so instead of looking tired out and beat up, it looks gorgeous.
skyn ICELAND Icelandic Relief Eye Cream pen. I dab some of this under my eyes. Its instantly cooling and refreshing as well as hydrating. The first place on our face to show exhaustion is under the eyes, this product is a high speed remedy. And it feels amazing.
Ellis Faas concealer bullet. Next step is adding back in some under eye color. This product smooths on over existing makeup, knocks out any blue/grays that are appearing under the eye, and makes you look rested.
Standing upright on the top row is the Ellis Faas milky eyeshadow bullet in shade E109. This is a beautiful vanilla with a slight sheen to it.I put a little around the inner corner of my eye and into the lower lash line. This instantly wakes the eye up, and makes you look fresh and alert.

Below the Arctic Mist bottle I have an eyeliner pencil and a deep aubergine eyeshadow with a
taklon liner brush from my Corinna B makeup brush line. Using black around your eyes when you're already tired will just drag your eye down, but a deep aubergine will give you depth through the lashline and will make your eye color pop like crazy. I use the taklon liner brush to buff and smudge the eyeshadow, making it into a soft, smoldery liner.

I have Makeup Forever Duo Mat in shade 209 in case I need powder or foundation repair, and normally just one piece of cheek makeup. Shown here are Nars The Multiple in Cadaques (hot pink), Copacabana (a high shimmer) and H.Wood.Beauty cream blush in Snapdragon.
Cream blushes are my absolute favorite thing. They give a round glow to the cheek, and don't sit on the surface of the skin like a powder bush does.

So there you have it - the makeup items that go in my handbag, and get me through pretty much anything life throws my way :)

Handbags For Spring

A girl's gotta have a great handbag for each season, so lets look at some for spring:

Stella McCartney's PETA friendly faux leather and raffia Iris Bag is sleek, refined and chic. Its also very clean and modern.

If you're in the market for an easy saddle bag,
Henry Cuir Calumet 
is a stylish, extremely well built beautiful leather bag,
featuring saddle stitching on the front, 2 pouches under the
flap, an extra wide gusset for maximum storage while maintaining a sleek profile.
The shoulder strap is adjustable, so it can cross your body,
hang low, or hang at regular shoulder length.

I adore a good tote, even if it does border on extremely simplistic.
Tod's Shopping Medium Tote is
totally elegant while also being super functional.
It also doesn't date, so it will be at the height of fashion and luxury for years.
(Its on my "most coveted" list...)

Topping my "most coveted" list is this Prada Natural City Calf bag.
Uber chic, uber modern, uber gorgeous. Prada totally knows how to do it.
This super stylish bag is perfect for day, can fit everything in it, goes with everything - you'd use it forever.
Rihanna likes it for night.
Beautiful.

Kiera Knightley 2011 Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Campaign.

This week Chanel released its new Coco Chanel Mademoiselle fragrance campaign starring Keira Knightley.

The iconic images were photographed by Mario Testino.

The campaign features a highly anticipated mini movie shot by Joe Wright, who directed Knightley both in Pride and Prejudice and in Atonement.



In the movie, Knightley reprises her role as Coco Chanel, this time dressed in a beige motorcycle suit designed by Karl Lagerfeld, and takes us through the streets of Paris from the Place Vendome to the Place de la Concorde.



The soundtrack to the mini movie is James Brown's "Its A Man's Man's World" soulfully performed by Joss Stone

Here's a little behind the scenes video



For more images and videos check out The Chanelphile HERE

Too Fabulous To Hide!!

Look at these fabulous new cosmetic bags from Stephanie Johnson!!

Do you just LOVE???

This is the Madrid Collection, now available in nude. I am obsessed.

Stephanie has made a playful nod to the romance and drama of Spanish Flamenco with nylon rosettes in a delicate buff. A gold zipper with a metallic gold tab zipper pull, and a charmingly romantic coral nylon liner make these bags super luxe as well as super gorgeous.

Far too lovely to be kept indoors, I am actually using mine as evening bags!

The smaller Ava bag is just big enough to fit your cell phone, money, breath mints and hot fuchsia lipstick. It will fit in your handbag, but for a night out why bother? It looks so delicious on its own!!

The larger Greta bag is the perfect size to fit everything a girl needs to get super glam.

Either use it to hold all your makeup items, or, use it as a super sexy clutch for evening!
Both bags are a simple zip around clutch style, without compartments.

Stephanie Johnson Madrid Collection in Glamour Magazine

Also available in super hot pink (also obsessed!) the Madrid bags have caught the eye of beauty editors all over.

Stephanie Johnson Madrid Collection in Teen Vogue

Find these bags (and many more) at www.StephanieJohnson.com

Sexiest Man On Earth - Tom Ford, Interview Magazine

Oh this brings me joy!
The sexiest man-beast on earth, A.K.A Tom Ford on the cover of February's Interview magazine.

I mean, honestly - how totally hot is he???
Although he is putting the final touches on his new screenplay, the interview talks a lot about his return to the fashion biz. And lets face it, Tom has a unique perspective on and understanding of a woman's body. And how to drape it and dress it.

"I DECIDED I WOULD NEVER GO BACK to FASHION 

until I HAD SOMETHING NEW to SAY, 

until I COULD HAVE FUN CREATING FASHION AGAIN. 

It HAD BECOME REALLY FORMULAIC."

—Tom Ford

 

I do prefer those shots where he has an open necked white shirt on, but any picture of Tom Ford is better than, well, one without Tom Ford in it.

"OUR BEAUTY STANDARD TODAY 

IS OFTEN VERY ANGRY AND HARD AND OFF-PUTTING . . . 

LESS APPROACHABLE THAN IT WAS IN THE '70's.

TO ME, FASHION SHOULD MAKE YOU 

WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH THAT PERSON! 

THEY SHOULDN’T SCARE YOU"

.—Tom Ford

My favorite line in the story?
I explained how when I come home I actually
take off all my clothes, and I wear no clothes until I leave. I eat naked. I do everything completely naked. He said, “That would make a great interview.” I said, “Fine, we have to do it nude.”
Ooooh Tom!!

Check out the Tom Ford interview in the February issue of Interview Magazine
(or just look at the pictures...)

Oh The Sheer Hawtness Of It!!!

I'm always on the look out for fabulous new lingerie.
I'm currently on the look out for some post-holiday-mania-grown-up-relief.
I'm frequently on the look out for glorious things at sale prices.
Kizmet! Looks like the planets have aligned and I'm about to hit the lovely underwear jackpot!

Imagine how thrilled I was to find that one of my absolute favorite purveyors of luxe lingerie is running a January sale?? 

Nothing is quite so empowering as knowing you're wearing a little something to die for next to your skin, hidden (or maybe not) from the world at large.

Nothing makes "No officer, I really wasn't speeding" sound quite as believable as when you say it while wearing truly divine undergarments under your jeans.
OK. I made that one up.

Fabulous underwear makes you feel so feminine

You have to check out the goings on at ea lingerie
ëa lingerie is a delicate and ultra feminine brand, a combination of romanticism sensuality and sophistication.
And ëa lingerie is having a sale.

Valentines Day is literally right around the corner, so you may just want to make sure that the man-beast in your life knows how to find his way to their website: ealingerieshoponline.com

 And if you don't have a significant other, go buy yourself something special. You deserve it!

Party Shoes

Few things get me as excited as messages in my inbox telling me there's a sale on at Jimmy Choo. When its followed up by a phone call from my favorite Choo-girl, Sloane, in the Dallas store telling me which of my favorites are on sale, I just know its going to be a super good day!

And now that the biggest party night of the year is upon us there is no time like the present to plan out the fab footwear you'll be strutting on New Years eve.

New Years parties call for a strappy sandal with height and shine, and Jimmy has got you covered. 
The shoe above is the Lance, a mirrored pewter with a 4.5 inch heel.

Option #2 is the ever gorgeous, ultra luxe Glenys, a 4.7 inch heeled permanent style in the Jimmy Choo collection, this time in metallic elaph snake. I would give my right arm for this super glam evening shoe, which costs the same amount as the average mortgage payment.

Lancer (not to be confused with 'Lance') is a 4.8 inch silver metallic suede evening shoe with Swarovski studs.

Newcomer Jigsaw is a 4.8 inch star studded evening decadent disco shoe. Metallic suede and Swarovski crystals guarantee sparkle! Extra beautiful when paired with a moody, dark nail polish.

This year marks Jimmy Choo's 15th anniversary.

The traditional 15th Anniversary gift is Crystal. And, what better way to celebrate 15 years than with a CRYSTAL COLLECTION of high-voltage evening shoes?
Inspired by the original jeweled shoes that made Jimmy Choo a red carpet favourite and Tamara Mellon’s personal collection of vintage jewels, this anniversary offering presents iconic Jimmy Choo skyscraper heels and chic flats bedecked in sparkle; from pavé-style tiny twinkling crystals,to deco-like bagettes, and glittering multifaceted rocks, all promise timeless evening glamour.

Ciara

 

 

Marine and Lana

Niagra and Candy

More like Viagra foot candy! I think I would die if any of my Choos got anywhere near water...

If you're in the mood for a new pair of Choos, call Sloane at the Highland Park/ Dallas Jimmy Choo store (214) 528-6801.
Sloane will track down any shoe you want, anywhere in the country and have it shipped to you wherever you are.