10 Steps To Goal Setting

It feels like I haven't sat down to write in ages! Somewhere between a pre-Christmas trip back to Italy and then Christmas itself back in America again, the time has literally flown by!

So here we are again at the very end of the year, closing out what I hope has been a really wonderful 2015 for you, and prepping our way into what will be a huge 2016.

I'm not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. They always feel so bogus - how many of us have cheated on our New Year's Resolved diet within the first month? (I'm not just raising my hand here, I'm standing on my chair waving both hands at you - I think I've diet cheated every January since puberty). But although I'm not a fan of the New Year's Resolution, I am an absolute advocate of creating a list of goals for the new year and using it as both the road map for the new year as well as a measuring stick to check back in with throughout the year.

If you want to achieve anything in life you have to set goals.
A goal has to be written down - until you commit your goal to paper it is merely a dream or a thought.
A goal that has been written down is a commitment to yourself.
As Zig Zigler said: ‘One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.’ 

No matter what your goal is, from losing weight, to saving money to going on an exotic vacation, it is achievable if you both plan and prepare for it. As you start planning your goals for the upcoming year check out these 10 steps to setting goals from Success.com

10 Steps To Setting Goals

1. Build a solid foundation.

Honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have properly set.

2. Make the commitment.

The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won't work—if you won't. As Mary Crowley said, "One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest."

3. Break it down.

Break down your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

4. See it.

If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal. In your imagination, see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into your dream home, achieving that weight-loss goal…

5. Hold yourself accountable.

Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day.

6. Expect change.

Make a decision to move toward a goal carefully—but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand. Push on, friend.

7. Tell people.

Chances are excellent they're going to encourage you.

8. Be a team player.

You can have everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

9. Write it all down.

Each time you reach a goal, your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, write about it—in your journal, wherever.

10. Reflect.

What you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals—what you will become is the winner you were born to be!

How To Choose A Concealer ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #39

Concealer is one of those fantastic makeup products that can make a huge difference in your beauty game.

By making our dark circles disappear and brightening our under eyes we not only look like we've had a good night's sleep, but we also make our eyes look brighter and whiter, and along the way make ourselves look younger.

When it's done correctly that is.

The information out there can be super confusing though. Using the wrong shade of concealer can make your under-eyes look grey and heavy, making you look tired or making you look white around the eyes.
The wrong weight of concealer can be really aging.
So let's see how to choose a concealer:

Get The Color Right

The first big mistake girls make is getting the color all wrong.
Ideally you want to look the same color from the hairline to your chest. If your concealer is too pale you wind up having that weird, 2 toned look where your under eyes flare white and your face looks tanned.
As we lose some of the volume from under our eyes the area hollows out and sucks in shadows, making the under eye look darker than it is. By making the under eye area just a little lighter you can create the illusion that the shadow isn't there, and that the face is all one color.

Color Correct It

Putting an ivory or porcelain toned concealer over dark circles won't make them disappear, it will make them look a flat, sickly grey. A yellow based concealer placed over dark circles will make them look a sickly green grey, like the tail end of a bad bruise.
Think of mixing paint colors together. if you take a deep blue/grey and add a pale creamy white you just get a paler version of grey.
If you take that same deep blue/grey tone and mix in yellow you get a paler version of a greenish grey.
Neither are flattering.

If you have dark circles that need erasing, instead of reaching for an ivory hued concealer, neutralize them with a color corrector. Pink and peach tones will cancel out the blue/grey under your eyes.

Get The Weight Right

If you get your makeup tips from Instagram and YouTube you probably are hearing about baking your concealer. This is an old drag queen trick to lighten and lift, and it's great. For Drag Queens.
Extreme contouring and baking the makeup are great drag makeup tricks to take a man's stronger, heavier face and refine and reshape it into more classically feminine looking features. But its really intense and really heavy makeup.
Much drag makeup is done for nighttime viewing - in clubs and reviews where the lighting is low, which seems to escape the IG/YT makeup crowd. Getting heavy handed with weighty concealers never looks good in daylight, and for most of us it doesn't look good at night either.
The skin around your eyes is some of the finest, thinnest skin on your body. If it gets too dry the effect is super aging. If you weigh it down with makeup that is too thick it makes the under eye look heavy, and you look tired. And old.

Choose the weight of your concealer based on how much correction you need in the area, how dark your under eye circles really are.

Light Weight Concealers

YSL Touche Eclat is really lightweight. Essentially it is a combination of moisturizer, color corrector and luminizer. The Touch Eclat pen is ideally suited to throw in your handbag and use as a touch up product as the day wears on. 
It is the perfect pick-me-up when you are going out after work, as the moisturizers breathe life back into the skin under your eyes, the color corrector picks up where your morning concealer is wearing off, and the luminizers brighten the under eye area.
Unless you only have very pale under eye circles Touch Eclat is perhaps a little too sheer to be your only concealing product.

Medium Weight Concealers

Makeup Forever Lift Concealer has been around forever. It combines a lifting action with color correction that you can blend so that it doesn't get cakey. Designed for professional makeup artists it has incredible lasting power and a really beautiful finish.

Heavy Weight Concealers 

If you have really dark circles that keep showing through the color correctors and concealers that you've been using, you may need to go for a full coverage concealer.
The Amazing Concealer combines intense pigment with a very blendable texture, so that you can get coverage but not have to deal with thick product under the eye. It's super concentrated so a little bit goes a long way.

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer is a full cover concealer and foundation and is much heavier, but can be sheered out with a little moisturizer if needed.

Christmas Markets In Italy

We always think about cavorting around Italy in the summer, but what about winter?
Right now I am on my way to Italy to check out the Christmas markets. Here are three of the markets I will be visiting, excerpted from an article in the wonderful Walks Of Italy.

Christmas Markets In Italy

Weinachtsmarkt in Florence

The Weinachtsmarkt in Florence

Florence’s iconic Santa Croce piazza turns into a traditional market every year from the end of November to mid-December—and the market comes directly from Heidelberg, Germany! The many wooden stands are filled with both Florentine and German gifts and dishes, from panforte (a dense, spiced fruitcake) to bratwurst. 

The Nativity Market in Naples

The Nativity Market In Naples

Presepi, or nativity scenes, are one of Italy’s most popular Christmas decorations and can be found both in town piazzas and inside Italian homes. Ranging from small and simple to enormous and ornate, presepi come in all kinds—and all kinds can be found in Naples, which is the place for finding handcrafted precepi. Each November, Naples hosts a market dedicated just to nativities on Via San Gregorio Armeno.

Christmas in Turin

Christmas Market In Turin

Turin is the go-to destination in Italy when it comes to Christmas lights, with many installations designed by local and international artists. Check out the wonderful market in Piazza Borga Dora for decadent Piemontese delicacies like gianduja (hazelnut chocolate) and bicerin (espresso with chocolate and milk). 

Read about 7 more Christmas markets in Italy in this blogpost from the fabulous Walks Of Italy

image source: Walks Of Italy

Holiday Gift Ideas ~ 5 Fabulous Fashion Coffee Table Books

I love coffee table books. 

They are chic, they make a statement. 
A stack of gorgeous coffee table books not only looks beautiful, but also both serves as a fabulous fashion reference and is a reflection of your personal interests.


Coffee table books make gorgeous and meaningful gifts. Ideal for the fashion forward and the fashion fascinated, they are always much loved! 
If you are looking for a super cool holiday gift idea, check out these 5 fabulous coffee table books:

5 Fabulous Fashion Coffee Table Books

Veruschka: From Vera To Veruschka

Iconic beauty Veruschka was one of the biggest faces of the 60's.
Images of the actress and model still hold us in thrall today, serving as inspiration for makeup artists, designers, photographers and hair stylists alike.
This book has previously unpublished photos of Veruschka living la dolce vita from Rome to Capri, playing in Sardinina and along the Mediterranean coast.


Veruschka: From Vera to Veruschka

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

McQueen's absolute brilliance is celebrated in this gorgeous book that accompanied the Metropolitan Museum of Art's retrospective, and is considered the definitive reference to the career of Lee Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits Of An Icon

A rich and layered collection of one of the most celebrated actresses of all time, this beautiful book features both rare and iconic images of Audrey. An incredible reference book as well as an absolutely lovely gift.

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon

W Stories by Stefano Tonchi

W magazine is world renowned for it's avant garde fashion editorials. Wild, whimsical, magical - W editorials can be spectacular! 

This book looks at 10 of the most sensational stories, each in it's entirety, with never before seen outtakes. Each story  was the centerpiece of it's issue.

A special code inside the book gives you access to short films shot durig the shoots of Steven Meisel, Alex Prager, Steven Klein and Tim Walker.

W: Stories

Tom Ford

This book chronicles the career of the incredible Tom Ford from 1994 to 2004 during his Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent days. Not just his clothing and accessories for both brands, but his grand vision for the complete design of a brand including architecture, store design and advertising.

Published to coincide with his departure from Gucci, the book was created with Ford's co-operation, and every page reflects his exceptional taste. It is Ford's testament to a career of singular moments reinventing the boundaries of style and sensuality in clothing.

Tom Ford

Paint It Black ~ A Guide To The Perfect Eyeliner Wardrobe - Beauty Tip Of The Week #37

With party season here, there’s no better time to think about restocking the foundation of your makeup arsenal: your collection of black eye pencils. Check out these major eyeliner picks from makeup artist Mark Carrasquillo, found in an interview with him on Vogue.com

image source: Vogue.com

A Pro's Guide To Painting It Black

Still fixated on the wave of darkly modern eyes spotted on the runways this past September in the form of pixie dots at Vuitton and graphic arches at Fendi, we turned to editorial makeup artist Mark Carrasquillo, who shared his advice on assembling the ultimate dark eyeliner wardrobe and the absolute best pigments to invest in. That is, with one noteworthy exception. “I am saying no to gel liner!” Carrasquillo admits with a laugh. “You never get a straight, smooth line. It just complicates the matter.” All the better to make room in your makeup bag for those eight new black pencils you just ordered.

The Goal: A Smudgy Waterline

A sooty, lived-in waterline etched in kohl—or “an updated version of how you imagine Kate [Moss] used to look back in the ’90s”—is Carrasquillo’s current obsession. “I was working on set with this girl who can close her eye on the pencil and run it back and forth, so she gets the top and bottom at the same time—it’s a very sexy way to do liner without looking retro at all.” Carrasquillo recommends formulas with a drier consistency, like NARS Black Moon pencil or Giorgio Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil for waterline coverage, since they have the right equation of slip versus hold. “If it’s too wet, it just moves all over your face and then it’s a big mess—you look more Alice Cooper than sexy.” Chubby kajal sticks are also a great tool for any eyeliner novice aiming for this look, according to Carrasquillo. “A fat pencil gives you a little bit more leeway in handling it.”

The Goal: A Graphic Liquid Flick

Forever a fan of liquid formulas and graphic looks, Carrasquillo leans toward Make Up For Ever’s inky liners across the board and loves 

Tom Ford’s dual-ended Eye Defining Pen. “If you’re really good and you have a steady hand, you use liquid eyeliner—that’s a staple. Every girl wants to be that girl.” His 19-year-old daughter, Nico-Lou (@NicoLouMonheimCarrasquillo), a black eyeliner enthusiast, gives Sephora’s Long Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner five stars for staying power. No matter which brands he gives her to test, says Carrasquillo, “she always calls me later and says, ‘You know what? The Sephora one just doesn’t move, it’s perfect.’ ”

The Goal: A Soft, Smoky Haze

For a Bardot-inspired French girl line, a powder eyeshadow—applied with an angled brush—keeps the borders hazy and romantic. “I actually like pressing powder along the lash line if you want something a little fuzzier and a little softer—not a hard edge.” Kevyn Aucoin’s Essential Eyeshadow in Blackest Black works wet or dry when applied with an angled brush. Carrasquillo warns that whatever you do, make sure that the pigment absolutely hugs your lash line. “The thing I hate is when you don’t get the black really close to the lashes and you see a separation of a little bit of skin.”

Winterize Your Beauty Game ~ Makeup And Lingerie

I love beautiful lingerie, and let's face it - what woman doesn't?

Blue lingerie set from AdoreMe.com

When you are moving through your day wearing gorgeous underpinnings you walk with more confidence (which is totally sexy) your clothes drape beautifully on your body and you just feel fabulous.

One of my favorite purveyors of intimate apparel is Adore Me.
(Find them at AdoreMe.com)
They have a cool quiz you can take that helps profile your personal lingerie loves, and from there they direct you to styles that work your particular shape, size and style. Its awesome.
You can buy as you go, or you can sign up for a monthly delivery.
And what's not to love about that??

Adore Me has just made 4 fabulous pairings of super sexy lingerie for winter, and the perfect makeup looks to go with them.
They asked me for my product choices to help you create each look.
As you transition your makeup look from fall into winter here are some key makeup items to add to your makeup bag. They will not only look fabulous with these lovely lingerie items, but also with your winter jeans and sweaters, little black dress, business suit, or whatever else you are wearing!

Look 1: Nataleigh Unlined

I am obsessed with this color. The deep cranberry tone of this lovely lacy set is so moody and beautiful!
To create the metallic eye and bold berry mouth start by lining the eye and then smudging the liner to take the harsh edges off. Instead of black, try Charlotte Tilbury Rock' n' Kohl liner in Marlene Midnight. When you have it nice and smudgy go over the eyelid with a soft metallic shadow. Instead of the metallic golds and bronzes we played with over the summer months, give yourself an icier feel with a grey metallic like Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Mysterio. The key is to keep your application light and blend away the edges.
To play up the deep berry hue of this gorgeous set you need a great lip game. My favorite new lip for winter, that looks equally killer with a soft creamy sweater and jeans or with a little black dress is the combination of MAC Lip liner in Beet and the power shade of matte lipstick in All Fired Up. I am wearing this lip every day. 

Look 2: Alicia

This look requires a red lip, which can feel really overwhelming if you don't normally wear red lips. I posted about my favorite red lips for the holidays a couple of weeks ago with a series of bright, bold, in your face red lipsticks, but not everyone wants a red lip that fierce. If you want a red lip that is less fiesty try cult favorite Lipstick Queen semi sheer Medieval. When you want to fire it up and make it bolder just use a bolder lip liner, when you want to keep it more subtle just pat it on with your finger. 

Look 3: Mandy

To pull off this look you need a deep, dark, inky eyeliner. I love Makeup Forever's Ink Liner. It's jet black, and the applicator has a calligraphy tip that lets you apply it with razor sharp precision. 

One of the best ways to offset red - be it red lingerie or a red dress, is with a nude lip. This season I'm loving Tom Ford Lip Color in Blush Nude. This is a great color as it doesn't wash the skin out, its pretty and luxurious and goes with everything in your closet. It plays beautifully with a bright red as well as a scarlet red, like the bra pictured below. Which, by the way, I am also obsessing over.

You can find it on the Adore Me website

The Shopping List:

Makeup Forever Ink Liner
Charlotte Tilbury Rock ' n 'Kohl Eyeliner in Marlene Midnight
Chanel Illusion D'Ombre metallic shimmer eyeshadow in Mysterio
Mac Lip Liner in Beet
MAC Matte lipstick in All Fired Up
Lipstick Queen Medieval
Tom Ford Lip Color in Blush Nude


Check out the Adore Me Holiday Gift Guide in the video below:

8 Fashion Films To Watch This Holiday Season

The holiday break is the perfect time to light the candles you got for Christmas, curl up on the couch with your beautiful new throw, a glass of wine, and start binge watching fashion films on Netflix (or whichever streaming device you are using).

Here are some movies to put on your glam list:

8 Fashion Films You Should Watch This Holiday Season 

8. Unzipped

This documentary follows Isaac Mizrahi as he creates his 1994 winter collection. Made in the heydey of the real supermodels, the film features Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell - the triumverate.

It's fabulous and funny and delightful.

Unzipped

7. To Catch A Thief

This has to be one of the most stylish movies of all time.

Perhaps the greatest collaboration between Hollywood costuming icon Edith Head, actress Grace Kelly and director Alfred Hitchcock, this film is a visual feast for any lover of fashion.

To Catch A Thief (1955)

6. Valentino: The Last Emporer

Valentino Garavani opened his first store in 1959. In 2007 he announced his retirement, heralding the end of an era. Valentino was the last of the old school of designers, a collective that counted Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy among its ranks. This documentary follows his last 2 years as a designer, gives the uninitiated a window into why he is and was so important in the fashion world, and is magnificent for every great lover of fashion.

Valentino: The Last Emperor

5. Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's

Bergdorf Goodman's is an American institution, and this film explains why. From the planning that goes into their legendary windows to what it means to a designer to have their work there, Scatter gives you a no holds barred look behind the scenes.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's

4. The September Issue

The Devil Wears Prada's brutal depiction of Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour prompted Wintour to reply with a film of her own. The September Issue gives you a real look inside the creation of the biggest issue of the year, and shows you just how powerful she is in the fashion industry.

The September Issue

3. Dior And I

When Raf Simons took over the reins at the house of Dior in  2012 he had a mere 8 weeks to create his first Haute Couture collection, instead of the normal 6 months. Frederic Tcheng, who is also behind the incredible Valentino: The Last Emporer and Diana Vreeland: The Eye Must Travel, takes us on a behind the scenes look at Simons' stressful first few months, with attention given to the incredible seamstresses who brought his vision to life.

Dior & I

2. Yves Saint Laurent

A look at the life of legendary French designer Yves Saint Laurent from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he et his lover and business partner, Pierre Berge. 

Yves Saint Laurent

1. Mademoiselle C

This documentary is about former Vogue Paris Editor-In-Chief and supreme fashion stylist Carine Roitfeld as she launches her magazine, CR Fashion Book.

Carine is one of the most important stylists of our time, and her story is important for any devout follower of fashion.

Mademoiselle C