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Category: Shopping
- What’s In Your Makeup Bag?
  
  Posted at 8:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Feb 28th
  Since winter refuses to release us from its icy grasp, take this opportunity to review what your makeup bag is lacking and stock up on some basics before spring arrives.
  
  Here are some of my personal favs:
  
  For a fraction of the price of Dior’s under eye brightener, I found Revlon’s Photo Ready eye primer. The liquid from this brush is light and doesn’t settle into wrinkles around the eyes. My under eye circles have been present since birth so this definitely helps, but it would take a miracle to get rid of them completely. For around $10, give this product a try.
  
  Dr Jart’s BB cream is almost perfection. I received a sample in my Birchbox one month and I loved the light, yet amazing coverage that it gave. My skin looked dewy and youthful. My only complaint is the color seems a little gray and, unless you are going to a zombiefest, this is not the look you want. I still love the product so I would suggest blending it with some yellow or pink-toned foundation. (Whichever works with your skin tone.)
  
  This one is nothing new for many of you. I have used Nars blush before I was a blushing bride close to 10 years ago. The pigment is concentrated and the colors are gorgeous. I use Orgasm for regular day-to-day activities -insert dirty joke here- and Torrid when I want more of a pop on my cheeks. The price is up there, but I’ve had Torrid since before my wedding (I know, that’s probably not something to boast about) and it’s still going strong. Worth the $30 in my opinion.
  
  Looking back on pictures from high school I noticed that my eyebrows were much more prominent. Today I look in the mirror and wonder where they went? As we age, our brows grow thinner from plucking and they also lighten. Powders and pens never did anything for me so recently I discovered Benefit Gimme Brow. I love this stuff! It’s easy to apply and the results are fantastic and not at all Elvira-ish.
  
  Moving on to lashes. L’Oreal Original Voluminous in Blackest Black is my all-time favorite. Supposedly, a cult fav among beauty junkies is Maybelline Great Lash, but the results are so weak compared to the va-va-voom you get from L’Oreal.
  
  What about you? What are some makeup essentials that you cannot live without?
  
  First Image:
  
  missnattybeautydiary
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  Posted in Shopping | Tagged Cult Favorite Beauty Products, Makeup Essentials
- An Uplifting Experience
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 22nd
  About a month ago, I was out with some friends when one of them spotted a woman walking into a restaurant with, what looked to be, the most painful bra underneath a sheer, white top she was wearing. The bra acted like a corset because her skin was spilling out both over and under the straps on her back. I wondered if she could even breathe in that thing. My friend then turned to me and said, “You should really write about finding a good fitting bra.”
  
  Fast forward to this past weekend when I finally found the time to go shopping for one and here I am to share all the information I learned from a very wise and helpful salesperson named Gail at Nordstrom’s.
  
  First off, it was pretty funny to listen in on the exclamations and excitement whenever a shopper in a neighboring changing room found the right bra. One woman was on the phone talking to her girlfriend about how shocked she was that she was a size G. Honestly, I think the sizing at Nordstrom’s is just a carefully planned ego boost for the small-busted gal because I went up 2 cup sizes from my usual sizing. Not that I’m complaining or anything.
  
  Usually I shop at Victoria’s Secret for my bras so I was surprised by the quality and variety offered at Nordstrom’s, not to mention their outstanding customer service. I think it’s safe to say that VS bras are a thing of the past for me now. Some of my favorite brands that I tried on were Josie (the fabric they use is so soft), Black Bow (again very soft fabric, but also great patterns and enhancements for the smaller-busted), Chantelle (dreamy, romantic, lacy and French) and OnGossamer (very cool twist in the center of the bra that can be twisted again for more oomph). Let me also state that they were having some great sales that day so I ended up buying 3 bras with the original intent of getting just one.
  
  Here are a few misconceptions we have about bras.
  
  Myth: No one can see what I have on underneath my outfit so I’ll buy something more noticeable like a new shirt, shoes, etc and get a few more months out of my old bras.
  
  Truth: Nuh-uh! Your clothes will fit better when you find the right fitting bra by lifting the girls up and smoothing out the dreaded back flab, plus your posture looks better too.
  
  Myth: Speaking of back flab, that means my bra is too tight.
  
  Truth: No, it actually means that your bra is too loose. Wearing a bra with a smaller band size and lower on your back will eliminate back fat.
  
  Myth: When trying on bras, I want the band size to fit me at the middle or the loosest hook so that it’s more comfortable.
  
  Truth: You want the band size to fit you perfectly on the loosest hook because your bra will stretch out with time and wear.
  
  Myth: I only need one or two bras.
  
  Truth: You need to rotate around 3-4 bras during the week making sure your bra has a day to rest in between wearings. Giving your bra a day of rest will allow the resilience to come back in the support elastic. Taking care of your bras can extend their life by using gentle detergent and a lingerie bag in the wash. Always allow your bras to air dry.
  
  Myth: My straps keep falling down. I just need to tighten them.
  
  Truth: If you tighten the straps and they still fall down, that means your bra band is riding up and you need to go down a band size. Your band should fit straight across your back and it should never ride up.
  
  Myth: I’ve been fitted for a bra within the past year or two so my size probably hasn’t changed.
  
  Truth: We all know that pregnancy, breast-feeding and ever-changing exercise and eating habits have an impact on our bust size so it’s best to get measured each time you buy a bra.
  
  Since 3 out of 4 women are wearing the wrong bra size, take a look to see how your bras are fitting. You may have some shopping to do in the not-too-distant future. If you are in the area and looking for a bra, go see Gail at Nordstrom’s in Woodfield. She is an excellent resource.
  
  Are there any questions I might have missed on this topic?
  
  Thanks Sylvia for offering up this idea. 🙂
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  Posted in Shopping
- Quest For The Dress
  
  Posted at 9:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Aug 8th
  I don’t know about you, but I am in desperate need of a LBD (Little Black Dress). There has been more than one occasion where this little number could have saved me some time and angst…ok, maybe not angst, but definitely some creative brainstorming to come up with a suitable, stylish outfit from my sad assortment of mom clothes hogging my closet.
  
  Roland Mouret is my new style hero to the rescue! He created a line for Banana Republic that exudes sophistication, timeless clean lines and a lovely feminine look. Plus, it’s always fun to score designer looks for a fraction of the runway prices.
  
  I was cautiously excited when I woke up yesterday morning because the clothing line would be available in stores. I was feeling the same way when Philip Lim had a line of cool, structured handbags at Target and those sold out in a matter of minutes. I arrived at Target that day last spring late in the afternoon and could not find even one item that had the Philip Lim label. I finally asked and found out from a sales clerk that his clothes and bags had been sold within twenty minutes and there was literally a line of women waiting for the store to open that morning.
  
  That experience haunted me a bit when I hopped online to see sadly that half of Roland’s dresses had sold out by 7:30 a.m. I saw that you could reserve the dresses in stores and the nearest participating one was in Oakbrook- about 35 miles from where we live. I was determined so I reserved the dresses and the girls happily hopped into the car with their breakfast-to-go (Goldfish crackers and bottled water) and we were off.
  
  We were lucky and the Chicagoland traffic was very light despite some areas under construction. We arrived just a few minutes after the store had opened and all was quiet. There were already a few women in dressing rooms looking for the same line that I was there for, but I was happily relieved to see that there weren’t any lines or fighting over sizing. I tried both dresses on and my girls were very complimentary. “Oh, Mommy I like that one. Oh, get that one too.” They were right. Both looked good. I took pictures on my phone and sent them to my husband. ‘Get the black and white one. Very hot.’- he texted back immediately. Hmmm…I bought both and decided to try them on at home. I showed a friend who came over for lunch and she had a great idea to add some red shoes or a pop of color, but alas, she liked both too. Thank you Debbie. 🙂
  
  Which dress would you buy? This? Great for a Christmas party or wedding.
  
  or…this? Vacation or date-night dress. Hmmm…decisions, decisions.
  
  What’s your favorite wardrobe staple for a dressy occasion?
  
  Thank you Banana Republic for your images. FYI-I was not compensated in any way to promote this line. I just love it and wanted to share it with you all.
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  Posted in Shopping | Tagged Banana Republic, LBD, Roland Mouret, Sheath Dress
- Sydney’s Art Party
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Jul 22nd
  My oldest daughter is turning 6 today! We celebrated her birthday last Saturday and the party theme she chose was arts and crafts.
  
  I am not that adept (yet) at creating signs and printing them from my simple Epson printer so I just added some clip art, slapped the sign on a painter’s palette and used a giant pink clothes pin to keep it from blowing away from the front door.
  
  When the kids first came in we had a table set up to create sand art.
  
  Then the painting began. Each child had his or her own canvas to paint.
  
  I sewed crêpe paper streamers to a pretty ribbon to drape behind each chair.
  
  Tissue pom poms were hung from the ceiling. Talk about easy to make! The tutorial on YouTube was 4 minutes from start to finish.
  
  I found the plastic tablecloth and little paint palettes from Oriental Trading Company. There were markers on the table for the kids to fill in silly faces on some of picture frames, but they were so focused on the painting that they never made it that far. I played it safe and used only washable tempera paint.
  
  We used Hydrangea from our front yard to give the kids some inspiration.
  
  The bottles of water were flavored strawberry, lemon-lime, blueberry and grape by Crayola.
  
  While she painted, the birthday girl wore a new t-shirt designed by my friend who runs an adorable online store called Little Mac Boutique. Check it out for your next birthday or special occasion. She makes tutus, bows, leg warmers and more. Thank you Michelle!
  
  Here is the dessert table. Sydney picked out a nail polish cake from Pinterest for me to bake. I made the cake using 6 8-inch round cakes and topped it with 3 cupcakes (2 with their tops cut off) for the handle. To keep the cake in place, I added three wooden skewers pressed into the middle and then placed the cupcake handle on top of them. Refrigeration also firms up the cake and prevented it from sliding.
  
  I made the art studio sign from a large piece of plywood and painted it with chalkboard paint.
  
  She looks intimidated here…and excited. There are edible pink candies encircling the bottom and top. This close-up reveals that this cake was definitely homemade. Notice the slight lean to the left and not the smoothest job of frosting it, but hey, I made it and she loved it so that’s all that matters.
  
  The inside of the cake. I found a tie-dye boxed cake at the grocery store and grabbed three boxes. This took some effort, but it was worth it.
  
  Care for a slice?
  
  I used paint chip samples and stapled them to create utensil holders.
  
  More sweets.
  
  Sugar overload. But wait, can you see the rainbow fruit skewers just off to the right? See? Healthy!
  
  As a memento, my friend Carrie suggested a larger canvas or poster board for the kids to draw on and express their birthday wishes. It was cute and funny to see what they wrote and drew.
  
  After cake, it was time to burn off some energy so they went outside and I handed each party guest a can of silly string from the Dollar Store. That was a hit, but there wasn’t much string in each can so a lot of them asked if I had anymore. Luckily, the weather was beautiful so they enjoyed running around the backyard and playing on the play set.
  
  As their take home gift, I found more goodies from OTC. Artist palette lollipops, little notebooks, pencil sharpeners and behind the little notebooks is a small bag of Goldfish colored crackers.
  
  I am a HUGE believer in writing thank you notes. If people are generous enough to take time from their busy schedules to celebrate with you, not to mention bring along a thoughtful gift, then it is important to show some gratitude and manners -in my humble opinion- by thanking them for it. I found these paint-splashed notes at Target.
  
  This party took some planning, but it could not have gone more smoothly. A big thanks to Rochelle and Glenda who stayed to help with the crafts and cleaning up. I owe you. 🙂
  
  By the time the party was over, I couldn’t believe it was done. I was definitely ready to sit and relax with a glass of wine.
  
  Happy Birthday Sydney!
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  Posted in Baking, Kids, Shopping | Tagged Art Birthday Party, Art Party, Art Party Ideas, Arts and Crafts Party, Nail Polish Cake, Rainbow Cake
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