LA TO NYC TO DC AND BACK: A MINI SUMMER WRAP UP

Hey Everyone!

I am so sorry for being MIA! I was back east enjoying my beloved NYC and getting to see family and friends before making a quick trip to DC to visit my adorable nephews and host my younger sister's surprise bridal shower! :) I am now back in LA and will bring some more fun fashions at an affordable price very soon!

I hope you are all having a Super Summer so far! I thought I would include some pictures from my trip back east, just for fun, of the sights as well as fashions! All the attire I am wearing, aside from my Yankee shirt...hehe, in the pictures are from Target, Forever 21, H&M, Payless and Charlotte Russe...so all the outfits you see, from the clothes to accessories, are very affordable! :)

Just click on the picture to see it full size, if you wish, and I will be back soon with more Fabulous Fashions 4 Sensible Style! :)

CHIC AND THE CITY

I hope you are all having a super summer so far! :)

I just landed in my beloved NYC to visit some friends and family, catch a Yankee game at the new stadium with my adorable nephews (GO YANKEES!!!) and go to some final fittings for my sister's upcoming wedding, but I wanted to post a new, fun, affordable outfit for all of you!

Seeing that I am in NYC and will be hitting DC before flying back to LA, I tried to put together something that I think is perfect for a day of shopping in the city or a fun stroll out and about and stop at a lovely outdoor cafe, which happen to be some of my favorites, especially in Europe! The coral and white flower embroidered top is a tank, so you can take of the little jacket if it is hot, but have if it gets a bit cooler...like it can tend to be when in stores or restaurants.

Hopefully the look creates something that is not only affordable, but versatile too! :)

Chic and the City Look:

Total Look = $ 124.40

Chic in the City Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

A SHIMMERING SUMMER WATERMELON LOOK

Laura, a wonderful person and friend of mine whom I work with from time to time, has her very own successful make-up line and company known as Razzle Dazzle Cosmetics. The line is most recognized in the world of cheer, at competitions, and among cheerleaders/dance teams themselves across the US, and now finding its way across the ocean to the UK, Ireland, and beyond!

She sells a wide variety of make-up and make-up accessories, with her eye shadows, shimmers, and glitters being the most popular. More recently she introduced Dazzle Dusts, which are highly pigmented shimmer shadows that add that punch of color we all love, at least from time to time! :)

She is based in Los Angeles, CA and each full size shadow contains 1.75 gm / 0.6 oz. of product, retails for $8.00, and can be purchased online at RazzleDazzleCosmetics.com. Being a happy user of her shimmer shadows, I can honestly say that the product goes a long way, and one shadow that I use almost daily, just now got to the bottom and I got it over 2 years ago!

Also, another great thing about her and her oh so fabulous products is that they can be worn dry or wet, each of which provide great color payoff, she charges you what the actual weight of the product is, which makes shipping and handling reasonable and affordable, and she offers FREE samples in cute little jars...and who doesn't love that! :)

I recently used 2 of my favorite shimmer shadows from her make-up line that I use often, Pure White and Sunrise, and used them with a sample of one of her new Dazzle Dusts called Tropic to create a fun, summer make-up look that ended up resembling a watermelon...hehe! :)

Below is a picture of me wearing 3 colors from her make-up line, which I created while testing them out, that showcases Razzle Dazzle Cosmetics, which are linked to where you can buy each. The colors do not show up nearly as true to color or vibrant on the website, which is also why I included such detailed, true to color and vibrance, pictures and swatches of each below! :)

1. Sunrise - A beautiful pink shade with gold shimmer undertones, just like a sunrise.

2. Pure White - A simple, basic, pure white slight shimmer, just like freshly fallen snow.

3. Tropic - A water-esque aqua, teal, blue/green shimmer, just like a tropical ocean.

Together the three colors resemble those of a watermelon, hence my blog title! :) I included detailed pictures of each of the shadows so that you could see their consistency and true color, followed by swatches of each on my arm, shadow dry on the left and shadow wet on the right.

Wearing Sunrise, Pure White, and Tropic Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadows

Sunrise Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Full Size

Sunrise Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Full Size Close Up

Pure White Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Full Size

Pure White Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Full Size

Tropic Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Sample Size

Tropic Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadow - Sample Size Close Up

Razzle Dazzle Eye Shadows - Left to Right

Tropic Dry/Tropic Wet, Pure White Dry/Pure White Wet, Sunset Dry/Sunset Wet

As always, I also wanted to include a fun, affordable summer look inspired by the make-up and colors of a watermelon, which I have included below, just as I usually do with a full breakdown of the pricing too! :) Enjoy and I hope you all had a very Happy 4th of July and that you are having a splendid start to summer! :)

Fun Summer Watermelon Look:

Total Look = $ 108.09

Summer Watermelon Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21 accessories

BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARDS

Happy Sunday Everyone!!! I am honored and oh so happy to have received blogger awards from some fellow beauty and fashion bloggers Glamorouxx and Glamourous Beauty!

So, I wanted to take some time to say a sincere "Thank You" to each of them, happily accept the award, and pass it on to other oh so fabulous blogs I have recently discovered out there in blogspot land! :)

Before passing on this award, you must follow the RULES:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.

2. Pass the award to other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

So I give awards to:

The Yummy Mummy's Beauty Blog

Dazzledust25

Pretty Geeky

Hele Says...

Belle Du Jour

Thank You again and I hope you all will enjoy the blogs I have awarded, and either newly discover them yourself or continue to enjoy those you already had the pleasure of stopping by!

I will be back again soon with a fun, summer look inspired by a friend's marvelous make-up line! Till then, I hope you all are having a Wonderful Weekend! :)

2009 COLOR OF THE YEAR: YELLOW

A specific color is chosen each year as the "it" color for 365 days, and most go by the color picked by Pantone, "one of the leading global authorities on color." Yellow, specifically mimosa, was the color selected for 2009, and what a great color it is for summer that is just around the corner! :)

My sister is getting married in October and she chose yellow as one of her colors prior to the color of the year being picked, so it looks like she was ahead of the trend...hehe...and all the lovely ladies in her wedding party will be sporting what happens to be the color of the year! I will be sure to post pictures after the wedding later this year from the wedding and of all the yellow that is sure to be shining brightly!

That said, I thought it would be fun to put together a bright, summer look featuring the color of the year, and so I put together one casual look and one dressier look using the same yellow dress. This way you could purchase just one statement yellow piece, be it the dress featured below, one you have, or one you find that you like, and use accessories, which are my favorite, to dress it up or down.

The below looks will hopefully help give you a look that incorporates fabulous fashion, but also allow you to keep a sensible style by being affordable, and offering variations on one item that stars the color of the year! 'Till next week, Happy Father's Day to everyone and I hope you all have a bright, yellow filled, and Sunny Sunday! :)

Casual Yellow Look:

Total Look = $ 76.19

Casual Yellow Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

Dressy Yellow Look:

Total Look = $ 70.50

Dressy Yellow Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

AFFORDABLE RED CARPET LOOK

Remember the time that Sharon Stone sported a simple black T-shirt from The Gap at the 1998 Academy Awards aka Oscars, which she had pulled from her very own closet?

Well, I was lucky enough to attend the T-Mobile Sidekick LX Launch Party at Paramount Studio in Los Angeles last month, and true to my usual style and the theme of this blogspot, I put an affordable look together straight from my own closet, just like Ms. Stone did. However, my look was not just the T-shirt, but the entire ensemble!

Anywho, I thought it might be fun to show how you can create and put together a look that is suitable for the red carpet, which is usually graced by celebrities sporting the latest fashions right off the runway that often hold a designer name and very high price tags, or any evening out, but by instead wearing things that are anything but pricey or designer, unless purchased at Marshall's or TJ Maxx for a fraction of the price!

Below is a picture of me at the T-Mobile Sidekick LX Launch Party on the red carpet where you can see the look I created, relatively last minute for the event. I even got compliments on the below look from celebrities who were sporting the designer looks and price tags, and one asked where I got my necklace! :)

You can read all about the T-Mobile Sidekick LX Launch Party and see more pictures over at FilmIndustryBlogggers.com where I post every Wednesday as The Actor if you are interested! :)

That is so can get a clear, overall idea of the look, and below is the same picture of me on the red carpet at the event, but with a price breakdown of each and every item I am wearing, where I bought it, and the total for the look.


Do you want to create the above look for an event you are attending or a fun evening out?

Well, since I had put my look together from things I had collected over the years and were already in my closet, I have browsed online and found you a look very similar to the one I wore on the red carpet last month. Each of the items I found are currently available online in case you want to purchase any of the items in the look!

My Affordable Red Carpet Look Recreated:

Total Look = $ 92.69

Affordable Red Carpet Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Old Navy and Forever 21

Hopefully this gave you a fun idea of how even looks you see in the magazines, on blogs, TV, etc. showing looks from the red carpet, can be affordable and from all of your favorite bargain shopping places!

Thanks so much for stopping by and feel free to let me know your questions, thoughts, ideas, or anything you would like to see here and I will do my best to answer them and put a look together that suits your needs and wants, and I hope you have a Wonderful Week ahead! :)

LITTLE BLACK DRESS: 5 WONDERFUL WAYS

Welcome Everyone! This is my very first post here at my new fashion home thanks to blogspot! Woo Hoo!!! :)

So, being my first fashion post, I decided to start with something almost everyone needs or wants to have in their wardrobe, and that would be, none other than . . . the Little Black Dress, of course!

All you really need to complete this look is a very simple, well fit, relatively timeless, black dress, preferable around knee length, making it perfect for cocktail parties, a nice dinner out, or evening at the theatre. Most important, make sure you feel comfortable in it because then it will be something you can, and will, pull as your staple piece, anytime.

Then, you can have a little fun accessorize it using shoes, necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, bags/clutches, and even a jacket, shrug, cardigan, or scarf/pashmina that can be mixed and matched, and changed up depending on the day and event.

Ultimately, this allows the Little Black Dress to go a very long way and become so much more than just a black dress, or one single look, and the perfect addition to your wonderful wardrobe! :)

Below, with the help of the oh so fabulous Polyvore.com, I put together some Little Black Dress looks. Actually, I created 5 different look variations using the same black dress! 1 casual look, 1 colorful look, 2 classic black and gold elegant looks, and 1 classic black and silver elegant look.

If you like a look, just click on the look itself, and it will take you to my Polyvore site. There it will break down each individual piece, give you the prices, and directly link you to the item online for purchase, which makes it as easy as 1, 2, 3! :)

All of the looks this week are brought to you by Forever 21 and each piece is currently available online at Forever21.com, which you can directly link to via the Forever21.com link beside each item on Polyvore. This allows you to do some one stop shopping, hopefully making it pretty easy for you, which is the prime goal of my fashion finds! :)

Hopefully one of these looks suits your sensible style and if not, let me know what your personal fashion sense is, and I will try to create looks that fit everyone's unique look and personality! :)

Feel free to let me know what you think, what you would like to see, share these looks, or even create your own variation on each that better suits you! I would love to see them and might even post some of your creations here as well!

Enjoy the below and I will be back soon with more currently available and oh so Fabulous Fashions 4 Sensible Style! :)

Little Black Dress - Casual Look:

Little Black Dress = $ 22.80

Rest of the Look = $ 100.20

Little Black Dress - Casual Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

Little Black Dress - Colorful Look:

Little Black Dress = $ 22.80

Rest of the Look = $ 81.60

Little Black Dress - Colorful Look by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

Little Black Dress - Classic Black and Gold Look Take 1:

Little Black Dress = $ 22.80

Rest of the Look = $ 55.70

Little Black Dress - Classic Gold and Black Look Take 1 by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

Little Black Dress - Classic Black and Gold Look Take 2:

Little Black Dress = $ 22.80

Rest of the Look = $ 51.70

Little Black Dress Classic Black and Gold - Take 2 by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21

Little Black Dress - Classic Black and Silver Look:

Little Black Dress = $ 22.80

Rest of the Look = $ 53.70

Little Black Dress Take 3 by FabulousFashions4SensibleStyle featuring Forever21