Fantastic Shopping at LOFT and a Chance to Win a $200 Shopping Spree!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Loft.

When I was asked by BlogHer to participate in the LOFT Shopping Party event, I was just a bit TOTALLY ECSTATIC. As a long time lover of LOFT, I cannot really think of a better way to “work” on a Saturday than spending some time shopping at one of my favorite stores. So what did BlogHer ask me to do? Pretty simple (and amazing), go to LOFT, work with a stylist, create three purposeful looks, and spend a $200 (!!) gift card!

When I arrived, I must admit that I was a tad apprehensive about the task at hand. While I do have full confidence in my ability to shop, which surprises none of you who read this blog regularly, working with a stylist made me a bit nervous. I know my style and what I think works for me, but having a stylist around, and being followed by a professional photographer? Felt a bit like being graded on my shopping!

I need not worry, as the stylist on hand was great, and well, he liked my ideas too! Nothing pleased me more than when I came out of my dressing room in a look that I had styled and the stylist exclaimed “Look at her- she doesn’t even need me!”

The great thing about shopping at LOFT is that the layout of the store makes it easy for anyone, even those who might feel stylistically challenged, to pick out a fantastic ensemble. Why is that? Well, for starters, the store is arranged in a most intuitive manner. Everything in similar color palettes and manner of dress are kept together in areas throughout the store. Workwear in one section, casual gear in another, the fantastic lounge collection in a grouping. . . it’s all pretty foolproof. And if that were not enough, there are outfits arranged throughout the store to give you great ideas on how to create new looks. Even though I feel confident in my ability to put together a look, I don’t always think of adding accessories like belts or scarves and having it all right there in one section really encourages creativity!

My other favorite thing about shopping at LOFT is how versatile everything is! The jacket I picked up for my office look will work great with jeans on the weekends. The cardigan I paired with the work dress with look fabulous paired with a party frock. The sweater I bought to wear with jeans will go great underneath a suit. All of the pieces really do work well together and are designed and arranged to encourage us as shoppers to rethink how we buy and how to repurpose pieces in ways that didn’t occur to us before.

One last thing before I get to the looks I created- LOFT did a fantastic job setting up this shopping party- brownie bites, Izze fizzy drinks, chocolate cookies and a super attentive staff (and not just to my fellow bloggers and myself- to everyone in store!)? Yes please!

On to the challenge!

My task was to create three looks: “Look Pretty At Every Party,” “Perfect Desk-To-Dinner Look,” and “Have A Perfectly Casual Holiday.” Here’s what we came up with!

First, for “Look Pretty at Every Party,” the stylist paired a chiffon trimmed knit dress ($69.50) with a gorgeous pinwheel detailed cardigan ($59.50) and a gray leopard scarf ($39.50) to create a wonderful look that can be dressed up or down with the right shoes and jewelry:

I love this color palette, and I love the versatility of this look. With heels and shimmery jewels? Perfect for a dressy event. With tights and flats? Great for a casual fete.

For “Desk-To-Dinner?” A beautiful, versatile cotton ruffle trim jacket ($89.50) paired with a gorgeous hued dress, the perfect shade for winter months. The dress was on sale (for $19.99!), and no longer available online, but try this dress for a similar look (which I saw on a fellow shopper and is completely adorable in person).

Shown here sans jacket and plus my WHITE WHITE arms.

I’m proud to say I created this look, and then found that the stylist had created it for me as well. Great minds! Fans of my Outfit of the Day Blog know about my lust for jackets and this one has quickly moved to the top of my favorites list. My gift card was definitely used for this one!

And lastly, for “Perfect Casual Holiday,” the stylist paired the most flattering pair of jeans I have tried on in ages, the Modern Boot Leg ($59.50) with a sweater snagged a few weeks ago as a gift for someone in my family, the Ruched Cotton Pullover ($49.50) and a wide belt:

This is probably not a look I would have tried on my own, but I think it works!

And now on to the fun part! A chance to win a $200 LOFT gift card! All you have to do is vote for your favorite LOFT holiday look for yours truly, and you are entered to win. So which look is your fave? Leave a comment indicating look #1, #2 or #3!

Here are the rules:

The contest will begin at 12/10/2009 and will end 12/25/2009.  Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct so that you can be contacted!

• No duplicate comments (unless you are linking to a post written about this contest).
• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
• This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
• Please see the official rules here.
• Want more info?  See the official site here.

Happy voting and happy shopping from LOFT!  And to get started, here is a great 20% off coupon for you to print!

Giveaway! Giveaway!

I was recently contacted by the fine folks at A. Tierney about hosting a review and giveaway of some of their preppy cute products. They offered to send me a surprise item, and I was more than pleased when these showed up in my mailbox:



I love the look of stacked bangles:

even if I don't love the look of my hands. EEK.

I have some similar bangles that I purchased at another store for a cheapie price last year. While the looks are quite similar, when I took them out for comparison, the quality of the cheapies? It's cheapie! Shocking, I know. For a few dollars more, those bracelets offered by A. Tierney will definitely have a much longer life. The colors are also much brighter!

What else is cute at A. Tierney? Well, everything, but I'm especially diggin' these grosgrain ribbon watches:

Also loving? The price- $38.00! And the interchangeable bands for only $10.00

I think I might need one of these cosmetic bags too:

I'm a sucker for monograms. I KNOW! A little known preppy secret about moi!

So, how can you get your hands on one of these bracelets? Well, you can buy one for a mere $19.50....or you can enter my giveaway!

Simply leave a comment with which color you prefer!

The winner will be chosen by random number generator and entries close on Sunday at 8:00 pm CST. Good luck!

And The Winner Is....

Kelly from And Your Little Dog Too!

Congrats Kelly- email me your shipping info (slynnro@gmail)

Thanks everyone for entering!

Born to Fit Giveaway!

So, I had a little Gap Born to Fit party:

Born to Snack: Yep, that's me. Sadly, that bowl did not contain Chocolate Chex.

Okay, so not really. I didn't have a Gap Born to Fit party. We had a Born to Fit party, and by We I mean, myself and two of my internet besties and Champagne Thursday luminaries, Kate and Mojito Maven.

My party was attended by such famous bloggers as Jennie, Kristie, Maggie and the uber-mysterious Tess (who I am pretty sure only came because she wanted to meet Mr. A).


More terrifyingly, the party was also attended by BUMBUMBUM....MY REAL LIFE FRIENDS.

Yes, people, a terrifying crossing of paths. The Real Life and the Internet Life. I tend to keep the two separate for a variety of reasons, so this was something I was quite apprehensive about (which my posture appears to reveal here). Turns out, that was all for naught, as everyone got along smashingly well. We even had a GAP reunion of sorts.

Yes, one of Kate's best pals worked with one of my best Baylor pals at the Gap in Waco's good ole Richland Mall:


Apparently, the Gap only hires pretty people with fantastic hair.


The Gap: Bringing people randomly together 7 years post-graduation. How touching.

This party wasn't just for the ladies, however:


Kate's house is like, totally perfect if you ever need to have a free pants party!

Apparently, men love free pants too. Look at the joy! The delight!

The cupcakes!

SO on to the IMPORTANT STUFF. Like the GIVEAWAY. But first:

The Best Jeans Advice Ever

Now, in order to get these photos into the blog, I had to shrink them, so this may be a bit difficult to detect. But my bottom looks way more like the bubble bottom I so loathe. In that top photo, I'm wearing a pair of ($170) Joe's Jeans. In the bottom photo, I'm wearing the ($69.50) Sexy Boot Cut.

What's the difference?

The seam. The seam on the Gap jeans falls down the center of my leg. The seam on the Joe's? Is definitely closer to the front of my leg. This creates an illusion of a larger bottom, a more bubbled effect.

The lesson here?

To minimize a bubble butt, look for a seam that is RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE of your leg. That is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT factor if you are looking to minimize your rear. A lo! The Sexy Boot Cut does just that!

And there you have it- the answer to life's dilemmas. In a pair of Gap jeans!

ONTO THE GIVEAWAY!

Simply leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win a $50 gift card from the Gap! Which you will obviously want to use on a great pair of jeans! They were born to fit you after all.

Entries will close on Sunday, August 16 at 8:00 pm CST. One entry per person!

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara and Vivid Impact Lip Color WITH GIVEAWAY!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Max Factor.

When BlogHer asked me to review Max Factor’s newest mascara and lipstick, I was more than happy to oblige. I’m perpetually seeking the Mascara of My Dreams. My most recent purchase, by Yves San Laurent, was expensive but not quite fitting the bill. If you read my blog with any regularity, you surely know that I am more than willing to spend a small fortune on cosmetics. With that willingness comes something of a bias against drugstore brands. Most of the time, I find expensive cosmetics are worth the money. For that reason, I rarely purchase drugstore brands. So I am always excited to get a chance to try a drugstore cosmetic for free!

First, BlogHer asked me to review Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper . When it comes to mascara, my purchase decisions are based primarily on the style of the wand. The Max Factor wand is unlike any other I’ve used. The wand has hard plastic bristles, and not the soft flexible fiber ones I am used to. One of the benefits of this style of wand is that the mascara is virtually clump free. It also makes application easy- mascara goes on in one long, clean stroke.

My other big mascara concern is flaking. Lately, I’ve been having issues with the mid-day mascara undereye circles. With this Max Factor formula, the problem did not go away entirely, but it was significantly reduced. The flaking was limited primarily to the area immediately underneath my lower lashes, whereas before the flaking and streaking was going on all around my eyes. And when I applied this formula to my lower lashes, there were no clumps. I often have issues with clumping on the lower lashes, as they are finer and shorter than my upper lashes. I was very impressed.

This mascara is primarily marketed as a thickening mascara. When I compared it to the Yves San Laurent formula I had been using, I definitely agree that it thickened my lashes. However, the YSL did outperform on lengthening. But if thin lashes is your issue, this is the perfect formula for you. Personally, I like to use two different mascaras to achive the effect of both thickening and lenghthening, and I would gladly add Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper to my eyelash repertoire.

I was also asked to review Max Factor Vivid Impact Lip Color in “Pin Up Pink.” I have to admit, when I saw this lipstick in the tube, I was a little bit afraid. When it comes to lip color, I tend to stick to colors close to the natural color of my lips. In fact, I very rarely use lipstick at all. I’m a gloss girl. When I initially applied this lip color, I was a bit taken aback by the brightness. But after a few minutes of wearing it, I actually started to really like the color. But for those of you not interested in bright pinks, this product is available in twenty different shades.

As I stated previously, I prefer lip gloss. Why? I tend to shy away from matte colors. I don’t like the heavy application, the thick feeling of lipstick. This lip color definitely changed my opinion on that matter. It went on smooth, with a light feeling. I didn’t feel as though I had some heavy coating on my lips.

On the first day I tried this Max Factor product, I managed to put on my lip color before brushing my teeth. I was incredibly impressed with how well this product stayed on my lips, even through the tooth brushing. It actually lasted into the morning, which is something lip gloss never does. I would definitely purchase this product in another color in the future.

Overall, I was quite impressed with both of these Max Factor products, and I have to admit that perhaps my department store cosmetic preferences aren’t always the best choice. I would definitely purchase these products again, and have started using them regularly in my cosmetic routine.

And now for the fun part....I'm having a giveaway!

What will you win?

This fabulous prize:

A gift bag from Max Factor!

To enter, leave me a comment below about your favorite drugstore beauty product, or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at begins 9:00 p.m. (PT) 05/15/09 and will end at 5:00 p.m. (PT) 06/16/09. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.

Rules:

• No duplicate comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
• This giveaway is open to US residents, age 18 and over
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
• Please see the official rules here.
  

Check out even more reviews of these products by other BlogHers here! Or check out the mascara and lip color on their product sites at Max Factor.

Product of the Week

I was lucky enough to try this for free, but I will buy it again. I was a bit skeptical that vibrating mascara could be anything but terrifying, but instead I found that it was easy to use and entirely clump free!

Estee Lauder Turbo Lash Mascara, $32.00 at department stores.

That Thing Mr. A Should Buy Me

I've spent the past few weeks fantasizing about wearing the entire DVF collection on an exotic island vacation. Or at least to a fancy dinner, dammit.

Eliza Dress by Diane Von Furstenberg, $325.00 at DVF.com.