here is victoria beckham like you've never seen her before

SMILING!

I can imagine the conversation with the PR people:

PR: Mrs. B. you need to smile for the pictures.

VB: I'm not sure I can, I haven't done it in a long time.

PR: People won't buy your dresses if you look all pissed off in the ad.

VB: Oh. You're right. How is this? This is as much as it bends without cracking.

PR: That's great! Hold it... hold it... let him take the picture!

VB: Hurry up, it's starting to hurt...

PR: Done! Great! That was fantastic!

VB: Damn, I forgot how hard it was to smile. Can you photoshop the smile on the other pictures as necessary?

PR: Sure thing, Mrs. B.

VB: You're the best!
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back to basics: coconut

If I had to pick a favorite scent for my beauty products, it would be without a doubt coconut.

Being a beach person and an ocean lover, coconut always brings back great memories of endless days spent roasting under the sun, with not a care in the world, surrounded by a sweet smell of coconut tanning oil.

Gone are those days, and gone is the tan, since we've realized how bad "roasting under the sun" is for us.

But the smell, that coconut smell, we can still enjoy that!

There are many "coconut smelling" products on the market, but not all are equally good:

For around $6.00 you can make your hair smell wonderful with Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo.

Another $6.00 also buys you the conditioner.

When I use both products together, there is always someone complimenting me on how great my hair smells.

The good thing about Organix is that it's not just the scent, but the product is good, too, leaving your hair smooth like silk.

If you try to go the cheaper route, Suave also has coconut shampoo and conditioner that smell pretty good, but as I've said before on this blog, if I use these Suave products, my hair starts falling off, no joke.

But don't go by me, it can be a personal reaction, you might just love them.

Another coconut product I like is a deodorant by Secret.

Even though the scent says "Coco Butter Kiss", to me is a great tropical, coconutty scent.

There is one more coconut product line I would like to try out, because I've heard a couple of people raving about it:

Bumble and Bumble Creme de Coco shampoo and conditioner.

The price tag is a little too high for back to basics products: $21 and up!

So for now I'll wait.

But in the meantime, I can tell you about a coconut product you shouldn't waste your time with:

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush in Coconut Craze.

A three-in-one product that does nothing well!

It should be a shower, bubble bath and shampoo in one, but as we all know, when you try to do too much at once, you basically do nothing well.

But the worst thing about this product is the scent! This is probably the worst coconut scent I've ever smelled, because it doesn't smell like coconut, but more like plastic coconut if that's even a good description of it. It was so bad that I used the product twice and then I just got rid of it. I couldn't stand the smell.

And this is not to crap on Victoria's Secret beauty products, I love their Dream Angels collection, but they just totally missed that coconut scent back there!

So... do you have a favorite coconut product?

two great websites for dresses

Two websites I want to share with you:

Unique Vintage and eDress Me.

Unique Vintage is a store located in Burbank, Ca. They sell the coolest dresses at incredibly affordable prices.

Here you can find that one-of-a-kind dress for your special occasion without breaking the bank.

Their vintage collection includes flapper and pin-up dresses and even wedding gowns for under $300.

And if you buy a dress from them they will help you with period hair styles and makeup, too!

The other website for great dresses is eDressMe.

Here you can find tons of pretty dresses for under $100. And if you're looking for something fancier, they have that, too.

They mostly specialize in prom dresses, but if you're my age, and there are no more proms to go to, you can totally still buy one of these dresses!

They have many designer dresses, including my favorite, Jovani.

And they too have a wedding dresses section.
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looking for an enamel bracelet?

I love love love Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany! And who doesn't?

I particularly adore the enamel bracelets but I am pretty sure I'll never own one (at least not in this lifetime). :(

$27,000!

$27,000!

So after wiping the tears off my face, I figured there had to be some "affordable" enamel bracelets for the rest of us out there. And this is what I've found for us "poor" mortals:

Ross Simons $273


Ross Simons $281

Ross Simons Set of 4! $64!!!

Thank you, Ross Simons!

draped skirts and legging pants

If you're shopping around for fall already, be sure to pick up either a draped skirt or a pair of legging pants (or both!).

Draped skirts are skirts with wrinkles, and in my opinion, much more forgiving than regular form-fitting pencil skirts, especially for those women in need of some curves.

They are also more comfortable.

The styles vary, with pleats in front or on the side, more or less ruffles, so everybody should be able to find something that will look good on them.

Leggings are still fashionable this fall! Can you believe it?

But to make your closet more interesting, skip buying another pair of plain black leggings, and look for a pair of "legging pants".

What are legging pants and how do they differ from plain leggings?

Legging pants might not be as tight as leggings, can be made of different materials like velvet or denim, are not necessarily stretchy, and will have buttons or zippers like regular pants.

Legging pants, just like draped skirts, are also more forgiving than regular leggings, since they don't have to be as tight and you can pick a style that flatters your figure.

Happy shopping!
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kaitlin's korner: rachel roy ny sample sale

fashionable reusable bags: joey totes

I've always hated plastic bags and I'm always looking for "green" alternatives for my shopping trips.

Back in 2007 I wrote about some eco-friendly grocery bags, and how the biggest problem was finding a green bag that was also "stylish".

Most of the canvas alternatives out there have always been either plain or ugly (I'm not quite sure why they can't make canvas pretty?)

But some good folks out there are not giving up, and understand that some of us like to accessorize our grocery trips with "prettier" reusable bags, if possible.

The people at Joey Totes are one of these folks.

Their bags are cute and handy: they come with a pouch sewn inside the bag, so that you can fold the bag and carry it with you when you're not using it. The look is much better than both your standard plastic bag and your ugly canvas bag. Plus, I like the grey/hot pink color combination.

A bag costs around $8.00 (depending on size), is washable, and can handle up to 40 lbs. (which is definitely more than I can carry!)

Hooray for better looking reusable bags!

coach understands the hard financial times

Yesterday I posted about Coach, and today I have one more thing to say:

Coach is cool!

To elaborate on that: I stopped by the mall (finally!) and I was able to confirm what I had known already from reading financial news: Coach has been lowering their prices, and introducing new bags with lower ticket price in response to our bad economy.

I can appreciate that. And now you can find a lot of very pretty bags for under $300.

Like the Clover Op Art Carryall

and the New Signature Garnet

They still sell more expensive handbags, but it's nice to have a decent selection in the few hundred dollars range, too.

You want to know who doesn't want to lower their prices and it kinda pisses me off because I think it would be nice if they would?

Abercrombie & Fitch.

I love Abercrombie, at least their sweat pants, and I would love to be able to but a pair of their pants for less than $60! But no!!! A&F is just too hot to lower their prices.

Pretty much like Louis Vuitton bags, that NEVER go on sale!

So you want to know what I did?

I went to Victoria's Secret.

They're having a sale, and I was able to buy very similar sweat pants, on sale for $25! They're just as cozy and soft, and even come in pink! ;)

Ha! Sorry AberFitch, a little more respect for your customers would be nice, you know (it's not like we enjoy paying double the price!)?

new: coach poppy

If you are a long time reader of this blog, you know that I like Coach bags, and every so often, even if I'm not shopping for a handbag, I have to take a peek and see if there are any new and interesting models.

Right now, the cutest addition to the Coach family is the Poppy Collection.

These bags are definitely targeting a younger audience (younger than me, that is), but if you twist my arm, I can find a couple of handbags that I wouldn't have a problem owning (and wearing), like this crazy silver sequined one!

Don't ask me why, because I don't know why, but I just love anything that sparkles, and I love handbags, so it only makes sense that I would like the Sequin Spotlight Handbag.

And all of the Starlets look very interesting, too, with a fold-over top and their many pockets.

Last but not least, I also like the Op Art Glam: simple, roomy and cheap!

In the words of a friend of mine: I've never met a Coach bag I didn't like.