Holiday Party – Dresses All the Way

For the folks too far from the equator, the winter can only be mitigated by the amount of shopping, sales, gifts, and parties. Parties! All those summer nights where you can strap on some sandals and shorts and off you go complaining about the heat – yep, those days are on pause for another five months or so. But the parties? They make it all better (and all that you can consume at the parties! ha!).

There are several styles in dresses you can lean on this year. Stripes, sweater knits, and sparkles (beading or sequins – either is just splendid). A dress is always easy to pull off because it’s a single item. Plus – break out a pair of opaque tights in a similar color or an always flattering black and you have an outfit to wear for three out of four seasons (summer needs lighter fabrics).

Check out some of the picks below and don’t be afraid to click (they’re all under $50!):

Striped dresses work great as tunics for day and as party pieces for night. Pair with patterned tights in a similar color scheme, or with some bold accessories to stand out at a party.

Sweater knit dresses are warm and cozy for those parties where they forget about the heating (or you didn’t get any drinks in your system yet). Divide the larger knits with wide belts, and play around with a vest on top, or the opposite and layer the dress over a burnout short or long sleeved tee.

Can’t fathom going to a party and being out-shined by the tree? Break out a beaded or sequin dress and you’ll be the light show of the party. Metallic sequins or beads reflect light and color the best; keep that in mind if standing out is your goal. Try to pare down the stockings and accessories to let your dress do all the talking. Add some bad to all the good (corny much? All is forgiven during the holidays!) with some motorcycle boots. Can’t resist the glam? Leather (or patent) booties with zippers or studs are a great compromise.

Want all three? That can be arranged. Pair a basic tailored blazer above any of the styles. Other no-fails? Opaque stockings and black booties. If you want to dress any of them down, pair with a knit snood hat or an infinite (or any favorite knit) scarf.

Have any company holiday parties on the calendar? Remember to keep the neckline modest – a mock turtleneck with sparkly shoulders can do no harm, and the stockings as sparingly sheer as possible. This way – should you drink a little too much, there are very very few possibilities that your faux pas will be a fashion slip-up.

How will you be dressing to the party?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Bagsok

Charity at Forever21

Forever21Forever 21 has caught a lot of heat for being the store to create super cheap items more often than not very close to being complete copies of runway sensations. Then there’s the matter of their human relations, the eco-friendly questions of the garments with expiration dates, etc. Yes – all of that. I have no answer to any of those concerns or questions. I do however know what you can do at the store as of yesterday. Help a worthy cause.

Photo Courtesy of FEED, Graphics Courtesy of MyOwnJudge.net

Go in for a cute top or dress for the holidays and snatch up a FEED bracelet or five. The purchase of one supplies two school meals for children through the United Nations World Food Program.

FEED 2 Guatemala Bracelets are handcrafted by artisans in Guatemala, these charming glass-beaded, nylon-strung bracelets come in 6 fun colors: red, yellow, blue, gold, silver, and black.

Each color represents the country designated to receive the 2 school meals that are provided with the purchase of every bracelet. Each hand-beaded FEED logo bracelet measures approximately 6“ long, with 3″ ties on both ends.

RED: Provides 2 school meals in Swaziland, a country with the highest HIV prevalence in the world.
YELLOW: Provides 2 school meals in Sri Lanka, aiding millions of citizens still struggling with the effects of 2004’s devastating tsunami, coupled with a quarter century of civil war.
BLUE: Provides 2 school meals in Haiti, a country in which approximately 70% of children under 5 years old suffer from malnutrition.
GOLD: Provides 2 school meals in Honduras, which houses the third largest School Feeding Operation in the world.
SILVER: Provides 2 school meals in Pakistan to aid victims of the recent flood and earthquake that devastated millions Pakistani children.
BLACK: Provides 2 school meals in Kenya, benefiting over one million children within the U.N. World Food Program’s School Feeding Operations in Kenya.

What color(s) do you want to get?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

EcoTools debuts new spring design

MyOwnJudgeEcoTools, an ecofriendly brush brand has famously partnered with Alicia Silverstone previously with canvas designs to house the brushes. Available at drugstores, the affordable and green brand has taken over household by household, and are now debuting the upcoming designs for the second partnership with Silverstone for April 2011.The new collection boasts new designs, new shapes, and “revamped favorites.”

Photos Courtesy of Eco-Tools

Two of the most popular cosmetic cases from the original EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone collection have been revamped and retooled with the new floral design. The Cosmetic Bag ($8.99) and Train Case ($14.99) carry all of the necessary beauty accessories for any occasion in the roomy compartments, and fit effortlessly into any tote or suitcase.

P.S. I spotted these designs in the drugstores already, so you don’t have to wait until April!

Do you own a brush from the brand?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Search & Win

Taylor is a Cover Girl

MyOwnJudgeTaylor Swift has graced enough covers to satisfy the term ‘cover girl’ but now she has the title as the Cover Girl cosmetic line’s natureluxe spokesperson.

Photos Courtesy of CoverGirl

The line is said to contain “bioresin, a sugarcane based plastic, in the packaging as well as mango butter and shea and other “natural” ingredients in place of synthetic products.” It starts with the foundation (containing jojoba and cucumber extract) and the gloss balm (with mango and shea butter).

Do you think Taylor’s a good fit? What products do you want to see added to the line?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Search & Win

Emma Stone – Blond vs. Red

MyOwnJudge
Emma Stone debuted her new blond (don’t you always think it deserves an e? I always do, so disregard the spelling errors!) ‘do recently. This is probably a preview of her Gwen Stacy character in the upcoming Spider-Man addition to the Marvel series.

Emma‘s red locks matched her super light skin tone and made her a standout. The blond? It washes her out a little bit, and makes her a bit forgettable. Just me? I would say maybe Gwen Stacy should be reincarnated as a redhead, but the comic diehards would probably come to my house with torches.

Most amusing is that the red hue is not Emma‘s natural hair color, but the blond is. What do you think?

Team blond or red?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

468 x 60

Christmas Red

MyOwnJudgeChristina Milian has been making more and more appearances, but moreover, her new hot mama body has been stealing the spotlight. Milian looks amazing, and only accentuated the goods with soft waves, a shimmery bronze variation of a smokey eye, a cutout red dress, and some glitter nails. She proves that there is nothing that gets tongues wagging or the holidays going like a red dress.

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Rebecca Minkoff

Sequin Scandal NOTD

MyOwnJudge

Nanette Lepore at ShopStyle

The recent collection by Sally Hansen has been hard to track down at drugstores. The locations that keep up with the newer stuff often have empty displays from the stampedes of customers grabbing up the goods, and the so so stores are either still behind, or going empty and refusing to reorder.

With that said, I was surprised to come across Sequin Scandal when I wasn’t looking for it at all. The dark olive green has golden shimmer in it and is a pleasure to look at. It gave me a little trouble when trying to capture on camera (Beauty Judy‘s third shot of the color is too great), hiding it’s glory in the shadows.

This is a great party and holiday color, match it to an identically colored mini (sequins or not), a dark color, or a cream. Keep in mind though, that darker colors have a tendency to stain the cuticle area, thus making it a color you should sit down to apply, instead of swiping on the go.MyOwnJudgeThe color can veer on a little dark, but is very complimentary to any skin tone and does not get easily confused for a black (whereas a lot of other colors, like navy, and dark violet do).

What’s on your nails?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Search & Win

Just Heavenly

MyOwnJudgeRecently, I’ve been visiting the nearest Victoria’s Secret stores as if it was a drugstore. Their Beauty Rush products have greatly improved from the plain gloss they had before (remember the shimmer glosses – or the Denimania shadows?) and they revamped the Very Sexy makeup line (my favorite are the lipsticks). They introduced the Pro color line with foundations, and lip scrubs (another favorite).

Each time I passed through the rotating doors, I couldn’t get to the register with my coupon for a free panty (it’s like Christmas when they come in the mail) without grabbing an additional purchase.

One of those days, I was given a sample of the Heavenly Stardust perfume. After sniffing the scent so often that the smell evaporated (or fell? How would you call it?), I had no other option, but to go back and get a full bottle.

It smells like cocoa butter, brown sugar, and the original Heavenly scent all mixed together. A warm and cozy, yet sensual scent perfect for spritzing under a turtleneck or a scarf (p.s. spray a couple of extra drops of perfume on your scarf to have it circle around you all day – especially if you are in a big city and come across areas that don’t smell so nice sometimes). Perfect for the holidays. It’s also a limited edition (make it permanent!), so make up your minds quick.

Have you tried it?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

FragranceNet.com

Sally Hansen Problem Child

MyOwnJudgeThis is a story all about how… yours truly walked into a drugstore (Duane Reade) and failed to leave empty handed yet again. My new indulgence? Two colors that caught my eye for different reasons.

Sally Hansen‘s Problem Child is a purple creamy pearl shade (make sense?) with a slight black and metallic overtone. The best part are the gold flecks swimming around the bottle. Touch of Mink was a must as the new addition to my gray/brown family. The color just looks so darn smooth.MyOwnJudgeI could have a photo shoot with just the bottle.MyOwnJudgeAfter complete and utter joy at swatching the first shade (and thus a plea to ignore the lack of signs of a cleanup by the cuticles), I found that the gold flecks, though visible, are more clear under intense inspection, but rather hidden and secretive – a bit like a hallucination moment from afar.

Added any new colors to your collection?

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js

Buy.com

Tom Ford SS 2011

MyOwnJudgeThe magazine rush to be the first name to cover the secretive and small Tom Ford presentation of his Spring/Summer 2011 collection was probably epic. The designer closed off all cameras and video sources from his presentation and only wanted the bigwigs to attend. Ford complained that the industry and shows became too instant, that one second you create something, and the next there are fifty million posts, tweets, and comments about it. MyOwnJudgeTechnological advancement is definitely the foundation to this blessing and curse. The costs can become cheaper to produce a show and add a live feed for the public, as well as reach a larger audience than the limitations of seats and architecture. Then again, some people most certainly miss the days of covering a show and anticipating it’s review appearing in print days later rather than minutes. Some may argue that it keeps the event special. Though I can agree about the validity of the concerns, I can also say it’s pleasant to be involved in the goings on of events and presentations outside of getting a magazine in the mail, proclaiming which items are hot and which are not. As an aspiring media member, it also feels equally as special to have the doors magically move aside and let you in for a closer peek, so that you may give yet another spin on what the trends are, and what’s hot.MyOwnJudgeVogue tied the race as the first to feature the collection shots online and in print (their December issue), whereas the draw’s other half is Harper’s Bazaar UK, with photos from the actual presentation. Both are surefire hits, and definite selling points as well.

Your verdict?

Photo Credit: Photos 1 and 2 Steven Meisel for Vogue, Photo 3 Terry Richardson for Harper’s Bazaar UK

tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js Sharehttp://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js