Brilliant Ideas: Uncommon Christmas Gifts

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving, it seems time is flying and that means Christmas is rapidly approaching! A coworker of mine recently introduced me to a cool site called uncommongoods it's full of cool, unique and totally individual gifts at a pretty fair price. I've searched the site for you and posted a few of my personal faves.

1.) Family Glassware- $12- each glass
Okay I think this is brilliant, while I was growing up my poor Mom was constantly cleaning up after us, I'm sure it drove her crazy. These glasses will make it so Mom no longer has to ask "who left the glass on the kitchen table", everyone will have their own personalized glass meaning Mom can sit back and relax knowing exactly who left it out.

2.) The Gratitude of Lacking Nothing Necklace- $55:
This beautiful necklace is perfect for the person in your life that has, well, everything. The description below is taken directly from the site.

"Lao Tzu wrote, "When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." This necklace is a beautiful reminder that the wearer is never alone, but is at one with a universe of abundance. Its sterling silver charm takes the shape of yin and yang, the interconnected symbol of balance and harmony. The 24k gold vermeil pendant forms a Zen circle, representing enlightenment and the wholeness of the universe."

This is a great gift for the spiritual person in your life. Many more with different meanings are on the website. Be sure to check them out!

 

 3.) Tampon Cases- $30

I'm smitten with these pretty cases. They are super beautiful and very functional! I am always wondering where that tampon I stashed away for emergencies ran off to when I need it most. Look no more! This beautiful case will hold 3 regular size tampons, no more playing lost and found!

4.) Shark Socks- $9

Live every week like it's shark week with these adorable knit socks!

5.) The footed mug- $18

This is one of my absolute favorites, I think it's adorable and hilarious! A perfect conversation starter!

There is SO much more on this site, these are just a few of my personal favorites.Have fun browsing the site!

What's Hot: Hair Chalking

 

Trend Alert! Have you heard of hair chalking? It's one of the newest and hippest ways to instantly update your drab hairstyle and add pops of color to your tresses. It's super easy, although quite messy and creates a fun little art project for the day. As you can probably tell I have dark hair with red undertones so anyone with dark hair that thinks it won't show up.... SURPRISE it does! Below are the supplies needed for this look.

Note: this definitely dried out my hair however upon washing it out I used a heavy conditioner and let it sit for a while and it felt back to normal in no time.

Supplies:

Step 1: Take a strand of hair and wet with the spray bottle (if you have blonde hair this is optional, with dark hair it's necessary to achieve a rich colorful look)

Step 2: Take your soft pastel (color of your choice) and rub in a downward motion on the strand of wet hair. Do NOT rub up and down it will fray your hair. Some bloggers suggest twisting the strand prior to applying chalk I found this to cause a knot in my naturally curly hair. Apply as much or as little color as desired.

REPEAT STEP 1 AND 2 ON ALL OF THE CHUNKS YOU WANT TO CHALK

Step 3: Allow hair to dry

Step 4: Using a curling iron or hair straightener apply heat to the colored strands. This helps to "set the color" (please note that color will come off on your tool, use rubbing alcohol to remove)

On my dark hair I noticed the best colors that showed up were baby blue and a light pink. I played with these two colors applied the blue then applied the pink on the same strand to create a pretty purple.

You can apply color to the entire strand, I chose to stick with the middle and work my way down.

I love this because you can add some punk to your look and try something new without losing your job!

 

What do you think of this look? Love or hate? Would you at least try it? If you have tried it share your pictures on our facebook page or leave a comment here with your experiences!

Tip: This is super messy, wear an old T-Shirt you don't mind getting dirty and gloves are suggested! It gets everywhere!

What's Hot: Spring Dresses

                                                         

Hello Gorgeous! Today was 81 in New Hampshire which is crazy because my parents live in Texas and it was only 75 degrees, weird huh? But with this gorgeous weather comes spring dresses which I just love! So here are a few of my favorites from plus size stores! They are all super cute and most can be worn to work which makes all of these totally amazing and super affordable because they are multipurpose dresses!

 Hope everyone else had an amazing day that was full of light and warmth!

   Floral Print Jacket Dress~$ 41.99-48.99

    Fashion Bug

     

Colorblock Ruched Waist Dress~$24.99-27.99

Fashion Bug

Cream Floral Belted Party Dress~$68.50

Torrid

What's Hot: New York Fashion Week Trends

Well New York Fashion Week has come and gone, we are left digging through our closets discarding old clothes and trying to find what is "in". I do not generally think runway transfers well to real life so thrown in to this post will be some suggestions to show how you can make these work for you.

  Flower Power

So for those who missed it here's the dish. This spring it's all about floral prints. This dress from Rodatre's collection is beautiful and is inspired by Van Goughs Sunflower painting.

 I love this dress, I think it's beautiful and unlike most couture could totally translate to real life. Would you wear this?

Here are a few ways to add this trend to your wardrobe without breaking your budget.

Add a floral scarf.. this one from Target is $14.99-

Add a floral top like this one from Jones Wear, pair with a blazer for a polished look or add jeans for a relaxed and chic look... sold at JcPenney - $30 

I love the abstract watercolor look of this top

Try a pretty skirt like this one from Charlotte Russe sold for $24.99

Do you think you could incorporate some of these pretty floral looks into your wardrobe?

Tribal Print

Tribal prints are totally in this season as well. This is not a trend I am loving but accessories are an easy way to implement this into daily wear.

Michael Kors Spring 2012

These gorgeous earring can totally add some tribal to almost any outfit... Maurices ~$10

This scarf from Paisley Road is just gorgeous, the lace adds the perfect amount of feminine to the cheetah print! ...Paisley Road ~$24.00

The 20's

The roaring twenties are totally back! Flapper style clothing is back with a bang and though this is a super beautiful and chic look it's not realistic for daily life, at least not here in New Hampshire.

Ralph Lauren Spring 2012

This dress by Forever 21 is beautiful and it's a more understated flapper dress. The soft pink is gorgeous and will flatter most skin tones....Forever 21~ $19.80

Sorry I couldn't get a picture of this that was larger but check these out. They're beautiful! Mod Cloth ~ $58.99

So these are just a few of the trends seen on the runway... do you love? How will you incorporate these into your wardrobe.

What's smoking hot this V-Day? Lingerie (the corset)

With Valentines day rapidly approaching we want to pay homage to something totally hot! Lingerie. This will be a series of posts detailing different types of lingerie... featuring current faves for all body sizes! For the first post in the series on the babydoll click here.

As women we can be supremely self-conscious no matter our body size/ shape. A piece of Glossy Gurl advice... if you have someone to wear it for, wear it with confidence! Your partner finds you utterly sexy and there is nothing more beautiful than a confident woman.  

DON'T SHY AWAY FROM YOUR BODY EMBRACE IT!

 The Corset: Sometimes called a bustier is a fitted top from the chest to the hips that helps shape the torso, can be laced up the front or the back.

Va Bien Low Back Bustier~ $ 55- JcPenney

This is gorgeous corset with it's lace detail. I love the color white it adds some innocence to something very sexy. This corset comes in cup sizes C and D. This corset has light boning for shaping and support.

The Hollywood Dream Lace Halter Corset~ $66- Fredericks of Hollywood

First of all I LOVE PURPLE. It adds flirty to this sexy top. The lace detail is gorgeous (I have a new obsession with lace I think it's the perfect combination of both retro and chic) This top features light boning to help create the perfect hourglass figure. It also has a lace-up back. The halter top is perfect for the well-endowed woman who needs extra support.

More colors available.

Biker Girl Corset~ $60- Fredericks of Hollywood

This is a classic corset featuring a front lacing detail. It has adjustable and detachable garters. This is super sexy. This top screams bad girl it is the not so innocent of the collection.

Believe it or not one of my favorite places for lingerie is Lane Bryant... here are a few of my current faves.

 Ribbon Laced Corset~ $69.50- Lane Bryant

This corset features two of my favorite things... one being lace and the other is the gorgeous front lace detail. It makes getting sexy for your partner SO much easier... it's less tantalizing to have to ask them to lace you up. This makes it easy! Currently they only have a size 26/28 available... more will come soon I'm sure.

I'm sorry the above is hard to see but click on it and check it out. It's a gorgeous corset featuring a lace trim and comes in several colors. It's also the least expensive in this series. Available in plus sizes!

If you don't like the Corset stay tuned for our next in the lingerie series... the Teddy.

Fab Finds: BH Cosmetics

 

Hello Gorgeous! I have a seriously fabulous makeup brand to tell you about today. It's inexpensive and great quality, BHcosmetics authenticates all products with this promise:

When purchasing your product at BH Cosmetics you can expect the following:

Exclusive formulation and ingredients (beware of cheap imitations)
High quality pigmentation of colors
Original design and packaging
No animal testing
All orders processed and shipped out in USA.

So you have probably not heard of BH cosmetics before so let me tell you a little about them. All products are fabulous and affordable. The shadows are well pigmented and apply smoothly. A pigmented shadow at this price is really rare but BH cosmetics can offer these great prices because they don't advertise like most companies do. This means these savings trickle down to you the consumer! Glossy Gurl totally approves BH Cosmetics. Thanks for being so stellar.

Some of the products come in large pallets which is just perfect for the make-up obsessed girl like me or the aspiring make-up artist.

  Check out this gorgeous 120 piece Color Pallette for ....$25.46 can you believe it!?

 The price is just unbelievable!

Don't need such a large collection? You can buy single color pots for $2.37 each!

All of the shadows are fab!
Now onto lip gloss!

BH Lipgloss is amazing! Although they offer large palettes of lip color (again fab for the make-up artist in you) I am partial to grab and go glosses.

This gloss features fine micro glitter for a stellar shine and is not sticky! I hate a strong sticky gloss. My absolute fav is wine and dine it's a beautiful crimson red color. ~$3.57

So there you have it... another fab makeup company that wants to provide you with stellar product and even better prices! Go check out  BH Cosmetics and take a look around! Have fun!

What's Hot: Jessica Simpson

So I have to admit that I find the Jessica Simpson collection to be simply adorable. She has amazing shoes and super cute handbags!

Right now their sales are on sale! Enter 30Sale at checkout for an additional 30% off AND if you spend $100- or more (which is SO easy to do) you get FREE shipping! Yay!

Here are a few of my FAVE items that are on sale.

The Easten Pump ~$59.99 + 30% off= $42

I seriously love these gorgeous pumps. The bows add a delicate feminine appeal to these peep toes while the studs add some sass.

The Lace Tank Dress in black~ $79.99 + 30% off = 56

I am seriously obsessed with lace... it's just so beautiful and delicate but if worn right can add total rocker appeal. This dress reminds me of a retro pin up dress and I think it's just AMAZING. Snag it before it's gone!

 Wesley Chiffon Bow Top~ $14.99 +30% off= $10.50

So this top is super cute and super inexpensive! Go snag it before it's gone!

Click Below for the site!

What's Hot: Kathy Van Zeeland

I first saw Kathy Van Zeeland in an issue of Cosmopolitan and I became so obsessed with her style I immediately ran out to find one of these fab bags. I found mine at TJ Maxx for around $40- I've also found a few for lower prices at Burlington Coat Factory. These stores are wonderful but the problem is that you are stuck with what you find.

QVC has been a great option for me, it offers great prices and a wide selection. Below are a few of my favorite pieces from QVC and i'm sure if you haven't yet you too will be captured by the Kathy Van Zeeland bug... trust me she is FABULOUS.

Forever searching for that seamless combination of fun, function, and fashion, Kathy works with exclusive non-leather materials to bring her always on-trend designs to the everyday woman. ~from kathyvanzeeland.com

The Nappa Triple Zip-top satchel with jewel accent in black floral $67- on QVC

This bag is beautiful, I love the pattern and the colors. I think it's light and fun but can still be an everyday bag because of the black accents.

 I just love the many compartments and places to organize your things. It's great for a girl like me who ends up carrying so much around that it all gets lost in my giant bags. Plus the purple zebra inside is super cute and adds some fierce to this otherwise girlie bag.

Flats with Lace & Rhinestone Detail $59- QVC

These flats are just gorgeous. This season I have a new obsession with lace, I love the detail of this shoe. It's cute and playful but still sleek and professional. The rhinestones and lace make this shoe totally versatile so it can be dressed up or down which is a necessity in my shoe closet. Wear them with a skirt or a pair of skinny jeans no matter the occasion these shoes will be the perfect accessory to add to your wardrobe.

They come in grey, black and blue.

Mid Heel Pumps with Knot Detail $44.32 on QVC

 

These gorgeous pumps are perfect for work. They are sleek but also fun with the knot detail, I also love the kitten heel, it's less painful than a 3 inch heel but still gives you a dressy look. These shoes paired with a nice tailored dress pant could look fierce.

Video Star Belt Shopper-Denim Foil Lace $75.99 on Zappos

I was surprised by how much I love this bag. I usually go for simple black chic bags but something about this just seriously calls to me. It looks like the perfect summer bag, I love the shimmery floral accent on the purse. It's so pretty and adds an element of girlishness.

So there you go. A few of my current faves from Kathy Van Zeeland. Do you like Glossy Gurls?