It seems those vampy, super dark purply-brownish-black lip colors have been popping up a lot lately. As you know, I love pulling trends into my everyday work wardrobe. I am also a big fan of a bold lip at work, but I’ve always worn bright bold lips, never a dark shade. I’m a little on the fence about pulling a shade like this into a daytime professional look…
What do you think?
~The Biz Beauty
I had not planned on posting this week since I’m off in the Caribbean celebrating my first wedding anniversary (yay!), but it is a horribly stormy night so we’re tucked in snugly in our little suite. While browsing some fashion and business blogs I came across this awesome new company that I couldn’t wait until next week to share: Quincy!
The brilliant ladies over at Quincy have developed a new way to size clothes based on bra size! I have to say, this is really welcome news to someone who is quite curvy (super busty, small waist…my body interpreted “hourglass” on a whole new level). I typically buy blazers 1-2 sizes up to accomodate my bust and then have to deal with making the waist fit (tailoring, belting, etc.). PLUS, these fantastic, fashionable tops (right now, bottoms coming soon it seems) are slightly flared at the hip since, as their research indicates, most women are one size larger on the bottom than on top. I am exactly that. And I suspect many of you fit this profile as well!
They currently offer jackets, blouses and dresses and it looks like they plan to offer skirts, pants and suiting soon. Their pieces are very on trend, including a peplum blouse and a FANTASTIC burnt orange blazer (if you read my last post then you know I probably won’t be able to resist giving that one a try), but aren’t so trendy that these won’t be investment pieces you can wear for several seasons. Since their return window is small (14 days from date you receive your merchandise), I plan to wait until I get home to shop with them, but you can bet I will be placing an order to check this out soon!
Hope this is a helpful little tip to some of you! Do you have any favorite suiting shops for ladies professional attire? Has anyone already checked out the Quincy goods?
~The Biz Beauty
I love fashion and following trends and USED to think I had to leave all my trendy looks for weekend dressing. Luckily, I’ve learned how to incorporate touches of seasonal trends into my everyday conservative work wardrobe! I recently wrote about incorporating the Tangerine Tango color of the year (Pantone 17-1463) into my wear to work manicure by using a color that hints at tangerine in Essie’s A Crewed Interest, but there are many other ways to brighten up your workday with a splash of tangerine!
Consider adding a simple, staple wardrobe piece to your closet in a trendy color, like a blazer or pencil skirt. Whenever I incorporate bright colors into a “large” piece of clothing (beyond accessories) I typically only consider solids, or patterns where the bright color is not the dominant color. While I think it’s generally acceptable to incorporate brights, even an occasional neon, into a professional look, you don’t want to overdo it. I put together the following Polyvore set with a few ideas for working bright orange into a weekday look.
Pantone Color of the Year Journal
Pantone Color of the Year Mug
And finally, my big weakness this year, the Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Collection. I was a madwoman and purchased nearly everything released in this collection!! I am a firm believer that bright, bold makeup is totally OK for the workplace, as long as it’s done “right”. Wear a bold lip with subtle eye makeup, or wear a bright, shimmery cheek color with a nude lip. Pulling trendy colors into your makeup routine is one of the easiest, cheapest and most fun ways to rock an on-trend office look.
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Collector’s Edition Set
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Lip Gloss Set
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Nail Enamel Set
Hopefully this has given you a few ideas for working this super happy and fun color into your wardrobe in 2012! How do YOU like to pull trendy colors into your workplace wardrobe?
~The Biz Beauty
You never really know where your next PERFECT clothing item might come from. I learned an important (life) lesson this week while shopping the Macy’s Friends & Family sale.
I’m planning to attend an event held by my college alumni association event in a few weeks where Eileen Fisher will be the honoree. While I’m familiar with her clothing, I have never really tried anything on. The FABULOUS associate at Macy’s, Greg, picked out a few items for me to try on, and I picked out a pair of skinny jeans that caught my eye. I’m always on the lookout for a perfect pair of jeans. Well, not only were the Greg picks a huge hit, but the jeans fit like they were custom made for my super curvy body. Flattering skinny jeans for a size 14? Yup.
While I didn’t purchase anything that I would consider professional fashion, I got some great pieces and my new holy grail pair of jeans. The lesson here is: don’t be afraid to try new things (clothes or otherwise)! You never know what might be a great fit for you!
~The Biz Beauty
I am a big fan of full coverage foundation (Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation to be exact) to give me a really great, even skin tone. Plus, the Laura Mercier foundation is incredibly light and gives my face a glow (seriously, it really does) which makes it not only flattering, but very comfortable to wear. People frequently comment on the “glowy” look of my skin when I wear this foundation, which has never happened with ANY foundation I have ever worn (and I’ve worn a LOT).
Anyway…I can talk at length about the magical powers of this foundation on my face, but what happens when that foundation makes its way onto my shirt collar? I wear a lot of button down shirts to work, and the high collars definitely cross over into the blend-foundation-down-my-neck zone. While I haven’t been able to completely keep my foundation from transferring to my collars (although the Silk Creme foundation has the least transfer of any other foundation I’ve tried!), I have found a very simple, cheap solution to removing foundation from my collars.
What you’ll need:
How to do it:
This method is so effective I have been able to remove what I thought were set stains (they had been washed and dried multiple times) with this method!!
I was over the moon to discover this trick after thinking so many of my shirts were ruined. The best part was how EASY this method is for fully removing stains. Is anyone interested in seeing a photo or video tutorial showing how to perform this stain removal?
What is YOUR best kept beauty stain removal trick?!
~The Biz Beauty
After the warm weather earlier in the week, I just couldn’t let the spring look go. Thursday was much cooler, so I needed a couple layers to stay warm without a coat. I decided to go with a lavender spago blouse from Brooks Brothers and build my outfit around that. I threw on some black pants (tried to take the easy way out) and something just wasn’t right, so I switched to some light gray. Bingo. Threw on a great navy blazer (an incredible Tahari piece I managed to snag at the Bay Ridge TJMaxx for $49 – originally $228!) and some patent nude Cole Haan pumps and I was set. Finished off the outfit with simple accessories and makeup.
Tonight I was really feeling this season’s tangerine tango color, but sadly, I can’t get away with tangerine (much less the shimmery or glitter tangerine polish I really wanted to wear) for the office. I decided to go with Essie’s A Crewed Interest from their Spring 2012 collection.
This peachy polish reminds me of a classic pink polish with just a hint of tangerine. I think it’s a great way to pull such a bold trend into your professional look!
Essie's A Crewed Interest
Spring 2012 Collection
As always, I started and finished this mani with my Seche Clear and Seche Vite.
How do you incorporate not-so-office-appropriate trends into your professional wardrobe?
~The Biz Beauty
Find what I wore online!
So here is a little trick I picked up from a mannequin at Brooks Brothers. It took a little practice to perfect, but now it is one of my absolute favorite looks and is a huge head-turner and conversation starter: the lady’s tie!
The Lady's Tie!
I happen to like wearing a pink tie for this look because I think it provides a really nice juxtaposition. Of course you can use any knot you like; I prefer a Pratt knot.
The Pratt knot is a medium-sized knot. I like a medium knot for this look to balance out the flare at the bottom of the tie. The Pratt is also a symmetrical knot that has two side-dimples, not a center-dimple. I am a stickler for tie-knot-symmetry! The key to this look is switching the tail lengths (if, at the beginning, the wide end of the tie should be 12 inches longer than the skinny end, switch this so the skinny end is 12 inches longer than the wide end). After tying, you will have an extremely long, skinny tail to deal with. I simply tuck the tail into my shirt between the top two buttons and it’s out of sight all day!
I wore a great fuchsia and white checkered tie with a classic black suit and white blouse this week. I went to a happy hour with my husband and his friends couldn’t get enough of the tiny tie! Try this for a truly unique look that will get you noticed!
In a usually failed attempt at psyching myself up for MONDAYs, I sometimes try to put on a comfy, cheery outfit. Enter the short sleeve imperial rose Loft cardigan.
Happy Monday (kinda)!
Cardigans are a nice way to look pulled together but are much less formal and structured than a jacket or blazer. This is about as casual as I am comfortable to wear at my current client. The white t-shirt underneath is one of my favorite wardrobe staples of all time – the Merona gathered neck top from Target. I added this polka dot flower brooch from Kohl’s, Merona black pants from Target, some amazing flats from the Missoni for Target collection, and one of my necklace designs (which is sadly mangled-looking in the picture above).
Today I learned an unfortunate lesson.
Careful out there, ladies!
The Faceplant Equation
The Biz Beauty 