What if You Could Use eBay Without Spending ANY Money?

That's right; you heard me correctly. There is now a website that is basically a free version of eBay. It is Listia.com and it can best be described as an online venue for trading stuff. Here's how this fabulous innovation works:
You know all that stuff that has been accumulating in your house that you never use, wear, or need. Well what if I told you that you could auction it off for credits. Then you can use said credits towards items listed on the site that you do, in fact, want. Many of the items even ship for free or are available for pick up of the seller is close to home which leaves you spending a grand total of ZERO dollars!

Everything imaginable is available on Listia, from homemade jewelry to iPads and gaming systems (who knows why anyone would be giving away their iPad, but why question it, right?). It is a fantastic resource for parents who are constantly in need of new stuff for their children, always wanting to give away the things their kids have outgrown, and may not necessarily have the funds to keep up with their rapidly growing child. All you have to do is trade your baby's unneeded items for the new things they need.


And really, who can resist the idea of auctioning off all the stuff in their closet that they don't wear anymore and accumulating enough credits to get an iPad for free? Too good to be true, right? Wrong! This emerged at just the right time for people who have been affected by the economy and find themselves without the disposable income of days before. 


So, go forth and shop online without making your credit card bill burst into flames. Feel the freedom of actually getting something for nothing with the added bonus of purging your house of all the things you have been meaning to get rid of.


Bravo, Listia! I only wish I had thought of it first.

Wear a Fabulous Designer Dress This Valentine's Day... On a Budget!

Have you ever drooled over the dresses strutting down the runways or draped so perfectly across the mannequins in the windows of Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, or Saks Fifth Avenue? Who are you kidding? We all have been there! You may even go into the store to get a closer look, see if it fits, or see how you look in it. Then you cringe as you look down at the price tag.


I can never afford that, you think to yourself.


Now you don't have to! Allow me to present the greatest invention in fashion since the outlet mall: RentTheRunway.com

Here's how it works:
You can choose which occasion you would like a fabulous dress for; a wedding, date, vacation, etc. The site will then present you MANY choices. You can narrow your search by designer, silhouette, color, length, and more.
Then you pick your dress. It will tell you the designer who made it, how much it retails for and how much you can rent it for. Rental prices range from $40-$200 depending on the retail price of the dress.

After you have chosen the perfect dress, choose which day you would like it delivered. I recommend the day before your event. That way you have enough time to make sure it fits and run out and grab any accessories you may need to finish off your outfit.

Bonus: The site will send you a back-up size for free! So if you're sometimes an 8, sometimes a 6, you can get both sizes and see which one fits better... did I mention it is at no additional cost?!

Once you have picked your dress, date, and size(s) you pay the rental cost, $10 for shipping (to you, they send you a pre-paid container to return the dress), and $5 for insurance on the dress.

Bonus #2: You get a $50 rental credit when you sign up for free. So, say you pick a dress that costs $50 to rent (that's about average), you only pay the shipping and the insurance. That's a designer dress for 15 bucks!

The site also rents out designer jewelry and you are able to purchase accessories like adhesive bras and tights.

Once the dress is delivered you have it for four days. Then you simply drop it in the mail and it's on it's way back to the geniuses behind this amazing site.

I recommend that you all try this out for Valentine's Day this year. His jaw will drop to his knees when he sees the amazing dress you thought you could never afford.
Another recommendation I have is to visit ShoeDazzle.com and/or JustFab.com and pick out a fierce pair of heels to go with your dress. Every pair is $39.95 and both sites offer free shipping.


These are some of my favorite dresses from RentTheRunway.com:

Badgley Mischka (Rent for $75)

Lilly Pulitzer (Rent for $50) 

Badgley Mischka (Rent for $50)

Zac Posen (Rent for $60) 

Nicole Miller (Rent for $75)

Nicole Miller (Rent for $60)

There are so many more to choose from. I personally guarantee you will find something you love for your Valentine's Day with that special someone.

Styling Tip: Add black tights to any short dress to instantly give the dress a more casual look.

Feel free to contact me if you have any styling questions about how to make your dress look its best.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

New Year, New Glamorous You!

Happy 2012! It's time to leave the old mistakes, bad habits, and laziness behind you and make those resolutions that you "will absolutely stick to this year". 


You can create a new you, even if you lack the funds for a posh gym membership that includes a sauna, massage therapist, and wheat grass infused smoothies. Even if it's not in the cards for you to join a gym at all, there are many options to transform yourself this year. 


#1 Dieting
Don't believe in it. Let me get that out of the way right of the bat. The second you say the "D" word, you're setting yourself up for failure. Diet = Doomed. You're only going to end up cranky and eventually park yourself in front of your DVR whilst inhaling an entire box of Oreos. This helps no one. So I will share the eating secret that will save you both stress and money at the same time. Wait for it... Eat Less!


Seriously, all you have to do is take what you normally eat and just eat half. Suddenly one meal becomes two and you can still have cake! Just less cake. Limit the heavy sugar intake to once or twice a week and keep the portion small if you expect to see results. I promise you, it is that easy.


Also, very important, always eat breakfast! I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. Eating within the first hour of waking up kick-starts your metabolism and will give you more energy and calorie burning power throughout the day. Yogurt and granola is a fantastic low calorie choice.


#2 Exercise
This is the key to a great body. You can diet until you are literally blue in the face but if you are not burning calories and building muscle you will only become what is called "skinny fat". You may weigh less if you eat less but if you have no muscle definition you will still look fat.


Many of us have gone through the cycle of exercising for a month or two at a time and then quitting; myself included. The secret to not only keeping yourself motivated but also seeing faster results is to do things that don't feel like exercise.


Recommendations That Don't Cost Much:

• Invest in an Xbox Kinect, Playstation Move, or Nintendo Wii. These gaming systems have made exercising at home literally like playing a game. They will teach you how to dance like the Black Eyed Peas, box, play tennis, train like a UFC fighter, or fight like a Gladiator. It is a one time expense (plus the modest cost of games) and will provide a new workout each day at the touch of a button. Get your friends involved and you will completely forget that you're torching calories while having fun with your friends.
• Take a community yoga class. Search online for a yoga studio near you that offers community classes. Many offer them at all different levels, so beginners need not feel intimidated. Yoga is not a practice you master. Everyone is at a different experience level. My yoga studio offers many community classes for beginners and more the more advanced for only $6 a class.
• P90X- This is for those who are committed to a total body transformation. With this workout you will feel like you are working out. It takes commitment and dedication, but it is completely worth it. The cost is high but manageable. You make a few low payments and you then own a three month nutrition and exercise plan that will turn you into a lean, ripped superstar. If you are wary of exercise plans you see on infomercials, let me put your mind at ease. I speak from experience when I say, this one works. If you have the courage and commitment to take it on, I promise you will see phenomenal results. However, be prepared, for the first week you will want to to quit- don't. Your body will hurt more than you thought it could but keep going. Once you get past the first week you only feel yourself getting stronger.

#3 A Positive Attitude

If you get down on yourself that you are not losing enough weight fast enough, you're going to end up in the DVR/Oreo situation I mentioned earlier. Keep at it. We all know exercise releases endorphins that make us feel good, so at the very least exercise to keep yourself happy. And schedule a date with a cupcake on Saturday nights.

A Dream Come True: A "Match Service" For Shoppers

The newest phenomenon to hit the web since social networking (OK, of course it's not that big) is the online personal shopping sites. Now anyone can have their very own virtual personal shopper without the price tag. The way it works is the website asks a series of questions to build you a fashion profile. This gives the site an idea of your own personal style and what kind of look you're going for. The site then builds a showcase of products it believes may appeal to you. Even better, many of these sites offer all their products for one price and even sometimes free shipping. Here are just a few of these wonderful sites:


1. Jewelmint.com


This site was developed by actress Kate Bosworth and celebrity stylist and designer Cher Coulter. They design and sell fabulous pieces of jewelry for $29.99 each. After becoming a member of the site (which is free) you are provided with a personalized showcase of jewelry pieces each month. On top of that, the site frequently will email you special discounts and coupon offers. Watch this video to give yourself a better idea of how Jewelmint works.




 

2. ShoeDazzle.com

Do you love shopping for accessories, but get tired of the tediousness of sifting through page after page of styles that just aren't for you? If that is the case, this site is perfect for you. It works the same way as the previous site. You simply provide a few basic pieces of information and then take a short survey to determine your personal style tastes. You are then provided with your very own showroom of pieces chosen just for you. And every piece is extremely affordable at $39.95, with the added bonus of free shipping.

An added perk to this site is that you can earn credits that you can redeem for products. For every piece you buy from the site you earn 100 points. In addition you can invite your friends to join the site through Facebook and for every friend that joins and makes a purchase you receive 200 points. Once you reach 1,000 points you get a credit good for a product from the site.

You also can shop with the assistance of stylists and celebrities. Kim Kardashian is just one stylist who lends her suggestions on the best accessories of the season.

3. Boutiques.com

Of course Google had to get in on the action of this exploding trends and is in the Beta stages of Boutiques.com, where you can shop your favorite designers and styles. The filters on this site are better than any other, offering the shopper to narrow their search to a specific style, silhouette, pattern and designer.
Read more about this site at this address:

Google Rocks Fashion, Personalized Shopping, And Like's Visual Search With Boutiques.com


And, as usual, happy shopping, ladies! <3

Halloween Barbie on a Budget

Happy Halloween, lovely readers!!

Today I'm going to share some secrets with you on how to put together an inexpensive and creative Halloween costume. No more black cat costumes for you!

For those who don't know, I have been doing a little modeling on the side to help my husband get his freelance photography career going. Recently we did a photo shoot inspired by the Miley Cyrus video "Can't Be Tamed". The photos turned out better than I had hoped and the best part was, I made the costume myself. Here are some of the highlights:

Craft stores are an amazing resource to create original and inexpensive costumes. All I did was buy a feather boa that was on sale, some shoulder pads and a few highlight feathers to create the "wing look". I cut up a pair of black tights and used some cheap black shiny fabric to make the armbands. Then I got some black lace fingerless gloves and a feathered hair clip from Claire's to create the feathers on my left hand.

For Halloween my plan was to go as Mia Wallace from Tarantino's cult classic Pulp Fiction. This costume is a lot easier to create than the Miley costume. All you need is a black bob wig with bangs, a white button-down shirt, black capri pants, and black flats. What girl doesn't have everything but the wig in her closet right now? To add that little extra edge drip some fake blood from your nose and use any medium sized feeding syringe and glue it to the left side of your chest using any theatrical makeup kit. Do NOT use Super Glue or anything that is not meant to be bonded to skin.

Goodwill is an excellent resource as well. You can find a lot of costumey pieces that can inspire you to design a costume around. It's also a good place to get cheap clothes that you can destroy. Zombies are huge these days. Two years ago my husband and I had a friend do our make up (cost: $0), tore up some old clothes (cost: $0), and jumped on the zombie bandwagon. Check it out:

Pop culture has always been a huge influence of mine when I'm planning my Halloween costumes. In 2006 my husband (who I was only dating at the time) dressed as Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. It was a huge hit and not much effort went into putting the costume together. This year I was considering a clash of the two genres and going as a zombie Amy Winehouse...

Well done, guys!

I found this picture online which probably wins the award of cheapest and most creative Halloween costume. Now this is thinking outside the Spirit Halloween store!

Have a fun and safe Halloween, dear readers. <3

Be a Steal-Seeking Missile

 The first trick in any fashonista-on-a-budget's book should be the ability to sniff out the best quality fashions at the lowest possible price. This takes a little practice, patience and sometimes just plain luck. Every once and a while I will post my latest and greatest find along with the retail price and the price I actually paid for it. Let's start with these boots. They're Naughty Monkey charcoal gray suede ankle boots. The small heel is covered by the slouchy fold over look. Ordinarily I don't care much for studs but I found that these were tastefully done and I've been jonsing for a pair of fashion-forward ankle boots for the fall.

These boots retail for around $90. I found myself cruising Amazon.com one day (as I do most days, it is one of my favorite places for awesome deals) and I was able to purchase these fabulous shoes for... wait for it... $35! Brand new, never worn, original packaging; the whole nine. I jumped on them with only two pairs left in stock. And let me tell you, I am beyond satisfied! I look for any excuse to wear them. 

My second deal of the week I came across at a DSW store. I was just taking an evening walk with my late afternoon latte and I decided I would just take a peek inside. I try to avoid DSW because I will get myself and my credit card into a lot of trouble if I made it a regular habit. After cruising the aisles a little I wandered over to the clearance bin.

Ah, the clearance section- the ultimate hit or miss situation. This time it didn't take too much digging for me to come across this buttery-soft black leather tote by Marc Ecko.

Again, I am not really one for studs but these were just enough to make the bag edgy, yet classy. And trust me when I say softest leather I currently own!

Retail price: $100 (not bad in and of itself for a mid-level designer bag) 

However, the price paid: $40

I couldn't resist. I need another purse like I need a huge gaping hole in my head, but my little shopping devil that's always sitting on my shoulder rationalized the purchase by whispering softly in my ear: "You will so regret not buying this bag."

So, ladies, always be on the look-out. These deals are everywhere. You can step out in a $500 outfit that you paid $150 for, I swear!

The lesson today:

1. The clearance section is not the enemy. It may take patience and a LOT of failed attempts but eventually you will find that perfect piece that you could never afford for a price lower than you could hope for.
2. Be an Amazon, eBay, Groupon Stalker! They are constantly practically giving fabulous expensive things away.

As always- good luck, ladies, and have fun! 

The Secret to the $3 Manicure That Looks Like a $50 Manicure

Not to me immodest here, but I get complemented constantly on my nails. They are forever changing and it seems like every time I change my nails at least one person comments and how amazing they are.

"Your nails look so cool!"

"Where did you get those done?"

"Who did your nails?!"

The answer, ladies... I did. First I'll show you some pictures of my latest digit decoration and then I'll tell you how I did it for $3... that's right, do not adjust your computer screens... $3!

 Are you ready for the secret?

No, I don't know anyone at a salon that likes to practice on me on her off time. And I absolutely don't have the skills to create that kind of design myself. I am saying loud and proud that here is my secret to fun and funky nails without the salon price:

Drug Store Press-On's!!!

This particular box cost my, like I said $3 at a wonderful place called Five Below, however, if you frequent establishments such as Target, Walgreens etc it will run you about five or six dollars. I have found the best selection at Rite Aid and Wal Mart if you're looking for something a little more unique and funky. But if a tried and true french mani is what you're about, any multi-purpose store with a beauty section will have a great selection of traditional designs. I have also found that Claire's has some really great designs, and they charge about five dollars a box as well. 

Now, you may be thinking: Sure they're cheap, but you get what you pay for. Those things pop right off!

Think of it this way, I'm a writer and a bartender; I beat up my hands worse than most people going about their day-to-day routines. Yeah, I'll have the occasional break, but everyone breaks a nail once in a while regardless of how much you pay for it. The only problem I have run into is that the polish on certain brands has a tendency to start chipping after a few days of wear and tear.

So, now that you know where to get them, I'll share with you the secret to getting them on so they look like they were done by a pro.

1. Clip your natural nail all the way down.
2. Go over your natural nails with a nail file to rough up the nail beds just a bit.
3. Use a cuticle tool to push your cuticles as far back as you can and get rid of any hang nails or dead skin around the cuticle.
4. Use the glue provided or you can purchase a professional strength nail glue and spread a thin layer all over the nail bed, making sure you reach the cuticle and the edges of your natural nail. This is where you want the nail to bond the most because any lifting in these areas can cause the nail to pop off. *Be careful not to use too much glue because I promise you, you'll end up gluing your fingers together!*
5. Take the best fitting nail and place the bottom edge as far down into the cuticle as you can at about a 30 degree angle from the nail bed.
6. Press down on the center of the nail for about five seconds and massage the nail to work out any bubbles that may have formed.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 nine more times!

Not to worry if you have a glued finger situation. Once the glue dries it is fairly easy to use a rough nail file to get most of it off your finger and regular washing of your hands will take care of the rest.

Voila! A $50 manicure that only costs $3-$6!! Now just sit back and wait for the compliments to come rolling in.

Bonus tip: Always carry a small tube of nail clue in your purse in case you feel a nail start to lift, just glue that sucker right back on!

Good luck, ladies, and have fun! Because that's what fashion is truly about.