Chanel

This is beauty, art, music, fantasy...this is fashion.

Keep or Toss?

Do you know the expiration dates on make-up? So sad that I was going through my make-up kit and had to be real with myself and part with some items I like. Including a Chanel lipstick that was celebrating yet another birthday. I loved it too.  So much that I was saving it for special occasions and didn't use it as often as I should have! Note to self: Use my make-up! I am making a habit to really use everything I have now.

Here's a quick rundown of expiration dates for make-up...


Oil-Free Foundation: 1 year
Cream or Compact Foundation: 18 months
Concealer: 12-18 months
Powder: 2 years
Blush and Bronzer: 2 years
Cream Blush: 12-18 months
Powder Eye shadow: 2 years
Cream Eye shadow: 12-18 months
Eyeliner: 2 years
Liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months
Mascara: 3 months
Lipstick: 2 years
Lip liner: 2 years
Lip gloss: 18-24 months
Nail Color: 1 year


Do you stick to these dates or are you a little lenient with expy dates?

Topshop Review and Steve Madden Rules

While in NYC, I went over to Spring Street (I used to work around there and it's a great shopping area, not that I shopped during lunch or when my boss was at the DC office, oh never ;).

This area is split into two shopping experiences. There first area  has a few cobblestone streets with all of my dream stores...Chanel, Catherine Malandrino, Anna Sui, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, ahhh.

Good place to look out for celebs too since I once saw Macaulay Culkin around there. He was a little older at the time, not the kid he was here...

We have something in common,

that's my face after realizing I can't really afford my dream Chanel shopping spree.

No biggie. I snap myself back to reality and head to the shops on Broadway which are nice too and where I can shop without having to declare bankruptcy.  I saw a Topshop store and I've heard so much about that store. I was looking for Marc B flap bag available at the UK Topshop that had a Chanel-esque look to it. It wasn't there, so I checked out the clothes. Wasn't that crazy about them! It was like a higher priced H & M. $70 for a denim vest! No dice!
  
*My husband was so cute, he kept calling the store "TopHat" by mistake. 

I later picked up this satchel by Steve Madden. I just love Steve Madden satchels.The handles are always so comfortable and the bags themselves hold up really well. This one has a pebbled texture that I like. It looks similar to this Marc Jacobs...



Here's my bag. It's shown here in black, but the my brown version does look a lot like the Marc Jacobs.  Especially with that little nameplate on the front.

Perfume, Nudity and Bowler Hats

I've loved hats forever! I usually wear fedoras, newsboys and floppy "diva" hats. But I decided it was about time to go for this bowler style. At first I wasn't sure if I'd look too much like a NKOTB fan from back in the day (which I was) but you know what, I had to have it! Here is the Coco Mademoislle ad featuring the beautiful Keira Knightly that also inspired me to buy a bowler. My husband also bought me that perfume for Christmas last year and I love it. If you haven't tried it, check it out. It's lighter and fruitier than the classic No.5 and a little more modern.

Here's my take on it. I decided to wear a bit more clothes (although I included a gratuitous teeny bit of my belly)...