Simple Work Dresses

I love LA-LOVE Target. It’s just a fact. The retailer always has so much to offer so it didn’t surprise me when I found this adorable Mossimo shift dress to add to my work wardrobe. This is perfect in terms of modesty and fit!! Unfortunately, it quickly sold out and my order was cancelled. I’ve been sulking about it ever since as the dress is nowhere else to be found…

Luckily, I’ve found a perfect substitute on ae.com! I actually like this dress a whole lot more as it has a bit more of a mature and refined look. I can also wear this out to dinner or a party. The darker navy color will serve as a much better go-to dress for work days. I would’ve never thought I could find something for work at AE, but I am so happy I found this!

I’ve never been a big fan of slacks, so hopefully I can find some more cute and simple dresses for those days where I just don’t think I’ll be able to fit into my pants. As an intern, I was warned far too often about the expected weight gain as a first-year associate.

Biz Casual

Business casual - It’s an ambiguous, nebulous term. For girls in more conservative industries, i.e. law or finance, the term differs from professional attire in two ways: 1) no jacket is required, and 2) sweaters and shells can be worn instead of collared shirts. In more relaxed industries, like media and advertising, girls can afford to be more flexible and less “corporate” looking.
 
Even when dressing down, it is important to keep in mind, on these business casual days, that you still need to be sharp. Since your external appearance can directly impact your daily performance, it is easy to feel sloppy at work when wearing more casual clothing. Here are some tips to maintain looking polished and professional:

1) Tailor your pants/skirts - properly fitting bottoms is key to not looking as if you’ve been playing around in your mom’s closet. As a petite girl myself (standing at 5′2″), I find that I need to hem most of my trousers, unless they are specified shorter lengths. I usually like my pants to show 1.5″-2″ of my heels, so that they don’t drag on the ground. My skirt hems come to just above my knees, since anything lower cuts off my legs, and stunts my vertical lines. Also, make sure bottoms are not too tight, since they can be distracting.

2) Wear a belt - this is usually the finishing touch on a work outfit. It pulls the whole look together, and is useful for more casual days to prevent looking too undone. Nothing too flashy: one brown and one black belt is enough for different color schemes, and they should have simple buckles. I’ve had an Esprit and Calvin Klein belt that I liked.

3) Heels! A classy look. There are many different heights to choose from nowadays. For pants, a 3″-3.5″ is fine. To balance skirts, I like shorter heels, nothing higher than 2″. I know flats are getting more and more popular now, but heels make me stand a little taller (which never hurts) and feel more professional. No patent leather or metallic colors, no open-toed shoes, and the tips should not be super pointy (these scream too sexy). I’ve found Nine West, Seychelles (padded footbed!), and Enzo Angiolini heels to be comfortable.

4) Do your hair - a girl’s hair is her crown, so why not make sure it’s clean and polished? A few minutes to brush your hair, clean up your part, straighten it, curl it into loose waves, add some shine serum, or matte down flyaways can help you look neater and ready for work. A simple ponytail also works to keep hair out of the face.

The Gift of Choice

When it comes to buying presents, I'm really quite good at getting stuff that I would want, and assume that if I am as enraptured by it, of course the lucky person would be more than happy to receive. Flawed logic much?

This Christmas, while searching for presents that I other people would like, I stumbled upon the Scent Sampler Kits at Sephora, a genius idea that lets your be-gifted choose their favorite scent from a possible 8-10 selections, and turn in a voucher for a full-size bottle! It takes the (not fun part of) guesswork out of gifting and injects a fun activity for the recipient to partake in. Also, I've never understood how people can give perfumes to others, without for sure knowing it's that person's signature scent, since smell is such a personal and subjective characteristic.

Each kit includes vials of trial-size samples (you know, the kind that Sephora gives out with online purchases), and is $50, a good deal considering that the full-size versions of the samples cost more than that on its own.

There are four sets to choose from, including one for the men in your life. With so many varieties of perfume, each set targets a different type - the "Bestseller" for fragrance newbies and girls who want to try the most popular scents, the "Trend Setters" for girls who are looking for a new olfactory experience, and "New Classics" which have heavier scents and may a good choice for older sisters and moms. For guys, there is 1 set, and includes my personal favorites - Bvlgari Aqua and YSL L'Homme.

For the ones who want to upsize - for $70, there is a Deluxe set, and includes 8 vials of glass samples that are miniature replicas of the large sizes, allowing your loved ones to try each scent for longer, and also keep the cute bottles afterward.

Happy gifting!

HBC: Prescriptives 2008 Holiday Collection

The title HBC refers to our Holiday Beauty Collections feature and not Hot B*tch in Charge per I Love New York's Tiffany Pollard. I'm sorry, I had to mention it because I *love* that term even though I can't really stand the show.

Anyway, on to our very first HBC feature!! Prescriptives won my heart with its amazing Virtual Matte foundation. It is one of the few beauty products that I have ever truly used up to the very last drop. I anticipated good things with this brand for my Christmas shopping.

If you're at all familiar with the brand, you know that its packaging is pretty basic. The company doesn't stray far from its signature silver and lime green colors. When I saw the Prescriptives holiday banner, I got SO excited. THERE WAS COLOR!! What better time than the holidays to introduce something as lively as color?! The strategy of keeping things light and simple works fairly well for a brand like Prescriptives which prefers to market the fact that its products are based on the healthy-prescription ideal. However, holiday collections offer the opportunity to have some fun and appeal to customers' visual tendencies.
 
I was disappointed to see that although the brand boasts a line of limited edition holiday kits and a holiday collection called AGLOW, the products in these "collections" were more or less part of the basic line. The few things that caught my eye were the ones that came in colored pouches (a total of 3/16 available kits). If I were to walk through the beauty counters of a department store, I don't think that the Prescriptives brand would pop out to me as a great gift idea based solely on presentation.

Here are the two items I would choose:

 

Overall, I'd seriously consider buying the Px Duets Pencils ($29.50) because the colors are gorgeous and versatile and this is a limited edition item. The Blush More or Less ($21.50) is just a basic cream blush, but it's a must for the colder seasons! I could definitely add it to any gift bag I was putting together for one of my friends. The other gift sets are definitely worth checking out as well if you know someone who actually loves the brand. They're great deals! These offerings might keep loyal customers happy, but I'm not sure that they will win over any new ones. I wouldn't expect to wow anyone too much with this holiday collection if you're looking for something more fit for the season.