Wake Up Your Sleepy Space With These Home Refresh Ideas: Style + Life + Fashion Featured

Check out the recent Redfin article we were featured in:

Whether you’ve outgrown your current decor or your new space doesn’t feel quite like home, it might be time for a refresh. And while there’s no doubt that expanding your art collection or adding new house plants can be a breath of fresh air for your home, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Maybe you've outgrown your current decor, or you’ve just moved into a new house or apartment and it doesn’t feel quite like home yet. Either way, it might be time to refresh your space.
Wake Up Your Sleepy Space With These Home Refresh Ideas

That’s why Redfin reached out to us and other experts from Vancouver, BC all the way to Boston, for our best advice on making your home feel refreshed and elevated. So if you need a little extra guidance or you’re just looking for interior design inspiration, check out our best recommendations for refreshing your home.

Read the full article here: Wake Up Your Sleepy Space With These Home Refresh Ideas | Redfin

Age-Old Lingerie Myths Debunked

Age-Old Lingerie Myths Debunked

Lingerie, particularly bras, are a woman’s wardrobe staple and also one of the most challenging pieces to buy. You want to find something that is comfortable, supportive, and pretty. It also needs to fit into your personal needs from exercise to a night out. And the hardest part just might be finding your correct size! Below are some of the most common myths and what you really need to know when building a lingerie wardrobe.

MYTH: It’s okay not to wear a bra at all

This is a somewhat controversial topic, but most experts will agree that it’s a good idea to wear a bra. A bra offers support and can take off the strain on your back and overall posture. If the root of not wanting to wear a bra is comfort, look for a soft yet supportive style like a bralette or one of the many wire free options.

MYTH: Straps provide all of a bra’s support

This is a big misconception and completely false. The majority of a bra’s support should come from the band and not the straps. If your bra is uncomfortable because the straps are sliding off or are digging into your shoulders, go down a band size and up a cup size or even two. For plus size women, consider wider bra straps with padding which can offer a combination of comfort and additional support.

MYTH: Finding your right size bra is complicated

Here are four things to keep in mind. 1) don’t get hung up on a size 2) understand that different brands fit differently, even when marked as the same size 3) learn how to measure yourself or make an appointment with a bra fitter 4) you can also buy a few sizes and styles online and try them on at home. Finding your right size bra is not that complicated, but it might require some patience. When trying on a bra, make sure that you try it on with a t-shirt so that you can see if you get the shape that you really want.

MYTH: Never wash your bra in the laundry machine

While some may recommend hand washing your lingerie, you can put your bras in the laundry provided that you do so carefully. Use a lingerie bag and make sure that you close the bra so that the hooks don’t catch on anything. Never put your bra in the dryer since heat will harm the spandex or other stretch fiber.

MYTH: Shopping for sustainable fabrics is challenging

For several years, there has been a big trend in shoppers wanting products that are earth friendly and responsibly made. Likely, this trend will continue as more products become available and prices are closer to what consumers are used to paying. Dora Lau, founder and CEO of Dora L International, a global sourcing and design company says, “the interest in sustainable products is part of the growing wellness trend. Woman are seeking products that are good for themselves as well as the environment. Purchases are more mindful and take into consideration how we feel about the brand and it’s social responsibility.” Lau says that great strides have been made with fabrics created from Bamboo, like Lenzing Modal and Tencel.

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How To Make Gel Manicure Last During Holiday Party Season

November marks the beginning of holiday party season and getting a manicure is at the top of everyone’s to-do list.

My favorite salon service is receiving a gel manicure but with so many daily activities I suffer from a few dents and chips.

Featured Photo from Vogue.com

I wanted to share tips that will make your gel manicure last longer and keep your hands beautiful during the holidays.

Make Your Gel Manicure Last:

  1. When cleaning wear rubber gloves.
  2. Avoid boiling water which lifts the nail lacquer.
  3. Use cuticle oil to keep the nail bed healthy.
  4. Apply a clear topcoat to add shine.
  5. Use sugar scrub on the hands to exfoliate and remove dryness.

The biggest gel manicure secret is when the polish chips use a file to reshape the nails. Filing removes the chipped polish and makes your manicure look fresh.  Finish the process with hand lotion.

Gel manicures can be beautiful and shiny!  Remember, do not remove the gel polish at-home and take a break between salon visits to let the nails repair.

 

How-To: Advice For Fashion Start-ups

It might seem daunting setting up your own fashion business, but our advice can help!

 Featured Photo from H&M.com

Launching your own business can be very rewarding, but also very demanding. You’ll need to juggle many balls in order to get the business launched and trading successfully. Therefore, it’s important to do some thorough research and planning. With a large amount of competition out there, it’s essential to have a business strategy in place that is clear and on point.

Create a business plan

 

A business plan is like a personal roadmap, that outlines your goals, visions and objectives. It will be central to the business development and will be a helpful tool to measure progress and success.

You also need to work out how much finance you will need to set up and run the business until it starts generating income. Fees can include the cost of sample collection, marketing materials, professional fees, insurance and any deposits required for rent or utilities.

Plan your collection

 

It is tempting to get carried away when designing a collection of clothes or accessories, but for the first few seasons, it’s better to create a small focused section to target a specific group of people. Once you’ve built up a reputation and have a good sales history, you can expand the collection more.

You could hire an image model to model the clothes in photo shoots, as a way of promoting the range. Image models are beautiful women who have a unique charm, grace and energy and can adapt to any situation they are in. They look after themselves well and of course photograph well, so you would be able to have a collection of professional photographs ready for your clothes line.

 Check out competitors

 

Don’t be afraid to research and find out about your competitors, it helps to learn what other people in the market are doing and you can learn a lot from analyzing a competitors business model. It will help you to identify your USP and helps to give your business a slightly different edge to others in the industry.

Keep on top of your finances

 

Make sure to monitor your cash flow on a regular basis. Doing so well help you foresee any potential problems from happening and will give you time to find suitable solutions. Rather than being faced with a bill that you cannot pay.

Marketing

You’ll need all the help you can get, so it would be an innovative idea to join groups where you could meet people and forge collaborations with other like-minded people, such as designers, entrepreneurs, social media influencers and bloggers. Anyone that can help promote and get the word out for you about your brand is a big help. Always carry business cards with you to help build up a database of useful contacts, because you never know who you might meet!

Starting a fashion business isn’t easy, but if you feel passionate, are driven and have a clear vision, it can be one of the most exciting and fulfilling industries to work in.

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Jean Paul Gaultier Hair and Makeup – Paris Fashion Week SS17

Photos are from IG @jpgaultierofficial

Beautiful, backstage “texture and curls” are shown at the Jean Paul Gaultier runway show during Paris Fashion Week SS17.

How To Achieve The Runway Look:

Featured JPG Model – Blowout and Side Braid.  Elevate the look with Coral Eyeshadow on the entire lid.

JPG Model #1 – Natural (chemical-free) Hair Twist Out 

JPG Model #2 – Texture straight hair and create Braided Pigtails.  Use “high fashion” makeup skills by applying Blue Eyeshadow and Red Lipstick.

 

 

How To Organize Your Jewelry & Beauty Closet Like Khloe Kardashian

January is officially Get Organized Month, and the P-Touch D210 is one of Khloe Kardashian’s favorite gadgets for organizing her jewelry, make-up, and more.

And as you can see below, she keeps it very close to her when she’s organizing her favorite accessories, including her signature hoop earrings. What makes the P-Touch fun as well as functional is the range of colors the label comes in (clear, black, red, gold, yellow) so that you can add that custom touch to your closet, jewelry case, etc…

Here’s a video/story on Khloe giving some background to how she how she likes to label her bling:http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/news/a47305/khloe-kardashian-jewelry-organization/

 

Alexa Helps Get Dinner on the Table: Amazon Restaurants Adds Voice Ordering

Today announced that Prime members can voice-order their next meal through Amazon Restaurants on their Alexa-enabled devices including the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot. The new Alexa skill allows customers to reorder from any restaurant available on the service in more than 20 cities by saying, “Alexa, order from Amazon Restaurants,” and have any meal they’ve ordered before delivered to their door for free in an hour or less.

“Customers now have a hands-free, hassle-free way to reorder any meal from Amazon Restaurants using their voice to get dinner on the table,” said Gus Lopez, general manager of Amazon Restaurants at Amazon. “We are excited to leverage the innovative Alexa technology and give Prime members another easy way for Amazon Restaurants to take care of dinnertime with no menu markups and free delivery in one hour or less.”

Prime members can ask Alexa to reorder from Amazon Restaurants by saying a restaurant name or cuisine type, for example, “Alexa, order sushi from Amazon Restaurants.” The service pulls a customer’s order history from a specified restaurant or cuisine type and lists meal options available for reorder. The selected meal is then sent for delivery to a customer’s default address.

Once an order is placed, Amazon delivery partners deliver the food in one hour or less. Amazon Restaurants offers customers transparent pricing—there are no menu markups or hidden service fees—and delivery on all orders is free for Prime members. If a customer finds a restaurant item on Amazon Restaurants that is priced higher than the regularly priced item on the restaurant’s current online menu within 24 hours of placing the order, Amazon will refund that customer the price of the item.

Customers can also place orders using the Amazon and Prime Now mobile apps or by visitingwww.amazon.com/restaurants. Customers can also browse menus and watch as their delivery travels from the restaurant to the delivery address in real time.

Prime members can download the Amazon or Prime Now mobile apps or visit the Prime Now website to enter their ZIP code and see if the service is available in their area. In ZIP codes where restaurant delivery is available, customers will see Restaurants on the home page.

To learn more about how to reorder from Amazon Restaurants through Alexa, please visitwww.amazon.com/restaurants-alexa. For restaurants interested in working with Amazon Restaurants, please visitamazon.com/restaurants-merchants. Amazon Restaurants is available in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Manhattan, Miami, Minneapolis, Northern Virginia, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, and Tampa.

Alexa is the cloud-based voice service that powers devices like Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, and more. Using Alexa is as simple as asking a question. Just ask to play music, read the news, control your smart home, tell a joke, and more—Alexa will respond instantly. Whether you are at home or on the go, Alexa is designed to make your life easier by letting you voice-control your world. Alexa lives in the cloud so it’s always getting smarter. The more you talk to Alexa, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. Plus, Alexa has over 7,000 skills built by third party developers, and new skills are always being added.

More to Prime

Tens of millions of Prime members around the world enjoy the many benefits of Prime. In the US that includes unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Audible Channels for Prime, Prime Reading, Prime Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Kindle First, and more. Prime was built on the foundation of unlimited fast, free shipping and today, members receive Prime Two-Day Shipping on more than 30 million items, Prime Same-Day Delivery in 29 cities and two-hour delivery with Prime Now in 30 cities. Start a free trial of Amazon Prime at amazon.com/prime.

 

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about. Learn more about Amazon Prime Now, Shop, or Download the App at www.primenow.com.

 

Great Wine Options For Your Holiday Table

Christmas and New Year’s is just around the corner and it is time to talk about food and wine pairings!

Buying wine for dinner can be a challenge but I have compiled a few delicious options to choose from:

Fernando Pighin & Figli: Pinot Grigio Friuli Grave 2015v (SRP: $17.99)

  • This wine is a great option to start off the evening and drink through dinner. The Old World Italian wine pairs perfectly with seafood, soft cheeses, vegetarian dishes and of course turkey. This medium-bodied Pinot Grigio has aromas of white fruit and minerality from the Friuli Grave terroir. It is produced without oak or malolactic to keep the grape’s freshness and bright acidity. This wine is light and refreshing, leaving room to taste the many dishes served during the holiday.

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Sequoia Grove Winery: Chardonnay 2014v (SRP: $27.99)

  • If guests love a delicious Chardonnay from Napa Valley, Sequoia Grove would be the perfect choice. This 100% food-friendly Chardonnay will pair well with most dishes, from appetizers to soups to main courses. It has aromas of pear, lychee, citrus zest, lightly toasted almonds, and fresh bread. The aroma and palate characteristics are derived from 10 months of oak aging in French oak barrels. Sequoia Grove’s well-integrated oak Chardonnay will refresh the palate and won’t overpower the delicious spices in the Thanksgiving dishes.

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Maison Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2013v  (SRP: $19.99)

  • Louis Jadot’s affordable red Burgundy is a classic holiday wine pairing. It is a versatile wine that complements many meats and soft cheeses like Camembert and Brie. The 2013 vintage produced mature wines with intense aromas of red cherries, black blackberries, blackcurrants. Its well-integrated tannins are supported by a vibrant freshness in the finish.

 

Craggy Range Winery Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2013v  (SRP: $44.99)

  • Craggy Range Winery produces beautiful deep brick red colored, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from the Martinborough wine region of New Zealand. This New World wine has vibrant aromatics of red and black cherries, rose petal, sandalwood and wet earth. It is fruit forward with fine, dry tannins that provides a soft yet complex finish. This is another delicious wine option to serve throughout your holiday meal.

 

Thanksgiving Dinner Wine Pairing –

This year, I hosted Thanksgiving dinner and served a bottle of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  To make our pairing more festive, I created a cheese platter to enhance the wine flavorings.

Salty – Assortment of Crackers

Protein – Prosciutto & Nuts

Flavor Enhancement – Sharp Cheddar Cheese

next time, I will add a variety of cheese, fruit, and olives 

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The in-home tasting was a fun opportunity for enthusiast to try new flavors and expand their palate!

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Martha Hunt Getting Ready for Victoria’s Secret Show

Wondering how Victoria’s Secret angel, Martha Hunt, got Victoria’s Secret runway ready yesterday at the rehearsal in advance of today’s show?

Martha Hunt Victoria Secret

You guessed it – celebrity hairstylist, Benoit Moeyaert, used his favorite tool (and now Martha’s), The Beachwaver Co. BEACHWAVER to create her fabulous beachwaves yesterday!

Take a look at the link below and look out for a recap of backstage:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNasUIRhXDM/?taken-by=benoitmoeyaert

 

Amazon Prime and Alexa Voice Shopping

This weekend, Amazon Prime members can enjoy a totally new way to shop this holiday during the first-ever voice shopping weekend. Starting today through November 21, voice shopping weekend will feature exclusive deals on some of the most popular gifts for everyone in the family. Prime members can take advantage of voice shopping exclusive deals on their Alexa enabled device simply by asking “Alexa, what are your deals?” each day or by visiting www.amazon.com/alexadeals. Order using your voice on Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire HD tablet, or Amazon Fire TV.

“This is the first holiday that Prime members will be able to use their voice to shop and we’re excited to offer exclusive deals they won’t find anywhere else,” said Assaf Ronen, Vice President Voice Shopping. “Voice shopping with Alexa takes the hassle out of the holidays, giving customers the ability to order from millions of items simply by saying the word. And, the fun doesn’t stop after this weekend. Make sure to ask ‘Alexa, what are your deals?’ every day because we’ll have exciting deals throughout the holiday season and beyond.”

“Alexa, what are your deals?”

Prime customers have exclusive access to amazing deals during voice shopping weekend with Alexa:

  • Save $50 on an Amazon Tap – say, “Alexa, order an Amazon Tap”
  • Save $80 on a 32-inch Samsung 1080p LED TV – say, “Alexa, order a Samsung TV”
  • Save $30 on a Sphero Star Wars BB-8 App controlled robot – say, “Alexa, order a Star Wars robot”
  • Save $15 on a Philips Hue LED Starter Kit with 2 Bulbs & Hue Bridge Hub – works with Amazon Alexa – say, “Alexa, order a Hue Starter Kit”
  • Save $80 on Beyerdynamic Limited Edition Headphones – say, “Alexa, order studio headphones”
  • Save $130 on a 10-piece All-Clad stainless steel cookware set – say, “Alexa, order an All-Clad cookware set”
  • Save $10 on LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box – say, “Alexa, order a Lego Classic Brick Box.”
  • Save 30% on a 48-pack of Amazon Basics AA batteries – say, “Alexa, order AA batteries”
  • Save 35% on Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles – say, “Alexa, order Lindor truffles”

All prices available on select dates at select times between November 18 and November 21 while supplies last. Additionally, save up to 40% on everyday essentials, plus other great gifts for car-lovers, pet-lovers, kids, and everyone on your holiday shopping list. Plus, the great deals will continue throughout the holiday season, with Alexa-exclusive deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and every day in November and December. Customers who purchase an Alexa deal at $10 or more in value between now and Cyber Monday will also receive a bonus $5 Amazon gift card while supplies last.

 

Voice Order From Tens of Millions of Products

Voice shopping with Alexa allows customers to shop for tens of millions of Prime-eligible items. Available on the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire HD tablet, and Amazon Fire TV, it’s as simple as saying, “Alexa, order [product]” — Alexa will find a well-priced product that ships with Prime. Just say, “yes” to buy it.  To shop with Alexa, customers must be Prime members with “1-click” enabled.

 

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.