The Stylish Life Loves Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie

Hello Lovely Ones! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I have been thinking about fragrances a lot lately. Some people have signature scents and wear the same scent every single day, year after year. I can’t commit to a signature fragrance. There are so many amazing scents out there and I like a variety of blends. Sometimes I like a crisp, clean scent, other times I gravitate towards florals, musks, or tropical and fruity perfumes. My scent preferences are all over the place.

I rarely wear the same fragrance more than two to three days in a row. The top of my dresser is completely covered with perfume bottles and their accompanying lotion or body cream so that I can layer my scent.

                   

Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie has been one fragrance in heavy rotation since I purchased it earlier this year. I tried a little sample of the Shea Souffle on the back of my hand and while I was trying on shoes I kept smelling the amazingly warm scent of Almond Cookie. I was hooked. I went back to the Carol’s Daughter section within Macy’s and purchased the spray and souffle. When I purchased the set the weather was still cold and I thought Almond Cookie was more suitable for chilly temperatures. To my delight I have found that it is a great year round scent. The scent is warm and inviting but not at all heavy. There is an air of sensuality to Almond Cookie and nothing about it says a fresh baked batch of cookies. This is a scent that will surely get a guy’s attention ;)

The notes in Almond Cookie are almond, marzipan, sandalwood and vanilla. The perfume is heavily concentrated and will last all day and well into the night. The matching shea souffle is lightweight and very moisturizing that leaves your skin soft with a lovely sheen. If you’re in the market for a new scent for the fall, check out Almond Cookie.

For more information: Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie collection

Happy Birthday Michael!!

Today Michael Jackson would have been 52 years old. I still have a hard time believing he’s gone. His life should be celebrated so I won’t turn this into a sad post. Today I’ll blast his music, dance, laugh at my dreams of marrying him (trust me, I was determined to be Mrs. Michael Jackson, lol!), and remember the fun I had hanging his posters on my bedroom walls.

So Michael wherever you are, I hope you feel the love from all your fans not just today but everyday. Thank you for the amazing larger than life entertainment. Your life and your music were not in vain.









What’s your absolute favorite Michael Jackson song and memory? Leave your answer in the comments!

It’s really hard for me to pick just one song but I’ll say Another Part Of Me and my favorite memory was during the 1984 Grammy awards when Michael took his sunglasses off.

essie Fall 2010 Collection

Top to bottom: In Stitches, Limited Addiction, Little Brown Dress, Sew Psyched, Merino Cool, Velvet Voyeur

Haute Bag Lady Bag of the Week {Brahmin Vanessa Rose Flap Bag}

I haven’t done a Haute Bag Lady Bag of the Week in a while and with everyone eagerly anticipating Fall fashion and accessories I think a haute bag pick is in order.


I am quite shocked that a Brahmin bag has managed to tug at my heartstrings. I saw the Vanessa Rose Flap Bag in the September issue of Marie Claire and I was even more shocked when I saw that it was a Brahmin bag.

Years ago I worked in the handbag department at Nordstrom and Brahmin bags were our biggest seller. In my opinion, the bags were impossibly dowdy and I never showed them to shoppers unless they specifically asked for them. It was very hard for me to fake liking the bags and even harder for me to suggest them to someone. My manager talked to me on more than one occasion about my disdain for the bags and my reluctance to show them, lol!

I see Brahmin has new designs that are very much on trend. I prefer carrying this particular bag like a satchel as opposed to on the shoulder but to each their own. The bag comes in Walnut and Citron (shown above). Both colors would compliment this season’s neutral monochrome trend:
 
The bag retails for $325 and it is made from anaconda leather. I think this bag is a timeless silhouette in a to die for material that would add a bit of flair to a pair of jeans even.

I also have my eye on the Brahmin Amata Rose Flap Bag:

Absolutely adorable!!!!

I’d love to know what my fellow handbag lovers think about Brahmin bags.

For more information:
Brahmin

Celebrate YOU Chicago {Spa Week, Single Edition Media, & Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa}

Last night I went to Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa for the launch of Celebrate YOU Chicago’s Spa Week’s Fall 2010 spa directory. Spa Week and Single Edition Media planned a fabulous blogger event at the salon.

There were exhilarating chair massages, manicures, lip treatments, and makeup applications offered to guests. The wine was flowing, sushi trays were plenty, and the Chicago bloggerati was in full effect! I had a blast. Joseph Michael’s staff was extremely friendly and willing to answer all our beauty questions. I think the chair massages were the favorite indulgence of the night because everyone who got up from the chair had the most blissful smiles plastered on their faces. I opted for a manicure in Essie’s Lilacism.

I went on a tour of the salon and had the opportunity to chat with stylist Gregory Dickinson, Joseph Michael’s Textured Hair Specialist, about coloring relaxed hair.

Here’s a few pictures I took of the spa and salon:

Above: The shampoo area & massaging shampoo bowl chairs.

The Pedicure Room

 

Art work

Above: The $50 Spa Week Gift Card yours truly won!!!!!!!!

Chicago Spa Week® Fall 2010 is taking place September 13-19, you can indulge in a full week of luxurious spa treatments for just $50 at many of Chicago’s premiere salons and spas. Massages, facials, body scrubs, acupuncture, Botox… the options are endless and the price is right. I highly recommend you check out Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa for your Spa Week indulgences.

For More Information:

Spa Week

Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa

Single Edition Media

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=201505&id=22158024090


http://www.spaweekblog.com/2010/08/17/chicago-party-recap-celebrate-you/

Eat Pray Love {The Winners!!!!}

Thanks to Random.org I am happy to announce the two winners of the Eat Pray Love giveaway:

Grand Prize winner of the $25 Cost Plus World Market gift card & the EPL Prayer beads is Jamie.

And the winner of the EPL soundtrack is Miss Toni aka Fashion Butter.

Congrats ladies!!! Please email me ASAP so I can get your prizes to you.

As always thank you to all who entered and stay tuned for next week's giveaway. A little bird whispered something to me about a fall beauty giveaway... Hmmm...wonder what it could be????

New York Fashion Week Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you hear that? That was my heart breaking because I won’t be able to go to Fashion Week. I’ll get there soon enough; I’m a very determined young woman.  I look forward to the schedule every season and look for the stills and footage on Style.com for my favorite designers. It’s almost like I’m there but like the song says ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby…

To stay in the Fashion Week loop be sure to bookmark these sites and if you’re a fashion lover you already have them saved ;)

http://newyork.mbfashionweek.com/

http://www.nycfashioninfo.com/fashion-week.aspx

http://www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork/spring2010/schedule/schedule.pdf

http://www.fashionsnightout.com/

THE 900 SHOPS PRESENTS ‘SHARE & SHOP’ {Chicago}

THE 900 SHOPS PRESENTS ‘SHARE & SHOP’

From August 19 – August 22, donate gently worn items to local charities and receive a 15% discount at participating shops

CHICAGO (July 23, 2010) — Join The 900 Shops at 900 North Michigan from Thursday, August 19 through Sunday, August 22, 2010 for a shopping event to benefit Dress for Success Chicago, Share Your Soles and The Glass Slipper Project. For four days, customers are invited to bring in gently worn items to The 900 Shops to be donated to these amazing organizations. As a thank you, The 900 Shops will gift shoppers with a 15% Share & Shop Savings Pass for every donated item; each pass is redeemable for one item at any participating retailer and is valid from Thursday, August 19 through Sunday, August 22.

So clean out your closet and get a jump start on fall shopping – the more donations, the more savings on your purchases! In addition to a 15% Share & Shop Savings Pass, the first 100 customers to donate will walk away with a fabulous 900 swag bag. Participating shoppers will also be entered to win a $500 shopping spree to The 900 Shops and will enjoy the latest fall trends on display throughout the center. A special $10 ‘Share & Shop’ parking rate for five hours will be offered with a minimum purchase of $50. For more information, visit www.shop900.com/share&shop
Share & Shop will raise suit donations (in great need of plus-size clothing and professional jewelry) for Dress for Success Chicago, a non-profit organization providing new and gently worn (dry cleaned and ready-to-wear) career attire to underprivileged women; shoe donations for Share Your Soles, a non-profit providing gently worn or new shoes to those in greatest need around the world; and prom attire donations for The Glass Slipper Project, a non-profit that collects donations of formal dresses, evening bags, jewelry and unused make-up for those who would otherwise not have a chance to go to prom appropriately attired.
Participating retailers include: United Colors of Benetton, Solstice Sunglass Boutique, Charles David, Mark Shale, Original Penguin, DNA 2050, Intimacy • Bra Fit Stylists, Mario Tricoci Hair Salon & Day Spa, L'Occitane, Fogal, Bernardaud, Christofle, Sermoneta Gloves, Space 519, Scandia Down, Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland, Glasses, Ltd., Enchanté Lingerie, Preggers, Genevieve Lethu, Wolfhome, Caché, Alternatives Shoes, Yolanda Lorente, Isis, Lotton Gallery, Glove Me Tender and Northern Possessions.
ABOUT DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 85 cities in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the UK. To date, Dress for Success has helped more that 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more.
ABOUT SHARE YOUR SOLES
Share Your Soles is a non-profit organization providing gently worn shoes to those in greatest need locally, throughout the US and to over 43 locations worldwide, touching the hearts of hundreds of thousands. Share Your Soles accepts all types, styles and sizes, including dress shoes and soccer and baseball cleats. With volunteers in 38 states to collect, clean and distribute shoes, efforts reach schools, orphanages and villages in places like Africa, Sri Lanka, Haiti and Mexico. Also active locally, Share Your Soles collaborates with community leaders like Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, on its efforts. For more information, visit www.shareyoursoles.org.
ABOUT THE GLASS SLIPPER PROJECT
The Glass Slipper Project is an organization giving junior and senior girls, who don’t have the good fortune to buy prom attire, the opportunity to find their perfect prom dress, free of charge, and attend the dance feeling confident, stylish and included. TGSP accepts gently worn formal dresses and accessories, as well as unused make-up. Celebrating its 11th birthday this year, The Glass Slipper Project has made prom dreams come true for over 16,000 young ladies, totaling roughly 1,600-2,000 per year. For more information, please visit www.glassslipperproject.org or The Glass Slipper Project Hotline at 312-409-4139.
ABOUT THE 900 SHOPS...

Anchored by Bloomingdale's, The 900 Shops features 70 luxury retailers on seven levels, including Gucci, MaxMara, Michael Kors, Coach, Club Monaco, J.Crew, Lululemon Athletica, Williams-Sonoma and many more. Over its two-decade residence, The 900 Shops has provided the Magnificent Mile with a diverse collection of luxury lifestyle brands, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining Michigan Avenue as an internationally recognized shopping mecca.

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[me] & goji: Cereal Couture

One of the great things about blogging is discovering new products and brands from fellow bloggers. I have the fabulous Miss Jamie over at Rural Glamour to thank for posting about her great experience ordering her custom artisanal cereal blend from [me] & goji. Thanks Jamie!!!
I love cereal. I have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert (lol!), and even as a snack. My cooking skills leave little to be desired and I  hate to cook so I have a LOT of cereal for dinner when I decide not to order in.
[me] & goji is a very user friendly and informative site. You just start by selecting your base and add various ingredients like sliced almonds, dried fruit, coconut, etc. There are tons of options. Then you name your mix. I couldn’t think of anything cute to name mine and since my book was on the bed next to me, I just replaced Eat with Cereal and thus Cereal Pray Love was born.
My mix includes:

• Flaxed and Flakes 
• Wheat Germ
• Corn Flakes
• Sliced Almonds

I just had a bowl and it was really good. I added two teaspoons of sugar and I was good to go. I like the fact that I can get a custom blend of healthy cereal because I rarely make time for breakfast during the work week. Most mornings I eat some fast food breakfast or just have coffee and that’s not good at all. Here’s to a healthy breakfast!
 

For more information:
Rural Glamour’s [me] & goji post
[me] & goji’s website

Eat Pray Love {Another Giveaway!!!!}

 

 

 

I’m currently reading Eat Pray Love which has been in my TBR (to be read) stack for more than two years. What took me so long to read it? I honestly don’t know. Nevertheless, the movie hits theaters this Friday, August 13th and I plan to be finished with the book by then (I hope).

In the meantime, I have some Eat Pray Love prizes to giveaway to two lucky readers.

The grand prize is a set of prayer beads and a $25 Cost Plus World Market gift card. Cost Plus World Market has an amazing assortment of fashion and gift items inspired by the book and movie.

   

The second prize is the Eat Pray Love soundtrack, an eclectic mix of music featuring Marvin Gaye (love!!!), Sly & The Family Stone, Bebel Gilberto and more.

All you have to do to enter is answer the following question in the comments section:

If you could travel for a year like Elizabeth Gilbert, where would you go?

Winners will be selected by Random.org and announced on Friday, August 13th.

For more information:

Cost Plus World Market EPL Shop

EPL Soundtrack

And the winner is…

 

*taps microphone*  Is this thing on?

The winner of the $50 Macy’s Gift Card is…

*drum roll*  *drum roll*  *drum roll* *drum roll*

AkikoM.

You have 24 hours to contact me: http://alifeofstyle.blogspot.com/p/contact.html

Thanks to everyone who entered and be on the lookout for more giveaways this month!!!!

Save the Date August 12th – August 18th: Coach Poppy Fragrance Event {Chicago}

 

 

Celebrate the launch of the new Coach Poppy Fragrance at Macy’s State Street Chicago August 12 – 18th and show-off your Coach Poppy style in the exclusive Coach Poppy Photo Booth, with a chance to be featured on Coach’s prestigious Facebook page.

This Summer, Coach introduces its new Poppy Fragrance, the latest addition to the popular Poppy fashion and accessories line. Inspired by the playful nature of the Poppy Girl, the fruity floral gourmand fragrance brings to life a youthful, fresh spirit with just one spritz.

Housed in a girly chic rounded glass bottle and adorned with Poppy’s signature logo, the scent is a must-have accessory and the perfect addition to any Poppy collection this summer. Coach Poppy Fragrance is available for a suggested retail price of $60 for a 1.7 oz bottle.

Come meet the Coach Beauty Team and experience Poppy for yourself. Enjoy free samples, music and be sure to snap a shot in our Coach Poppy Photo Booth. And you never know…you may be famous. Select photos from the Coach Poppy photo booths will be posted to Coach’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Coach following the event.

Event Details:
When: August 12–18, 2010
Where: Macy’s State Street Chicago Beauty Department

www.coach.com/poppy-us