The Art of Accessories

Happy Thursday! I know, I know…I got you a day early with Friday’s Fabulouness but I figured that since I’m taking Friday as a holiday a lot of folks might be too. So in celebration of the 4th of July I thought I’d pikc some fabulousness in it’s honor. At first I thought maybe I’d pick 3 things, something red, white and blue but then I thought, I wouldn’t wear red, white and blue on the 4th so why would I pick that? So I thought, what do I love the most about the 4th of July? FIREWORKS!

Doesn’t this ring remind you of those gorgeous gold and silver fireworks that burst through the sky? This is the Banana Republic Sparkle Ring and I think it’s such a great way to show your holiday spirit without decking yourself out in red, white and blue or stars and stripes.

I think my husband and I may venture on to the National Mall on Saturday to watch the fireworks and have a nice long weekend playing golf together. I hope you all have a safe and happy long weekend with your family and friends. And don’t forget to put on sunscreen! It’s summer, you don’t want to get burned! Which reminds me…I’ve been gifted this item twice, so I’m giving one away to you right now!

If you’d like to win the Bare Escentuals Sun Proof Eyeshadow kit email contest@theartofaccessories.com with the subject line Fun in the Sun along with your name and mailing address (feel free to tell me what your plans for the 4th of July are too). This kit includes 4 very pretty soft neutral eyeshadows (yes, they look good on my brown skin too!) with SPF 20 built into their mineral makeup goodness. I figured if I’m off on Friday, I might as well give you a treat.

I’ll be back here with more accessories on Monday!
dwj

The {Swoon} List is a monthly wrap up of my favorite posts for the month, just in case you missed something…

1. Brush Basics: I was so excited about Crown Brushes that I had to share with all of you how to get high quality brushes and low end prices. Great brushes are mandatory for anyone who wants to apply makeup like a pro.
2. Boho Beautifulness: I showed you guys my boho side with a gorgeous suede hobo from Lucky Brand Jeans (did I mention it was also on sale this month)?
3. I’ve Got A Cuff On You: This Friday’s Fabulousness was absolutely gorgeous and got lots of ooh’s and ahh’s on Twitter.
4. What I Want Wednesday: New feature talking about what I want right now, no matter what the cost.
5. Marc Jacobs & Me: I got to go to the Marc Jacobs studios. Nuff said.
6. Customization & 3 Custom Color: This may be my favorite makeup brand by far. Check out my gorgeous custom gloss!

So that was June and I actually got the {Swoon} List up in a timely fashion! I’m getting it together…I am!

dwj

Ever since I saw the July cover of InStyle I have been swooning…hard.

Photo courtesy of Instyle.com

No, it’s not that I’m a huge Michelle Pfeiffer fan, it’s that I’m in LOOOOOOVE with the Thomas Binns colorful pearl strands. So this is what I want, even though they start at $475 and up. I just think the gorgeous bold strands make such a statement and I love making statements.

InStyle.com suggests Aldo’s Evroodia Necklace. It’s okay but clearly it’s not as great as the original. If I want to make a stronger statement, I’d have to go for something a bit bolder.

This graduated color beaded necklace might do the trick. It’s the Janet Jeweled Necklace from GUESS by Marciano. I think the bold color and the long strands just might curb my craving, especially at only $48, don’t you think?

dwj

Ever since I saw a special on the Style Network years ago about custom makeup, I knew I would LOOOOVE 3 Custom Color Specialist. I was super excited when I got a chance to meet them briefly at the Makeup Show and they made the mistake of saying, “Come by the studio! We love to meet bloggers.” That was all I needed to hear. So when I went up to NYC the other day for business and blogger errands, I had to add 3 Custom Color to my list.

That’s me with Chad, on of the three founders, a fabulous person who gave me a tour of their studio and he was my color specialist of the day. So I know what you all want to know is why do I adore 3 Custom. There are three main reasons:

1. They have so many options! There are over 250 products in their online store and they cover every end of the spectrum. If you’re fair, olive skinned, light, dark brown, hell, purple…they’ve got you covered. They break it down into cool skin tones versus warm so you can always find a color that suits you. Their concealer/foundation is magnificent (more about that in another post) and they are always coming up with new collections with innovative colors. Plus, the quality is fantastic.
2. They custom blend makeup! On top of their extensive ready to wear products, they can custom blend blush, eye shadow, brow powder, pressed or loose powder, lipstick or lip gloss. More about this in a second…I heart anything that you can customize and custom makeup is at the top of my list.
3. They make their own recipes & their archives are huge! They have an archive of discontinued lipsticks/lip glosses or if you have just a little bit of your favorite special edition gloss left that you love you can send it in and they can recreate it for you! HOW GENIUS?! Have a lipstick you love but wish it was sheer? They can do that and then they’ll save your recipe for you to order again and again.

Now because I love 3 Custom so much, I can’t do one long post, I have to talk about some of their other products in other posts, they’re just too fantastic to only talk about once, but I have to share with you what they created for me while I was there.

The very fabulous Chad said he’d love to make me something while I was there and I told him I’m always on a quest for the perfect lip gloss. I wanted something with a strong pink shade a bit of shimmer and a lacquer like finish to it. I want something that lasts after I swipe it on without having to look in a mirror because the color is so fantastic I don’t need liner or a mirror to apply. I’ll know it’s that good. Chad and I picked the perfect shade of raspberry and added dashes of sparkle, shine and a lot of makeup magic to it to create the most perfect shade of pink gloss I’ve ever owned.

And we shall name it...The Art of Accessories!

And the color really lasts! If you are interested in having a color custom created just for you, definitely check out the 3 Custom Color Specialists website. I promise I have more from 3 Custom to talk about, but I thought I’d spread it out. So what do you think of my color?
dwj

P.S. Thank you so much to Tess and Chad at 3 Custom Color Specialist for welcoming me to their studio and making me feel so great on such a yucky rainy day. I promise there are Thank You notes in the mail to you both.

Someone reminded me that a while ago on the blog I made the statement, Coach is on crack, in regards to the rising prices of Coach bags and the lack of creativity on their part. And my friend Jaci over at Everyday Sassypants had a bad Customer Service appearance with Coach, so they haven’t excited me in a while…until I heard about their new line, Poppy.

I read about the launching of the Poppy line in February’s Women’s Wear Daily. While the average coach bag goes for $500, the Poppy line goes from $198 to $598 (I wish it started a lower price point…but the stuff is cute). Coach appears to be reaching out to a younger, fresher audience that wants cute bags, shoes and accessories but with the old standard of quality Coach is known for. I think I like a lot of it because it’s colorful and appears fresh and fun.

This is the pop c spotlight bag, I could go for this one. What I could live without is the crazy flash website Coach put up just for the Poppy line. There are all these hearts that keep flying across the screen and it makes me feel just a little old…but I definitely could get down with this line.

Have you checked out Poppy? What do you think? Will you buy a piece? Let me know!
dwj

It’s Ideeli deal time!

What’s Ideeli you ask? They are an invitation only shopping site that has weekly sales that are deeply discounted. So every other week (or every week if you guys ask for it) I’ll tell you what’s on sale and what’s hot in accessories for the week. Sound good? Oh and if you’d like to get invited to Ideeli, all you have to do is click here and I’ll hook you up with an invite.

So what do I recommend this week?

Monday 6/29
L.A.M.B Handbags
Starting Price: $35.00
Save up to: 63%
I’m a big fan of L.A.M.B. so I’m excited to see what all they have to offer! Let me know if you pick something up!

dwj

Last week my girlfriends and I went to the AFI Silverdocs Film Festival in Silver Spring, MD to see The September Issue. I was unaware that the fashion world has been in a tizzy about getting to see this movie. Word on the street is that folks are bootlegging copies! WHAT?!

So what’s the big deal? The official blurb on the movie is:

The September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine weighed nearly five pounds, and was the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. With unprecedented access, The September Issue, directed and produced by R.J. Cutler, tells the story of legendary Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the issue and ruling the world of fashion.

My take is that it’s a look inside of the world of Vogue and Editor in Chief and Fashion Oracle, Anna Wintour’s process to create a magazine. I thought Creative Director Grace Coddington totally stole the show. She was the yin to Anna’s yang - they’re total opposites but need each other to create what they do. The movie did give me a better understanding of Vogue magazine, although I’m still not a fan. I’ve never been a Vogue girl, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a love for or appreciation of fashion. What I was surprised by was the fact that the higher the editor at Vogue, the less amount of makeup and highly stylized clothes they had on (other than Anna Wintour). I was actually really surprised at times back the lack of makeup because there were a lot of close ups. Through movies and gossip you definitely have a very glamorized view of Vogue and the September Issue kind of put that into perspective. Wintour’s life is glamor. Everyone else is working hard.

The September Issue will be released August 28th, 2009 and the trailer is below, but definitely tell me, will you be going to see it?

I was going to continue showing you guys the Zoya polishes I picked up in the nail polish exchange but I got 2 bottles of new colors that are not available until July 1 and July 15 so I had to share. First up, new matte polish!

Zoya’s Loredana (like the name, huh? I always love a good Dana) nail polish is part of the new MatteVelvet Collection. These are matte polishes for the fall that leave a flat matte finish on the nail and aren’t mean to be worn with any base coat or top coat.

I’ll say out of all the matte polishes I’ve seen swatches of on sites like All Lacquered Up, Zoya has made the best colors and formulas. Loredana was a pretty gunmetal grey with a subtle shimmer to it. I will admit, it chipped off by the end of the second day but I could see wearing it for a special outfit or event. The matte polish dries SUPER fast and I messed up on my first go round and had to reapply. It takes a bit of getting used to but at least it dries so fast especially since I can’t use my super fast top coat.

The next color I got my hands on was Envy from the Dare Collection of the Truth or Dare collection. I could’ve picked a lot of colors but of course I was drawn to the green. The purple shade called Pinta was pretty great too but I was like green all the way!

This was a gorgeous glossy dark green that I adore. You guys know how much I love green. It appears black in the photo but I promise you it’s a gorgeous hunter green.

I hope you enjoyed the sneak peak!
dwj