Again to grace the pages of our blog, First Lady Michelle Obama.

Mrs. Obama has a few key elements in her outfits that are always the same, can you spot them?

  Always wanted to wear that little vintage hat in the back of your closet? Now is the time to break it out.

This pic, shot on the streets of N.Y shows you how to mix some bold floral patterns without looking like antiquated wallpaper.

(Please excuse the low neckline…cleavage is not part of your ensemble I’m sure

Do: 

-Cement the outfit with some basic black. The black tights here act as the anchor for the prints. She lengthens her legs by wearing shoes in the same color.

-Mix prints, but keep them in the same color family. Pull a color from your dress, using that to go on.

-Go to a thrift-store and practice. Find some prints and mix and match.

-Wear your hair up. Most vintage hats were designed for women wearing their hair 1)very short or 2) up in the back. Do your hair up, but keep it messy (nice and playful).

Don’t: 

-Wear bulky or textured fabrics, particularly for the blouse. When working with prints, adding a massive amount of texture confuses the eye.

-Go overboard on jewelry. Simplicity is key when working with prints. Maybe a pair of pearl studs- but leave it nonchalant.

Any ideas from the Peanut Gallery? Love it, or wish you’d never seen it?

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Glamorous fashion, with just the right touch of modesty.

I never knew Vintage chic could be this easy! Check out the laidback feel drawn from the peasant skirt. The Ballet flats just keep it “down to earth” and set apart from your normal business causual.

Do:

-Pair and embroidered shirt, or any shirt with texture, with  an floral print skirt for a magpie-chic look.

-Play with colors. Just because the sample is shown wearing earth tones, doesn’t mean you couldn’t do the same with a bright blouse and skirt.

-Layer on a scarf and hat to keep warm.

-Wear flats. Ballet flats, flat boots, anything flat.

-Throw in some jewelry. A cuff, ribbon choker, layered necklaces would all pair well with this look.

So everyone knows plaid has been a huge hit this fall/winter. But how to take that brilliant plaid into spring?

Shabby Chic comes in with a bang, tousled hair and aviators ta boot.

Do:

-Use ratty flannel shirts (don’t be afraid to steal them from your brothers ;). It’s the “worn in” look that is so surprisingly attractive

- Pair it with a light, feminine skirt.

-Belt it for Balance. The belt completes the look, pulling it all together.

-Wear some fun shoes. You could go anything from converse, to platform stelletos.

-Rock the Shades. The aviators are the perfect compliment to this otherwise “country” outfit- gives it a laid-back citified edge. 

Don’t:

-Go too bulky with the flannel plaid. If you have about 2 yards too much fabric tucked in and around your waist- you’ve got a problem. We don’t want to look like we just put on 10 lbs from our shirt tails.

- mix patterns.Well, ok, you can mix some- just use caution.

Photo credit:

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Bring in some of your spring dresses, while still staying warm. No one wants to wear black for the next 3 months anyhoo

Do: 

- play with textures.Don’t have any different fabrics in your closet? Keep your eyes open at the next sales- think as a stylist, not as a “one piece by itself- er”.

- Mix your leathers. Black boots- camel bag. You can do it!

Don’t:

-Be afraid of color, a pop of bright cheery color banishes all winter drabs and will instantly make you feel chipper. Or at least, we hope so.

-mix more than 2 brights. You’ll be a walking kaleidoscope.

Photo credit:

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Tousled hair is in. Never has so little effort in hair been so popular.

The key is to mix it with ladylike accents.

Do: 

- Use classic accessories, Black Bag, Black pumps

- Pair contrasting fabrics, sharp tailored pieces with frilly draped ones.

- Have fun with your jewelry. Everything from whimsical to super sophisticated works with this look- how do you feel today?

Don’t: 

- try to make it perfect. Put together a really lady-like outift- then mess up one thing. Keeps it down-to-earth.

Photo credit:

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Many of us have drooled over Jcrews’ beautiul tissue tees, with their ruffles and ripples and ribbon accents. My cousin, creative and thrifty as she is, decided to create some of her own, and they are gorgeous!

View the video to see our first creations, and experiment with your own.  We picked up a stack of inexpensive tshirts and sweaters from T.J. Max, Ross and Walmart. You can cut up fabric and embellishments from your local craft store or cut up a matching tshirt.

Total cost per shirt: $6.50 Jcrew’s price: $58

That is a saving .

Ever wondered the secret to moist shine rich hair? Often the answer lies not in a specific product but how you apply and rinse your conditioner.

Condition:

Bleached/Highlighted: 

If you hair is currently chemically treated, like me,  you’ll want to condition end to root every time.

Natural Hair:

For natural hair, i only conditioned the mid-lengths and ends every time and the roots about once a week.

 Step By Step

1) don’t worry so much about hitting the top of your head with the mass of conditioner your holding in your hand. Try starting from the ends of the hair, working towards the top. This will help eliminate excess moisture on the scalp which causes that premature oily feeling.

2) Try just conditioning the mid-lengths and ends every time you shampoo and only the top every other time or about once to twice a week. Your hair is healthier the closer it is to the scalp, so the target area should be the mid-lengths and ends as this is where most splitting and damaging occurs  from brushing, hot tools, pony tails, clothing contact, and hair coloring.

This How To is for those of us trying to treat our hair better, but keep getting frustrated because our tactics do not seem to be helping.

Hair Patterns

There are many things that cause us to change the pattern of how and when we care for our hair:

1. New job that requires more bathing.
2. Just heard that washing your hair everyday is not good for it
3. Can’t understand why you hair gets oily so fast
4. Can’t understand why its so frizzy, but feels like silk
5. New hairstyle that requires more or different product
6. Stuck on old habits
7. Etc, etc, etc.

I know my frustration came from a few things, but mostly I was avoiding washing my hair everyday (who has time to style their locks every 24 hours?) but then I felt my hair wasn’t really clean! This frustrated me, because i had many friends doing the same thing with great success! Well one day i had a hair teacher say “if you can’t seem to get it the first time around, do it again” so i decided to try washing twice before i conditioned. What a difference!!! The soap even lathers up differently the second time. Weird? It totally works.

So now i shampoo every two to three days and am very happy with the results.

Shampoo: Try This

Shampoo: better to shampoo twice in a row than every day.
(unless you have that oh! so awesome extreme oil prone hair)

Many times people who try not to wash everyday fail to wash more thoroughly when they actually do shampoo. This causes frustration because the hair seems to get oily or dirty faster.

 Double shampooing: Try it. 

#1: Focus on the Scalp. Once to focus (and i mean really focus) on that scalp! you need to remove the dead skin and oil buildup as to allow the scalp to breath and help new hair grow appropriately.

#2  focus on the rest of the hair and really make sure all of the grime is out!

Hair brittle after your shampoo? Come back for tips on conditioning your locks.

A couple weeks ago our dear Maresah blogged on several companies that feature natural skin and face products.

This week we are highlighting a face mask from Arbonne as a giveaway to our readers.

Not to be left out in the dark, I decided to try a bottle of the product for myself. And i can tell you, this stuff is powerful! Not only does it rejuvenate the skin, it helps clean out all those pesky dead skin cells that cause black heads! The bottle recommends once a week, which means it’s going to last for a long time. ::happy sigh::

$45 dollar value. No, it’s not cheap (natural products never are) Which is why you should enter the giveaway!

Giveaway ends the 22nd. If you post a link from Facebook, twitter or your own blog we’ll enter your name twice.

*Leave a comment to enter, we will track your site links through our blog back-end. Let us know you posted a link and we’ll be able to match the link to the entry.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ENTRY #60, Emily at Glenn Fashions- YOU WON THE ARBONNE MASK. !