I may not seem like your average sugar mama but you know what they say, looks can lie. Ironically, not the looks of Mr. Rebates, however. Boys and girls, I found a way to save a lot (depending on how loosely you define that term) of money over the long haul if you are an unstable online shopping addict like I am. And I’m sure that if you are not one already, brace yourself because you’re about to be a fresh convert.
MrRebates.com is a rebate website that literally PAYS you to shop. Every time you make a purchase online, Mr. Rebate gives you a predetermined percentage of the total of your expenditure back to you. Register on the website and makeup and skincare lovers, you’ll get 7% rebate when you shop Clarins, 5% at Sephora, Ulta, Mark and Avon. Fashion maven and victims, footwear looneys, enjoy 10% at Chinese Laundry and 7% at DSW, 4% at Bebe, Guess, Macy’s, Nine West, Aeropostale, 3% at Express and 2% at Victoria’s Secret among many many other stores.
Don’t you love it when you wander on the internet’s tangled web for hours on an unsuspecting morning, looking for inspiration, expecting to find nothing, but end up bumping into something instantly fascinating that you might actually consider investing your time and money in for the long haul? I know those days don’t come by often, but looks like today’s my lucky day!
On InStyle.com, I came across an entry on their What’s Right Now column that cited BirchBox as a “new genius box.” Birchbox is the answer to a the clutter in the review world today. I love how simple it works. With a paid subscription, you will find a very pink and very pretty box at your doorstep every month. And in that pretty box you will find 4-5 deluxe size samples from “high-end beauty brands, spanning makeup, skincare, hair products, fragrance and more.”
Leather – you either got it in you to wear it, or you come across as artificial as pleather. It’s as simple as that. You can make it look chic and modern or you fall back to the fashion bay of the bad ass bikers. I’ve never paid much attention to leather, except when it comes to Michael Jackson’s red hot number ala Thriller. So much so that last Fall, shy of a month of landing in the USA, I scrambled to Wilson’s Leather and got myself a $300 red leather jacket. They say that to wear leather you must be sure – you got to look like you know what you’re doing. I didn’t at the time. But I walked out of the store with it on my back anyways and I got tons of compliment on it. That’s how awesome the *jacket* was. That’s how awesome leather can be.
A year later, I found myself fascinated (and hooked) by leather again. All because I saw Gwen Stefani rock a pair of what it looked like leather shorts on the red carpet. A stranger on LookBook nailed it as well.
Gwen Stefani in a sheer top, black corset bra
and high-waist leather shorts with minimal jewelry.
While summer is still holding onto its last breath, I went clearance bikini hunting on Victoria’s Secret online catalog. If you know me well (or visit Yellow Vault often) you will realize that I do a lot of shopping online. Even if I don’t buy online, I make it a habit to research on a product before I go out and get it even when I can return it, not just to read reviews but to compare prices and compare other similar products.
When it comes to shopping for swimwear, there is no other haven than the home of the “Angels.” Their extensive catalog is very impressive, and they have a wide variety of styles for many body types, although I have to admit that most of their stuff is pretty skimpy. Anyways, Victoria Secret bikinis have been on sale for a while now and while I have been checking it out often, a lot of styles run out really fast. What I love about VS is they restock their products often and new styles are listed on sale often (read: often enough). I really don’t know that prompted me to go back to their website for a quick look this time around – it might have something to do with their constant e-mail newsletter – but I did.
After browsing through for hours due to my inability to decide (it was 4a.m. pardon me) I went for a black push up bandeau top and an adjustable side-tie scoop bottom in black medallion. I was tempted to go basic and get an all black ensemble but Jason reminded me of my slightly adventurous side in fashion and so I folded. There were tons of basic-kinis, as as like to call them, you know the typical skimpy triangle halters. I almost got a metallic leopard print top but it looked too similar to my hottie friend Crystals so I though I’d better not be a bitch and keep browsing. After another long while I decided on a slightly retro inspired wired top with bra-like cups and a good coverage lime-black-purple hot short.
I love that Victoria’s Secret has warehouses in Ohio, because then
my packages always arrive quickly!
Said bikini pair. I love gold accents *anywhere*even when it’s
as subtle as a hook!
I have tried many hairstyles in my short 20 years; long and straight, short and curly, short and straight, very short and boyish, shoulder length bob and recently, mid-length and messy. But no matter what haircut I’m attempting, there’s always one way I want it to look. I love my hair BIG, voluminous and I definitely want it to always look, even at 11pm, like I just stepped out the house. Luckily for me (and now you) I think I may have found the perfect combination of products to achieve just that!
I’ve never applied products to my hair when it is wet or damp, because I didn’t think there was a point, and because it just feels weird to run through my hair with gooey stuff when it’s dripping all over me. But when Target had (still has) a discount for Bumble and Bumble’s styling creme, two for the price of one, I decided to give the usually pricey – $26 a pop – product a try.
Bumble and Bumble’s styling creme truly lives up to it’s description. It really is magic in a bottle. After watching videos of what it can do and experimenting with the product myself, I find that even though it looks and smells like conditioner, it can do a lot than moisturize. Most positive reviewers applied the product on damp hair (although you can apply it when dry) so I did just that.
After allowing my hair to naturally dry during the 20 minutes I spent on my makeup, I squeezed out a generous amount of it, rub my hands together and apply. I then blow dry my hair as I normally would, with my hair flipped over. Blow drying my hair this way without product gives my hair natural volume, but with Bb in my hair, my hair resembled a lioness’ mane, in a good way. My hair had tons of volume, way more than when I used John Frieda’s root booster. My hair also felt very moisturized and silky and I didn’t need my usual dose of Schwarzkopf’s Corrective Serum, except on my ends, which always lack moisture
When a shopaholic steps into Forever 21, it’s like a jungle trekker stepping into the Amazon. You don’t always know what you’ll find – more often than not, you’ll be disgusted, sometimes you’ll be scared, and if you’re lucky, you may be pleasantly surprised! Sifting through the herds of clothing on the racks of Forever 21 can be a physically and emotionally challenging task. There’s so much to see, so few gems hidden between hangers and you’re more likely to walk out frustrated by your futile efforts (and stuffy nose) than you are waltzing out with an unmistakable big yellow bag full of goodies.
Yet, despite the recession race, Forever 21 made almost 2 billion dollars last year on revenue, simply because when times are hard, shopaholics like I panic. And what do we do when we panic? We indulge in an activity (read: habit) that calms us down and reminds us of the beauty the world possesses despite the demise of economy and our green light to shop.
WINDOW SHOPPING!
For those of you who have worked hard enough during your summer jobs and can afford to purchase new outfits for the new school year, Forever 21 is not a store you want to miss this summer. You may think you have scoured every inch of the place and found nothing remotely interesting, then I assure you, you have not. And those who are too impatient to go through their massive online catalog, I bring you, the best of Forever 21′s new collection!
There are a lot of things I love about traveling – new sights, new streets, new strangers – and only one thing I don’t love – packing. Admittedly, I had a lot of fun matching my drummer shorts with a variety of tops suitable for both walking on the dirty sidewalks of New York and a chic dinner at a local hotspot. However, when the mix-matching and mismatching was over, I realized that with my clothes and 2 large makeup bags full of, well you know, I didn’t have a lot of space left for the fruits of my shopping excursions! Knowing myself a little too well, I didn’t bother to try to cut down on the outfits because of my love for options and went straight to the cosmetics for some serious downsizing.
Although eventually I managed to reduce the load of my check-in to 48 pounds (3 pounds short of overweight) it took me too much time and hassle and it sure sucked the fun out of the itty-bitty processes of packing, such as stuffing all my favorite eyeshadows into my little pouch. How am I expected to be creative during my holidays, when I can only pick a few out of my many favorites like Urban Decay’s Blaze, MAC’s Knight Divine and Femme Noir, NYX’s Rock and Atlantic, Stila’s… oh you get my predicament.
So to my delight, my latest trip to Ulta threatens to solve part of my packing problem for me. I will no longer lug my entire eyeshadow collection during every roadtrip as Urban Decay’s latest palette, Ammo has all the eyeshadows I’ll need to look fierce whatever the occasion may be.
Packed in a conveniently slim palette, $39 comes with staple colors I could use for basic chic looks as well as a few colors that will bring a pop of color to my face when applied right. Because I think the colors on the picture does not do Ammo justice, continue reading for a list of the colors and textures.
When you think “DD,” my guess is that you think what men think. But when I think “DD” I think denim on denim, I think denim disaster. Although those ideas aren’t necessarily always synonymous, more often than not, fashion victims make damn sure of it. For example, Google “denim disaster” and you’re sure to find Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears’s 2001 American Music Awards get-up.
I know, what.the.fuck. As if the denim on denim theme going on here isn’t bad enough, Justin wears a denim jacket in hues too familiar to the 90′s, and Britney clutches on to a bling-encrusted denim purse. Outfits like these make us hesitant to wear our faded Levi’s in the public, and for good reasons too! However, almost a decade later, designers and fashion icons appear to have changed their minds.
Typically, I won’t do outfit of the day kind of posts, but today was an exception because not only was it a chance to show an item I didn’t on my previous post about New York buys, it looks like a storm/tornado might be approaching which makes Kalamazoo my new favorite backdrop.
PLUS, after work I found my landlords killing the trees in my neighborhood for reasons unknown to me, so I thought, heck, it’s never going to look any crazier around here (until winter comes, that is) so why not?
People go to therapy to get better, but retail therapy, instead, sets your disease on fire and watch and laugh while you and your wallet burn to paycheck hell. I should know, I just came back from an 8 day vacation in New York City — the city that much to my dismay, does sleep. (How can I put the blame on the city, when New York wears you out like a pair of flip flops during a sweaty summer?) Now, although I’m back in Kalamazoo and unhappy, I am broke yet pleased at the same time.
Why wouldn’t I be, when I have these beautiful things to keep me company when I’m lonely at night?
I may not seem like your average sugar mama but you know what they say, looks can lie. Ironically, not the looks of Mr. Rebates, however. Boys and girls, I found a way to save a lot (depending on how loosely you define that term) of money over the long haul if you are an unstable online shopping addict like I am. And I’m sure that if you are not one already, brace yourself because you’re about to be a fresh convert. 
