Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Perfect Eyebrows


Hey all, so I did some browsing and I'm here to help you guys find your perfect eyebrows. Eyebrows can dramatically change how your face looks. Above: Keira Knightley, because I love her eyebrows.  Below: Heres a picture of Audrey Hepburn with two different eyebrows (see how both faces look quite different):



Okay so first off, I'd like to say this: I've seen wayyy too many girls with eyebrows that are wayyy too thin or too thick. Eyebrows are supposed to look natural, and frame your eyes.  Go for a medium. If done right, eyebrows will enhance your eyes and make you look even more gorgeous.

Rules of thumb:
1. Don't shave your eyebrows...only pluck using tweezers, get them waxed, or leave it to threading (a very painful procedure- but it lasts longer). But beware- threading and waxing too many times will make it harder for the hairs to grow back, in the case that you may want to change your eyebrow shape.
2. Only pluck from the underside of your eyebrow
3. Pluck in the direction that the hair is growing
4. Don't pluck too much!
5. Also, (for those of you who like to change their hair color), always keep your eyebrows the same color or a shade darker than the hair on your head. Anything darker or lighter than that won't be flattering.

Deciding what shape to pluck your eyebrows in...
-The start of your eyebrow should begin parallel to the inner corner of your eye.
-The end of your eyebrow should end diagonal to the outer corner of your eye.
-The eyebrow should arch where the your iris (the colored part of your eye) is when you look straight forward ,even though this is subjective, because some people arches are more...archy?, while other people prefer a more natural, arch- its up to you! But at the same time don't make your eyebrows too round, without any arch- it won't enhance your eyes as much.

Remember, what looks best eyebrow-wise varies for every person, but you can be the best judge of what looks natural and compliments you best.  Here is a picture of nice eyebrows to give you all an idea:

Note the arch, its not too thick or thin, and the eyebrow are only a little darker than her hair. Perfecto!

If you have an unsteady hand or don't trust your tweezing skills, you can always go get them done by a professional.  Better safe than sorry.  But I hope the article helped at least some of you.

Thanks for reading, 

-NewYorkChique

Saturday, January 19, 2008

How to Wrap A Scarf: The French Twist

Scarfs are by far my favorite accesory of all time. period. I use them whenever my outfit feels blahh, and they just make my day so much brighter. But for the longest time I just did the simple wrap-around neck thing- it never occurred to me to wrap it like this. Then one of my friends wore her scarf like this to school and it changed my world. You might think I'm exagerrating, but now I'm simply in love with the look. So heres a step-by-step guide, hopefully it'll be as helpful to you as it was for me.

How to Tie a Neck Scarf in a French Twist:

Step 1: Take the scarf and fold it lengthwise until you reach your desired thickness.


Step 2. Wrap the scarf around your neck, making sure to place the middle of the scarf at the back of your neck, so that you can hold both ends with your hands. Oh, and make sure to make the ends even.


Step 3: Taking both ends, make a simple knot at the front [over and under, you know the drill], and once you're done with that, bring the knot up to your neck.


Step 4: Bring the knot to the side of your neck, and tighten it a bit.


Step 5: Go seduce a shmexy man with your fabulous french twisted scarf.



Haha, ok the last step is totally optional, but probably the most fun. Now aren't you just dumbfounded by how easy it is to make a french twist!? When I finally learned how to do it I was like woah, I cant believe I never realized how to do that. Below is Rachel Bilson with a beautiful silk scarf- its not wrapped, but still looks great.


And if I had a pretty penny...I would buy this scarf: (Hermes, $325)



But since I really don't, I'm still perfectly content to going to Banana Republic and buying these scarves: (Left; Banana Republic, $48) ( Right; Banana republic, $38)



Okay, so thats my take on silk scarfs. Not only are they beautiful, but soft, and now we all know how to knot them in an amazing way.

Till next time

Friday, January 11, 2008

Clutch me, Hold me

Okay, so lets talk clutches.

To be pefectly honest, we have a love-hate relationship. They'e so pretty and chic, and I'm dying to use them [love], but they're awfully inconvinient [hate]. I mean, if its a special event, then I guess its worth the effort. But when you're just going out shopping or running errands, they either take a hand to carry, or you have to put it under your arm. What a hassle. I rather just swing an oversized bag over my shoulder, at least I can use both my hands to carry the groceries or check out price tags. But anyway, here are some snazzy clutches.

Clippy Clutches: The clutches with the clips at the top; pretty self explanatory. The one on the left is adorable (Left; Forever 21, $8.80) - I admit it, even though the butterfly at the top kinda annoys me, I can't help but to want it! And its affordable, which in my mind makes this a great buy. The one on the right is just dreamy. Haha whenever I look at it I can just imagine myself in a fancy dress and heels with it. Haha...its not exactly a clutch, but I have a purse similar to that whose chains are removable- so its like half clutch half purse. Anyway, its gorg.(Right; Banana Republic, $36.99). The white one on the bottom, (Bottom, Urban Outfitters, $24) is soo great. I could imagine using it for so many outfits, and for casual as well as maybe more formal use. I think I might just buy this one myself =]


Envelope Clutches: (Left and Right; Urban Outfitters, $34.99)- These are oversized, and completely suede, so its definetly worth the buy. They're the same exact ones, the one on the left being pink and the one on the right being black.



Bow Clutches: These are beautiful- the bow just makes it that much more classy looking. I especially like the purple color on the left clutch (Left; Dolce and Gabbana, $495). The one in the middle (Right; Urban Outfitters, $74.99) is also really cute, and I like that the polka dots are subtle.


Foldover Clutches: (Left; Carlos Falchi, $1995)- Okay, this one is definety pricey, but hey, it looks nice. The one from Urban Outfitters (Right; Urban Outfitters, $39.99) looks really nice for conventional use- you know, for everyday things. As well as pewter, the color shown below, it comes in black and red. The one on the bottom (Bottom; Banana Republic, $120) comes in this orange as well as in green. The foldover and the buckle on this one is especially cute.


Oversized clutches, by the way, seem to be a pretty big trend. I guess its expected after the whole oversized handbag epidemic. [it was a good epidemic though :) ]. Victoria Beckham is a fan of clutches- she was seen sporting a Hermes Baccara Crocodile Clutch as well as a Jimmy Choo Oversized fold-over calfskin clutch.

Hermes Baccara Crocodile Clutch, in black and in green.


The Jimmy Choo Foldover Calfskin Clutch (Saks Fifth Avenue, $1,250)



The Olsen twins using this Bottega Veneta Clutch:


And also, Kate Bosworth seen with this beautiful bronze Chanel clutch:



Oh and I just heard: Nicole Richie and Joel Madden finally had their baby girl! Her name is Harlow Winter Kate Madden. Good luck to them.

Thanks, and hope you like the post! And comment if you like it, or hate it. I just want to hear what you think. Thanks

Ciao

Sunday, January 6, 2008

The Cat in the Hat

One day I'm a mother
One day I'm a lover
What am I supposed to do?
Hats!
-Amy Grant

Hats, hats, and more hats.

Again, because of the bitter cold sometimes I force myself to wear a hat. For the longest time I despised hats because they always messed up my hair and frizzed it, and by the end I looked like a puppy dog who got stuck in the dryer.

But hats don't have to be frumpy or a nuisance; they can be cute too. And there are so many to choose from! Well here are a few that I managed to find:

Types of hats:

1. The Cadet hat (Left; JcPenny, $9.99), (Right; Burberry, $180). Weirdly, I like the JCPenny one much more than the burberry. I guess the sailor buttons on it make it that much cuter.



2. Floppy hats. (Left; Juicy couture, $125). A nice alternative, (Right; Ubran Outfitters, $42) And they come in burnt orange and grey too!



3. Large felt hats-a little less floppy, (bloomingdales, $49.99). The satin ribon is a lovely accent, i think. And the hue of blue is just gorgeous.



3. Fedoras. (Left and right; bloomingdales, $47.99) And they come in alot of snazzy colors too. An even better deal at forever21, (Bottom; forever21, $9.80). And don't forget; they also have ribboned fedoras -especially at forever21- so if thats what you're looking for, then you should definetly check out that store.



4. Berets (Left and right; Eric Javits, $225). My favorites probably the on on the right, but the one on the left would be pretty handy for certain outfits.



These two look fabulous, but way out of my price range for a hat. Nice alternatives:
A saggy beret (Left; Ubran Outfitters, $28), (Right; Mandees, $10). I especially like the regular berets- and for anyone who lives in New York City, you can sometimes see them being sold on the street for pretty cheap ($8-15), depending on how you bargain.



5. Beanies. (Left; Urban Outfitters, $20), (Right; Forever21, $10.80). Whats great about the urban outfitters one is that they come in other colors too- this bright yellow, a bright aqua, and then cream and black. And the one from forever21 caught my eye, I might go buy it myself! It also comes in black and grey.




6. The flap beanie. (Left; forever21, $9.80). And it comes in purple, grey, and black as well. the great thing about beanies with flaps is that although they look kinda goofy sometimes, they're positively adorable. Especially when guys wear them. Now thats my type of man.



Hats: not only are they handy, but they can be gorgeous and that extra UMPH in any outfit. I'll have to go hat shopping myself sometime soon.

Toodles


Friday, January 4, 2008

Baby it's cold outside

It's been freezing the past few days...but its supposed to get warmer on tuesday. lets cross our fingers! But the one thing I like about the winter are the fab coats that we can wear. Yumm.

My Buy of the day: (for the cold weather, of course)
Urban Outfitters: $172

And for back to school/winter inspiration + (i wish he was my boyfriend and i want her hair! ahhh inspiration)





Ah, finally my second post. I have ideas for the next few posts, but I hope that this one was good enough for now. =]
And spread the word! My blogs fairly new, so I'd really appreciate it if you let other people know if you liked it or not.

Thanks!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

A New Year


Well with the beginning of the new year, I decided to make a- tada!- new blog.

Basically, I'm a girl living in New York City. I love fashion, I like art; especially photography and painting.

I'll put up things relating to fashion, photography, inspiration, maybe throw in some juicy news and some of my own musings. Its really not that complicated.

And i'm doing this blog for fun, for myself, and for others to read. If you don't like it- too bad. But I think you will, I mean, I'm planning to put alot of work into it =].

Thanks a bundle.
Mwah