Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Village Naturals Aromatherapy Relax Vanilla & Cinnamon Body Butter, $8

Brrrr! I'm sitting at the computer with a winter coat and fuzzy boots on as I'm typing this post. It's COLD! Turkey Day is tomorrow and the Indian Summer that we had in L.A. last month is looong gone. :(  I get cranky when the weather changes because I usually get sick. I always complain and mutter something about how "island people" aren't meant for the cold, but the real reason I hate cold weather so much is because it's so DRY.

My first Sleek Blush lives up to the hype!

 

Sleek Blush in "Suede"

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard the buzz about Sleek Makeup's blushes, which hopped over the pond from the UK. Their blushes look very similar to NARS blushes and are supposed to have high-end quality pigmentation at drugstore prices.

Look for Less: Kim K's Turquoise and Gold YSL 'Arty' Ring

YSL Turquoise "Arty" Ring, $380 on Ebay

If you love Kim's turquoise Yves Saint Laurent "Arty" ring but don't want to shell out $400 for it, check out this similar ring I found on Ebay for only $7!

Gold Nugget and Turquoise Oval Ring, $7 on Ebay

That listing lets you choose from turquoise, black, or red stones. Other listings have even more options!

A good friend of mine spent hundreds of dollars on the cobalt blue YSL 'Arty' last year... I know she'd never buy "replicas" but, since the YSL ring is gold plated and not real gold, I'm sure this Ebay ring would be the smarter choice for anyone who would be okay with not having the real thing.

Happy shopping!

If This Clay Mask Were a Man, I'd Marry it

I couldn't sleep the other night, so I ended up window-shopping the skincare goods on Amazon. Somehow, I stumbled upon a product called Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. I was immediately attracted to the mystical sounding name- I envisioned witch-doctors using the clay to heal their patients' wounds... (It was 3 AM, okay- I was delirious.)

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay, $7-9, Whole Foods or Amazon.com

Then, I noticed that this product had great reviews from over a hundred people who all swore that this stuff could get rid of everything from acne to poison ivy to spider bites. I was definitely intrigued and, after Googling it a bit more, I found out that this calcium bentonite clay has tons of uses and rave reviews all over the internet.

Customize Your Own Forever 21 Charm and Tassel Necklace

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Ornamental Cluster Necklace, $5.80

Long Nose Pliers, $2

Step 1:
Lay the necklace out on a flat surface. (I put a paper towel down so that the charms wouldn't slip around as much and so it would be easy to find any charm connectors that fell loose from the chain.)

Step 2:
Using the pliers, carefully separate all 10 charms from the necklace by bending the little circle-shaped charm connectors just enough to release the charm from the cluster. (Make sure that you don't separate the charms from their charm connectors because you'll need those to re-attach the charms to the chain.) You should end up with a plain gold necklace, 9 charms, and 1 tassel.

Step 3:
Now you're ready to customize your necklace with any combination of charms you want! Just hook one or more of the charms onto the chain and rock it out! (Tip: If you're using several charms, hook their charm connectors together to form a drop chain instead of just hooking them onto the chain side by side.)

 

I customized mine with the navy blue bead, the jade green pendant, the multi-faceted turquoise bead, the gold flower with a rhinestone in the center, and the gold tassel. (Notice that all of the charm connectors form a drop chain so that only ONE of the charm connectors is actually attached to the necklace.)

Here's a picture with flash.

What do you do with the remaining charms? You can create another chain of charms to switch out with your other charms later on, using the same gold necklace, OR you can buy a separate gold necklace to put the other charms on and then you'll have two separate necklaces. Either way, don't throw any of the charms or connectors out because you may want to use them in the future.