Everyone Loves Plaid

Hi Angels!!

One of the top trends I have been seeing everywhere this fall is plaid.  For the first time, I actually think I like plaid!  Designers have made plaid look edgy and tres chic, by creating versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down. They have moved away from the more traditional shirts that you would expect to see in plaid, and have instead created moto jackets and skirts in subdued shades that have managed to make me a fan.  I especially love the look Versace featured in their main display (below).  I think it's an easy look to replicate with a lower end plaid jacket paired with some black leggings and black pumps.  For an office look, wear a plaid pencil skirt with green and navy blue, add a white shirt, bangles, and a statement necklace and you are good to go!!  You can dress plaid down for the weekend with a button down shirt and some gray jeans. 

I have scoured high to low, and have summarized places you can find plaid trends and inspiration for every budget ranging from Versace, Saks, all the way to Forever 21. My top pick aside from the Versace look is the Gap jacket, pictured below.  Overall, I think this trend is a do. 

Versace:

Zara:

Alice & Olivia skirt at Saks:

Joie shirt at Saks:

Forever 21:

Forever 21:

Gap Jacket:

Gap Jacket (my pick):

Dior Rouge Inspired Look

Hi Angels!!

I came across this ad featuring the beautiful Natalie Portman for Dior while flipping through Marie Claire a few days ago.  I loved the everyday chic aspect of the look and was inspired to recreate it with pieces I already own.

Natalie is wearing a black top underneath a black blazer, rolled up jeans, pink suede pumps, and a black bag featuring a chain strap. I rummaged through my closet and found all of these items. See below for how I compiled all the pieces:

Black tank from H&M:

Black boyfriend blazer from off5th:

Rolled up jeans from GAP:

Pink suede pumps (see my earlier post "Jimmy Choo Look For Less" for details):

Black leather bag with chain strap:

And viola!  Final product:

All of the items I have selected were under $100 each.  Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Happy recycling what is hidden in your closet :)

NYX glitter eyeliner review

Hello Angels,

Back with a review of the NYX glitter eyeliners I have decided to sharpen my skills with.  Dramatic eyeliner looks in all shades with sparkle and without are taking over the eye makeup world.  Personally winged black eyeliner and bold lipstick has become my makeup go-to this fall. The ease of this glamorous look has put it on repeat for me.
I wanted to start incorporating glitter eyeliners into this recent personal obsession but decided to experiment at a lower price point just in case I decide that this trend just isn't for me (for frequent use).  So off to the store I went!  

I grabbed the two following colors:
Crystal Gold

Crystal Jade

Here is a swatch of the two colors on my hand. 

I will say that it took a pretty generous swipe to get this color saturation.  Which is not the case with the more expensive versions of glitter eyeliner. That said,  a more expensive version of this stuff runs upwards of $20.  It wears nicely and is as long lasting as any liquid liner I've used.  I used two swipes to really get the green to be uniform in thickness and coljor.
I went ahead and took the liberty of quickly swiping out a look that is exemplary of how I plan to use these in my makeup regimen.  

I plan to use them to jazz up my eyeliner looks, and believe me this will be very useful for going out after work (quick swipe of glitter eyeliner across the top line,   inner lower corner or outer wing and bam-- instant glam!). Or even for topping off a more dramatic look like a smokey eye.  Really there's no end to how you can use these and if you've ever worked with loose glitter you will appreciate how portable and mess free, easy to apply these are.  Hence the fabulous on-the-go potential use.  Try that with a tub of MAC glitter.  Hah.

So all in all I've drawn two conclusions.  One, this is a trend I like, serves up what I like to call "lazy glam".  Two, at this price it's fun to experiment and play and when I'm totally over it, I won't feel guilty about letting them gather dust in my makeup drawers!   

Hope you give the glitter trend a try, and feel free post your thoughts and comments below.  :)

Happy Haulin'!!!

RiRi loves MAC Fall Collection

Need we say more?

Lol

It launched in stores on 9/26.  Pro discount applies.

Happy Haulin'

Real or Steal? Cap Toe Pumps for Fall!

Hi Angels!

Every now and then I get inspired to hunt for designer looks that are budget conscious. My most recent inspiration were cap toe pumps that I have seen by a wide range of designers.  It's an elegant and easy way to add a pop of color to an outfit. Saint Laurent, Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen, Stuart Weitzman, and Kate Spade seem to agree with me!  

          Saint Laurent

         Saint Laurent

         Saint Laurent

          Jimmy Choo

             Alexander McQueen

           Stuart Weitzman

           Kate Spade

The shoes pictured above start at $300. Though I love them all and always get sucked in to buying designer shoes, sometimes I enjoy the thrill of finding something equally as beautiful, without feeling guilty about it as soon as I walk out of the store!  Fear not, I have found a pair of cap toe pumps at a price that won't break the bank!  I randomly discovered these amazing Jessica Simpson pumps at Marshalls for under $50!  Can you even tell the difference?  I am so excited to wear these this season, and I'm pretty sure my wallet has given it's seal of approval as well :) 

Happy shopping!!

Pretty Prescription Instagram Giveaway Winner!!

Angels,

Just want to share with you in case you didn't know yet-- we have a winner for our first Instagram giveaway!  

@amie_nichole, one of our stylish followers was selected at random and very pleasantly surprised by her win!  

Anyone can be a winner!  So stay tuned, we have more chances to win coming to your favorite blog!  And tell a friend ;).  

Night night!!

CSB

Lancome Rouge In Love Collection Picks, review and swatches

Hello Angels,

Back with some more makeup to share!  Shocking, I know.  I went to my local Sephora this weekend to try out some lipsticks that had flown under my personal usage radar.  I'm talking about the Lancome Rouge in Love 6 hour long wear luxury line of lipsticks released in June 2013 by a beloved luxury cosmetics line, Lancome.  Described by the company as "high potency" color, it is designed to have a lightweight feel and comes in 22 shades.  Here's a launch photo for the line featuring Emma Watson.

I'll admit.  I love Lancome mascara, eyeliner, blush and foundations but I've never thought very much of their lipsticks.  Until now!  After a friend of mine gushed about a shade from this line that she was just in loooove with, off to Sephora I went.  

Here's their Rouge in Love display, pretty discreetly tucked away under a Teinte Visionnnaire display:

I tried all 16 of the shades at Sephora, so much that the back of my poor left hand started to feel raw!  But I do this for our followers in the name of beauty ;).  My 3 must have picks from this collection are the following:

1.  Shade 381 B Violette Coquette:  This went on like buttah!  All of them did actually.  And the color caused a small gasp to escape my lips, prompting the sales associate to ask me if I needed help.   No, no help needed.  Just this lipstick.  For all you MACnistas out there, it's like Heroine with shine, but shine that doesn't take away from its pigment.  It also reminds me of MAC Violetta without the iridescence.  If you couldn't care less about MAC, know that both of the aforementioned shades were limited edition and this is a very close dupe you can get for retail price that will flatter every skin tone.  

2.  Shade 361M Pink Bon Bon:  Such a pretty, cool but bright pink!  This reminds me  of MAC Pink Nouveau but, with sheen that doesn't come from gloss layered over it.  I like that saved step for getting ready for work, and I like the idea of 6 hour wear with a color like this.  It's also a do for all skin tones.  

3.  Last but not least, Shade 322M Corail in Love:  A lovely coral-infused light brown that makes for a nice neutral color.  I see this as a great every day lipstick, as well as one that pairs quite nicely with a brown smokey eye or gold eyeshadow.  

They definitely wear with feather weight, no heavy or sticky feeling after hours of wear.  I would call them long lasting but not necessarily 6 retouch-free hours.  Especially after a meal.  That said, they are not drying like many long wear lipsticks so I'm willing to do touch-ups for that benefit.  

I added these three beauties to my collection (as if I needed another lipstick ever) and I look forward to pairing them with neutral eyeshadows and my go-to winged eyeliner (for the violet and pink lippies) as a gorgeous pop of color that is still quite appropriate for the workplace. 

Hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the collection and maybe even discovered one that you plan to snag for your collection!  Please share your thoughts and comments/questions!  

Happy Haulin'!

My Philip Lim for Target Review and Haul!

Hi Angels!

Back with an update on my complete Philip Lim Haul from the Limsanity that swept Target stores across the nation.  I was lucky in that I live in a less... ahem...  fashion preoccupied part of the country so there was no standing in line at 7 a.m. for me.  Nope, no throwing elbows or fighting crowds.  In fact, I forgot all about it in an effort to abide by my "No shop September" pledge as pennance for all my shopaholic sins this past summer (a mess!).  Well I made the mistake of checking my Instagram feed right before church and saw adorable reminders popping up as to why I absolutely needed to check out the collection!  So after church I hopped in my car and (tires screeching) headed over to the nearest Target, fully expecting to find hoards of women tugging at opposite ends of the same handbag and... Nope.  Nothing.  I found a peaceful, organized, and.... FULLY stocked 3.1 Phillip Lim section with a good amount of handbags available.  My Target didn't stock every single item in the collection, sadly, but they had a pretty decent selection.

So I did what any good sister/daughter/fashionista would do-- I got on the horn and took orders from my sisters and mom.  By the time they were done and I picked up everything that I was too chicken to leave behind (lest I regret it later-- I mean at less than $55 a bag, you really can't "overbuy") this is what my cart looked like.  

Mind you, the picking and discussion took at least 45 minutes.  And people who were walking by (and, shockingly ignoring the collection altogether) looked at me like I had two heads.  But in the name of affordable limited edition fashion I carried on.  

I will start by saying that most of the clothes were not my cup of tea.  For one, I didn't like that the embellishments on some of the dresses looked cheap and lackluster even for the low price:

I'm sure plenty of people disagree but those were a pass for me.  I liked the "Boom" sweatshirt, thought it was really cute:

But then I asked myself how often I would really wear it and questioned how that vibrant red in the print would look after a few passes through the wash.  Realizing that this piece would quickly become wear-only-at-home-clothes for me, at $29.99 I decided to pass (After seeing Jessics Alba wearing it my resolve was tested but... I stil don't own it.)

I considered this sweater:

But then I decided it looked "itchy" and very likely to pill (which is the bane of my existence!) so... Pass for me.   

This trench coat actually piqued my interest-- and the quality for the price is quite good.  I just already have something similar from GAP that I barely wear as it is so I passed, but this coat, which is still available online, I think is a grab for anyone who doesn't have a trench coat.

Ok so by now you're probably like "Well what did you get already???"  

Here's what I got:

The tiger t-shirt (which I only later realized was a piece from the men's collection but whatever it's still really cool):

This animal print dress, which I love because of the ruched fabric (always a friend to my figure), and the mustard and cobalt color combination (I love cobalt for fall!) and the asymmetric hemline.  This dress will accessorize up or down easily for work, play, or date night.  I can even see rocking it very casually with a classic pair of white Converse and a denim jacket.  A versatile piece for $29.99:

And... that was it for me with the clothes.  Still got that sweatshirt in my crazy head...  LOL give me strength.  

On to the accessories.  This is where I went HAM and am still deciding on what's a keeper and what's a return.  Although as a side note I could turn a pretty nice profit on what I don't want from what I'm seeing in the resale market for these on Ebay and Instagram.  But I'm not  into that-- I'd rather give someone else a chance to have a piece and return to the store. Total sap I know.  

Here's my collection all together:

A. Mess.  Don't judge me.  As my fellow pretty prescribers and I have determined, this extremely affordable collection has just done a favor for all of the much more expensive pieces in my collection.  It bought them a nice little vacation in their dust bags because these puppies will be my go-to bags for fall.  Something very comforting about being caught in the rain with bag that didn't cost $1800 and isn't made of leather.  So... Apologies in advance for the Lim overload you may be sensing when you see my future daily outfit posts (follow @drpurple81 to see!)

An overall review of the bags is, for a price range of $34.99 to $54.99 there's really not much to complain about.  They have a luxurious feel and look a lot like leather, and inside they have lots of organizing cimpartments and places for your multiple gadgets and lipstick.  All have either a zipper or magnetic closure which is a pet peeve of mine when I think of the beloved Louis Vuitton Neverfull.  Talk about an invitation to reach in and grab my wallet in a crowd!  But I digress....     

I didn't find any dried globs of glue or frayed trims on any of these bags.  Sure, you may find a loose stitch here and there to snip.  I'm just making this point because I've heard a lot of harsh critiques on the quality of these bags and I'm wondering what it is people are expecting for the price.  A miracle?  As an owner of many much more expensive bags I will tell you firsthand that no bag below a $900 price point is 100% exempt from this loose stitch flaw.  None.  

My absolute faves of the accessories collection include this scarf:

Fabulous because of the print and because it's HUGE but lightweight which makes it super duper versatile. 

Next fave is this adorable mini version of the Pashli (a gorgeous and popular $900 bag in the designer's non-Target collection) and it's a cross-body!!!!!  Ok well for me that's exciting.  I love having the hands free option.

My pic:

Stock pic:

Next fave is this medium satchel, because it's roomy but not huge, and looks way more expensive than it is.  In fact I'm substituting this bag for my Marc Jacobs Blake bag to give it a rest since they don't make it the same way anymore-- no more genuine brass details in newer versions :(.

My pic:

Stock pic-- it's also a cross body!!!!  And by now you know how happy that makes me:

And I adore this large tote in black and grey/taupe:

My pic:

Stock pic:

It is "tough" looking as my sister described it.  Looks more expensive than it is for sure and I like the extra hardware on the side where the bag expands.  For most handbags this is a snap button-- I love that they placed a zipper here instead. It will be my go-to Fall work bag and it transitions well enough to night but...  If you're like me, and you know you're going out after work a lot (and let's face it, a giant tote isn't cute at the bar) you will keep your phone, keys, I.D. and lipstick in a clutch that fits inside your large work tote.  I'm loving GAP leather clutches for this exact purpose.  And this bag is roomy enough for that, a cardigan, small umbrella and all your other workday essentials.  

So that wraps it up for my 3.1 Philip Lim for Target Haul and review.  

Hope you enjoyed this tour and I would love to hear your thoughts on this collection, or any past Target designer collaborations.  Anyone else looking forward to next Spring--  Peter Pilotto!  

Til next time Angels... Happy Shopping!