Month: November 2020

Polish Your Holiday Look 🎄

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Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving? I don’t know about you, but I could go for one more piece of pie! 🍪😊 We  are entering a season of celebrations and even though 2020 may be different, there are some simple things you can do this season to keep your look polished and always party ready. It’s a little bit pampering, a little bit prepping so that you will be perfectly polished for all the festivities this season.

Keep your manicure in good shape. These colder, dryer months really do a number on your manicure and almost nothing can make you feel as unpolished as a chipped nail color job. Apply cuticle oil (coconut oil works too) around the nail before bed to soften and help prevent chipping. You can extend the life of your paint job by adding a thin layer of topcoat every few days. If you go to the salon for your nails, bring a color from home so you can touch up between appointments.

Great looking hair will certainly polish your look. Trade dry, frizzy locks for shine with a deep conditioning treatment. In this dry weather most of us can benefit from the added moisture. I like to condition my hair (with extra focus on the ends) and cover it with a shower cap for a couple hours. It’s a great chance to multitask and catch up on a Hallmark Christmas movie with a cup of hot chocolate and a yummy treat. I also like to do an overnight oil treatment every couple of weeks. You may want to book a session with your hairstylist if you need a fresh cut or color job.

Another way to add pampering that leads to a polished look is with a weekly face mask. There are options available for every skin type and so many varieties – paper sheet masks, clay masks, mud masks, cream masks, you name it. You will enjoy a few minutes of relaxing during this extra busy season and your skin with enjoy the additional TLC. Keep drinking water to stay hydrated, your skin will love that too.

Speaking of your beautiful face let’s keep that peach fuzz in check. No lady likes to see that she has this fine hair on parts of her face. Don’t despair – it’s easy and painless to take care of. Invest in a Flawless Facial Hair Remover. This handy $20 tool is a total game changer. I use mine weekly to keep my face smooth.

Make some makeup adjustments for the holiday season. A bolder lip color with added shine, heaver eye makeup and a small dose of shimmer will really add to the vibe. A setting spray will hold it place all night long. Even if your celebrations are small scale this year holiday makeup will help you feel special.

Give your pearly whites some extra attention. You can do a simple at home teeth whitening every 6 weeks. Mix a small dot of toothpaste with half a teaspoon of baking soda and a splash of water. Brush for 2-3 minutes and the abrasives in the baking soda will polish your teeth. Remember to check your teeth for spinach before any selfies!

You’ll want to keep your go-to party pieces in good shape too. Check for loose threads and buttons and repair if need be. Is your go-to sweater is showing wear? Use a fabric shaver to remove the pilling. Make sure your party shoes are in good shape, you may need to remove scuffs and add polish. Keep things pressed and ready for whatever get-togethers come along. Check any costume jewelry for loose links or discoloration.

Parties are part of the season and so are presents! A unique gift doesn’t have to be hard to find. This year give the gift of a style experience with Style 311. A gift certificate for a Personal Style Appointment is perfect for all the girls on your list. 🎁🎁

Virtual Style Appointments are done by email and phone and are perfect for every girl, no matter where she lives. She will learn the three keys to dressing your best every day and a set of digital swatches to pull right up on your phone are included.

The cost is $60 and as a bonus you will receive the Style 311 eBook titled 11 Style Snippets. Contact me today about Virtual Personal Style Appointment gift certificates.

Enjoy this festive time feeling polished and party ready!

Outfit Inspiration for Your Thanksgiving Celebrations

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Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away? I like to plan out outfits ahead of time, especially in the busyness of a holiday. Start thinking now about what look you want for Thanksgiving this year.

What’s the location and vibe? You need a totally different for a casual outdoor get together than you would for a formal dinner. What activities will you be doing? If you are on cranberry sauce detail you need to avoid dry clean only, but if you are in charge of keeping the little turkeys (er… kiddos) corralled and entertained, you probably don’t want 4-inch heels. Let’s walk through some casual, denim and dress ideas for your celebrations this year.

Casual Looks

The appeal of a comfy Thanksgiving outfit is strong! I get that, but I encourage you to step it up from your typical Thursday look – this is a holiday after all! Look for completer pieces like an edgy moto jacket, details like embroidery on your top and joggers or add some sophistication with a monochromatic look.

With casual outfits its especially important to polish the look with a great hairstyle and accessories. Step it up, comfortable and stylish is possible!

Denim Looks

We love jeans and they may be just the ticket for your celebrations this year. If they fit well, they can be comfortable enough for that second piece of pie too (please pass the Cool-Whip)! Try an embellished blouse, cozy sweater in a trend color or boyfriend blazer with printed loafers.

Another denim option is to go with a long sweater. The first outfit is a patterned sweater with a complimenting print underneath, the middle is an example of a solid sweater paired with a pattern top and finally a patterned sweater with a solid underneath.

Depending on your body shape you may want to tuck the top, do a partial tuck or choose a shirt that floats away from the body. With these long sweaters you want a fitted bottom to bring balance to the look. Keep in mind darker denim is always more dressy than distressed denim.

Try a Dress

I always like to dress up for holidays so I’m totally doing a dress for Thanksgiving. There are so many options that can be just as comfortable as the casual options we talked about. Choose a fabric with some give and a cut that flatters your body shape.

Whatever look you go for, remember to wear the colors that really make you shine and don’t forget the accessories!

I know 2020 has been rough for so many & it may seem hard to see God’s blessings in your life. Let me remind you that God is always good and He knows what’s going on in your life ~ Trust Him.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

How to Find a Great Coat 🥼

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Coat season is here! I’ve got a bad habit of running around without one, but it’s something we all need – and you’ll need to have more than one. Outerwear can be spendy, so think ahead about what you need.

Ask yourself: what weather conditions do I need to work with (check the tag for fabric content to gauge the warmth level)? What are my lifestyle needs? How many seasons do I want to wear this coat? The wrong coat can ruin and otherwise great outfit, so let’s talk about four categories of coat going from most casual to dressy.

Casual Outwear

These will be your everyday coats, more trendy and at a lower price. Shearling is a big trend for outwear again this season. Within the causal category some pieces will be dressier than others. Look at the coats above: The dark green option is more fitted with metal detail making it dressier. The cognac option has a roomy fit and minimal detail so it is more casual.

Above are two more styles in the shearling trend. They are full shearling and the left is a bomber style and more casual. Sometimes this style is called a Teddy Bear coat – doesn’t it sound so cozy?

To the right is a longer coat style with detail around the collar to make it a more dressy option for shearling. These 4 shearling options are good visuals on how important it is to choose a coat that suits your coloring. To dive deep into the best colors for you to wear book a virtual Personal Style Appointment today.

Athleisure Outwear

These styles are the sporty causal coat. The puffer style is big again this year. As you see above the thickness of the puff varies. If you have a larger stature, you can handle a bigger puff. With a smaller stature a puffer coat can make you feel like the Michelin man, so try a quilted coat like the burgundy on the far right instead. Also notice pattern and detail make a puffer more or less dressy: the animal print is a big, thick puff so it is more causal; the camel colored puff has the fur trimmed hood and a longer style so it is dressier.

Dressy Casual Outwear

Coats in this category can go a lot of places because you can always put a dressier coat over casual pieces. These three women are great examples of finding outwear that coordinates with your natural coloring. Pattern is a great choice for your dressy casual coat. Find details that really bring out your personality. Make sure the scale of the pattern is in balance with your frame size.

Dressy Outerwear

Dressy coats will be investment pieces, but the cost per wear will be worth it for a coat you will be able to wear for years to come (check out this Style 311 blog for more on cost per wear). Fabric and length make a coat dressy. Wool and wool blends are classic choices for dress coats, and the longer the length the more formal the coat.

Next, tips to finding your best coat. As always, pay attention to the color: look for your best neutral or your favorite pop color if you want a bold statement. Factor in your lifestyle too – young moms may not want a light color. A solid is more timeless than a pattern and classic styling and details help your outerwear transition from year to year more easily.

Fit makes such a difference with a coat. Too big is sloppy and like you don’t care what you look like. Too small and you can feel like Tommy Boy, remember fat guy in a little coat? When trying on coats you want to be wearing your typical cold weather layers so you get a real life fit.

Make sure your coat hits at the right place. If you carry weight in your hips and thighs you want the hemline to fall above or farther below that area. If you carry weight in your middle avoid waist details like belts at your widest part. Consider taking selfies from all angles to see if the coat fits you well.

One common mistake is wearing the wrong style coat with your outfit. Puffer coats with a dress is never a good idea, no matter how causal the dress. For fall and winter outwear your base layer should not be longer than your coat.

And my favorite tip for good outwear styling: Make sure your pocket zippers are up. If not, they will gape open and you will appear larger than you are.

Don’t forget the winter accessories! Hats and gloves are winter standbys and a scarf adds instant warmth and personality. Choose the thickness and material of the scarf based on the collar and weight of your coat.

You can’t wear gloves all the time so you want your nails to look good. A great manicure really steps up your style – and a chipped manicure really brings it down! It’s expensive and time consuming to get into the salon regularly and Color Street solves both of those problems.

Color Street offers 100% nail polish strips for quick & easy application and I’m hosting an online Color Street party, click here and select Lola’s Fall Nail Bar Shopping Link. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up you’ll want to have a great looking, long-lasting manicure and Color Street is just the ticket. There are so many great color and design options from Color Street. Here are five that flatter all of us no matter what Color Code we are in.

Color Street is 100% nail polish – base coat, color and top coat all in one! There is no dry time, no streaks and no smudging. It really is a salon mani in just a few minutes. Plus they are made in the USA! Color Street makes a great, easy to mail Christmas gift for all the girls on your list! Check out the Color Street party happening through November 15th.

Your Best Plaid + How to Style it for Fall

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Plaid is a staple print for fall and 2020 is no exception. We see lots of plaid but if you want to wear it successfully, you need to know which plaids work for you. Let’s talk best colors for plaid, the best size plaid and how to style it for great looks this season.

The first thing someone notices in your outfit is color so make sure the plaid you choose suits your coloring. The colors you should wear are determined by your hair color, skin tone and eye color. In the photo grid above it’s easy to see how each combination of hair color, skin tone and eye color looks best in a certain plaid. These three factors combine to give you a Color Code.

Let’s look at each of the Color Codes and talk about the best plaids for each.

Plaids for the Soft Color Code

Women in the Soft Color Code have medium blonde to medium brown hair, a medium skin tone and a medium eye color. No surprise that the best plaids will be medium in intensity and color.

Plaids for the Clear Color Code

Women in the Clear Color Code have high contrast coloring with their dark hair, fair skin and bright or very dark eyes. High contrast combinations like black & white or traditional black & red buffalo plaid are perfect for a Clear.

Plaids for the Warm Color Code

Women in the Warm Color Code have red hair and can have any skin tone and any eye color. To compliment the red hair the best choices are autumn-like shades, greens and deep purples. Fall is a great time to find plaids that perfectly compliment a Warm.

Plaids for the Cool Color Code

Women in the Cool Color Code have gray, silver or white hair, any skin tone and any eye color. The best plaid combos for you will include black, white and grays. These three shades are spot on for your coloring.

Plaids for the Light Color Code

Women in the Light Color Code have very blonde hair, fair skin and a bright eye color. The best plaid combinations will be fair and crisp. Find a white or other light background to compliment your coloring.

Plaids for the Deep Color Code

Women in the Deep Color Code have dark hair, medium to dark skin tone and a darker eye color. The best plaids will have a darker background and be low-contrast.

The most important part in finding your best plaid for fall is the color combinations you choose. Next you need to consider the size of your plaid.

If you have a smaller stature (5’3″ or under) you need a small size so that your frame isn’t overwhelmed. Try a check pattern: it will give the same effect as a plaid but won’t swallow you.

If you have medium stature you can successfully wear either checks or standard plaids.

If you have a larger stature (5’8″ and up) you need a larger plaid so that your body looks properly balanced.

Wearing your best colors – in plaid and all pieces-, dressing in proper proportion to your frame and accessorizing the right way are the three keys to dressing your best. Ready to learn more? Book a Virtual Personal Style Appointment for $60 and get started on a more stylish you.

Styling Plaid Looks for Fall 2020

Since plaid comes back around every fall it’s important to keep your styling current. Try a plaid boyfriend blazer with a statement tee, mix your plaid with another pattern like animal print or find a creative way to layer your plaid look.

You can also bring touches of plaid into your wardrobe with accessories. Try headbands, a chic pair of gloves, footwear, a bag or a winter hat. How about plaid on your nails?

Color Street offers 100% nail polish strips for quick & easy application – and they have plaid options! I’m hosting an online Color Street party, click here and select Lola’s Fall Nail Bar Shopping Link. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up you’ll want to have a great looking, long-lasting manicure and Color Street is just the ticket. Application is quick and easy plus you don’t have to spend time or big bucks at the salon. Check out the Color Street party happening through November 15th.

PS: Color Street makes a great, easy to mail Christmas gift for all the girls on your list! 💅🎄