LuxuryLyst for the Holidays

Who's still looking for last minute gifts? Time is running out for those of us who like to procrastinate!  Here are some ideas I'm bouncing around for stocking stuffers and the like...

Fresh Sugar Fix lip scrub and balm gift set:  I'm thinking this is the perfect gift to take to play "White Elephant Christmas" or "Dirty Santa" - whichever you prefer to call it!

Fragrance roller balls:  These pictured are from Fresh (yes, the Fresh products are my current beauty obsession!)  but now you can get just about any fragrance you'd like in a compact, travel friendly roller ball.  Thank you, TSA...  

 Who doesn't love chocolate?


ChocoVivo  is a chocolate bar in California where the proprietor obtains her pure cacao beans from a 100 year old farm in Mexico where the Mayan people grew cacao trees years ago.






















Homemade gifts are always a thoughtful idea if you're crafty.  Below is a super simple recipe for hand sanitizer.  You can make it and find a cute container for storing and gifting!


For whatever amount of sanitizer you're making, use a alcohol to aloe vera gel ratio of 3/2. To it, you can add various essential oils - tea tree for an extra kick of antibacterial protection; lavender or peppermint for stress relief; or lemon just so it smells good.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Re-launching!

With Sincere Gratitude...

Reflections: Fashion's Night Out Dallas

Another FNO has come and gone and I had a great time!  I first had to get over the fact that Barneys in Dallas wasn't celebrating - at all!  I went in there 3 different times - OK 4 times. (I must have been waiting for a party to materialize out of thin air! Ha!)


I had a blast with the crew in Elie Tahari - they were so nice and they had a live model who was very cute!


The DJ at Neiman Marcus was amazing!  I forced myself to leave while singing along to Dancing Queen.  No one wanted to leave the store because every song she spun was cooler than the next


Apparently, the place to be was Highland Park Village!  I had to park 5 blocks away and just pray my car was still there when I got back! Thankfully it was!  They had tents set up reminiscent of Bryant Park (*insert nostalgic sigh*) and had 2 fashion shows in addition to all of the cool things the individual stores had going.


I read somewhere that the Dallas Galleria was not to be outdone!  In addition to all of the awesome store specials, they had a runway the entire length of the mall.  I didn't make it out there but I was certainly tempted to see and give high fives to the models that walked a runway that long!


I am happily wiped out, full of way too much champagne and way too many little sweets and ready to stream runway shows! Happy Fashion Week! :)


...:::love&light:::...

Fashion's Night Out 2011

It's the eve of Fashion's Night Out 2011 and I'm so excited! It kind of reminds me of a Halloween for Fashionistas! Shopping, music, drinks, fun!

I think I'll start "trick or treating" at Barney's and Neiman Marcus and then over to some of the specialty shops! Who knows?  Maybe the nail bar at Chanel, or the stimulation of all 5 senses at DVF, or champagne and scarf tying at Hermes - so many great, fun options!

What a great start to Fashion Week - this was such an amazing idea!  How will you be celebrating tomorrow?

2011 MTV Video Music Awards

I love music probably more than fashion. Correction: I love good music more than fashion! That being said, I'm always willing to cut musicians and other recording artists lots of slack when it comes to the choices they make regarding their attire.  For example, when everyone tried to slam Lady Gaga's Armani gown at the 2010 Grammy's, I immediately liked it and now I actually love it!  I call it artistic license!

Last night at the VMAs, however, I was just disappointed at the choices that were made for this red carpet.  I twittered that it's pretty sad that I was shocked when people actually looked cute as I clicked through photos!  I did manage to find on look that I really liked, and that was Demi Lovato in a beautiful and sexy piece by Mandalay and Louboutin heels.  Very nice, Demi!

Ready for Fall!

Even though we're still baking like cupcakes in Texas, it's time for fashion enthusiasts to start looking at fall trends! Maybe paying attention to fall fashions will help to break this oppressive heat wave!

H&M has finally come to Dallas! I am trying to wait to go see our new favorite store but this cute little dress keeps calling me from billboards around town to come try it!

I'm really liking the retro, ladylike silhouettes that are appearing circa 1960s with a modern twist.

Shoes are coming out with a chunkier heel - I'm sure our ankles will be thanking us for that! It looks as though the fall will be ushering in a trend of footwear that is comfortable as well as stylish like the Alexander Wang "Anias" shoe below:

A Little Shoe Envy to Brighten Your Day

I pulled this beautiful shoe from a Neiman Marcus email - so pretty!!!  It's the Jimmy Choo hologram bootie.

235 Years Never Looked More Fabulous!

 Happy Birthday, America!

Gala at The Met

The Met Gala this year honored the late Alexander McQueen.  Here are some of my favorite looks...

Brooklyn Decker in Michael Kors 

Iman in McQueen (don't try this at home!) 

Sophia Vergara in Carolina Herrera  

Modern Fairy Tale

So, Prince William made Katherine Middleton a real life princess in a beautiful, real life fairy tale wedding Friday.  I have not seen the wedding yet but I feel as though I have because of all of the media footage. I have to say it was a bit much (but really, when doesn't the media overdo it?)!

I can't wait to see the actual ceremony even though I have looked at that beautiful dress from every angle.  Princess Katherine was gorgeous like we all knew she would be in her gown that was reminiscent of Grace Kelly's wedding gown.  The Sarah Burton design for the house of Alexander McQueen was a beautiful choice.

Pippa's dress was a little more risqué. It could be, of course, because she wasn't about to become a princess! It was sexier than the Duchess' dress but it was no less lovely and elegant. I loved it as well. Thank you, Royal Family, for giving the world a small thrill! 

Congratulations Prince William and Princess Katherine!

Fashion's Night Out!!!

SAVE THE DATE!  FNO 2011 is September 8,2011!  I really, really want to be in NYC for this!  I'll gladly accept a freelance assignment from any media outlet! #bigcutegrin#

Below is the link with all of the great swag - this is where you can get information about events as their added to the itinerary...

FNO

Fashion for Japan

Gucci is about to launch a campaign in an effort to send aid to Japan.   Frida Giannini has designed a red and white bracelet with a charm with "Gucci loves you" engraved on it.   All proceeds from the sale of the bracelet will go to The Red Cross Society.  The bracelets go on sale in Japan Saturday and will be available everywhere else later this year.

Facebook post on Gucci page...

Gucci Philanthropy

Oscar de la Renta at the French Institute Alliance Française

One of my favorite things to do is to walk by the Oscar de la Renta store and see what gorgeous gown is in the window.  I'm convinced that the window dresser must be the happiest and the most panic stricken dear on the planet as well as the most gifted!  I am always taken aback and have to stop to take in the beauty that are the creations displayed in that window.

Tonight Oscar de la Renta will speak in New York City at the Art de Vivre series of the French Institute Alliance Française.  I can't wait to hear him!

Shoe Stunner

Guiseppe Zanotti @ Barney's

Christian Louboutin @ Barneys

There's something about a beautiful shoe that just leaves me breathless...

Bally!

"Yo, Doug! Put your Ballys on!"
"Yo, Rick, I was about to but I need a shoe horn!"


I learned about the Swiss house of Bally from legendary Hip Hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh.  He mentioned the brand quite a bit in his iconic music.  Now, I knew Bally was still around because I used to like going in the store when I lived near one (come to Dallas!) but my '80s nostalgia this week led me to do a bit of cyber window shopping on their site.

I love the clean lines and structure of their pieces.  To think - back in the day as a kid, I thought Bally only sold sneakers! I'm glad they are so much more!

Name Brand Nostalgia...

While out and about yesterday, I spotted a nice lady carrying what I thought was an "MCM" bag.  Upon further inspection (I'm a huge people-watcher) I discovered it indeed was not and MCM bag because the letters were not MCM and of course in true 21st century fashion, I had to twitter about it and give my friends and followers a quick giggle!

When I got home, I decided to google MCM to see if it still exists and it does!  They even still have their iconic '80s logo - funky fresh and in full effect! ('80s babies - holla!) I learned that MCM stands for Mode Creation Munich and it's a German brand and it was created in 1976. Fascinating stuff to me!  They have a limited edition line with the amazing Patricia Field and they also have some beautiful bags and beautiful artistic ad presentations...

MCM Website

So now, I'm on a quest to catch up with some other old friends from my adolescence where I used to love to blast Run DMC and Bon Jovi on my Walkman (yes, I said Walkman!) and when we used to listen to the radio to try and catch and record our favorite tunes while praying the DJ would talk over the track! Ahhh, memories...

Some I know are still around, yet others I had totally forgotten about like MCM.  Let the nostalgic researching begin!  Stay tuned...

Bidding adieu to an icon...

Farewell to Hollywood's White Diamond -you will be missed...

I'll take MANHATTAN!!!

I'm spending time in one of the most (if not the most) awesome cities in the world and I am absolutely LOVING simply window shopping in the shoppers mecca!  What I'm loving more is the people watching-the great fashions on the streets! It rained our second day in town so I happily grabbed my rain boots and hit the streets! (While desperately wanting to belt out "Singing in the Rain"!)

Side note - I also have the irresistible urge to want to sing every song I've ever heard that has anything to do with New York!  I've done a good job resisting so far, but it was really hard on Broadway!

I'm also enjoying all of the random trivia I'm learning!

• The Statue of Liberty was made of copper because the artist knew that the salt air would turn it that green color and he thought that green would look good in the waters of the Hudson River
• The city of Fort Worth (my dear city's sister) is named after a New Yorker and he has a statue in Manhattan.  (OK - I probably should have known that...)
• New Yorkers absolutely cannot stand "that chick that broke up The Beatles" (John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono)! They won't ever speak her name! It's like the people in the Harry Potter books are about Voldemort! :)
• Random side note:  I'm not a big fan of potatoes or chicken but those street vendors in NY are masters of both!
• Random side note #2:  I would now like to live in the middle of Times Square! Right under the Diddy Ciroc ad! Ha!

Fascinating! More to come, I"m sure - KNICKS and St. Patty's day tomorrow - stay tuned...

Funny but Fab

Thank you for joining me, new followers!  While perusing the European Vogue blogs, I came across his and hers Louboutins! Fabulous? Strange? Scary? I vote all of the above!

It's Fat Tuesday!!!

Academy Awards

My red carpet favorites in absolutely no particular order! :)

Amy Adams in L'Wren Scott

Anne Hathaway in Valentino

Celine Dion in Giorgio Armani Prive

Helen Mirren in Vivienne Westwood

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein

Hailee Steinfield in Marchesa

 Halle Berry in Marchesa

Hillary Swank in Gucci Première

Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein

Jennifer Hudson in Versace

Melissa Leo in Marc Bouwer

Penelope Cruz in L'Wren Scott with Javier Bardin

Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang

Lexus Listening Lounge Featuring Melanie Fiona

Melanie Fiona rocking the house at the Lexus Listening Lounge - a good time was had by all! Melanie is an awesome vocalist and performer.  It was great to get to see her up close like that!  Thank you, Lexus, for showcasing her in Dallas!

The Most Famous Dress in the World

The wedding dress of Princess Diana came to New York today.  I have such lovely memories of that real life fairy tale wedding.  She was truly a wonderful inspiration and made an incredible contribution to our world!

"The People's Princess"

Louis Vuitton

Nice pieces - I'm a little mad that the "murses" are hotter than the bags I'm seeing for the ladies! :) Go MJ! You've done it again!

Marc Jacobs

One of my favorite designers.  His style is so funky and edgy! I have to have one of those skirts with the huge sequins in my life soon...

Badgley Mischka

What a beautiful show! The runway colors were a gorgeous contrast to the pieces!

Michael Kors

Betsy Johnson

fun, fun, fun...

Carolina Herrera

Monique Lhuillier

Rebecca Minkoff

Christian Siriano

BCBGMAXAZRIA @ Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

Bag Envy @ Barney's

...just a little Saturday afternoon eye candy courtesy of Alexander Wang...

Super Bowl Gospel Celebration

Live in Dallas checking out the red carpet arrivals!

Those shoes were a blessing all by themselves!

Cece Singing her heart out!

Marvin Sapp - WOW!!!

Houston's Finest - James Fortune! I Believe! :)

Mary Mary looking and sounding fabulous!

Thanks, Jennifer!

ME Rockin' the Red Carpet!