The Gilded Aesthetic : December 2009

Coveted Beauty Products

* Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream. Created to soothe the legs of racehorses, this cream is touted by supermodels, actresses, and beauty professionals. I've only used a couple of Arden's face masks, but hear great things about their other products. This is apparently pretty pricey, so budget ye'selves!

* Bliss Steep Clean Mask. I was introduced to this by my sister and love it! This mask is a luxurious cream that penetrates deep into pores, as well as exfoliates to reveal soft, smooth skin. Reviews are all positive. Some reviewers claim that this mask cleared their face of chronic acne. Others say that using it weekly will guarantee beautiful, luminous skin. It's not exorbitantly priced, but definitely not a cheapie.

* Any Eyelash Serum That Works! Oh, to have long, thick lashes that flutter provocatively on the cheek! Mine are definitely not thin or wimpy, but I know that somewhere out there exists an eyelash serum that will coax them into lushness. Eyelashes so thick and long that they leave shadows on your cheekbones! Know any products or tips? Do share.

* Pond's Cold Cream. This is affordable and easily acquired, but I wanted to include it. This cream smells delicious and feels wonderful to glide across the skin. Not only does it soften, but it cleans pores. Just don't use it too often or you might break out. I recommend just using it at night to remove makeup and daily grime.

* Belli Stretchmark Minimizing Cream. This is a great product. After two days of applying this religiously to stretchmarks, I noticed a marked difference. Marks were lighter and slightly smoother. The cream is different from others because it promises to minimize stretchmarks of ANY cause or age. Reviews of this product are positive. What gives me hope is that this product claims to smooth the texture of the marks. That's my biggest concern -not having big craters in my skin. If you have a number of marks, the product disappears quickly so you'll have to purchase more. The cheapest I've found it is about $35.99.

A Slip of a Girl Rocks the Gilded Aesthetic's World!

Last year, I won an adorable thong by Betsey Johnson from ASlipofaGirl, a blog devoted to beautiful lingerie and other slinky garments. This time, I won a spa set from Sothy's. I am so glad to have it! Let's face it, winning free luxuries is one of the greatest pleasures in life. The set is wonderful and I especially love the bath oil. Sothy's smells so good that Frasier and Myron have gotten their claws on a few of my bath fizzies. Don't boggart the luxuries, bantlings!

So thanks to ASlipofaGirl, not only for being so generous and spreading Christmas cheer, but showcasing gorgeous lingerie and embracing the naughty, beautiful things in life. Check it out and lose yourself in the frilly gorgeousness!

http://aslipofagirl.blogspot.com/

The Idiot's Guide to Gift-Giving

Don't let the title of this post fool you; I'm certainly no expert at picking out the best gifts. I am amazed, however, by people who give crappy presents. It's even worse when someone announces that they're a bad gift-giver. They shrug their shoulders and jut their chins when they say it, as if it's an inherent flaw they can't do anything about and damn it, they're not going to even try!

Bad gifts are oftentimes worse than no gift at all. The idea that the "thought" is what matters holds some merit, but how difficult is it to pick out an item that's appealing or pleasing on a general level? A gift card? A Swiss Colony Beef Log? A pretty candle? A trinket box?

Gift Card: Does this person like coffee? Ten bucks from Starbucks. Does she like to read? Border's Bookstore. Beauty products? Sephora.

Swiss Colony Beef Log: Eric Cartman said it best.

"Swiss Colony Beeflog, baby
That's what Christmas is all abouut!
A roly-poly Colony beeflog, lady
Makes a little boy scream and shout!"

Candle: Uh... Anywhere from Walmart to Yankee Candle to Marshall's.

Trinket Box: All over the place!

I was inspired to write this after thinking about my mother's friend, a neighbor who has known my mother for years and continually buys her the dumbest, cheapest gifts. They aren't best friends, but I can't help but wonder why this woman won't put forth the tiniest effort to get my mother something she might actually like. Not that she should spend a fortune, either, but this person makes an enormously good living. Yet she buys items like cheap, cloying bath fizzes for a dollar (price tag attached), or cheap, goofy pictures of chipmunks, and acts as if she's handing my mother gold.

It's not difficult and I can't help but feel it's out of laziness that people call themselves "Bad Gift Givers."

Here is what I believe to be a good checklist/guide for gifts:

1. What gender?
2. What's their personal style?
3. What kind of music do they like?
4. Favorite colors?
5. Favorite scents?
6. Hobbies?

And very important, have they given you gifts before? You can probably get a lot of insight into what they might like by what they've given you. Did they spend a little or a lot?

Sometimes people give inappropriate gifts. If a casual acquaintance or co-worker buys an expensive cashmere scarf for you, it arouses all sorts of confused and worrisome feelings. And if your best friend buys you a pot of carmex (and you hand her a pot of caviar face mask), you might wonder exactly how important you are to her.

This post may reek of materialism and shallowness, and that wasn't my intention. Gifts are not the most important thing, nor are they even that important AT ALL in the grand scheme. But it is important to please the people in your life who are special, whom you love and appreciate. You may find that giving a good gift which excites the receiver is an instant confidence boost for you. It's nice to show people that we consider them to be important, that we want them to have a nice gift as a display of our affection.

So calm down, breathe slowly, and take a long perusal of the shops until you find the right gift for the person you want to honor.

Looklet

OMG! Coolest site ever! Jo from Sweet, Mysterious Feast clued me into Looklet, where you can piece together outfits from hundreds upon hundreds of tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and accessories. It's addictive, so check it out!

Here are some of my ensembles:

Dita's Upgrade

The lovely Dita Von Teese was spotted grocery shopping with her new SEXY French boyfriend. Definitely an upgrade from Marilyn Manson, huh? Mon Dieu!

Image from PerezHilton.com

All Things Beautiful, All Things Delightful

*Smokey Eyes

Grey and black make peepers sexy and mysterious. Lids glisten in metallic and shiney brown shades. There are a few ways to rock the smokey eye, but no matter what you do, play down your pucker!

Fairy Tale Hair

Heighten your allure with shiney, voluminous hair. Tousle to get the look of a woodland nymph, or sleekify your long locks to emulate Rapunzel. Try Carol's Daughter products for shine and beguiling scent! Set a comb or hairband, like these gorgeous adornments from Andrea's Beau (http://www.andreasbeau.com/shop-womens-hair-accessories.htm), upon your crown.

Pretty Baubles

Treasures adorn and enhance the body. Delicate earrings dangle provocatively. Pendants show off a slender neck. Rings flash charmingly on elegant fingers. Take your pick at Essensual Jewelry (http://www.etsy.com/shop/jennytrinh), some of the finest pieces I've ever seen.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Christmas simply calls for them. Delicious chocolate encasing a beautiful, plump cherry floating in creme. Savor these rich morsels.

Friends and Family

When this time of year comes around, we become hyper-aware of the people in our life. Enjoy your friends and family. Marvel at their beauty, humor, and intelligence. Convene and have a grand old time together! Head out to the local bar and share a few glasses of wine. Curl up and share thoughts. Take a favored girlfriend out to lunch. Crawl into bed with your mother and cuddle like you did when you were a child.

Jewelry Obsession: Ruby Delight

Check out these absolutely stunning ruby earrings from Etsy! The artist has many, many other gorgeous and unique creations: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35910902

I would love to get my hands on these dainties!

Anthropologie: The Study of Beautiful Dresses

Here are some adorable dresses from Anthropologie. I love their feminine and elegant, yet cute dresses and hope to have a good few hanging in my closet at some point!

Skyfall Dress - $178