Nail Polish: Butter - Artful Dodger

I never considered myself a blue nail polish person -- they were all overshadowed by a bad stint with some shimmery cobalt in high school. Apparently, my BFF knew better than I did when she gifted me this hue for Christmas - I adore it! It's a muted shade with a yellow undertone and smooth creamy finish. It has garnered many compliments from strangers and has managed to remain at the top of my polish basket.

Butter - Artful Dodger

How To: Cuff a Sleeve

Being tall definitely comes with many advantages, however finding clothes with long enough sleeve and pant length isn't one of them. Some manufacturers have started coming out with Tall lines for women, but they seem to think that not only are our arms and legs longer, but so are our crotches and armpits?!? Oddly enough, when I do happen to find a shirt with freak sleeves long enough for my arms it feels so weird that I just roll them up, anyway. 

So, with years of sleeve rolling practice this is my tried and true way of getting the best results from a cuff. It holds firmly and looks a little mussed up and carefree, to boot! Bonus: if your inner cuff is a different color or pattern, this cuff helps display it instead of hiding it like most typical rolling does.

1. Start with your sleeve pulled straight down. No, that isn't a 3/4 sleeve shirt! That's just where most sleeves hit - above my wrist. 
2. Next, flip the sleeve inside out and pull the base of the shirt cuff to just below your elbow.
3. Finally flip the bottom edge up to about halfway across the exposed inner shirt cuff, and give it a little tszujs, VOILA!

This cuff works great under sweater as well and gives the cuff a little substance and decorative flair.

*Disclaimer, no shirts were ironed for the making of this blog post.

Easy Chic: Comfy Dresses

With all of the holiday eating that is going on between meats & cheeses, cookies, and fancy cocktails we could all use some comfortable attire. That doesn't mean you can't look good while stuffing your face, visiting family, and driving to the country. While it is easy to slip on your favorite jeans and a nice top and necklace, it is just as easy to pull over a cute dress, throw on a cardigan, and slide into your favorite boots. Not only will you be cozy, everyone will be impressed that you are dressed a step above. The most important part of this wardrobe staple is its versatility, its comfort, and its lack of care needed (no ironing!!!!). Here are a few to get you started, mix them up by layering necklaces, scarves and cardigans. Tights are highly recommended with your favorite flats and boots.

1. Monochrome Shift
2. It's a Sweatshirt Dress!
3. Incredibly Versatile
4. Preppy Classic
5. Feminine and Flirty
6. Cool Color-block (also in all black)

Effervescent Nails!

Base Color: Essie Marshmallow
Grey Spots: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Wet Cement
Gold Spots: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Time to Shine (which appears to no longer be available, any gold will do)
Top Coat: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

I just used the tip of a pencil to dip in nail polish blogs that I dropped on a piece of paper...very low tech operation here in the fox den.

Be Bold AND Beautiful

So you have all seen them, especially if you happen upon a JCrew catalog, but I am willing to bet many of you don't utilize their beauty power! Your Mom knew their power, your Grandma probably even more so, what you ask is this super beauty powerhouse??? BOLD lips! Nothing can spruce up your face or your outfit like a bright beautiful lip. Whether you go for classic red or current hotties, hot pink and red-orange you will instantly appear to be a chic stylish lady with minimal effort. A little trip to Sephora or your favorite make-up test zone with your BFF is a great way to find the best color for you. There are also a lot of make-up specific bloggers out there that will recommend a number of super fancy ( NARS-$$$) lipsticks, which I am sure are incredible, but if you don't have tons of money to spend on a test drive your local Target store has more than enough offerings to get you going. However, it is very important that with you purchase of lipstick you also purchase a lip liner, this is essential to a long lasting non-feathering successful bold lip. You can go one of two routes, either purchase a lip liner that closely matches your lipstick color, or purchase a clear lip liner that will keep your edges clean with multiple shades.

   Hot Pink                          Classic Red                        Orange-y Red

Steps to get long lasting bold lip color:

1. Carefully line lips on the very edge with a nice clean smooth outline.
2. Fill lips with liner - if using a same color liner
3. Apply a coat of lipstick
4. Blot lips
5. Dust a layer of your face powder over your lips
6. Apply a second coat of lipstick
7. Blot

Voila! Be prepared for a few head turns...

Holiday parties are a great time to bust these out for a great WOW factor, but don't hesitate to mix it into your everyday make-up and give those smokey eyes a break or give your  glasses a geek chic upgrade!

How To: Ballerina Bun

This quick, easy, and chic hairstyle is pretty popular in many variations and incredibly easy to do. I use a roll I bought in a blonde color at a local beauty supply store, there are many variations all over the internet and in drug stores. Another option is to cut off the toe of a sock that is similar to your hair color and roll it into a donut. I made my bun kind of big and messy but you can easily adjust the size depending on how tight you roll it up or how big of roll you start with.

Bun Helper

1. Start with a ponytail placed where you want the center of your bun to be, then pull your pony through the center of your donut.
2. Next, pull the donut to the end of your ponytail and wrap the end around it.
3. Roll the donut down the full length of your ponytail, it will naturally spread itself out.
4. Once at the base of your pony spread your hair evenly around and adjust it to make sure everything is covered underneath.
5. Pin it down to secure, and lightly hairspray.
6. Voila!

The Under $20 Gift Guide - For Her

Whether youhave a tight budget, or a bunch of ladies in your life to buy for, these are a few budget friendly options that will bring a lot of cheer. The Seche Vite Top Coat (1) is a must for any manicure if you pair it with a color polish (2) selected to suit your girl it can be useful and thoughtful gift. Most girls and ladies are obsessed with colorful pens, we love to write out cards and maybe some still even right checks, or add a little color to doodles, this pack of Le Pens (3) class it up a bit with there chic nimble design and your lady with have a year full of colors to choose from. An affordable, casual, and stylish scarf (4) that goes with most skin tones and personalities never goes to the Goodwill bin. I grouped ModCloth accessories (5) into a bunch because they have a lot of fabulous options that will definitely afford you the opportunity to watch your pennies while getting a completely personalized gift for your gal. The best parts of the ASOS belts (6) is there are tons on sale so you can pick two! Maybe choose one neutral and one vivid for a well balanced gift.

A Post for the Men: Socks

Ok guys, this is a pretty cheap and easy redo to your wardrobe, although depending on how into it you get it could get expensive. That said, here are a few options at reasonable prices to get your toes wet... errr keep them warm and dry?

Here is the deal, plain black dress socks just show how boring and uninspired you are, and white socks show you are just plain old lazy. Add a little bit of easy style to your wardrobe and the ladies will think you are a dapper dude who gives a shit about his appearance, which means he is a guy that gives a shit about things in general....that is a good quality to have!

Be bold! Be brave, take the dive and I promise you will garner compliments from the ladies in your life, hopefully not just from your mom....

1. Cheap and easy, go ahead and order multiples of craziest colors.
2. Yikes! Stripes!
3. Spots and Dots 
4. Hip To Be Square

Nail Polish: Essie - beyond cozy

What a lovely way to welcome winter with a bit of comfortable glam! I suspect this bottle will be used up by February.

Essie - beyond cozy

How To Tie A Scarf - Fancy Cowgirl

Start with  large rectangular scarf:

1. First hang the scarf around the neck with approx. 2/3 hanging over your shoulder on one side, while grabbing the top corner of the other, tuck the corner under to form a triangle across your chest.
2. Pull the longer side to allow for enough scarf to wrap around your neck.
3. Next wrap the longer side loosely around your neck one time.
4. Repeat the first step on the other side grabbing a corner and tucking it under the wrapped portion around your neck to form an overlapping triangle.
5. Ta-Da! You can use safety pins or a brooch to hold this wrap in place or just re-tuck the corners throughout the day, depending on the texture of your scarf you may not need the pins.

This wrap looks great layered under coats or just on its own, it is generally my go-to wrap if the scarf is going to be a day long accessory and not just for cold weather layering. This tie works well with large scarves and many different weights.

Dry Shampoo - Dirty Little Secret

A few months ago I discovered a not-so-secret secret. Apparently, I was just in the dark. For years I was always jealous of the women with thick beautiful voluminous tousled hair who would casually toss out that they really only washed it every three days! What?!? My fine thin limp hair barely made it to the end of the work day before it started hazing over and clumping. After reading more and more articles and online reviews and finally being handed a can from my hairdresser neighbor, I took the plunge. Now I can’t imagine my life without it, I can be so dirty AND lazy, it is a dream come true for beauty slackers everywhere. The trick I discovered after some trial and error is that you should spray it on immediately to your freshly dried hair after washing, this way the oil never has a chance to grab hold of your precious locks and instead is immediately absorbed. I also spray a nice coat on before bed each night to keep the greasy griminess at bay. Now, don’t get me wrong - by day three, I’m ready for a wash, but not because my hair looks dirty, I just feel gross, and likely worked out that day, so I need to shower.

A little disclaimer: women with darker hair may like the brown-tinted versions because the regular spray may leave a white chalky residue. However, making sure to give the can a few good shakes remedies this somewhat, also brushing your hair out - and most likely, sleeping on it - will solve the issue for the most part.

I have tried out a bunch of different offerings, it is definitely a personal chemistry thing, what works best for me may be the worst for you, but I didn’t have any luck with the drugstore brands, sigh, and instead hit up Ulta for all my dry shampooing needs, my three top contenders are pictured.

1.Oscar Blandi Pronto

2.Rockaholic

3.Batiste