Check out my entry into the Springtime Cocktail Ring Contest at Crowd Jewel

Hey everyone,

I'd like to ask a huge favor that you vote for the 'Spring Cocktail Ring' Contest on the crowdjewel website here: http://www.crowdjewel.com/entry/66/

My ring is featured and I would really like to win the contest so that I can get a free consultation in which a specialist will tell me how to improve my website to gain more views! I'm so excited about the prize and I love creating jewelry, this piece was really inspired by spring so please vote =) Thanks!

Shocking Natural Cate Blanchett in Intelligent Life

Cate Blanchett did the unthinkable in the realm of Hollywood style and glamour; she went completely natural on the cover of The Economist's "The Intelligent Life" magazine (the lifestyle and culture publication). Her face all hers, her image was not retouched in post-production or overly made up. The editor of the magazine, Tim de Lisle explained the decision to represent her in this manner on his blog, saying:

When other magazines photograph actresses, they routinely and up running heavily Photoshopped images, with every last wrinkle expunged. Their skin is rendered so improbably smooth that, with the biggest stars,  you wonder why the photographer didn't just do a shoot with their waxwork...

Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover in her working clothes, with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is - a woman of 42, spending her days in an office, her evenings on stage and the rest of her time looking after three young children. 

It's ridiculous that this has become news today because this is what every celebrity should show the world: their natural beauty. Cate Blanchett is a stunning woman, with or without makeup, and she is so versatile and talented that it really shouldn't even matter how beautiful she is. She resembles an actual person and it is refreshing that magazines are starting to get back to what it is that makes us attracted to celebrities in the first place: their humanity. I'm a huge fan of her work and her courage should be rewarded by other celebrities following this trend in kind. It is absolutely frightening and sick that we show plasticized faces on the covers of billboards, ads and on TV and then wonder why our children develop complexes because of the way they look.

What is most incredible to learn from Mr. Lisle's blog entry is that Cate Blanchett turned her back on Hollywood to run her own theatre company. In more ways than just appearance, she has escaped the clutches of the vapid consumerism that drives Hollywood where stars have be come mannequins who stand for nothing other than to promote jewelry, clothing and perfumes.

What do you think of the "Intelligent Life" magazine cover?

Lace Nail Manicures for Sale!

Since I have been noticing a lot of interest in my posts about lace nail manicures, I've decided to devise a way to get them out to people who want to achieve this look but are incapable of doing it themselves. I found that the easiest way is to create the lace nails on "Nailene So Natural Nails, Real French, 24 ct."   and letting everyone choose their base nail color (although I prefer them on french nails) and lace color. After taking custom orders, it will take about a week to manufacture them (since the fabric and nails have to be bought each time and then they have to be manually crafted with the lace appliques). They do look fabulous and I encourage you to try it by yourself if you feel like you can do it!

This is the posting:
http://www.bonanza.com/listings/Lace-Embellished-Artificial-Nails-Custom-Made-to-Order/63927311

Here are photos of some I did for a quick test-run:

You can find other items for sale at:
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/lethalglam/

New Jewelry Retail Website

Hi guys, sorry I've been MIA for a few days now, but it's been for good reason: I've been working extremely hard on this website http://www.bonanza.com/booths/LethalGlam where I'm looking forward to selling my creations! Sometimes I just can't help it and I design jewelry, all types too - bracelets, earrings, and necklaces in various styles, so I decided to try and turn that into a business. I hope everyone enjoys it and here's a quick sneak peek at some of the pieces up for sale:

The shop is definitely at a lower price point and it sticks to the motto I live by where you shouldn't need to have lots of money to look fabulous! I'll be putting up new pieces all the time, there's currently 79 lots up for sale so please check it out. I'll also take commissions for what you'd like to see or custom pieces!

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/LethalGlam

How To Make An Old Sweater Look New

Do you have sweaters that you love but they just pill and create those unpleasant little flakes of fabric that stick together in little balls all under your armpits and sides, or wherever your clothes get the most wear and tear? Well, I've found a simple solution for you and it requires only a razor! That's right, a razor! Make sure you've washed your sweater (frequent washes can also cause the fabric pilling too). You can use a sweater stone or an electric fabric shaver which can be found on Amazon and I've linked below, but the simplest method to use is just a simple clean razor, preferably with not too many sharp blades but around 3 blades is fine.

You'll want to lay your sweater down on a flat surface such as a table and make sure you do one section at a time. You don't want to dig your razor into the sweater but rather gently stroke the fabric the way you would shave your face or legs. This will remove the pilling fabric and make your sweater look like new, regardless of how many pieces of lint-like fabric are on it. Shaving your sweater will not make holes in it, nor will it ruin your sweater in any way, you can do this safely at home. As long as you have a gentle touch and patience, you can go through this with sweaters, sweaterdresses, or anything knitted as well. Happy de-pilling, everyone!

If your sweater looks like this there is a simple solution to have it looking brand new again! Use a razor!

Jessica Simpson Collection Spring Jewelry Line

As you may have read in a previous post from November, I'm a huge fan of the Jessica Simpson Collection because of the attention to detail and sheer ease of casual beauty imbued within each of her pieces. Now, I have stumbled across her new Spring jewelry collection and am absolutely in awe. Rarely is there a new piece of jewelry or style that I adore because, as some of you may already know, I design my own jewelry (and a website selling some items is pending). That being said, it takes a lot to impress me and this time she's hit the nail on the head with a beautiful collection inspired by lace, but not the kind of lace that is actually made of fabric, but rather made of metals like bronze and silver. I find the contrast between that daintiness of the lace design and roughness of the metal to be sheer genius. Her whole collection can be viewed at the Jessica Simpson Collection Website.

I can't even find this bracelet on the Jessica Simpson Collection website, but I found it on Amazon and it's absolutely stunning, definitely a statement piece for a little black dress or summer-inspired outfit. I love the marriage of stamped gold that is made to look like it is completely wire wrapped and the sculpted enamel flowers with pearl appliques. The shape that fans out resembles a golden butterfly emerging beautifully from your wrist.

LOVE LACE GOLD CUFF - Retails for $58 at Amazon.com, link where to buy it posted below

There are a few pairs of earrings in the collection that would pair very well with this piece and they are below. The first pair is what absolutely just caught my eye out of the whole collection first because the organic shape of the metal and delicate curves paired with the drop pearls are phenomenal. I imagine that these would be flattering on everybody since they are not very long or very short, but rather 'just right'. Even the hook of the earring has a pearl detail for a little bit of extra pizzazz.

LOVE LACE GOLD LACE CHANDELIER EARRINGS - Retails for $38 at Amazon.com and JessicaSimpson.com

If you're into long dangle earrings, then this might be right right pair for you because the enamel and metal flowers tie in directly with the cuff, giving an air of elegance and femininity. These are the perfect accessory for a beautiful sunny day (hopefully we'll get a lot of those soon!). With jewelry this beautiful you don't even need to wear rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces all at the same time, you could get away with wearing just a cuff and earrings and be extremely chic.

LOVE LACE GOLD FLOWER DROP EARRINGS - Retails for $25 at Amazon.com and JessicaSimpson.com

If you're dying for the perfect necklace to match the earrings above, her collection has that also. Kudos to Jessica and her team for thinking of everything and pulling off a complete collection that can be worn mixed an matched with separate pieces. 

LOVE LACE GOLD LONG PENDANT - Retails for $48 on JessicaSimpson.com

I can't wait to see her Spring/Summer clothing line because this jewelry collection has definitely gotten my whetted my appetite for her classic feminine beauty style. I love the philosophy of the company to always flatter and enhance natural beauty, it definitely fits my own lifestyle! There's much more to see of the collection so I encourage you to explore her collection further because I can't list all of the beautiful things on here! The jewelry I posted also comes in silver so if you're not a fan of gold then you have the option of going with silver but I personally love the antiquity of the gold.

Xoxo,
Alex

Lace and Fishnet Eyeshadow Designs

A really cool look that I'm fascinated with and have definitely practiced before is the lace and fishnet eyeshadow designs. When you do one of these looks, you have to be patient because it may not turn out exactly the way you want it to right away. These are great looks for when you want to stand out at a nightclub, if you're feeling quirky, or a Hallowe'en/masquerade party get-up. To do this design you have to own pigments or mineral makeup, otherwise it's going to be a waste of your eyeshadow pots because you'll have to keep packing on color to get your desired result. This is a great solution for any doilies you have laying around the home that you don't know what to do with and broken pairs of tights that your heart just doesn't want to throw out. As long as you clean it after makeup application, you can reuse your scraps for eyeshadow application again.



What you'll need:
- loose powder eyeshadows in the colors you want
- fishnet tights or lace (can be ripped up)
- scissors (to cut the lace to your desired size)
- magic tape
- translucent powder
- fluffy eyeshadow brush or blush brush

First you'll want to put your primer and foundation on so you have a good base for your makeup, this is to keep a matte surface to which the powder can adhere to. You'll need to place your lace or fishnet over your eyeshadow and make sure that you hold it in place, but do this with masking tape (make sure you're not allergic to it and it doesn't stick too much) so that your hands are free to apply the makeup. You have to think in reverse when you're doing this design because the colors that will get filled in are where the holes in your fishnet or lace are, so make sure you pick a lace design that is to your liking and imagine the 'negative space' on it being the design that will make it to your face. Using a loose blush brush or fat shader eyeshadow brush, pack in the color you're trying to get and make sure that you go a little bit at a time because it's very easy to overdo this pattern.


Try not to jiggle your lace or fishnet during this process because this will make the design appear blurry. The most difficult part of this application is the beginning because securing your patterned design and magic tape is really the most important part. Once you have the preparation done,  you'll get a great look! It's easy to clean up any fallout with a q-tip or makeup pad and sharpen your design, finish off with a translucent powder to set. To achieve a perfect cats eye design you will want to put your making tape in a straight line from the outer corner of your eye to the outer corner of your eyebrow. This will create that dramatic, sloped cut off of your colored pattern.

Be creative, be colorful and be inspired by your designs!