Come On Ladies...!

When I was a little girl, the Sanrio Store was my favorite place in the world. One of my favorite things to do was to go in and choose a surprise grab bag-they had them in assorted sizes and price ranges and it was always so much fun to go home and find out what goodies I had scored. It was as much mystery and suspense a little 7-12 year old girl could handle (hey, they were innocent times back then). It was the fond memories of  that feeling of giddy anticipation and slight triumph that inspired my latest give away, but apparently y'all aren't quite there with me yet.

So here are some deets on what's up for grabs: a 3.4 fl. oz bottle of Hanae Mori Butterfly Eau de Toilette Spray (with notes of: strawberries, bilberries, black currant, bulgarian rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, almond, and praline) worth $90. Yep 90 bucks. Plus some other stuff. Good stuff (I've got good taste ladies)... I would tell you about it, but I think maybe I should let you earn it...

Photo courtesy of Sephora

So click here to go to the original post for details on how to enter. And I've extended the deadline so that we (I) can have more fun with this. Perhaps I'll leak more details on the prize day by day; I'm sure I'll be more inclined to do this if see more people participate. Maybe if you leave me a message on Twitter (@mamafashionist1) or on the Facebook fan Page (see the right side bar for deets) I'll give exclusive info on the prize... 'Til next time...

Fashion Forever...

Quinn

Nyquil Take Me Away...

I'm supposed to be at work right now, but instead I'm in bed, sicker than I've been in a very long time. I've been on the grind for the last week and a half or so, so I should be happy for the break, but honestly all I can think about is the money I'm missing out on by not going to work tonight. But then I thought, I'm just sitting here in bed so take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on my fun "work!"  I have lots of tweeting and blog reading to catch up on and I finally have a chance to talk to you lovelies! This however will be a bit "wham bam thank you ma'am" cos I'm totes feeling the effects of the much needed cold medicine I just guzzled down. In an effort to preserve and maintain the level of eloquence and general coherency I've upheld so far, I think I'm going to take a little nap before I try to wax poetic for you. 'Til next time...

Fashion Forever

Quinn

Names Withheld To Protect the Innocent

Hola chicas. I miss you all so much. I haven't so much as opened my cute little pink netbook all week (I haven't even been able to keep up with my email on my beloved BB Storm either)! That means there has been no Facebook, or Twitter, or blogging. My in-laws are staying with us for the week (well, they got here last Friday and are staying until Sunday night/Monday morning) and it's been all out madness as far as my schedule is concerned.This must be what air traffic controller training feels like, waving and signaling to everyone where to go and what to do. But I've been thinking of you all and contemplating how to make my absence up to you and I do believe I have come up with something...

Yes lovelies, it is give away time again! This time is it's a random (yet awesome) selection of goodies from yours truly (well technically, they were generously donated to me by the lovely Niki Paolucci, the manager of Cosmetics and Fragrance at Nordstrom Mall of Georgia). Basically, I am offering a grab bag of fragrance and cosmetic goodies to one of my lovely readers simply for telling me about your favorite foundation. I have been using Bare Minerals and am almost all out of it. I love it but am always on the quest for something new and different and better and so i would love some suggestions as to what to try next. I was thinking about trying Bare Minerals' new matte formula (as I have oily skin and get a bit paranoid at times about looking shiny/greasy) but then I saw an ad in the People Style Watch (with Hillary Duff on the cover) for a mineral make up by Clinique that is "smart" and was very intrigued.

So here's the nitty gritty: you need to be a follower of Mama Fashionista on Google Reader and be US resident to qualify for the give away (sorry international lovelies). You will get bonus entries for the following: following me on Twitter and tweeting about the contest ("I entered to win a goodie bag from @mamafashionist1 and you should too! http://bit.ly/8Ba6Jh for details"). Just leave an additional comment with your Twitter username for verification. You can also become a fan of Mama Fashionista on Facebook for an extra entry. Leave a comment here indicating that you have become a fan and those of you that are already fans can just leave a comment on the Facebook fan page about the contest.

I can't wait to hear what you guys use. While I love make up, I have focused mainly on eye and lip make up. Face make up intimidates me to no end. That being said, I'd love to hear both department store and drug store recommendations, anything to help me make an educated purchase and soon. The contest will be open until Friday December 4 at 12 am EST and the winner will be notified by Monday December 7. 'Til next time...

Fashion Forever

Quinn

Introducing...

I'm writing this post trying really hard not to cringe so much (I've given myself the hiccups and stomach cramps). But here it goes, here I am. I DEFINITELY need to work on my photography skills (or talk someone else into taking them for me). The first one is from my excursion to Shecky's Girls Night Out with my mom (there is one of her as well, because she is gorgeous and is very much one of my style icons), then there are some very embarrassing shots I took of myself (in my bathroom) because I really like my make up today and figured I show it off to you lovelies! So here goes:

Ok.... time for some necessary self-deprecation: I know the ones from Shecky's are fuzzy (mine cos my mom took it and doesn't know how to operate my camera; and I'm wearing my fave necklace from Twisted Silver, I'll try to find a closer shot, I literally had to keep my mom from taking it from off of my neck so that she could have it!) and the one of her is way far away (cos she would not let me do a close up, but she looked so fabulous I was totally jealous and proud all at the same time). The last three I took of myself and that's just awkward y'all! I need to practice posing and figure out where to get the best lighting and lose like 20 more pounds! Anyway, I know I look totally goofy, but I just really loved my eye make up today and I got so many compliments on it at work so I figured, might as well start here and now with the posting of self portraiture. Hopefully the more I do this, the better I'll get, and the more comfortable I'll be with the whole sitch. I guess we shall see. 'Till next time...

Fashion Forever...

Quinn

It's Been A Long Time; I Shouldn't Have Left You...

Hello my loves. I want to apologize for being remiss by my lack of posting the past couple of days. There has been a bit of upheaval and change in the Fashionista household. My husband and I are business owners and he has a job outside of the home as well. My primary job was (and continues to be) to take care of home. But we all know and feel the effects of the economy we now exist in and so though my plate is truly piled high to begin with, when the opportunity to make some extra money to add to my family's coffer and provide some fun money for the girls and I, I had to jump on it.

So having a job outside of the house is good and bad for my blogging. It is bad because I am EXHAUSTED. All the time. Women (particularly wives and mothers) know that while we don't receive a paycheck for it, what we do at home is most definitely "work."  So I leave work to go to work, and when I get off of work I go back to work. But hey, it's living and I love every bit of it. I just need to work on my scheduling so that I can devote the proper amount of time to you lovelies. But the new J O B is good for the blog on several levels: more money for fun things to blog about, more exposure to people IRL for inspiration, and most importantly, I have a reason to leave the house on an almost daily basis and thus I have a new venue to express myself creatively which will inevitably trickle into the blog.

See, I've mentioned before my slight trepidation over posting pictures of myself and when I was ruminating as to why I was so anxious about the pics (I may be a little thicker than I'd like, but I'm cute) I realized that part of the problem is that days could go by without my having to leave the house. That meant no need for me to dress up or put on make up (except for for my husband; I have a daily alarm set so that I can get cute for him before he gets home from work) except for maybe once or twice during the week and on the weekends. But now I'm free! I actually get to interact face to face with adults other than people who I share a last name or blood with! The downside is, I am required to wear a uniform of sorts, but never fear! One of my absolute favorite forms of visual creative expression is make up. So now I have cause to get made up and do something bold and different almost everyday so as to set myself apart in a sea of similarity. So I'm thinking I may start to take pics of my make up and detail what I used and how I did it. And now because I am forced to wear a uniform for work, I am very attentive to what I wear when I'm not at work, and I have money to get cute new things (just fyi, it's not as if my family was destitute; I just felt selfish using money that could be used for the family as a whole or for my girls to buy things for myself, but now that I'm earning my own funds I feel a little more comfortable splurging on myself occasionally)! So perhaps to start with, I'll do a style post at least once a week. We shall see!

Anyway, I want to apologize for being gone for so long. Thank you to those of you that participated in the Bebe Bling give away (I'll announce and notify the winner tomorrow). I do plan to post regularly from now on. For now, I am going to retire to bed, as I plan to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to enjoy the epitome of fashion, nature. The Leonid Meteor Shower will be visible tonight in North America and Asia from about 1:00 am EST 'til dawn. I have a whole idea about waxing poetic on the fashion/nature thing so stay tuned for that. 'Til next time...

Fashion Forever...

Quinn

Business As Usual

Taking Care of Business by Mama Fashionista featuring Louis Vuitton


Phew! It's Saturday, and as such, the rest of the world (or at least that's how it seems to me) is out having a lovely, leisurely day. But not I! Besides a little shopping for the girls, today has been (and will continue to be, because my day is so no even close to being over) all about business. So I put together this Polyvore set of my ideal business chic ensemble so that I could share something with you lovelies today.  It's pretty much non stop, nose to the grindstone day in the Fashionista household, so no eloquently articulated witty ramblings on the stylish things in life from me today. Nope,  just this vision of Louis Vuitton accented loveliness.  I must be off... 'Til next time...

Fashion Forever...

Quinn 

PS-Don't forget the Bebe Bling give away. Gift giving season is fast approaching and I'm sure there is a little diva in your life that would love a some bling!...