Maybelline is famous for making the most fabulous of
cheapie eye cosmetics. Their famous Great Lash Mascara
in the pink and green tube has been around for such a
long time as a beauty staple. It gave us volumous lashes
with practically one sweep. So easy, so simple, and really
nothing more could please me than that!

But now that I've recently got my hands on Maybelline's
newest mascara, Lash Stiletto, I realized that a mascara
can do so much more!

First off, the tube of Lash Stiletto is bigger than Great
Lash. It seemed just a little intimidating as I wondered how
it would go on my lashes. The wand is brilliant as it really
does what it says: grips the lashes and extends them with
an elastic/fortifying formula. It really does make a big
difference. My lashes are much longer, and when I put it
on my lower lashes...gasp....I realized that I forgot I
had lower lashes! It's so easy, sweep a little on your
lashes for longer looking lashes similar to what false
lashes could give you. Or use a lot for a full-on glamour
girl effect. Either way, you can't go wrong with this
wonderful new mascara!

Lash Stiletto comes in three shades: Very Black, Soft Black,
and Brownish Black.

Only time will tell if Lash Stiletto actually replace
Great Lash as a Cult Favorite.

Buy Lash Stiletto at Walgreens and Boots.


P.S. look below for the A Year of Shop In Chic

A year ago, I started Shop In Chic. I started it because I
wanted to start a fashion magazine. I've always dreamed of
starting my own magazine that was simply style, beauty, and
a little culture. I wanted to create a monthly publication
that showed fashion as something attainable, regardless of
the high-end or low-end price tag. I love the fantasy of it
all, but I also like to find clothes that really work for me.
I want to help readers find cute clothes and a great sense of
style. I also enjoy testing beauty products of all sorts, and
I love to share what works for me.

Right now, my dream of launching a style magazine is far in
the future. In the mean time, Shop In Chic is kind of like
the magazine I always wanted to create.

To celebrate my blog's first anniversary, I am linking my
favorite posts from Feb 2008 to Feb 2009. To make it much
easier, I have the posts grouped by label/topic. Enjoy:)


Posts About Fragrances
Happy Birthday To A Classic
Vanilla & Grapefruit-Perfect Match
6 Perfumes to Collect and Mix

Posts About Nails
True Blue
Mani-Pedi Guide
Your Nails Will Have Fun in the Sun
Essie's New Line of Fall Shades
OPI Takes Us To France

Posts About Makeup and more
Brush It Baby!
The Skinny on Lipgloss
On The Soap Box
Step To This
Hair Removal Will Never Be The Same
Have I Found My Ideal Foundation?
MAC'S New Neo Sci-Fi line
The Great Mineral Makeup Search
You Glow, Girl
MAC's Cult of Cherry Line
C'est Magnifique: Lancome's Holiday 2008 Collection
Economically Stylish-Spa Party
My Must Have For February:MAC Hello Kitty Collection


Posts About Hair
The Perfect Hairdryer
Protect Your Tresses from Mr. Sun
Need An Extension?
Nourish Your Hair


Posts About Celebrities
Oscar Style
MTV Movie Awards Swag Bag
VMA Goodie Bag
Celebrity Style Inspiration:Fergie
Grammy Style:The Good and the Bad
The Best of 2009 Oscar Style

Posts About Fashion
Totally Tunics
Spring Footwear
What's Coming Back In Style?
Butterfly Dropout Gets an A +
Back To Sk8ter Skool
Something No Fashionista Should Do Without
Economically Stylish: Clothes Swap Party
Look I'm Lovin: Nanette Lepore's Sailor Chic
What To Wear This Valentine's Day


Posts About Spas and Shops
4Coolest Spas in America
Revolving Closet Now Open
Chicago's Hot New Boutiques Now Open
OC Style Week-Are You Going?
Dallas Shoppers Give A Little
Carol's Daughter Opening in DC

I love perfume. I am always discovering scents and
fragrances that I love: old and new, classic and
fun, I wear it all. I really don't think that I
have a favorite(but if I did it would have to be
natural scents(like citrus fruit and ocean notes).
Dependng on my mood, I love floral girly scents,
sexy oriental fragrances, and earthy woods-inspired
perfumes too. No matter your preference or mood,
there is a fragrance you'll love. I'll list the
four types and give four recommendations to your
personality. Read on!


Floral Fragrances
Floral fragrances often include notes of peony,
jasmine, and gardenia. But many fragrances also add
oriental notes(like amber and musk) or fresh notes
(like citrus fruit). Some fragrances are innocent
or sexy but either way floral inspired fragrances
are undeniably feminine.

Classic- Vera Wang Bouquet
New- Vera Wang Look
Edgy- Valentino's Rock 'N Rose
Romantic- Escada Moon Sparkle


Oriental Fragrances
Warm and musky, oriental fragrances are bold and
sensual. Oriental perfumes and scents often combine
woodsy and floral notes with spice and vanilla to
give it a rich scent perfect for date nights.

Classic- Guerlain Shalimar
New- L'Occitane Honey & Lemon Eau de Toilette
Exotic- Nanette Lepore Shanghai Butterfly
Romantic- Ralph Lauren Hot


Fresh Fragrances
One with nature, fresh fragrances include notes
of fruity, green, or fresh water. These scents
are always light and effervescent, perfect for
those who don't like an overwhelming fragrance.
Classic- DKNY Be Delicious
New- Lily Pulitzer Squeeze
Beachy- Pucci Acqua 330
Romantic- Carol's Daughter Jamaican Punch Eau de Toilette


Woodsy Fragrances
Woodsy and spicy notes were traditionally only found in men's
fragrances, but today's woman enjoys the boldness that only
a woodsy fragrance can give. In fact, a lot of women's scents
now have woodsy notes such as sandalwood and patchouli.
Classic- Thierry Mugler Angel
New- Calvin Klein Euphoria Spring Temptation
Sophisticated- YSL Elle Yves Saint Laurent
Romantic- Lolita Lempicka


All of these perfumes are available at Sephora and House of Fraser.

A monopoloy of fashion? Not quite, but it is still
interesting nonetheless. I just discovered this as I
was browsing through Pink Mascara, a hip online version
of an urban boutique). Check out the review below from
Pink Mascara

Fashion Rules Board Game


Make rules…break rules…Fashion rules! The only rule of fashion is that rules change all the time- but the rules of this game, don’t.

Object of the game:
Be the first to collect all 4 accessory items from the Key Squares. Gain access to the Runway and then successfully answer the final question on the runway to win the coveted mirror accessory.

Perfect gift idea for the fashionista on your list!


2 to 4 Players
Ivory chic playing board
4 Designer tote bag figurines
2 Gold dice by Pascal Mouawad
17 Accessory items to collect: sunglasses, cameras, shoes, scissors and mirror
1200 Fashion Trivia questions-although there is nothing trivial about fashion!

Buy at Pink Mascara.

The 2009 Oscars were basically chock-full of the three G's:
Glamour, Glitz, and Glory.

Akin to a Super Bowl for the fashion-obssessed, its easy to see
why we love the Oscars as it's all about who wore what, not who
won an Oscar, and that's okay! Sometimes its fun just to revel
in the wonderful world of designer dresses that we will never
ever wear. Its all a fantasy, a spectacle.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

And unlike the 2009 Grammy Fashion post, I will only share the
best. Enjoy!

Sarah Jessica Parker wore a classic ballgown
style from Christian Dior. Love this dress!

Penelope Cruz could be Cinderella in a vintage gown
from Balmain.


I'm not usually a fan of Natalie Portman's style, but I do
like this beautiful Rodarte gown. Good taste!


Alicia Keys hits a high note in fashion with this elegant
Armani Prive strapless gown.


Angelina Jolie steals the spotlight in this Elie Saab
gown.


Wearing Marchesa, Vanessa Hudgens revives a glamour
that was inspired by Audrey Hepburn.


Jennifer Aniston wowed us in Valentino Couture.

Pink is the color, idea, and look according to
Aaron dey Mey who's the International Creative Director
of Lancome.

The new line for Spring 09 is Pink Irreverance.

The idea behind the line is supposed to be a little bit
of punk and a little bit of girly-girl. The makeup is bold,
sassy, and everything else you would want it to be.


Color Design Quad in Irrereverant Madame
Four shades for four different moods, or wear these silky
smooth shadows together for a all-out punkish glam look.
You got shadows in dark grey, fuschia,
light pinkish creme, and ivory.


Color Design Pro in Hard to Get
This kind of reminds me a bit of concealer even though it
is a slight shade of pink, but this is a cream eye shadow.
Love the shade so much, I'd also use it on my cheeks for a
bit of glow.



Color Fever Lipstick
The three shades are Mademoiselle, Forget Me Not,
and Pink Attitude. More neutral than pink irreverance,
if you ask me, but still good lipstick. It gives a high shine
to enhance and make your lips appear slightly plumper.


La Laque Fever
It really does shine. And it really does last. It's just a bit
more than the latter, but I really do think its worth it. There
are four shades in the line, Electric Pink, Optical
Rose, Lucent Nude, and Iridescent.


Color Fever Gloss in Piha Black
Black lipgloss? Why not? Just simply use a this as a light
top coat for darker and shinier lips.


Le Vernis
This comes in two limited edition shades: Piha Black and
Sassiness which is a glittery baby soft pink.


Want to find out more about this line? Want to buy some of
these products? Visit Lancome US or Lancome UK.

Next time you browse through the Bath and Body Works
website, why not get a robe, slippers, or pajama
separates? Bath and Body Works now sells uber cute
loungwear that's not expensive. My only complaint
is I wished they had more styles to choose from.



Cute, colorful, and totally comfortable are just
three ways to describe their lovely line of pjs.

Everything ranges from $10(slippers) to $29.50(robes).

Only at Bath and Body Works.

You know the saying that goes April showers bring May flowers?
Survive spring rain in style with Plueys- a fashionable indy
label of rain footwear. Plueys takes inspiration from all over
the globe when it comes to designing their puddle stompers
including Paris, Tokyo, and even Palm Beach.

Plueys are stylish enough to wear just about anywhere, plus
they're made with treaded soles and natural rubber for total
comfort. They come in great colors, cute prints, and each shoe
has a clever name. Look below for a few of my favorite styles.



Catstooth- Clever take on tradtional houndstooth
Tokyo Rain- I love the colorful raindrops
Oooh La Lace- Adds a touch of glamour

As I've said before this is an independent label which means
you can find them at select boutiques in the US, UK, Singapore,
Hong Kong, and Canada. You can also buy them at Amazon!

For a complete list of where to buy check out Plueys

Amazon

I know I have talked about how much I enjoy shopping
social media websites before, so when I was offered
a chance to check out RetailFans before it officially
launched, I jumped at the chance. RetailFans is for
the fashion and beauty obssessed. Find out what other
people love and tell everyone what you love.

What makes RetailFans different from other shopping
social media communities? It so much more simple to
use and navigate. For instance, once you're on the
website you can easily discover new items without
the feeling of being a little overwhelmed. You
see the items, read the review and click on the
heart if your a fan of the item. So easy....

You can also make lists and recommend items that
you like and want to share. And when people "fan"
items that you have submitted you earn Karma Points
which will soon come with benefits.

I was lucky enough to ask a few questions to Alex
Robarts, the founder of RetailFans.

Q- When did you come up with the idea for RetailFans?

Alex- I watched my girlfriend become frustrated browsing
around a fashion forum and not being able to find what she
was after. She wanted to use the knowledge in that community
to find out what new trends were worth checking out but
couldn't cut through all the noise - there's no way to sort
the good from the bad in traditional forum software.
RetailFans wasn't designed as a replacement for forums but
as a better way to share recommendations, which wasn't being
fulfilled well by traditional forums.

Q- Before RetailFans, what was your career?

Alex- I've worked on a variety of large, consumer websites.
I developed real estate portal websites for several years and
more recently worked on shopping websites such as http://Retail
MeNot.com (coupons) and http://BeatMyPrice.com (price comparison).

Q- What do you love most about this? Any tips for my readers?

Alex- What I really love is building websites that provide
a great user experience and I think there's a lack of really
simple-to-use websites where the fashion community can share
their experiences. One site that I do love is polyvore.com -
such a simple but expressive concept.

Q- What do you see in the future of RetailFans?

Alex- At its heart, RetailFans is about the community - the
conversation, recommendations and voting. I expect features
that tap into the community, like polls (e.g. "Which of these
dresses should I wear to a party tonight?") and automated
recommendations ("other users that liked this also liked this..."),
will be high on the list. One "feature" that the site will always
strive to keep is simplicity. Ultimately, feedback from
users of the site will drive the future direction.


Check out RetailFans today!

What: Why not take a Friday or Saturday night
off and pamper yourself? And why not invite your pals
over , because a beauty party is not as nearly as fun
without friends.

Plan: Make a list of your friends that you want
to invite and send out the invitations at least a week
or two in advance. Check out Evite.

Décor: Fix up separate areas of your home for
certain beauty activities: like facials in the kitchen,
makeup in the living room, and manicures/pedicures in
the dining room. Designate certain spots so it seems
like a real spa/ or salon.

Food/Drink: Since it’s a spa theme, you might
want to stick with healthy food. Ideas include wrap
sandwiches, tasty smoothies, crudités, popcorn, pita
chips and guacamole(or salsa). You could also try the
indulgent route and serve candy. A clever idea? Serve
elegantly wrapped candies(or heck my fave Hershey
Miniatures) in glass bowls, so your guests can serve
themselves!

Spa Treats: Stop by your local beauty or drugstore
and stock up on facials, makeup, perfume, nail polish and
more. Or, you can buy a few items, and ask each of your
friends to buy some extra items. That way everyone spends
a little, and its not all on you. You can even stock up
on gift bags and stuff them with fun little beauty products
and give them to each guest as a farewell gift(kind of like
the swag bags celebrities get.

Another thrifty idea is to even make some of your own beauty
products either before or during the party. But remember to
test out the recipes before you even make them to see if they
really work as well as they should. Its also a good idea to
test them out for allergy purposes. But if you(or any of your
friends) have any food allergy of an sorts, it might be best
to skip this idea. If you decide to go the do-it-yourself
route, read up on it. All books are available at Amazon.



Creative Spa: Make Your Own Skincare Products by Cheryl
Coutts and Ava Warren

Natural Beauty At Home by Janice Cox

Beauty By Nature by Brigette Mars

Evite
Crabtree & Evelyn USA
Crabtree & Evelyn UK
Walgreens
Boots
Amazon

Read previous installments of Economically Stylish.

Arden B. Take additional 65% Off already reduced prices
Aeropostale Buy 1 tee and get another for Free
American Eagle Outfitters All jeans are now under $30
Guess? President's Day Sale-Save an additional 40% on already reduced price items promo code XTRA40
Banana Republic Save up to 40% Off
Dorothy Perkins 20% Off selected pants/trousers and skirts
Debenham's £30 Off selected women's footwear
Beauty Expert Limited time offers including freebies from Ole Henrikson

I have always been a fan of Hello Kitty, so I'm naturally
beyond thrilled about MAC's Hello Kitty cosmetic collections,
which are unfortunatly limited edition. And that's exactly
why I name is as February's Must Have!



So what all does this include? Essentially two collections
of cosmetics-Hello Kitty Mild, Hello Kitty Wild, and of
course Hello Kitty Accessories. Read on!

Hello Kitty Mild
This being an exclusive MAC makeup line, I wouldn't say
the colors are really mild. But I still love the line
(and how could I not? It's MAC!). The line includes
the following:
~Hello Kitty Eye Shadow X 4 in Lucky Tom
~Glitter Eyeliner
~Plush Lash
~Hello Kitty Lash
~Hello Kitty Lipstick
~Hello Kitty Lipglass
~Hello Kitty Tinted Lip Conditioner
~Hello Kitty Beauty Powder Blush
~Hello Kitty Beauty Powder

Thats a lot of makeup in just one line. Check
out Hello Kitty Mild for more about the
products and colors.

I'm not going to go into details about everything here
simply because I know for a fact that there are a ton
of beauty blogs that are already doing that! What I will
do is share are my personal picks. I love Hello Kitty
Eye Shadow X 4 in Lucky Tom, which contains four
irrisistable shades in a irrisistably cute package. I
also dig Hello Kitty Lipglass and Hello Kitty
Tinted Lip Conditioner, as I love all things lipgloss.



Hello Kitty Wild
With even more vivid shades and plenty of chutzpah, this is
the cosmetics color collection of the year(at least in my
opinion). The collection includes:
~Hello Kitty Eye Shadow X 4 Too Dolly
~Pigment
~Hello Kitty Lipstick
~Hello Kitty Lipglass
~Hello Kitty Tinted Lip Conditioner
~Hello Kitty Beauty Powder Blush
~Hello Kitty Beauty Powder
~Glitter
~Hello Kitty Nail Lacquer

Once again I will pick my favorites, for more visit Hello Kitty Wild.

My infatuation starts with Hello Kitty Nail Lacquer
in Something About Pink ,which is inevitably sold out.
Again I love Hello Kitty Lipglass and Hello Kitty
Lip Conditioner



Hello Kitty Accessories
Now I know it may seem a little middle school, but Hello Kitty
accessories are still a must. I think the Hello Kitty Plush
Doll is simply cute, and would look great as home decor,
such as on top of a bookcase. There are quite a few of HK bags
too, my pick is the uber-cute tote bag. Check out more of HK's
accessories.


You can buy everything feautured in here at MAC USA and MAC UK.

Win Thomas Lyte's limited edition BAFTA gifts.

Win a Next.co.uk £500 shopping spree

Win a Motorola Motozine Phone

Win a Mark Hill Hair Straigtener

Win over $500 in Dior Spring 2009 cosmetics

Win a $1,000 shopping spree

Win a New York City trip and total makeover

Win designer perfume

InStyle tells us the favorite designers of the stars

Style Bakery's Ask The Style Chefs

Allure celebrates 50 years of Barbie

Style.com tells you how to make the most of your curly locks

Sheer Luxe's Valentine's Gift Guide

Total Beauty asked beauty professionals what they can't live without

Vogue UK is into heavy metal

Beauty Addict is back

Three things Shine says are fashion no-nos

The Grammy Awards is not usually known for the show-stopping
glamour seen usually at the Oscars, but they do carry their
own style. And I must personally say that even I was impressed
by many of the style choices worn by certain celebrities(love
Kate Beckinsale's dress). But of course not all celebrities
really cared about what they wore(example Paris Hilton).


The Good

Kate Beckinsale's dress was the most flattering. It's a
simple black floor length gown that is simple and sleek
with enough flair.


Jordin Sparks is glowing in her custom design by Debra Davenport.


Whitney Houston is not only starting to look more healthy,
but she seems happy too.


I'll give it to Miley Cyrus, judging by last year's red gown
at the 2008 Oscars, and this year's Grammy Awards, she is not
afraid to try a little sophistication.

The Bad


Paris Hilton clearly cares more about being seen than
dressing well.


Sun appears to wear what looks more like a Halloween costume
of some sort. Ick!


I don't really care for Taylor Swift's too plunging dress. It
seems to me as if someone always wears a dress similar to this
each year.


Jennifer Hudson can sure sing, but she doesn't always hit
the right style notes.

Recently Fergie(who is now Mrs. Duhammel) wore this very chic
mini cocktail dress to a Vanity Fair party. I've been looking
all over the internet to find out who did this dress(I swear
its BCBG), but this look is so inspiring. So if you know who
did design this dress, please let me know!

Picture courtesy from PicApp

It never seems to fail: every time I discover a style or
accessory that I really seems to be ick, soon I
discover something by the designer/company or something
in a similar style that I simply j'adore.

Current example? Crocs.

You know those clunky plastic shoes with holes in them?


Eh...still a no-no here!

But what about Olivia? A bright red, ultra cute, ultra
comfortable shoe from Crocs. I love this pretty shoe
and I know it will go with jeans, sundresses, shorts.


And if you like this shoe, then you'll probably love
the fashion-concious You by Crocs line. Shoes
include darling sandals, boots and every other type
of shoe a fashion lover would deem crucial.



Now I'm a fan of Crocs.

You can by any the shoes featured here at Crocs

Using a face cleanser on a daily basis could strip your
face of its natural oils.

Is that a fact?

I believe that would depend on the type of cleanser you
use. All I know is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser keeps
my face clean and my skin soft. It contains vitamin E,
avocado oils, and apricot kernel oils which work as
natural emolients. Use this as a daily face cleanser
and/or a makeup remover. Its gentle on your skin, and
believe me, it works like a dream!

Buy Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser at Kiehl's for $17.50
Buy Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser at Space NK for £15.66

I'm always ready to try any cosmetic out there. And on my
quest to search for the best, I stumble across favorites.
And while I am willing to try virtually any foundation,
I am partial to mineral formulas. Its healthier for my
skin(or so I'm told), plus it really does look better.
I don't look like(or feel like) I have caked-on makeup.
Plus if I'm using mineral foundation in a powder form,
I'm probably going to skip pressed powder, which is
just one less layer of makeup!

The day I stop writing about cosmetics is the day I
will wear mineral makeup exclusively. Until then I
am going to try as many products I can.

Now back to mineral makeup. Rimmel London's Lasting
Finish Mineral Powder Foundation looks and feels like
your typical mineral foundation. But it lasts a lot
longer, 12 hours to be exact. Plus its got a cute and
easy to use applicator that minimizes the mess of using
a mineral makeup. It comes in five shades(see below).



Buy Rimmel London's Lasting Finish Mineral Powder
Foundation at Walgreens for $8.29


Buy Rimmel London's Lasting Finish Mineral Powder
Foundation at Pharmacy Fix for £5.49


As you can tell, the products are the same with only a few
slight differences which are mostly in the packaging. The
shades are the same except for one(Sand is sold in the
US, and True Nude is sold in the UK).

Eyes By Design Retouching Cream really is a primer for eye
makeup, but it works a lot like a concealer. It instantly
hides wrinkles, lines, and everything else you want hidden.
It also hides under-eye circles(which is why I use it mostly),
not to say I don't have a few early lines that I need covered.
But we won't get into that right now!

When I first used the product I must admit I wondered.....I
wondered how to use the applicator! According to the box you
are supposed to click the bottom of the pen(at least five
times for the first use), but it took more than that. When
I finally started getting the white cream to come out of
the applicator I gently dabbed it over my dark under-eye
circles and blended it in. Instant coverage, instant
brightener! I noticed they say to gently dab it under
your eyes but I actually blended it in just like I
do with concealer. It works for me.

Buy Eyes By Design Retouching Cream at Home Shopping
Network for $29.95

Who doesn't like freebies? Here are some terrific websites
that actually give free beauty products!


Beauty Blitz is another beauty community thats a lot like
Total Beauty. And every weekday, they have a giveaway that
could be anything beauty/cosmetic related, like perfume or
shampoo or lipstick! Join and enter, its all free for those
in the US.

Check out Beauty Blitz



Do you have a blush or eye shadow you never used? Don't throw it
out! Go to Beauty Swap and exchange it for something you really
want. They also have sweepstakes/competitions too! Its only for
UK residents though.

Check out Beauty Swap Shop

Here are some fashionable ideas to help you decide what to
wear on a Valentine's Day date. You got three choices from
Classic, Trendy, and Retro Vintage Style. Pick your favorites
for inspiration.

Look 1:Classic


Principles Black Slinky Jersey Dress at Debenham's for £59.00
Kate Spade Tortola Paola Clutch at Bloomingdale's for $345.00
Long Flower Pearl Bead Necklace at ASOS for £14.75
Gianni Bini Edison Heels at Dillard's for $98

Look 2:Trendy


Banded Bubble Tank at Express for $39.50
Jolt Fit and Flare Jeans at Macy's for $44.00
John Lewis Sienna Ballet Slippers at John Lewis for £39
Perfect Leather Tote Bag at Marks & Spencer for £79
Beaded Cuff at Oasis for £8.00

Look 3:Retro Vintage Style


Boned Corset Bustier at Retro Chick for £14.99
Seamed Pencil Skirt at Top Shop £25
Blackout Buckled Clutch at Mod Cloth for $20
Calvin Klein Sarika Platforms at Piperlime for $98
Bluebell Statement Earrings at Monsoon for £14