Chez Chez la Femme

Chez Chez la Femme by divadebbi featuring gold jewelry

Vionnet pleated dress
$1,585 - net-a-porter.com

Vince Camuto stiletto high heels
$195 - vincecamuto.com

Summer clutch
$50 - warehouse.co.uk

Gold jewelry
£60 - the-dressingroom.com

Jane Norman tassel earrings
£5 - janenorman.co.uk

O.K. my lovelies!!! New obsession has been born.  Have I been living under a rock???  Polyvore is an amazing site.  Not only do I get to put my fantasy ensembles together, but it shows you how you can purchase them too!

Soooo much more advanced than Colorforms.

Please bear with me while I attempt to immerse myself on this slippery learning curve.  There are a lot of ways to get more creative and make this prettier.  Rest assured you will be seeing lots of them, all in DivaDebbi style.

LOVE.

xox,
DD

Garnier Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector: Do you need this?



Garnier Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector  $4.99

 DoI???  Much to my own dismay, I could not resist picking this up while on a CVS run. How could I possibly need to add another styling product to the army under my bathroom sink?

I had just had my hair freshly colored by the magnificent Christopher at Warren Tricomi, Greenwich.  Nicely, WT is fine, with those of us who like to blow dry our own hair after color services. 

It's not that I'm cheap, but it's rare that I really love the way anyone blows out my hair...What really is the point of paying to have it dried, only to come home and tweak it for twenty minutes?

They have a perfect set-up,that includes a top notch dryer, a dozen immaculate brushes in all shapes and sizes and product for any conceivable style...everything except a flat iron. 

Is that too much to ask??? Ya. I think it probably is.  So essentially, I do a serviceable job, but come home and tweak for twenty minutes anyway---see what I mean?

Scarred For Life? DNA Scar Therapy Can Help

DNA Scar Therapy 1.7 oz. $45

There are two kinds of scars:  The ones on our hearts, that we feel when are kids are hurting, by an old flames who left us crushed , or physical scars from accidents or surgery.

Both leave painful reminders that are best faded with time.  Having had several surgeries,  I have tried everything available on the market to fade them; creams, silicone sheets and even lasers.  The results are not stellar.

The best time to treat scars is when they are closed but fresh.  When I had an opportunity to sample DNA EGF Renewal's DNA Scar Therapy,  I figured I had nothing to lose, even though my surgical scars are years old.

Lighten Up! Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Corrector to the Rescue

1.7 fl oz. average price $16

I love when my friends can't wait to tell me about a beauty or skin product they adore and rush up excitedly to share it with me.  My co-worker Ginger is tickled with the amount of spot reduction she is already seeing, after just two weeks of using Garnier's Skin Renew Dark Spot Corrector.  She saw significant lightening and "breaking up" of the pigment on a particularly dark spot on her hand and literally can't wait to check out her progress each morning.

I was surprised to hear she was seeing results after just two weeks, since even prescriptions for hydroquinone don't promise results till about the one month mark.  I asked her if I could take a photo of the tops of her hands so I could update you every two weeks with her results. Happily, she agreed!

Lash Blast Fusion: The cheap and cheerful mascara of my dreams???

CoverGirl's Lash Blast Fusion ($11)

Sadly, not. 

As I am now scraping the barrel of yet another tube of Benefit's They're Real Mascara, I find myself on my third attempt at a cheap & cheerful mascara that will give me enough volume and fullness to save myself $24.00.  They're Real is a a great mascara but it's also a real pain to remove.

A few years back, I had a love affair with CoverGirl's Lash Exact. Also housed in a purple tube, it provided full, clean looking lashes for day.  So what if I ran out of it in less than a month?  It was certainly affordable enough to replace as needed.

Review: Almay Intense i-color Shimmer Kit

Adele does Vogue

The glorious Adele, graced the cover of this month's Vogue.  Besides her glorious voice, Adele's retro style; hair, makeup and clothes are igniting the imagination of women of all ages.  Want to know how to recreate Adele's signature cat-eye?  Beauty Blogs and YouTube videos abound with tutorials. 

It will be interesting to see in the next year or two, if a slimmed down Adele will emerge.  Image is such an integral part of fame, and the pressure to be svelte is felt by children these days, much less International sensations.  Time will tell.

In the interim, I'm a wee bit taken with that cat-eye myself!  I have said in previous blogs, that the only time I ever get compliments on my eye makeup, is when I am wearing Almay's Intense i-color Shadows.  These shadows are specifically created to enhance each of the four eye colors; blue, green, hazel and brown.

The Nude Shoe: All Eyes Up

Catherine Duchess of Cambridge wearing 
nude shoes with a Catherine Walker ensemble

I  love Day Light's Saving Time, but only when we are, "springing ahead".  Longer days of sunlight plus the proliferation of color available in ready-to-wear and accessories is a a guaranteed mood brightener. Particularly this Spring, it seems.

When Stacey Bewkes, the awarding winning writer of my favorite Lifestyle Blog Quintessence asked me if I would like to be a Style Contributor  for the website Women's Voices for Change, a fabulous resource for women over 40,  I was honored.  When Stacey asked me if there was a particular topic I'd like to cover for my second article, I suggested covering why the "nude shoe" has become such a prevalent option.

Wearing nude shoes is a neat  little trick I picked up from the late great style icon Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.   I have been advising my clients to wear them as the perfect foil for color, ever since seeing them  worn with the pistachio Carolina Herrera ensemble she wore to Caroline's wedding.  Count on Jackie to figure out a way around, God Forbid, "dyed to match".

Here's a link to the article: http://womensvoicesforchange.org/the-nude-shoe-all-eyes-up.htm  The addition of fashion is new to Women's Voices for Change. 

Led by Patricia Yarberry Allen M.D., "Women’s Voices for Change started its not-for-profit website in 2006. Since then, the WVFC community of writers, commenters, and supporters has grown steadily, drawn by a distinctive mix of news, opinion, and reflection from an over-40 women’s perspective, coupled with the authoritative medical information that is the site’s leading component".

It is a font of important health information for women over 40, as well as personal finance, relationships, career, the arts and more.  I highly recommend a visit...even if you haven't crossed that arc.

There is much we can all continue to learn from one another...at any age.

xox,

DD

Review: Maybelline Eyestudio MasterShape Brow Pencil

Maybelline MasterShape Brow Pencil ($7.99)

I have finally worked my way to the bottom of the treasure trove of new Maybelline offerings, that I received in a generous goodie bag at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  Maybelline is one of their featured sponsors.

For a Girl whose been fixated on all thing maquilage, since the age of 12, I am a later comer to the world of brow styling.

It started with my obsession with Julianna Margulies eyebrows on The Good Wife. I realized that my brows needed an over haul.  My 3 annual visits to anywaxeravailable in anynailsalon anywhere was ripe for improvement.

Julianna Margulies:  Brow Goddess

Launching This Spring! Laura Mercier Oil Free Suprême Foundation

When I was in my twenties, my skin was considerably oily, and I loathed it.  By the time I hit my thirties, it became a T-Zone only problem.  I dreaded the summer months and stuffed sheaves of blotting paper in every handbag...just in case.

The silver lining they say, to enduring oily skin, is skin that tends to be less wrinkled in the future. I must say, I don't disagree.  It was worth every puddle.

Review: Maybelline's Color Tattoo 24 HR Cream Gel Shadow

I'm not going to be the Girl rocking teal eyeshadow anytime soon, but if I was, I would be happy to use Maybelline's new  "Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24 HR. Cream Gel Eyeshadow" (try saying that 10x fast).