BellaSugar

December Must-Haves

BellaSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:55:41 PST

Even though stores are filled with people seeking gifts for friends and family, let's be realistic: Most people pick up a little something for themselves, too. And why not? It's been a long year, and a bit of pampering won't hurt.

For this month's must-haves, I've found items that will help you primp and prepare for end-of-year festivities-along with a few that'll help you decompress from the stress of the holidays. To see my picks,

If there's any time to have shiny, shimmering hair, it's in December. I'm planning to pick up Fekkai Sparkling Shimmer Spray ($13.50), a mist that has microscopic diamond crystals to lend a subtle golden glimmer to your hair. Paired with good tools like this T3 mini flat iron ($119), it would provide a professional-quality hairstyle for New Year's and beyond.
Urban Decay's holiday kit is worth considering. Midnight Cowboy Rides Again ($32) is spot-on with the metallic trend. It includes a golden, shimmery beige eye shadow, Eyeshadow Primer Potion (so your color will stay put), an eye pencil in a deep coppery shade, and glittery gold eyeliner. Worn all at once, these items would be too much. But adding just one item to your regular look will be a gild-y pleasure.
If you're visiting family during the holiday season, you'll need portable, flight-friendly body care supplies. You may also need to de-stress. (Just sayin'.) This gorgeous Red Flower Hammam Set ($56) lets you do both. It contains travel sizes of these 100% natural goodies: Moroccan mint tea silt purifier, lemon coffee blossom olive stone scrub, jasmine rose rhassoul clay polish, orange quince steam room mist, cardamom amber oil, tangerine fig butter cream. Just reading about them makes me want to relax and unwind with a cup of tea.
Bonne Belle Smackers ($2.95) are a favorite from my childhood, and since 'tis the season for chapped lips, I figure it can't hurt to have a few extra lip balms on hand. I'm a fan of the Dr. Pepper flavor, which takes me way back to junior high.

Cool Idea: Put a Modern Spin on Grocery-Store Roses

Angela Swinderman Elias — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:18:41 PST

We've all received the readily available red roses and baby's breath bouquet at some point in our lives. While the romantic gesture of gifting flowers is always appreciated, the slightly dated look of this combination is often not. The divide and conquer strategy applies perfectly to this situation. With a little snipping and the right vessel, this tired arrangement can actually look chic and surprisingly modern.

To achieve the look, snip the stems off of the roses and cluster them tightly together in a cylinder-shaped, clear glass vase. For even more drama, add a votive candle so that light bounces off of the glass and water. The effect is undeniably sexy and completely unexpected.

A Lovely Little Vignette From Frankie Hearts Fashion

Angela Swinderman Elias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:01:52 PST

Our design-savvy readers are always inspiring us with shots of stylish scenes from their homes in our Lovely Little Vignettes group. In honor of Fashion Week, we decided to tap the shoulder of one of our favorite personal style bloggers, Nicole from Frankie Hearts Fashion, to take on our Lovely Little Vignettes fashion challenge! And, just as we expected, she absolutely killed it.

Nicole mixes bold, neon citrus with classic black-and-white graphics, and a touch of fire-engine red, for a combination that works equally well in an outfit and a room. Aside from crafting a mesmerizing color palette, she also experiments with mixing bohemian and more refined style influences in both shots. Her flowing halter dress and sunflower bouquet reveal her inner flower child while her Louboutin heels and crisp white sofa showcase a more polished side.

Check out Nicole's blog to see additional photos of her chic ensemble, plus details on how she got the look. If you have a stylish nook in your home, show us! You might just be our next featured blogger.

Men, Women, and M&Ms Show Skin During this Year's Super Bowl Ads

Annie Scudder — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:45:32 PST

There were lots of reasons to tune in to the Super Bowl this year. Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady. Madonna's halftime show. And of course, the commercials. As expected, advertisers still think sex sells, and we saw many examples of sexualized, half-naked women during the commercial breaks. But they weren't the only ones to strip. David Beckham showed off his soccer bod for H&M and an M&M chocolate showed us that he's sexy and he knows it. Here are four examples of Super Bowl skin. And comment with your Super Bowl ad highs and lows.

H&M

After seeing a lifetime of Victoria's Secret angels on TVs, it was exciting to see David Beckham modeling off his briefs - and hot bod for H&M. They didn't hold back on the close-ups.

Teleflora

The florist had model Adriana Lima tell guys that on Valentine's Day they just need to give in order to receive, essentially suggesting women will perform sexual favors in exchange for flowers.

M&Ms

I had to laugh at this M&M commercial. The red dude M&M thinks a brown-shelled lady M&M is going nude and decides to strip and dance ridiculously. He's sexy and he knows it.

See Go Daddy's ad after the break.

COCOCOZY's Gardenia-Scented Candle Arrives Just in Time for Valentine's Day!

Angela Swinderman Elias — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:00:56 PST

We know her as Coco, the voice behind the delightful design blog and shop, COCOCOZY. Aside from offering an incredibly chic assortment of textiles, bedding, pillows, and vintage finds, the COCOCOZY shop offers fragrant, all-natural, biodegradable soy wax candles in three scents: beach, citrus, and flower. Hand poured in the US, the candles are placed in frosted recyclable glass vessels and contain a lead free cotton wick, which boosts their ecological appeal.

If you're searching for a simple and sweet Valentine's Day gift for your mom, sis, or best friend, the gardenia-scented floral candle is available in a limited edition version just for the holiday! Red and white replaces the classic black and white packaging for this special version. Coco just sent one to our office, and after taking it home and burning it for 30 minutes, the intoxicating scent of heady gardenia has infused my entire apartment. And retailing for just over $40, I'm thinking I might need to treat someone else besides my husband this Valentine's Day.

SAG Awards: Busy Philipps

FabSugar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:34:36 PST

Busy Philipps channeled her California flower child in a sheer blue floral gown by SIMONE by Katie Nehra featuring a buttoned front, a cinched tie waist, and puffed sleeves. She kept the light, flowy, and hippie-inspired vibe going strong with an equally sweet front braid and natural makeup palette. She adorned her red-carpet look with stacks of colorful bangles, a red snakeskin clutch, and a couple of chunky beaded necklaces. How do you feel about Busy's easy-going ensemble?

Vote on all of our SAG Awards polls here!

SAG Awards: Shailene Woodley

FabSugar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:08:52 PST

Stylish newcomer (and The Descendants star) Shailene Woodley looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in a sweet floral L'Wren Scott frock. While Shailene has donned everything from draped and flowy to body-con metallics, this shimmery blue-and-red flower appliqué gown is surprisingly sleek and fresh. Shailene's low-maintenance beauty regimen was on display - her pulled-back hair, well-groomed brows, and long lashes let the gown do all the talking. How do you feel about Shailene's red-carpet look?

Vote on all of our SAG Awards polls here!

Fashion Flashback: 75 Striking Red-Carpet Looks From SAG Awards' Past

FabSugar — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:31:43 PST

Now that we've had a quick awards show breather, it's time to jump right back in. This Sunday at 8 p.m. EST, the Screen Actors Guild Awards will present us with a fresh batch of honorable movie mentions and red-hot red carpet looks. Before this weekend's SAGs action kicks off, let's look back at the megawatt stars - and the gowns they wore - in retrospective detail. From Mila Kunis's sexy crimson Alexander McQueen gown last year to Kate Hudson's sweet flower-in-the-hair and embellished nude frock combo in '01, we've got the infamous, the fabulous, and the truly unforgettable, tracing all the way back to the '95 awards. Click through for 75 of the most memorable SAG style moments now and remember to tune in Sunday night for PopSugar's LIVE red-carpet show starting at 6 p.m. EST and the SAG Awards show at 8 p.m. EST on TNT and TBS!

A Modern Floral and Dragon-Inspired Chinese New Year Tablesetting

Casa Community — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:58 PST

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member CourtneyOutLoud from the Lovely Little Vignettes group:

The Year of the Dragon is upon us! January 23rd marks Lunar New Year, or what many people call Chinese New Year. I initially created this table for our Christmas holiday but instantly realized that it could serve double duty for a Chinese New Year Party. The bright red and white color scheme works perfectly with the theme of the holiday: happiness, fortune and renewal.

Traditionally, windows and doors are decorated with red paper cutouts emphasizing the themes I listed above. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.

I reinterpreted these themes into a more modern aesthetic. Rather than the traditional couplets used to decorate windows, I handcrafted supersized red, white and silver paper flowers to provide a textural backdrop.

The tablescape centered around a spray lacquered manzanita branch that provided a nice sense of movement and bold splash of color to the table. Clear glass balls, red dragonflies (a homage to it being The Year of the Dragon), geometric glass candlesticks, and two white wicker pagodas with red poinsettias finish off the centerpiece. I loved the idea of using poinsettias after the holiday season since we had them in the house and they went perfectly with the color scheme.

Individual place settings are comprised of Ralph Lauren plates in the Pagoda pattern, red napkins, and individualized shadow boxes lined in red sparkly craft paper. The shadow boxes are a great way to elevate the place settings and create one-of-a-kind gifts for your dinner guests. Each were personalized to the individuals attending the dinner party. To finish off the place settings, small red and white bouquets were placed in Chinese take-out containers and each plate had a red envelope containing a personal wish for each guest.

Keep reading for more photos of Courtney's gorgeous table!

Tour the White House's Holiday Decor and Get Tips on Creating the Look From White House Florist Laura Dowling

Elka Karl — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:31:57 PST

This year, the White House's holiday theme of "Shine, Give, Share," celebrates the holiday spirit through decor ranging from tabletop trees made from recycled aluminum to a 400-pound White House Gingerbread House. I recently chatted with White House florist Laura Dowling about the inspiration for the theme and tips on getting the look at your own home.

CasaSugar: What was the inspiration for this year’s decor?
Laura Dowling: This year’s theme is inspired by the First Lady’s message of giving to others and community service. Additionally, a very important element of this year’s holiday theme is the recognition and support of America’s military families. Visitors will see special decorations in the East Entrance and in the Blue Room that are designed to honor our nation’s service men and women and their families.

CasaSugar: What are some of the ideas that homeowners can use this holiday season, inspired by the White House decor?
Laura Dowling: Some of the most interesting ideas are on display at the White House use materials that are inexpensive or free – and would be easy for people to try at home.

Keep reading to learn Laura Dowling's tips for creating the White House's holiday look at your home.