FabSugar

Trend Alert: Mini Bags

FabSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:00:33 PDT

It is the end of an era. Oversized bags are soon to be the bags of yore and mini bags are the bags of tomorrow. Oh how the fashion pendulum swings! We prepared you for the attack, and mini versions of It bags like the Chloe Paddington and Fendi B Bag are popping up and boy are they cute. Why is it that when something shrinks it just becomes that much cuter? Behold: handbag Shrinky Dinks!

Color Theory: Fire Up Your Style Power With Red

Hannah Weil — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:00:03 PST

This season's statement color goes way beyond the red-pants craze. Its hot reputation means that playing with even a dose of the fiery hue goes a long way. Case in point: this crew of impeccably-dressed street stylers show a range of red looks, adding a pop of candy-apple and fire-engine red color to their every ensemble. With each look, we're out to prove just how effective our color theory is - a touch of the bright accent on a bag, a leather mini, or a pair of heels takes your style to a whole new level. Step inside to see how this chic crew styles up the standout hue, then shop to outfit your own look à la rouge.

8 Small Ways to Lose Big Pounds in 2012

Prevention — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:06:22 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Quadruple your weight loss by making one easy tweak to your routine per week
By Alyssa Shaffer

If your goal is to lose weight and exercise more, forget the deprivation diet and marathon workouts. New research shows that taking baby steps - not giant leaps -is the best way to get lasting results. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that participants who made one small, potentially permanent change in their food choices and/or physical activity each week (such as drinking one fewer can of soda or walking five more minutes each day) lost more than twice as much belly fat, two and half more inches off their waistlines, and about four times more weight during a four-month program, compared with those who followed traditional calorie-restriction and physical-activity guidelines.

"When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, you begin to ingrain some healthy habits that last for a lifetime, rather than trying an all-or-nothing approach that more often than not fails because it's too hard to follow," says Lesley Lutes, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at East Carolina University. We've uncovered these simple steps (with proven results) to help you move more, eat less, and look and feel better than ever. Add just one or two a week to your regular routine and you can lose nearly three inches off your waistline and be about 10 pounds lighter come in a few months. Even better: Once these healthy habits become second nature, they'll benefit you for a lifetime.

1. Pick Up a Pen After Every Meal
Mindlessly munching on a bag of chips could result in easily polishing off the whole thing; write down how much you've eaten and you're more likely to practice portion control. Keeping a food log helps control extra calories in two ways: the combination of plain old reality check (I just ate 30 minutes ago!) and awareness that what you're putting in your mouth will soon be recorded for posterity. In a recent study, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. When they combined it with a moderate diet and exercise plan, they lost an average of 13 pounds in 6 months. Journaling also gives you insight on your eating habits, says Lutes. Do you skip meals? Eat the same during the week as on the weekend? Binge when you're feeling stressed? "Knowing your routine helps you figure out what changes are right for you," she adds.

Avoid these 14 "health food" diet disasters.

2. Limit High-Fat Foods to One Per Week
Tag the high-fat/high-calorie foods that are typically your favorites (our top five: cookies, candy, ice cream, potato chips, and fries) and gradually downshift. "If you're eating six of these foods a week, try to go down to five," says Lutes. Each week, drop another until you're at no more than one or two; at the same time, add in a good-for-you choice like baby carrots, sautéed broccoli, oranges, and other fresh fruits and veggies.

Keep reading for more simple tip to help you lose big.

How to Have an Old-Fashioned, Fun, and Frugal Christmas

LearnVest — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:15:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Ray-Bans aren't the only piece of the past worth revisiting.

There are also old-school photos, discreetly boozy drinks and Judy Garland. Let's go ahead and combine all three: It's Retro Christmas.

This year, we're planning to enjoy what we call "Retro Christmas": A return to holidays past, when the season was about togetherness rather than excess gifts, affection rather than perfection.

Although scaling down our celebrations means spending less money, that's not the point.

We’ve put together our plan for making this year special . . . and focused on elegance, simplicity and genuine holiday spirit. In the end, our goal is to spend time with the people we care about. Of course, while we call this "Retro Christmas," you can adjust most of our tips for whatever winter holidays you celebrate (except maybe for our advice on ornamenting your tree).

Here's to Christmas in sepia!

Gift as a Group

To make gift-giving as meaningful as possible, concentrate on quality rather than quantity. So, instead of buying something just because you need to get a gift, get one that you know will be cherished, even if that means going in with a group of family or friends.

One easy aid is Share a Gift, a website that allows people to make donations toward a communal gift. It uses PayPal and organizes money better than the usual cash collection.

Read on for more tips for a retro Christmas.

Link Time: Marc Jacobs's Spring Collection Stolen, Claridge's Gets a Lanvin Tree, and More

FabSugar — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:47:33 PST

Marc Jacobs's entire Spring '12 collection is stolen - The Daily Beast
The CFDA has a plan to fix the fashion week scheduling mess - The Cut
Double-duty office beauty - Lauren Conrad
Rachel Zoe's favorite thing about dressing babies - InStyle
Will you go big with statement earrings? - Style.com
Go neutral with nougat tones - Stylelist
Here's what the Versace For H&M launch looked like in London - Racked
Mila Kunis gets ready for her man in uniform - HuffPo Style
Vanilla ice: Anya Hindmarch Mini Huxley woven leather tote - Bag Snob
Alber Elbaz is designing a "colorful and whimsical" tree for Claridge's - Lucky

What We're Sweet On: A Purse-Sized Holiday Makeup Palette

Jaime Richards — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:05:00 PST

If high-glitter and high-pigment makeup aren't quite your thing for the holidays, Benefit Cosmetics' I'm Glam . . . Therefore I Am ($36) is a great option for you, then. The seven-piece kit contains the universally flattering rosy- and peachy-pink Glamming Face Powder, along with the brand's always-crowd-pleasing highlighter, Girl Meets Pearl.

A four-piece eye shadow palette of pale pink, icy purple, muted plum, and steely gray allows you to create looks ranging from just a kiss of color to something a little more mod to something more alluring and smoky. Bubble-gum pink gloss and mini BadGal mascara top it all off, but will also serve you well while you travel throughout the year. These teeny-tiny products can be easily tossed in your one-gallon clear plastic bag, without the TSA having to step in and confiscate them from you.

And while the palette is too big to fit into a small bag, it's still bitty enough to hold in a medium-sized purse or clutch - one that's sequined for all your upcoming festivities, of course.

OnSugar Blog: 5 Must Haves For a Clean, Stylish, Happy Baby and Mommy

OnSugar Blog — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:15:36 PDT

Lots of moms and mommies-to-be like to think out loud, and Nicole Pearl, the Beauty Girl is one of them. She recently posted about her favorite products for baby and mom on her The Beauty Girl blog.

It's only Tuesday and it's already been a big week of celeb news: Kim K's divorcing and Jessica Simpson's having a baby! Breakups suck, but personal experience proves they make you stronger. Babies, on the other hand, are the biggest gift of love. I can't believe my little man Rex is already 8 weeks old! I admit, the past couple of months have been grueling between the sleepless nights and never-ending bouts of spit up. But they've also been the most rewarding, magical moments of my life.

Jessica's announcement got me thinking about how far I've come as a mom. Like, I went from not knowing what a breast pump was to being able to put the parts together in the dark. And the full five minutes it once took me to change a diaper has been shaved down to seconds. In just two months, I've become fluent in baby from gadgets to products. I still have a lot to learn, and I've been grateful to all the moms who have shared their tips with me. Now, it's my turn to pay it forward. I've listed a few of my favorite finds (more installments to come!). Hopefully these will come in just as handy for baby Simpson and all the future tots-to-be.

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash: After washing Rex's hair and body with this, he smells just like a baby should - fresh, clean and yummy all at once. I've been sent a lot of baby bath products from a bunch of different companies and will report back on the others as I give them a try.

Kicky Pants, Ralph Lauren and Splendid onesies: A onesie is the baby equivalent of a dress. Just slip it on and the look is complete. From preppy to hipster, I love dressing Rex up in stylish looks, and I've fallen in love with the fashions from these three brands. Kicky Pants onesies come in fun prints and are made with a bamboo fabric that's so soft, I wish they made clothes for adults. Rex may as well be a model for Ralph Lauren because every other thing he wears is RL baby. From the most precious white nightie to a velour jumper, there's a wealth of adorable options, especially for boys. Splendid wins for creating mini versions of fashions that you'd wear yourself. Like the brand's adult line, the clothes are comfy and cute. Check out Rex in the lower photo with his teddy. He's rocking a Splendid hooded onesie.

Baby Aquaphor: I oil Rex up from head to toe every night. I keep a tub by his changing table and a tube in my diaper bag. I swear by this ointment. It's kept his pretty baby face acne free, has fended off diaper rash and stopped the first signs of cradle cap in its tracks.

Keep reading to see the rest of The Beauty Girl's recommendations.

Submit Your Tricked-Out Geeky Pumpkins to Win a Bag of Treats From GeekSugar!

GeekSugar — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:35:53 PDT

Costumes are great, but carving pumpkins is one Halloween tradition we'll never skip. Feeling creative? Get out your carving tools and create the geekiest pumpkin of them all - you could win a bag of sweet treats that won't rot your teeth.

We're giving away a fun prize pack for the geekiest pumpkin photo submitted to our Geeky Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest group. So grab a template (or just your imagination) and get to work! We'll select a winner from all entrants on Oct. 27. Want to hear more about what's included in the prize (of course you do)? Then keep reading!

Included in the prize pack (worth over $430) will be a Powerbag Backpack that will easily carry your books, games, and gear, and even charge your gadgets, a Nintendo DS Lite, five Nintendo DS games, including Kirby Mass Attack, Mario Kart DS, Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario Party DS, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem, along with a Pac-Man Fleece Blanket to keep you warm while you game.

Sound like something you'd be interested in? Then enter now! If you need help uploading your pics, check out our community tutorial, and be sure to read through the official rules here. Happy Carving!

Gwen Stefani Rides Into the Weekend With Kingston

Lauren Turner — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:27:32 PDT

Kingston Rossdale led the way for mom Gwen Stefani as they left a toy store in London yesterday. He held onto a plastic bag on his scooter while Gwen carried a few fun new items. Gwen was back out in her neighborhood today to get a manicure and pedicure, though Kingston, who has been seen at nail salons with Gwen before, didn't join her for this trip. The Stefani-Rossdale kids have been busy during the family's stay in the UK, and Kingston and Zuma ran into their half-sister Daisy Lowe during a walk with their nanny earlier this week. Gwen's also had a full schedule as she preps for the launch of her Harajuku Mini collection for Target, which hits stores next month.

6 New Candies to Sweeten Up Halloween

Rebecca M Gruber — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:01:51 PDT

Sure you can fill lil trick-or-treaters' loot bags with the standard mini chocolate bar, just like everyone else on your block. Or you can switch things up a bit with some of the newest candy to hit the confectionery aisles! From Halloween-inspired treats to updated versions of your favorite candies, check out some of the newest sweets available just in time for lil ghosts and goblins to eat them up!