These five beauty products are among the most luxurious — and expensive — on the planet. Do you worry about spending too much money on beauty products? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Read full article: Yahoo Shine
Source: Yahoo Shine

(MoneyWatch) Jeanne Zozobrado loves to shop, but she holds herself in check until Black Friday rolls around. Then the Arizona mother of two loads up her Honda Pilot with electronics, games, toys, dishes, linens and clothes.

It’s pretty much everything she’s wanted to buy all year round, in addition to holiday gifts for her big extended family and the birthday gifts she expects to buy later in the year.
“The deals are just too good to pass up,” she says. “Everything is just so much cheaper I can’t stand to buy things I don’t absolutely need at any other time.”

Millions of Americans do much the same thing, biding their time until retailers participate in their annual holiday kick-off by slashing prices on everything from cameras to television sets. But the retail frenzy also lends itself to some bad behavior by both consumers and retailers. If you don’t want to end the holiday season with a shopping back full of regrets, you’d be wise to heed a few Black Friday “do’s” and “don’ts”.

Do have a list and a budget: The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend an average of $704 on the holidays. American Express’ holiday survey estimates an even higher number — $831. But if you can’t afford to pay for these gifts within a few months of purchase, all of your Black Friday savings will be lost to interest charges, according to the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

Consider, if you charged that $704 on a credit card with an 18% interest rate and paid just 5% of the balance each month, it would take you four years and cost $233 in interest before the balance was paid off. That’s the equivalent of paying 33% more for everything. Before hitting the mall, figure out what you can afford to spend on each recipient and figure out what gifts will allow you to stick to your budget.

Don’t succumb to one-for-them; two-for-me shopping: The Black Friday deals are so tempting that it’s easy to get lured into buying as much or more for yourself as you do for your friends and family. That’s fine, if you need the items and can afford to buy them. But if you’re on a budget or would need to finance the purchases, it’s smarter to wait for the same reasons we mentioned above – the interest costs on your charges can overwhelm your savings. Can’t resist buying something for you? Okay, but budget for it. Figure out how much you’ll allow yourself to buy and what you want to get. If you see more things that you want, subtly mention what’s on your holiday wish list to the friends and family who may be giving you gifts this season.

Do pre-shop: The web is a great equalizer, allowing you to easily compare prices from one retailer to the next. If you see an advertised product that you want and think is a good deal, plug the brand name and particulars into a Google search bar and see what turns up. If you Google “Vizio 42″ television,” for example, you’re going to see prices ranging from $409 to $539. Given that hundreds of retailers launch Free Shipping offers at this time of year, if your best deal is a web offer, you don’t need to be bothered by the cost of getting it home.

Don’t be fooled by false “benchmarking:” Consumers become a little starry-eyed when faced with exceptionally steep discounts. If you say that something is 50% or 60% off and the world – or at least a lot of frenzied consumers – are likely to beat a path to your door. Retailers know this and sometimes exploit the knowledge by marking products up in order to mark them down more sharply. Normal retail prices are at a retailer’s discretion, so one might say that the television retails for $1,200 but is marked down to $600 – a 50% savings. And you might think that’s a better deal than the $750 t.v. that was marked down 20% to $600, unless you do some pre-shopping and realize that it’s actually the same set.

Do consider shopping in your jammies: No law says that you have to be miserable to get the best Black Friday deals. According to MoneyWatch blogger Farnoosh Torabi, some of the best deals are replicated online. That means you can shop in your jammies with your laptop, while toasting your toes by the fire and get the same deal as the person who waited in a long line in the rain for a retail store to open at midnight.

Don’t forget FT’s tips: Speaking of Farnoosh, she’s got great tips on how to get the best deals on Black Friday and how to buy gift cards this season that can save you a bundle. Missing those is like missing the sale — a huge waste.

Do search for coupons and free shipping: When doing your online comparison shopping, make sure you look for coupons and free shipping deals. It may take an extra couple of search steps. But once you find the product you want, search “coupons and X”. In some cases, these coupons can be used to reduce the retail price even further. At the very least, you should see if there’s a coupon for free shipping. A site predictably dubbed FreeShipping.org has coupon codes and free shipping information for thousands of retailers.

Read full article: CBS News Moneywatch
Source: CBS News 

Jennifer Lopez, 49, stole the show at the 2011 American Music Awards. Clad in skin bearing outfits on the red carpet and on the stage. One of the most talked about outfits is the one she wore with her performance with Pitbull. It was a crystal nude bodysuit which resembled Britney Spears’ in her 2003 “Toxic” music video.

View the photo gallery of Jennifer Lopez at the AMAs: US Weekly

Check out 90 photos on British Vogue of celebrities showing off new Spring/Summer 2012 looks on red carpets all over the world! Gee, must be nice to be a celebrity!

View the photo gallery: British Vogue
Source: British Vogue

Shop by look on Zestypink. We compiled the latest trends for Winter 2011. What we are seeing this year especially in winter coats are faux fur trimmed coats, belted military inspired jackets, classic camel colored coats, bright colors and the cacoon silhouette. What we love about most of these styles is that you can easily make them work from day to night. No more wearing your puffy bubble jacket to a night out or to an evening soiree!

Most fashion shows are an exercise in slinky dresses, plummeting necklines and miniskirts the size of washclothes. Some, like last week’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, comprised even less fabric than that. But you didn’t find any flashes of skin on the runway at Rabia Z.’s One Night Only fashion show at Casa La Femme in New York last night. Instead, the Muslim designer draped her models in clothing that was totally chic while still covered up.

Rabia, whose tradition is “both Afghani and Arab,” calls her work “conservative couture” and aspires to design attire for women that’s modest but also modern. In 2007, she nabbed the Emerging Designer award for her debut collection at the Dubai Fashion Week. Since then, it’s been a fast track for Rabia in the world of fashion design for Muslim women; she showed at Miami Fashion Week last year and launched a high end street label, Ruby, and even designed an outfit for Barbie.

Read more and view the photo gallery: Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post

They trade tweeds and swap slingbacks. They push each other outside the comfort zone. They’re each other’s greatest inspiration—and stiffest competition.

Meet the most stylish sisters of the year and vote for your favorite below.

Read more and view the photo gallery: Vogue.com
Source: Vogue.com

The Museum of Contemporary Art is an iconic Los Angeles institution. So it is only fitting that for the museum’s annual gala, held on Saturday night, the stars came out wearing the most LA-appropriate red carpet gowns — colorful, laid-back and uber glamorous.

Kirsten Dunst chose a dress by Los Angeles natives Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, brightening up the night in aqua. Rachel Zoe, an L.A. fashion icon herself, chose all-over glitter, while Nicole Richie went for high glamour in a floaty, embroidered gown by Julien Macdonald.

But Gwen Stefani, whose dress screamed “New York” in a sea of “LA!”, may have stolen the show in her dramatically cut Carven dress, featuring a high collar and a high slit. Being New Yorkers, of course, we are absolutely loving Gwen’s dark look.

Read more and view the photo gallery: Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post

They came on 6-inch platforms and sky-high booties, donning spikes and leopard spots. Stiletto-clad fans lined up at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills on Thursday night to meet their idol, French designer Christian Louboutin, who was in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his red-soled brand, and his new book.

He signed copies of the self-titled book – -a sumptuous $150 monograph with still-life photos of his fanciful designs by David Lynch and Philippe Garcia — for nearly two hours. He also signed a leg cast for Melissa Dishell, longtime manager of burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese.

Read more and view the photo gallery: LA Times
Source: LA Times

NEW YORK — Believe it or not, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show belonged to the boys on Wednesday night.

Text by Samantha Critchell, AP
It was Kanye West, Jay-Z and Maroon 5 who got the audience clapping and cheering at the annual lingerie extravaganza at the Lexington Avenue Armory, quite a feat considering they were sharing the stage with the some of the world’s top models — in barely-there get-ups, no less.

The show, which also featured a song by Nicki Minaj, who was decked out in a bright orange bustier, cosmic-print skirt and leggings, and a frothy pink wig, will be televised on CBS on Nov. 29.

The worlds of fashion and music always come together on this runway, which is more for entertainment, excitement and brand-building than a serious preview of styles. It really clicked this time, though, when Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine escorted his girlfriend Anne Vyalitsyna down the catwalk and then planted a kiss on her cheek.

She was wearing a push-up bra covered with a crystal-encrusted body overlay. Model Constance Jablonski strutted to “Moves Like Jagger” in an illusion beaded gown with a feather mermaid hemline, and Karlie Kloss wore a corset-style bodysuit covered in tropical colored beads.

A lot of the backstage buzz before the show was about West, who was originally scheduled for the 2007 show but pulled out after his mother’s death. Doutzen Kroes and Chanel Iman were among the top Victoria’s Secret models, dubbed VS Angels, who posed with him in their micro-mini pink satin robes and told him they expected his set to be a highlight of the night.

“I lost my super hero,” he said when he eventually landed on the runway, “and now she’s my super angel.”

Read more and view the sexy photo gallery: Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post