SAMPLE SALE!!!

I'm about to pass along a highly, guarded secret. Want a stylish yet practical work bag? Or perhaps a sweet looking diaper or "mom" bag? My friend, Jennifer recently introduced me to "MZ Wallace". www.mzwallace.com

Founded and Based in New York City, these bags perfectly marry form and function. What sold me were the outside pockets for my TWO blackberries! I'm like a bag lady at work. I have a huge purse, I'm constantly digging through for my pad, a pen, lip gloss, keys, phones, you name it. I also have my make-up bag and sometimes a lunch bag I carry around. With some of the styles offered, you can put all those bags into one. AND they look great. OH, and did I mention they were super light? Most only have leather trim, but the fabrics are very light, and chemically treated for wear and tear. So, if you're constantly lugging stuff around like myself, it definitely helps.

These bags are now seen all over the place. One was featured in the latest issue of "O" Magazine. I recently ordered, "The Jane". I''ll let you know how it goes. I also like the Clara and am thinking about getting a "Francis". While they aren't cheap (ranging in the $300 plus area), it's still less expensive than some of the luxury brands. If you become a fan of the brand, I suggest signing up online for email deals. You have to be "signed up" to get into the Sample Sale and Clearance pages.

I got an email the other night (I hear these sales are now very rare) just after 1am. My Jane bag in "Clove", a light, khaki color normally retails at $365. I saved $150 with the sale. I placed an order at 4am. :) By mid-morning, the few bags they had were sold out - thanks to customers in LA. :) I got lucky on the East Coast.

The higher the hair, the closer to God....

Over the years, I have had my share of bad hair days. Ok, that's generous. I've had bad hair years. Try Nursery school til oh, say...TENTH GRADE! And even then it was questionable, even just plain tragic. There was the time when people thought my younger brother and I were twins because I had the same homemade bowl cut. And I can't forget the time it took me years to grow out the bowl cut (2nd grade). I begged my mom for a "perm". That's because I wanted to have LONG, CURLY hair. Mom takes me to the salon and in 3.3 minutes, they cut it ALL off, permed it and turned me into little Asian "Annie". I wanted to be an orphan after that! At 12, my tall-ish bangs were as high as I could get them. But it was raining at the bus stop so it fell. The only thing I had in my backpack was a tube of Vaseline. Not hairspray, but vaseline. And yes, I was so desperate, I tried it. Mega fail. I used Aqua Net, White Rain and all those hilarious hairsprays in my teen years. Fast forward to the years of requiring non-moving hair for work. The 'anchor helmet' we in the news business like to call it. No matter the conditions outside, snow storm, rain storm or hurricane, drive-by shooting, we gotta look fab. For years, I used Sebastian Shaper. It works, but it stinks. Like smells bad, stinks. It costs around $14 dollars for a tall bottle. My problem with it is you can't move one hair after spraying or it starts to flake white chunks. A recent favorite is FUSION. It's in a silver bottle I'd find at my stylist's salon. Pretty expensive at $25 dollars. Works FAR better than shaper and it smells great. It's freak of nature strong. However, I've found that the aerosol button breaks half way through the bottle. :( If you want to try it, you can find it online. My NEW favorite is Loreal's Elnett hairspray (with the white top-extra hold). It's a recent import from the UK. I first heard of it about a year ago when a friend asked that I bring some back for her during a trip abroad. You can comb through it and zero flakes. It's more of a flexible hold for the natural look. It's kinda pricey at around $14 for a tall bottle. But it's definitely the kind of hair spray you can you to tease UP your hair. Find it in every major drug store or Target. The "special" Rite Aid near my house carries it so I know it's gone mainstream! Happy Hair Days everyone -- send me your faves!

The WORST kind of bags!

I looove purses and bags! I even appreciate the kinds I won't wear. Which girly-girl wouldn't, right? The bags that won't go with anything, in fact make you look worse are the ones under your eyes. Does anyone get enough sleep nowadays? I suppose if you're under the age of 15. Dark circles and lines are the baggage that come along with those bags under your eyes. Beauty companies make zillions of dollars off us because people will do anything and try everything to get rid of them! Here are some products that have worked/not worked for me.

1. Soap and Glory's Eye Moisturizer called "Super Eyes, Super Eyes." It says it has "swift lift technology" (aka caffeine). It runs about $12 at Target. It's a gel that's supposed to minimize bags and brighten your under eye area. I like it. I noticed a difference within a few minutes. Do I still use concealer? Yes.

2. MAC's Fast Response Eye Cream. This was recommended by a make-up artist at work and highly touted (of course) by the chick at the MAC store. Cost? $28. Yeah, it was sooo not worth it. I noticed nothing. Thank goodness I didn't pay full price. I've heard from other friends who've tried it, nada as well.

3. Garnier Eye Roll-On stick. I haven't tried this myself but have a co-worker who really likes it. Also reasonably priced and can find it in any good drug store or Target. I may try this one at some point but am happy with Soap and Glory.

4. Preparation H. Yes, people! The beauty queen secret to puffiness WORKS. For major, major bags, I use this. Was I embarrassed to buy it? Well, it was for the greater good, so I got over it. The trick here is to put it on long before you have to leave the house. Throw down a layer, wait 20 minutes or so. then wipe most of it off. I mean, it's ointment below your eyes...it's shiny and sticky. But it works!