People:Style watch's 10 Ways to Shop Smart

It is almost time for those crazy lines, 12 hours of extreme shopping, and looking for the last of that toy that everyone needs to have!

Thanks to People:Style watch, November 2011 Issue, I have 12 great tips to help you get through!!!!

1. Buy cheap chic brands
2. Take advantage of coupons
3. Find local deals around your neighborhood
4. Sign up for flash sales
5. Try a rental--- need a fancy dress? Check out the online companies that will rent a dress to you!
6. Repair your favorite pieces (get those awesome boots resoled!)
7. Compare prices
8. Check $$$ savings blogs (like mine lol)
9. Become a member
10. Experiment with Do-It-Yourself!
11. Join rewards programs (Sephora gives you a free gift for your birthday)
12. Sign up for sampling programs

These work for shopping for your Winter wardrobe, Holiday outfit, or for your gifts for the Holidays.

COYC TIP: This season is the season for glitz! Winter white, red, black with some sparkle-- wear silver eye shadow, get a sparkly gold tank to go under your blazer for work, wear red patten-leather heels... You get the idea! Go all out and wear a metallic mini dress with some knee high boots. Happy Holidays! 

COYC: Bundling up with a sale!

I am loving the Fall/Winter styles this year! It is a great time to shop! There are a TON of great sales going on and everyone is getting ready with their holiday attire and outerwear collections. I went shopping today and between coupons, store promotions, and clearance, I bought over $300 worth of clothing and jewelry for less than $150! One store that I hit was the Limited. They were having a 40% off the entire store sale. After almost spazzing out, I raided their clearance section. It was like Shop-til-you-Drop! I just kept handing the associate hangers upon hangers to put in my fitting room. That is how I shop. I go through the entire store and then hit the fitting room to divide and conquer. I have 3 piles: no, yes, and maybe. Once I have had a chance to try everything on, I decide what fits into my budget and what doesn't. Usually this is where the justifying comes into play. "Can I wear this to work?" "Can I wear it with more than one thing in my closet?" "How much is it after the discount?"

I was able to buy a great sweater and a three-piece suit (blazer, pants, and skirt) for less than $90.00. (The pants alone were originally $78!) I also went to Maurice's which is a store that I just discovered. I LOVE IT! They have so many cute styles that are not too trendy and are age appropriate for 20-30 something's not wanting their jeans too low. Between their store promotions and the great coupons you get if you get their emails and credit card, I saved as much as I spent! The best thing was when I got home I realized how many of the items I can mix and match. If I don't feel like wearing the blazer, the red sweater I bought looked great with the skirt.

Shopping is getting so easy ladies. Seriously, if you find the right store, the right sale, and the right sales associate, you can have a DREAM shopping experience. Most stores have their own accessories and shoes now too. It is okay to stay within your budget because clearance racks are great! I usually never start at the front of the store when shopping. I always hit the back first and work my way forward. A lot of top designers have lines at local stores now too like Target and Kohl's which is great. Sears and K-Mart also have great lines and designers at a reasonable price point.

Stay tuned for my snap shot of People:Style watch November edition! They have some great tips for holiday shopping!

Maximizing a small closet

Anyone who has seen Clueless has closet envy, but most of us are stuck with little spaces where we cram all of our stuff and complain every time something falls off a hanger. It is possible to not hate your closet!

First, you need to follow my "cleaning out your closet" instructions from my posts on Feb 13th and 14th. This will help you declutter. Remember, the key points would be to sort: keep, donate, throw away.

Another great tip is to use multipurpose furniture and space around your house, apartment, or bedroom. You can buy storage blocks that are decorative, are a great place for magazines, books, etc. and also second as extra seating.

Use your accessories (scarves, jewelry) to decorate your room. You will always know where to find them and it makes your space more unique.

Check locals stores (second-hand shops, goodwill, Wal-mart, or Target) for great buys to help you get organized.

According to websites like Freshome Interior Design and About.com, there are many easy ways to make your closet more accessable.

Analyze your closet needs: is it your primary closet, your work space, your children's toy closet?

Store out-of-season clothing and decorations in tupperware bins in your attic or basement. If you don't have extra space, use the space under your bed.

Buy boxes, bins, shelves, or a closet doubler to keep things seperated and easy to find. Label them or use clear bins.

Don't forget to use vertical space. Your closet door is great to hang bags, shoes, or jewelry. Also, store heavier items on the floor for easy access and so you won't hurt yourself!

Though most people save tasks like this for their Spring cleaning, Winter is a great time to tackle organizing your living space. You are snowed in? Pick out some great music and get to work. Good luck! I would love to see your results! Post your finished pics.

It is time to make a difference

Normally I am not one to blog about controversial topics, but I could not let this slide. I am standing on my proverbial soap box tonight. First, and foremost it is October--- Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is time to wear your pink and show your support to all the women in our lives that have dealt with this horrible disease. I realized this weekend that it touches everyone. My nephew Jaime, who is a special needs child, has a friend named Dylan. Dylan is putting on a spaghetti supper at their high school to raise money for Cancer research because one of his teacher's aids passed away from it years ago. Hearing all that he has done to put this dinner on shows the impact that one person--- any person--- can have for whatever cause that matters to them.

The other cause that I am passionate about is animal testing. I always thought I was doing the right thing by looking at packages before I bought them for the "this product was not tested on animals."  Little did I know that some companies can get away with printing this because the "final" product was not tested, not including all the steps to get there. After going to www.mediapeta.com, I realized that I was blind to a lot of the products in my own house. I am not expecting you to go into your medicine cabinet and throw everything away, or drive yourself crazy over this, because believe me, that is what I started to do.


What I am hoping for is that the next time you go buy shampoo or tooth paste you make an effort to see what company it is and pick the right product. The other thing you need to remember is just because the product itself wasn't tested on animals, who is that company owned by? For example, Toms of Maine is on the good list, but they are owned by Colgate who is on the bad list. Again, please don't freak out over this. If you have a general idea of what companies to look for you will be fine. If everyone is aware, hopefully these companies will have to stop testing on animals to keep making a profit.
Here is a list of some of the companies we should be watching out for: 3M (that is right, post-its), Procter & Gamble, Clorox, Aussie, Aveeno, Avon, Axe, Bic, Clairol, Crest, Green Works (I know, right? This is called "green washing" where a company labels itself as good for the environment. It's an advertising tactic), Nair, Neutrogena, Softsoap, Walgreens, Calgon, Chapstick, Clean & Clear, Dove, Garnier, Head & Shoulders, Mary Kay, Olay, Sauve, Woolite, Band-aid, Loreal, Colgate, Gillette, Herbal Essences, Maybelline, Oral-B, Vaseline, Iams Dog Food. Please go to www.mediapeta.com and check it for yourself. It is all about being aware and making the right decision.

Here is a list of some of the companies that DO NOT test on animals: Abercrombie & Fitch, Bare Escentuals, Almay, Aveda, Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, Conair, ELF cosmetics, Crabtree & Evelyn, Liz Claiborne, LUSH, MAC, OPI, Physicians Formula, Revlon, Smashbox, Seventh Generation, Stila Cosmetics, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Urban Decay. Again, please go to www.mediapeta.com for a full list of animal friendly companies. Both lists have websites and phone numbers if you want to dig a little deeper.

Thanks for reading followers, and I hope this helps. I hope everyone will take this and make that change.

October is here, is your closet ready?

As I was getting ready for dinner tonight, I realized that it was time to clean out my makeup bag again. I sorted everything and put them into zip lock bags to help the chaos. This got me thinking--- some of you might want to revisit my first few posts about cleaning out your wardrobe, cleaning out your makeup bag, and the essentials to your wardrobe. Sometimes it is good to get a refresher on things.

I also reminded myself this week about how great it is to hit clearance sales! I hit up Filene's Basement and Express while shopping and lucked out big time. I suggest that everyone check to see if you have a Filene's Basement in your area. It is very similar to TJ Maxx and requires some time, but they have some HUGE discount racks. And who doesn't love Express semi-annual box sales? I kind of lose my mind every time I see them!

I bought:
A cowl neck sweater dress (F.B.) 7.50
3 pairs of colored tights (blue, maroon, and black) (F.B.) 4.00 a pair
a Nine West black handbag (F.B.) 24.00
a maroon sweater (Express) 15.99
a red button-down fitted dress shirt (Express) 15.99
and a lacy black tank top (Express) 15.99

Grand total was less than $100--- I saved over $300!!!! It just shows that a little investigative shopping and creativity and really pay off!

Sorry for the short post, I just wanted to remind everyone that this is the time to stock up on end-of-season stuff and great new items for Fall!

Talk to you soon. :)

Calling all curvy women!

I asked my Facebook and Twitter followers what they rock, and I got a huge response to rockin' their curves! I think we all need to go into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say 10 things we like about ourselves. My butt is big, I have hips, and I love it! I look great in jeans. Whether you have NO hips or HUGE hips, let us all rock what we have! In honor of my curvy ladies, here are some great photos of women who are beautiful and do not need to be a size 2 to do it!
(Kate Winslet, Betty Page, Amber Riley, America Ferrera, Christina Hendricks, Drew Barrymore, Marilyn Monroe, Scarlett Johansson, the Kardashians, Jane Mansfield, and Raven Symone)

Let's not have a shopping hangover!

Working in retail for the many years that I did, I have seen everything. I have had women ask me to throw away the boxes from a pair of shoes so their husband wouldn't see. I have heard the old excuse, "Oh no Honey, I have had this for years!" Don't think you are innocent, fellas! How many times did you get in trouble for buying that video game or new "toy"?! It doesn't have to leave you feeling guilty if you are a smart shopper. It is all about spending within your budget.

Some thing I live by is signing up for emails and rewards cards at my favorite stores. I know it is annoying sometimes when you get a million emails that you don't want, but it is so worth it! Everyone is cutting costs now with the economy the way that it is, and stores realize this. You can even "like" a company's page on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and get great deals. These practices along with the good old coupon section of your Sunday news paper and you can save A LOT of money!

For example, I have used a coupon for Covergirl from the Sunday newspaper, combined it with the CVS rewards coupon I had, and hit CVS up during a BOGO event and saved a bundle on my makeup!

For you gamer fellows out there--- Gamestop has one of the best rewards cards out there! It doubles as a gift card. Your wifey can walk into a store, give them your phone number, and instantly add $20 to your card! How sweet is that? Also, if you trade in games they will add the credit to the card and give you discounts on games you are buying.

Another great idea is something I teach all of my customers and do myself. Give yourself a spending allowance. If you budget for everything (bills, gas, food, etc) you can figure out how much "play" money you are allowed each week and the rest goes in savings. It is a great way to limit your spending without making you feel like you are giving up on life. You will also see your savings account go up. A great tip I got from Good Morning America was to try and have 2 to 3 months of your salary (take home) in savings just in case. That can seem daunting at first, but after a few months you will see it add up pretty quickly.

Alright, so you have your spending money and big plans for Friday night. You don't want to spend all of your allowance on a new outfit but you don't want to wear the same old thing either. This is easy! You are armed with your coupons, and you saw on Twitter that your favorite store is having a sale. Before you head off to the mall, you need to figure what you DON'T need to buy! Okay, so you have a great pair of jeans-- check that off your list. You have a favorite pair of earrings and necklace. Awesome. You have a couple of tank tops that could work, but they aren't that exciting and you have no shoes! (Sure you don't!) So this will help your search! You need something to layer over the tank and a great pair of shoes (that are on sale!) Now determine how much you want to spend on each. You have $50 to spend? Well, set aside $20 for a shirt/ jacket and $30 for the shoes. THIS IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE! Most stores carry everything you need for a great outfit-- and don't forget, you have those coupons!

The final tip I will leave you with is to not forget your fashionable friends! It could be as simple as having them go through your closet (or theirs) and see if you could come up with something different and cute without spending any money. Or, at your next girls' night in, everyone bring donations and have a fashion swap meet right there in the middle of the living room!

Good luck shoppers! I want pictures and success stories! Please post them or TWEET me @genadetour! I would love to know that my advice is helping. :) Also, post any questions you might want me to cover in the future. Happy shopping!