DD's Style File - The Shirtdress

I've always been a die hard dress fan, my mom can attest to that. For my wintry walk in elementary school, I wore snow pants because I was bound and determined to wear a dress even if the snow was up to my hip bones.

When it comes to picking out something to wear, whether during the morning work rush or for a brunch date with the girls, dresses are always an easy choice, They require minimal thought and minimal work. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Shirtdresses make for an wardrobe staple that can often also be a wardrobe workhorse as you transition through the seasons by just adding a few different elements. When dressing for work, just keep the length of your dress in mind, many professional offices that allow business casual work wear follow the "fingertip rule" when it comes to the length of dresses and skirts.

Dress: J. Crew (similar)
Shoes: Kelly & Katie (similar)
Clutch: Kohl's (similar)
Necklace: Macy's
Earrings: The Limited

I will admit that this leg baring number seen here did manage to get me through a workday (or two), in the cooler months I added a scarf, solid opaque tights and flat boots. The tights add modesty and keep things from appearing too short and the flats minimize the va-va-voom that a leg lengthening heel can add!

Argan Oil - Bandwagon or Believer???

credit

This is not a sponsored post. All products were purchased with my own funds and all opinions are my own.

So for more than a few years argan oil has been all the rage in skincare and beauty. As far as trying it for myself, I was disinterested. As gullible and/or curious as I can sometimes be about product claims, I was, for some reason, less than intrigued by that one.

In the meantime, Josie Maran has gone on to become a beauty business powerhouse thanks to the throng of argan oil followers.

You will absolutely find me somewhere in that throng.

Who me?? Yep, me!

Ok, so here's what really happened... Rewind several months back and the skin around my mouth, from my nose to my chin, decided to morph into something else. Something unrecognizable by my own hands - Sahara desert dry, rough texture, and frequent bouts of patchy whiteness. Not cute. Not cute. at. all.

This was literally the only region of skin on my face or body that changed. So I slathered on extra moisturizer, cocoa butter, Aquaphor, and even extra Vaseline. No good. I was afraid to even break into a smile in public, due to the horror that would break free around my mouth. I was desperate when I wandered into Sephora seeking a balm of a sort, something to hold in moisture. 

I happen upon a $30 box of three Josie Maran argan balms in little tins. 

Um...$30? Y'all don't have anything for $10?? Of course not... Begrudgingly, I purchased them and at my next stop, the dressing room of NY & Co, I whipped them open and rubbed some in.

After about three days of applying the balm to my face 3 - 4 times a day, my skin came back to life! Yaaaayyyy!!! 

After a couple weeks, I only needed to apply morning and night after cleansing and before my moisturizer. But then I began to wonder, if it could do such wonderful things for that small area of skin, what could it do if I dipped my whole body in it!?

Enter the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Ultra-Hydrating Body Butter! I've been slathering it on for the last few months and my skin is silky, soft with a luminous glow even 24 hours later. Expensive? Yes indeed, but worth the investment because I'm claiming it as my veritable fountain of youth.

So bandwagon or believer? Honey, I'm a believer!

I still haven't purchased the actual oil, but I did add some other Josie Maran products to my arsenal, including the Infinity Cream Intensive Creamy Oil and the Whipped Intensive Hand Cream.

Needless to say, I recommend it. Get into it, ladies!

Poshmark - An Honest Review on the Plunder and Payouts

Poshmark, the app where you can buy and sell fashion at greatly reduced prices, has definitely gained popularity since I joined almost three years ago. Being the serial shopper that I am (don't judge me) I originally joined purely for the purpose of finding more things at great prices - a la eBay but without the bidding wars and seriously inflated prices.

As far as spending money goes, I purchased several items at pretty reasonable prices. There were not all sunshine and rainbow experiences but it wasn't enough to sour me.

Before I outline my pros and cons, here is a snippet a few things I've purchased:

Lauren Conrad Fringe Sandal

Vera Wang Glitter Ballet Flat

Zara Glitter Sandal

J. Crew Sequin Top

 Now, my thoughts...

Pros:
- Easier to negotiate prices with the seller than on a site like eBay
- Once packages are shipped, it's two day priority shipping
- More likely to find unique and hard to find items that may originally have had big ticket prices
- Shipping cost is all the same no matter what you buy
- Discounted shipping can be an incentive for a seller to make a sale if they lower an item price
- Poshmark is very responsive if you are unhappy or if the seller is dragging their feet

Cons:
- Some sellers are not as engaged and responsive to questions and and offers
- Some sellers can be extremely slow shippers
- No free shipping
- Their still is price gouging as you find on eBay


After some time Poshmarking as a shopper, and seeing this IFB post, I decided I needed to start purging my closet (that's another blog post entirely). And my thoughts on that....

Pros:
- You don't have to worry about shipping prices questions or whether to offer it free or not, because it's set by Poshmark
- Money you've earned can be held to use for Posh shopping or can be easily direct deposited into your bank
- There's no seller bashing
- It's pretty quick and easy to post items using their template
- There's no reposting if it doesn't sale within a given period of time, it will just continue to be in your closet

Cons:
- Like a lot of social media sites, it's the popular kids who get most of the action
- Along with the the popular kids your closet also has to compete against the closets that often have the bigger brands (but everyone's not looking for that so don't get discouraged)
- It can be frustrating to get a lot of likes on an item but no sale, even when it's priced more than reasonable
- Some Posh shoppers are extra needy and then don't even leave decent feedback
- Like any social media site, you have to spend a considerable amount of time promoting items in your closet and participating in Posh parties, so that can be time consuming


And one final overall note, you can only shop and post through the app, even though they do have a a website, it's just for browsing.

I consider myself a Posher at this point. My personal tips for selling are to post items to both eBay and Poshmark, just be sure to keep up with your inventory. If you have a big brand item (i.e., Kate Spade, Kors, etc) you may just be better off posting it on eBay where you can possibly get more, Poshmark is more for haggling. Between the two sites, I managed to make enough to pay off a sizeable bill. So it certainly can be worth it, as with most things you just have to take the good with the bad.


I'm curious of what you other ladies think of Poshmark from either a buyer or seller perspective, please leave a comment below on your experience!

For the Notorious Overpacker - PurseN to the Rescue!!

I should belong to Overpackers Anonymous, seriously. Because I have no idea how to just pack the essentials for any trip, not a weekend trip, not an overnight getaway, not a five day escape. Not apologetic, I'm just stating the facts. And for those of you who are like me, here's a little something that just might make your day - it certainly made mine!

Meet the PurseN! A nifty origami-like jewelry case to use when you travel:

I couldn't quite decide whether I needed the Vacationer size, which is intended for longer getaways, but decided to go with the Tiara size, which is considered a weekender case. Since ultimately I was looking for ways to satisfy, not feed my addiction, Aaaaand I'm kinda cheap...so I went with the little one.

The Tiara is intended for small to medium sized jewelry and has  6 attached pouches and 4 removable pouches, with clear view windows and zippered closures. There are 2 middle straps that snap in order to hold the removable pouches in places and a padded ring strap, that also secures with a snap. The overall quality feels very good and it is well put together.

Even with all the pockets, I was slightly concerned because I wear a lot of chunky jewels, necklaces especially. So I wasn't sure if I could get those types of things to fit.

I tried to pack it realistically, according to the types of things that I might actually take away with me. Here's what I was able to comfortably fit in:

6 necklaces - 2 which were quite chunky
4 bracelets - including a set of thicker bangles and one with oversized baubles
4 pairs of large size earrings
5 rings - which included one super big one

And I managed to get it all zipped up!

Plus, the bottom expands in order to accommodate your larger jewelry!

You could certainly pack more, depending upon the size and placement of pieces. For the purpose of this demonstration I went with the bigger stuff.

I feel I made the right choice with the Tiara and I love that they offer the cases in a variety of colors and prints, which speak to any diva's personality. I rate the PurseN Dazzling Diva Approved!



Please Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and merchandise was purchased with my own funds.