I mentioned the other day that I've just had a birthday.  I'll admit that I've reached an age where I wish that would stop happening.  It's funny, suddenly finding after being "young" for one's whole life, that perhaps you're not anymore?  It's a strange disconnect because inside you feel the same.  Perhaps it is a bit more amplified for me with my life choices, being single and childless (quite by choice), there is nothing that makes me feel older. I suspect that the responsiblity of parenthood certainly changes one's perspectives.

So with fashion, I'm pretty much in the same place I've always been. (except I admitted to wearing flats to/from work, something I'd never have done in my 20s)  Skinny jeans, leggings, mini skirts, crazy tall boots, booties, torn jeans, boyfriend shorts, a dash of leopard... these are all fun fashion things that I participate in.  Is that wrong?  Am I going to wake up one day and see a Nicolette Sheridan in the mirror or Mariah Carey?  (I guess I'd rather be Nicolette since at least she has the body for the inappropriate clothes she tends to wear)

For example, goodness, this is SO a don't. A skinny little 20-something could get away with this without looking like a sl*t.  But this just does not work, at all. 

It's an interesting dilemma.  Something to think about... well really I'm not that old... yet. I've always tended to mix trendy items with classics so I think I'm okay...

Harper's Bazaar has the section in each issue where they show items for dressing your age - 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.  I find there is usuallys stuff in every section that I would wear. I think the key is how you mix it and remembering what is appropriate for your body. As unfair as it may seem to some, I think you can stretch more youthful looks into older age when you are thin... things still look the way they're supposed to (or not - case in point above).

I received for my birthday yesterday a most wonderful surprise, this very tiny Nespresso Citiz Espresso machine.  Its footprint of 5" wide x 14-1/2" deep fits even the smallest NYC kitchen.

The machine is made in Switzerland and has an impressive 19 bars of pressure and uses the super-convenient Nespresso pods. Mine came with the Aeroccino+ Milk Frother, although the machine is also available separately.  I think it's smart that they made the frother separately since so many people only drink espresso and not having the frother built into the machine keeps the size down.  It comes with samples of all their coffee pods so you can figure out which is your favorite.

Yay! I am totally excited to try it out!

"For months now, consumers have been hunkering down in an economic storm, buying only what they need to survive, like groceries, diapers, medicine -- and shoes.

Shoes?

The American public, it would seem, cannot carry on without new shoes. Boots, booties, sneakers, pumps -- for the last few months they have all been selling well as the broader economy struggles toward recovery."

Excerpt from A Not-So-Guilty Pleasure by Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times

As anyone who reads Flairvoyant knows, I am a huge fan of J. Crew.  I am pretty sure I love almost everything they make.  Rarely do I hate something.  Well, I'm afraid to say....

this is quite hideous... even more so considering the price tag of $995!

I'd say it's great if you wanted to look like you're wearing a bristly kitchen sponge.

Item Description: "The life of the party, in sumptous silk organza embellished with a flurry of hand-cut, hand-pressed and hand-applied silk organza petals. Finished with a picot-edged silk charmeuse sash at the waist, it makes any occasion special. Strapless. Fitted bodice, straight skirt. Removable silk charmeuse sash. Back zip. Fully lined in silk."

I don't know about "life of the party", perhaps laugh...

At least they had the sense to only make this dress up to a size 8.  They normally make dresses up to size 12.  Although a size 8 person would look truly massive in this dress. I would have made it in 00, 0 and 2 and even then.... ugghhh.  Okay, I've said enough.

Good grief, it's November!  Bummer, the best part of Fall is over already, now it's time for cold... and the holidays.

Anyway... it's never a bad idea to start thinking about holiday gifts early.  There's nothing worse than getting caught in say, the second week of December, having done no shopping at all!  These days so many stores and brands make up convenient gift sets to make it easier for us.  Okay, so maybe that's little lame and lacks originality - - but how original can you be, really, when you think about it - - none of us "need" anything anyway! 

Since I'm such a fan of Fresh products, I think their gift sets are a nice idea because given as a gift, they will certainly get used.  Unlike some chachke that could sit around in a closet for years.  They've got some nice sets this year, you can browse them here.

In particular, I really like the Petite Candle Trio, $45. It's 3 - 70g candles in frankincense, myrrh and gold packaged in a beautiful gift box.  It's worth it just to find out what the heck frankincense smells like!

They also have a limited edition Brown Sugar Gift Set, $75 that includes 400g Brown Sugar Body Polish, 100 ml Brown Sugar Body Cream and 250g Brown Sugar Oval Soap. The soap is (unfortunately) only available with this gift set. I LOVE the smell of the brown sugar line so I would love to be able to buy the soap alone too.

Last time I ordered from Beauty.com I got samples of Frederic Fekkai's Full Blown Volume Shampoo and Conditioner.  I am very picky about hair products so it's great to have a chance to try them before buying.  These are made for hair just like mine: fine/thin/flat.

Both the shampoo and the conditioner are $23 for 8 fl. oz. Both are billed to create "luxurious, voluminous hair". They use baobab leaf extract which acts as a plumping agent on each strand of hair.  The shampoo has a really rich lather and nice smell.  It's described as lime mint.  It's not too minty though.  I hate, for example, Aveda's rosemary mint because it smells way too minty... really, who wants to use a product that smells like toothpaste on your hair????  Fekkai's is not like that, it's just enough to be fresh.  The conditioner was nice too, light but not too light, it gets the job done.  Fine hair can tangle so much, but a heavy conditioner is just overpowering and flattening, so it can be difficult to the find something just right.  I really liked both of these products...  There is also a hairspray in the line. I don't use hairspray so I won't be able to comment on that...

I saw the black version of these shoes in Self magazine of all places.  (for some reason they do a few pages of fashion, which seems a bit out of place in a health/fitness magazine...) But anyway, I loved the shoes.  The pyramid studs are very on-trend.

Rafe Carine $275

They're leather and also have a leather sole.  4" heel and aprox. 1/2" platform.  I don't like them as much in this ruby color, but it's a dark red at least which I think is more versatile than bright red.

I am wondering though, why they are so expensive?  They are made in China, and since when did Rafe become some great brand? I'd expect these to be under $200.

"THE $300 pair of designer jeans is now, courtesy of the recession, the $200 pair of designer jeans."

- exceprt from Preshrunk Prices by Eric Wilson, NY Times Style Section about premium denim prices coming back down from stratospheric.

This is a horrible day to arrive at, but I'm going to have to buy some flat shoes that are not sneakers.  After so many years of wearing 4 inch+ heels for 10 hours or so a day, my feet now prefer to walk to and from work in flats (HORRORS, how embarrassing).  Even more embarrassing however is the fact that these flat shoes have been over the last year or so, Converse sneakers (yup, the ones preferred by 20 something hipsters in skinny jeans).

Granted, some days I do wear skinny jeans; but on other days I have to admit they look quite ridiculous with what I'm wearing.  I was trying to convince myself that it was okay, with the anonymity of the city, and since it was only back and forth to work.... But after merciless commentary at my office I realize I should get something flat and comfortable and slightly more attractive.

An obvious choice is the ubiquitous Tory Burch flat.

I am fairly certain that almost every girl on the Upper East Side has some variation of the Reva flat.  Personally, I would never get them with garish gold insignia on the toe. The black version above is less obnoxious. These are $195 at Bergdorf.  I think that's a bit excessive considering I am trying to replace a $42 sneaker and these are meant to be primarily utilitarian.  I would NEVER wear them for fashion, I just don't believe in flats, plain and simple.

The only other shoe I can think of was this ballet flat with a Chanel-esque black leather camellia flower on the toe that I saw at the Shoe Box, they were an obscure Italian brand called Prego - - and were $300!  Crazy.  At least those would be more original...

Chanel has a new eye kit, Le Regard de Noir (smoky eye essentials), everything you need for the perfect smoky eyes, all packaged in a beautiful case.  It's a great gift, for a friend or yourself!  I don't know about you, but I need serious help with the smoky eye... I hope this comes with instructions!

It includes Les 4 Ombres shadows in smoky eyes, Le Crayon Khol pencil in noir, Exceptionnel de Chanel mascara in noir, Le Pinceau Ombre #2 brush and a mini size of Demaquillant Yeux Intense makeup remover.  $140.