Closet Costume Challenge - #1 - Betty Rizzo, Grease

Hello, beautiful people! Welcome to the first costume in the Closet Costume Challenge! In case you haven't read about it, this means that this month I'm creating Halloween costumes using items only from my own wardrobe! To read more about the CCC, click here.

Today's costume is Betty Rizzo from the musical/movie Grease. This costume is based on Rizzo's outfit from her first scene in the film ("We're gonna rule the school.")

Click to enlarge

Jacket - Charlotte Russe

Shirt - Wet Seal

Belt - Vintage

Skirt - Byergirl (I don't remember where I got it. I have had it since I was 12 or 13 and it still fits.)

Earrings - Vintage

Shoes - Calvin Klein (TJ Maxx)

None of these items are currently available in stores, but many of you likely have similar clothing. This outfit would basically work for all the Pink Ladies. You could switch out the black T-shirt and skirt with cream or peach versions if you wanted to be Frenchy. Personally, if I were going to be Jan or Marty, I would add some color or patterns (i.e., Jan's tartan skirt) to the outfit.

I added the earrings for a little flair, and I decided to wear black shoes instead of red because I thought they went with the outfit better.

What are you planning to be for Halloween? What kind of costumes would you like to see me try to make from my wardrobe? And if you create your own closet costumes, make sure to use the Twitter hashtag #pleatherandpolish.

I hope you're starting to get inspired for your next masterpiece! See you soon!!

xx Samantha

Black and White and Red all Over

 

Click photos to enlarge

Hello, everyone!! I was looking for a chance to wear this new skirt, so I decided on this fun but comfortable outfit for my trips to the DOT and the library today.

Shirt - Target (not currently available)

Skirt (part of a set) - Forever 21

Tights - JCPenney (no longer available)

Shoes - KMart

Earrings - eBay (vintage)

Necklace - my mother's (vintage)

Rings - Forever 21

Belt - vintage

Bracelet - Claire's (no longer available)

The lip color is Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon.

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

Samantha

Closet Costume Challenge!!

Hey, everyone! Just letting you know that I'm starting a Closet Costume Challenge this month! I'm going to be going through my closet and seeing what Halloween costumes I can make just from items in my wardrobe!!

While I already have my Halloween costume planned out (Ariel from The Little Mermaid), I thought this would be a good idea to help broke college students or people who are invited to a party last-minute. You never know who's in your closet! Har har.

If you want to join in, please feel free to post what you create in the comments or on Twitter with the hashtag #pleatherandpolish.

See you soon with the first costume!!

xx Samantha

September Favorites

Hey, everyone! October is here, and you know what that means...

That means that I share with you what I've been loving this month.

Once again, all opinions are my own. Ain't nobody paying me to butter them up.

Bath/Body:

Lady Gaga Fame:

I could link you to an online retailer, but if you can get this at a Marshalls or TJ Maxx, you're really doing yourself a favor. If you really want to spend a lot of money, you can buy this most places where fragrances are sold.

For my mini-review/haul, click here.

Bath and Body Works Dreamy Vanilla Woods Shower Gel and Fine Fragrance Mist: 

(click to enlarge)

This product is not currently in production, but I don't feel like this would be a true "favorites" without me including it. You can probably tell from the picture that I've used over half the shower gel.

This stuff is what I use when I want something a little sweeter than Lady Gaga Fame. If you've ever used Warm Vanilla Sugar, this smells a lot less like dessert. In addition to vanilla, this scent incorporates white orchid and saffron. It's a little sexier than your basic vanilla, and I like that (while still loving the WVS).

Makeup:

Crummy swatches from left to right: NYX Maple Blondie, NYX Tiramisu, L'Oreal Fairest Nude. (click to enlarge)

Nyx Butter Gloss in Maple Blondie and Tiramisu: I love the Butter Glosses. They are lustrous, highly pigmented, smell like cookies, and they melt on your lips. Application is easy and the product feels good on your lips. There is a decent color range, too. Maple Blondie is a peachy pink, and Tiramisu is a caramel brown-based nude. I also have Cherry Pie, which is a red, but I prefer these two colors because when they melt, they blend more seamlessly with your neutral lip color. I would highly recommend these to anyone who likes a very pigmented, non-sticky gloss.

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour in Fairest Nude: This has got to be the creamiest lipstick I've ever used. It's a pinkish nude that is a bit lighter than my natural lip color, but it's closer to it than a brown-based nude (nothing wrong with a brown-based nude - see Tiramisu above!), which is nice for minimal makeup days. This lipstick is highly pigmented and looks good on a variety of skintones. It is a little drying, but nothing too serious.

Fashion:

Flower Garland Headwrap from Icing: I prefer headwraps and scarves to headbands. I have a pixie cut, so hard headbands hurt my head. This has become one of my favorite hair accessories. It's so soft and pretty, and it makes me feel like a princess or the Greek goddess Demeter.

Ring set from Forever 21: (I can't find the link to these, but they should still be in stores)

(click to enlarge; nail polish is Orly Nail Lacquer in Haute Red)

I love the woodsy, ethereal look to these. This is the first midi ring I've ever had, and I absolutely love the trend. The tips of the "twigs" don't poke, either. If I remember correctly, there is also a set in silver.

And that's my faves for this month! Have you used or purchased any of these products? If so, what do you think of them? Let me know in the comments!

xx Samantha

Social Media Mistakes Cosmetics Companies are Making

Obviously, makeup is one of my favorite things, and I love that we live in a day and age where we can keep up with our favorite cosmetics and beauty companies via social media. However, I have noticed that beauty giants really haven't gotten the hang of it yet.

Today's post is going in a different direction. I'm going to be talking about some of the biggest mistakes these companies are making on Facebook and other social media.

1. Posting pictures of a product without including the name or color.

This is one of the most common faux pas I've seen. All the beauty companies do it. They post a cute picture of a product with a slogan or a beauty tip, but they leave out a key piece of information.

For example, this photo was posted on the L'Oreal Paris USA Facebook page on September 27, 2013, with the caption "#ProTip: Your pretty fall nails are ripe for the painting. Go matte."

Original source

Wow! This nail polish is beautiful! I would love to have it for my collection!

But wait a minute...this post isn't telling me what the color is. What is the purpose of this photo if it isn't an advertisement? You would think companies would be jumping at the chance to sell more nail polish, but posts like this often prod people to ask for the color name in the comments box.

2. Responding to complaints/criticism with copy-and-paste responses.

One of the most frustrating things is leaving a complaint on a beauty company's Facebook page and receiving a generic response. They generally use the same message for everyone - they give you a customer service phone number if you didn't like a product or offer you a coupon/similar product if your favorite item was discontinued. The only thing unique between messages is the insertion of your name.

Either way, you can tell they didn't really read your post. Which leads me to:

3. Failing to understand the customers' wants and needs.

For the most part, I like Maybelline, but they are making a HUGE mistake with their customers on Facebook. This caught my attention even though I have never tried the product at the center of this debacle.

Floods of people are posting about their disappointment with the discontinuation of the PureStay powder foundation. Maybelline keeps posting the same cut-and-paste response to anyone who voices their disapproval - "Hey name, from time to time we have to discontinue products to make room for new ones. If you loved PureStay, we recommend checking out our new FIT me Foundation. http://www.maybelline.com/FitMe.aspx If you'd like to talk to someone directly please call us at 1-877-456-5287. We hope this helps!"

If the commenter states that they don't like the FIT Me, Maybelline leaves a similar message, but this one begins with "Hey name, sorry to hear that you're upset! From time to time we have to discontinue products to make room for new ones."


Maybelline has also been offering coupons to disgruntled customers. They don't want the coupon. They want their PureStay. Maybelline hasn't addressed the fact that they are being overrun with posts about PureStay. They just continue to offer the generic response.

Obviously, none of this is going to help. Never underestimate the power of a pissed-off woman. People are starting to switch brands and even boycott Maybelline because of their inability to communicate with their customers via Facebook. You would think that it wouldn't be difficult to hire someone who could offer real assistance. For the sake of good customer service, they definitely should.

Have you ever had any problems with cosmetics companies on any social media outlet? Do you notice any other mistakes they're making? Leave your responses in the comments below.

xx Samantha

Bargain alert!! Lady Gaga Fame and Orly Nail Lacquer

Lady Gaga is not paying me to rave about her perfume. I really love her so I'll do it for free.

My go-to fragrance right now is Lady Gaga Fame (although I'm also digging the Dreamy Vanilla Woods fine fragrance mist from Bath and Body Works). It's dark, sexy and sweet without being overpowering. I have the  .5 fl oz rollerball and the 1 fl oz bottle.

Haus Laboratories, the "fragrance institute" behind Lady Gaga Fame, describes the perfume as "the first ever black eau de parfum," and the notes are "tears of belladonna, crushed heart of tiger orchidea with a black veil of incense, pulverized apricot and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops."

A unisex fragrance, Lady Gaga Fame appeals to fragrance fans and Little Monsters alike.

Now on to my SCORE.

I swear, the box doesn't look this dirty in person! (click to enlarge)

....and...it looks dirty here too. (click to enlarge)

I found this gift set at Marshalls. It contains a 3.4 fl oz eau de parfum and a 6.7 fl oz body lotion.

Just for reference, I bought my rollerball at Sephora for $19.99, and the 1 fl oz bottle can retail anywhere from $29.99 - $42, depending on where you get it. The 3.4 fl oz bottle sells for $65 at Sephora.

And this baby was only $34.99. Yes, you read that correctly. Boom. CHA-CHING. Needless to say, I will not be buying Lady Gaga Fame at Sephora or mass merchandise stores anymore...:)

(click to enlarge)

I also found this two-pack of Orly Nail Lacquers at TJ Maxx for $6.99, which is awesome considering you can get one of them for $8 at Ulta. This package contains Ruby (left) and Haute Red, both of which should be great colors for fall.

This has rekindled my love for TJ Maxx and Marshalls, and I will definitely be frequenting them for beauty products. What have you found there or in similar stores? Leave your answers in the comments below!!

xx Samantha

Review: Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel in Trade Winds

This summer, I was one of the winners of the Revlon Pacific Coast Color Story Contest on Pinterest. (To view my winning board, click here.) I won the entire Pacific Coast Collection by Gucci Westman, and I'm still using these products this fall.  The products in the line range from great to tolerable. One of the latter products is the Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel.

The colors are nice - I received Jungle, Seashell, Trade Winds, and Sunburst.  Trade Winds, the color I'm wearing right now, is a beautiful beige that somehow manages to have both pink and yellow (but mostly yellow) undertones. It lives up to its promise of lasting a long time, but it bubbles easily, takes a long time to dry, and dries soft. This makes it easy to smudge or indent.

Trade Winds on my nails. (Click image to enlarge)

This is a nice color, and I'll continue to wear it (especially because it was free), but if you're in the market for a quality beige polish, you can do better, even if you just go for a polish in the standard Revlon line. I'd give this product about a 3 out of 5 stars.

Have you tried these polishes? Are you a fan? How did they hold up for you? Let me know in the comments below.

xx Samantha