Bay Area Fashionista

Casual spring days

 in General Fashion  tagged bucket bag / casual fashion / casual style / drawstring bag / mansur gavriel / outfits / spring 2014 by

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Photo: Earrings: Kathy Kamei (also love these) / Lipstick: c/o Laura Mercier “Temptation” / Top: BCBG / Nail Polish: c/o Dolce & Gabbana “Lilac” / Bracelets: Tory Burch (similar here), BCBG / Handbag: Mansur Gavriel / Jeans: 7FAM (similar here) / Shoes: SixtySeven / Toe Nail Polish: c/o Dolce & Gabbana “Petal“

This time of year is always busy since my kids have multiple after-school activities and school itself is gearing up for the end of the school year. In addition, work always seems busy too; or maybe it just seems busier since everything else is so busy! When I am busy, I tend to dress casually, since for me, casual equals comfortable!

I love this top from BCBG because the color is pretty and the fabric is extremely soft. It feels like lounge-wear yet offers a hip alternative to the traditional tee-shirt silhouette. Love that! Of course, after waiting seven months for this Mansur Gavriel handbag, I have been wearing it everyday since receiving it in the mail. 

Do you feel unusually busy this time of year? What are your go-to pieces when you want to be comfortable and feel busy?

Laura Mercier high coverage eye concealer review

 in Beauty  tagged eye make-up / face / laura mercier / reviews by

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Pictured: high coverage concealer for under eye c/o Laura Mercier.

Laura Mercier’s new high coverage concealer for under eye is here! This amazing eye concealer is packaged in a small tube with a long point where the concealer comes out in mini drops. These small drops of concealer are easy to apply with dots under the eyes where coverage is needed. After applying the concealer in dots under the eye, Laura Mercier’s new high coverage eye concealer can easily be smoothed into skin creating a clean canvas on the face  and hiding everything which needs to be hidden under the eye! Bye bye dark circles!

I have found it difficult to find a good eye concealer over the years since the color always seems to be slightly off from the color of my foundation making the portion under my eyes too white. Laura Mercier’s new high coverage concealer blends perfectly with my foundation and smooths into skin without leaving a trace. This allows Laura Mercier’s high coverage concealer to properly hide imperfections under the eye without being detected. Perfection!

Laura Mercier’s high coverage concealer also lasts all day without melting in humidity and hot weather. Love that! Laura Mercer’s new high coverage concealer for under eye can be found online here, here and here.

Handbag trends 2014: the inside-out handbag

 in Handbags / Trends  tagged bucket bag / drawstring bag / fall 2014 / mansur gavriel / spring 2014 / summer 2014 / totes by

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Photo: Mansur Gavriel red and black drawstring bucket bag. Online here and here. Tote version online here.

A few seasons ago, Saint Laurent and Valentino introduced reversible tote bags. These beautiful handbags reminded us of high-quality garments which look just as amazing inside as they do on the outside.  There is nothing like looking inside of a handbag and seeing just as much beauty inside as outside.

This brings us to the current trend in handbags which is exemplified by the current “IT” bag by Mansur Gavriel. Instead of a reversible handbag, Mansur Gavriel stayed true to the fashion industry mantra of making a piece beautiful inside and out. In doing this, they created a line of tote bags and drawstring bucket bags which have fabulous colors inside, and finished seams inside, without fabric lining. The color on the inside of the handbag peeks out from the top of the bag creating additional interest in the piece from casual onlookers, while keeping the handbag owners’ interest. Love that!

Mansur Gavriel’s popularity did not go unnoticed in the fashion industry. Aside from becoming the most sought-after handbag of the decade, which is next to impossible to get your hands on, iconic designers such as Prada have followed suit and created bi-color handbags for the summer 2014 season; and into the fall 2014 season.

That’s right! Mansur Gavriel’s drawstring bucket made a quiet trend explode; a trend which goes beyond the drawstring bucket bag silhouette. This new trend offers one color on the inside and another color on the outside. They have reinvented the basic black or tan handbag; giving handbag fans everywhere something fresh to cheer about!

As we move from spring 2014, into the hot summer months, and the new fall season, be on the lookout for more designers and brands creating bi-color handbags which offer inside-out interest. This is the beginning of the trend . . .

Bi-color handbags from around the web: