Drugstore Products Du Jour 1.18.12

My go to mascara all the time, have been trying out Armani's Eyes To Kill... Eh! Not impressed, back to L'Oreal for $7.99 vs $30.

Now, let's talk a new found Love for $13.99, Sally Hershberger's hyper hydration! Beyond loving, if you have dry hair, go get this. It smells fab and softens hair immediately. It's tag line is "rehab for stressed hair", hello, that's mine. I have very long, dry, highlighted hair. It totally needs rehab! It also contains keratin which I love!

Anyway have you tried either? Love/hate? Tell me!

Xx

Coats +OOTD Du Jour 1.15.12

It is beyond frightful outside in NYC. Coats almost just don't do enough. Might need to invest in a mega space heater that someone follows me around with... Kidding. Kinda.

Anyway, in honor of the cold please see my Recent OOTD's including coats!

I love outerwear abnormally!

Xx

Instagram Du Jour 1.14.12

Love instagram! Follow me at DaraKaye to get daily pics. Addicted.

Xx

PS: leave your name so I can follow you guys too.

Cheap Jewels Du Jour 1.12.12

Proving you don't need to spend a lot anymore to find great jewelry pieces!

Forever 21, $6.99

Xx

Home sweet Home Du Jour 1.5.12

Madison Ave. NYC.
Beautiful but cold.

Photo du Jour 1.4.12

Love this photo.

Xx
Dara

New years outfit du jour 1.4.12

Wanted to share my new years outfit as so many of you had asked. I don't really like to dress up. As you know my style is pretty much plain, neutrals with lots of accessories! I basically wear leather leggings and a white T or Tank every day. That being said, I stayed true to form and went with that, with a fur vest thrown over ( courtesy of my boyfriend for my birthday- best present- so me )

What did you wear on new years? Did you stay true to your style or venture out!?

Xx
Dara

Ps: sorry for the blurry shots. Couldn't stand still clearly!

Dior Du Jour 1.3.12

Sharing a pic along 57th Street in NYC.

Vintage Rings Du jour 1.2.12

A shot of my rings for the day. Rings are my favorite accessory. I will always chose a ring over necklaces or earrings.

All rings in the photo are vintage (grandmothers wedding bands from both sides and my mom's pass me downs) except the rose gold Cartier love band on the bottom right.

Would love to see the rings you wear daily! Tweet me pics @belledujournyc

Xx
Dara

New Year Du Jour 1.1.12

Happy new year everyone! I can't believe it 2012 and I still have this blog! It's been long journey and I want to thank you all.

Every year I make stupid resolutions that I never keep. This year is different. I'm making small resolutions that I can keep. What are yours?

Mine are:
#1 blog everyday for Jan and 5 times per week thereafter (even only if a picture).
#2 Drink green tea every morning.
#3 Try to see the positivity in all situations!
#4 Be open to new experiences.
#5 Start to like to run! Hint to myself: strategically plan to run before a more enjoyable exercise like Pilates!
#6 Remember to find the joy in everyday.
#7 Think in abundance!

Here is to a fabulous 2012!
Please share yours!

xx
Dara

Drugstore Find Du Jour 12.31.11

One of my guilty pleasures is trolling the aisles of drugstores for new beauty finds. I don't know why but it gives me a cheap thrill. My boyfriend makes fun of me that I can't leave Duane Reade without spending over $40 and it's true.

Anyway- my point is, I know, it's taking me a while to get to it, but I have one. My point is I found something amazing that you all should try.

It's called J.R. Watkins natural apothecary hand and body lotion in the scent Aloe and Green Tea. Im not going to lie, the first thing that attracted me was the retro looking packaging! Moving past my shallowness, It's 97.8% all natural which I love ( you can actually read all the ingredients on the back) and not tested on animals! The scent I picked up is delicious, warm but fresh an clean at the same time. Plus you all know I'm a sucker for anything with green tea.

Best of all, it was only $11 and works on dry skin like a charm with zero greasy residue. It's light but very softening. You can put it on and put your fave shirt on after without worry!

Total win in my book! Have you tried? Will you pick it up?

Xx
Dara

Jewels Du Jour 12.30.11

Even when you are wearing a not so fab outfit your accessories should always be oh-so-fab!

PS: They don't even need to be expensive!

xx
Dara

Urban Decay Naked 2 Du Jour 12.29.11

If you are like me and already own the first version of the Urban Decay Naked palette you were probably hmming and hummming over getting the Naked 2 palette.

I first decided, NO! I absolutely do not need it. I love my first one and this is basically the same and just no. I was also a little mad they raised the price on this one. Capitalizing on success huh? I guess I don't blame them... But still!

Then I felt myself wavering and what do you know, low and behold, two weeks later I ordered it. Well what do I think?

I think I have not used my original naked palette in 3 weeks! I like the 2nd so much better. I might be biased because I love when palettes have a great black shadow in them.

Also, some of the colors in Naked 2 are just becoming HG's for me. Hello Busted and snakebite!

This palette leans a tad cooler than the original but not too cool. As I am a warm lover! Additionally the packaging is SO much better.

So do I think you need both!? Not really! But is it nice to have both? Yes! An even better yet- if you dot have the first, definitely get this one!

Did you get Naked 2? Do you love/hate? Would love to hear!

Xx Dara

Early New Years Resolution 12.28.11

Hi all! I hope everyone has had an amazon holiday season, filled with joy, love and health.

I know, I have been a terrible blogger. However, I am going to make it up to you all and regain your faith in me as a blogger! Yes, it's true, I promise!

My New Years resolution is to blog every day in the month of January (and for the rest of this month). I have so many product reviews and things to share with you. Although I will admit some posts will be photo's of things I love.

For now I will leave you with a picture from my vacation on the beach as I fly from Palm Beach back to NYC.

Miss you all, thanks for sticking with me!

Xx Dara

Tom Ford Du Jour: Lip Lacquer Gloss 11.13.11

Okay, Okay, the long awaited post about Tom Ford.

You know that I am a Tom Ford FREAK! I absolutely love him and I love what he did for Gucci! In my eyes, the man can basically do no wrong. However, his last beauty launch left me somewhat disapointed. I bought 2 lipsticks, Vanilla Suede and Blush Nude, which I happened to love but that was it. It was somewhat lackluster. This time around he really expanded the range and I was very excited to try some products.

I am going to talk about one of the Tom Ford products that I ordered. I am going to talk about the Lip Lacquer by Tom Ford as this is the product I have gotten to wear for a few days now. I also ordered the Shade and Illuminate Contour and Highlighter but I haven't worn enough to review yet. Look for that probably at the end of the week.

Okay lets get to the product, to put it simply... I LOVE IT. I will re-purchase this over and over and over.

According to Bergdorf Goodman "Tom Ford's opulent lip accessory: a clear gloss that lacquers lips with precious pulverized pearls, creating a reflective shine and a lavishly soft feel. Use on bare lips for a polished, sophisticated look or layer over Tom Ford Lip Color for a deeply sultry sheen."

I would have to agree with this statement, this is EXACTLY what is does. It is clear with a gorgeous sheen using crushed pearl pigments. It is NOT sparkly, I feel like my pictures are a bit misleading and look a touch sparkly, but the gloss isnt. It is shimmery and gives a gorgeous sheen... NO sparkle, trust me!

The gloss itself is smooth and soft with NO stickiness. I really like that, I have very long hair and long hair plus sticky gloss just equals an annoying disaster (especially in NYC where the wind whips around the buildings like no ones business).

Okay, on to the good stuff...

Here is the packaging, a simple elongated plastic squeeze tube, which i quite like. I love squeeze tubes because they are light and easy to stick in pockets.

Product swatch on my hand, very hard to capture the true essence of it. Here it looks sparkly but it really isnt, the flash reflects the pearl pigments.

Excuse the bad quality of the picture, but here it is on my lips with nothing else. It creates a very healthy looking sheen with a very slight shimmer. I have been wearing this alone but would be GORGEOUS over any lipstick color.

You can buy here at Bergdorf Goodman. It retails for $30, which is pricey but not out of this world expensive.


Will you try the Tom Ford range?
Thoughts? Comments?

NARS Arabian Nights Eye Palette Du Jour 10.31.11

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

When I got wind of the Sephora Friends and Family there was nothing I REALLY needed. I know, that is just a shocking statement from me. However, being the beauty addict that I am I knew I needed to take advantage so I decided to browse Sephora.com (always the beginning to a terrible event for my credit card). I hadn't really had a look at the NARS line since I have had a few disappointments with them as of late( the Easy Lover lipgloss and their eye pencils) so I wansnt hip to the new holiday line.

Well well well, what do you know, I fall in love with the Arabian Nights Eye Palette, such sparkly gorgeousness. But is that enough? Lets see!

As you can see in palette is is just beyond gorgeous! Love at first sight, and if you are a long time reader you KNOW that I love me a good black smokey eye. When I swatched with my fingers, it was beautiful, dark, rich, sparkly pigment. However, when I transfered to my hand for a swatch it fell short.

That kind of dissapointed me, but you can work around this with a good sticky base and a flat brush that you pack on the color with, dont brush or sweep on. Pack, pack, pack!

Overall, I think its a great palette for the holidays, the colors are magnificent but will take a bit of finese!

Thoughts?
x

Laura Mercier Du Jour 10.20.11

I went for lunch today and as I was leaving, Bloomingdales just happen to catch my eye...Shocker! I know! Anyway, my best friend and I decided to just wander through to take a look and NOT BUY ANYTHING. Well we all know how that ol' story turns out.

I happened to stop at the Laura Mercier counter, as you know probably know (if you are a long time reader of this blog) I love the gourmand bath and body products from Laura Mercier. I have been a long time devoted fan of the Creme Brulee Body Souffle. Yum! Anyway, so I was sniffing around and ready to leave when a cute little trio of shadows caught my eye. Ultimate, right up my alley colors, browns... an ivory satin, a creamy buttery shimmer brown and the PERFECT taupe-y neutral brown. GREAT! I picked it up and went to the register. Then I remembered my ultimate dry cure for lips was by Laura Mercier. GREAT! I got a refil of that. Then by the register I saw the perfect nude lipgloss....then the icy steel cream eyeshadow stick. 5 minutes later I bought a full bag of makeup! Make Up Anonymous here I come.

Anyway check out the below pictures and you will see why I just NEEDED that eyeshadow trio and cream eyeshadow stick (ps- those swatches are from over 6 hours ago!)

LipSilk, Bare Naked Lipgloss, Smokey Neutral Eyeshadow Palette, Cream Eyeshadow Stick in Steel

Smokey Neutral Eyeshadow Palette

Smokey Neutrals Eyeshadow holiday palette and STEEL cream eyeshadow stick

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?
x

Magnetic Nailpolish?

Whoa... where have I been? I guess under a rock... called work!

Anyway, I wandered into Sephora today and I saw MAGNETIC NAILPOLISH! I didn't pick it up because I wanted to come home and look into it. It looks pretty cool, very interesting concept.

I found this video on Sephora's You-Tube channel. Watch it here and let me know what you think!

Has anyone tried this out yet?
Thoughts?

x

Missoni For Target 9.12.11

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the Missoni for Target Pop-Up Store in NYC on Fashions Night Out (Ps- I think i could live the rest of my life without ever attending another Fashion's Night Out). Anyway, I picked up a few goodies that I could get my paws on without having my eyes clawed out by ravenous New York fashion-lovin' women.

I will share pictures with you of what I got in another post, but quickly, I have been asked this A LOT. What did I get? I got the vases, candles, flat shoes and some wall art. Not everything was there when I got to the store, so I will also be picking up the blanket, pillows, bikini and some other odds and ends. I have put together some of my faves below.

You can check out the line here

It is launching tomorrow on Sept 13th on Target.com and in stores.

Who is going and what are you getting?

x

Obsession Du Jour 9.12.11

I. Need. Now.

Eddie Borgo "Hook Latch Cuff"

www.eddieborgo.com