You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Post Is About You: Personalizing Your Vanity

A few days ago, I shared with you my lifelong love affair with my vanity.

No – not that kind of vanity. I mean, the love affair I have with my dressing table.

Today, I’m bringing you a few of my design tips that have made my boudoir one of my favorite places in my home.

To personalize my antique white vanity I have now, and to offset its stark neutral tone, I like to add some delicate elements of color.

My neutralish, antique white dressing table with delicate splashes of color and metallics. The antique red velvet chair in this photo has now been replaced by a beautiful, french blue velvet chair with an ashy gray-stained wood frame, which I found at HomeGoods this past fall.

One of the best opportunities to add color and whimsy, to a small space such as this, is to look at what utilitarian purposes you can maximize to dress the space up a bit.

Instead of junking up your happy place, choose must-have pieces that can both serve a function and delight the senses

In this case, I used this prime (and pretty) opportunity to do this with my makeup brush holders. Why not give those expensive investments, called brushes, a lovely home? I opted for julep cups and blue sea glass cups and votives.

I also mindfully choose what sits out on my vanity.

Pretty products on display are key. They set you up to feel luxurious as you primp for a night out!

I like to display the prettiest products, and pieces that delight me most on top, where you- and everyone else – can see them. You can’t go wrong with products with pretty packaging, and laying out your favorite, colorful, eye-catching pieces of jewelry on display. Here, I have my favorite vintage 50s pastel, french colonial, floral necklace on my vanity, Tarte amazonian clay eyeliner (in a cute turquoise and gold pot), and my beloved Crème de La Mer.

Julep cups for brushes and lovely vintage necklaces make for a pleasant primping place

As for practicality? I keep my most often-used products on top or in the top drawers for easy access.

Over the vanity, hangs a soft, powdery pink chandelier to add some warm lighting, which aids in makeup application.

A chandelier spilling warm light lights the way to feeling your beautiful best every day

Whatever your aesthetic, just be authentic to yourself. Think about what delights you, what inspires you, and what will make you feel most beautiful as you sit down for a few moments to become your most beautiful self each day.

I hope you begin a torrid, lifelong love affair with your vanity, as well.

 

xoxo,
Dawn

BF Asks: What does your vanity look like? 

 

Thirsty Thursday: Pampelonne Rosé Lime

Thirsty Thursday: Pampelonne Rosé Lime

Well, I’m getting into the spirit of Palm Springs because I’m headed there TWICE in the next three weeks!
I was sent some Pampelonne Rosé Lime ($4.99/can) to try a while ago and just broke it out today because I thought it would be the ultimate spring cocktail…especially on this – the hottest of spring days.

Inspired by the spirit and sophistication of the French Riviera, this sparkling wine beverage is perfect for quenching your thirst while making you feel as bubbly as it is. A super-light Muscadet blend with notes of key lime, grapefruit and passion fruit, it’s refreshing as you sip poolside, enjoy after a long bike ride on the beach or enjoy on a romantic picnic for two. BF tip? Be sure to pair with a pretty paper straw. The cocktail becomes even cuter.

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What’s your choice of a cool beverage on a hot summer day? 

High-Low 2/17/14: Valentine’s Fun & Forced Relaxation

HIGH: Valentine’s Fun!

I celebrated Valentine’s a little early on Thursday by hosting a sweet and inspired shoot here at The Cupcake Palace. And I loved celebrating the sweetest of days with my sweet – and talented – friend, Lindsey Vaerst.

We had a wine tasting dinner to attend for BeautyFrosting – later that evening – but first we had a little girly fun doing the shoot, sipping some pink champagne and nibbling on some sweets. Then we had some girl talk as we got ready for the big night ahead. What a perfect day!

This is how my Valentine's looked. How did you celebrate? Hope it was a sweet one! (*heart champagne flutes by World Market)

 

LOW: Forced Relaxation

My low this week? I got a bad case of food poisoning. No lesson learned. Nothing positive from it. Oh wait, or is there? Yep. By being completely incapacitated for 2 days, I actually had to rest, relax, take baths, read, watch a movie and do nothing but be sick and take care of myself. Okay, universe, I get it. I GET IT. Relax more or you’ll make me relax. Point taken. And, um, no picture needed – am I right?

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What was your High-Low this week?

*So what exactly is a High-Low, you ask? High-Low is the BEST & WORST part of your day, week, month, etc. I started this tradition with friends & family after I discovered it through a movie decades ago. Not only is it useful for reflection sake but it is also an excellent way to communicate with your spouse, kids or friends over the dinner table. By introducing this tradition to folks, parents have told me that their kids have opened up more and friends have told me that their spouses have become more communicative. Try it for yourself and let me know what your experience is! 

 

Thirsty Thursday: All You Need Is Love GLITTER Gift Set from One Hope Wine – VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL!!!

For Thirsty Thursday today, I am featuring the ULTIMATE Valentine’s Day gift for your love, lover or laugh-buddy. Y’all know I’m a big fan of One Hope Wine and One Hope at Home because they do good out there and make gooooood products.

But when you add in red glitter à la Dorothy? Baby-oh-baby, I’m OBSESSED!

Thirsty Thursday: One Hope Wine's All You Need Is Love GLITTER Gift Box Set ($129)

 

Benefitting the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign (with One Hope Wine donating half of the profits of every purchase), you can fill your heart with joy and help the hearts of women everywhere. The All You Need Is Love GLITTER gift box from One Hope Wine ($129) is filled with the things I love best  – and the things I DEFINITELY need as a single gal in the city on Valentine’s Day.

What’s that, you ask? Wine. Chocolate. Candles. Glitter. Specifically, One Hope Wine’s Limited Edition red glitter bottle of North Coast Reserve Pinot Noir, B.Toffee dark chocolate and an exquisite Voluspa candle with sensual scents of goji berry and ripe mango. And get ’em while you can cuz they’re only selling 100 of these beauties!!

Get em while you can - they're only selling 100 of these beauties!!!!

Right now, One Hope Wine is offering an All You Need is Love GLITTER gift set for for a limited time only for only $129. But, BUUUUUT, as a BeautyFrosting reader you can get 30% off TODAY ONLY with the code GORED! Get it for your lover, your friend or heck, yourself! That’s what I’m gonna do! Happppppy Vaaaaaaalentine’s to meeeee!

Some not-so-sweet stats:
Risk Factors
– 90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease
– While 1 in 31 women dies of breast cancer each year, 1 in 3 dies of heart disease
The Good News!
Tomorrow, Feb 7 is National Wear Red day.  Since the first wear red day 10 years ago, 21% fewer women are dying of heart disease, and 21% more are aware that it’s their number 1 health threat.  Planning a party with Hope at Home can help make a difference!

 

xoxo,

BF

 

BF Asks: What red frocks are you gonna don tomorrow for National Wear Red Day?

Thirsty Thursday: Sofia Blanc de Blancs 2012

Without fail – at every single birthday party I have – at least one friend brings me a bottle of my favorite, feminine bubbly, Sofia Blanc de Blancs by Coppola Winery ($19). So I thought it was about time I featured my favorite celebratory sparkly on Thirsty Thursday here on BeautyFrosting.

 

My favorite, feminine beautiful bubbly: Sofia Blanc de Blancs

 

 

 

With a pink cellophane wrapping styled to resemble a peony, my excitement over the bubbly treat begins with the first glance. I usually debate unwrapping it for weeks simply because I love how it looks in the cellophane.

Pretty like a peony - Sofia Blanc de Blancs in its pink cellophane

I also love the story behind it that when his daughter Sofia was a little girl, director Francis Ford Coppola promised her that he would one day make a sparkling wine named after her. And he did just that. Now, THAT’S how to be a good daddy!So the Sofia namesake sparkling wine that we get today is as pretty, girly and feminine as his little girl was then. Of course now Sofia Coppola is a super talented director so that inherently adds a bit of coolness to this bubbly, too.
Both sophisticated and a bit sweet, this bubbly treat features notes of honey-drenched apples and pears with a hint of citrus and vanilla bean. Perfect for drinking a glass before a night out on the town or for pairing with your favorite slice of birthday cake.

Sofia Blanc de Blancs - Pairs perfectly with cake

Just as I am a fan of both Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola, I will always be a giddy schoolgirl when it comes to my love of this pretty, pink bottle which always leaves me saying –
Perhaps just one more glass…

I'm all out. Perhaps just one more glass…

Holiday Delights: My Sugared Pink Holiday House from The Dotted Line in Nashville

Holiday Delights: My Sugared Pink Holiday House from The Dotted Line

I bought this “sugared”, sparkly holiday house at The Dotted Line in Nashville over 7 years ago and it is still one of my favorite holiday delights. It sits on top of my cream piano every Christmas and reminds me of my years spent in Nashville.

Isn’t that what Christmas is all about – recalling old memories and making new ones?

BF Asks: What decorative treasure recalls fond memories for you?

 

 

xoxo,
BF

Holiday Delights: My New Christmas Ornament for 2013

Once a bath girl…always a bath girl. Every year I buy myself a new ornament that delights me. The kind that fills you with glee and makes you feel like a child upon first glance.Yep, love at first sight!

This year, it was this vintage-feeling metallic blue, purple & pink with crystal foam bubble bath from Target. I adore it. It makes me smile every time I see it hanging from my silver tree here at The Cupcake Palace. I hope you enjoy as well!

*crown stocking by Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic for Target, circa 2006

Holiday Delights: My Christmas Ornament 2013 - A Bubble Bath!

 

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: Did you treat yourself to an ornament this year? What was it?

Saturday Social Hour: Master The Look Beauty Event at Saks Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills

This past Thursday, Saks 5th Avenue in Beverly Hills and Cadillac hosted an evening of beauty-themed treats from Food Ink, champagne, wine and a killer dj to benefit Lupus LA and kick off their fall Beauty Event.

 

With the cutest cookies there ever were…

The cutest cookies that ever were from Food Ink

 

The most kissable cupcakes I’ve ever seen…

 

Cute kissy lip-cupcakes from Food Ink!

Custom color consultations – to help you find your best color fit both in fashion and beauty – by Jill Kirsch

Custom color consultation from Jill Kirsch - the Guru of Hue

and lipstick reading by a lipstick reader, beauty tips from NARS, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior and Estee Lauder.

Everyone had a ball and I was in heaven as some of my fave folks were there – such as Whitney Lader from hoopLA, Roxy Manning from RedCarpetRoxy, Megan O’Brien from Meg’s Makeup and…

With Roxy & Whitney at the Saks Master The Look beauty event

my new buddy, Braylen Brooks from ScenesterTV!

With my new buddy Braylen...and one verrrrry cute waiter

 

A beautiful night, indeed!

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: Which beauty look would you love to master?

 

Thirsty Thursday: La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2012 – the official taste of Summer 2013

Before I bid summertime adieu, I must share with you my summer love… La Vielle Ferme Rosé ($9.99).

 

Thirsty Thursday: My taste of summer 2013 - La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2012

 

I have bought a bevy of bottles of this ravishing rosé this summer and have enjoyed every single, solitary one. Oh, don’t you judge – almost every bottle was shared with a friend, neighbor or passerby on the street. Kidding…well, about the passerby thing.

 

My brother-neighbor, Matty, & me enjoying a glass (or two) of La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2012 last Saturday while frosting cupcakes

However, I’m not kidding when I tell you that this vino will symbolize Summer 2013 for me forever. With its pretty, whimsical watermelon hue, its floral scent with hints of baked brown sugar and aniseed and its taste of southern flowers, bing cherries and fruit pastille candies, this dry – yet juicy – rosé just represents the taste of summer 2013 for me. And, for me, summer 2013 was filled with fun, new beginnings, farm-to-table-fresh food, music, travel, romance and lessons learned.
One glass of La Vieille Ferme Rosé is never enough, two is not too much and the conversations and memories enjoyed over 3 glasses of this wine will live on forever.

Lucky for me, I know there will be another vintage next year. So here’s – and cheers – to Summer 2014 with La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2012!!!

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: Do you have a favorite rosé? Spill it. 

 

BeautyFrosting’s Fabulous Fall Giveaway with Tinte Cosmetics

In honor of Fall and all the things it includes (football games, weddings, pep rallies, homecoming, oh my!), Tinte Cosmetics and BeautyFrosting are giving away this fabulous prize package – perfect for a splash of color this Fall!

Tinte Fabulous Fall Giveaway

TINte Cosmetics is a BeautyFrosting-beloved beauty brand based on simpler times and sweet memories like flavored lip shines, lip gloss housed in charming vintage tins and all-in-one makeup palettes of our youth.

With their colorful, pastel candy-coated packaging and nostalgic scents & tastes, Tinte products are pleasing to the most girly of girls bringing us back to a simpler, sweeter time.

I also LOOOOOVE them as gifts for birthdays, holidays, pre-teens and teens!

The lip colors and lip glosses are perfect for your budding little beauty!

So what’s up for grabs in our Fabulous Fall Giveaway?

2 Flavored lip glosses– in Double Bubble a delicious Bubble Gum flavored lip gloss and Mynt Kiss a sweet peppermint flavored lip gloss. These glosses have shimmer and a high shine look. Enriched with Shea Butter they are the best glosses for chapped lips!  These sexy shimmer lip glosses all have such great tastes that you’ll want to eat them up! Or your lovies will!

1 Flavored Lip Gloss in Peaches & cream.  Packed in Vintage slider tins, this moisturizing flavored lip gloss offer a glossy matte finish and will give you the color and coverage of a lipstick.
Tinte’s creamy silky texture is enhanced with Shea Butter and makes for a soft succulent smooch and our flavors and scents assure that you won’t be forgotten! The best lip gloss for chapped lips!
1 Match Book makeup kit -The Natural Beauty MATCH BOOK kit includes: Two eyeshadow colors (a vanilla base shade and a natural bronze contour shade), a deep chocolate brown waterproof cream eyeliner, blush, two vanilla flavored lip glosses and two brushes. They are quick and simple to use. Just follow the five instructional steps on the back to achieve a gorgeous new you!

So, how do you enter in our Tinte Fabulous Fall Giveaway?

Just follow us on Facebook and then tweet to your twitter friends: “

“I’m following @beautyfrosting and just entered the #BeautyFrosting @TINteCosmetics Fabulous Fall Giveaway!
www.BeautyFrosting.com”. Then come back here and reply “I tweeted!! xoxo, @(yourtwittername)”

That’s it! And then, we’ll announce our winner on FREEday Friday, October 5th. Just in time for homecoming!! Just be sure to enter by Thursday, October 4th at 5pm PST.

*Valid to U.S. residents only. No international delivery.
xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What’s your favorite Fall go-to beauty product?