Introducing Adore Me

By now, you’re probably familiar with the fashion/accessory/shoe-of-the-month clubs that seem to be popping up every week. The concept is simple: pay a flat free every month and get the latest and greatest delivered right to your door.

But what hasn’t been done before is a lingerie club. The recently-launched site Adore Me now has your lady bits covered (literally) with an ever-changing selection of lingerie sets. Take a short quiz to become a member, and Adore Me’s expert stylists hand-pick a customized closet of lingerie sets for you. You get to shop right from your own home…no more awkward bra fittings! (Oh, and PS – these stylists are the real deal, with gigs at fashion and lingerie houses like Diane Von Furstenberg and Kiki de Montparnasse under their belts.) Your underpinnings are just as important as your clothes, so why not let a stylist carefully choose them for you?

After you place your first order, you’ll receive frilly, flirty pieces for just $39.95 a month with free shipping. (You can opt out of any month; no pressure to buy.) It’s a great deal, considering just a bra can run you up to $70 in a department store. And if your lingerie doesn’t fit perfectly, exchanges are free and easy.

Adore Me goes one step further to make sure you love your new lingerie by letting you take a peek into your friends’ showrooms. You can shop their showrooms, too, to access even more styles, colors, and cuts.

Click through to see a few snapshots of Adore Me’s debut collection — which ranges from sweet and innocent to daringly sexy — and then sign up by taking the style quiz here. And be sure to like their Facebook page for discounts, special offers, and promotions.

Holiday Gift Guide: Under $25

Image via Getty/ImageZoo

It’s that time of year, ladies! My holiday gift guides are super popular every year, and of course, I decided to do them again this year. You’ll find something for all the ladies on your list in this series. Since today (Black Friday) marks the start of the shopping frenzy, I decided to publish this post to help you avoid the mall madness and get some shopping done online (if you prefer).

First up: all the great gifts under $25 you can cram into 1 post!

1. For the Fashionista: Forever 21 Cowlneck Leopard Print Dress ($22.80): This fierce, fashionable, slinky dress is perfect for prowling the town. (Image via Forever21)
2. For the Jewelry Nut: Bird & Branch Jewels. A little self-promotion here! All my pieces are under $25, handcrafted with love, and come in beautiful packaging…no wrapping required!
3. For the Next Martha Stewart: Design*Sponge At Home (on sale for $23): This hefty hardcover features house tours, DIY projects, and a slew of great ideas for the home. A book she’ll turn to again and again. (Image via Amazon)
4. For the Fragrance Fiend: Clean Miniature Trio ($15): Let her sample 3 of Clean’s lovely, fresh fragrances (Fresh Laundry, Cotton T-Shirt, Warm Cotton) for way less than the price of a full-size bottle. (Image via Sephora)
5. For the Homebody: Rococo Tall Bell Candle ($20): This candle, with an etched glass bell-shaped cover, has a Frosted Birch Bark scent, and makes for a pretty decoration and a lovely room fragrance. (Image via Anthropologie)
6. For the Beauty Junkie: e.l.f. 24k Makeup Clutch ($18): This tiny gold “clutch” packs in 47 essentials: eyeshadow, blush, lipcolor, highlighter, bronzer, and eyeliner, all zipped up in 1 convenient, portable case. (Image via e.l.f.)
7. For Your Co-Worker: Lilly Pulitzer 2012 Small Agenda ($15.95): She’ll never miss a meeting again with this on her desk. (Image via Lilly Pulitzer)
8. As Just a Small Token: Forever21 Feminine Roses Stud Set ($3.80): Hey, for less than $5, you can’t go wrong. Perfect when you just want to give someone a little something. (Image via Forever21)

Kiss Bumps Goodbye with PFB Vanish

Image via Rescue Rittenhouse Spa

Colder weather means a whole new slew of skin woes. From flaky, dry skin to overactive keratosis pilaris, skin generally tends to freak out during the late autumn and winter months. Another malady that rears its ugly head this time of year: ingrown hairs. For whatever reason, they tend to crop up more when it’s colder out. And, let’s face it, they’re a bitch. They’re painful, irritating, and they take forever to disappear. Speed up the process with PFB Vanish ($20), a serum that treats ingrowns, razor burn, bumps, and irritation. The serum exfoliates to whisk away dead skin cells that may be clogging the hair follicle and causing the ingrown, freeing the hair in the process. The bottle is capped with a mesh-tip, roll-on-style applicator, so you can dab the product on right where you need it.

And you can use this to prevent ingrowns, too. Swipe it on after waxing, plucking, shaving, laser hair removal, or electrolysis, and your skin will be less irritated and less prone to ingrowns. How’s that for smooth sailing?

CyberMonday Beauty Deals

Today is the biggest online shopping day of the year. If you’ve got a beauty junkie on your list, or need to restock some of your own products, now is the time! The following is a list of deals you’ll find online today (and beyond), listed alphabetically, and with end dates where available. Happy shopping!

• Anastasia Beverly Hills: Take 35% off any purchase. Use code THANKS. Nov. 28 only.
• Bath & Body Works: Take 25% off any purchase. Use code CYBERMONDAY25OFF. Ends Nov. 29.
• Beauty.com: A purchase of $100+ gets you a free Ericson Beamon makeup bag stuffed with samples from some of Beauty.com’s brands.
• Beauty Bar: Purchases over $40 receive a free Philosophy gift set, which gets better if you spend more. If you spend $40-$59, enter code BBCYBER40. If you spend $60-$79, enter code BBCYBER60. If you spend $80+, enter code BBCYBER80.
• Bella Il Fiore: Take 25% off your purchase with code BF25. Nov. 28 only.
• Benefit: Orders of $35+ get a free mini High Beam. Use code HLDYMINI. Orders of $90+ get a free full-size Heartthrob face powder. Use code HRTTHROB. 11/28 only.
• Bliss: All Bliss, Remede, and Elemis products are 20% off. Select Bliss and Remede sets are 30% off. No code needed. Ends Dec. 5.
• Bobbi Brown: All orders get a free sample gift set and complimentary standard shipping. No code needed. Ends Nov. 29.
• The Body Shop: 3 for $30 on all products plus free shipping. No code necessary. Nov. 28 only.
• Butter London: Get 30% off nailpolish with the code CELEBRATE11. Ends Nov. 30.
• Clarisonic: Get 20% off when you purchase 2 Clarisonic skincare tools. You’ll also get a travel bag, bottle of body serum, and free shipping. Ends Nov. 29.
• Clinique: All orders get to select 3 of 8 samples, and get complimentary shipping. No code needed. Nov. 28 only.

Keep reading for more deals than you’ll know what to do with!

A Glimpse of the Holidays at Terrain

If you’ve never been to Terrain, you’re missing out! Located in the Philadelphia suburbs, it’s a nursery/home/garden shop owned by Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters/Free People. There are several barns on the property, a greenhouse, a few nurseries, and a lovely cafe. It’s basically a treasure chest packed with lovely little discoveries just waiting to be unearthed. This time of my year is my favorite time to visit. The gardens are packed with Christmas trees, the outdoor firepits are roaring, and the barns are decked out in their holiday finest. It’s a great spot for inspiration; I love going to get new ideas to bring into my own home. Here are a few snapshots I took recently to get you in the holiday spirit!(Please excuse the stranger in this photo.)This handsome fellow was decked out in plaid flannel…so festive!I love these thick birch stems randomly spray-painted with metallic silver paint. They look so pretty against the strands of retro bulb lights.These punched-tin pendants lights are a staple throughout all seasons at Terrain, but when their intricate patterns are illuminated, they take on a new, festive look during the holidays.

MAC Offers Black Knight for Black Friday

Black Friday is simultaneously one of my favorite and most-dreaded days of the year. The ladies in my family always go shopping, but I hate battling the crowds. And I can’t remember the last time I actually purchased a gift on Black Friday…I can never find anything! Good news for beauty junkies: this year, you can get in on the Black Friday action without leaving your comfy couch.

MAC is taking Black Friday quite literally, offering a dark-as-night special-edition lipstick shade. Today only, you can get Black Knight lipstick, an online exclusive, through maccosmetics.com. Confused about how to wear this? My suggestion is to lighten up with a pearly lavender-tinted gloss (like Docile Lip Glass), or a nude Cremesheen Glass.

Will you be nabbing this ultra-limited edition stick today?

Images via MAC

Happy Thanksgiving!

Image via Photographer’s Choice

To my U.S. readers, I hope you have a wonderful day full of love, laughter, family, friends — and a delicious feast! I’ve always loved Thanksgiving. In addition to our standard menu (which includes whipped potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, autumn salad, and, obviously, turkey), we carry out two important traditions every year. Around the dinner table, each family member names at least one thing they are grateful for that happened this year. Then, after dinner, we gather all the autumnal decorations (pumpkins, gourds, heads of kale, etc.) and smash them outside. It symbolizes the start of the holiday season (on Black Friday, the Christmas decorations come out), and it’s my favorite holiday tradition!

What are your Thanksgiving traditions? I’d love to hear them.

Image via Food Network

Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Dessert Squares

When in Williams-Sonoma recently, one of the sales clerks offered me a bite of a dessert fresh out of the oven. I didn’t know what it was, but when I tasted it, it was pretty much the greatest dessert ever. Turns out it was their Pumpkin Dessert Squares (recipe here). They were sweet but not overly pumpkin-y, with a vague coffee cake-like taste and texture to them. So delicious.

I am making these to bring to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Since I’d never tried the recipe before, I whipped up a test batch last night (I am not the best baker). They were surprisingly easy to prep and bake.

This is basically a 3-layer bar that melds together when baked. On the bottom, there’s yellow cake (with butter and eggs), then a layer of pumpkin butter (mixed with milk and eggs), and a crumb topping that gets crunchy in the oven. The test batch was moist, rich, and flavorful, but crumbled more than I liked when I tried to cut it into squares. I’d like to get the cake layer to set a bit more in the next batch.

One quick note: The recipe calls for one 13-oz. jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter, sold at Williams-Sonoma. But at $10.50 a jar, I opted for Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter ($2.29 a jar!) instead. Theirs come in 10-0z. sizes, so you’ll need to purchase 2 for each recipe. (Use the leftovers on toast, or mix into pancake/waffle batter, yogurt, or ice cream!)

Bobbi Brown Holiday ’11: Party Collection

It’s the holiday season, and Bobbi Brown is ready to par-tay! And trust me when I say she is going all out this year. The 2011 holiday line-up, Party Collection, is so extensive, it’s hard to keep it straight. It’s heavy on the giftable palettes, kits, and sets, while a few new shades and products debut here, too. This is just a snapshot (which gives you an idea of how huge the collection is). To see all the items, click here.

All items limited edition (LE).

Ultimate Party Collection ($65): This sleek little palette packs everything you need to get party-ready in a flash. Take your glam on the go by slipping it into your clutch before heading out to your fete. Top tray, clockwise from top left: Navajo Metallic eyeshadow; Chrome Patina Shimmer Wash eyeshadow; Pewter Chrome eyeshadow; Plum Steel Metallic Eyeshadow; Black Topaz Metallic eyeshadow; Antique Gold Metallic eyeshadow; Crushed Granite Sparkle eyeshadow; Plum Navy eyeshadow. Bottom tray, clockwise from top left: Rave Glitter Lipgloss; Soiree Pink Glitter Lipgloss; Tinsel Glitter Lipgloss; Iced Lilac Glitter Lipgloss.

20th Anniversary Lip Palette ($60): It all started with a lipstick. Not only is it the holidays, but it’s the 20th anniversary of Bobbi’s launch. To commemorate the success of her line, she’s releasing 20 lipcolors, a shade for every year, in a new palette. Included: the 10 original shades she launched back in 1991, and 10 new shades that will take you from office to party in mere minutes.

Party Shimmer Brick ($40): Silver and gold metallic powders are housed in a split-pan compact and embossed with images of a cocktail shaker and martini glass. If that doesn’t get you into the party spirit, nothing will! Dust these all over your body, or anywhere you want to glow.

Lightening Up With MAC Brow Set in Girl Boy

There’s a dilemma for fair-skinned, fair-haired girls like me who love a strong brow. I want crisp, clean definition, but sometimes, filling in my brows creates a stark contrast against my hair color and skin tone. I decided to experiment after I saw this video of Alex Chavez, a trained pro at the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow salon, showing how she matches her brows to her blonde hair. (Fast forward to about 4:53 to see how she does it.)

Alex’s answer? Tinted brow gel. I really don’t like tinted brow gel; I am set in my ways with clear gel, and love the glossiness and hold it provides. But I decided to try the tinted version of my favorite, MAC Brow Set; the shade I picked up was Girl Boy ($15), the lightest they offer, which MAC describes as “fawn blonde.” (For darker-haired girls, there is also Beguile, a “full-bodied taupe,” and Show-Off, a deep brown.)

So…how did the trial runs go? Get clicking to find out.