November 10, 2015

How to Look Glam at Work

We’ve all known that one colleague who breezes into the office looking utterly fabulous every day, here’s how to steal her style & do it your way!

At some point in our working lives most of us will have had “that colleague”. Every morning she breezes into the office looking ridiculously fabulous in her own unique way, seemingly without even trying – at 9AM! How do they do it? Is their wardrobe an endless world of work-appropriate gorgeousness?

If you’re bored of button up blouses and sensible work trousers, it’s time to branch out and discover “that colleague’s” workplace styling secrets. There’s no need for a huge budget or a massive wardrobe, in fact a few key pieces and a fresh approach to “professional dressing” are all you could need to get a little more glam at work. Why not start with our top tips…

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Channel a Trend: Keeping abreast of current trends will help your work wardrobe feel more contemporary and cutting-edge. But don’t jump on every fashionable bandwagon around. Instead, select a style you like which can easily be incorporated into your work wardrobe. Picking out each season’s key prints, tones or textures can be a great way to do this. For example, in SS15, bold geometric stripes are proving to be a huge trend. Team them with your work wear for an instant fashion upgrade.

unnamed-24Invest in Statement Shoes: Whether your role requires a more professional palette or doesn’t have a strict dress code, statement shoes are a great way to add a quick and easy pop of colour or charm to work outfits. Choose a bright colour pop and follow through with a matching lipstick, or splash out on a pair you love with quirky appeal to add glamour and personality to your work look.

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Try a Colour Pop: Little freshens up an outfit or brightens up a drab workday like a cheerful burst of colour. To add a little extra glam to your work ensembles, choose “just one item” which really pops, whether that’s a sky blue blazer or a sunny yellow a line skirt, then team it with a more neutral palette to add a splash of colour without looking like a crazy rainbow.

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Splash Out with Your Silhouette: Who says workwear has to be boring? We’re not all part of the sausage machine, you know! The combination of a blazer with a pencil skirt or sensible trousers creates a really predictable silhouette without much personality. Try playing around with the proportions of your work wear to make a stylish change. From full bodied, A-line skirts and high waisted culottes, to cropped tops and oversized shirts, there are lots of chic ways to mix up your work look to create a more contemporary, glamorous style.
unnamed-21Revamp Your Accessories Collection: Updating your accessories can have a huge impact on your workday glamour quotient! Classic pieces you can wear time and time again are great to have in your collection, but when you want to update your workplace look, indulging in some of fashion’s flightier (but super fun) jewellery and accessory trends will help bring your look bang up to date. This season it’s all about aquatic inspired charms (a la Valentino SS15), solid cuffs and chokers (see: Balmain) and mixed natural materials (from raw wood to feathers).

Contributed by Sam Butterworth at Lush Hair Extensions

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August 3, 2015

August $250 Beauty Box Giveaway

Enter here for your chance to win the August Beauty Box Giveaway worth $250! https://itsaglamthing.com/giveaways/its-a-glam-thing-beauty-box/

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July 23, 2015

DON’T FORGET TO PACK PILATESOLOGY & ATHLETICULTURE FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP AND KEEP YOUR WORKOUTS ON TRACK ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

Pilatesology & Athleticulture Founder Alisa Wyatt Shares Her Top 6 Tips For Keeping Fit While Traveling
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Do you find it challenging to keep up with your workouts while on vacation or business travel? Many people do! Whether you’re on your family vacation or traveling for business, Pilatesology and Athleticulture keep your workouts intact when you’re on the road. And the best part is you only need a computer or tablet. Pilatesology and Athleticulture bring your workouts with you, with amazing pilates, yoga, barre, ballet and functional workouts. You’ll never miss a workout again! No more worries over a bad hotel fitness center or not getting your outside run in for safety concerns.
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Pilatesology and Athleticulture Founder Alisa Wyatt believes great workouts are the ones we want to do again and again. They’re fun, entertaining, challenging, engaging and inspirational and make us feel confident, sexy, alive, at peace with our bodies. They are also super effective at getting results whether we’re training for a marathon, staying fit while traveling or simply creating healthy movement habits. Below Alisa shares 6 great tips for keeping your workouts on track while traveling.

Tips for Keeping Workouts On Track When Traveling:
Book a room at a hotel that has a pool or fitness center.
Toss a jump rope and resistance bands into your suitcase—both are lightweight and take up little room.
Ask about nearby parks and walking and running trails when you get to your hotel.
Check out deals on local fitness classes or just call around to a few studios and see if they’re offering any one-time deals for first timers.
Skip the breakfast buffet and order from the continental menu instead or only visit the fruit, oatmeal and cereal section at the buffet.
Pack healthy snacks like nuts, dried fruit and protein bars in your carry-on. Then purchase fruit, raw veggies, yogurts and other healthy staples at a nearby grocery store or farmer’s market upon arrival and keep them in your hotel fridge.
Join the locals! Every region has a sport or activity they are well known for due to local terrain, these often determine some the local favorite sports and a great opportunity to try something new—biking around the lakes or on trails, strapping on a pair of rollerblades, zip lining, wind surfing, cross country skiing or swimming.

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March 9, 2015

Save money & have fun…doing laundry

My daughter received a gift of “Wooly Mates” and she gave them to me since I normally wash the clothes. I read the bag that they came in and it said to use them instead of softener sheets in my dryer. I didn’t really think that they would do much, but I was almost out of softener sheets, so I thought I would give them a try. I absolutely love them! Our clothes have no static, they are just as soft as always, there are no conflicting perfume smells and I don’t have to remember to add a dryer sheet each time I use the dryer. The “Wooly Mates” are left in the dryer to use time and time again. I don’t know how many dryer cycles they will continue to work so well with, but the website said hundreds. Works for me!

Wooly Mates

Wooly Mates

They are 100℅ wool, chemical free, easy to use and they remove any excess lint as they are tumbling through your clothes. I always tried to use detergents without added fragrances because my daughter has sensitive skin. This product helps me to accomplish this also with the dryer because there is no fragrance.

So glad that I was introduced to these little gems. They are perfect for us and may be just what you need too. Check them out at: www.woolymates.com

Sharon Hatcher

Sharon Hatcher

Guest blog post from my Mom, Sharon Hatcher

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April 1, 2014

How to Choose and Glam your Smartphone

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Keeping up with the times is hard enough to do with fashion alone, but add to that the chic factor of the newest technology and you’re hard-pressed to turn heads on the street. To aid you in your search for that attention-grabbing look by smartphone alone, take a look at the newest flagships, decide which is right for you, and dress it up!

Staying up to date with tech times is admittedly difficult. You never know who to trust when reading opinion pieces, and your friends certainly (most likely) don’t know what’s right for you in the smartphone department. Check out these important specs on the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5 and decide which of these two powerhouses best fits your mobile needs.

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iPhone 5S

For those who love the slick and efficient look, the iPhone 5S is great for you. The 4″ screen is easily held in one hand and makes typing and taking pictures simple, whether held in portrait or landscape orientation. With a display showing at 640×1136 pixels with a pixel density of 326 and IPS LCD technology, much more than your app icons will look simply amazing.

The camera is a huge consideration on any current smartphone. With the iPhone 5S, you’ll get great photos with the iSight 8MP rear-facing camera, which takes pictures with a dual LED flash and boasts amazing image stabilization for those pesky in-motion photos, auto-focus and tap-to-focus capabilities, and finally Burst Mode, taking up to 10 pictures per second so you can choose which was actually the best without having to re-pose for every “I don’t like that! Delete it!” How better to stay streamlined and productive than with the iPhone 5S? There’s probably not a better way until the iPhone 6 debuts.

All above specs via PhoneArena.

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Galaxy S5

For the lover of a little more gaud and hand-feel, the Galaxy S5 has a lot to offer. With a 5.1″ display powered by AMOLED technology and a resolution of 1080×1920 with a pixel density of about 432, again your photos will be vibrant and well-snapped with the GS5.

The GS5’s rear-facing camera is 16MP technology equipped with phase detection autofocus and tap-to-focus capabilities. One may also opt to manually focus the camera on this flagship, for those wanting a more professional edge. Add to that the 2.1 MP front-facing camera and you’re in serious selfie business!

A major current consideration when deciding on a new smartphone now includes the health technology available to any model. With peripherals on the rise in all areas, most technologies allow for dual purposes in the health and fitness arena. For the GS5 specifically, the on-board heart rate monitor and S Health Partner couple well together. Verizon Wireless reports that the phone is capable of “…track[ing] your steps [and challenging friends to] earn badges and get on‚Äìdemand healthy eating advice.” What better way to boost your style and health than with the Galaxy S5 as your current smartphone partner? Honestly, that’s a tough question.

All above specs via PhoneArena.

Now that you’ve hopefully found a smartphone that works for you, it’s time to take a look at how best to deck that phone out for street time with an amazing phone case! As The New York Times shows, there are a lot of criteria to consider when looking to protect and glam up your new smartphone. Remember these tips when decking out your new best friend.

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Access to Controls

Just because you may have found the most chic or cute case for your smartphone, don’t confuse looks with functionality. Answer truthfully: do you really want a case that doesn’t let you return to your home screen or lock your screen at all? Waiting for auto-lock and having to remove your case to return home might make you second guess trapping your phone inside that all-protective case.

Screen Protection?

If you find a case that comes with screen protection for your touch-screen phone, advice goes against the buy. There is no guarantee you’ll find the protection compatible with your screen, so it’s definitely a much better idea to purchase a good-looking case that keeps your screen open and then attach a screen protector compatible with touchscreen devices.

Overdo It!

While most phone cases when meant for protection are just plain huge and seem to double the size of your phone, there’s definitely a counter-measure: overdo it. If the thing’s already huge, why not use some adhesives and stickers to further exhibit your own style above that intrusively big safety case?

Guest Blog post by Blaine Kelton

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