Coffee Break: Lip Chic
If you tend to like (or lust after) high end makeup, get thee to NET-A-PORTER, where they have a LOT of noteworthy brands on sale for 50-60% off, including Chantecaille, Pat McGrath, Hourglass, and more. (Also: lots of underwear from SKIMS for 50% off and more.) If you have darker skin and are on the hunt for new foundation, definitely check out their selection — tons of color options on deep sale.
I've got a zillion tabs open while I consider if I need yet more lipstick (definitely not, but hey) — one of the top contenders is the Chantecaille lightweight, glossy lipstick in Wisteria. The brand's page for it describes it as a “soft, wearable plum” which is one of the few colors that I keep buying across lipsticks.
The lip was $42, but is now marked to $30 (final sale, alas).
Sales of note for 12.5
- Nordstrom – Cyber Monday Deals Extended, up to 60% off thousands of new markdowns — great deals on Natori, Vince, Theory, Boss, Cole Haan, Tory Burch, Rothy's, and Weitzman, as well as gift ideas like Barefoot Dreams and Parachute — Dyson is new to sale, 16-23% off, and 3x points on beauty purchases.
- Ann Taylor – up to 50% off everything
- Banana Republic Factory – up to 50% off everything + extra 25% off
- Design Within Reach – 25% off sitewide (including reader-favorite office chairs Herman Miller Aeron and Sayl!) (sale extended)
- Eloquii – up to 60% off select styles
- J.Crew – 1200 styles from $20
- J.Crew Factory – 50-70% off everything + extra 20% off $100+
- Macy's – Extra 30% off the best brands and 15% off beauty
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off, plus free shipping on everything (and 20% off your first order)
- Steelcase – 25% off sitewide, including reader-favorite office chairs Leap and Gesture (sale extended)
- Talbots – 40% off your entire purchase and free shipping $125+
We need a basic pop-up sun shade/tent for the beach. Doesn’t need to be huge – just needs to fit two adults and next year, a baby. We don’t need to stand up inside it. Major bonus points if it somehow packs up into a tiny package because we have no space in our apartment. Any faves?
Do you go to beaches with wind? (like east coast). If so, Shibumi Shade. Expensive but worth it. My one complaint is they are rather loud, but they have recently come out with a new version that is supposedly quieter (haven’t tried it yet). They are pricey, but so easy to carry/set up.
I was at Folly recently and like 8/10 people had these.
We’re in Northern California and I hate wind so would not choose to go to the beach on those days :) Most of the beaches we would go to do not have natural shade options.
I don’t know how much choice you have over where you go to the beach, but if you do have a good degree of choice: try to stay near a pier or other natural shade provider on the beach. My family has a Jersey Shore house and our house is luckily one block from a pier on the beach so we’re able to set up under that. Could be worth looking into when choosing a rental.
The LL bean sunbuster tent. It takes about 2 seconds to set up and take down, which is a huge plus on the beach.
Sportbrella XL is what we have and it’s great. It’s just a (heavy duty) umbrella with side wings and it works great. Some places we go have ‘no tents’ rules and this is clearly not a tent so no issue. Easy to store under a bed or in the back corner of a closet.
This looks really promising. Do you find that it casts enough shade over the front?
It works fine for us. Often if the sun is shining at an angle, we’ll just basically rotate it a little and it fixes the issue. It’s really easy to set up – it’s an umbrella with wings and stakes, not a whole tent, so it’s not a big deal to move.
Agreed on this rec, we also used ours in our yard a lot as shade for baby.
Thanks all! A few great ideas here.
We have the Oileus beach tent on Amazon. Very easy to set up and packs up into a small bag. Easily fits me, husband, 4 yo plus cooler and beach bag. We’ve gone through a few from Amazon and have good luck with them as long as you practice folding and unfolding in a not-windy environment. I’ve broken one before being frustrated in the beach wind trying to fold it up.
We love our Cool Cabana. Easy to set up, great shade, strong against the wind. Have fun!!
second this. we have one for our house and one for my in-laws beach house. super easy to set up and take down, easy to transport.
(Asking again to capture afternoon traffic, thank you!)
Love y’all’s travel recommendations! Has anyone done Alaska? Just starting to research but would love any advice or experiences to share. Looking at a weeklong trip…
I responded on the morning post but was caught in mod, so check back.
Oh, and it would be for just my husband and myself – we’re open to cruises and land tours both.
If you opt for a cruise, choose Princess. They’re one of the originators in that area (50+ years of experience) and have the connections and infrastructure.
If your travels take you to Talkeetna, I can’t recommend Talkeetna Air Taxi enough for glacier flightseeing. It is spendy, but it was the HIGHLIGHT of our trip. My friends and I went in 2019 and we still talk about it.
I grew up in AK! Cruises are a really great way to see southeast Alaska, it’s such a beautiful area. Taking the train to Denali National Park is also a great option. Riding the park bus deep into the Park (Wonder Lake) a time commitment (maybe 5-6 hrs one way?) but the views and wildlife are unbelievable. You can also camp overnight at Wonder Lake. Talkeetna is also a very cool little town not far from Denali Nat’l Park.
I found this comment when looking for the canoe associate post, and as an Alaskan I have to say these are some pretty good recommendations, even though the thread is 10 years old. https://corporette.com/akris-punto-bicolor-techno-dress/#comment-2156397
I tried looking for the post too and could not find it 😭
We did a road trip around the Kenai Peninsula last summer. Fly into Anchorage with stops in Seward and Homer. Highlights: overnight camping on a glacier with a heli ride, ice climbing and hiking (Exit Glacier Guides), Harding Glacier hike, Kenai Fjords boat cruise (lots of whales to see), hiking in Kachamek Bay State Park (take a water taxi from Homer). We barely scratched the surface of all there is to do there. Next time we want to do a fly-in bear tour and some fishing.
I looked at some of the small brands from last week. I looked at Mae New York and wowza — cute and so expensive. I’m not sure anything fits in with the life I actually have (job, 2 kids, no fabulous life events needing new clothes). OTOH, it made all of the also very cute things I like at Buru seem so reasonable in comparison. I think at least some Buru pieces would be OK in my very casual no-one-really-even-goes-there BigLaw office.
I think it might have been me who recommended Mae as a splurge small brand. The pieces I have are more than I have ever spent on clothes before but I felt like a super confident, stylish woman the minute I put them on during a try on (and believe me that is not how I usually feel). YMMV on your office but I wear my high volume Tegan skirt from Buru to work and get lots of compliments… I pair it with a fitted top to balance it out.
What are you favorite apps or other forms of technology that make your life easier, better, more enjoyable in some way. I have a bit of extended time off which I am trying to use to, among other things, get myself more organized and streamlined and I’m including technology in my little revamp.
Setting up birthday reminders as annually recurring on my google calendar, to include birth year, and, for the really important ones, a notification 1 week in advance (to mail a card) and again the day of. It took me probably 90 minutes or so to enter it all in at one point. I am bad at remembering birthdays but this helps a lot. Then I add entries when new babies are born.
If you don’t already use one, a shopping list app. I use out of milk, but don’t know if it’s better or worse than others. I like adding things the moment I notice we are running low. I have a regular grocery list, a separate one for Costco, one for home depot, one for target and more occasional things. You can check things off while at the store, you can share the list with other members in the household etc.
Was coming here to recommend a list app; I use the free version of AnyList. I like it because a family member at home can add items while another is at the grocery store. Although not designed for that, I use for checklists, too, like things to check when I get into a rental car.
Odd, but the target app.
My husband and I are both logged in to my account, and we each independently add things to the cart as we need them. Then, when it makes sense we will place the order for delivery or pickup.
I do this with Walmart (groceries and random things) and Amazon. No more grocery lists for me! Just a running list in my cart.
Same I love it! And their delivery is awesome if you need something in a pinch
I find qlist really helpful for one-off shopping lists and to-do lists
and this is a website (qlist.cc) not an app
Paprika – it’s a recipe app, but allows you to create shopping lists for different stores. If you use it fully as intended, you can meal plan from your stored recipes and it will automatically create a shopping list based on that meal plan. But I use it to keep track of the things I need at stores I don’t go to frequently, like Costco.
Also, You Need a Budget (YNAB) – there’s a learning curve, but it’s become second nature to me. And it really helped shift my whole mindset from budget being like a diet (ugh) to a budget that actively reflects my priorities and makes sure I have the money to take the trips, buy the clothes, etc, by cutting back in areas that aren’t as important.
I love the Paprika app!
Paprika is the only app I’ve ever paid for: it’s worth it. I don’t even use all the features.
Wardrobe/Closet apps! I use OpenWardrobe and recommend it. Digitizing my closet was a bit easier as I had stock pics in Pinterest, but the app has a Chrome extension so you can “pin” items from various retailers right into the app which is amazing and so easy.
I use it to:
Plan and track outfits
Get amusing and inventive outfit suggestions from the app’s AI bot
Track cost per wear
Track items I’ve never or rarely worn or items I’m wearing over and over–many of us instinctively know this but having actual numbers is really helpful
See usage stats overall for each wardrobe–I have it broken out into occasion wear, business casual and Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer plus accessories and shoes as separate sections. I can see when a particular wardrobe is becoming unbalanced, like I’m getting 45 items in business casual when in reality I need those clothes once a month if that.
Track amounts–for example, when I first started a year ago I had 30+ dresses. Firstly, pants are more in right now, and secondly, I don’t really need dresses in my casual WFH life right now. Just seeing “hard numbers” really helped bring home the reality of what I owned. I can also see color % breakdown–I figured out I had 26 black items in my wardrobe and whittled that way down as I’d been trying to get that color out for some time. Sprinkled into the closets and storage, it’s easy to overlook. Seeing the items all together, it was much more impactful.
Automating as much as possible. Whether that is bill pay, or putting reminders on my calendar, anything I can do to minimize the amount of mental energy I have to spend on something helps.
I use a personal g-calendar for birthdays, furnace filter replacements, reminders to schedule annual medical appointments, to seek updated insurance quotes each year, to check credit reports, schedule household maintenance tasks before things become a problem (i.e., get the main drain line snaked in early autumn every year before the encroaching tree roots catch & freeze on Christmas Day), all kinds of stuff.
How do you get into the habit of imputing this much detail? Do you schedule on day a month to type these things into the app for the next month? Do it 3 months at a time? This sounds good in theory but in practice it’s very hard for me to even know where to start.
How do you get into the habit of imputing this much detail? Do you schedule on day a month to type these things into the app for the next month? Do it 3 months at a time? This sounds good in theory but in practice it’s very hard for me to even know where to start.
South: Northern Virginia – greater Charlottesville region. Think the Blue Ridge Mountains, visiting Monticello, cute little mountain hikes.
North: Lake George or the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York.
It is a few hours further but Lake Placid might be fun since it’s a year for the Olympics.
Pittsburgh or Letchworth State park
It’s a little beyond your driving radius but Portland, ME and Kennebunkport are great. (So is Acadia, but that’s a further 3+ hours beyond Portland). The beaches in Maine aren’t really beaches you spend the whole day at, so I think they’re good destinations for people who want a taste of the beach but aren’t big beach people.
Would love any and all recommendations (wineries and otherwise) for St. Helena and nearby towns in the Napa Valley. We are staying at the Alila the first week of August. We have plans to (hopefully) go to ad hoc and R+D kitchen for dinner. I am clueless on which wineries to visit – my husband is not a wine guy. I am partial to red and sparkling, more accessible stuff. Thanks!
Dont’ miss Boon Fly Cafe for brunch! We normally go their twice on a 3-4 day Napa stay, that’s how much we like it.
Boon Fly Cafe is amazing! One of the best brunches I’ve ever had.
One of our favorite wineries has a tasting room in St. Helena – Orin Swift. Excellent reds and also some very good whites.
We like Domaine Carneros best of the sparkling wines from Napa. Reserve ahead.
Go to Ad Hoc and Addendum. The best food we had there.
Bistro Jeanty
Bouchon
+1 Ad Hoc but not if you’re picky
French Laundry
Bottega
For the wine:
Joseph Phelps winery
Tres Sabores winery
For the view:
Sterling Vineyards
This is my exact Yountville restaurant list! All those spots are so good.
Looking for specific dress suggestions for my 12 year old to wear at a close family member’s wedding – at a winery (so outdoors) in August, ideally under $100, def under 200. She is 5’8” and thin- adult sized but hard to find dresses that are also age appropriate. So far in person, we have struck out at Macys, Nordstrom, H and M, Zara, and the big mall stores. I am open to suggestions for any online/in person stores or dresses. Philly area. She gravitates towards lighter colors, straighter silhouettes and cap sleeves, but open to suggestions. Thank you!
How fancy is this wedding? And what length does she like?
I think Boden has two possibilities:
Not a light color, but a straight silhouette and not too long sleeves?
https://www.bodenusa.com/en-us/organza-occasion-dress-green-tambourine/sty-d0948-grn
Lighter than the other option, cap sleeves. Maybe too casual, but at a winery so maybe it will work?
https://www.bodenusa.com/en-us/amanda-cotton-midi-shirt-dress-blue-geometric-swirl/sty-d0828-blu?cat=C1_S2_G4
Both are too old for a 12 year old.
If it’s helpful, I would say that a good chunk of the women at the wedding I was at recently were wearing something from either Abercrombie or Lulu’s. Similar vibes – outdoors on a lake in June, lots of florals.
Something like this: https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us/p/one-shoulder-pleated-maxi-dress-53584320?faceout=model&seq=02
or this https://www.lulus.com/products/darling-adoration-light-blue-floral-midi-dress-with-pockets/2395731.html
This makes me miss Jessica McClintock, which was basically elegant but age appropriate formal wear for that age bracket.
Cornflower blue maxi dress with cap sleeves from Altar’d State, $104:
https://www.altardstate.com/as/clothing/dresses/maxi-midi/rayanne-floral-maxi-dress/1004014120.html
Hollister, spaghetti straps but cute:
https://www.hollisterco.com/shop/us/p/crochet-style-midi-dress-57044321
Dillard’s: https://www.dillards.com/p/un-deux-trois-big-girls-7-16-pleated-high-low-dress/515598726
Check out show me your mumu – in particular the Claire midi dress. I wore it in hunter green for a winter wedding and it was perfect (and bra-friendly), and it comes in lots of colors and fabrics. Bonus, I think the brand is somewhat cool.
Here are some cute options! Having trouble finding cap sleeves
https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us/p/emerson-poplin-puff-sleeve-mini-dress-55101819
https://www.hollisterco.com/shop/us/p/hollister-saidie-chiffon-flutter-sleeve-mini-dress-57252319
https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=477835002
https://www.lulus.com/products/iconic-delight-blush-floral-bustier-tie-strap-skater-mini-dress/2383471.html
https://www.lulus.com/products/profound-sweetness-marigold-yellow-eyelet-bustier-mini-dress/2345091.html
Dang that’s a tall 12 year old! I think I was only 5’5 or so at that age, and I ended up nearly 6′ tall.
I’d check out Lulus!
maybe something from Hill House. many options for under $200 and you can get a discount code usually for 10-15% off. Dillards is another good place to look online.
Thank you all- love this community! These are great options. Yes, she is tall for her age- makes pants really hard to buy, too.
Here are a few ideas:
https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=477834002#pdp-page-content
https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=429528002&vid=1#pdp-page-content
https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=880287012#pdp-page-content
https://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=882608012#pdp-page-content
https://www.hobbs.com/us/product/twitchill-linen-dress/0119-5824-9094L00-BUTTERCUP-MULTI.html
https://www.hobbs.com/us/product/belinda-dress/0223-5431-9324L00-WHITE-MULTI.html
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/cece-floral-clip-dot-smocked-ruffle-midi-dress/7265888
Total splurge:
https://www.hobbs.com/us/product/tia-embroidered-dress/0124-5152-9045L01-CREAM-MULTI.html
We got a lovely yellow gingham mini dress at Zara for my 12yo but she’s only 5”3.
Chantecaille’s Lip Chic is my favorite lip product. It is a sort of hybrid lipstick/lip gloss that is kind to aging lips. Bourbon Rose is probably a universal color for most any level of most any skin tone. On my olive toned light to medium complexion it reads as “my lips but better”.
I 100% agree. It is a wildly flattering product.
With all the potential craziness coming out of the US election this year, am I crazy to book international travel for next summer (from the US to Europe)?
This seems like a major overreaction. What do you think is going to happen that would affect a trip to Europe?
Punitive travel restrictions?
No?
I mean, you can always buy travel insurance or book refundable or whatever, but realistically – if the US falls apart enough that traveling to Europe is impossible, we’re all going to have bigger problems than losing the cost of the flight. Like are you worried the US is going to go to war with the EU?
Yes, but only because airfare is usually way overpriced at 11 months out
If you can use airline credit, there’s no downside to booking early now because if prices drop you can get the difference returned to you in the form of airline credit. I always book 11 months out now and monitor prices to make sure I get my money back if they drop.
Fair point, and have done this myself, but if you’re not a frequent traveler on the same airline, may not be easy to reuse the leftovers!
I’m dreading Trump’s seemingly inevitable re-eelction for about a billion reasons, but international travel isn’t even on my radar. I’m planning several international trips for next year and plan to buy plane tickets for one of them soon.
Also in the unlikely event you need to change your plans for any reason, you can get a refund in the form of airline credit as long as you don’t buy a basic economy ticket (which you shouldn’t do for many reasons!)
My cynical take is that if the election results in domestic chaos, having a trip already booked to europe sounds like a great escape plan.
Same!
Posting late so I’ll likely try again tomorrow. Lawyer in private practice (Canada) applying for an in-house position at a university. Law was not my first career; I had about a dozen years’ experience as a small-business owner, administrative professional, and freelancer before law school. As a result, my resume is nearly 4 pages long if I include all the details that I want to include, from work accomplishments to civic volunteerism.
What’s the conventional wisdom for someone in my shoes? I’m over 50, I’ve done a lot of stuff, and this is a university position. Do I need to whittle my resume to 2 pages, or can I get away with 3?
Pare it down. Get it to one page. No one wants to read all that and your pre-law career is irrelevant. I say this as a GC, have hired lots of people and screened many more. It’s a highlights reel not a permanent file.
PS – if you feel you cannot live without those details, put them on your LinkedIn profile not your resume.
+1 to one page and your previous career(s) being irrelevant, at least in the US. I’m not Canadian but I am in higher ed and can assure you no university GC wants lots of pages filled with non-law stuff. Multi-page CVs are only a thing for faculty hirin; staff positions, no matter how senior, expect a one page resume.
I am not Canadian and not in academia so there may be norms I am not familiar with here.
Can you whittle your resume/CV to 2 pages of your most relevant & most recent career history, then mention your more unconventional or older experience in a cover letter? A four page resume full of decades-old unrelated or junior roles sounds (sight-unseen, admittedly) as a quantity over quality issue. It strikes me as though you think getting all your info out there is more important than thoughtfully curating how you present yourself.
Four is way too long. I have to be honest – ain’t nobody got time for that. Which means no one is reading four resume pages.
Just as a general US legal hiring manager, I’d say pare it down. Not all accomplishments are relevant to what success in-house looks like. A resume is not the results of an exhaustive background check; it’s marketing material.
oh and one piece of success- the ability to edit legalese into digestible, client-friendly advice. Your ability to do that with your own resume is an indication of how well you get that.
I am a senior in house lawyer and hire a lot of people. All of your pre-law career comes out – you only include that when it’s related to the job you’re interviewing for (eg if your prior career was in higher ed admin). You can mention it in your cover letter. Civic volunteerism comes out unless you hold a leadership position in an org or you’re very involved in a volunteer org related to the job you’re interviewing for. So here, if you’re a longtime mentor in a program that helps first gen kids prepare their college applications, include it. If you walk dogs at the Humane Society, omit it unless you have room after including your relevant professional information.