My Black Friday {A illustrated play-by-play}

I'd love to give you all the minute-by-minute account of my
crazy morning, but I'm pressed for time.
Of course I must share my purchases and obviously my savings....
For the record, I got to Saks at 7:30am, with my mother-in-law.
We met her sister and nieces & rushed up to the 8th floor for shoes,
pushing aside little old ladies & trampling two salesmen.
We soon realized there was nothing on sale & made a dash downstairs...
Here's what I got:

Maison Martin Margiela mm6 sleeveless,
hooded dress in anthracite
originally $295, 40% off = $177

I didn't realize the cowl neck was actually a hood
until I got home & googled it. Holy shit.

Next I searched frantically for the Elizabeth & James blazer
I fell head over heels for in August seen here. No luck, but
I did manage to score these amazing straight leg black pants,
which make me look legitimately anorexic!
{not my legs shown below, though...}

Elizabeth & James black spiral pant
originally $245, a million % off = $88

By 10:13am, I had managed to get two amazing, classic, heavily
discounted items. I could have gone home then....clearly I didn't!
Onto the next....winter coats!
Five years ago at my first Black Friday Saks sale, I found my Andrew
Marc fur-lined coat. Sadly, at this point, it's completely lost its shape.
I saw this, grabbed it in two sizes & tried it on among many, many others...

Andrew Marc, down coat, fur trimmed hood...

sorry PETA!

originally $450, 40% off = $270

I love it. I want to sleep in it & have its babies.

Last we hit up makeup on the 1st floor.
We both needed eye liners & headed straight to Chanel.
I have to give the makeup artist a shout out, he's seriously fantastic.
He does hair & makeup for fashion, on & off the runway.
Jorge Pastor, you are a genius & you're fabulous.
Here's the link to his website

I forgot to take pictures of the amazing job he did, but
I will show you what I went home with:

Chanel "Birds of Paradise" Holiday Eye Shadow Quad
{thank you April!}
Hopefully I can remember how to recreate the look!

Finally I stopped at the YSL counter to affirm the notion
I had that Parisienne would be my next fragrance.
Being fragrance-commitment-phobic, I haven't bought perfume
in over 5 years.

However, this scent is heavenly....it's light,
feminine without being too flowery & ultra chic.
Parisienne, you're on my list!

In conclusion, I love you Black Friday. I will continue to

come back year after year, no matter what the nay-sayers say.

They'll never understand our relationship anyway.
: )

Uniqlo by Testino

I ripped this ad out of the Times Magazine last Sunday & kept it on my dining room table all week.

I couldn't stop examining it. Kind of like, "the 'it' girls do Narnia," or something...
Karlie, Lily, Erin, Coco, et al shot by Mario Testino....you do the math.
What do we think?

Regardless, they're inspiring me to venture out to Colorado & watch the skiing {note, "watch"},

sprawled out on a comfortable couch in a luxurious ski lodge, sipping warm hot cocoa,

obviously wearing Uniqlo, Heattech F/W 2009...head to toe.

photos via: design scene

because she's stunning

Natalie at the premiere for her new flick, Brothers, at the Cinema Society, NYC

Dress: Jason Wu

Shoes: ALDO!
For the record, j'adore everything going on in this photo.

love her makeup?

click here for the glamour beauty blog how-to

photo via somewhere on the internet

Miss Dior by Sofia Coppola {behind the scenes}

i get giddy each time i see the new commercial for miss dior perfume...

makes me want to hop a flight to paris, stat.

how fab are these behind the scenes shots?

all photos via j'adore sofia

let's not and say we did....

hermès playing cards, $80

dear entire fashion community,

last time i checked, we were still in a recession.

gimme a break.
thanks, bye.

photo via style.com

Creating "The International Hair Guide" & My Favorite Salon Revealed!

psssssssssst!

You may already know...

I'm on a HUNT.

          I'm searching far and wide across all cities and all countries for the most talented hair stylists in the world. You see, I'm sick of scouring magazines only to find the same old boring, overpriced hair salons featured repeatedly.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  Ones that force you to shell out an arm, a leg and a down payment on a house for a chance to sit in a busy, overbooked stylist's chair.  You feel like for this price, you should be getting the best haircut and color of your life...but then, not so much...Maybe I sound bitter, but I think I'm quite hopeful.  I'm setting out to collect the names of the most fabulous hair people across the globe.  Then I'll share them right here, as a permanent fixture on my blog.  Let's save ourselves countless hours of searching and thousands of hard earned dollars.

Let's be subversive, start a hair raising revolution and vow to never waste money on an cut or color again!

Share your favorite hair stylist's information here and I'll include

them in The Beauty File's International Hair Guide.  Pass this onto your
beauty loving friends.  The more the merrier!

The list will be as long and far-reaching as YOU all.

If you love your stylist or colorist and you want the world to know,

share it with me, right here!

Now it's my turn.

My salon of choice:

Prada Grusel

Stylist:

William Grusel

Address:

331 Madison Avenue, at 43rd Street

New York City

212.557.3123

*prices are reasonable, appointments are typically available, cuts are
unbelievable & they specialize in Balayage
{European hand painted highlights}.

just tell 'em I sent ya!  :  )

{if you aren't able to leave a comment, send me an email with the info:
thebeautyfile at gmail dot com}

photos via: Ms. Muse tumblr, moi

Who's Your Hair Stylist? {class participation mandatory!}

So, I'm working on a fabulous little project....

The goal is simple:

To collect data on the BEST hair stylists & colorists across the world....

Here's what I need from you:

1. The name of your favorite stylist/colorist

2. The name of your favorite salon

3. The location of salon {city, country}

4. The address & phone number of salon

5. Any extra information you'd like to include re: salon

{special treatments offered, wait time, even photos of the finished product}

thanks for helping me make the world more beautiful, one color

processed, angled strand of hair at a time...

xo,

tbf

*because this is supposed to be a "best list" please only post

if you highly, highly recommend your stylist!*

photo via: le cheap c'est chic

Blair Waldorf Seeks Revenge....

In a black YSL stunner and a pair of Louboutin heels, Blair Cornelia Waldorf officially reclaimed her throne, offing Serena, via the pages of December GQ. Gotta hand it to her, no one, not even S, can upstage Miss Blair.

What do you think? Team Blair or Team Serena?

{click to see S's recent Marie Claire spread}

Full Leighton article & more photos here.

I have an army to build, a school to take over, and girls to blackmail.

V neck by D&G. Panties by Fifi Chachnil. Heels by Christian Louboutin.

I used to have a friend like Jenny. I made all these sacrifices and you know what I got back on that investment? Zero. Because girls like her run emotional Ponzi schemes.

Bra and high-cut panties by Cadolle. Booties by Azzedine Alaïa.

photos by GQ

Business Anna & Evening Anna

I saw this photo on my friend's facebook page & had to steal it immediately.

Not sure if it was Halloween or just a random Tuesday...

Regardless, B&R, your creativity continues to amaze me.

I totally miss my Barnard bitches!

xo

gotta get that dirt off your shoulder

got some, dirt on my shoulder, could you brush it off for me?

-hova

totally digging the early 90s shoulders...

photos via the fashion spot

Fashionable News: Luxirare, 31 Rue Cambon, YSL @ Christie's, Vodianova & Burberry by Sartorialist

Artist, blogger, designer, genius extraordinaire, LUXIRARE has done it again!

She created this lightweight, aluminum silver-cut black chain jacket,

to accompany her YSL cage boots.  After reading all 150 comments

 on her blog, I learned: she's a Capricorn {like me!}, took her 2 months

 to make this, chains are from China & she likes watching the Hills while

eating Ramen late night.  Learn more & see her amazing photos here.

Chanel is coming out with a magazine, appropriately named 31 Rue Cambon,

for Miss Coco's apartment in Paris & her first boutique.

Created by Olivier Zahm for Karl Lagerfeld. Available in stores soon.

Christie's is auctioning off YSL's belongings, including this broach, above.

You can get a piece of this action for just $900 - $1,200...

Going once, going twice....

Natalia Vodianova continues to be gorgeous, not surprisingly.

This time while posing in an enviable, unknown bedroom.

via Lolita

The Sartorialist photographed 100 trench-coat clad fashionistas for

his project with Burberry, "Art of the Trench."

This is one of my faves, as worn by Canadian VJ, Sarah Taylor.

Razzle Dazzle Holiday Hair

When I saw these backstage photos from Dior, Paris Fashion

Week, my first thoughts were "holiday party hair."
Be the bombshell this holiday season by wearing one
of these dresses accompanied by sleek, retro, pinned waves.

Cute boy on arm doesn't hurt a person either....

I scoured the internet for wavy, retro hair tutorials. Here's what I came up with

{click on them for more info!}:

1. Wavy Hair tips from Amy Adams' stylist

2. Scarlett Johansson Side-Pinned Waves

3. Runway side-pinned curls tutorial via Elle

The Finished Product:

photos via: top: Jak & Jil Blog, bottom: coutorture

va va voooooooooommmmmmm

a'right, blake.

we all know you're gorgeous, but babe,

come on......

you're starting to make the rest of us look...

really, really bad...

xoxo

miss blair cornelia waldorf is plotting her sweet revenge....

photos via Marie Claire