We know that copycat versions of the classic aviators and Jackie O sunglasses have been a trend for a while now but in 2009 the cutting edge fashionista is going to be on the lookout for originals.

According to a leader in the sunglass industry the main problem with knock offs of eras gone by is they only copy the most obvious of the vintage sunglasses trademark look and thus the their uniqueness is lost in the process.

Those who want the actual look of yesterday’s glamour are going to need to hunt down actual vintage sunglasses made during that era. Thankfully there’s a company in Denmark that specializes in real vintage sunglasses. I do warn you, the site isn’t in English (naturally) and the prices are in Euro but quite frankly I think you’ll just have a blast browsing through all the unique and gorgeous brands of vintage sunglasses anyway.

Check out the Vintage Sunglasses and happy browsing.

Whether you wax or shave chances are you’ve run into at least one of the dilemmas mentioned above. Well now there’s a product on the market that claims to rid you of both.

The PrinceReigns product works by softening and straightening the ingrown hairs so no nasty bumps occur. It also helps to gently exfoliate dead skins cells which can be another culprit of ingrown hairs.

This would be especially handy for the bikini area and it’s gentle enough for use on sensitive skin which is always a bonus.

Have you sent out your Christmas cards yet? Me neither but I did get my first one yesterday. It was a sharp reminder than I haven’t any in the house (used up my stockpile last year) so I need I buy more this time around.

I’ve always been a big fan of the handmade ones but, unless your practiced at it, making all your own can take some serious time (I’ve tried so I know).

If you want handmade but not necessarily handmade by you check out this gorgeous set of Partridge in a Pear Tree ones. Perfect for everyone they add a touch of whimsy to your holiday greeting. This would be the kind you keep and frame if you ask me.

Find them and other lovely handmade cards at byvikInk.

As Christmas grows near a young woman’s heart turns to how she may sucker others into buying her great beauty products. Oh—just kidding!

But if you could make a beauty product wish list for Christmas what would be on it?

Mine would read as follows:

1. Sephora’s Ultimate Blockbuster makeup kit. This baby is packed with all the little eye shadows, lipstick, powders and blushes you could ever need for an entire year. I find myself drooling every time I look at it.
2. Philosophy’s Holiday Cookbook. Has nothing to do with cooking and everything to do with being loaded up with little shampoos, bubble baths and shower gels in some of the most mouth-watering scents you could imagine.
3. Hershey’s Sweet Chocolate Body Butter. I don’t think a reason is really needed here, do you?
4. The Stila Shine On Gift of Glaze kit. Six of the most to-die-for shades of lip gloss you’ve ever laid eyes or lips on.

So that’s my short list (I really could go on forever). How about you? What’s on your wish list this Christmas?

P.S. If anything on my list sounds tempting you can find them all at Sephora.

It’s not the kind you eat but it sure sounds good. By now you may have suspected that I’m a bath and body product fiend. So when I come across something new that looks delightful I love to share.

Today I came across this luxurious Crème Fraiche whipped body scrub/wash in scents that’ll make you want to bring a spoon into the bath (not recommended but excessive sniffing is permitted).

This gift set is perfect for any bath product junkies on your gift list or you could separate the set for the perfect little stocking stuffers.

You can find these mini delights in multiple scents here.

I have to share a product I was introduced to quite recently that has to be the best product I’ve ever used for dry/irritated skin.

A couple of weeks ago my youngest daughter had gotten in the habit of licking her top and bottom lip because they were dry (as many kids do). By the end of the day both her lips and the surrounding skin were so red and raw it hurt just to look at them.

A friend of mine from down the street came over, took one look at her and said, “Oh, I’ve got something for that!” And she pulled this out of her purse…

It’s a product from Watkins—remember Watkins? That stuff your Grandmother used to use?—and it’s called their Red Clover Hand and Cuticle cream. While it’s labeled as a hand product it contains all natural ingredients and can be used on the face and lips with no ill effects. I put some on and the results were amazing! Right away my daughter said it felt better and only a couple of hours later her lips were already looking better. I put more on before night and by the next day her once red raw lips were now only slightly pink. Two more days and it was completely gone.

My friend uses it for her eczema and I’ve used it on my ring finger which gets raw and itchy to the point of bleeding lately for some unknown reason (and yes, my rings are real gold LOL).

If you suffer from dry/irritated skin or eczema I cannot recommend this product enough. It truly is a miracle in a can. Order it online here or find a local Watkins rep in your area.

No, I’m not talking about too many rum and egg nogs (though a good dose of them probably will help make those annoying relatives easier to deal with). I’m talking about giving your guy a tie that he’ll actually love to wear.

Usually gifting a guy with a tie is the Christmas equivalent of him giving you a box of laundry detergent but when I saw these ties I knew instantly they were different.

Created by the Cybertropix Tie Lab, whose motto is “Ties that Don’t Suck” these silkscreen ties come with wild and fun prints that a guy would be proud to show off. They’re available in silk or microfiber and there’s lots of cool designs to choose from. Hey, if your guy has to wear a tie anyway why not make it a funky one?

Pssst: They also sell totes and to-die-for silk scarves for us ladies. Check them out while you’re there.

Got a big room that you want to divide into two intimate spaces? I came across this gorgeous room divider from 2Modern. There are many patters to choose from this is the one that caught my eye.

I’ve been looking for something to divide our family room from another space downstairs and I think something like this might do the trick while still adding some style to the room.

Another nice thing about this is it’s an eco friendly product so it looks good and makes you feel good when buying it.

For most of us a bar of soap is purchased at the grocery store along with all our other daily necessities. As someone with very sensitive skin I was forced to stop using commercially made soap in my teenage years and began to seek out natural soaps as an alternative. It was through my buying, and eventual making, of handmade soaps that I discovered just how many other uses handmade soaps can have besides just cleansing your skin.

When natural soaps are made right with the use of pure essential oils they can help combat a multitude of skin related problems. There are soaps that help with eczema, acne, oily or dry skin. There are soaps that are specifically designed to remove offensive odors such as garlic, fish or onions (perfect for those who love to cook) and even soaps that help repel insects without the use of harsh chemicals.

Besides these benefits naturally made soaps are just plain better for your skin. The moisturizing ingredients are natural and the soap itself is much gentler than the harsh ones you buy at the store.

If you’ve never tried handmade soap before I highly recommend it. It may cost more than your store bought version but they have higher quality ingredients and each bar tends to last much longer than the commercial variety so it works out to about the same price wise anyway.

Check out the soaps at Blue Ridge Soap Shed where they have a huge range of soaps for every need.

So I’m surfing through the blogosphere this morning and decide to check out the Purse Blog. Admittedly, I’m not a huge handbag fanatic but I still like to keep up with what’s out there.

There were some cute ones, some really overpriced and boring ones…and then there was this:

Now my first thought was “Hey, Marc Jacobs hired my five year old to design a purse for his line. Where’s our royalty check?” The more I looked at it the less I liked it. Granted, I’m not a huge fan of the color purple in my accessories so I tried to imagine it in a different color just in case that’s what was throwing me off.

Nope…the big floppy hearts are still there and even in my fantastic imaginary chocolate brown color they still look reminiscent of a kindergarten project for Valentine’s Day.

Practical concerns haunted me such as “How long before one of those hearts rips off” and worse yet, “If the heart that does rip off first is the one with Marc Jacob’s name on it how will I then justify the $800 I blew on this handbag of now questionable lineage?” But try as I might I just can’t hide my feelings for this purse. It looks ridiculous.

So my question to you is: Am I missing something or is this handbag Fugly with a capital F?

Let me know because, seriously, I’m thinking if this baby is a hit anyone with a five year old, some leather and a glue stick may be sitting on a goldmine.