A Floral Kate Spade Suit…on Cortneybre…

This suit was love at first sight…

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Suit: Kate Spade NY Cami: Worthington at JCPENNEY Heels: BCBGeneration Necklace: TJMaxx (no brand) Clutch: Made by Cortneybre…

Yes..it’s bright and busy – and just so lovely!  I’ve worn both pieces – blazer and pants – separately but this was the first time I’d paired them together.

The result was everything I’d hoped!

Eye-catching and interesting…a real conversation starter!  

Isn’t the pattern lovely!?!

One of the reasons I love Kate Spade SO much is the brand’s whimsical and outside-of-the-box approach to fashion.

The clothing is visually stunning…living, walking art!

Hope you are having a great week!  For more Cortneybre, check me out on Instagram – @Cortneybreblog!

Rouge in Love by Lancome…A Rainy Day Review of a Bright Orange Lipstick…

Rouge In Love by Lancome Color: 146B - Miss Coquelicot Image taken from Lancome.com
Rouge In Love by Lancome
Color: 146B – Miss Coquelicot
Image taken from Lancome.com

I find myself dodging the rain today and searching my desk hopelessly for chocolate.  Actually doing one, led to the other.  It’s just miserable here  – a chilly and foggy sideways rain is falling.  What makes it SO much worse is that I wore a really cute ensemble today, which I had hoped to share – but alas that isn’t going to happen.  Instead, my pictures were just selfies (which I abhor posting on my blog) and selfies taken in horrible fluorescent lighting – double aberration.  So please forgive me for the not so great pics today…I’m hoping the sun will come out tomorrow!  😉

Rouge In Love by Lancome Color: 146B - Miss Coquelicot Image taken from Lancome.com
Rouge In Love by Lancome
Color: 146B – Miss Coquelicot

One good thing to come out of this bad day is that I do get to share a great orange lipstick that I recently purchased.  Since I can’t share my entire outfit, I thought I would share my lipstick and provide a bit of a review.

As I’ve seen EVERYWHERE – orange lips are trending.

I actually love orange lips as I’m a fair, fair redhead and I can really rock the right shade of orange.  Plus, I’ve actually gotten tired of red lipstick – as silly as that sounds.  I wear lots of reds, and pinks and I’m adverse to a nude lip – although I know I should – and have really, really tried – to embrace it.  I have full lips…which I’ve finally grown into (I’ve had these lips since like 5th grade and believe me…it took some growing into them)!

I decided to try the orange lipstick trend some time ago and although it isn’t a shade I’ll wear really often, I decided to splurge and try a Lancome brand – which is Rouge in Love.

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I actually wanted to try Rouge in Love because I’d heard great things about its staying power and I just loved the super saturated, color pigmentation.  The color of this particular lipstick is 146B – Miss Coquelicot (isn’t that a FABULOUS name!?).

While talking with the Lancome representative I learned a few things about the Rouge in Love series.  Here’s the scoop:

Rouge In Love – Lancome

A high potency lip color

Considered featherlight

Provides up to 6 hours of wear time

 The shades are also sub-categorized into three moods –  like so:

  • Jolis Matins:  Fresh shades for daytime wear – identified by the letter M in the shade number
  • Boudoir Time: Pop shades for cocktail hour – identified by the letter B in the shade number
  • Tonight is My Night: Intense shades for magical nights – identified by the letter N in the shade number

I’m such a sucker for this kind of stuff…who wouldn’t want to wear one of these just for the names and the descriptions!  It’s always cocktail hour as far as I’m concerned and – “Tonight is My Night”….I like it…what a sexy title!  

The Real-Real Review

After I was entranced by the color and the descriptions – I bought the lipstick and have worn it several times.  Here’s my review:

  • Feel:      Goes on Silky and Smooth.  Very moist and non-drying.  Not heavy to wear.
  • Color:    Not as saturated as I’d like.  Goes on a bit thin and I have to apply two coats to get the super saturated finish I prefer.
  • Wear:    Slightly shiny, even, saturated color coverage for 3-4 hours of wear.  If going for more of a stain or a lighter color – I think it will last the 6 hours as promised.

Overall impression:  I like it!  Thumbs up!  Overall, although it takes a couple of coats for me to achieve the saturated look I want, the color is even and long lasting.  It goes on silky and light and that is hard to find in highly pigmented color.

Also, this is a “wearable” orange – not too flamboyant or obnoxious.  It’s suitable for work or play!

I’ve received several compliments on the lipstick today and the funny thing is it’s not SO orange that people immediately notice it.  I’ve had several people just ask if I did something different with my makeup.

So, if you’re looking for a long wearing, highly pigmented, trendy orange lip color, I highly recommend Lancome’s Rouge In Love – 146B – Miss Coquelicot!  Xoxo…Cortneybre…

 

Everyday Inspiration…Beauty is Beautiful

I look for fashion inspiration everywhere.  I was told by a dear friend that I represent beauty.  Not that I, myself, am beautiful but rather that I am drawn to beauty and it is drawn to me.  That was one of the nicest compliments I’ve gotten and I like to think that it is true.  I am excited by beautiful things – fabrics, colors, sparkle, texture – regardless of its form.  I am physically moved by beauty and feel my soul stir when I find something that strikes me.

As I’ve searched for fashion inspiration in planning the outfits that I post on this blog, I’ve learned that inspiration comes from everywhere. Lately, I’ve started collecting images I find beautiful and working to build outfits based on those images.  I’ll be showcasing some of those this week along with the image or item that inspired the outfit.

Today’s picture post was inspired by a beautiful mirror that a sweet friend gifted to me at Christmas.  It is just gorgeous with its sparkly peacock pattern.  I took the mirror home to place it in my closet – which for me is my secret play & plan place.  I display as much of my wardrobe and jewelry as possible so that I may visually plan the next day’s garb.  I placed the mirror on my shelf and realized that it matched the pants hanging just below it!  And so, the post below was inspired by my beautiful gift.  {I must also admit that I did – for a short second – contemplate somehow hanging the mirror from a chain and wearing it as a necklace or accessory with the pants.  Obviously…that didn’t work out which is a good thing because I don’t think I could have pulled that off but it was contemplated!}

And…although it isn’t an excuse, it is at the moment, VERY COLD where I live and that has affected my ability to photograph as I normally do.  I thought I was leaving the cold when I returned from New York but that doesn’t appear to be the case and it is in fact colder where I live versus NYC.   So, dear readers, please take that into account when viewing my posts.  Until it warms up here – which should be this weekend or so, my photos will be a bit rushed, the lighting might not be perfect and I’ll appear a bit windblown!    Cheers!  Cortneybre…

Beauty Inspiration
Beauty Inspiration