The WVF Guide to Black Friday 2013

This page will update as information comes in.

This is the first year that I'm not working Black Friday. Having worked Black Friday in retail for a few years, you might imagine that I'm looking forward to staying in my warm bed with my new Kate Spade bed set but surprisingly no, I'm pumped to go Black Friday shopping this year. Since I've already done most of my Christmas shopping (new Bean Boots for Dad, Blenko for Mom) I've got a bit more to spend on myself this time of year.

This is also my first time shopping on Black Friday that doesn't involve me stopping by Lowe's for a few additions for my tool box. I've seen all the TV news stories and newspaper articles about having a plan for shopping. Take a list so you don't overspend. Carry cards instead of cash, no, wait, use cash so you don't overspend! So on and so forth. I am planning out what stores I want to go to, though, and what order I should visit them in. Making a list? Eh, I don't know. Probably, maybe I should, but when I go shopping I find it easier to make a list of what I already have so I don't buy duplicates.

Here are some helpful links that I've found:
SavvySugar  |  Interested in beauty products? SavvySugar has a list of beauty brands and their sales.
SaavySugar  |  A list of helpful phone apps to see if you're getting a good deal or where a certain item is located in a store.
BlackFriday.com  |  A listing of stores and their sales.
Bfads.net  |  A listing of ad scans for stores.
Musings of a Muse  |  Info on Sephora's Black Friday deals. I think I may be hitting here first.
Huffington Post  |  Everything--and they mean everything--is 50% at Old Navy Black Friday.

West Virginia Mall Hours:
Huntington Mall: Open 12 AM-10 PM.
Charleston Town Center: Open 12 AM-10 PM.
Crossroads Mall (Vienna/Parkersburg): 12 AM-10 PM.
Grand Central Mall (Beckley): 12 AM-10 PM.
Morgantown Mall: 12 AM-9 PM.
Ohio Valley Mall (St. Clairesville, OH/Wheeling): 12 AM-10 PM.
Meadowbrook Mall (Bridgeport): 12 AM-10 PM.
Martinsburg Mall: 8 PM Thanksgiving day-9 PM

If you know of any West Virginia stores having Black Friday specials or their hours, please feel free to let me know! Email wvfashionologist@gmail.com or on Twitter @wvfashion

Which Exfoliator is Right for You?

 Olay Pro-X Exfoliating Cleanser  |  St. Ive's Walnut Scrub  |  Vasanti BrightenUp!

I love winter and cold weather. I truly do love fall, but bring on the snow, hot chocolate, and hockey season. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the season the Capitols don't choke in the playoffs. 

Next to driving on ice, crowds at the mall, and the song "Christmas Shoes," one of the few things I hate about winter is dealing with my dry, itchy, flaky skin. Exfoliation and moisturizing are key at keeping it at bay. I'm going to cover the three most popular types of exfoliate that you can find either on the shelves of Sephora or your drugstore.

Plastic mini-beads  |  These gentle beads are typically found in many cleansers as opposed to an independent scrub. They're good for simple everyday exfoliation. While you won't see results immediately, you'll notice the results over time. If you have sensitive skin, I highly recommend using a face wash with the plastic mini-beads and gently rubbing your face in circles with a soft wash cloth for exfoliation without bothering your skin too much.
Also try: Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash, $24, Sephora

Walnut/natural scrubs  |  Many scrubs have walnut shells or other natural products like sugar in them. These materials scrub harder than the plastic mini-beads by taking off the very top layer of dead skin cells and anything else that might be floating around. St. Ive's Apricot & Walnut scrubs has been around for decades and is recognized as one of the best scrubs on the market. That should mean it's expensive, right? Nope. It's around $3 at any drugstore. Use these natural scrubs a bit less than plastic mini-beads as they are more abrasive. Every other day should be the max, and most people could get away with using it two-three times a week.
Also try: Sugar Face Polish, $55, Sephora, which has brown sugar as its exfoliant.

Microderm Crystals  |  Microderm crystals are made up of aluminum oxide particles which are more potent of a scrubber than the walnut shells in the St. Ives scrub. Microderm crystals scrub goes a bit deeper and with regular use can help make pores look smaller, help erase fine lines and scars, and lets skin care products sink in better. If you're concerned about aging and are using anti-wrinkle products, you should consider adding microderm crystals into your skin care routine. I received this Vasanti BrightenUp! microderm scrub in my Birchbox this month and I really like it. It's helped tremendously with the dry patches around my nose and on my forehead. Just as a note, microderm scrubs run expensive. At $34, the Vansanti is a good deal.
Also try: Orgins Modern Friction, Nature's Gentle Dermabrasion, $39.50, Sephora

An important note:
As much as everyone hates dead skin cells, they do serve a purpose: helping to protect your face from sun damage. No matter the time of year, you need to add an SPF with broad protection to protect your skin.

 

Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette Coming in December

source: Reddit

 

Rejoice, Naked palette fans. Urban Decay has released a video that confirms the coming of the Naked 3 palette. With a tentative release date of December 16th, this set leans towards purples with lots of shimmer. Originally I wasn't impressed with the Naked 2 palette due to glitter fallout, but since my other shadows starting giving me the same problem I'm thinking I need to reevaluate my lid primer.

I think I'm actually more interested in the colors in this palette than the earlier two versions, although these seem to have gone through Instagram's Valencia filter.

 

Seeing as the fallout problem was more of a 'me' problem and not Urban Decay's fault, I'm thinking I may give the Naked 3 palette a shot.

 

Reader Request: Wide Calf Boots

(1) Ros Hommerson  (2) J. Crew  (3) Aerosoles
(4) Fitzwell  (5) Anne Klein  (6) VANELi

I recently received a reader email requesting some help in finding wide calf flat boots. She said she was having trouble finding them in stores. She didn't mention where she was from, but I looked in both the Huntington Mall and the Charleston Town Center to see what I could find. There wasn't much. At both malls, Macy's, Sears, JC Penney, and The Shoe Dept. all had wide calf selections. The Shoe Dept. had the largest selection that I saw.

The most important rule of shopping for wide calf boots is to know your calf measurements. You can do this easily with a tape measure, just measure the widest part of your calf. The measurement you want to take note of is the circumference. Each brand is going to be different so if you do go online to buy boots, you'll be saving time and money by knowing your size. 

Wide calf boots still too tight? Ros Hommerson and Fitzwell both make boots with extra wide calf measurements. 6pm.com carries a decent selection of Fitzwell boots in the extra wide calf at really good prices. 

If you need help trying to track down something, just email me:
wvfashionologist {@} gmail .com

Warming Up to Winter with Talbot's

Jersey Wrap Dress  |  Fair Isle Dress (plus sizes only)  |  Fur Collar Coat
Shetland Blazer  |  Cable Cardigan  |  Leather Pencil Skirt

When I first jumped onto Twitter and Facebook this morning, I saw pictures people were starting to post pictures of snow. My friend who works at Snowshow had a respectable dusting on his porch and my best friend in Chicago had to shovel her walkway. With snow being this dangerously close, I'm thinking I may want to revamp my plans for my autumn wardrobe. I was truly hoping to get some additional wear out of those summer-to-fall transitional pieces but it's probably not going to happen.

Since I'm in desperate need of work clothes for winter, I thought I'd start out with Talbot's. Talbot's is one of those stores I had always thought wasn't my style until I randomly ended up on their site one night and have been hooked ever since.

Everything I pictured here would work well in a business casual office, not to mention great for the weekend. If I had to pick out a favorite piece, I'd lean towards the fur collar coat or the Fair Isle sweaterdress. It's only available in plus size but I love it enough to try to figure out a way to make it work.

Oh, and yes, everything on this page is available in plus size with many in petite sizes, too.

Not only do these pieces work well in the fall, they won't stop working until next spring. If you've been like me and have always considered Talbot's to be that place where your grandma likes to shop, it's time to give it another look.

Warby Parker Is Changing How You Buy Glasses

For the past two decades or so, it's been possible to buy almost anything on the internet. Jeans, sweaters, kayaks, bagpipes, etc. However, there were a handful of items that had a hard time making the jump on to the World Wide Web. Glasses remained one of those things where you still had to jump in the car and head on down to Lenscrafters. Luckily for those who enjoy shopping in their Underoos, buying your spectacles online has become easy thanks to companies such as Warby Parker.

What makes Warby Parker (and its competitors Bon Look and Lookmatic) successful is the ability to try frames on at home for free. With all three brands, you can select up to five different frames and have them sent to you. Try them on, ask for opinions, take funny pictures, they're yours for the week. If you don't like anything, you can always just send them back and try some more frames. 

I probably went through at least 15 different pairs of frames before settling on the Bensen model (in Olivewood) from Warby Parker:

For $95, I was able to get the frames, lenses with my prescription, and an anti-glare coating. The cost for something similar from my optometrist's office was going to be a few hundred dollars with insurance. I placed my order on a Friday and had them within a week.

Warby Parker also sells sunglasses with and without prescription lenses for $150.

I am mostly happy with my glasses. There are a few points that I'm not satisfied with:

• My glasses smudge almost instantaneously due to the anti-glare coating. Also due to the coating I can't wash them if they get dirty. You have to use a special microfiber cloth to rub the smudges out which it seems like I have to do once an hour if not more.
• If you do wash your glasses or use a lens cleaning wipe the anti-glare coating develops an iridescent pink tint which is almost impossible to get rid of with the microfiber cloth. 
• If you need wide frames, you may be out of luck. There are some frames with the spring temples, but if you're looking for a traditional tortoiseshell frames the Bensen is the widest size offered. Bon Look and Lookmatic don't offer anything near as wide as the oft-mentioned Bensen.

I'd also like to mention that none of these outfits accept insurance payments. Depending on your insurance company you may be eligible for a reimbursement. 

I highly suggest giving Warby Parker, Bon Look, and Lookmatic a look-see if you wear glasses.

Off Week