Clothes are the garments you just wear. Fashion is how you style the garments. Once you know the difference between clothes and fashion, the easier it becomes to actually enjoy style. One single garment or accessory can be worn in at least a dozen ways if you get really creative.  Need a little inspiration? Here it is!

A casual shirtdress can look sexy or smart depending on how you style it. Try cinching the waist of the dress with a belt and pair it with booties for a slightly edgy style.  If the dress is short enough like the one shown here, you can pair it with skinny jeans and heels. You could also wear this dress with a cute denim jacket or blazer for something that looks much more polished and put-together.

Look  1- Xhilaration Smock Detail Dress $21.99 at Target, Studded Skinny Belt $38 at Ann Taylor, J Brand Jersey Jeans Leggings $451.60 at Luisaviaroma.com, Sergio Rossi Stamped Leather Studded Cage Sandal $1,350.00 at IntermixOnline.com, Croft & Barrow Rhonda Ankle Boots $24.99 at Kohl’s, Madeline Tailed Jacket $108.00 at Guess?

The Piece: Classic Black Dress Pants

A simple pair of black pants like this pair literally goes with everything! Pair it up with a sexy lace blouse for a hot date, with a tee and fun printed sweater for weekend shopping trips, or pair it with a nautical stripe top for warm spring days.

Look 2- Marc Jacobs Black Wool Flare Leg Flat Front Pants $149.00 at Bluefly, Lace V-Neck Tank $39.50 at Victoria’s Secret, Graphic V-Neck Cardigan $59.90 at Express, Rhinestone Bow Flats $22.50 at Forever 21, Jetton Flat Sandals $38.49 at Aldo, Striped Zip Front Top $19.50 at Charlotte Russe

What is it with us fashionistas and all things French? We love the culture, the art, the lifestyle, and of course the clothes!  Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the time or money to fly all the way to France to spend a week or more shopping for a brand new wardrobe. Luckily for us, Charlotte Russe recently debuted a hip line of fresh French-inspired clothes and accessories for  S/S 2011. Here it is! Click on images to enlarge.

Ponte Heart Print Tiered Dress $29.50, Tube Denim Front Romper $26, Extreme Flare Jeans $25

Polk-A-Dot Ruffle Top $24.50, Bow Front Tank $22.50, Coral Striped Front Pocket Skirt $26.50

Bodacious Bodycon Dress $29.50, Cowl Neck A-Line Polka-Dot Knit Dress $24.50, Pleated Flare Trousers $34.50

Striped Canvas Tote with Polka-Dot Bows, Canvas Cross Front Slingback Espadrille Wedges $33.50, Pork Chop Pocket Denim Shorts $24.50

I love so many things about this line from the preppy stripes, bold polka-dots, vivid colors, and cool denim.  Check out the entire line at Charlotte Russe while supplies last.

This year’s New Year resolution? Never pay full price for beauty products that you can score for cheap! Here is this week’s roundup of beauty deals at your favorite drug stores(Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy, and RiteAid) that you won’t want to miss! These deals are good throughout the entire week of January 2-8 2011 unless otherwise indicated. I’ve also located the links so you can check out the full ad. Some deals require a coupon(which you can print out from the website) or require you to sign up for their discount card. Happy shopping~

Walgreens(see the whole ad and restrictions here)

Coupon for 2 for 12 L’oreal Excellence or Excellence-to-Go hair color

Get Pantene Haircare products for $7.00, get $2.00 register rewards back

Buy 3 Select Garnier Fructis Haircare Products for $10.00

Buy 3 Select Dove Haircare products for just $2.99 each

Buy 1 Shick Cartridge and Get 1 Free Skintimate or Shick Shave Gel For Free

Buy 1 bioFusion Haircare Product and Get 1 Free

Coupon for L’oreal Healthy Look or Root Rescue Hair Color for just $6.99

Coupon for  Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color  for just $5.99

Buy 1 Get 1 Free Select Nivea Skincare or Lip Product

Buy 2 Select Ivory or Zest Soap Products for $7.00

Buy $15 or more of select L’oreal Skincare or Cosmetics and recieve $5.00 on your next Walgreens purchase

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off select Eucurin Skincare

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off select Studio35 Beauty  Tools

Select Olay Skincare Products Just $9.99

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off select Cover Girl and Revlon Cosmetics

CVS/Pharmacy(see the whole ad and restrictions here)

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off select Almay cosmetics

Save 50% off select fragrance gift sets  for women and men

Buy 2 select Revlon cosmetics or beauty tools and receive $7 ECB(extra care bucks)

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Garnier Nutritioniste Skincare Products

Select Vaseline Moisturizers 50% off

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off all L’oreal Cosmetics

Buy select Cover Girl LipPerfection or NatureLuxe products and receive $2.00 ECB

Buy Crest Whitestrips and get $10 in ECB

Buy any Conair hair styling appliance and get $5.00 in ECB

Buy $20 worth of Nexus hair care products, and get $10 in ECB

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Got2Be hair styling products

Rite Aid(see the whole ad and restrictions here)

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Revlon cosmetics

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off select Nail Enamel products(excludes L’Oreal, Revlon, and WetNWild)

Save 25% off Olay Age Defying Skin Care Products

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Maybelline Lip products(plus get $5.00 up reward with $20 Maybelline cosmetics purchase)

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off select Garnier Skincare products

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off all WetNWild cosmetic

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Infusium Hair Care products

For most of us, the New Year is all about reinvention. And we all know that reinventions are often the catalyst of starting something great! A new color leads to an extra dose of confidence, and who couldn’t use some of that? Confidence leads to energy which leads to activity which leads to success.  This is not to say that coloring your hair a new shade of auburn is going to lead to world peace, but hair dye can make all the difference!

Blonde

Lighten up and give your hair a sunny makeover! Unfortunately for most of us, going blonde is a little bit harder than going darker. Many women with medium brown to black hair(such as myself) have to result to using bleach-based products to see real results.  And unless your hair is dark blonde or light brown, the boxed hair dyes won’t work so much. If you have really dark hair but you want to really lighten up, you’ve got two choices. You could go to a salon and get your hair lightened by a professional, or you could buy a box of hair bleach from Sally Beauty Supply and do it yourself. I do the latter. Of course, my sister helps with the actual hair coloring process, but it works for me! If your going to follow my lead,  I would recommend the following.

1- Have a friend help you. They don’t need to be a professional colorist, they just need to follow instructions.

2- Do not attempt to bleach hair that  previously colored. This rule does not apply if you’re just touching up your roots.  True story: many years ago when I went to a salon to get my hair bleached and because my hair was previously colored(I really forget the color and brand) months ago, my fresh roots were lightening up but my colored ends were turning black! To make the long story short, she had to color my hair a shade of dark brown.  Yeah, just don’t go there!

If you do end up going to a salon to get your hair colored, I would highly recommend bringing a picture or two to the colorist so he knows exactly what you want. Also, don’t forget to use the proper lingo when it comes to selecting your perfect shade. Check this link from Stylelist for the most common terms.

Going blonde? Try these products

Clairol Herbal Essences Color Me Vibrant in 16 Knockout Blonde, Feria Multi-Faceted Highlights C100 Star Lights, and Beyond The Zone On/Off Radical Bleach Kit

Brunette

Virtually anyone can go brunette with the right hair color products. As a bonus, many of your favorite hair color brands(including Garnier and Clairol) have a variety of nourishing hair color products.  So if you crave a new look and long to pamper your hair, going brunette could be just the thing for you!

The next step to make after your decision to color your hair is to find the perfect shade. It does not matter if you’re going a little lighter or a little darker, you want a color that is going to make you look and feel terrific. Take a cue from your natural skin tone, are you warm or cool? You obviously won’t want to try a new color only to end up shocked because it doesn’t complement your skintone. Also, try to stick within 2 to 3 shades of your natural haircolor.

Dare to go darker with these haircolor kits.

Garnier Nutrisse in 30 Darkest Brown, L’oreal Paris Healthy Look in 5G Medium Gold Brown, and L’oreal Paris Excellence-to-Go 6G Light Golden Brown.

Red

Thinking about going for a ravishing red color? Or maybe your hair is naturally auburn or chestnut and you want to enhance the redness. Either way, when it comes to selecting the right shade of red, you’re going to want to pay attention to the same rules as above. If you have naturally light hair, try a warm strawberry blonde; if you have naturally black hair, consider a rich burgundy or mahogany. Another thing to consider should you consider when it comes to dying your hair red is the maintenance factor. The redder the shade you have, the more time you will have to spend on protecting the shade.  Red hair fades fast! Invest your money in a quality shampoo, conditioner, and color glaze. If you don’t have the patience or money to deal with the upkeep, I suggest getting reddish highlights or choosing a shade of red that is closer to brunette. While you’ll still have some color upkeep, it will be more manageable.

Perk up your look with a fresh shade of red.

L’oreal Paris Couleur Experte in 5.5 Cinnamon Stick, Garnier 100% Color Vibrant Colors by Nutrisse in 660 Intense Auburn, and Garnier HerbaShine in 426 Dark Burgundy.

Black

For most people, particularly those with lighter hair and paler complexions, black hair seems so drastic! But when you look at celebrities like Dita von Teese or Megan Fox, black hair suddenly becomes a glamorous temptation. If your up for the challenge, you could try one of the following products below. If you want to try black hair but your not sure its for keeps, then I suggest using Manic Panic NYC(also below) which is semi-permanent.

From rock star to fashionista, black has never looked more glam.

L’oreal Paris Feria Multi-faceted Shimmery Color in 21 Starry Night, Clairol Natural Instincts in 36 Neutral Black, and Manic Panic NYC Classic Cream Formula in Raven