Simon's Engaged

I happen to be one of Simon Cowell's fans. Some love him some hate him, I think he's fantastic. His blatant honesty as a judge on American Idol is invaluable to all he critiques. If Simon likes you, you're on your way to a recording career.

I haven't followed his love life. Or perhaps his love life hasn't been in the tabloids much? Either way, I was surprised when I heard he was engaged! A recent proposal to Mezhgan Hussainy depleted his net worth by about $750,000! Seriously! A six carat brilliant cut chunk of diamond!

Who is Mezhgan Hussainy, besides one lucky lefty? The 36-year old worked on American Idol as a makeup and hair stylist. By the third season of Idol, she had risen to become the lead make-up artist, responsible for making judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul look their best. She and Simon enjoyed a chemistry from the start and she would rave to friends about his charisma and how funny she found him.

Mezhgan and Simon have been friends for many years. Even when he asked her to be his date for his 50th birthday party, a star-studded celebrity bash at his mansion in England, they were still only "friends." Shortly after their friendship developed into something more.

I wonder if this new love and pending nuptials have anything to do with Simon's announcement to leave American Idol? Perhaps he's ready to settle down and start a family? Hmmm...keep us posted Simon.

Jennifer

How Old Do You Look?

Clean, tone, exfoliate, moisturize, erase wrinkles. This is my daily mantra, but is it really working? At 41, I feel I look pretty good. I don't have a lot of wrinkles, my skin still seems pretty firm, but how does one really know the shape of their skin?

External factors we have control over like, sun exposure, products we use, smoking and drinking all play a role in the appearance of our skin. In addition to things we can control, there's the ones we can't! Genetics. How does your mom look? Unless your habits are significantly different than hers, you can pretty much count on aging at a similar rate.

Healthy eating and choosing foods that are high in antioxidants are significant ways to boost or I should say decrease the age of your skin! Antioxidants are those chemicals in foods that give tomatoes their bright red sheen, broccoli that lush green color, and eggplant its deep purple skin. More important, they're the compounds that keep lines from creeping onto your face and cholesterol from clogging your arteries. And they take the prize when it comes to stiff-arming the aging process. These nutritional superheroes neutralize cell-damaging free radicals, which have been linked to everything from wrinkles and age spots to cancer and heart disease.

Drink one glass of red vino (preferably with a meal, so your body absorbs it more slowly) four to five days a week. Red wine—especially pinot noir—is full of flavonoids, another class of powerful antioxidants that come from the skin of red grapes. Another perfect beverage for adding antioxidants to your daily routine is green tea.

Packed with potent antioxidants called catechins, green tea may be the single best age-defying substance you can put in your mug. Sipping just one cup a day will decrease your chances of developing high blood pressure by 46 percent; drink more and you'll reduce your risk by 65 percent.

In addition to eating well and drinking red wine, I use the Obagi skin care line. It has worked extremely well for me over the years. I cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturize, and every other day or so use an anti-wrinkle cream called Retin-A.

According to Women's Health Magazine's "How Old Do You Look" questionnaire, the age of my skin is 31! It seems I'm doing something right! Must be the red wine.

Jennifer

The New Friends Magazine . . . !

Hi Friends & Bloggers: I am sent countless emails from women all over the country who read the friends blog and ask me questions about fashion, style, fitness, health, relationships, etc., as well as a large assortment of other questions.

So, the J. LaMore team and I decided to add a 'magazine style' element to the blog with articles on just about everything including answering questions from readers and post as many as we can for all to see and read. This is going to be a lot of work but I think it will be fun as well.

Here's a question I received yesterday:

". . . since you work with your husband, how do you handle the popularity when he's behind the scenes. . . ? "

That's actually a very good question, one I get asked often. Anyone who has met my husband knows he prefers being behind the scenes and intentionally propels me into the spotlight. Any popularity I have is a direct result of his tireless efforts to put me out in front at all times! I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband that is my number one fan and do all I can to share with everyone the important part he plays at J. LaMore.

Since J. LaMore and jlamore.com take a lot of people to operate I couldn't make it work without him so the negative connotations that 'you work with your husband?' may bring it doesn't necessarily apply here. I desperately need him. There are some women who have husbands that could never work in this type of relationship where a husband would compare his role to a wife's role and then measure the success rate of the two. If that happened here, J. LaMore would crumble and be half of what it's become.

We are husband and wife but we are business partners too and we have learned to combine and seperate the two when needed. Everything you see with jlamore.com, the photography, and the blog as well as all the other behind the scenes geek stuff is because of him, not me! I can't do any of that.

I hope this answered yor question.

Jennifer LaMore

If you have a question let me know and I post it here if you like.

Drink more tea! Stay younger!

Hi Everyone! It's Sunday morning, 12-27-09, and it's been a long a hectic holiday season and the cookies are taking their toll. So is the champagne and the wine and the, . . . . well, you get the picture. It's amazing how everything tastes so good and then makes me feel so kind of crummy the next day. No pun intended!

I am staying home for New Years Eve this year so I can get up on New Years Day and start my exercise regimen, which has taken a few hits over the holidays (18+ inches of snow and then the freezing rain didn't help that!). Also, I'm back to my usual ritual of drinking green tea to make me feel better and more energetic before the exercise plan kicks back in again. I took almost 30 days off from running and I can really feel it. Yuck! Ugh!

I'm a coffee drinker in the morning but I always drink green tea for the health benefits around this time of year. It's easier than coffee too. How hard is it to boil some water and add some tea to it. There was a time when I never liked tea. It always left me wanting a really strong coffee. Even when I started drinking tea on a regular basis, I used to think tea was an "acquired taste" and I did it because I thought I had to, but I really love it now for all the right healthy reasons. I opened the pantry and found several boxes of green tea just waiting for after the holidays. I love it when you look for something and you find it right where its supposed to be. A simple pleasure.

So, I had a cup of tea, my workout clothes are on and it's a sunny 25 degree's outside with no wind! Perfect! (Actually, Mexico and 80 degree's is perfect but for now this will have to do!)

See ya in about 35 minutes!

Jennifer

Give me the 'skinny'. . . . !

Hi Friends! Merry Christmas! I get emails all the time from people all over the country who ask me about beauty and fashion tips! As an avid runner and beauty products junkie, I try my best to help anyone who is has a question in this area.

I always do this in private but sometimes the things that I can help with are very common to almost every women so then I'll post the issue on the blog so everyone can benefit! The "friends blog" receives about 3,000 unique visitors a month and from that almost all the questions I receive are about skin problems and beauty products. Wrinkles to be exact and how do we stop them!

As you hit age 30 everything seems to change in a woman's body, especially the skin! And, if you smoke or worship the sun, the turn is even earlier. I highly recommend using sunscreen on your face with at least an SPF of 30 or greater! As much as I used to love it, I don't lay in the sun anymore. Since I stopped I noticed a huge difference in my skin.

Medial science has improved greatly in this area and now there are new products out that are even better for your skin like, titanium dioxide. You just slather it on, it blends in with your skin, and doesn't wear off as quickly as chemical sunscreens.

I also think that diet and stress play a big role in healthy skin and I will address that in the next blog. But, one of the best things you can do for your skin is exercise and sweat. If you don't exercise you should make it a new year's resolution and start. It's also a great way to reduce stress. We all know that this has been a stressful year so if you can do one thing for yourself in the next decade, get some exercise 3-4 times a week.........!

Have a great holiday season.

Jennifer

Holiday Party & Huge Sale!

Hello Friends!

On Thursday, December 3rd J. LaMore is hosting the 11th annual Holiday Party & Sale! Everything in the store and online is 30% off! (That includes sale items!)

For those friends who want to come to the party, you can enjoy wine, champagne, and hors d'oeuvre's as well as a complimentary Tarot Card reading from Josephine's Eyes. (Dana is back by popular demand and is so much fun.)

The 30% off sale runs through Monday, December 7th and for online shoppers you can use promo code "holiday09" at checkout and save big! As always, FREE Shipping is included on every order so you save even more! We also offer FREE gift wrapping to make your holiday shopping easy and stress free. You should see the handmade bows we put on every package! I promise the package will be the prettiest one she opens!

If you have any question at all please send me an email.

Jennifer

Good Luck Raquel

I'm incredibly excited to see 12 Angry Juror's tonight! Raquel Burish, who interned with us at J. LaMore and is also the daughter of my sweet friend Joanna, was cast as one of the jurors in the play that is currently running at Edgewood High School. I can't wait to sit in the audience and watch her perform. I know she will be amazing. I did a little digging and here's a brief synopsis of the play. The original title was 12 Angry Men, but I believe Edgewood changed the title to 12 Angry Jurors to accommodate a mix of male and female students.

The play (which was a movie) is a story of a Puerto Rican boy accused of murdering his father with a switch blade, and his subsequent trial by jury. Initially, it appears as if it's a cut and dry case of murder. Fortunately, one brave dissenting juror votes 'not guilty' at the start of the deliberations because of his reasonable doubt. The jury of twelve 'angry jurors,' are literally locked into a small, claustrophobic rectangular jury room on a stifling hot summer day until they come up with a unanimous decision - either guilty or not guilty. The compelling, provocative play examines the twelve jurors deep-seated personal prejudices, perceptual biases and weaknesses, indifference, anger, personalities, unreliable judgments, cultural differences, ignorance and fears, that threaten to taint their decision-making abilities, cause them to ignore the real issues in the case, and potentially lead them to a miscarriage of justice.

I'm so excited to see the play and to watch Raquel. She is a wonderful young lady, who I simply adore. Break a leg Raquel!

Jennifer

Oprah "CJ jeans are the best . . .!"

Hi Friends: Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey had Cookie Johnson on her show and declared to the audience that "CJ by Cookie Johnson" as the best denim for women with a bootie. She discovered the delightful denim on a recent cover shoot for O Magazine.

"The perfect jeans for real women with real booties," she says. "For three days straight, I had on the jeans." Even though she calls herself a "hard-core pajama girl," Oprah says she wore the jeans for a five-hour flight--they were that comfortable.

<---Love Boyfriend Jean by Cookie Johnson.

The declaration comes as part of Oprah's "The Best" episode, which aired on Thursday, October 22.

Oprah also said that the "love boyfriend" jean was her favorite and that is the jean we carry and sell the most. Our tech people said that there was a huge spike is traffic to the site after the show and the orders started arriving shortly after the show ended. It seems people still look for the perfect pair of jeans.

Don't you just love Oprah!

Jennifer

Buy & Sell The Trends! Part 2!

Hello everyone! It seems that a recent article about trends to avoid is on MSN's home page and that has sparked a large amount of emails sent to me regarding buying the trends and how I do that as the buyer for J. LaMore and jlamore.com.

<---Harem Pant. Ugh!

Like I touched upon in the earlier blog post not to long ago, you have to be wary of the hype from designers and the media and you must absolutely KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER! We have tens of thousands of clients and I would never want to steer them in the wrong direction. I can't think of one client I personally have that would wear this look but a designer would hype this up like crazy and try and sell it to you, especially if they invested a lot of time and money into it hoping that it catches on.

I can remember the hype about the balloon pant and the Harem pant on a recent buying trip and this is a trend that never connected with the public. Thank God! It's not a good look!

This look is just not flattering on anyone and it may be fashion forward and edgy but you still need to sell it. I think it looks silly! As a buyer I can't see a category where this look would fit into. That's a big red flag for me. Instinct! Listen to your gut! Would I wear the Harem pant? I think NOT! This all comes into play!

Again, being a buyer is not easy but this was an easy decision for me and a trend I new would never catch on.

If anyone needs my assistance please let me know, I would love to help you!

Jennifer

Double Happiness Design . . . !

Hi everyone! I have been receiving many compliments on my new "look" for my "friends picture" and for the new changes on the site. Thanks to everyone for saying such nice things. (I have to add that's it's pretty great having your own complete photography studio, makeup person and graphics department available anytime you want when you have your picture taken. That's nice and they do a fantastic job!

I also want to let everyone know that we now have "Double Happiness Design Jewelry" by Stepahnie Wells live now on jlamore.com.

Over the past several years this "DHD" has become a top choice of stars and 'celebs' and we could not be happier when we got the line. These pieces go fast and we have already sold quite a bit but stock is limited and reorders can be tough on popular designer items.

On a personal note, we thoroughly enjoyed our recent conversations with Stephanie Wells and we discovered that she has written a book and recently had a baby. She is so nice!

We just finished a photo shoot with one of our new and exciting models, Melissa, and she looked incredible when wearing the line. I hope all of you get a chance to check out the Double Happiness Design Jewelry.

Jennifer

Allure Magazine's 189 Greatest Products!

Allure is one of my all time favorite beauty magazines to read. I love to devour it because I know when I'm finished I will have learned a new tip on makeup application or discovered a juicy secret formula to stop my wrinkles!

This months issue has a section called, "Best of Beauty" and it's outstanding. Allure editors spent months and months testing thousands of beauty products and came up with 189 top choices. The list is absolutely incredible. From a $5.84 bottle of Dove body wash to the $54 bottle of Chanel foundation all of the products are touted the best in their category.

I don't know about you, but this beauty addict is willing to try them all!

Jennifer

Buying & Selling the trends. . . !

Hello Lynn & Clare: People ask me all the time about being a buyer or becoming a buyer. Many people have asked to go along with me on buying trips just to see what's it like or what I do. Let me just say this: it's not easy being a buyer! I have been on more than 100 buying trips in eleven years so I have refined the job as much as possible. I'm also adjusted to the pressure. I can also add that I don't really have any "trade secrets" (so to speak) regarding how we buy at J. LaMore but there is a skill to this as well as being as informed as possible about sales, designers, trends, customers, etc. That skill is hard to explain, difficult to teach, and very unforgiving when you're wrong.

As a buyer one of the first things you need to do is love your job. The second is to know your customer and stay focused. You just can't always buy what you want to wear. The third thing you need to do is keep in mind your open-to-buy budget so you can fill all your departments.

The following of trends is where the experienced buyer will always outsell the inexperienced buyer. It's interesting but as a buyer your job is to sell.

Trends are fun and exciting but the hype from designers and the media about a certain trend doesn't always work when it comes to selling that trend. Take for example the Ugg boot. It was hot and a trend that lasted a long time by fashion standards and then suddenly it ended. If you were caught with a storage center full of Ugg boots, you were in trouble. The same goes for $350 jeans as well as many other trendy fashion statements. Knowing when to get out of a trend is just as important as when to get in. It's tricky and it helps to have a knowlegable staff because you will have moments of self doubt. There's to much money at stake to do it all on your own.

So you can see, being a buyer is even hard to write about and knowing what trend will make you money is even worse. Boutiques are not department stores and how each buyer operates is completely different. I hope this helped a little bit.

Jennifer

New Green Dragon

I'm really loving all the new Green Dragon pieces, they are so perfect for buy now wear now. One of my favorite looks is a great pair of jeans (hello new CJ jeans!), a cozy top and a statement jacket (like either one of these Green Dragon pieces).

A great jacket makes getting dressed and looking put together so easy.

Jennifer

I always enjoy your feedback! Email me, jennifer@jlamore.com, with your style tips and favorite looks.