CRUSH: The World at Your Fingertips

Jewelry designer Matina Amanita uses architectural influences and wanderlust to take individuality to a whole new level with the launch of a new collection of cocktail rings named ‘Globetrotter.’ Inspired by her world travels to fashioned landmarks such as the Shibuya Triangle in Tokyo, each ring reflects a different, city, country, or landmark and features vertical stacks of gold, silver, and precious gemstones. My favorite pick: the ring reminiscent of New York’s Chrysler Building ($660). These statement pieces define elegance and convey a world savvy sense of style. Visit Matinaamanita.com.

CRUSH: My One-and-Edgy Only

Model Sarah Cohn, a sophomore retail-management major, sports three signature looks from LF’S new Fall line. LF is a trendy, up-and-coming, contemporary fashion retailer, offering unique, one-of-a-kind clothing for all those looking to remain on the cutting edge. Store locations include: Manhattan, Soho, The Hamptons, Beverly Hills, Newbury Street in Boston, and Miami. During National Breast Cancer Awareness Week in October, the store held a charity-driven trunk show at the Schine Student Center. The store plans to host an additional trunk show on the SU Campus in the Spring. Visit www.lfstores.com to shop online (for Sarah’s looks & many more) or to seek out additional information.

CRUSH: Let's Hear it for the Boys

The “borrowed from the boyfriend” look permeated the fashion world in seasons past (encompassing a range of statement pieces from the boyfriend tee, the boyfriend tank, the boyfriend cardigan, and now the boyfriend jean) but Burberry Prossum proved to be this year’s best manifestation. Each outfit is perfectly balanced, and each look consists of oversized outerwear paired with the chunky yet feminine heels on the bottom. The aborigine and taffeta fabrics capture the androgynous appeal without overpowering the woman.




As this male inspired look continues to appear on the red carpet and in everyday career and casual wear of high profile celebrities such as Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Alba, Ashley Olsen, Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway and others, it is clear this boy/girl phenomenon is here to stay. So sneak into your boyfriend’s closet, slip into his clothes, and don’t be afraid to look better than he does sporting his wardrobe.

CRUSH: Sweet Deals

As popularized by NYC’s Magnolia Bakery and Crumbs in the Hamptons, the confection obsession is every bit au currant. Whether frosted or whipped, coated with sprinkles or sugared décor, the best thing about cupcakes is variety. When the desire to embrace cupcake chic arises, here’s a recipe to satisfy all your cravings.



The batter: The Vanilla Cupcake Body Collection by Sephora. Ingredients:
Bath and body products lightly scented with Sephora Brand Vanilla Cupcake fragrance. The Sephora Brand Vanilla Cupcake Body Collection is a sweet mix of decadent French vanilla and almond, infused with honey and buttermilk that creates a lavish lather to clean, moisturize, and smooth all skin types. Each product contains deeply hydrating ingredients, such as aloe vera and jojoba, for delectably soft skin. Consider this a 100 percent calorie free alternative to satisfying your craving. Price per item varies. Complete set available at Sephora.com, $76.



If vanilla’s not your forte, embrace your chocolate side. Chocolate once a deadly sin, now can be good for you skin. Lush Cosmetics chocolate-scented cleansing cupcake is great for preventing (and soothing) breakouts and removing excess oils. With anti-microbial, deep cleansing Rhassoul mud and stimulating peppermint and spearmint oils, this delicacy works even better than it smells. Available at Lushcosmetics.com, $20.




The butter: Add a hint of butter to your cupcake batch with Cupcake Candy Butter Cream by Dylan’s Candybar, the perfect delicious-smelling remedy for thirsty skin. This unique, protective, non-greasy formula with Vitamin E, Jojoba Seed Oil, and Shea Butter (one of the world's best moisturizers) promotes healing of rough, dry skin all year long. Available in chocolate and vanilla. Sprinkles are totally optional. Available at Sephora.com, $22.



The Frosting: Ice your cake with the I Taste Like Sugar Mini Lip Gloss Set (Original Price $28) 
These sugary treats come in a clear, purse-sized case containing twelve delectably sweet lip glosses in sheer, opaque, and shimmer shades that can be worn over bare lips or your favorite lip color for a yummy, long-lasting flavored shine. Available at Sephora.com, $14.

CRUSH: How to Get an A in Fingertips

Sleep deprived. Your head spins. The stress wears on your like the heaviest winter coat. If finals week is bringing you down and you’re sick of studying, skip the lattes and head to your local manicurist. Regardless if this study break leaves you feeling naughty or nice, get into the holiday spirit by adorning your nails in OPI’s 2008 Holiday in Toyland Collection. When all else fails, at least you know your nails are guaranteed an A!



Sheer Your Toys, You’re a Doll, and Glamour Game



Brand New Skates, Baby, It’s Coal Outside, and Play ’til Midnight



Girls Just Want to Play, Red Hot Gift, and Little Red Wagon



Rosy Missletoe-sies, A Ruby For Rudolph, and Don’t Toy With Me

CRUSH: Jean-Paul Belmondo

In 1960, Jean-Luc Godard released his nouvelle vague masterpiece Breathless, launching Jean-Paul Belmondo on an unsuspecting world. Critics talk about contemporary film history as before Breathless and after Breathless, but fashionistas could take a cue. Jean-Paul was onto something.

Belmondo springs from that white tee, wiry bod school of Brando and Dean. The former boxer (that nose!) is raw, mumbled sex appeal, but stick him in a horizontally-striped French Navy boatman sweater and send the dresser home for the rest of the shoot. We’ve pictured his Breathless co-star Jean Seaberg working the look because we prefer Belmondo out of clothes.

But the nautical look continues to rock the French. Check out another Jean-Paul, the French designer Gaultier, and the “packaging” for his Le Male fragrance bottle. And if JP and Naomi look a little waxy, it’s not from partying at Les Bains Douches. This pic was snatched from Chez Tussauds.

When Belmondo’s not in his jaunty hat and trench, his look is pretty much boxers and cigarettes. I’m a non-smoker, but I’ve always allowed my partner to light up after, and, quite frankly, during sex. I find it erotic and obviously Mlle. Erotica does too. Who can forget Breathless Mahoney smoking on the MTV Awards? We’ve collected some of Madonna’s hotter le smoking looks at left.

Finally, there are those boxers. In Breathless’ most famous scene, Belmondo romps around a hotel room in just a pair of tidy white ones. They’re impossibly geeky, and Belmondo wears them waistline well past navel, but it doesn’t matter because they’ll be doffed.

We’ve captured Richard Gere working the look in the dismal 1983 Breathless remake. And, of course, the camera has captured other memorable underoos moments. Yes, Tom Cruise sliding across the floor in his briefs and Ray-Bans and what about these white hot Calvin ads with the then "Marky" Mark grabbing his funky bunch? Exposed undergarments retain their fashionable pull on the public. You still see it today with middle-aged gay men dressed like public school students: high-rise boxers peeking from low-rise jeans.

But unlike Gere and Mr. Wahlberg, Belmondo continues to exert a profound effect on fashion. We’re ending with this triptych of Belmondo and Milk star James Franco. This pouty hottie rising has roots firmly in Jean-Paul Belmondo-ville. Just look at those lips. But enough about Franco. Back to gay Paris and that Jean-Luc Godard 1960 classic and one of the key films of the French New Wave. Imagine this: the Breathless star has just arrived in town. He steals a car. He kills a cop. He tries to get laid. Take a moment to inhale, he may leave you breathless.

CRUSH: A Multitasker’s Dream Product

The cost of combating winter dryness sucks money from a bank account faster than you can say “chapped.” But once in awhile, a product comes along that multitasks so well that it’s worth its weight in gold. Josie Maran’s Argan Oil ($48) might be one of those products. The organic oil comes from a tree indigenous to Morocco:

Behold: The Argan Tree.

The oil contains essential fatty acids (the same stuff that makes salmon, avocado, walnuts and olive oil so great for your skin) and squalene, a potent moisturizer known for not leaving a greasy residue.

Miracle? Maybe.

Josie Maran’s Argan Oil, available at Sephora.com, arrives in a two-ounce glass bottle that feels as luxurious as the product itself (according to the company, a plastic container could harm the delicate composition of the product). Enlist a few of our favorite ideas for the oil:

- To ramp up your winter skincare routine by mix a few drops with your regular moisturizer

- To avoid hangnails, rub the oil into your cuticles.

- For a potent overnight treatment: Distribute a dime-sized amount through the ends of hair before you go to bed.

- To combat common skin maladies: use the oil on eczema, psoriasis, and to speed the healing of acne discoloration and stretch marks.

CRUSH: Glittery Eye Rescue

New Years Eve produces a lot of pressure and possibility: the right beaux, the right look, the right venue, and the hope that this year’s countdown to midnight might be different than all those past, failed celebrations. A shiny new cocktail dress hangs from your closet door, and a glittery eye-shadow palette sits on your bathroom counter, eagerly awaiting its first use. But therein lies the rub: You know that as soon as you hit the dance floor, the shadow will be gone as fast as you can say 2009. Every girl with glittery aspirations faces this dilemma, but luckily Benefit Cosmetics provides the answer. For years I’ve sworn by the company’s F.Y…eye! product, an eye primer that costs $22, and a product that saved me from creasy eyelid syndrome on the most crucial of party nights. For a crease-free evening, evenly apply the apricot-colored primer over your lids with the fingertips before adding eye-shadow. Glamour, after all, shouldn’t stop after the first hour of fun.

CRUSH: Magic Wand

Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother transformed her from a lowly maid into the picture-perfect princess with the help of mice, pumpkins, and a little magic. Everything from the gossamer ball gown to the flowing ringlets and delicate glass slippers became classic fairytale style. Unfortunately, this day and age seems a little short on Fairy Godmothers and pixie dust. While ball gowns and glass slippers fell out of fashion, Cinderella’s romantic ringlet curls still possess stylish charm.

Without a Fairy Godmother’s help, however, we need our own magic wand: Hot Tools Professional Spring Curling Iron, the number one selling brand of styling tools in the professional industry according to the company’s website is the secret weapon behind many celebrity hair styles such as Sienna Miller’s tousled waves. The iron ($35) packs 85 watts of power and offers 10 different heat settings. The 24K gold plated barrel’s patented pulse technology heats the iron up in 60 seconds, and it maintains an even heat. Four times more powerful than a standard curling iron, this tool reaches 428 degrees Fahrenheit and ranges in barrel sizes from 3/8 inch to 2 inches.

Now if only finding a prince were this easy.

CRUSH: Classic Clothes

Are we facing a fashion return to America's puritan roots?
Check out this sound slide to find out.

CRUSH: Canadian Juicy

Lululemon is to Canadian girls what Juicy Couture is to Americans: wonderfully comfortable, incredibly flattering, and painfully overpriced sweatwear designed for girls who want to be chic even when they’re lounging around. One of Lululemon’s best sellers is the company’s Remix Hoodie ($93):

Despite the prohibitive cost, this humble-looking sweatshirt earned cult status among our fashionable neighbors to the north for a few reasons.

Consider the construction:

The Remix is a great example of a simple product with perfect design. The hoodie features a long torso, perfect for preventing that dreaded patch of skin from being exposed to the elements. Extra-long sleeves and a high chin create added warmth. Every seam is sewn flat, which means that chafing will never be an issue. The hoodie features thick, soft preshrunk cotton, which ensures endless washing minus the wear.

CRUSH: Zac wants YOU!

After two years of pollsters, talking heads, SNL skits, and debates, the day is here. Since you can’t vote in the buff, keep it fashionable and take a cue from designer Zac Posen, who found a way to inject a little style into Election Day chaos WATCH ME!. Since fashion earned as much airtime as healthcare and taxes ($150,000 shopping sprees, Naughty Monkey red pumps, and Michelle Obama and Thakoon), it only seems fitting that you wear your best outfit to the polls. In return, Zac might give you the 15 minutes of fame you deserve. V.O.T.E., and look great doing it.

WARNING: Unfortunately, you can’t wear your fabulous creations to the polling stations in these states: New York, new Jersey, Delaware, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont! But don’t let this discourage you from creating something fabulous.

CRUSH: Rings of Fire

With his signature cable look, David Yurman created a name for himself as an artistic designer of fine, classic, and contemporary jewelry. Yurman works in silver or a combination of silver and gold. From the New Albino Collection, this 14mm ring with a split sterling silver shank is faceted with a blue-topaz and pave-diamond bezel that weighs in at a 0.49 total carat. It costs $1,400 and makes the perfect 21st birthday present. Just in case the jewelry wasn't beautiful enough on its own, Yurman hired Kate Moss, Natalia Vodianova, and Daria Werbowy as the faces of his line.

CRUSH: A Tan Fan’s Friend

When I arrived to school freshman year, loaded with graduation money, I decided to splurge on a $250 tanning package from Garbo’s that gave me 30 tanning sessions for the year. Throughout two semesters, I never ran out, and I cherished the warm bed to defrost from the Syracuse cold. But after reading story after story in Glamour, Self, and Cosmo, of young girls getting cancer from these heavenly beds, I decided to quit.

Since then, I have tried every product known to woman to make my skin look tan without the benefit of UV rays. Spray tanning: I turned orange. Gradual self tanners: smelled totally weird. Regular self tanners: left streaks on my legs and left my hands three times as bronzed as the rest of me. For a while I stuck to just bronzer, but caking too much on creates an oh-so-obvious appearance.

My roommate introduced me to Clarin’s instant tanning gel, and I found a way to conjure a faux tan without streaks or stink. This gel formula goes on clear and though it says it works within two hours, I found that it really works its magic overnight. After two applications on my face, I was noticeably tanner, but orange-free and without one streak. At $30, it was a cheap alternative to my previous habit. A few words of advice: Use an exfoliator to slough off dead skin so the product looks natural and stays on longer, and strive for even application.

CRUSH: Handbag Heaven

Baghaus.com's secret status makes it a gem. While somewhat of a diamond-in-the-rough, the site offers sleek and of-the-moment bags. The site sells a variety of well-made purses, some of which garner inspiration from designer labels, others are well-known brands, and some are Baghaus designed. Users shop by "new arrival," "brand," "trends," "celebrity style," "size," "color," and "price." The site provides some fun features like "Baghaus TV," which showcases the newest styles. It also offers an online chat option where users talk to a Baghaus professional to ask questions about potential purchases. The company is reliable, and items get shipped fast. But the most inspiring aspect of Baghaus is the prices. Purses usually sell for less than $100, and most land in the $40-$60 range.


http://www.baghaus.com/product/649/quilted-handbags-purses
"Urban Expressions Quilted Chain Satchel" $54.00
(Clearly inspired by Marc Jacobs' Stam Bag)

CRUSH: Blazing Blue

Watch out Wicked (5 oz. Essie nail polish $7, Beautyrealm.com), Blue It by Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Extreme Wear (4oz. bottle for $2.79, Walgreens.com) is the new nail boss in town. With the onset of winter, dark colors match the mood and the absence of light. But say buh-bye to black, brown, and maroon. Done that. This season reflect the frostiness of your walk to class with nails that deliver a shine everyone will notice.

CRUSH: Save-the-World Bags

Most women consider their handbag a totable security blanket. These comfort accessories come in the form of Mary Poppins satchels that hold holding everything from a great read to a water bottle, makeup pouch, and laptop to a small clutch that accommodates a debit card and a tube of lipstick. But these three green handbags do more than make a girl feel secure; the do a pretty good job making the world a little better too.

Belted for Beauty. The Harvey’s are a husband-wife team who landed on a great green idea after installing seatbelts in their 1950s Buick: Their Treecycle collection uses recycled seatbelts. Each bag is hand-made in the U.S. and comes in neutral colors like grays, blues, and browns. Seatbeltbags.com; $124 to $148.

Eco With an Edge. Ecoist makes handbags and accessories from recycled materials like discarded food packages, soda bottle labels, rice bags, soda can pull-tabs, candy wrappers, and movie billboards. Artisans create the edgy looks, and the company ensures fair wages and safe working environments. Ecoist.com; $38 to $180.

Totally Tubular. In Boulder, Colorado a green company called English Retreads makes their purses from reclaimed inner tubes. They follow Henry Ford’s original Model T motto: You can get any color you want as long as it’s black. Englishretreads.com; $169 to $400.