Don't know much about geometry, but I do know a little something about what's hot for Spring - and geometric prints are definitely making the grade! Some have a global feel, others look artsy, and still others have a retro vibe a la Tory Burch. Any way you work it, these bold designs will take you to the head of the fashion class. Here, our stylish yet affordable geometric-print finds (no protractor necessary)...

Bahama Flap Bag at Forever 21, $23.80


Tempted Scoopneck Geometric-Print Top at Macys.com, Orig. $36.00 Now $10.80


Isaac Mizrahi for Target Printed Net Party Dress, $44.99


Banana Republic tall 3/4-sleeve geo-print ruffle-front blouse, On sale: $29.99


Geo Shape Necklace at Forever21.com, $6.80


Bisou Bisou Sequin Tank at JCPenney.com, available in six different colors/patterns. Orig. $30.00; Now $17.99

The original ain't that great to begin with, so why Forever 21 would knock-off Phillip Lim's granny-chic (if you can call it that) lattice neckline dress is beyond me. I'm sorry, but where I come from, this dress would cost a quarter at the church rummage sale. And another thing: Lim probably knocked this look from one of the ladies running Bingo night (no offense to plebeian fashion—or Lim—just pointing out that designers have been pilfering ideas from us "nobodies" for years.)

Left: Phillip Lim lattice neckline dress at Net-A-Porter.com, $575
Right: Chelsea Knit Tunic at Forever21.com, $32.80

Makeup that magically transforms to match your skintone? Impossible! Or is it...? The Budget Babe's resident beauty expert investigates. —BB



by The Budget Beauty Babe
Lately, Almay has been broadcasting these really tempting commercials on TV. Their fabulous model squirts out a little bit of white makeup onto her finger, and it magically transforms into her perfect shade on her face. The commercial then goes on to tell you about new Smart Shade technology, where microscopic color beads activate upon applying them and change into your exact shade of makeup. Needless to say, I was very incredulous, and yet their commercial worked because off I went to Ulta to give it a whirl.

It was easy enough to pick the shade I needed from their three options (light, medium and dark), and before even making it home I ripped open the package in the car and squirted some out on my fingers just like the spokesmodel. Gently rubbing it into my hand, I was really surprised: The makeup actually did change from white to my skin color! Then for the sake of my experiment, I grabbed my boyfriend's hand and proceeded to rub some on him, and amazingly it did the same thing (and his skin is at least five shades darker than mine!)

Upon very close inspection of the "white" makeup that comes out of the tube, you'll see little flecks of color, which leads me to believe that this is in fact "liquid mineral makeup" - where in the minerals are suspended in a makeup base and then blended into the face and like other loose minerals reflect light in such a way that perfect matching occurs. Pretty clever.

I think this is a nice product, however, I must say that it covers more like a tinted moisturizer and really doesn't have the covering power of foundation. I really like it as a base to loose mineral makeup, as it provides SPF protection and a nice evening of the skin tone. Those with more to hide need not apply - the makeup is too thin to cover redness, blueness, or spots.

Overall I like this product. Almay Smart Shade Makeup is clever, quasi-magical and delivers light, even coverage (great as a base, perfect replacement for non-tinted moisturizer) with SPF protection.

>> Almay Smart Shade makeup is available at Drugstore.com for $12.14.

Etro taps into some of Spring's hottest trends with its 2008 ready-to-wear collection. A no holds barred use of color, florals, stripes, ethnic-inspired motifs and retro 70s throwbacks makes us wonder: What trend don't they cover? And yet, somehow Veronica Etro makes it all work by paying close attention to silhouettes (balancing structured pieces with more feminine forms) and a constructive use of color that makes it something truly marvelous to behold.



One of Etro's standout pieces is this floral striped dress, which retails for $1,335. (Are you still with me?) Now, a few years back, it would have been next to impossible to find all that designer razzmatazz at reasonable prices, but today, we budget babes have options: Topshop, for example, lets you channel the Etro vibe with their floral striped dress for only £50.00 (98.27 U.S. dollars).

Chalk one up for the little guy...er, girl.

Left: A look from the Etro Spring 2008 Ready-to-Wear collection (Image source: Style.com); floral striped dress available at NeimanMarcus.com, $1,335.00

Right: Topshop Floral Striped Dress, £50.00 (98.27 U.S. dollars)

Crossbody handbags are très hot these days, and with good reason - they're practical and stylish at the same time. One of these purses gives you that winning combo of form-meets-function for just $12.49 - that's less than Chinese takeout! The other purse, however divine, will set you back $243.75.

Can you guess which is luxe and which costs less?