I would love to hear your budget take on the New York Times article, "The Five Things You Need for Fall" by Cathy Horyn. I am all about shopping for closet staples this fall. —Carolyn

Fashion critic Cathy Horyn might laugh at my attempts to find affordable takes on her designer picks for fall, but I think her article is a great starting point for many women looking to update their wardrobes with a few carefully selected pieces. Keep reading for my budget breakdown.

I envy my sister Chantal's ability to do her own hair, from at-home coloring to perfectly layered cuts to chic going-out looks. Yup, she does it all! So when she tested out Sublime Mousse from L'Oreal, I was really curious to hear how things went. Keep reading to find out. —BB



by Chantal
While L'Oreal Paris Healthy Look Sublime Mousse Haircolor has been on the shelves for a while now, I found myself hesitating to try it because I was never really all that impressed with their selection of colors. I always felt it was a little limited and after many, many hair color faux pas I really wasn't in the mood to end up with orange, or silver, or purple hair (yes, purple, and no I wasn't trying for purple).

Fashion concept Zara, part of Inditex, one of the world's biggest fashion retail groups, has launched online shopping in the United States today, September 7, at www.zara.com, offering free delivery to all 50 states. Zara's online platform will sell the full range of women's, men's and children's clothing that are also available in-store.

What more do you need to know? Go shop Zara.com now!

For the past month, I've replaced my daily skin care routine with complimentary products from 100% Pure, a natural, organic cosmetics and skincare line. I'm always on the look out for affordable, effective products that have a limited number of unnecessary or potentially harmful chemicals, so I was eager to give this line a try. Find out what I thought after the jump!

The other day at Target I spotted about eleven new fall styles from the LPLP Linea Pelle handbag collection, and they're actually pretty good-lookin. My favorites included a stud detail cognac satchel, a zip front crossbody purse and both the black and purple versions of the tote with exterior pockets. Prices range from $14.99 to $29.99, and some bags were already marked down a bit. Overall, this is a much better collection than LPLP's disappointing debut spring line, thanks to a richer fall color palette of black, purple, cognac, brown and olive green. See more real-life pics after the jump (sorry for the poor quality, I thought I had forgotten my camera but it was hiding in the side pocket of my purse all along). Are you impressed with LPLP's fall styles?

Shop it online:

LPLP