The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Spring Fashion Trends 2008: Shirt-Dressing

You've heard it all before: It flatters every figure. Never goes out of style. You can dress it up or down. Yes, we're talking about the shirtdress - and it's back in a big way for Spring. Donna Karan shows us how it's worn in the urban jungle. Salvatore Ferragamo gives us a glimpse of it's modern sex appeal. Behnaz Sarafpour reveals its timeless yet timely attitude. So what are you waiting for? Create your own shirtdress story this Spring. Scroll down for a few affordable shirtdress finds to get you started...



Above: Spring 2008 Ready-to-Wear looks from the runways of Behnaz Sarafpour, Donna Karan and Salvatore Ferragamo. Image source: Style.com



Left to right: Old navy safari shirtdress, $34.50; Spiegel's sash-tie shirtdress, Orig. $69 Now $31.99; Newport News cotton voile shirtdress, Orig. $39 Now $29.

Budget Fashion Makeovers on 'Oprah'

On today's Oprah Show, a bunch of frumpy suburban moms were given complete makeovers using - get this - AFFORDABLE clothing from budget-friendly stores! Instead of heading to high-end boutiques, they hit up stores like Kohl's, JCPenney, Gap, and Old Navy for cheap, chic finds.

All we can say is it's about time. Too often, these makeover shows trade some poor sap's dirty sweats for pricey, impractical designer duds - which means the victim might look good in the moment, but go back to their errant ways once the cameras stop rolling. And people at home are left with big question marks hovering over their heads.

If you missed the show, there's amazing play-by-play coverage on Oprah.com of all the makeovers, plus stylist Lloyd Boston's wardrobe essentials, no-fuss hairstyles from celebrity stylist Ken Paves, and makeup essentials for gals on the go from makeup artist Joanna Schlip.

Other highlights include a how-to video for tying a scarf using a hacking knot (accomplished by halving a long scarf, feeding the straggling ends through the resulting loop, and cinching the knot up to the neck), a fab ensemble from Old Navy's new spring collection (we told you it was cute first!), and five ways to wear a white button-down shirt.

Bravo to budget makeovers. Who knows, maybe next time they'll enlist the help of budget fashion bloggers... ;-)

Maybelline Mineral Power Powder & Blush

The Budget Babe's resident beauty expert reminds us that not all so-called "mineral makeup" is created equal. —BB



by The Budget Beauty Babe
Every cosmetic company seems to be jumping on the mineral makeup bandwagon, and so continuing our reviews of budget-friendly mineral makeup, we put Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation and Maybelline Mineral Power Naturally Luminous Blush to the test.

Attractively packaged and competitively priced, these products are sure to please many, but lets get some things straight first: If you're looking for pure mineral makeup, this is not it. Although called Mineral Power, this line of cosmetics is not truly mineral makeup (with our definition of mineral makeup being makeup that only contains minerals in its ingredient list).

And they're really sneaky about it, too. If you look at the package for the foundation you'll find it says, "The secret of micro-minerals - 100% natural earth minerals, etc." The secret of micro-minerals is minerals? Duh.

The packaging also says, "Pure ingredients." Now look at the ingredient list: Nowhere on there does it say 100% pure minerals. Like I said, very sneaky packaging.

There are, in fact, a lot of other non-mineral ingredients, including synthetic wax and PTFE, which is a synthetic coating used most commonly on pots and pans to create a non-stick coating also known as Teflon. I don't know about you, but if I think I'm getting pure minerals I don't want to end up with Teflon particles on my face (unless I decide to cook an egg on my cheek and don't want it to stick).

On the plus side, as far as makeup goes, it did its job. The foundation covered fairly well although concealer would still be needed (which is also available in this line). The color was nice and blended nicely, however I did find that this makeup seemed to get shiny after just a few hours of wear (and I have normal to dry skin in winter). Personally, I feel this makeup may have caused my skin to break out and become very irritated and red. I stopped using it and the problems went away.

The blush is nice, although the color is created using dyes and not minerals, which may be why the resulting effect looks a bit fake. Also, its not very pigment-rich and I felt as though it took a lot to do the job.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend Maybelline Mineral Power products. I can't help but feel it's just a clever marketing ploy and not really mineral makeup, not to mention I don't feel its that great of a deal either. In order to finish your look, foundation, concealer, blush and translucent powder would all be needed and together could run you upwards of $40.00.

To sum up: Not all that great for "mineral" makeup that's not, well, really mineral makeup.

Find Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation ($8.98) and Blush ($7.99) at Walgreens stores nationwide.

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Spring Fashion Trends 2008: Geometric Prints

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

Luxe Vs. Less: Phillip Lim Lace Dress




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