Our New Obsession: SLINK Magazine

Just as I was working on my upcoming piece on luxury fall fashion, I stumbled across a new magazine that has all the couture and lust-worthy brands as Vogue but is geared towards US!! What a surprise! This is incredible.

Finally an online mag that has the same mission as my blog. Haute Couture for the 12+ set.
I may spend all nigh pouting over their site, browsing reviews of the couture runway shows and better yet ogle the sleek, chic high fashion photo spreads where I know everything will fit.

Click here for the latest issue of Slink Magazine  or go to www.slinkmagazine.com for the whole experience.
Start swooning...

FoxyRoxy BEAUTY REVIEW: Adventures in Spray-Tanning

It summer and I still haven't worked on my base tan! 

After serious internal debate and research I finally decided to take the risk and go in for my first spray tan. I have done all of those fake bake self tanners and really they are a huge waste of money, even if it is cheap. Why spend a cent if it is not going to be great??

Then I found that Solar Salon on West 21st Street had a great deal on Lifebooker for a custom airbrush tan so I gave it a shot. 

I must say that I couldn't be happier!!!

I, of course, went in assuming that I would walk out looking streaky or orange like Snooki. Julie, my tanning artist, was a fabulous Welsh woman who assured me that I had nothing to worry about since she has been doing this for years and walked me through the process that included stripping naked (disposable thong provided if you want), putting self-adhesive rubber pads to the bottom of feet and covering my hear with a shower cap. All of this sounds far more embarrassing than it actually was. She put me ad ease and we had a great conversation about our common interest of British rock bands. 20 minutes, 2 coats of tanner and a conversation about Blur and Pulp later, I had a PERFECT summer glow. 

I get to awkwardly stand for 5 minutes to dry, put on a dark loose-fitting dress (sadly without bra in order to avoid marks) and off I go. It is a little sticky but it doesn't smell nor is it slimely or streaky. 

Seriously I look exactly the way I do when I get off the beach but without the tan lines. She had an amazing knack for choosing a shade that would look natural to my Italian olive skin tone and there are shades for everyone! So if you are fair-skinned and don't tan this may be the best way to go! 

What I have learned from all of my research and talking to those who know: 

- Do your research!! Talk to the person doing the spray tan and look for someone with a few years of experience since they will have a better eye for what color you will need

-  Avoid the super cheap places since those solutions tend to be more orange. You are better checking your local salons or discount sites like lifebooker, living social or groupon for good deals at higher-end places. 

- Avoid the spray tan booths, unless you are really good at rubbing in the solution yourself. I am not a fan because when I miss a spot it will be a tragic giveaway that it's all fake. 

- Do a spray tan if you can't tan naturally or want natural color without tan lines or those white areas near our underarms that we plus-size ladies would get from laying down in a tanning booth. (sad but true)

-Don't sweat, shower or get rained on for 12 hours after the spray tan. You can shower normally the next day but don't exfoliate. Lotions are fine. 

As it wears, I will let you know how it goes and if there are things you should avoid.  

Stop the madness - Love yourself

After being so empowered by body image in Europe last week, I come back to the States only to stumble across a blog post about this banned Body Shop ad and found some really pathetic statistics: 

(from blog:  http://blog.bridgetteraes.com) Two out of five women would trade three to five years of their life to achieve their weight goals.

• A study found that women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25%, yet the same women were able to correctly estimate the width of a box.
• After viewing images of female fashion models, seven out of ten women felt more depressed and angry than prior to viewing the images.
• Young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer, or losing their parents.
• 30% of women chose an ideal body shape that is 20% underweight and an additional 44% chose an ideal body shape that is 10% underweight.
• The average U.S. woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average U.S. model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds.
• 59% of women would never try on clothes in a large communal dressing room.
• 39% of women buy things that are too small, planning to look smashing in them when they lose weight.
• 62% of women own jeans that don’t fit anymore.

ENOUGH ALREADY!! As long as your weight is not causing health problems like, high blood pressure, high sugar or cholesterol etc. I say it's time to be at peace with our bodies.


I know how difficult it is to keep positive under the pressures of society. I have belittled and berated for being a size 16. I was forced to go on harmful prescription diet pills from a young age by a weight-obsessed mother. Yes, I was half my size but at what cost? My heart, metabolism, and joints were damaged, along with my self-esteem and perspective. Once you become obsessive, you will think you are obese even when you are thin. So sad.


Then I decided to kick the diet pills and realized that life is too short to spend it torturing yourself, I regained confidence and never looked back. Sure I wanted to lose weight, and I have and continue to, but I don't have absurd goals nor do I think the goal is to be skinny as possible. Being a size 4 would never look right on me. Find the size that seems right and healthy for you - it may even be what you are at right now!! If you do want to lose weight, the only healthy way to do it  will take a while, so why bother being miserable for one more day while you are in the process? If you are a size 12 or under, PLEASE get real and love your body. You are below the average American size which is a 14. You are are not fat.


Everyone has something to be proud of.  I just met an inspiring young woman named Jessica Burks who founded "Feeling Fabulous," a foundation to help women navigate all of the conventional beauty pressures and enhance your inner confidence. I think these days we need more people to help us embrace how fabulous we are in in own skin. Check out www.ImFeelingFab.org

Face your fear of the mirror and spend some time focusing on positives instead of negatives. This process is better if you are wearing lingerie/clothing that makes you feel sexy. Find your favorite feature, start learning to accept yourself as you are, and be sure to try to rid yourself as many negative people in your life as possible. Now I don't mean surround yourself with phony kiss-asses, but just limited those who perpetuate toxic thoughts and tell you that weight is all there is to life and success.


That is clearly not the case!! You can be happy, successful, date a lot, and accomplish anything at any size. Self-confidence and determination is key, but so is support.


So if you know or are dating someone who is struggling with body issues, remember to tell them how beautiful they are and give them the love and affection they deserve.  Eating disorders and image issues are constant battles for some, so please be patient, supportive and remind them why you are around: because you love who they are.


Statistics show that the vast majority of women of ALL shapes and sizes have body image problems. Enough is enough!!! Embrace yourself. Embrace life. Embrace your friends. Life is too short.

Donne Voluttuose Sono Sexy!

Sorry for the hiatus FoxyRoxy Readers, but this fox has been on the hunt for good times and good fashions all over the globe. I am currently in Italy where I must say I have fallen in love. No, not with smooth talking Italian, but with their general way of life.

In italy it is all about life, love and beauty. Part of this love of life also comes a love of curves. Though I feel pretty good about my size 14/16 frame despite absurd American standards, every girl needs an ego boost now and again. Well ladies, pack your bags for Italy (or Ireland) where they are the most appreciative of voluptuous women.

Donne Voluttuose Sono Sexy! Translation: Voluptuous women are sexy!

Most all Italian stores carry plus sizes, fine lingerie stores carry very few bras under a C-cup, and men in their 30's are fans of clapping when curvy women pass by. In america, these women might sadly get jeered for having a fat ass, but on this side of the pond, hot guys buy them drinks or chase them down on Vespas. (yes, this has actually happened to me.)

The adoration of women with big assets doesn't end with the guys on the street. I was stunned and yet proud to see that Vogue Italia on the stands featuring scantily clad "plus-size" cover models. First off, I think it is sad that the modeling world classifies these women as overweight since they look just plain hot to me (and evidently Italy).

Leave it to American blogs to rain on this parade saying that there was not enough fashion shown on the cover, that it is glorifying an unhealthy body type or that Vogue Italia is just trying to be shocking. When US mags feature naked anorexic celebs on countless covers, however, no one says a thing. To me nude and a size zero is both a lack of fashion and a glorification of unhealthy body types.

Eh, they are just jealous that when they visit Italy, they don't get flowers and phone numbers from sexy strangers like my stacked sistas.

Ciao Bellas!!

Beauty Review: Minx nails and Lash extensions. Get Gaga-worthy for under $75.

I have seen people like Katy Perry and Rihanna sporting insane manicure with mirror-like shine, crazy prints and bedazzling. As a life-long fan of acrylic nails with cheesy airbrushing, jewels, charms, you-name-it, I was really excited to check out this new "Minx Manicure". I got a Lifebooker Loot discount certificate for this service assuming that the full price would be far too expensive. Turns out that full price  for a Minx Pedicure is only $50, which if you are used to acrylic and/or NYC prices, is affordable. They last TWICE as long as a normal pedicure so it evens out price wise. 

Out of the over 200 patterns/flags to choose from, I went with the mirror-gold cheetah print like the one above. It was a surprisingly simple process. They warm up the Minx nail decals under a light, stretch it over my nail and then cut it to fit. It doesn't peel, crack or smudge. No drying necessary. 

The only thing I was disappointed with is the fact that I couldn't get Minx on my hands. Minx is only for natural nails and I have acrylics. 

Get yours now. Find a salon that carries Minx here.

JJ Eyelash Extensions - Buy your Bedroom eyes here.

I thought that these mascara ad-like lashes are too good to be true. I was also worried about the concept of glue so close to my eyes. I have to say though these are worth every penny. I may be addicted to this now. For $75, you get a full set of natural-looking individual lashes applied available in a variety of lengths and 2 curl styles. I chose the C-curve pictured here but in a slightly shorter length because I thought the J-curve would be too straight. They cloth tape your bottom lashes down so they don't get stuck which is sort of annoying but glue never touches your skin, there is no odor and nothing uncomfortable. 

I love them!!

 They are so perfect and naturally sexy. Everyone noticed that something about my eyes looked great but no one thought I was wearing fake lashes. 

These last 2 weeks until you need to go back to get a refill which is only around $45. 

Celebrity tricks at affordable prices! Now you can look even more like a rock star than you already do. So Foxy!!! 

xoxox