Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Photo by Styleta

Here at Adorable Napalm, we discuss beauty, fashion, pop culture, and all things adorable.  As much fun as that is, sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in the cool, pretty products on here, that I ignore the fact that not everything in the world is fun, cool, and pretty.  Luckily, there is at least one group out there who has taken its love of fashion and turned it into a way to better the community and help out some budding designers along the way.

Styleta is an online boutique, specializing in designer clothing at fantastic discounts (i.e. $110 Guess heels marked down to $29.99!).  That, in and of itself, is really cool.  What makes it awesome, is that all clothing is donated--either by individuals, stores, or designers--and all sale proceeds go directly to non-profits and women's initiatives.  Now, what makes this exceptional, is that it's run by a bunch of college kids.

That's right.  According to their website:

Styleta is a nonprofit network of college students who collect donations of designer fashion to sell online in order to raise funding for women's initiatives. We utilize fashion and e-commerce as a new and innovative method of obtaining financial capital for charities. 

Well, now.  How about that?  Styleta has donation sites at Harvard, New York, and Indiana Universities, with pickup at select nearby locations.  You can also mail in small donations if you're like me, and not living in that area.  Don't think that makes this a run-of-the-mill thrift store, though.  Styleta prefers new or gently-worn, clean, stylish or designer in-season clothing.  No moth-riddled Christmas sweaters from 1978 here.

But wait!  There's more!  As if helping out non-profits wasn't enough, these guys are working to help new designers gain exposure through their site.  Right now, Styleta is sponsoring a competition, where some seriously talented fashion design students are duking it out to see which one will have their design auctioned off for charity.  Okay, so maybe "duking it out" is a little extreme.  The designs are posted, and you can vote for your favorite.  The designer with the most votes wins.  I already have my favorite, but I won't say which one. 

Oh, in case you're still not impressed, Styleta is also helping the environment.  Every item of clothing donated and sold through the site amounts to one less pound of trash being thrown into a landfill.  Is there no end to their awesomeness?

Alrighty, if you're just joining the fun over here at AN, I've been on a mission to actually use all the samples I've been hording for what seems like forever.  Today, I reached into the magic bag o' samples and pulled out Buxom Lips in Dolly.  Well, in Dolly and Amber, actually, but I can only wear one at a time.  Well, I could wear both together, but not for testing purposes.

If you've ever read this blog before, you know I'm a Buxom devotee, and Buxom Lips is about all I ever wear.  According to Sephora, Buxom:

Naturally creates the look of fuller, more voluptuous lips. This mineral-infused polish imparts a luminous high shine with no sticky or tacky feeling. A deep infusion of antioxidant vitamins A and E help keep lips soft, smooth, and protected, while the tingly and cooling sensation reminds you that your lips are getting an immediate increase in fullness.

I can't swear that it plumps anything (never known a plumper that did, really), but it feels fantastic, lasts a good, long time, and the shine is phenomenal.  It's my gloss of choice, and my first recommendation to anyone.

Dolly is very pretty.  It's described as "shimmering muted plum", and it's basically the more opaque version of my go-to favorite, Clair.  In the tube the gloss is purple, but on your lips it's a beautiful baby pink with a hint of blue.  Final verdict:  it's gorgeous.  $18, Sephora.com.

One more thing:  if you want to try Buxom, and you want to do something to make the world a better place, you can do both at the same time.  A portion of the proceeds from every sale of Charity, the cherry red shade in Buxom's diamond (sheer and sparkly) collection, goes to the American Heart Association.  Now, that's something to smile about.