The title 101 GLAM GIRL WAYS TO AN ULTRA CHIC LIFESTYLE caught my eye, and I opened it up. Dawn Del Russo's online boutique, BellaDawn.com, is cute, so I decided to give the book a chance.
The best part is the charming illustrations of Barbara Ann Scrrillo, the owner of Brushstrokes. They are all in color and all supercute. It makes the book fun to look through, which is useful when some of Del Russo's advice is repetitive or not that insightful.
Tip #34: Send flowers to yourself.
Tip #65: Fresh cut flowers.
Tip #23: Wear deodorant. (Flavor text: Do we even have to give an explanation for this one?)
The redundant and overly simple tips annoy me, because there are some helpful and inventive tips. Del Russo advocates short meditation, which I've always found helpful. (I'm less stressed, my mood is more balanced, and it's absolutely perfect before you go to sleep if you've been having trouble reaching la-la land.) She also points out where it is best to splurge diamond studs, a nice pair of pumps, a nice black dress, and a watch. Those few designer/expensive pieces can be picked out carefully, and make the rest of your wardrobe look classier. (Plus, as Del Russo advocates, a tailor can also work wonders.)
However, even the good advice seems to breezily presented. The flavor text beneath each illustration offers some insight, but I'm the kind of person who likes to keep asking, "Why?" until I get a really good explanation. I would've preferred a book with fewer tips and more prose illustrating how to integrate the tips into your life, especially if you do need your glam girl lifestyle to be affordable.
My final verdict? 101 GLAM GIRL WAYS TO AN ULTRA CHIC LIFESTYLE is cute and fun to flip through, but it probably won't make a difference to your lifestyle unless you're a total beauty neophyte. The advice is a bit too practical and simplistic.
Review copy
From In Bed With Books
This little book on glam girl fashion is as indispensible as every woman's little black dress. The book is a palm-ful (at just over one hundred pages), and easily read in a few minutes. Each tip is carefully highlighted with colorful illustrations and fun sayings, which offer reminders on how to become glamorous.
I imagine that the author and illustrator have the idea to remind all women that easy glamour is well within everyone's reach. This is true on every level, although our stressful lives certainly don't help our cause to remaining beautiful, within our harried schedules. Although the tips offered in the book are deceptively simple, I did feel that they were all useful reminders on ways to enrich and refresh my spirit. To that end, the smallest positive effort can significantly increase and improve the value and quality of my otherwise impossibly busy life. And everyone can use a reminder that she is worth putting herself first, right?
This is a cute little book, and would make a great gift to give to a glam girl of any age.
Buy 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle: A Cheeky Book with Tidbits of Advice for a Glamorous Now
In this publication, Del Russo (Fashion Merchandising and Design, Parsons School of Design, 2002; B.S., Business Management, Wagner College, 2001; contributing fashion writer for select online magazines), an up-and-coming fashion stylist and founding owner of a successful, storefront and online, clothing and accessory boutique Bella Dawn (), with the assistance of Scarrillo (Fashion Institute of Technology; Owner, Brushstrokes), a graphic designer from New York City with over twenty years experience, provides a pocket-sized, guide book for women, who may be searching for budget friendly glamour and quick, easy ways to go beyond their everyday fashion, beauty, and/or lifestyle routines. By means of 101 tips, each of which is boldly-presented and colorfully-illustrated on a separate page, the author sets forth practical and realistic advice that may have financial consequences. Covering clothing, jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, hair, personal hygiene, self-presentation, health, body, mind, work, home, travel, entertainment, and more, Del Russo focuses on outward and inward aspects of glamour, thereby broadening the scope of the subject and suggesting that there is more to the topic. For the author, glamour is more than skin deep. It goes beyond appearances and constitutes a mindset and way of life. While many of Del Russo's recommendations may relate partly to sociallyand culturally-accepted standards of decorum and fashion--ex. Tip #23 Wear deodorant ... (p. 31)--and others are not new but rather longstanding and true--ex. Tip #13 Find a little black, "`must-have"' dress ...(p. 21)--most if not all her "tidbits" are original, to the extent that they combine fashion, beauty, and/or lifestyle tips into unique statements. For example, on the subject of shoes, in Tip #42, Del Russo proclaims, "Slip into a pair of designer pumps. ... Every girl should own at least one pair, right?" Yes, true, probably every "girl" or woman should own a pair of pumps, a well-known, widely-disseminated fashion principle. Del Russo further implies by the wording of Tip #42 that if you can not afford to own more than one pair of pumps, than at least buy a designer brand. The author believes quality matters and it usually is an excellent indicator of beauty and style, although not the only factor. For all women, but particularly for younger, single women, who may be "home alone on a Friday night" and more able to "dress red carpet style" (Tip #69, p.77), without a husband and/or children around, this well-presented, nicely-illustrated, unique, delightful, easy-to-read book serves as a useful, fun, beauty guide. While it is not comprehensive, it may serve as a good, first start for many women, who may need a little fashion, beauty, and/or lifestyle help to move beyond the everyday. A great personal gift, it also belongs in some public libraries as a complimentary, fashion, beauty, and/or lifestyle resource as well as an enjoyable read. Recommended-C. A. Lajos, The Librarian's Review of Books, http://librariansreviewofbooks.blogspot.com
Read Best Reviews of 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle: A Cheeky Book with Tidbits of Advice for a Glamorous Here
"Dream your dream, live your life, and look glamorous doing it"
Dawn Del Russo
Little things really do make a difference. 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle by Dawn Del Russo is packed with suggestions on living a more beautiful life. Each page contains a tidbit on how to live a more glamorous life such as: have a massage; buy fresh cut flowers; make a vision board, and much more.
101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle is a beautifully illustrated guide to enjoying life to the fullest!
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (October 8, 2009), 110 pages.
Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.
Want 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle: A Cheeky Book with Tidbits of Advice for a Glamorous Discount?
101 Ways is a cute fast book with tips on how to live your days enjoying your fashion, your every spare moment, and your life. These tips are simple and easy: "Wear what you love--don't always go for designer names. Look for splendid pieces in undiscovered boutiques." and "Take a bath--luxuriate in a warm bubble bath, step out feeling like a million bucks." My favorite was # 16--"Pick up a book. Knowledge is power. and power is chic." They're the kind of thing that you read and follow just to give yourself a quick break, and a refreshing change, with tons of easy, fool-proof fashion tips.
The illustrations are beautiful! Here's a photo of one of the pictures: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWmqYn4WCoAUVIACjja0zsu_srXPsKp3YDWprf7NLd4Mo6ZNYaV5EKQ2sNuGK7WfkrDAqbrLENjSPWi_i6HzgWT4Hp0mwF9k8TBkP1ABk6oyJ7A913c8lp50evjKI75ovKnMgxEbSacc/s1600-h/tip%2016%5B5%5D.jpg
Recommendation: Ages 12+ for lovers of fashion, bubble baths, and being themselves in a chic stylish way!
I bought the "Toning for Teens" book back in February. I started working out on Feburary 15th, using the exercises in the book. It is now May 14th, and I have gone down 2 sizes, and still am getting smaller! Everyone is noticing the difference! This book is amazing!
