Book Review: How to Look Expensive

This book has a lot of good pointers on hair, nails and make-up.  I wish she had more pointers on fashion and style.  However, the title is "How to Look Expensive".  Ms. Lustig stated that looking expensive starts with your hair and your skin/make-up. Your nails need to look manicure along with your feet. I believe 75% of the book was on these subjects, and 5% on the fashion. The rest gave some good resource pages.  If you can borrow this book from your library, that is the best way to go, because I don't believe it's worth the full retail price of $25.00.

I really hoped it would be a great reference book, but the veracity is, I felt robbed when I finished the book to discover that there weren't much discussion on fashion. After all, clothes are the big ticket items.

First off, I will share what I do concerning clothes, I have been told that if you wear one expensive piece, you can mix & match it with a lower end item from the Gap, Express or Ross.
1. Try not to buy clothes at full price, wait about 3 weeks or so for it to go on sale.
2. Always search the net using the keywords for discount: coupon promo [name of the store you want].
3. Check out the Clearance section online of your favorite stores before looking at New Arrivals.
4. Shop at Loehmann's, Marshall or Ross in affluent areas, such as Pleasanton or Hillsborough.
5. BUY only what you love, Love, LOVE!  If you like it, put it back. You must LOVE IT.
Bonus: if you haven't worn it within the week you bought it, take it back. You didn't love it enough to want to wear it right away.

Concerning pampering yourself.  I suggest you use Groupon.com, Bloomspot, and LivingSocial. You can save 50% off on many of the deals at these sites.  I highly recommend a facial, mani/pedi, and a massage each month, but if you are on a budget, get a professional facial every two months, give yourself a mani/pedi every month and a professional massage every 6 months. Please do not use the $20 foot massage places. They are not certified and can damage your body.  You can find deals on haircuts, too.

Now onto the information I gleaned from the book How to Look Expensive. I will only share what I found valuable.

1. Your smile is important so keep them teeth as white as you can by brushing for two minutes, followed by flossing, then rinse with mouth wash that contains antioxidants. Ms. Lustig gave a good example of PerioSciences AO ProRinse.

Tricks to making your teeth look whiter:

• Wear a blue-based red lipstick
• Sparkly earrings 
• Wetting your teeth with your tongue to make it look shiny

     2.  A Natural way to bleach teeth is by eating strawberries. Apples cleans your gums and gives you   

          clean breathe.


And lastly, Ms. Lustig's Luxe Wardrobe Rules:

1. Stick to a basic color palette
2. Collect statement jewelry
3. Spend money on accessories, not clothes
4. Don't wear high-end designer from head to toe
5. Find yourself a good taylor
6. White blouses look good in every season
7. Buy interesting one-of-a-kind tops, jackets and dresses
8. Buy your size or get your taylor to fit it for you

If you want more, check out her book at your library or find is used. Otherwise, I think if you make sure your hair and your make-up look good before you leave the house, you will look better than half the people out there who do not care what they look like.

Please leave a comment as to whether you like this topic or not.

Thank you!

Written by Linh Dang
Founder of FreedomCollage