Shopping in Your Pajamas: Great Sites for Hip Fashions and Beauty Products

You know the drill:  Crowd into the mall on Saturday or Sunday, fight the angry mobs and go home defeated because you couldn’t muster the courage to stick it out long enough to find your Mom a birthday present.  Everyone’s been there, and that’s why I’m a big fan of brewing a pot of coffee, putting on that face mask you’ve been dying to try, and connecting to the internet.  What could be better than shopping in your Pjs!  While the malls are filled with chain stores and screaming kids, the internet is abuzz with cute boutiques, great deals on designer wears and no kids whatsoever.  Here are some crucial sites to check out in your web-shopping journey.Top Button (www.topbutton.com) is a great site filled with name-brand designers, sample sales, as well as great online savings on large amounts of clothing, jewelry, handbags and cosmetics.  This is the mecca of snobby shopping without the uppity personnel!  The site is wonderful to play around on, and easy to find great deals.  Just make sure you sign up because the site only lets in members.  Plus, you’ll be the first notified when a great sample sale comes to your city!Planet Lulu (www.planetlulu.com) is one of the most wonderful fashion sites on the web.  You’ll think you’ve died and gone to up-and-coming designer heaven!  If you’re lucky enough to live in Los Angeles, they have sample sales (3 – 4 days a month) that have the coolest clothing, jewelry, undergarments (cosabella thongs!) and great housewares (I nabbed the coolest throw pillow for five bucks).  If you don’t live in LA, don’t completely freak because you can access their loft sales online (three to six days a month) and they’re new jewelry boutique (open every day)!  Just go to the website and make sure you sign up for email newsletters, because all their sales are by invite only.  Just a hint, make sure you logon as soon as the online shop opens to nab the coolest stuff at the best prices!  They always have great designer jeans at killer prices, but they go fast so shop early.Skin 1 (www.skin-one.com) is the greatest site to keep your skin looking happy and glowy.  If you’re like me (a bit of a product whore), you’ve got to check out the great deals they have on big-name facial and cosmetic lines.  They carry Dermalogica, DDF, and BioElements just to name a few. And the best part, shipping is absolutely FREE.  They are nice enough to ship Priority Mail (they truly understand that when a woman NEEDS her facial scrub, she NEEDS it now), so your order will be at your doorstep in 2-3 days!  Just a tip:  If you’ve never checked out June Jacobs spa line of body and facial products, you are seriously missing out.  Her “lip silk” is to die for.Lipmedic (www.lipmedic.com) is a great site for people who are serious about their lips!  If you can’t live without lip stuff (and who can’t, really) you need to check out this site.  They carry everything you could ever want to slather onto your kisser and in a variety of flavors.  They carry a ton of stuff from overseas that we Americans are deprived of, and of course, carry the most important lip salve – Rosebud salve.  If you plan on kissing that gorgeous guy a cubicle over, it’s good to invest in some memorable flavored lipbalm, right? Amici Accessories (www.amiciaccessories.com) carries the cutest and most addictive handbags on the web.  If you’re accessory-crazed, you have it check out this site.  Their prices are amazing and the fabrics are fantastic!  I bought my best friend one of their adorable clutches, and she rocks that bag everywhere she goes!  Warning:  this site is fabulously addictive.  If you’re a seasoned web-crawler, I’m sure you’ve been to Red Envelope (http://www.redenvelope.com  If you haven’t been here yet, you need to go right now.  (I mean it.  Stop reading this article and go to their site)  If you’re looking for some really cool gifts for family and friends, or maybe even something for yourself (why wait for that deadbeat boyfriend of yours to get you something) check out the sale shop at Red Envelope.  The leather monogrammed travel wallet makes an amazing gift and at thirty bucks, you should get one for yourself.  I got the “sterling links bracelet” and it just rocks my wrist!  Beautiful design and it comes in a cute red box.  What more could one ask for?Delias (www.delias.com) is a great site for clothing and accessories.   I know it’s targeted to teens, but really I think we all still have some teen in us (C’mon, we still talk in bases, don’t we?)  Anyways, you’ve gotta nab some of the great tanks and cropped pants for summer!  They’ve also got some great bags and espadrilles (they must-have shoe for the summer).  The prices are great, colors are fun and bright, and shipping is free over $75.00.www.meetmark.com is the great company by Avon which carries make-up for teens that’s also amazing for adults.  Everything they sell is fantastic.  Make-up is high quality, lip glosses smell delicious (yum!) and you can’t leave the site without checking out their accessories.  I bought a fab clutch that I use every single weekend!  Must have:  Hollywood Pink body lotion.  So yummy smelling, you might want to chew off your own arm - but I’m not promoting this behavior.I think I have well-armed you for your shopping extravaganza.  So, grab the plastic, brew the coffee, slather on that face mask and hit the net!