Teeny Manolo

Look no further for a comprehensive list of girl’s winter boots! No need for you to slave over a hundred-plus pages of shoes, I’ve done all the hard work for you!

Some of these boots are for the snow, some for rain, and some just to keep those tootsies warm. With a few exceptions, I’ve looked for a nice combination of price, fashion, and functionality. Happy boot buying!

Kamik Kids - Stomp (Youth) These popular bright rainboots are sure to chase any rainy-day blues away! Also comes in Infant/Toddler sizes as well.

Columbia Kids - Bugabootoo (Youth) Waterproof, insulated for temps as low as -25/F, and seam-sealed construction makes this a great shoe for cold, wet weather.

Hatley Kids - Rain Boots (Toddler) Completely waterproof rubber rain boot with lots of cool prints to choose from!

Khombu Kids - Hannah (Toddler/Youth) She will love the faux fur trim, and you will love how durable these boots are!

Primigi Kids - Moon(Toddler) These very cute boots are expensive, but a reviewer states that if you are in a location that uses snow boots often, they are worth the price!

Sorel Kids - Powder Storm (Toddler/Youth) The most highly rated of all the snow boots I found, these are some high-tech, excellent boots at a good price.

Cougar Kids - Becky (Infant/Toddler) Great boots for infants and toddlers. Easy-on and off, as well as very good sole traction to keep them from slipping.

Cougar Kids - Velocity (Toddler/Youth) Another pair of easy-on boots that are a great value, these are stylish and lightweight.

Cherie Kids - 4403 (Toddler/Youth) At over three-hundred dollars, this is one set of pricey boots, especially for a kid that will grow out of them. But, they are so purty, I just had to put them up.

Richter - 61.1975 (Toddler) I like these warm, waterproof boots because their deep red color is a bit different than the normal pastel colors often seen in girl’s shoes.

Khombu Kids - Oslo (Toddler/Youth) Stylish winter shoes that avoid the “spaceboot” look. Lacing makes it easy to tuck in even the thickest pants.

Yes, you read that right.

Black lips are even hotter (supposedly) than red lips this fall.

I’m not really sure how widespread the appeal is for this particular trend, other than the obvious Goth and nightclub set. I can just see the look on all the other kindergarten mothers as I pick up the Munchkin rocking jet-black lips. In fact, I could probably tell the exact moment when they decide to dis-invite me from all upcoming birthday parties.

True black lip products are hard to find, one of the hottest is sparkle-free PUR Black Lipgloss from YSL, available now. In November, Lancome is coming out with Color Fever Gloss in Piha Black, which comes in a set paired with a red gloss, both sparkly. There will be only 500 sets made, available at the Bloomingdale’s 59th Street location in New York, online, as well as at the five Lancome boutiques in the US.

If you really wanted to do a very dark but not necessarily black lip, you might want to try Garden Botanika’s Black Currant Lip Tint, or Revlon’s Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Berry. Also, one of the best dark lip looks can be had from the Wicked Lovely Lipgloss by Smashbox in Sultry, which is a dark cherry gloss. You can also use the Wicked Lovely Lipliner in Tempt underneath to make it last longer. Or possibly just use the liner and apply a nice shiny gloss over that as well.

The key is finding a dark shade in wine, cherry, or other deep color that works for your skin tone and then making sure it’s nice and glossy. But, I’m not sure this is one trend you’ll be seeing me in this season. 

Fall is in the air, is it not?

Well, it isn’t actually here where I live yet.  But, that has never stoppped makeup trends, and a hot one this fall is red lips.

I won’t lie, red lips are hard to pull off well.  You really do have to have the perfect color for your skin tone, or it just looks really bad.  And unfortunately, the best way to pick that perfect red is to try it on.  Use any other method, and you are likely to end up making a return trip to the store.

Some general guidelines are if you have fair skin, choose a red with a blue undertone. If you have a bit of color, you could spring for something with some orange undertones.  If you are tan or have quite a bit of color, rust overtones look good.  A true, London-bus red looks good on everyone, but they are hard to find.

So what I will do is give you tips on how to make your red lips look fab:

1. Use lip liner to give the color something to grab onto, because “bleeding” red lipstick is a horrible, horrible thing.  A liner that matches exactly is best, since manufacturers often offer liners in the same color as the lipstick. If you can’t find one, a liner that matches your natural lip color as closely as possible will also work.

2. Always use a lip brush to apply red lipstick, using the longest strokes possible. 

3. Make sure that you cover your lips entirely with the lipstick, including the corners.

4. Also key to keeping that color on your lips is blending concealer, preferably with a brush, around the edges of your mouth after the lipstick has been applied.

5. Gloss is optional, using it will soften the impact of the red.

6. Keep your eyes light.  A heavy, smoky eye competing with red lipstick is going to have people thinking you are off to a Halloween party.

And there you go! Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?

One lipstick to try in a nice, true red like the one I mentioned above is Christian Dior Premiere.

Our evil nemesis Elmo has inspired our captioneers with his unique brand of debauchery and sadism, so naturally it was a dirty battle for the top spot, but we have a winner!

Bellamama Says:
September 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

Though he originally claimed it was a simple translation error, investigators have now revealed that Elmo signed a multi-million dollar contract with the hand soap companies in Japan.

Congratulations, imaginary swag, and effective sanitation to Bellamama! What shall we present as our virtual prize? I think this occasion calls for something a little different. Something powerful, yet feminine. Something irresistable. Something Prada
:

My sincerest apologies for not posting the winners on September 6, as I said I would. A family emergency pushed things back a couple of days, thank you so much for your patience.

First I would like to thank the wonderful, generous folks at Stila Cosmetics, without whom, none of these giveaways would have been possible. I was thrilled when they contacted me, and it makes me happy to give away such fabulous products to our readers. Glinda adores spreading beauty and super fantastic-ness!

I would also like to thank everyone who took the time to pen a haiku and enter the contest. With over 80 entries, all were so creative and fun to read. I have always maintained that the readers of Teeny Manolo are some of the most intelligent women on the internet, and this contest proved it.

So after much deliberation between Raincoaster, the Manolo, and myself, we finally have our winners!

Our Runner-Up is Pepper, who wrote this amusing gem:

Tears make raccoon eyes
Lipstick smears on his collar
I curse cheap makeup.

And finally, our Grand Prize goes out to Eileen with this evocative haiku:

When I was little
I rouged my face with chapstick
and hoped for beauty.

Congratulations!

Actually, that’s pretty far off, even for a random internet quiz. I wonder what it would say about me if my fridge were this freakily futuristic fridge/table hybrid from Gorenje? The whole design does not sit well with the Fridges Rights Movement on DVice:

If I was a refrigerator, I would be feeling pretty unappreciated right now. What’s a table ever done besides hold food level? If you leave cheese on a table for a few days it’ll go bad, but if you keep it in a fridge it’ll stay fresh!

You won’t need to stand up to get the milk carton, but you’ll know deep down that you’re doing something wrong.

True enough. Convenience is one thing; the closety element of disguise here takes it to the rarefied level of those ridonkulous Victorian frilled pantaloons on piano legs. Not to mention the superstructure here makes it impossible to argue with someone sitting directly across from you…which is really the whole point of sitting directly across from someone, or is that just me?

With a record-breaking 238 entries, it will soon be time to announce the winner of the first Stila prize package.

But first…

If you didn’t win, don’t fret, I’ve got more! Two more prize packages, to be exact. There will be a Grand Prize filled to the brim with Stila products, retailing for over $175. Also, a runner-up will be awarded another prize package with over $100 in yummy Stila goodness, all provided by the lovely folks at Stila Cosmetics.

The runner-up package includes: Vintage Shadow Pot, Eye Shadow Duo, High Shine Lip Color, Lip Glaze Stick, and a Smoky Eye Palette.

The Grand Prize consists of: Eye Shadow Trio, a gorgeous Mazatlan Eye Shadow Trio, Smoky Eye Palette, SPF 15 Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, High Shine Lip Color, Glitter Eye Liner and a Lip Glaze.

And how do you win such fabulous stuff?

By penning a winning haiku, of course! The subject of the haiku must be somehow related to beauty/makeup. It can be funny, serious, outrageous, whatever kind of haiku you do best. You will be using the classic 5/7/5 format, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five again in the last line. An example has kindly been written for you by raincoaster:

Stila will be mine
Ain’t no two ways about it.
No three-ways neither.

Assisting me with the judging will be my esteemed colleague raincoaster, as well as El Jefe, The Manolo himself.

So, here are the official rules, blabbity blah…

1. One entry per person.
2. Haiku not adhering to the subject matter outlined above will be disqualified.
3. Contest open to residents of the US and Canada.
4. Contest ends at midnight (Pacifc) August 29, 2008.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the winner of the first prize package from the first giveaway!

Danielle of Elle in Wonderland, you have just made 237 people extremely jealous!

And the rest of you, come up with your best haiku and leave it below in the comments! Good luck and good haiku-ing!

Also, while you are here, why not add Teeny Manolo to your RSS feed? I promise you won’t regret it!

Ahhh, that time is coming, if not already here. Yes, the time to ponder what the heck you are going to buy your kids for their back to school wardrobes.

So for the next few weeks, I’m introducing a new feature where I focus on trendy back to school clothes, done two ways. Er, well, sometimes even three if I can swing it. And today, I can indeed swing three versions of the same concept in three different price ranges. Let’s get to it!

80’s influences are back, baby! And that means, of all things, argyle! Doesn’t it just take you back?

Lilly Pulitzer Kids Girl’s Darcie Cardigan Soft cotton cardigan comes with front pocket detail, rib trim, and contrast elbow patches. Tres cute at $68.00.

GapKids girl’s Argyle cardigan A little sparkle goes a long way with this cotton sweater, perfect for layering, $34.50.

Old Navy girl’s patterned polo Granted, it isn’t a sweater, but at $12.00, you will have plenty of money left over to buy some turtlenecks to stick under it.

Say hello to Tavi, a 12-year-old fashion blogger who is the very embodiment of superfantastic. While your common-or-garden tween angst appears to have put a temporary crimp in the blogging style, we have hope that she’ll again take to her keyboard and, with time, perhaps realize that no, Katie Holmes should not have worn black socks with those gladiator sandal heels.

Until such time as she makes a triumphant return to the blogosphere (ETA 36 hours) we can trawl the archives, enjoying such gems as: My New Best Friends

Normally I would say I want to kidnap them, but since we’re possibly the same age I shall instead befriend them. We’ll make secret clubs and eat soup we made out of tree bark and run around with mops on our heads and eat bugs. You’re extremely jealous you’re no longer 12 years old, aren’t you?

Damn straight.

Whoo-hoo! I’m excited!

Why are you so excited, Glinda, you ask? You are dying to know, I can feel it.

I’m excited because we are having a beauty giveaway here on Teeny Manolo!

Stila is one of my very favorite brands, and for the next few weeks, we will be giving away Stila’s fantastic Lip Glaze Sticks, one winner each week. These come in the same flavors as the Lip Glazes, but are in pencil form and have lots of shimmer. Perfect for summer! And who doesn’t like free stuff?

So what do you have to do to win?

1) If you have a blog, simply link to us somewhere on your blog. Leave your link in our comment section so that we can all see it, as well as promote your blog.

2) If you don’t have a blog, well, you will have to write something really nice about us and how much you love and adore us.

Winner will be chosen by random number generator, and unfortunately, this contest is limited to people in the United States and Canada. This week’s contest will close at 12AM Pacific, July 4, 2008.