Blog Posts by Marie Claire

Update Your LookThree experts on the perfect festive pieces - just in time for soiree season.

Olivia Palermo, socialite
Buy a great oversize clutch that works for day or night.
Keep double-sided tape in your bag to shorten a hem in a pinch.
Mix hard and soft, masculine and feminine.
Overdress rather than underdress.
Forget red and green for the holiday season - too predictable.
Try platform heels, which look hot but put less stress on your arches when you're standing all night at a party.
Play with hot pink.
Pack baby powder to absorb oil from both your hair and face.
Load up on heavy gold jewelry.
Invest in a long winter coat for evenings so your bare legs aren't exposed. SEE OLIVIA'S FASHION FINDS HERE

Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss,designer
Boldly pair bright colors, like red shoes with a blue dress.
Don't show too much cleavage.
Invest in a strapless dress with a fitted bustier and full skirt.
Add fun to a formal look with a high ponytail.
Don't fall for too-trendy dresses that you'll only

Hungry for Approval: Eating PackageMy cell buzzed with a text from my pal Melissa: "Dinner 2nite?? Emergency!!!" We met up at an overstuffed chain restaurant, where she ordered trough-sized margaritas and a cheesy artichoke dip before dishing about the suspicious texts she had found on her boyfriend's phone. As Melissa described how she managed to jot down the texter's number, our waiter appeared with a tub of bacon-garnished potato skins. Melissa kept going, so I went with her, chewing and counseling, until we were down to the last bite. Once the plates were cleared, she felt better - and I felt fatter.

I'm no stranger to these food-and-whine binges. In fact, I'm my set's go-to gal when life's little tragedies strike. Thrashed by your boss in front of the whole office? Got a bad haircut? Misery loves my company. I've canceled dates, missed concerts, even ducked out of work early for friends in turmoil. Invariably, we meet up at a greasy, come-as-you-are venue where the only salad in sight is of the coleslaw variety.

Ring in the season with the most glamorous gifts. Turn off your cell phones - and your guilt switch - and indulge with these luxurious gifts.Marie Claire Gift Finder
Rinspeed sQuba Car If you've got a James Bond boyfriend, then this is his dream come true. The sQuba moves seamlessly from land to water. Does it get any better than this? $1.5 million at symscape.com

Biometric Briefcase Send your husband off to work with this handsome, high-tech briefcase that only opens with a fingerprint scan. He'll love it. $12,000 at pianki.com

La Prarie Platinum Rare Cellular Cream Your best friend will love this luxurious cream, rich with platinum and other premium anti-aging ingredients. Stuff it in her stocking. $1000 at bloomingdales.com

Vertu Constellation Rococo Cell Phone This exquisite cellphone with bezel-trimmed cabochon sapphires is all about indulgence. Give it to someone wonderful. $8800 at vertu.com

East African Hemingway Safari Give an East Africa safari to the adventurer on your list. This tented trip is the

Shine readers we need your help! We're trying to find out which state has the most attractive people. Everyone loves a little healthy competition right? Upload photos of your favorite guys and tell us what state they're from and what makes them hot. Single Men
CLICK HERE TO UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS AND TO VOTE FOR YOUR STATE


RELATED

• Gifts For The Men You Love
  

• The Most Expensive Gifts

• Gifts Under $20

• The Ultimate Gift Finder: 100+ Gift Ideas
  

• Looking for More Love, Fitness & Career Advice? Subscribe to Marie Claire & Save!

Charity is the new black. Forget the gifts that keep on giving; go for the gifts that give twice - with proceeds going to a worthy cause.
100+ Gift Ideas
Helping a Third-World Family Help a third-world family this holiday season by donating a goat that will provide both nutrition and income. A beautiful, lasting gift. $120 at heifer.org
PeaceKeeper Vday lipgloss Help her feel good about her make-up with PeaceKeeper lipgloss. All profits go to women's health and human rights programs. $14 at iamapeacekeeper.com

Adopt a Gorilla Adopt a sweet baby gorilla in your friend's name and support the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund. The animal lover on your list will adore it. $50 to $300 at gorillafund.org

Fair Trade Honey Sweeten her holidays with the honey that supports fair trade and small-scale, rural farmers. It feels good to give. $18 at oxfamamericaunwrapped.com

Rwandan Peace Scarf
Look smart and feel good with this stylish scarf hand spun by disadvantaged women. Proceeds help genocide survivors. $45 at

Need a gift for your boss or a colleague? Here's a list of everything she'll need to get down to business in the office. Impress the professional woman on top with gifts that keep her on the ball and in the know. Help her plan her route to the corner office this holiday. Tory Burch Zip-Around Wallet Nothing says chic like a Tory Burch accessory. In metallic gold with the little touches that make this one wallet she won't want to put away. $225 at bloomingdales.com

Audrey File Totes She'll look as fashionable as she is smart, with this stylish alternative to the briefcase, with plenty of room for all her extras. $49.99 at spoonsisters.com
T3 Bespoke Wet-or-Dry Iron Turn wet locks into dry, shiny ones with this handy high-tech beauty tool that locks in moisture while keeping frizz at bay. $200 at sephora.com

The Working Girl's Survival Kit Makes staying beautiful easy. With a collection of 22 essentials, your friends will be equipped to handle any beauty emergency that comes their way.

From dad to dude you're dating - get him a gift he'll love. Up his style ante with this covetable gear, and there might be a kickback for you!

Max Benjamin Cigar and Martini Bag
The cocktail bag your boyfriend will love. Includes compartments for cigars, glasses, bottles, and more. $199.99 at maxbenjamin.com

Sephora Scent Sampler
Indulge your man with this best-selling scent sampler, featuring ten deluxe fragrances for him to try. $50 at sephora.com

Tortoise Steak Knives, Set of Six
This handsome set of six tortoise knives is exactly what the steak lover on your list is hungering for. This is one gift that will last for ages. $165 at horchow.com

The Greatest Presidential Stories
Give your history buff something to pore over this holiday season. Filled with stories that never made the textbooks, your man will delight in all these newfound facts. $18.95 at bn.com

Veranda Grill Canopy
This stylish canopy is the perfect accessory for an outdoor grill, allowing for barbecuing in any

Alessandra PetlinThree years ago, Debra Ryan had a bustling career and a millionaire hedge-fund boyfriend, Sam Israel. But after he was convicted of fraud, she risked it all to help him flee.

The U.S. Attorney's office charged Debra Ryan with helping her boyfriend, the financier-turned-fugitive Samuel Israel III, vanish the morning he was slated to enter a federal prison for a 20-year fraud sentence. Her role in his desperate, half-baked escape has left her $500,000 in debt and battling an aiding-and-abetting charge that could put her behind bars for a decade.

Ryan says the day Israel's lawyer informed him that money was gone for good, she found him naked, on the toilet, moaning, "My life is over."

Ryan attended Israel's April sentencing at a Manhattan courthouse clad in head-to-toe black. "It was a funeral to me," she recalls. The judge ordered Israel to serve 20 years in a federal prison and pay $300 million in restitution, one of the harshest punishments ever meted out to a white-collar