Summer Scentz Giveaway

I am happy to announce my second ever giveaway, as a thank you to all my amazing readers and subscribers! This giveaway is being sponsored by the boutique Scentz and Scentzability (to learn more about this amazing fragrance company read my blog post here). They are giving away a FULL SIZE fragrance from their collection ($50 value) to one of my lucky readers. The giveaway is open internationally and will close on July 20th 2012. 

RULES:

The rules are simple...

1.  Like Fancy Francy's facebook fan page.

  Like the Scentz and Scentzability fan page. (Both of which can be done through rafflecopter below.)

 Additional entries will be awarded for following Fancy Francy on twitter or google friend connect.

2. Must be 18 years or older to enter or have parent/guardian consent.

4. The winner of this contest will be chosen through rafflecopter with the use of random.org. 

5. Contest Ends July 20th 2012. Open internationally.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below! Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS: Interested in purchasing something from their website, readers of Fancy Francy can use this special discount code to get 10% of their next purchase: discount code F2812!

www.myscentz.com

xoxo,

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Boutique Interview: Scentz & Scentzibilities

 

Recently a friend introduced me to a unique fragrance and body care boutique operating out of Toronto, Canada called "Scentz & Scentzibilities."

I was so impressed with their product offering and green company philosophy, that I reached out to the owner who was gracious enough to allow me to do a feature on her and the boutique.


If that wasn't already great enough, she also agreed to sponsor a giveaway for one of my lucky readers (look out for more information on that coming this week!)


1.     What inspired you to open this boutique? What’s the story of how this all started?


Having been introduced to perfume oils I fell in love with the whole business - from design of the scent to packaging, marketing and distribution. I particularly loved the concept of designing bespoke fragrances for individuals and the "Scentz Bar" was born.


2.     How do you decide on what scents to carry and from where do you source your assortment? Do you manufacturer your own fragrances?


We source our blends from France and Dubai and then combine them in-house to produce our own line of fragrances. Our blends are based on the popular scents that North Americans love. What is popular in our culture differs from other cultures so it is important to choose blends that appeal to North Americans. Our bases are already blended with the proper top, middle and heart notes. We then take our blends and create our Signature line of fragrances. Currently we have 5 women and 3 men Signature scents along with a complete line of bath and body products available in each scent. However we have 11 blends that we use to create unique fragrances.

3.     What set’s your boutique apart from other boutiques in the area/city as well as your competitors internationally?
 Our company is unique in many ways. One element that sets our company apart is our commitment to the empowerment of the individual. Toward that end we seek charities to support that empower the individual. We also put on charity Scentz Bars where 30% of all proceed go to the Charity. A fun and unique way of raising money for valued causes.
From a product perspective we have a truly green and healthy fragrance. We use 100% perfume oil for our fragrances, this means that you get a full-bodied and longer lasting fragrance that you don't have to reapply throughout the day! In addition, all of our fragrances are 100% alcohol free. As the alcohol is non existent, many of the negative health issues that sometimes prevents people from being able to use perfume (such as headaches, sneezing, itchy and watery eyes) does not occur with our fragrances. This means that most people who cannot wear perfumes can wear our fragrances. In fact we have had many customers who have not been able to wear perfumes for years be able to wear ours. Another benefit is that the fragrance becomes part of you and people love the way you smell as oppose to having the fragrance wear you.

The ability to have a custom "Bespoke fragrance" designed for you is another element that sets us apart from our competition. In addition every Bespoke fragrance that we design can be infused into our full line of bath &body products! Making it the perfect way to have a signature scent that is unforgettable. 

Scentz also has an amazing subscription program where you can sign up to have a fragrance delivered to you every month or quarter. It's the perfect way to treat yourself or a loved!

4.     Which of this season’s scents are you especially excited about carrying in your store?


For women we are really excited about are best sellers which are "Pure Intrigue" and "Flirt". Pure Intrigue is a Floral Oriental infused with edible notes. Flirt, is a Fresh Floral, crisp and clean. We are also super excited to have just introduced our newest fragrance for the season: "Kai". It combines elements from both our best sellers in order to create a unique Fresh Floral Oriental with hints of edible notes. So far Kai has been received with rave reviews by our clients!

For men, we are excited to once again be offering "Bold" which is an alluring fragrance with Fresh woodsy oriental notes. Great for the summer or anytime!

5.     Describe your personal style, how is your style reflected in the scents you carry and your boutique?


My personal style is "simple elegance" with a hint of edginess. My favorite designers are Ralph Lauren's eclectic Chic line, Chanel, Diane VOn Furstenberg, Tori Burch and J Crew. Our Pure Intrigue is definitely reflective of Diane Von Furstenberg while our newest scent Kai is reflective of Ralph Lauren's eclectic chic. I believe our fragrances not only reflect my personal style but the style of the women that are unique, fashionable, and forward thinking. The platform of our company is empowerment and the power of being uniquely you.God created us as individuals and our fragrances reflect that individuality.

Our company is seen as being truly reflective beautifully integrated in the environment that exists in Toronto. Our product appeals to the 18 to 35 year old women who is uniquely themselves. They are fun, socially responsible, forward thinking and fashionable with a hint of edginess. They see their ethnicity as a sense of pride as they see their personal family. Their peers are from a diverse background as they are confident with who they are as an individual and embrace the differences and sameness of all people.

I'm guessing you are now also in love with this company just like me! If you want more information (or can't wait to try these products out for yourself) check out their website or feel free to reach out to boutique owner Antoinette by emailing her.

Do you have a signature scent for summer?

Comment below and let me know what you think of this company, also which of their products would you like to see me do a giveaway of?

PS: Interested in purchasing something from their website, readers of Fancy Francy can use this special discount code to get 10% of their next purchase: discount code F2812!

xoxo,

Style in the news: Solange

Featured Items: Printed Blazer | Pink Clutch

 This week's wardrobe inspiration was inspired by a celebrity that has recently become a style trendsetter and is well on her way to becoming a full fledged style icon!

Recently fashionista Solange was spotted rocking a printed statement blazer at the See What Unfolds Event in NYC. This outfit looked amazing and reminds me of a date night look I put together on a Francy Answers not to long ago. Printed blazers are on trend right now and look awesome when paired with a more understated outfit. Love the look? Check out these similar pieces I picked out below!

Shop below to get the look!

Roberto Cavalli blazer | Topshop Blazer | Floral Blazer | Raoul leather clutch | Rebecca Minkoff leather clutch

Marc by Marc Jacobs clutch | Lodis mini handbag | Friis Company leather clutch

Be sure to comment below and let me know what you think about this look!!

xoxo,

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Image Source: robertocavalliblog.com

Style in the news: Solange

Style in the news: Solange by fancyfrancy featuring coin bags

Roberto Cavalli floral jacket
£1,344 - net-a-porter.com

Rebecca Minkoff coin bag
$176 - zappos.com

What's Trending Now? The Hi - Low Hem

Whether you call them "drop hem" "hi-low" or a "mullet", this style dress and skirt has come back this season with a vengeance...
I first saw this last summer while I was in New York and was eager to try the trend out for myself. I purchased this dress: here

 

It has cut outs in the stomach area that are pretty tiny, but still had a bit of sexiness to the overall dress. I love love LOVE this dress and feel like it was the perfect piece for me to try out this trend with. Fast forward to this summer, more and more of these mullet style hem lines are popping up at all of my favorite stomping grounds. In particular, Necessary Clothing has about a million that I want in my closet NOW but since I have to exercise some self control, I decided to share my picks with you!

Long chiffon dress
$38 - necessaryclothing.com

Night out dress
$38 - necessaryclothing.com

Short long dress
$40 - necessaryclothing.com

Sheer dress
$30 - necessaryclothing.com

Classic black dress
$30 - necessaryclothing.com

Hi lo dress
$31 - necessaryclothing.com

Rock skirting
$27 - necessaryclothing.com

Grace Belted High Low Dress Mint
$25 - necessaryclothing.com

Racing Stripes High Low Dress Black
$38 - necessaryclothing.com

Comment below and let me know which one is your favorite! Also let me know if you have tried this trend already!!

xoxo,

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Five Minute Meal: Homemade Guacamole Recipe

Is it just me or is the world suddenly obsessed with guacamole?! Maybe everyone has always secretly loved guacamole but just never really felt the need to talk about it and then one day some guy just decided to tell the world and immediately everyone raised their hand in agreement, what ever the case, it's clear that guacamole is a "fan favorite" for many.

 

I realize that technically guacamole isn't typically a meal, but for a week while I was still in college I lived off of free Chipotle guacamole coupons so ever since then it has been upgraded in my book from snack to potential main (and only) course. 

With that being said, it's probably worth it to learn this simple quick recipe in case you are a {insert noun or occupation here} and find your self in need of something quick and healthy to whip up fast.

Ingredients: Two avocados, half a roma tomato diced or 1/4 cup, 1/4 cup of white onion diced, 1/2 clove of garlic, very finely diced jalapeño pepper to taste, sea salt to taste, and cilantro to taste

Step 1: Finely dice tomato, onion, pepper, and garlic clove

Step 2: Carefully peel/ cut off the skin from the avocados

Step 3: Cut up the avocados into medium small size pieces

Step 4: Combine all ingredients into a bowl and begin to mash together (I like to use my mashed potato masher for this part but a serving spoon will also work)

Step 5: Season with cilantro and sea salt to taste. 

Comment below and let me know if you make homemade guacamole and if you would like to see more food related post!!!

xoxo,

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Swimsuits for Every{body}

This year you don't have to dread going swimsuit shopping, keep reading to see how to look your best no matter what your body type...

Summer and swimsuit season has finally officially arrived! For most of us, that means sunny vacations, drinks by the pool, and of course swimsuit shopping! Swimsuit shopping can be stressful, no matter what your body type. In part one of this two part series, I show the best swimsuits for fuller and smaller busted girls that will help accentuate your assets and make you feel confident!

Smaller Bust: Look for tops that have detailing such as ruffles or ruching which add more volume to the area. 

Larger Bust: The key is to look for tops that have straps. The best style is typically a halter because it ties behind your head, which provides the most support!

Tara Matthews sequin bathing suit
$425 - net-a-porter.com

Melissa Odabash bandeau bathing suit
$180 - net-a-porter.com

Melissa Odabash bikini swimwear
$175 - net-a-porter.com

Marc by Marc Jacobs bikini swimwear
£118 - farfetch.com

Fat Face halter bikini swimwear
£22 - fatface.com

Miso bandeau bathing suit
£20 - republic.co.uk

Fat Face tankini bathing suit
£18 - fatface.com

Comment below and let me know what your biggest concerns are when swimsuit shopping!

xoxo,

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Tee Shirt Time

It's summer time, and that can only mean one thing...

Any one who knows me, knows that I rarely ever wear t-shirts. Aside from my college paraphernalia shirts, I'm much more of a dress, blouse, or even tank top type of girl. I think that subconsciously I have stopped my self from wearing t-shirt because I feel that they make me look even younger than I already look. (I can't tell you how often people mistake me for a high schooler, even when I'm wearing a suit!!) Despite this, lately I've been noticing adorable shirts with sayings or pictures that I just can't stop staring at. Maybe it's a half hearted attempt to hold on to the carefree days of school, what ever the case I've thrown out my old rule book and decided that it's finally tee shirt time!!



Comment below and let me know if you still like to rock t-shirts and if you still watch Jersey Shore. 

xoxo,

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Weekly Wardrobe Inspiration: Summer

With these five summer essentials you are sure to make allies with the sun this summer :)

 

Today is the official first day of summer (although here in Atlanta it's been feeling like summer for quite some time now). For the majority of you it is starting to heat up where you live and you are finally experiencing my slight discomfort with wearing my usual amount of clothing. Since we can't beat the heat, might as well join them.

Comment below and let me know what are your "summer essentials"?

xoxo,

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Spiked Iphone Case DIY Tutorial

Keep reading to see how you can create the ultimate iphone weapon protection case!



I've been coveting the spiked iphone case for a while now, ever since I stumbled upon one a few months back, and judging from the comments on current crush post, I'm not alone. I immediately wanted to purchase one despite the hefty $50 something price tag, but had a hard time finding any in stock.

Finally I decided what the hey, I'm a pretty crafty girl, I'm sure I could find a tutorial on how to DIY this myself!

 

 I began to scour the internet looking for a relatively stress free and straight forward way to create this case for a reasonable price. Although one of my amazing readers linked a tutorial they found under one of my posts, I found an issue with that tutorial as well as the other similar ones I found online.

 

The problem with all the ones I found was that they did not actually protect your phone (the main purpose of a case). Instead most of them involved getting a rubber case and pushing the spikes through, which would inadvertently cause the spike bottoms to rub against the phone surface, scratching up your phone in the long run.

Solution...I decided to make one myself!

Materials Needed:

1. Metal Tree Spikes (can be purchased online from various websites)
2.  Hot Glue Gun ( I have an adorable mini one I purchased back in high school, don't ask why I was a teenager needing my own personal craft tools)
3. Clear Hard Plastic iphone case (instead of the rubber soft ones)
4. Marker or Sharpie

 

Step 1: Lay all materials out on a flat covered surface. Place the spikes on the case to determine the design/ layout you want on your case. Once your satisfied with the look, make dots on the case with your marker where you want the spikes to be

 

Step 2: Plug in your hot glue gun. Squeeze a drop of glue, slightly smaller in diameter than the base of the spike onto the case and quickly push the base of the spike into the glue. (Similar to the millions of craft projects they had you do in kindergarten that all basically had glue as the one and only material).

HINT: Don't worry if "string like " pieces of glue are on your case as you are using the hot glue gun, these can easily be removed once your done, with your fingers!

 

Step 3: Repeat step 2 until you have completed your design. Remove any "strings of glue." Since the hot glue dries very fast your case will be ready to use as soon as your finish!

Step 4: Realize that you are officially a bad ass. Congratulate yourself.

I hope you all enjoy reading this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it!! Comment below and let me know what you think of this tutorial and if you plan to try this DIY project!!!!

xoxo,

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***Note all images in this post are my property, please contact me to ask permission before using, thanks!!