Weekly Links: Giveaway Bonanza Armani Exchange,
Ulta, Anne Klein Giveaway

This week?s Shopping + Goodies bloggers have rounded up lots of lovely loot in their giveaways. Read on for a chance to win items from Anne Klein, Michelle Roy, Guess, Chickdowntown, ULTA, Carolina Herrera and others.

Fashion Hippo is having an $100 Armani Exchange Gift Card Giveaway.  Enter here!
The Fashionable Housewife is giving away a $200 Gift Card for Anne Klein! Enter for a chance to win before Nov 8th at midnight!!
A Few Goody Gumdrops is so excited to give away Michelle Roy?s Arm Candy Bracelets. Enter to Win!
Be Seen In Hollywood takes you Elmer Ave. Spring 2010 Fashion Collection.
Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy has a foot fetish thanks to Famous Footwear!
Couture In The City trend alert time to add embellishment to your look this fall.
Fashion Cents gives away great tips on how to wear the sheath dress.
Fashion Fille is giving away a beautiful and luxurious pair of velvet leggings from Chickdowntown.com. Enter now to win!
Handbag du Jour wants to know ? will you pay $995 to design your own needlepoint Fendi baguette?
Princess Dominique Dishes Fashion entices you to enter the GUESS Innocent2 Multi Strap Platform Pumps Giveaway!
Quinta Trends talks to Argentinean fashion brand: La Coquette.
Shopping and Info has a $500 gift card giveaway for Carolina Herrera.
SomeoneSpoilMe.com is giving away a FREE Bottle of Dr. Perricone?s No Foundation Foundation!
Style Eyes is starting to think about Christmas (already!) and has found some very stylish Rudolph and Reindeer Fashion
StyleMaven is trendspotting a roundup of pret-a-porter perfume rings from Michael Kors? ?Very Hollywood?, Marc Jacobs? ?Lola? and Kat Von D.
The Fashionable Bambino is giving away 2 pairs of Pediped Soft-Soled Baby Infant Toddler Shoes!! Enter for a chance to win before Nov 8th at midnight!
The Fashionable Gal is having a fabulous Alight.com Giveaway just for Plus Size gals! Enter by November 30th at 11:59PM EST!
The Fashionable Housewife is giving away a pair of Tall Boots from SuperShoes.com! Winner gets to pick from 5 pairs of beautiful boots! Enter before Nov 8th at midnight!
The FindBlog is giving away a $50 gift card from beauty superstore ULTA this week. Leave a comment on TheFind Blog here to enter!
What?s Haute Magazine and Shopbop.com. hope you will view Marc Jacobs handbags. Who wants some?

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Illy Coffee Makes Its Move in North America

Italian coffee maker IllyCaffe SpA is making a move on Starbucks. Illy is a closely held company based in Trieste, Italy, that makes really delicious coffee. We love it hot or iced. Now Illy is expanding its reach and negotiating deals to be the only coffee served at selected cafes.

For the shops, aligning with a premium brand is a way to differentiate themselves from chains and other independent shops--and to charge higher prices. At Caffe Greco in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, owner Hanna Suleiman says sales have increased by 10% and profits by 3% since the shop signed up with Illy a year ago.

Illy began signing up independent shops, mostly in Italy, three years ago in a program called "Artisti del Gusto," or Artists of Taste. It brought the program to the U.S. last year. Illy supplies shops with Italian espresso machines, coffee cups, artwork, drink recipes and intensive training, after which the cafe becomes a certified Illy purveyor. In return, the shop must agree to serve only Illy coffee for at least three years.

*****

There are currently 28 U.S. shops operating under Artisti del Gusto certification and Illy plans to add 100 more in the next three years. The company also is moving the program into Canada and Mexico.

Illy staffers in North America visit certified shops to check quality standards. The stores are routinely scored on how well they steam milk and clean the espresso machines. If cafes aren't performing up to par, Illy provides additional training while reserving the right to yank their certification, says Gregory Fea, chief executive of Illy's North American business.

The more Illy the better, as far as we're concerned.

Posted in Gourmet

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Rihanna's Rated R Cover Art Released

The edgy yet gloomy cover art for Rihanna's upcoming album called Rated R has been released. Pop Eater says the cover was shot by photographer Ellen von Unwerth. She says, "Rihanna was looking to create something a bit new for the look of the album."

The album will be released on November 23rd. If you forget the date you can always check Rihanna's website which has a counter tracking the remaining time down to the very last second.

Posted in Music

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Bright, Beautiful and Boldly on the cover of
V…Natalie Portman is a Powerhouse

[...]

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http://lifelovecouture.com/?p=1032

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Apple's App Store Contains 100,000 Applications

Apple announced today that there are now over 100,000 applications available in its iTunes App Store.

"The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating."

"The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve," said Travis Boatman, vice president of Worldwide Studios, EA Mobile. "With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers."

"With 10,000 downloads a day, worldwide customer response to our I Am T-Pain App has exceeded our wildest expectations," said Jeff Smith, CEO of Smule. "The App Store has given us a unique opportunity to create and grow a very successful business, and we're looking forward to an exciting future."

100,000 apps is a ton of applications but many of them are overlooked. ReadWriteWeb reports that data from Appsfire indicates that only about 20,000 of the apps in Apple's App Store are actually being used.

With so many apps available - an abundance of riches - it could get overwhelming for iPhone and iPod Touch users. GigaOm says the next thing for Apple to do with its store is to "focus on the discoverability of the applications." Apple does need to help its users find high quality apps and ignore silly ones that have little purpose or value.

Tidbits lists numbers from the app stores for different smartphones here. The Android app store is the closest to Apple's App Store with 10,000 apps.

You can find more discussion of Apple's growing App Store here on Techmeme.

Posted in Tech

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Look of the Day

Bárbara Martelo. 

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http://fashionistasworld.blogspot.com/2009/11/look-of-day_04.html

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Video: What Wine To Bring to a Dinner Party

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, who write the Tastings column for The Wall Street Journal, say that the question they get from readers most this time of year is what wine should they bring when they are invited to a dinner party. Dorothy says you should put some effort into the selection and try to find something tasty and trendy. Hot trends in wine right now that won't break the bank (being thrifty is on trend, too) include Prosecco, Malbec from Argentina, naked or un-oaked Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs from Oregon and 2005 Bordeaux, which haven't sold well because of the recession and so are a good value. Take a look:

Posted in Gourmet

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Disney Gets Approval to Build Shanghai Theme Park

Bloomberg reports that Disney has won a government approval to build a Disney Theme Park in Shanghai.

The agreement to construct Disney's fourth park outside the U.S. in the world's most populous nation "marks a very significant milestone," Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger said in a statement. Disney and its Shanghai partners are now allowed to move toward a construction and operation agreement, the statement said.

Disney's foothold in mainland China comes after a decade of negotiations and will cost 24.5 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), according to Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po. The expansion targets the wealth of China's middle class and the fastest growth of any major economy as Burbank, California-based Disney suffers from lower spending at its U.S. theme parks, tumbling ad sales and falling DVD revenue.

"It gives Disney an opportunity to monetize its brand without necessarily having to produce filmed content," said David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in New York. Expanding in China without facing the risk of regulatory hurdles is "the real key to making money in China for the media companies," he added.

Disney should not have any trouble finding people to visit the park. Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, told Bloomberg that there are 80 million people within 3 hours driving distance of where the theme park will be built. The 1,700 acre park will be modeled after Disney's existing parks and incorporate characteristics from Shanghai. It will be 57% owned by China and 43% owned by Disney.

Posted in Travel

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Retro Eco Friendly Reusable Steel Water Bottles

Last week, when I was doing research for my post about Chic & Eco Friendly Handbags for Fall[...]

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water-bottles/

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Designer Sample Sales: Autumn Cashmere Sweaters,
Vivian Tam and Tibi Clothing

Wednesday, November 4th
GiltGroup
(SIGN UP here if already a member)
Vivienne Tam Clothing
Malo Clothing
La Fiorentina Clothing
LAI Luxury Accessories International
Nuface
Loree Rodkin Jewelry

GiltFuse:
Upper Echelon Shoes
Laundry Clothing

Beyond The Rack(to sign up use code: LSFM0910JXRV):
Ellen Tracy Clothing
Hugh Puppies Handbags
Jessica Howard Clothing
Police Watches

Billion Dollar Babes:
Rapz Jewelry
Z. Bigatti
Technomarine Watches

Hautelook:
Amrita Singh Handbags
Autumn Cashmere

Rue La La:
Tibi Clothing
Magaschoni Cashmere
Fendi Sunglasses

Ideeli (sign up here!)
or
Log in here (if already a member):
Gerard Yosca Jewelry
Enza Costa Rogue Clothing
Victorinox Swiss Army Watches

The Top Secret:
Steve Madden Outerwear

Editor’s Closet:
Heys Watches

For more styles, check out these stylish Over-the-knee Boots and Special Occasion Tops shopping guides.

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