Note: This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bloomingdale’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

Reusable tote bags are becoming more and more popular because they are much more environmentally friendly than disposable plastic bags. The envirosax tote has been my choice of reusable shopping bag because it’s practical and attractive. If I’m going to cart around an extra bag, it’s got to be cute and work with my outfit.

More and more designers are creating fun reusable totes because it’s fashionable to be green. And it’s fashionable to wear a fab tote! Bloomingdale’s is giving you the opportunity to be a tote designer, and to win a $2000 Bloomingdale’s gift card if your design is chosen by Rebecca Minkoff and a panel of fashion experts. The winning tote will also be produced by Rebecca Minkoff and sold exclusively on Bloomingdales.com. Second place is a $1000 gift card and there will also be a $100 gift card winner for the best design submitted each day.

The contest will run from April 7th to April 25th. You can use the tools on their site to digitally create a design, or you can create an image using tools on your computer and import it to the site.

To enter the competition go to the Tote-ally Green design contest page. I entered yesterday with the design you see below. If you like it, you can vote for it on the Bloomingdale’s site. And when you create your own design, let’s here about it in the comments below. Good luck!

Veteran beauty editor Charla Krupp believes that you shouldn’t wear lipstick that is darker than your lip colour.

At the extreme I agree with this guideline. Extra dark lipstick on ladies with fair complexions tends to look harsh, unnatural and costume-like. Ladies with darker skin tones often have darker lips, which allows them to carry off a darker shade of lipstick. So these thoughts are in keeping with Charla’s rule.

But here’s the thing. I wear lipstick because I like the way that the extra colour brightens up my face. I have pale skin and light hair, so creating a colour contrast on the lips is attractive. I also wear bright red lipstick at night, or on dressier occasions, just because it’s more eye-catching and dramatic. Both shades of lipstick are definitely darker and brighter than my lips, which is precisely why I wear them. But they aren’t too dark or bright either I guess, which is probably at the heart of Charla’s point.

I look absolutely awful in light coloured lipstick because it doesn’t create a contrast against my skin tone, eye colour and hair colour. Light pink and brown lipstick would probably look better if I were tanned because it would create a contrast against my darker skin. But I’m never tanned so bang goes that idea.

Does Charla’s lipstick rule make sense to you? What’s your lipstick and lip colour strategy? Do you go darker or lighter than your lip colour? Or are you a neutrally toned gloss girl at heart. This adorable little pup doesn’t really care what colour lipstick she wears.

In stores this top is also available in emerald green and black, both for petites and regular sizes. It’s really flattering and very comfortable. The gentle draped square neckline is both alluring and covered, which is great for most bust lines. No need to wear a camisole! It’s in my favourite rayon/spandex fabrication that follows the contour of the body but does not cling (the all over print helps too). This kind of top tends to look flattering on both straight and curvy body types, just because it’s well cut and in a substantial fabric.

I like the top best when it is scrunched to the elbow and worn with white bottoms. But it looks pretty fab layered under a boyfriend jacket or on its own with colourful beads. Easy, tailored and Spring-like.

There is no doubt about it — people of all ages in the urban centre of Milan dress well. Their style is trendy, bold and alluring. I would not describe Milan street style as edgy or arty, but it’s totally fashion forward in a more classic, but spunky way. And quite glitzy. There is a unique sense of confidence in the way that Milanese people dress.

Clothing is form fitting to say the least, for both men and women. No voluminous trends in Milan! Skinnies, cigarette pants and straight leg jeans worn with short leather jackets, sunglasses and designer handbag are the uniform. And I mean UNIFORM.

Trenches were also popular, as were scarves, belts and leggings. Surprisingly, because we didn’t see it anywhere else, many women sport low rise jeans with flashy belts. Lots of shiny belts, handbag hardware and eyewear. It’s not my look but I can certainly appreciate it on others.

Not everyone is Milan is wearing designer fashions. People around the quadrilatero della moda (the fashion district) are especially branded, from head to toe, but the rest of Milan is less so (apart from the handbag — it must be part of the culture to sport a designer handbag). Some of my favourite ensembles were stylish casual, a practical look that ladies in Milan have down to a T.

The footwear on the streets was diverse. From all sorts of boots, booties, flat and heeled fashion sneakers, and oxfords on chilly days, to ballet flats, pumps and loafers on milder days. Lots of all star Converse too. For the most part, people wore flats and low heels because it’s a society that commutes on foot. But high heels and mega platforms were definitely visible – more so than in any other Euro city on this trip, especially down the Via Montenapoleone (the Rodeo Drive of Milan).

Street style is virtually 90% neutrally toned: lots of black, huge amounts of earthy shades and mushroom tones, quite a lot of white, light grey, dark blue and the odd dose of pastel pink, yellow and green. Saturated colours are few and far between. Basically it was just me sporting my bright scarves, turtlenecks and handbags like a traffic beacon in the middle of the city. Oh well. I’m not giving up the bright pops of colour that are characteristic of my ensembles. Not even in Milan.

It makes sense that The Sartorialist captures a large proportion of his blog photography here. For an effective and entertaining fashion fix, sit yourself down at an outside trattoria for the day and watch the fashion and style world go past. You won’t be disappointed because the adorable blokes and kids are just as well dressed as the pretty ladies. We saw more cool dudes in Milan than any of the other cities on our trip.

That wraps up our fashion and style reporting for this Euro trip. We hope you enjoyed reading our posts as much as we enjoyed prepping them. A big thank you to Greg for literally taking thousands of pictures so that we could bring back killer images for you. Over the last few days I was determined to get some photos of him too, so I started keeping my camera close to hand and taking many spontaneous shots, like he does. I think I got a few nice ones of my sweetie.