Monthly Archives

April 2016

Style

Grey Skinny Jeans

Posted on April 25, 2016

If you follow me on social media, you will know that I got my hair done this past weekend! I was very excited to go out and take some photos. I think I am going to write a post about my hair this week… stay tuned! Now, I have to tell you, it is VERY difficult for me to not wear all black outfits all.the.time. I tried my best with this photoshoot, which is where the grey skinny jeans comes in. I wanted so badly to pair this navy blouse with some black skinnies but nope… couldn’t do it. It’s Spring and everyone is wearing light colored bottoms. Of course, this wouldn’t be me if I couldn’t have a bit of black in my outfit. That’s where the black Alexander Wang shoes I told you about a few posts ago comes in. Funny thing is that I couldn’t find anything to wear with them before and now I have everything to wear with them!

When I was looking for the bottom half of my outfit, I also realized that I do not own a pair of white jeans. That would have been the PERFECT combination for this sunny Spring outfit. Navy top, white bottoms and some nude colored shoes. I will have to be on the lookout for the perfect pair. If you have a great pair of skinny white jeans that you love, leave me a comment below and tell me where you got them! I have a tendency to not wear much white. I am not that clumsy of a person, but if I am wearing white – you can bet I will spill something on it… hence, the all black all the time.

Now on to my navy blouse. I love that it’s flowy, hangs a bit lower in the back, and has slits on the sides. It’s the perfect top to throw on and go off to work or dinner. Only bad thing is that it wrinkles very easily, so I have to make sure that I iron it before I wear it and that I am careful when I sit in a car or chair. I got it at Madewell on sale a few months ago so I have to say it was a pretty great find. They had a 30% off their Spring essentials this weekend. I hope you were able to score a deal at one of my favorite stores!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I got to get my hair done, hung out with friends, and saw my family. I have to say it was a pretty good one! Until next time…

Beauty

LUSH Don’t Look At Me Face Mask

Posted on April 21, 2016

$10.95 | LUSH (only available in store)

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my local LUSH store because I wanted to get one of their fresh face masks. I tried some a couple of years ago, but it’s been awhile and I wanted to review one for the blog. As the sales associate explained each one to me, all I could think was “Will I be able to take a picture of this?” Sigh… the life of a blogger. (Side note: I did add actual rice to my mask for my photos in case you were wondering) Well, I ended up choosing the bright blue one called “Don’t Look At Me.” Supposedly after you use this face mask/exfoliator, everyone should be looking at you because it brightens, exfoliates and moisturizes your skin. It contains ground rice, murumuru butter, lemon AND silken tofu which should “soften” your skin.

You must store this mask in the refrigerator and it generally lasts about 2 weeks. Make sure that you check the expiration date on the bottom of the container when purchasing one. Since I don’t want the face mask to spoil, I have been using it twice a week and slathering that puppy on. When you put on the mask straight from the refrigerator, it feels SO GOOD. It has been exceptionally hot lately, so it definitely helped to cool down my face. I polished off the last bit tonight while watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills… my fav!

After waiting for the mask to dry (about 15 minutes), I started rinsing it off with warm water. The great thing is the 2 for 1 special you get with this mask. After you are done letting the mask sit on your face, it’s time to get some exfoliating action from the ground rice and lemon.

Final Thoughts: The mask definitely made my skin feel super silky and soft. I am literally touching my face right now as I write this review. Is my skin more vibrant? Eh, not sure if it LOOKS vibrant, but it does feel like a baby’s bottom. My face feels dry immediately after use, so I’m not sure if the murumuru butter really helps to moisturize it. Also, the smell of the mask got to me a bit as it wasn’t as pleasant as their soap. I give this a 3.5/5. LUSH’s fresh face masks are fun to try, but not something that I will be purchasing often.

*Tip: If you bring back 5 black containers (only the black containers which specifically state this on the lid), you get a free fresh face mask! BUT, I like to use the empty containers to store my lotions and soaps in when traveling.*

Style

Stripes

Posted on April 18, 2016

This weekend was a hot one in Southern California. Surprisingly, it has been awhile since my legs have seen the sun so I must apologize for how pale I am. I have had these Alexander Wang strappy heels for awhile now and just never had a good time to wear them … UNTIL NOW! I also have been missing a few toenails from a hiking trip back in August…. but now they’re back!!! YAY to open toe shoes!

Since I like to be “dressy casual” most of the time – I put together this striped midi skirt with a plain cotton tank and some heels. I used to be afraid to wear horizontal stripes in fear that it would make me seem wider. Well, I say who cares! Wear what you want!

The Rag&Bone tank that I am wearing is a bit long and I didn’t want to tuck it in because I was worried it might add bulk to my mid-section. Horizontal stripes and bulk? Not so good…I folded the tank under and knotted it on the side. Seemed to work out!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and stayed cool! Until next time!

Beauty

March Empties

Posted on April 11, 2016

If you read my Finished February post, you may recall that I said I was worried I wouldn’t have anything for the end of March. Well, what do you know? I have 4 products that I finished! YAY!

Supergoop! City Sunscreen Serum SPF 30: Lightweight serum that is like a moisturizer and a sunscreen in one. Can be used year round and is good for summer when it’s super hot and you don’t want to feel like everything that you put on your face is melting off. Works great as a primer. I do like to use the Clarins Sunscreen but when I’m lazy and don’t want to slather on 2 separate products (moisturizer and SPF), I do like to use this serum. My face doesn’t feel like I have SPF on at all and it’s great for my oily skin. If you typically hate using anything with an SPF because of how it makes your skin look or feel, try this serum out! 5/5

Lush Snow Fairy Limited Edition Shower Gel: Bubble gum and sweet vanilla scent with biodegradable “fairy dust” – what more can you ask for? I absolutely love Lush products and mainly use their soap and shower gels with a loofah (gross I know, but I LOVE loofahs!). I actually really enjoy the smell of their products and get really happy when I walk into the store and am engulfed in all those scents. I like that Lush is handmade, not tested on animals, they buy ethically and use fresh ingredients. I bought this shower gel the day after Christmas – which is THE BEST time to buy any holiday Lush products. Everything is buy 1 get 1 free, so it’s when I stock up on ALL my soap for the year (and sometimes the year after if I am lucky and get the soaps I love). This year I went a little before opening and there was already a 30 deep line. It wasn’t too bad though, the location that I went to actually had some really good items still leftover so I left very happy! Note: This is limited edition and only available during the holiday season. 5/5

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Deodorant Vanilla Grapefruit: This stuff is aluminum free and 100% natural, safe and effective. It is not an antiperspirant so you will still sweat if you wear this. I initially found this through a YouTuber that I follow. She had said that she used this so I figured why not give it a try. Well, this is my 3rd one that I have purchased – which pretty much means that I love it and will not use any other deodorant other than this one. I have tried the Vanilla Lavendar one and this Vanilla Grapefruit scent. I really like all of their scents and if you want to try a deodorant that is safe and natural…this is definitely the one to try! 5/5

Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash: Even though it says “deep cleansing” sometimes you may think that means dry. Actually, the entire time I was using this face wash I thought it was meant for sensitive skin because it doesn’t dry my face out at all and is very gentle. I like foaming face washes. It just makes me feel like it’s really cleaning my face. Plus I wanted to use this with my Clarisonic, so I was immediately attracted to the pump. The only bad thing about the pump is that it almost feels like you’re wasting it towards the end when the product doesn’t reach the pump. So, I do what any other person who wants to use up as much as they can do – I add water and will unscrew the top so that I can get every last bit! Since I think this really does what it’s supposed to do, but I don’t see any real improvement to my skin – I’m going to give this a 4/5. If you’re looking for a new face wash, I would still really recommend this!

If you’ve made it to the end of the post – I have to say, you must be a good friend of mine! haha… I’m going to have to put it out there that my dad is currently in the hospital so my posts may not be as often. I hope that you do still come back and read when I do have the time to post something. Please think positive thoughts for my father and thank you for being a blog friend.

Style

Monday Mission

Posted on April 4, 2016

I’m currently up in Oakland/Berkeley for work, but luckily I had this post ready! As much of a scaredy cat I am about being in a place I am not familiar with (weird since I have been traveling for work for the last 3 years) and homeless people … I am starting to enjoy traveling and exploring different places. I will definitely have to come back up with my camera to take some photos … it’s beautiful up here!!!

On to my outfit – did a photo shoot with my good friend Crystal (from Stylis Events). She has some skills with the camera and was able to take some pretty great shots. I learned a few things about changing the settings on my camera that I didn’t know how to use before. It was a very educational day! We decided to go to the San Gabriel Mission and made it just in time for “magic hour.” For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s the few hours right before sundown. That’s when the lighting outside is just perfect!

My sweater is actually a long tunic that came with a slip underneath it to wear as a dress. It was quite a find at the Johnny Was store since much of what they have is very boho chic. I removed the slip and threw on some jeans for a great date night outfit. I just got some new nude Tory Burch flats and wanted to try them out too. You can spot them in a few of the photos. Ever since I discovered nude flats go with pretty much EVERYTHING – all black, brown, jeans, every color of the rainbow – I have been obsessed in finding nude shoes. I scored these nude jeweled flats at the Nordstrom Rack at a pretty awesome price that I couldn’t pass up!

If there’s one thing you got from this post, it’s go out and buy yourself some nude shoes! Oh and magic hour is the best for selfies….

April 2016

Grey Skinny Jeans

LUSH Don’t Look At Me Face Mask

Stripes

March Empties

Monday Mission

Instagram