Sunday, June 8, 2014

How I Get Messy Hair

Hello! I've been really loving having unruly, messy hair lately. Probably due to the fact that my style is also been changing. I've slowly started to become a bit "edgier" in a sense. I mean, I still love my pastels and my floral collared shirts but I've definitely been reaching for a bit more relaxed and simple things. Anyway! I've been absolutely loving Bumble and Bumble products. In fact, I'm not sure how I'm ever going to look back now that I've tried them. Yes, they are pricey, and yes, the bottles are small. However, I think the end result is worth splurging. I got the City Swept finishing spray quite a while ago as a replacement of the surf spray. I've loved the surf spray for a long time and have been through two bottles and honestly, I think the City Swept gives me a better tousled look. On super fancy days I'll actually use both sprays for added separation. What the City Swept finishing spray does is create a wind-blown, messy, texturized look to the hair. I find that when I first spray it, I look a bit like Hermione in her early years. After it calms down, I have so much more volume and oomf to my hair.

A newer purchase is the Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder. Oh my goodness, I didn't think I would love this as much as I do. I've heard complaints about it being too light for brunettes, but I don't find that to be a problem. I don't use this as a dry shampoo, really. I wash my hair every night (yes I know I'm not supposed to) and so greasy hair isn't TOO big of a problem for me. I do however, use a bit of dry shampoo if I'm going to be out at night. I got this as a volume enhancer. I put some at the roots of my hair and scrunch scrunch scrunch until it's messy enough for me! The powder is super fine so it blends in almost instantly.

Along with waving my hair with my hair straightener, these products are my go to now for whenever I do my hair. I know longer have to put up with having flat hair. I seriously recommend trying out these products if you want to look like you just walked through a windy city! I personally love it!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Watt's Up!? Highlighter Review

Hey! Work as been all consuming lately and on my few days off I've been relaxing and spending time with loved ones. I've gotten quite a bit of new things but the inspiration to blog just hasn't been there. However, a couple days ago I went to Sephora to exchange somethings my mom got me (Tarte Amazonian Clay Powder Foundation and BB cream) and picked up the Benefit Watt's Up highlighter. I've been using a $3 ELF highlighter for a while and have always wanted to try a better one. Watt's Up is a much loved and talked about one, so I finally just tried it. It's a beautiful champagne color and definitely applies better than the ELF one I have. I apply it just on my cheekbone and blend in so I don't look too shiny, but to create a beautiful glow. The packaging is obviously stunning and so creative; classic Benefit. It also comes with a blending sponge which is def going to come in handy. I'll be honest. I do feel silly for spending $30 on a highlighter. Had it not been an exchange from something my mom got me I don't think I would have been able to spend so much. I'm happy with how gorg it looks once it's on but I can't help thinking I would have rather splurged on a new YSL lippy! But it's alright, as a luxury high lighter I feel like this is easily a front runner.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Spring Loves

Hiya! Spring is in full force now and I thought I would share some of my favorite spring items! I really love how beautiful everything looks during spring, and how the weather isn't too hot yet, but spring has never been a season I looked forward to. I just love autumn and winter so much! And summer always meant a break from school. This is kind of my way of getting excited!

First up is a spring song! I've been loving 5 Seconds of Summer's song "She Looks so Perfect". It's just a really fun and upbeat song that I recommend you listen to if you haven't already! I don't know much about them despite seeing them open for One Direction twice, but they seem like fun kids and a lot of people love them! Next is a floral candle. The one pictured is perfect because it comes in a gorgeous mint blue color and has the most adorable mason jar packaging. The scent is sweet pea, which is just perfect and refreshing for this time of year. Of course a pastel nail color is essential for spring. I chose my absolute favorite by Essie called bikini so teeny which is just a perfect perriwinkle blue! A great perfume for spring is Chance by Chanel. It's a very light, floral & fruity scent that is really lovely to wear on warmer days. I think this is a quite popular perfume, and for very good reason! Gorgeous sunnies are a must have, and I picked these Dior cat-eye ones. Although, if I owned any brightly colored sunglasses those would probably be my top pick! This Dior creme de rose lip balm is lovely because of the wonderful consistency, the great smell, and because of how effective it is. The smell alone just oozes spring and bright roses! Next up is the Nyx lipgloss in Beige which is another popular product! Obviously, the color is misnamed because this is anything but beige. It's more of a light nude-y pink that would go with just about everything. It also smells absolutely delicious! In spring, you kind of want to stay away from the darker lip colors (almost impossible for me) and this lipgloss is perfect for that! Lastly, is one of my top essentials, the colorful statement necklace! I got this coral one from Forever21 and I can't get enough of it! I just think something like this is perfect to brighten up your outfit. If i'm wearing a black dress I just throw this on and I feel instantly more vibrant and spring-like!

I hope you enjoyed this post! It took a little time to get up but I've finally finished it! Happy spring!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Polish Focus: Butter London Trout Pout!

Happy Easter, friends! I thought I would pay special attention to my new favorite spring polish, Trout Pout! This is one of my first Butter London polishes and it certainly did not disappoint. The application is lovely; it goes on smoothly and neatly and only needs two coats to look its best! Because Butter London is quite expensive, I waited for Ulta to do a two for one offer. If they ever do another I just might have to try a few more colors because I am def impressed! The Butter London names are also adorable! I imagine this is called Trout Pout because it's a salmon-y color?? At first I was a bit apprehensive about getting this color because I thought it would be similar to Essie's Tart Deco, which I already own. Having so many nail polishes I try and be mindful of not getting dupes of what I already have. However, these two colors are almost nothing alike. Yes, they both are coral shades but Trout Pout has a much more pinky tone to it. I think I might even prefer it to Tart Deco. It's not neon but it's quite bright and lively, perfect for spring and summer months. I can only imagine how gorgeous it would look on toes or even with a tan! So, if you're looking for a fresh spring color with a unique twist then I can't recommend this color more! Enjoy your chocolate bunnies and yummy desserts today! :)

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Style Icon: Laura Whitmore !

Hello! Being American, I'm not too familiar with Laura Whitmore, but I know that she's an Irish television presenter. I also know that her style is gorgeous. I stumbled upon a picture of her a while ago, and thinking she was quite beautiful with a great sense of style, I followed her instagram. I just love Laura's clean, classic outfits. She always looks so put together and elegant while maintaining an interesting quality to her looks. While looking through photos I noticed that Laura loves to experiment with color and bold prints, which I admire. So hopefully, if you aren't familiar with Laura this post inspires you to go check her out! I hope to do more of these posts in the future! :)

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Review: Healthy Sexy Hair

Hi guys! Quick update- my family had been visiting from the UK for the past few weeks so I haven't really had time to get into blogging. We had a great time, took them around LA and Orange County and we all went to vegas together! It was so lovely to catch up with them! But besides all that, I've been trying not to spend money seeing as I currently do not have a job. It's been kind of hard because I see all these amazing things I want to try and let's be honest, my will power isn't that great. So, I'm just going to have to get a bit more creative with my posts! :)

The product I'm reviewing today is the Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Line. you guys, this stuff works. Oh a whim I decided to try Argan oil and saw that (at the time) this Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment (wow what a name) was only 10 dollars at Ulta! It's back to being $21.00, and maybe I should have written this review while it was still on sale :/. But I swear it's worth every penny. I use this every night after I wash my hair and before I blow dry it. It smells wonderful, but not too strongly, and doesn't leave any greasy feelings on the hair. This product promises to moisturize, add smoothness, work as a heat protector, protect against damage, and reduce drying time. I've always been skeptical that hair products don't work, but after using this people were actually telling me how nice my hair was and I definitely noticed a difference myself. Most impressive is probably that it actually DOES reduce drying time. My hair takes forever to dry and this reduced my drying time to around 8 minutes. Yes, I timed it. I bought backup of this stuff and will continue to repurchase.

The other product pictured, the Soy Tri-wheat Leave in Conditioner is also amazing. I went back to Ulta and bought this after the Argan oil. This whole line was on sale for $10.00 at the time, and this product is now $17.00. I use this before the argan oil, and it leaves my hair very easy to comb through before I dry it. The soy and wheat are meant to act as detanglers and the coco is supposed to lock in moisture and repair the hair. I firmly stand by this product as well. This also smells wonderful and doesn't feel like you actually have product in your hair which I love. So, bottom line, if you are looking for a new line to give life back into your hair, this is it. My hair honestly looks and feels healthier and I don't really understand what I was doing by not using any product in my hair, but damaging it with heat every day. I also bought the shampoo and conditioner of this line, and those are also amazing. There's no going back after this! I'm a converted soy/argan oil lover!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Review: Nyx Butter Gloss in Devil's Food Cake !

Sooooo I finally tried a Nyx butter gloss. I'm not sure what I was waiting for. I guess I've never thought to try Nyx products out until I just had the random urge. I got Devil's Food Cake, the darkest color (I think) in the huge color spectrum they offer and it's right up my street! The packaging is lovely, I really like how it's all one solid color. I kind of have an obsession with dark berry shades as I think they look best on me. I've almost used up my YSL volupte shine lipstick and thankfully this color is quite similar to that. This is definitely a gloss finish and is a bit more sticky on the lips than the usual products I go for. I've only worn it a couple of times and one time I feel like it may have dried out my lips...but I'm still not sure it was the gloss' fault that time. The color pay off is great! You can build it up or apply it gently for a not so harsh look. I'm really not a gloss person, but I'm starting to lighten up to them and I think the butter glosses are perfect for that. I'll be trying out more colors from this line for sure! I can't believe how late to the party I am!! Here is a posey selfie of me wearing the gloss ;) :