skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I love weekends. I really love three-day weekends. I slept till 11 today. It was beautiful. Anyways, here are some pretty things:
Forever 21 Summer Tiki Dress, $17.80 at forever21.com, Frye Kara Trapunto T-Strap, $136.80 at zappos.com: I picked up this dress a week or so ago at Forever 21, and I love it. First off, it's less than $20. That's a win in my book. It's not the sturdiest dress in the world, but it costs less than going out to dinner, so I've accepted it. The cut is adorable, a flattering sweetheart neckline, fitted to the waist, a-line skirt. The print is a little on the funky/tribal side, but I think it's really fun and festive. Plus, since the print has so many colors, it makes the dress easy to accessorize. I like to pull out the brown in the print with a brown leather belt and a pair of brown heels like these. It feels very summery and easygoing, but at the same time it looks very polished and chic.
Mod Cloth Object of Confection Dress, $94.99 at modcloth.com: Last night I was telling a friend about how I'm making pumpkin spice cupcakes today, and mentioned how I'm really a closet '50s housewife. And then she turns to me and goes, "sweetie, you've been out of the closet on that one for a while." So, in keeping with my repressed retro tendencies, how cute is this polka dot dress? I love the shape, with the sweet little neckline and the slight a-line skirt. The polka dots and layers on the skirt make it look like a little wedding cake, but the red hue keeps it from feeling to formal and bridal.Images via forever21.com, zappos.com,
I am the worst with dressing for work. In theory, I have all these adorable outfits that I'd wear, but in reality, I just wear what I already have, which is lots of cardigans and sundresses. Gah. But people at my office wear JEANS. It's so weird to me. Anyways, here's one of those theoretical outfits I'd wear to work. I really like slightly '50s, retro work ensembles (Joan Holloway = my icon) with a slightly modern twist.
J. Crew Ruthie Shirtdress, $118 at jcrew.com, J. Crew Skinny Patent Belt, $34.50 at jcrew.com: This J. Crew shirtdress is ADORABLE. It's a lovely camel color, which is very of the moment but also flattering and versatile. The cut works well for a lot of body types--it's fitted through the smallest part of your torso, and glides over the lower body. The elbow-length sleeves add a hint of sweetness to the utilitarian feel of a shirtdress. To add even more emphasis to the waist, I'd do a skinny patent leather belt. The patent gives it a bit of an urban edge, and a cinched-in waist is always a good look.
GUESS Osten Heels, $99 at zappos.com, J. Crew Oval Heirloom Locket Necklace, $50 at jcrew.com: For a bit of modern sass, I'd do a suede platform heel in this lovely ruby red. The rich visual texture of the suede adds a sense of warmth and luxury that livens up the shirtdress, and the pop of color from the red is just so fun and girly. To top it all off, I like this vintage-y locket necklace. It works with the general '50s feel, and adds a personal touch (since generally you put adorable family/pet pictures in lockets. I would totally have my dog and my pony).
So what do y'all wear to work? Jeans? (just kidding) Images via jcrew.com, zappos.com.
So I bought myself a birthday present. I'm really good at doing that. In fact, I do it year-round. Aha. Anyways, I got myself some Ray-Ban sunglasses, and they finally came, so of course I had to take pictures of myself wearing them and making silly faces and blog about it.
#1: see, we're doing pretty well, I'm making a normal face (which I totally struggle with that close to a mirror). #2: I can't resist the urge to make silly fish faces. Ever. Cute. I know.
These are the Modern Wayfarers from Ray-Ban in brown. Now, I've had bad luck with Ray-Bans. My aviators fell apart, and my Wayfarers were always way too big, and also fell apart. But Shopbop has a great return policy and free shipping, so I took the plunge. They're a sturdy plastic frame with gradient lenses. What I loved right off the bat is that these fit very firmly on my face. They aren't slipping off. I could probably go running in them. They're a nice, warm dark brown, which I find a lot more flattering than black.
My favorite part, though, is the shape. They're an updated Wayfarer, meaning that they're a slightly larger lens with a more rectangular shape instead of the usual circular. Plus they go out more at the temples for a slight cat-eye effect, which I love (so sassy!). I think the more rectangular frames are much more flattering on my rounder face. They still have the iconic Wayfarer look, but with a bit of a Jackie O twist. Overall I'm super pleased with this purchase. I've been wearing them every day, and have gotten a ton of compliments.
I got these from Shopbop because they have fast free shipping and free return shipping. They come with a Ray-Ban case and a cleaning cloth.
Confession: I am a total LUSH junkie. If you don't know LUSH, it's an eco-friendly/natural body shop. You'll be able to smell it down the block. They're most famous for their soaps and ball bombs/bubble bars, but since I hate solid soap and I don't take bathes, I've been struggling to find something for me at LUSH. I really wanted to like something from the store, since I love their brand mission and their products smell amazing.
Well, I found four new favorite things! Right now, LUSH has 3 limited edition 'Head Case' sets for sale. They're sets of 4 hair products, each with three sample size products and one full size solid shampoo bar, and they're all just under $24. There's a Volume & Shine box (which I got), a Protect & Nourish box (meant for curly/frizzy hair) and a Balance & Repair box (for damaged hair).
The Volume & Shine box has a 3.4 ounce tub of Marilyn deep conditioner, which is about an $8.50 value (look at me doing math), a 1.6 ounce tub of Big shampoo, a $3.20ish value, a 3.3 ounce bottle of Veganese conditioner, a $5.25 value, and a full size Total Shine solid shampoo bar, which retails for $10. So that's about a $27 value. It's not an amazing deal, but it is a good chance to try out a ton of LUSH hair products and find out if any of them work for you.
So here's the Marilyn deep conditioner and the Big shampoo. Marilyn was the one thing that I was least excited about. It's a deep conditioner and brightening treatment for blondes. I am a natural blonde, but I dye my hair for a reason. I most certainly do not want a mask that makes me blonde. So I did a little Googling, and it turns out that this can lighten you a little/add a few golden tones if you have actual blonde hair, but on my dyed dark hair it won't do anything. It's packed full of chamomile, olive and linseed oils, and a bunch of citrus oils and juices. It has a very thin, goopy consistency that made it hard to get out of the pot, and smells like olive oil with a hint of lemon. Now, LUSH doesn't use silicones, which are what make your hair feel all slippery and smooth with normal conditioners and masks. So this may not feel very effective--it really feels like runny lotion. But once your hair dries it does add a lot of shine and softness. The smell lingers pleasantly, and my hair feels happy, so I'm pleased with it. I probably wouldn't purchase the full size just because I don't want lightening agents anywhere near my hair, but it is a lovely conditioner. Big shampoo is my favorite product from this box. It also looks the weirdest. It actually looks like a salt scrub in the tub, and it honestly smells like laundry detergent to me (very cottony and clean). I stared at it for a while in the shower before I could work up the courage to use it. You need about a nickel sized amount, and you rub it vigorously into very wet hair. It lathers up a lot, and the salt kind of melts away, leaving your hair and scalp feeling very refreshed. I was a little scared of the idea of washing my hair with a shampoo that has salt and salt water and seaweed infusion in it, since my hair does not do beach hair well, but this stuff is MAGICAL. It makes my hair feel so soft and look so shiny, and gives it a TON of volume. I have thick, flat, normal/not-oily hair, and this manages to add texture while still making my hair feel clean but not dried out. I imagine it would be wonderful for oily, thin or limp hair. The only downside is that Big isn't cheap (the full size tub is $23), but this is a once or twice a week shampoo. It would be very drying it used on a daily basis, since it's meant to strip all the product residue out of your hair. That means even though it ain't cheap, it will last you a long while.
Here are Veganese conditioner and Ultimate Shine solid shampoo bar. Veganese is a 100% vegan conditioner (no lanolin), and is full of rosemary, lavender, and seaweed infusion. It's a pale creamy yellow with the consistency of thin lotion, and smells like rosemary and lavender. The herbal smell doesn't linger long, however. Again, since this has no silicones it doesn't feel like it's doing much in the shower, and it certainly won't work out any stubborn tangles. This is LUSH's lightest conditioner, so it's great for keeping your hair from getting weighed down when you want a lot of volume. I have dry ends, and this is a little on the light side for me. It made my hair really soft and shiny and happy, but my ends were still a little parched. I think Veganese could be great for girls with thin hair that's easily weighed down. Ultimate Shine shampoo bar is my second LUSH shampoo bar. They're these little hockey pucks of concentrated solid shampoo, and once you get used to using them they are AMAZING. I like them for traveling, since you can put them in your carry-on, and they'll never spill all over your luggage, plus they're so much lighter than a bottle of shampoo. Plus, they last forever. My only issue is storage, since these need to dry completely before being put into any, or they'll basically melt onto whatever surface you put them on. The Ultimate Shine bar has glitter (?!), violet leaf, gardenia extract, elemi tree oil, and smells just like eucalyptus to me. The scent doesn't last, however, and neither does the glitter, thankfully. Ultimate Shine lathers up really nicely, and leaves my hair feeling clean and soft. It doesn't add texture or body, but it does get rid of any excess oil without stripping hair dry. My hair is naturally very shiny, so I can't say if it adds shine.
