Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Red Winter Cheetah

I saw this dress on Modcloth.com recently and this look was inspired by a friend of mine. She's fun and girly and likes wearing dresses like me. She's eclectic and electric, classy and fierce all at the same time. I know this ensemble would make anyone feel like they're the belle of the mall. This is a look complete with accessories and makeup inspiration. A bold, golden cat-eye is the perfect addition with a dark brown winged eyeliner.
Red Winter Cheetah


Red dress
modcloth.com


Knitted dove coat
modcloth.com


Hue white tight
lordandtaylor.com


Vivienne Westwood suede boots
vestiairecollective.com


LeJu gothic jewelry
boticca.com


Oasis red hat
$13 - oasis-stores.com


Stila eyeshadow
beautybar.com


Saturday, January 11, 2014

The History of Makeup

Check out this History of Makeup infographic I found! I find it extremely interesting which strange objects most makeup stems from and the trends/movements that caused makeup to evolve. 


Thursday, October 10, 2013

How to Get the Barbie High Ponytail

I've always wanted to get my hair to look voluminous and have a high ponytail but it never seemed to work out and my hair would always flop down into a sad, droopy donkey's tail. There's a quick and easy way to achieve that dramatic volume without much work at all! All you're going to need for this very simple tutorial is two no-damage elastics of your choice (I prefer to use ones that won't tug my hair out when it's time to take them out) but you may want to choose ones which are close to your hair color. You're also going to need a teasing comb, or if you don't have a comb, a brush will work fine as well, you just will not be able to back comb your hair for extra volume.
Here are the steps to achieving a Barbie-rrific glamorous look!

1. Section the front "crown" of your hair away from your face and tie it down into a messy bun
2. Take the back section of your hair and comb it out, add curls for extra volume and backcomb it for even more volume.
3. Tie the back section of your hair into a high ponytail with your first no-damage elastic hair band (the higher, the more it will look like Barbie's!)


4. Comb the front section of your hair down, have it frame your face however you would like or you can just pull it back tightly
5. Smooth it out and wrap it around your pony tail to create a large bun OR if you're not looking for a bun-pony you can just pull it tightly around your existing ponytail and tie down the second "shell" of hair around your first pony.
6. Tie down your outer pony on top of your inner pony, the extra elastic will add some volume but it will also let you achieve a more precise high pony if you're only focusing on smoothing out the front rather than also worrying about where you're tying it down.


Then you will have a beautiful high ponytail. The most flattering placement of the pony is directly in line with your cheekbones, upwards from the hollow underneath them. This is the easiest way to achieve a high pony because you don't have to worry about your fly-aways as you're trying to tie it down, basically the "inner ponytail" acts as a base or guideline for your finished, polished "external ponytail". Trust me if you follow these very simple steps, they will change you ponytail routine! Happy ponying! 







Monday, September 30, 2013

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Collection


Hi all,

I don't know if I've been living under a rock but Target has some really cool stuff... I guess I never really paid attention to how fashionable some of their items are because I assumed they were just like their counterpart (Wal-Mart) and didn't obtain anything young or hip.

I was pleasantly introduced to the Phillp Lim 3.1 limited-edition collection by my sister-in-law, and serendipitously my husband informed us at 3:30AM on the collection release date (Sept 15th/2013) that the items were up online. I guess we got lucky that he was up watching some UFC match that ran late otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten our hands on these bags. So of course we went into crazy panic mode and bought 2 of the large bags, 5 of the smaller bags, 2 overnighter Cheetah print bags, and I got a weird-looking sweater-dress. We also went into the store and battled the masses, but we only walked away with one small black bag.

When they arrived, I absolutely loved these bags (with yellow being my favorite) and they even have side zippers so you can configure them as shown in the taupe (appears grayish) purse, the pricepoint was $34.99/each:
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Mini Satchel with Gusset - Yellow
Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset  (Yellow)
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Mini Satchel with Gusset - Taupe
Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Taupe)
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Mini Satchel with Gusset - Black
Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Black)

I was even more thrilled a few days later that my overnight bag (only sold online) arrived just as my husband and I booked our plane tickets for a flight to Portland, OR scheduled for the very next day for a freelance booking. The bag pulls up about to double its size (shown in second photo). Now the only real problem with this bag is that it is really intended only for traveling, you can't walk around with it too much, if you pack it too full you will barely be able to get it over your arm, and it'll feel very uncomfortable. That being said, it's a terrifically made bag for its pricepoint ($49.99) and it is quite large, I was able to fit 3 large sweaters, 2 jackets, a scarf, my enormous makeup case and misc. other items.
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Canvas Drawstring Travel Bag - Orange Leopard
Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Canvas Tote
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Canvas Drawstring Travel Bag - Orange Leopard 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Canvas Drawstring Travel Bag - Orange Leopard








My sister-in-law, also named Alex, purchased the large bag for herself as well. It's super cute and roomy, I personally love the taupe version of this bag, but she prefers the black so it'll match everything she wears. This bag did seem very large, you could pretty easily fit a laptop in there and I think it's probably an amazing bag for work. They also offered an online-only color of this bag in a deep purple.

 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Tote with Gusset - Black 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Tote with Gusset - Taupe
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Tote with Gusset - Black 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target® Tote with Gusset - Purple



I have yet to see the sweater-dress, so I will update you guys later on that one, as it arrived after we had already left NYC for Portland. For those of you that are not from the US, you can purchase these items all over eBay, it's pretty flooded with the collection. But buyer beware, I really thought that the majority of the clothes were very poorly made and definitely did not warrant the high price-point (at least in comparison to other Target clothes).

Let me know if you purchased anything from the Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 collection and what you think about it in the comments section below!





Monday, August 20, 2012

DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Hip Cinched Blouse

This is a fabulous DIY t-shirt idea that can be translated into all sorts of different pieces - you can use this technique on the bottoms of shirts, skirts, pant legs, etc. It's really an idea you can take anywhere your creativity guides you!


All you'll need for this project is:
A shirt
1 piece of fabric
1 ribbon
Sewing machine (or your meticulous little fingers and a needle with some color-coordinated thread)







1. Find a shirt and turn it inside out.


2. Lay your ribbon down and cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover your ribbon and pin the piece down


3. Sew on the fabric, making 3 large stitches, between the ribbon and on each side.

4. Cinch and tie and you've completed your project!


Monday, April 30, 2012

Soulfire Artisan Bead Giveaway

Hi everyone,

This is just a quick update to let you know that Soulfire Artisan (a bead and jewelry supply website) is having a giveaway!! They're giving away the following items: 

#1 A full 16" strand of 2mm multi gemstone round beads.

#2 A full 16" strand of 2mm strawberry quartz round gemstone beads 

#3 A 16" strand of 2mm clear quartz round gemstone beads 

#4 A full 16" strand of 2mm dyed lemon quartz round gemstone beads 

#5 A full 16" strand of 2mm Blue quartz round gemstone beads. 


If you're interested then check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/soulfireartisan and their website is http://www.soulfireartisan.com !!
To be eligible to be party of the giveaway all you  have to do is 'Like' their page on facebook and sign up for their newsletter here: http://www.soulfireartisan.com/newsletter/

For more information on the giveaway visit their facebook page and you may earn more entries!!! =) Exciting! Good luck to everyone!

Here's a look at what the winner gets!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Acid Wash Nail Manicure

As always, I've been scouring the web looking for cool and interesting nail manicure ideas to show my avid readers and I came across this on Pinterest: the acid wash manicure. It's a really cool effect, the one below is denim-themed and can be done very easily. This isn't a complicated technique like some of the others I have posted about, this is something you don't have to be too fussy with to get it to look right.

All you need to complete this look is a base nail polish color (in this case royal blue) and the color you want to be on top of the 'acid wash' look (in this case white) as well as cotton buds or q-tips and acetone/nail polish remover. The first step is to paint 2-3 coats of your base color and wait to make sure that they are dry and smooth, this requires some patience as some nail polishes do not dry as often as others. Then, after you choose a contrasting color to make the 'acid wash' effect come to life, you should apply just one layer of the top color. After letting it dry thoroughly, soak a cotton bud/q-tip in acetone (but make sure it's not dripping wet, just saturated). If your cotton bud is not saturated enough, it will just smudge and blend the two contrasting colors together, which may make for an interesting effect, but will not allow you to achieve the acid wash manicure. Swipe the cotton bud over your nails, not pressing it down but gently dragging it over so that it removes only parts of the top layer of nail polish (of the contrasting color, white in this example) and leaves your blue intact - this is one of the reasons why you want to apply at least 2 coats of your base color. Finally, as with any manicure, if you want staying power you should place a layer of topcoat to seal your design and smooth out any bumps.


You can achieve really varied looks depending on which colors you choose, remember that when you apply your topcoat, you will stop the acetone from eating through that layer. For example, in the manicure below, you can achieve this design by doing the base in a yellow and then making sure to seal it with a topcoat so that it will not wipe away when you swipe with the cotton bud. Then you want to add a layer of orange polish and a layer of gray nail polish, not sealing these down with topcoat. You can use your acetone to remove parts of the top two layers of polish. As always, seal and protect your design with a final layer of topcoat when you have finished your faux acid washing.

Various colors of nail polish manicures using the acid wash technique
Have fun with this look and happy experimenting! Please post photos of your nails on the blog if you achieve this look!

- Alex
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