DIY: Hairclips!

Do you have loads of broken jewelry, cute buttons, or antique post/clip-on earrings that nobody wears anymore? I have a great do-it-yourself solution to create your own hair clips! These can be snap-clips, barettes, pins, or anything you can imagine! If you're tired and uninspired with what you see in your local stores for hair accessories, then create your own. 

What you see below are hairclips that I have created from various necklaces, pins, hairbands, and just random crafts-flowers. The sky is the limit. As long as you can find closures at any pharmacy, Wal-Mart, or online, you can create your own stylish accessories that reflect your personality and swagger.

My rule of thumb is that if I can make a remotely flat backing out of whatever I have, it can go onto a metal clip-backing. Sometimes putting metal onto metal can be difficult if you don't have a soldering pen, but I have an ingenious and simple method of going about it: Gorilla Super Glue. That's right, it's just that easy, and if you're having a hard time with one piece slipping off the other, then take a piece of old cloth/leather from a piece of clothing you were likely going to throw away and glue that onto your clip first and then glue your applique on the other side of it. This will allow for some movement without snapping the glue apart while you're handling with your clips. Remember to cut off excessive parts of your pendants if you want to use them on your clips so that they don't tangle in your hair. I've received many compliments on my creations, so let your imagination run wild and don't be afraid to re-invent your jewelry, buttons and baubles!

Pieces currently awaiting transformation

Depotting your single eyeshadows

Do you ever get annoyed at all the single eyeshadows and blushes you have and wonder how you can consolidate them? Are you looking for an easy way to put all of your eyeshadows together in a palette? Well, look no further because I have all the tips and tricks to do it right in this post!

All you need to depot your eyeshadows:

• your eyeshadow of choice
• a straightening iron (any old one will do)
• parchment paper (traditionally used for baking on)
• a fine-tipped knife that you don't mind getting dirty

Turn your straightening iron on and let it warm up while you're getting a piece of parchment paper and cutting it into something small enough to cover the bottom of your ceramic iron. Make sure you lean the iron down on a flat side, not with the ceramic portion actively touching your bathroom or kitchen counter. I suggest you do not put your iron down anywhere that isn't heat-proof, you may want to find a tile of granite to do this on. The purpose of the parchment paper is so that none of the plastic of the eyeshadow container will melt onto your iron and get it all gunky and gross. If you perform the steps as written, you will have nothing to clean up and your eyeshadow will be depotted!

Place your single eyeshadow compact onto the parchment paper that you have laid on top of the ceramic of the straightening iron, and let it sit for 30 seconds-1 minute, depending on how hot your iron gets. This will cause the glue underneath the eyeshadow pan, which is holding it to the plastic compact, to loosen. You can then wedge a fine-tipped knife between the pan and the plastic, along the outer edges of the circle, to loosen it out of the plastic casing. If you don't care about the plastic, you can really puncture the bottom with the knife and push the pan out very easily. But you won't want to do this if it's a MAC eyeshadow and you plan on sending it BACK2MAC (their recycling program where for every 6 containers you get 1 lipstick/lipglass of your choice). 

You can use a little bit of antiseptic alcohol or acetone to clean off the glue from the bottom of the pan, then you can attach a magnet on the back (one that has a sticker on the other side) and place it inside a Z-palette or MAC eyeshadow palette. Make sure if you do not have eyeshadows that all fit in the same size as MAC, you will want to buy a Z-palette or UNI palette from Amazon or a beauty-supply store so you can place them in. I'm currently looking for one for all of the assorted things I have depotted below. I will also be getting a MAC palette to place the tons of MAC eyeshadows I have and easily reach for them when I need them.

Happy depotting everyone!

Alex's Rules of Accessorizing

This guide will show you how to turn a pocketful of baubles into jewelry and accessory treasures that you can mix and match with your colorful wardrobe!

Playing with scale
If you're going to wear big or dangly earrings, I suggest not pairing it up with a big necklace or belt because you don't want the jewelry to overpower you. Remember that the focal point should always be yourself and anything that you put on should only accentuate your best features rather than drown you in bling. Sometimes less is more and if you have too many pieces, they will detract attention from one another. Chunky jewelry is definitely fun so don't shy away from big, beautiful cuffs, bold earrings, or wide belts. Remember that the most important aspect of accessorizing is the overall harmony of the pieces and the way they look together and how they accentuate your outfit.

Classical is always in
You can never go wrong with signature pieces like pearl earrings or tennis bracelets, they are as antique as Audrey Hepburn's style but as fresh as anything you see today. These classic pieces are good for anytime of the day or night, including casual day-to-day or formal events. If you have something that means a lot to you, never hesitate to put it on, our accessories tell a story and if they don't reflect your personality, you've missed the point. Don't try to emulate what you see on models and in magazines, something that is trendy one day can just as quickly be untrendy the next. Stick to what you feel good in, what looks good on you, and what you're likely to reach for when you get ready!


Masculine vs. feminine
If you have a man's watch and you think it's too bulky or masculine to wear, think again! Androgynous style is very socially prevalent so you can pair your masculine watch with a couple of feminine bangles and dress it up a little. Also, don't shy away from wearing bow-tie or tie necklaces and oversized scarves, especially if it's in an uber-feminine finish like crystals or silk.

Iconic shapes
We all have necklaces with peace signs, crosses, and various other religious or political symbols. Whether it be letters of a foreign alphabet, heart and star shapes, or Hello Kitty's face plastered on your accessories, remember not to go overboard. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep it to one symbolic show-stopper piece, the way a lead performer would be, and keeping all of your other pieces that day as back-up performers.


Antique and contemporary 

Wearing older jewelry from your grandparents or acquisitions from pawn shops and thrift stores is perfectly great, especially when mixing it with new styles of jewelry. Clashes in culture and time-periods can make for beautiful combinations of accessories. As long as the styles are cohesive and not divisive together, they can be utilized in beautiful ways to amplify your look. Mixing and matching silver with bronze and various colors of gold or pewter also makes for an interesting look, but try not to combine too many kinds of metals together at once. Underneath, you can see various styles of jewelry, some antique, some contemporary, some bronze, pewter, and various shades of silver. There is a cohesiveness between these pieces and they can be mix and matched for numerous looks with teal, brown, or silver scarves/purses and metal-tone belts.

These are merely simple guidelines which aide in the mixing and matching of what we have to create interesting combinations, rather than going out and buying a designated set of accessories for each outfit (which isn't necessarily financially responsible or viable). In the end, it's a matter of personal taste and preference. Some people enjoy matching colors, and others swear against it, as long as you choose colors that are complementary, you will look coordinated, and polished!

Fashionista on a Budget, episode 3

With Swedish retailers H&M doing for fashion what their furniture counterpart, Ikea, has done for home finishings, almost anyone can afford to be stylish and wear the season's latest frocks. Many of these clothes are poorly made in third world countries and will be destroyed on your first thorough wash of them, but others have a skill and craftsmanship that far surpasses the asking price. If you have time and patience to scour through the store, I guarantee you will find something that fits and is flattering on any shape. A few days ago I purchased a black dress that hugs the body and gives a sleek and polished appearance. It is made of a thick material and will definitely keep you warm on cold days. Its retail price is $29.95.

I found myself drawn to this particular skirt that comes in a black/white, teal/brown or pink/purple combination of colors ($17.95 for each). The border is an interesting and bold statement, it's a throwback to the '60's the way it flares out and in its sheer femininity. They're also flattering on any figure because of their A-line shape that flows out from the hips to accentuate a small waist. They have movement but they are not slinky skirts, the material is a matted cotton fabric that is relatively stiff (these are my preference, I'm not one to purchase spandex or fitted tube skirts). 

Next, I found a silver-tank shirt with an inverted knot detail in the front at the bottom of the V-neck. This shirt is rather slinky but it is not fitted and hangs loosely. I would not have purchased this shirt if I wasn't desperate for something to match a silver animal-print skirt that I have owned for years. Regardless, this shirt was only $12.95.

Support Your Team and Dress like Boo!

So my husband has been insisting that I get an outfit to wear during NFL Sunday's and to my surprise one day while perusing Victoria's Secret, I noticed they have a collection called 'Pink Loves the NFL'. I like the way their clothes fit and the quality of the products so I decided to order the New York Giants Bling Zip Hoodie and Bling Boyfriend Pants. I had no idea what these were going to fit like because they're not pictured on a model, it's just a straight-up shot of the clothes. I received my shipment of the online purchase and, to my surprise, the top fit like a charm, the fabric has some give and is very flattering. Not to mention, I was delighted with the amount of bedazzling these pieces have! There's faux jewels on the '25' on the back of the hoodie, on the logo in the front, and on the G-men lettering on the pants. 

My only qualm with this purchase is that the pants are gigantor and they probably fit more like an XL rather than a M, so *definitely* go a size or two smaller if you're considering getting them. The pants are not hemmed at the bottom, they have that rugged manly look, but that's in keeping with the fact that they're supposed to look like your boyfriend's/husband's pants.

All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase, especially because I can look like my favorite celebrity dog, Boo. He can be seen here in a very similar looking hoodie to the one I've just gotten. Subscribe to him on facebook if you want to see new pics of him in cutesy poses with or without the most adorable clothing on :)

Boo, superstar puppy

Easy Eye Transformation

Do you ever wonder how to do a simple and foolproof winged liner that's appropriate for every day and work? Well look no further, in this post we'll discuss the proper order to put on your eyeshadows and how to easily apply your eyeliner! Firstly, you want to prime your eyelid all the way up to your eyebrows and under your eyes. This is because the eyeshadow won't stick properly all day long if you don't have a base for it. I used Benefit's Stay Don't Stray primer because I like the thick consistency of it, but a good substitute is a Mac concealer that fits your skin-tone, or Hard Candy's Nobody's Perfect concealer (available at Walmart for a whopping $6, including 6 shades!).
Rub the concealer in with your brush or fingertip, using your ring finger to apply the least amount of pressure to your eye (this avoids excessive wrinkles, ladies and gents).

This is a neutral look so I used the Urban Decay 'Naked palette' and MAC's 'Nylon' eyeshadow. For the base eyeshadow color, 'Naked' is a great option because it is just slightly darker than my skin-tone and shows barely a hint of color. This was applied with a regular eye-shadow brush and the color was packed on. Then, I used the color 'Buck' for the contour, going in a crescent shape around the ball of my eye, and you don't have to be too clean when you apply these colors because they will be blended together at the end. For the highlight, I used 'Nylon' from MAC because it's got a frosty sheen and is visibly lighter than my skin, attracting light underneath the eyebrow and away from any dark-circle. This makes eyes appear bright and refreshed.

Base (Naked), Contour (Buck), and Highlight (Nylon) eyeshadow application

For the winged-eyeliner application, I'm going to advise that if you are not experienced in this, you should use either an angular eyeliner brush or a brush-tipped applicator. I'm going to use the latter because I'm obsessed with Stila's 'Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner' (wow, that name is quite a mouthful). The tip is very fine, but the pen rests very stably   in my hand because, especially if I balance my arm on the table during my application. You should always rest your elbow on a flat, immovable surface when you do your eyeliner because otherwise the line will turn out shaky.

If you don't know where to start and you want to achieve an even winged look that is the same on both of your eyes, use these simple guidelines. The first line I draw is from the outer corner of my eye and points upwards to the end of my eyebrow, you can go as far with this line as you want to, it really depends how dramatic of a look you're going for (the farther, the more wingy it will be). Then, I go back to the inner corner of my eye and begin the contour of the line. Do not attempt to fill in as you're drawing the contour because you will not get as smooth of a finish, you want to get the contour done in one smooth stroke. Connect your contour to wherever you like on the winged edge (I go to halfway of the line that I first drew). Then go back underneath your line and fill in from your eyelashes to the outline of your liner. 

Wing, contour, and fill-in eyeliner application

Now apply your mascara of choice and voila, you have a pretty look that is appropriate for anytime of day or night!

Let me know if there's anything any of my readers would like to see in the future! Hope you had fun reading this post :)

Fashionista on a Budget, Episode 2

During one of my many leisurely strolls through downtown's shopping district, I came across an adorable store called Romy. I'll admit their website leaves much... well, really everything to the imagination, but the store is filled with cutesy dresses and to my surprise was stocked up on sweater-dresses for the season. I hadn't planned on purchasing anything but the prices in here are so phenomenal that I managed to get all of these items for $50.

These may not look like much on hangers but they're flattering on the figure, comfortable, and warm for those fall/winter months. The burgundy-wine cowl-neck dress  is especially so, it hits around the knee (if you're 5'4 like me), as does the black one. The burgundy dress is made of a wool-blend fabric, while the black one on the right is a knit cotton with knitted detail. They both have that feminine baby-doll fit which is what draws me to the store, because almost all of their dresses have the exact same shape.

I know you may be wondering when you see the belt that I purchased if this is not too similar to the one I had bought in the previous entry about the Urban Outfitters haul, well.... it is, it really is. The only logical explanation I have is that this belt happened to be $3, how could I say no??? How can anybody say no? Plus, I'm a sucker for bows and shiny things.

Lastly, because I had spent $50 with the previous items, I received a free $10 giftcard which I promptly used towards the purchase of this scarf (which happened to conveniently be $10). I needed this scarf because it's extremely warm and it's a cotton knit fabric, it's exceptionally crafted for how cheap it is.

So, in conclusion, thank-you Romy, I will definitely be back for more inexpensive seasonal clothing. The ladies who worked here were exceptionally friendly and attentive. The store also has a variety of cute accessories (headbands, earrings, etc) that don't require you reach too deep into your pockets.