Fashion & Beauty

May 17, 2013

Outfit: Body Love + Shorts

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I’ve been a journey toward self and body acceptance for a couple of years now, and I’m happy to say that I’ve made a lot of progress, in large part because I try to surround myself with women and messages that contribute to the positive body image movement. What’s funny is that I designed the t-shirt I’m wearing in these photos really early in my journey. Let’s just say it was an aspirational message, because I wasn’t there yet. Today, however, I can wear this shirt — and all the others in the Self Love series — with pride, because the message is the truth. And I hope that it inspires someone else — anyone else — to love theirs too. The shirt is available in a bunch of colors and t-shirt styles.

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In other news, I’ve had these shorts for months and have planned at least 5 outfits with them. But every time I planned to wear them, the weather took a turn for the cold. When Eboni from The Fashionista Next Door chose shorts for this week’s Style Me Friday challenge, I finally had an excuse to try again. I got lucky, because yesterday, it was finally warm enough to rock them. All the other looks I planned were more demure and conservative, but I wanted to go more casual. The graphic tee, wedge sneakers and the bow in my hair created exactly the overall look I was going for: Casual and cute, but still well put together.

Side note: I’ve since learned that I need to find shorts that are a little longer. I haven’t worn shorts this short since I was in high school, and now I remember why

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May 15, 2013

Outfits for Two: Feeling Dressy

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She’s wearing: Thrifted Route 66 dress (similar & similar) | Faded Glory wedges courtesy of Walmart | Forever 21 necklace (similar) | Gifted earrings and bracelet (aff)

I’m wearing: Calvin Klein maxi dress (similar) | Cobalt sheer back blazer (similar & similar) | Old Navy belt (similar) (aff)

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She’s wearing: Thrifted Route 66 dress (similar & similar) | Faded Glory wedges courtesy of Walmart | Forever 21 necklace (similar) | Gifted earrings and bracelet (aff)

At 7, my daughter is definitely developing her own sense of style. She loves skirts and dresses — mostly because I don’t let her wear them to school very often because I know how rambunctious she gets on the playground. So she jumps at any chance to wear anything with a skirt and frills. A Mother’s Day brunch at my mom and sister’s church was the perfect opportunity.

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And her shoes? When Walmart sent us these fabulous wedges, I knew she’d love them. Of course, she also learned something about wearing grown up shoes. They hurt after a while She quickly learned why I warned her to bring a pair of flats, too. Still, I was impressed by her vision to mix the floral pattern in the dress with the multicolored stripes in the shoes. The patterns are both busy, but it works because they’re in the same color family. I just may have to let her dress herself more often

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I’m wearing: Calvin Klein maxi dress (similar) | Cobalt sheer back blazer (similar & similar) | Old Navy belt (similar) (aff)

As for me, I technically wasn’t even supposed to be in these photos (hence, the reason I’n not wearing jewelry or shoes), but since my hubby snapped a couple of the two of us together, I figured I’d make a blog post out of it. I’ve become obsessed with dresses of the maxi variety because they’re ridiculously comfortable and easy to wear. Especially when barefoot

After the brunch, my husband spotted this great location for photos, so we all took some. How adorable are these two?

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And of course, my daughter had to shoot one of mommy and daddy.

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All in all, we had a great weekend. How was yours?

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May 10, 2013

Outfit: Dear Curves + Pattern Mixing

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I’m Wearing: Forever 21 colorblock top | Adavi Peplum Skirt courtesy of Dear Curves | Thrifted Steve Madden Luxe pumps (similar & similar) | Handmade “Yhanni” Nefertiti earrings from Shop ALS | Bracelets from Forever 21, thrifting and Walmart (aff)

Have you ever come across a clothing company that really excites you? Found pieces that you know in your heart of hearts you HAVE to have? Dear Curves did that for me. For about two years, I had been looking for a designer that makes modern, figure-flattering plus-sized clothing in African prints. Until I discovered Dear Curves, most of the stuff I found either 1. Didn’t come in my size, or 2. Wasn’t my style. This company makes awesome skirts, dresses, tops and pants in fun, modern African-print fabrics that will make you feel like your best self.

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I am wearing the Adavi peplum skirt, and I love it! It is feminine and beautifully form fitting. One caveat, though. It is a little too form fitting. Typically, I wear a size 14. Dear Curves is based in the UK, and in my experience, UK brands tend to be slightly off in terms of American sizing. In this case, the skirt is a little too small, in part because the fabric doesn’t stretch. It fits, but doesn’t zip past my hips or pass the “sit” test (which is why I took these photos really close to my front door…lol). If I didn’t have any other incentive to lose another 10 pounds, this skirt is it, because I WILL wear it again In any case, when ordering, I would go up a size. Dear Curves offers sizes from 14-28.

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As soon as I saw the skirt, I knew I wanted to style it with a black and white striped top. I’ve been wanting to experiment with pattern mixing and saw this as my chance. In this case, I think the thick stripes work as a great counterbalance to the small-scale pattern on the skirt. I added my awesome Nefertiti earrings handmade by the endlessly talented Alex Elle of Shop ALS and a bunch of random bracelets, including one from Walmart’s Empowering Women Together collection. Overall, I was really pleased with the look.

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Have you ever tried pattern mixing? Feel free to link to your pattern-mix outfit post in the comments!

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May 2, 2013

Trying the Color Blocking Trend — On My Nails

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and COTY #cbias #SocialFabric. As usual, all opinions are my own.

Of late, I have become a bit of a collector of nail polish. When I started paying more attention to my fashion choices, I also started paying more attention to my nails and bought a bunch of polish and nail art.

I told myself that I’d do my nails weekly so they would always be fresh. And I did. Like twice. But then I completely fell of the wagon and have been walking around with bare nails for months. So give me an excuse to get started again and I’m in.

When Social Fabric offered me the opportunity to try color blocking my nails with Sally Hansen nail products, I jumped at the chance. Finally, I would get an opportunity to try all those fancy nail designs that I’d been collection on my Nailspiration board on Pinterest.

I initially wanted to do something with two colors, and possibly something diagonal. I really liked this concept, minus the gold leaf:

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However, I was also intrigued by the idea of ombre nails, like this:

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Still, to stay true to the idea of color blocking, I was drawn to the idea of two contrasting colors and with a simple tip in a bright color, much like this:

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In the end, I chose to use three colors in a design that was a combination of the ones I found on Pinterest. I headed to Walgreens to load up on polish, along with a clear Sally Hansen topcoat, all purchased with my Walgreens Balance Rewards card. I ended up with three Sally Hansen colors: Blue-Away, Butter-fly Stroke, and a nail art pen in navy blue.

My nails were uneven at best, so I started by clipping and filing them to make them at least relatively even.

I started with one coat of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails.

I followed that with two coats of Blue-Away and decided to do my ring fingers in yellow, Butter-fly Stroke.

While both colors are from the Insta-Dry collection and designed to dry really quickly, I still allowed my nails to dry for a full 15 minutes before moving on. It is really important that your nails are completely dry before you proceed to the next step.

While the ideas on Pinterest involved painter’s tape and other methods of creating straight, perfect lines on the nails, I am lazy and didn’t feel like doing all of that. This is why I purchased the nail art pen. With a fine tip, it’s pretty easy to draw shapes on your nails.

I drew a diagonal triangle on each ring finger and simply colored in the tip of each other nail.

I finished with a nice clear topcoat to seal it all in, hopefully for at least a week.

Of course, with my completely unsteady hands, I had to use some Q-tips and nail polish remover to clean up the skin around my fingers. Here’s the finished look:

It’s not perfect, but I like it!

I’ve been envisioning this nail design with a specific outfit:

This outfit will combine bunch of current trends: color blocking on my nails, pattern mixing with the striped top and polka dot skirt, and a high-low hem on the skirt. I can’t wait to wear it, once it’s warm enough again. So if my nails get messed up or chipped before I get to wear it, trust that I will be doing this design again.

You can create a similar look on your nails with products from Walgreens, and you can get $1 off Sally Hansen Tweezers and Clippers while you’re at it.

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April 24, 2013

Outfits for Two: Show Me Some Confidence

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I’m Wearing: Pink crop top (similar) | ASOS high-low skirt | Pastry wedge sneakers | Bracelet courtesy of Urban Lace Jewelry | Gifted necklaces & earrings (aff)

He’s Wearing: Parish button-down shirt (similar) | White linen pants (similar) | Shoes | Highland Creek shoes (similar) | Invicta watch (aff)

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You know how people always say you have to “fake it ’til you make it”? That definitely applies to this week’s outfit. I bought this fabulous skirt from ASOS months ago. I was all starry eyed — until I tried it on. Let’s just say it looked a lot different on the model, and I didn’t realize how short the underskirt was.

I’m SO glad I finally convinced myself to wear this, in the middle of the day, no less. I didn’t feel super confident when I left the house, but by the end of the day, I felt like a million bucks. I got some side eyes from people, but that comes with the territory of wearing what you want and being who you are, right? Sometimes I might be a little self conscious, but I’ll just keep faking it ’til I make it, and eventually, I won’t need to fake it any more.

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The exclamation point on the whole ensemble was my awesome bracelet courtesy of eco jewelry company Urban Lace. The bracelet is actually made from a recycled bike inner tube. How awesome is that?

I’m Wearing: Pink crop top (similar) | ASOS high-low skirt | Pastry wedge sneakers | Bracelet courtesy of Urban Lace Jewelry | Gifted necklaces & earrings (aff)

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As for my hubby, I love this look on him! He found this sailor-inspired top a while back and — as he always does — immediately knew that he wanted to pair it with white linen pants. LIke I’ve said before, the man knows what he likes, and I’ve always, ALWAYS admired his ability to completely be himself in any situation.

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He has a sense of style that is completely and utterly his — one of the many things I love about him Here’s a tiny dose of his big personality:

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He’s Wearing: Parish button-down shirt (similar) | White linen pants (similar) | Shoes | Highland Creek shoes (similar) | Invicta watch (aff)

We had a lunch date, which we haven’t done in a while, and spent the rest of the day running errands and doing some shopping. It’s really awesome that nearly 10 years into our marriage (it will be 10 in July), I still genuinely enjoy spending time with my hubby. I’m also loving the fact that he’s so willing to do outfit posts with me. Now, the neighbors will think we’re both crazy at least once a week

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April 20, 2013

Adventures of a Makeup Newbie: Flower Cosmetics

If you’ve been reading this blog or following me on Instagram or Facebook for any amount of time, you have probably noticed that I almost never wear makeup. I can count the number of times I’ve worn a full face of makeup on one hand. Seriously. And on the rare occasions when I’ve dabbled on my own, it’s been a little eye makeup and some lipstick or gloss. That’s it.

So when Walmart offered me the opportunity to try Drew Barrymore’s new Flower Beauty cosmetics line, I was both excited and intimidated. Because truth be told, makeup intimidates me. I have never really known how to apply it well, and as a result, I never really tried.

This is the second time in as many weeks that I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did. Because it’s really not that hard.

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I received a great selection of products to try, including liquid and powder foundation, tinted moisturizer, creme blush and creme eyeshadow, mascara, two kinds of eyeliner, lip gloss and lip butter. In other words, more than enough to get me going. The Flower tagline is “Love the Way You Look.” My immediate, snarky response to that was, “Well, I already love the way I look.” What? Call me a cynic, but I’m a firm believer that no woman NEEDS makeup to be beautiful, so it rubbed me the wrong way.

Still, I was determined to press on. First, the obligatory “before” photo:

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The liquid foundation I received felt a little too light for me, and I didn’t want to look like I was wearing a mask, so I decided instead to try a combination of tinted moisturizer and powder foundation. The tinted moisturizer felt great going on and disappeared into my skin almost immediately with only a little coverage. I was actually happy about that, because I don’t really care for the pancaked look of thick foundation. Next, I lightly applied powder foundation all over my face. This is when I began to see a difference in the evening of my skin tone. Nothing drastic, but enough to even out the darkness under my eyes a bit and reduce the stark differences around my hairline and cheekbones. These are definitely not for someone who is used to a foundation with a lot of coverage, but it worked for me, since I just wanted light coverage.

Next, I moved on to my eyes. I began with the creme eyeshadow in Awesome Blossom, and it was a dream to apply. Honestly. I used my EcoTools tapered brush, and it felt like putting velvet on my eyes. In my limited experience, it was easier than applying powder shadow. I followed with a little eyeliner and some mascara. The finished look on my eyes was subtle with a hint of glam.

Sidenote: Why have I not used mascara before now? It made my non-existent lashes actually show up for a change! Score!

Next, I applied the creme blush. This was slightly awkward for me because I wasn’t sure what brush to use for the application. I used a standard fluffy rouge brush and applied it lightly. In fact, I may have gone too light, because I could barely see it. I didn’t mind so much, though, because I wanted it to be super subtle.

Finally, I rounded out my look with Wispy Wisteria lip butter. The butter is not as pigmented as lipstick, but has more color than a gloss. It’s somewhere in the middle, and really moisturizing. I have to say I really liked it.

Are you ready for my after shot? Here you go!

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And now for a side-by-side shot so you can compare:

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Still me, with slightly more even skin and a little sparkle around the eyes and lips. I can dig it Though I really need to get my eyebrows threaded. Like yesterday. So forgive them for looking scraggly.

Overall, I really liked these products. I don’t have much makeup experience to compare it to, but as a newbie, they were easy to apply and not super intimidating once I figured out which to use in which order. On the sustainability side, all the products are made in the U.S. and none of thm contain parabens, though I still need to do some research on the ingredients they DO contain. I admit I’m still a little ignorant when it comes to makeup ingredients, but I’ll report back on what I find out.

Priced at $4.98-13.98, they’re affordable enough to try on my own. I do want to try some of the more pigmented lipsticks and the creme shadow in a couple of other colors, so I guess I’m sold.

I still can’t imagine wearing a full face of makeup every day, but this is progress

DISCLOSURE: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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April 18, 2013

Family Outfits: Spring Fashion at Walmart

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Spring has been on my mind for weeks, which means that I’ve been stocking up on warm weather clothes and layers since none of my spring and summer wardrobe from last year still fits. My daughter has a bit of the same problem, since the child is crazy tall and grows like a weed.

So when Walmart offered me a chance to shop for spring fashion for my family, I didn’t hesitate.

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She’s Wearing: Faded Glory romper from Walmart | Lei Chambray tie-front shirt from Walmart | Cherokee sandals | Disney Couture bracelet (similar) | Gifted initial necklace (similar)

He’s Wearing: Zion Rootswear t-shirt from Walmart | Akademiks shorts (similar) | Nike Air Max sneakers (similar) | Invicta watch | Handmade medallion (aff)

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With a $50 budget, I started in the women’s department, knowing that would probably take the bulk of my money. I tried on a bunch of items, including cute lace dresses in great colors and a lace peplum top, but frankly, I’m all peplum-ed out. I settled on this awesome maxi dress.

There were a LOT of maxi dresses, but I’m chesty enough to require a supportive bra, and a lot of them had cutouts or very narrow straps. I chose this one because I loved the colors and stripes, but also because the top offered solid coverage. This is the kind of dress I would wear any day of the week for almost any occasion, from running errands to going to church. The fabric is a nice weight — not too light and not too heavy — so I’ll have to see how it holds up to washing. This is definitely going to be a spring & summer staple for me, and at just $15.44, I can afford to go back and get it in a few more colors.

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I also grabbed a set of beaded bracelets to match my dress and a Faded Glory scarf to use as a headwrap, because we all have those days when we just don’t feel like doing our hair. There was actually a really great selection of lightweight scarves in both solid colors and patterns priced at just $6.97. I’ll also be going back for more of those

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My husband was easy. He chose this Bob Marley graphic tee about 2 minutes after he started looking. What can I say? You can’t go wrong with a Bob Marley tee for a reggae singer.

While I LOVE must husband when he’s on his suit and tie…ummm, stuff…this is how he dresses every day. In the spring and summer, khaki shorts and sneakers are a staple, and he can’t get enough of graphic tees.

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He’s Wearing: Zion Rootswear t-shirt from Walmart | Akademiks shorts (similar) | Nike Air Max sneakers (similar) | Invicta watch | Handmade medallion (aff)

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My daughter recently hit another growth spurt, and suddenly everything in her closet is too short and/or too tight. I decided to avoid length problems altogether with a romper designed to slouch slightly on top. And because I know she’s prone to feeling chilly if we’re in an air-conditioned car or building for more than 5 seconds, I also grabbed this chambray top. In addition to this styling, I can think of at least half a dozen other ways she can wear it, which means it’s more than worth the $11.94 we paid for it.

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She’s Wearing: Faded Glory romper from Walmart | Lei Chambray tie-front shirt from Walmart | Cherokee sandals | Disney Couture bracelet (similar) | Gifted initial necklace (similar)

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the available selection for all of us. As usual, it took a little hunting to find the gems in my store, but I still found some items that will be solid parts of our wardrobe for at least the next few months.

DISCLOSURE: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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April 16, 2013

Outfits for Two: Dapper, Indeed

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I’m Wearing: Kardashian Kollection high-low dress (similar & similar) | Thrifted Nine West boots (similar) | ASOS bow belt | BCBG fishtail earrings (similar) | Hammered gold ring (similar) (aff)

He’s Wearing: Thrifted suit (similar) | Thrifted Nordstrom dress shirt (similar) | Arcadia argyle sweater vest (similar) | Penguin plaid bowtie (similar) | Highland Creek shoes (similar) (aff)

This past weekend, my brother-in-law was celebrating his birthday, and he and his wife invited my husband and I out for dinner and dancing. We decided to use the opportunity to get dressed up in a way that we don’t do very often.

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Just look at my hubby, all dapper in his suit! He had been envisioning this ensemble for weeks, and it came out awesome. I told him if he had asked me, I would’ve added a contrasting color somewhere. But I’m really glad he didn’t ask, because I love all the shades of gray and complementary patterns. The man knows what he likes, and I have learned to trust his judgement.

Secondarily, I am so proud of him, because his suit and shirt are from Goodwill! He’s been accompanying me on more thrifting adventures of late, and he’s been walking away with some treasures of his own!

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He’s Wearing: Thrifted suit (similar) | Thrifted Nordstrom dress shirt (similar) | Arcadia argyle sweater vest (similar) | Penguin plaid bowtie (similar) | Highland Creek shoes (similar) (aff)

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As for me, I bought this dress on Black Friday last year and I’ve been wanting to wear it ever since. It’s a very distinctive dress that shows a little leg and cleavage, so let’s just say it’s not conservative, and I needed the right place to wear it. Still, I love the high-low hemline and the fluttery silhouette, though I added a belt to help separate the bodice from the skirt. I felt uber sexy and confident in this, and I had an equally sexy man on my arm. I think we both felt pretty unstoppable!

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