November 29, 2013

Skin Care 101


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For as long as I can remember I've been getting questions about my skin care routine, what face wash I use, etc., so I think this post is well overdue. I've never taken the time to fully explain what I use and why I use it along with the results from each product, so, if you've been waiting patiently-  here it is and if you don't care about face wash, maybe you'll be inspired to exfoliate after reading this.

To be completely honest, I have never had a problem with my skin and I am very fortunate and grateful for that. Whether it's because I started off with really great genetics in that area or it was because I have been exfoliating before I even know what "exfoliating" meant. I've never had a huge problem with acne, redness, etc. Don't get me wrong I did have my fair share of breakouts during my early high school career, but, I tried out Pro-Activ and they quickly disappeared. I studied their three step system and what each one did and was able to replicate it with products that weren't as harsh and worked better for my skin type. Now that I'm well out of high school, my only complaints are oily spots when the seasons change on top of those lovely pimples that only show up when I have somewhere important to be.

As promised, here is every product I use, why I use it and how it benefits me. In no way am I any sort of skin care expert, nor have I gone to school for skin care, so everything I share is from personal experience. This may look a bit overwhelming at first but once you get into the routine, you'll actually look forward to it and especially the results.

Not only are these steps important for me and maybe some other ladies, but it is especially important for you fellas as well. Even though you may not wear make up on a daily basis like we do, you still have lots of dirt in those pores than if you let sit over night, will eventually turn into some sort of skin blemish. For example, you see your homeboy walking by, you quickly shake said homeboy's hand and touch your face not long after.. since you don't know what homeboy was doing prior to shaking your hand, you just made yourself victim of second hand dirt. Now do you believe me?

I'll try to keep my babbling to a minimum and get straight to the point with each product..


1. Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Make-Up Remover
Since I started using eye liner in my early teens (of course I sported the raccoon look with confidence, didn't we all?) I always made sure to take it off before bed. I noticed that when I didn't, I would wake up looking like the grudge with a zit or three. Little did I know I was actually taking part in one of the most important rules of life, for myself at least. I've learned over time how crucial it is to let your pores breathe over night, even if it's only six hours, it still makes a huge difference. I have been using Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover for more years than I can remember. I've tried other products and they were all either too oily or burnt my eyes. I use this every night with a cotton pad to remove the bulk of my makeup, then I flip to the exfoliating side of the cotton pad to get anything left over that may be stuck in my pores.

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2. Lush 9-5 Cleansing Lotion
A few years ago my friend Lipsa & I took a trip to the mall where she brought me to the Lush section of Macy's. I always walked by it, but never took the time to see what it was about or try any of the products. She said she had to re-stock two items that she used daily and while she was doing that, she convinced me to buy them as well. If you know her personally, you know how flawless her skin is so I knew she wouldn't steer me in the wrong direction. Since then I have been using Lush's 9-5 Cleanser after taking off my make-up every single day. I've noticed that my skin tone is more even, I have less break outs and my skin is much softer. I also recommend this product for the males out there and to prove my second-hand-dirt theory, I had my boyfriend use this on his face before bed on several different occasions and each time he did wipe off some dirt. As you can see there is a bit of wear and tear on the bottle just to prove how often I actually do use it.

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3. Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner
 The other product that Lipsa introduced me to was the Breath of Fresh Air Toner. You can actually use this product whenever you feel the need to freshen up throughout the day without ruining your makeup.  All of the different natural ingredients help to even out your skin tone, whether it's a dry spot or super oily spot.  This is my absolute favorite product to use during the winter and summer for those reasons alone. If you want to let your pores feel tightened (usually when your skin is feeling oily) let it air dry and if you want to leave it feeling moisturized (in the winter when it's dry) blot off the excess with a cotton pad. I just replaced this bottle a couple of weeks ago after having my last one for well over 7 months.

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4. Lush Imperials Moisturizer
 I'm an avid post shower/exfoliating moisturizer. I typically use Aveeno unscented lotion all over my skin after every shower but I don't always use it on my face because it's a bit heavy. Imperials by Lush  is a lightweight moisturizer (it even says it on the bottle) that is perfect for those of us who tend to get oily areas and dry areas here and there. Like I said in the summer I definitely get a bit more oily and in the winter a bit more dry and after explaining that to an associate at Lush she quickly recommended this and I have been using it ever since. I use a small amount before bed and wake up with perfectly soft and even skin.

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5. St. Ives Apricot Scrub
 Now on to my favorite part of my skin regimen, exfoliating. I'm pretty sure I've said it about 80 times already, but I feel that it is one of the most beneficial things you could do for yourself. When I was younger I was obsessed with using any face wash with the "little beads" because I thought they were fun. Little did I know, I was giving myself an early start to training my skin to "renew" itself for the rest of my life. If you exfoliate correctly and care for your skin afterward, you actually teach your skin to build collagen or "renew" itself constantly, thus creating healthier, younger looker skin.  I take about two minutes every other day to exfoliate with St. Ives Apricot Scrub while I'm in the shower by using only use the tips of my fingers so that I don't apply too much pressure and damage my skin. This is also an important step for any gentlemen interested in skin care, not only will it leave your face feeling smooth it will also get any dirt out of your hair follicles that may cause razor bumps after shaving.

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6. Lush Grease Lightning 
I absolutely love waking up the day before an event with a GIANT PIMPLE that seems to take over my face and try to steal my identity. NOT.. but it seems to happen to be almost every time I have somewhere important or special to be. Luckily I came across a successful method to get rid of those irritating blemishes with no scarring in a minimal amount of time and it goes by the name of Grease Lightening, by Lush, of course. I dab a bit of this magical potion on the pimple several times a day and it seems to almost disappear by the time I wake up the next morning. It has witch hazel which is known for helping with scarring which a lot of other spot methods do not have, or at least I have yet to see one with it. I actually keep one bottle at home and one bottle in my purse in case of an emergency situation. I've tested this product out on myself & my boyfriend when we've gotten small breakouts and it seemed to clear them up over night and prevented and white/black heads from popping up.


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7. Lush Mask of Magnaminty
Like I've been saying, my skin doesn't exactly love when the seasons change. I usually stop into Lush for one of their refrigerated two-week masks when the summer starts fading into fall, but, the Mask of Magnaminity seemed to do me wonders this year. This is actually my third bucket of it (which you can see has been used plenty of times) and they typically last me 6-9 months depending on how often I need to use it. The reason I bought it was because it was known for doing three things in just one sitting: cleansing, exfoliating & soothing. I try to use it before that time of the month to avoid whatever pimple was planning on making an appearance and it usually works. Once again, this is also a great product for you gentlemen, even if you feel girly doing it.. imagine all the ladies who will fawn over your baby soft skin..

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8. Lush Sweet Lips - Lip Scrub
Back to my favorite subject.. exfoliating. I absolutely hate the dead skin that forms on my lips during the winter that no chapstick seems to get rid of. I came across Sweet Lips lip scrub at Lush which works as an exfoliation for your lips.. and you can eat it when you're done because it's made of sugar. Seemed sketchy at first, but after using it just once there was a huge difference in the texture of my lips. Now that I use it year round I've noticed my lipstick applies much easier and never cakes up.

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9. L'Oreal Sublime Bronze
 I have been an avid "tanner" since I was pretty young and until this past summer I would have considered myself a pro. I started noticing in my late teens that my entire body would tan easily and stay tan for much longer than my face. I had this hypothesis that it was because my face regenerated really fast which was also why I didn't have any pimples. Back in February I went to get my first facial ever as a gift from my Mom, I told the woman who was working on my skin about my situation & what I thought it was and who knew that I was actually correct? After years and years of exfoliating, my skin learned to build collagen (like I explained above) and turn over quickly which is why my face never seemed to get tan. So, to make up for that I tried a ton of self tanners and this one by L'Oreal was by far the best. I use it all year, especially in the winter just twice a week to give my face a bit of a glow because it does get deathly white looking.  This step is obviously not necessary, but, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone was in the same situation as myself.

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I know Lush's products may bit a bit expensive or inexpensive compared to the designer products sold in Sephora, Nordstrom etc., but I promise they work just as well if not better. They use all vegetarian ingredients and make all of their products by hand, they also do NOT support animal testing.

LINKS
Neutrogena Oil Free Make Up Remover Target
Cotton pads with exfoliating side Target
 9 - 5 Cleanser Lush
Breath of Fresh Air Toner Lush
Imperials Moisturizer Lush
St. Ives Apricot Scrub Target
Grease Lightning Lush
Mask of Magnaminty Lush
Sweet Lips, new flavor this year -> Lush
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Target

November 26, 2013

#dylanlexneck


If I have inspired at least one person to pick out an outfit that they were able to look forward to wearing and felt like a million bucks wearing it, then I am ultimately more successful than I could have ever imagined being.

 In middle school I wore pretty much what everyone else wore. American Eagle, Abercrombie, Hollister and Uggs, I think that sums it up for the most part. When I decided to stray away from those brands and bought my first Volcom sweatshirt from PacSun and eventually a couple of other skater-esque t-shirts I was called a “poser” by a couple of girls and even some of my guy "friends".  To this day I question whether or not they knew the meaning of a “poser” or if me wearing a pair of Etnies even classified me as anything for that matter. Fast forward another year or two and I was back in my Abercrombie  sweatshirts and Air Force Ones. I’m don't know if I was still discovering my identity or just wearing what everyone else was to avoid any more name calling. When I started high school, I’m not sure what my style was other than tragic, a mix between what everyone else was wearing and what I wanted to wear (skulls, Volcom, black ,etc), but I can say that I didn’t completely feel like myself. I always felt the need to express myself creatively and wearing the same Abercrombie shirt as everyone else wasn't allowing me to do so. During that time I began to notice an upperclassmen in the hallways, her style was different and very unique and she wasn’t afraid to be herself. After months of seeing her around, not carning what anyone else thought of how she looked & what she was wearing.. I was inspired to stop holding back from being myself. I had a couple of bumps along the way of course, like jet black hair over bleach blonde hair and maybe some over sized high-top converse, but in the end I found out who I was by the time I left high school. Throughout college there were plenty of times that I was hesitant to show up somewhere in an outfit that was a bit different from not only what I would wear but especially everyone else, and times I even stopped myself from wearing those things in order to save myself from the “what on earth are you wearing” stares. Over time I began to care less and less and stopped thinking about what anyone else had to say about it.  It takes awhile to do so and of course I started out small by taking trips to the mall or smaller stores, then dinners, then parties or any other even life had to throw at me. Here I am, almost five years later and I can honestly say that I know exactly who I am and I love myself, who I am, what I wear, who I’m surrounded with and what I stand for. I have never felt more comfortable being who I am, I have accepted any flaw I have and embraced it for what it may or my not be.. Life is entirely too short to be unhappy with yourself or to be afraid to wear something because of what you think someone else might think about you. So, the point of me posting my outfits and where I find them is to not only show you what I wear & where I get it, but to hopefully inspire at least one person to step out of their comfort zone like someone did for me years ago.

This is who I really am along with interests I've had for either my entire life or a good portion of it. I have always loved clothes, jewelry, shoes and bags along with skulls and any & all things black. I know we do not have all of the same interests but that's what makes us all unique and if you're able to incorporate pieces of what I love into your own style without losing your own identity, then you have completely understood the point of my blog. I strongly encourage any of you reading to think about what you love about yourself, what inspires you and makes you feel like you're invincible when you walk down the street and remind yourself of those things every single day.
 
 Back to why you're all here, the outfit details. Sometime during the early spring I came across an instagram account full of gorgeous necklaces and jewelry that I was dying to get my hands on. I clicked the website info & it said that the jewelry would be released soon, so naturally I signed up to be be notified when they would be and waited anxiously for 7+ months. During that time she posted tons of pictures of the necklaces which made me more and more anxious for their release. Recently, Dylanlex opened up her website and my stomach dropped when I found out they were all $600+, I hid under my desk sobbing for most of the day. After getting myself back together and realizing I might have to wait a bit for a real one, I was determined to make my own in the mean time. I set off to the craft store and bought tons of chains, spikes, jewels, etc. I sat in my room for days putting it together, taking it apart and putting it back together again, it had to be one of the most tedious projects I've ever taken on. Finally, after countless hours of frustration, I'm almost completely finished (still working on the minor details). What I love most about Dylanlex is of course her necklaces and style, but that she made a hashtag where you can use to show her your own creation (#dylanlexneck).  I plan on making a couple more now that I've gotten the hang of it, I even got a cute little necklace form to display it on because I'm obsessed with it. 


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 In the corner is the necklace form I was talking about earlier, you can find tons of them on Amazon. They're a super cute way to decorate and display some of your favorite pieces. My boyfriend is also on the opposite side photo-bombing my picture.

OUTFIT DETAILS
Top: black basic long sleeve, Windsor
Shorts: originally Charlotte Russe, similar LoveCulture  GoJane  PacSun
Jacket: similar PacSun PacSun2
Booties: stud heel ankle boot, Wetseal
Clutch: similar Forever21


If you're looking for any extra inspration, I have a tumblr full of all the things that inspire me, hopefully they work for you, too! There's also an "ask" button where you can ask me anything you want (of course you can be anonymous) and I will be sure to answer any and everything. There's also a comment box down below if you prefer.

TUMBLR
ask me anything

November 24, 2013

Daisy Print Playsuit


I'm back after a very brief and unintentional haietas. This past week I've been traveling back and forth between Philly, central NJ & northern NJ and on top of that the weather has been causing my allergies to ruin my life with nausea and dizziness on a regular basis.

I definitely have a strong love/hate relationship with rompers or playsuits. I love them to death but I hate having to get completely undressed to use the ladies room. I know that sounds the complete opposite of glamorous but we all know it's true. What should only be a two minute bathroom trip turns into a 5+ minute ordeal. Of course the sleeves never fit over whatever jewelry I'm wearing so not only do I have to lose my entire top and belt, I have to de-accessorize, too. This romper stole my heart when I was checking in on one of my favorite websites, of course I had to have it despite all the future trouble I knew it would cause me. The material is super comfy and the sizing was perfect which is hard to come by when you're 5' tall. I may or may not have invested in a couple more just like it..

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OUTFIT DETAILS
Romper/Playsuit: Madeline Daisy Print Jersey Playsuit, boohoo
Booties: studded triple buckle ankle bootie, CharlotteRusse
Belt: chain link belt, Tobi
(I actually had my Dad remove the metal piece in the front to make it fit better)
Clutch: Kimber clutch - ivory, GypsyWarrior
Watch: Riley Rose Gold plated - Fossil, Macys
(Fossil is made my Michael Kors which is why they look similar & are less expensive)

November 23, 2013

Spiked Headwrap: Part II


Another outfit featuring the spiked headwrap, I just couldn't get enough of it this week. Since I was only wearing a sweater and jeans I felt that I could add something extra to give my outfit a different look. I am obsessed with winter sweaters, but I'm so picky about them. I picked this one up from H&M last year, along with several other colors because it fit my "winter sweater criteria" perfectly. I love a v-neck with non-itchy fabrics (stay away from wool or rabbit hair if you agree) and I love the high-low fit. Since it's already below freezing, at least it feels that way, I had to take out some light weight sweaters to make room for my winter collection and of course came across a couple I may or may not have forgotten about. I hope I'm not the only one that comes across this situation often?

I'll link a couple more headwraps below that I really like since this one is sold out and if none of them suit your style but you want to try one out there are plenty of them out there. Don't be afraid to break free from your comfort zone and try one out!


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OUTFIT DETAILS
Sweater: similar (and cheaper) H&M
Jeans: cigarette high rise, UrbanOutfitters
Booties: studded tripple buckle ankle bootie, CharlotteRusse
Bag: kimber clutch - ivory, GypsyWarrior

November 15, 2013

Spiked Headwrap: Part I


This is another one of those "I have to have that" items that sat in my room for months before I finally wore it. I was shopping around Gypsy Warrior back in May, saw it on a mannequin and had to own it (I very faintly remember my boyfriend asking me several times "are you actually going to wear it" and me swearing that I would wear it every day, oops) I wore it once a week later and since then it's been hanging around various locations of my room. I had to run out to do a few things the other day while it was extremely windy and almost stayed home because I hate having the weather ruin my hair! I didn't want to flatten with a hat because I was going out that night so as I was looking around my room for something with a hood and in the midst of my search I found a more flattering answer to my life crisis. Now that I've gained a new found love for head wraps I suppose I could break out the other five that have been lingering in my vanity drawer. If you're not so fond of this one particularly, (which is unfortunately sold out, there are tons floating around on the internet) shop around and you're guaranteed to find one that fits your style. If you're interested in one that will actually keep your head warm make sure it says "knit" or or something along those lines in the description, this cotton/spandex style is not nearly as warm as the one in my previous post.
As I'm sure you already knew, I love faux-fur. I got this two years ago from Forever 21 for about $30 if I remember correctly and it's extremely warm for how inexpensive it was. It has held up its end of the bargain through a couple of very cold winters and is still in great condition. So once again, if you're looking for something similar be sure to check out their website, or really any website for that matter. They're definitely one of my fall/winter staple pieces because they're so easy to dress up or down and to top it off they're super warm.

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OUTFIT DETAILS
Spiked Headwrap: sold out, similar GypsyWarrior
Faux-fur vest: since I bought it such a long time ago, here are some of my favorites Forever21 H&M
Flannel: any of these will do Forever21
Leggings: cozy sweater leggings, Forever21
Booties: Merona Kailey ankle boot, Target
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