Collars, and leather, and prints.Oh my!

I love fashion! I really, really do! I love reading about other blogger's adventures and seeing their sense of style and seeing what clothes they put together. The only bummer is sometimes it can be intimidating following these bloggers because they're out at fashion week (dream of mine, never gonna happen) and they're wearing these beautiful Chanel flats (another dream of mine, never gonna happen) and they have all these awesome labels and it's just not realistic to me. So I try my best to wear awesome looking (affordable) clothes on the brink of what's hot and just fake it til you make it!

So here's a little blog about some fall trends I'm predicting. I just watched the red carpet from the Emmy's (yes, I know it's almost been a week since the Emmy's. I've been busy!). I noticed lots of beautiful colors on the red carpet that I think will be big for fall. Ox blood is going to be a big color.



Here are a few of my faves from the red carpet




LOVE!!! I'm pretty sure the two dresses on the sides are J. Mendel the dress in the middle is Vera Wang.

I love gem tones will be big like this blue






These are BEAUTIFUL pants in that gem blue color. These are from Target and I really love these pants. I already have 4 pair in different colors. They come in so many beautiful colors that will be huge for fall! They fit and look amazing! And-they're only $25!!

And this beautiful mustard yellow





Love this dress from H&M! I have a cotton dress in this color from there as well, different style but I'll post it on here soon!

Some other trends I'm loving are leather!! I think bits of leather here and there is going to be huge!! But this year there will be very feminine touches of leather.




Trouvé Metallic Long Sleeve tee $38


Trouvé faux leather sleeve tee $88-love this one!!! Want it so bad!


Trouvé paneled faux leather leggings $68 I have these and LOVE them!!


Trouvé faux leather Bibb top $68




These are all from Nordstrom. This skirt is in the B.P. section for around $36. Pretty sure I'm going to buy this tomorrow!



I really want this skirt from the new Target line, Kirna Zabete but, it's sold online only and it's sold out...bummer.

Another beauty from the Kirna Zabete line from Target is this



This is $45 and I love it!! You can layer it and wear tights it would be so cute!!! I can see the outfit now!



These are from the same Target line for $30 or so. I was so excited about buying these babies but when I got there I was a little disappointed in the quality of the faux leather. I'm a little concerned with the faux leather skirt from Target as well but I liked the length better than the one from Nordstrom. But the one from Nordstrom looks good and not as cheap.

Next trend is collars. I love collars!!! I just bought this and I am completely obsessed!! I'm trying to make sure I don't wear it every day because I love it so much!


These are both from Nordstrom by Cara $34


I have the one and cream and I love it!!! It will jazz up any plain 'ol sweater or top!



This top has an embellished collar but you can't tell from this picture. This is from the Rock & Republic line from Kohl's and it's on sale for $17!!! Woooo! I have this and love it!!!
Here's a couple of snaps of me in it and my best friend's birthday party.



This is me and my handsome hubby. ( I NEVER use that word! Wow it felt more natural than I thought!)


This is typical me-wearing white to eat chocolate fondue and getting it all over me, as usual. But it came out, thank goodness! I'm loving this shirt!


I'm also rocking a sock bun. I love that trick, it's my new go-to hairstyle if I don't know what to do! I don't even do it for the waves it gives, I love the look of the big bun!

Here's some other colors I think that will look amazing for fall. But-I will say use these colors just for a pop! Not too much!

Neon chartreuse





This is Julie Bowen in Monique Lhuillier, love it!



And this is Julieanne Moore in Christian Dior. Some didn't like it, I loved it!



I think little pops of the neon chartreuse will be beautiful!!

Last but not least on this trend wagon (I don't know what that means, just felt good) is prints! I always love leopard so that will be awesome. But this dress from the same Kirna Zabete line from Target is AMAZING!!!!



It has a little star print, which if you have read my previous blogs, you know I LOVE stars!!! But it also has some snake print which I think will be huge as well! This is $45
This is a little combo of the mustard yellow and the snake print from J. Crew




Check back at my Stars and Stripes blog from a few days ago and there's a print and mustard yellow trend happening there too!


Ok check out my other posts and I am going to be posting daily things on here so check out daily! Some will be longer than the others, and they will be ranging from beauty trends, makeup to fashion. Whatever I'm feeling for the day!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Old faithful

Yes, that is what I call my eyelash curler. And you would call yours old faithful if you had yours for almost 5 years too! I swear I went through eyelash curlers like crazy before I found this baby! I love a nicely curled lash. If you have ever read my blog, it's no surprise that I'm big on lashes. I'm always trying out new mascaras and always looking for that big va-va-voom lash.

I took this picture above one day while getting ready for work. I looked down and saw that lash curler and thought, "man! You have been around for a long time and you're awesome! I need to blog about you!"

When I was younger and always flipping through all these beauty mags I would always run across this one eyelash curler. It was saturating every magazine I would read! It was winning every award it could and I couldn't even pronounce what it was, let alone find out where to get it! (Pre-google days!)


It was the Shu Uemura eyelash curler. It was beautiful, it worked on lashes, it was supposed to be the best, and it was affordable (score!). Growing up in a suburb outside of Nashville I never knew where to look. Not to mention Nashville just got on the fashion map not too long ago so reading about these amazing lines was as close as I was going to get. But within the last few years Nashville has really gained some major credit in the shopping world.



So when I first started working in cosmetics the store I worked at carried the Shu Umuera curler. It was the first thing I bought. When I first saw it I stared at it like it was a rare piece of artwork I had just discovered. When I purchased it I would clean it after every use and keep it in the original box. I was crazy! It really does work well. I have longer lashes but they are straight as can be and this actually curled them. And I had tried everything! I even tried those heated ones and those didn't work!!


Shu Uemura is a Japanese makeup artist from the 50's who was inspired by nature, science and art.



He has Skincare, makeup and hair products but he's really known for the lash curler. It grabs even the shortest of lashes and curls them. Never pinching or pulling the lashes. It truly is amazing and it's only $20!


After his passing in 2010 they stopped selling all Shu products in the U.S. but you can still order online. Do yourself a favor and go buy one of these puppies! It will change your life! I'm all about instant gratification and I hate waiting for something but this is worth the wait! Hang tight it'll be there before you know it and you won't buy another lash curler for a looooong time!!


Www.shuuemura-USA.com

Stars and Stripes

I LOVE Stars and Stripes! Let's just say I'm real patriotic. But I freakin love this trend!!

Outfit of the day-


Stars and (accordion)stripes

That's me with no head this morning. I just decided to take a little snapshot because I thought this was a fun little number and it was super affordable!

This is a Target sweater, that is a little too big might I add, with an Old Navy slate gray accordion pleat maxi skirt.






I think the sweater wouldn't look as big on me if I were wearing skinny jeans or cigarette leg dress pants. But when you wear a long maxi skirt that is real flowy it's always best to wear a fitted top but I thought this worked...it might not have but I liked the unexpected combo it created.
Here's an up close of the skirt so you can check out the detail. I love accordion pleats!



I love stars and these two are splurge items I really want with star prints



By Wildfox-love it!! It's perfection, and it's $230 so.... But, I really love it so I might have to buy it!

From Polyvore-it's $150 and I've seen some for even more so that's a bummer


But I found an AWESOME one at Nordstrom Rack (for $20 might I add!) and now that I've purchased a star blouse I am finding them everywhere!! But I love stars so I think I'll buy more!! BoooYahhhhh



This top above looks like the top I bought at Nordstrom Rack but it is not the exact one. I'll post a pic next time I wear it!

I just also want to point out that I love spell check because I have misspelled accordion (just did again) EVERY TIME on this blog post! Oy!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Changes are a comin'

Hello world! I'm back! Two days in a row blogging, I'm on a roll. I'm going to be honest people, a lot has been going on. For one, I got a new job. I'm not doing facials and brows anymore, even though I do still love it and can't watch anything on tv without judging people's brows. I still dabble here and there with brows and facials because I love it, I can't break away completely but I am working for a Skincare line called La Mer at Nordstrom. It's a great gig and I am so happy that I am working there. The line is amazing and it's just the best!! I'll write a blog about it soon!




Not only am I loving the new job but I just feel refreshed! I went to school for fashion design and truly loved fashion, always have. But doing aesthetics, I was so separated from one of my true loves, fashion. I wore scrubs every day to work, didn't worry too much about my hair or the full look because I mean come on, I was wearing scrubs. I distanced myself so much from something I loved and that made me feel alive. I was in a rut for sure! Once I got the notion of possibly working for Nordstrom I got excited. I started buying all sorts of shoes and cute outfits, I was back!!! I hadn't even gone to my interview yet and I was buying tons of clothes for the job! I was really getting ahead of myself haha.




Needless to say, I got the job but now I'm in a new predicament. I have been in the beauty industry for almost 6 years and I completely devoted my life to it. But when I got to Nordstrom I still hasn't heard of some of these makeup lines. It was like a whole new world was opened up to me. I couldn't believe that I wasn't familiar with so many lines! So the predicament is this-I'm falling in love with not-so cheap makeup lines! But the truth is, they are some pretty awesome products!



So, with this being said I don't know if I'm going to be thrifty makeup artist all the time or if I'm just going to be the it might not be thriftiest but you definitely won't be wasting your money on the best of the best makeup products in the world makeup artist....so what do you think?

Not only will I be introducing y'all to new lines that I'm loving, I think I'm going to incorporate fashion and what's going on in my life into the mix. I won't bore you with

"I ate steel cut oats with fresh berries today for breakfast after my spin class. And for lunch I had local eggs on whole grain toast and blah blah blah"

That's not going to happen! I might just give a little update on a new Pinterest idea that I tried or some thing like that! It'll keep me blogging more and it will probably shorten up the length of these puppies so it can be something quick you check on and hopefully there will be something you're interested in and maybe something will inspire you to try something! We shall see!

Lots of love,

Andy


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hair Salon at Home

Hi all!! I'm here to give you a little salon at home. Now I'm not one to advocate doing your hair all the time at home and I do NOT cut my own hair. Oh lord that would be such a disaster!

But when times get tough or to help stretch your hair color a little longer I tried out some stuff for you. I for one love to get my hair done!! I love when people play with my hair and I really hate trying to color it myself. But every once in a while things are going to happen. No time to squeeze in an appointment, grays and dullness pop up out of nowhere, or if you need to save some money then definitely try these products!

Now I know getting your hair done is so expensive!!! But they definitely know what they're doing and they are so good at it!! So do that and maybe do every other salon visit at home. Here's a little secret about me-I have gray hairs popping up ALL THE TIME!!! It drives me nuts! I look in the mirror every day and pluck the gray ones out. I just can't stand it. I'm too young for grays!!! Since I have a lot of grays and they stand out against my dark hair I keep up with my color upkeep quite often.

So I usually do one month at the salon and one month at home and just switch it around. When I do my at home treatment I always get a non-permanent hair color. When I was younger I used to dye my hair all the time with that box color. I would do the box color all over my entire head quite often. Needless to say, my hair was majorly damaged! Not to mention when I went to go to a hair salon to get it professionally done you never knew what color my hair would turn out because I had colored my hair over and over with permanent color. I would put box color on the ends of my hair too which was already damaged enough and applying that box color over and over especially on those ends, it's just not good.

After getting surprises at each hair salon on what color my hair would turn out I gave up the box color. One of my hair stylists friends gave me some advice and said just use the non-permanent box color just on the roots and you're set to hold you over an extra month or so. I usually don't go 2 months in a row using the non-permanent color. I always get Garnier Non-Permanent and I usually just pick whatever dark brown I like. Since my hair is ombréd (I don't know if ombré can be used in past tense) I really don't care what color brown it is and I just touch up my roots and it's as easy as that! When I had all-over dark hair I would apply the non-permanent color all over my hair because it was not permanent so it was okay for your hair. Non-permanent hair color washes out after 28 washes. Since I rarely wash my hair this is perfect!!! But even if you wash your hair all the time, 28 washes is good enough for me to prolong my hair color.

So, like I said earlier I use the Garnier non-permanent color for my roots and then I also tried the L'oreal Touch On Highlights in Creamy Caramel. Now if you know me I'm quite clumsy and tend to spill things often so highlighting my own hair is pretty risky. I played it pretty safe and kept the pieces that I highlighted very small and kept it pretty simple and followed my pre-ombre color that was done by my hairstylist. I kept it in for about 10 minutes (I did all this while my roots were setting with the Garnier color) and then I rinsed. I really was impressed by the results!!! Now like I said I kept it really safe and so the places that were already highlighted added a little punch and the parts that weren't highlighted added a little depth to the hair. Now I would only dabble with this once and then go to the salon and get it done there. But, it could at least add on a few extra months to your hair color and save you some extra cash! But remember, be careful and cautious you don't want to go crazy! You don't know how your hair will react!



If you want to be safe you could do a test strip on a tiny piece in the back just to be safe. I did because my hair goes really copper and I hate that!!! But this did a great job! Now I think it worked best for me because I already had some pieces highlighted and it just added more gold to the look. If I hadn't already had some ombré I feel it would have been a little more difficult and I don't know if it would have been as golden. But it's always safe to give it a test drive!

This kit comes with this fingertip applicator and it makes the application so much easier!! It really helps you get good coverage all over hair you want highlighted and it makes it really easy to do!

Remember when you bleach your hair you will lose that shiny, sleek sheen that you have when you have darker hair and remember that it will damage your hair. So use a great hydrating/reparative mask.

With all that being said, it was a cheap fix but I really do love getting my hair done! So, I would say get your hair done first. Really watch what they do. If you get grays fast then you might want to consider a non-permanent box color just to stretch your dollar a little bit more. For the highlights from L'oreal, they did a good job but definitely do that professionally first!! I hope you enjoy!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

July Birchbox!

I just received my July Birchbox! I got some great stuff in it too! When I get that bright pink box in the mail I get so excited!!! I open up the pink box and already was visually stimulated by the packaging!



This box's theme is all about senses! One of my favorite things about Birchbox is the themes. They always have these great little notes in them explaining why they chose the theme and it really gets me excited to see what I have in store to try out for the next month! (I'm so easily amused)



On the back of the greeting there is a small blurb about each product you get in that month's box.

Here are the goodies from this month's box:



Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner $15-can't wait to try this out! Already tried it on my hand and it isn't budging!




Harvey Prince Hello Perfume $26-$55-I've already sprayed it and I smell so yummy at 10:30 at night by myself...




amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask $40 and amika Obliphica Hair Treatment $34-can't wait to try this out! Just like my garden, my hair is in desperate need of some moisture!




Bonus goodie-Larabar über Bananas Foster bar $27.95 for pack of 16-yum yum!




boscia B.B. Cream SPF 27 PA+++ $38- and the search for the perfect B.B. cream continues




Birchbox Exclusive Earbuds-love them!! So cute!




I'll review this baby at the end of the month and let you know how I like everything!

Tomorrow I will post a June Birchbox review for ya! It's too late for me to think anymore. I know, I know it's only 10:30 I am such a loser!

Night night and sweet dreams!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPa

Birchbox Review!!

Here's my birchbox review! I've been awful about writing about them but I didn't want to write about them without having a review. So here are the past 4 birchboxes-



Here is a link to my blog on my first birchbox from March-



Here's a follow-up to March's birchbox-



I loved the color club bright purple nail polish! It stayed on really well and you could layer it up to get a great bold color or just do one coat and have a nice wash of color on your nails.



Another thing i loved from my first birchbox was the Jouer luminizing moisture tint. It went on great and added an unbelievable glow to my skin! If you're looking for that dewy, highlighted glow-then get this!!



I still use the Ahava Essentials Day Moisturizer most mornings and it's really great and it doesn't clog my pores. Just a great overall moisturizer with no fuss.



Orifluido is still something I use as well. I find it very comparable to Moroccan Oil and I can't really tell a major difference so since Moroccan Oil is easier to buy-I'm going to continue using that one. But it was awesome to try out and learn about a new product.

The other stuff was good but these were my main ones I wanted to bring attention to.

Once again- To see pictures of what products were in the birchbox and to hear the full descriptions of them, check out my previous blog.

http://thethriftymakeupartist.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html

April's birchbox-

This birchbox was natural themed. That's what I love about birchbox they have themes and I really like that!

This was a good birchbox here's what was in it!



Atelier Cologne- this is an orange-scented perfume. I really liked it! It wasn't too over-powering and it didn't smell too fruity or sweet. It had the perfect blend of essential oils like jasmine and sandalwood and it was wonderful. The full-size bottles range from $55-150.



Marula The Leakey Collection-I have never heard of this stuff before but I loved it and used it all up already! I went a little overboard this month with facial peels and was so dry and flaky so I used this at night and by the next morning my skin was back to normal! It is so hydrating and feels amazing! This product costs $78 for full size so unfortunately I will not be purchasing this again but if you have extremely dry skin all the time and can't find the right product to fix your alligator skin, this will be your life saver. This product is from the East African Marula fruit. This oil has high levels of antioxidants and omegas so it's awesome for stopping the signs of aging.



Weleda Pomegranate Firming Night Cream-this is a great all-natural firming night cream. This line is super affordable, a full size of this anti-aging cream is only $35! It feels so rich and creamy and I most likely will add this in to my skin care routine in the winter time. I'm at the age where I am starting to be proactive towards my skin and aging and this will be the perfect addition to my Skincare routine, but only during the winter time! This is super rich so I will not be using this during the summer!!



Zoya True Spring Collection-this was a nude nail polish that is supposed to last 50% longer but the color was too nude for my taste. It almost blended with my skin and it freaked me out so I don't know if it lasts 50% longer because I took it off! It never gave me the color name so here are just a few colors I could find online. But, I really don't know who this nail polish would look good on so I'm moving on.



Bonus product!!! Yes To Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes- love them!!! I used these when I went to Indiana for a weekend and I love these babies!! Great price, $7.99 for a 30-pack I suggest everyone get these!! I still washed my face first and then used these afterwards just to get that extra clean or I use these before I work out or when I want to start fresh with some new makeup. These are a must-have for everyone!

May Birchbox-Gossip Girl Themed! I have never seen this show but all I know is I opened up this box and gasped!! It had one of my favorite products in a cute little sample size in a new flavor so that was it, I'm sold! I LOVE birchbox and I am SO glad I got it!!! Soooo worth the $10 a month!!

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

First off the product that made me gasp in such a crazy, dramatic way was-



Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15. The original Sugar lip treatment is my absolute favorite but I hadn't tried the Rose so I was THRILLED!!! I love this!! It's in my bag right now and has the perfect light color to the lips! This is a water-based lip treatment so it naturally plumps the lips by hydrating them. It's amazing!!! $22.50



BVLGARI Omnia Crystalline Eau de Toilette Spray-this is nice but it's a little too perfumey for me. I can't really judge this because everyone is so different and everyone has a particular smell that they like and what works for them so I'm just going to say that it's so cool that once a month you can try out awesome perfumes to see what works for you and what doesn't without dropping a lot of money. This full-size bottle is $64. Check it out!



Kiehl's Abyssine Cream+ this was created when Scientists were in Galapagos and found Abyssine. This molecule thrives in the darkest parts of the ocean and Found that Abyssine protects the skin. This molecule can soften wrinkles and gets rid of free radicals which cause aging. It goes on soft and creamy and it is really gentle and great for most skin types. A full size jar is $48.



Sarah McNamara Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20-this is like s primer and foundation for your body!!! I love that it has a SPF 20 and it evens out your skin all over your body!! This cream hydrates, masks scars, evens out ski tone, and is awesome for the warm weather when you wear shorts and summer dresses. This costs $34, awesome for people who want that flawless ski look without going to the tanning bed or even using self tanner.

I also got notecards in this birchbox which I threw away...oops. I wasn't going to use them anyways.

Speaking of throwing things away, I threw away the card that came with this birchbox that gives you a little blurb about each products and discusses the theme of the box, which I love and try to keep them, but I lost this one and while I was writing this I could not remember what all was in this box and what is another cool part of birchbox is you can hop online and look at your past birchboxes and reorder what you had and refer back to what I got.

This months is pretty awesome too!

June's theme is travel and here's what's in it. I'm not going to explain it all yet I'm just going to show pictures and prices



Ada Cosmetics Bronzer, $12.45, this is the best picture I could find...sorry!



Likewise Facial Moisturizer + Sun Protection SPF 50, $44, perfect for summer!!!



Masqueology Brightening Mask, 3 masks $24, I'm ready to try this baby out! This aesthetician's skin is completely neglected!!



theBalm cosmetics Stainiac in Beauty Queen, $17, so excited to try this!!!



Extra Bonus gift!!! Cynthia Rowley Dress Up Band-Aids!! They are SO cute! These band-aids have fashion-inspired prints all over them so even when you hurt yourself you'll look cute and fashionable!





Hope you enjoyed!! I'll review these products from this month's box soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad