ifwehadhope

The muddy snow outside covered by a heavy grey fog reminds me of one of my favorite novels, Jane Eyre. There is a movie coming out soon; the trailer looks just as creepy as the book, if not more.
I have admittedly spent the day in a sweatshirt, ponytail, and long johns. One of the few days I've broken down in a while. . .
Yesterday I dressed up for a speech I had to give. I ended up wearing the outfit all day (tights on from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm, EW!) and to youth group that night. Yes, I still dare to go to youth group. We'll see when they kick me out ;) Or my friends refuse to allow me to go...

Anyways, I wore a Ralph Lauren blazer, creme undershirt, plaid mini skirt, mossy green tights, and brown riding boots. I hope to get the outfit photographed ONE of these days.

I got several comments all day about my outfit. A few people asked me if I went to an Academy. Yes, sadly, that's how uncommon blazers are in my town. When you see someone wearing one you automatically assume it's a school uniform...(Sigh). Another person asked me what Ralph Lauren was. The blazer looks like this, minus the fact that it's navy blue. The first thing I wondered was how they didn't know what Ralph Lauren was, the second was why they could see the words on my blazer. Awkward moment.

Hat: Vintage

Rose pin: Vintage

Shirt: New York and CO.

(good grief I wear their clothes a lot!)

Skirt: Vintage (I think. It doesn't have a tag.)

Josie Hope

Nail Polish Picks

Hey guys! I'm not dead! Just still playing catch-up after missing some school.

I went through my nail polish collection and thought I would show you a few colors that I am going to be wearing a lot this spring!

In my opinion, a good yellow nail polish is pretty difficult to find. This one suits my skin tone really well and the pastel color totally shouts spring! It's by Savina and it's called "You're my Sunshine".

I wore this polish here and got a ton of compliments on it. The minty green color is totally "in" right now and I absolutely love it! This is "Minted" by Revlon and it looks about the same as "Refreshmint" by China Glaze.

I raved about this one before on my main blog, but this one is really good all year round. It's a very subtle nail polish and it just makes me feel pretty and natural. :) It has a glossy finish and has a very subtle "Touch of Gold".

I've had this color ("Endless Pink" by Revlon) color for so long, I honestly don't know if Revlon has it anymore, but this is seriously my go-to color. It's a beautiful light pink-especially pretty for spring. I need to get a new one though...what's left of it is drying out! (I guess it's about time...I don't even remember when I bought it!)

Like I said before, any pastel color gives your nails an Easter feel. "Do you Lilac it" reminds me of an Easter Egg and it makes me so excited for the warmer months! It's totally fun and I wear it a lot.

Last, but not least, we have "Atomic Orange" by OPI. It's not exactly pastel, but it gets me in the mood for summer. Which I cannot wait for, by the way.

These are just a few of the nail polishes I have been loving recently! I am currently on a nail polish hunt, so if you have any recommendations leave them in the comments! I'm sure others would like to see them as much as I would.

-Valentine <3

PS-Skin Care routine coming and possibly and OOTD? :)

Giveaway Winners!

I'm posting the results a day early, because I'm leaving the house in the morning tomorrow and won't get to it.  So here we go with the giveaway winners!!

I used random.org to calculate the results.  Our second place winner, of the three bracelets, is........

Abigail!  

And first place goes to....

Ryan!  

Ladies, email me at dressingroomdoor(at)gmail(dot)com to collect your winnings!  If you don't respond by Tuesday at 11:30 PM, I'll choose another winner.

Congratulations, girls!

-Caroline

OOTD

Hey guys! It's Amanda. I haven't been posting very much, I know, but I'm going to start posting more often. 

Today is just a quick OOTD. :)

Shirt ~ Forever 21

Tank top ~ Forever 21

Skinny jeans ~ Old Navy

Boots ~ gift

Sunglasses ~ Kohl's

Earrings ~ gift

Owl ring ~ Kohl's

(Pictures taken by my little brother. :))

Well, that's all for today, but I promise I'll be back sooon! I've got another Carmindy post coming up. :)

There really is no all summing title for this one... Non OOTD, Tips, Happiness, Questions?

We are going to pretend that is me for today. Kay? Because I have been bed-ridden for the past three days due to illness. (And while I wish that after staying in bed for copious ( check out that word! ) amounts of time, My hair looked just as attractively mussed, my face as pleasantly flushed, and my attire just as adorable as that lovely picture...  welcome to reality flash. My hair does not look that good at all and I'm really wearing grey shorts and a my 8th grade maroon House t-shirt with King Alfred House emblazoned on the front. Not exactly a look out of a fashion magazine. So we are going to pretend, that right there is actually me. ) Bet you just didn't realize I actually stepped out of a Jessie Wilcox Smith illustration. See, you learn something new everyday. =)


O.k. Now back to what I was actually going to tell you. 

Ebay. is. Amazing. 

Just felt the urge to impress this wonderful fact to you. Maybe it has something to do with the two Anthropologie skirts, one vintage J. Crew skirt, and yet another Anthropologie dress I just won on there this weekend...  but who knows? 


I do however, feel very victorious at the moment. Especially considering :
A.  I won them all below original price value. Always a  bonus. 
And B.  On the J. Crew skirt I beat this one other bidder by a whopping two dollars. It was definitely a nail-biter. But I came out empowered. And I have a new skirt. I suppose just four new items isn't really enough to do an infamous "haul" video but I was just so darn excited I had to tell someone about it. 


~One of them is Cherry red with pleats! 
~And another looks 50s-ish. Its navy with a white anchor appliqué. Love! 
~And the other is pink floral with buttons down the side. I'm a sucker for buttons. Especially big ones. 
~Finally the dress is a navy shirt dress with a satin sash. Can't wait to see it in person.


I told you my whole closet was some form of blue and red. 


Anyways just in case you didn't know. Tons of people list well known brands like Anthropologie, J. Crew, Talbots, Boden, Modcloth, and others on ebay often for less than the original price. How they make money? I've no earthly idea. But I love it. So if you saw something really cute on Anthropologie and couldn't quite make the cut as far a pocket money. Check back on ebay  about three months later and odds are it could be there for a lesser price! :) 


There, thats my tip of the day. And now I have a question. Its vitally important. O.k. not really but here it is. What is your opinions of merchandise from Forever 21? That sounds like a silly question, but believe it or not I've never shopped there. Ever. (Giant gasps from the audience usually insert themselves here)  But I found a couple pairs of shoes that I really like and I wondered what the quality was? 
Pretty much ever other girl on the planet seems shops there so I figured someone here would know. Help? Thanks. Very very muchly. 


And Happy Tuesday!

Skin Routine Round Three!

Hey yall!  Emilyann here.  :)

Caroline and Amanda both did posts about their skin care routine, so why not all of the girls follow suit?  I'll go first.

First of all, I have combination skin.  This means that my skins leads toward oily in some areas, and dry in others.  My "problem areas" or "dry areas" are my lips, around my nose and mouth, and my jawline.  I do use a LOT of products, but when you care so much about your skin, like we girls do, we don't mind.  The skin is like a canvas, and the makeup is like the paint.  You have to keep the canvas clean!  And makeup you change in and out of.  Your skin will be with you forever.  If you put a lot into your skin, you are GOING to get a lot out of it.  And YES I do this every night.

Don't be scared. Hah.  The first thing I do is use a cleanser.  I use L'Oréal Go 360 Deep Facial Cleanser, as pictured in the first picture.  I love this cleanser because it's creamy.  I gloss it over my face, I don't even rub it in my hands first.  I use the "squishy tool" as I call it, and rub it into my skin for about a minute straight.  The tool is great cause it has different sized bumps for a really good pore cleaning job-  I have huge pores.   Then I use a great toner (as seen in photo) with a quilted cotton pad.  (I just got them from Walgreens.)  I use this toner, wetting the cotton pad with it, and pulling the pad upwards and outwards across my face, in order to go against the grain and get more of the extra dirt and makeup out of my pores.  I use a TON of stuff from Mary Kay cause they really are the best. After I use the toner, twice to three times a week I use a Biore nose strip. Next is my Velocity brand lightweight moisturizer.  This moisturizer is very "wet". It has a watery consistency, which I actually think is good for the dry AND the oily portions of my skin.  While I wash both the cleanser and toner off of my skin, I leave the moisturizer in after I rub it in for a good thirty seconds. 

Next  comes my Mary Kay night solution.  Three squirts does it, because I already primed my face with lightweight moisturizer. This makes my skin soft and silky.  Next comes the deep moisturizer.  I dab it in my problem areas (nose area, mouth area, jawline) and a little bit on my forehead.  My friend bought me this moisturizer because she swears by it, but I don't know where she got it!  No brand name on the jar! Next comes the liner.  And this isn't a necessity, I suppose.  But I want my skin to be amazing when I'm 50, so I use line filler. Scoff all you want. :P

I use an eye mask (Mary Kay Indulge Smoothing) about twice to three times a week, usually on the days I *don't* use my nose strips, that way I remember.  I love this mask because it's cooling and makes my eyes pop.  Next comes the anti-aging eye circle cream.  Dove is and will forever be my favorite, but I love the Estee Lauder one as well.  

After all of that, I pat my face and wash my hands.  It's almost done, by now!  After, I put Vaseline on my eyelashes starting at the roots and working outward, just using my middle finger.  Then I put on my EOS lipbalm (in Lemon Drop, mmm) which I'm absolutely obsessed/in love with, and I jump into my hair routine.

I know it seems like a lot to do at night before bed, but I seriously think that this routine is what keeps me sane.  No joke.  It helps me to relax, and I prance off to bed refreshed and ready to do some reading before I turn out the lights.

Raise your hand if you're ready for the other girls to do their skin routines!! :)  

<3 <3 <3

 

Giveaway Reminder

Hey everyone! It's Caroline!

I just thought I'd remind you that the giveaway closes tomorrow night, March 30th, at 12 AM EST.

Run, my little readers, run!  Enter before it's too late.  Winners will be announced April 1st, so there will be a whole day between the closing and the announcing.

Enter, enter, enter!

Have a great day!

The ugly pink duckling

First of all, don't make fun of me for this sweater. I was shopping with one of my best friends on Saturday, and I saw this sweater on a rack. I picked it up, and in all serious-ness said, "This is the ugliest thing I have ever SEEN!" But I also bought it. It was 25 cents, so it's not like I wasted money. My mum told me it was sorta cute, like, think if 70's ski wear. with dogs. and bows. PLUS, in the WSJ, there was some artical that mentioned Nordic sweaters being all the rage. So there. My sweater is justified. It may not be the most appealing thing in the world, and it may be a little bit short, and it may be pilled on the back, BUT AT LEAST IT STILL HAS BOWS!

So. I have pink hair. Not all of it. But..certainly, some. Pictures? I think yes.

Sweater: I have no idea what brand

Shorts: New York and CO.

Shoes: Madden Girl

Josie Hope

btw: I didn't actually wear this outfit anywhere, the sweater hasn't found it's soul mate yet.

How to develop a skin routine that's right for you

You have just two more days to enter the giveaway!  Get thee to it!
--------

Hey, It's Caroline!  So, I told you all I would do a post on skin.  I've finally gotten to the point where I'm comfortable wearing no makeup but mascara if need be, and I've walked to the grocery store once or twice with none on at all, though it makes me a little bit self-conscious, just because I feel like my eyes look dull without mascara.

When asked about my skin routine, people laugh and say "You can't possibly do all of that!"  But I do, and have for several months.  Now, I'm going to tell you what I do, and then explain how to adapt it for different skin types.

I have very, very dry skin, and it's prone to flake.  I've tried so many moisturizers, and none have worked.  I wake up in the morning and the dryness makes my foundation look cake-y instead of fresh and dewy.

Here's my routine.  In the mornings I don't do much, I just lightly cleanse my face with a little of this cleanser and some lukewarm water.  I slap on some of this moisturizer and let it sink in while I do my hair. I then put on this sunscreen and finish my makeup.

But at night is where the magic happens.

Via

I begin by pinning my hair back. I'm growing out my bangs, so they're in the awkward, heavy phase, so I keep them pinned back quite a bit, anyway.  I brush my teeth and put my retainer in Polident (it works better than brushing it).  Then, we get to the good stuff.  

I take off my eye makeup using Vaseline.  I don't use eye makeup remover because I heard about someone who went to a factory that made it, and said they had to change out the bins every few months because of corrosion.  EW!  I don't want that on my eyes!  So I use Vaseline to gently remove all eye makeup.  Then I run some water until it's just barely warm, and I put two pumps of the cleanser I mentioned earlier into my hands.  If I have any pimples, which I get maybe one or two a month, I would use this acne wash instead.  I gently rub the cleanser into my skin, and then rinse.  I pat my skin dry... don't rub!  You want to treat your skin very delicately.

Every two nights, I use "Angels on Bare Skin" which is an exfoliating, all-natural product from Lush.  They have some really fantastic stuff!  But for this, you only need a very small amount.  A little goes a very long way, so the product lasts for a long time.

Via

It looks gross, but it gives the skin a great glow.  Don't exfoliate more than three times a week... it can damage your skin and dry it out.  

After I've done all that good stuff, I put on a moisturizer.  I'm not picky about this part... The only thing is I can't use Neutrogena moisturizers or sunscreen.  The rest of their products are great, but for some reason these burn my face and make it very irritated.  Which makes me irritated.  

So I use an anti-aging moisturizer, the same as listed above.  I'm not acne-prone, so I don't worry about having SPF on my skin at night.  But if you get acne, don't use SPF at night because it can clog your pores.  I use anti-aging products now because prevention is key.  You don't have to do that, but I'm crazy about my skin and want it to stay this way as long as possible.

I put on an eye cream.  I use one from Dermalogica that I got a very long time ago, but you can use any one, no matter how cheap.  It really doesn't make a difference either way with eye cream.  

I then use a spooly brush to slather Vaseline on my eyelashes.  Ladies, this works wonders.  My lashes are so much fuller and longer than they used to be, and it will work for you.  Promise.  

Now here's the part where I moisturize my skin thoroughly.  I just take a big swipe of Vaseline and rub it into my skin.  I am a huge advocate of Vaseline... it has so many uses.  My skin has never looked better!  It glows now instead of looking flaky and matte.  I give my face a break from the Vaseline twice a week and it looks just fine the next day.  

All the sunscreen I use has reduced the amount of freckles on my face significantly.  My brother even commented on it without prompting, which shows you just how obvious the change is!  My complexion has evened out, and with the eye cream, my under-eye circles have faded.  I also sleep with my bangs clipped back, because hair on my forehead tends to give me a pimple or two once in a while.

• If you have oily skin:  I suggest this moisturizer, this cleanser, and no Vaseline all over your face.  The rest of the routine you can follow at your whim.
• If you have combination skin:  Follow the routine minus the Vaseline all over your face.  Just dab it in overly-dry areas.
• If you have acne-prone skin:  Use no Vaseline, except on your lashes.  Use this moisturizer, and this cleanser.  Only exfoliate twice a week.  When you pop zits, make sure your hands are very clean, or use two q-tips instead of your fingers.  And only pop the zit when it's absolutely ready, and put anti-bacterial ointment on it immediately after.  I know that all sounds gross, but this is real life, people.  

Amanda did a post similar to this a couple of weeks ago, so please check it out for more tips.  We're all about you being as informed as you can be about your skin!  If you have any questions you don't want to ask in the comments, email me at dressingroomdoor(at)gmail(dot)com, and I'll be happy to help you.

And please, no matter how sleepy, please don't neglect to at least wash your face and remove your eye makeup. You'll regret it in the morning if you don't.  

Have a good day!

The post in which I cover various subjects.

Alright, I'm just going to be honest. I hate writing. Even on a blog post, it reminds me too much of an essay. Most of the girls, as far as I know, on this blog, love to write. Me? No. I started to write a post about modesty, and the looks up for spring/summer. I got completely exasperated, and honestly, I still am. My writing is messy and scattered; and I greatly dislike fixing that problem when it isn't required. Don't get me wrong, writing is a fantastic thing. I mean, if you're going to have to deal with it throughout all of high school, college, and possibly in most of your career, you might as well like it. I just can't seem to make myself like it, which happens to be an annoying problem. So to conclude, I probably won't be writing huge posts that explain how I feel on certain subjects, though you're perfectly welcome to shoot an email to the dressingroomdoor@gmail.com addressed to me and we can talk, since I do love to clarify my position on various things.

As I was casually looking through the 'looks of the season' for American Eagle (found here) and the lookbook for Ruche (here), it dawned on me that most of these fashions are not something that I would wear. Crop tops, very short lengths in dresses, skirts, and shorts, lace and eyelet, low necklines, and bandeau showing tops are prevalent fashions this spring/summer. While layering with these things can be efficient in the winter, summer can be to warm for that. Because I could take this post many different ways, such as how those trends affect modesty in our culture, solutions to the problem, what the Bible says, and looks with immodest things, I'm actually just going to leave it right there and encourage you to think about it. There are many different Bible verses that can be extremely helpful, just be lazy and google it, or check out 1 Timothy 2: 9-10 for one example.

Some things I'm realllllly liking are high waisted shorts, crop tops over dresses, socks and knee highs, or anything vintage.

Here are a few things I've picked out from various stores and am considering seriously buying. :)

here

this dress is perfect. I want to wear it for a certain dance. . .

this

I want it so badly for this summer, but for one, I'm not sure it would be quite long enough, and 50$ is something I'm a bit reluctant to spend on a little skirt. ;)

love

Um. How could you NOT want that?!

adorable

I bet this is just about the prettiest thing.

want

so. perfect.

hehe

I know you're probably thinking...WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU WANT THAT? but here at my place, we have snow until April, and I WANT this.

cute

does this need explaining?

Also: this blog is having an amazing giveaway, and you should go check it out. Bloggers support each other :)

And yes, my music tastes are as much of a schizoid as this post

Hey, It's Caroline! Last night, I decided I do too much of the same thing with my hair.  Since one of my possible future career choices would be to work as a hairdresser, I thought that I should really get playing around and figuring out new techniques.  

So I made a fauxhawk.

Fauxhawk [noun]= A hair style reminiscent of a mohawk, but without shaving the sides of one's head.

And I really like it.

I wanted to wear it today, but my hair wouldn't cooperate because I washed it this morning.  And clean hair is a bad hair day, in my opinion, because it's so soft and fly-away that it won't do what I ask.  

I managed to get one ok picture, and I always manage to put the camera in front of my face.  Sorry.

See?  It's funky.  And I would totally wear this in public.  I could do a more dramatic one, but I don't want to frighten my mama.  I'm not a punk, mom, I promise.  I got the idea for this from Gwen Stefani, because she has probably the coolest rockstar style ever.

Today's look was a complete 180.  I had a long reading for school (Paradise Lost) that I really needed to get done, and I promised myself I wouldn't do my makeup until I was done.  So at 2:30 in the afternoon, I put on my makeup, and did it in a sort of vintage, pin-up type way.  I just took these pictures a few minutes ago.  I got the hair idea from the movie Walk the Line, about Johnny Cash.  Reese Witherspoon looked so cute with this hair, which is incredibly simple.  She played June Carter and yes I did just go from Gwen Stefani to June Carter.

I took a cream color all over the lid up to the brow bone, and then I used an angled brush to "cut" the crease with a deep brown, and I winged it out.  I then put on black gel liner and winged it out also, and then used my Maybelline "Falsies" mascara to top it all off.  In the last picture, I had to airbrush around the eye because some of the mascara crumbled and left little black spots, and, well, that's just not very professional.  I love the mascara, even though it does leave "crumbs."  I just usually wipe under my eyes every once in a while.

I've started wearing very little foundation, and I've got some great tips on how to work up to being able to feel good about your skin without much, or any, makeup.  It's taken a while, but I've figured out how to get my skin clear and fresh so that I can go with or without.  It's so refreshing to be able to just throw on mascara and be done with it some days, though we all know I don't usually.  :)  I'll have that post up in a few days

Have a great Sunday!

More Ponderings on Rainy Day Fashions

Hello Again!


I suppose the picture gave me away. One of this days I'm going to post as someone else. Just to see how many people I can fool. Has that idea occurred to anyone else? Please say it has? Or am I just... mischievous? ;)


Anyway it rained again today. I think I may need to start some sort of study on rainy day fashions. It would be a very short one. Just three simple rules. 


1. Wear bright colors and patterns. Preferably polka dots if you have them. I always feel that cheerful colors are a delight to the soul on a gloomy day. So go crazy. I think I got 5 patterns in today. That might be a record. (Polka Dots... Floral.... Seersucker... Hearts... More Polka Dots..  Yep Five!) 


2. Wear relatively waterproof clothing. Surprise! This one actually is sensible! Today is not the day to wear those new leather sandals or that velvet jacket. Yes I'm sure they're cute. Wear them tomorrow when its sunny. Sound good? Now go dig in your coat closet for an old rain poncho or jacket. Preferably red or yellow if you can find one to coincide with rule number 1. The baggier the better, that way you can smuggle food, or books, or other treasures that aren't on good terms with the weather. 


3. (This is the most important one) You must wear a cute set of rain boots. They're like magic I swear. You just slip then on and BAM! your day just got better. You can get them at Target for like 12 bucks. I saw some cute pink ones there just two days ago.  Plus they keep you're feet dry! And I don't know about you but I can't stand wet squashy shoes. Or socks! Thats the worst. So yeah. Wear rain boots. 

So here's my attempt at following my made-up rules today before I went on errands. Tell me watcha think? ( Oh! oh! and if you like my rules! You should post a picture of your interpretations... I LOVE pictures. And ideas. O.k. thats all I got. Bye!!!


Hat: Boden
Rain Jacket: Who knows where
Boots: Target!!!
Skirt: Delias
Sweater: Target again.. this seems to be a trend....








One last thing!! Before you go!! I have a blog now! My own! I can't promise as to how well I'll keep up with it. But I will try. I will! So if you think of it... you could... give me some encouragement! and Stamina! Like maybe... follow it? But you have my full permission and blessing to dissfollow or whatever the word is for that if my ramblings annoy... Or duplicate what I said here too much. Now I'm really done. Vale!!! =)


http://castlesonacloud.blogspot.com/   

So what if my shorts are uneven?

I feel as if I'm cramming blogging in. At night, rushing to finish it before I have to go. I think I'm going to come up with some sort of plan, something that REQUIRES me to put more thought, effort, and time into these posts. I've been considering doing a hair tutorial or maybe a video of some of my most treasured possessions.

........Ignore the electrical wire.
Just for you, my dear readers, just for you...

Same outfit as here .

This was a brief little thing that happened randomly and spontaneously. These are practically most of the pictures I have from it... By the way, those little lines you may notice in some of the photographs? Yea, that's snow. It was about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. LOVELY. Problem is, I've been dieing for summer. Warm weather. Sun. Tan. Beach. Pool. Sand. Shorts. Flip flops. Bathing suits. Sunglasses. Windows down. Friends. Less school. Sun. Sun. Sun.....Sun. *sigh*

Photo credits to my mother.

Josie Hope