A Few Favorite Products

Hello! It feels like forever since I've posted..........oh wait. It has been forever. Well, I'm glad to be back. :)

I wanted to share with you all some of the products that I've been loving.

First is Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil. Not only does it moisturize and replenish, it leaves behind a tad of color, so it evens out the lip tone. My lips tend to be pretty dry, but this stuff works wonders. Oh, and it smells good too. Always a plus.

I also love e.l.f.'s Studio Cream Eyeliner. It's really soft, so it goes on smoothly and easily. But it dries fast and doesn't smudge. It also comes in a bunch of great colors (I have the purple), and it's only $3.

Another great product from e.l.f. is their Studio Makeup Mist & Set. This clear mist keeps your makeup from running or smudging, and gives your face a quick pick-me-up. It feels really light and refreshing, and contains Aloe, cucumber, green tea, and Vitamins A, C, and E. This is definitely one of my favorite products that I've tried recently. I use it almost every day.

And last but not least is Maybelline's Falsies Mascara. While it does tend to clump a bit when used alone, it works wonders when layered over another mascara. It really lengthens and defines the lashes, almost like your wearing false lashes.

Let us know if there are any other products you'd like us to review!

(By the way, I am not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. They have no idea who I am.)

Summer Trends?

Hey, everyone, Emilyann here!

We've kind of all been extinct for a while.  We had our huge End of the Year Gathering at the beginning of this month, and that week left us all energy-less and summer-lazy.  But it was a blast and I got the privilege of meeting and re-meeting some of my wonderful friends, complete with a few of the girls from the DRD!

Josie and Me

Amanda and Me

Caroline and Me

Elizabeth S. and Me

Anyway, cracking down to business.  The next summer must-know I'm going to be discussing are a few of the easy, doable summer trends. We've seen these trends everywhere, from the runway, the streets, tv, and celebrities.  The first trend is coral lipstick.

The color coral is a red/pink color that leans toward the orange side.  There are several different shades of corals, but they're always a pink with and orange tint.  This brightens up your face and screams warm weather.  It looks good and light and tan skin tones, and can be paired with anything from a dramatic smokey eye, to a simple neutral eye like in the picture.

The second trend is in the area of nailpolish.  There are actually several nail polish trends this summer!  Trendy colors include icy blues and greens, Tiffany blues, and bold hot pinks and oranges.  Some examples of these colors are China Glaze's For Audrey, Essie's Minty Green Apple, OPI's Strawberry Margarita and Chapel of Love, and OPI's Atomic Orange.  And of course, nuetrals on the nails have been fashionable for a while. However, the trend I want to address is this: 

The ring finger trend.  I don't know what makes this so appealing, but I absolutely love it! I haven't worn my ring finger as the same color since I saw this begin to trend.  Here was my first attempt:

I absolutely love it.

The last trend I have for today is kind of a trend that's always in, but sparks up during the summer. 

That's dew-y skin.  I love this trend because it's easy and all about the highlighting.  My favorite look right now are flushed, red cheeks with shimmery, dew-y skin.  Very natural and pretty. 

What are your favorite summer trends?  

Emilyann

French Sophistication

Bonjour!  It's Caroline.

I've just moved to Brussels, Belgium, as of yesterday.  I love it so much, and I definitely think I will enjoy living here.

Brussels is very metropolitan, and has beautiful architecture and a lovely atmosphere.  However, one thing I noticed, of course, was the clothes!  At this time of year, the weather is fairly chilly, but comfortable enough to get by with a light jacket.

There are two main groups of people in Brussels:  the French and the Flemish.  I have always loved French magazines and so on, but I'm finally really seeing the French style in action, and I've decided that it's absolutely my favorite.

French woman make style look so easy.  They put together very simple pieces in elegant ways, but manage to look like they just rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing they saw.  It's incredibly impressive, and very feminine and classic.

Their hair and makeup looks very un-done.  Secretly, they spend quite a bit of time on it, but it looks as if they, again, rolled out of bed and spent two minutes doing it.  This is a skill I must absolutely master.

I've seen a few types of outfits that hit me in particular, and so I went on Polyvore and made a couple for you!  (And I love how the French wear color, as opposed to the Italian aesthetic of dark blacks and grays.)

French 01 by jabberbabywokky featuring a button jacket

This particular style I took from the lady in front of us on the plane.  Her hair was perfectly mussed, and she just looked so elegant.  It's amazing how she looked elegant even in converse shoes and jeans.  I was deeply impressed, to say the least.

French 02 by jabberbabywokky featuring retro pumps


Most of the people in this particular area, where we're staying temporarily, are business people.  The business women wear very cute shoes, mostly with shorter heels as opposed to the Italian stilettos, and wide-leg pants, which are very on-trend.

French 03 by jabberbabywokky featuring a biker jacket

I've seen several women, mostly younger ladies, wearing a simple trench coat or a leather jacket with summer dresses and bare legs.  It's not quite so cold that this is strange, and I think it looks very put together, especially with a top-knot and some ballet flats.  The trend of slightly masculine jackets with a feminine dress and girlish accessories is very popular here, from what I can tell, and I love it!

That's all for now, but tell me... would you wear the French style?

-Caroline

Tea Dresses and Speculations

I know. I never post anything interesting. Just call me boring Beth. :)
The thing is, I don't really know that many interesting fashiony things to tell you! ( Shh! though thats a secret! ) Like, I couldn't begin to tell you how I did my hair for these is just sort of happened. And couldn't give a make-up tutorial because I wore the same as I always do with the exception of some bright coral lipstick. -LOVE- My outfit wasn't even all that spectacular either just flats and a floral sundress. But maybe that's the point of my contribution for the time being. That a outfit doesn't have to be perfect to look lovely. I know that I for one, and I bet others too, sometimes feel a little intimidated when I'm around people who always look perfectly put together right down to coordinating nail polish. I get the idea that if I'm not also as equally polished looking they'll somehow not like me as well. And then I get home and think how silly is that! My mother always tells me not to worry about whether my own shoelaces are tied because everyone else is too busy wondering if theirs are tied properly to notice. Isn't that wonderful? Now of course this doesn't mean literally don't tie your shoelaces. You should probably do that. I'm pretty sure its some kind of a safety regulation in some places. But the idea is that we spend all our time worrying about our own appearance and don't even think about the fact that everyone else spends their time doing the exact same thing! And really thats not even what we should be worrying about in the first place. The people who matter will love us no matter what we wear. Makes me wish I spend more time trying to think about how to act more graciously when I'm with others rather then spending it fretting about what I look like. I'd imagine this is an area we all could use some work in. :) All that rant to say: Your friends will love you even on bad hair days. I promise. In fact what's funny is that I find, that those days when I think I'm not "up to standard" will happen to be the days someone thinks to come up and remind me that they love my wavy hair or something trivial like that. Silly things. But it makes all the difference doesn't it? I try to do the same to others when I think they look especially fresh or pretty some day. Or even just wear something cute. I make a point to tell them. Because I know how much that means to me on a rough day. So I hope to return the favor. <3 <3 <3

Having said all that.... Don't you love my new sundress!?!?!?!?!? I got it just last week while shopping with my cousin from a little shop called Two Elle. The store was Alice in Wonderland themed right down to the dressing rooms which were called things like "Down the Rabbit Hole" or "Through the Looking Glass." That on its own would have had me sold. But there's more!!!! Not only is the shop completely adorable but they stock the most lovely vintage inspired clothing you could think of! I promptly laid claim to a beautiful rose printed sundress which reminds me of something I imagine fine British ladies wear to tea, and another navy floral printed shirtdress with a matching belt. Oh my goodness gracious lovely. These finds and the added fact that I happen to see TAYLOR SWIFT shopping across the street made the shopping excursion a complete success. :) :) :) :)

So I took pictures yesterday and here they are. Hope you all are having a wonderful Summer so far!

Laughter and Song and Much Love,
Elizabeth 

Beachy Days Are on Their Way

Tank: H&M

Shirt: DIY

Skirt: NY&CO.

Fedora: H&M

Two hours of sleep last night.

Working.

School.

Rain.

These pictures are from three weeks ago. One of the several beach parties this year so far...

xoxo, Josie Hope

We're back! And Beblesh Balm. Because it's fun to say.

Hey y'all, it's Caroline!  We've all been absent, as you've probably noticed, but I think we should really get back on the ball.  Most of us were at a gathering in Pennsylvania recently, and now we're all getting into our summer routines.  We were sad that Valentine and Lauren couldn't come, but I'm sure we'll get together at some point.

For now, I thought I'd come to you with a great product recommendation!

~~~~

In the summer, I don't like to wear a full face of foundation.  It sweats off, and I have to spend a lot of time working on it every morning so that it doesn't look cakey.  So, I tried tinted moisturizer, but I couldn't find one that had good enough coverage.

What to do... what to do...?

So, of course, I went to YouTube.  A lot of the "beauty gurus" that I watch wear something called BB cream.  Finally, one of my favorite gurus did a video on it and talked about her favorite kinds and what it is.

The BB stands for "Blemish Balm," though it's also called "Beblesh Balm" for reasons I don't understand.  I picked up, on Amazon, a BB cream after looking at reviews on Makeup Alley.

I bought this one:  Super79 Super+ Beblesh Balm.  And let me tell you.... this is a miracle product.

I've been using it for a little over a week, and I'm really impressed.  I was worried at first, because when I put it on, it was a little bit gray-ish and made me look ghoulish.  But after sitting on my skin for a minute, it oxidized to my skin-tone and matched perfectly.

My skin's tone and texture is already more even and less red, even after I take it off at night.  It stays on all day long, and has amazing coverage.  At the same time, it's light and it actually makes my skin look dewy, which is a miracle because my skin is incredibly dry.

I definitely recommend BB cream to all of you readers.  It's great for those who are new to makeup, but it's good enough for people who prefer thicker coverage.

Pros:

• Great packaging
• A little goes a LONG way
• Great coverage
• Perfects my skin over time
• Reduces redness, especially around mouth and nose
• Cheaper than a lot of high-quality foundations.   (Mine was $9.99)

Cons:  

• Would be too light for people with darker skin tones.  It's for fair-to medium tones.
• You have to let it sit for a minute before you can put on any powdered products like bronzer, because the bronzer becomes streaky if you haven't let it dry.  It's not a big problem though because I just do my eye makeup while it sets.

Over all, I definitely recommend BB cream!  I purchased this with my own money and am not being sponsored by this particular brand... they don't know who I am.  :)  

Have a great day!

-Caroline