Monday, May 28, 2012

Summer Ensembles: Neon Equestrian


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top - dorothy perkins // shorts - gap // shoes - asos // earrings - amazon // bracelet - UO


This is my little ode to the neon trend & Texas. I'm not overly fond of riding horses (I'm actually awful at it) but I really love interacting with them/ looking at them. Luckily, living in Denton (or most of Texas really) you see horses fairly often as it's close to a lot of ranches and farming communities. The back way I take to my aunt's house is full of wide open fields and plenty of fences with horses and little lakes behind them.

I recently bought a pair of cheap knock-offs of those earrings at Forever 21 (they didn't have them online, but I found them pretty easily at the store) and I've been pairing them with EVERYTHING. They're a little bit whimsical and something that makes me feel happy when I'm wearing one of my boring babysitting outfits (v neck tee and torn up shorts).

Are there certain things you wear to keep yourself from going crazy at school or work?

-Becca

Monday, May 21, 2012

NARS 'Roman Holiday' Lipstick

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I bought this for myself while I was out of town for Mother's Day in Houston. My mom's birthday is the 5th, mine's the 9th and Mother's Day was on the 13th this year, so I normally make a trip down to Houston at the beginning of May to celebrate all three in one go! We were at the Sephora in Rice Village and I was looking for TOCCA's new scent Violette (which they didn't have) and I decided to swatch a bunch of NARS products since I had seen a few really good youtube reviews of NARS lipsticks. I fell in love with mostly the color, but partly the product's name.

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I really love this color because it's a cooler pink lipstick than most of the ones I wear, but it's sheer and super build-able so it never looks weird on. I imagine this shade looks good on lots of different skin-tones as pink normally looks good with yellow undertones and darker skin. But it looks fine on my pale pinky-red tone as well. It's also super moisturizing and doesn't have a weird taste which is always a plus with lipsticks.

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top swatch is one swipe, bottom is after 2 swipes


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Despite being a $24 lipstick, it's definitely a favorite as I find myself reaching for it on a daily basis. Now, if only I could find a $7 dupe.

-Becca

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Proud & Thrifty: 01

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Vintage Mary Poppins Charm Bracelet


So, I spent a little over 3 years looking for this item.

My grandpa went on a business trip when my mom was young and he brought her back a Mary Poppins charm bracelet from Disneyland. They went on a fishing trip later that week and it fell off her wrist and sank to the bottom of the lake. Lost forever, probably eaten by a turtle. She was heartbroken. I remember her recounting this story a few times, especially after Grandpa passed away. It was one of the few pieces of jewelry he ever gave her since money was always tight.

So, I decided to use my thrifting and internet skills to try and find a replacement bracelet for her. It's obviously not the same as having the one Grandpa gave her, but I thought it would be nice anyways.

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I severely under-estimated the rarity of this item. Mint condition, in box ones were so expensive. The only one I can find currently on ebay is seriously $550. Anyways, I checked ebay and etsy constantly while simultaneously checking local charity shops and antique stores. Eventually I lucked out and found one in box for $30 on ebay. 30 dollars!! As opposed to $500? Yes please. The box wasn't in perfect condition by any means but the bracelet was brand new looking, which was all that really mattered to me.

It probably seems silly to be proud of yourself for buying something off of the internet, but I worked so hard to find it. And it paid off! Mom seemed to really love it, and that's all that matters!

here are some links to ones I found online: one two



-Becca

Monday, May 7, 2012

Coco

It's that time again. It's time for a post about little dummy Coco.

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Coco's been shedding like crazy. We bought a Furminator to help the shedding go a little faster and less intense. It's a miracle worker! It catches all of the loose fur along with most of her undercoat and Coco loves the attention (thank goodness). She isn't quite as fluffy and soft anymore since she's shed most of her winter coat, but I'm glad that she'll be cool for the intense Texas summer we're going to have. Plus, she's almost done-- we seriously filled a garbage bag with her fur.

Ugh, shedding. I love shibas so much, but the amount of fur they shed (twice a year) is bonkers.

-Becca

Friday, May 4, 2012

Vivetta

If don't think I could find a designer that is more in tune with what I want in a wardrobe. It's feminine and cute while still feeling rather simple & there are cats EVERYWHERE.

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source: All images in this post belong to Vivetta & were found within the Vivetta website.


Unfortunately, I am not thin enough to own any of their garments, which is fine. I'm not wealthy enough to afford any of it either, so it's probably for the best.

However, if you are the right size, you can buy Vivetta garments here & here.

I really don't have much to say other than I'm totally going to be making my own versions of these for myself since I finally figured out my sewing machine. I had it for a full year and I FINALLY figured out how to thread my bobbin. The instructions skipped the whole step where it explains how to make the bobbin. It literally said "make the bobbin". Uhh excuse me instruction manual, bobbin threading is not intuitive. Please do your job and explain.

-Becca

Thursday, May 3, 2012

NARS Copacabana Illuminator

I realized how dumb it was that I hadn't reviewed this since I love love love it so much. And after recommending it to Taylor of A Thunder Heart, I decided to correct that. So here we go.

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NARS Illuminator in 'Copacabana'
 

Originally, I just used MAC's Cream Color Base in 'Pearl' for all of my highlighting needs, but I'd read a post on Sparkly Vodka (who is the only reason I know anything about highlighters, her blog is amazing) featuring it and was curious.

(I would like this opportunity to say that once I get my new pan of MAC Cream Color Base in 'Pearl', I'll review it too. I just don't want to photograph my nearly empty pan. Gross.)

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Fast forward to a little bit before Christmas time and I was visiting my family in Houston and I was wandering through Sephora (I normally shop at Ulta since it's closer) when I stumbled into the NARS section and realized I COULD TRY ANYTHING I WANT. Sometimes I forget that you can do that in Ulta and Sephora. So I tried it and thought it was cool and brought it home. Now, at first I thought $30 was a lot for a single item, but you use about a seed bead size dollop of it and you've got more than enough to highlight your whole face if you want. I've used it just about every day and as you can see, you can't even tell I've made a dent in it. It glides on smooth and mixing it isn't a problem as long as it isn't dry, and even then you can still smooth it out.

NARS Copacabana is a "light-reflecting liquid that glides on to refresh and enhance the complexion with shimmering incandescence" according to the NARS website. Personally, I use it on top of my make up as a highlighter, but you can use it underneath your foundation or mix it with your foundation for an all over dewy look. I've never tried mixing it because I love the way it looks on top of blush so much. Plus, I use a mousse foundation and I don't imagine those mixing very well to be honest.

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Normally I don't feel comfortable with anyone being this close to my face because I have large pores but this was the best way to show how the illuminator works and I just can't care enough for the both of us so, whatever! Also, an excellent time to show off my winged eyeliner skills.

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So basically if you're looking for a really reflective highlighter with a cool pink tone, Copacabana is a great option. I've never used powder highlighters before though, so I might be missing out. But I know when I eventually run out of Copacabana, I'll definitely be buying it again.

makeup used: Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer in 'Adjust' // Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in 'Porcelain Ivory' // Covergirl pressed powder in "creamy natural' // LORAC blush in 'Rendezvous' // NARS Copacabana Illuminator // Maybelline ultra-brow in light brown // Almay intense i-color liquid eyeliner in 'brown topaz' // Maybelline the Classic volume express mascara in 'brownish black' // & Revlon "Just Bitten" lipstain in 'Victorian'

-Becca