Sunday, June 19, 2016

Relaxed Summer Style


When it comes to summer style I like to keep things relaxed and comfortable. Today, I brought back some basic closet staples starting my outfit with my favorite pair of boyfriend jeans, a simple white tank and a pair of sneakers. Finding a great pair of boyfriend jeans has to be one of the hardest pants to find... too big, too small, too baggy, too tight, too many rips, not enough rips... the list goes on and on! This pair from Brandy Melville are my absolute favorite!

If you are unsure if you can pull off wearing a pair of boyfriend jeans, it's less about the jeans and more about what you pair with them. The boxy/baggier look that boyfriend jeans have should be paired with a more form fitting top. Also, I love a comfy pair of sneakers so I couldn't resist finishing off the look with my Original Superstar Adidas shoes. Don't forget it is summer and one accessory you should never leave home without is sunglasses, they add a pop to any outfit.


Top: Brandy Melville - Jeans: Brandy Melville - Bralette: Free People - Shoes: Original Superstar Adidas - Sunglasses: Michael Kors

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

5 Essentials for a Cozy Night at Home!


On rare occasions I find myself at home at night with absolutely nothing to do but focus on myself. It can be hard when you are always caught up in the hustle and bustle of life to remember how to treat yourself to a cozy night at home.

These are my 5 essentials to make your night at home complete bliss...
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Essential #1: A hot drink!

In the winter or any night where you want to cozy up in a blanket, a hot drink is a must! Recently, I have been loving the Lipton Green Tea. Usually I go for the fruity teas but something about green tea is such a calming way to start at relaxing night.


Essential #2: A bubble bath!

Nothing says complete serenity like a warm bath! My favorite products to use in the shower/bath right now that will leave you smelling delicious are: Lush Shower Jelly in Needles and Pines, Lush Bath-bomb in Cinders, and Lush Soap in Baked Alaska

  • Needles and Pines smells exactly like an evergreen which may not be a scent for everyone but I find it perfect for the winter months!
  • Cinders Bath-bomb smells like sweet cinnamon candy! Yum!
  • Baked Alaska is a fresh / fruity smell that will leave your mouth watering! My favorite Lush scent!


Essential #3: Get cozy!

This is a very important step in your cozy night at home. Grab your favorite pajamas and a pair of your coziest socks and sit down and take a minute to unwind! I love wrapping up in a blanket with warm over the knee socks that I scrunch up below my knee because my feet are always cold! 

Over the knee socks are from Dillard's by Kensie

Essential #4: Watch a movie!

Grabbing your computer or the TV remote and finding a movie to lounge around with for a couple of hours is one of my favorite ways to pass the time in the evening. Some of my favorite movies are Something Borrowed, Mission Impossible (Any of the 5), Mean Girls, and GhostBusters (It's a classic... Gotta love it!)



Essential #5: Dessert!

No girls night in is complete until you have indulged your sweet tooth, at least a little. A healthier alternative to ice cream is yogurt or sorbet! I love raspberry or strawberry sorbet with chocolate syrup and a small cookie to top it all off. YUM!!!


Enjoy your cozy night at home! 



Tuesday, December 22, 2015

DIY Christmas Crown!

Hey Guys!

With holiday parties and pictures coming up, it's time to break out your crafting skills! 
This DIY Christmas Crown is so easy you will be making them for all your friends and family. 


Let's Get Started!

First, let's start with what you will need for this super cute crown.

In Step 1 below you will need the following:

  • Christmas tree garland 
  • Christmas berries
  • Branches with crystals on them
  • A bendable wire to act as your head band. 
(I purchased all my supplies at Michael Craft Store. )

Next, you will want to take your wire and bend it into a circle which fits your head (See Step 2 & 3).

Now, take the branches of pine off of the garland and hot glue them to your head band covering the wire as shown in Steps 4 & 5 

Cut off any pieces of garland that stick out too far and glue the small pieces you cut off back onto the head band to cover up the wire (See Steps 6, 7 & 8) Until it looks like Step 9 and the wire band is completely covered with pine pieces.

Continuing on, grab your Christmas berries as seen in Step 10 and cut off strands of berries like I show in Step 11 and twist them around your head band until it looks like Step 12.

Then, get out your crystal covered branches and cut pieces of the branches off and twist or hot glue them to your head band like I show in Steps 13 & 14. Also, I had small pinecones that came attached to my Christmas tree garland which I cut off and hot glued to my crown.


Now you have completed your Christmas Crown and you are ready to rock any Holiday party in style. I wore mine to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and each of my friends oogled over my crown secretly wishing they had this simple crown to wear. :)

Total cost of supplies: $15

Merry Christmas!

Friday, March 13, 2015

How To Stop Makeup From Breaking You Out!

Dear Girls out there who are just like me,

Basically, this is my story. 

I love makeup and wearing makeup, but breaking out is something I don’t love. 

After almost 2 years of struggling with break outs and lots of tears. I have tried everything from the cheapest foundations in drug stores to the most expensive foundations at Sephora. Nothing was working. For four months I swore off all liquid/powder foundations. My face was nearly perfect and I was so excited until I tried to venture out and find new a foundation. After trying Tarte Tinted Moisturizer within 30 minutes I could feel my skin revolting against the Tinted Moisturizer and I had to wash it off. I only had it on my skin for two hours and then my face was completely broken out. When I put the Tinted Moisturizer on I had, maybe 3 blemishes, after removing the moisturizer, however, I had more than I could even count. This sent me into a nervous tizzy, would I ever be able to wear foundation? Why is this happening to me? What happens when I do get acne and I need to conceal it?
Here you can see how my acne changed over 4 days. I went from a bad break out on Day 1 to clear skin on Day 4 because of the skin care secret I discovered and will tell you about in this blog post!
Well, all my worries were put to rest when I went to a skin care specialist. I had acne cosmetica

Acne cosmetica is a form of acne caused by cosmetics and makeup products your skin does not agree with. Acne cosmetica can come in many different shapes and sizes but commonly is seen as lots of little red inflamed bumps on the face, similar to a rash. Some people are more sensitive to cosmetics than others but acne cosmetica is actually quite common so don’t feel discouraged if you are struggling with finding makeup products that won’t break you out.

I have seen many blogs stating to use non-comedogenic makeup. Which is hard because non-comedogenic is a very broad term with no definite answer. I need a solution that actually works for the problem I am facing. Basically, if you are suffering from break outs produced from your cosmetics you need to check your makeup to make sure you stay away from the following ingredients: 

Isopropyl, Isostearyl, Isostearate, Lanolin oil, Coconut Butter, Myristyl, and Bismuth, depending on how prone you are to acne cosmetica

Those are ingredients linked to clogging pores and irritate skin, causing acne. When I went to check my makeup bottles I was stunned by the fact I didn’t know what any of the ingredients were or how to pronounce them! This made me stop and think... “Why would I want to put something of my face if I can’t even pronounce or eat it?” 

This is when I met up with a lovely lady who was a skin care specialist, who had also suffered with acne cosmetica and found the solution to our acne woes! The answer was..... (drum roll, please.....) Cut out the chemicals! 

Our faces don’t like all those hard to pronounce chemicals on the back of the bottles.  The specialist suggested I try organic, plant based, skin care and cosmetics. I can now pronounce and have eaten most of the ingredients found in my new face wash, exfoliator, lotion, foundation, concealer, and blush. 

Once I started using Eminence Organic Skin Care my face cleared up in just four days! 4 DAYS!!! I was amazed. Not only does the face wash feel and smell amazing, it really works! I ditched my old skin care routine and now only use products from the Eminence line. 
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The Eminence Organic Skin Care products that really work for me and my acne are:
Face wash: “Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser” (for acne prone skin) 
Exfoliator:   “Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant” 
Moisturizer: “Clear Skin Probiotic Moisturizer” 


What I love is that all of these products have ingredients listed on the back that you are familiar with and can pronounce!  

For example, the moisturizer contains these amazing key ingredients: Cumber Juice, Corn Germ Oil, Willow Bark Extract, Yogurt, Shea Butter, Calendula Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and Biocomplex. 

There are no harmful chemicals and it contains the best nutrients on earth that your face and acne need in order to clear up and give you the glowing skin you have always wanted. I’m not saying this will work for everyone, but it worked for me. Just like any product, all skin types are different and all skin will react different, but if you are suffering from acne cosmetica the task of finding products that won’t break you out is rough. As a girl who has been through it all - I’m telling you to stay strong and maybe try something organic. Anything is worth trying once. 

As much as I love the face washing products from Eminence my struggle was not over. Makeup. Do you know how hard it is to find all organic makeup in local chain stores like, Target, Ulta and Sephora?  Real, authentic Organic makeup is nearly non-existent in these stores. This is when my online search commenced. After finding many  wonderful makeup options like “100% Pure”, “EccoBella”, “Jane Iredale”, and “LaBellaDonna”, I finally was able to find a local organic spa that carried many of these organic brands in store for me to color match and see these makeup products in person. 

I began by trying the Jane Iredale Purepressed Base Mineral Foundation. This foundation feels weightless and soothing to my skin. 

To much of my surprise when I actually wear this foundation, I may have a couple blemishes when I first put it, on but when I take off my makeup (because of the zinc oxide in the foundation) I actually have less acne than when I put it on in the morning. I am all for makeup that doesn’t break me out! Not to mention it actually reduces and calms my acne when I wear it!! I also bought the La Bella Donna Anti Aging Hydrating Concealer. Not because I need the anti-aging properties, but because of the wonderful, easy to use and buildable coverage I can achieve by using it. (I’m telling you...my face looks flawless when I apply this awesome concealer!)

I also picked up some blushes and other organic mineral products from the Jane Iredale collection and have not broken out once. Though, I will remind you that just like the face wash, all skin types are different and I can’t guarantee this will work for you... It worked for me and I would definitely suggest trying organic skin products. Cut the chemicals out of your facial routine! If your face is reacting by breaking out after certain makeup products or skin care products you use, Stop! Your skin is sending you an SOS signal, alerting you that it does not like those products! The best thing you can do if you want healthy and happy skin is to pay attention to how it reacts to the products you put on it. 
I hope my journey and the solution I found for my acne was helpful for you. 
Best wishes in the never ending journey for clear skin!

<3 
XOXO
Julia!