Shoes & Hats

I wanted to share with you, a few things I picked up yesterday while I was getting a Birthday gift for my sweetie :) 

I just fell in love with these shoes and they were the last pair, in my size no less!  They are by Bongo and were on sale for $19.99!  They are very comfortable with good ankle support.  I also bought 2 more fedoras (Yes, I know I'm obsessed).  The white one was on sale for $4.99!  The straw one was on sale for $6.99.

Oh, plus my shoes that I ordered from Avon finally came in:

I love my new purchases and I can't wait to show them to you in an outfit :)  You all have a great weekend!

xxoo
Lori



Thrift Find!

I forgot to post this, but I was at the Thrift Store last week and found a Kathy Van Zeeland handbag in excellent condition! 

 

The best thing about it?  The price, $14.99 plus they were having a %50 off sale, so I paid about $7.50 and it's practically brand new!  I just LOVE thrifting....Have a great night!

xxoo

Lori

Currently Reading

I read alot of magazines every month, so I can stay up to date on fashion trends, photography etc.  I'd say I have about 12 magazine subscriptions right now....Eeeek!  But I do throw in a book or two every month, or at least I try.  This is the current magazine and book I'm reading right now:



Thrift Store & Target

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've blogged!  I made a trip to Savers Thrift Store and Target in the past week and I wanted to share with you what I picked up:

TARGET

Flower headband & Coral Bracelet

I found these cool storage caddys for $2.50 each so I got one for my nail polishes, removers etc.

This caddy I bought for my everyday makeup

3 belts that were on clearance

I also found these little caddys so I will have a place to put my mess when I Spring clean!



THRIFT STORE

1.  Emerald Green L/S Blouse

2.  Gold Cuff Bracelet

3.  Liz Claiborne Sandals

4.  NY & Co. Red Sandals

5.  Old Navy Burgundy & Pink Patent Ballet Flats

6.  Straw Handbag

7.  Purple & Pink Multicolor Ruffle Blouse (east 5th)

8.  Dusty Rose Colored Tunic with Beading

9.  Black/White Polka dot Dress (The Dress Barn)

10. Small Turquoise Lazy Susan for my utensils

Sorry the picture of the dress didn't come out very good, I don't know what happened there :)  I've been pretty busy the past week, so I should be back to writing almost every day.  I'm still waiting to get a remote for my camera so I can start taking outfit pictures!  Take care all!

Should you toss it?

If your like me, you keep your makeup for so long because you "might" need it someday.  When that someday comes along, you say to yourself, "OMG where is my Icy Blue eyeshadow with the matching neon blue mascara from 10th grade?"  Okay, I don't really keep it that long, but you get my drift.  So I put a list together of each beauty product and when you should toss it, for health purposes:

SHELF LIFE OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Most makeup packaging includes a small symbol that tells you how long the product will last after opening. The symbol looks like a jar with the lid open, with an "M" preceded by a number, such as 12M, which means 12 months from first opening. These are only guidelines from my research.

FOUNDATION:

12 – 18 months, or if you see a change in color or consistency. If you look at the ingredients and it is water based, 12 months. If it is oil based, 18 months.

LIPSTICK:

1 - 2 years, or when you see a change in color or consistency.

LIP LINER:

About 1 year if sharpened regularly. Also, dip any pencil beauty product in alcohol after every use to prevent bacteria.

MASCARA:

Usually about 2- 4 months, or if it starts clumping, flaking, becomes dry or smells bad. Mascara is the one beauty product that expires the soonest.

EYELINER:

3 – 6 months if sharpened regularly. Also dip in alcohol after every use.

NAIL POLISH:

To be on the safe side they say 2 to 3 years, but I keep reading that nail polish never goes bad, after opening or ever.  This is because the solvents are chemically hostile to microbes.  Research shows clearly that microbes don't survive in nail polish, whether in a salon environment or even if deliberately contaminated in a laboratory test.  You can add a little nail polish remover to the bottle if it gets too thick, if you really want to extend it.

EYESHADOW:

2 - 3 years, or when you notice a loss of pigment or it becomes dry.

CONCEALER:

Up to 12 months.

POWDER:

2 years.

CREAM & GEL CLEANSERS:

About 1 year, or if it smells bad before 12 months.

BRUSHES:

Wash every 2 -3 months in mild detergent.

SPONGES:

Wash weekly and discard monthly.

Beauty products stored in high heat will expire faster. Store your makeup products in a plastic container or one made for makeup storage. You can either tape a piece of paper to the back and keep a log of every product you purchase and the date you started using it or opened it. Or you can keep individual stickers on each product with the date of purchase on it. You can buy these stickers at any office supply store or there is a website called Beauty Alert that sells these stickers specifically for this use.

One last note, just try not to share your cosmetics and if you do, sharpen eyeliners & lip liners, dip in alcohol and use Q-tips, don’t share applicators.


Lori

Product Review: Mally Beauty



I purchased this cosmetic set from Mally Beauty back in February and I wanted to share it with you:

Cancellation Concealer System

Mascara, Eyeshadow & Eyeliner

Lip Gloss

Ginormous Mascara

I bought this set back in February while I was watching QVC, very dangerous by the way.  I just fell in love with her and her products.  Her name is Mally Roncal, Celebrity Makeup Artist.  She has done the makeup for big stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Rhianna, Beyonce, Celine Dion, just to name a few.  She has also done the makeup for cover shoots for some major magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, In Style, Essence and more.  Plus, numerous TV appearances. 


This set is called 6 Piece Bulletproof  Beauty Starter Kit, in Light/Medium.  My favorite product out of this whole kit is the Concealer.  It's called Cancellation Concealer System in Light/Medium.  I have tried so many concealers in my life and to think of how much money I wasted now knowing this product is out there.  I LOVE it!!  It covers amazingly and it comes with a setting powder next to the concealer.  The eyeshadow wasn't really my color, but the product itself was very nice.  The mascara that came with it was just a regular mascara, but did a very good job on my lashes.  The eyeliner was also nice with a twist up applicator.  The Lip Gloss was another one of my favorites.  It came with a brush applicator and the color is gorgeous (Blossom).

Then there is the Ginormous Mascara, which I ordered separately.  The way it works is all in the brush applicator.  On one side of the brush one row of the bristles have been removed.  Just one coat of this mascara makes your lashes SO long, then the second application really makes you look like you are wearing false lashes.  Make sure you drop by her website, Mally Beauty and check out her new products.

xxoo
Lori

Birthday & Outfit

Yesterday was my baby Brother's Birthday so we went to my Grandmother's house to celebrate. She has the most beautiful backyard I've ever seen! So I thought, finally I have someone here to take an outfit picture, and what better place to take my first one. I didn't realize how hard it was to be in front of the camera and come up with poses that didn't look posed! I don't know how those models do it, but I take my hat off to them because it was hard & I deleted several pictures because the poses looked horrid!

Photos taken by my Mom :)

Blouse: Thrifted

Capri's: Avon

Belt: Thrifted

Shoes: Target

Ring: Avon

Bracelet: Target

Handbag: Oooops! Handbag?.....I totally forgot to put my bag in the picture, but it's from Macy's :)

This blouse is one of my favorite thrift finds. I love how the sleeves are flowing and the colors are beautiful. I don't wear flat shoes very often because I am only 5"2, so flats can make me look even shorter as you can see. I was going to wear my new white wedges, but I wore a pair of new shoes the other day and they gave me awful blisters, so I had to go with the flats. Why so much Avon listed you might ask?  I am an Avon Rep and I love Mark's clothing and Avon's jewelry. 

If anyone has helpful tips for posing in front of the camera, pleassssseeeee e-mail me!  Let me know what you think, but be nice this is my first time :-)

xxoo

Lori

New Camera!!

I finally purchased my new camera on Friday and I'm so excited to start using it!!  I've been doing research for a long time and saving up enough to buy it, and today was the day.  It's a Nikon D3100 and it came with an 18-55 lens.  Here is what it looks like:

Oh, it also doubles as a 1080 dpi video camera!

xxoo

Lori



Designer Names

Sometimes Designer names are hard to pronounce, so I found this list of the correct pronunciation of their names.  The Designer name is in Bold and the pronunciation follows.  Hope you find this helpful!

Abaeté: Ah-bye-ah-tay
Agnes B:　Ah-ni-ess Beh
Alejandro Ingelmo: Allay-handro In-gel-mo
Alexandre Herchcovitch:　Ah-le-zan-dreh Hair-ch-co-vich
Andrew Gn: Andrew Jen (rhymes with "ten")
Andy Thê-Anh: An-dee Tay-Ann
Anya Hindmarch: Ahn-ya Heind-march
Arthur Mendonça: Ar-thur Men-doe-sa
Badgley Mischka: Badge-lee Meesh-ka
Balmain: Bal-mah
Bottega Veneta: Bo-tega Ven-e-ta
Bulgari: Ball-gah-ree
Burberry Prorsum: Bur-bur-ree Pror-some
Carolina Herrera: Caro-leena Hair-era
Cesare Paciotti: Che-sah-ray Pah-cho-tee
Chaiken: Chay-ken
Christian Lacroix: La-Kwa
Christian Louboutin: Loo-boo-tin ("tin" rhymes with the French word "vin")
Diane von Furstenberg: Fur-sten-berg (pronounced as spelled)
Dolce & Gabbana: Dole-ch-aye Ga-bon-na
Dries Van Noten: Drees Van Know-ten
Ermenegildo Zegna: Er-men-a-geel-do Zen-ya
Etienne Aigner: Eh-tee-yen On-yay
Gareth Pugh: Gareth Pew
Giles Deacon: Jy-els Dee-kin
Givenchy: Jee-von-shee
Giambattista Valli: Gee-ahm-battista Valley
Hedi Slimane: Eddy Sli-mahn
Hermès: Air-mez
Hervé Léger: Air-vay Lay-jay
James Perse: Perse (as in a lady’s purse)
Joeffer Caoc: Joe-fur Kay-ock
Junya Watanabe: Joon-ya Wah-tah-nah-bay
Lambertson Truex: Lam-bert-son Tru-ex
Lanvin: Lon-vin ("vin" also rhymes with the French word for "wine")
L’Wren Scott: Le-ren Skot
Loewe: Low-ev-ay
Louis Vuitton: Loo-ee Voo-ee-ton
Madame Gres: Madame Gray
Marchesa: Mar-kay-sa
Mainbocher: Maynbo-shay
Moschino: Mo-ski-no
Monique Lhullier: Mo-neek Loo-lee-ay
Narciso Rodriguez: Nar-siss-so Ro-dree-gez
Nicolas Ghesquière: Ni-co-la Guess-ki-air
Olivier Theyskens: Oli-vier Tay-skins
Pierre Cardin: Pee-air Car-dain
Proenza Schouler: Pro-enza Skool-er
Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren (Lauren as in The Hills)
Rei Kawakubo: Ray Kah-wah-koo-bo
Rodarte: Ro-dar-tay
6267: Six-two-six-seven (not Sixty-two-sixty-seven)
Sonia Rykiel: Sonia Ree-kee-eel
Sophia Kokosalaki: So-fee-a Ko-ko-sah-lah-kee
Thakoon: Ta-koon
Thierry Mugler: Tee-air-ree Moog-lay
Tibi: Tbi (not Tee-bee)
Tocca: Toe-ka
Versace: Ver-sah-chee
Vionnet: Vee-oh-nay
Yohji Yamamoto: Yo-jee Ya-ma-mo-to
Yves Saint Laurent: Eve San Lor-ron
Zac Posen: Poe-zen

Outfit Pictures

I can't wait to start taking outfit pictures!  I'm so excited because I have so many new thrift store finds to show you, but I wanted to start this Blog right away.  I love to write, it's just such a great outlet.  Also, my #1 passion is Photography, so put those two together and add my love for fashion and...... voila'....Fashion Blog!

So right now I'm trying to find a remote for my Nikon, because I have to take my own pictures.  I'm also upgrading my camera to a better one.  Right now I use a Nikon D70, not my first Nikon but my first Digital camera.  I've had it now for about 7 years and before that I had a Nikon N80 (film camera), then before that I had a Nikon 5005 (film camera).  So I've upgraded through the years.

Tonite I'm checking out the reviews online for the Nikon D3100, plus researching remotes which I've never had before.  So hopefully outfit pictures will be coming soon!  Have a great night!

xxoo
Lori

Snow? In May?

Yes, you read it right!  In New Mexico we do have 4 separate seasons, but it never fails it always seems to snow one more time right after Spring is in full swing!  It was a beautiful 85 degrees yesterday, and today it is 41 with snow!  I took some pictures out my window just now to show you what I mean:

This is today from my bedroom window & across the street is a shopping center and the flag is always there, that's how I can tell when it's going to be a windy day!

This is what it looked like about a week ago when this picture was taken.  You can always see the mountains, except.....

for today, this is what it looks like.

In the few minutes I've been writing this post the snow is already gone and the sun is out.  Talk about weather being unpredictable!  Hope you guys are having a relaxing Sunday.  Until next time!

xxoo

Lori