Dress the Part...or Don't Even Start.

You Get What You Pay For

2012-01-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

I am used to going shopping and buying what I like without ever looking at the price tag. No, I do not have an immense/unlimited bank account, but if I like something, I will get it. A lot of the time, people ask me where I bought certain things, and their next question is usually almost always, "how much?" Then, when I say I do not know, they kind of get annoyed. Lately, however, I have become more frugal. By frugal, I mean, I am trying to save as opposed to spend. This newfound hobby of mine called saving, entails looking at price tags, and only purchasing necessities. Yes, once in a while, I do buy something I probably do not need, but really, I have cut back a lot. Anyways, the point of this blog is that I have a friend who I sometimes shop with because he is very savvy with purchasing products that are only on sale. Which means if we are grocery shopping, he will be like, "it's not on sale." When he says that, that means, he won't buy it unless it is on sale. Also, when buying things like: napkins, or plastic cutlery he will only purchase the cheapest one. Now, that is way too extreme for me, I cannot live like that, and I believe that you definitely get what you pay for. For instance, I went ahead and bought the "cheapest" plastic forks. When we were eating the next day at work...my cheap plastic fork broke. Like really? This is why I opt out for quality over quantity. This statement is also true when buying clothing. I know a lot of people do not have the finances nor would ever want to spend over a hundred dollars on one pair of jeans, when they could easily go to a "fashion store" and buy five pairs for that price, however...the crystals on my designer jeans have NEVER fallen out due to wash/wear and tear, as opposed to my fashion store jeans. Once again, you get what you pay for. So, certain things should be considered investment pieces such as a couple of nice classic designer handbags, dresses, shoes, blouses, jeans, etc. and other things should be day to day wear it and throw it away without feeling guilty items.

Sue Devitt Color Me Radiant Anti-Aging Treatment Foundation

2012-01-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I hung out with one of my girlfriends (mind you, I hadn't seen her in like six months). We were originally going to go see the movie: New Years Eve or whatever it is called, but she text me asking if i'd be okay with running errands with her instead. Obviously, since she is a childhood friend, and I did really want to spend some quality time with her I said of course!!! We went to a few different stores and I told her I wanted to buy some Chanel foundation to try it out and she started raving about the foundation she bought the week prior (Sue Devitt). She bought the Color me Radiant kit which comes with a few different products, however, she said she only wears the powder. Based on her experience with the powder alone, she also said that she has noticed a huge difference on her face. For example, she mentioned that her skin (T-Zone area) used to be very oily, but now it isn't. Anyways, I typically like to buy various types of brands and products when it comes to cosmetics, so it was rather easy to convince me to check out the Sue Devitt stuff. The cool thing about the kit is that it comes with primer, gel foundation, pressed powder, and a brush for applying the powder. I bought it at Macy*s. I am the lightest shade: Tanami. Since the foundation is in a kit, the products are rather small (travel size). If I like the products, I will purchase full size quantities. I really want to try out the primer because primer believe it or not makes or breaks foundation. It creates the perfect canvas to paint on. I haven't used any of the product yet, I am just blogging about the fact that I got it, and I included some pictures of it. Once I do utilize the products, I will definitely update this post. I also bought the Chanel foundation, which I haven't had the chance to try out yet either, but will do so after about at least a good week of using it.

Tokyo, Japan!!!

2012-01-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

So...I received a super cute package in my "mail box" today...I put mail box in quotations because it was sent to my work...anyways, it was from one of my girlfriends who went to Japan for a minute and she bought me the coolest thing ever. First of all...I love Hello Kitty, and if you don't know, now you know! When I opened the package I saw a pack of eyelashes and I was like okay, what?...why would someone go all the way to Tokyo to bring me back some falsies?...like I can totally buy them here right?...wrong!...the next item in the package was a hello kitty eyelash case!!! Like really-I didn't know they made those. Awesome right? Okay, I know, I'm getting super stoked about something so little and random, but really like when I go out I love to wear false lashes and now I have a cute compact to store them in :) Genius. Yes I said like like way too many times but when I get excited I turn into a gushing teenager from the San Fernando Valley. Sad, but true. Sorry for the glare in the picture...I take most if not all of my photos via my cellular device, hence the low quality and glare. Haha, enjoy!

More Sally Hansen Salon Effects

2012-01-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I went to the local Walmart by my work and I happened to be pleasantly surprised when I came across some new Sally Hansen Salon Effects options. I took a couple pictures of the colors they now carry as well as the two that I purchased. I still haven't worn the snakeskin one, but I'm sure I will be wearing them this week because my gel polish is chipping :( Other than that, all is well in my world. I haven't really been shopping lately, so my blogs have been less frequent than I thought they would be. I don't know what I will be blogging about since I am officially budgeting myself. Maybe discount shopping? Who knows. Maybe I will start talking about my random encounters with strangers when I am out and about. That seems to make me laugh.

Tilly's and FedEx

2011-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

I received an email a few days ago from Tilly's since I shop there every now and then and have a subscription to their emails...anyways, the email basically was for an additional 30% off sale items. I clicked on shop now and browsed through the sale section, and I must say, I am impressed with my purchases for 2 reasons. 1: not only did they have a ton of awesome and cute items for super cheap (such as cute tees and jewelry), but, 2: the following day after I placed my order, I received an email from FedEx stating that my shipment arrived. I did not even pay any additional fees for next day delivery, in fact, shipping was free because I spent a certain amount. Below are pictures of just one of the many shirts I bought and the jewelry. The jewelry wasn't part of the 30% off but rather, buy 1 get one 50% off. I noticed I purchased a particular color scheme and brand. Totally perfect for the winter. As for the shirt, I probably won't be showcasing it until spring/summer. Still the price was too amazing to pass up :) Love a great sale!

Perfume Emergency

2011-12-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

My sister, mother, and I went out of town a couple of months ago to a "desitination" wedding and none of us brought any perfume with us because we were only staying in that particular town for one night and because we each assumed the other would bring perfume. We got all dressed up and were super excited to head out to the wedding, until I realized none of us had perfume. I had to think real fast and I remembered that I had brought a bunch of magazines to read with me during the road trip. I quickly started flipping through the pages until I found the perfume ads/samples. As weird as it may sound, I just tore the ones I liked out of the magazine and slathered it on my skin. Haha...so there you have it. If you are ever in a bind for perfume, just look through a magazine until you find some freebies. If you don't have a magazine, well then this post doesn't apply to you. Fun times. XoXo!

E.L.F. Cosmetics

2011-12-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was watching a few different videos on YouTube about makeup hauls and tutorials and several different makeup gurus were raving about E.L.F. Cosmetics so much that I was like, hmmm maybe they are worth buying. So, I went on their website: www.eyeslipsface.com and to my surprise everything was super inexpensive. Disclaimer-I am oftentimes weary about buying inexpensive merchandise, especially makeup because well as we all know: you get what you pay for. With that being said, below I posted a few pictures of the items that I purchased. The cool thing at the time of purchase was, if you spent $25 dollars or more, shipping was free. I do not know if that still applies, nevertheless, I bought a pencil sharpener for my eye liners because a friend borrowed mine indefinitely. I bought a blush that is peachy. I tested
the blush out it goes well with bronzer. I also bought 2 lip glosses, even though only one is depicted below. They were different styles but ended up being similar colors even though they have totally different names. I also bought a pencil liner because mine ran out. I bought the 32 eyeshadow shades (haven't tested them out) but I bought them because of the inexpensiveness of it. I tried the shimmer/highlight on the cheeks. Very concentrated, and dries quickly, so smudge it in quick. Now to the brushes. I bought 3: a blush brush (the pink with "bling"), a black stipple/foundation brush, and a contour brush (blending shadows)...Um, the quality of these brushes are alright for the cost. My only real disappointment was that the pink one cost the most and came to me detached, so I crazy glued the handle back on. Now it is fine. In short: if you are experimenting with makeup and beginning your makeup collection, or a novice...start off with E.L.F. Cosmetics. If on the other hand, you need durable, high-quality, every day makeup that you can afford to spend money on, then opt out for MAC, NARS, Urban Decay, Make Up Forever, (and other brands of similar value). An important note about E.L.F. Cosmetics that may make them a bit favorable to consumers: they do not test on animals and they are a "charity supporter." I assume that means they donate to charity.

Hair Flairs and Going Viral

2011-11-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

OMG...I cannot believe I have not posted anything in over a month!!! My sole source of income takes all of my time and energy away from extra curricular activities such as blogging! Ugh...not to mention the fact that I caught some random virus and I have been resting every day when I come home from work, and every weekend. It literally has been a month and I am finally feeling better!!! Probably had the flu...eek...first time ever too! Anyways, Hair Flairs are awesome! Basically they are like tinsel but for the hair. Check out the site and order if you dare to be edgy with your hair, but beware, only put a few tinsel strands in your hair because I went to Vegas with my hair decked out in silver hair flairs and people on the strip were so rude to me!!! Random people would pass by me and say "what is in that girls hair?" I was soooooo sad and felt so insecure, that I ran to my hotel room and pulled out the tinsels until I only had a few strategically placed left in (so that it wouldn't be so overwhelming). Below is a picture of the back of my hair with the hair flairs, prior to me ripping them out. They pretty much will last about 2-3 weeks and fall out on their own. I highly recommend them. However, if you are not used to getting all types of attention, then you shouldn't bother, because, everyone will comment with tinsel in your hair. Either way, it was an awesome experience, and I learned many lessons. One of which will always hold true: less is more.

Crackle Nail Polish?

2011-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, I was in the mood of buying gold nail polish a few weeks ago. I also, happened to be in a hurry, so I grabbed three different shades of gold (sometimes when I can't make up my mind, I go with all options). When I got home to look at my pretty colors, I realized, that I accidentally bought the Nicole by O.P.I. gold texture nail polish. I was super disappointed, mainly because I knew I couldn't return the nail polish due to the fact that the cashier charged it by using the bar code from one of my other nail polishes because she was too lazy to find the actual price of the Nicole by O.P.I. nail polish. Whatever. I really dislike the look of textured (crackle) nail polish primarily because of the fact that it reminds me of the title of the Goosebumps books I used to be obsessed with reading as an adolescent. The books to me are associated with gruesomeness and so why would I want nails that remind me of that? Sigh...Needless to say, I still decided I would give them a try. What's the harm in trying right? They say you won't know if you like or dislike something if you never try it. I went to the nail salon and had my manicurist put two coats of black on my nails and one coat of the gold texture nail polish. The final look is pictured below. It looks blasé to me, however, people seem to like it. Regardless, it just isn't my style. Also, since my nails are real, they chip easily (as evidenced in the picture) Cannot wait until it fades. To each their own I suppose.

Gel Nail Polish

2011-09-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

I tried out gel nail polish a few months ago just to see if the hype was true. Basically, those who raved about it, claimed that the gel polish lasts for a couple of weeks, the nails stay shiny, etc. etc...The first time I tried it, I thought it was awesome...that is until I tried to take it off. I basically spent half an hour removing them with nail polish remover and when that didn't work, I just started peeling them off. I noticed that my nails were thin and unhappy. I reasoned that everything has pros and cons, and the one con of gel nail polish is the fact that when you try to take it off, your nails may feel and look thinner. The next time I tried gel nail polish was when I had to go out of town. I wanted shiny nails that didn't chip off after 3 days, so once again, I got gel nail polish. This time, however, the manicurist told me that one must use 100% pure acetone to remove gel polish. Oops. haha, so this time around my nails were hot pink and amazing! I didn't want to even try to remove the polish myself, so I went to the salon and they gladly removed it for me. A couple weeks later, I had a bridal shower, so once again I got gel nail polish. I removed the polish myself. I suppose the process gets simpler over time. I am now typing this post with my fourth time using gel nail polish. I have two different colors on. One beige coat, and two coats of gold glitter on top of the beige coat. I never received so many compliments by random people in my life on my nails (except of course, when I have the Sally Hansen Salon Effects on). I definitely recommend gel nail polish to people who: want their nails to look shiny the whole time the polish is on, want their nail polish to last at least ten days, and who want gorgeous looking nails. I would however caution you to use gel nail polish sparingly. That is, try to only use it for special occasions such as your birthday, going out of town, celebrations, etc. The polish obviously feels like it slightly thins the nails, and so for that, I would advise using it once a month (if that) or less. Allowing time in between for your nails to repair, and then get them again. Once again, this is only my opinion, and others may not have the same experience with gel nail polish. Overall, I feel like this nail polish is worth a try! By the way, Sally's Beauty Supply Store now sells your own do it yourself gel nail polish kits!!! I have yet to try those.

Nail Files: Sally Hansen Vs. Sephora

2011-08-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Vs.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

So, one of the things that I always must have done no matter what consists of my nails. Now, I do not have time nor the money to get manicures and pedicures on a regular basis and I am so happy because about a few months ago I discovered: Sally Hansen Salon Effects (Real Nail Polish Strips). There are so many reasons why this product is awesome and a must have for every fashionista! Okay, first of all it is affordable (prices vary depending on the store). Second, each box comes with 16 nail polish strips which can pretty much fit all nails ( you just have to practice and play with it). Third, each box comes with a cuticle stick, mini nail file, and buffer. I mean, it is pretty much a complete manicure set (in a box). The first time I bought this product, I was completely skeptical. I looked at the few designs left and contemplated on whether or not it was worth it. I saw a store employee nearby so I asked her what she thought, and she actually showed me her nails (she had the leopard print on). Wow, did her nails look awesome! I bought a box that day, rushed home, and tried it out for myself. Now, the box says that the nail decals last for about ten days. Ummmmm, I totally rocked them for much longer, but that is just me. I then started getting so many compliments on my nails that I referred the product to other people. Some were random strangers, and others were co-workers and friends. The nail polish strips will last you anywhere from a few days to 15 days, depending on your nail type and the amount of finger nail activity (washing dishes a lot, and domestic tasks) you engage in. I love Sally Hansen Salon Effects (totally did not get paid by them to write this post-haha this blog doesn't even get any hits). My only negative comment about the product would be that they definitely need to come up with more designs and quickly. Other than that, this is definitely a must have!

Okay, so a couple weeks ago I received an email from Sephora which showed some awesome nail decals. I figured since I tried all the Sally Hansen decals that I liked, that I might as well try the Sephora ones. Totally not the same. First of all, it costs more. It does not come in a cute box. It isn't that durable. Oh, and it doesn't come with a cuticle stick, mini nail file and buffer. Now of course, in their defense, they never claimed to come with any of these, but in order to utilize the decals, you do need a nail file to smooth and then carefully tear the edges off. So, I definitely will NOT be buying any more of the Sephora decals, but I will be continuing my Sally Hansen boastings. I am not trying to dissuade anyone from buying the Sephora product, and would prefer if you would try them both out for yourself to decide which product is more suitable for you! That's what I did and I don't regret a thing. What works for one, might not work for all :)

Sephora Nail Patch Art

By the way the Sephora Nail Bling costs a little less than the Sephora Nail Patch Art, however, they only last for a few days. I am saving those blinged out 3-Dish nails for a bachelorette party.

Dress the Part...or Don't Even Start.

2011-08-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Dress the Part...or Don't Even Start. What does it all mean? Basically, the title says it all. If you are going out and you don't put your all into your outfit, then what is the point of being out? Be unique and don't be afraid to take fashion risks. People these days are obsessed with what others think and try not to stand out. Well, guess what? If your not standing out, then get out! Haha, I'm not trying to be harsh, just saying originality seems like a lost art these days. This site will discuss some of the things I find to be "fashionable," some of my likes and obsessions, and of course welcomes your opinions and questions. I have a full-time job, so I won't be able to post all the time, but I will definitely do my best. Stay in touch and who knows, maybe we will all learn a thing or two about dressing the part.

XoXo,

.:hk:.