How to Style Denim Culottes
August 28, 2018
High-waisted culottes are everywhere this season a much appreciated throw back to the 70's vibe. While that alone is no reason to buy a pair, I will say they do tend to flatter most body types. High-waisted works to hide/cover the pooch or the food belly, so that is a plus. High waisted hits above the belly button at the smallest part of your waist making it look tiny, another plus.
What makes pants culottes you might ask. Well they are wide legged and the hem hits you above the ankle (think high water pants). The combination of the two can work really well at creating volume on your lower half and space between your leg and the pant which gives you the "legs for days" effect and make you look tall and lean, another plus.
Tip: If you are vertically challenged I would shy away from wearing too much of a flared culotte pant, otherwise it will over power your frame.
When styling this look it was important that I kept the top half fitted like I did with this cropped peasant top. Finished off the look with some kitten heeled mules and my striped Zara purse. Done.
Shop this look.
8 Fall Pieces That Are in Every Chic Girl's Closet
August 26, 2018
First of all can we take a minute to admire my first EVER photoshop flatlay?? It took the better part of the morning to do it not to mention an in-person tutorial with a friend AND a video conferencing chat because I hadn't retained all information received. Thanks for helping me out Christina! Ok on to this post. Are you a trendy gal? Want to know how to update your wardrobe with a few key pieces to get you ready for the fall? Today I am sharing some pieces that I have recently added to my closet to be fall ready! Let's dive in kids.
1. Double Breasted Trench Coat
This one is a no-brainer and a wardrobe staple. Trenches are eternally chic and timeless. Because of its versatility you will wear it over and over again, on weekdays AND weekends. With office wear or over a classic pair of denim jeans and a tee.
How I Saved $4000 in Three Months
August 20, 2018
I know, I know the title smells a little like click bait and in fairness it is a little misleading but keep reading. Today I want to share a few things that I have done to limit my debt and free up my cash. My husband and I are very similar when it comes to finances. We earn a good income, we keep our overhead low, our debt limited and we REALLY enjoy all of life's extras like eating out, planning getaways, vacations and surprising one another on special occasions or just because. Our debt consists of the normal, everyday debt home mortgage and student loans. Then we have our monthly cost of living expenses which include property taxes, food, utilities, oil, cellphone plans, insurance (home/car/life) etc. We both love to shop, I mean I love ALL things fashion, duh and he is a total gamer and electronic junkie. Before we purchased our new car, we had two cars, both paid off for in full. Last winter we talked about getting a new car to replace my Mazda. We didn't put a deadline on it but we thought it made sense to do it in the summer when he was off from work and had the time to research and haggle to get me the perfect car. Around May my husband knew the car we would get and how much he wanted his payments to be. So that meant he ALSO figured out how much the down payment needed to be. It was crunch time. I will say we did it pretty easily because of some of the habits I am going to share with you in this post.
1) Limit your Credit Card Use to One Primary Card
You may or may not believe this but I only have two credit cards and my debit card. My primary card is the Amazon Prime Visa and I use this to make ALL purchases throughout the month; food, gas, coffee runs (I will talk about that later), home stuff, clothes, entertainment and eating out, simply put all purchases outside of mortgage, utilities, insurance etc. Typically, if I haven't been shopping like a lunatic or eating out every weekend I could have a $400-$600 balance at the end of the month. If I haven't been smart with my money or had an emergency purchase (think new tires or an unexpected home owner expense) it could be $800-$1000 balance. I keep it under a $1000 and I pay it off at the end of the month, I don't go above that amount because that is a trap. If I go above $1000 chances are I won't be able to pay off the full amount and with interest I will be trapped in the credit card cycle.
The second card is an AMEX card which I never use, it has had a $0 balance for the last 2 and a half years. I have it in case of an emergency. Full disclosure, recently I opened a Victoria Secret's store credit card, now I don't think having store credit is a good idea. The interest rates are ridiculous but they give you crazy discounts to get you to open an account. I opened it to reap the new card member perks and paid off what I brought within the month. It is still open but I rarely ever use it.
Finally I mentioned my debit card. Once upon a time I used my debit card to make all of my purchases but the transaction fees can add up. Using my prime card that I pay off in full every month allows me to rack up in points that I can use towards purchases on amazon which what can't we buy on amazon?!?
2) Take a Break from Eating Out
I feel, especially in the social media age, we eat out ALL THE TIME! Starting with our morning coffee runs, smoothies, lunches, brunches, after work drinks, dinner with the squad..I mean the list goes on and on! Do you have any idea how much money you are literally throwing out the window? I don't mean to shame you, because once upon a time, that was me..and if I am honest I fall back into those habits from time to time. Listen there is nothing wrong with a treat once a week or something like that..but lets be honest, its easy, lazy and a real waste of money!
Last fall I made a change in my spending habits and the first thing to go were those morning Dunkin Donut runs and those $10-$15 daily lunches! I talked all about this in last year's post, How I saved money and found happiness now at the time that I wrote the post I had just completed a month of no shopping and replaced the "thrill" of shopping with the thrill of nourishing my body with home cooked meals. I have carried this mindset of nourishing my body with delicious home cooked meals for nearly a year now. It has made me more attuned to my body and its needs which lead me to vegetarianism this past April. You can find all my posts on why I started a meatless challenge here and how you can start here and how I felt after a month here. My journey is all there for the world to see and it started with my no shopping for a month challenge. Spoiler Alert, I am headed into my 5th month of being a vegetarian and I have never felt better and that is the TRUTH!
The takeaway, Cook at home. Save money (and calories).
3) Take a Break from Shopping!
Ok, I don't mean to yell at you here and I am sorry if it is coming off that way. But as I mentioned above, last year I went an entire month without shopping. Cold turkey! I brought NADA! I did the no shopping challenge for one main reason, my 18 year old son was having a hard time managing his money. He was working full time as a lifeguard his first summer out of high school and managed to save $0 money even though he had no financial responsibilities! He blew all his money on eating out, ubers/ubereats and shopping, it was actually pretty insane. I had a heart to heart with him and upon reflection I knew I was being a hypocrite. I had packages delivered to the house at least every other day and here I was preaching the value of saving money. At the end of the conversation I offered him my word that we would be in it together, no shopping for the entire month and see where we were at at the end of that month financially. Well, for me, the rest is history. I have been practicing the "no-shopping" challenge routinely ever since and it doesn't even phase me anymore. Actually, July was a no-shopping month, heading into August the need to shop was barely there. I have purchased a few pieces for my fall wardrobe but mostly thrifted and on sale. I would stop calling it a challenge but what is the fun in that? I have more than enough "things" and those things never brought me happiness. As soon as something got delivered the small high I would get when I opened it and tried it on would quickly fade away until I was waiting for the next thing to be delivered. It is a sad cycle.
4) Netflix and Chill
This is a bonus tip. There is absolutely nothing wrong with living your best life and hitting up those instagram worthy locations BUT there is also nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor in your home. My husband and I work so hard for what we have. We have tons and tons of entertainment at home; games, movies, cable and online entertainment subscriptions, I mean its nuts. I talked a little bit about this on instagram earlier this summer, about the importance of doing what makes you happy. When Michael and I first started dating seriously we were on the run every.single.weekend and sometimes weekdays too! It was madness, but its what you do when you are a new couple merging family and friends together. You accept every invitation, and you host a lot of events. It was fun. I love our friends, they are everything to us but now that we have established ourselves and our circles the need is not as intense. We have enjoyed a very low-key summer. We have taken the time to enjoy the things we love to do, hiking, biking and exploring nature as a couple and family. We have taken care of our home. We have had friends over for dinner, or a game night, we have accepted some invitations to parties and the occasional drink but we have really protected our downtime and our alone time. Obviously we have gotten older in the last 7 years and our responsibilities have grown at work and so we understand the value of time off and its importance to our overall mental health. Recharging on the weekend instead of rushing from event to event is valued in our home. Not only do we feel better but our bank accounts have been pretty happy too!
The second card is an AMEX card which I never use, it has had a $0 balance for the last 2 and a half years. I have it in case of an emergency. Full disclosure, recently I opened a Victoria Secret's store credit card, now I don't think having store credit is a good idea. The interest rates are ridiculous but they give you crazy discounts to get you to open an account. I opened it to reap the new card member perks and paid off what I brought within the month. It is still open but I rarely ever use it.
Finally I mentioned my debit card. Once upon a time I used my debit card to make all of my purchases but the transaction fees can add up. Using my prime card that I pay off in full every month allows me to rack up in points that I can use towards purchases on amazon which what can't we buy on amazon?!?
2) Take a Break from Eating Out
I feel, especially in the social media age, we eat out ALL THE TIME! Starting with our morning coffee runs, smoothies, lunches, brunches, after work drinks, dinner with the squad..I mean the list goes on and on! Do you have any idea how much money you are literally throwing out the window? I don't mean to shame you, because once upon a time, that was me..and if I am honest I fall back into those habits from time to time. Listen there is nothing wrong with a treat once a week or something like that..but lets be honest, its easy, lazy and a real waste of money!
Last fall I made a change in my spending habits and the first thing to go were those morning Dunkin Donut runs and those $10-$15 daily lunches! I talked all about this in last year's post, How I saved money and found happiness now at the time that I wrote the post I had just completed a month of no shopping and replaced the "thrill" of shopping with the thrill of nourishing my body with home cooked meals. I have carried this mindset of nourishing my body with delicious home cooked meals for nearly a year now. It has made me more attuned to my body and its needs which lead me to vegetarianism this past April. You can find all my posts on why I started a meatless challenge here and how you can start here and how I felt after a month here. My journey is all there for the world to see and it started with my no shopping for a month challenge. Spoiler Alert, I am headed into my 5th month of being a vegetarian and I have never felt better and that is the TRUTH!
The takeaway, Cook at home. Save money (and calories).
3) Take a Break from Shopping!
Ok, I don't mean to yell at you here and I am sorry if it is coming off that way. But as I mentioned above, last year I went an entire month without shopping. Cold turkey! I brought NADA! I did the no shopping challenge for one main reason, my 18 year old son was having a hard time managing his money. He was working full time as a lifeguard his first summer out of high school and managed to save $0 money even though he had no financial responsibilities! He blew all his money on eating out, ubers/ubereats and shopping, it was actually pretty insane. I had a heart to heart with him and upon reflection I knew I was being a hypocrite. I had packages delivered to the house at least every other day and here I was preaching the value of saving money. At the end of the conversation I offered him my word that we would be in it together, no shopping for the entire month and see where we were at at the end of that month financially. Well, for me, the rest is history. I have been practicing the "no-shopping" challenge routinely ever since and it doesn't even phase me anymore. Actually, July was a no-shopping month, heading into August the need to shop was barely there. I have purchased a few pieces for my fall wardrobe but mostly thrifted and on sale. I would stop calling it a challenge but what is the fun in that? I have more than enough "things" and those things never brought me happiness. As soon as something got delivered the small high I would get when I opened it and tried it on would quickly fade away until I was waiting for the next thing to be delivered. It is a sad cycle.
4) Netflix and Chill
This is a bonus tip. There is absolutely nothing wrong with living your best life and hitting up those instagram worthy locations BUT there is also nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor in your home. My husband and I work so hard for what we have. We have tons and tons of entertainment at home; games, movies, cable and online entertainment subscriptions, I mean its nuts. I talked a little bit about this on instagram earlier this summer, about the importance of doing what makes you happy. When Michael and I first started dating seriously we were on the run every.single.weekend and sometimes weekdays too! It was madness, but its what you do when you are a new couple merging family and friends together. You accept every invitation, and you host a lot of events. It was fun. I love our friends, they are everything to us but now that we have established ourselves and our circles the need is not as intense. We have enjoyed a very low-key summer. We have taken the time to enjoy the things we love to do, hiking, biking and exploring nature as a couple and family. We have taken care of our home. We have had friends over for dinner, or a game night, we have accepted some invitations to parties and the occasional drink but we have really protected our downtime and our alone time. Obviously we have gotten older in the last 7 years and our responsibilities have grown at work and so we understand the value of time off and its importance to our overall mental health. Recharging on the weekend instead of rushing from event to event is valued in our home. Not only do we feel better but our bank accounts have been pretty happy too!
Shop this look.
Fitness has always been an important part of my life, some times more than others but it has always been a part of my lifestyle. Working out builds my confidence, gives me a sense of control and clears my mind. There are so many benefits to exercise which I am sure you have already heard all about so I won't bore you by repeating them.
I went away for a week on a family cruise in June and since returning have been unable or unwilling to go to the gym. I just couldn't get back into my routine. There was always something preventing me from going so I spent the entire month of July inactive which horrified me and made me moody and irritated. It was a vicious cycle, the more I put it off the more excuses I could come up with. Believe me it happens to the most motivated of us. Then a little over a week ago, after seeing the #bbg program talked about on instagram, many of the bloggers I follow swearing by it, it dawned on me, "I should try this!". (Ahh the power of influence) So, last Monday I downloaded the SWEAT app and gave it a go and I am so happy I did. Here is what I love about it:
1) Each workout is 28 minutes long! It took me a little longer than 28 minutes this week, I would spill over past the allotted time but I didn't want to shortchange myself. I am competing with myself so if it takes a little longer, it takes a little longer. I know I will get there eventually as I grow stronger and build endurance. You have to start somewhere right?
Workout Plans + Organizer
2) Workout Plan for Dummies. I am doing the BBG Stronger Program with Kayla Itsines (there are four plans in total, including Body and Mind, Pwr, and Post-Pregnancy). So how this works is every week you must complete 3 Resistance workouts, 3 Cardio Workouts and 3 Recovery Workouts. I realize if you do the math that is a 9-Day week, lesson learned for this newbie. Next week I will incorporate the recovery on my cardio days. You can do any variation as long as you get them done. For example this first week I started with resistance on Monday and Tuesday, then got a cardio session in on Wednesday (power walk on the track) I did a bonus challenge on Thursday cause I was short on time. Resistance on Friday and then ended the weekend with the final two of my cardio sessions.
I think this week is going to look like this:
Sample Meal Ideas:
3) Each Exercise is Broken Down with Alternates. It is like having a trainer in your house with you. The app provides GIFs of the workout sequences so you understand the right form. A lot of the moves are pretty basic moves, squats, push ups, burpees, mountain climbers, crunches etc but form is very important to avoid any injury.
4) The App has Motivation Built in! So as I said before, this is me vs me. Obviously I could skip a workout session and punch into the app that I have done it or I can do 10 reps to the apps suggested 20 but who am I fooling? No one but myself. I feel very proud when I complete a circuit even if it takes longer than the app has timed it for. I don't want to skimp on my own goals. At the end of a circuit or a workout it alerts you with a fog horn! I know this might seem silly but when that fog horn goes off and I see "WORKOUT COMPLETE" on my screen I feel such a level of accomplishment! There is also a sweat drop at the top left corner of the app that gets colored in with every exercise you complete, I love seeing that drop color in knowing I have done something good for my mind and body.
5) Meal Plans and Progress Tracking. The app has built in meal plans that cater to all different diet plans, vegetarian (me), vegan, pescetarian and every other diet plan you can think of. The meal plans are easy to follow and provide recipes for their suggestions. I am still new to the app so I haven't really explored or began to use the meal plan or the progress tracking just yet but I imagine 2 or 3 weeks in I will. I haven't even taken before pics so I can share my #transformationtuesday picture! I don't know what that is about, maybe its psychological, I worry I might give up? I don't know, any psychiatrists out there? I will take my before pic this week because it is important to see where you began so you see how far you have come. That in itself is motivation.
Other thoughts:
You can do this program right at home, at any time of the day, with minimal equipment needed. This week I needed a mat, free weights and a bench (I used my vanity table bench) so that means you can do this even if you are traveling. I am a night owl so I prefer to workout in the evening right before I shower and pile into bed. I can easily come home and plop on the sofa but in the back of my mind I am thinking, "come on Erica, you can spend 30 minutes on this sofa or you can get a 30 minute workout in and feel stronger and clear minded". I have been choosing the latter.
Cost: This app is free to download on your phone and comes with a 7 day free trial after that you can choose to pay $20 month to month or you can opt for a year and pay $10 a month. I think I am going to do $20 a month to start, baby steps..this is the long game and I want to see how the workouts progress before I pay for the full year just yet. In short I LOVE this program. I have seen it work for others and I am determined to stick through this. I share screenshots on my instagram story from the app after I have completed a workout for two reasons, keep me honest and motivate others!
I can't wait to check in after doing this for an entire month to share my progress with you. Either way fitness is important not for vanity although it is GREAT to see the physical changes in your body, but for mindfulness and overall emotional wellbeing. Study after study has shown the importance of a daily fitness routine whether it is intense or moderate like walking for 30 + minutes a day or practicing yoga or pilates, it is important to get your body moving in order to keep it moving forever. It is no secret I am approaching my 40's I want my body and mind to be strong for as long as it is humanely possible. Every day that I choose to care for my body and my health is an extra day I get to live. :) What motivates you? 👄 Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an update!
Shop my look. (The dress I am wearing is from Forever21)
Maintaining a Meatless Lifestyle
August 7, 2018
In April I declared, "I was going meatless for a month" in this blog post. I am now in my fourth month and I will now commit and say, I am a full fledged vegetarian! (cue applause) I have to admit, even though I have been a carnivore my whole life switching to a vegetarian diet has not been difficult at all. I haven't wanted to "cheat" this entire time and since I began my journey, I have gone away on vacation, attended functions and parties including BBQs (yikes), went out to eat (a bunch of times, its my favorite) and in general lived my life with no difficulty. I think this generally easy transition is due to a more "enlightened" food industry. As people become more and more conscious of their relationship to food and how their diet affects their health, their mood and overall well-being, the food industry ie restaurants and supermarkets respond with a wider variety of dietary options (give the people what they want!). We are no longer subjected to a tiny corner on a menu that only include salmon, pasta or salad. The options are greater and far more creative than they were ten years ago. Now I realize it is the summer and fresh produce is easier to come by and I worry that with weather or a trade war (clears throat, trump!) the availability and the affordability might be affected moving into the colder months making it a bit more of a challenge than these last four months. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
In this post I shared with you my first month observations after going meatless. I discussed skin, digestion, weight and menstruation (shorter periods, hooray!) So here is an update and a few tricks that will set you up for success if you are considering going meatless.
1) Plan Ahead
I don't mean meal prep, although that is a good idea! I don't meal prep per se BUT I do make sure that my fridge is stocked with my favorite things. I shared a Going Meatless Starter Kit and included a shopping list, so check that out for some shopping list ideas. What more can I say. Taking care of yourself takes time and effort, but isn't your health worth it? Do what you can, if you commute and you see a fruit and vegetable cart, stop there and buy a few things. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables, I mean fresh is always better but I get it, I am busy too.
2) Pack Snacks
You will not catch me without a snack. I am trying to get better on what I snack on so I have the fridge stocked with some of my favorite fruits, strawberries, apples, plums, peaches...all the fruit oh and nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, unsalted of course). I will say this the cleaner my eating gets (i.e. meals) the less snacking I do. I have my days where I crave, chips, cake, chocolate covered salted caramel (that was specific, lol) when I indulge I don't feel well after. I feel sluggish and cranky mostly cause I can't stop myself and tend to overindulge. Mostly I eat these things or crave them when I am bored or going through some personal challenges. Eating poorly at these times can only lead to more stress, moodiness and overall lethargy.
3) Stay Hydrated
You might have heard this a million times, "drink water". Well consider this your million and one reminder, drink water! I drink so much water a day which means I go to the bathroom a lot but there are so many benefits to drinking water. Clearer skin, speedier bowl movements, less headaches, clearer thinking and sometimes drinking water can curb a craving you think you are having. This is true, sometimes you think your body is saying, "eat some cake I am hungry" but really its your body trying to say, "I need water". So try that first!
4) Surround yourself with supportive friends
Ok this one might be controversial. Please note I am not promoting trading in your friends and family for a healthier lifestyle but I will say having people in your circle who value their health and try to eat well and exercise makes your life easier. For example, this past weekend my husband and I were invited to a party at a friends house. I worried a little about what my food options would be and whether I should pack something yummy and take it with me. My husband reminded me that our friends had healthy options the last time we went over and they certainly didn't disappoint this time around. I can eat my weight in chips if that is all they have especially after I have had a cocktail. I wouldn't eat a burger or hot dogs but I would munch on crappy food and snacks if that was what was available. They didn't have ANY of that. Instead they had meat (chicken and ribs, no burgers or hot dogs), but they also had salmon, grilled vegetables, a tossed salad, a cheese platter with olives, hummus and pita I mean I am drooling just thinking about it. For dessert they had a bowel of fresh berries and watermelon mixed together with cool whip. Can I just say how grateful I was? Well, I was grateful, there I said it! I had a wonderful time and didn't have to compromise my lifestyle or test my questionable willpower to have a good time. Now this might be because I am in my late thirties and so the company I keep understand the value of health because we have lived long enough to see people who have paid for their poor choices (i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity etc) with their health. Or maybe I have chosen to surround myself with people who respect and support me.
I will leave you with this, even if the people you surround yourself with don't practice your lifestyle choices BUT love you enough to respect and accommodate (within reason of course) your lifestyle, you are winning. If instead they don't take you seriously, question and challenge your making health a priority then I would rethink the relationship. This is a big one for me when I call you a friend and here are some questions I might ask myself if it isn't clear. Do they respect me? Do they take me seriously? Do they support me and help me to grow as a person? Do they add value to my life? If the answer to any of those questions is "no" well I would want to think about having a conversation with myself and then possibly with my "friend".
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5 Beauty Essentials for the Woman on the Go
August 3, 2018
Who is a drugstore makeup + beauty product qween?? Me. Me, I am! Today I am rounding up some of the zero-effort beauty products that have been saving my life this summer. These are simple and affordable products I swear by! Especially this summer, its hot, sticky and humid and you just don't want to fuss too much with your hair and makeup, am I right? These products I am sharing with you it today's post, I own, I use and I love. Let's jump in!
1) Baptiste Dry ShampooCost: $7
I can't even tell you how many times this dry shampoo has saved my life! If you read my hair care tips post you know I wash my hair once every week or week and a half. Dry shampoo can help "wake up" flat roots in between washes. I just section the top part of my hair into four sections and spray. It gives my hair an instant boost of volume, not to mention makes it smell good too.
2) Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer
Cost: $11.49
I have always been a fan of Cetaphil products, specifically their unscented daily moisturizer, I used it for years. My skin care has graduated a little because your skin changes and so the needs change too. I am still in the process of understanding what products give me the best results. I will give you an update of my day to day skincare routine and my newly added nighttime skin routine as soon as I settle on one. I recently had a friend over who manages an Ulta in New Jersey. We had dinner and we talked a little informally about my skin and some of the problem areas I thought I might have. Let me start by saying I don't sit around "picking" at my imperfections, I have talked about this idea of perfection and I don't want anything close to perfect. But in talking I did realize my skin was sensitive (something that is fairly new to me) and I do suffer from some redness in the cheek area and around my nostrils. She told me Cetaphil had a line of products that address redness. I was surprised but looked into it the next week. This is a tinted moisturizer with sun protection built in meaning you can skip an extra step. What I love about this moisturizer is that it is easy to apply, it gives you enough coverage to reduce the visibility of the redness and it absorbs quickly into the skin.
3) Nad's Waxing Kit
Cost: $7
I will confess to you right here and right now that I have never, ever had a bikini wax. I am not exactly sure why I hadn't tried it sooner, maybe I have an aversion to intense pain, who knows. As a result I have spent much of my life in the shower worshipping the razor and let's face it the razor just doesn't get to the "root" of the problem (see what I did there? lol). After returning from my cruise this summer I decided I would try a bikini wax but preferred the home edition, at least for my first time. Can I just say how easy it was? Not only easy but relatively painless, I mean there was some pain but it is the same kind of pain when I wax my eyebrows; shocking, but not deadly. I picked up this kit from my local Walgreens for under $10. It is super easy to use, you just have to rub the strips with your hand to warm them up a bit, strategically place, smooth out and PULL! Hair stayed away for nearly two weeks, that is amazing considering how much time and energy I waste in the shower everyday just so the world doesn't find out that I grow hair on my body just like pretty much the entire human race. Still, this is a great product that I would buy again and recommend to anyone looking to wax for the first time.
4) Laura Geller Baked Balance n Bright
Cost: $33
This was gifted to me and at first I didn't know what to do with it. I mean, is it a bronzer, is it a blush? One morning while getting ready for work I took a chance and used it in place of my translucent powder to set my foundation. It was magic! Now I will say, full disclosure, I used a bit too much the first time and I looked "baked", not the look I was going for. The next day, I knew to do a little less and it gave me a beautiful summer glow.
Tip: For a natural + glowy skin: swirl with a powder brush, and tap, tap, tap, then start with your hair line, forehead and continue to cover your entire face and neck. A little goes a long way.
4) Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink
Cost: $7
I am ALWAYS looking for shortcuts when it comes to lipstick so when Maybelline released the Super Stay Matte Ink I jumped all over it! This works people, like it stays on throughout the copious amounts of coffee I drink, food I eat, all of my lip licking, it stays on for at least 6 hours before you need a touch up. If you are like me and don't want to spend any time applying your lipstick a million times a day then you want to add these to your collection. Below are some swatches of the colors I have pictured. The Pioneer is my absolute favorite, the color is so BOSS. Dreamer and Seductress are perfect for every day use. Just set it and forget it.
There you have it my 5 Beauty Essentials for the Woman on the Go. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I loved putting it together. What are some of your beauty essentials? Share below.
Until next time,
LifeStyledbyErica
Latest Instagram Looks Deconstructed
August 1, 2018
Ok to start I will say I have GOT to be more consistent with the quality of my content but when you are a woman on the go sometimes a cellphone is all you have to capture a quick snap of a look. I will say you CAN tell the difference from my Samsung Galaxy Note8 and the Nikon my hubby uses. The detail, color and quality are undeniable but lets jump into this! A few months ago I did an instagram roundup like this one here and when checking my traffic that post got a lot of hits! So I thought I would give you more of what you want with my latest looks mixed work/weekend style.
First look: Maxi + Off the shoulder top
This outfit I wore over the weekend to attend two outdoor parties. I woke up feeling tired and crampy as a result I was dragging my feet to get ready but I had been thinking of an outfit for the whole morning. This polka dot beauty is actually a dress! I will link it below. The top part of the dress is a lot of well cleavage that I hardly thought was appropriate for a 1 year old birthday party but I knew I wanted to wear this DRESS! I decided I would tuck in the top part of the dress, pull on this classic off the shoulder black top and belt it. Tada! It worked out brilliantly and this outfit was a real hit. It was chic, effortless and kept me cool all day as I shuffled between outdoor parties. Shop this look below.
Second Look: White Wrap Dress + Round Straw Hat
I wore this dress to work last week and talked showed you how I styled it on my instastory something I plan on continuing to do until I fix up a spare room and start filming videos! Either way you should be following along. :) This gorgeous dress I purchased on super duper sale last June is from H&M and it is a little complicated in that it has a lot going on. It is a wrap dress, pleated with a dropped-waist that is suppose to have a loose it so it does add volume to the lower half of your body but I argue that the wider straps on top help balance out the symmetry. The first one on the carousel below is the exact dress I am wearing the rest are alternatives I am drooling over right now..
Third Look: Striped blouse + work shorts + Red clutch
I LOVE this look, I really do. Some might think it a bit too risqué for work and I might agree with you. I work in higher education, in a creative discipline and we are on summer break which means that things are a little bit more relaxed and we don't have many visitors. I had no meetings scheduled and it was my "Friday" before my birthday weekend (why I am I explaining myself to you,lol). Work shorts are in and there are many work short suits that have been on trend so there! Now ladies, you do need balance so if you are showing a bit of leg you should wear a more structured sleeved blouse. Shop the look below.
Final Look: Classic tee and the best darn cutoff shorts I have ever owned!
Classic cutoff denim that fit so good you'd think they were custom made just for you! Ok I might be over the top tonight but I have been searching for these exact shorts for my whole life and when I found them and they fit well lets just say I have worn them every chance I could ever since. I have linked these exact pair below. My advise, size up. Moving on to my adorable backpack, when I purchased this bag I didn't realize how versatile it would be. It can be dressed up or down and I have gotten a lot of use out of it. Shop this look below. I didn't add any tee's because you can get a classic white tee anywhere, it should be part of your basics. I got mine from H&M, in case you are interested.
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