wearing now: meeting attire

top: H&M blazer: H&M flower pin: H&M slacks: Express shoes: Coach necklace: Old Navy

I certainly don't work in the kind of office that requires suiting, but I *do* like to dress up a little on important meeting days, especially my first meeting.  Gray + Black is such a classic combination, but I had to add a little something extra.  Something a little girly. Enter the bright pink flower pin!

I also think the long strand of pearls helps to elongate me a little.  I'll take all the help I can get!

giving now: goodnight irene!

Hope everyone is coming out of Irene okay!  I had a lot of wind and rain, but luckily no flooding and no power outage!  The very next street over is without power, so I am very grateful!

Wanted to share an opportunity to get some free samples with you!  Target is giving away a bag of samples again!  I received a similar deal a couple of months ago and got some really good samples, and even a full sized Neutrogena Lip Balm!  So without further ado, click here for your free sample!

writing now: perfect mani

I've been addicted to pedicures and the like since middle school.  I've recently (as in the last year or two) gotten into painting my nails and DIY manicures.  I've been working on perfecting my at home nail polishing skills and wanted to share them with you!

Materials (any brands will do):
cotton rounds/cotton balls
q-tips
nail polish remover
rubbing alcohol
nail clippers
nail file

Specific Products:
Orly Bonder Base Coat:  I live and breathe this base coat.  I've been using it for at least 2 years and have repurchased over and over again.  I paint my nails and toes often and one bottle will usually last between 6 and 8 months.  This base coat leaves your nails a little "tacky" or "sticky" after application and I believe that helps the nail polish adhere to your nail better than without it.




Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat:  This product is definitely true to its name.  Nothing dries my polish faster.  I've tried all kinds of old school tricks like sealing polish with a drop of oil and running nail polish under cold water to "shock" it, but this top coat is the only gimmick I need in my life.  I usually purchase these two at a time.  The only caveat is that the polish will thicken after awhile, so I make sure to keep some nail polish thinner on hand.


China Glaze is my "go to" nail polish brand.  This is totally a personal preference type of thing, but China Glaze is THE nail polish that lasts the longest on me, with minimal tip wear.  I have had some luck with Essie recently and plan to explore the brand a little more.  China Glaze doesn't have a ton of colors in the permanent range, but they do release seasonal collections that have tons of hits!




First remove all of the old polish from my nails.  I use the cotton balls/cotton rounds and the q-tips.  Usually I'll start the major removal with the cotton rounds and then I'll clean up around my cuticles with the q-tips.

Then I'll use the nail clippers to trim my nails - especially if it's been awhile.  I tend to like my nails very short.  I'll follow up and shape with the nail file.

Next comes the alcohol.  I use that to remove any residual oil from my nails so that the polish will adhere better.

I'll then use the Orly Bonder Base Coat on my nails.  I tend to let this dry, but it will still remain tacky.  I'll follow that with one thin coat of nail polish, which I let dry completely.  When that is completely dry, I'll use an additional thin coat of polish.  I don't let that coat dry, and apply the seche.

Usually it takes me about 30 minutes to do four coats of nail polish.  I will polish my nails while watching t.v. at night and by the time I'm ready to close my eyes, they are dry enough to sleep!

Eventually I would like to purchase the supplies to DIY Shellac my nails.  While I don't think it's a great idea for long term wear, I *do* like the idea for special occasions.  I hate having to bring 3-4 nail polishes with me when I travel, but as of now that is the only option unless I go bare - which I hate.  I would totally shellac before a big vacation, holiday or any time I needed a picture perfect mani.  I know Sally Beauty Supply has the stuff and I'll post when I try it!

Here are the results pre clean-up.  Unfortunately, my pinky nail had an unfortunate run in with my ring finger.  I usually use a q-tip soaked in nail polish remove to clean up my cuticles and other miscellaneous stray polish marks. 

The color is China Glaze Limbo Bimbo:

You like??

Update:  Here are pictures of my nails at day 3.  You can see the beginnings of a little tip wear after 3 days of normal activities such as washing dishes. light cleaning, typing, etc.  If my tip wear gets really bad and I don't have time to repolish my nails, I may run a coat of polish over the tips, or just repaint the nails that are really bad.

wearing now: earthquake!!!

The giant (read 5.9) earthquake of 2011 definitely shook me up a little bit!  I was driving back to my office from lunch when it happened.  I felt my car swaying and though...wow...that wind is STRONG!  Then, I noticed the car in front of me and the lights swaaaaying...and thought...surely there are no earthquakes in DC.  Surely I stand corrected!!!

top: Polo Ralph Lauren cardigan: Old Navy slacks: Express shoes: Cole Haan necklace: old

By the time I got back to my office, someone had pulled the fire alarm and people were lining up outside of the building.  I'm eternal grateful that I decided to wear something comfortable today!

wearing now: brunch date

I had a brunch date one morning and chose to wear this dress.  It's been hanging in my closet for awhile, but haven't had the perfect opportunity to wear it.  Until now.

 

 dress: BCBG shoes: Target necklace: old

This dress is totally unaltered and fits wonderfully, except in the bust.  It's a little low cut for my taste and the next time I wear it, I may go with a lacy cami underneath for a little more modesty.

This dress also isn't in my normal color pallet. I usually gravitate towards pinks. I'm happy that this was the only option available and I got a chance to step a little out of my comfort zone!

wearing now: black and white

I must've owned this shirt for 2 or 3 YEARS before I finally figured out how to wear it!  I was never sure if you should tie the bow around your neck, tie it in front, not tie it at all?  Do you wear a tank underneath?  Just a bra? Somehow make the front CLOSE so you don't flash EVERYONE?!  It should've come with instructions!

 shirt: BCBG slacks: Gap shoes: Coach necklace: Charlotte Rousse

I finally figured out the way that I'M going to wear it! Bow tied in front tank or cami underneath.  Viola! I actually got a lot of compliments on my shirt at work today which was kind of surprising because I think this shirt is a LOT.  It's not really loud, but the print is a big much.  I brought a stabilizing black cardigan to wear, just in case.  For some reason, I've really been gravitating towards black as my neutral.  Maybe I should find something with a some color! 

Button Front Tops by Gucci
Flats by Steve Madden

wearing now: causal but special

Last Friday was casual, but special.  It wasn't special in a dress up kind of way.  It was special in a dress down kind of way.  Apparently, every year my job has a family picnic kind of deal and I was excited!  Because it was outside, I didn't want to wear anything too dressy, but also didn't want to wear a plain tee.

shirt: Walmart tank: Express jeans: Gap shoes: Target necklace: old (maybe Express?)

I was really stuck on WHAT to wear, and my friend suggested layering.  Layering a cardigan or a scarf would not do in 90 degree heat, but a tank top was the perfect compromise!  The wine colored tank gave my outfit a pop of color and a little something special!  You can't really tell in these pictures, but the tank has a little lace/beading detail along the bust.  My shoes are these cute little flats that I got from Target.  They are the kind that fold up and are incredibly uncomfortable.  I don't wear them often, and now I know why.  As soon as I sat down at my desk I had to put Bandaids on my heels.  OUCH!

Tanks by D&G
Flats by Bloch

wearing now: purple and wedges

My target wedges have to be my absolute,all-time favorite shoes!  They are sooo comfortable, especially considering they aren't flat, and they provide me with a little arch support. I actually had to do a fair amount of walking around today, my feet didn't hurt!  Ah-may-zing!

dress: BCBG shoes: Dolce Vita for Target blazer: H&M necklace: NY&Co

This is actually the blazer I was going to wear with this outfit, that didn't quite work out the way that I planned.  I *did* want to wear the blazer though, and searched my inspiration folder for some...well...inspiration.

I had been eying this lace blazer at H&M for months, but did NOT want to spend 50.00 on it.  No way, no how.  Every time I made my way to H&M I checked the price of this blazer.  Every, single, time.  I finally walked in the store one day and saw rows and rows of SALE signs.  My eyes lit up, and I searched high and low until I finally found IT!  There were a few left, but unfortunately, the smallest size they had was a 6.  I decided I could make it work.  I'm going to throw it in the dryer to see if it will shrink.  If not, I may have a tailor slim it a tiny bit.  I also purchased two other blazers, both a size 4.  H&M clothing must run small.

wearing now: my first "casual friday"

With the new job comes new dress requirements.  I actually have to wear what I like to call "business casual-lite" Monday - Thursday.  Friday's are casual Fridays.  To me - that means JEANS!  I love jeans!  At one point, I owned over 30 pairs of jeans.  I mean, a girl can never have too many right?  You have your wide-legged jeans, your boot cut jeans, your skinny jeans, your jeggins.  Then you have your casual jeans, your dressy jeans, your date night jeans.  A pair for every possible occasion.

shirt: J-Crew blazer: H&M jeans: BCBG shoes: Coach necklace: old

When I got to work, I quickly realized that some people take casual Friday very literally.  I felt very happy, confident and appropriately dressed in my ensemble.  

This blazer is sure to be one of my favorites heading into the fall season.  It doesn't have an interesting print, or a special fabric - but that's what makes it so versatile.  My shirt has a fun, girly lace ruffle right down the front, and the plain blazer allows that feminine detail to be the center of attention.  LOVE.

loving now: july 2011

The months fly by and I just don't buy that much stuff!  I have a feeling these are going to be short - every month!  But here goes:  The items I had a special affinity for during the month of July 2011!

 

photo credit here

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser (again!).  I don't add new products to my skin care regimine often, but I decided that I was going to try the new Neutrogena Naturals Clarifying Cleanser.  Sounded GREAT.  More NATURAL.  Was getting RAVE REVIEWS from bloggers and vloggers.  That product had to be a winner RIGHT?  So, so wrong.   So horribly wrong. It totally destroyed my skin.  I knew that my skin didn't like lactic acid (although plain yogurt is a win), but now I know it doesn't care too much for salicylic acid either.  Guess I better stick to glycolic acid for my chemical needs :(  I turned back to this trusty cleanser to help get my skin back on track.  It really never lets me down, so I wave the white flag.  YOU WIN Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser.  YOU WIN!

 

photo credit here

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel.  My skin wasn't in the best shape so I really went back to basics.  I didn't stop using my retinol, but I did cut back a little.  I gave my skin a breather one or two nights a week and skipped the Ziana in favor of this moisturizer.  I have incredibly oily skin, especially in the summer so this lightweight moisturizer provides the perfect amount of hydration without being too rich.  It's important to moisturize even the oiliest skin so that it won't become dehydrated.  Sometimes if your skin is too dry, it will send your oil production into overdrive.

photo credit here

The MAC 134 Large Powder Brush.  I've been in this ongoing debate (with myself) over which face brush I should purchase to replace my Sonia Kashuk powder brush.  It has served me well for a few years now, but I noticed that it became become increasing scratchy on my skin.  It just wasn't soft. This brush is all that and more!  I'm still perfecting my technique, but I've found that applying powder from the inside of my face towards the outsides leaves me with clean, smooth coverage!  The brush is soft, yet dense, picks up a good amount of product and distributes it evenly on my face.  When in a pinch, I could also use this as a blush brush.  I love products that multi-task!

 photo credit here

MAC Bronze Eye Shadow.  This was one of my first eyeshadows that came from a department store.  I was bright eyed, bushy tailed and SAFE with my color selections.  Unfortunately this eyeshadow met with an untimely demise and smashed into a million pieces.  This was before I knew of the miracle that is alcohol for repairing power products, so I tossed it.  Shortly after, I expanded my eyeshadow collection, purchasing numerous bronzey colors, but never actually repurchasing this shadow.  Until now. I don't know what I was thinking.  This shadow is so incredibly versatile!  It's very easy to reach for, even on mornings where I don't have a whole bunch of time for eyeshadow application!  Blends very smoothly and provides a perfect wash of color when I'm low on time.  Winning.