Saturday, August 22, 2015

INFLUENSTER MAYBELLINE BETTER SKIN CHALLENGE

Hello all! As you may know, I am a firm believer in Influenster, which is a website where you can tell others your opinions about things (like brands or stores, etc) and every once in a while, an Influenster may be selected for something great known as a Voxbox. What is this strange thing? Well, firstly it is a little box of goodies sent to the said Influenster to test out and then give their opinions via a platform like this blog. These boxes can also bring about great joy because it's similar to getting Christmas gifts, but gifts that you like because you've written about the things in the past (ex. I am a student so I've qualified for Campus Voxboxes before). Okay, so basically I was sent this product by Influenster and these are solely my opinions.

The latest Influenster Voxbox was partnered with Maybelline, which is a cosmetic brand that I think most women will recognize. This box had the new Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin foundation that is supposed to make your skin better through wearing it because of certain chemicals and such inside of the formula. That being said, I am also a hardcore chemistry person and the science-y part of me failed to see how this was going to happen, mainly because you put on foundation and then you (hopefully!) wash it off every night and then repeat. So the challenge was to wear the foundation for three weeks and then post about the results.

First, let me tell you the low-down about my skin. I would consider myself fairly acne-prone since my T-zone is fairly oily but the rest of my face is particularly dry, which is cute because who doesn't love combination skin? (this girl). So at the beginning of the three weeks, I think I was about to go on my period so the breakouts were kinda happening, which is normal since that happens every time and I was looking forward to testing the foundation out and seeing if it would help the breakouts go away or something, but alas I saw that nothing happened at the end of the first week. Let me also say that I am an avid runner and I wiped off a good 90% of my daily foundation on my shirt while running (which is something I've noticed greatly with this foundation as my other ones have not covered my shirts in tan when I sweat. BOO for having to use abundant amounts of Shout on my tee shirts of all things). Anyways, I didn't see anything noticeably different, but I still continued to use it.

Now, at the end of the three weeks, I can say that the foundation does apply rather nicely and it covers up pretty well (maybe additional concealer on blemishes), but it tends to make my face rather oily within a few hours compared to my other foundations, which all remain fairly matte. The other problem I see is the lack of ability to stay on my face. When I get a foundation, I expect it to stay on until the end of the day where I go in with makeup remover and take it off my face. However, with this foundation, it comes off when I sweat or come in contact with water, which makes me feel like it's not really the foundation for me. I hate to say it, but I also didn't really see any "better" skin, but then again I don't know what they really meant by better? Less pigmentation? Wrinkle remover? Acne treatment? Kinda hard to know what to look for when you don't really know. Maybe my face got better, but from the acne prone standpoint, I can say that it didn't aid in less breakouts or treating breakouts.

Thanks to Influenster for being kind and considering me for Voxboxes; I really appreciate it. I'm sad that this one didn't live up to my expectations, but then again everyone's face is different so hopefully it worked out better for other people! Thanks for reading and see you again soon!

Sunday, August 2, 2015

LAZY GIRL GUIDE: COLLEGE GIRL GUIDE

Hello everyone! So I am headed off for my first year of college in a month from now and as an avid clothes lover, I've been fretting about what clothes to bring in order to look stylish without overhauling my dorm room with clothes. So here are some tips and ideas of what I'm bringing this fall! (*note: my university is in Chicago so I planned a lot of outfits for the colder weather)

1. CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET

I will be the first to admit that I hoard clothes and it's honestly such a bad habit. I recently found this company called thredUP that you can send your old clothes to, and they'll process the clothes after a few weeks and send money to you if they accept any of it. However, I chose thredUP because the clothes they don't accept, they will actually send to charity, which is much better than having piles of unworn clothes in my closet. It sounds difficult to throw away clothes that you really liked, but after some time, it might be time to say goodbye.

2. LOOK AT THE REMAINING CLOTHES

After cleaning out my closet of my unworn clothes, I'm left with a pretty good chunk of clothes. However, I do want to buy a few new things for university, but first I've made a mental list of the clothes I do have. This way, I won't buy the same thing and I can also picture everything going together to create outfits in my head.

3. STOCK UP ON BASICS

This is a LAZY GIRL GUIDE for a reason; I'm totally content with wearing tees and jeans (leggings) for the rest of my days, but you can't do that without stocking up on basics. I highly recommend Forever 21 and H&M for basics for cheap. Forever 21 has a crazy amount of different tees, camis, and long sleeve shirts and in different colors and styles so I would hit up a local Forever 21 for tees that are under $6.

Alrighty, so those are some of my tips for all of lazy but still stylish girls out here! Now I'll break it down: here's what is in my closet and what I plan on buying before the school year starts.

my closet:

  • nearly 100,000 t shirts from school, clubs, organizations
  • athletic shorts galore
  • large amount of sports bras
  • a few professional/dressy tops, along with dress pants and blazers
  • some casual button downs (think chambray type)
  • a lot of skater skirts/ striped clothes 
  • a lot of casual dresses (mostly fit and flare and A-line)
  • casual v necks and long sleeve shirts
  • sweaters for the cold, along with leggings and cardigans
  • jeans
  • scarves (so many scarves)
  • shoes: oxfords, sandals, two pairs of flats, Vans/Toms, running shoes, two pairs of mid-calf boots, ankle boots, high heel boots, strappy heels

okay, so that's basically everything in my closet and now I'll explain all of the things I plan on buying soon. 

what I plan on buying: 
  • a few more pairs of jeans (I'm just getting a few high-rise pairs because I only have mid and low rise)
  • some tank bodycon dresses (normally I'm not a fan of skin tight clothes, but I figure for dressy occasions, it's a good idea to have these on hold) 
  • some heathered crew tees (these are like $5.90 each and can be dressed up with a skirt or down with leggings) 
  • leggings (I wear three pairs when it's really cold outside so I highly believe in numerous pairs)
  • skater skirt (I'm going for classic colors like black, since I have already have skirts in various colors)
  • chunky cardigan (I can never pass up a good cardigan, especially as it starts to get cold. You can tell I'm obviously thinking about this winter)
  • flowy tank dress (I really like the teal color of this dress and I think it's very versatile. It can be worn by itself, or with a jacket and tights) 
  • another chambray 
  • button down (I shipped away the old one! but I feel like these are perfect for professional occasions) 
  • handbag (right now I have a clutch that can be turned into a crossbody, but I'm really digging bigger bags that can be used for everything like this one from Zara: http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/bags/view-all/city-bag-with-handle-c734144p2775410.html
  • ankle boots/flats (I've found myself drawn to Chelsea boots and classic pointed ballet flats, which can be found on Asos: http://us.asos.com/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=4347982&CTAref=Saved+Items+Page)

All of the things I'm buying go well with the closet I already have and I think it will be easy to incorporate them into new outfits! Also, I plan on getting closet organizers, in order to fit everything and numerous storage trunks for under my bed; here's an idea of what I'm getting http://www.dormco.com/6_Shelf_Organizer_Vibrant_College_Dorm_Storage_p/f1-2-3-25407.htm

and 


Alright, I hope this helps all of the incoming college freshmen who like shopping and clothes, but also wearing super casual clothes 99% of the time. Thanks for reading and catch you next time, mostly college-related posts coming up.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

INCOMING COLLEGE FRESHMAN HAUL

Hello friends, it has been a very long time, but I am back with a whole haul of things I'll be wearing/using/bought in China for college and I wanted to share. This is also a collective haul of graduation gifts, things I bought in China, things from my job, etc. Let's just get started and I'll show you!

1. Charlotte Russe (cue explanation)

so I just got this job at Charlotte Russe last week and then this weekend was employee appreciation weekend (how convenient) so we got 50% off so here's some pictures of things I tried on! (also I'm not sponsored to say any of these things; I just like a lot of the clothes at Charlotte Russe)


















this pink dress is actually super cute and trendy for fall since it's that dusty rose color and it's got the cool peasant-y flow, along with the cold shoulder happening. It's fairly reasonable price-wise I think (around $23-25?) but it would be super cute for rocking on college campuses everywhere this fall.



I also tried on this cute maroon ribbed halter tank top, which I really like, but I'm not sure what I'd really wear it with so I haven't gotten it yet. Also I wore a pair of the skinny legging jeans in this picture and the following one.


I also tried on this burnt orange v-neck shirt; I'm not sure how CR makes these tees but they are so comfortable! They honestly feel like pajamas, but look really put together.

I actually bought this "going-out" top, which is a bright royal blue halter crop top. I think it'll be really cute with a bodycon skirt or pencil skirt.

I also hopped on the striped tee dress trend finally and picked up this little number.

Also, I'm way too obsessed with my second ear piercing and ended up purchasing this set of earrings to match my piercings together.
2. Starbucks ($2)

I went to the white girl Mecca today and happened to see this cute reusable tumbler/mug. I believe this was part of a contest to see who could design a pattern for the cups and I actually really like this pattern a lot so I gladly picked one up for only $2!

3. American Eagle ($12.95, given as gift)

My childhood friend and I share a common love for patterned socks and a few weeks ago, she heard me talking about how I wanted some socks to wear with ankle boots so she pulled out these socks from American Eagle, which was incredibly sweet of her. Also, these socks are super comfortable, but also thin in a breathable way.

I got three shirts from American Eagle; two are the Soft and Sexy collection and one is the Favorite tee collection. I enjoy all of them.

I also got this summer scarf thing, but I don't really think it's a scarf. I don't know what to do with it, so I'll just show you guys.

4. Ninja Blender (grad gift)

I have a slight obsession with smoothies and blended drinks and my parent's coworker very kindly picked up this blender for me. I've used it numerous times this summer and it works wonderfully! I'm so glad to have such a handy utensil for college!

5. South American gifts

One of my close friends recently went on a tour of South America and she presented me with a few goodies when she returned, which I was so appreciative for!



This is just a cute little decoration made from various gemstones (she knows that Northwestern colors are purple and white and tried to look in that color scheme)


She also brought me these two beaded Brazil bracelets, along with this cool jade-colored bracelet, which I really like!

6. China trip

I got a few goodies from when I went to China this summer, including these floral printed binder clips, which I think can jazz up any assignment/are really cute for every day.

I also picked up this little tumbler/mug for my roommate; it's got a very cute face with a moustache on it, along with gray and white polka dots!

I also got an enormous supply of washi tape, which can be used for decorating items. I'll have to try it out soon! There was a large variety in this stationary store and I went hardcore on these little rolls of tape.

Asian women care greatly, especially for their skin and beauty, which I could definitely see with the masses of parasols on hot summer days. I picked up a variety of these face masks (infused with different things; red wine, glacier water, pomegrante, etc)

I also just got my second piercings so I went hardcore on earrings in this cute store (think H&M, but Chinese. also open 24 hours a day).

In case you haven't noticed, I bought quite a few things in China and my last purchases were these skirts (but they're actually skorts!). They're cute and floral, but also come equipped with shorts for ladies who sit like guys a.k.a. myself, and have nifty pockets to hold goodies.

7. Ulta ($.97)

Ulta is in the mall where I work at and I happened to stroll in one day and picked up this Zoya nail polish for 97 cents, which I think it is a crazy good deal! It's a gray matte polish and looks great, but needs a few coats to become opaque.

8. Brighton (Chelsea's boutique)

Chelsea's might be a local boutique in my town, but I'm fairly certain it is a franchise. My neighbors gave me this Brighton necklace for graduation and I am completely in love with it!

9. Books A Million

I think Books A Million is not widely spread throughout the US, but it always has an assortment of home decor items (literature themed, of course). My friend saw this Alice in Wonderland canvas and got this for me. Alice in Wonderland is, undoubtedly, my favorite book of all time and this wall decoration proves that.

10. Earthbound Trading Company

Earthbound feeds my inner hipster, especially since the closest Urban Outfitters is about two hours away from me! However, it has more reasonable prices (in my opinion) and I've purchased a few things, along with received gifts from Earthbound.

First are these over the knee socks; they're navy with a cable knit sweater pattern. I'm about 5 foot 7 and these go over the knee for me, but just barely (maybe I have long calves).

My friend also gifted me this nice turquoise necklace for graduation with three rectangular stones. I've gotten numerous compliments on this necklace, which looks like it could have come from Anthropologie.

11. random Wisconsin boutique

My friend from Wisconsin drove six hours for my graduation, which is honestly the best gift I could have ever received, but she also brought this charm necklace that has a pink gemstone and the word "loved" engraved on the charm, which brings a smile to my face.

12. Claire's

I actually went in this store even though I'm no longer in middle school to get my second piercing, since my town doesn't have any other piercing places. After being way too thrilled about my piercing, I also picked up this antique-looking silver statement necklace that dresses up any outfit.


okay, I realize that was a large amount of objects I just threw at you guys. Hopefully you enjoy! I'll most likely have a few DIY posts coming up for incoming college students!