Outfit / Indoor Picnic

July 31, 20159 Comments

Note: I’m feeling rather chatty today, so this post might be all over this place. But who doesn’t like a good chat every once in awhile?!

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve shot inside my home, mostly because I try to shoot outdoors as much as I can in the warmer months – for obvious reasons – but also because the natural light is only truly viable for a few hours a day. However (I think I mentioned this on instagram), Ryan got me studio lights for my birthday, so I’m now able to shoot indoors any time of day. I mostly wanted them for my beauty posts, but I figured I’d give them a whurl for an indoor outfit post and I’m quite happy with the results. I know nothing will truly beat natural light, but I have to say, if you’ve been thinking about getting studio lights, do it; it has really made my life so much easier (in terms of photography, not like in terms of life).

Gus has a way of always ensuring he is in a shot when I shoot indoors. He’s pretty much glued to me at all times when I am home, so I guess it makes sense that he would find his way into frame. As you can see, he is doing well (I guess you can’t really see that, but he is). He seems pretty much recovered from surgery and I’m not half as stressed about anything happening to him as I was. His walk is still kind of awkward; he loses his balance often, but he can walk, so that’s all I wanted. In a way, it kind of adds to Gus’ sweetness; he’s deaf and now a wobbly little freak…I don’t think he could get any more lovable at this point.

XXXXXXXX

As for what I’m wearing, I’ve been living in these jeans. I know right?! Weird. To be honest, not so much recently because it has been brutally hot, but before these last few weeks I had been wearing them constantly. When I received this gingham, off the shoulder peplum top, I knew it would pair splendidly with my flared jeans…as most tops do, actually. The top originally had little straps going over the shoulders, but honestly, they felt kind of useless and looked awkward as they wouldn’t sit properly on my shoulders, so I chopped them off and am much more pleased with this top now. I think this is the one and only off the shoulder item I own, and I kind of love it. The only issue that comes to mind is lifting your arms without everything becoming bunched and weird…do people just not move their arms when they wear off the shoulder? Is there some trick I don’t know about? I’m really interested to know.

Top c/o Larmoni
Jeans: H&M (old)
Hair ribbon: just a scrap ribbon (so fancy!)

Beauty / Simple Summer Skin

July 29, 2015July 29, 20154 Comments

Dewy summer skin seems to be all the rage lately, and with good reason; it really makes your skin look alive and well. Take for example the two images above, on the left, my bare skin looking a little dull (also kind of looks like a mugshot) and on the right, my skin with a wee boost and a lively glow. This look is super easy to achieve with only a few products and minimal steps, so I’m going to show you how I did it below. I’ll share what products I used, but honestly, you can use whatever you have on hand…this is no fascist state.

Note: my foundation does not match my skin tone quite right, which I quickly realized while editing these photos! Thought my skin was a bit darker than it is…whoops, I’m a dumbdumb.

1. Mix a small amount of your face moisturizer with Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation and apply with your foundation brush (or fingers) in circular motions; I find circular motions help to really blend the foundation in (unless of course you’re a dodo like me and use the wrong foundation…)
2. Use Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer to highlight under the eyes and along the bridge of your nose, blending with your fingers
3. Apply a rosey blusher to the apples of your cheeks; I didn’t have a true rosey blusher on hand, so I mixed two colours (cream and pink) from this eyeshadow palette to achieve the colour I wanted
4. Blotting with your finger, use Revlon Skinlights Face Illuminator along the cheek bones, cupid’s bow, bridge of nose, chin and under the brow bone
5. Using a shimmery white shadow, highlight the cheekbones, applying with a blend-able eyeshadow brush (who said shadow had to stay on the lids…we do what we want here!); I used a shadow from the palette I linked above
6. Apply your Mega Color Stick (or any peachy lip colour) to the lips and dab a little pink lipgloss on top
And that’s it sweet ones! Fresh, dewy summer skin in a pinch ❤

*see more of my beauty posts here.

Your Tea: Tiny Tea

July 28, 20154 Comments

I was recently contacted by Your Tea to see if I was interested in trying their Tiny Tea TEAtox, and after investigating the brand and this particular tea, there seemed no reason to say no; I’ve always loved a good cup of tea. I generally only drink tea in the evening as a way of relaxing, which means it’s exclusively an herbal tea so I don’t get all caffeinated. I’d never really considered trying a teatox (it’s like the it thing to do right now), but Tiny Tea seemed like it could only benefit me, so why the heck not?! Using traditional Chinese Medicine Principles, this particular blend boasts that it helps with bloating (big issue for me), indigestion (yep, an issue), problematic skin (sometimes!), cellulite (I’m sure there is some down there), reduction of excess weight (I’m not the spring chicken I used to be), increase energy (omg, huge issue!) and PMS (oh dear lord, my worst enemy). As you can see, I have an issue with most of these things; sadly, it often seems like my guts are fighting a battle against me.

I have yet to start this TEAtox, so I will be sure to give you a full review once I have finished the 14 day teatoxification of my demonic insides, and let you know how it worked for me. I’m a bit apprehensive about the actual consumption of this tea, as I’m supposed to have it 3 times a day, 30 mins before or after meals, which seems easy in theory, but I’m not sure it will be as easy in practice. It may be a case of having to bring a couple bags with me while I’m on the go and finding a way to drink them…we shall see.

Have you guys heard of this brand? Do you think you would give it a go? Think TEAtoxes are stupid? They have many different teas for both mood and body, which do you think would benefit you?*some or all of the items featured in this post were given to me as a gift from the maker, but I only write about products that I genuinely enjoy; no BS here folks.

Beauty / Simple Side Braid With A Twist (literally)

July 22, 20158 Comments

The simple side braid is a good friend of mine. I sleep with one in pretty often, which helps to keep my hair wavy baby throughout the day, but when it comes to wearing a side braid during the day, the back bit of hair, near the nape of my neck, has a tendency to kind of droop, which has a way of annoying me thoroughly. So, I came up with a way to have that back bit of hair stay off my neck and add some interest to a very simple hairstyle, and all it takes is a twist (pun very intended).
1. using both hands, roll the hair closest to the nape of your neck towards your head, starting from behind one ear, until you reach the other side of your head
2. hanging on to that twist – which will act as 1/3 of your braid – start parting the remaining hair into 2 even sections, just the way you do with a regular braid
3. braid! easy peasy!
4. pull out any hairs you would like to have framing your face and loosen the braid a bit by pulling it apart. I also curled the hair framing my face to add a romantic vibe to the look; if your roll is feeling a little loose, add some bobby pins and hairspray – that should do the trick! Easy as that! It should take you no more than a minute (unless you do some curling like me) and it adds a little extra something to a very simple, basic hairstyle. Below I will also show you 3 different ways you can add some interest to this look with hair accessories.

ACCESSORIZE THAT BRAID!
CUTE HAIR CLIPS: add some cute hairclips, like these sunglasses (that kind of look like goggles) to add a playful, yet subtle quality to your look. HEAD SCARF: add a headscarf (or in this case it’s a head band acting as a scarf) to add a little colour or pattern to your sweet little noggin.BOW: want to cover up that dreaded elastic? wrap a ribbon around it; both cute and functional

*like what you see? i’ve got more beauty posts for you here

Outfit / Dungaree Dilemma

July 20, 20157 Comments

Dungarees can be one of the trickiest articles of clothing to find and have it fit the body properly. I have tried on dozens of dungarees – although, mostly second hand or vintage – and have only found one I feel fits me nicely, and it’s not even this dress. This dress seemingly looks nice from the front, but when you take a look at the back, it gapes at back waistband, making it look pretty silly. It has a rather untraditional look from behind, something more similar to a pinafore in style, giving you the option to cross or uncross the straps. However, if I don’t cross the straps then they have a tendency to fall off my shoulders, so in return for a more fitted look, it creates the dreaded gaping situation I so loathe. I guess you can’t win ’em all in the dungaree game. I’m still a fan of this dress however (clearly, since I’m wearing it), and for a mere $5 for a dress that seemed to have never been worn, it felt worth my money, even with it’s design flaws.

Do you guys have any articles of clothing that feel like they could have been designed a bit better? Or are you smarter than me and don’t waste your pennies if the fit isn’t perfect?Dungarees & flats: thrifted
Blouse: F21
Clutch: Falconwright (which is sadly no more)
*photos by Ryan