Comfort with Wine and Striped Palazzo Pants.

I am all about a look that's both stylish and comfortable. What more could you want from an outfit? I've been quick to jump on the bandwagon of many comfy-chic trends like the fashion pajama look, leggings in the place of pants, and athleisure wear (some of which were not great in hindsight!).

Palazzo pants are one of the comfy trends I jumped on when it came around a couple of years ago, but today, palazzo pants are coming back in a huge way and having a moment with stripe prints. I tend to stay away from stripes because of the age old misconception that they widen you, but if I learned anything from the hundreds of things I've ever tried on is that one rule does not apply to all!

I think the vertical stripes on a billowy pant leg are actually flattering and very summer in Saint Tropez! I got this pair from TJ Maxx (your girl loves a bargain) and wore it on a mini day trip from LA to the wineries in Temecula. It has a paper bag waist so the level of comfort is way high!

The weather that day was beyond perfect; not too hot and not too cold, just right for a day of sipping on some wine al fresco and taking in the scenery of the beautiful vineyards. I, of course, had to stop at my favorite winery in Temecula, Leoness Cellars, where all of their wines are impeccable. I absolutely recommend the Meritage if you like red wine and the Melange de Blanc if you like white.

My pants were perfect look and feel for that day and that coupled with actually being in the vineyard really took me to a European state of mind.

Similar styles available everywhere!

Forever 21

 

Zaful

 

Net a Porter

   

Zara

                                 

Nordstrom

                 

                     TopShop

   
                                                           

Fall 2016 Obsessions.

It still feels like summer in LA, but it's officially fall and I cannot be more excited for my favorite season! The first day of fall was last Thursday, and I honored it by ordering my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. If that makes me basic, then I'll take it because PSL's are just too good to not have. Along with PSL's, there are some really awesome styles in clothing and accessories that I've recently become obsessed with that I think are perfect to rock during the fall season.

This season, I've compiled 6 cool trends into 1 super chic look that is the perfect day to night look for a crisp fall day. I guess us spoiled with constant warm weather here in LA will have to wait a month or so to start with the layering of sweaters and outerwear, but it's good to be prepared with them in your closet anyway.

Here is my fab fall look, with 6 fall things I'm obsessed with...

1. Marble: All marble everything! I'm loving the look of marble whether it's on my furniture, dish ware, or my phone case. It's a very simple pattern, but there are so many different colors and variations of it that you can rock and still keep it super elegant. I recently love the marble look on phones, nails, and as wall accents.

                                        


2. Dark and Glossy: Don't get me wrong, this girl loves her matte lips, but I think the gloss look is a good change of pace for the fall. Especially as the air is getting drier and colder, lips become more dried out and matte lips dry them out even more. Ditch the pinkish matte lips for darker hues and be a gloss boss.







3. Geometric Earrings: I think fall is a time to play with hard and soft looks and textures and geometrically shaped earrings are a good alternative to super girly earrings. Simple gold shapes really compliment any outfit and are different enough from ordinary studs and hoops, but still modern and classy.

               


4. Dusters: Dusters are called just that because they are long enough to almost graze the floor and "dust it". I really love how their length is a median look from the short, light jackets of summer and the thick peacoats of the winter. I like them in fall hues like olive green and dusty orange, but this grayish rose colored one is to die for.

                                 


5. Mid Calf Boots: All of the boots I've ever owned have been either up to or above me knee or at my ankles. I'm obsessing now over these boots that go up to the mid calf! They give me a cool New York street style vibe and I think it looks awesome with a sweater dress paired with a duster.


        


6. Phone Pouches: Maybe its because I've been carrying around a big ass purse all summer long, but I'm really over them. I like the simplicity and minimalism of smaller purses, like these ones that fit only your essentials: your phone, your cards, and a lipstick. If you're going out for the night, what more do you need? Its so much easier on you (and your back) to carry these small phone pouches than a really big handbag.

                       


What I love most about fall, though, is that its a really good time to experiment with different pieces and looks. The weather permits for you to mix and match short and long pieces and I just love the level of creativity it can bring out in people's styles. I hope you all take this thought and run with it...experiment with your looks! I'd love to see all the outfits you all put together.

Spanish Style Vibes.

As a lot of you know from my Summer Vacation Essentials post, I took a trip to Spain last month and of course, I kept my eye out for street styles and different trends people wore there. Everyone knows that fashion trends start in Europe and migrate over to the states so I was pretty excited to see and buy up and coming pieces.

If you're looking to go to Spain and want to take advantage of the shopping, go towards the end of June because the sales are ridiculous! I had no idea my trip would overlap with the biggest sales of the year, but it did and I'm not complaining! Pieces I found that were normally 60€ I found for 20€ and that roughly rounds out to about $22.50. Anyway, I was really inspired by some of the really cool things the locals were wearing and I searched high and low for similar pieces in both local stores and chain stores like Zara and Mango.

I didn't know this until recently but some chain stores like Zara sell different items of clothing in different cities, even locally! So you wouldn't necessarily find the same stuff at a Zara in Costa Mesa that you would in Beverly Hills. The clothing is tailored to the area; you'd find more beachy styles in a Zara in Orange County and more flashy and metropolitan styles in Hollywood. The same is with those in Barcelona.

I found a lot of neat things but this dress has to be my favorite. Its sequins are so meticulously sewn and have a ton of movement so you aren't constantly itchy. You can move the sequins around with your hands and it creates a nice two dimensional look. Best part is I got it for a steal at 20€!

As much as the sales at the chain stores were too good to pass up, I really wanted to steer away from them and shop at local stores. I wanted unique pieces that would be quintessential to Spain and nowhere else. The first thing I noticed was that everyone and their mothers...and I'm not joking about this...were wearing these leather sandals...

When I say everyone, I mean that literally. I even saw a ton of men wearing them. It's a really good sandal for summer and its made with real Spanish leather. Interestingly, the bottom sole is made of rubber and it kind of looks like it was made from old tires. I actually kind of like the recycling aspect of these shoes. But anyway, with these shoes it was easy to blend in with the locals, in fact, it was like step 1. All for a grand total of 12€, which is such a good price for real leather.

When I was in Madrid, a big aspect of their shopping was vintage stores. There were a ton of them all over the city with clothing and accessories ranging from the 60s to the 90s. It was so awesome! I trekked into a few of them and found this super cool Spice Girls concert tee that immediately brought me to nostalgia of my childhood.

I also got these platform metallic shoes in Madrid, which I noticed a lot of locals wearing too. The platforms make the shoes so comfortable and they also remind me of the 90s. I've paired the tee and the shoes together to complete a 90s look!

My absolute favorite thing I got was an amazingly adorable mini backpack from Barcelona! I actually saw this backpack in the window of a local purse store on my way to meet up with my brother. I knew I was going to be late if I stopped to buy it so I just took a picture of the store and figured I'd go back to buy it after meeting up with my brother. I did just that, but by the time I got there and asked for the bag, the owner told me it was their last one and they had sold it! I really couldn't believe my luck. With a little talking in my broken Spanish, the owner told me they were going to get a new shipment of them but I was going to be in Madrid when it did. He graciously agreed to put one on hold for me until I returned to Barcelona to catch my flight back home. Amazing! The struggle was real to get this backpack but it was totally and completely worth it, especially at its cost of 20€.

Me channeling my inner gangster watching Ice Cube at Hard Summer Music Festival.

I had so much fun people watching and finding cool new street styles in Spain and I'm really excited to bring some of those styles back with me and share them with you. I can't wait until some of these styles start appearing in our local stores.

Kylie Lip Kit!

When Kylie Jenner first started becoming more popular and rivaling her famous Kardashian sisters, she focused a lot on her look by accentuating her lips. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of her overly plumped lips, but after a while, she started wearing some really awesome and flattering lip colors and I became slightly obsessed with her look. I had to get those lip colors in my hands, so I was so excited when she announced her own line of matte lip colors.

They've gone on sale so many times for months now, but each time, all the kits sold out in minutes! I tried and tried and tried to get my hands on them, but with the high volume of people ordering them, the website would time out often and would quickly sell out of products. People were selling kits on Ebay for double the price because of the high demand! Desperate to get Kylie's look, I researched and bought similar shades of the matte liquid lipstick just so I could get the color, but they never came close to the colors in Kylie's kit.

But then last week, my best friend, Natalie, texted me letting me know the kits were on sale, and I got on the website ASAP.

It's a good thing she let me know, because I finally was one of the lucky ones to get a Kylie Lip Kit!! The demand was still high so I was only able to order Dolce K. I'm a big fan of brown undertones so I thought it would be the good color for me regardless.

There are a lot of pros from the product and some issues I had with it. Let's get into it...

Color: It's important to know that the colors really look different on different skin tones! I loved Dolce K, but I didn't anticipate it being so dark and as brown as it was. I'm fairly light skinned so it was a deeper color on me than it is on tanner people. I'm definitely going to try to get Candy K for a more pinkish hue.

The Liquid: The color is very pigmented. You could cover your entire lips with one swipe, which is awesome. It dries matte and stays on for a LONG time. I'm talking all day. I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with it on and only had to reapply after dinner.

Usually, matte liquid lipsticks tend to dry out your lips so I was expecting this from Kylie's lipstick too, but her formula actually dried out my lips to an extreme. My lips were super dry, even more than how dry they are when I use matte lipstick from other brands like NYX.

The smell of the liquid is really cute. It smells like the vanilla flavor Lip Smackers we all used to get in 8th grade. I can't quite decide if the smell is nostalgic or a reminder of my awkward pre-teen years. But at least the scent doesn't linger when you put the lipstick on.

The Liner: I usually don't wear lip liner when I'm putting my face together, but I was pleasantly surprised with how buttery this lip liner was. It glided on so smoothly on my lips and kept the lipstick in place. The liner, also, lasted on my lips for a very long time and I didn't have to reapply it.

Packaging: I loved the packaging of the Kylie Lip Kit! The dripping lip color on lips logo is so edgy and fun. It just screams fun and youthful and it's something I can definitely get on board with. The packaging box also had the drip decal on it...I immediately knew what that package was when I saw it in the mail. I also enjoyed the note that came with the kit, which is printed, but in Kylie's handwriting. I think it added a nice personal touch to the product.

Overall, I would recommend purchasing Kylie's Lip Kit! I give it an A- only losing points for how much it dried out my lips. But nothing that a little moisturizer can't fix. You can buy your lip kit at www.kyliecosmetics.com, but make sure you go on a few minutes before they go on sale so you won't be disappointed when it sells out in 1.2 seconds. The next time they will be on sale again is today March 28, 2016 at 4pm PST. 

Dolce Vita for Target.

Dolce Vita has always been a leader in trendy shoe wear and I've always loved their designs, but sometimes, their costs can be a little pricey. There's nothing worse than seeing a shoe you love and finding out it costs more than what you can afford! That's why I am so excited that Dolce Vita has collaborated with Target to bring a line of shoes and even more excited to see that this less expensive shoe line has pieces that are extremely similar to DV original designs! There are a lot of same details and patterns in the DV for Target line so you can snag a super cool style for prices you'd never see from DV.

I copped these beauties for a cool $25! I love the style of these sandals and the modern zig zag print.

I never really liked mixing black with tan/brown colors, but I like the juxtaposition of the black and white print with the tan heel.

There are so many styles from sandals to booties! Here are the DV for Target shoes compared to the original Dolce Vita designs. Click any of the photos to shop the looks now!

Sandals 


        

DV For Target, $22.99
Dolce Vita, $90.00


Netted Design

DV For Target, $24.99
Dolce Vita, $200.00


Nya vs Noa Booties

                    

DV For Target. $34.99
Dolce Vita, $160.00



Fringe Booties

                 

DV For Target, $37.99
Dolce Vita, $200.00