NYX Beauty Haul.

Growing up, I was never really taught how to do my own makeup, so I wasn't really into it and my standard go to brand was MAC. Recently, however, I've been experimenting more with my makeup and different brands and I've been watching makeup tutorial videos to learn as much as I can. One brand that has stood out to me is NYX, and it's slowly becoming one of my favorite makeup brands in the business!

Last weekend, I ventured to the Santa Anita Mall in Los Angeles where there is an NYX store. I used to only see NYX as a drugstore makeup brand, but it has been growing globally and fortunately still being sold at drugstore prices! During my visit, I stocked up on different products that I want to share with you all. All of these products have great formulas and really hold their own against department store brands like MAC and Urban Decay.

Here's what I got on my haul!

Strobe Genius Illuminating Palette: Contouring is (apparently) out and strobing is in! What is strobing? Think Jennifer Lopez's beautiful glowing and illuminated face (strobing) vs. Kim Kardashian's sculpted cheekbones and other facial features (contouring). Strobing is creating a glowing look on your face by illuminating the parts of your face that get the most light, like your cheekbones, forehead, and bridge of your nose, and this Strobe Genius palette is the perfect product to do it. I love that it comes with different shades, which can be used for different skin tones. With summer coming, skin tones change in the sun and having the different shades in the palette can keep up with your busy summer lifestyle.

Strobe of Genius Illuminating Palette, $19.00

Here I am rocking the strobe look by highlighting my cheekbones for a wedding.

Prismatic Eye Shadow in Fireball: I've been seeing this copper look everywhere on the red carpet and on celebrities so I really wanted to try it out. I think the bold color would pair well with my fair skin. It's super pigmented so the color remains bold on your face and doesn't go on lightly. It stays all night too! This look on Khloe Kardashian is what inspired me to try out this copper color.

Fireball Prismatic Shadow, $6

Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes and Amsterdam: With the recent craze for matte lips, possibly fueled by Kylie Jenner, these lip creams have really pretty matte colors that stay on for hours. The names of the lip creams are of different cities around the world. I like this red color cream called Amsterdam and this pinkish beige color called Cannes.

Soft Matte Lip Cream, $6

Intense Butter Gloss in Black Cherry Tart: Sometimes when I'm putting makeup on, I like to go for a gothic and rebellious look and this Black Cherry Tart color is the perfect compliment to that look. It's a deep purple color that goes on glossy and stays that way. It's more hydrating than the soft matte lip creams too.

Intense Butter Gloss, $6

All these products and more are of great quality and reasonable price. They can be found at drugstores and makeup stores like Ulta, but the most variety can be found at the NYX stores in the Santa Anita Mall and the Sherman Oaks Mall or on their website, www.nyxcosmetics.com!

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. 

70s Vibes.

I love when fashion from different eras come back in style, and I'm loving that this season various pieces from the 90s and the 70s are back! This weekend, I recreates a 70s look during a visit to LACMA with some pretty basic pieces, and I really liked the way it turned out.

I've always stuck to skinny jeans ever since I can remember, but I found some really cute flare jeans and thought, "why not shake it up and change up my look?". They are actually a lot more comfortable than my skinnies. I almost can't believe I waited this long to try a different jean cut.

I paired my new jeans with a ringer tee that I found at Cotton On, which has a 2 for $25 sale on tee shirts going on right now. Everyone knows how much I love LA, so when I saw this shirt I knew I had to have it. It's a cute little pun. Ringer tees are quintessential 70s. I can imagine people back then wearing them on the beach or to a roller rink ha ha!

I completed my look with a simple bright orange-ish red lip, modern aviator sunnies, and cognac colored platforms. Lips brought to you by NARS matte pencil in Red Square.

Shop my look here by clicking the images here!

               

Summer 2015 Fashion.

It's June and its finally getting warmer outside, which means its time to break out your short shorts, bathing suits, and espadrilles in your favorite warm summer colors! Some fashion pieces never go out of style, but its always a good idea to add trendy, new things to your wardrobe. This summer, I'm obsessed with six new trends that I want to share with you. They can all be used separately and incorporated into your current pieces or even worn all together. Here they are! My summer must have trends for the 2015 season...

1. Updated Aviator Sunnies: Aviators are a universal sunglass shape that looks good on almost everyone, so when I saw these new age Prada aviator sunglasses, I knew I had to have them. They are a fashionable spin on a classic sunglass. Ditch your played out cat eye sunglasses for these! Available at Nordstrom. 

2. Stacked Jewelry: Gone are the days of a statement necklace or ring. Welcome the stacking of more slender and elegant pieces of jewelry to complete your summer look! I love these stackable zig zag rings. These particular rings are gold, rose gold, and white gold with diamonds from Levik's Jewelers. You can also find similar but more affordable rings in department stores, but investing in a few pieces of fine jewelry is beneficial for any fashionista.

3. Fruit Patterns: I love the fresh look of fruits on various items of clothing, especially for the summer! My favorite are pineapples...they just scream summer. I found these cute shorts from Sears. They work really well and look great for festivals.

4. Fringe Details: I'm loving fringe details throughout many pieces of fashion this summer. I especially love them on these gorgeous shoes from Miss Guided US. How can you not be obsessed with these?

5. Rosy Brown Lips: I'm trading traditional summer red lips for these smoky pink shades, which I think is super elegant and fashion forward. Most of all, its not an expected shade that everyone else is going to be wearing this summer. This shade can be found at Sephora.

6. Watches with Fabric Bands: I'm so over the typical bracelet, metal band that everyone wears nowadays...I'm looking at you, Michael Kors watches! Instead, opt for these really fresh looking watches from Daniel Wellington. This particular watch is called Classic Southamptom Lady...it doesn't get more summer than that. They come in multiple colors that fit anyone's taste. I got mind from Levik's Jewelers, which is now an authorized Daniel Wellington retailer!



What do you guys think? Are there any other trends I should consider this summer? Let me know! I value all fashionista opinions. Happy shopping and happy summer! 

Fall Fashion Trends.

Fall is my favorite season for fashion...if only fall weather in LA would compromise with it! It's finally getting a little more chilly and we can slowly start wearing sweaters and scarves. This season, I noticed some trends that are prevalent by following New York fashion week runways , street style, and new arrivals at stores and I'm excited to share with you all. Here they are!

1. Geometric Plaid: This is a great pattern to include layering pieces like this fun scarf from Target.

2. Ankle Boots: These are perfect for Angelenos. Since its still a bit warm here, booties are a good fall staple that still allows you to keep cool. These bronze Vince Camuto booties are to die for!

3. Liquid Leggings: Skin tight leggings are everything right now, especially when they are skinny slacks. I wear them to work and its a good mix of professional and fashionable. These gray skinny slacks from H&M are perfect.

4. Dark Lipstick-Berry Undertones: When I think fall, I think dark...and the runways this year were not without dark red and berry lips. So adorable and sophisticated. This lipstick, Diva, by MAC is one of my favorite lipsticks of all time.

5. Form Fitting Outerwear: Whether its denim or leather, form fitting jackets are a good layering piece to wear with sweaters and coats. Denim is a huge staple for layering and this H&M jacket is great.

6. Round Sunglasses: Gone are the days of large sunnies that cover your entire face...I'm channeling the 70's with round sunglasses this season. These Elie Tahari glasses are exactly what I'm talking about. 

Summer Fashion.

Memorial Day has gone and passed and that means...its summer! To me, summer is a time to have fun with fashion and take some risks. So I've compiled some trends that I think are prominent this summer season. These trends are fashion forward and fun and can be incorporated in your wardrobe in so many ways. Here are some examples with descriptions followed....

1. Chains

Chains are back! But I'm not talking like 2 Chainz, pop rapper status...Short chains are the jam, and I like ones like this one found at H&M that have a different design than ordinary 2 link chains. I think this statement piece pairs well with a pastel colored blouse or a denim jacket.

     2.   Kimonos

Kimonos have somehow made their way from Japan to the US, and I'm loving it! Especially with some fringe on the sleeves. It's a cute piece to throw over shorts and a tank for a casual lunch or even a festival. I personally like to wear a kimono as a swimsuit cover, so perfect for pool parties this summer. This kimono can be found on Polyvore.com.

     3.   Metallic Tattoos 

Remember when you were 12 and thought you were so cool getting those temporary tattoos from vending machines? Well, this is way cooler than that. Summer is a time to bare a little more skin and adorning your body with these cool gold and silver metallic tattoos are so much fun! This pack of metallic tattoos is from Forever 21 and has pieces to tattoo as a necklace, bracelet, anklet, or ring.

     4.   Orange Hue Makeup

Orange is the new black, people! This season, incorporate orange hued makeup into your look. But be careful...accent your makeup with orange in just ONE element of your makeup, not all of it. For example, I like adding a pop of orange to my lips with this MAC lipstick "Lady Danger", available at MAC stores or Nordstrom.

     5.   Thick Strappy Sandals

I'm loving sandals with thick straps this season. It's a plus when they are two toned. These are a fabulous find from UrbanOg.com.

    6.    Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes on clothing were all over the runway for this season. You can incorporate it into any piece of your outfit. I like it on this small purse from Zara. It includes a pattern of hexagons on a really trendy mustard color.

    7.   Long Vests

This piece kind of look like they made a comeback from the 80's, but I think they are really chic and fashion forward. I love this white draped vest from Forever 21. I would pair it with dark jeans and a fitted crop top.