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

Five Spring 2016 Fashion Essentials.

Today marked the first day of Spring and nothing excites me more about a new season is the introduction of new fashion styles and trends! It's getting warmer so its time to store your sweaters away and bring out your short sleeves.

I'm bringing you guys 5 new trends that are in this season and how you can cop them in any piece of your wardrobe. Don't worry...I'm not going to say florals, because, as Miranda Priestly says, "Florals for Spring? Groundbreaking". It's typical, and Taltalsays is anything but!

So here we go, 5 spring trends that your closet needs. Shop all these looks by clicking the photos!!

1. Button Front Skirts: I love when fashion from different eras comes back into style and these skirts are totally reminiscent of the 90's. They're really fresh when paired with light tops. I personally like them in denim, but there are so many different styles perfect for all tastes.

Forever 21 Suede Skater Skirt, $37.90
Mossimo Supply Co., $19.99
H&M Twill Skirt, $29.99



2. Ring Details: I've been seeing a lot of details in clothing, handbags, and jewelry with metal rings and I think its really chic. I love them in jewelry, especially in chokers, which are also really in fashion right now. I'm loving these piece.

Air Sign LA Full Moon Choker. $120
Banana Republic Italian Vachetta Bucket Bag, $118
Rue Gembon Hadara Gold Collar, $58


3. Bold Drop Earrings: Statement necklaces are out and bold drop earrings are in! Drop earrings with pops of color are really great ways to spice up an outfit. It can also greatly compliment your makeup and bring your whole look together.


                      


H&M Large Earrings, $9.99
House of Harlow 1960 Anza Drop Earrings, $68
Baublebar Nolita Drops, $38


4. Off the Shoulder: Off the shoulder tops and dresses are a fun bohemian inspired trend that's really figure friendly and can make you look like you just walked out of New York Fashion Week. I'm excited about this trend, because when I wear it, I no longer have to worry about getting strappy tan lines!

Topshop "Livi" Off the Shoulder Top, $60
Three of Something Formlines Reservoir Top, $154
Lovers + Friends Life's a Beach Top, $139


5. Stripes: Stripes are EVERYWHERE this Spring. They're in shoes, they're in tops, they're even in swimwear! I love a good laid back, striped button down top paired with a button front skirt. Two trends in one. Try to explore colors when wearing stripes, don't just stick to black and white! I, for one, am keen on pink and white stripes.

                 

Forever 21 Lace Up Striped One Piece, $24.90
Lulu's Atlantic Seaboard Striped Black Peep Toe, $23
Forever 21 Contemporary Striped Top, $15.90



Happy spring and happy shopping everyone! 

Gold & Geo Terrariums.

I'm always trying to elevate my style, whether it's my clothes or with my home decor, so during my latest (weekly :P) trip to Target, I saw these super modern gold terrariums and I thought to myself that I just had to have them. After all, I was thinking that my bedroom could use some plants in it to add a fresh element. You can add some freshness to your home with a terrarium too with a few easy steps.

First, get a terrarium. The ones I saw at Target come in two different sizes and I started off buying the smaller sized one, thinking it would be a good small accent, but when I brought it home, I had instant regret on the size knowing I couldn't fit more than two plants in there. Obviously, I went back to buy the bigger sized one, and decided to keep the small one anyway. I love gold accents and I love modern geometrical silhouettes so I knew I could figure out something to do with it. Spoiler alert: I did.

Click the photo to shop this piece. 

Next, build your terrarium! I did mine in the larger sized piece. I decided to plant succulents in it, because they're really low maintenance and I can be forgetful about watering plants. Succulents are easy to maintain, they require sunlight and you only need to water them once every 1-2 weeks. I went to Lowe's and Home Depot to pick out the certain succulents I wanted, but I'm telling you all in advance, their selection is small! I ended up at Armstrong Gardening Center, where they had a bigger selection. You can totally get fake ones too.

To create visual interest, I mixed succulents with different heights, colors, and textures. These tall ones had red accents on them and the flowery ones had distinguishable purple and green colors. My favorite one, though, is the aloe plant, which has a textured white pattern on it! I loved it and I think all of them together compliment each other.

Much to my surprise, you can't just dump dirt in the terrarium and add the plants in. You have to create a drainage system for the water. To do that, start by adding 1 inch of pebbles. I found a bag of pebbles at Dollar Tree. Next, cut out netting...one that you use for screen doors and windows, found at any hardware store...to cover the pebbles. You can also add activated charcoal on top of the netting to keep the terrarium from causing odors, but I didn't because succulents don't really have that effect. It just depends on what type of plants you use.

Then you just add the plants! Mix them up to create balance with their heights and spread the colors out. Voila!

After I set up the large terrarium, I had to figure out what to do with the smaller one. Instead of adding more plants to it, I stuck a candle in it and made it into a really cool candle holder! I heated up the bottom of the candle a little to melt the wax and have it stick to the bottom of the terrarium.

To the two pieces, I placed a gold geometrical picture frame I received last Christmas with a picture of my boyfriend and I from our stint at the NAACP Image Awards. I was so please with how the frame matched the design of the terrariums. Get the frame here!

The three pieces together adds a stylish element to my room and it was such an easy look to achieve. I hope you all venture out and try new things to spruce up your home decor, perhaps starting with a terrarium! 

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!

               

Oscars 2016.

This year marked the 88th Annual Academy Awards! 88 is the year I was born and 8 is my lucky number so I figured something special might happen (spoiler alert...it did!). I write something every year about the Oscars and I also try to watch as many nominated movies as I can, but definitely the ones nominated for Best Picture, and this year is no different. So here goes...

Fashion 

Obviously, let's talk fashion first! Everyone looked so amazing and beautiful...especially my beau, Leonardo DiCaprio. These are my top fashion favorites of the night...

Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell.
Charlize Theron in Dior Haute Couture and Harry Winston diamonds.
Saoirse Ronan in Calvin Klein and Chopard jewelry.

I have to admit, I was really looking forward to seeing Alicia Vikander's look tonight since I've been obsessed her with style all awards season, but I was a little underwhelmed by her look at the Oscars. Not bad, but still not that breathtaking.

And on a side note, has anyone checked Heidi Klum's head recently? She's been looking all kinds of sloppy on the red carpet recently, I definitely thought she would step it up for the Oscars at least.

Being in the diamond industry myself, I had to include my favorite jewelry looks of the night too!

Jennifer Lawrence in Chopard.
Charlize Theron in $3.7 million worth of Harry Winston diamonds.
Giuliana Rancic in Forevermark. 

Host/#OscarsSoWhite

There was a lot of buzz around the Oscars not having a more diverse group of nominees. I agreed somewhat, where I thought Will Smith should have been nominated and so should have Straight Out of Compton. I guess the Academy tried to make up for it throughout the show by peppering in a lot of jokes to combat the #OscarsSoWhite controversy? Chris Rock's monologue was actually funny in my opinion, but most of the jokes were trying to make light of "racist Hollywood", and though his jokes were bold, they were also borderline uncomfortable. It was apparent that everyone in the audience didn't know if it was okay if they laughed. I did, however, like Chris' nod that Michael B. Jordan should have been nominated, because lets face it, he should have. On the other hand, that introduction to Stacey Dash was god awful. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm having a hard time agreeing that any recent Oscars host has been better than Ellen!

Winners

Again, I watched all the Best Picture nominated movies this year, and also Joy and The Danish Girl. I had my opinions on who should win and I'm overall really pleased with the outcomes. After tonight, I'm definitely going to make an effort to watch Carol and Amy (Best Documentary Feature). Let's talk...

I'm really happy for all the Mad Max wins including Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. I think they were all deserved. Creating a futuristic movie that is to the caliber that Mad Max is hard to do and the people behind it did it really well.

• Best Picture: I thought all of the nominees this year did a really good job of spotlighting (hehe) social relevance. Spotlight was the winner! I kind of didn't see it coming, but I'm really happy it came out on top. I think this movie, of all of them, embodied social relevance and brought to light a hidden topic that challenges an otherwise revered institution. 

• Best Actor: Well. What can I say? I've been waiting for this moment since I saw Titanic when I was 13. Aside from how handsome I think Leonardo DiCaprio is, I think he's truly, truly talented and maybe it took him all these years to perfect his acting enough to be able to portray his character in The Revenant, but at the end of the day, this award was so deserved in so many ways. This is why I think the 88th annual Oscars was lucky :) Also, true to Leo fashion, he encouraged conservation of the environment in his acceptance speech, which made his win even more epic. 

• Best Actress: Brie Larson! The Room was actually a very poignant film and Brie had a huge responsibility of carrying it, along with Jacob Tremblay, and she did a great job. She was one of the only main characters in the film. I read that she locked herself in her home for one month and didn't leave so she could understand how her character would feel. As far as I've seen, method acting always breeds a winning result, so good for her!

• Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies. I liked him in this film, but I'm not sure I would have chosen him as the Best Supporting Actor. Even though he was the major part of the film, he was hardly in any of the scenes. I would have liked to see Mark Ruffalo win this category for his portrayal of a Boston journalist in Spotlight. His passion in this film was incomparable. 

• Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl. I watched The Danish Girl this morning, very last minute! I wasn't going to, but I figured since the two main actors in it (Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne) were nominated, I should watch it. I'm really glad I did, because Alicia's performance was great and I'm really happy she won this category. She's my new found girl crush, I'm a little obsessed with her. 

I'm also very happy with Inside Out winning Best Animated Film, it was a great take on how our brains work and extremely profound for a film intended for a younger audience. 

The only category I was in disagreement with was Best Original Song. I like Sam Smith and all, but Lady Gaga was definitely robbed of this award. 

Highlights 

1. The appearances made by C3PO, R2D2, BB8, the Minions, Woody, and Buzz Lightyear! So cute and...how did they do that with the Minions,Woody, and Buzz? :P

2. Girl Scout Cookies for the win! I can't decide if that was better than the pizza from Ellen's year of hosting, but either way, Girl Scout Cookies are a good crowd pleaser and I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some Thin Mints.

3. Jacob Tremblay and Abraham Attah standing on soap boxes to be taller while presenting for Best Live Action Short Film. I have yet to see Beasts of No Nation, but I loved Jacob in Room!

4. Joe Biden introducing Lady Gaga's performance of Till It Happens to You and empowering survivors of sexual assault.

5. Lady Gaga's performance!! What a show stopper, this was the ultimate highlight of the show, for me anyway. This performance was truly powerful and the inclusion of survivors of sexual assault on stage with her made it even more profound. Her passion in her craft is just amazing and brings forth emotion, as it did with the audience.

6. Alejandro G. Innaritu's speech upon winning for Best Director, which championed eliminating prejudice and promoting equality. It's long, but worth the watch.

All in all, I was very happy with how the Oscars were this year. From the winners, to the performances, and even the hosting, I thought it was fun and entertaining to watch. And I'm especialy overjoyed with Leo winning...I knew the 88th Academy Awards would be a lucky one! What did all of you movie lovers out there think of it? I hope you all enjoyed it and enjoyed reading my post. That's a wrap!

The Attic.

Last weekend, I ventured out to Long Beach for an event, and had heard great things about this cute place to eat called The Attic. It's nestled in a nice little area near downtown and has such a homey feel so I decided to try it out.

Walking in was like walking into a backyard barbecue at a friends house. It's really welcoming and cozy. I sat in the patio outside, which had comfy couches and multi patterned tables. It overlooked the street and the weather that day made it a perfect vibe. 

As a lover of Bloody Mary's, I was so excited to see a page full of different types of Bloody Mary's they served. Each one had a different type of garnish on top of it. My boyfriend got the Meaty Man Bloody Mary, which used bacon infused vodka and was garnished with a slider and Slim Jim stuffed olive. I loved mine...the Caprese Bloody Mary with basil infused vodka and a tomato, basil, and mozzarella garnish. They were both to die for. 

The star of the show, though, was what this place is known for...Mac and Cheetos! It doesn't get more decadent than this, people! A glorious cheddar and mozzarella macaroni and cheese topped with hot Cheetos! There are so many add ons you can get to it too. I added some bacon, but kind of regret not getting avocados too. If you're looking for even more decadence, you can even add a fried egg on top of it! 

If you're looking for other comfort food dishes, I also recommend the chicken pot pie. The flaky crust on top of a hearty pot pie is just a feel good meal. 

Honorable mention to the bison burger, which my boyfriend said tasted really good, but I'm just not a huge fan of bison. 

Next time you're out in Long Beach and looking for a great place to comfort your foodie soul, try out The Attic, you won't be sorry! Happy eating!