2013 year in review: fashion

On January 1, 2013 I decided that I wanted to take a picture every day of an entire day. I needed a way to keep track of them since I do take more than one photo each day. I didn't want them getting lost in my camera roll or something so I went searching and came across project 365, an app that does exactly that. Well today is December 31, 2013 and I can proudly say that I did this. I tried to mostly take a picture of my outfit each day. I thought that was what I most wanted to document.

So here's my favorite outfit of the day for each month of 2013.

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December: 

The Best After Christmas Sales

This is going to be a quick one but here they are:

Forever 21:
-50% off all boots and booties
-giant 75% bins of clothes in stores

Victorias Secret:
- 7/ $26 panties in stead of normal 5/26
-buy one get one 50% off bras

H&M:
-end of season sale: up to 75% off

Bath and Body Works:
-semi anual sale
-up to 75% off
-buy 3 get 2 free signature collection

Easy French toast in under 5 minutes

I've decided to start doing some recipes here. This one is French toast.  

I love French toast. It's so damn good and I just learned how to make it. It's seriously so easy. Who knew? Not me. It's perfect to use up some stale bread or just a weekend treat. Plus you probably have all these ingredients in your kitchen. 

Ingredients:

1 egg 

2 slices of bread

Cinnamon to taste 

Toppings (fruit/syrup/sugar/etc) 

Butter

In a bowl, beat the egg and cinnamon. This looks gross but hey it will taste good later so it's all worth it. 

Next, soak both sides of the bread in the egg mixture. 

Throw them in your pan until they're golden and cooked. 

Add some syrup and blueberries and voila delicious French toast. 

Ebates scam?

Do you like shopping online? Do you like free money? Well if you answered yes to either then Ebates is for you.
I've heard so many people talk about Ebates. Let me start off by saying that it is not a scam. The idea is simple: shop online and you get money back. Each site that you shop at will get you a certain amount of money back. You can create an account and access any online stores. I use it for Amazon and Sephora. Most sites will give you an average of about 4% back. Every few months they will send you a check or money into your paypal or it can be donated directly to charities of your choice.
I have been using this for over two years now and have gotten almost $40 back within that time.
If you're expecting to get tons of money back, you won't. Most of the time, the cash back will be under $2 but it really does all add up. If you like to online shop, you know how much it can cost and getting a little bit back is awesome.
Not only does Ebates give you cash back but, they also offer coupon codes. So in one shot you can find a code for free shipping or 10% off and get some money back.

You can click the link below to join.
click here to join

My Daily Makeup

I wanted to share with you what makeup I use almost daily. Of course on some days I may do more or less. I've linked each product if you want to purchase it.

I start with the Too Faced primed and poreless under my eyes. Next, I apply benefit erase paste under my eyes as well. I wear the shade medium. Then I go over that with bare minerals foundation in the shade golden fair. I originally bought this to be my actual foundation but it wound up being way too yellow for me. I put it to good use by using it to conceals under my eyes. I know this seems like a ton of product to put under my eyes but using the primer really makes it stay one forever and not crease. 

For my eyes, I don't always wear i shadow but if I do,  I prime with either too faced shadow insurance or urban decay eyeshadow insurance. I have both of these and they both work the same. I really just reach into my drawer and pull out one of the two. Any way I wear any shadow from the urban decay naked palette. Oh my god I've had this since it came out and I've hit pan on almost all the colors. 

Next I line my eyes with maybelline line stiletto. I always do a little wing because doesn't it just make you feel that much more powerful? This is a liquid eye liner and its the best one ever I swear. I've tried so many other from NYC, MAC, ELF, and a few from sephora and they all sucked compared to this one. It makes the most crisp, black line. 

I feel like it's really necessary to let my eyeliner dry. Otherwise, when I curl my lashes it's smudges and just no. In the mean time I fill in my brows with the Nyx auto eyebrow pencil. I use the shade taupe. It doesn't match perfectly. I swear my eyebrows are grey and I've tried ash colored brow products and whatever this one works well. 

For my face, I go all over with the Too Faced chocolate soleil bronzer  This is the most amazing bronzer ever. Interestingly enough, I've never used drugstore bronzer. I have tried all the cult faves of high end. This smells and tastes like chocolate, it's matte, it smells like chocolate, it's not too brown or too orange. Oh and IT SMELLS LIKE FRIGGIN CHOCOLATE. 

Another cult favorite that I use it the NARS orgasm/laguna duo. I miss the two and put it on the backs of my cheek bones. I hate the look of blush on the apples of my cheeks. This is seriously worth the hype. 

Finally, I curl my lashes and put on one coat of Maybelline Falsies and one coat of Maybelline great lash lots of lashes . Maybelline makes the best mascaras hands down. This combo makes my lashes long, curled, volumized, just perfect. 

Fall Beauty Must Haves

I love fall. Who doesn't? crazy people thats who. I recently did a post all about my fall fashion must haves which you can find here. I decided I should do a beauty related one as well. There are so many great trends for fall and winter. Dark everything is in and people start describing colors as oxblood. By the way nail polish and lipsticks have the best names ever do they not?

1.The first has been bold lips colors. The first one is the Revoln matte balm. These are new and they're the most recent lip crayon pencil things. These smell like mint and they're pretty balmy. But don't think these are just tinted balms because let me tell you this packs a lot of punch. It's a perfect purple if you're not really into bright purple lips. I've been using the color "shameless" 

 

 

  

Two others are from NYC. This brand redeemed itself. These were 93 cents each. What?! No seriously. And they're pretty good quality. They're no where near a MAC lipstick and they smell a bit strange but why're so great. I love "sheer red." This is a nice brick red. As the name suggests, it is more sheer but I think that's good because I'm not really the type to wear bam red lips daily. 

The other? THAT IS MAHOGNAY. Ok sorry. Bad joke. But I expected this is be a dark brown. Don't ask me why I felt like I needed a dark brown lipstick. This turned out to be a rich red purple berry kid of color. You can build it into a bold deep color of dab it on for a more wearable look. 

 

 

(Ps I tried to do lip photos of each of these about a million times and the lighting is never right but I promise they look amazing on)

2. THIS NAIL POLISH. ohmygod is it pretty. It's an almost black red. Like at first glance it's king of bothy but then you're like "woah that's red. You're so chic. And cool. I love you." This perfect polish is "prey tell" from China Glaze. I got my nails done with this at a salon and needed it. I really need new nail polish like I need a hole in my head but oh well. After a long search I finally ordered this online form amazon and 2 weeks later (3-5 business days my ass) I had this.  It's so damn pretty.  It lasts so long especially with the top coat I reviewed just down below VVVV. 

Connect with me

So I have a few other sites I use. Please to follow any of these. (I'll add more as I need to)

tumblr

pinterest

polyvore

Feel free to post your tumblr, pinterest, or polyvore below. I'm always looking for more to follow.

These are a few of my favorite things

So here's my kind of not really monthly favorite things. I already did a fashion one of these and a beauty one but here's some other random stuff I like.

1. Eating healthier. Over the summer I was in my prime ok. I went to the gym every day. And not just like omg did the elliptical for like 30 minutes, I actually worked out. Strength, cardio, everything. I ate so healthy then I fucked up my back in late July fast forward like 5 months and 110384 doctors and tests later, they still don't know what happened butttttt anyways combine that with living on my own and being in college, I have been eating crap and not working out (unless you count carrying 9000 bags 6 blocks from Target.)
I'm starting my New Year's resolution early. I have been trying to kill as much microwave food as possible and swap it with fresh healthier things. Of course I can;t really do much cooking because theres not oven in my apartment just a microwave and hot plate. (both have been living in that apartment for about 30x longer than I have.) I'm doing the best that I can with what I have. (btw I'm thinking of adding some cooking stuff on here?)
Ok but the point of this one is that I've been eating better.

2.Modern Family. This show is freaking hilarious. Its on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights on USA and every night at 7 & 7:30 on fox 5. I'm obsessed. I always wanted to watch it and I think I always meant to ever since it started but never got around to it. Seriously watch it. Each character is perfect. This show is flawless.

3. Vlogmas. Some day I'm going to do this but some day is not today.
I've been watching MoreMeghan LiveLaurenElizabeth beyondbeautystartv
I seriously look forward to these videos daily. And if you don't know what vlogmas is, its when people make a daily vlog every day of December.

4. December. I love Christmas time. Who doesn't though? I walked past the side of my building at night and recognized which apartment was mine because I know where I live and also it was pretty much the only window not decorated. I need to step up my game. I promise I will get lights and stuff but, II haven't had time.
I've been doing some baking. I made christmas cookies today. Yummy.
It snowed. Its only snowed like 3 flurries in NYC so far but, at my parents house, up in the woods upstate it is a winter wonderland.

5. My new hair. I had hair that was, at last measurement, about 34 inches long. I finally decided to cut it. Its still crazy long but its healthy and I feel as free as a bird.

No with the good comes the bad. So this is what sucks lately.

1. The end of the semester. Ughhhhhh. The end of the semester brings essays and finals and projects oh my. I have two weeks left and in those two weeks I have to read 2 long stories and annotate them both, study for all my finals, write 2 final papers, prepare a presentation, meet with my advisor, make my schedule for next semester, cry a lot, take all my finals, buy a train ticket home, pack enough stuff for 6 weeks of break into one suitcase, cry, come home. And I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a few things.

2. Cold weather. My lips, skin, hair, eyes, nose, feet, elbows, etc is dry. There is just not enough water and chap-stick and lotion to keep up. I took accutane for about 9 months and everything itsn't exactly back to normal. But seriously, I feel like a shriveled little prune.
OH and its freaking freezing outside. If you think that you're wearing enough layers, you better go back inside and throw on another 8 more.

Kiss nail dress review

This is going to be a quick one guys. I got these sent to me by Influenster.

So these are nail stickers that come in assortments of styles. It seems simple: choose the size that fits, stick them on, file off the excess. Not quite so easy. 

It took me about 25 minutes to put these on. You would think they would look perfect after that but no. I tried my best but wound up with bubbles and parts of the sticker were sticking to each other. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the set I got. Neon, cheetah and zebra print is not really my thing. That being said, I felt like I should give them a shot.

If you try these out, do them in a ventilated area because these smell like poison. Much worse than normal nail polish. 

The removal process was the worst.  They claim you can remove them in seconds with no remover. This is kind of contradicting because they're supposed to last long but you can just peel them off? 

No quite. I was left with sticky glue all over my nails. 

Here is what mine look like. 

 

You can't tell in the photo but, these look rough. 

Overall I would not recommend these. 

Fall fashion must haves

What I've been wearing all of the fall season so far.

1. American Apparel easy jeans in dark wash indigo. The perfect high waisted jeans. They're comfy and a great way to wear cropped shirts from the summer. These are originally $72 but I bought mine at the outlet in soho for around $40 or so. 

2. Betsey Johnson Natalie boots. I had been searching for a pair of black ankle boots for forever. I wanted ones that were a little higher up on the leg to make my feet look smaller and these were perfect. They have a heel which is only about 3 inches. They're pretty easy to walk in but if you do happen to buy them I suggest getting a gel insert because they don't have much support. 

3. Leather jacket. I bought mine at h&m and wrote all about it here

4.  Black on black. This is pretty much the theme of all that I wear. Black is just so chic. Plus you can spill stuff on yourself and no one will know. 

5. BIG COMFY SWEATERS. Fall is sweater weather right? Yeah it is. I have a full drawer that doesn't close that's filled with sweaters. I find my best sweaters at thrift stores because they're much cheaper and look just like the ones that urban outfitters is trying to sell for $70. Even if thrift stores aren't your thing, you can find big comfy sweaters just about anywhere. My favorite way to style them is with leggings if they're long enough to CTC (google that and a kardashians episode should explain.) If said sweater isn't long enough, I wear them with ripped jeans and heels. Its such a stylish look. 

6. Big black structured bags. Especially the ones with those little flaps on the side. You know, the ones that look like a Celine bag that we all wish we could afford. Ahhh some day. I found one at H&M for $30 and they have tons more. This style is really on trend lately so you can find one of these within your budget just about anywhere. The one that I got is HUGE. I recently traveled home for the holidays and fit in it all my usual crap, my laptop, ipad, chargers, 3 notebook, 2 folders, a bagel and donut from Dunkin, and a coffee mug. Yes it weighed more than a small child but hey, it all fit. 

If you all enjoyed this, check out my other post on beauty must haves for fall 

Best nail base and top coat ever?!

I HAVE FOUND THE BEST BASE AND AND AND TOP COATS EVER.

It's from the brand Nutra Nail and this set of two was $5. I've only ever seen these at Walmart but I'm sure they exist other places because let's be honest I didn't look that hard. Sorry. So, technically this little box is just the Bullet Proof Strength base coat and the High Gloss top coat is just a free gift. This is my second time buying this so you know I love it (nail polish lasts forever even when you're me and paint your nails like every day.) 

So the base coat actually makes your nails stronger. At least it claims to. Butttttt I have super weak nails that just don't want to grow. Like at all. I've been using this for however long it takes to use up a bottle and I can honestly say that this stuff made my nails so much stronger. Also my nails chip like crazy. Normally, its a basic miracle if my nail polish lasts more than like 1 or 2 days max. Since using this combo, I get at least 4-5 days before I start seeing very minor chips.

I have tried every base and top coat out there. I've tried the dirt cheap and I've tried the super expensive-its gonna be worth $25-ones. These ones from Nutra Nail are the absolute best and best of all, you cna get both of them for 5 freaking dollars. How can anything be better. 

100 questions no one ever asks tag

Hot damn I watch a lot of YouTube videos and this tag goes around every once in a while. I figured I would do it because a) I need something to do on this train ride and b) I think you guys should know more about me and by 'know more about me' I think you should know some really useless information about me.

Let's gooooooooo:

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? I don't have a closet and I haven't had one since I was a child so....

2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? Duh free shampoo/ conditioner that's perfectly sized. Ps is anyone else weirdly drawn into thosw mini makeup products at Sephora?

3:Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Hmm well, I don't have more that just that one sheet that goes over the mattress what's that called...? 

4:Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No but I would like one 

5:Do you like to use post-it notes? No

6:Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? I don't have that kind of time but holy shiii have you guys ever seen Extreme Couponers?  My obsession 

7:Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Bear-stand tall with your arms in the air or something like that 

8:Do you have freckles? You don't even know how many freckles I have on my arms. But then again neither do I. That would be really hard to count. 

9:Do you always smile for pictures? No. Never. Do not take my picture.

10:What is your biggest pet peeve? People who... You know what move to New York City, you'll understand 

11:Do you ever count your steps when you walk? Sometimes 

12:Have you ever peed in the woods? Who hasn't?

13:What about pooped in the woods? How difficult would that be? Like really.

14:Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing? I can't dance

15:Do you chew your pens and pencils? If by chew you mean nearly digest then yes. 

16:How many people have you slept with this week? 38

17:What size is your bed? Twin extra long at school/full at home. 

18:What is your Song of the week? Niggas in Paris by Kanye is the song of my life

19:Is it okay for guys to wear pink? It really depends. Like it really depends

20:Do you still watch cartoons? Occasionally 

21:Whats your least favorite movie? you again 

22:Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? Why would I tell you?

23:What do you drink with dinner? Water. Always water. With everything 

24:What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Ranch/honey mustard. 

25:What is your favorite food? Well now I really want a chicken nugget with honey mustard. 

26:What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Georgia Rule, Mean Girls (cliche), Clueless, Grease

27:Last person you kissed/kissed you? Awko Taco

28:Were you ever a boy/girl scout? Girl Scout because my mom was the troop leader. 

29:Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?  Why not.

30:When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? 2004.

31:Can you change the oil on a car? Hahahahaha.

32:Ever gotten a speeding ticket? No but I really should. (Knock on wood)

33:Ever ran out of gas? Now there's a story. 

34:Favorite kind of sandwich? Literally any sandwich but the best is breaded chicken with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, ranch, bacon, in a spinach wrap. 

35:Best thing to eat for breakfast? Those breakfasts froma dinner where you get 3 eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes, French toast, etc. 

36:What is your usual bedtime? 2 am. 

37:Are you lazy? As lazy as a

38:When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Don't you dress up for something different each year?

39:What is your Chinese astrological sign? Pig. Is that the right thing?

40:How many languages can you speak? After 6 years of Spanish, 1 year of French, and 1 summer in Germany I can proudly say that I can speak English. Sorta. 

41:Do you have any magazine subscriptions? I think I'm still subscribed to Seventeen at the house I grew up in/moved out of four years ago. 

42:Which are better legos or lincoln logs? Lincoln logs. Can you tell I grew up country. 

43:Are you stubborn? Oh yeah. 

44:Who is better…Leno or Letterman? I could literally not care less.

45:Ever watch soap operas? The Days of Our Lives starring Joey Tribianni as Dr. Drake Ramourey

46:Are you afraid of heights? Not even at all. I live in New York ok. 

47:Do you sing in the car? Do I sing? Yes. Do I sing well? No 

48:Do you sing in the shower? I don't sing I preform. 

49:Do you dance in the car? How? How is that possible?

50:Ever used a gun? You don't know the redneck land of my hometown. 

51:Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? High school 

52:Do you think musicals are cheesy? Non broadway ones are. 

53:Is Christmas stressful? No Christmas is the greatest time of year. 

54:Ever eat a pierogi? Yes. And from reading/watching this tag I'm the only one. But SOOO GOOD 

55:Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry. No apple. No blueberry. 

56:Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Travel agent/gold digger. 

57:Do you believe in ghosts? Oh yeah. 

58:Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? All the time but like I take psychology so I had my dreams about that shattered. 

59:Take a vitamin daily? When I remember 

60:Wear slippers? When I can find them

61:Wear a bath robe? Ew never they always freaked me out. Like why would you get dressed into a robe then into clothes 

62:What do you wear to bed? Sweats and whatever shirt I wore that day. 

63:First concert? Probably the Jonas Brothers

64:Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target.

65:Nike or Adidas? Nike. Idgaf 

66:Cheetos Or Fritos? Ugh either. 

67:Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Ew neither please. 

68:Ever hear of the group Tres Bien? No. And my year of French did not teach me what that means. 

69:Ever take dance lessons? Yes and I quit each one before the recital then my parents made me go to one of the recitals and I sat downstairs in the waiting area alone for hours because I dint have friends and my mom sewed my costume too tight. 

70:Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?  Wall Street banker. No exceptions. 

71:Can you curl your tongue? Yeah can people not?

72:Ever won a spelling bee? Yeah with the word surprise.

73:Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Am I a girl?

74:Own any record albums? No I wish 

75:Own a record player? Again I wish 

76:Regularly burn incense? I thought only stoners did that. 

77:Ever been in love? Oh for sure.

78:Who would you like to see in concert? KANYE

79:What was the last concert you saw? Jonas brothers. Is 2008 you jealous. 

80:Hot tea or cold tea? Hot. Green tea. 

81:Tea or coffee? Tea. 

82:Sugar or snickerdoodles? Snickerdoodles. 

83:Can you swim well? Yeah it's not difficult. 

84:Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Who can't?

85:Are you patient? Not even a little. Let's go 

86:DJ or band, at a wedding? Dj 

87:Ever won a contest? No. I'm so unlucky with that. 

88:Ever have plastic surgery? Not yet..... jk

89:Which are better black or green olives? Eww olives are the devil 

90:Can you knit or crochet? Both. 

91:Best room for a fireplace? Living room. 

92:Do you want to get married? Yes.

93:If married, how long have you been married? I'm 18 and this is not the south. Jk. Kind of. 

94:Who was your HS crush? Oh you haven't seen the boys in my high school have you?

95:Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? What am I four. I just get my way. 

96:Do you have kids? No.

97:Do you want kids? God no. 

98:Whats your favorite color? Lilac. 

99:Do you miss anyone right now? Yes.

100: Have you ever been stung by a bee? Yeah. Seriously who has never been stung by a bee?

NYC Big Bold Gloss review

I want to start this off by saying that I'm not a huge fan of lipgloss. I normally like either matte lips or natural lips. Secondly I got this is my varsity Voxbox from Influenster. You can join Influenster by going here. The site is perfect if you blog or vlog or post anywhere about anything. You fill out questions that can qualify you for free boxes full of goodies related to you. I've gotten 3 so far. However this is not a site where you just get a bunch of free stuff. Getting a box is kind of rare but it's worth it. 

Anyway this gloss. I got the color "pleasant plump pink". The gloss claimed to plump your lips, last for 5 hours and be light weight and non sticky.

First off, pulling out the applicator, I see that it is a like a normal lipgloss except its huge. This didn't really present any sort of problem but it felt like it was a bit cumbersome. Because of this, you do get a lot of product out at once. I found myself having to wipe it off and waste some product.

When I put this on, it burned. More than the average plumping gloss tingles. Most plumping glosses feel a little bit tingly but this hurt. The sensation went away pretty quickly though. 

I don't really feel like plumping lip glosses actually work because I have never seen one that works. Naturally I didn't feel like this one plumped my lips either. Here's some pictures.  You. An decide for yourself if it worked. 

I think that lipgloss adds a highlight to your lips that makes them look a little larger over all anyway. As you can see, like most glosses, this one is pretty sheer.

Overall I didn't hate this but I probably will not repurchase it for myself. If you're looking for an every day lipgloss then this may be for you. If you're looking for huge volume in your lips and good color payoff, skip this one. I give this 3/5 stars.

You can find more information about this product Here.

H&M haul

This past weekend, H&M was having a buy one get on free with all their winter items. I picked up a few things.

I love leather for the fall and I couldn't resist this jacket. I've wanted a faux leather jacket for a while but they cheap ones look super cheap and the nice ones are crazy expensive. This one was $49.95 

You can find it here

Next was this shirt that's pretty much impossible to photograph. It's a black crop top with 3/4 length sleeves that are mesh. The rest of it is black and it has a sweet heart neckline where it meets the mesh. It was $12.95 and I couldn't find it online. When I wore this, I paired it with American Apparel dark wash easy jeans. 

This pink scarf. I really only grabbed it because I couldn't find anything in the winter items that I liked. It's light pink with white skulls. They're much more subtle and don't look like skulls from far away. Don't get me wrong, I love skulls but it can be overkill. This one also isn't available online but there are a few similar. 

Finally were these knuckle rings. I'm not too sure how much I love this trend. I mean I do get to channel my inner Phoebe Buffay but still. They were $5.95 and came in a pack of around 20. Oh and enjoy this obnoxious photo.

DIY: chic skull decor

Punk and grunge are back in a big way. Skulls are everywhere. They're on scarves (Alexander McQueen anyone?) bags, everywhere and they're not just for Halloween. If you've been on Tumblr or Pinterest lately you've seen these chicly decorated skulls. Put them at the end of your shelves or on a stack of books. Wherever you put it, you'll have a super chic decoration. 

So lets's get started in making one of these bad boys. You'll need: matte black spray paint, glitter glue, a plastic skull ( you should be able to find them at one of those pop up Halloween stores or your dollar store,) and some paintbrushes or sponges to apply the glitter. 

First off you're going to want to spray the skull with an even layer of black spray paint. Do this outside or lay down something to protect the surface you're working on. 

Wait for the paint to dry and you should have a matte black skull.

Make sure you cover the bottom and back too. Add a second coat if it's too sheer or you missed some spots.

Once the paint has dried, mix your glitters and apply a few coats of it.