Haul: Fall Booties

Hello!

Since middle school, my shoe wardrobe has consisted of dozens of classic black Converse Low Tops, aka Chucks, and flip flops. During my senior year, I fell in love with utilitarian style boots, ie: Steve Madden Troopa Boots. Back then, I didn't have any source of independent income, so I bought a pair of look-a-likes from Forever 21 and wore them to death. And then I bought a pair of moto-style boots from Target. And then I bought more boots thereafter. Lots of them. Now that I'm older and have my own money, I snatch up any pair of good quality shoes that I can find. While I do like my snazzy riding boots from the likes of Nordstrom, I get just as excited for shoes that I buy from TJ Maxx or Target. Below are my first and second pairs of booties! I figured booties wouldn't suit my body type (short legs in comparison to my torso), but they look pretty darn good in my opinion (which is all that matters anyway). Sooo, yeah, casual, cute, comfortable. The 3 major Cs. 

White Mountain Icon Chestnut Booties 

White Mountain Icon Chestnut Booties
You can find them here:
White MountainAmazonMacy's

I found these bad boys at my local TJ Maxx for about $35.00 before tax. 

Mossimo Supply Co. Kaden Strap Ankle Boots
You can find them here:
Polyvore (Sold Out)

And then I found these black beauties at Target on sale for $24.48! 

So moral of the shoe story, buy good ones. Not all good quality shoes are hundreds of dollars! You can find some cheeky treasures if you do some digging. And if you're trying out a new style of clothing or trying out a seasonal trend, try to buy whatever it is you want at more affordable stores. If you end up not liking what you bought, you probably won't feel too gutted. Alternatively, if you're successful in your fashion endeavor, you can do as you please knowing you tested the waters, and whatnot. So, yep!

Yay! Excited for Fall now!

:) AL

Hair Story: Ombre + DIY Hair Toner

Hello! 

I've ombred my hair on-and-off since I was about 16, and in the beginning of Summer a friend of my friend mentioned how much she liked my ombre hair in high school. After her lovely compliment, I thought "why not do it again?" So I went to good old Target the next day, bought some hair dye, and proceeded to damage my hair until it lightened! After the first round of dying, my hair was not very brassy (and to my liking) but then my hair started to turn brown.

(Initial result)

(A few days after I dyed my hair => brown. Sadly not aff. w/ Despicable Me)


(Brown)

Two weeks after, I did a touch up and my hair was lighter again! 

(Touched up)

About 2 months later, my hair looks like this now: 

(Current hair color. Poopy photo quality.)

As you can see, my hair's pretty frizzy now; but I am happy with the color (the poor pictures don't do it justice. it's actually pretty blonde). In attempt to prevent inevitable brittleness, breakage, brassiness, and color fading, I've been using Joico K-Pak Color Thereapy Conditioner and a DIY Purple Toner. Of course, I try not to wash my hair too often, but these are the two main products I've been depending on. 

                                                 

All I do to make the toner is fill up the container (which is just an empty ~3 oz container) with a white-colored conditioner (I use intense moisturizing conditioner, ie: the ones that come with hair dye packs, or the Joico K-Pak) and mix in a pea-size amount of semi-permanent purple hair dye. Once in the shower, I apply the toner to my hair; starting at ear level and concentrating the product at the ends. I leave the toner in for at least a minute. Ultimately, you can decide how much semi-permanent purple dye and conditioner you want to use depending on what your state of hair is. You can also mix in dye with shampoo if you've colored the upper region of your hair. I personally don't shampoo my ends and condition my head, so I only need toner for the bottom portion of my hair. 

Whew! So, I hope this has helped out anyone who is interested in ombred hair. Once California enters Fall, I want to try to tone down the lightness and transition my hair to a darker ombre. Anyway, thanks for popping by!

 xo AL

Wee Bit O' Hauling

I stopped by Target the other day and picked up some products!  

Suave Dry Shampoo- an essential! I don't wash my hair everyday, so this can of magic gives my hair volume, removes oil, and offers texture to my flat, straight hair.

Biore Deep Cleaning Pore Strips- I don't have particularly large pores but I use these strips when I feel like it's time for a deep cleaning.

Alba Good & Clean Pore Purifying Mini Peel- I went to the Alba section to restock on Acnedote Deep Pore Wash, my current face wash, but decided to get this bad boy! This contains AHAs, which I've never used before, so I'm excited to see how this will effect my skin. (ps: I've used it twice already, and holy cow. It's the Queen Bee's Knees.)

Sorry about the lighting! Took this photo in the afternoon.

:) AL 

UK + EU Haulage!

Hello! 

So I just recently returned from a two week adventure I spent in London, Paris, and Rome. Being the makeup crazed girl that I am, my main destinations were Superdrug, Boots, and Parisian or Roman pharmacies. Here are the products that I picked up! Enjoy :)

Blush Trio by "3" in Lace

Lace Trio: Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly 

L-R: MUA Power Pout in Justify 

GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in Flirty Orange

17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Bombshell 

Top - Bottom:  GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in Flirty Orange

17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Bombshell 

MUA Power Pout in Justify 

L-R: Superdrug the Little Pink Tin with spf 15

Uriage Bariesun Stick Levres with spf 30

L-R: Models Own Artstix in Jade Stone (NP083) + Snowflakes (NP145) 
Barry M in Aqua Glitter (340)
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Mango (GNP 18)
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Guava (GNP 15) *more turqoise irl
Bottom: Barry M in Limited Edition 13B

Superdrug Dry Shampoo in Spirit of the Carnival 

I also bought a large bottle of Bioderma which isn't pictured because I broke the container in France and transferred the liquid into a random water bottle I got in Rome. I think that's every beauty item I bought while I was in Europe and England! 

Feel free to comment below if you would like a review on any of these products. 

xo AL

Back from Europe!

This post isn't beauty related but here's a list of random blurbs I've conjured up in my jet lagged haze. If you've been to Europe or is just interested do read on.
- If you want to feel like a Hollywood celeb or the child of a UN honcho then take taxis everywhere in Rome. They're pretty much all Mercedes with tinted windows. And the drivers are usually in suits.

- I don't know how hairy people survive in Roman summers. I literally felt like my body was churning itself over and over- like when you flip your pillow over for the cooler side when it's hot & you're trying to sleep. 

- As a female who enjoys the likes of fashion and comfort, I noticed a lot of women in flat sandals. While embellished and cute, don't your feel hurt like mofos walking over cobble? I felt like Stylianos Kyriakides in my sandals which I bought in the older lady's section of Famous Footwear (the older lady's section understands the importance of arch support and feet comfort) They're cute, don't worry. 

- London is awesome for makeup shopping and British guys and cute babies with cute British accents; #allisonalert (don't worry it's nothing like amber alert. I just tend to try my damnedest to make little kids smile/laugh if they're just kicking it in their strollers or chilling on their mom's shoulder).

- Paris is awesome for people who want to break any dietary rules. Some people tend to let go of financial barriers on vacations, like they pretend that they're using play-money instead of real money (kind of like people in the 20s before the crash). Longing looks passing by leftover croissants in trash cans and a little encouragement from my traveling buds and I ate like the chubby kid in Willy Wonka. No veggies for two-ish weeks isn't a great idea but the pastries errrmaaageeeeerd! FYI, I'm back on the health train (Chipotle is healthy, like, right?).

- Rome is also awesome for people who want to break their diets. Or for those who love to carbo-load. While the food is deliciouso, I felt like I kept ordering the incorrect food. Like I unknowingly picked raviolis from Chef Boyardi instead of hard core yum stuff from your Grecian great grandmother who lives to feed you scrumptious spaghetti. 

- Gelato is always a good idea. And you cannot rag on people who get seconds- it's a rule. 

- Asian glow just looks like a really bad sunburn. I felt oddly Cheshire Catty telling people I was just red from Limoncello and that I wasn't sunburned because I had on SPF 55. I think I was just defensive about my skin care regimen (like how dare you accuse me of not reapplying sun screen when needed!)

- Steps in Europe are off by around an inch & a half. So beware.  

- Euros and British money are pretty but the coinage situation is sneaky. I'm pretty stealthy in deceiving waiters or staff into thinking I'm fluent in any language (roll your Rs and make sure your guttural throat is ready) but I literally started to sweat balls and hyperventilate when I was trying to figure out change. I was squinting at the tiny numbers on the coins & sheepishly telling people, "sorry, I'm new here." Poor natives, they probably thought I was staying longer. 

- I saw way more white American boys at the Coloseum than I have in my two decades in California. 

- Gurl, you don't need that extra grey tshirt. & do wash your undies in the shower.

- Helen Mirren is the shiet, but stay away from cider if you're going to be watching a play for 2 hours. I payed a million dollars to see her creepy younger self, two chairs, and corgis run across stage for a total of 15 minutes. 

- Carry around a mini fan whilst in Rome. I'm not joshing about the heat. I felt three gusts of wind during my time there. 

While in London, I did do some damage in Boots & Superdrug so look out for a "haul" post.

Bye!

Allison

30 Day Snap Failure

I'm a pretty nosy person. 'Pretty' as in I'll memorize your Wiki page if you have one. Because of my nosiness I thought I'd do the 30 Day Snap! Louise, aka Sprinkle of Glitter, just started this challenge which encompasses 30 days worth of photos to commemorate what you've done for the day. If you're a nosy person like me then you should take part too! Here's the link if you're interested- 30 Day Snap.

So today, I began the day getting my nails did! Snazzy, huh? Professional mani/pedis are a rare occasion because I always do my own nails. This is actually my second professional manicure! Gasp! Anywhoos, I ended up choosing a neon yellow/green look and I stinking love it. In the words of Rachel Zoe:  I. Die.

And then I went swimming with my best friend and chatted about girl stuff and all that jazz.

Here's a picture of a brand spanking new puppy that I met in the afternoon! She's only eight weeks old and is the epitome of a rambunctious, adorable puppy. Adorbs ain't she? 

Hope you nosy boogers out there found this a little interesting! 

:) AL

Summer Brights

Summer is just around the corner and the West coast is definitely feeling it. One of my favorite products to transition to Summer weather is a bright and fun nail polish. Normally the only nail polish I use is OPI Lincoln Park after Dark or Betsey Johnson for Sephora by OPI “Forever Wild”. Those two are essentially very, very dark purple hues which look almost black. But once Spring/Summer roll around I drop them and pick up my Barry M Nail Varnish in Pink Flamingo or OPI Lost Without My GPS.

They aren't too similar but they live in the pink/red scope. Pink Flamingo is a bright, creamy bubble gum pink   and Lost Without my GPS is a creamy coral red. Neither of the polishes have glitter, reflects, or much of a sheen. Formula-wise, I like Barry M more because it’s less “chip-prone”, which means it can last longer on its own if I’m too lazy to sandwich it between a top and base coat. Barry M formulas tend to be more creamy than OPI in my experience. 

(Click photo to enlarge)

(Click photo to enlarge)

(Click photo to enlarge)

I’m not a daring person when it comes to bright clothing, so I like wearing bright hues on my nails to add a little pizzazz and have some quirky colorful fun in the summer. If you’re trying to introduce more color into your wardrobe, wearing vibrant polishes is a simple and affordable starter.

I’ll be going to Europe for vacation in June so I’m definitely planning on ransacking Boots or Superdrug to pick up more Barry M polishes! 

Xo Allison 

PS: Lost Without My GPS was limited edition & Pink Flamingo is sold primarily in the UK.

Review: NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder (Sunny Bronzer)

I have to confess that I’m a bronzer addict. And it all started with Cargo Water resistant Bronzer. Followed by Too Faced Park Avenue Princess and Benefit Hoola. Seeing as the aforementioned products aren’t the most wallet friendly, I’m going to review a bronzer that’s just as good and way more affordable. 

NYC Sunny is a matte brown bronzer powder that is awesome for bronzing and contouring. It can be found at many drugstores or supermarkets and comes with a generous amount (0.33oz. / 9.4g). Some people are wary that it’s not a good product because of its affordable price, but I can guarantee you it’s just as good as what you can find at Sephora or a counter.

The cute sun embossed bronzer comes in an orange plastic compact; with a mirror attached on the inside (which always earns a gold star in my book). The plastic piece which joins the flip top and pan isn’t the strongest, but it does the job.

I must point out that those with fairer skin should be careful with application. This is because the bronzer leans a little more orange-tinged than some.

My point is that if you want a trusty and affordable matte bronzer then NYC Sunny should be next on your Wish List.

  

*Under natural light

* Under natural light

xo AL