What to Wear This Fall

I start thinking about Autumn weather as soon as it's over. There is just something about the crisp, cool air, the apples and pumpkins to be picked, the hay bales and crunchy leaves beneath my feet. Nothing compares. And when it comes to fashion, Autumn is one of the best times of the year to start fresh and really reevaluate your closet. Turning over a new leaf, if you will. ;)

There are classics you want when you transition to your fall wardrobe and some new pieces you want to integrate into your fresh new look that will carry you well into the colder months and will last for years to come. Read on for my closet must-haves this fall:

1. Camel trench/camel coat: This is the perfect staple for the Autumn season (this one is pretty gorgeous too--both from Old Navy--swoon!). You can dress it down or dress it up, wear it from early Fall through the winter time. Camel is that perfect shade that looks good on everyone. It's the new black, if you ask me. It's neutral enough yet isn't boring at all and can be paired with just about anything. You will wear this every year because it will never go out of style and will always make you look polished and put together, even when you roll out of bed and want to cover up for your trip to Walgreens for some Ben & Jerry's. I got you, girl.

2. Vests: Now when you think of vests, what comes to mind? Your grandfather, perhaps? Smoking a pipe in the corner of the parlor, calling you over and taking out a Werthers from his pocket of the vest and handing it over as if it were the key to a national treasure? Well forget that! Vests (like that one) are not for your papaw anymore! This faux fur vest (Forever 21) is going to be a go-to this Autumn, just you watch. Chunky, but you can still layer it with short sleeves, long sleeves, a cool denim shirt...pretty much anything your pretty little heart desires. When I first laid my eyes on this vest, I had instant heart-eyes emoji all over the place. I couldn't control my excitement. And neither will you. This isn't grandpa's ordinary vest.

3. Denim: There used to be so many rules with denim, and frankly it can be one of the harder pieces to work with in any closet, mainly because how difficult the fit can be and because of all the preconceived notions we have of it: you can't wear it to work (depending on your job), you can't wear different washes together, you can't...blah, blah, blah. There are no rules in fashion. There are enough rules in life...I am not about to apply them to the one place we are free to be and do as we please.  Wear your denim, wear it with other denim, wear it as a dress...just wear it! It will be your best friend--trust me.

4. Cable knit sweaters: Um, do I need to say more? But really, cable knit is a classic (or really any tightly knitted, chunky sweater). It just screams cozy. And what more perfect item do you want on a crisp, fall morning or cool, brisk evening by the fire than a cable knit sweater to cuddle you up?

5. Booties: Suede, leather, pleather...whatever material, this is going to be your shoe  (like this one from Sole Society) this fall. It is so versatile! Gorgeous, comfortable and chic, it will go with nearly every outfit this Autumn. You can wear them with dresses, leggings, jeans; running to the grocery store, meeting girlfriends for lunch, or date night with bae. They are perfect for anything from apple picking to pumpkin carving and everything in between.

6. Stripes: This is something that you may already have in your closet or tucked away in your drawer somewhere. Normally, you see girls wearing plaid everything during the fall months, but what is really going to be making waves this Autumn are stripes. Big stripes, skinny stripes, and every stripe you can find, will be something you need to incorporate into your Autumn wardrobe. If you want to conceal a little tummy after eating one too many crunch wrap supremes, pull out a striped top, pair it with your cute new vest, and dust off those holey, distressed jeans, put on your booties, and bam! Chic Autumn goddess.

Fashion is one of the easiest ways to be truly unique and creative. Use these Autumn staples to your advantage--you probably already have some, if not all, of them in your closet right now! And if you don't, check out stores like Forever 21, Old Navy, and Marshalls and TJ Maxx for some great pieces if you don't want to break the bank but want to try a little experimenting.

Review | Essie Gel-Setter Kit

The day has come upon us all where I have officially decided to take my manicure into my own hands (literally and no pun intended). I have caved and purchased the Essie Gel-Setter Ultimate Wear and Shine Color Kit. Let us proceed. 

Up until recently, I have worn a gel polish every single day for the past year and a half, without any time in between manicures. That has to be pretty awful for the health of my nails (and my wallet) so I wanted to give myself my own manicure, but I wanted the look and wearability of a gel manicure but at the comfort of my own home and without the cost. I was spending approximately $84 a month (just a manicure and a tip for the technician; this doesn't include my eyebrow waxing+tip), which translates to approximately $1,344 for the year and a half that I wore a gel manicure. What. The. F#!%&!??!?!?! Up until this very moment, I had never done the math on this and it infuriates me to say the least. 

Anyway, I went ahead and purchased this kit for $15.00 (free shipping to Prime members) on Amazon.  I did a few trials before conducting this review mainly because I forgot (woopsies) but also, I wanted to try different nail polishes with the top coat to see how it wore. Here are some things I found: 

• The polish I picked was very streaky and was the first one I tried with the top coat. "Ballet Slipeprs" by Essie (which came in the kit) is very opaque and hard to get an even coat. I kept it on despite how weird it looked and it lasted less than a whole week before it started chipping and peeling off in one layer rather than small chips here and there.
• The next polish I tried was a Sally Hansen quick dry color. It was a metallic shade and although I wasn't thrilled about the color, the application was very good and it lasted a week, which was longer than the Essie polish I tried the first round. 
• Following the Sally Hansen, I tried another Essie polish, my favorite...Sugar Daddy. It is the perfect shade of light pink (I think this is the color you get when you get the traditional French manicure at the nail salon--if it isn't, it's a pretty close runner up and very beautiful) and is not too sheer but builds up in opacity with a second or even a third coat (I normally do three coats). This shade wore the best, lasting almost a week and a half! Crazy! 

$15 and an hour of my own time at home got me three manicures (and counting)! I just saved $69 by not going to the nail salon. 
Conditions:

• The first time I tried the polish and top coat, I filed and shaped my nails per usual, but I did notice that I did not do the one step the salons do when I have gotten a gel manicure: I did not buff my nails prior to putting the first coat of polish on. This could have been the death of my first manicure using this kit but I still think the opacity of that polish had something to do with it. 
• I wore the polish as if it were actually a gel polish (this does not claim to be a gel polish--it claims to offer the shine and look of a gel polish. Some reviews were negative because other consumers expected to get what an actual gel manicure offers with this product and were disappointed when it didn't live up to it). I washed dishes, showered, fought crime...the usual.
• The 2nd manicure, I made sure my nails were completely dry and buffed--almost a rough texture so that the polish was better able to stick to my nails. Same conditions--fighting crime, washing dishes...
• I never used a base coat with any of the polishes. A lot of reviews I found suggested to using one (even videos and tutorials I found on YouTube) but I didn't have one I wanted to use with this experiment so I didn't try it this time around.

The Verdict
Two thumbs up. I highly recommend this product. The shade "Ballet Slippers" isn't my favorite for a few reasons: the level of opacity is too much, streakiness makes it hard to get an even coat, and the color is too pale for me.  In my opinion, it is not necessary to only use Essie polishes with the top coat, but a base coat may very well be a way to prolong the life of the manicure. Also making sure that your nails are completely dry and buffed prior to applying anything is a huge must in order to ensure the polish sticks to your nails. For someone who is looking for a really inexpensive manicure you can get at home that looks great towards the end of week one, going into week two with little to no chips or peels, this is definitely the product for you! I will definitely be repurchasing, and next time with a great base coat. 

See more here. <3

So recently I welt to Ulta with my friend who needed a few things, and because I also needed some things and have never been to Ulta (I know!!!), I thought that would be a good place to get things on my list and to use up my gift cards from my birthday and Christmas (I know what you're thinking...don't judge). I also did some shopping at Torrid, too, but I am saving that for another post. ;)

I desparately needed new mascara and I have been dying to try the Tarte Cosmetics Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara.  I purchased that and my trustUrban Decay Perversion mascara. While on the eyes, I also bought some Anastasia of Beverly Hills single eyeshadows in the colors fawn, sienna,birkin and hot chocolate. I have only tried the Brow Wiz Pencil  (frigging obsessed) and the contour pallet (which I adore)--well made products make such a difference in your highlight, contour and eyebrow game...serious. 

I am nearly out of my Nars Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder so I purchased the Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder and a Tarte Cosmetics blush since I was getting bored of my other blush I used on the daily...I love my Tarte blush that I have but a girl can't have too many blushes, am I right?!

So I spent way too much like I always do, but makeup is totally worth every penny in my opinion. I finally got home and was able to use everything and oh my gosh, I love it all! Let me break it down for ya:

Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara >>  ah-ma-zing! My lashes are phenomenal. I had heard reviews about it before, saw videos and tutorials…I convinced my friend to also purchase it and she loves it too. Definitely a winner in my book.  I am not going to mention the Urban Decay Perversion mascara since I have tried that before, but if anyone has questions or wants me to do a review on it – subscribe and like this post! 

From left to right || Birkin (soft camel, perfect transition shade), Sienna (warm red-brown), Fawn (darker camel, great transition shade) & Hot Chocolate (dark brown)

The ABH eyeshadows >> holy crap. Ho-ly crap. They are super blendable, super pigmented, and yields little to no fall out at all! I couldn’t believe it. I totally bought them on a whim, didn’t swatch it in the store, didn’t do any research on them before purchasing them—I literally walked down the aisle, saw them and put them in my bag. I did want a certain color I saw but appeared it was sold out, but since I love the four I purchased so much, I will definitely be purchasing more… and soon.

Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder >> I was skeptical of this purchase because I have never seen anyone talk about it, wear it, do reviews…nothing.  Just to clarify, I didn’t go looking for information about it, but unlike the ABH eyeshadows, I have never heard of this setting powder before so I wasn’t sure how it was going to sit on my normal-to-oily skin. And what I thought was interesting was that at Ulta in the Urban Decay display, they didn’t have a translucent setting powder.  The only products they had in the display had some sort of pigment and I wasn’t sure of my shade, so I picked the lightest one they had available.  Since I normally wear liquid foundation, I didn’t want to use a setting powder over my foundation with any pigment in it in fear of creating a weird shade on my skin.  So I went with what I thought was a safe choice.   To my surprise, I am so happy about this product.
The packaging—on point.  The product itself—on point.  The wear and shade—perfect.  I think I might even like it more than the Nars powder I mentioned earlier =\.  The only downside? So much product comes out of the jar! It had bounced around in the bag prior to me using it, I turned it all around and upside down because I was looking at the packaging and when I opened it up and took the safety seal off, I could not believe how easy it came pouring out.  This is something that is not a big deal for me—I just have to be careful but just be ware when you buy this item—be gentle with it because you can potentially waste a ton of product if you aren’t careful. 

A very rosy shade of pink, perfect for my fair skin tone. Adds just the right amount of flush for every beautiful face. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush >> I love my Tarte blush so I am not going to go into much detail about it because it is literally perfect and I have tried their blushes before which is why I went right for it when I was shopping. But—I loveeeeee the color.  I am fair skin and I wasn’t sure how this color would look on me because I swatched it in the store and it was the only one that really showed up on my skin but it appeared a little too bright and a little too red on my wrist. But when I used it, it looked perfect when I used my brush and was sitting next to all my other makeup.  The wear and lasting power of their blushes are just perfection and they feel amazing.  It is so hard to find a really good matte blush with no sparkle and Tarte has them. <3 love!

I hope you enjoyed reading about these new products I picked up as much as I enjoyed using and reviewing them for you! If you would like to know more about one of these products, feel free to subscribe and let me know in the comments below. I love chatting with you! <3

Let's face it--when we think of the pantsuit, we think of boxy blazers, shoulder pads, high waisted pants, geometric color blocking (which, by the way, are so bright it looks like your box of crayons threw up everywhere) and polyester ruffled blouses. See Exhibits A and B: 

Exhibit A: Google Image

Exhibit B: Google Images

Okay, these aren't exactly the power outfits you want to wear to the interview for that hot new job that hit the market, or to that hot new job you just landed. "What do you have in mind?" you dare to ask? Well... ask and you shall receive!

This, my friends, is the must-have closet essential:

                                      Selena Gomez wearing Versace. Google Images

Zendaya wearing Christian Siriano. Google Images

Polyvore: TheMakeUpofBeauty

Now before you tell me that the plunging neckline on Selena is too risque or that the bright magenta on Zendaya can come across as offensive in the office.... I know. Trust me, I am not trying to get you fired for sexual harassment or to annoy your colleagues with a bright colored suit. I am merely trying to show you the difference between a horribly dreadful suit and a friggin' gorgeous suit that you can literally do anything in (hence your 'power outfit'). 

This is just a guide to the essentials to the pantsuit that can literally do no harm. You can mix and match pieces, dress them up for a formal event or to wear to work, or dress them down for a more casual look for brunch or anything else you want to SLAAAAY. 

The piece I put together on Polyvore is perfect for either scenario...neutral but still sophisticated and sets the tone and shows everyone you mean BUSINESS even if you are just making an endless amount of copies and getting that Venti misto with non fat milk (and it better be non fat milk or ELSE)--but at least you'll look damn good doing it. 

You most likely already have some (or all) of these pieces in your closet, but what you really need to invest in is the perfect fit. You can have the nicest, most expensive item and it will look like a garbage bag on you if it does not fit perfectly. I cannot stress this enough! Invest in a descent blazer/jacket and well made slacks. Even if they do not fit you perfectly, get them tailored to perfection and you will be golden! You can wear a great cotton t-shirt for a more casual look, wear the pants alone with a great blouse, wear the blazer with great fitted jeans and kitten heels...the list is endless. Use your imagination or try apps like Polyvore to "try" the pieces on before investing in them and to get a feel for putting together different looks. 

Power to the pantsuit!

<3