Jewelry Haul - H&M and Charlotte Russe

Hello lovely readers,

Here are a few jewelry pieces that I hauled last weekend, smh...

The first piece is a white/pink multichromatic statement necklace. It's so pretty, I knew I had to bring this one home the minute I saw it. It imitates the color of a seashell and depending on how the lights hits it, it reflects green and orange colors. It has a pretty good weight and quality feel to it. $19.95 from H&M.

Also from H&M, I purchased this simple white and gold chain necklace with a matching bracelet set. There is a purple-is translucent glow to the white which makes these pieces even prettier. It was hard for my camera to capture that but it is more noticeable in person. I am stunned by how affordable these pieces are. They definitely look more expensive than they really are. The necklace was $7.95 and the bracelets $6.95.

Most of Charlotte Russe Jewelries are 2 for $10.00, so when I spotted the beautiful necklace, I felt like I had to have it, lol. It's a combination of chains, pearls, and black chiffon fabric laced between the chain. For the second piece, I picked this white/gold armor ring. Also super cute and long. It is stretchable so makes it easy for fitting. 

Do you have an armor ring? If yes, where did you get yours from?


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New Boots and Clearance Sandals

 

The second part of my haul from last weekend are the new boots that I purchased from Sears.
They are faux suede and stretchable, which got me pretty excited because I have big calves and it is hard for me to find knee-length boots that fit. So if you have the same issue as I do, I recommend that you check these out. These boots have a little bit of ruffles on one side and a zipper on the other. The heels are approximately 3.5 inches, which is not too high and they actually feel pretty comfortable. They do run a little small. I picked a size 9 1/2 and I normally wear size 8. I think the style is adorable and they come in black, red, and grey, and I purchased the red and black. I'm pretty excited that I was able to get these boots in red because it's not often I will find a cute red pair that looks good on me. They were $79.99 but currently on sale for $49.99 each.

http://www.sears.com/covington-women-s-frilly-dress-boot-black/p-054VA51271901P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11

http://www.sears.com/covington-women-s-frilly-fashion-boot-red/p-054VA51271801P?prdNo=5&blockNo=30&blockType=G30

While I was at Charlotte Russe, I also managed to pick up two pairs of wedge sandals that were on clearance for $14.99! Talk about deals. I really like these two so I thought it was a good opportunity to grab them for the price. Here is the link for the yellow sandal. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the black pair online.

http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/entity/204245.uts

That's it for this post. I wasn't kidding when I said I went way over my budget. Stay tuned for some jewelries next!

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Haul - Getting Ready For Fall

Happy Monday everyone! I went shopping yesterday and I suppose I should admit that I totally went way over my budget, lol. Buying stuff for my kids doesn't make things any better either **sigh**.

Fall is right around the corner and I wanted to add a few pieces to my wardrobe to keep me comfortable.

Charlotte Russe Haul

• I'm so happy to be able to get this black blazer to my closet. It's not the best quality, imo, but it looks fairly nice anyway. I think the style is very cute. It has a subtle leopard print and black lace trimming at the bottom. The fabric is lightweight, stretchy, and comfortable. I like how it slims and defines the waist. $39.99, price is a bit high but considering the style, I guess I can deal with it.  http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/Clothes/Blazers-Jackets/entity/pc/2114/c/0/sc/2629/208617.uts.
• I was also able to get these two skirts on clearance. The coral lace skirt was $6.99 and the black lace print skirt was $10.00. Paired with some leggings and layers, these skirts can also be worn during fall. It's funny how they look so short on the model but since I have short legs, these skirts falls slightly above my knees.
• http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/Clothes/Skirts/entity/pc/2114/c/0/sc/2633/208751.uts
• http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/Clothes/Skirts/entity/pc/2114/c/0/sc/2633/208944.uts

K-Mart Haul

• Bongo Red skinny jeans, $14.00. I think this color looks classy. I like how it still has that business casual appeal to it, which makes it work appropriate.
• Jaclyn Smith burnt orange skinny jeans, $17.49. I know the colors of both pants look almost the same in the picture but in real life, they are distinctively different. I think this one is a great color for fall.
• Basic Editions argyle fuchsia cardigan, $16.49. The quality of the material is surprisingly good for the price.Cardigans are a staple in my wardrobe.
• I also purchased a pair of dark green leggings for $7.98 (not pictured).

 

Sears Haul

• I found these two blazers at Sears for a shocking price of $17.99 each. They look and feel very nice too. 
• I also purchased two pairs of tights, one pink and one burnt orange for $4.98 each. Tights are also great for fall to keep your legs warm and add some color to your outfit. 

As you can see, I still like to wear colors during fall. I'm pretty excited that I scored a few blazers because I seriously needed to have some.  I am still on the hunt for a white one.

More fashion post to come...

What is your favorite thing to wear or favorite color during the fall season?

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Zoya Wednesday Swatches

I've been pretty happy with all the nail polishes that I recently hauled from Zoya and Wednesday is the last one I am swatching. When I grabbed this nail polish for swatching, I felt a rough edge around the bottle and that's when I noticed that a chunk of glass has chipped from the bottle. Fortunately, nothing leaked and I didn't get cut but I did use a nail file to smooth the rough edges just for precaution.

Wednesday is a soft pastel teal with a creme finish. Looks very shiny once dry and I love that. This shade reminds me of OPI's Mermaid Tears but I don't know yet how similar they are. From the picture, Wednesday appears bluer. I will have to do a swatch comparision in order to determine their likelihood.

I have two coats on the swatches and the application was easy breezy, which is awesome! The formula is not too thin or thick so it was easy to reach even coverage and opacity on the second coat. I find the color very soothing and pleasant. Do you guys ever feel that certain color just put you in a relax mode? I feel that this color does it for me.

 

 

 

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Zoya Feifei Swatches

Hello everyone,

I hope your weekend is good so far. Can I just say that I am right now feeling pretty upset? I went to K-Mart after dropping of my son to his school block party and bought a few things. Well, I can't find a couple of the things that I bought and I don't know if the cashier put it in my bag or what but I'm pretty frustrated that I paid for something that I don't have.
Second thing, I went to Big Lots and as I was about to pull out of the parking lot, I notice this lady walking right behind my car. Luckily, I was quick enough to step on the brake. She wasn't paying attention and still talking on her cellphone. She stopped and gave me the nastiest stare (while still on her cellphone). Doesn't she know that getting distracted on the cellphone can get you killed even if you are not driving? Ok, I understand that we are supposed to look out for pedestrians but don't they know that they also need to watch out for motorist too? I am always careful when walking by parked cars because you never know when one is going to pull out. She is lucky I have quick reflexes otherwise she would have ended up underneath my car. I always tell my kids "you need to watch out for cars wherever they are any around you. Don't expect that they are going to stop for you because if you both accidentally collide, guess who's going to get hurt."

Anyways, Feifei was one that I knew I had to have when I first saw swatches of it and the main reason I jumped on the recent Zoya BOGO promo. Feifei is new and from the Diva Collection for fall.

First off, look at how strikingly unique this shade is. Feifei is a sheer bluish grey polish with lots of sparkling gold, teal, blue, and pink micro glitters. It is a lot more sparkly in person but I think my camera did a fairly decent job at capturing its beauty. You will need 3 coats in order to reach a decent color pay off and this is what I have on the swatch. I spent a whole day last week swatching my new Zoya polishes and I am pretty happy with all the ones that I've got. This is one of them that I did not want to remove after swatching it. It's just so pretty to look at.

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DIY Flash Diffuser

 

 

 

To some of you who are a little more advanced in terms of photography, this might be old news, lol, but please bear with me because I am sure there are still people out there who don't know what this is for. Basically, what a flash diffuser does is disperse the light coming from the flash so that your subject doesn't get hit with bright harsh lighting. This is especially very helpful when shooting at close range, which is something I do very often with the pictures for my blog.

 

I like taking pictures with flash. It helps bring out the colors of my makeup and capture the shimmers that you won't see without flash. The problem is sometimes the flash is too harsh or too concentrated on a certain part of the subject so for a more balanced and softer lighting this is when the diffuser comes in handy.

 

There are many ways you can do your own diffuser in order to fit your camera but this is what works for my Rebella.

 

Tools and supplies I used:

 

• A clear used plastic product packaging that I have no other use for. It's sturdy yet flexible.
• Scissors
• Box cutter
• Clear tape
• Tracing paper

 

Directions:

1. I first cut up the plastic packaging to create a frame. The dimensions are approximately 4" x 2".
2. With the clear packaging, I also cut out what looks like a handle, which is what I plan to fit and insert into the area where you would attach a flash.
3. I used two layers of tracing paper and taped it to the screen.
4. I taped the handle to the screen. Pretty simple but effective. Since I'm not very good with directions, I think the picture should give you a better idea about what I'm talking about.
5. Once my makeshift flash diffuser is assembled, I just attach it to the camera whenever needed.

And here are some sample pictures so you can see what it looks with and without the flash diffuser. I used the same distance and same settings. See how the flash diffuser eliminates the harsh lighting from the flash. Again, you can customize your DYI flash diffuser to fit your camera. The main idea is to create a barrier that will soften and diffuse the light coming from the flash to balance the light and shadows around your subject. I hope you found this post helpful.

Let me know if you plan on trying this or have tried and how it turned out for you.

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My First Jelly Sandwich! Yummmy! :D

I first heard of jelly sandwich not long ago from Heatherann's post and thought that it was a pretty neat nail combo so when I was able to get this new jelly nail polish from Zoya's recent promo, I was pretty excited because I wanted to make my own jelly sandwich too.


Product Used:

• I started off with two coats of Zoya Frida, a sheer dark teal jelly.
• I added some loose large green glitters that I bought from a nail supply store.
• I then top that off with Orly Sashay My Way, a clear base polish with large holographic hex and bar glitters.
• I added another coat of Frida
• I then sealed the manicure with Seche Vite top coat.

Tada! Beautiful, isn't it? I was head over heels with the result. I know it's a lot of coats and does require some patience but you really don't need any special skills to do this. Now, I'm on a quest to acquire more jelly polishes because I want to make make them in every color lol! I love how the glitters look a little more muted yet still make the mani look very interesting. See how they seem to glow underneath the transparency of the jelly?

I know a lot of people don't like jelly finishes but I hope this mani can convince you that you can create a beautiful mani with them.

So what do you think? Still don't like jelly nail polishes? Have you tried making your own jelly sandwich too? If so, please let me know, I'd love to see it.

 

 

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