We're All A Little Mad

If you live anywhere but Florida, you cry a little bit every time the weather calls for rain or a temperature under 40 degrees, which ultimately means that you cry every day.  I actually had to defrost my windshield before getting in my car this morning.  It’s truly a never ending winter, even though it’s spring.  Does that make any sense? Maybe, if we lived in Canada or Alaska.  It’s even warmer in Denver than it is in NYC!  And you know what? We have had it.  My super cab driver the other day told me that this is the part of the year when people start talking about moving somewhere else, and that man interacts with tons of people every day, so you know he knows what he’s talking about.  He also confirmed that I’m not the only one that has talked about moving out of this iceberg that we call the Northeast.  If you think about it, the title “March Madness” totally applies to this weather considering the weather in March, from the first day to the last, drove everyone insane.  I think we all need a little bit of uplifting, and nothing raises spirits more than shopping and clothes (it’s a problem – I know).  So here are some of my March Madness picks for a spring that is hopefully not too far away.

1. Michael Kors

2. Madewell

3. RVCA

4. Topshop USA

5. Vince Camuto

6. Zara

7. Rebecca Minkoff

8. Matt Bernson

9. Kate Spade

10. Abercrombie (yes, abercrombie)

11. Kendra Scott

The Best Mask Ever

The moment we see that first little red bump on our face, we embark on a rollercoaster ride of skincare routines and frustrations.  It takes years to figure out what works with your skin, what irritates it, what dries it out, and what is just a waste of money.  And just when you think you got it right your skin decides it doesn't like what you use anymore and you have to start all over.  It truly has a mind of its own.  It's like a baby.  When a baby cries, you have to figure out what it wants with trial and error.  Babies can't tell you what they want, they just cry and scream until you get it right.  And you might realize that one day a pacifier is what calms the baby down, another day all the baby wants is to be held by it's mother and another day by it's father.  But you can't just give up because, well, it's a living being that is completely your responsibility to take care of for at least the next 18 years.  This metaphor might be a little extreme (especially because the closest thing I have to a baby is my dog, but she might as well be a human baby) but you see my point.

My skin has been difficult for years and I have spent so much money on "the best" products and "the best" skincare regimines, and guess what…nothing works.  I've realized that you have to keep it simple.  You know the Clarisonic spin brush that is suppoed to work wonders on your face and is apparently the greatest skincare product since the beginning of time? Yeah, that didn't work for me either.  What all the reviews dont tell you is that while it works on most people, there is a small number of people (like myself) whos skin actually becomes WORSE beause of it.  But after working all day in New York City, I want to do nothing more than scrub the city air off my face.  And then I found this. 

The Freeman Charcoal & Black Sugar Polishing mask is incredible.  I use it twice a week and it leaves my skin feeling amazing and clean.  No wonder it was recommened by Allure.  Like any skincare product, it caused my skin to get worse before it got better, but that's just part of the process. And it's cheap too! sometimes we think that we have to spend a ton of money on a designer product (which I am guilty of) but this is $5 and works better than anything I've ever used.  So save yourself some money and a trip to Sephora and try this out.

Sunday Brunch

Sunday Brunch is a crucial event in a young adult female's life - especially when there are bottomless mimosas involved  (but apparently that doesn't exist in NJ?).  It's a time to dress up, look cute, eat a good, laid-back meal with your friends, and post to Instagram.  It's nothing formal and it can be as casual as you would like, but some of us like to make it a time to flaunt our street-styling abilities like we're celebrities. Celebrities look amazing everywhere they go even if it's just the food store or the farmer's market or to pick their kids up from daycare (do celebrities even bring their kids to daycare? Probably not, but you get where I'm going with this).  For us normal, less artificially glamorous civilians of the world, if we dress up like that just to go to Target, you might frequently get the question, "why are you so dressed up just to go to Target?" which may lead to you responding, "why can't you just let me live my life?" (an often response of mine) - that tends to make them stop asking questions.  So get dressed up for your day-to-day activities because those clothes you bought aren't going to wear themselves.  And when it comes to brunch, take a picture of your outfit and your food, maybe sometimes even take pictures of you friend's food as well, because, as the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen.

Jacket: Raison Detre

Flats: J.Crew

Bag: Henri Bendel

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Denim: H&M

Tee: Madewell

Monday Round-Up - Work Shoes

Have you ever started getting ready for work and put together the perfect outfit and then think to yourself, "if only I had a pair of (insert type of shoe here), this outfit would be on fleek"?  Have you ever actually used the phrase "on fleek" in a real sentence? Me either, until this post.  I'm not even sure if I used it correctly but I'm going to leave it because it makes me feel trendy and cool and all the kids are doing it. Anyway, there are several pairs of shoes that every working (or not working) woman should have in her collection to make sure she's prepared for every outfit for every occasion.  Today, the lovely Aemilia Madden from PopSugar posted an extremely helpful article that lined up all of the staples and put them in a glamorous slideshow for our enjoyment. But the shoes featured are shoes we would really only see in our dreams rather than in our closets because some cost more than an entire paycheck.  You know, not all of us can be Carrie Bradshaw as much as we would like to hope that's where the road is headed (Mr. Big, if you're reading this watch the Sex & The City movie, specifically the part where Chris Noth surprises SJP with her dream closet in her dream apartment and keep that in mind for our future home). 

But here's the issue when it comes to shoes.  There's a saying "Buy cheap, buy twice", and this should be a constant thought when buying shoes, because it is absolutely true.  There is no way you can buy a cheap pair of pumps from Charlotte Russe and have them last longer than a couple of nights.  They fall apart, and then what do you have to do? Buy another pair.  But there is a way to buy shoes that aren't going to fall apart after one wear while staying within a reasonable budget.  Keep in mind, I truly believe your maximum price for shoes should be higher than your maximum price for clothes simply because (and I've said this before) you wear your shoes everywhere, on every surface, and they get put to the test when you wear them.  Sometimes you have to spend a little more to get a quality you need, but you don't have to break the bank.  So here is my modified version (right) of the PopSugar slideshow (left) with a maximum budget of $150 so we can look like Carrie Bradshaw without spending like Carrie Bradshaw.

Black Ankle Boots

Left: Gianvito Rossi ($995), Right: Nine West ($89.95)

Nude Heels

Left: Sergio Rossi ($595), Right: BCBGeneration $88.95

Polished Sandals

Left: Proenza Schouler ($795), Right: Splendid ($147.95)

Sophistcated Kitten Heels 

Left: Jimmy Choo ($595), Right: Kenneth Cole New York ($149.95)

Patent Leather Loafers

Left: Nicholas Kirkwood ($300, originally $595), Right: Aldo ($60)

Below: Jeffrey Campbell ($148) [and my personal favorite]

Tall Boots

Left: Stuart Weitzman ($655), Right: Ivanka Trump ($112, On Sale!)

Printed Pumps

Left: Giuseppe Zanotti ($499), Right: Louise Et Cie ($117.95)

Comfortable Commuting Shoes

Above: Nike "Free Flyknit 4.0" Running Shoe ($120)

I think this is a completely reasonable price for a pair of sneakers, especially for commuting purposes.  I'm also a HUGE Nike advocate, so maybe I'm a little biased on this one.

Stowable Flats

Left: J.Crew ($125), Right: Yosi Samra ($65.95)

Classic Black Pumps

Left: Christian Louboutin ($675), Right: Kristin Cavallari ($129.95)

One day, one day those Loubs will be ours, but in the mean time, the Cavs will do.

Sunday Best

This is my take on how all hours after 5:30 on Friday should be spent. Friday night (post-work) is the time to kick back, relax, eat some dinner, and have a nice, cold beer. Then at night, you should go out with your friends or spend the evening watching Netflix - neither is frowned upon so don't think anyone is judging you for choosing binge watching Grey's Anatomy on a Friday night over socializing. Saturday is the day to be lazy, recover from your wild night out (or in) and just hang out and be lazy, then repeat one of the options from Friday night. Sunday is the day to get stuff done. This is the day to go food shopping (or fight the crowds at Trader Joe's for a parking spot, shopping cart, and the last box of frozen, organic brown rice), and go to the mall because there's always a reason to go back there. My reason this weekend was because I ran out of my favorite concealer that I just can't live without (see "8 Cosmetics That You Will Thank Me For" post). My ideal mall outfit is exactly the below - something that makes people think "wow she's my style inspiration I love her outfit and it looks like she just threw that outfit on in 5 seconds without really thinking about it. Effortless and fabulous". I may not be able to hear people's thoughts but I like to think that that's what they're thinking. 

Coat: Cotton On (oldie)

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

T-Shirt: Madewell (On sale!)

Denim: Hollister (On sale!)

Bag: Forever 21

Monday Round-Up - Transition Outerwear

The temperature is rising and the snow is melting. If you're anything like me (live in NJ/NY area, despise the snow, hate being pale, commute into NYC daily, etc) you may have shed a little tear this morning when you stepped outside your front door to get a feel for what outerwear would be appropriate, and realized that you didn't have to wear your bulky winter coat and scarf. Winter clothes just make everyday functioning so much more difficult. It's liberating being able to move my arms and function as a normal sized human without any obstructions (i.e. coat and scarf). Sometimes it's truly the little things that are enough to start a Monday off the right way. In this case, it's 42 degree weather and not having to start my car 15 minutes before I left the house just so I can get into a car that feels like a refrigerator instead of a freezer for my drive to work. In celebration, here is a round-up of some of my favorite coats/jackets that are perfect for the winter-spring transition. Sayonara, Winter, you've overstayed your welcome. 

Necessary Clothing

Revolve Clothing

DKNY

Halogen®

Burberry

*I understand some people may look at this and think I'm crazy for recommending a Burberry jacket.  However, I completely think that this coat is worth every last penny because it will last you forever, and you can easily get a good 6 months a year out of this jacket.  

lululemon

J.Crew

8 Cosmetics That You Will Thank Me For

I was never one to care about being the best at doing makeup.  Of course I'm just like every other girl where I wear it everyday, put on some for work, and put on more to make me look pretty enough to attract attention when I go out.  But I never cared about watching tutorials and learning tips and tricks on beautifying myself. I mean, let's be honest, watching a makeup tutorial is like attempting a DIY on Pinterest.  It never comes out the way you see it on the Internet.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, please reference this BuzzFeed article.
Then when that happens I tend to just give up and pout that my life would be so much easier if I could just hire someone to do my makeup everyday while I was half asleep, like a Kardashian. Or better yet, life would be easier if I could just be a Kardashian. I don't have to be Kim, Kendall will suffice (noticing a trend here?). Anyway, there are so many steps to putting on makeup with just the basics!  Contouring - how do I do it? What kind of brush to I need? I don't even know how to do winged eyeliner, which I feel is now an elementary skill in the cosmetology world. And when I asked my makeup savvy sorority sisters in college, I got mixed responses as to whether or not my eyes could pull that off. So I came to a conclusion. There's no right or wrong when it comes to makeup as long as you color inside the lines, use a mirror, and have some good lighting while you do it. 

I may not be the best at doing makeup, but with skin that hates me, I want to make sure I have the best. Trust me there's nothing worse than sitting at work and your mascara starts flaking or you go out and you feel like you literally have a layer of frosting on your face. So, no, this is not a makeup tutorial, rather, this is a tried and true list of products I feel to be (some of) the best out there in no particular order.

e.l.f. Makeup Remover Pen

This is by far the most inexpensive item on this list.  But remember that winged eyeliner I mentioned? or have you ever sneezed before your mascara finished drying? This is cruicial in those situations where you need to just erase a little line without taking out a whole eye's worth of makeup.

Maybelline Define-A-Brow Eyebrow Pencil

stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

I have used this same eyeliner for years.  The first time I got it I went into the store and asked for the best liquid eyeliner they had, and this is what they gave me.  I recently ran out again and, just incase a better one came out over the years, I asked for the best again.  Guess what they gave me?

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup

They don't lie when they say this is "weightless".  You literally don't feel it on your face at all.  The only time my face breathes better is when I dont have any makeup on at all.

Urban Decay Naked3

I absolutely adore the rosy pigments in this palette.  Theyre elegant, sophiticated, yet you can have fun with them all at the same time.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

I can't tell you how much money I have spent on mascara at Sephora since I started wearing it.  But one thing every single mascara had in common was that by about halfway through the day it would start to flake and I would want to claw my eyes out.  Then I was recommended this by every beauty round-up in the fall.  It has changed my life.

Benefit Fake Up Concealer

Same goes for concealer.  I have so many different concealers that have just not worked.  This one is truly amazing at how well it covers up AND moisturizes under my eyes. I put it on every. single. day.  even if I don't put anything else on.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Tube

This is the first and only primer I have ever owned simply because I have never had an issue with it.  My eyeliner stay perfectly in place throughout the day and night.  Urban Decay just has a way with eye makeup.