Friday, December 30, 2011

All That Glitters

New Year's is the perfect time to break out the sequins! Or at least some sparkly eye shadow.
Subdued Glam Look: I really like this one because the shirt is comfy and will be great however late you stay out.

Little Gold Dress:  This dress is for going all out, keep the jewelery and hair simple.

Lady Like: I love how light and feminine this dress is while the gold stripes are  special enough for NYE.


Glam Look: I think this top is really versatile; you could wear it like this with layers of bracelets and some great hair or tone it down with a blazer and a sleek ponytail.

image sources top to bottom {1-shirt, 1-skirt, 2, 3, 4}

Long Hair Wishes

I am trying to grow my hair out, I have been for over a year. I want it to be loooong - well past my shoulders. These are some pictures that keep me going. These ladies have such long, healthy locks, exactly what I want!

And these are some color inspirations. It took a while, but I've come around to the ombre hair and while I don't want something as drastic as these, they do get me thinking...


Last year at this time I was focused on length and did not care about how damaged the ends were. I had my sights set on my wedding and having regular trims seemed counter-productive. For those of you who don't know your hair actually grows faster if the ends are healthy, so trims help with length and keeps your hair looking better. Below are other products I've come to rely on.


a. Bed Head shampoo (Tigi Recovery) and conditioner (self-absorbed)
b. Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave in Conditioner
c. Macadamia Deep Repair Masque (this is more expensive but well worth the price)
d. John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum Thermal Protection
e. Chi 44 Iron Guard thermal protection spray
f.  L'Oreal Elnett Satin for color-treated hair 

image sources {1 2 3 4 5}

Thursday, December 29, 2011

MyGlam (bag)

I am hoping that this post will spur some commenting! This is because I am sharing an product that has caught my eye and I want to know more from any of you! I literally just started reading about it in the last hour and I'm wanting as much information about it as I can get.

So, the product is MyGlam bag; it is a monthly subscription where they send you a small cosmetic bag each month with 4-5 sample size or full size products. To be honest a lot of my Christmas break has been spent watching beauty gurus on YouTube, for some I had not been aware of the wonderful knowledge that they all have! T laughs at me because all of a sudden I have a HUGE wishlist of beauty products I want becuase of these ladies. So, it is only fitting that I first heard about this on YouTube! Bethany (Macbarbie07) had a recent holiday make-up look/tutorial and this video used MyGlam bag. Her bag showed a lot of products I've been really interested in, but wouldn't have bought fullsize without previous use.

First off here is Bethany's video:


Somehow I've started subscribing to a bunch of Canadian YouTube girls, so I've found a bunch of monthly deals that aren't available in the U.S., which is really sad. However, it's gotten me to be on the look for other companies here in the states, like Jewelmint. This one is extremely popular, as well as Stylemint and Shoemint. The latter two aren't ones that I'm interested in, but I will definitely be trying out Jewelmint in the spring. My major draw back to all of these is the monthly cost and this is just because I don't spend $30 a month shopping for myself now, so I can't justify it for only one piece. This is where MyGlam bag comes in - it's only $10 a month! In my opinion (it seemse like) you're getting a lot for a very low cost. I can't give a full review becuase I haven't acutally tried it, but I've never heard of it so I wanted to learn as much as I could from any readers and inform others who're in the dark like me. I am totally willing to pay for at least a few months to test it out; $30 for three months sounds way better than for just one month.

For now I'll plan on starting it either January or February and I'll post reviews of each bag I get on here. Hopefully this will help some of you and potentially help the company too. For the record, I'm doing this out of my own curiosity, the company isn't sponsering it - althought I woul totally welcome that! ...a girl can wish right?

If you didn't notice anytime I mentioned "MyGlam bag" I linked to their webiste, but here is the full link too for you
http://welcome.myglam.com/index.html

Monday, December 26, 2011

Save on Sweaters

Staying warm in the winter is a must, but that does not mean you need to empty your wallet for warmer clothes.  Here are a few sweaters that I found for under $20, I've also listed other site I recommend for end-of-season sales. Keep in mind I'm a huge fan of layering, so none of these are thick wool sweaters.




1. Delia's Kara Cardigan - $19.99
    I love the cuff detail on this one.
2. Forever21 Casual Cardigan - $15.40
    As a note this style runs a little small, so if you're looking for a looser fit, go a size up.
3. Forever21 Mixed Striped Cardigan - $19.80
4. Delia's Emily Pointelle Cardigan (other colors available) - $9.99
    This would be for a dressy shirt that needs more sleeve.
5. Victoria's Secret Silk Cashmere V-neck Cardigan Sweater (other colors available) - $19.99
    This is an amazing steal! There are so many other colors and $20 for silk and cashmere!

I really recommend keeping an eye on lloy's clearance, Victoria's Secret's clothing sales and Charlotte Russe's in-store clearance.

Winter Must-Haves


Here are a few essentials to surviving a cold winter...

1. A good cup of coffee or hot chocolate or tea (whichever you prefer) in a cute mug. I always feel extra cozy when I drink out of cute mug. The one pictured is from Starbucks, T and I loved them at first sight; they're so simple!

2. Waterproof boots! I got mine from target for only $30 and they have patterned ones too. I prefer these over soft booties (like Uggs) because I know they'll keep the water out and not get damaged from salt.

3. A glittery ornament, they add pizazz to the normal subdued colors of winter. Adding some glitz to your outfit is also great; I recommend sparkly nail polish or a shimmering tank top.

4. CHAPSTICK! Blistex Silk & Shine is my favorite by far. The only downfall is I always misplace them, hence why I have so many.

5. Lotion, because dry skin is inevitable during the winter. I have not mastered fully preventing/eliminating dry skin during winter, but it is so much harder to bounce back from totally untreated skin come spring. I think having a range of scents and consistencies to mix up the routine, hence all the options.

Friday, December 23, 2011

A little about me...

Hello! I am so excited to finally, actually DO this blog! I have been thinking about it for a while, contemplating how and where to do this, as well as what exactly I'm going to talk about. I think the best way to start is a quick introduction.

Well, in short my name is Tori, I'm a senior in college, married to a wonderful guy named Tim and we have two cats (more on them in a second). I have changed my major quite a number of times, finally landing on graphic design - which I love! I have always loved design and doing crafty things, but I didn't picture a career from it, until now. I have also always loved fashion! My wallet has not always shared this love of mine, this is why I have become skilled at sale shopping. I am constantly finding new deals as well as learning when it's best to pay extra for quality. This is where my blog comes in, I want to share these lessons with all of you! I'm sure I'll be writing about happenings in my life as well as beauty tips, but my knowledge is in fashion, so that's where the blog's focus will be.

Shifting back to my self-introduction... Tim and I have been married for just 7 months, but they have been wonderful so far. We met in school and dated for 2 years and got married last summer. When we moved in to our apartment we knew we wanted pets almost right away. We are not allowed to have dogs here, so a kitten it was. :) First came Mojo, we got him from a friend when he was just a few months old. A few months later Nemu wandered on to our porch needing a home. After going to the vet we learned that he's blind in his left eye and it was probably caused by an untreated injury and infection. We deducted that it was from chlamydia (it's a bacteria infection for cats, not venereal), because he'd passed it to poor little Mojo. They are both healthy now and love each other lots! T and I call them double trouble, because even if only one is in to trouble the other is watching.


That's enough about me, on to making more posts! I hope you keep reading and please leave comments and any kind of feed back.
Also, please feel free to follow me on Twitter: @ToriChannell