Style Inspiration: Black & White

When it comes to fashion, I feel like I'm usually drawn to simplicity: an all-black or all-white outfit can hardly ever go wrong in my eyes. Once you combine the two, the result is a fresh and cool. I found these black and white outfit inspiration pictures scrolling through Tumblr, and I absolutely love them. For those of you who are thinking, "black and white? Yawn...", in sharp graphics, edgy cutouts and fresh silhouettes, black and white is the perfect combination! For a more edgy and modern look, the next time you pick out your go-to head-to-toe black outfit, try injecting a some white and I'm confident you'll love the results.

1.Black and white checkered print + long sleeves and a short & floaty skirt
 2. Black and white laser-cut dress

3. Basic white tee with cool cutouts + black blazer, sunnies, & pants. Add white shoes with a hint of color.
4. Two-tone B&W Pants + black pumps, envelope clutch, leather baseball cap and long sleeves.

5. Sheer white tee + black bralette + black leather jacket, shorts and bag with gold hardware.

6. White ankle-length jacket + black cropped pants, black cross-body and black pumps.
7. Bohemian white dress + black booties and a black cross-body.

When putting and outfit together, throwing on a black and white outfit can seem like a pretty "safe" choice. Updated, however, a black and white outfit can be extremely chic. Plus, what's easier than throwing on black and white--it's a sure-fire way to know your outfit will go! What are you favorite ways to wear the trend?

If you like these pictures, you can follow my tumblr here for similar-style photos.

The Autumn Tag

I was tagged by the lovely author of All Things Glitter and Beauty. I love doing tags and I especially love Autumn, so thank you for tagging me!

1. Favorite thing about it? The fashion! I love how September is pretty much the universal "fashion month." I'm obsessed with stalking everything that has to do with NYFW & LFW, and browsing through the September issue of magazines :).
2. Favorite drink? Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte  
3. Favorite scent/candle? My favorite scent is the smell of apple crisp baking in the oven and just the crisp fall air in general.
4. Best lipstick? I don't really wear lipstick, but anything candy-apple or berry colored
5. Go to moisturizer? My moisturizer was recommended to me by my dermatologist. I use Eucerin Daily Protection Moisturizing Face Lotion. It's not necessarily my favorite moisturizer, but I use it because it doesn't break me out.
6. Go to colors for the eyes? I love warm eye shadows in the fall--golds, taupe, tans, etc. For example, Smog and Buck from the Urban Decay Naked Palette.
7. Favorite music or band/singer to listen to? If I'm being honest here, I've been a One Direction addict at the moment. I just can't stop listening to them...their songs just make me happy! Also right now I'm loving the song "Young" by Mike Dignam, which I discovered from Tanya Burr's latest "Get Ready With Me: Mulberry LFW Show!" vlog.
8. Favorite outfit to wear (i.e. boots and scarf combo)? A chunky knit sweater, black pants (maybe leather?) and black booties. I also love wearing anorak jackets because they are perfect in the fall.
9. Autumn treat? I recently purchased a slate-colored anorak jacket from Aeropostale, and also went on a little fall TJ Maxx spree. Some things I got include some super comfy silky pajama-style printed pants, a big chunky knit sweater, and I want to get some fall candles for my room!
10. Favorite place to be? Either apple picking out east or enjoying a crisp fall day outside. Or even snuggled up in a blanket drinking some hot chocolate when the weather starts getting really chilly.

I'm tagging:

Natalia's Makeup Corner

Ana Celine Labod

Brighton Dream

OliviaPaige31

Izzeh Fashion

My 5 Must-Have Makeup Products

Bobbi Brown Lipgloss

Covergirl + Olay Concealer

Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment Concealer

Hi guys! 
First off, sorry for not making a blog post in quite some time...I've been adjusting to going back to school, getting a job, taking those standardized tests like the ACT/SAT that we all love so much--basically I've just been super busy and have had no time to take photos or just sit down and write. Now that I'm finally getting all settled, I'll try to blog more often because I miss it!

Now onto the point of this post: My Five Must-Have Makeup Products. If someone told me I was only allowed to own five makeup items for the rest of my life, these are the ones I would choose. I covered the basics: eyes, eyebrows, skin, lips, and dark circles. When I'm feeling lazy or am doing something quick like running to Starbucks (it's nearly that "Pumpkin Spice Latte time of year" again!) I will just throw these five things on as it takes literally five minutes, and I'm out the door without looking like a complete zombie.

L'oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes: As far as mascaras go, it was a toss-up between the original black tube of L'oreal and this one, but I ultimately went for this one because it's the one I currently have! I always alternate between the two because they are my favorite drug store mascaras. I especially love the brush on this one because it coats your lashes in a nice thick layer that doesn't look clumpy at all. Plus, I love the gold mirror-esque packaging.

Bobbi Brown Bright Pink 20 Lipgloss: This lipgloss is universally flattering. My sister, who has pale skin and blonde hair, has this exact product and it looks just as good on her as it does on me, and I have olive skin and brunette hair. It's the perfect consistency--it sticks onto your lips and isn't annoying and gloppy. While I'm not usually a lipgloss person because if it's one thing I hate it's my hair getting caught onto my lips, this lipgloss adds the perfect color and shine and is much quicker to apply than a lipstick.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser: While I don't necessarily have to reverse my age just yet (I'm only 17!), I love this under-eye concealer. The top is a little fluffy ball that dispenses a nice even layer of product. It covers my dark circles really well (when I stay up til 3 am watching YouTube videos & scrolling through Tumblr, it tends to show under my eyes) and it stays on all day.

Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara: I got this idea off of watching some beauty gurus on YouTube, which is to use clear mascara as an eyebrow gel. The Maybelline Great Lash Mascara is only around $5.00 and a tube of this will last much longer than the tiny tube of brow gel on those eyebrow pencil/gel duos. It also takes two seconds to comb this through my brows, and it keeps them in place for the rest of the day.

Covergirl + Olay Concealer (I'm the shade 340- Light Medium): This is my absolute favorite concealer. The fact that the concealer is combined with Olay makes it super moisterizing, and the coverage it gives is incredible. It doesn't look dry or cakey or anything like that--it just glides right on and has stayed on even when I've gone swimming in a pool! It's super inexpensive as well, especially compared to the higher-end concealers at stores like Sephora. After using this, I don't see any reason why I would spend so much on a concealer again.

Well, that wraps up my Top 5 Makeup Products...What are yours?!

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster award by allthingsglitterandbeauty. Thank you so much! I'm pretty new to the blogging community so it's nice to be recognized by other bloggers :) 

The Liebster award is passed on through bloggers with under 200 GFC followers. 

The questions I was given:

1. What is your favorite foundation? Covergirl Clean (I'm the color Warm Beige)
2. Heels or flats? Flats because I'm only 17, so I feel like wearing heels looks a little too try-hard (on an every day basis). When I'm older though, I think I will definitely be a heels girl!
3. If you could live anywhere on earth, where would it be? Either New York City, Paris, or London.
4. Nude or bright lips? Nude...and by that I mean pale pinks & soft colors, not literally "nude"/skin-tone colored
5. If you were on a desert island, what 3 items would you want with you? Well, if items count as people--my sister, my mom, and my dad! But if "items" means more along the lines of objects I would bring a blanket to keep me warm, my laptop, and a box of cereal (random but it's something I don't have to cook or heat up and I do love cereal)
6. Do you speak any other languages? I take Italian in school but I don't speak it well :)
7. Straight or curled hair? Hmmm, this is tough! I guess if I had to choose, straight 
8. What is your biggest pet peeve? Being woken up... I like my sleep! 
9. Countryside or city? City
10. Favorite accessory? Long, thin necklaces
11. What is your favorite Halloween costume? When I was little my mom used to make my costumes, and one time when I was about 4 my mom made me a Christmas tree! This is my favorite just because I think it's kind of funny. I mean, I was a Christmas tree for Halloween???

I nominate the following blogs:

anacelinelabod

britishbeautyaddict

beautyabouttown
luvsthat
thestylechateau
izzehfashion
randommonchi
oliviapaige31

dreaminspiredesire
brightondream
erinandkatherinetalkbeauty

My 11 Questions for the blogs I nominate:

1. What is the one beauty product you couldn't live without?
2. What is your dream job?
3. What is your favorite season for fashion?
4. How did you get into blogging?
5. What is your dream vacation?
6. What is your favorite website to shop online?
7. Gold or silver?
8. Favorite book?
9. What is your dream designer purchase?
10. Where is your favorite place to eat out?
11. What is your favorite color?

Here are the rules:

1. You must link back to the person that nominated you
2. You must answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you
3. You must pick 11 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers
4. You must come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer
5. You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees

NYFW Day 1 & 2 Favorites

Cushnie et Ochs - Rodebjer - Tess Giberson - Zimmermann - Misha Nonoo

Marissa Webb - Tadashi Shoji - Tadashi Shoji - BCBG Max Azria - Organic by John Patrick

Misha Nonoo - Tanya Taylor - BCBG Max Azria - Misha Nonoo - Tanya Taylor

For self-proclaimed fashionistas like myself, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is one of the most exciting weeks of the year. Okay, so maybe the closest I will get to the runway shows in New York is through stalking instagram accounts, blogs, and style.com. But even though I can't be there in the flesh, I still get incredibly eager just to see each designer's latest collections and spot spring's upcoming trends.

Above are my personal favorites from Day 1 & 2 of New York Fashion Week. I could literally go on for days and days about each look, so instead I will just let the photographs do the talking, or else you would all be reading a short novel.

This year's fashion week definitely seems to have last year's beat already. While I swooned over collections like Elie Saab's last September, I find myself loving a whole lot more this year.

Sheer panels. Two-toned shirts. Edgy cut-outs. Pastels. Oversized vests. Natural Makeup. Plaid lace. (I think that one deserves another round of recognition...I mean, plaid lace?!) Silky trench coats. Tea length skirts. Gorgeous silk jumpsuits! Pops of color. Lots of lines. Crop tops galore. Sheer pants. Color splattered dresses.

Need I say more?

 Images taken from style.com

The Perfect "Between-Seasons" Nail Color

When September arrives, I'm no longer in the mood for summery pastels on my nails, but I also don't want to dive straight into deep reds, black, and earth tones.

What I do need are nail colors that can serve as transition colors for between the seasons, and "Go Overboard" by Essie does just that! It's a dark greenish/blue color that is just colorful enough for summer and just dark enough for fall.

During transition months such as September, I tend to keep my nails colorful, but on the darker side. What exactly do I mean? Take the color purple, for example. While in the summer I will choose a pretty pastel purple, in September I'll choose a purple that's jewel-toned. Basically, I pick a random color in my head, and crank the brightness down a few notches.

I love finding new nail colors, so let me know some of your favorite September shades!

PS: Did you notice the reflection of trees on my nails?