Mass Market Shopping

"I think the idea of mixing luxury and mass-market fashion is very modern - wearing head-to-toe designer has become a bit passe. It's a new era in fashion - there are no rules. It's all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together." -Alexander McQueen

Nordstrom, one of the most famous high-end department stores of all time, is a prime example of the growth in budget shopping. They opened their doors in 1901 and many years later created what we affectionately call "The Rack".  The Rack has been steadily climbing in popularity since it opened all while Nordstrom has been declining. Reasonably so, why would you purchase a Vince Camuto dress for $300 when you could wait three months and buy it at $100, or even less? There are now more Nordstrom Rack stores readily available to be shopped than actual Nordstrom's. Statistics show that this is what normal in the fashion world is now.

Bargain shopping and mass market retailers are what fashion is in America. There is less of an emphasis on the quality of clothes {with the exception of basics, but more on that later} and more importance is being placed on the lowest price we can purchase a piece for. Mass market shopping doesn't give you the quality or fit of high-end retailers, but this is often where stores like Nordstrom Rack play their vital role.

We recently opened a H&M at our local mall. Basically, it's the coolest thing since sliced bread at this point. European fashion at our fingertips for affordable prices? This is what it's all about! 

My friend Jessica and I rocking some awesome faux-fur hats!

Oh hey there mirror pic

Gone are the days when fashion was an unreachable luxury. Now virtually anyone can enjoy the imagination and creativity without having to choose between buying a new dress or groceries for the week.

Now the question is, will other types of retailers follow in the same pattern?

Full of Thanks

Every year my church puts on a fun Thanksgiving service to celebrate what God has done over the course of the year. It focuses on {surprise!} being thankful for all He has accomplished through each individual. Some people give testimonies of His goodness. Members from a local Hispanic church and African church present worship songs in their native tongues.

One of the best parts about this Thanksgiving tradition is that every year, each small group or family dress up as something different. Last year a group of people dressed up as fruit. The year before some dressed up as royalty. This year there were injured 80's people, crayons, 50's housewives, and my small group, which was super heroes. I was Captain Homemaker, aka Super Mom!

My roommate Jessica was the fabulous superhero Glitter Girl
Photo taken by Maria

I've been reminded this year of God's continued goodness. There is never a point in our lives where He isn't a faithful Father. I've been reminded of this quote by A.W. Tozer:

“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. ”

What are YOU thankful for this year??

Flashback Lipcolor

I'm sorry for being MIA for three weeks.

The good news is I'm back full force and ready to come at you with some awesome blog posts!

Today's post is in honor of a trend that I'm finally jumping on the bandwagon with: dark {oxblood} lips.

{Thank you instagram for the SWEET filter}

I know, I know. You're jealous of the clarity of picture my phone takes.

I have avoided the trend of dark lips since it started peaking its face out on the runway last year. It reminds me of when I would pretend to be Posh Spice from the Spice Girls and played with pogs at recess.  Who could forget the gloopy frosted brown or the gothic deep purple?

This look has been updated slightly by adding more deep red pigmentation to the lip color. The key to pulling this trend off is choosing the right color based on your complexion.

If you have a cool complexion, select dark colors that have purple and blue undertones, such as a berry or bordeaux.

For those who have a warm skin tone, look for gold and coral undertones, such as brick and golden red.

At this point you may be asking yourself, "I have no idea what my skin tone is." That's okay! I'm going to share with you a little trick: take a look at the veins of your inner wrist. If they appear blue you have a cool skin tone; green veins mean you're a warm.

One more vital step in successfully accomplishing this look: exfoliating! Get your lips damp, take a little bit of sugar and rub it on your lips for a minute. Wash off any excess and proceed with applying gorgeous dark color to your lips.

DIY Lip Plumper

Did you know that you loose 1 percent of collagen in your lips per year?

That's why your grandma had gorgeous Angelina Jolie lips when she was 20 years old and at 80 her lips are as thin as a model's waist.

The very first time I used lip plumper was when I was in middle school. I was at my friend Abbey's house and was looking through her beauty products {I've always been fascinated by cosmetics}. Seeing a roller tube of lip gloss I didn't recognize, I asked her about its contents. She told me that it made her eyes water because it hurt so bad. I tried it. My eyes watered. It reminded of of the time when I was six and got stung by a bee on my bottom lip.

I'm all about big, full, gorgeous lips. Good lip plumper can cost a fortune, {my absolute FAVORITE lip plumper, and in my opinion, the best working one, is this one} and having worked in cosmetics and having tried at least twenty, I know a lot of them don't actually work very well.

I was doing some research on lip plumpers and discovered something interesting: they all have similar ingredients for agitation. Not only do most lip plumpers have at lease one of these ingredients, they're also common household spices. Peppermint oil, cinnamon, and ginger have all been used to effectively plump that pout.

I tried a little experiment and I've been very pleased with it.

What you need:

• 2-quart pot
• Pyrex glass container
• Lip balm or chap stick (I used Burt's Bees beeswax lip balm)
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cinnamon

              

Create a double-boiler effect by filling the pot with water and placing the Pyrex in the water on Medium heat. Scrape the lip balm or chap stick out of the container and wait for it to melt. 

Measure out 1/16 of a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and 1/16 of a teaspoon of Cinnamon.

Stir ingredients together until mixed throughly. This may depend on the product you use, but I mixed it for around three minutes.

Pour the contents back in the original container, and voila! Let sit on counter for 10 minutes or place in refrigerator for 3 minutes.

If you don't want much of a sting, I highly recommend putting less cayenne pepper in the mixture. If you have peppermint oil feel free to add four or five drops instead of cinnamon.

Have YOU ever tried using lip plumper? What were your experiences with it?



{Song of Solomon 4:3}

Mini Lesson: How to Take a Good Picture

Have you ever looked at yourself in a picture and thought, "either that is the most unflattering angle or I'm the least attractive person alive."? I am SO guilty of thinking this on occasion. I'll leave the house thinking, "I look really cute today!" and I'll see a picture of myself later and the camera is all, "LOL, no."

I read Psalm 96:6 today and it said this: "Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." ESV

I've been thinking a lot lately about how the presence of the Lord is where I am made beautiful, regardless of how I feel. I'm no stranger to feeling ugly. Thoughts of my weight or imperfect skin or facial structure often plague me. Truthfully, I encounter it daily.

But it's not how I feel that matters. It's the fact. This is what the Bible tells me is factual: "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11 NIV

Enthralled, huh?

Yeah, that's right. Because nothing the Lord makes is mediocre. Least of all, His beloved children whom He made in His image.

Back to posing. The most important part of any photo is the woman. When the woman {or women} looks good, everyone and everything else in the picture look good. Research has showed that the most attractive side of your face is the left side. This is because the left side of your face {which is controlled more by the creative right side of your brain} shows more emotion.

Right side vs. Left side

Full height poses are incredibly difficult to pull off unless you are tall and have an athletic body shape. Instead of standing straight, position your body in an "S" shape with all your weight on one foot and your hip and shoulder going two different ways.

Slight "S" shape pose

If you are facing the camera and can't move, slightly bend your right knee and move it half way in front of your left knee. Bend forward slightly and tilt your head a shade.

"Planking" pose ;)

Tell me about your awkward/awesome posing experiences!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best mom in the entire world! {okay, I may be a little biased}

Mom I love you so much and am so blessed to have you as my mom. I know I often take your life experiences for granted but I want you to know that I really think everything you've done in your life is truly incredible.

Mommy and me circa 1992

Thanksgiving 2009

You have offered the world so much. Your admirable work ethic and work/home balance amazes me. I hope some day to be a mom like you.

There is much to be said about someone who is as accomplished as you--your ability to cook fantastic meals, clean spotlessly, sew and quilt like a master, be an affectionate wife and mother, follow Jesus, change our city for the better with the influence that you have through work and find a way to work out in the midst of all that blows me away.

I love you so much, mom. Happy Birthday!! xoxoxo

{P.S. If you were wondering, she's the one I got my style from! :)}



The below images are courtesy of EMZ Photography

Confessions of a Brand Snob

I have a confession.

I'm a brand snob.

Don't get me wrong. I love a good bargain. And if there were two identical products next to each other that did exactly the same thing but were at two very different prices, I would choose the less expensive one.

The feeling of an expensive lotion on your skin. The intense pigmentation and smooth application of a high-end eyeshadow. The perfect, creamy blendability of a pricey foundation. There is nothing like it.

For all you guys that might be rolling your eyes at me, let me just tell you a lot of the time expensive products do make a difference. The ingredients are more concentrated and richer in consistency. The results are often seen sooner. There are some decent drugstore brands. Probably half of my beauty products are drugstore brands. But there's one thing that I haven't budged on for years. Up until a few weeks ago I refused to buy cheap hair products {with the exception of Tresseme hairspray. That stuff is bomb.com}. One time I even came upon a sample of this stuff. 

As of recently I haven't had the budget to spend oodles of money. The things on my beauty regime were the first to get cut. So I went to the grocery store and bought this stuff:

Blew. My. Mind. $6 each for a huge bottle that gets my hair shiny and creates an effect similar to getting highlights?? Could it get any better?! Point of this story is that Jesus loves me. And the less important point of the story is that this pair will make it feel like you spent some serious Benjamin's at the salon. Prepare to feel like a million bucks, people!