Beauty review

I have wifi!!! Praise Buddha!!

So a week ago I got this lovely bday makeup haul from sephora ❤...

So beauty review time!! First up: glam glow mud mask!

The bottle is clean and simple. Buyer beware though, when you first open it, it will spray everywhere!! My boyfriends entire bathroom got a mud mask.

It goes on a little strange... It's not one smooth application, but instead it has a lot of little chunks of already dried mud. 

Certain places on your face also dry faster so this is the crazy first picture right when I finished putting it on: 

So glam...

It does dry into a nice mint color though. It is extremely tingly! And tightens your skin immediately. I loved the smell of the product: organic wood materials.

Nice wood though, not like Home Depot planks...

It almost melts off of your face when you wash it off and my skin was left feeling extremely soft and smooth. 

Next up was the first Buxom product of my haul: stay their eyeshadow in pug.

The packaging is totally cute and sleek. The actual eyeshadow goes on lightly with a dry brush or heavier with a wet brush. I went for a light blend with this two faced set to create a subtle smokey eye.

Grey prettiness... It would probably look better on someone with ice blue eyes instead of my hazel mix but I liked the shade overall.

That night I also used my new amplified lash mascara and eyeliner from Buxom. The eyeliner is a roll up pen and is flawless. It feels almost a little damp and draws onto your eyelids effortlessly. 

The mascara is extremely interesting to play with because you can extend te brush to create a dramatic thicker lash (below), or tighten up the brush to bring the bristles together giving your lashes a longer look.

While I loved both the mascara and the eyeliner, and they both stayed put allllll night (as did the eyeshadow), one (or both) of them refused to come off my face. Despite makeup remover and multiple washes, I still had black "residue" under my eyes the next day. Also noteworthy is that they irritate my eye when I try washing them off (if any ack residue makes it into my eye). Maybe I just have an allergy, but this has never happened to me before.

Lastly for that night I wore the new urban decay revolution lipstick in cat fight. I loved the application (goes on like silk) and it made my lips feel soft and plump. I was not expecting it to be so fuschia when I actually got it on though. I thought it would be more of a red.

Oh well, I washed it off and will save it for a time when I have different eye makeup that matches the color better. 

That night I also used my new murad clarifying cleanser. This is not the first time I've used the product, nor is it my last. It has a fresh minty smell and leaves your skin feeling cleaner than heaven (no matter how many smoke filled dive bars you managed to get into all night before washing your face). 

It's extremely refreshing and calming, and is my favorite cleanser available.

More catch up posts to follow... I've already gotten new makeup to test for my bday so another beauty review will be up soon too :)

So excited to have Internet!! 

Ciao ciao

Kk

Weekend wedding

So I'm already driving up to the bay area, I've only been living back in LA for three weeks. Sheesh. 

I drove up to be someone's "date" for a wedding =) 

First, the sunrise by my place in Long Beach before I hit the road. 

The wedding didn't start until 6pm, so Saturday morning I went to San Francisco with my parents to get some brunch and drive over the new bay bride: 

Later on, it was finally time to go to the wedding! Here I am ready to go!

Dress: Jessica Simpson

Shoes: Nina shoes  

Make up: 

Primed and poreless by too faced 

L'oreal foundation

Better than false lashes by too faced

Too faced blush

Too faced eyeshadow in Beauty Mark 

MAC eyeliner and eyeshadow (all that glitters)

Make up for ever HD Powder (at sephora as well)

The wedding included a smudging and blanket ceremony that are native american traditions. 

The Bride and the flower girl:

The Maid of Honor (my date):

Reception: 

It was a little hot so we were all a bit shiny by the end of the night, oh well! All three of us will be in Ashlee Mitchell's wedding in May =) 

After a long day of champagne and celebrations, it was nice to come home to the rest of the blonde mafia and snuggle =) 

NYFW is in full swing, and is coming with plenty of party inspiring pictures. Here are a few of my favorite looks from Nasty Gal's photo album:

Here's hoping crop tops and rainbow print stick around for a looooooong looooooooong long time, because I finally got my vintage rainbow crop top bikini top and Brazilian bottoms ;) pictures coming soon.

Ciao Ciao,
Kk

Confessions of a Shopaholic who is about to be a broke student again the same year she's MOH for two weddings... Ya.

As I've probably already portrayed in previous posts... I like to shop. I also like to travel and adore sushi more than a girl saving to go back to school probably should.

Instead of giving off the appearance that I'm some really lucky girl who can just buy whatever she wants, let me just say: I'm not.

I wish I was, but nope. Not at all. Never have been, and probably never will be (future teacher).

So today I wanted to make my first post about my very own shameless money saving techniques.


First of all ... clothes.

Four words: Email lists and Clothing swaps.

Emails from your favorite department stores can be a blessing AND a curse. You have to know how to navigate through them with finesse to come out on top.

Instead of signing up for every department store's email list, use websites like Shop Style. All you do is fill in your favorite brands, and Shop Style will send you emails anytime that brand goes on sale on ANY WEBSITE! From large department stores to online boutiques, Shop Style will find it.

Why is this better? If you sign up for too many store email lists, you will wake up everyday to an inbox full of sale notifications, giving you the urge to shop even when you may not have needed anything.

I've used Shop Style and Ebay to find most of my Wildfox items, and I only buy things that are at least 50% off!

Another website I use is Hautelook. Hautelook is a Nordstroms company that sells designer items on super sale, and everyday they have new designers on sale! Click here for an invite from me =)

I also enjoy freebies and discounts from Victoria's Secret through their mailing and email list. But watch out!! Make a list of what you NEED. Then wait... NEVER PAY FULL PRICE AT VICTORIA'S SECRET!! There are too many sales, freebies, super sales etc. And keep an eye on your list when you get those frequent emails about the discounts and free shipping. Do you really need a new bra? Didn't you just get a new one last month when you got that other discount?? Remember, unless you were already going to buy it, it's not a discount!

I've had to learn to toss these out (unless I was going to buy a new bra anyways):

And use these whenever you get them!!!:

Just make sure to bee line it to a sales rep, ask where the free panty is, redeem coupon and run out without looking at all the shiny things!!

The points system at Bloomingdales and Sephora are also extremely rewarding. If you already shop at those locations, I would check it out. If your a makeup lover like me, learn to wait for the holiday season! Sephora, toofaced, M.A.C etc. all have huge sales during the holidays or they have multiple gifts with purchase. I've learned to bulk up on samples during the holiday and use them all throughout the year to keep from having to make large make up purchases multiple times a year.

Clothing swaps are pretty basic, yet most people seem to completely overlook them. I find it very hard to believe that anyone can be a shopaholic and not have any fellow shopaholic friends. We tend to find each other, gush over our favorite brands, and encourage each other by sharing new brands/links to cute new clothes/asking others to go shopping even if they don't "need to".

Instead of being an enabler to another shopaholic, try a clothes swap! Chances are you and your fellow shopaholic have way too many clothes to handle (yes, you can have too many clothes). So try swapping clothes with each other instead of spending more money on new clothes! Here are some items I got in my last clothes swap:

Marc Jacobs t-shirt

Love the rat 🐭 

And these punk boots my friend got in Paris

Clothes swaps are fun and give you the thrill of getting something new without the crash of buyers remorse.

...secondly, Groceries!

OK.. I know some of you may have something against.. "shudders"... coupons, but if your looking to save a few extra bucks so you can get that new jacket for fall TIME TO GET OVER IT.

Did you know that a bunch of the products that you buy weekly/monthly could have been purchased at a cheaper price?? And if images of people dumpster diving from the last episode of "Extreme Couponing" have left you with nightmares FEAR NOT! There's this thing called the internet that companies are using to reach out and give you coupons!

 No more digging through newspapers (though I recommend checking for coupons for local restaurants and stores before tossing those suckers), now you can just search for your favorite products online and find coupons to print out at home and bring with you on your next shopping trip. Before leaving the house, check your newspaper for Grocery store sales in your local area. See where your coupon will help you out the most.

You can also join programs where companies give you points for buying their products. Now, I would only do this for products you already actually buy, because rule number one: It's not a discount if you wouldn't have bought it otherwise!

I for example love Special K cereal, nutri-grain bars, raisin bran, and corn flakes. All of these products are Kellog's brand food products so I went online to their website and joined the Kellogg's family rewards program. You literally get points for buying the products you would have already purchased and can use those points to buy kitchen items, more food, even gift cards (including movies and starbucks! Hello birthday presents to my friends).


I have more shameless ways to save money that I'll post later... tomorrow I'm going up to Sacramento then driving down to LA Friday morning, so expect some traveling outfits in the near future!

Ciao Ciao
Kk

Happy New Year!

First of all my ultimate, favorite birthday present (second only to the trip to Palm Springs! Thanks love) is my PERFECTLY FUZZY, SOFT, WARM, PERFECT (Faux Fur) 

Mink jacket by Dale Dressin.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh I love it so so so so so MUCH. 

Obviously, I couldn't take it with me to Palm Springs (hellllllo heat) and since my bday is in September and I live in California... It doesn't really get cold here until January. CUE NEW YEARS SKI ADVENTURE!

I flew down to LA in the wee hours of the night and my adventure buddy and I decided to haul ass to the mountains immediately to meet up with our gang. So we got into Mammoth around 4am? The snowflakes were perfect on our windshield I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. 

Anyways, I was taking some classes but everyone else was going boarding, so basically I did as much HW as I could each day in the ski lodge then just met up with everyone at the bar or restaurant as they came and went from their runs. Most of my skiing gear is at my cabin, so I made do with some random items and borrowed ski shoes (for a male 7 times my size). Hilarity ensued. 

Jacket: Dale Dressin Shirt: GAP Scarf: LA Kings! Boots: unknown and 7 sizes too big

Heres one shot of the lodge and mountain.

Zack back in his happy place.

During the holidays, I usually splurdge on my favorite make up brand: Too Faced. Luckily they also have amazing deals and steals around this time of year ;) Sephora as well. 

Here are some of the shots from the night! 

Head band above is from nordstroms and below is J. Crew

All make up is Too Faced! I don't know if people want to know about the specific colors I can put them up if your interested. 

Happy Birthday Spencer!! 

Dress: Brass Plum, Shirt: Lily White

I was super cute in the cabin but my mini dress was no match for the snow (even with my super cute bow tights! Thanks mom!). So I threw back on my GAP pants, Kings scarf, and go to striped top for the bars and midnight kissin'!

The road trip back was an adventure as always. Spencer and I stopped at Mojave Red which has amazing brews and the people there are so friendly and amazing. We also stopped at some random desert stops along the way, making the drive longer as hoped for =) 

Cheers, 

Kk