Twice Haul from LikeTwice.com

A little while back (as you can see...before my haircut)...I noticed, Twice was blowing up my Facebook page. So I caved in! And bought 4 dresses. So I'm going to go ahead and blame my impulse on Twice, not me.

It's ok -- because I'm a bit of a dress fiend anyway...I have a lot...but I do actually wear them, even in the winter, and they all turned out to be good purchases. Most of these are sweater dresses anyway. I've been curious about liketwice.com for a while  -- and so tried it out! Overall, I had an easy shopping experience, received good customer service...and the dresses arrived safe and sound within the estimated shipping time...all in good condition -- like new. 

Max Studio

French Connection

Gap

Max Studio -- probably my favorite one.

My order totals BEFORE my first-time purchase 40% discount:

As you can see, they have very steep discounts...AND offer additional discounts when it's your first order. At the time I ordered, the promo was 40% off -- so it brought my total of $132 to $66. So essentially, I felt like I bought 4 dresses for the price of 1 (nice) dress. 

Some of these were risks...like the bright, bright red. And the French Connection dress that from the description sounded like it might be a bit too small...and it definitely is a little snug. But luckily (with affirmations from friends...) it just looks like it's supposed to be -- not like I'm trying to squeeze into something I shouldn't be. :) But with prices so cheap...(Some dresses I was considering would have been as low as $10) it's not much of a risk. And one of the dresses that I didn't love (Max Studio Gray Solid Sweater Dress) -- because the neckline is too low to wear by itself -- I gave it to my little sister. And SHE loves it. 

So perhaps...it's a shopping experience with people who are 1. on a buget, 2. not extremely picky, and 3. have siblings or friends who are a similar size that they can use as back up in case they don't like something. 

I guess...the only stressful thing about shopping here is that you know that if you see something you really like one day, you should buy it now, otherwise it may not be there the next day. (That happened to me...) But on the flip side, you know if you don't see anything that great, check the next day. If I were to shop here again...I'd probably go a little more bold with my choices. Because why not? 

It Looks like My Mumsie was the Original Instagram

Face selfie. Feet selfie. 

#ThrowBack

3 New Beauty Favorites for Skin, Face, and Eyes

It's been a snowy weekend and an even snowier week! Snowed in all day Sunday for the most part--and even had to stay home from work on Monday! I must say...at times I wish I could work at home more often...but this time, I realized working from home is actually quite difficult. ESPECIALLY with Bronn the dog. Eye roll. 

Hyper dogs aside, the beauty of a downpour of ridiculous amounts of snow makes every step out of the house feel like a mini adventure. So a friend and I decided to be wildly adventurous and traverse snow entrenched streets, hauling his Subaru all the way a quarter mile away to Target. I was on a very specific, difficult to mess up, mission to buy a refill of one of my favorite (if not my all time fav) styling cream Curls Unleashed Take Command Curl Defining Creme. A bit unfortunately (and a bit fortunately) this Target didn't have it :( So...I was forced to compensate with splurging on an assortment of other beauty treasures to make our trek through Michigan tundra worth it. And instead of leaving with my Curl Creme, I left with:

Pacifica Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mineral Mascara (in Stardust)

Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask

Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme

They are all right around $10 -- (actually, I think the mascara was on sale, but normally is about $14) not cheap (for the sizes), but not outrageous either. Especially with the Burt's Bees Hand Creme and the Botanics Clay Mask, a little goes a long way!

I was curious about the Pacifica Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mineral Mascara because it came in two colors, Supernova (a dark black) and Stardust (a deep brown). I can't remember ever trying brown mascara so I went with the Stardust to try! I like my current mascara (Outrageous Curl from the Sephora Collection) but I should have gone with Outrageous Volume rather than Curl (they ran out...) because my lashes are already long and curly...so now when I do wear my mascara my eyelashes are RIDICULOUSLY long and curly. So much so that sometimes if I blink it gets all over my glasses and/or eyelids. LOL. So I liked the idea of having a more subtle back up. For days when I'm in the mood for normal eyelashes as opposed to camel lashes. 

At first, I barely noticed the result and was slightly disappointed but shortly after realized it was because I've gotten used to the crazy length of the Sephora. As you can see, I think it does make a difference for volume without being overly dramatic. So I like this as an every day, basic mascara. For 'au naturale' days...where you want to wear a bit of make up that's not as noticeable. 

I've been eyeing Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme for a while. Almond is my favorite scent. Probably in the whole world. So that is what I like most about this creme is it's strong almond fragrance. It is a bit waxy, however, so it's perfect for really dry hands, elbows, knees and feet! Especially in brutal winter. It's good for men as well!

I like the Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask because of it's basic ingredients and smooth texture. It's not as thick as I thought it would be, which I liked. I feel like other green masks can be very thick and aren't as smooth to apply. This felt good on my skin, went on very smoothly, and dried fairly quickly and evenly which was a plus! I haven't been using it long enough to know for sure how much I like it...but for now it's a keeper :)

Get the Look of Curly 3B Natural Hair with No Gel, Just Moisturizer and a Little Heat

This is a new technique I've been trying out on my VERY fried bleached blonde 'natural' hair (not so natural since it's bleached...). 

Instead of twisting, I just run my straightener over my natural curl pattern to calm frizzies and smooth my texture a little bit. It's really weird because you would think that straightening damaged hair would make it more damaged...but I find that when I straighten my bleach damaged hair it actually becomes much smoother, stronger, less brittle and softer. 

How I style my hair from this:

(Frizzy, brittle, dull)

To this:

(Smoother, softer, shiny)

As you can see, this method of styling resulted in much softer, tamer, and smoother curls and waves--and I didn't use ANY gel! As you may know...my new natural hair tool kit favorite is Yes To Carrot's leave in conditioner. It is super creamy and moisturizing and leaves my hair feeling very soft. To get this look I do use heat--though if you are opposed to heat styling, you can stretch your hair using the wrapping or pony tail method. You could also twist or braid and then pull until taught, bobby pinning the ends.

As you can see, my natural hair is totally fried and breaking off little by little. It's a nightmare! But I am coping as best as I can...not to be overly dramatic...and Yes to Carrots has been a big help. I love the conditioner and shampoo as well...but that will be another post!

The Process:

First I washed my hair using a purple shampoo and Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Conditioner.

Then I separated my hair into about 4-6 sections.

I re-spritzed each section with water.

Then detangled.

Then used a dime size amount of Say Yes to Carrots Leave In and distributed the product throughout each section. 

To further distribute product and help clump my curls, I brushed through using my Denman brush.

After that process, each section looks something like this.

Repeat this process throughout your whole head.

After the Say Yes to Carrots Leave In was evenly distrubited throughout all of my hair...I sat under my bonnet dryer for about 45 minutes until my hair was about 85-95% dry.

For extra moisture and shine, I rubbed a quarter size amount of Trader Joe's Organic Virgin coconut oil into my ends.

Then, I covered my hair in a scarf and slept on it overnight letting it dry completely and allowing the coconut oil to absorb.

The next morning, I sectioned my hair again into workable sections. 

You don't need to set your straightener to the highest heat level--but the hotter the straighter, the less time you'll need to run the straightener over your curls. You want to be careful not to STRAIGHTEN your hair -- just stretch your hair. 

This is how short my hair is with shrinkage! It shrinks to about a third the length. Sometimes even less! 

As you can see...my hair is actually much longer. You want to stretch out the small section of hair with your fingers...

And then quickly run your straightener over the section. The longer you let the straighter stay on your hair, the smoother and less curly it will be. I focus the straightener more at the roots and less on the ends. 

Then repeat this throughout your whole head -- focusing a little more on the roots and then running the straightener on high heat more quickly along the rest of the hair and your ends.

This is the result! I didn't use ANY gel or styling product -- only Yes to Carrots Leave in Conditioner. If you do use a gel on top of this, the curls will likely be a bit tighter and will probably last a day or two longer. So that is up to you -- but this just shows that even if you do have very tight curls, you can get away with ditching sticky and/or crunchy styling gels. 

This style lasts me 1-3 days until it starts to frizz. I usually touch up again with a straightener or twist it throughout the week. I find that using a straightener to stretch my curls, rather than a blow dryer, leaves my hair less frizzy and helps reduce shrinkage. Though I still like using my blow dryer on days when I want more volume. I guess it just depends on your style and what you like! But if you have very tight curls (like I do) and want to get the 3B curl/wave look--this is a good method!

Let me know how it works for you!

Making Some Floral Headway

Everything always takes longer than you think it will. But it's ok -- especially if it's something you enjoy doing. 

I FINALLY finished the scrunchies and headbands...and now have moved forward with the flowers. I'm thinking I'll leave the backs blank for now, so you can decide whether you want a pin or barrette. 

The biggest sign that I am almost done with this collection...is that my fabric is seriously dwindling! I buy material as I need it--not in bulk--so most accessories I make are pretty much one of a kind. I have mixed feelings about this. Of course, being one of a kind lends itself to a special uniqueness in each piece...but if I were the buyer, I'd take comfort in knowing there will always be more of something. Less pressure that way. 

But if there is ever a particular color or accessory that someone loves, I'm happy to do custom orders as well. When your hand making things, to make the exact same piece over and over again would be seriously monotonous. So I avoid that for the sake of my own sanity!

Also...I've decided I may not reopen my etsy, but instead just open my own online store. Then I would have more space and more freedom. But this decision of course is going to create more delay. But I'm thinking it will be worth it. :)

My Beautiful Aunt as a Retro 60s Kay Baum Model

We found this while fishing through old documents at my grandfather's funeral in August. It was a bitter sweet moment--sad for the ending of one amazing and truly robust life...along with the youth and childhood of my mom and all of her siblings...but sweet to remember how it was. And to watch the faces of my mom and all of her siblings finger through pages of samples, stills and letters from their fondest, and less than fondest, memories. This picture of my aunt was one of many really cool retro pics we found...thought I'd share!

Summer Collection for Latidoe Etsy Store In the Makings...

One word. Finally!!!

In part because this was supposed to be a summer floral collection and the summer is more than half way done. *Freaking out.* In part because I got this fortune in a fortune cookie at work and decided it's a very possible fortune to come true. 

Dear self, please muster up the motivation to get this floral collection you promised yourself moving...

Now off to see what happens when I listen to myself...so far so good :)

Seven High Waisted Swim Suits for Summer

Is it just me or are high waisted swim suits everywhere?

Either way, I want one! They have the look of a one piece with just a little more skin and they're just more convenient than a one piece...you can mix and match AND go to the bathroom...think about all that freedom right there.

Here are a few of my favs. If the beautiful Solange can rock the look...maybe normal everyday people can too :)

rosewholesale.com

christinekum.blogspot.com

polyvore.com

pinterest.com

shoptiques.com

urbanoutfitters.com

refinery29.com

Love all of these...it's hard to pick a favorite. What are your favs?