I could never have imagined the fun of pattern mixing, but the more I do it the more I love it!

I am not Beyonce's biggest fan. Outside of watching Julianna's almost ridiculous Beyonce love, I don't even listen to the woman - BUT - she did look nice singing at the Inauguration.  After catching her performance a few times throughout the day I felt compelled to try her makeup myself and I don't think it went too badly!



I watched the video a couple times and read the breakdown from Mali - the woman who actually did her makeup the day of. I'm a little unconvinced that she used a dark dark blue along the lash line, but you know what? Doesn't matter. Black worked just fine for me and still created a look that I don't think is too ridiculous for day.






Hope you guys liked my take on Beyone's inauguration look - I can't wait to wear a slightly less liner-y version to work!

I was inspired by a UK makeup artist, but can anyone confirm for me whether this is actually a traditional look for Indian weddings? I just loved the gold - cranberry - navy combination but any chance to learn is good in my book!

I'm aware I wore this blazer in a similar outfit the first time around but look at this sweater!! I love it - and since it was in the men's sale section of J.Crew it wasn't as astronomically expensive as usual.

 Yet another Jangsara look that I hope no one will blame me for being a little proud of :). It took forever and incorporated a lot different products, which explains the lack of a breakdown. If you want to see for yourself the step by step breakdown I recommend you check out the original! 

1) This freaking amazing fabric - I want a circle skirt!



2) I wish I had some place in my house to hang this!



3) These might actually be achievable for me - they're $10 with free shipping!



4) I want these so badly but I cannot justify the $150 price tag (on Ebay at least). Behold the Anthropologie Bookbinder Heels!



5) Nothing to buy here and maybe my love is due primarily to my determination to be Sailor Jupiter when I was little, but CHECK THIS OUT.



And these are just a couple from the full set! Click, click away!

Why so retro? I couldn't tell you but I think I kinda dig it!

I was really feeling the need to do something different last week and after watching a few videos on YouTube I knew I wanted it to include MAC's Satin Taupe eyeshadow. I can easily fall into a rut with the color, shading it out by itself on my lid or smoking it out with browns & a little black. Not bad by any means but it's not exactly revolutionary either. After some quick Googling I came up with an article on Temptalia called "How would you wear MAC Satin Taupe?". Perfection! Gotta love that Google - admit it :D. Plus this look let me pull out my sadly neglected pearglide liner. I love the color but I just don't use it enough.

All in all I'd say that while my skin might be a tad to tan to effectively use Satin Taupe as a crease color I'm glad I tried this out just so I can have it in my mind as an idea to use on others in the future.

Now if only I had a bow tie/pussy bow. Obviously there's at least one hole in my closet that needs filled...

After getting in the last dress from Nordstrom (and comparing it to another from the same brand on Amazon) I have to say I really like Adrianna Papell. Her dresses seem to be pretty true to size while providing a variety of colors, lace shape, and styles to fit almost any occasion.  I would be happy to wear either of these in my friend's wedding but I think my heart is leaning slightly toward Option 2.

Option 1: Adrianna Papell Illusion Bodice Lace Sheath Dress


This is the heavier of the two lace options. Fully lined, the illusion bodice is hardy enough to hide bra straps (I wouldn't trust my support to the dress itself). On my 5'6" frame it falls to just below the knee and has a lovely open back.

My concerns? This is a very formal dress in person and I'm not sure it would fit the feel of this wedding. Plus while I love the look of this lace better the dress in and of itself is heavier and thicker, which makes me think wearing it in June (in DC) might be a pain.

Option 2: Adrianna Papell Women's Sleeveless Lace Dress


This dress is more a boatneck (compared to the tank like style of the first) and a beautiful taupe color. Again fully lined it's lighter overall in comparison to the first and falls to just above my knee (I'm wearing really high heels here so it looks a little shorter than in real life). I could take or leave the scalloped edges but according to quite few of my friends the detail is beautiful.

Here I tried the dress on with a belt because it's something the Matron of Honor and I are discussing and I wanted to get an idea of how it could look. Due to the sheath style both dresses would look great with belts and neither would be overwhelmed if we went with something sparkly. I forgot to take a picture of the back but it's a lovely v-neck, that doesn't drop very low - no risk of bra peekage.

Final Thoughts: As I said ealier, I kind of like the second one more. Both are beautiful - don't get me wrong - but the formality of the first combined with an almost (now that I think about it) bridal like lace makes me think it might be nice for life but not for this event. But hey - my opinion isn't the final say - we'll have to see what the bride thinks!

Some things don't have to be worn outside the house :).




All inspired by this picture I randomly found on the internet awhile ago:

Huh.

Well, folks, as it sometimes happens Round I was not a success. By any definition. I'm sure on another skin tone or smaller woman these dresses could look fantastic but on me? Not so much. Here's the proof*...


1) Too tight across the chest, the neckline/ruffles are too high
2) Cute in person, but horrible and boxy in photos. Plus the skirt doesn't have enough volume to balance the top half.
3) The best of the bunch but too much is exposed of the top half in this size. I may try sizing up (to a 16) in the future if I really decide to give this a chance.


1) Whoa - wide. This dress was not flattering at all though I guess I don't have to worry about any tummy issues.
2) I felt super broad and 'bleh' in this dress. No.

**Don't worry, I'm going to stop with the hallway pics. Not only is the lighting a b*tch but it's hard to get the right angle.

Now I can hear you, you're saying what about the lace dress right? Well the lace dress came a day later than this order and let me tell you - it's a maybe. It's a big enough maybe that I've ordered a similar dress that's half the price to see exactly how attached I am to it. Wish me luck!

I'm glad I pulled these boots and dress out of the closet for one last try but I don't think I'm going to keep either. Ebay it is!

I would never consider this a 'subtle' Christmas look, in fact it turned out smokier than I expected, but it worked! I was just playing around so please excuse the lack of product list but maybe this will inspire you on your next green day :).

I wish these pictures showed more accurately the color of the tights but the purple pattern really makes me happy.

(duh duh duuuuuuh - scary music)

I have the honor this June of being maid of honor for one my oldest and dearest friends. But, as much as I love her, she has handed me a bit of a quandary. Instead of going all bridezilla on me and saying 'BUY THIS DRESS NOW' she's taken the nice route and said 'here's a color palette and some inspiration pics - go!'


I think most people would find this sort of challenge fun. I mean the wedding's in June right? Plenty of time to find a dress right?

WRONG.

I am not a quick shopper! I find, I try, I contemplate - all of this takes time folks! Plus I have no idea what kind of color in this palette is gonna work with me, as I tend to be a saturated jewel tone kinda girl. Thus instead of working (because really, who works around the holidays?) I've been Googling all sorts of places to see what kind of inspiration I can find now for a wedding later. I've done the Modcloth and Anthropologie searches, and may get back to them a little bit later, but for my first buy & try? Nordstrom. Free shipping combined with a lot of what could be the right color dresses along with affordable prices (for a bridesmaid dress anyway) and you've got me making a big honking order (I don't want to do multiple small ones ok? I'd rather go big and just try all the damn things on at once.). And lucky for you I'm going to take you on this journey with me!

This round of dresses:

First Set:

 Second Set:


 I won't be devastated if none of these work, I do have time to keep searching, but isn't it nice to imagine that one of these might be perfect?

I don't know how anyone does this wrap-up posts. I'm still feeling my way blog wise, trying to communicate what it is I love about makeup, style, and geeky happenings. I would say that at least style-wise I feel a little more grounded. Not every outfit is a win, no way, but I'm slowly feeling like the way I dress is a better expression of who I am.

2013? I don't do resolutions but I'd like to keep on keeping on. I want to streamline the closet a  little, organize it a lot, and #1 - learn to sew (which the home ec course I just saw advertised on little chief honeybee might help with). I'd like to learn more and do better makeup and hopefully help some friends along the way since that's what I seem to love best about it anyway.

Thank you all for staying with me, reading about my life, and helping me remember the most important things - happiness and stability. They might not sound all that exciting but boy am I happy when I find them.