Boho{mian} Rhapsody || OOTD

On a summer day in Ohio, it is seriously humid. I mean, really. So when it comes to summer fashion, I look for something to wear that is hip and visually pleasing, but also wants something that gives me room to breathe. Fresh and On-Trend, if you will.

Being comfortable in such a humid climate usually means not a ton of jewelry. A few pieces always bring an outfit together, in my opinion. As for this look, I have nothing on but a necklace. {and a hair tie...and a head piece} I could grab a bracelet or two to help this look even more. But this is real, people. I didn't wear any that day and that is just the way it goes sometimes.

The dress is the main star of the show. A ruffle tier baby doll dress, I have been wearing it over my bathing suit as well as day to day. The oatmeal cartigan is really thin with a reverse mullet style shape. I think the cardigan adds that extra boho feel to it, as the dress is loosely fitted. To add some kind of color, I wore my Coral t-strap sandals with the gold detailing near the feet along with the gold bar going up the foot. So cute! Since coral and mint go hand in hand this season, my mint and silver panel necklace went perfect with my mint bra. The bra peeks through which I think, adds to the style and look I was going for. I could have went for a bandeau to peek through, but I thought it was showing a little too much and those just don't fit my body type. The mint bra is decorative anyhow and tied everything together. It's weird to say a bra tied my outfit together, but it's true!

To add an extra accessory without feeling tied down, I of course I had to wear the floral headpiece. Looking back, I wish I would have got a closer shot of the head piece. It has 1 rhinestone in the center of each flower. That's why I gravitated towards this particular head piece. It adds a little bit of glam while still giving a nod to the summer of 1969. {hey that's an unintentional Bryan Adams reference} It is made to be worn as is. I tried to wear it as a headband but it is too loose. So if your looking for something like this, check out Tilly's!

Headpiece: Tilly's || Chiffon Flower Headband
Black Dress: Tilly's || Full Tilt Ruffle Tier Baby Doll Dress
Oatmeal Cartigan : Burlington Coat Factory
Mint Panel Necklace: Charlotte Russe
Mint Bra: Target
Metallic T-Strap Flat Coral Sandals: Body Central

Hey wait! 

Dont forget to check out my giveaway! I want you to win!

also, Let's all thank Philly for taking these pictures! He is getting really good at it. Would you look at that back light on picture #1? And he directed me in a few of these shots. Great job, babe!

xoxo

Erica

My First Ipsy Bag + First Impressions

Don't ask what took me so long to sign up for Ipsy, I really don't know. I was a subscriber of Birchbox for a year and I liked it. It is high end beauty products, a ton of skin care, and 3 out of the 5 things were almost always samples/deluxe samples. Every so often, I would get a full size product. Ex: Laura Gellar Baked Blush n Brighten. I still have it and it is my favorite bronzer. After a while, the full size products stopped. With Ipsy, all of my five items were full size. The one drawback is that Ipsy is more of the lower end of makeup products and I have yet to see anyone get any skin care products in their Ipsy bag. In that respect, Birchbox and Ipsy are not really the same. I don't mind low end makeup, obviously. In fact, I love low end/drugstore makeup.

When I first opened it up, I was like "wow!" "wow!" "this is so cool!" Even though I have seen tons of videos/blog post's on the Ipsy stuff, I was pleasantly surprised. Every single thing was full size and every single thing was a makeup product. 

 

Ok first up:

NYX Rouge Cream Blush

Rose Petal

I love NYX lip products, this is the first blush I have tried. It is a peachy rose color with an orange undertone. I own a Mark Cream Blush and it is more of a powdery cream, while this cream blush is more of an oil based cream. It has nice pigment, and almost acts like a stain. A lot of brighter lipsticks do this, so I think I can attribute that to the color. I am speaking on this particular shade only.

 

J. Cat Sparkling Cream Palette

Suzie

This is not an eyeshadow. It is a body glitter...I cant think of anything that I would want that glittery besides my eyes. I love a good shimmer on the body, and even the hair. But straight up glitter, I have no ideas. The palette is a cream. It does feel creamy when you swatch it, yes. But after all thats said and done, it is really just bigger, chunky, glitters bonded by some type of invisible gel/cream. It is so pretty. I wish I could use it on my eyes. Maybe someone else I know will want this.

Chella

Ivory Lace Highlighter

This was my favorite thing. I was happy to see it in bag. It's shape is perfect for the inner corner, underneath the brow, and in the cupids bow. It would even be nice for an all over base, perhaps. Anywhere tight places that you would want to highlight, this is a great product for it. I used it in my inner corner and under my brow with nothing else the one day. It went on really nice and it added a nice brightening effect. It isn't shimmery so it almost looked like a natural highlight. I think it is something I will use every day.

Star Looks

Tickle Me Pink

Am I the only one that loves the smell of a lip liner? I love the wood smell. It reminds me of using my Mumum's makeup when I was little. Anyhow, whats not to love about a pink lip liner? It seems really nice and isn't so creamy that it's going to come right off your lips. It isn't to dry either to where it is tugging. I like it.

Cailyn Line-Fix Gel Liner

Purple

This is a nice deep purple cream liner but can we talk about the brush? It is nice and soft and has a really nice tip. It can get really precise. I like to use cream liner in the inner rim to add definition to my lashes. I used it to do just that yesterday, and it didn't translate to a really deep, deep purple but it did make my lashes look thicker to a certain extent. As for adding any pigment to my water liner, it fell short. It wouldn't transfer off of the brush onto my water line. As of right now, I like my Physician's Formula Cream Liner's over this one. The liner wasn't bad but I am loving the brush.

The only thing that is dumb about the Ipsy subscription is that it didnt come with any kind of index card telling me exactly what each thing is and a little more about it. If it wasn't for my cousin, I would have never known that the J. Cat palette is for your body only. You have to go to the site to find out about those kind of things. I know people think those cards are worthless in the Birchbox but now I wish I had one from Ipsy.

Are you a subscriber of Ipsy?

What do you think of it?

xoxo

Erica

Top 6 Bright Lipsticks {and dupes}

If Nude Pink is my first favorite, then Bright lip colors come to a close second. It is so effortless and easy. Simple eye makeup and a bright lip are perfect for the summer. The bright color mirrors everyone's attitude, not to mention the sunshine, of the season while the achieving it is just as good as the color. Mascara, Liner, Bronzer, and a bright lip take all of 5 minutes.

These have been my favorite bright lipsticks lately. I can honestly say that each one has been getting a lot of use on my lips.

LiSi 

Iconic

Thank you to Alexis! She kindly gave this lipstick to me. She has an olive skin tone and when she wears what would be a deep red lipstick on me, it looks much brighter on her. I am usually a light skin tone but as of right now, I am more light to medium and have red undertones as opposed to an olive skin tone.This lipstick simply didn't fit her skin tone {kinda like ELF's Seductive} so she kindly gave it to me. Although I do believe she could pull this one off if she wanted, it would be more bright on her, as for anyone with olive skin. This lipstick actually has a powdery feel to it - its really strange. It eventually dries down to a matte finish. It has staying power - it stays on my lips for around 1/2 of a shift {like 3 hours} It has a bright pastel pink thing going for it as you can see from the swatch. It has a sweet taste. Yum. She found this a TJ Maxx.

ELF Essentials Lipstick

Flirtatious

I know I speak on this lipstick a lot, but it's a good one. When I do blog post's like this I can really see a pattern. Obviously, Flirtatious is the exact same color as Iconic. Flirtatious would be an exact dupe for Iconic if it wasn't for the cream finish Flirtatious has. I find myself re-applying creamier lipstick's throughout the day. Since they never really dry down, they can easily slip off. Here's a review on the rest of the ELF Essentials Lipstick's I have. It also has a sweet candy flavor.

Maybelline Vivid's

Pink Pop

This is the lightest, pastel lipstick from the Vivid's line. As opposed to the 2 lipsticks mentioned before this, Pink Pop has much more of a purple undertone. I would say that this is a great way to rock purple lip's this season. Pink Pop has a creamy finish {and stays creamy} and also adds some shine. 

Here's a picture of me with it on:

Maybelline Vivid's

Fuchsia Flash

This one is a more unique color of the bunch that I have here. I doesn't dupe any other bright lip color out of the 6. A definite bright, neon pink. On any skin tone, this lipstick will not go unnoticed! I personally think it would flatter any skin tone. Deeper toned girls will have more of a pastel kind of lip going on, and lighter toned girls will have a bright obvious fuchsia. I do notice Fuchsia Flash has a harder time staying inside the lip lines. I think I can attribute that to the bright, blinding color. I always make sure I use a lip liner because of that. I use NYX's Dolly Pink lip liner with any bright pink lipstick. It really helps keeping the lipstick in it's place. To have even more insurance, and if im not feeling too lazy, I will line around my lips with any kind of nude pencil {Hard Candy Concealer Pencil, or Rimmel Scandal-Eyes Kohl Liner in Nude.}  Has a creamy finish and adds a little bit of shine, just not as much as it's sister, Pink Pop.

Wet n Wild

Dollhouse Pink

These Wet n Wild Lipstick's do dry down to a matte finish and are drying. The most drying of the bunch I have here. However, Dollhouse Pink has high color pay off. I really like using a corresponding lip gloss to go along with this line of lipsticks. Dollhouse Pink is a lot like Pink Pop {and even look like exact dupes in these swatches} but the finish differs. Dollhouse Pink is matte, Pink Pop is creamy and adds some shine.

Revlon

Siren

I couldn't do a bright lip blog post without mentioning Siren. I was obsessed with this color last summer. I mean, who doesn't love an orange lipstick? I'm sure some people don't, but for anyone that does, Siren is a good one. The finish is somewhere in the middle of a cream and a matte. It goes on somewhat creamy, stays on pretty long, but does become dry after a while. After a couple hours, the color is there, you just have drier lips. Since I don't have an orange gloss, it makes sense for me to apply this then bring along a regular lip balm to hydrate my lips.

Another really great bright lip color is Maybelline's Baby Lip's in Pink Punch. It isn't going to be as bright as the rest of them but it surprisingly has great pigmentation as a brighter pink, and is hydrating. I tend to keep this with me everyday for quick touch ups throughout the day when im wearing a bright pink. It's fuss free.

Final Verdict:
If your looking for a good creamy, bright lipstick, try the Maybelline Vivid's or any ELF Essential Lipstick. For a matte finish, try any of the other's. Keep in mind that the drier/matte formula's tend to stay on much longer than the creamier bright lipstick's. I use a lip balm throughout the day and it seems to do the job with the matte lipsticks

I did a Top 6 Favorite Nude Pink Lipsticks Here

I'm having a give-away

What's your favorite bright lipstick?

xoxo
Erica

Julep's Kaylen NOTW

Just a quick NOTW on a very unique nail polish. I myself have never experienced anything like it. Thank you to Alex for letting me borrow it! She didnt really like it to begin with. I think she might just have to get used to it though. Alex signed up for the monthly Julep Maven box using the code "freebox" to get her first box free and got her polishes within 5 days. I will be giving this back to her, but not before I review it.

Kaylen is a bright neon orange, perfect for kicking off the summer. This nail polish is not a cream. It really isn't a matte either. I would call this a jelly. What your looking at is 3 coats and as you can probably see, my nail is peeking through the polish. Almost as if it's sheer, but quite. It is basically an opaque, see-through polish. When it dries, it doesn't really look matte or glossy. It looks {and feels} rubbery. I am sure there are better ways to describe this polish in a much more technical way, but this is what i'm going with. If any of my  nail obsessed girls know these technical terms, please leave them as a comment! 

Final verdict is that it was pretty cool. I liked it on my nails. Just like any other nail polish, this last 2 days tops without a top coat. As someone who serves food, my nails chip even quicker.

Have you guys tried this?

What did you think?

Im having a giveaway!

xoxo

Erica

High Five For Friday = #H54F

I have seen this link up so many times and I have always wanted to join in. I always was too late by the time I got it together. It is 4:15 eastern time on Friday evening and I am going for it!

Photos 1-7: The day before Memorial Day, me and Philly went to Cedar Point. Even though it wasn't warm enough for the water park {at least not for us} we had a ton of fun! I obviously could not choose just 1 picture, so I opted for seven of them. I got some good ones, if I do say so myself. Well, with a little help from a few Instagram filters. There's more on Instagram!

Photo 8: In case you haven't heard for the 8th time, I got my necklace from Shop Lately - I love that thing.I have also been obsessing over Pink Pop from the Maybelline Vivids line. So pretty. They look nice together (:

Photo 9: Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Who doesn't love that combination? I have been snacking on those all week.

Photo 10: NOTW: Sally Hansen Pacific Blue with OPI When Monkey's Fly and Wet n Wild Party of 5 Glitters. Another great combo.

Photo 11: Went shopping at Target. I got some organizational stuff. I can't resist a $1 Mon-Fri tablet. I am a crazy list maker. I also bought a couple small gifts.

Photo 12: Another gift. The Fake Bake Sunless Tanning Lotion. I hope she likes it!

Photo 13: OOTD. Also seen here.

Photo 14: I am lightening my hair even more. I will do a full blog post/video about it once I am done.

Photo 15: I really wanted to get some good pictures of the flowers while still on the tree with my Canon camera, but I wasn't fast enough. All of the flower petal ended up on the ground. Still makes for a gorgeous  photo, anyways.

Clearly I am not great at following rules because I did not pick 5. Im 10 over. Let's just pretend. I do feel bad because I don't have one of Stella! Poor girl! If you want to see some of Stella Girl, go to my Instagram and follow me. I have a ton of other pictures too! I am @MeetMissJackson

Yay! Now I can link up!

xoxo

Erica

Glint and Gleam on Shop Lately Haul

Another beauty blogger type of site. Hautelook, Birchbox, Jewelmint, DailyLook, etc. They all have some kind of hook and are all so fun to shop. I never really gave Shop Lately a look until recently. I have heard so much about it, but just like all of these #bblogger sites, sometimes it goes in one ear and out the other. I decided to one day check out Shop Lately.

I am hooked.

Shop Lately has, first of all, some really great prices. Great prices are one thing, but they also have some really adorable stuff. It is my favorite new site. 

Shop Lately offer's mostly jewelry and accessories from different smaller brands. But the brands they carry are on-point. The brands they have almost remind me of jewelry brands you would find on Etsy. But that's not all! They have a sale section which is set up to be a flash sale type of page. They have certain brands on that page, and you can get a great price on those sale items for only a few days. That is how they get 'cha!

Glint and Gleam seem to be the main brand/vendor on Shop Lately. Glint and Gleam is most likely my favorite jewelry brand yet. Check their stuff out.

As soon as I seen the Gold Tiny Tiered Trio Necklace on sale for $8.50, I had to have it. I have always wanted a 3 tiered necklace with crosses. And this one was even better because it has a skull as the first charm. If it had a heart as another charm, it would be actually perfect for me. And if was real gold at that price, it would be even better! LOL! But I still love it. I have been wearing it, no joke, every single day. 

The only thing that drives me crazy about it is that it can get tangled up really easy. I guess that comes with the territory.

I am wearing it as short as I can in this picture, so that should give you an idea of exactly where it will fall on the neck. 

That was the only thing I actually purchased. 

It came with a free gift! Cha Ching! 

In the box it came with a note that they sent me a necklace they thought I would like based on my purchase. I don't know how the dainty gold necklace would fall into the same category as this huge clunky 80's looking necklace, and at first I was put off. Normally I don't like this sort of thing. 

But then I realized this was my chance to branch out of my comfort zone and I instantly started to like it. I surprised myself and have worn it twice since it came in the mail over a week ago.

I am not sure what it is called {I am sorry} Again, I am wearing this necklace as short as it will go. However, I do think this necklace would look really cute worn long, with the chain laying right on the collar of the shirt, and the bulk of the necklace sitting entirely on the shirt. This necklace has some weight to it. Not so heavy it is over bearing and weighing my neck down, but heavy enough to tell me it was made well and isn't cheap. In fact, it doesn't weigh my neck down at all.

That was everything I got from Shop Lately! I can't wait to order again!

Also, my packaged must have been shipped right away because I got it rather quickly. I think I waited 5 days, which isn't much of a wait.

Have you guys ordered from Shop Lately?

What did you think?

Dont forget about the giveaway!