Spring Trends: Cockatoo: Part 3

Hey! Welcome to the third installment of Spring Trend 2012! If you missed the first 2 parts click Tangerine Tango & Sweet Lilac. If not, I am exited to start on Cockatoo! This is another one of my favorite colors for this spring. I just can't say enough about all of the colors for this spring.

Small Shoes: From Kohl's by Elle

Necklace: H&M (love that!)

Polish: Nicki Minaj for O.P.I. in Fly (I love her whole opi line)

Dress: ShopRuche.com

Big Shoe: Bakers

Bathing Suit: Victoria Secret - how adorable is that?

"Clean saturated brights mixed back to faded neutral tones: Crisp Lemon Zest Yellow paired with Cool Pavement Gray, Liquid Caribbean Green mixed with Light Oatmeal, and Deep Lipstick Red with Dusty Chambray Blue" - Ella Moss


I took Cockatoo and paired it with a nice pastel neutral, Starfish, another spring color

1. Dress from Charlotte Russe

2. Bag from Bakers

3. Bracelet from Forever 21

4. Shoedazzle: Shoes are called Adelaide

1. Bedding from Kohls

2. Shoes from Charlotte Russe

3. Earrings from Body Central

4. Dress from Kohls by Apt. 9

5. Ring from Forever 21

6. Necklace from Forever 21

Bag that isn't numbered from ShopRuche.com

For more on this color & other colors, go to Pantone.com

What Would You Pair Cockatoo With??? Please let me know in comments! 

With Love,

Erica

Spring Trends Series: Fashion Color Report: Sweet Lilac (part2)

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for stopping by for the second installment of this Spring Trend Series! Part 1 was about the color of the year Tangerine Tango. If you missed it, please go back and check it out because it also mentions Sweet Lilac. This part will be about Sweet Lilac, another trendy color this season. Sweet Lilac is my absolute favorite color for this spring. It is described as a delicate pinkish lilac that adds a touch of romance to any wardrobe. This color with a hint of purple is also described as the "New Neutral" and can paired with almost anything




 

1. Dress from ShopRuche.com

2. Nars Launch for Spring 2012 Blush in Gaiety

3. O.P.I. Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj Collection

4. Top From Kohl's by Elle

5. Dress From Kohl's by Lauren Conrad

6. Dress from Kohl's by Apt 9.

7. From MAC's  Too Supreme Collection in Royal Azalea

8. Top From Kohl's by Elle

9. Dress From Abercrombie & Fitch




"I like tones of one color, the spectrum of a Bright Green into a soft fading Jade, a Bright Neon Pink into a Soft Blush tone" Rebecca Minkoff 

I really agree with Rebecca in that light. I always love layering a light pink with a dark pink. Using the same same in an outfit but layering pieces of different hues from that color. So what I did below was I took the Sweet Lilac color, which would be a blush tone pinkish lilac & layered it with Cabaret (another color for this spring) which is an intense rosy- red. 

1. Shoes from Charlotte Russe

2. Bangles from Forever 21

3. Bow Bracelet from Forever 21 

4. Ruffle Tank from Abercrombie & Fitch

5. Sweet Lilac Jeans from ShopRuche.com (another trend! colored jeans!)

For more on this color & other colors, visit Pantone. They are national authority of color Sounds weird but it is true

How Would You Wear Sweet Lilac?

Check Back Soon For The Next Spring Color! 

xoxo

Erica J

Color of the Year 2012!

I hope you join me for my 3rd series of the Spring/Fall trends series that I have done since the beginning- it was so much fun making this and I do hope I can inspire you with colors,fashion,& trends! For the beginning of the series, I am going to talk about the colors of the season, day by day, declared by Pantone, the global authority of color. They went to NY Fashion Week & beyond to find out the prominent hues as well as color trends. Now I will take you through all of the trends for spring/summer 2012!

It is only logical to to start with the color of the year, Tangerine Tango, which is described as a provocative, vivacious, enticing juicy orange.
 

1. Dress from Kohl's by Elle

2. O.P.I. A Roll in the Hague from the Holland Collection

3. Necklace from Charlotte Russe

4. MAC Sheen Supreme Lipglass in Mango Sheen 

5. Charlotte Russe Bootie

6. Purse from Shoedazzle 

There are plenty of ways to wear 2012's color of the year, and according to Adrienne Vittadini, hot colors are great with other hot colors & cool colors are great with other cool colors.

Wedges: Bakers

Dress: ShopRuche.com

Bag: Clifton from Shoedazzle

Necklace: Forever 21



Mixing hot neons with soft pastels is a huge trend this spring.

According to Nanette Lepore, a great variaton would be using the vibrant Tangerine Tango, with Sweet Lilac, which she is calling the "new neutral" which has a hint of purple.

1. I can't recall....I missed the bus and forgot to write it down- oops! I wanna say Asos

2. Captivated Love Rosette Top from ShopRuche.com

3. Shoedazzle: Patti in Orange

4. Bracelet: Forever 21


Another way to wear Tangerine Tango?

Try Sodalite Blue and by the way, bird print is a trend this spring too!

Top From Asos

Skirt: Asos Simple Full Skirt with Paperback Waist


It's kind of amazing that such a intimidating color to most people, goes well with so many different other colors that I wouldn't have even thought of, honestly! I like Tangerine Tango along with Sweet Lilac,

whats your favorite variation?

So that's what the designer's think, what do you guys think Tangerine Tango can go with?

Please vote for your favorite color of the year here! Tangerine Tango is winning so far! For men's colors, check here. Thanx you guys so much for reading and I will be back with another color for tomorrow!

**disclaimer**  all collages were made by me - please credit if you wanna use them! thanx guys!

Revlon Lip Butters

Nothing new to the blogging world but I did want to touch on these myself because of all the hype they have always gotten. I was really exited to try a lipstick that was moisturizing. And moisturizing they are! However, not all of these hybrids are lipstick material if you ask me. The 2 I bought were Creamsicle & Cotton Candy. 

Creamsicle is my favorite so far. Not all nudes look good on me because I have a lighter skin tone but I thought this was good. It wasn't too dark or too light for me. Creamsicle is a lot more opaque then the others that I have found so far

Now for Cotton Candy: That swatch is misleading because it looks a lot more sheer on the lips and instead of a pink sheen on my lips, it was more or less just an off colored shimmer. I ended up taking Cotton Candy back and grabbing Cupcake..bad idea, for me! Cupcake was the same. I just returned it was was going to go for Strawberry Shortcake but I ended up not grabbing it because Ulta was having a sale and I had my eye on another lipstick. My little cousin would love this color I think because of the fact that it's more shimmer then it is a pink color, if you know what I mean. However, after looking at swatches, Strawberry Shortcake looks pretty opaque- I am determined to find a nice pink I like in the collection so sooner or later I will have to grab it!

Staying power is the same as any other ordinary lipstick. I would say that if you can get a good opaque color, then they are the perfect hybrid. If you like sheer lipsticks, I think you will find plenty there.

On a side note: I am going to Pittsburgh for the weekend and I am all done with my first part of the Spring Trends series!!! Depending on my mood, it will be up either sunday or monday. You guys are gunna love it! for now....

Do you have any of the Revlon Lip Butters? What one's have better color pay off than Cotton Candy? Please me know!

Stay Beautiful

xoxo

Erica

Ombre NOTW

This is not the ombre your thinking of! Where you paint your thumb the darkest color, then your pinky the lightest color, ombrein' all the way down the hand. Nope, this is the actual nail! When I seen it, I thought it was too cute.

What you do: Take a solid color of nail polish, and paint your whole nail. Then you take a glitter and start at the tip of your nail, taking it down to nothingness at the cuticle. I have even seen people use regular glitter as opposed to polish, which gave a really pretty effect. Here's some really bad pictures I tried to take. Hey my nails were wet and I was crunched for time to get the picture and paint the rest of my nail, what can I say?

 see that glitter at the tip? Pull it down! I repeated that technique on each nail around 3 times. So I used 3 coats.

When I picked out the combination of the glitter & color I wanted to use, I was quite pleased with myself. I really like these 2 together. I usually only use Strobe Light (glitter) with pinks for some reason. Glad I went outside my comfort zone. Colors I used are as follows:

That is my NOTW! You guys like it? Just a reminder for the Spring Trends Series! I would like to post the first part at least before next week which is when I am going out of town for the day.  Either the first part or my fashion TAG! I made up a Fashion TAG which is a lot of fun! Let me know if you want to be tagged & also what you would like to see first on the blog! Thank you guys!

Have you guys tried or will you try this Ombre trend? What colors will you use or did you use?

Till next time,

Erica J

Skinny Cupcakes

Lots of protein. Very Few Carbs. The carbs that are in this cupcake are the good ones, anyway. I hate diet-y tasting food. Loved these cupcakes. Rival Duncan Hines any day.

I was actually skeptical with these cupcakes, as I am with anything diet-y. When I made these, I was quite happy with the turnout. My mom even had one! She is one picky lady. She only likes pizza w/ pepperoni and anything with chocolate.....actually, only some stuff with chocolate...& MGD & pumpkin seeds. That's really it. If they pleased her, they will please anybody!

Did I mention I hate diet-y food? Well, I do. That's is why I love these! They are not the diet-y type of cupcake. They are actually good for you cupcake's. Even ask Karina & Katrina from Tone It Up, which is where I got this recipe, & I bet they will tell you that these very cupcakes would be good before or after a workout.

Ok so I kinda cheated on the name. I didn't think Valentine's Day Cupcakes was an appropriate name, so I am dubbing them "Skinny Cupcakes" the only unoriginal thing I can possible take credit for. That, and the cute font & colors! haha!  

 83 calories. 6 calories from fat

Now for the frosting. The frosting that they had on Tone It Up looked amazing! But, I didn't have cream cheese. So I was off to find another recipe. This frosting is from Oh She Glows. Now, one quick thing: this frosting is by no means skinny! Oh She Glows is a vegan baking blog, so the frosting is vegan, but not skinny! Personally, I liked the cupcakes on their own with no frosting & a little bit of earth balance. They were really great that way! I put the frosting on for everyone else in the house. Plus, the cupcakes look cuter with a hat on!The frosting was also fun & easy to make

  That's that! I hope you guys enjoyed my Skinny Cupcakes posts! Don't forget to visit Oh She Glows & Tone It Up to see another probably delicious icing and alot of other amazing desserts!

Stay Healthy

Erica

Julep Maven Box for 1 Penny!

Hey guys! So last month (march) Julep Maven was doing a promotion for people that don't have subscriptions to the Maven box. You paid 1 penny for the box. 1 per house and per person. I was exited because I love nail polish and since there nail polishes are on the expensive side, why not pay a freaking penny and get a couple plus a hand scrub!?

This month, they have another code for this offer and it is "penny". If you have never had a Julep Maven box, try it! Even if you don't like it, it was a penny, what did you lose, yah no? And by the way it's not a penny plus shipping or anything, you pay exactly one cent. 

Another thing I liked about Julep Maven is that you can choose what box you want before hand. It's not a guessing game. However, whatever 2 or 3 nail polish colors come in each box, you can't add or eliminate. So I got the Boho Glam box because of this color, Alicia.

Alicia is gorgeous pastel coral. It was like nothing I have ever had or anything I have seen before! Alicia is a cream finish and it goes on extremely smooth. Even if you mess up and now have streaks, it will basically dry down to one smooth coat, which is awesome. Absolutely fool proof. In a NOTW coming up, I only had to use 1 coat on a couple but mostly I used 2 coats on each nail. One thing that I thought was weird was if I didn't use a top coat, the nail would get smudges on the actual nail polish. I don't mean the actual polish shifting, I mean like grey smudges. I guess I brushed up against something? either way, with a top coat, your good to go with it.

As for Portia, I wasn't necessarily exited about getting it, but I did think it was a nice color. Plus I am a little suspicious of glitter polishes... I like to open up the glitter polishes right in the store to see exactly how much glitter will be on the brush. With Portia, you barely get any. As you can see it is a sheer polish tinted blue with some sparkle to it. However, the Julep Maven website did describe the polish as just that, so I wasn't getting led on or anything. I haven't used it yet so that is all I can say.

Here's my heart swatches of Portia (left) & Alicia (right). As you can tell Portia looks like it would be a gorgeous top coat for any given blue polish. Not a stand alone polish. Or a polish that will form a nicely shaped heart. As for Alicia, she is my new best friend!

The Hand Facial I thought had a cutesie name. It smells like citrus. I am not too keen on citrus, but it smells good, I guess. Nothing like the best thing that has ever went up my nose or anything, ifyaknowwhatImean, but good. It does have exfoliators in it, and you know me I love my scrubs! We do have a Mary Kay hand scrub in the bath room now that I can compare it to and I like the Mary Kay one better. The Mary Kay one has much smaller granules and I feel like that element calls for a better scrub & it smells much nicer (an extremely light, fresh, & clean scent with a small hint of cucumber melon) 

Evening out the pro's and con's, I cannot complain for 1 penny. But with the regular price, which I believe is around $17, I am not too sure yet. I feel like for that much money, you should be able to pick out the nail polishes that go in the box. You can only pick set for set, not polish by polish. So, I dunno. I guess if you are contemplating signing up for your monthly box, take it or leave it. Either way, I hope I helped!

on a side note I am almost done with this season's trends series. Click here for examples of this past fall trend's series. I am also doing a Fashion TAG which I made up by myself and I must say, it's a pretty good TAG! If you are interested in being tagged, let me know in the comments! I will being tagging a couple specific people but I am not too sure who would be interested so please let me know in the comments!

Do you guys get the Julep Maven Box? What do you guys think of the Company? If you don't get the box, are you thinking of taking advantage of the promo code?

stay beautiful,

Erica