Clean and Polished

There are some days when you want to go to school in sweats and a sweatshirt and call it good. Trust me, I know how it feels to stay up till midnight finishing homework and then waking up at 6am to get ready for school. While, I don’t think you need to spend an hour everyday getting ready for school, I do think looking clean and polished is important.

I don’t agree with students with wear pajamas to school (I mean unless it’s Pajama day at school). A school is a public setting where you are working with your teachers and your peers, your appearance should reflect who you are as a person. While some people say appearance doesn’t matter, it truly does. When walking in a job interview, a manager won’t want to hire a person wearing pajamas, but rather a person wearing business attire. Though school is definitely not a job interview, it is still a place where others will base an opinion on you based off of what you wear. That’s why I think it’s extremely important to at least look clean and polished when going to school.

I’m not saying you should never sweatpants or a sweatshirt to school ever. Even I am a victim of throwing a sweatshirt on and leaving for school if I’m in a hurry. But I do think that everyone should strive to look well dressed for most of the time they go to school. That doesn’t mean curling your hair and wearing a dress everyday, but putting on a cute blouse with a pair of leggings is just as easy! Dressing nice doesn’t mean taking a lot of time, it just means looking, well, more fashionable I guess. If you are having trouble looking for cute alternatives, have no fear! Here are some easy ways to make your outfit cuter, yet take less time.

-Leggings are my best friend. They are extremely comfortable and can still make a outfit look sophisticated and stylish. These look great on any body shape and you can pair them with literally anything. I pick leggings over jeans because they are much more comfortable and it looks like you still put in the same amount of effort.

-Beanies can turn a bad hair day into a cute, hip accessory. I know the days where your hair just can’t cooperate with you, so just put on a beanie! It covers everything right up!

-Sweatshirts don’t have to be boring sports teams or the vacation you went to last spring. They can have cute designs and styles! Stores like Loft, Banana Republic, and Express sell comfy sweatshirts that still look extremely fashionable with its intricate beading, unique stitching, and patterns. So instead of putting on a boring sweatshirt, put on a sweatshirt that has more bling!

The Importance of Primer

I recently just had my Prom and it was truly an unforgettable night. Putting on your dream dress, taking pictures, dancing with your friends, and sharing the night with your date are just the few great things about prom night. But of course there’s always the fear that your dress is too big, the pictures don’t turn out the way you want them to, your makeup smears off, and god forbid, if your date leaves you. While I’m not sure if I can make sure your date doesn’t ditch you, I do know a solution that makes your makeup stay on all night. If you want your makeup to stay on all day and not smudge, use a primer. No, not a paint primer, but a makeup primer. Before you put on foundation, spray on a makeup setting spray or a foundation primer to ensure that your foundation can stay on all day. Before you apply your eyeshadow, be sure to first apply an eyeshadow primer to the eyeshadows can stick to your eyelids and not smudge.

 But what kind to use? My favorite foundation primer is the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. This setting spray is super easy to use, just spray it on your face 2-3 times and you are done. And since it’s a clear spray, it won’t change your foundation color in any way as well. What makes the All Nighter different from other primers is that you can also spray it on after you applied your makeup to ensure that your makeup will not budge, but also give your foundation a natural dewy finish and not a cakey, powdered finish. From my personal experience, this setting spray can make your foundation stay on day. I first spray a few spritz of the All Nighter before I apply foundation, then I conceal and powder to finish my foundation. Because some powders can make your face look extremely cakey, I then spray on All Nighter again to get a nice natural finish to your makeup. The only downside to the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray is that it is on the expensive side (costs $30), but I think it’s a much better investment than buying more foundations and powders! For eyeshadow primers, I also recommend the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. This will not budge; I used it for Prom last night and my eyeshadow stayed in place even after being all hot and sweaty after the dance!

The secret to having makeup staying put all day is a good makeup primer. Test different kinds out to see which brands and types of primers work best for your skin. Once you find your favorite primer, you won’t ever have to worry about redoing or touching up your makeup because it won’t fade or smear off!

Nails, Nails, Nails

Though your nails are only a 2 centimeters long, the different styles and designs you can create on your nails are endless. You can create different patterns, pictures, words, and even put on gems or glitter. Now I’m definitely not a nail expert, but I do know a trick or two when putting on some nail polish and creating designs.

First let’s talk about the base and top coats. It’s important to put on a base coat before you apply your actual nail polish so the chemicals of the nail polish won’t harm your actual nail. I would recommend using a base coat that also repairs and strengthens your nail so it can not only be a shield between your actual nail and nail polish, but also nourish it as well. A top coat is your best friend. That thin layer of clear nail polish can minimize the chips you have, help the nail polish stay on for longer, plus makes your nail polish look shiny and new. My favorite top coat is Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat because it makes your nail polish look glossy and never chips it, plus it dries your nail polish in 5 seconds so you won’t have to do the awkward “Drying my Nails” dance.

If you want to be creative and unique, drawing patterns on your nails can really make your nails pop. Of course, if you anything like me, you’re absolutely terrible at drawing designs on your nails, but there is still a way to make your nails look cute! For simple designs, you can always try drawing lines across your nails. There are some polishes that have a very thin brush that is made for drawing lines on your nails. If you buy some of those, drawings cute lines across your nails is easy as 1, 2, 3! If you want a dotted pattern, try taking a tooth pick and dipping it into polish and applying it on your nail. This simple dot design is super easy and very cute! Try placing the dots in a diagonal line so the pattern looks even.

You can always go to a nail salon to get your nails done as well. If I ever go to a salon, I always get a French Tip acrylic because they stay on for a long time and can look good with anything. The only problem is that the fake nails stay on forever, so it’s important to remember to get them refilled or take them off or else you’re going to have your actual nail peek through your fake ones.

Painting your nails can really show off your creativity, whether you’re artistic or not. Have fun experimenting everyone!

Fashion in the 1920's

Fashion in the 1920’s was such a leap from the earlier decades because women were finally dressing more modern. Dresses were shorter in length, pants were worn by women, and styles were much more dramatic and glitzy than before. In “Nice Work If You Can Get It”, the costumes we wore were very to date with the time period. In this blog post, I will be talking about the different costumes I wore and how that was in style in the 1920’s.

In the opening scene of the musical, the chorus girls wore red flapper dresses. This dress was the fashion symbol of the 1920’s. Flapper girls, or young women who behaved and dressed in a boldly unconventional manner, wore these types of dresses when they were out at a bar or club dancing. These dresses usually had a lot of fringe on them, crazy beading, and usually stopped at their knees (which was very scandalous to do in the 1920’s)

When I first entered the stage, I wore a blue A-line skirt that stopped at my knees, a white blouse, gloves, and a fur coat. My character, Eileen Evergreen, was a whiney, expensive girl who is known as the “finest interpreter of modern dance in the world” so she had to wear the most expensive looking outfits. I also had on a lot of jewelry like pearl necklaces, earrings, and a diamond ring to look more high class. Pearls were a definite jewelry must in the 1920’s, whether it was pearl necklaces, pearl earrings, or pearl rings; that stone was worn by all the ladies.

For the men, they wore pin stripped suits. This style was very popular among men back in the 20’s, especially for those who went to clubs and bars a lot. The pin strip was what really showed that the suits were from the 1920’s, pin strip wasn’t much of a fashion trend in the later years.

At the end of the show, it is my wedding day. I wore a gorgeous white lace dress that stopped right above my ankles. I thought it was the perfect 1920’s wedding dress because it had the classic fabric of a wedding dress, yet the style was clearly from the 1920’s with it’s shortened length and the A-line look. I paired this dress with a pink pearl necklace and pearl earrings and of course, a veil. Even though I got left at the alter, I sure looked great!

My favorite fashion decade would definitely be the twenties! I loved the fringy flapper dresses, the classic pearl jewelry, and the dramatic makeup looks. It was definitely the roaring twenties!

Beauty and Hair in the 1920's

This weekend I am fortunate to be apart of the Kennedy High School production of “Nice Work if You Can Get It”. And while everyone was being hectic and getting ready for our first performances, I got a chance to really think. I noticed that every girl and boy was focusing a lot on our hair and makeup. We had specific guidelines on how to shape our hair into the right form. We also had to make sure it was appropriate for the time period. This time period was in the roaring 20s, so many things influenced the styles of hair. The styles included a lot of pinned up hair and curls, smoky eyes and thin eyebrows, flapper dresses and pin stripped tuxes.

For hair, girls had to create the classic 20’s pin up curls that make you hair look much shorter than it actually is. I first curled all my curl into tight little ringlet curls and then teased it slightly to create more volume. Then I shoved a ton of bobby pins in my hair and pinned the curls in different places around my head to make it seem like my hair was only chin length instead of it’s actually length. Once you get the length right, how you style it is totally up to you. Because of my character, I pinned some curls to the side of my face to frame my face. Other girls pulled some curls out and made it look more natural, while other girls put a headband in to make it seem like they were truly a flapper girl.

Even though you would think makeup in the 20’s wouldn’t be much different from what it is now, it definitely is! In the roaring 20’s, makeup was centered on a smoky eye with greys and blacks. To create this apply a white or silver on the center and inner corner of your lid, then apply a grey or black on the outer corner of your lid and along the crease. Then blend to get that smoky look. Apply some winged eyeliner and you’ve got the perfect 20’s smoky eyes! For lips, red was the staple color in the 20’s and it was applied very thinly on the lips (definitely not how Kendall Jenner wears it!) Eyebrows were also much thinner and longer than they are today. For blush, it was applied to the center of your cheeks.

Those were just the different trends for hair and makeup in the 1920’s, in my next blog post, I will be reviewing the fashion in the 1920’s!

Tame the Mane

Brushes, combs, and whatever else people use to tame the “mane” that they are so fortunate to have on top of their heads. But it’s just hair right? So why do we need things to control, form, and style it? Hair can shape your face, and it’s the first thing people really see (besides your expression on your face). It’s important to style correctly, and use the right tools when doing so. There are so many different tools you can use to style your hair. There’s wide tooth combs, paddle brushes, teasing combs, round barrel brushes, and more. Each comb and brush has a specific job it can do for your hair. I will be explaining what type of brush works best for your hair.

If you have thick, coarse hair like mine, it’s best to use densely set bristles in your brush to make sure it doesn’t pull out all your hair. I would recommend buying plastic bristles because that’s the most gentle on your hair.

If you have thin, long hair, I recommend using a big paddle brush. These paddle brushes are very wide so can brush out more of your hair so it won’t take years to brush it all out. These brushes also make your hair sleek and straight without adding volume.

For curly hair, I recommend using a wooden brush. Wooden brushes are gentler on hair and won’t separate your curls. Wooden brushes are also great for brushing after you curl your hair to soften the curls, they make it look much more natural.

Combs are best used for teasing and they are much cheaper than teasing combs. Make sure you buy the combs with parting pick so you can also part and section off your hair easily. While teasing combs are meant for teasing your hair, I find combs much easy to work with and won’t pull out as much hair.

When blow drying your hair, be sure to use a round barrel brush. This brush can smoothly brush out your hair but also add tremendous amounts of volume. Grab a section of hair and then face your blow dryer onto your hair so you can brush it out and dry it at the same time. If you also twist your brush around your hair while your blow-drying you can also get some big, voluminous curls out of it as well!

If you brush your hair after you shower or whenever your hair is wet. Never, ever, ever use a brush to brush out your hair. ALWAYS USE A COMB. Using a brush can pull out a lot of your hair and puts a lot of weight onto the hair. I recommend using a wide tooth comb because it can brush out most of your hair without pulling a lot of it out.

Using the right tools when styling your hair very important when creating the perfect look. I hope this post helped with what tools you should use!