The Fourth of July

I know this is a week after the fact but, I thought I'd share with you how my Fourth of July was. 

I took the bus down on Thursday to visit my sister, Amanda, in Washington D.C. We spent our time on Thursday catching up and eating at Barcelona, a Tapas restaurant and one of my favorite places to eat in D.C.

Location: Barcelona Dishes: Chicken and Jamon Croquettas + Spiced Beef Empanadas + Jamon Serrano

Location: Barcelona Dish: Hanger Steak (Not Pictured: Rockfish a la Plancha + Asparagus a la Plancha)

We spent Friday shopping for the Fourth of July and then went out to eat at one of the highest rated restaurants in D.C., The Red Hen, which is coincidentally near to my sisters and a place we love to frequent. 

Location: The Red Hen Dish: Grilled Octopus with Spring Pea Hummus (Not Pictured: Salt Cod Brandade + Whipped Ricotta Crostini)

 Location: The Red Hen Dish: Caramelized Scallops with English Peas, Bacon, Charred Scallion, Spring Greens & Soft Polenta (Not Pictured: Spinach Zucca with Grilled Summer Squash, English Pea Crema, Lemon, Basil & Pistachios + Whole Wheat Cavatelli with Sweet Corn, Wild Mushrooms, Smoked Bacon & Pecorino Tartufo)

 Location: The Red Hen Dish: Summer Berry Trifle with Citrus Sponge Cake, Mascarpone & Lemon Crumble

On Saturday, which was the actual Fourth of July, we spent the morning preparing dishes for my sister's barbecue. She made so many delicious things and one of my favorites were the super festive chocolate covered strawberries pictured below! We also had some fun and cute jello shots! (Plus lots of actual food)

Location: Washington D.C. Dress: Urban Outfitters (On sale now!)

It was such a wonderful weekend and I'm so thankful to my sister for hosting me and hosting such a wonderful party!

xo Emily

New Year

Happy New Year. 

It's 2015 and I'm so very excited to start this New Year.

2014 was a year of a few ups and a few downs. I'm thankful it was mostly ups though. As I finish my 2014, I'm excited at the prospect of a year full of different experiences, love, and friendship. I start out the year with new resolutions (don't we all) and a renewed sense of responsibility and excitement. 2015 will be the year I turn 21, the year I begin my final year of college. The year things are changing.

I hope everyone has a wonderful year and had a wonderful end to 2014

xo Emily

New Years Eve / Makeup

Yesterday I showed you my New Years Hair Look and today I'm sharing the makeup look I'll be doing for today.

It's a shimmery eyeshadow look with a strong, black cat-eye and some beautiful plum lipstick. I love how it turned out and it works perfectly with any color you'll be wearing.

1. {The Base}

Because we're going to be staying up until well-after midnight, we want a foundation and concealer that covers well and stays all night long! I started with the Benefit Porefessional Primer so that my foundation will stay all night long. Next up, I went in with my favorite foundation, Rimmel's Match Perfection and blended it in with my Real Techniques Buffing Blush. To really make sure we're completely covered and awake looking for the New Year, I'm using a combination of concealers. First off, I took Tarte's Creaseless Concealer under my eyes, then used NARS Creamy Concealer under my eyes, on blemishes, and to highlight.

2. {Brows and Powder}

To set my foundation and concealer, I used Rimmel's Stay Matte powder on a big fluffy brush across my whole face. To add warmth back to my face, I used Too Faced 'Chocolate Soleil Bronzer' to first contour my face, then bronze up my cheek bones, temples, and down the sides of my neck. Benefit's Rockateur Blush went on the apples of my cheeks and I finished off my face powders with the Too Faced highlighter 'Inner Light' on the high points of my face. Last up was my brows; I used the Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Chocolate' to fill them in.

3. {Eye Makeup}

For my eye makeup, I kept it relatively simple. All my shadow was from a Too Faced Palette. I used 'Knockout' {dark, matte brown} and ' Fawned of You' {light, matte brown} from Too Faced to define my crease and then patted a mixture of 'Shiny Happy' {shimmery gold} and 'Mauvelous' {shimmery lavender} across my entire lid. For added shimmer, I used 'Kindness is Free' {pink shimmer} in the middle of my lid. I wanted a intense cat-eye so I first went in to create the lines with Stila's Liquid Liner, darkening it up with the Maybelline Gel Liner. I finished everything off on my eyes with many coats of the Buxom Mascara on my lashes.

4. {Lips}

For the final touch, I used Mac's 'Whirl' Lip Liner to lightly line my lips, then I went in with Bite Beauty's 'Cava'. I absolutely love this lipstick duo, it makes for a gorgeous wine/plum/berry lip, that is fantastic during winter.

♡

I hope you all enjoyed this makeup look!

xo Emily

New Years Eve Dress Picks

 I think this is one of the best times of the year to wear pretty dresses. Something sparkly, feminine, and gorgeous is appropriate to help bring in the New Year.

Here are my picks for the perfect New Years Eve dress! {from left to right}

 First up is this Scatter Sequin Dress from Warehouse. It has the perfect amount of sparkle for the Holiday, plus it fits any figure beautifully {My friend owns it and loves it!}

This bright Art Spot Dress from Oasis is a bit unexpected for the holiday, as we often go for muted colors with sparkle, but is beautiful. Pairing it with tights and pumps will dress it up for that extra oomph of glamour!

If you live in a cold climate, long sleeved dresses are a great pick. I love this gorgeous Sequined Dress from H&M. It's great all year round, but the long sleeves make it more appropriate for Winter!

This gorgeous Foil Pleated Slip Dress from Topshop has been on my wish list ever since I first saw it come on the website. It's so lovely and dainty, and perfect for New Years Eve parties and celebrations!

A bit more pricy, but beautiful, is this Limited Edition Mirror Embellished Slip Dress from Topshop. I think it's insanely gorgeous and so sparkly and glittery for celebrating the New Year!

More sparkle for the New Year is in this completely affordable Sequined Dress from H&M. It's only about $30 and is a bit different, bringing in that 20's vibe with the color and fringe!

One of my favorite picks is this Faux Leather Dress from Zara, which is a bit more sophisticated and formal for the New Year. I am definitely lusting over this!

Another gorgeous dress from H&M to add to the list is this cream, Sleeveless Dress, which adds sparkle while also being subdued and natural. 

My last pick is this insanely lovely and intricate Net Fitted Dress from Topshop. I not only want to wear this dress to any New Years Party, but also everyday of my life! It's beautiful!

♡

What are your New Years Eve Dress picks?

xo Emily

New Years Eve Hair / How-To

Hey guys! Happy New Years Eve Eve! Today's post is about the hair I'll be wearing for the New Years Eve Holiday. I decided to go really wavy with it, which is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I think it turned out nicely. I also wore a variation of this hair style to one of the Christmas parties I attended and people seemed to like it!

1. First off, I comb out my hair and spray it with a heat protectant. My favorite is the Tresemme Heat Protectant Spray, it helps to protect my hair and it smells really good to boot!

2. Next up, I take my Remington Diamond Shine Slim Wand, which has a .5 - 1 inch wand, and start curling my hair. {I love this curler, and if you're interested in curlers like this there is also a great alternative from Con-Air that I love.} 

3. To get these waves, I take small section of my hair and wrap them around the wand away from my face, and hold them for about 6 seconds. This gets the curls the perfect tightness and also allows me to be able to comb them out later.

4. After I've curled my entire head, I put two sprays of the Uniq One Hair Treatment in my hands and brush through my curls with my hands, really massaging the product in. This is one of my favorite all-in-one sprays because not only does it help protect your hair, it also keeps it shiny and pretty and defrizzes everything! 

5. To add more volume, I first tease the top section of my hair {to do this, all you have to do is backcomb your hair} and then I also spray some of the Batiste Dry Shampoo to add an extra bit of pop. I love this product because it's tinted for those with Brunette hair {like me} so you don't get that annoying powdery look on your newly done-up hair!

6. Lastly, I do one more comb through my hair using a brush, to make the curls look a lot more natural and then I spray some of the Tresemme Fine Mist Hairspray in my hair, which helps keep the curls in place. 

♡

That's it for my New Years Hair How-To! I hope this helped a bit, or gave some inspiration for your holiday hair. Tomorrow I'll share some of my dress picks for the holiday plus my makeup look :)

xo Emily

A Colorful Holiday Makeup Look

Hey guys, I've got a colorful holiday makeup look for you today. I think it makes a kind of kitchy green and red Christmas look a lot more wearable and fun. I mostly used the Too Faced Everything Nice palette for this look because it has amazing vibrant colors that work perfect to create this kind of look.

To Create This Look:

Favorite Palettes for Holiday Makeup Looks

1. Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette: This is a fantastic holiday palette, which I've been using more frequently lately. Every eyeshadow is warm and pink toned, which can be really great for creative festive makeup looks. My favorite shadow, Trick, is a great pink toned gold shimmer. This palette is a great bargain for the amount of product you're getting, and it will last you forever. I got mine a year ago when it came out and I'm no where near being done with it! {$54}
2. Too Faced's Everything Nice Palette: I talked in depth about this holiday, limited edition palette from Too Faced in this post here, but it deserves another mention. I absolutely love this palette because it is just a fantastic use of your money if you want to get some quality products. Plus, it has perfect warm toned and festive, shimmery shadows that will spruce up a holiday party {$54 originally, but I think it might be only available on amazon at this point}
3. L'Oreal Colour Riche Quad in 'Rose Nude': Here's another fantastic holiday palette, which goes along with my love of pink/warm toned shadows. This is super affordable and the shadows are creamy and pigmented. It's honestly the only thing you need when doing your eyeshadow! Plus, it's easy to bring along with you, unlike some of the clunkier palettes in this post!

♡

What are your favorite holiday palettes?

xo Emily

A Thanksgiving Outfit

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's the outfit I wore for the day (even though I took these photos a few days before - I knew I'd be so busy cooking so I wanted to get it ready) and I love it for the holiday. It's so cute and festive and it's super flowy - which is perfect for the copious amounts of food I like to eat on Thanksgiving.

Coat: Ann Taylor Loft (similar style) | Dress: Urban Outfitters (similar style) | Sweater: J. Crew (borrowed from the roomie) | Tights: Uniqlo | Scarf: An Oldie from my Sister | Shoes: H&M |  Lipstick: Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in 'Nude Eclipse' 

♡

xo Emily

Festive Thanksgiving Makeup

Hey guys! Today I'm sharing the makeup look that I'm doing for Thanksgiving. I decided to go with a pink toned brown smoky eye with gold because my outfit for the day will be a pretty red dress. It's a great look for the holidays because the colors are very festive and sparkly and can really be used or modified for any sort of outfit or party!

For the majority of this look I used Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette because it has great warm and pink toned colors.

To Create This Look:

1. Start off by priming your eyes with your favorite primer {I used the L'Oreal De-Crease Primer - my favorite}

2. Pat 'Buzz' from the Urban Decay Naked 3 across your whole lid {it's a deep shimmery pink and by patting this across your whole lid, it will really shine through the rest of the shadow we put on, really encapsulating that pink toned look I want}

3. Darken the crease using 'Mugshot' {this will add that brown, smoky definition into the crease}

4. Pat 'Trick' across your lid {this is a deep gold shade, with pink undertones, it looks totally perfect for the holiday season}

5. Darken up the crease with 'Darkside' {this is a shade darker than 'Mugshot', so we're just taking a shade that's darker and deepening our crease}

6. Pat 'Liar' across the outer your part of the lid {this is a cranberry/brown shimmer shade and will finally darken up the entire look}

7. For a final bit of definition, take the slightest bit of 'Blackheart' into your crease, bringing it down to your lower lash line to balance the look and define your lower lash line {this is a dark, pink toned shade, that's super pigmented and gorgeous. It'll add the last bit of definition we want}

8. Line your lid very lightly, using whatever liner you want {I went in with Maybelline's Eye Stuido Lasting Gel Liner because I wanted something to stay put all day on the copious amount of shadow I used. Using 'Blackheart' or a dark shadow across the top lash line works perfectly too}

9. Get that mascara on your eyes {I used the Maybelline Rocket Volum Express and then went over it with Too Faced's Better Than Sex}

10. The last step for me is adding lipstick. This is a definite optional step, but I wanted just a bit of color on my lips. {I used YSL's Rouge Volupte Shine in #1 - Nude Beige - which was a great nudey pink shade since my eyes were so dark}

♡

Do you like how it turned out? What is your go-to Thanksgiving makeup?

xo Emily

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of posting the past few days! It was a pretty busy Fourth of July weekend so I apologize! I hope you, if you're one who celebrates the 4th, had a lovely holiday!

This post is just a bit of a personal weekend wrap-up type; recounting what I did this weekend along with some pictures! I hope you guys enjoy and hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Thursday July 3rd

I had work until about 3 today and then I came home, watched some TV and walked my dog. Then my friend came over and we watched the premiere episode of The Leftovers (it was really good by the way), and then did some little fireworks at my house! 

Time for sparklers!

How pretty do these look!?

Friday the 4th 

Today was the big holiday! I woke up and watched the two world cup matches of the day (Go Argentina!) and then met up with my friend later that night. We hung out for a bit and then went to watch the fireworks that my city does every 4th. Everyone gathers on the Quad, sits on blankets, and enjoys the fireworks!

Here's my very festive 4th outfit! The sweater is from Necessary Clothing, and I'm wearing Jeans from American Eagle!

The fireworks were absolutely beautiful. I've always loved them. I think they're such an amazing feat of science and technology and pyrotechnics so I'm constantly amazed by them. I do wish we had fireworks like the ones in Lord of the Rings though! :)

The fireworks ended a little before 10, so me and friends came back to my house and did a few more fun, little fireworks! 

I always do the Climbing Panda in honor of my sister, Amanda. Her nickname is Panda and she's far away in D.C. so I set off the Panda firework in her honor!

Freckles, my dog, was very nervous and scared all weekend. This was her, curled up on top of me after I got back inside! Poor girl!

Saturday the 5th

Yesterday was a low-key day. I woke up feelings kind of sick so Freckles and I watched the World Cup games and then went on a Starbucks run! She was really happy to be going along, can't you tell! (The dress if Forever 21, the Kimono/Robe is NastyGal)

That brings us to.......

Sunday the 6th

Today is a pretty lazy day. I'm still kind of sick so I think I'll be doing a bunch of cleaning, and some more lounging around! 

Hope you all had a fun, safe, 4th!

xo Emily

My Fourth of July Makeup Routine!

Hi everyone! Here in the states, it's almost our Independence Day; July the 4th. I am getting super excited for this holiday. It's one of my favorites because it really just completely captures what summer is all about. So in celebration of that, I decided to do a Fourth of July themed post!

I'm starting off today with a 4th of July Makeup Look. It's going to be pretty simple, with a few accents of color that will really make it pop!

I only used about 7 products for this look because during summer, especially when I know I'll be moving about, I don't want too much on my face. It feels way too heavy.

All I'm starting off with is a face primer - Mine's the Clinique SuperPrimer. I also would recommend using a matte finish primer, like this one by NYX. A matte primer is great because since it's hot and sweaty in July and we're going to be outside barbecuing and watching fireworks, it'll keep that sexy sheen gone from your face!

After primer, I'm going in with a new favorite of mine, the BB Cream from Rimmel (in light) and blending that all in my face using a buffing brush. What I love about BB Cream's is that you can wear them when it's sweltering out and they won't really melt off your face! They also have SPF in them, which is perfect when we're going to be outdoors. This Rimmel BB Cream is really lovely on the skin and has SPF 25 which is just insanely good! It also has the slight smell of sunscreen and for some reason, I really love that.

Next up I'm going to set all that with a Translucent Powder from Rimmel and then do my eyebrows using my Maybelline Mastershape Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Brown.  The next step - Bronzer and Blush - is optional, depending on how much product you want on your face! I skipped it because I tend to sweat quite a bit and powder and BB Cream was enough for me! Also, I know being outdoors will really make my cheeks get red, so I didn't need any extra color there. If you want something else on your face, try a highlighting powder or liquid! But remember, if you've been working with powders mostly, stick with a powdered highlighter. Same with if you've been mostly working with cream-based, liquidy products (try a liquid highlight with cream blush).

Onto my eyes! Like I said, this is going to be super simple. All I did was pat the color 'Dust' from the Naked 3 Palette across my lid and into my inner corner and then used 'Buzz' to give just a really really subtle crease definition. Both are really light, shimmery pink colors which I loved for this look. Next, I took the Ulta Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Deep Blue Something and coated my bottom lash line with it, for a pop of bright blue (are we sensing the Red, White, and Blue pattern yet?).



Here's the eye look! I love how subtle and soft this is! One of my new favorites!

To finish off my eyes, all I'm adding is Mascara! I'm using the Benefit They're Real mascara today.

Um hello there blurry face....hope you get the gist from this blurry mess! haha

To complete my look, I popped on a bright Red lipstick from Rimmel. I used 'Kiss of Life' from the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick line. I love this lipstick because it's super easy to apply and feels soft on your lips. This one has a bit of an orangey base to it, so it look great for summer looks.

As you can see, I added special little pops of color across my face to encapsulate the Fourth of July theme; my blue lower lash line and red lips; and I think it turned out really nice. Feel free to go a little bolder with the lip, more intense with the eye look, or just pop on what feels comfortable for you!!

Hope everyone has a great night!

xo Emily