How To... Wear A LOT of Colour!

Hello Ladies!


So far this summer, it has been... well... a bit obnoxious. The weather has been a lot like a yo-yo - although lately it has certainly been on the hot side! Not that I am complaining, I have been loving all this sun (you should see the tan on me!), but the humidity is something I could do without.


Although the tropical heat and humidity of summer tends to bring out the frizz in your hair, I also find it brings out something else - colour, and lots of it! One of this summer's hottest trends (see what I did there? Summer.. HOT trends??... okay, moving to the point now) has been colour blocking. Although it's really simple to go out and purchase an already colour blocked top, or dress, it may be a lot more fun to shop your closet - and to style things you already own! That way, you can just enjoy the air conditioning in the mall, and not worry about fitting room lineups! 


Please note that the following two outfits are not for the faint of heart. If you are only testing out colour blocking, and not yet ready for the whole-hog, there are a number of excellent pieces on the market to test drive (I'll feature those later on!). These two outfits are truly meant for those of you ready to close your eyes and jump in at the deep end of the pool. 


The first is for one of those extra-hot summer days, where you want something that will look cute, and help keep you cool:

I love tank tops in summer, particularly those that have thick straps - I find them more classy and versatile than those with the spaghetti straps, and they allow for the all-important bra. 


I also adore pink and yellow together - the colour combination is unexpected, as most people pair hot pink with greens or blues, and I find the touches of turquoise pop very nicely as accent shades. 


Please note that it's best not to exceed more than 2-3 colours in outfits like these - otherwise you risk looking like Rainbow Bright's younger sister.


All of the accessories in this outfit are interchangeable - you don't have to wear sneakers, you could do flip-flops instead, but I think the sneakers add a laid-back and funky vibe to the overall outfit. Wedges would also work if you were going on a daytime date. Shoes can have a lot of influence on an outfit - just changing your shoes can change the whole tone! (hmmm... idea post for later?? Yes, I do think so!)


Anyhow, I think this outfit is super-cute, and fun for summer days.


The next outfit, is for days (or evenings) when the weather turns a bit cooler, but you still want to wear colour in your outfit.

I love sheer tops like this for summer - they're so feminine and pretty! The lilac colour on this, and the lack of collar make it super unique. Obviously, due to the fact that it's sheer, you're going to want a white or nude cami/tank top underneath.


I really like lilac and minty green together. The mint is really on-trend this season, which makes the overall outfit really, really trendy.


I decided to tone down the outfit by keeping the accessories (minus the shoes, which are the same lilac colour as the top, and... believe it or not, as cute as they are, they are Crocs!!) really neutral. I went with the softer cream and brown to stop the neutrals from being so stark.


I think that although this outfit is still really casual, that it would be good for a non-fancy night out with friends, or another casual date.


It's really fun to wear tropical-heat inspired colours in the summer - they can show off your tan, and give off the vibe that you're really fun and confident!


As with all things, though, to rock an outfit successfully, you have to have confidence! Your best accessory is always a smile.


If you have ideas for other posts on my blog (I am trying to get more posts up, more often this summer!)


I hope you are all having an amazing summer, and that you are really enjoying this heat!


xoxo,


- A.

Haul!

Hey Darlings!

This is just a quick haul of some drugstore products I picked up on a recent Wal-Mart trip.

There have been a lot of really excellent new products released recently, and I was really excited to pick some of them up to try!

This is a look an overview of what I bought. The the lipstick in the orange tube is by Revlon, the cream shadow and mascara are by Maybelline, and the lipgloss and dark packaged lipstick are by Rimmel London. 

The mascara that I bought is the new Maybelline Mega Plush Volum' Express. I bought it in the shade Blackest Black (as I do with all of my mascaras), but I was not able to pick up the waterproof version. My Wal-Mart was sadly sold out! 

The formula of the mascara is supposed to be thickening, and more of a gel consistency than normal mascara. So far, it's not my favourite, but I certainly don't hate it.

I like that the brush is really wiggly at the base. It's useful for getting all of your lashes from the root to tip. I find it's a bit clumpy on my lashes sometimes, but I haven't used it enough to really pass judgement.

I'll do another post later on to give you my full review, I swear. 

The next thing I picked up was the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze (#25)

I have a few of these shadows already, and I had been on the hunt for Bad to the Bronze since - most everywhere I had looked was sold completely out! I have really been loving warm tones on my eyes this summer so far - they really bring the gold fleck out. (My eyes are a very odd shade of brown that can sometimes look green, and other times yellow, depending on the day and time)

I was so pleased to find this, and I am really enjoying it. :-) These shadows work amazingly on their own, and under other shadows!

Next, I bought 3 Lip products:

The first, is this Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Fruiti.  Honestly, I think these lip butters were massively over-hyped. I like the colour of this, but I wouldn't say it's particularly nourishing or hydrating. Honestly, it feels like any other lipstick I own, and I find to make sure my lips are really hydrated, I have to put a lip balm underneath it. I'll be having a solid think before I purchase any more of these. I'm not in love with this at the minute, as pretty as it is.

Next, are two lip products from Rimmel London - a lipgloss from their Vinyl Gloss line, and a lipstick from their Moisture Renew line.

The gloss is in the shade Fashion Fanatic, and is not sticky, and a really pretty coral colour. I'm liking this, as I have enjoyed products in this range before. I will, as promised, do an individual review on each of these, after I have had a chance to use them for a bit longer.

The lipstick is another from a line I have enjoyed previously. I am enjoying corals on the lips this summer, so I chose the shade 600 - Soft Coral.

And finally, the moment you have all been waiting for... swatches!

Clockwise from Top left: Lipstick in Soft Coral, Lipgloss in Fashion Fanatic, Cream Shadow in Bad to the Bronze, Lip Butter in Tutti Fruiti.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

If you have any product recommendations for me, leave them in the comments below! :-)

xoxo,

- A.

Inspired By: Ice Cream!

Hi Girls!

Today's post is going to be the beginnings of something I'd like to try with this blog - outfits inspired by summery things. Today, it's ice cream. The following are two looks I put together based on two different ice cream flavours - because what's a warm spring/summer day without ice cream?

Let's jump right in! 

Flavour Inspiration: Strawberry

I love pink, and strawberry is one of my all-time favourite ice cream flavours. It makes me feel like I'm being less un-healthy when I eat it, because sometimes you find bits of actual strawberry right in the ice cream (Strawberry is a fruit - fruit is good for you, therefore, strawberries in ice cream cancel out the "bad" of the ice cream. Win--win!).

I put this outfit together because when I think of strawberry ice cream, I think of pink, and things that are really girly. So, this is what I came up with. It's equal parts girly and vintage-inspired, while still being just casual enough for daily life. 

Flavour Inspiration: Mint Chip

One of my brother's favourite ice cream flavours is mint chip - personally, I am more fond of the colour than the flavour, despite my love of mint and chocolate together (this is why I love my EOS lip balm in Sweet Mint so much - it smells and tastes like an Andes chocolate - yum!) This outfit is a bit more nautically inspired - the top has sailboats on it, which is what brings me the nautical trend. I tried to keep the accessories fairly neutral and natural-looking, because I did also hit on the bright pants trend, the colour of which is echoed in the bag. I like this one a lot - it's really an outfit I'd try for this summer - it's more out-of-my-box than the other was.

I hope you enjoyed this post!! I will be trying more of these "Inspired By" posts soon, I think. 

xoxo,

-A.