Denim vs. Chambray ...A fun little fashion vocab lesson.

So today I'm bringing you all a little fun life lesson.
Denim vs. Chambray.
Let's Party.

Ok, so maybe it's not that fun.  But seriously, it's something worth knowing. Seems simple enough to differentiate between denim and well, anything, but with all the cute little fashion forward chambray and denim tops and dresses available pretty much everywhere, it's worth knowing the difference.
Because if the whole denim vs. chambray topic doesn't sound super fun to you, knowing what you're talking about always is.

So differentiating between the two just by external look and feel can prove a bit tricky. Some people assume that any soft top that looks like this is "a chambray".

Not always.

Truth is, a chambray can be any color. They aren't just tops that look like denim.  Had to throw that in because I think that's where a lot of the confusion comes from.
That shirt dress is actually denim, by the way.

Anyway, a chambray is a plain weave fabric and denim is a twill woven fabric. If that still confuses you *cough* if you're like me *cough* and just want to see an easy way to tell them apart, here ya go.

Flip the fabric in question over and take a peek at the underside.

Diagonal weave= Denim

Criss-Cross weave= Chambray

Easy as pie right?
Why this is all so tricky is because in that photo above, you can tell just by looking at the underside that they are very different, while the top of the fabric looks (and feels) quite similar in this case. Denim isn't always super stiff while chambray is soft. In my example above, both fabrics are hard to differentiate just by touch. They're both super soft. But now you're in the know!

And no worries, this is just purely a little FYI post.

If you still use them interchangeably, the vocab and fashion police will not come knocking at your door.
I mean, I don't think they will.  If they do, I didn't send them.

They may however pay you a visit if you don't follow me on Instagram. Just sayin.

My Nail Polish Picks for Spring

Fun nails are always appropriate in my book. But this Spring, if you're normally a little hesitant to rock more daring and bright nails, break out of the box a little bit and experiment!

This season, there are so many fun nail trends and colors to try. So I figured I'd put together a little list of some of my top picks. Definitely don't feel like you need these exact ones from my list. Check out my video below and compare the colors to things you may already have. I love that my picks are both drugstore and a little higher-end. So no matter where you shop, you can definitely get your hands on some!

Hope you guys love my picks and HAPPY SPRING! 

Loreal Pistacio Dream

MAC Heroine

Dior Bikini

Essie Going Incognito

Zoya Maura

Butter London Blagger

MAC Riot Gear

Loreal Creme Puffs

Orly Fancy Fuchsia

Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me

Loreal Sparklicious

OPI Polka.com

Recent MAC Collection FAVORITES

MAC, you've got me all excited.

Let me start by saying that I'm SO relieved that most of the moving craziness is over and we're finally getting all settled-in. Which means I can get back to being more productive with videos, this blog, etc. Most of you may know that MAC sends me samples from their new collections from time to time to share with you all if I decide to.  OMG... did they send a doozie this month. So many awesome and unique collections and beautiful shades for Spring.
Problem was, it was sent about a week after we had moved in so I didn't really have time to post about the products right away because things were ca-raaaazy around here. Also didn't help that the first collection I grabbed out of the box when it came had been out for a week or so already and many of the products were already sold out. So I didn't really delve into the rest of the box because I figured it had been sent out a bit late and like I said, things were CA-RAAAZY around here and let's face it, I was probably in the midst of painting something or tearing something apart.

So big fabulous (I had no idea) MAC box went on the back burner.
Until I decided to go back to it a little over a week ago and discovered some great things and beautiful collections that are STILL AVAILABLE. Happy dance.

Seriously haven't loved MAC collections this much in a while. Really unique things and shades that are perfect for Spring.

So I decided to do a little (well, pretty long actually) video sharing with you all my stand-out items from the new collections that you can definitely still get your hands on. So many new favorites... I can't even.
Oh and no worries... I'll be sharing info on new collections regularly like I have in the past coming up! This move has been no joke...

Check out my Recent MAC Collection FAVORITES in my video below!

Prom 2013 Makeup Tutorial (With Drugstore Dupes)

Prom season is here, gals! At least where I live... Hopefully, if your prom is approaching and you haven't planned the perfect look, this easy-to-follow makeup tutorial I created will help!
This year, I created a look for you all that would literally work with any color or style dress.  I also knew I wanted to do something fun at the same time.  This look is so versatile and perfect for prom, it will work for anyone!
Best part? It's SO easy!  Also, if you're looking for more affordable drugstore options, I give you some exact dupes as well.

Oh, and if you're like me and a bit, ahem, out of the whole "prom" age range, you can still rock this look for any formal or fun event! I wore it out for a fun dinner this weekend and got lots of compliments!

Hope you guys love it!

Products Used:

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans

Urban Decay Smoked Palette (shades Asphault and Mushroom)

*Drugstore dupe for eye shadows: Loreal Blackened Smokes quad

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion

Revlon Lipstick in Pink Sugar

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Nars Madly Blush

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation (Normal to Dry skin formula)

Foundation Tutorial HERE
(not shown in video)

Sigma Brow Kit

 

Check out my full tutorial below!

My Top 5 Drugstore Mascaras

Let's start the week with a little post about mascaras...  One of my FAVORITE beauty products ever.
Scratch that.
My absolute favorite beauty product ever.

Mascara is so amazing because it only takes a few seconds to apply and packs a huge punch. It also doesn't require any fancy techniques or skill to apply.  Best part? You can pick up some awesome and inexpensive ones at the drugstore. ...and I've probably tried them all.

So I figured I'd put together a little Top 5 list of my favs.

 To see my thoughts and descriptions of each one and LOTS more info (plus 2 extras I couldn't resist throwing into the mix), check out my Top 5 Drugstore Mascaras video below!


My 5 Favorites:
Covergirl Lashblast Volume
Neutrogena Healthy Volume
L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition
L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions
L'Oreal Power Volume 24 hr Black Smoke
(don't miss the video above for 2 extras)

Stay tuned for my Top 5 High End Mascaras video coming up soon! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss it!

NEW CLOSET REVEAL! ...and Video Tour

I tell ya... This closet has been a long time comin'...

Read that dripping with sarcasm... 
Actually, it was the complete opposite.  Looking back, this was probably the fastest thought-up, designed, and executed closet of all time. I'll give props to my wonderful husband for that. More on that in a moment...

Honestly, when we moved into our new home we had some different plans for the closet area. To live with the current closet system in our master bedroom and make it work for both of us for the time being. However, in our new home there is an odd little room (which is meant to be a bedroom) adjacent to our master bedroom. It's far away from the other bedrooms in the house and has no bathroom attached or close-by. It was just a funny little space right next to ours. Maybe meant for a nursery?
We knew we wouldn't want to use that room for a nursery because there is an AWESOME room we have some major nursery plans for in the future... Don't get excited just yet. I'll keep you guys posted when that's on the horizon!

Anyway, literally a few days before we moved in, my husband came up with an idea... "Hey, let's turn that little room next to ours into your closet."

*crickets*

Don't get me wrong, I was excited he was into it. But I've never been a fan of making another non-closet room into a closet. Why? Because usually it's unhandy and obviously a bedroom (ahem, not a closet).  But it almost instantly kind of clicked... WHYYY had I not thought of that before??
Like I said, it's adjacent to our room, not near any other bedrooms, and in the little area of our master bedroom entry.  Which means it is SUPER handy. Plus, the size of the room is perfect for a walk-in.  It just made sense. Honestly, it's closer to the entry of the bedroom than the actual master closet (It's sort of behind the bathroom near our vanity areas).

Plus, it was kind of nice to think I would have plenty of room to film in the closet again!
If any of you have been here since the beginning, you may remember me filming in my walk-in closet of our first place when I started my YouTube channel 5 YEARS AGO! Wow, time files... Anyway, back then, people were a little weirded out by me filming in there. It was seriously the most talked about thing where my channel was concerned. Seems the idea kind of grew on people after a while and it became sort of my "thing".  Then when we moved to our last place, people really missed it!  Truthfully, I really did too. So now I'm so excited to be back in there. It just feels right again.

So I have all of my filming stuff in there as well. See, when you get a closet like this pulled together in 3 days, something suffers a bit. And my vanity/filming area would be it...haha.  I decided to focus on the area that would actually be seen in videos. I actually did set up all my makeup in my Alex 6-drawer storage units I showed a while back in my Makeup Organization & Collection video. It's all organized exactly the same.

So back to the closet...
When we then started brainstorming closet systems. I knew if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right. Hiring someone to come install a custom closet system of that size would have cost a small fortune, so we knew we were going to tackle it ourselves. Because most stores do not carry anything like what we wanted, we knew it was going to be tricky. Then Ikea saved the day... Doesn't it always?

You may or may not know that Ikea is definitely not one of our favorite places. They have AWESOME stuff. But I HATE... I HAAATE...going there.  My husband may have some stronger words for his feelings about it.  So one evening, we trekked to Ikea and loaded up the closet system.

We chose the Pax system.  Before going to the store, we measured the area and compared to the measurements of the pieces of the Pax system online.  We planned the whole thing from home, figured out the pieces we needed, and went into the store armed and ready with our little handy list.

Not going to bore you with the details of that trip, but lets just say I loaded up my half of the system (all 300lbs of it) on my cart... which broke half way to the checkout line. Think square wheels. Complete cart breakdown.

So long story short... Brad is a trooper and put the whole thing together in two nights.  And it is perfect.

Waylon decided to oversee the project.

...and sometimes, fell asleep on the job.

Overall, I think he was pleased with the result. ...and the chandelier.

TA DAAA!

It holds SO much. Like an unbelievable amount. I feel like all my stuff was so crammed into our last space. I feel like I've got some room to grow in here. Not that I need anything else... But you get the idea.
I'm also LOVING that we were able to use my old office cabinets that I love, but wasn't really feeling in the new office space here.

My Hemnes glass door cabinet now works PERFECTLY as purse storage...

The two Hemnes bookcases on either side work perfectly for sweaters, jeans, scarves, anything.

Oh and alllll the shoe storage...

Since there's so much space in the middle of the room, I'm thinking of maybe adding a storage island or something. Not sure yet. But I'll keep you updated!

Who doesn't love a pup in an armoire?

Waylon, stop taking over the post.


Here's a little handy resource list of where other items are from you may be curious about:

Jewelry armoire: Pier 1
Mirrored jewelry box: Z Gallerie
Chandelier: Home Depot
Glass necklace dome: Pottery Barn
White mirror: Target
Vanity: Pier 1
Mannequin: Pottery Barn Teen
Rug: Overstock

   For a FULL TOUR of the entire closet, don't miss my video tour below!

Hope you guys love it :)

Recent OOTDs

Hellooooooo Loves!!

Where have I been, you ask? Well, as you may or may not know, we have been getting all settled into our new home! So exciting to see it looking and feeling more and more like "home".  Can't wait to share it with you all as it continues to come together. For more on our move, check out the post here.

Anyway, I'm excited to get back into my blogging groove. As always, I've tried to keep my videos posted on a regular basis on my YouTube channel through all this madness.  When things get crazy, the blog takes a backseat. Sad but true. But I'm SO excited to get back into posting regularly and sharing some fun and different things on here. For daily photos and updates, you can always follow my twitter and Instagram accounts.  LOTS of things planned for the blog soon ;).  As always, there will be makeup and beauty posts galore, but also expect more interior design/home posts and lots more fashion-y goodness. 

and yes, the closet tour/info is coming up VERY soon! ;)

Ok ok, so enough about what's to come and where the heck I've been.... Let's get to the OOTDs!
If you're unfamiliar with these types of posts from me, I keep it simple. I like the idea of posting all my OOTDs in one post showing all my looks from the past week or two with all the outfit details and what I feel about it looking back. All the details you need in one simple post with the photos usually done Instagram-style. You can also click "OOTD" in the sidebar under "Labels" and see all of these posts in one place!
Simple and to the point.
Here we go!

K, I told you I haven't done any OOTD blogs in a while! This is from about a month and a half ago! Promise...I won't get this behind again!

Aww, and look at the old house! crazy.

Such a simple look, but paired with some major statement earrings, huge bag, and a big ol' sockbun (tutorial HERE), it all comes together.

H&M top, 7 For All Mankind the Skinny, Steve Madden boots, Henri Bendel earrings, Louis Vuitton Damier Neverfull GM

 Aw! Last one in the old house :(

Another simple, comfortable, yet sophisticated look.

Club Monaco silk blouse, House of Harlow necklace, Tory Burch flats, LV

 Love this look... Classic example of mixing high and low. ...and I'm not talking about the high/low top. I mean high and low end. Great items can be found ANYWHERE. Mixing it up is the way to go. For your look and your budget. ;)

Target blouse, Club Monaco belt, 7 For All Mankind the Skinny (can you tell I'm obsessed with these jeans? They're the BEST!), Sam Edelman lace up wedges, LV, Tom Ford Racquel sunglasses

 I'm SO loving this dress. Very flowy, 70's vibe. Love. It.

I wore this look to my recent meet & greet/shopping event at Henri Bendel in Atlanta! 

It was so fun... Will do a post sharing pics soon!

Forever21 dress, Tinley Road leather jacket, LV, Henri Bendel accessories, Louboutin pumps

 Gotta love some statement pants. Breaking out these neon beauties for another season made me so happy. Made it really feel like Spring.

Oh, and can I just say how hilarious it was that this was the day I filmed my most recent video (Ulta/Drugstore Makeup Haul) in which I decided to share an OOTD (which I rarely do in videos, but am planning on doing more soon). Anyway the hilarious part... I guess I was so excited about the nice weather and pink pants when I was editing that I straight up edited the part where I was showing the pants and shoes right on out... Editing fail. There's always next time. ;)

 Express top, 7 For All Mankind neon cropped skinny jeans, Tory Burch espadrilles, LV Eva bag

And finally, the last look... My favorite maxi skirt of all time. I've had it for a few years now. It's soft. It's flowy. It's navy. It's perfect.

Bordeaux LA skirt, Target tanks, J. Crew Outlet bubble necklace, Current/Elliot jean jacket, LV Eva clutch, Tory Burch leopard flats, Tom Ford Racquel sunglasses, J. Crew phone case

Hope you all have had a FABULOUS week so far! Talk to you all soon!