I love @klout because they hook me up w/@essie #nailpolish #beauty #nails (Taken with Instagram)
Oh. Hell. Yes! More presents from @bing! 4piece wine set and another $10 #spon #summer of #doing (Taken with Instagram)
So @bing gave me a mini herb garden and $10. I promptly spent the $10 on #kp3d (Katy Perry 3d) cc @vontaub #summer of #doing #spon (Taken with Instagram)
The things I find at the Everything A Deal store! Lol IDK how I am going to wear this #sheer #thong #bodysuit but I am sure I will find a way! LOL #lingerie (Taken with Instagram)
Gems in the Neighborhood
This is by far the cutest thing I have come across in my old neighborhood (aww memories) - and I have my childhood friend to thank for sharing this w/me! Southeast San Diego does not have the best reputation (hah beachy clean it is not!), but it has it’s charm. I don’t know who set this up, I don’t know whose books these are, but I love the idea of a Corner Library Free Book or Exchange! The books aren’t exactly literary masterpieces, but they are interesting and I am sure w/time, there will be some gems. My friend ended up leaving behind two mangas (Japanese comic books if you really don’t know) and I ended up taking a book called “They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821-1900” by Arnoldo de Leon. Oh yeah, this one is certainly going to be interesting! Getting my history on!
@Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox Review
Last week I received my first Beauty VoxBox from Influenster to review. To be quite honest, I only signed up because I like free stuff, and really had no expectations as to what type of products I would be receiving. When this box arrived in the mail, I wasn’t quite enthused upon the first glance, but as I tried out some of the products, I was surprised to find there were a few that I really liked.
To start off though, I will begin by quickly reviewing what I didn’t like. For the items I ended up loving, I will post in separate posts. I know I am doing this completely backwards, and should be only talking about what I liked - but I think it’s only fair to share what I didn’t like as well, right?
SOYJOY: This health bar is actually not new to me. I once received SOYJOY in a gift bag at an event. SOYJOY is great for anyone who wants a healthy product that is gluten free, but I personally did not like the taste, consistency, or density. Yes I said density. I’m trying to be really nice here. What I can say though, is that this is a great drunk food for when you want something in your stomach, but for some reason can’t get to your kitchen or a late night diner. I ate this and downed a water one drunken night, in attempts to keep myself from being hungover the next morning. I still went to bed pretty hungry, and thought the bar disgusting, but it worked! No hangover!
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash: This product smells great, but as a body wash I felt like I still had a film of soap on me. This is supposed to be the moisturizing part, but I like to moisturize once out of the shower. I want to feel like I cleaned off excess oil, not that I added more to it.The bottle also suggests to try using it as some kind of shaving cream/soap - but when I tried it, I did not feel comforted by the lack of lather any shaving cream should have. I’m sure it’s all a psychological thing, and perhaps the soap does provide a safe barrier between your skin and your razor - but I’d rather stick to thick gels and creams. Funnily enough, my favorite shave gel is from Aveeno! Anyway, this body wash now currently serves as my backup hand soap.
Chapstick Lip Shield 365: I sunburn easily, especially on my lips, so I thought this product would be great! Too bad it felt slimy and clumpy. It smelled great, but as it melted on my lips, the formula would slip past my lips and I would taste the unpleasant sunscreen formula. I looked in the mirror, and sure enough there was a thin layer of Chapstick towards the inner part of my lips. It did not look hot. Besides, I have switched to more organic lip balms that are lighter in formula, but still nourish my lips. I don’t think I am going to return to anything synthetic unless I have to.
Alright - those are my two cents on the products I didn’t like… I’ll get to the stuff I did like soon enough!
Pop-Up Shopping
This past Tuesday I was over at Syrah Wine Parlor for The Sugar Room - a collective of pop-up shops set to the type of tunes I would enjoy. It had been awhile since I last went to these type of pop up shops (what’s great about SD is that there usually is one at least once a month or something), and since I was already in downtown that day, I decided to join my friend SDWifey in her shopping crusades. I knew it was going to be dangerous territory for me… and I was right!
I ended up buying this pocket watch necklace by Love Nail Tree from The Grand Artiqueand this bralette from Atomic Boheme. I can’t wait to wear the bralette, and I’ve already been using the pocket watch as a daily accessory (and for time… cause there are times when I’m not allowed to use my cell T_T).
At the mixer over at EA Vintage’s The Cycling Owl, I met a lovely lady by the name of Cream - “My parents were hippies,” she tells me. I immediately think, I’m going to love this woman. We must be friends.
Turns out Cream has her own line of jewelry out called Treasurette. Treasurette takes regular plastic bottle caps, sterilizes them, and turns them into interchangeable charms. Super cute and girly, the necklaces are decorated w/pearls and bows. With just a switch of a charm, your necklace can go from sweet to sassy.
I do really love that these necklaces are green/eco-friendly. What is a little known fact is that recycling bottle caps are very difficult and I do believe they are still working out the kinks at the recycling centers. Many local recycling centers don’t offer bottle cap recycling, so most people are stuck throwing out the plastic - or if they are in the know - get resourceful like Cream and turn the caps into something cute and crafty!
The necklaces and charms are inexpensive as well, so you won’t have to break your wallet to get your hands on one. The necklace set is only $6.99 and the charms range from .99 cents to $2.99. And for the Hunger Games fans, there is a mockingjay charm! I want it!
For more info on Treasurette visit the FB page: www.facebook.com/treasurettegirl
More from @KloutPerks this time from @SimpleSkinCare #yay #SimpleSkinUS
I am not defined by my Klout Score, but I do love it when I get perks that are actually useful! This is totally going to be helpful during Coachella! YAY! Only a few more weeks! LOL you know it’s going to be dry and dusty out there!
Thank you @KloutPerks @GiltGroupe and @amritasjewelry!
It’s here! It’s here! My Klout Perk from Gilt! This was quite possibly one of THE BEST Klout perks because I actually managed to get an 80% off discount at Gilt through Klout! You bet I stayed up until 3am trying to unlock the Perk before all the morning birds got to it!
I ended up selecting the Coana Necklace from Amrita Singh’s Aztec Collection. I like Amrita Singh to begin w/(beautiful and affordable accessories) so I knew I made a great choice. The necklace in person is absolutely gorgeous! Super long 28-30” adjustable chain w/a knotted drop. I purchased this because I knew it would look amazing w/a low cut dress AND a backless dress (if I wear the necklace backwards). It actually also looks great w/a simple tee.
I remember seeing the Gilt description say that the necklace was 14k plated, but I’m not so sure because the Amrita Singh site says it is metal plated over brass. Now I’m not sure if that was just a condensed description, because the necklace does come in two other metals (silver and gun), but it would still be nice to know if the gold was indeed 14k.
Despite the confusion and my slight disappointment, the gorgeousness of the necklace and the price I paid made all the difference! List price for the Coana Necklace is $125. Gilt price was $45. With my 80% off + shipping I ended up only paying $15.55. HELLS YES! Thank you Klout!
LOL I can’t wait to take 5 billion pictures w/this necklace. Better than this quick one I did for the sake of sharing this post! Eee! Excite! LOL
For every person that gives me shit for caring about my Klout score, here’s why I care: the materialistic side of me loves stylish perks! My Chain Reaction Earrings from JewelMint came in the mail today! Thank you @Kloutperks!
I’m already a StyleMint member (which, technically makes you a member of all BeachMint “social commerce” services), so I was pretty excited to hear that one of the upcoming perks would be $25 credit towards JewelMint. I do wish JewelMint decided to give more than $25 (as normal credit is $29.99) but I don’t mind paying the small difference for these silver plated earrings (yay! no allergic reactions) - and you can’t really complain when it’s marked down so much w/free shipping.
If you haven’t tried out any of the BeachMint memberships, I suggest you give it a go. It might sound cheesy to be a member of something celebrity endorsed (StyleMint = MKA Olsen, JewelMint = Kate Bosworth, ShoeMint = Rachel Bilson, BeautyMint = Jessica Simpson), but the designer partnerships are legit and so far I have no qualms with the quality of the products. Again, I’ve only received items from StyleMint and JewelMint, but I can tell you that the collection within the showrooms can fit any personality and style type. I was worried JewelMint would have nothing to my liking (I’m very picky when it comes to accessories), but when I saw the punk inspired cuff earring, I knew I had to have it in my life!
The icing on the cake was the total presentation. Not only had I received my order in only two days time, but the packaging was nothing short of chic! Black envelope, mint green jewelry box tied w/a ribbon - it’s like it’s my birthday and I’m getting Tiffany’s (funny side fact: today is my brother’s birthday LOL)! Yes, I know I am gushing, but that just goes to show you how excited I am to have Klout award me a perk I actually really really really like!
The BEST investment you can buy for traveling - and it’s cute too! Instead of having to deal w/buying travel sized products, stressing over not having your usual products w/you, and worrying over TSA at the airport - just buy this travel bag from Allegro MFG. It conforms to TSA guidelines for carry-on luggage w/it’s clear plastic and 2oz bottles and 10ml clear jar. I didn’t use the clear jar, but you bet I used everything else! And it comes w/a funnel and labels to make things easier. Unfortunately, by the end of my trip - I did lose one bottle. My bottle labeled “lotion” so I am probably going to buy a new one *le sigh* At least I didn’t lose a cell phone like I did last year!
I can’t find this anywhere online at the moment - but I did find this at Target for only $7. There were only 2 available, so hopefully Allegro hasn’t stopped making these!
Before I get to my CES Posts, I wanted to finally do my thrifting finds! Now I could do this post at any other time, but since many of my outfits from CES (both night and day) do come from my thrift finds, I decided to just stick w/going in chronological order.
I have since removed all of the tags, so I can’t tell you how much each item is. What I can tell you is that I bought all 9 pieces for only $26! I went to a total of 4 thrift stores, one of them being an independent thrift store I mentioned in an earlier post. The other 3 were Amvets and Salvation Army (Amvets of course being the favorite of mine due to personal nostalgia - so we went to two of those).
The biggest steals were from the lingerie department. I was able to score those pieces for about a $1 or less. And of course I intend on wearing them out of the house! It’s not just for the bedroom ^_~
NOTE: Apologies for the ghetto photos. I will invest in a camera - or an iPhone. I promise! Unless someone wants to gift me some of the cool technology I spotted at CES! Fashion bloggers need tech too!
Recently I spent some good ‘ol quality time thrift store shopping with a couple of my friends. They were on a mission to find items to help along their cos-play outfits for ALA (Anime Los Angeles), while I was on a mission to find items that suited my fancy. I ended up w/a huge haul of clothing (to be shared in an upcoming post) but what really caught my eye was the amazing furniture I found.
Anyone who knows me, should know this: I LOVE mid-century furniture. I am not talking inspired, modern mid-century furniture that you can buy from West Elm (though I am not completely opposed to it - if you like it, buy it). I am talking actual vintage. Granted, I like almost any kind of vintage, but it’s mid century that catches my wandering eye.
One of the thrift stores we visited was Diego’s Thrift Store. Split into very clean and organized sections, Diego’s was definitely a shop that carried both vintage and more current findings/donations. They seem to know what they are doing. Thankfully, they recognize the need for a deal so they offer the best prices, and a sign near the door boldly announces that you can make an offer. How cool is that?!
Anyway, as I headed into the second half of the store that housed the furniture, the first thing that caught my eye was this bright orange sectional that I knew would be PERFECT in my dream home. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from it! Sadly… I am in no position to be buying any furniture (it was around $300 and in what seemed to be near perfect condition), especially if I do not have a place to call my own (yet).
As I browsed the selection I found another great piece: a sleek, minimalistic, glass door cabinet fit for a bachelor pad. Paired w/the sectional I was enamored with? It was pure love! And of course the cabinet was at a great price (around $50) and only needed some TLC. Just a few scratches that are quick fixer-upers.
Those were the only items I snapped photos of because I knew I would be in trouble if I didn’t head back into the section w/affordable and more practical things to my life! I eventually went online and found a photo of the sectional on Diego’s website - which by the way - is as clean and organized as the store itself!
One day, I will have a space to call my own - and a similar sectional or couch that will be in it along w/complimentary cabinetry. For now I will continue to dream and post my findings on Tumblr and Pinterest.
One of my friends has a very keen eye for vintage. When he has the time, he scours garage sales and Swap Meets - searching for deals on electronics and scoring awesome vintage finds. I’ve actually taken some hardcover literature classics off his hands and once convinced him not to sell the vintage type writer he got at Swap Meet.
On a recent visit to his abode, I spotted a leather pouch sticking out from his stack of DVDs. I thought to myself, “Heeeey! This is cute! I wonder if he’ll let me keep it? It’d be a great cross-body bag!” But as I pulled out the pouch, I noticed it was heavy with supply.
I opened up the flap, and to my surprise I found a bar in a bag! Complete w/a shot glass, two containers for alcohol, a stirrer, and a peeler - I could imagine men out on a picnic creating Old Fashioned cocktails and discussing the events of the day.
Needless to say, my friend did not want me to take it off his hands, but he did allow me to take photos of it! Coming from a city that is slowly starting to hold it’s own in the craft cocktail world, I was throughly impressed by this vintage find. And I still think the bag is super cute! I’m pretty sure Urban Outfitters is selling a purse similar to this for not even quadruple the cost my friend got the kit for!