Why You Should Rock Black & White This Winter

Ciao you lovelies. 

What I'm listening to: She & Him - Baby It's Cold Outside

Fun fact about my life: I did absolutely NO shopping on Black Friday + Cyber Monday. It went against everything I believed in but since I was low on funds, I begrudgingly decided to not spend any money. Even for those sweet, sweet deals. 

I have to be perfectly honest, I've watched Breakfast at Tiffany's more times than I can remember. It's probably in the low hundreds.  I uncontrollably adore Audrey Hepburn, her classy and overwhelmingly elegant style, and of course, I'm in love with Cat.  

I chose this picture of Audrey because I love her and I love food and eating so.

I just love how Holly can wear a simple black dress and yet still look like the most stunning woman that ever lived and breathed (and you'd have a hard time convincing me otherwise).  Although I'm a firm believer in the  little black dress, I also believe in adding white into the mix. Also, I don't want to hear a single 'no white after labor day' comment because I will immediately dismiss you.  And then I'll feel bad and give you an over-the-internet kiss on the cheek.  The point is, I think the perfect mix of black and white is essential for a classy winter wardrobe.   And since I VERY rarely wear anything but dresses, I want to show you my favorite black and white dresses so far in whimsical filters.  I hope you like them! 

This is from Love Culture and is in the running for my favorite dress. 

This (from TJ Maxx) looks MUCH better on. The center is very form fitting and flattering, also the gold zipper on the back  is so pretty. 

\

This is from TJ Maxx as well (okay, I happen to be in love with that store... I AM that cheesy actress on the commercials who proudly proclaims 'I am a Maxxinista!).

The best part (if you can even see it) is the back which has a big cut out which is adorable, especially if you have adorable back tattoos (which I don't yet so I suck).

And of course, I love black TOMS, and TOMS in general. You  know.  Probably wouldn't recommend wearing these with a dress though.

I wear black tights with my black and white dresses because it is cold where I live, so I like to have a pop of color somewhere in my outfit. Usually, I'll don a pair of colorful shoes like the ones shown in the picture. Yes, I am wearing black PINK yoga pants.  Classic common white girl move.

Another way to pop that color into your outfit would be to add a bow.   Bows are super cute, feminine, and they are available essentially everywhere and come in any color you desire.  My favorite bows are from Claire's, BowKuma (online) and from different sellers on Etsy. 

And last, but certainly not least, these are red lipsticks from the Kate Moss collection that go superbly with a black and white ensemble. I'm obsessed with red lipstick, and I practically never leave the house without a coat on.  Of course, if wearing lipstick isn't your thing, there are also beautifully colorful lip glosses and balms that you could look into. 

Happy hunting for your classy pieces! 

Hope these suggestions are helpful! 

-Carolina 

This is me going black and white for winter.  I have an awkward face, I know. ;)

Get The TV Look - New Girl

Ciao bellezze!

What I'm listening to:  A Heart Full of Love - Les Miserables Soundtrack (from the incredible, incredible movie!)
Fun fact about my life right now: I am so behind in math.  I hate it so much, why does it exist.  Can I get an amen?

Okay, so I decided (as if this hasn't been done a million times) that every week or every other, I'm going to write a Get The Look on a character from a TV show of whose clothes you are coveting.  Or at least ones that I really am.  I hope you guys like these, please comment if you want me to do a particular character, and I'll do my best to write a Get The Look on them! 

This week's character is funky, adorkable, beautiful Jess from New Girl!  Played by the wonderful Zooey Deschanel (my ultimate style idol/girl crush), Jess is a unique middle school teacher who moves into a loft with three highly amusing guys after she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her.  I am an all time winner at horribly depicting shows and movies, so just check it out for yourself if you live under a rock and have never even heard of this hilarious show.  New Girl brings playful, quirky fashion to life as Jess rocks frilly dresses, peter pan collars, and short skirts with tights.  Basically, I meshed all of her pretty outfits into three of my own that I picked out.  Enjoy! 

The first thing you're going to want to do is curl your hair with a thicker wand curler to get the loose and thick curls, and then put half of it up like Jess almost always wears her.  Also, thicken your lashes with half a pound of mascara.  I don't have any, but if you do, wear them fake lashes.  Also, if you have boring light brown eyes like me, feel free to take a moment and cry about not having big blue eyes like Zooey.

This is one of Jess' many fancy outfits.  Usually, she pairs a cute dress (mostly just a solid color a-line) with a thick coat. 

In the picture, she wears a cream-colored dress and a brightly colored coat.  But for me, I inverted that and wore a mint colored dress from Forever 21 and a light gray coat from Kohls.  These black bow flats are from Top Shop. 

Jess rocks a lot of plain a-lines, and pulls a belt to really cinch the waist and give her a narrow look.  Also, she flaunts these ADORABLE glasses (that she probably actually needs, unlike me). 

This black dress with puffed sleeves is from Forever 21, glasses were from a used clothing store called Plato's Closet.  The red bow ballet flats are from Banana Republic.  Also, I'd like to point out that she wears a lot of black tights. Like, in almost every single episode with a cute miniskirt or black shorts. 

Yes, that miniskirt.  Jess wears it a lot with an assortment of pretty cardigans, which I adore! 

I tried my best to copy this, with a twist. I chose a pastel pink cardigan, white cami, and a black tutu from Target.  Even though it's not pictured, I am sure that Jess would rock a black tutu like this.  Oh, and where did my bangs go?  I haven't the slightest clue. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this!  Do you think these outfits depicted Jess' style?  I hope everyone thinks so! 

Oh, and I wasn't kidding. Suggest to me some styles I should cover!  

Have a lovely day, until next time, 

Carolina

Under 5 Minute Vintage Makeup

Ciao bellezze!

What I'm listening to: Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
Favorite thing I'm wearing - Black long sleeve shirt with silver beads on the shoulders from Forever 21.
Fun fact about my life right now - I bought Les Miserables the movie on the day it came out and to be honest, I watched it two and a half times yesterday.  Marius can marry me right now okay.

Raise your hand if you like waking up early in the morning!
Trick question.
Because there's no way any normal human being enjoys crawling out of their warm, comfy bed in the bitter hours of early morning.  You're lying to yourself if you think otherwise.  Anyways, today I'm bringing you the make up I apply if I really don't have time to spend lots of minutes on my face!  It takes less than five minutes, and you'll look like you spent at least ten!  Hopes this helps those who slap the snooze button four or five times and leave themselves ten minutes to get ready each day (I'm talking about myself).

Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse and Dream Liquid Mousse are definitely my favorite things I've discovered in the make up industry.  You can find these foundations literally (bad use of literally) anywhere, I get mine from the local Walgreens or CVS.  They make your skin look incredibly smooth and airbrushed, but they're not too thick and they come in every single skin tone imaginable!  Well, unless you're green or something...

I apply a SPARSE coat of this powder foundation from Mineral Wear with a big fluffy brush.  Make sure to not cake this on, but lightly dust it onto your face.  Too much powder, and your face will look like it's being swallowed by it!

This blush is from Elf!  I regret to inform you that this was a gift and so I have no idea what exact color this is, but it's a very peachy pink color in real life, so just aim for that.  It's light and not totally obvious, it just gives your cheeks a nice, natural glow to them.  I use a small yet fluffy brush.

Apply a thick coat of either of these two mascaras to make your eyelashes look thick and long.  I would highly suggest Scandaleyes from Rimmel for everyday use.  It doesn't clump easily, and it really thickens those lashes, almost making them seem fake! If, however, you need completely waterproof mascara, I'd go with Maybelline's Colossal Volume Express.  It doesn't have the same effect as Scandaleyes, but if enough is applied, it will make your lashes thick and sexy.  And it really doesn't come off in the water!

Last but not least, the signature pin-up girl red lipstick.  I choose CoverGirl's LipPerfection, my bright red color is called Hot.  To be honest, I never leave the house without it, I'm addicted to red lipstick! I'm probably going to review my favorite ones at some point, so stay tuned.

So this is the final look! The lighting is a tad bit too bright, so the blush is hard to make out, but it's there!  My hair's in a lazy side braid which pretty much is my signature style: Laziness. Cute, right?  Probably not.  Tell me if this tutorial was a waste to read, or if you actually enjoyed it/learned something!  I love comments.

Also, I've never really tried bronzer before. If anyone knows any good brands I should try, give me a shout!

Cutest Things on Wanelo

Ciao bellezze! 

What I'm listening to: The Luckiest - Ben Folds 
Favorite thing I'm wearing: Teal and white polka dot bow atop my head!
Fun fact about my life right now: Today I'm supposed to get some of the packages that I ordered last week! I'm getting bows and tights!

Let's just talk about Wanelo.
If you don't know what it is, let me break this wonderful, wonderful site down for you.  It's kind of like Pinterest, showing you pictures of pretty clothes, phone cases, household items, backpacks, anything you could want to buy.  But with Wanelo, they show you the price and exactly where to buy the thing you want! So naturally, I'm going broke.  Because very few things I enjoy more than online shopping.  Getting letters and packages in the mail is one of my absolute favorite things in the world!  So as I was stalking through  casually glancing through this website, I compiled a list of the six cutest things I saw on there!  Enjoy!



This is the cutest phone case I've ever seen!  Personally, I would buy it in pink.



This is way too cute!  I think this for me and my friend soon so we can be matching and adorable! 

                                

Love these boots.  The colors in the floral pattern make my heart sing.
                                            
I adore this inexpensive frilly bandeau bikini top! I'm going to be ordering it soon, so I'm excited. 

                                              

Mint is arguably my favorite color to wear so I love this dress from ModCloth! 

                                         

Still deciding whether I want the black or white dress?  Forty bucks for a dress is kind of expensive for me, but honestly, I'm still going to get one because cats are my obsession.

So that's it.  Comment your opinions, I love them!  Anyone share my love for getting letters and packages?

Follow me on Wanelo! 

OOTD - Cats Cats Cats

Hello darlings! 

What I'm listening to: Music of The Night - Phantom of The Opera (I'm watching the 25th Anniversary on YouTube as we speak)
Favorite thing I'm wearing: Super comfy yoga pants from Victoria's Secret 
Fun fact about my life right now: Currently sobbing over P. O. T. O... Guys I need help.

So today, I'm just writing a quick post about my outfit today, because I rather liked it.  I hope you like it too!

I wore this outfit out yesterday with my friends when we went to a bookstore/Starbucks. Yeah, that's right, coffee AND books, two of my favorite things!  It was a lot of fun, I bought Les Miserables the movie which just came out yesterday, and a white chocolate mocha of course! I'm wearing plain black tights from Charlotte Russe, denim skirt from Forever 21, kitty shirt from Forever 21.  I wouldn't call this 'high end fashion' but I liked the cuteness, especially the kitty t-shirt! 

This is the top up close!  You probably can't read it, but the shirt says 'You had me at meow' which I think is precious!  It's a shirt for supporting the humane society, and it goes well with my pink Hello Kitty case. 

And now here's my face.  I styled my hair with my Remington curling wand, pulled half of it back, popped in a rhinestone covered bow headband and called it good!  I used quite a bit of Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara (which is terrific, everyone should try it) to make my eyelashes thick, and I used two shades of shimmering eye shadow for my lids. 

So that's it for this OOTD, sorry if it was a bit boring for some of you!  I have some very exciting news that goes along with the theme of this post and it is this: I'm getting a cat!!!!

For those who don't know (which is probably everyone) I ADORE cats with all of my heart.  Yesterday at a Petsmart, I pet a cat for twenty minutes straight and I would've done it for hours if I had more time!  The bad news is, my dad is extremely allergic to cats so the idea of owning one hasn't even been entertained. But FINALLY, my parents consented to letting me get one if he stays in my room and never gets out to roam around the house which is fine for me because my room is large enough for a cat to comfortably live in. So I'm super excited, I'm getting a kitten sometime in April!

So now here's the hard part.  Picking out a name.  I'm almost positive I want a boy kitten so comment if you have any adorable names for my future pet who I will most likely end up treating as my child.  Let's hear 'em!

Until next time,

-Carolina 

3 Quirky Thrift Store Treasures

Ciao bello gente!

What I'm listening to: Flapper Girl - The Lumineers (if I could marry a song... this would be it)
Favorite thing I'm wearing: My knitted leggings from Sammydress.com!  The pattern is really cozy and cool.
Fun fact about my life right now:  I'm watching the episode of New Girl where Nick and Jess kiss for the first time and I'm giggling like the village idiot. I just want to be them. Is that too much to ask?

So in my last post, I talked about how I frequent thrift stores quite often.  Well, in this post, I'm going to show you three of the quirkiest things I've gotten while sifting through racks and racks of grandpa sweaters, polyester pants, and adult onesies.  This is the thing though, I wear the things that people laugh at in the store, in public. I can't help myself, I love a good outlandish outfit that most people wouldn't wear!

So here they are in very crappy iPhone quality:

Cost: $2
Why I love it: The collar and the soft blue color immediately appealed to me, but the problem was the length and the altogether Little House on the Prairie look it gave off.  You can't see it, but this dress fell right close to the ankles. So I just shortened the length as well as the sleeves and made them puffier. Then, I belted the darn thing and called it good. I was pretty proud of it at the end, contrary to my expression in the third picture. ;)

Cost: $1
Why I love it:  Honestly, I just adore the wackiness to it.  I tried it on just for fun in the Salvation Army, and two of the workers there begged me to get it because they were firmly convicted that I could pull it off.  The thing is, I actually kind of love this! The shape of it gives me a good looking figure, and what's to hate about that?

Cost: ???
Why I love it:  This, I have to thank my best friend Eva for. She bought this for me, but the original dress had sky high shoulder pads an an unfortunate collar that was humongous and very unflattering. So I just cut out the shoulder pads and the pesky collar and called it good. I LOVE the sunflower buttons and the vintage floral pattern. Oh, and the puffy sleeves are to die for.

So that's it for this post!!  Comment if you share my love for quirky thrift shop treasures, or even if you just want to laugh at my odd taste in clothes! Oh, and my lovely friend Rae fixed up my blog to make it look adorable. Honestly, I'm obsessed with the cursor that bursts with rainbow sparkles! Eeee! Comment and tell me if you like it!

Until next time,

-Carolina

Four Seasons, Four Dresses

Ciao, everyone!

What I'm listening to: Relator - Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
Favorite thing I'm wearing - My dark blue denim skinny jeans from Love Culture
Fun Fact about my life right now - My leg up to my knee is asleep on the right side! I hate this!

Alright, I have one thing to say before I start talking about pretty clothes.
My blog sucks.
Well, at least the layout/design do at the moment.  But thankfully, my lovely friend Rae from LillyRae Beauty and Fashion is going to spruce up the whole thing and make it look pretty and cute!
Anyways, I was thoroughly creeping through Polyvore (so obsessed... there aren't words for my obsession) and I decided to show you guys four completely adorable casual dresses that I found!  One for each season of course, because dresses should be worn as much as possible, all year 'round in my book.  So here they are, I hope they make you 'oooo' and 'ahhh' as much as they made me:

Spring:

Why I love this: The shape is extremely flattering for all body shapes because the thinnest part of you, your waist, is accentuated. The color combo and sweetheart neck are altogether very delicate and girly.  Also, if the weather's chilly, this dress would go great with a white cardigan. 

How much and where: $59 at Storenvy.com

Summer:


Why I love this: The color, the lace, the see through part at the top, need I say more?! This gorgeous dress, once again, is very flattering. It could be paired with ballet flats to give off a cutesy and feminine vibes, or you could rock out a pair of brown combat boots to edge things up. Either way, adorable!!

How much and where: £ 22.95 at http://www.chiarafashion.co.uk

Fall: 






















Why I love this: First off, Fall is my favorite season, and I positively love Aztec prints in the windy weather. It just makes me feel cozy, and if it gets too cold, I can always slip a pair of warm black tights underneath the dress. I also love to wear a copious amounts of scarves and gloves and boots with dresses like these. 

How much and where: £12.00 at boohoo.com

Winter: 



Why I love this: Peter pan collars are my FAVORITE. Like, it's not even funny how much. I have over a dozen dresses/shirts with the peter pan. Anyways, I also love the flowy skirt material, and the glittery squiggles at the top. Maybe some of you wouldn't wear this as a 'casual' outfit, but I sure would. I would also throw on a rouge colored coat, woolen tights, and sleek boots and face the weather!How much and where: £ 16.95 at http://www.chiarafashion.co.uk

So that's basically it! I realize Spring's dress is pretty expensive, and if you're like me, you don't appreciate spending loads of money on clothes.  What I like to do is hunt through the local thrift stores for a dress that has similar shape, design, and color.  You'd be surprised at how many treasures I've discovered while pillaging the local Good Will!  Just kidding, I don't steal.  I buy.

So this is basically just a look into my personal taste and style. Tell me if you like them and which one is your favorite! When I get actual readers of course ;) 

Until next time,

-Carolina 

Allegra K Little Black Dress w/ Hearts Review

Ciao bellezze!

(I'm taking an Italian class at my college.)

Anyways, this is my real first post! Hooray! I've decided I'm going to answer these three VERY random things before every post:

What I'm listening to: Never Wanted Your Love- She & Him
Favorite thing I'm wearing: My black, polka dot tights from Forever 21!
Fun fact about my life right now: After writing this post, I'm going out for a Shamrock Shake!

Okay, I'm going to review this black dress I bought from Allegra K on Amazon a while back. I'll do a more thorough review on Allegra K in general later on, but for now I'll just write about the black dress. That Shamrock Shake is calling me, you know. This is the original dress:



Anyways, I had my reservations when I saw that the dress barely cost $10 with no reviews at all, but me being me, I just bought it anyways. I opened the package, pretty much fearing the worst. Actually though, the dress fit very nicely, and the sewing job was well done! You'll have to iron it as I did, but otherwise, I think it's cute! Here are some pictures of it on me though, so you can see for yourself and judge away! ;)

In these shots, I paired it with black tights (primarily because that's what happened to be on my legs at the time) but I wear it like this usually anyways. I wear wingtip eyeliner, red lipstick, and red heels to complete this outfit. I usually go with a sock bun to fully show off the partially see-through back, but I also like the classy french braid.

Here's the link for the dress! Be careful though if you want to buy anything else from Allegra K. I've gotten one or two things that were unsatisfactory, so just make sure to not be dumb like me and buy things that have raving reviews! :)

Until next time,

-Carolina

(Link to the dress. It says extra small, but I am 5'6 and 122 pounds and NOT an extra small and it still fit with just enough room to spare.)

http://www.amazon.com/Allegra-Ladies-Heart-Sheer-Slipover/dp/B007XD6DMQ/ref=sr_1_36?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1363568243&sr=1-36&keywords=allegra+k+black+dress