Thursday How To- Black and White plus The Ultimate Girls Giveaway!

Hello Gorgeous!

Black and white is a staple in every wardrobe, and with the graphic black and white prints still being very popular this season, I wanted to share a few easy tips when wearing graphic black and white.

1. If you are mixing black and white prints make sure one print is larger.

2. Do not be afraid to mix in stripes with checkered, or plaid black and white.

3. Have at least one solid in your outfit ( just as I have the solid black pants on in this post).

4. Include small bursts of colour when mixing back and white prints, I chose to use a bright pink lipstick for this look.

Once you have chosen your look, use a fun bag to pull it altogether. Oh by the way, do you like the bag I have on in this post? Would you like to win it? Read on and fill in the Rafflecopter. There are so many great prizes in this package you will be so tempted to enter.

Now onto the Giveaway part, I have teamed up with 13 other bloggers to give you the best of the best in the world of black, white and gold. This prize includes,

1. The Kate Spade Wesley Park Natalie Bag

2. The Tory Burch Fit Bit Bangle

3.A Kate Spade Bow Bangle in Gold

4.A Nars Audacious Lipstick in Anita

5. A Heart Printed Black and White Scarf.

6. The Coveted Brand NEW! Stella and Dot Trellis Necklace.

The lovely amazing bloggers involved are, La Belle Sirene, Curvy Girl On The Run, Latest Wrinkle, Threads and Blooms, Liner, Glitter Gloss, Nelle Creations, Mom's Makeup Stash, Mascara Melodies, What Did She Find, Strawberry Chic, Sophisticated In Style, Walking Down The Aisle, Stylist Darrah

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Try This Tuesday- Headbands by Gina Made It

Hello Gorgeous!

Do I have a great product to tell you about today! I am so excited about this product because I am a lover of all hair accessories, especially the headband. It is so hard to find a headband that is stylish, well made, and most importantly comfortable. I finally found the perfect headband that fits all three criteria. You do not have to suffer with headbands that are painful because they pinch behind your ears, or that have comb like teeth that scratch the top of your head. Gina Made It is a New York company specializing in making the loveliest hair accessories. The headband line is very extensive with many unique fabric choices, such as denim, velvet, stripes, leather, sparkles,and gorgeous sparkle rocks.. The one I am wearing in this post is a pink sparkle headband, take a look at the incredible knot work details that line the curve of the band. The fabric is wrapped VERY tightly which means no fraying (as many of my headbands have done in the past). I can not believe how great the quality is in such a small, but important accessory item. 

Gina Made It also makes the loveliest hair bun bows (which I am lusting after right now), pony scarves, and head turbans. You have to head to the website right now to check out the incredible catalog and make a purchase, you and your hair will NOT regret it.

The knot detailing really sets this headband apart from the others, you can see how tightly wound it is around the fabric. This is a stand out piece when you wear it, and it will go with many many outfits.

Let me know do you want to see a giveaway with a headband from Gina Made it?

Monday Musings

Hello Gorgeous!

Are you anticipating Spring as much as I am? Today I wanted to show you this great H&M cropped duck printed top. The fabric on this top is lovely, very heavy, great quality with gorgeous colours, and guess what? It's under forty dollars. You will also notice that I have an amazing headband on, you will be seeing a lot more of this item because it is the most comfortable headband I presently have in my collection. You can find it here at  Gina Made It, this is company based out of New York City, and founded by Gina, who makes the loveliest headbands, hair bun bows, and many other hair accessories. I have completely fallen in love with Gina's product. I will post more about these fantastic headbands tomorrow in my Tuesday Try This series.

The yellow coat in this post (I am sure you've seen before if you follow the blog regularly) is one my favourite coats. I bought this coat at Anthropologie when I was pregnant with my son. The mustard colour and swing style make this coat a real statement piece while remaining very classic. The Kate Spade bag in this post, was a true steal after Christmas at the outlet store in Niagara Falls, New York, and to make it even better my mom purchased it for me (yes my mother is the best!).

Will you try a headband from Gina Made It? Would you like to see a giveaway with a headband or accessory offered as a prize?

Top- H&M (here)
Headband- Gina Made It (here)
Jeans- Joe Fresh (here)
Shoes- Nine West (almost identical)
Bag- Kate Spade
Glasses- Bonlook (here)
Coat- Anthropologie (love this)

Tuesday's Try This (KISS Instawave Curler)

Hello Gorgeous!

Tuesday's 'Try This', is the Kiss Instawave curler. I was lucky enough to receive a curler to try at home and I wanted to let you all know that this is a great curler. My hair is on the thinner side, and it does not hold a curl very well so I was very excited to try this product. Before you read on you must know the KISS Instawave is a fully automatic tangle-free curler that instantly creates beautiful curls. The curler is easy for anyone to use from any angle and with either hand. The product features a curl dial with left and right curl directions. The KISS Instawave has two heat settings with low and high switch that reaches a maximum temperature of 420 degrees.  This post has been sponsored by KISS Instawave and BrandBacker.

I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to curling irons because of the fact that my hair does not want to hold a curl. This product definitely changed my mind about curling irons. So, how do you use this curler? Take a look below at how I created beautiful curls. 

Step 1. 
Hold the KISS Instawave vertical and place a piece of hair next to the barrel. Please do not touch the curling wand. It gets very hot.

Step 2.
Choose the direction you want to curl you hair and press the grey right or left curl button. Your hair will begin to wind around the wand automatically.

Step 3.

Count to ten or wait ten seconds.

Step 4.

Let the hair out. I absolutely love the barrel/vintage curl effect that this curler does to my hair.

Step 5.

Start over again, with a different piece of hair.

When finished curling your hair, I always like to use hairspray to help keep my curls in place. This is the only curler I have found that keeps curl in my hair for the day. Below you can see the right and left direction button, as well as,  the heat control button. This product does heat up very fast (which is fantastic) and will show a blue light when ready.

The curling iron catches your hair using these brush like plastic pins placed around the circumference of the appliance. I was thrilled to receive this product and I hope that you love it as much as I do.

Tuesday Try This- Maybelline LASH-Sensational

Hello Gorgeous

If you've been reading the blog for a few months you will know that I often talk about, and have worked with the lovely Courtney from La Belle Sirene. Courtney is my makeup aficionado and I find myself purchasing some of the products that she writes about on her blog. This Tuesday Try This is inspired by La Belle Sirene as she posted about this product last week. Maybelline has just released their new LASH Sensational mascara and the packaging is rather stunning. The packaging is a lovely nude/lilac colour and the shape is very eye-pleasing.  

My favourite thing about this product and what I know sets it apart is the mascara brush. When Courtney posted about this, the first thing I asked her was, how is the brush? Courtney knows I do not like my mascara brush to be filled with too many bristles or to be (for lack of a better word) 'bushy'. Courtney told me it was thin and more wand-like, I was SOLD! I rushed to my local drugstore to get this Maybelline LASH Sensational product. I will tell you now, this mascara is FANTASTIC! It is the closest thing to the amazing Benefit They're Real mascara (yes They're Real is still the creme de la creme in mascara world),  but without the $30 pricetag.

You can see how nice and separated the mascara bristles are, this wand works magic on my eyelashes. It separates while giving volume and even gives a little curl to my lashes.

You have to try this Maybelline Lash Sensational, it's name suits it perfectly, it's sensational! You can find it at your local drugstore for around $11 ( a true steal in my mind). Have you tried this product? Let me know if you plan to and what you think.

Thursday How To- Tulle

Hello Gorgeous!

So many of you say to me that you could never wear tulle. To that, I always say, "Of course you can, you just need to find the style and amount of volume you like".  I also get asked where I buy my tulle skirts, so here is the answer, this skirt and my other tulle skirt are from Space 46 Boutique. This is a fantastic shop specializing in tulle skirt creation, and the options are fantastic. There are skirts with a lot of volume such as mine, or skirts with far less that appear to be much like a regular skirt but made of tulle. The skirts are all lined inside to you don't get the 'tulle scratch'. The skirts come in many colour, and length options. Did I mention this post is NOT sponsored by Space 46 in anyway? I just adore their skirts. There is a lovely royal blue one I am lusting after currently.

Here are some tips for wearing tulle,
1. How much volume do you want? If you want less volume than the skirt in this post try something like this..
2. You can dress the tulle up or down, I like to wear it with simple solid or printed blouse. You can easily put a sweater on over top of the tulle skirt for a more casual look.
3. I try to keep my accessories minimal when wearing tulle because I want the skirt to be the star of the show.
4. Do NOT be afraid of tulle, you can wear it anywhere (honestly you can!). It's all in the top you pair with it.

What are you waiting for? Go buy a tulle skirt now!!

Try This Tuesday- Bumble and Bumble

Hello Gorgeous!

Does your hair have a mind of it's own? Mine sure does! My hair is very fine but there is a lot of it, and I have found after having my son it hasn't quite been the same. It tends to be thinner, which is making it hard to add volume with just a hair dryer alone.  I have tried many products out there that claim to add more volume and give hair that extra 'lift'. Many of these have failed, but I always find that I come back to these two Bumble and Bumble products. 

The light blue tube is the Bumble and Bumble Grooming Creme. For my hair, this products works magic. This is a lightweight creme that you can use on your hair damp or dry. I tend to use it on my hair when it's damp. I only use a small quarter sized squeeze and spread it on my hair, at the roots, and then I spread it on my ends. After that I use the hair dryer to dry my bangs first, and then the rest of my hair trying to use the brush sparingly.

Once my hair is dried, there are normally a few or many, fly aways, you know those hairs that just have a mind of their own. For those hairs, I use the Bumble Hairdressing Oil, this is a lightweight oil formula that tames fly aways while adding extra shine to my hair. I have probably had this bottle for a year, I use it a few times a week, and I have barely made a dent in the total product. A little goes a long way with this oil.

These products can be found at your local Sephora, they are a bit of a budget buster, but considering these will last a long time, it makes it worth the investment. 

Hair Dressing Oil- here

Grooming Creme - here

You can see by my hair in the picture below these products groom wonderfully! I did add curl to my hair as these products will not curl.

Monday Musings- Pink and Leopard

Hello Gorgeous!

How is your January going so far? This seems like the longest month of the year. This is a simple casual look today with the pastel pink coat and leopard faux fur scarf. The leopard is just enough for me as I am not comfortable wearing large pieces of leopard. The jeans are from Old Navy and the price point is amazing on these. I hope you have a great week!

Coat- Forever 21 (here)
Scarf- Aritzia (here)
Jeans- (here)
Bag- Kate Spade (here)
Shoes- Town Shoes (here)