Summer Favorites

I feel a little silly telling you that these are a few of my favorite pieces of clothing this summer. I mean... jeans and essentially what can be called a jacket? For summer? Erm. I know. Doesn't seem quite right to me either but this summer has been very mild here in Michigan (or perhaps my body is still thawing out from the ridiculous winter we had) so things I would normally cringe just thinking about wearing in our normally hot and humid temps have gotten a pass this year. As much as I would like to say that has annoyed me, it really hasn't. This girl will take the chance to layer any day of the week. :)

Jacket: Lady Bayard (vintage), Estate sale find, $1.00 [similar idea but different print/colors]
Jeans: Pilcro & The Letterpress (ANTHRO BRAND!), Salvation Army, $7 [exact pair but full price]
Tee: Cheapie old-as-dirt Kohl's buy
Sandals: Guess via T.J. Maxx clearance, $10 [similar w/ studs]
Earrings: Blossoming Trio, made by 4 All Humanity via c/o 9th & Elm
Bracelet: Fitbit Flex (keeping it real!)
Glasses: Zenni Optical

When 9th & Elm contacted me earlier this summer and asked if I would like to try out their site and pick a few items out, I was all ears. HAR HAR. But really, I was looking to add some statement earrings to my wardrobe seeing as how I seem to have quite an array of necklaces and bangles but just a few pairs of earrings. Summer always feels like a good time for earrings, right? Minimal skin contact and easy. Earrings feel like less work than a necklace or a bracelet does. At least to me.

I was eager to give the new-to-me 9th & Elm a try as I am a huge fan of any shopping site that promotes the work of handmade and independent designers. When I'm not spending money at thrift stores or estate sales, I like to spend it on items that are handmade or one-of-a-kind. I love supporting small businesses by purchasing their well made, unique items! I like that 9th & Elm puts together a daily email that shows me all of their sales and hot items - it's a nice curated look at handmade items at great prices.

The earrings I am wearing here are the Blossoming Trio earrings from 4 All Humanity. I loved the shape, size and color of them but I also really liked that 4 All Humanity employs artisans in impoverished areas that use fair trade and homemade products to create their items. Fashionable and friendly? That's a great combination. I was pleasantly surprised when I received these earrings to find out that they are super lightweight! When I ordered, I was actually worried they might be a bit hefty on my ears and I am not a fan of sagging lobes due to a pair of earrings. These give all the look of a beautiful statement earring without all the weight they so often seem to have.

Unfortunately, these are no longer available on the 9th & Elm website, but, no worries, there are lots of beautiful earrings you can choose from! Here are a few of my favorites that are all under $27:

(1.) Silver and Green Glass Earrings by The Glass Bird, (2.) Cream Chevron Earrings by Megan's Beaded Designs, (3.) Faceted Turquoise Studs by Pink Avenger, (4.) Aqua Tassel Earrings by 4 All Humanity

Stay tuned for more looks that include jewelry that I picked up from 9th & Elm!

{Linking up with What I Wore!}

Makeup by One Direction: The Looks Collection Review

Disclosure: A makeup kit was provided to me for free by Markwins in connection with Brand Backer. This review, however, was written by me personally and reflects my personal opinions after trying the product. I was not expected to provide a favorable review.

Recently I had a chance to try out one of the new makeup kits in the Makeup by One Direction Looks Collection. OK, I know what you're thinking: One Direction and makeup? How do these things go together? I get it. But I kind of like these sort of collaborations... they are different and who says one thing goes with another? Am I right?! That being said, I was excited to try one of the kits because, despite generally being a makeup minimalist, I have such a thing for makeup kits! I love it when I can get a whole perfectly packaged look within one item. It takes a bit of the guess work out for those that are looking for an easy look or maybe aren't very cosmetically inclined.

The Looks Collection includes three different kits inspired by One Direction's three albums: Up All Night, Take Me Home and Midnight Memories. The Take Me Home and Midnight Memories kit appear to include some pretty neutrals with a pop of an accent color in each. I received the Up All Night collection which included two neutral eye colors, three pops of blue eye colors, a hot pink gloss (that GLOWS under a black light!), a vibrant blue chubby eye pencil, a vibrant pink creme lipstick, a good basic black mascara, a funky blue/green metallic nail color and stencils to create cosmetic tattoo-type creations. To say I was challenged was a bit of an understatement. Blue eyeshadow? This girl? Let's just say, the alternative title for this post should be: How to wear blue eyeshadow without looking like a 1980's prom queen. Because I think I achieved that and I think I became a blue eyeshadow fan while doing it!

I put together three different makeup looks using this kit that I hope you'll find useful. I am most certainly not a beauty blogger but I like to dabble in it every so often. That being said, I feel I should fully disclose that I like to spend probably 10 minutes or less putting on makeup. I also don't believe in using 2847475736 products. It's just not in my nature nor do I, personally, feel it is good for my skin. As you'll see, I'm prone to breakouts and covering my entire face in heavy makeup only makes it worse. If you can handle that, then I hope you'll like the looks I put together!

MY EVERYDAY STLE LOOK

Products used here include: More than This on entire eyelid, Gotta Be You on eye crease, Little Black Dress mascara and Taken lip gloss. Nothing too fancy about this look but this is true to my every day style. A simple eye with just a curled eyelash (no mascara), a bit of blush and a little pop of color with gloss. I'm an avid eyewear fan so I don't often feel the need to go to town on the eye makeup. For every day makeup, I follow the "KISS" method: Keep It Simple Stupid. ;-) The Taken lip gloss appears very bright pink in the tube but goes on pretty sheer. I imagine it could be layered for a brighter look, but I like the subdued pop of pink it gives me in this look.

FUN DATE NIGHT LOOK

Products used here include: More Than This on entire eyelid, mix of Gotta Be You and Save You Tonight on eye crease, and Stand Up creamy eye stick as top and bottom liner. This is a look I would wear on a fun date night to somewhere like a concert or eating out at a funky restaurant in downtown Detroit. It's much more makeup than I would normally wear during the day so it's perfect to up the anty a bit for a date night. I kept my lips nude with a bit of glossy chapstick considering the eyes were heavily lined with the creamy blue eye pencil. I smudged the pencil a bit with a Q-tip to purposely make the look a little more deliberately messy.

A FANCY VINTAGE LOOK

Products used here include: More Than This on entire eyelid, mix of Gotta Be You and Save You Tonight on eye crease, Another World eye color used as top liner, Little Black Dress mascara, and I Should Have Kissed You creme lipstick topped with the Taken lipgloss. Guys, I love this look. My favorite makeup look, when dressing up, is a good cat eye flick paired with a pink lip. Normally my cat eye is made using typical black liner but I love this updated look with the blue glitzy Another World as the liner! I think I am a blue convert.

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Final thoughts: I'm surprised by how much I like these shades! I imagine they are geared towards a younger crowd but I think I made them also work for those of us that are, ahem, 30 and possibly older. ;-) My favorite pieces of the collection are all of the eyeshadows and the Taken lipgloss. The eyeshadows are easy to apply, stay put and don't have much fallout. The shades blend well and compliment each other or work well alone. The lipgloss has a great, flat applicator brush, has a great color to it that I think would work for a lot of different complexions and also has a very faint, sweet scent. My least favorite part of the collection is the Stand Up blue creamy eye color stick. I found it was a little hard to apply neatly so it is best used for a smudge-necessary look like my Fun Date Night look above. I also wish the kits came with a cheek color in order to complete the kit and make it an entire look. Other than that, I think these kits are a great value!

Are you loving this collection as much as I am? Are you interested in checking out the rest of the kits? You're in luck! Kits hit Macy's stores around the U.S. starting today, August 11, 2014! After that, you can start finding them in Stage Stores, Dillards, Beauty Brands and Lord and Taylor stores on August 25, 2014. International releases will be announced soon!

Don't forget to connect with Makeup by One Direction on their facebook page!