Review | NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Addis Ababa'

Product: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Addis Ababa' (fuschia)
Cost: $6 online | $5 in store
Link: Order from NYX's website
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I probably should have bought a darker colour. Bright fuschia is just not a good lip colour on my skin colour and that might have something to do with my review. Sort of. Anyway, I bought this because one of my favourite beauty bloggers/vloggers, Estee, recommended it in a few of her recent videos and being me, anything that has the staying power of higher end brands at a very cheap cost is something that I just have to try to believe. So I went and bought this along with another NYX lip product that Estee mentioned. As soon as I bought it, I opened it up and was greeted with the most delicious vanilla scent ever. So right off the bat, I thought that this was something that I'd need to buy multiple colours of. When I tried it and tested it through my day, I soon found that I wouldn't need to buy any other colours. Unfortunately, I found this product to be incredibly drying and my lips were primed with Carmex lip balm. I also found that application was very patchy and the product emphasized cracks in your lips. It also dried weirdly and had a bit of a tacky feeling throughout the day. After two hours, the colour had also faded and feathered out despite me not doing much aside from talking. It's really disappointing that this product isn't all it was hyped up to be, especially considering that aside from Estee, much of the beauty blogosphere has been in love with this product. It really is a shame because this product has such a wide and wonderful range of colours, I think the packaging is cute, and I'm fond of the scent. Unfortunately, this product is drying, dries into a tacky and slightly shiny finish (definitely not matte), faded rather quickly, and application is a completely botch. I definitely won't be purchasing any of the matte lip creams again.
Rating: 2.5/5

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Outfit | Rainy Days and (Not) Leather Jackets

Predictably, the weather took a turn for the awesome when it rained today. I think I've mentioned it before, but there's just something about rainy days that I love. There's a hint of danger and change in the air and that's just so exciting to me. There's also a sort of sad hint there but I try to ignore it. At least until I get home and snuggle up in bed and think on all of the things that are wrong...but we'll gloss over that! I also spent something around 20 minutes in my car today when I got home. The sound of the rain hitting the roof of my car is so relaxing and I felt super frazzled and stressed when I got done with math and even though I got unwind a bit with my friend, Kai, I still felt stressed because of my English class which is later in the evening and is three hours long. But we got out early so I'm getting more and more fond of the idea that if you're positive just enough, the world will reflect that. It's a tad bit more naive than I like to be, but it's getting me through my days.

 (Oh hey wind, thanks for freaking me out!)

Outfit Details: Hooded Pleather Jacket (I forgot) | Red Minnie Mouse Sweater, Black Dress [worn as a skirt], and flats (Forever 21) | Black Tights (Target)

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Inspiration | Rebecca Stice of The Clothes Horse

I felt it was finally time to do an inspiration post about one of my favourite bloggers and style obsession: Rebecca Stice of The Clothes Horse! I mentioned her in my Top 5 Style Bloggers post but I thought she deserved an inspiration post. Anyway, I found her blog late 2012 and automatically fell in love with Rebecca's romantic and practical style as well as her gorgeous photos. I quickly found myself picking more romantic feminine shapes whenever I went shopping and paying closer attention to smaller details to pull an outfit together. On top of that, Rebecca's a wonderful and eloquent writer which really shows in how well put her commentary is on her editorial and style crush posts. Where I'm scatterbrained in what I write about in my outfit posts, she does a really good job of focusing on one topic and really relating it to her outfit post. Have I mentioned how well done her photos are? Because they are really quite beautiful. Especially the shots she posts along with every outfit post. When it was snowing in her city/town, the photos from those particular weeks were really beautiful. She's even started a weekly post series about photography (Photo Tip Tuesday) since she was getting so many comments about her methods. I must admit that one huge factor that helped me decide in whether or not to start following her blog was her photography. It added a lot to her already fantastical style. I think I referred to her style as controlled whimsy since she tends to dress in theatrical patterns, colours, and shapes but she tones it down for her lifestyle of forest walks and cold winter nights. She and her blog have inspired me to branch out, stylistically, from simple A-line cuts to bodycon to full circle skirts to bright colours. If anyone wanted to know where I get a lot of my fashion and style inspiration from, all they'd have to do is look at Rebecca's blog and know that I'm heavily inspired by her. And she's so nice! She replies to as many comments on her blog and her instagram as she can (she's replied to so many of my comments over the past year, eeep!) and she's just such a wonderful human. I highly encourage following her blog. Or at least checking it out. 

(How cute is that picture of her and her boyfriend, Thomas?! Aaaah, so cute! Here's the original post!)

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Outfit | Kiss me like you mean it

Can I just say that excluding the tights, this whole outfit is completely thrifted? I don't think I've ever worn a whole outfit that was completely thrifted. I'm kind of proud of myself. All of this stuff looks like I could have bought it from Forever 21, Modcloth, or some other site, but nope. I just had some good days at my local Good Will. Anyway, lately, I've been veering towards donning cream and blush coloured clothing. I think it's because I've found myself in love and I just want the world to know. I haven't felt this content and happy in such a long time. I've just never been in a relationship that just feels so right and perfect. I mean, I don't mean to get cheesy here, but...for once in my life, all of those songs and stories about love and happiness? I finally understand them! I'm no longer skeptical about things like love. Past relationships had turned me into a total cynic. I didn't believe that love was a thing that existed outside of TV shows, movies, musicals, and books. I saw happy couples as being foolish because people are disappointing and I didn't see the point in putting in effort when people will just disappoint you. But then here comes this sweet and cute and intelligent guy and he just waltzes into my life and completely changes my mind. I definitely didn't think that was possible. He just makes me so happy and he's made it easier for me to not stress over school and other things. Ah, love. Tis a great thing when the feeling is shared with someone who is worth the time and effort and actually loves you for you and doesn't attempt to change anything about you. A+ to my boyfriend for being a good human and for giving out the best hugs and kisses ever. Also, everyone should listen to this song from Sophie Madeleine. It is SO pretty and inspiring.

Outfit Details: Tan Peacoat, Cream Peter Pan Collar w/black trimming, Blue/Green Plaid High Waist Skirt, Sunnies, Black Waist Belt, & White Loafers (Thrifted) | Tights (Target)

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Outfit | Winter Heat

February is such a short month. Lemony Snicket once said that since February is the shortest month, you should always try and schedule a miserable month on February. It's not verbatim of the exact quote, but that's the gist of it. I don't identify with is since February's actually been pretty swell for me, but it was the first thing I thought of when faced with the past couple days of sun and warmth. I'm no stranger to the heat and to the sun while the rest of the country is covered in blankets of snow, but I just hoped that maybe, just maybe, the Valley would have an actual winter of cold and rain and wind. It was hopeless. The past couple of days have been sunsoaked and warm. I'm not completely opposed to it though. I got to wear this sunhat that my uncle bought for me in LA ages ago. And I suppose it IS nice to not have to layer up. But since it still tends to get a bit chilly in the evenings, I decided my denim jacket went well with everything else. It's thick but not too thick and thin enough that I can wear it during the day without getting too warm. I wonder how long this streak of heat will last. The weather's been a bit weird. It was cold as hell a week ago and then warm and sunny the next. 

Outfit Details: Denim Jacket, Circle Sunnies, Brown Waist Belt, & White Loafers (Thrifted) | Cream Peter Pan Collar (American Apparel) | Brown Sunhat (Gift) | Jewelry and Coral Polka Dot High Waist Skirt (Forever 21)

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Outfit | Homebody

I started out taking photos outside but it was really windy and my allergies started acting up and I couldn't handle being outside much longer so after I returned to the protection of my house and had some medicine, I decided I could do a mini room tour of sorts. Although, my room was quite a mess when I started and so, not a lot of my room is documented but the huge bits are. I spend A LOT of time at home. I'm either in my bedroom doing homework (and crying at it), reading, writing, blogging, doing yoga, eating, and/or sleeping. I regularly fall asleep on our living room sofa in front of the TV much to the annoyance of my family. I tend to fall asleep with the TV on but thankfully my dad always seems to know when I'm asleep because he always shows up and turns off the TV for me. But anyway, yeah, I'm a bit of an indoors-stay-at-home kind of girl. I DO leave my house to hang out with my friends but mostly I stay at home. It works out because I save money and I save gas. Plus, with a Netflix Streaming at my fingertips and countless movie and TV show downloads, I rarely ever need to leave my house except for class and the occasional human contact. Staying at home so often does make me miss friends and hanging out and all that, but I take pleasure in the comfortable silence of being by myself. This is in no way to say that I'm lonely. Because there is a difference between being alone and being lonely. I don't like being lonely and when I feel like that, I will reach out and see if anyone wants to hang out. I do, however, enjoy being alone. Anyways, moving on from that, in today's post, I show you glimpses of my favourite plush toys, my closet, my bed side table, the corner where my bed is tucked into, and where I like to sit and blog when my bed begins to feel boring. Someday I'll do a full room tour, but I think until I move, that'll have to wait.

Outfit Details: Striped Knit Sweater (Forever 21) | Lace Cream Dress, White Loafers, & Tan Peacoat (Thrifted) | Patterned Tights (HUE)

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