5 on Friday

Happy Friday!

Today I’m back with the 5 on Friday. I like doing these at the end of the month, so I can share favorites from throughout the month, like things I’m looking forward too. Plus it gives me a whole month to brainstorm.

Today I’m sharing where I’m headed this weekend, LOTS of beauty stuff, and a few other things.

1. Let’s start with where I’m headed. I’ve been talking about my trip all week and I’m so excited to be heading to NYC tomorrow for 8 whole days! J is currently there for work and my best friend lives there. So naturally I needed to plan a trip. My trips to the city are usually pretty low key since I have been more than a handful of times and even lived there for a little in college. This trip will be a great mix of touristy stuff, and my favorite places throughout the city. Follow along on instagram @thefashionablylateblonde to see all my adventures, lots of great food, and some of my favorite places in the city. (I’ll also be doing a travel diary for NYC at some point when I get back. 

2. Next I want to share my Top 5 Drugstore Brand makeup buys.

1. This Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer is honestly a Holy Grail product of mine. It does a great job at hiding dark circles and I always have some in my makeup bag. Also, this always shows up in pro makeup artist and youtubers drugstore videos so you know it really is THAT good.
2. Revlon Color Stay Foundation. For the longest time I turned my nose up at drug store foundation. I just didn’t think it came anywhere close to my $25-$45 foundation from the makeup counter or Sephora.  I heard a lot of good things about this one and decided to give it a try and it did not disappoint! I think it’s just as good as my Estee Lauder Double Wear. It comes in two formulas, Combo/Oily and Normal/Dry so there is something for you no matter your skin type. (I wear this every time I shoot because it’s a little darker so it helps my face match the rest of me.
3. Maybelline SuperStay Matte Lipstick. Y’all know I love my lipstick and this one is pretty new, so I had to give it a try. The staying power this lipstick has is pretty mind-blowing. It seriously stays on all day with out loosing hardly any color. My only complaint is it can be a little tacky but nothing I can’t deal with. (I love the color Lover.)
4. Maybelline Brow Drama Pro Pallet. My eyebrow duo from Benefit broke the other day so I thought I would give this a try. I like it because it has a wax, powder, highlight and brushes. I use the powder every day and some days I’ll use wax instead of my Benefit cream-gel. The brushes aren’t my favorite, so I would recommend getting different ones. Overall for the price you get everything you need to create the perfect brow.
5. Last but not least; Real Techniques brushes. I LOVE these brushes. They are great quality and so reasonably priced. I have this one, this one, this one, and use their beauty blender religiously. I honestly like their beauty blender better than the real beauty blender.

3. While we are on the topic of beauty I thought I would share 2 amazing products I picked up from Sephora last week. I have been breaking out a lot more than usual (hello work stress) so I wanted to try some new products to try and combat that. The first is this Origins gel. If you follow me on instagram I gave y’all a sneak peek the other night about how amazing this stuff is. I have had a couple breakouts that just won’t go away. (It doesn’t help that I pick.) I used this stuff 3 times, and all my stubborn breakouts were almost gone!! It’s a tiny bottle but, so worth it. The second product is this blue clay-detoxifying mask from Sephora, and its Sephora brand. I thought I would try more than one thing and I think this mask really helped. It was only $8, and says there are 4 masks in here. (It comes in a sheet mask version for $6 as well.) I plan on using it again tonight to make sure my face is nice and clear for 

NYC.

4. This is Us started back this week and if you somehow managed to not watch it last year…GET ON IT!!! (Mom I’m looking at you) I’m usually a reality TV person only, however, every once in a while I’ll watch a real show and this is it! 

5. This is a fashion blog so I should probably share some clothing or accessories with y’all. I wasn’t sure what number 5 on this list was going to be but, the other day I received an e-mail from Forever 21 that caught my eye. I decided to browse and it did not disappoint. Forever 21 is so hit or miss for me and it was definitely a hit this last time. Here (sequin cape, wide leg denim, ruffle top, shearling vest, button front skirt, bell sleeve blouse, lurex stripe sweater) are some pieces I love and will be pulling the trigger on if NYC and it doesn’t completely drain my bank account. hah  

I hope y’all enjoyed this 5 on Friday. There will definitely be a post up next Tuesday and I am going to try my absolute hardest to have one up on Thursday from NYC. 

Don’t forget to follow along on instagram (@thefashionablylateblonde) to see my full trip.

I hope y’all have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! 

Stepping Outside your Comfort Zone

Oh man! I am so happy it is almost the weekend! This has been the longest, craziest, busiest week EVER! At least I have today and tomorrow, and then I’m on vacation for the next 8 days!! (I’ll share with y’all where I’m heading tomorrow on the blog.)

Today I wanted to share this sweater with you for two reasons. One it’s on sale! I love when I buy things, and then they go on sale by the time I share them with y’all. Bonus if the full size run is still available. Unfortunately  there are only a few sizes left online for this guy.  Sorry about that. 

The second reason is I want to talk about stepping out of your style comfort zone. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “girlfriend, this is jeans and a sweater how in the world is that out of your comfort zone?!” Well it’s not exactly the outfit but the colors. I have never been one to wear blue on blue. I know that may sound weird but for whatever reason it’s just not my thing. I almost always pair my blue tops with white denim. However since fall is coming, I know I will be wearing white denim less and less. And this sweater will be great when it cools down. Enter light wash denim. Now you’re probably thinking “Duh! Why haven’t you thought of this before?” My answer to that is I am also not a light wash denim person.  At least I wasn’t until this year. I had my eye on this pair of denim for a while and got lucky at Nordstrom Rack a few months ago. (I have quickly acquired two other pairs of lighter wash denim. Linked below) And finally the other day I had this crazy idea of putting together two things I am not so crazy about and guess what? I am now CRAZY about this outfit. This just goes to show you shouldn’t be afraid to try something new. It may not always work out, but sometimes it just might surprise you.  

Sweater: Loft | Denim: Blank NYC (similar here, here, & here) | Shoes: Old (love these) | Sunnies: Ray-Ban | Earrings: Baublebar old (similar here) | Lipstick: Mac Cosmetics Amplified Lipstick in Chatterbox | Watch: Apple Watch Series 1 Gold 42mm face with Cocoa Band

Layers on Layers

Today I’m bringing you the perfect layered look.

I started thinking about layers a couple weeks ago; because layers and fall go hand in hand. As I was thinking about what I wanted to put together, this simple look came to mind. I figured it’s easy and I already had these pieces in my closet. Sometimes I get really excited about certain outfits but this one just seemed basic to me. That all changed when I put it on. Not to say it isn’t basic but, I realized I actually LOVE this look! I’m not sure if it’s the shoes, the vest, the tee or what but, I did not want to take this off. (I did though as soon as I got home because it was probably 90 degrees when I shot this.)

While all of these pieces work great together, they are equally great on their own as well. These are all staple pieces you should have in your closet. A utility vest is a great all year piece. They are light, but they add style and layers (literally and figuratively) to your look. They usually come in green, brown or navy, however green is my favorite.

A stripe shirt is a no brainer piece in my book. This is especially true if it’s a neutral color, because you can pair it with so many things. I picked this one up during the Nsale and they currently have an almost identical one for under $20!

Lastly, if you don’t have any slides in your closet I highly suggest you invest in a pair. They are definitely a huge trend this season and you don’t have to break the bank for a really cute pair. I will link some of the ones I currently have my eye on below.  

Shirt: Nordstrom (identical here) | Vest: Old Navy (similar here) | Denim: Lulus old (similar here, here & here) | Shoes: Lulus old (similar here & here love these, these, these & these) | Sunnies: Nordstrom | Necklace: Forever21 currently waitlisted | Lipstick: Mac Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Diva

I hope your week is off to a great start! How is the weather where you are? I am so desperately ready for fall temps. Until then I guess I’ll have to style this with shorts instead of jeans.

It's Tuesday and I'm linking up with Walking in Memphis in High Heels, The Fashion Canvas, Visions of Vogue & The Sister Studio for the Trend Spin Linkup! 

Hello Fall

Happy Fall y’all!

I can’t believe it’s already this time of year. As I sit here to write about my excitement over the upcoming season, I have so much to say yet nothing seems quit right.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “ Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall” and I could not agree with that more. This really sums up my exact feelings about the season. The air is crisper, colors are more vibrant, and the promise of things to come seems endless. I’m sure I sound crazy talking about a season this way but, I’ve always loved this time of year. Don’t get me wrong I love the warmer weather and newness of spring, the long days of summer and warm nights outside; Heck I even love a gray, freezing cold winter day. However, something about fall is better than all of those things. Maybe its football season, maybe its pumpkin spice, maybe it’s that good things tend to happen for me in the fall, or maybe it really is the fact that life seems to start over again. I can’t put my finger on it but, whatever “it” is I’m ready for that time to begin.

Tank: Nordstrom old (similar here) | Jeans: Nordstrom | Kimono: BCBGeneration old (similar here) | Boots: Vince Camuto old (similar here) | Sunnies: Nordstrom only available in black | Necklace: Old (similar here) 

I know this post is a little different than normal but sometimes it’s good to switch things up right? I personally love when bloggers share a little more than their outfit or recent trip from time to time.

What’s your favorite season? Do you love fall the way I do or are you more of a spring/summer person? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading. I truly appreciate each and every one of you!

  

P.S. I wanted to tell you I recently made a twitter for the blog that you can follow here. Not sure exactly what kinds of things I’ll be sharing there just yet. (I’m really bad about tweeting…other than live tweeting The Bachelor.) If you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments. Also be on the look out for my Facebook page very soon. (If I ever get any free time. More on that next week.)

Fall Style Take 1

Happy Friday!

While this has been a short work week, it’s been a CRAZY one! Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with short weeks? I love the extra time to relax and not worry about work; however, they always throw me WAYYYYY off my game.

Anyway, let’s talk about this outfit shall we? It’s been a little cooler in the mornings, (I mean it still hits 90 something by mid day but, a Florida gal will take what she can get), and so it has me grabbing sweaters, jeans, and booties. While this is not practical at all, it’s the perfect time to mix sweaters with shorts, and booties, or jeans with tanks and hats. I personally think this is a great fall look for warmer weather. The shorts keep it practical, and since the top is pretty lightweight, you won’t be melting when the temps heat up. And this hat! Let me tell you how much I love this hat! If you follow me on instagram you know I have talked about it more than once. I picked it up at Target about 2 weeks ago and I just want to wear it non-stop. The best part…it was originally $19.99 and I only paid $6 for it in the store. I just checked online and it’s finally marked down there too! It’s $10, which is more than in store, but still totally worth it!  You can pair this with so many things all fall, and winter long, so you should definitely grab it while you still can!

Top: Target old (similar here, here & here) | Shorts: H&M old (similar here & here) | Hat: Target | Booties: Vince Camuto old (similar here, here & here) | Bag: Nordstrom color no longer available | Lipstick: Nyx Butter Gloss in Praline | Watch: Apple Watch Series 1, Gold 42mm face with Cocoa Band

I hope y’all have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!!