Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Summer Classic

Today I have another super classic summer look to share with y'all. 
I wore this a couple weeks ago to grab drinks and have been obsessed with wearing it ever since. I think it just really captures the essence of summer style.
 These jean shorts are a million years old like I've said before, but recently I can't stop wearing them. I love that they are a true classic and will never go out of style. I love this white tank paired with them and tucked it. It really gives the look a clean classic vibe. 
This hat is also a few years old. Funny story. I bought this hat 2 summers ago I believe and I wore it for the first time on Memorial Day weekend this year. Isn't it funny how things can sit around forever and eventually you will wear them? Now I honestly can't stop wearing it. 
The finishing touch on the look is the earrings. I mean if lobster earrings don't remind you of summer I don't know what does. These are one of my favorite pairs of earrings I bought from the Baublebar for Target line recently. The great news is they are still available. 
You will definitely catch me in this outfit a few more times before the end of the season. It's also a great option for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.











Top: Express | Shorts: Urban Outfitters old (identical here) | Hat: Target | Sunnies: Ray-Ban | Earrings: Target | Purse: Amazon | Shoes: Steve Madden | Watchband: Amazon | Lipgloss: Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask

Tomorrow I leave for New York and I am so excited. Definitely follow me on Instagram for lots of great content. (@thefashionablylateblonde) I will be sharing lots of new outfits, food, and other fun stuff. I want to try and be super engaged on stories this trip. 
I hope everyone has a great week and thanks for stopping by! 



Thursday, June 13, 2019

Classic Summer Stripes

With the first official day of summer being next week I wanted to share some classic summer outfits with y'all. (I have one today and will share another one on Tuesday.)
Y'all know I am a sucker for anything blue & white stripe so this shirt was a no brainer. When I first saw it I immediately thought if would make a great bathing suit coverup. It's oversized but really lightweight. (I love pieces like this to throw on for my walk down to the beach  .) Once I got home I started thinking of other ways to wear it and came up with this. I love this for dinner at a casual beachside restaurant. You could also do white jeans and flats. This is such a great cool, but classic look. 








Top: Aerie | Shorts: Target old (similar here also love these) | Shoes: Steve Madden old (similar herehere, & here) | Necklace: Amazon | Purse: Amazon | Sunnies: Ray-Ban | Lips: LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask (love using this as a lip gloss. Learned it from the Something Navy gals via stories.) 
Is everyone as happy as I am that it's Thursday? I thought this week would drag on since I'm going on vacation next week but it actually went surprisingly quick.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Microblading Round 1

Hi friends!
Today I’m sharing something really exciting with you!
If you follow me on instagram (@thefashionablylateblonde) then you know about a month ago I got my eyebrows microbladed. What is microblading you ask? Well, I am here to tell you all about it and hopefully answer any questions you may have. (If I don’t answer your question feel free to email me, leave it in the comments, DM me on instagram or comment on one of my posts.)







 Before
 Before
Mapping with both brows 
 Mapping with one brow
 Second round of numbing. Almost done
 After!!!
AFTER!!

Let’s start with what exactly microblading is.  It’s basically a semi permanent tattoo on your eyebrows that imitate hair strokes. Unlike real tattoos that penetrate 7 layers of skin microblading only penetrates 2. (Hence the semi-permanent part.)
Your microblading artist will make tiny hair strokes to imitate the natural hair strokes of your brows.
I feel like the next most frequently asked question is does it hurt? I’m not going to lie, I have a pretty high pain tolerance.  (I also have a real tattoo on my ribs.) However, they do numb you twice throughout the process. My brow artist numbed me when I first got there for about 15-20 minutes before we started and then again about halfway through. I will say my left brow got completely numb both times. My right eyebrow… not so much.  While the numbing gel was setting in the first time we talked about shape, color and results. Lucky for me, I have a lot of eyebrows they are just really light. I told her to keep the natural shape for the most part with just a slight arch. (I have RBF and my mom says when I arch my brows too much it intensifies my RBF.) I told her I do like my brows dark and we decided on dark blonde. As with anything like this you can always go darker, but you can’t go lighter. Once everything was decided and I was nice and numb it was time to start the process. I can’t tell you exactly what went down, but I can tell you about what I experienced. Like I said before I have a pretty high pain tolerance so the pain didn’t bother me, but the sound did. Microblading is different from a tattoo in that they do not use an electric tool but rather just a handheld blade with tiny needles at the end. And it sounded exactly like that. (If you are like me and can’t do sounds I would suggest brining headphones. I will probably wear some for my touchup.)
The entire process wasn’t long at all. I think my appointment was at 9am and with numbing, the procedure, a second numbing and the rest of the procedure I think I was out by 10:30. That is very quick in my book.
Now let’s talk about aftercare and what you can expect.
First of all you can’t get your brows wet for 10 days. This also means no excessive sweating so cancel all your gym classes. (I had to take 2 weeks off from Orange Theory.) I had J help me wash my hair so I didn’t have to worry about that. (Such a good fiancé.) If you don’t have someone that can help you wash your hair a girl I work with saw another blogger use goggles to keep her brows nice a dry.  That is definitely a great option to keep in mind.  I’m sure you’re wondering how I washed my face during this week and a half period. Honestly, I only put product on the lower half of my face. I’m also very lucky in that my forehead doesn’t really break out. Not in a really noticeable way anyway. I also didn’t wear face makeup except one night when we went out to dinner. When I did wear makeup I only put it on the lower half of my face. (So weird, I know. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do.)
You also have to put ointment on them for the first 24 hours and then aquaphor on them twice a day for the next 8 days. After the first 10 days you are pretty much out of the woods. You still want to be really careful because they are still healing. I think they pretty much require around 30 days to heal. (I’ll post a meme below so you know what I mean.)
 The first few days they are also the darkest. I loved mine the first few days. I still do, but they have definitely gotten way lighter. I plan on going the next shade darker at my touchup on Friday. That brings me to the next phase in microblading. After 4-6 weeks you need to go for your touchup. (This should be included in your initial cost.) This is basically a perfecting appointment. You can go darker, fill in any patches, and go bigger/fluffier or anything you want. After this touchup you should be good for about a year or so.
I have my touchup on Friday and will write a final post on microblading in another month. This will cover my touchup appointment and anything after that.
Have you been thinking about microblading? What’s stopping you? I’d love to answer any questions you have. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments, email me @ fashionablylateblonde@gmail.com or send me a DM on instagram.

And if you are a local Jacksonville girl I will leave my brow gals instagram handle here @cristalwalkerbeauty. Cristal did such an amazing job. I cannot recommend her enough.

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Summer Kimono


If you know me then you know I love palm print. If you’re new around here let me just put it out there that I am OBSESSED with palm print. Anything palm print. Clothing. Art. Home Décor. Just give me all the palm print! I saw this kimono on a few bloggers last summer and knew I had to have it. Unfortunately, it was sold out for a while. Earlier this spring when I was placing a rather large Amazon purchase I saw it was back in stock and immediately hit add to cart. Luckily it is still available in all sizes and comes in 6 other prints. (I went with a medium, which is my normal size, and I almost wish I had sized down to a small.)
I love how you can wear it a few different ways. Today I wanted to show you how I styled it with an actual outfit. This is perfect for grabbing lunch or shopping on a Saturday. Bonus if you are doing these things in a beach town. These jean shorts are a million years old, but my absolute favorites as of late. My tank is 2 years ago from Topshop, but I found really great pieces that are very similar.
I also love this piece thrown over a bathing suit for a day by the pool. Looks great with one pieces or bikinis!










Kimono: Amazon | Tank: Topshop old (similar herehere, & here) | Shorts: Urban Outfitters old (same brand almost identical here) | Sandals: Steve Madden | Sunnies: Quay Australia | Lipstick: MAC Cosmetics Satin Lipstick in Snob | Watch Band: Amazon
What’s everyone’s plans this weekend? It’s going to be super hot here so I think I’ll be lounging by the pool for most of the weekend.
I hope you have a great Friday and even better weekend. Thanks for stopping by J

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Ok, Ladies, Now lets Formulate

Happy Tuesday!
If you follow me on Instagram you might remember I shared a brand called Formulate a few weeks back. If you don’t follow me on Instagram let me introduce you to Formulate.
Formulate is a hair care brand that is completely customized to fit you and your hair needs/goals. The first step in your Formulate journey is taking a hair quiz. There are tow parts to the quiz: What your hair is currently like/ current routine and what you are working towards. During the current part of the quiz questions include hair length, strand type, if you color treat, what types of tools/styling products you use, how often you wash your hair etc. Then you get to the second part which is what you are working towards or your #hairgoals if you will. Here you pick things you want for your hair. During this part I picked things like volume (my hair is totally flat), color protection (this is always something I look for), strengthen (I highlight the heck out of my hair so I feel this is always an area I can work at), and improve scalp health (I have an EXTREMELY dry scalp).
After you finish all that you get to pick your scent and how strong you would like the scent. Once you’re all finished, they make the perfect formula for you and send it your way. The best part is that if you don’t like your first formula they will work with you until they get it right. I mean, how amazing is that?  I’ll admit that I had to get a second formula because the first one left my hair feeling chalky. I reached out and they asked me explain what I didn’t like and sent me a revised formula ASAP.
Once we got it right, I could tell a difference after just 2 washes. (I say 2 because their formulas are sulfate free and switching to sulfate free can cause your hair to feel greasy the first time.) My hair has more volume and texture which is AMAZING for styling and putting my hair up. I never like my hair in a ponytail and now I love it because of the volume. Additionally, it helps my curls stay for 3 days! That’s a TOTAL win in my book.  
I have also noticed that my scalp isn’t as dry. Normally I switch between a purple shampoo for my blonde and Selsun Blue for dry scalp. With Formulate I have been able to cut out Selsun Blue. 








Thanks to my friend Kelly for letting me use her bathroom to shoot in! :) 

Overall my experience with Formulate has been amazing. I’m excited to share that they have been so kind to give one of you your very own custom formula. All you have to do is click here and click enter giveaway.

I hope you guys will check it out because I know you will love Formulate as much as I do.

*This post was sponsored by Formulate! However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.