Product Review: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

Lately the beauty community (which is in direct relation with the fashion community) has been obsessing over Bumble and Bumble. I never caught on with this obsession because to me it was just over priced hair products claiming to do amazing things to your hair, which face it, just isn't possible. When I went to the city on Monday I quickly stopped by Sephora and there was a Bumble and Bumble section that had testers of their products. 

As Summer comes around everyone wonders how to get beachy waves and the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray is what I see most of the beauty gurus recommending. Well I decided to try the product out for myself. I had my friend drench my hair in the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray and heres what I have to say about this product:

This spray is amazing. It does exactly as it promises. It gives you beachy wavy hair and perfectly replicates the effect of beach water on your hair. It's almost as if Bumble and Bumble took beach water and put it into a container. 

The only problem is that it replicates the beach a little to well. The smell is very unpleasant (it bothered me a lot because I'm obsessed with the way my hair smells, weird right?) and it made me feel as if I hadn't washed my hair in days after going to the beach. You have to realize that this product is a lot like the actual beach. I don't feel clean after the beach so this spray made me feel a little gross because my hair was stringy and kind of crunchy, the way it gets after the beach. It made my hair tangled in the back and the thought of brushing through it was nauseating. 

With that said, the spray does its job of replicating the beach very well so if you like PURE beach hair, then this is the product for you! As for me, I'm going to stick with braiding my hair to achieve the beachy hair look.

To Purchase:

Bumble And Bumble

Sephora

Wear High Waisted Shorts, Without Feeling Like Urkel

Steve Urkel

It's no mystery that the thought of wearing high waisted bottoms is daunting to any person, specifically people who don't like taking risks in fashion. However, high waisted items can be very fashionable and completely casual (yes I mean school hallway casual) if worn correctly.

The Jean Shorts:

High Waist Jean Short (American Eagle)

Look 1:

Floral (tucked in to the shorts) is the most common look with high waist denim, but its cute and simple. 

Tank Top , Bag , Shoes

Look 2:

I like pairing ruffles [tucked in] with high waisted shorts because it is textured and shows off the high waisted-ness of the shorts better than any other top will.

Bag , Rather Expensive Orange Top , Orange Espadrille Sandals 

Taupe Tank Top , Wedges

Look 3:

This look is nice for those who love crop tops, but don't like their stomachs as much (ME!). You have the same effect of a crop top, without all the skin showing.

Royal Blue Crop Top , Crop Tank Top , David Bowie Crop Top 

Sunglasses , Sandals

I will be doing a high waisted pants (not jeans) blog later in the year as the weather becomes more permitting (since its summer right now and long pants are out of the question). 

Summer 2011 Travel: How To Pack For Over Packers

HOW TO PACK (From the personal experiences of an over packer):

1. Make a list of everything you are bringing. I promise you this helps. I had my list made by April because making a list last minute leaves room for mistakes. If you make the list before you go away and re-visit the list as you realize what you truly need then your list will have no holes.
2. Pack only what you need. This is where most people go wrong (including myself, trust me I know how it feels to need to pack your whole life and everything you own into one suitcase for a week, but I've gotten better at it). Start with necessities: undergarments, toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, deodorant, ect (things you cannot live without, that are purely necessities). Then continue by packing clothes.
3. Consider climate and what you will be doing on your vacation. Will you be hiking in the Alps, or lounging by the pool? Do you really need to bring your uggs with you to California? or can you afford to leave them at home?
4. Consider the length of your stay. Are you staying for a weekend, or are you staying for a week, or are you staying for a month? 
5. Consider what you need most/your clothing habits. Is their a clothing item that you use everyday (for me its baggy t-shirts and soffe shorts which I wear as pajamas, I have a weird habit of wearing a new shirt and new soffe shorts everyday, which means I need to pack more of that than other items)
6. ROLL YOUR CLOTHES, don't fold. Rolling saves a lot of room in your suitcase.
7. Dont forget the weight policies when you are traveling by plane. For many/most flight companies an overweight suitcase is extra money, I've had to pay 50$ for a suitcase overweight even by 2 pounds.
8. Try and find a suitcase that isn't very heavy. It is true that the sturdier more reliable suitcases are heavier but there are many suitcases that are lighter which wont compromise the reliability factor. This in the end will help meeting the weight requirements if you are traveling on an airplane.  
9. Remember that no matter how much you pack you will most likely be missing something. BREATHE. Airports sell almost everything and even on some flights they sell items. If not you can always buy your item at a store in the country, unless you are traveling somewhere remote, or under-developed.

Picture 1 Credit
Picture 2 Credit

xo Heather

Trend Alert: Sheer Skirts

Sheer skirts have been seen all over the runway, off duty fashion models, and Lookbook.

(Abbey Lee Kershaw, courtesy of Altamira)

(Max Azira A/W 11)

Tricia G.

Joellen L.

Annie P.

With that said I'm not sure whether this is a trend that is only for the highly fashion forward, beauty bloggers, and runways. Or something that people will be seen wearing around the streets of your quaint little hometown. Regardless I thought I'd get this post up a.s.a.p because sheer skirts are becoming (by the second) a hot trend. While on my search for reasonably priced sheer skirts I realized they were sold out, almost everywhere. BUT I have found a few places where you can buy your own skirt and become a part of this sweeping trend.

Topshop
American Apparel
Asos
Akira

The skirt from Topshop and Asos and Akira comes with a slip/skirt underneath it but be aware that the American Apparel skirt is completely sheer. When wearing a completely sheer skirt you can wear a slip under it, or simply a body suit. Make sure that you are aware of this when you purchase your skirt, but fashion is an excuse to play around, so be creative with this skirt it leaves a lot of room for fun. Wear a slip thats a bright color under it, layer, wear fun stockings. The possibilities are endless!

Fashion For A Cause: FEED

For those of you who aren't familiar with FEED, it is a company dedicated to "feeding" the world. Through their selling of fair-trade/environmentally friendly products (including bags, bracelets, shirt, and stuffed bears) they do humanitarian work all around the world in places that have been hit by natural disasters (Japan), or places that suffer from extreme poverty. Their product descriptions explain exactly where your money will be going whether it be "providing 5 school meals to children through the UN World Food Program" (FEED Kenya Bracelet) or "supplying 500 children with a year’s worth of essential Vitamin A supplements" (FEED Our Small World Bag). 
FEED is doing a lot of amazing and inspiring work and has not been slow to catch on with the celebrities. People such as:

Reese Witherspoon

Jennifer Aniston

Rachel Bilson

Lauren Conrad

have all been seen carrying FEED bags. The most popular FEED item seems to be the FEED 100 Bag carried by R.W., R.B., and L.C. Now maybe its just me but anything thats functional, for a good cause, and being used by Lauren Conrad seems like a good buy.

  

This is the link to The FEED Website I will be ordering my bag soon. Will you?

Trend Alert: Bright Colored Pants

Colored jeans/pants are becoming a huge deal in the celebrity trend world, and the fashion industry. Designers/Fashion Lines such as Yigal Azrouel, Karen Walker, Prabal Gurung, 3.1 Philip Lim (all pictured below in order, picture credit from Refinery 29 (Click Here To Read Article) ) have sent their models down the runway in bright colored bottoms.

Many celebrities have also been seen wearing this trend such as:

Blake Lively

Nikki Hilton

Hayden Panettiere

Kim Kardashian

Victoria Justice

(Pictured in order below, click to make larger)

It seems though whether on the runway or on the street bright colors are being paired with basic colors such as black, white or gray. I like this trend because it adds some interest and obviously, color, more than a bright top or shoes would.

Heres how I would wear this trend:

(The sequin shirt in the middle is to show how easy it would be to transfer this outfit from day to night, the three different pairs of shoes on the right belong with the hot pink pants to show the different color options you have (obviously your not limited to these colors))

Where to buy:

J Brand (as seen on most of the celebs.)

m2f (also seen on celebs, the color is more pastel than bold)

Jade Colored (Akira)

Ocean Blue Colored (Akira)

Hot Pink

Yellow

Marble Nail Polish Trend: How To

Hey Girls and Guys. Yesterday I spent 2 and 1/2 hours trying to figure out how to do the marble nail polish trend. Eventually I figured it out, and I have some tricks and techniques and tips to share with you.

What You'll Need:

1. A small cup that you can get dirty (the nail polish will stain the sides)

2. Room temperature water (to put in the cup)

3. Two of your favorite nail polish colors (you can use more colors once you get the hang of it, for beginners I recommend two) (I used pink and blue)

4. Your base color, or a clear top coat, or nothing, which ever you prefer (I used white)

5. A stick/pen that you can get dirty

6. Optional (but very helpful): Tape

STEP 1: Apply your base color coat (I used white, but feel free to play around with colors, or just use a clear nail polish)

STEP 2: Apply tape around your nail so that if covers all the skin directly around your nail, but not the nail itself. This makes clean up a lot easier.

STEP 3: Add your first nail polish color to the water, it will expand into a blob as seen in the picture below (the pink) then add your second color on top (the blue) it will also expand

STEP 4: (You need to act relatively quickly so that your nail polish doesn't dry) This part gets a little tricky. What your going to do is angle your nail towards the nail polish blob, and the section you want on your nail. Then as if your scooping/pushing the nail polish down your nail takes the nail polish and is completely submerged in the water. With this said just leave it their don't move, and don't try and pull it out, just leave it submerged.

STEP 5: Now your going to take your pen/nail stick and put it in the water and allow it to catch all the excess nail polish still floating on top of the water, allow the nail polish to wrap around it, make sure you still have your nail under the water so that the excess nail polish doesn't get on it.

STEP 6: Now simply pull your finger out and you should have a unique design on it. The nail dries very quickly so it should be dry within the first few seconds you take it out of the water, but you should still be careful with it. Now remove the tape.

STEP 7: Done. You should now have beautiful, interesting nails. Below is what mine turned out like, its still a work in progress...

I hope you found this helpful, if you have any questions feel free to comment. Did you try this trend? Comment and tell me how it went!

Tips:

• If you are trying this for the first time, make sure you have time and that your not in a rush to go out, it may take a while for you to figure out. For people like me, its going to take 2 1/2 hours. 
• Also make sure to apply a top coat afterwards, the design chips very easily.

Still Confused? Click Here

Remove Yourself From The Flip Flop Cycle

Flip Flops are a good way to ruin a nice outfit (and lets be clear here I mean those rubber flip flops, yeah you know the havaianas). They are something that should be worn only with bathing suits, or to the beach/pool, or on lazy days. With that said Have No Fear if you have been sucked into the flip flop cycle I have some alternatives for you. These shoes all have no back, and are very flip flop-esque, they give the same feeling of wearing flip flops, but are more appealing.

Some Alternatives Are:

Jack Rogers Metallic "Navajo" (Click Me)

Abercrombie Leather Flip Flops (Click Me)

Nude Colored Flip Flops With Flower Detail (Click Me)

Dolce Vita "Dara" (Click Me)

Steve Madden "Bubblez" (Click Me)

Coconuts "Romaine" (Click Me)

BC "Octopus" (Click Me)

P.S. I wear flip flops. Dont get me wrong, they are great, when worn with a bathing suit.  

Turn Drag Into Drama By Adding Earrings

This outfit is inspired by my friend Maria. This week is my week of finals aka: I'm going to wear my glasses and sweatpants because I was up until 3am studying. But in walks Maria looking perfectly put together, and slightly fancy. Then I realized it was her earrings. This outfit shows how well put together you can look if you invest in a nice pair of earrings. (I couldn't pick between the two shoes shown because the black ones continue the "black and gold" theme, but the brown ones make sure you don't O.D. (over do) the black.)

(Inspired by Maria's actual outfit)

Here are some of my personal favorites:

Stone and Chain Earrings

Feather Earrings (Which are very in style)

Gold Dangling Earrings

Multi-Colored Tear Drop Earrings

Silver and Turquoise Earrings

Diamond Shaped Earrings

xo Heather