Hi, hope you have guys have been doing well. I’ve been having fun shooting pics at these colored walls not too far from my apartment. My friend @tazcatphoto and I recently did a photo shoot with these fun walls (I’ll be posting those pictures next week), and I liked the spot so much I returned for another photo sesh.
Shirt dresses have always been one of my favorite style of dresses. They’re comfortable and familiar, but much more feminine and spiffy than my everyday casual wear of jeans and skate tees. So when I find a dress that’s actually a soft t-shirt in dress form, I get excited because now I can wear a dolled up casual look any day and every day.
I’m happy with the length of this one. Hems are getting shorter and shorter, which is fine by me because I’m not tall (5’1″), so the super mini cuts don’t look too inappropriate or scandalous on me. I imagine this dress would run short on taller girls, but hey, if they got the legs and self-confidence to rock it, then I’m all for it.
That said, I always wear safety shorts when I wear mini-skirts or dresses.
And if you’ve hopped on the fishnet trend, but haven’t hooked up a pair of nude ones, I really think you ought to. I’ve been wearing them with shorts and dresses and found they really transform an outfit.
Hey, it’s not just a long t-shirt. Look at the cute cutout neck pattern and sexy plunged V-neck.
Hello, and welcome to my first sponsored Beauty post in ages. I used to write many more sponsored beauty reviews when I first started blogging because as a newbie blogger it was oh-so-exciting to receive free products for testing purposes. But then I realized that I really didn’t like straying from my tried and true skincare regimen. I know what works for my skin, and most of the products I was testing just weren’t that impressive or worth cheating on my favorite creams and serums for. But last month I received a wonderful Lancôme Voxbox from Influenster, which included the Visionnaire Crescendo Dual-Phase Peel, a product I eagerly tested and am reviewing today.
Inside the Influenster Lancôme skincare Voxbox: Visionnaire Crescendo, Bienfait UV, and Matte Shaker High-Pigment Liquid Lipstick in Pink Power
First of all, let me say that Lancôme is one of my favorite skincare brands. The Bienfait UV sunscreen (included in the Voxbox) was the first non-drugstore cosmetic product I ever used. My mom gave me a bottle of it when I was 15, and I have been wearing sunscreen on my face every day since then. I’m so grateful, because I really believe sun protection is one of the biggest reasons why people tell me I look younger than my true age. You should especially wear sunscreen if you’re using a peeling product, and this one is one of my faves, so hooray for that.
So what is Visionnaire Crescendo? It is a leave-on nighttime liquid (it’s runny and not thick like a serum) peel that comes with two different formulations (Phase 1 and Phase 2) in a dual-pump canister. I used the Phase 1 formulation of 5% bioacids such as fruit acids and quinoa husk extract for 14 days, then Phase 2 (formulated with 10% derma-acids, including 0.5% salicylic acid and 9.5% pure glycolic acid) for the next 14 days as directed.
And what is it supposed to do? Phase 1 is supposed to reduce the appearance of pores, improve skin’s texture, and radiance, while Phase 2 should improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots.
According to Lancôme:
After 1 night of using Phase 1: Skin feels smoother and is more radiant (I didn’t notice a difference)
After 3 nights of using Phase 1: Skin tone appears more even and fine lines are visibly reduced (I think I noticed some smoothness, but nothing crazy)
After 14 nights of Phase 1: Pores appear reduced (Yes, my pores were definitely less noticeable!)
After 28 nights of Phase 2: Wrinkles and dark spots are visibly reduced (Hmmm, not sure)
What it did for me: I honestly didn’t notice any difference until about 11 days into Phase 1. My skin had a smoother and more even texture and my pores were not nearly as visible as before. I wish I could amplify the results, because I did notice an improvement in unevenness and my pores, but the results were not super dramatic.
Phase 2 was less impressive for me. I definitely noticed the peeling effect because my skin got really dry and flaky. I’m not sure if this was part of the healthy exfoliation process, but I didn’t really like it because my face started feeling very crackly…like how it does on cold winter mornings. I had to use extra moisturizer, and am sad to report no changes in dark spots, which is always my biggest hope when using a peel.
I always gauge effects of new products by the comments I receive from others. Eddie complimented my bare face a lot and said my skin looked really good and smooth, but he says sweet words to me all the time, so it’s hard to say whether we can give Visionnaire Crescendo all the credit.
Overall, I probably would not shell out $75 for this product, but I’m currently continuing on another cycle of it. You can continue applying the Phase 1 and 2 formulas in 14-day intervals. The whole regimen is based on interval training…hence the clever hashtag #skintervals. I just started another 14-day course of Phase 1, hoping to see a stronger degree of change. It is definitely maintaining the effects on my pores. I will probably use Phase 2 every other day to avoid overdryness.
I would definitely spend $39 on Bienfait UV. It absorbs quickly and it’s not greasy, and most importantly, there’s no ghastly white film like with the Shiseido one.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have tried this product or anything similar!
I received this product for free from Influenster for testing purposes.
Hi. I have been sick for the past week and now I’m finally feeling better even though I can still hardly breathe through my nose. I haven’t been able to smell or taste any food for days, and a part of me is worried that those senses are never going to return. I just don’t remember the last time I had such a bad sinus cold. I want to be able to taste pizza and red bean buns again soon.
The weather in LA is beautiful though. It’s perfect leg-baring weather, and I’m still obsessed with floral shorts. Forever 21 has been my go-to because they have the cutest flowery patterns, the fit is always right, and you just can’t beat their prices.
I like to wear cute caged bralettes with low-cut v-neck tops for coverage. This top is great quality with a semi-sheer underlayer.
Hooray for elastic waistband shorts with pockets.
Everybody needs crisp white sneakers this season. Can’t go wrong with a long-legged look in classic kicks.
Happy Friday! It’s feeling like summertime around LA, which is my favorite kind of weather. Since I was dressed sporty and looking like I was ready for a workout, we decided to powerwalk through downtown’s Grand Park. Even though the park is only a few blocks from our apartment, we rarely come out to enjoy the vast greenery that is so scarce around here. It was such a nice outing.
Hmm, no, I did not plan this outfit for any kind of workout, walking, or sweating. It was inspired by pure comfort. The next best thing to getting away with wearing pajamas in public is wearing sweats.
I’m a huge fan of the trendy pink and grey combo. These grey sweatshorts are sooo comfortable. I thought about delegating them to pajama duty, but they are far too cute to be solely sleep shorts.
Lately I’ve been carrying mini bags instead of full-sized handbags. I guess I don’t need to lug around as much stuff anymore–just keys, phone, and lipstick, especially for quick outings and errands. This cute little Rebecca Minkoff bag is perfect, and one of my favorite purchases from TheRealReal mostly because I got such an amazing deal on it.
Happy Monday! Starting off the week with another outfit from our recent trip to Santa Barbara. On our last day in town, Eddie and I decided to walk through the UCSB campus–something I’ve never done since I graduated many years ago. It brought back so many memories of biking to early morning o-chem class, skating the berry blocks in front of Campbell Hall (all knobbed now), and working the coffee cart right outside the student library where coffee was always on the house for my favorite bio professor, and also for pro skater Danny Way (who stopped by one time).
Jeez, I was such a skater tomboy in college. My daily uniform was baggy Old Navy cargo pants that I found in the boys’ department and a skate hoodie. And I always had the fattest skate shoes.
So look at me now. Graduated and all grown up (sorta).
The weather was warmer on this day, so I was able to wear shorts. I paired this awesome mesh-detailed top with flirty floral shorts over tights. Showing skin, but not showing skin.
I was such a busy student and Biology was a tough major…I feel like I barely had time to notice how pretty the campus was. And I definitely wasn’t able to just stop and chill on some rocks between classes. I was always studying (or napping in a cubby desk in the library).
Yes, you can see the control part of my hosiery, but I do not care.
Storke Tower. I worked in the offices at the bottom of the tower–for the student paper, The Daily Nexus, and the student yearbook–my first paying editorial jobs!
I never would have worn this in college. It took me a long time to discover the path to my own personal style. I say “path” because I’m still on the search, and I think that’s okay. As a side note, I still love to wear old skate tees and punk tops. Some things never change.
I absolutely love the mesh on this sleeve.
In college I owned zero pairs of boots. Can’t ollie in them. Now I own too many. These are my faves.
Thanks so much for reading! Has your style changed much since your good ol’ college days?
Mostly posting casual OOTDs and sometimes about other cool random stuff. I love dogs, sushi, booze, music, skate, and my fiancé Eddie.
