Essential Styles for Smart Dressing this Spring

4 / 30 / 17

Investing in essential styles that incorporate cues from the biggest trends of Spring/Summer 2017, as well as more practical, no-fail solutions to smart dressing, is the best way to reboot your wardrobe for the season. Here, I’ve rounded up my top six picks to breathe life into a wearable closet, providing both on-trend and classic value. These pieces are sure to take you from brunch to courtside, and everywhere in between this spring.

1. The trophy blouse has been spotted on numerous runways for SS17 and is a favored pairing to a sleek pencil skirt or high-waisted trouser. This pale pink Rebecca Taylor Pop Pleat Top is the perfect staple.
2. Cream and optic white make a chic statement this season. Opt for an A-line style with embellishments like this Barbonne Floral Skirt for a standout piece you’ll treasure for years to come.
3. The go-anywhere-jumpsuit in classic navy and black, with the added SS17 panel play trend on this chic Whistles Jasmine Cutout Jumpsuit is a piece to love and wear again and again.
4. The wear-with-all silk blouse meets statement sleeve in this J.Crew Silk Bell-Sleeve Top makes for a pretty staple to partner with brocade, pleats, and bangles.
5. A statement skirt that combines utilitarian edge with feminine flare like this Alexis Tie-Waist ruffle midi-skirt is an unexpected staple you’ll reach for on multiple occasions.
6. The classic fit & flare dress in this season’s hero color, yellow, is a fresh pick that’s also timeless. Choose a gorgeous floral option like this Lela Rose Citrine Dress .

Three Fresh Palettes for Spring

3 / 29 / 173 / 29 / 17

‘Tis the season for renewing your beauty regime, and what better way to start the process than with one of spring’s latest in beauty palettes. Warmer weather calls for light makeup and fresh, glowy skin, and RMS Beauty hit the spot with their new Signature Set. This new palette encapsulates five of RMS’s iconic products and finishes, including a fan-favorite that’s beloved by beauty editors and celebrities alike — their Living Luminizer highlighter. Infused with coconut and buriti oils, this compact not only touts on-the-go touch-ups for lips, cheeks, and eyes, but also soothing formulations that are ultra blendable and highly pigmented. A quick swipe from this portable palette and you’re as fresh as a tulip.

Revamp your eyeshadow game with an utterly perfect collection of hues for spring – Stila’s Matte ‘N Metals Eyeshadow Palette . This gorgeously neutral palette includes finishes for both day and night, with shades curated to complement this season’s brightest lip colors of coral, melon, and fuchsia, to the more demure nudes and sheer pinks. The top half is matte, soft and subtle, while the lower half is the shimmer-induced counterpart to an otherwise poppy eyeliner or lip. A thorough range of universally flattering shades of neutrals, rose golds, shimmering bronzes and pewters, this palette contains all you need for glamour eyes that last all day and well into the evening.

Another palette that’s worth obsessing over is a fresh pick from Tom Ford’s SS17 beauty collection, the Soleil Eye and Cheek Palette. The Solar Exposure colorway, specifically, offers the warmth and glow of the sun for eyes and cheeks, making it effortless to go from drab to fab this season. I adore the clutch design of these gold palettes, too, adding yet another luxurious element to the designer compacts.

Besides Flowers — Your Valentine’s Gift Guide (love yourself!)

2 / 10 / 172 / 10 / 17

Happy Friday! Here’s my round up of the perfect gifts to give, get, and with which to treat yourself this Valentine’s Day, because let’s be honest, we all need to practice loving ourselves a little more. These accessories and products are classic, no-fail options to sweeten the deal. Put on some Barry White, take a peek and remember that everyday is Valentine’s Day.

Love Quotes Linen Tassels Scarf

Love Quotes scarves became a favorite of mine for what seems like eons ago. Their generous size gives them shawl-like flexibilty and the soft, Italian linen blend is perfect for warm days and cool nights. They’re available in pretty pop colors and look uber chic bundled around your neck and layered over an anorak. Each scarf comes with a little love quote — sweet!
Jurlique Love Balm

This balm is love in a tin. Plain and simple. This natural salve is infused with roses and moisturizers that coddle chapped lips, cuticles, and rough spots on the skin. It’s quite lovely.
Woodhouse Day Spa Gift Card

A morning facial and pedi at the spa, or an afternoon massage complete with mimosas? Yes, please! Booking a service or three at this pamper palace will have you glowing with anticipation (and that’s just the beginning).
Lisi Lerch Tassels

Tassels are hot, and you can’t go wrong with Southern designer, Lisi Lerch beaded tassel earrings (especially in gold). MUST HAVE.
Monica Rich Kosann Locket

This sophisticated piece is so very special. You simply cannot go wrong with a timeless locket by Monica Rich Kosann. You’ll treasure its bespoke craftsmanship forever.
Candy Shop Vintage Charleston Rice Beads

Charleston Rice Beads in rose gold is the prettiest long-layering piece to mix with your everyday baubles. They’re a Charleston favorite and will be the perfect addition to floral ensembles this spring.
RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Beloved

It’s no secret this all-natural makeup line is a favorite of mine, and what better piece from the range to celebrate love than with their Lip2Cheek in Beloved. This universally flattering red packs a two punch as both a lip and cheek tint. With just a hint of poppy, the color leaves a natural flush on the cheeks and a glamorous red stain on the lips.
BuDhaGirl All-Weather Bangles

Set your daily intentions with each all-weather proof, soundless, featherweight, TSA-approved bangle. This golden stack will become your go-to wrist wear, all the while practicing mindful glamour. Namaste.
Taxidermy Antler Box Clutch

This python box clutch in rose gold is just dreamy. A neutral with a touch of metallic, this will be all you need for any soiree. It’s love at first sight with this chic accessory.
Hanky Panky Original Rise Thongs

Touted as “the world’s most comfortable thong” for a reason. These undies are everything. Hanky Panky’s signature stretch lace is practically invisible under clothing, super soft, and very flattering. Gift a single rose, or a dozen that won’t wilt.

XOXO
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

13 LUCKY Products for Friday, the 13th!

1 / 13 / 171 / 13 / 17

Happy Friday, the 13th!! To celebrate this seemingly unlucky day, I’m featuring 13 of my LUCKIEST products that truly deliver … each. and. every. time.

Pictured: Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, Chanel Tan de Chanel, Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream, Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss, Hynt Beauty Duet Concealer, Laura Mercier Volume Supreme Mascara, Kerastase Iris Royal Touché Perfection Cream, RMS Beauty Living Luminzer, RMS Beauty LipShine in Content, IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil, YSL Touché Éclat, Embryolisse Lait-Creme, Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray: This hair product is one of the best does-it-all sprays on the market. This spray is a fabulous hair texturizer for all hair types. It doesn’t leave a powdery residue whatsoever and serves as a three-in-one: dry shampoo, volumizer, and UV protectant. Nothing else really compares to this particular hair miracle.

Chanel Tan de Chanel: This is a cream bronzer that virtually works for any skin tone. It blends seamlessly and stays fresh on both dry and oily skin. The color isn’t too orange or too dark, and it’s definitely not full of glitter particles. I not only use it on places where the sun normally hits the face, but I’ll use it down the neck and buff it along the collarbone as well to give a gorgeous glow to the décolleté.

Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream: This BB is a flawless product. It’s a true Korean BB cream that makes many of it’s competitors pale in comparison. The shades are beautiful and natural-looking (not too gray like many of the other original BB’s and not too orangey like many of the Western BB’s which are more like tinted moisturizers). This covers better than many foundations I’ve tried, and is moisturizing enough without feeling greasy. It features SPF 45, antioxidant bio-pepties and adenosine which protects skin from harsh environmental factors. It also boasts a pump dispenser which I personally adore — a mess-free and air-tight way to dispense just the right amount of product.

Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss: This is my go-to gloss for a glassy shine that stays put much longer than others I’ve tried. It’s fragrance-free and non-sticky and is, hands down, THE best gloss on both bare and lacquered lips. Just a dab of this crystal magic to the middle of your pout and your mouth is exponentially fuller.

Hynt Beauty Duet Concealer: This concealer is a cult product for a reason. It’s simply amazing. The Duet perfecting concealer provides full coverage and completely deletes any discoloration or blemish without looking dry and cakey. A teeny amount of this product goes a very long way. It’s blends beautifully, stays put all day (and night), and offers a variety of shades to suit any skin tone.

Laura Mercier Volume Supreme Mascara: The unicorn of mascaras, Laura Mercier’s Volume Supreme is one of my lash loves. It manages to lengthen and volumize with zero clumps. This formula is unique in that it uses glazing gel technology to softly sculpt and hold lashes in place. It’s also packed with natural cotton fibers that add thickness and length, plus nutrients to keep lashes conditioned. Just one coat and you’re good to go.

Kerastase Iris Royal Touché Perfection Cream: This hair balm is the perfect finishing cream to smooth through ends after blow drying. I usually take a dime-size amount from mid-length to ends and it provides the lightest, cuticle seal without stickiness, added weight or residue. I keep a tube in my bag as well as in the drawer in my bathroom.

RMS Beauty Living Luminzer: This RMS Beauty addict adores all products created by the “Green Guru”, Rose Marie Swift. She’s a genius in the little pot/ big results department. Her products are not only all-natural, but they’re highly pigmented and VERY good for your skin. I could wax poetic about this luminizer all day, but I’ll keep it brief. A dab of this glorious glow cream on your cheek bones, the cupid’s bow of your lip, down the center of your nose, and applied to the inner corners of your eyes and you’ll look more ethereal than an angel’s halo.

RMS Beauty LipShine in Content: This LipShine is a richly pigmented, classic berry red color that suits all skin tones. I like to use this dense, gel-like formula on cheeks as well for an uber-natural flush. RMS Content LipShine is light and non-sticky, and wows with it’s gorgeous color pay-off.

IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil: IT Cosmetics nailed it with this particular shade. This pencil is a buildable product that I find myself using on a multitude of hair colors (hence Universal). I’ll use the lightest of strokes on the fair-haired and deeper etching to shape the brows of my brunettes. It’s dual-ended, so the brush feature is a nice addition for quick brows at the red light. 😉

YSL Touché Éclat: I’ve been using this highlighting concealer since college. It’s formula is ideal for the inner corners of eyes, crevices around your nose and really, anywhere you want to deminish shadowing. The formula is light, the shades are perfect and the product stays put. Just a few clicks brushes away most imperfections. This concealing formula doesn’t settle into fine lines either. It’s ace.

Embryolisse Lait-Creme: This cult French moisturizer is my tried and true does-it-all cream. I’ll use this to prime skin before makeup as well as to freshen any dry areas on the face, post application, for a fresh and luminous glow. It’s a skin-perfecting miracle product, and I frankly don’t know what I’d do without it.

Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner: This award-winning gel eyeliner offers 12 hours of waterproof, sweat and humidity-resistant wear, and in Charleston, SC, that’s always a plus! This gel liner coupled with a flat-tip eyeliner brush gives more precision and staying power than any pencil I’ve come across. This classic staple is a must.

Body and the Brush

9 / 18 / 153 / 2 / 16

Today, I’m taking a bit of a detour in the beauty arena to talk about one of my daily habits, dry brushing — because beauty and skincare products go well beyond the face.

There’s so much beauty to be had when combining the two: your body and the brush … allow me to explain.

“Dry brushing” may not sound like the most luxurious ritual, but trust me, it’s extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons, and here are just four reasons to become loyal to the “dry brush” and the daily routine.

Dry Brushing EXFOLIATES (are you surprised?)

Dry skin brushing removes dead skin which clears your pores, betters the skin’s appearance, and actually allows your skin to “breathe”. In upward, half-circle motions (always toward the heart), you’ll be buffing away dead skin to renew your body’s largest organ. With the fall season upon us, you can bet adding this routine to your morning or evening regimen will really benefit how you feel under those sweaters and coats.

Dry Brushing Helps to Reduce Cellulite

Dry brushing can actually help to reduce cellulite. If cellulite is currently your worst enemy, or you fear it for the future, this practice will become a great preventative measure and/or treatment. Dry brushing helps melt away fat deposits beneath the skin that cause cellulite, while redistributing the fat more evenly. The toxins in your body ultimately break down connective tissue, and with regular “dry brushing” you can reduce cellulite by removing those unwanted toxins.

Dry Brushing Eliminates Bloat

Lymphatic drainage: Your body’s lymphatic system eliminates waste at the cellular level. The waste that is collected from your tissues is transported to your blood and then eliminated. Various toxins and waste can make you sick, obviously, so why not help to work your lymphatic system to decongest your body, lowering your risk for disease and inflammation?! Hello, daily detox!!

Dry Brushing Increases Circulation

Dry Brushing helps the body not only shed excess water and toxins, but it stimulates the body’s overall circulation, in turn diminishing bloat, improving the digestion process, and ultimately eliminating metabolic waste.

Exactly how does one “dry brush” their skin? The technique is simple. You begin at the ankles and brush upward using light but firm strokes. Alway brush toward the heart because this is the way the lymphatic system naturally flows. After your legs, brush your stomach, shoulders and arms. If your skin appears a little pink afterward, that’s OK! As long as it doesn’t hurt, that’s to be expected. If you feel like you’re scrubbing, lay off the pressure and don’t be so vigorous. Any special skin conditions should be highly considered before brushing. It’s important to always err on the side of caution if you have any wounds or eczema, for example.

One of the most immediate effects after dry brushing is smoother skin, and incorporating this into your everyday routine will not only maintain smoother skin, but you’ll also notice firmer skin with consistency.

You can easily pick up a brush at any drugstore or health food store. It’s important to note that your brush is made with natural bristles (and bristles that are somewhat stiff). I have a brush that I keep in my bathroom and one that I take with me on travel. My favorites are:

The Earth Therapeutics long handle brush. This is my go-to for daily use. You can find these at Walgreens, Rite Aid, Ulta, etc. It’s handy for brushing your back and any other hard to reach areas.

This round brush is by the all-natural skincare line, Mio. They make the perfect handy brush that comes in it’s own zip case for easy take along. The nodules within the bristles provide an added massage feature, which is always a plus.

Before and After Tips:

Dry brush in your shower or tub with the water off, right before you shower.
Drink a glass of hot water with lemon to help jumpstart your digestive system. If you typically shower in the morning, this will be a great way to begin the day!
Always wash your brush and allow to air dry. Natural bristles dry fairly quickly.
After brushing and your shower, please make sure to moisturize thoroughly. I, personally, enjoy the Mio skincare line for body, as well as the Yes to Carrots body butter — it smells heavenly and very clean (it does not smell like carrots).

The Mio and Mama Mio ranges include three of my favorite body products: ‘Skin Tight’ which I usually slather all over after showering. Why not, right? ‘Get Waisted’ is great for your tummy and waist, because it literally works, in my opinion. It firms and has this sensational cooling effect. Mama Mio’s Pregnancy Boob Tube is a favorite not just during pregnancy, but well beyond. It’s just a great bust firmer to use all the way up to your neck. I love using these products in conjunction with dry brushing, and I typically grab my Mio products from Charleston’s Woodhouse Day Spa.

The Yes to Carrots Body Butter is amazing. It has that super rich, moisturizing feel without being overly greasy. This product can be found in most drugstores and Target. I like to moisturize with this right before bed, especially if I’m dry brushing in the evenings. It’s a great nighttime cream.

Once you begin this routine, you’ll easily be convinced by this method of detoxification and exfoliation, putting you on the fast track to radiant health and beauty, internally and externally! The payoff is worth every penny and so much more. After all, your skin is your largest organ — take care of it!

xx,

Katie