Hello! So, this is a very unexpected post, but I’m glad that I’ve finally got something to share! I wasn’t wanting to force anything, and I’m happy that I now have something I’m incredibly excited to show everyone. So. A little backstory, I suppose: Well. If all goes to plan, I should be attending two different events within the next few days. One is for certain, the other I’m still waiting to hear back from. But don’t worry, once everything is set in stone, I’ll be sure to fill you all in on what these things are! :)

Anyways though! For these events, I realized that I’d need to bring a clutch of some sort to carry my phone, money, and some makeup. Truth be told, I don’t own any clutches! I didn’t feel like spending a lot of money on a clutch, so I very simply bought a plain black one from Target for $9 dollars (Trust me, it’s not worth showing. A clutch is a clutch, afterall.)

But, I still felt unsatisfied….I debated for awhile if I was really ready to go home….I totally wasn’t. I was this-close to stopping into ULTA (A makeup store) just to browse  for awhile, when I thought to myself “Hey, you should go get some earrings for the dress you’re going to wear to the event!”…So, with the intention of buying a pair of Betsey Johnson earrings, I walked into Nordstrom Rack instead of ULTA. Well, I must say, I was honestly blown away when I saw the amount of Stila makeup on sale! If you’re not familiar with Stila, it is a high-end/high-quality makeup brand sold at Sephora and ULTA and apparently Nordstrom Rack sells their discontinued/limited edition items/holiday gift sets on major discount. This is HIGH END MAKEUP at a DRUG STORE PRICE, PEOPLE! So, of course. I picked up the Stila brow kit for only $6! Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I also was about to buy the Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer for only $12 when something else caught my eye…

A Too-Faced makeup display!!…….Now…if you’re also unfamiliar with Too-Faced, it’s a high-end makeup brand that’s also sold at Sephora and Ulta. The brand is pretty much known & admired for it’s classy/vintage/pin-up style packaging. It’s been one of my favorite brands for a very long time now! Well. I spotted a displau that was full of these gift-sets that retail for $85 dollars for only $14.95!!…..And, unlike most gift-sets, these makeup inside of these were FULL SIZED, not deluxe-sample sizes! Each individual product retailing for about $20 dollars each. Unreal. Unreal. UNREAL! There were two types of gift-sets. One came in a leopard bag (It came with a blush, a face primer, and a mascara), and the other came in a pink & black patterned bag (a fullsized Lip Injection lipgloss, A full-sized TooFaced Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer, A full sized Lash Injection mascara, and a full sized eyeshadow duo). I wanted the pink&black set, because I’m a long-time fan of both the mascara and eyeshadow primer. They were full-sized, and at a price I couldn’t say no to…So, I bought it!

….However (and this is where it gets….interesting) after I got in my car to admire my purchase…I realized that the set was missing the lipgloss. So, I litterally RAN back into the store, and went straight to the manager. If you’ve ever had the chance to work in retail, you’ll learn that most every store-manager will do absolutely everything they can to keep the customer happy. This is why I didn’t bother going back to the girl at the cash register. I told the manager that there was a lipgloss missing from my gift-set, and so he quickly went back to the display to get me another one in exchange….only to find that while it did in fact have the lipgloss I was missing, it was missing the eyeshadow. It seems as though people had stolen them. So, he said “Here, just take the lipgloss from this one, and I’ll just have to discard the rest of this product”. Well being the total makeup fanatic that I am, him “discarding” full sized makeup products that cost $20 dollars EACH sounded like absolute MURDER! There was still two perfectly useable products!!! So very quickly, I decided to say “Well, can I possibly buy those two products?”….He must have been in a total rush, but still wanting to make me happy, he came up with a better idea: “I can’t do that…but….here, pick one.”…He was letting me pick one FULL SIZED TOO-FACED MAKEUP PRODUCT….FOR FREE. I don’t know if he knows the value of these two things, but without even hesitating, I chose the Too-Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer! The other option was the Lash-Injection Mascara. Why was that my decision? Because very simply: If you follow the beauty community, you would know that Too-Faced Shadow Insurance is a cult makeup product. I have been using it for over a year, and my current tube still isn’t finished yet. But I know that I’d need to be buying one anyways. It’s honestly the one thing that keeps my shadow on for forEVER without creasing. It’s around $20 on it’s own. Also, I chose it because my sister has never owned an eyeshadow primer other than some sample sized Urban Decay Primer Potions. So, I just gave the extra free one as a gift! She was so ecstatic! It’s a huge deal. Trust me.  So today was a very successful day! I never ended up getting any earrings, though…

ENJOY THE PICTURES :)

I’m almost certain that there will never be pictures of myself on here wearing ridiculous clothes, with trendy friends, doing fabulous things, in even more fabulous places. Because, well, that just isn’t me. You don’t have to wear high fashion in order to enjoy it and become inspired by it…You just have to feel it, you just have to work it.

Everyone has different interests, and everyone expresses themselves differently. And it’s not even that some do it better than others..because whether you wear simple, or designer, or outlandish clothes, what’s most important is that you’re dressing yourself in what feels most comfortable for you. You should never have to second guess what you’re wearing, if it’s truly what you like. Believe me, I’ve made countless attempts to become that insane fashionista type…I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, and I know I’m not the only one. I’ve spent plenty of money trying to change my image into something that I wanted to be, into something that I simply liked….but it was something that was never quite me, no matter how much effort I put into it…After many years, I have finally figured out what kinds of clothes make me feel great, and I tend to stick to what works. Occasionally, I go out of the lines, and there’s a time and a place to be risky. But you see..personal style should always be effortless, no matter what you wear. Because unless it comes natural to you, don’t force it. Dressing yourself isn’t supposed to make you feel miserable either, it’s supposed to be fun.

It takes trial and error to figure out who you are as a person, and just as much trial and error to figure out how you like to appear on the outside. Your clothes should be a representation of yourself. And so once you find it, go with it. If you make mistakes along the way, that’s completely fine as well.

Because in the end, the best rule is that there aren’t any rules. Go ahead and mix black and blue together. Wear bright red dress when you normally only wear all black. The point is..If it feels right, it is right. It’s right for you.

With all of that said..I’m only here to show you that my style is my own, and I’m wanting to display all of the things that makes it what it is…and how it continues to evolve overtime, while still remaining entirely myself. It may not be as exciting to you as you probably hoped for, but it’s what works for me.

What can you expect from this blog?
-My various thoughts on personal style…and my long journey to find it.
-My style regrets
-In-depth reviews on Makeup/Hair/Beauty products
-Hauls
-Tutorials..possibly.
-Inspiration and ideas that I have
-Self Esteem/Confidence boosters
-Closet/Organization tips & ideas.
-Basics & Essentials
-…so much more

I hope you enjoy..I really am excited to get this started. Please be patient with me, as I get together a few things necessary to make this blog work at it’s fullest potential.  Feel free to message me with any requests you may have, or questions you’d like to have answered.

On a final note..if it turns out that my blog isn’t you’re cup of tea, I respect that, and thank you for giving it the chance anyways. You can’t please everyone, and not everyone is going to please you. Always remember, that just like fashion, the goal isn’t to impress others..the goal is to feel great about who you are, inside & out…and if that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is.

-karlibra