Style Profiles: Paige

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from awkward little ‘ol me posing in front of the camera, and focus on somebody else from behind the lens (where I actually belong); therefore, I’m going to start featuring my friends, sisters, and interesting people that I run into on campus on these new style profiles I came up with. First up: Paige! If you didn’t already know, Paige is one of my best friends who happens to live on my floor. She tends to shoot my looks from time to time and I also drag her on coffee dates with me (how lucky am I!)

In my opinion, Paige’s style is feminine and airy. Everything just flows so casually and naturally on an everyday basis. Paige is the definition of charmingly low maintenance and effortless. I asked her a few (okay like 392584390 questions) so meet Miss Paige and check out her spring picks below!

Major? Genetic biology with an English minor

Extracurricular activities and organizations? AGD and undergraduate research in a cancer microbiology lab! I also love hiking and taking nature pictures.

Favorite accessory: my sapphire ring from my grandma and my pearl earrings. I wear both every day.

Favorite guilty pleasure: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints!!

Favorite stores: Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel

Favorite brands: Free People, Kimchi Blue, Fossil

What's the biggest thing you splurge on in your wardrobe? Shoes and cute underwear!

What do you prefer to save on? Leggings, v-necks/tshirts, tank tops!

How would you describe your daily style? Maybe a little girly because I love dresses, skirts, and florals. I also love neutral colors.. nothing super bright. I like to be comfortable, so all my clothes are very relaxed and flowy.

Favorite place to travel? Jackson Hole and Yellowstone are the two most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Dream travel destination? Spain, Australia, Berlin, Amsterdam, the Alps, Venice, India, Japan, Morocco... Do I really have to name just one?!  I would love to spend a year or two exploring.

Weird fact about yourself?  I HATE ketchup.

Makeup you can't live without? Covergirl LashBlast Volume mascara in basic black and my homemade honey lip gloss! (recipe coming soon!)

Isn't she the cutest? I'm loving the printed flowy shorts theme this spring as well as Paige's simple style! I totally admire the fact that it literally takes her 20 minutes to look this put together. Cheers to an effortless spring ahead!

My Skincare Routine

I was recently asked what kind of skin products I used because of my obviously flawless skin (LOL what a joke) so I thought I'd share a post on my skin routine along with my favorite products.

Let's start with my face, shall we:

I have a not-so-secret secret: I have horrible skin. Sometimes it's dry and flaky and I feel like a dragon, but it's simultaneously oily. All. The. Time. I have the ultimate combination skin. I don't break out a lot, but when I do, it's hormonal; not only that, it's the cystic, painful type of acne that takes forever to heal. The worst part is how hard the healing process is to hide with my fair skin. Thank you, MAC Cosmetics and filters for making it seem otherwise. Above is a photo of myself where my skin has been left unretouched. The good news is, every single one of the miracle products I use on my face, I purchase at drugstores! No designer labels, no fancy packaging, just straight to the point products that WORK.

Cetaphil's Oil Control Foam Wash was recommended by my dermatologist and I use it everyday, twice a day. I honestly couldn't live without it; this face wash is so gentile on my sensitive skin and unlike any wash I've used before. It cuts through all of my makeup and gets everything off and feeling clean without that harsh chemical feeling or smell. It's a dream.

I don't know how I'd survive without my St. Ives Apricot Scrub either. Along with my terrible combination skin, I also suffer from horribly giant pores and chronic blackheads. Gross. I use this scrub once every other day, usually at night before my Cetaphil foam wash, because I love going to sleep with soft, awesome smelling skin. When I use this product consistently, my complexion becomes so much brighter and my skin suffering visibly fades.

My dermatologist originally recommended the basic Cetaphil Oil Control Moisturizer which I gladly decided to try because I love how gentile Cetaphil's products are. To my dismay, it burned when I put it on and dried my skin out miserably, so I searched far and wide on my own and after my short term fear of Cetaphil's products ended, I found their Moisturizing Cream. I use a thin layer in the mornings after I wash my face and it leaves my skin so smooth and oil free that putting makeup on is a dream, and I use a thick layer after washing my skin at night, so I wake up to the softest skin ever. I've literally had the same jar of goop for months and I've barely made a dent in it -- it lasts so long! Bonus: sometimes I use this on my legs and body at night and after showers because of how moisturizing it really is.

Now onto my body products:

I LOVE wearing anything backless, hello, I have to show off my tattoo somehow, so I use this OXY Face Wash on my back and chest everyday in the shower after I wash my hair (conditioner has the tendency to clog pores) to prevent bodily breakouts. I don't use it on my face because it contains 10% benzoyl peroxide and my face is way too sensitive for that; however, my body takes it like a champ. This can also be found at any basic drugstore! Yay!

The last product I've been using on my body consistently is this amazing Coffee Scrub. The company sent it to me to try and I didn't think much of it until I actually tried it. It is HEAVENLY. I use it one to two times a week before I shave on my entire body (face included) and it leaves my skin so incredibly soft, and since it's made of coffee, the smell is even energizing. Bonus: it is completely organic and comes in three different scents. I'm in love. Have any of you tried these products? What are your skin must haves? Let me know in the comments below!

Blushing and Brunching

Oh, goodness, typing this post from my bed at home feels so amazing -- partly because I didn't have to climb a dresser to get into it, but mostly because I have a fluffy cat cuddling up to my side and a hot cup of coffee within reaching distance. I may never leave. (until tomorrow...) Okay, I'm totally crushing on nude and blush tones for spring, so I was ecstatic to walk into Windsor and find the most "Chantel" dress imaginable right as I walked in! The clean lines and drop-waist ruffle detailing really just did it for me. I paired this classic little thing with a gold jeweled statement necklace, nude heels, and this amazing purse that I found at Goodwill for THREE DOLLARS. I'm still freaking out over my thrifty find. I topped the look off with a pop of Candy-Yum-Yum lipstick from MAC to add a bit more color to my ever-washed-out, pale skin. This versatile dress could fit nearly any occasion: add a fun blazer for a business casual look, black printed tights and a faux leather bomber jacket for a night out, or this simple look for brunch and shopping with the girls! I'm so excited to see what all I can do to this dress!

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blush drop waist dress: Windsor

Necklace: Windsor

Heels: Windsor

Purse: Thrifted

Little White Lies

Hello, darlings. Welcome to April, one of my all-time favorite months of the year, for obvious reasons really. (April showers bring May flowers?!!?!) I've been powering through this gross lung infection for the past week, and by powering through I mean curling up in bed with a book and coffee trying to act as human as possible. I started feeling better a couple of days ago (I'm guessing it was the glorious 80 degree weather), so I decided to take a mini road trip to Kansas City with one of my best friends, Paige to shoot some things and shop some things and eat some things; basically, to do all of my favorite things. I'm also finally going home after classes for the remainder of Easter weekend to see my cats!.... and parents of course. I'm so excited to see my family and spend a bit of time in a town where I have zero anonymity. I'm not sure if that was sarcastic or not either.

Luxx Loren gifted me with this little number recently, and I have to say, I love the unique cut of it! The peplum aspect of the dress is really quite flattering; on a less than hippy person it would definitely give off the illusion of curves, and on an already quite hippy girl: more curves! What more can a girl ask for? I also love the sleeves on this dress, because we're at the point in the year where it isn't always the warmest, but it isn't frigid in the slightest either, so it just sort of balances itself out. Perfect for a girl's night out; I'm so excited to wear this more this season!

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Dress c/o: Luxx Loren

Wedges: Windsor

Dreaming of Spring

A cool breeze has seeped into my bones,
and it blows and blows and blows --
never resting,
never stopping.
It can be both a blessing and a curse
to call nowhere and everywhere home.
To never be truly at home.
Always a stranger -- a foreigner.
It can be both a blessing and a curse
to always be restless,
whether at home, pacing.
or in some strange place, lost.
I can squeeze my life into a suitcase
yet, the world is a better fit.
The planet, with its immense oceans
can only begin to satisfy my wonder -- my hunger.
and I look up at the stars
and say, "more."
 

IT'S SPRING. My personal philosophy: always act like it's spring. All I can think of lately is pastels and blooms -- passports and travels. Not the crazy spring break college travels that make me sick at the smell of anything chemically after; I mean the real deal. Hostels and hotels; paper maps, strange languages and strangers. Pretty foreign words that pitter patter against my brain like raindrops. Enough of my daydreams; that's just what this look feels like to me: a spring day in Amsterdam, wandering through the floating flower market and picnicking at the edge of a canal at sunset. Again, I'm loving flowy, effortless looks this spring! I normally can't wear yellows because of my pale skin and hair, but something about this creamy yellow just sold me completely. I paired this easy, airy top with my favorite distressed boyfriend jeans and a pair of patent pastel sandals for the ultimate beginning of spring look. Oh, spring, thank you for your presence.

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 Top: Envy Lawrence

Boyfriend jeans: American Eagle

shoes: Forever21

Tequila Sunset

She drank him in like her friends inhaled their poison of choice:

messily and without apology --

and that's exactly what he was to her.

He was her whiskey.

He was her wine.

He was her poison.

She sipped on his words,

downed his touch,

took one last swig of his ego,

and then drowned in the apologies that never came.

He was a shot of tequila in the moonlight

when she needed a glass of water and sunshine

Day five of my South Padre Island Spring Break Adventure, and let me tell you, it has definitely been an adventure of sorts. I'm thankful to have been on this gorgeous island all week with two of my best friends. Growing up in landlocked central Kansas, going to the beach is always refreshing; standing next to the seemingly endless ocean always puts my life in perspective - even during the craziness of Spring Break shenanigans. I can't wait to live on the coast someday and eat fruit on the beach with a book to my heart's content! As fun as Spring Break has been this year, I'm really missing my cats, my parents, and my cats. I took this simple little Piko dress with me because it's just so versatile! For this shoot, I paired the breezy dress with my Jeffrey Campbell booties, some matching sunnies, and a necklace I stole from a friend (thanks Paige)! I'm really loving easy dresses and shirts for the spring -- the soft kind I can just throw on and go. I also love, love, love shopping locally. This cute little boutique on Mass called Envy has about 93851309458032 of these dresses in 593480 different colors and I just want them all! Here in SPI I used it as a cute little swimsuit cover on the beach. What has your Spring Break been like? I hope it's been full of saltwater, sunshine, and over-the-top good vibes. I love this dress, I love this boutique, I love Lawrence, I love YOU, and I can't wait to be on my way back home tomorrow!

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dress: envy (Lawrence, KS)

booties: Jeffrey Campbell