couldawouldapica: i own this

Showing posts with label i own this. Show all posts

summer sandals

i have my eye on a few of these sandal options.

there are some good ones for pretty reasonable prices out there this year.

h&m - $24.95 | zara - $79.90 | asos - $30.55 | asos - $37.33

here are a few more that i really like.

target - $16.99 | sam edelman - $65 | target - $19.99 | madewell - $49.50

a few notes about quality: i've owned zara and sam edelman sandals in the past. the zara ones were holding on for dear life by labor day and the sam edelman pair are still going strong more than a year later.

and the sam edelmans are offered in about a billion colors.

i really do like what zara offers, but i wouldn't buy a pair expecting them to stand the test of time. but i also walk a lot so that probably contributed to their demise.

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i love this time of year. the clothes, the heat, the holidays.

bring it on.

friday finds

here's a few things you can pick up this weekend without hurting your wallet too much. everything you see here is less than $50.

traveling and exploring new cities is one of my favorite things to do, so i'm really eyeing that book.

i also just bought those shoes. we'll see how they work out, but i think they'll be perfect for work over the summer months.

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it's another beautiful day in may.

enjoy your weekend!

cluster struck

remember these awesome ear cuffs?

well, oversized cluster earrings kinda give off the same vibe.

and these funky statement makers keep it classy.

while some are still a little pricey (oh, oscar), there's lots of reasonably priced options out there too.

i love how these pieces combine different shapes, sizes and colors too.

from top: 1 |2 | 3 | 4 | 5

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

i used a gift card to purchase those red ones and i have been wearing them all the time. almost too often because they work with so many things.

maybe i should just buy another pair.

skin care

i've never had awesome skin. it's not bad, but it's not the best either.

like most people, i've tried a lot of things over the years: face washes, creams, masks.

and not once have i ever truly noticed a difference. i figured that's the way it was gonna be with skin products. they never really made my skin worse, but it's not like i ever looked in the mirror and saw a visible improvement.

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last year, i was introduced to one love organics and josie maran products, and i was prepared to be underwhelmed. another run-of-the-mill product that really doesn't do anything except rid me of the guilt i feel for NOT washing my face.

but let me tell you: these work. and almost immediately.

it's taken me a long time to want to write a review of these products. i wanted to make sure it wasn't just a fluke. a happy accident of a few breakout-free days combined with still being in the honeymoon phase with a new product.

but nope.

one year later and they're still awesome.

i had somewhat uneven skin on my forehead (got that, internet?). nothing too noticeable, but i was always a little self-conscious about it. and i'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this was how my skin was going to be, that this was the best i could do, dammit.

but - i bullshit you not - my skin cleared up within two days of using the argan oil. two days! it was all i could do to keep myself from constantly stroking my skin like a weirdo. so freaking smooth.

i was also quite skeptical of putting oil on my already somewhat oily skin, but i was a fool for worrying about that. those oils have changed my whole perspective on skincare. i'll never go back.

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below are some of my favorite products from these two fine retailers. i don't use them all on a daily basis, but that josie maran cleansing oil and the one love organics skin savior have made it to the once-a-day rotation. and the fact that the skin savior smells eerily similar to an orange julius is a fun touch.

the other products shown here are amazing too. and you can use the argan oil as a flyaway hair smoother and cuticle oil. i love a hard-working product, don't you?

1 | 2 | 3

1 | 2

and it's funny: i never really considered using organic products on my skin, but now i see no reason to go back. who needs all those chemicals anyways? it's nice to be able to look at the ingredient list and actually understand what's in there.

if you're not ready to commit to buying the full-sized versions of these products, i don't blame you. i wasn't either. i bought this little trial/travel pack at first, just to make sure it was worth it.

still not convinced?

check out the reader feedback underneath the product description. here's what people are saying about the argan cleansing oil. it's overwhelmingly positive.

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i'm not really big on product reviews or glowing recommendations. but this one was too good to keep to myself. it's given me the best skin of my life. and that's sayin something.

extra day

my love of the brooch continues into 2012 | last worn here

early friday morning

friday afternoon

still buying mascara from across the pond

dogsitting | lucy has a friend

meet ledo the pug

still addicted to standard

and their corn | try my homemade version

"just act cool, ledo. she'll give us some bacon."

still loving this packaging from here

cleaned the whole house yesterday | from our guest bathroom

riding around town

for those of you who had yesterday off, i hope you enjoyed the extra time.

we had a lot going on this weekend: babysitting on friday, watching a pug for a friend, running errands, cleaning the house from top to bottom.

i love that feeling of a clean house. especially when you have the time to really get in there and tend to the gross places that really need attention (behind the toilet, under the fridge, ceiling fan blades. gross.)

i mentioned last week that were were going to boston for the long weekend, but we decided to push that trip back until next month - better for everyone involved. can't wait to see boston in the fall again.

hope your days were awesome.

falcon wright

looking for a fun clutch that's totally unique?

these handmade, screenprinted leather pouches from falcon wright are amazing. i bought one last year, and i'm really loving their summer 2012 collection.

they're so fun, aren't they? and i love the patterns.

check out the full collection (that includes less expensive wallet pouches, change purses, and card holders) here.

highest bidder

i have a sad story to share with you guys today.

my all-time go-to, #1 seed mascara hasn't been sold in the united states. for years.

let's back up a bit. i'm somewhat of a crazy lady when it comes to mascara. every once in a while, you come across the "if you could only use one beauty product for the rest of your life" question in a magazine or as a tired poll online somewhere. for me, the answer is only and always mascara. loads of it.

my lashes are long. but they're very light blonde. and thin. and straight.

kinda the opposite of what you want in lashes, right? throughout my teens and into my early 20s, i was entrenched in The Ultimate Mascara Quest. i probably tried twenty tubes. drugstore, department store, sephora, i went through them all.

and then it happened. max factor 2000 calorie aqua lash in rich black. bam.

i don't remember exactly when i started my now decade-long love affair with this product. but once i found it, none of the other brands existed. this waterproof mascara was cheap ($5.99!), could stand up to even the steamiest humidity, and it went on my lashes like it was built for multiple coats.

and lord knows, i love my multiple coats.

other mascaras can claim some of those things too, but max did all of that without ever looking scary. even after three coats, my eyelashes still looked like they were made of hair. not some clumpy plastic fibers attached to my eye. i'm picky about my lashes and i have no time for this.

now, my memory is hazy here, but some time around 2005, the only place i could find my precious was at wal-mart. fine. so out to the suburbs i went, buying four or five tubes at a time. then wal-mart stopped carrying it. so off i went to the internet. the internet has everything, right?

and they did. drugstore.com was my dealer. and we had a great relationship while it lasted. until they stopped carrying it too. i started hearing all these scary rumors that max factor would no longer be sold in the u.s. at all. ever.

what?

i tried to live in denial. "that won't happen," i convinced myself. but it did. and it became harder and harder to find. i even bought some imposters on amazon once. that was fun. but now, it's come to this:

i'm the person buying their mascara from some guy in the vale of glamorgan (could that sound more british btw?) and i'll continue to do so until davids7566 runs out of his secret stash.

please tell me you stocked up, sir.

my lashes will thank you.