Saturday, December 27, 2014

November/December Favorites

Hello everybody!
Wow, it's the end of December and 2014 already! This year sure flew by really fast.
Here's what I've been loving these past two months:

1. Covergirl Smoochies Lip Balm in Luv U (215)
This is a lip balm I randomly picked up at CVS and I think it's great. It's a tinted lip balm, so it looks like lipstick but it's also moisturizing. 
COVERGIRL Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm
(Picture from Target's website)
Target: x

2. Zoella Beauty 
I was so excited when I got this! Zoe's literally my favorite YouTuber and I'm so glad I can support her. This bag is supperrr cute and it's bigger than I expected. I'm not sure how big I expected it to be, but it's a good size for a makeup bag. 
(Picture from Feelunique's website)
Feelunique x

3. Red Quilted Bomber Jacket
I've wanted a bomber jacket since... forever. I wanted a black one at first, so I could pair it with anything, but when I saw this online it screamed "BUY ME!" I just had to get this color and pattern. It's something great to add a bit of color to your outfit and keep you warm.

Forever 21 x

4. Faux Suede Loafers
I never thought I would buy these kinds of shoes. I usually stick with converse or boots. I saw these at the mall and thought they were so cute and add a preppy touch to the outfit.

Forever 21 x

5. FOUR by One Direction
You know how much I love One Direction. I don't think "love" even begins to cover how I feel about them. I've dedicated the last four years to them... and probably the rest of my life. I love this album! I think it's their best so far. Some of my favorite songs are Night Changes, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Ready To Run, 18, Spaces, Clouds, and Once In A Lifetime.

FOUR (Deluxe Version), One Direction
iTunes x
Amazon x
Target x

6. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
Read my review on this book: x


7. How To Get Away With Murder and American Horror Story
I started watching How To Get Away With Murder in the beginning of November and it's such an addicting show. It flashes back to the past a lot to show you how the characters got into the situation they're in right now. The story follows a group of law students who work for their teacher's law firm and help the teacher win cases. They accidentally kill someone and fight over how to get away with it. x
I'm only on the second season of American Horror Story and I really like it so far. It's not as scary as I thought it would be... or maybe it just gets scarier. Murder House wasn't that bad and Freak Show is a bit scarier. x

So that's all for my November/December favorites. I hope you enjoyed whatever holiday you celebrate and have a happy new year!
Next post is going to be in 2015!!! Bring on the new year!!!
Thanks so much for reading I'll see you soon!
~Claudia


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Instagram: x

Monday, December 22, 2014

Manicure Monday: Christmas Nails

Hello everybody!
Christmas is just a few days away and I'm so excited!!! This week I'm going to share a really quick and easy way to get Christmas nails. 
I am probably the worst artist ever so I can't do any fancy or cute drawings on my nails. I tried doing a heart once.... it didn't turn out so well.
For these nails I used: 
Wet n Wild protective base coat x
Wet n Wild clear nail protector x
a list from Essie x
W4 from e.l.f x
Midnight Mystery from e.l.f. x

First, put on the base coat. I guess the base coat is optional, but I think it makes the nail polish glide on much easier. Especially with dark colors, the base coat helps prevent any discoloration from the nail polish.

Then apply the W4 on all of the nails except the ring finger. On the ring finger apply a list.

After a list has dried, apply Midnight Mystery. Try to get as many sparkles as you can onto the nail. 


After that has dried, apply the clear coat to prevent chipping.


And you're done! It's super easy and super quick. I did my nails within the span of a Teen Wolf episode. 

Here are some tips for the perfect manicure:
Cut and file your nails before you start for neat looking nails. When you file your nails, file in one direction, not back and forth (that will ruin your nails).
Use three strokes to cover the entire nail: side, side, middle
Don't glop a thick layer onto the nail, that will cause air bubbles. Apply thin layers at a time and build from there. 
Don't worry about getting nail polish on your skin, you can always use nail polish remover to get them off. 
Put your nails in cold water to make the nail polish harden quicker. 

Hopefully I will do other Manicure Mondays in the future, so keep your eyes out for those.
Happy holidays!
Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!
~Claudia 

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Instagram: x

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Haul: Forever 21 and H&M

Hello everybody!
I'm doing another haul today. I would have added Forever 21 in my last haul, but I was waiting for two of my items to come in the mail. Today, I went Christmas shopping and bought a few more things, so I decided to add it into this haul.
As I'm sure most of you know by now, Forever 21 is my favorite store. Literally 80% of my wardrobe is from Forever 21. H&M is a close second. 
Let's get started:
Forever 21:

$14. 90 similar x/x
What I really like about this shirt is the unfinished look it has. The sleeves and bottom aren't folded over and sewn like normal shirt are. They've been cut and just left there:


$12.90 similar: x/x

$22.90 x

$24,80 x


$19.80 x

$39.95 x

$29.95 x

There you go: my haul. I guess I was into the french theme and blazers. 
It's almost Christmas! I'm so excited! Next week I think I'm going to do a post about Christmas nails. It should be fun!
One more week and two days of school left for me. I can get through that, right?
Also, anybody watch The X Factor? The final, omg. I'm so happy Ben won! I'm so sad it's over though. Now I have to wait until next year to obsess over it again.
Thanks so much for reading. See you soon!
~Claudia
Twitter: x
Instagram: x

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Book Review: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Hello everybody!
I got so excited when Girl Online came in the mail on Friday. After I instagrammed a picture of it and wiped away my tears of joy, I sat down on my bed and read the whole book. It's your standard Young Adult book, so it took less than three hours to finish. I was really scared I wouldn't like the book since my reading taste has changed recently and I've been having a hard time finds good books to read. I didn't actually read the synopsis before I bought it. All I knew about the book was that Zoe wrote it and it was about a blogger with anxiety. I'm happy to say I was not disappointed at all. I will try my best to give an honest review (I'll try not to be bias towards Zoe) and avoid spoilers.

ISBN: 978-1-4767-9745-8
Pages: 344
Amazon x
Barnes and Noble x

Summary:
I have this dream that, secretly, all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day, when we realize that we all feel the same, we can all stop pretending we’re something we’re not. That would be awesome. But until that day, I’m going to keep it real on this blog and keep it unreal in “real” life.

Penny has a secret. 

Under the alias GirlOnline, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her quirky family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse at school, her parents accept an opportunity to whisk the family away for Christmas at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. There, she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love—and capturing every moment she spends with “Brooklyn Boy” on her blog.

But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover—and her closest friendship—forever.

Review:
The plot line of the story is kind of predictable. Girl meets boy, they fall in love, have a fall out, make up, live happily ever after. That's pretty much every other Young Adult book out there. What I liked most were the characters. 
There's the main character, Penny, her gay best friend, Elliot, her best friend in school, Megan (Or Mega-Bitch as Elliot calls her), and her crush, Ollie (aka the Walking Selfie). Then Penny goes to New York and meets Noah and bam, true love.

Penny is a very relatable character: she's so awkward and clumsy. There were times where I literally got second hand embarrassment from her. I love the way she's so awkward around Ollie. She over thinks things sometimes and comes up with ways things could wrong. I know I do that a lot. Penny goes from a girl who runs and hides to a girl who faces her problems head on. I don't know what I would have done in her position, probably curl up and die. She also learns to love herself. In the beginning of the book, she looks into the mirror and sighs, it's a daily routine. Towards the end, she stops hiding her freckles under a layer of foundation and starts loving her red hair. 

Penny and Elliot are super supportive of each other and have a great friendship. They're always there for each other. Even though they fight, they always make up. Elliot helps Penny through her anxiety and Penny helps him with his family problems. They even have a secret knock code to talk to each other through their bedroom wall. 

Then there's Megan and Ollie. Where do I even start? Megan is a self-conceited bitch who is so mean to Penny. Ollie is very self absorbed (his Christmas present to Penny... seriously?) and Penny only likes him for his looks. Not very wise. Those two got what they deserved at the end of the book.

Her relationship with Noah is so freaking cute. I almost died from all the feels. They get each other and click right away. She isn't as awkward around Noah as she is around Ollie. She feels comfortable with Noah and opens herself up to him, even though she just met him. I guess when you cry/have a panic attack in front of people, you show a more vulnerable side of you and the causes people to open up to you. Sometimes Penny does something and immediately panics, thinking Noah will think she's weird, but he does't. In fact, he laughs it off and reassures her. Their relationship is such a contrast to Penny's relationship with Ollie or Megan. 

Can I just say how much I love Bella? She is sooo adorable. I love how she gives good advice to Penny, despite her age. Ah, the innocence of a child. But seriously, where can I get a Bella?

Zoe did a wonderful job making the book feel real. Often times when I read Young Adult books I find unrelatable. Zoe's writing style makes Penny come to life. You see all of her fears, insecurities, and doubts. Most of them are things almost every teenager feels, like worrying about what others think of you. The one thing I found most relatable was Penny constantly thinking about her embarrassing moments. I always tell myself to move on from those moments because the past is in the past and there's nothing you can do to change it. Yet I find myself reliving my most embarrassing moments over and over again at night. 

This book is very Zoe-like. She talks about anxiety and how Penny's isn't the only one with it, even though Penny feels like she is. There are other people like her out there. Penny's readers supported her and gave her happiness. At one point in the book, Penny feels like everyone hates her and she's all alone. But she is reminded that she is not alone and there are people who love her and will continue to support her no matter what. I was so happy that Zoe put that in the book because I know that sometimes it feels like the whole world is against you and you forget that there are people who will love no matter what happens. Other Zoe-like things include fairy lights and bath bombs.

Overall, I think I'll give this book a 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I am so proud of Zoe for writing her first book and breaking the record of most copies sold for a debut writer. Keep up the good work, Zoe!

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!
~Claudia


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Instagram: x


Sunday, November 30, 2014

Haul: Charlotte Russe and Hollister

Hello everybody!
Wow, it's the last day of November! One more month of 2014! 
So on Friday, it was Black Friday (one of my favorite times of the year) and I bought a few things. In this post, I'm going to share what I bought from Charlotte Russe and Hollister. I will share what I bought from other stores in another post since I'm waiting for some things to arrive in the mail.
First up: Charlotte Russe
(click on the link for a better picture)
$12.00 x

$18.00 x
$5.00 x


$5.00 Similar: x/x

Hollister:

$22.47 x

$19.97 x

This is less than half of my Black Friday Haul, but it's what I have right now. Everything else is on it's way. I chose to do a lot of online shopping this year because I didn't want to wait in line. Black Friday lines are terrible... not to mention finding a parking space at the mall! I went at 7:30 in the morning and found a pretty good parking space. Then I went to another mall around 1:00 pm and had to park so far away!
I hoped you enjoyed this haul. Sorry about last week, school get so hectic sometimes.
Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!
~Claudia


Twitter: x
Instagram: x

Sunday, November 16, 2014

OOTD: Braving the Cold

Hello everybody!
Winter is coming! (Yes, that was a Game of Thrones reference)
The weather is just getting colder and colder.... This outfit isn't appropriate for the winter weather, but I still like it.
It was so cold the day Riv and I took this picture and it was also raining slightly during this picture. I took my cardigan off for a split second to take this picture and threw it on immediately afterwards. Good thing this came out alright because I was not going to take another picture, haha.


(Forever 21 x)

(Macy's; similar: x/x/x)
( Forever 21; similar x/x/x)

There you go! For my makeup, I used Jordana Easy Liner for eyes Retractable Pencil in black, Maybelline the Falsies Volum' Express in Black Drama, and Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 230 Coral Garden.
I still have one more picture from the photoshoot but I might not use it, so we'll be back to the mirror pictures. 
I added two new pages to my blog: About me/Contact and Song on Repeat. Go check them out! They're near the top of the blog on the right side.
One more thing:
ONE DIRECTION'S NEW ALBUM COMES OUT TOMORROW!!!! WHO'S EXCITED?? I AM!!! Eek!! I'm so proud of them and the album sounds amazing so far!!! Don't turn away from the album simply because it's by One Direction. It's actually amazing and their sound is more mature now. No more bubblegum pop songs like their first album (which, by the way, was still amazing). The next few Song on Repeats will most likely be from their new album. So go buy it or something!
iTunes: x
Amazon: x
Target: x
Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!
~Claudia


Twitter: x
Instagram: x