Great Reads of the Week

Here are some posts I enjoyed reading this week:

- Chic 'n Cheap Living shares her 5 tips for savvy shopping.

- LoveBrownSugar discusses the discrimination Jennifer Hudson felt in Hollywood for her weight.

- Jen from A Little Bird Told Me... asks the age old question "who do you blog for?"

- ...love Maegan shows a cute way to update your drab curtains!

- Style Me B.A.D. confesses 3 things she didn't know about boys when she was 16. 

What are you up to this weekend? Today I'm headed to New Jersey because my parents have arrived from California. Have to pay my family dues!

FBFF: Fitness And Fashion

I was not looking forward to this week's questions because I don't work out that often. I get especially unmotivated during New York winters when it is bitter cold outside. Well here goes nothing...

1. Do you keep some kind of fitness routine? Why? 
Not really, I know I should. I hate the idea of a gym, I don't like to run when I'm not going anywhere. I usually do stretches because blogging makes you sit all day and walk whenever I can in the city. My routine is basically walk as much as I can in the city.

2. Has working out, maybe training for a marathon or something of that nature, helped with your own perception of body image? 
I'm not a complete fitness freak because I personally like a curvier figure. If you work out for marathons (my mom does triathlons) great for you! For me, I personally like softer muscle tone. I love Christina Hendricks body, Scarlett Johansson before she lost weight for Iron Man 2, Selma Hayek, Jennifer Hudson. You get the picture. Like most girls, I do think about my body but I don't think I'm SUPER self-conscious about it. I think work with your natural figure. Don't think if you have to be a size 2 Kelly Ripa if your body isn't naturally like that. My sister is (damn her!), she's had two kids and has popped right back to her size 2 figure. I, on the other hand, am not and like that. I have a big butt and proud!

3. When you are hitting the gym or just going out for a long walk what do you wear? Is it about functionality or fashion? 
It's more what do I want to sweat in. Since I'm not a health nut I don't have a "workout wardrobe." I usually wear an old t-shirt and yoga pants. I have sweatpants but not the horribly ugly ones so it's not too frumpy but I don't pay much attention to how I'm looking when I'm working out. I don't want to sweat in cute clothes, is that weird?

4. Do you feel there is a cultural perception of what you ‘should’ be doing for your own physical fitness? 
I definitely society has become very fitness obsessed. It might be good since America has become such an obese country. I just know for me personally that I don't need to be doing hardcore training. I try to keep my eating habits in control. Enjoy everything in proportions. But I don't think I need to spend $200 on a gym membership when I can use New York City. Or buy "fashionable workout" clothes, etc. Stick to what works for you and find a workout routine you enjoy otherwise you won't be motivated.

5.  Dream big… what would be your ultimate fitness goal.
Oh jeesh, I have no idea. I've been contemplating becoming vegan because there is so much nasty chemicals in our foods. I want to try to make a more conscious effort to pick healthier foods and make that extra effort to find those foods whether that means going to different grocery stores or visiting a certain farmer's market.

Would love to hear your thoughts about this particular topic!

Join the Friend Friday Group hosted by ModlyChic!

Image Source

Kate Middleton Gets Her Fairytale!

Like billions (yes, billion) of other people, I woke up at 4am this morning to tune into the Royal Wedding. I wasn't into the big hype and all the product tie ins. However, I knew it was an historic occasion. I wasn't born when Princess Diana wed Prince Charles in 1981, but it is still talked about. I knew Kate and William's wedding would be the same. I also wanted to see the dress!

Kate to the relief of many fashionistas wore Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. It was Kate's style: modern elegance. It wasn't over the top foofoo, which I liked. It had some Grace Kelly inspiration with the lace sleeves, cinched waist with padded hips (which were to make the waist look smaller). She also reportedly wore custom Alexander McQueen heels. At first, I wasn't sure about her doing her own makeup but as I got to learn more about Kate during the 2 hour special, it made sense. She is not the typical princess because she was born a "commoner," she's the only one to have a college degree, she and William live together (before being married *gasp*), she's 29 (on the older side) and she also requested the word "obey" be taking out of the vows. I have a new found respect for her!

There were also fashionable guests:

The Queen herself looked amazing in canary yellow. She's 85!

Her sister, Pippa, also wore white (which was so shocking) and McQueen. I think she looked great and the white was perfectly fine.

Posh and Beck were fashionable (as expected). I loved David's slicked hair!

There was a socialite, Tara Palmer-Tomkins who looked great in blue.

There was some debate about Princess Beatrice's headpiece but I liked it. She seems like a fun girl!

Did you watch the Royal Wedding? What did you think of Kate's dress?

Images via US Magazine, OK! Magazine

6 Hair Idols From The Seventies

Right now I'm really wanting some fabulous 70's hair. I thought I'd put together some inspirational photos. Of course, the queen of awesome 70's hair Farrah Fawcett has to be mentioned.

Susan Dey who played Laurie on "The Partridge Family" show.

Karen Carpenter had some pretty bangin' hair back in the day.

Singer Juice Newton had hair for days!

Foxy Brown's (a.k.a. Pam Grier) afro stood out among all that feathered hair. I still want an afro!

I always wanted long, slick hair like Cher had back in the Sonny & Cher days.

Do you have any hair idols from this decade?

Help Make My Blog Better!

It seems like only yesterday I was celebrating 30 followers on my blog and now I'm at 54! It warms my heart that so many people are interested to hear what I have to say. I thank you all for each one of your comments. They mean so much to me.

Now that I have a strong readership going, I wanted to ask your feedback about my blog. Please be completely honest!

What do you like? What don't you like?
What do you think would make my blog better?
What posts would you like to see more?

And anything else you want to add... Thank you!

Image via Flickr

When Did CoverGirl and Maybelline Morph Into The Same Brand?

Left: CoverGirl Lash Blast, Right: Maybelline One by One

Two of the biggest drugstore makeup brands, CoverGirl and Maybelline, are starting to look like one brand. I understand trying to stay competitive. CoverGirl released their LashBlast to compete with Maybelline's great selection of mascaras. In turn, Maybelline followed up with One by One. Don't the brushes look exactly the same? I don't understand why these companies would want to look so similar. How does that make it easier for shoppers? Take a look...

L: Maybelline, R: CoverGirl

CoverGirl's Outlast Lipstain was insanely popular so Maybelline was quick to jump on the bandwagon. However, I don't think Maybelline's was as good of quality plus the packaging was not that attractive.

L: CoverGirl, R: Maybelline

CoverGirl released their LipPerfection Lipcolor earlier this year. I find the packaging looks eerily similar to Maybelline's Color Sensational Lipcolor. Both have a square base. The main difference is CoverGirl's has a mirror colored shell with the color peeking out of the base. While Maybelline's shell is the color of the lipstick.

Now this looks different

CoverGirl has made itself more recognizable with great celeb spokespersons like Drew Barrymore and Taylor Swift. However, I feel like their products are not as good quality as Maybelline's so I don't get why Maybelline would want to make their products look like CoverGirl's. CoverGirl did newly introduce an all-natural line which was smart. The packaging stands out among the others in the store. Maybelline should focus less on releasing the same products but standing out among the other brands lined up on the drugstore shelves.

Has anyone else noticed this? Why do you think they want their products to look alike?

Anja Rubik Mixes Masculine And Feminine For 'Vogue' Paris

Supermodel Anja Rubik is shot beautifully in the Parisian night by Mikael Jansson for the May 2011 issue of Vogue Paris. She wears gorgeous evening gowns and tailored tuxes (my favorite!). Enjoy!

I'll be this chic one day

I love how she looks so different from each look.

She has insanely long legs!

Love the movement in this shot

Amazing!

What do you think of this editorial?

All images via Fashion Gone Rogue

'Dancing With The Stars' Make Me Reminiscence About Middle School

HANSON!!! You don't even understand how big of a crush I had on Zach Hanson in the 6th grade (he's still pretty cute btw). He was my Bieber. It was the only time Kim caught the "teenie bopper" fever. Last night, they were on "Guilty Pleasures" night of Dancing With The Stars. That show knows how to suck me in!

I loved them because they were original. They played and wrote their own music, which not many pop stars could say at the time.... looking at you Britney. They were like the other "boy bands" out there because they were brothers and not doing tacky dance routines. Now they're all married, which makes me feel old (lol!). 

Who was your teenie bopper crush on?

My Hair Transformation

Old high school photo

I was browsing some old Facebook photos and I was amazed how different my hair was in all the pics. Thought I'd share my hair transformation through photos:

I chopped my hair for Locks of Love on my 23rd birthday (almost 3 years ago!). I had short hair once in 5th grade and it was awful. I guess I forgot that awful memory. I tried to add some plum colored streaks... didn't really work out. That is the only time I've ever put any dye on my hair... otherwise I have "virgin" hair.

I went to what I call my "winter" bangs when my hair was still growing out... hated this phase!

Once my bangs grew out I started sweeping them to the side. This is my Janet Jackson "Love Will Never Do Without You" hair.

I had shoulder length by my graduation which was May 2009. I got it curled!

Family photo

My hair finally had grown back by that summer... I missed my long hair!

Then I went back to winter bangs but with long hair thankfully.

Then back to sideswept bangs over a month ago.

And most recently, rocking my Janelle Monae inspired pompadour, which I wore this past weekend for my friend's birthday party!

It looked better before I left the house... vintage earrings I found on Etsy!

What has your hair transformation been like?

I Say Yes To Kitten Heels

Alexa Chung wore Valentino's studded kitten heels

Recently, there's been an unabashed hatred towards kitten heels. I know bloggers are all about their Jeffrey Campbells, but why are they picking on the little guy (or lady)? I've been rocking kitten heels for a long time because they are cute and practical. I'm not one of those women who walks elegantly in heels and I like to be comfortable. Kitten heels have been great for climbing all the stairs to the subway when I'm going to job interviews. Take a look at these fashionable kitten heels before you judge:

Our fashionable First Lady wears them

Princess to be, Kate Middleton, wears them

How fierce are these leopard print ones?

She's too hot to trot

Even one of the famous platform wearing bloggers, Karen, wore them!

So now time for you to weigh in... what do you think of kitten heels?

My Easter Holiday Nails

In the spirit of Easter (I like doing themed nails), I decided to do a fun manicure. I liked the glitter manicure so much before that I continued with it. I alternated colors that I had available in my collection. I opted for white, pink, green, purple and yellow. I wish I had a blue. The glitter was bigger chunks than the silver one so I found it didn't stay on as nicely.

As you can see... it was a little messy

What I used:

* e.l.f.'s "Mint Cream" (green)
* China Glaze's "Spontaneous" (purple)
* Zoya's "Gaia" (white) "Pippa" (yellow) and "Avril" (pink)
* Some random Old Navy gold shimmer powder
* Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength top coat

What do you think? What are you wearing on your nails?

Great Reads of the Week

Here are posts I enjoyed reading this week:

- Gala Darling asked why it's such a big deal to people that she doesn't want to have kids. I totally wanted to write a post about this but she did it so wonderfully.

- A Little Bird Told Me has written another great post about why you blog.

- Adore Vintage shares 10 ways to be eco-friendly with your fashion.

- Modly Chic lists her "Before I turn 30 Bucket List"... I need to get on that!

- Clumps of Mascara discusses things she won't do for beauty. Great list (sorry I'm late)!

- Bachman's Sparrow shares 7 foods safety experts avoid themselves... scary!

Have a great weekend! Any fun plans?

Confession: I Can't Go Completely Green With My Beauty Routine

It's not this bad....

Today is Earth Day and I have a confession. My beauty routine is not the greenest. I try to be eco-friendly by recycling, not using water bottles, bringing my own bags shopping, buying local vegetables and fruit, using eco-friendly products. However, one area I can't seem to get on the "green" train is beauty. I've tried a few eco-friendly beauty products and have been disappointed.

Burt's Bees is one of the best known environmentally friendly brands. Their lip balm is pretty good. However, I was very let down by their shampoo and conditioner. I currently use Dove and Aussie's 3-minute miracle leave in conditioner.

bareMinerals eco-friendly skincare line couldn't hold up for me especially in this terrible winter weather. I need to stick what works, which is Aveeno's daily facial scrub and Cetaphil cleanser.

I purchased a Physician's Formula foundation; however, it was expired and smelled funny. The palest color was nowhere near my shade so I stick to Stila's tinted moisturizer or recently Maybelline's FIT foundation.

Some nail polish companies have claimed to be eco-friendly but I'm not sure how organic it can be with all the coloring plus there's no environmentally friendly nail polish remover so it all ends up the same. Zoya is nice but not a lot of color choices (and also costs as much as OPI), Ginger + Liz is not very accessible (and expensive), Butter London I was let down by how long it lasted. I like my China Glaze.

The only semi-decent product that could be classified as eco-friendly is Neutrogena's naturals lip balm. I do apply it obsessively but it works pretty well.

Where have you been able to go green in your beauty routine?