On My Radar No 38

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Happy Friday! Is it just me or did this week absolutely fly by in the blink of an eye? Maybe it's because I've been getting up extra early or because I've been keeping very busy with my blog and YouTube channel, but it's been great.

My dad always says that we're the happiest when in pursuit of a worthwhile goal and that has never been more true for me than it is now. I feel very lucky to have your support and I am so excited for my future content!

As we head into the weekend, here are a few of the things that have been on my radar this week. 

MY SIGNET RING IS DONE | If you've been following along here, then you know that I have been working with Ruff's Signet Rings to create my very own signet for my 31st birthday. I can't even put into words how lovely they've been to work with and this week I got the finished ring and it's even better than I had imagined it would be! The Ruff's team is incredibly talented and true leaders in their field. I'll be filming a YouTube video soon all about the process and what you should keep in mind when looking for your own signet ring so be on the lookout for that. 

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FARM | I love the outdoors. Jason and I try to spend at least a few hours outside every day and we love taking walks, going on hikes and even got married entirely outside. To feed my love for the outdoors, I have wanted to visit Blackberry Farm since they first came on my radar years ago. Until I'm able to make it out, their website has been so lovely to just look at and I highly recommend taking a peak. 

BEST DRUGSTORE SKIN CARE | One of my favorite YouTubers, Nadine is a former beauty editor and absolute wealth of knowledge when it comes to skin, makeup and hair. As a lover of shopping wisely and getting the best quality for your money, I loved her latest video featuring some of the best budget skin care buys. 

OUTFIT POSTS ARE BACK | Last but not least, I'm so thrilled that I'll be sharing outfits posts here again and to kick things off I used one of my favorite spring blazers to change up my go-to uniform of a t-shirt and jeans. 

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Outfit: The Power Of A Spring Blazer

Today I'm so happy to share a new outfit post! If you've been following along since the beginning, you know that my blog started as a traditional fashion blog with a capsule focus, and I would regularly share outfit posts.

After moving down to Charleston, buying our house and having a million things to do, Jason and I couldn't find enough time to take photos, but today that changes! We finally have enough time in our schedules to take the quality of photos that we both strive for and I am so excited to bring this feature back to my blog.

I love being able to demonstrate my capsule outfits out in the wild so to speak, so that you can see how things look in action, and today's post is all about how I tweak one of my favorite outfit formulas for spring. 

As you know, I love blazers and today I want to talk about the transformative power of a great spring blazer. In this category I have a few like the one I'm wearing here and this one that I love for adding a fresh, spring pop to otherwise simple separates - a scarf works just as well too! No matter how many times I change up my go-to formula of jeans, a tee and a blazer I am still amazed by how many possibilities there are, and I will never tire of mixing and matching this combination with different shoes, jewelry, handbags and accessories. 

Here, I've started with a base of my new favorite pair of skinny jeans and a simple white tee. From here, I could transform this combination to a fall, winter or summer outfit with the addition or subtraction of a few key layers and colors, but for this particular outfit I kept things light and springy with espadrilles and a great spring blazer. I love this pink gingham option that I picked up a few years ago at J.Crew but you could easily opt for a floral, stripe or solid blazer for the same effect.

The important thing to remember is to pick one in a light fabric and a spring shade to keep everything fresh and airy. The addition of the espadrilles helps to lighten everything up even more, and the outfit would feel completely different just by swapping the espadrilles for simple sling backs, ankle booties in a light suede, fun flats like these, these or these, loafers or even sneakers to suit your preferences. 

When it comes to choosing the color you want in your spring blazer, I recommend opting for one that compliments the other colors you tend to wear. For me, I wear tons of white, black and blue and I've found that pink not only goes beautifully with these colors, but it almost makes me feel fresh and alive. For you, that color may be something else, or you may not like color at all and in that case you can't go wrong with a tan or white linen topper - how beautiful and effortlessly chic! 

Also, one of my favorite things about spring is how alive everything looks. Even living in a place like Charleston that's almost always in bloom, the city just comes to life during the spring. The days are still cool, but the sun is out and shining brightly - minus the humidity which is always wonderful. Plus, the entire city is filled with the heavenly smell of blooming jasmine which is quickly becoming one of my favorite aromas. 

I love to take inspiration from my surroundings and the color palettes that you see here will make some lovely outfits in the future. How beautiful are green, white and slate when paired together? I just love it. 

Below, I've rounded up some of the best spring blazers that I've found in case you're in the market for one. But don't hesitate to shop your closet first! Especially if you haven't gone through everything in a while you never know what you may find. Also, if you already a spring piece that you love, just by searching on Pinterest may give you some inspiration to style them in a completely different way that feels totally fresh. 

Empties #2: Makeup, Skin Care & Hair Care That I've Used Up

Today I'm excited to share my second "empties" video! If you saw my first "empties" or have been here before, then you know that I try to use something up completely before either replacing it with something new or repurchasing the same item again. For this reason, it can take me a little bit of time to work through products and these are things I've been hanging onto since my last video last year. I have a mix of everything including hair care, skin care and makeup with some all-time favorites, some misses and everything in between. You can see more below and like always, thanks so much for stopping by! 

First, let's start with hair since it's the smallest category in the bunch. I've raved about the Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo before, and it is still my favorite dry shampoo to date. I'm currently trying out a new one that I really like though so stay tuned for that! 

What I love about this one is the refreshing but not offensive smell and how it instantly volumizes my second day hair. Plus, it doesn't make my hair feel gritty or weighed down at all and it's cruelty-free. Win, win, win! 

Next up is the Ouai Hair Oil. I LOVE this hair oil and already have two full-sized bottles and another sample size that I got as a gift with purchase recently. Since trying Moroccanoil years ago and seeing an immediately improvement in my hair, hair oils have been a staple in my routine.  

What I love about this one is that it smells fantastic, really helps to cut down on frizz (when used sparingly) and helps to subtle define my natural waves without feeling greasy or heavy.

Now let's move onto makeup. I have quite a few products to share in this category because I really love cosmetics.

With a few very rare exceptions, I like to bounce around as much as possible and am always trying new things. If I repurchase a makeup item it's because I REALLY LOVE IT!

Speaking of really loving something, Glossier Boy Brow is one of my favorite one and done brow products on the market. I love how easily it shapes and defines my brows in a matter of seconds and for me, it's a great every day product.

Just keep in mind that if you love a really bold brow, or you have thin brows or have a lot of sparse patches you may not like this because it's very subtle. 

Next up is a mascara that I'm crazy about but have not repurchased simply because I love to try new things. The L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara is great for defining, separating and lengthening my lashes. It's incredibly black which is great for someone with black hair like me, and it never smudged on me. Plus, it didn't leave my lashes feeling stiff or crunchy and was easy to take off at night. 

The only negative is that it isn't cruelty-free but this mascara is and many people think they're similar. 

Last in the makeup department is a product that I really tried to love but just didn't in the end. The Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturizer in the shade "glow" is such a lovely tinted moisturizer but on me it never full "set" and always felt a little sticky and wet to the touch - something that I can't stand. As you know, I love mineral powder and lightweight tinted moisturizers that feel invisible on the skin and unfortunately this didn't give me the effect I like. It's such a shame too because the shade was a great match for my light to medium olive skin with some yellow in it. 

Next up is skin and the first two products in this category are Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 W and Lotion P50. Each of these toners have improved my skin like no other and I can't recommend them enough. I started with P50 W which is better for your first go at the P50 range and then graduated up to regular P50 and both have caused an improvement in my skin's texture, tone and hyperpigmentation. I love them and have gone through one P50 W, 1 trial size Lotion P50 and one regular sized Lotion P50. I'm almost done with my second full-size P50 and have just purchased the P50 1970.  

Since discovering the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, I've gone through two full sized bottles and one travel size and I don't know how I lived without it before. Every day I oil cleanse with the DHC before regular cleansing and it has reduced my occassional breakouts, helped to balance my skin and leaves me feeling hydrated. Plus, it never dries out my skin and removes my makeup effortlessly at the end of the day. It's a great product and in my opinion one of the most underrated skin care products on the market. 

My last empty is Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum. This beautiful product is incredibly expensive and incredibly worth it for me. I love how it makes my skin look and feel and I notice an improvement in my skin within a week of use which is pretty incredible for a skin care product. Plus, it smells amazing, eliminates the need for another moisturizer and helps me use less makeup because my skin looks that good. It's an expense that I'm willing to make room for and I'm happy to skimp in other areas of my beauty routines in order to have this product. 

New Feature: My Closet At A Glance

Today I'm excited to share a new blog feature called "My Closet At A Glance." This new section will share an overview of the main colors, silhouettes and descriptive characteristics that I strive for in my wardrobe. In the last few years as I've really honed in on my ever evolving personal style, I've found that keeping this focus at the heart of my purchases has been key in ensuring that I make smart purchases that I'll actually wear. By following these points and constantly reevaluating and adjusting them as I get older, I move etc, I've been able to slowly but surely build a closet full of pieces that I truly love. My hope is that seeing these points from my perspective, and then seeing them in action here and on my YouTube channel will help you do the same. At the end of the day, fashion should be fun and we should use it as a way to express ourselves so it should never be taken too seriously, but a little planning never hurt either and I've found that a little work at the beginning makes the entire process a lot more enjoyable. 

First up let's discuss color palette. As a lover of neutrals with pops of color here and there, I am the happiest when wearing simple shades all year. This streamlined color palette has worked so well for me as a base for brighter accessories and I even wear these 6 shades and a few variations of them all year. Not only are they incredibly easy to mix and match (nearly every color can be worn together with very little thought), but they are eternally classic and feel appropriate all four seasons. 

Now, because I do love color I'm always trying to add a few bolder pops here and there and at the moment I have about 4 that I gravitate towards. Each of these make more of a statement than my base colors but still feel like me when done in small doses. That said, I'm also usually the most comfortable when these colors appear in accessories rather than entire outfits - with a few exceptions of course. If you're having trouble narrowing in on a color palette that works for you, I go into a lot more detail in my eBook and will also be doing an entire color series soon! 

One of the things that really helped me lock in my personal style was picking a few descriptive words that described my aesthetic. 

The first time I sat down to do this I had too many words and as a result, I had a difficult time coming up with a cohesive style message. As I've worked on refining my style over the years, and have really allowed myself to grow into who I'm most comfortable being, I've narrowed it down to 4 words. 

classic, modern, elegant & relaxed

Though similar, each of these words touches on a different part of my personal style and ultimately my wardrobe, that are critical to making me feel like me. To better understand these, let's break them down a bit further. 

CLASSIC: First up is classic. On the surface this word means exactly what it says - something that is simple and elegant and not greatly subject to changes in fashion. For me, this couldn't be more true. From fashion to makeup to home decor, I have always gravitated toward things that stand the test of time. I love the traditional and legacy of time tested pieces and have found that they are some of my favorite items to wear. I love feeling polished but understated and classics help me do that with very little effort.

MODERN: Next is a piece of the puzzle that's critical to ensuring that I feel updated and never stuffy. As much as I love classics, I've learned over the years that wearing too many of them together can leave me feeling behind the times and slightly old fashioned. For me, this always results in me feeling less like myself and almost as if I'm wearing a costume. In other words, without a few carefully selected modern touches my clothes wear me instead of the other way around. To combat this, I've learned that no outfit of mine is complete without a modern twist and I love pairing timeless classics with trendier items for a balance that feels 100% like me. 

ELEGANT: By definition, elegance is "pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner" and it's a piece of my fashion pie that I've grown to value over the years. After years of classic vocal lessons and ballet classes, I've learned that anything too trendy, too casual or too "cool" just doesn't work for me. We all know that our experiences shape who we are and for me, years of classical training (beginning when I was 10!) have granted me good posture, careful diction and thoughtful movements that feel out of place when paired with anything too grungy. Even though I love the look on others, it always feels out of place on me and instead, I'm much more comfortable in tailored, understated pieces that compliment my life's experiences rather than combat them.

RELAXED: Last but not least is arguably the most important for me. Relaxed, which I use interchangeably with comfortable, is an absolute must for me. In fact, nothing ruins a day or an outfit for me quicker than being uncomfortable. I despise having to readjust, fidget or suffer when it comes to fashion and feeling relaxed is key to making me feel great in my clothes. I've learned the hard way one too many times that anything too stuffy, formal or complicated just doesn't get worn so now I avoid these pieces at a costs and I'm much happier as a result. 

THE 10 ITEMS ALWAYS IN MY CLOSET

Now that I've shared the colors I gravitate towards, the general feeling I strive for and how these keep me focused on pieces I'll actually wear, let's touch on the 10 items that are always in my closet. For me, these pieces are the cornerstone of great dressing and help me put together countless outfits that always feel like me. For you, these key pieces may look exactly like mine and for others they may be completely different. The key here is to learn what works for you and then wear those pieces with pride - even if it means that you wear the same "uniform" of a t-shirt and jeans almost every day. Also, these 10 pieces have worked beautifully for me and I've found that they are also relatively universal but the nuances between each of our own personal styles lie in the colors, cuts and silhouettes that we chose these pieces in. For example, I love a crisp white, collared button down but you may prefer a collarless pillowy white shirt. What's most important is that you select pieces that can serve as a base or blank canvas for your outfits but always do so with your personal style and preferences in mind. I'll be touching on this in more detail in the coming weeks with tips for different styles, heights and body types but for now, I'll leave you with my 10 key pieces. 

1. White Shirt
2. Black T-Shirt (Short Sleeve)
3. White T-Shirt (Short Sleeve)
4. Striped T-Shirt (Long Sleeve or 3/4 Sleeve)
5. Black Pants
6. Black Skirt
7. Light Sweater
8. Classic Jeans (mid or dark wash)
9. Classic Blazer 
10. Black Dress (cap or short sleeves and knee length or longer is perfect for year-round wear)