Beauty Review - LORAC Unzipped Eyeshadow Palette

I never thought it was possible to use up an eye shadow tin, but it seems that I was wrong. I've depleted most of my favorite eye shadows, so I finally set some time aside to go to Sephora to find new ones. LORAC is a brand that I really enjoy. I've owned an amazing eyeshadow palette by them for three years, so I definitely went back for more. The color pigmentation is very strong and comparable to MAC. When I saw the UNZIPPED palette filled with all sorts of beautiful, neutral colors that I needed replaced I couldn't pass it up.

Valued at $200.00, this palette is being sold for only $40. I got an additional discount with a coupon from their VIB program, which made it a total steal. Not to mention, the palette comes with a sample of their eyeshadow primer. I had yet to try theirs, and as you may have read in my past posts, I'm a huge fan of MAC's paint pots as an inexpensive primer. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. The primer goes on clear, which is nice because it doesn't interfere with the eyeshadow color.

All in all, I'm SUPER happy with my purchase, and I'm looking forward to using the palette over the next three years until it's time for more!

Luxurious Delights

You know those days when you just feel a bit frumpy? It's not because your clothes, hair or makeup looks bad, but maybe more because you just feel bored or tired of the same old thing. We've all had days or maybe even seasons like that, and I've found that little luxurious delights that help me snap out of it. So, what are some of my secret weapons?

1. L' Occitane Amande Firming & Smoothing Milk Concentrate - The first time I smelled this amazing body cream I thought I was in heaven. It's the best smelling body lotion the history of lotion. It's not over powering like Bath & Body Works. It just has this beautiful smell and velvety feel when you apply it. You feel like you should be sitting on a tuffted stool at your vanity wearing silk pajamas or something. I rarely buy this product because it costs a whopping $44.00, but when I do I always feel a bit special applying it.

2. Especially Escada Perfume - Sometimes all it takes is a splash of really nice perfume. One of my new favorites is Especially Escada. The bottle is beautiful and the scent is feminine and clean. I wear Her by Narcisco Rodriguez almost every day, and I love it. So, when I apply something like Escada it makes it special and I'm ensured I can smell it because my body isn't so used to it.

3. Spa Bathrobe - I've gone to a spa about five times in my life. I loved every minute of it, but I can't afford to go there more than maybe once a year. So what not bring the spa home to you? Just putting on my slippers and clean, plush bathrobe makes me feel relaxed and happy. I was able to find a really nice robe at Last Chance, but you can find great robes anywhere.

4. Aveda Shampoo - I wash my hair every day with common hair products you can find at Target such as John Frieda Brilliant Brunette. But every once in a blue moon I splurge on a designer shampoo, and my favorite is Aveda's Brilliant Shampoo. It leaves your hair smelling amazing and clean. Something about that natural scent transports me to Hawaii.

5. Lighting Candles - Sometimes all you need is to light some candles, have a glass of nice wine, and a bite of a really great dessert. They say you can't buy happiness, but I say you can buy 20 minutes of happiness with these simple luxuries. One of my all time favorite candles is the Red Capri Jar Candle. It's $28.00, but lasts a really long time.

What are some of your ways to combat a case of the frumpies?

Maternity Dresses

Let's talk maternity fashion. This is a topic that I haven't really touched on before, well, because I've never been pregnant until now. Granted, I've styled pregnant women, but I wasn't about to act like an expert on my blog without fully understanding and experiencing pregnancy. I'm obviously ready now because I have a bun in the oven and none of my clothes fit. I'm such a button-down shirt, skinny jeans type of girl, so it has been a REALLY big change to be wear nothing but dresses - MAXI dresses for that matter. I've never owned one until now. You may be asking yourself, "Why isn't she just wearing maternity pants or leggings?" Well, because the thought of anything tight even close to my stomach sounds terrible. Not to mention, the summer months are just around the corner and dresses will be a better investment.

So, before I list some of my favorite places to find maternity wear. Let me also say that I don't think I'll ever buy a dress that is actually classified as maternity for two reasons. 1. The price is marked WAY up. 2. They don't fit as well because they are made similarly to one-size-fits-all. Small, medium or large just doesn't cut it when buying a dress. No worries though because I've found plenty of other dresses at big box stores

My favorite places to shop right now are TJ Maxx and Marshalls. They are owned by the same company, so you can just go to which ever one is closest to you. They have fabulous prices and a huge selection of maxi dresses and maxi skirts!

Next in line is Old Navy. They just got a ton of really cute dresses in, and of course at decent prices. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to spend major dough on something I'm only going to wear for nine months. You may say to yourself, "I'll wear this for my next pregnancy too." Even though I'm not there yet, I've had plenty of women tell me that their body is so different the second time around that most of their maternity wear doesn't work. Also, trends change over the span of a couple of years. The likelihood that you'll even want to wear the same thing is slim to none. If by chance, you don't mind three dollar signs, shopbop.com has a lot of pretty things.

Victoria Secret is another wonderful place to find dresses. They even have built in bra support with many of them. I would definitely wait for a sale before buying one full price though. Sales happen so often at VS.

Also, Express, a place I rarely think twice about, just rolled out a ton of beautiful maxi dresses. Again, I would wait for a sale before purchasing something.

If you have some favorite stores that you like to shop for maternity clothes, please tell me! I'd love to hear!

For those of you that don't mind wearing pants, I'll be sure to post some other tips and tricks to make your bump look cute soon!

Arielle & Chris - Styled for Engagement Shoot

I had the recent pleasure of meeting Arielle and Chris - an engaged couple tying the knot this September. They are getting married in a vineyard in California, and Gina Meola gets to be their photographer. Talk about a dream wedding!?! So, of course, they had an engagement shoot with Gina lined up too, and I got to help them pick out their outfits for it. I LOVE my job!

Chris has a very classic, simple style. His favorite store is J. Crew, and that's pretty much all he shops. Arielle also likes classic, feminine pieces, but there is a bit of a whimsy quality she likes to throw in.

We arrived on two looks both staying to true to their style while channeling some east coast sophistication. Gina made a perfect choice of location and photographed the couple in Heritage Square - one of the only places in Phoenix that doesn't look like it's in the middle of the southwest.

Pretty much everything was found in their closet except the navy and white striped dress (found at Ann Taylor LOFT) Arielle is wearing and the gray v-neck sweater (H&M) Chris is wearing. Talk about economical photo style?!

I hope you think this couple is as cute as I do. Click here to see more photos on Gina's blog.

A Peek at What I Have Been Up To

You may have noticed my blog posts have been a bit inconsistent over the past two weeks. It's not because I don't have anything to share or say, but rather I have SO much to share and I just haven't had a moment to sit down and write it all out. So here's peek as to what all has been happening in the realm of AVE Styles... 1. Rory Brinker - I had the chance to pull some simple wardrobe for a look book shoot with scarf company, Rory Brinker. Kym Ventola Photographed the GORGEOUS scarves. You can see more of a sneak peek on her blog, click here. I can't wait to see how the look book and shop comes together. I will definitely be buying one of these scarves!

2. I worked on a fun style bridal shoot with Melissa Jill Photography that has been in the works since 2011. It looked MAGICAL!!! Here's a pic of me in action taken by MJ.

3. Went out to a dude ranch to do some testing with an Agency Arizona model, New York Makeup Artist Tonya Cameron and photographer Eric Cassee. Here's an awesome beauty shot!

4. FINALLY got a change to collaborate with Miss Andria Lindquist - a photographer from the Seattle area. We put together a desert fashion shoot. Sadly, I forgot to take some pictures with my cell phone. I've seen a couple images, and they are GORGE to say the least!

5. I've been styled 5 different engaged couples this month, and I can't wait to see how all of the photos turn out. Hopefully, I'll get to share some this week! EEK!

6. I tackled my first children's fashion photo shoot with Kym Ventola. WOW! WOW! It is definitely rewarding, but it is a totally different process than anything else I've worked on. I can't wait to share more. Here's a peek at the wardrobe...

7. Wrote an article for Wonderfully Made about quality vs. quantity when shopping. Click here to check it out!

Additionally, with growing a baby, working for Promise Tangeman, four fashion shows and some other AVE Styles gigs I am pretty darn exhausted but sooooo happy to see all of the hard work paying off. I think April is going to look very similar. Whoa baby!

Keep checking the blog to see releases of all of these projects and of course MORE style trends!