boyfriend jeans, etc.

So I've hopped on the boyfriend jeans bandwagon. My goodness are they ever comfy. My previous jeans policy was basically the tighter the better, and while there is certainly a time and a place for that, these also have a purpose. A comfy, comfy purpose. 

These are from the Gap, the sexy boyfriend I believe they're called. I love the light wash, the distressing, and rolling the cuff at the bottom. So summery! As far as fit goes, I highly recommend sizing down a size (or even two!) as these run very big. I'm a solid 26, but these are a 25 and still a bit loose in the waist. They don't carry size 24, so I didn't have many options!

A major winning point for these is the lack of an overly saggy bum. Being petite, any superfluous volume is a major no-no, so the bum situation here is very good. Tight enough to show a little something, but loose enough to keep the casual feel of the jeans. They give me a few more curves than I actually have, so I'm a big fan of that ;) 

I wore this outfit to a garden art show with my mum and some friends, and it was perfect for the occasion. But, instead of the flats you're seeing here I wore my Sam Edelman rose gold Gigi sandals. I think these jeans look great with either flats or sandals though! And heels, perhaps, but I'm not nearly adventurous enough to try that. 

On a side note, it's a miracle that my makeup hadn't melted off by this point in the day. Makeup Forever HD foundation for the win. Also a shoutout to my Tarte setting powder. Well done, my friends. 

Jeans: Sexy Boyfriend from the Gap
Top: Rachel Roy
Bag: Coach
Shoes: Zara
Sunglasses: Chloe
Necklaces: Etsy

xx Chloë

time travel and a modified project 20 pan

Remember the days when "Project 10-Pan" or a variation on that title was all anybody ever talked about? I never really got on that train - I had no self control when it came to new products and I was never dedicated enough to finish an entire tube of moisturizer/foundation/lipstick, whatever. So I kind of feel like I've gone back in time a bit, since I'm doing my very first pan project. I'm revving up the DeLorean and you may now call me Marty McFly (was that too nerdy? Sorry).

Obviously I still have no self control, but I think my dedication has improved, so I'm giving this a shot. But before we move on, this is definitely not one of those "can't buy anything until they're done" pan projects. I just want to use up some of the goo I've been hoarding. 

So here are my "almost-empties":

MAC eyeshadows in Blanc Type, Naked Lunch, and Wedge. MAC blush in Cute. As you can see I've hit pan on all of these, so my goal is to use these suckers right up - no more of this "half-done" business. I'm all business now. Good thing I still like all of these products enough to go on a bit of a binge with them. 

These are the contributions from the "face goo" drawer. I adore both of these products, but both have been replaced by more functional options at this time (i.e. a moisturizer with SPF, and a BHA liquid). I think with a bit of perseverance and some of my new-found "dedication" to this project, I won't have any trouble finishing these up :)

Body butter goo. Both from the Body Shop, and have been languishing in my drawer for way longer than they should have been. Honestly I had to throw out the orange/satsuma one after opening it for this photo because it definitely doesn't smell like citrus anymore. This helps me out a lot, since I'm 2 or 3 uses away from finishing up the coconut! 

I might be cheating a bit with this one - I think the Klorane dry shampoo has 1, possibly 2 uses left in it, so it's not going to be a big task to finish it up. The Argan Oil, however... I think one of my biggest weaknesses is hair products. I hadn't even really realized this about myself until I was rifling through my hair drawer looking for products I could use for this project and I realized that basically all of the hair products I own are still 3/4 full. And I have a whole lot of them. I have about 4 different variations on hair oil, a bunch of volume/root products, a bunch of shine and smoothing products, and I have hardly used any of them. So I'm starting with the Organix Argan Oil, and by golly I'm going to use that sucker up!

Here's a mishmash of my almost-done makeup things... And all things that I use anyway, so maybe another bit of cheating. The foundation (Makeup Forever Face and Body, which is about 5 hours of longevity away from being my HG foundation) and the eye pencil (UD 24/7) are making me a bit crazy though - I keep putting off using them up. I'm not sure why. Each time I reach for them, my thought process goes a bit like this: "I guess I'll use this today. Hmmm there's not much left. Surely I have something else, I don't want to use it all up! Ah, better use this other product!". And this is completely insane because why wouldn't I want to use them up? They're on the list now, so there's no going back. Also my Bobbi Brown undereye corrector, and two primers (one face and one eye) that I've been using a lot lately and will be finishing anyway. 

Now for some goo in pots. My beloved Nuxe Reve de Miel balm is nearing the bottom. Light is visible through the bottom of the jar. 100% repurchasing, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. And this Nivea eye cream... I am the worst at eye cream. I have a few of them and I never remember to put it on. So here we go with that!

My final offerings - 2 millimetres of Clinique makeup remover, and 2 centimetres of Bioderma Sensibio. I use the Bioderma basically every day to take off my makeup when I get home from work, so it'll probably be done in a week, 2 tops. For some reason it's taken me ages to finish this Clinique stuff. It works fine, and I have a different bi-phase remover waiting in the wings, but I just can't seem to finish this off. 

So there they are - the 19 containers of powder and goo that I will obsessively work to finish up. There are no deadlines and no solid rules or rewards, just the satisfaction of finishing a product. Because really, there are few things as satisfying in the beauty world ;) 

xxoo
Chloë

The "Zara Outfit" of the Day

Look at me, all businesslike. This feels weird to me, blogging about my work outfits. If this is something you like, I might be willing to make this kind of thing a bit more regular ;) So, yes, by day I have a big-girl job where I have to wear business attire. It's a very interesting dilemma every morning: how to be work-appropriate (i.e. skirts not too short, pants not too tight, not too much cleavage) while still maintaining my personal style. I like to think that I usually strike the right balance! 

Anyway, here's today's work outfit. I call this my "Zara Outfit", not only because it's all from Zara, but I also bought everything together as an outfit, which is not something I do very often. It worked like a fashion miracle, so I need to do this more - I have too many orphan tops, blazers, skirts, etc. in my closet! 

I realize that this isn't the most "trendy" or "fashion-girl" outfit, but I really think there's something to be said for a classic, chic outfit like this. I am in the hunt for a pair of slightly more interesting work heels - so maybe picture this with a little more shoe pizzazz, and then you'll have my ultimate work outfit! 

Skirt: Zara
Blazer: Zara
Button down: Zara
White cami: Zara
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Bag: Coach

Also, I know this isn't the ideal outfit photo background... I was also doing an OOTD video and my neighbour decided it would be a great time to mow the lawn, as well as a giant truck deciding it would reverse all the way down my street. Noise city. Unfortunately it did not occur to me at the time that photos do not have sound. Oh well :)

xo Chloë

Speckled nail experiments on a budget

So this is me attempting the speckled nail trend. Hard Candy has revamped their nail polish line and have thankfully included a range of quasi-speckled offerings... but as I have yet to bring myself to spend $$$ on a nicer speckled polish, I cannot be sure of the similarities or differences. But to my untrained eye, these suckers look like run-of-the-mill speckled nail polishes. 

This is Cocoa Smore, and I really quite like it. I like the base colour (anything weird taupey gets me!) and I like the way the speckles work with it. It's "neutral" but still very interesting. This is three coats, and I found it very easy to apply. The speckles spread out well enough and they layered nicely. I didn't have to do much manoeuvring to get it even, there were no majorly patchy bits to report. 

 This is Gummy Green, which I found to be slightly thicker and harder to apply than Cocoa Smore, but all in all it wasn't a major pain. The particles still spread evenly enough and I like the way they layered. The green base is also pretty cool :) Not necessarily the most wearable of nail colours, but very fun! This one is also three coats.

 So I'm still on the fence about whether to shell out the big bucks for a speckled nail look- I'm not sure it's "me" enough for that. And really, when the speckled mood strikes, I can just stick with these, which were under $5, because they are perfectly adequate! 

xo
Chloe

C is for Chloë: an Etsy story

I'm not even going to pretend that I have a good reason for being so absent from my blog. I just suck. Sorry. Hopefully pretty jewelry distracts you from my poor blogging initiative. 

I've been on a major Etsy kick lately, and I thought I'd show you all some of the lovely bits and bobs I've purchased, starting with this lovely initial necklace from a shop called Little Glamour. I had been wanting an initial necklace for ages, and I finally found one I liked with a dainty enough chain. It's always difficult to tell online, and I was so worried that I would end up with a big ol' chain and a little letter charm. This might actually be a majorly irrational worry. But obviously Elizabeth from Little Glamour gets me. This necklace is perfection.

In case you haven't known me long enough (or have only followed this blog and not my Youtube) I'm a major fan of dainty and minimalist jewelry. That's not to say I won't throw a statement necklace or bracelet in there every so often, because I totally do, but my mainstays are all classic pieces. This "C" necklace fits beautifully with my style and my other pieces. 

As for the shopping experience, I have zero complaints and all praise! I received a message the same day I ordered it with an estimate as to when it would be ready to ship out, and indeed it was ready then! And it arrived 2 days later! Of course, it helps that I live in the same province as the seller, but fast shipping is always a major win and I can be rather impatient. I'm looking at you, two Etsy orders that have yet to arrive... 

Little Glamour's Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littleglamour
My necklace: http://www.etsy.com/listing/129115939/silver-initial-necklace-tiny-initial?ref=shop_home_active

I also purchased an initial necklace from another shop for my friend's birthday. It hasn't arrived yet (grumble) (missed her birthday), but I'm curious to see whether there's a big difference between the pieces.  

This is the other shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MazuMazu 

Until next time, I'll be waiting patiently by my mailbox :) Also, I hope you all don't mind that I'm turning this blog into more of an "everything" blog. Chloë does indeed blog beauty, but I'd also like to blog fashion and maybe some food-related things. And dogs. Always dogs. 

Obviously. 

xo Chloë

High End vs. Drugstore: EYELINER! (Pencil, Liquid, Gel)

Hello friends! Today I'll be rambling about my favourite high end and drugstore eyeliners. I'm no eyeliner expert, but I do look strange without it, so I'd say my opinion has a bit of clout. This is by no means a comprehensive overview of every eyeliner I've ever tried, but rather my current favourites. So. Herrrre we go!

PENCIL: 

Urban Decay is the bomb-diggity (oh dear me, this phrase...) when it comes to eyeliners. They're creamy and soft (not always a good thing, mind you) and have a great pigment to them. They also last really well on the waterline, although I don't do that much since I've started wearing contact lenses more regularly. 

Annabelle is the best I've found at the drugstore. The tip is firmer than UD, which is great for drawing thin lines along the lash line. Colour deposits easily and the tip doesn't drag. For around $5, it's a total steal. Another drugstore offering that's worth mentioning is the black eyeliner from Essence's "I Heart..." collection. It's creamy like the Urban Decay pencils and is a great black colour. 

1. UD Perversion 2. UD Zero 3. Annabelle Black

LIQUID:

My all-time favourite liquid eyeliner is Makeup Forever's Aqua Liner. The colour is a deep black, the applicator works great without the help of a brush, and it stays put. It's pretty much perfect, even though its longwearing-ness makes it a bit of a pain in the butt to remove at the end of the day. 

As for drugstore, I really like the Revlon Colorstay liquid eyeliner. It's a nice formula, a good black colour, and it stays really well. The only gripe I have is the lousy packaging. The applicator is much too short, and it gets in the way of seeing what you're doing. Not so great! Another "decent" option if you're really on a budget is the NYC High Definition liquid liner in Extra Black. The colour is more of a watered down black, but the applicator is great, and maybe the other colours offered in the range are more vibrant? Perhaps? I'm only including it here because it's really inexpensive and has a good marker-style applicator. So maybe it's worth a look. 

L-R: MUFE Aqua Liner, Revlon Colorstay, NYC High Definition

GEL:

I love gel eyeliner. A lot. A whole lot. So I was really excited when I finally got my hands on a Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black Ink- and it was everything I had hoped it would be. Smooth, black, longwearing. But... expensive. Then came along the Essence gel eyeliner in Midnight in Paris. This completely blindsided me with its amazingness. Smooth, creamy, longwearing, and... blacker (!) than Bobbi Brown! Gasp! I highly recommend both options- Bobbi makes some great coloured versions of her gel liner, so maybe those are more worthy of a splurge. If you can get your hands on this Essence liner, then go go go!

Bobbi Brown Black Ink, Essence Midnight in Paris

Let me know what your favourite eyeliners are! I'm always looking to try new things :)

xx

(Disclosure: NYC product was provided for review)

if this is what you get for waking up in Vegas, sign me up!

Ladies and gentlemen (?), behold the latest of my shameful impulse buys. I had had a crappy day at work, so I took it out on a couple of new Deborah Lippmann polishes: Waking up in Vegas and Before He Cheats (which is a whole other post... for good and bad reasons!). 

My first thought about this polish was, "Why on earth is this called Waking up in Vegas and it doesn't have a lick of glitter in it!?" and I'm still puzzled by this. I am not puzzled by its amazingness, though. This colour, which is described as a 'putty-liscious grey', (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense) is exactly what I have been searching for. 

I'd call it a slightly warmed up putty grey colour. It's almost neutral, really, which will lend it well to a variety of skin tones. While most of my body is cool-toned, my hands (fingers in particular) have a red and yellow tinge to them, making nail polish selection kind of awkward. This one works on everyone. 

My only complaint is the price - $20 at Murale. Yikes. But honestly, it really brightened my mood after a really crappy and stressful day, so I'd say that's worth $20 every once in a while, don't you? 

xx