Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Here's the low down on my Christmas Day attire!

Blue Lace Dress: H&M

Necklace: Francesca's

Black Tights: Forever21

Jule's Gems: Revlon Black Cherry Lipstick

I am never one to shy away from a bold color lip, nothing can change up a make up look more then the lip color. It can take your look from day to night in an instant! Check out Adele's make up below, at the 2012 Grammy's for some of her performances she went for a softer look and  rockin a nude color lip and then at other times during the same night she went with a red lip which kicked her look up to old Hollywood glamour va va voom!

On a typical day a bold red lip is my go to, but recently I've been loving the deep dark purple red lip trend over the bright red one. The same look that Khloe Kardashian is rockin below.

Revlon's Black Cherry Lipstick is the closest drug store dupe I could find to getting to this color, and I love it! It's a matte formula that can be worn day or night. If at night just put on a couple extra layers to give it that extra deep and bold look.

At a first glance the color of the lipstick itself is intimidating because it almost looks black, but don't let it fool you when applied it gives a gorgeous deep purpley red.

Outfit Deets - Glasses, Dress, & Denim Chambray Top: Urban Outfitters

Black Tights: Forever21

Jule's Judgement: 4 out of 5 lipsticks:

   

Jule's Gems: Sophia Loren, Beautiful on the Inside and Out

Jule's Gems: Elizabeth Taylor's Wisdom & Insight

Don't cut out your cut out options

I love the cut out dress style! But let's be real, not all of us can rock the cut out dress look with the fierce confidence of Kim Kardashian as seen below. 

So instead pair a great cut out dress with a pop of color blouse to peep through the cut outs! Problem solved! Your welcome. 

Blouse & Dress: Forever21

Necklace: Buckle

Blue Tights: Old Navy

Pink & Green, If you know what I mean??

The title of this post has no meaning, it was the only phrase I could think of that rhymed and was applicable to my outfit. So there you go! 

Blouse, Dress, & Tights: Forever21

Big Black Rock Ring: Francesca's

Jule's Gems: Literary Luncheon Dress

Modcloth's Literary Luncheon Dress is a must have garment every fashionista should own! It's one of the highest rated dresses on their website and I can most def see why. I ordered this dress in a size large online and found it true to size exactly! It comes in every size from small to 4XL. The beautiful black and white stripes on the top and mustard gold on the bottom compliments any hair color and the way it cinches in at the waist is very forgiving. 

I paired my dress with a fedora hat and elephant necklace, keeping my accessories minimal to prevent my look from being too busy. You can't see it in the picture below but I am also wearing black tights and heels along with it. 

The price of the dress is a bit out of my price range as far as how much I normally spend on dresses but it was worth the price! The fabric of the dress is thick and durable which is great because I will be wearing the heck out of the dress this Fall! 

Hat: H&M

Dress: Modcloth

Elephant Necklace: PacSun 

Falling for Fall

I love the Fall season! Especially this year in the NW I'm really falling in love with the beauty of Fall. I'm loving the beautiful colors of the changing trees and falling leaves. GOD is the most beautiful artist! I love the cozy warmth of staying in and eating soup along with peppermint and pumpkin spice coffees. AND what fashion blogger doesn't love having the excuse to wear a great pair of boots with every outfit??!!?

Chambray Top: Forever21

Scarf & Big Black Rock Ring: Francesca's

Boots: Urbanog 

Blessed Be a Baby's Baptism

This is the outfit I wore to my baby nephews baptism. I thought the bright blue and lime green complimented each other nicely and I wore the black and white polka dot blouse underneath the dress to give the ensemble  some extra flare. I ended up straightening my hair and pulling it back in a poofy pony tail for the occasion. 

Dress, Cardigan, Polka Dot Blouse, Tights: Forever21

Necklace: Francesca's 

Purse: Ross

Shoes: Trends Shoes

Jule's Gems: The Skinny on Skinnies

Black skinny jeans are a fashion staple that must be included in every fashionista's wardrobe. They can match with practically anything and can be dressed up or dressed down. They're great! What's not so great is finding the right pair to fit your shape. The last 3 pairs of black skinny jeans I owned only lasted about 2 months. I bought them from Target for the fairly reasonable price of about $25.

The first pair I bought were to big in the waist and tight everywhere else. The second pair I bought I got at a size smaller in the waist, so they fit my waist but then were REAL tight in the caboose and thighs. Yikes! After settling for the size of my second pair within a matter of weeks the black color start to fade from being washed. I then bought my third pair with the same problem.

So decided I am no longer going to be settling for these less than satisfactory skinnies. I recently invested in a pair from Old Navy. The difference is astounding! They are fantastic! The type of fit is labeled "The Flirt."

 They fit exactly to my form AND have some stretch in them for on the days I feel like reaching for an extra enchilada! HAHA! When I put them on they feel like a cross between pajamas and leggings they are that comfortable, LOVE! They also are not super skinny at the ankle giving me a less pear shaped appearance, Hoorays! 

A Fierce Face: Adele

Isn't she stunningly beautiful? And talented too! I heart Adele! Her style is so classic! How could you ever go wrong with a winged eye and bold lip, which tends to be her signature style!

Jule's Gems: Audrey Hepburn

I know I'm a day late for Jule's Gems but what can I say? It's been a busy weekend and start to the week! Who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn? She's a gem in her own right! Take some of her sparkling wisdom with you, to inspire you throughout the week! 

Style with Sass!

I love mixing prints! I always feel it gives a little bit of sassyness when an outfit includes different prints. Here I am mixing stripes with leopard. 

Necklace: Francesca's 

Black & White Striped Shirt: Forever21

Jeans: Old Navy

Purse: Ross

Leopard Loafers: Forever21

Jule's Gems: Wedding Hair

It's hard to kick start a week with those Manic Mondays, that is why I have decided to implement Jule's Gems every Monday. Just to give a little more sparkle to the start of your week! Here I will share little treasures from my life and spread the word about shiny little gems of products and places that otherwise may go unnoticed.  Enjoy!

As you know I ordered my wedding dress online, and the veil that was modeled with the dress was just not my style. It was a long cathedral style veil to the floor. I wanted something more fun and that didn't drag on the ground. I wanted something that would add to my dress not hide it.

Months and weeks leading up to my wedding I put the task of buying a veil on the back burner, the task seemed daunting and so time consuming I just kept procrastinating. Finally 2 weeks prior to the Big Day I set aside a whole Saturday to find the perfect veil, me and my sister aka matron of honor went into our local David's Bridal shop and I was certain I would find something. WRONG! First of all the veils on the show room floor are all samples that have to be ordered which takes 4-6 weeks to deliver! Second of all David's Bridal customer service is below satisfactory, not to mention their veils all look very generic and nothing caught my eye or stood out.

The following Monday on my lunch break I took a stroll to a downtown bridal boutique named AniA right up the street from my work. This shop was full of beautiful bridal couture! My dream come true! I found lots of gorgeous veils and hair accessories, but the prices were WAY over my budget. I wasn't in the market to fork over another $300 for a fake flower or $550 for a veil.

Frustrated and starting to feel panicked. I contemplated if I was really going to wear anything in my hair on my wedding day. After all a veil is not a requirement, I then made the decision not wear a veil but I did want something so I chose a flower. The next day I went to the Washington Square Mall and raided the place for a beautiful wedding flower. I tried Forever21, H&M, Claire's and to no avail! I wanted to find something where I would have the same reaction as I did when I found my wedding dress. The reaction where a light bulb goes off in my head and I know that's the one I must have!

As I was about to leave the mall a sparkly kiosk caught my eye. It was full of fake hair & hair accessories. I decided to give it the once over and immediately my peepers were drawn to a big beautiful white flower made out of feathers! As soon as I saw it there I had my reaction! I knew it was what I would wear in my hair on my wedding day. It was elegant yet edgy, it was so unique and added to my dress's style perfectly. This little kiosk is called SOHO. I don't know about you but I tend to ignore mall kiosks because they never sell anything I want or need and if I wasn't so desperate to find a wedding flower for my hair I probably wouldn't had ever noticed it. Now that I know its there SOHO will be my first stop for all special occasion hair accessories. And this feathery flower was well within my budget priced at only $33! 

For my wedding I didn't want my hair to be beauty queen prom princess with a bunch of tight curls and bobby pins, I wanted it to be free flowing and beachy. Here is my mom and sister going to town on my hair with a quickness to get it all wavy just how I wanted it right before I headed down the aisle. 

Here is me and my mom after the ceremony with my hair and feathery flower still in tact! Thanks to my mom and sister for getting my hair done! And for SOHO for selling the most beautiful bridal flower that finalized my bridal look!

Don't Be Duped, Get a Dupe!

In my last post I shared my love for MAC's eyebrow pencil Lingering, soon after I found myself attempting to paint on my brows and I was fresh out! My reaction was "What??!! I just bought this not even a month ago!!" Shocked, I went on the hunt for a dupe. Being a gal on a budget I just couldn't justify dropping almost another $20 smackers not even a month later for another new eyebrow pencil. After perusing various make up blogs and youtube reviews I discovered Mabelline's Define-A-Brow in Medium Brown. I visited my local Kmart and purchased it for $6.49! A far cry from the nearly $20 for MAC's Lingering eyebrow pencil. I put it on the very next morning before going to work and let me tell you this is not just a dupe it's the exact, EXACT, EXACT!!! same as MAC's Lingering pencil. It's the exact same consistency and pigment and even rolls up the same as the Lingering pencil does with no sharpener needed. The color lasts all day without fading or smudging. And as a bonus there is a lovely little eyebrow comb at the other end of the pencil.This will be my new go to eyebrow color from now on, I love finding deals! 

Jule's Judgement: 5 out of 5 lipsticks:

Lingering

As a natural red head I have had my fair share of eye brow dilemmas. Shaping and coloring in your eyebrows is one of the most important aspects of make up application. Your eyebrows shape your face and can be what makes you from looking tired and washed out to bright eyed and awake. Having red hair and finding the right eyebrow pencil is tricky business. Most cosmetics carry brown and black eyebrow colors something that matches red hair is few and far between. Luckily I found Lingering from MAC.

Its a reddish brownish eyebrow crayon/pencil but it works like a pen. This eyebrow pencil gives great color and definition and requires no pencil sharpener. It matches my hair color perfectly and comes out really well in photos. For help with how to color in and define eyebrows check out Melissa's eyebrow tutorial here. Brows are what shape your face, no matter what the day holds whether its a full on glammed out make up day or just a mascara and lip gloss kind of day I always manage to put on my brows. 

Whether it be at the beach in Hawaii

Out in the flower fields

Or at a birthday party

My brows go on everyday all day!

Jule's Judgement: 5 out of 5 lipsticks: