Affordable Fall Fashion || 5 Trends to Try!

Today's post is dedicated to fall style! More specifically, how to choose pieces and style outfits that are trending, yet still classic and wearable. I've refined this post to include outfits that incorporate five fall trends this season. A huge thank-you to my friend Madeline for her photography, styling, and modeling skills! Read on to find out tips for shopping and styling these fun fall-appropriate looks!

Interview with Shelbey Ashburn | A Closer Look at Being a Social Influencer, YouTube Beauty Guru, and Beauty Blogger

I had so much fun corresponding with Shelbey Ashburn from Love, Shelbey! If you are unfamiliar with her, she has created a successful YouTube channel, beauty and fashion blog, and establishment on social media as a down-to-earth and very knowledgeable beauty and fashion guru, and she agreed to talk with me about her experience as an online influencer. I will leave links to all her platforms down below. If you haven't seen her content yet, go check it out because she posts great stuff!

Shelbey and I chatted about her beginning as a social influencer, her overall career goals, and her tips for creating a unique voice in the vast beauty community, among other great things. I would encourage anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations to read on because she has great overarching advice and insights! I hope you all enjoy, and a big thank you again to Shelbey for allowing me to pick her brain in order to do this!

The main aspect of the interview I wanted to focus on is Shelbey's voice in the beauty community. She is a breath of fresh air when it comes to paving her own path and remaining true to her original vision, which is one of the things that drew me into her videos and blog posts. As an entrepreneur, especially one in the beauty community, it seems easy to be sucked into mainstream trends and conforming to certain standards, but Shelbey gives great insight about her experience with this pressure:

"I've never really been the type to want something that everyone else has just because it's the latest trend. As a matter of fact, for the most part of my time in high school I was that kid who called everyone else a "poser" for trying to do things that were popular or trendy (I got over that phase haha). I don't know, I guess I just don't have that need or desire to want things that I see others have - except puppies.... I will want your puppy if you post a photo of it :)"

Shelbey and her new puppy Ollie

She also touches on this while commenting on the daily challenge of creating new and unique content for her subscribers:

"There are SO many content creators on YouTube now, especially in the beauty community. A big challenge for me is that I always want to be creating new and exciting ideas that no one (or not many people) have done yet. It also used to be a slight challenge for me to not conform to the typical "beauty guru image" (lip fillers, extreme contour, crop tops, braids, etc.) Not that there's anything wrong with that certain look, I just feel as if it's now a look society expects women to have if they're working in this industry."

She breathes confidence, and her individuality is evident in her videos. Shelbey encourages others to have their own voice while demonstrating just that with the content she posts, "Your personality is your most unique trait. Let that shine through in your videos. Don't try to talk like you're someone else or act like a different person because viewers will notice. Let your own confidence and personality do the work."

I also wanted to get a closer look at how she balances her work with her personal life, as I have heard many social influencers comment on the struggle to create periods of solitude for themselves and loved ones away from the public eye. She states that "When you work as an online influencer it's hard to distinguish what a "day off" is because you're constantly working on small pieces of work each day. BUT, most Saturdays I try to set everything aside and just chill out. Really, I just enjoy doing nothing with Will [her fiance] and our dog, Ollie. Those seem to be the best days! I never really had a set schedule of filming or blogging until I gave up my job last December to blog and work on YouTube full time. However, when I was in school I basically took any free time I had a dedicated it to my videos. I mostly made 1 video a week. That was what I had time for when I worked and went to school. I think it's always important to look at your channel as something that is fun and free - if you grow quickly, that's great. If you grow slower, or steadily, then at least you're growing while managing other priorities in your life." Aspiring online influencers take note! This concept that any growth is still growth is something I try to keep in mind, especially since I have other commitments in my life besides blogging and filming.

She also emphasizes the importance of a good support system: "My greatest joy in life is definitely friends and family. I have always been backed up and supported by an amazing group of people which I am so thankful for! As for being a social influencer, I would say the feedback I receive from viewers who have not only been inspired through my beauty related content but personal content as well. My goal is not to influence others to buy or go after the latest trends, but to follow their own path no matter what stage they are in during their lives."

I definitely wanted to ask Shelbey to touch on her reasons for beginning what is now her career as an online influencer, but also her advice to grow a loyal following. Anyone who is looking to create their own business can imagine how challenging it can be to grow, especially with a loyal and consistent following. Shelbey states that she found her niche on YouTube at 19 or 20 when she noticed that her knowledge through her position in the beauty industry at bareMinerals gave her insight to discuss the products, turning out to be an untapped area in the beauty community on YouTube. As a matter of fact, her hard work and dedication is coming to fruition in the form of a major feature with the company that started her career in the beauty industry. Shelbey is launching a collaboration with bareMinerals on their new Neutral Attraction palette on Thursday April 7th. Be sure to check it out on the bareMinerals website! In essence, Shelbey is demonstrating that anyone with passion and particular knowledge in a certain area can utilize them to create a voice for their vision that will set them apart from others and make their content appealing.

In terms of growing a blog and YouTube channel, she knows what's up: "I always tell bloggers that Pinterest is your best friend! To grow my blog I realized quickly that you need to have visually appealing content. Quick how to's and tutorials are the major trends on Pinterest and when you nail a good photo or pictorial that is repinned hundreds of times daily, that brings viewers to your blog without you even trying or consistently writing new content every day. YouTube is a bit more tricky. I've seen people who started their channel 5 years ago and have barely made it to 100,000 subscribers. Then there's people who have only had a channel for 6 months and are nearing half a million subscribers. Everyone has their own peak time but if you're putting effort and hard work into your videos and have a genuine personality, people will see that and you will continue to grow. For me personally, I started my channel almost 3 years ago and I'm nearing 70,000 subscribers. I'm content with that because I know I was not putting the effort into my videos like I do now (meaning that I have a 3 video per week schedule, take more time to film and edit content, consistently plan videos ahead etc.)"

I have noticed that perspective, especially in this line of work, is key. Having a vision that extends beyond online content seems to be cathartic and essential to maintaining a relatable aspect to blogs and videos. I was curious about the overall vision of Shelbey's work, and how she aspires to use her online platform to achieve that vision. She comments, "I just hope to continue to grow my platform in hopes to help others and inspire others to follow their dreams and just be the best they can possibly be for themselves and for others. Will and I definitely have plans in the future to do mission work overseas as well as in the United States and surrounding areas. I basically want to be a part of any cause I can help with. A big issue I hope to be a part of ending is human trafficking and human enslavement. We need people who are given these large platforms to be willing to help others and also spread awareness for the terrible issues parts of the world are facing. Overall, I just have this burning need to help others and give back."

I will leave you with these take-home messages from my interview with Shelbey:

Have a vision.
Have a unique voice.
Have a good support system.
and Have a backbone!

Shelbey's sage advice to us all is to "Have fun and don't take shit from anyone! ;)"

Please subscribe if you like this post and leave me a comment! (oh, and don't forget to go check out Shelbey's blog and channel!)

Shelbey's links: YouTube, Blog, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat: @LoveShelbey, Periscope: Shelbey Ashburn or LoveShelbey

5 Makeup Tricks for Spring | Creating a Fresh, Fun Look!

1. Colorful Lower Lashline

Creating a fun, springy look can be as simple as adding a pop of color to your everyday makeup routine! There are endless possibilities for fun, spring-appropriate colors! My trick to this look is to KEEP IT SIMPLE. If you want to add a pop of color to your lower lashline, try keeping the lid area clean and neutral to keep the look balanced. I like to add a soft brown to the crease, a light neutral color with a sheen to the lid, and a cream color to highlight the brow bone and inner corner. Then add the colorful shadow tight against the lower lashline and blend with a pencil brush for a seamless transition! It's that simple! Credit to Alexandrea Garza and Casey Holmes for a bold purple lower lashline with the Too Faced Peanut Butter & Jelly palette! I am obsessed with this look! The Jelly shade is that perfect bright purple to jazz up your eyes for spring and summer. Check their tutorials out here: Alex's tutorial and Casey's tutorial. You get the best of both worlds with this palette. The warm neutrals make the perfect complement on the lid to a bright purple lower lashline! Plus, I had no idea how convenient it was until I began purchasing palettes, but having all the shadows you need (base, transition, lid, outer corner, and highlight) in one place is perfect for on-the-go and travel! If you don’t want to purchase a full palette, no worries! Most of you probably already have neutrals in your collection to pair with a bold color, so opt for single eyeshadows like the L’Oreal Infalliable shadows or the Nyx Hot Singles, both of which are available in the drugstore or at Ulta! If you have more time to wait for snail mail, I highly recommend trying Makeup Geek shadows! They make the creamiest, most BEAUTIFUL shimmer and matte shadows in amazing shades. Plus, they are at or below a drugstore price point!

If you pair this look with a colored lip, I recommend following trick 2 below ↓ for a subtle color and lots of shine. 

Here are some of the colorful shadows I have been obsessing over!

P.S. Click the links to shop the products!

Greens:

L’Oreal Infalliable Shadow in Endless Sea 

L'Oreal Infalliable Shadow in Emerald Green

Makeup Geek shadow in Sea Mist

Blues:

Makeup Geek shadow in Dragonfly

Makeup Geek shadow in Poolside

Urban Decay shadow in Divebar

Purples:

L'Oreal Infalliable shadow in Burst Into Bloom (from the Butterfly Collection)

Makeup Geek shadow in Wisteria

Makeup Geek shadow in Caitlin Rose

Pinks: 

Urban Decay shadow in Woodstock

Makeup Geek Duochrome shadow in Mai Tai

L'Oreal Infalliable shadow in Always Pearly Pink (from the Butterfly Collection)

Tip: Don’t be afraid to try pinks on your eyes! Combine this with trick 3 below ↓ to avoid looking like you have pink eye. The white eyeliner on the waterline will separate the pink shadow from the pink tones in your waterline and the veins in your eyes to assure the look is fresh and purposeful!

Left: L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Pink Me Up
Center: L'Oreal Infalliable Eyeshadow in Burst into Bloom
Right: L'Oreal Infalliable Eyeshadow in Golden Emerald



2. Flushed, Glossy Lips

Glossy lips with a hint of color is perfect for spring because it pairs perfectly with flushed cheeks and a glowing complexion! The key to this look is to pick fun, bright colors and apply them to have a sheer finish. If done correctly, it gives a pouty, just-bitten feel that looks fresh and daytime-appropriate. You can achieve this several ways:

Glosses- Choose a gloss that has sheer color payoff and bright shade selections. My favorite gloss formula has to be Buxom Full-On Lip Polishes. They have a wide array of colors and they give a truly glass-like finish. Some of the shades that come to mind: Kayla (bright pink), Mia (guava), Debbie (coral pink), and Erin (pinky lavender). These shades as well as several of the Buxom Full-On Lip Creams (Tequila Sunrise, Mai Tai, Pink Lady, and Berry Blast to name a few) are sure to give a pop of color to your spring makeup routine!  

Lipsticks + Lip Balm or Lip Oil- This is one of my favorite tricks. Combining a creme lipstick with a lip balm gives a sheer, shiny wash of color to the lips with the added benefit of hydration! This is my go-to if I am failing to locate a sheer gloss to do the trick. Start by pre-hydrating your lips with the lip balm or oil as you apply the rest of your makeup. Finish by lightly dabbing the lip color on your lips (the idea is to stain your lips rather than fully coat them with the color), then top with the balm or oil again and tap with your finger to seamlessly blend the two together! The effect: pouty stained lips that are bright and glossy but still sheer and subtle! Any lipstick will do, but here are some great options for balms and oils to hydrate and plump up your lips: Dior Creme de Rose Lip Balm (SO hydrating and adds amazing shine!), Hourglass N 28 Lip Oil, Aquaphor Lip Repair, and Rosebud Minted Rose Lip Balm. Last, but certainly not least, there are some amazing glossy balms out there that deliver the perfect, sheer wash of color! A few that stand out to me: Clinique Chubby Sticks (Heftiest Hibiscus or Plushest Punch) and L'Oreal Glossy Balms (Pink Me Up and Innocent). 

3. White Waterline

The quickest way to fresh, awake eyes for spring is to pop a nude or white eyeliner into your waterline. This gives the illusion of larger eyes that appear more open, as opposed to black eyeliner which makes them appear smaller. This trick will look great paired with a colorful lower lashline or by itself to refresh your everyday makeup! I love the Rimmel Scandaleyes Nude liner, personally, but a stark white may be fun to try as well. Some white eyeliners sure to go on creamy and long-lasting are MAC liner in Fascinating, NARS Larger Than Life liner in Santa Monica Blvd, Lancome Liqui-Pencil in French lace, and Rimmel Soft Kohl liner in Pure White. 

4. Highlighted Inner Corners

A bright and shimmery inner corner is a fool-proof way to wake up your eyes and draw positive attention to them! A touch of neutral shimmer near the inner tear duct will separate the eyes to give the appearance of more space between the eyes as well as add a flirty detail. Spring makeup is the ideal time to call attention to the face and eyes with subtle hints of shimmer, and inner corner detail is an easily-forgotten trick to play up your eyes. A tip is to choose a shade that has fine shimmer, rather than glitter. If the pigment is not finely milled, it will cake up in the inner corners, but a fine shimmer shade that gives off a gleam rather than a chunky glittered look will give the desired effect. Try one of these shades or something similar in your own collection: MAC Nylon (pale gold frost), MAC Shroom (beige shimmer frost), Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma (champagne shimmer), Makeup Geek Ice Queen (frosty white shimmer), or Nyx Baked Eyeshadows (Moonshine, White Noise, or Easy Rider). 

5. Dewy, Fresh Skin

A fresh looking face is first in my mind when I think of what spring makeup should look like! Spring is when the moisture finally returns to the air and is generally when we start to see our skin looking more hydrated after the winter months, hence why our makeup should reflect this! The key is to let natural details of your face like freckles peek through and let the foundation focus on simply blurring imperfections and evening skin tone while leaving behind a glowy finish. Some of my favorite dewy light to medium coverage foundations are the MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation and the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation. A tip for the full-coverage matte foundation lovers is to mix one of your favorites in that category with a BB or CC cream, or even a pump of your favorite moisturizer (make sure it is 1 part matte foundation to 2 parts cream of choice). This will give desired coverage but allow the matte finish to become a more satin to dewy finish. Added bonus: If you are like myself, finding the perfect shade match is impossible, and this trick will allow you to customize the shade to perfectly match your skin tone as you get a few shades darker into the summer months!! Another suggestion to keep the skin looking light and fresh is to sub powder blushes and bronzers for cream or liquid products. A cream blush will give a natural flush to the skin and blend more naturally with a dewy foundation, as opposed to a powder that may skip and look patchy on the skin. The same applies for cream bronzers. I will list a few of each that carry great reputations.

Cream Blushes: Tarte Cheek Stain, Perricone MD No Blush Blush, Benefit Dandelion Dew Liquid Blush, MAC Cremeblend Blush, and Sonia Kashuk Creme Blush

Cream/Liquid Bronzers: Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Cream Bronzer, Perricone MD No Bronzer Bronzer, Vapour Beauty Solar Translucent Bronzer, Dew the Hoola Liquid Bronzer, and Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer.

I hope you enjoyed these quick and easy tips for fresh spring makeup! Leave me a comment about a favorite product or trend that you love for spring! Also, like and share this post if you found it interesting and useful!

What I Learned from Yoga | Transforming Life Off of the Mat

Disclaimer: This post speaks to the practicality behind the practice of yoga as it applies to everyday life. I am in no way a yoga instructor, expert, or guru, but I am a person that loves mindful movement, freedom, consciousness, and most of all, transformation. If you concur, read on!

"Your life is a sacred journey. It is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path..exactly where you are meant to be right now...And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing, of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love." -Caroline Adams

Shivers. I could not have said this more beautifully. 

Many of the instructors I have practiced under describe yoga as a journey of the soul more-so than a physical exercise. Sure, yoga requires strength of body and mind, a little flexibility, stamina, and diligence, but so does life. The most rewarding and transforming yoga classes in which I participated cast yoga in a light that exemplified the practice as a freedom from limitations. Now, if you and I are alike, having perfectionist, OCD tendencies is a reality, and life is nothing if not planned and orderly. Control and comfort zones are two of my best friends, and yoga is a safe place for me to let go of my limitations on myself and the world around me. Yoga has no space for my tendency to compare my progress with others, and that has been a refreshing change from my norm (refer to my last post on self-celebration). Another integral reason that I have come to love and embrace my time on the mat lies in my relationship with patience. Patience is not a strong suit of mine; in fact, some of the people closest to me might confess it to be one of my biggest faults. However, yoga gives me the room and grace to fail at this virtue and continue to try and improve. When I can't nail an inversion (I know, so fancy with the lingo! Basically this is anything where your head is below your heart, usually requiring some kind of balance), frustration and discouragement want to settle in, but the focus of yoga is so kind and forgiving that I can easily give myself the grace to try it again or rest comfortably knowing that there is no rush and I can accomplish that goal another day. In my personal experience, yoga is an escape and a release from worldly pressures and expectations. If you are not wanting or able to practice yoga, I highly suggest exploring other unique ways to find a release.

Why Yoga has CHANGED me, and why the yoga mindset can change you, too

Whether or not you are a yogi, learning to be mindful and embrace some of the core teachings that yoga implements can greatly alter your ability to see life from new lenses. Diligence is key here; we all hold our own vices in the depths of our beings, and it is challenging to 1. Understand and identify our character faults and 2. Embrace them without judgment while simultaneously making room to improve them. While doing a little groundwork online in support of this post, I looked at pages that cited the key principles of yoga. Some that stood out to me:

Meditation

Meditation, personally, calms my mind during times of stress, chaos, or even day-to-day monotony and allows me to reconnect with daily needs, emotions, and subconscious thoughts. Meditation is a learned skill that only improves with practice. There is certainly something to be said for a true quietness of the mind, and it can be difficult to achieve with the constant presence of stimuli in our daily lives. I sometimes struggle to disconnect from the endless ways to connect (social media, texting, television, music), but this disconnection tends to bring me clarity and serenity and refreshes my mind for positivity and resilience during daily challenges.

Balance

I want to dedicate a whole post to balance in life, but without going into too much detail, balance learned from yoga postures can translate into harmony of our minds, a place where we can more fluidly integrate our work lives into our home lives, our emotions with our thoughts, and our relationships with ourselves with our relationships with others. Balance in yoga demands consciousness, a willingness to focus our attention on more than one thing (our posture, our breath, our energy). I strive constantly for a more harmonious balance within my life, and yoga has afforded me the consciousness to try.

Freedom from Judgment

This virtue is monumentally important in my practice, both of yoga and spiritual growth. The studio radiates positivity which is, well, positively contagious. Each person that walks into the studio holds their own beauty, and the instructors facilitate that kind of attitude throughout class. You cannot walk into a class and leave the same, at least I cannot. I suffer from imposition of harsh judgments on others, and perhaps even more harsh judgments on myself. Yoga has been my best instructor in this virtue. When I find myself burdened by judgment, I try to call on my mindfulness to draw me out and bring clarity and perspective back into my heart. This post may make these practices sound trite and simple. They are anything but trite or simple, however, in the interest of time, the abridged version seems logical. In summary for this piece, I always try to remind myself that I am perfectly imperfect and that positivity outshines any judgments I can possibly make.

Commitment

Practice makes perfect, or in this case, practice makes movement. Yoga relies on constant movement--change, ebb and flow knowing that not every day will feel and behave the same and that progress comes in all shapes and sizes. The practice of yoga taught me never to strive for "perfection" because perfection is completely subjective, but rather to strive for small improvements. I find this reminder helpful in my everyday life, as I mentioned in my previous post. Commitment to practice and openness to change foster improvement.

Patience

With patience comes transformation.

Namaste with love,

Erika

P.S. Leave me a comment about your favorite ways to practice these virtues!

CELEBRATE YOURSELF

As cliche as it may be to make New Year's Resolutions, the one vow I have made for this year of my life is to love myself at whatever stage I am in. I have found myself too often this past year comparing my stage in life to those around me. I'm talking physical shape, career (or lack thereof), financial stability, milestone life events, relationships, you name it. One of my favorite, but forgotten, quotes is "Comparison is the thief of happiness". A.M.E.N. to that. Comparison really steals our happiness and robs us of our self-worth! So this year, I am working to make some mindful changes in order to allow myself to be peaceful with my place in the world.

One topic I feel called to touch on is social media. I'm sure many other bloggers have shed light on this issue, but it has personally consumed me more than I would care to admit to myself. We see these beautiful girls on Instagram that have the image of a perfect life, perfect body, perfect hair, makeup, clothes, etc. But that is all it is: an IMAGE. If we only broadcast the 0.01% of our personal "highlights" in life, that is comparable to what we see broadcast all over Instagram. Truthfully, I would imagine it is exhausting to constantly prep for the perfect post, picture, video, or caption. The one thing I would use my voice to say is that you should enjoy your life in the moment, and let your happiness dictate what you share, regardless of the image or attention you wish to bring to yourself.

One aspect of my life that I tend to minimize is my career path. I began a PhD program in Pharmacology in 2014, and it has changed me monumentally already, in good ways and not-so-great ways. However, I have finally begun to give myself credit where credit is due. The PhD life, regardless of the field, is an incredibly difficult road. So when I achieve something that shapes me even minimally in this journey, I celebrate it! It is one of the ways I have found to enjoy the road I am on instead of dragging my feet the whole way. If you are on a career path that requires tiny steps to reach an ultimate destination, be mindful of the steps you accomplish to see the progress you've made. I try my best not to compare myself with those around me, those friends that have a stable, good-paying salary, because honestly, I just have to know that I won't get that for several more years. However, I have good friends, lots of love and support, a rockin' education, and plenty of laughter to get me through the rough patches that come every now and then. So I would encourage you to sit down and think of all the blessings, lessons, strengths, and silver-linings that your career path brings to your life, and try to embrace any negative aspects that will surely be there in your career for a reason. Whatever job you have is valued and important, so celebrate that.

Learn to celebrate yourself, your accomplishments, and your attitude rather than breaking yourself down for your mistakes, shortcomings, or flaws. We are flawed and the mistakes are part of the learning-process. If we rejoice in the life we are living, each day will be more rewarding and worthwhile. So go out with friends, buy little treats, take a long walk, see the movie you've been wanting to see, and for gosh sakes, ALWAYS  eat the dessert!

With love and celebration,

Erika Follow my blog with Bloglovin