Saturday, December 20, 2014

NYE Outfit Ideas

New Years is such a fun holiday filled with cocktail dresses, old friends and lots of music. It is the holiday for which you can get super dressed up for and no one will think twice. Looking back on all my New Years outfits, they are always the same- short little, often back cocktail dresses. This year I thought it would be fun to dress a little different so I've come up with three outfit ideas that I think are perfect for New Years but are a little different from the normal back cocktail dress.

new years eve outfits



1) The first look I think would be great for NYE is a red playsuit with black and gold accessories. Red is such a bright festive color and I think it would be awesome for New Years Eve. This particular red playsuit from New Look has a lace back accent which is so pretty and feminine . I think black platform boots, a gold bangle and a black and gold clutch would be perfectly accessory this. This look is a perfect combination of girly and edgy. 

2) I think glitter dresses are always a big thing for New Years Eve but I think glitter skirts are under appreciated for New Years Eve. I really like the rose gold one from Alica and Olivia because it is such a great pencil length (Although this one is a little too pricey for me, I would probably look for a dupe in Forever 21). I think with such a statement skirt, it would be best to keep everything simple with a plain black tank, strappy black heels and a little gold necklace and clutch. 

3) My last outfit is a play in the classic little black dress. A leather black dress is a great way to to wear black but be a bit different. I thought it would be fun to add some color with teal pumps and a deep purple black. Lastly, I added little black and gold studs to tie it all together. 

I can't wait for New Years Eve! 

What are you wearing for New Years Eve? 

Lots of Love, 

Rena 






Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Review: Batiste Dry Shampoo in A Hint of Color: Dark & Deep Brown




I hope I am not the only one out there who thinks dry shampoo sucks for girls with darker hair. No matter how much I rubbed and rubbed, my roots would always have a cloudy white powdery mess. I've tried so many different brand and they all ended up like that. It hit the point that I just gave up on dry shampoo as a whole. This was until I discovered this little beauty. This is the Batiste Dry Shampoo in A Hint of Color: Dark & Deep Brown.

As many of you already know, Batiste dry shampoos are nothing new to the world of blogging. They have been a cult favorite for quite some time and now they are my favorite too. First off, they are wallet friendly, you can buy them at any Target or CVS for under 8 dollars. They also all smell amazing. I'm serious, there are about 8 different types of this dry shampoo and they all smell so good!  Lastly they come in different colors for different hair colors!

Yes! I have never been more excited then when I sprayed the Dark & Deep Brown dry shampoo and it wasn't white! It comes out as a deep brown color with a cool under tone. It is has a little bit of a powdery look but when I rub this one in, the powdery look goes away unlike the white dry shampoos! I've heard about how great this was but I honestly didn't believe it until I tried it out myself. Batiste also has one for blondes, one for medium brown hair and one for red hair.

I honestly think that all dry shampoo companies should come out with colored ranges.

What dry shampoo have you been loving?

Lots of love,
Rena

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Make Up Look: Winged Liner and Purple Accent

Hi Everyone! 
Today, I just wanted to share a quick FOTD with you from earlier this week. Recently I've been loving the colored bottom lash line look. I think it is an easy fun way to add in color without it being overwhelming! I hope you like it. 









Products used: 
Stila In The Light Palette
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel liner in black 
Maybelline Master Smokey in purple 
Make Up Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara 
Maybelline The Elixir in 60 Nude Illusion 

What make up looks have you been rocking lately? 

lots of love,
Rena 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Holiday Make Up Wishlist

Christmas season is a great one in the world of beauty products. Most brand have or are coming out with amazing holiday gift sets and palettes that all girls are lusting over. I think this year has been especially great with sets and palettes from Benefit, Nars and Too Faced. I thought it would be fun to share with you the palettes and gift sets I have been lusting over. I really want to try and get my hands on a few of these but exams are killing me at the moment. Let me know if you have tried any of these out or if you are also lusting over them!

Holiday Make Up Wishlist

Holiday Make Up Wishlist by rena-blank featuring Stila Beauty product / Nars cosmetic / Stila eyeshadow / Rose blush

1) Stila In The Garden Palette: This one isn't a holiday palette but I really want it so it felt right to include it. I already own the In The Light and In The Know palettes by Stila and I am in love with them. Not only are the colors amazing but Stila shadows also have great pigment and color pay off. They are honestly my most used palettes. However, Ulta and Sephora don't seem to carry these palettes anymore! I know Stila came out with new palettes but I really hope they didn't get rid of these palettes because they are amazing. Maybe I can find them online! 

2) Nars Virtual Domination Cheek Palette: This is one of Nars Limited Edition Holiday Palettes. Can we please note how pretty the packaging is?! I think Nars does a great job keeping thing sleek but still beautiful for the holiday time. This palette comes with my favorite bronzer Laguna, three blushes in Deep Throat, Final Cut and Sex Fantasy and a highlighter color in Miss Liberty. The palette is a little pricey at 65 dollars but when you think about it, Laguna alone is 38 dollars and each blush is 30 dollars. In this palette, you are getting six different products for less than buying just the bronzer and one blush. 

3) Bite Beauty Best Bite Remix: This is a mini gift set from Bite Beauty. Bite Beauty is a cruelty free cosmetics brand that specializes in lip products. This gift set comes with four mini high pigmented jumbo lip pencils iSablé (nude), Pomegranate (rose berry), Rhubard (plum rose), Winterberry (festive Raspberry red). It is currently sold out at Sephora but normally it sells for 25 dollars. This set is great because you get to test out a nice range of colors for a great price. 

4) Lorac Mega Pro Palette: This is the ultimate palette with 32 dollars with all the basic colors and some amazing unique colors too. This palette is sold out everywhere but it is so nice to look at. Lorac shadows are super pigmented, smooth and long wearing. It is selling for ridiculous prices on eBay right now but if you can find it in store I would definitely get a hold on it! 

5) Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder: This is definitely the palette I have been lusting over the most. Benefit always does amazing holiday gift sets and this year I think they out did themselves. The Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder is a palette if Benefit's best selling blushes. As you all probably already know, Benefit does some amazing great blushes. The colors are amazing and so is the color pay off. This palette has 5 blushes in  Dandelion, CORAlista, Bella Bamba, Rockateur and Sugarbomb. There is also Benefit's oh so popular bronzer in Hoola and a cream highlighter in Watt's Up. This palette is sold out on the Benefit website but hopefully it will be back soon! It sales for 36 dollars which is such a deal!

6) Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things Palette: This is a Sephora exclusive palette from Too Faced. This palette is the perfect travel palette because it comes with 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 bronzers, a mini Better than Sex Mascara, a Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting and a how to guide. This palette sells for 56 dollars and personally, for all the products in it, I think this is the best deal out of all the bunch. This pretty much can be your entire make up bag! The eyeshadow colors in this palette are amazing. They included everything from nice natural mattes to party shimmery colors! Highly suggestion checking this out next time you guys are in Sephora! 

What gift sets and palettes are you lusting over this holiday season?

lots of love, 
Rena 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Winterize Your Nails

Happy December Everyone! I am so excited for winter to official be here. There is nothing better than cuddling up with a blanket while drinking a hot chocolate watching snow fall down. Seriously, I love winter. I was contacted by the lovely people at Julep and asked if I would like to take part in coming up with some tips to winterize your nails. I was super excited because well no one likes sad nails and Julep is an awesome company. They were kind enough in sharing their tips with me which I am more than happy to share with your guys and I have come up with some of my own ways! I hope you guys enjoy.


1)  Moisture: My favorite tip from Julep is to moisture often! New Jersey winter is no joke with the cold air and even colder winds. There is nothing worse than having dry hands and cuticles. Not only is it uncomfortable but also it can be painful. Julep suggestions using their Mighty Nail and Cuticle Serum. Some other things I use to moisture is Rose Salve. Rose Salve is great because it is in a small tin and can be used on your lips, hands, cuticle and pretty much anything else that is dry.

2) Paint: Winter is the perfect time to try out new nail trends. I feel like spring and summer are always the same bright neon colors but in the winter, you can show off your darker side. I love painting my nails festive colors such as red, gold, and maroon. I also love the look of matte nails for the winter. Julep shared with me some of their hot colors from the winter and oh my gosh! how pretty is Sawyer?! It is actually the perfect color for the holiday season. You can check out all their awesome colors on their nail polish color page


3) Treat Yourself: I think it is important to treat yourself in the winter and go get a nice manicure. I don't know about you but I am really bad at buffing and shaping my own nails. So I think it is nice to get them done every once in a while to make sure they are in their best shape. Nothing is more relaxing than getting a manicure. 

What do you do to winterize your nails? 

lots of love, 

Rena