5 Cute Thanksgiving Outfits

Thanksgiving is coming up fast and if you haven't already, it's time to plan your outfit! While some people dress up for thanksgiving, in my family it's more of a casual day. But just because it's casual doesn't mean you still can't look good, and you need to wear something comfortable since you'll be doing so much eating! 

Here are some outfit ideas:

This Thanksgiving I won't be with my family, as I'll be in London visiting my cousin, and while I'm sooo excited, I'm a little sad that I won't get to take part in our normal Thanksgiving traditions. There are also a lot of really great sales going on right now that you should definitely take advantage of to pick up some cute holiday pieces!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

xo, 

Sarah   

Long Flight Travel Necessities

This time next week I will be on my way to London! I'm so excited but I can't believe it's here already. I've done a lot of research on things I should (and shouldn't) pack, so I'm sharing the things I'm bringing in my carry on. I'm going on an overnight flight so I'm trying to be as comfortable as possible and I don't want to come off the plane with dull skin so I've included some things I'm using to keep hydrated.

1. Bag for your essentials to hold makeup items to refresh once you get off the plane

2. Cozy Socks so your feet stay warm, obviously 

3. Headphones I don't go anywhere w/o them!

4. Extra Charger keep it in your bag so you're fully charged when you arrive

5. Longchamp Carry On

6. Eye Mask 

7. Warm Pullover  I love this one!

8. Entertainment something to read if you get tired of watching movies

9. Hydrating Mask comes in a little travel size!

10. Lip Balm

11. Oversized Scarf doubles as a blanket so you're extra warm

Style Crush | Olivia Palermo

Olivia Palermo has an enviable sense of style and is constantly being featured on blogs and in magazines. She has this amazing ability to pair feminine classics with contemporary pieces. I first discovered Olivia when she was working for Diane von Furstenberg and then Elle on The City. I had just started high school when I started watching it and I was so jealous of her, I thought she just had the most incredible life, living in New York City, working in such a cool industry, and she had the best style! To me, her style is the perfect New York mix of uptown elegance and downtown edge. No matter what she's wearing she looks incredible! 

Who's your current style crush?

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Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

Four days until Halloween! October has literally gone by so fast and while many have had their costume picked out since the middle of September, there are plenty of others (myself included!) who don't decide on a costume until the last minute, which is basically right now. But just because you're costume is put together spur of the moment doesn't mean it has to be any worse than the rest. So don't stress! To help I've put together five easy to create costumes you can whip up in no time!

This one is probably the easiest to put together, especially if you're like me and love wearing the color black! Lydia Deetz, the moody, angst ridden goth teen from Beetlejuice, wears all black so her costume is relatively simple. If you have a black dress pair it with black booties and a black hat, then do some minimal makeup and maybe carry around a camera to add to it!

Makeup Look Here 

 This is such a great costume and a total throwback to the good old Disney Channel days! It's all about metallics and bright colors so you can use whatever you have on hand, or you run to your nearest American Apparel or party store. Add some sparkly makeup, throw your hair up in pig tails or top knots and wrap them with a metallic scrunchie and you're Zenon Girl of the 21st Century! Don't forget to add in a Zetus Lapetus!

Makeup Look Here

The best type of costume is a comfortable costume and it doesn't get more comfortable than basically going in your pajamas! Throw on an oversized white shirt, an eye mask, tassel earrings and comfy shoes and you're good to go! Maybe throw on some shorts underneath- just in case! 

Makeup Look Here 

The key component of this costume is the red cloak, obviously! The rest you would probably already have in your closet - white shirt, black skirt, tights, and boots. Add a bold red lip and loosely curl your hair to finalize the look! Bonus points if you carry around a basket. 

Makeup Look Here

Keeping with the theme of childhood throwbacks, we have the Tooth Fairy! This look is about being a little more girly and whimsical, so find a flow or tulle skirt and a white top paired with neutral colored shoes. For the final touch add a tiara and a little glitter to your makeup look. To really go all out carry a bag with "Teeth" written on it!

Makeup Look Here

Hopefully this helps you guys figure out what you're going to be this year! If you want get the exact items used head over to my Polyvore! Also, for some more inspiration check out this post from last year. 

xo

sarah

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Hello Uniqlo!

This past weekend Michigan Avenue got a new store-Uniqlo! Earlier in the year one of my professors mentioned that Uniqlo, originally a Japanese store, was going to be coming to Chicago and I'd never heard of it, but she raved about how they sold great quality products for really affordable prices. I planned on popping in after class on opening day, but the lines were INSANE! At 10am it literally wrapped around at least four blocks and there were people sitting in lawn chairs waiting to be let in! I was surprised but realized it must be something good if so many people were lining up for it in the rain. So I went in yesterday to take a look and I was very impressed! The store is three levels (so it's huge), there's a Starbucks, a crazy long escalator, five hundred mannequins, metal accents, mirrors, and colorful lights. 

They also literally sell so many different things like coats, leggings, scarves, beanies, sweaters, etc., and each of those items comes in a bunch of different colors. While I didn't buy anything (yet..), I definitely saw some things I loved. Everything seemed to live up to that high quality that I'd been told about. I'd probably shop at Uniqlo when I need to find a good basic item that I don't want to splurge on. 

Here are some of my favorite items:

Pea Coat

Cable Knit Sweater

Down Coat

Cashmere Sweater

Fleece Jacket

Tshirt

I think Uniqlo will be a really good addition to the shopping scene here in Chicago!

xo

Sarah

On Trend | Suede Skirts

Suede has been a massive trend this year and suede skirts will continue to be huge in the fall. It is such a versatile piece that you can incorporate it practically into any outfit and achieve so many different looks. It makes a statement without being too much. Suede is also great because it can be incredibly casual or effortlessly glamorous, but the one thing you can count on is that it's always comfortable. While a suede skirt can cost you a pretty penny, you can get a great faux suede skirt for a much more reasonable price from places like Nordstrom, Asos, and Forever 21!

 

Top Row: Julie Sarinana, Danielle Bernstein, Amy Jackson, Karlie Kloss // Bottom Row: Vanessa Hudgens, Hailey Baldwin, Alexa Chung, Emily Ratajkowski

Here is how I would style a suede skirt...

Shop some of my favorites here:

Currently Craving

I know that summer isn't even over yet, but I'm already thinking about fall clothes. I'm obsessing over these Isabel Marant sneakers and this "Rollin' With The Homies" sweatshirt, and the Saint Laurent Sac de Jour is constantly on my mind! I'm also really into this new lace up flat trend, I think they are super cute and will be a perfect transition piece into fall.

What I Purchased | #Nsale

In case you didn't know, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is here (and almost over!) so I wanted to make a quick list of all the items I picked up in case any of you wanted to so some last minute shopping before school starts up again! Since I was working for Nordstrom this summer I couldn't shop the sale until it was open to everyone so I had a lot of time to accumulate my wishlist. Unfortunately a lot of these items are already sold out, but here's a quick tip, if you go into the store employees can order you the item even if it might not be online or in the store, so if you really want an item I highly suggest doing that!  

Tops

Lush Shift Dress (Perfect for fall) | Topshop Utility Drawstring Dress | BP Washed Chambray Shirt (Got this in white not the pink) | Lush Tunic  (Got this in black and white too)

Jackets

BlankNYC Faux Leather Jacket (So cute I returned my Zara one for this) | Nike Hoodie (my new favorite)

Bottoms

Zella Live In Leggings (My favorite leggings so I stocked up) | Topshop Leigh Jeans | Paige Skyline Jeans | J Brand Mid Rise Jeans (runs big) | Nike Capris

The Paige & J Brand jeans were super long on me, so I ended up returning them

Shoes

BP Trott Bootie (So cute!) | Sam Edelman Flat (Love the leopard print)

Accessories

Marc Jacobs Wristlet | BaubleBar Layered Necklaces

Inspiration Wednesday

All these images can be found on my Pinterest

Just some inspiration for your Wednesday! These are some of my current favorite pins at the moment. I spend way too much time on this site, but there's just something about it that motivates and inspires me. I'm in the midst of getting ready to move into my new place so I'm constantly pinning decoration ideas to my Apartment board. Of course, I couldn't leave out some cute outfits, beauty and food pins, and the always required inspirational quote! 

xo, Sarah

Zara Sale Picks

Jackets: Parka | Trenchcoat | Denim | Waistcoat

Tops: White | Tie Dye | Black

Dress | Skirt | Jeans

Shoes: Sneaker | Slip Ons | Booties | Loafers

Bucket Bag

It's that time of year again! The Zara sale started yesterday and there are some great pieces that are being offered for awesome prices! I went in during my lunch break to check it out and I got a white v-neck for $10 and was eyeing this leather jacket which is so cute. I ordered the tie dye shirt, the bucket bag, and the white sneakers, which are a staple for any wardrobe. Leather skirts and denim jackets are going to be huge in the fall, and now would be a great time to buy a parka for the winter, instead of paying full price come November. Check out the sale soon because items are selling out fast!

My Zara Sale Picks by saraha94 on polyvore.com

Review | Lush Ocean Salt Scrub

Let me first start off by saying that this is my all time favorite product from Lush. While I obviously haven't tried all of them, I have tried quite a few different products and this is the only one that I've seen have a real impact and really do what it says it will. The Ocean Salt Scrub is basically a scrub that you can use on your face and body that will take off any dead skin you may have, which will even out your skin tone and make your skin brighter. After the first time I used it my skin felt so smooth, like baby's butt smooth. I also have some little red bumps on my upper arms and I found that this helps to get rid of them, which is amazing because I've been looking for something that will do this for so long. It can be quite abrasive so if you have super sensitive skin this might not be a good product for you, but the salt does help to scrap off that dead skin. It has ingredients like avocado and coconut that hydrate your skin, while vodka and lime help cleanse it which will help get rid of and prevent acne and blackheads. 

Along with this I also bought the Rub Rub Rub Shower Gel, which I honestly did not like. It smells so good and looks really cool, but I was expecting it to have the kind of impact Ocean Salt had for me, and it just didn't. A Lush employee recommended this to me because I told her I have dry skin (I bought this in February) and it felt really nice when she used it on me in the store, but once I started using it at home I found that it didn't really offer much in terms of exfoliation, and I have to really scrub it in well to get any kind of effect at all. It's very liquidy so most of it ended up on my shower floor and not on my body, which wasted a lot of product. I got the biggest size they had and it was gone in a week and a half. Whereas the biggest size of Ocean Salt will last me months. I used it up so quickly I wasn't even able to take a picture of it, and it's not worth it to me to buy it again. I also found that the sea salt kind of separated from the rest of the product so I had to keep mixing it together. Lush also says that you can use it as a shampoo in a pinch, but I was too nervous to test that out.

What are your favorite Lush products?  

Currently Craving

There are so many things I'm craving right now! I'm really loving the Reformation Romper, the Suede Skirt from Topshop, and the BCBG Espadrilles. I also just bought the J.Crew shorts in a neon coral color and they are soo comfy, and I want to get them in white. I'm trying really hard not to buy everything on this list, I want them all!

Currently Craving by saraha94 on polyvore.com

Review | NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

Foundations are always a bit tricky for me. I'm very pale so I have a hard time finding the right color to match my skin, most of the time even the lightest shade in a range is to orange-y for me. I've had very few foundations that I've absolutely loved. I started out using Bobbi Brown BB Creams, but those didn't match my skin right, then went to the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, which I really loved but it's super pricey, so when I didn't want to pay that much I switched to NARS Sheer Glow, which I loved too, but I did find that it was making my skin look a little too oil, so I wanted one with more of a matte finish and decided to try the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation.

Before I buy any makeup product I always look online to see what people have been saying about it. So I was standing in Sephora on my phone for like 10 minutes looking at reviews of the All Day, and they were quite mixed. Some people raved about it and some people felt very indifferent. But I know NARS has great products so I figured I'd try it anyway.

Honestly, I did not like this foundation at first. I bought it at the end of February and I was in Chicago so my skin was super dry (despite constant moisturizing, so annoying!) and this foundation does not work well on dry skin. It definitely clung to the dry patches. I seriously considered returning it, but I decided to keep testing it out and I really grew to love it! My skin isn't as dry right now so I don't have to worry about the flaky patches, and the coverage is perfect for the summer. I can get natural looking full coverage without feeling like I have makeup caked on, in fact sometimes I completely forget I'm even wearing it.

My face has a lot of redness to it, and this formula easily covers any redness or discoloration, completely evening out my skin tone. My favorite thing about this product is that it comes with a pump, unlike the Sheer Glow which is a twist cap. I always feel like I waste so much foundation by having to pour it out and a lot leaks out even when the cap is on. You only need to use a little bit of the All Day to get great coverage. For medium coverage you only need one pump and for full I use two, and apply it with a beauty blender. It also last a pretty decent amount of time. But that doesn't mean that it's completely wear resistant. It does come off pretty easily if you're sweating or something. It says it lasts 16 hours, I've never timed it, but it does seem to wear off by the end of a full school day (about 8 hours), so I'm not sure if it truly lasts 16 hours with completely full looking coverage, you'll definitely have to retouch it.

Overall, I really like this foundation. If you have dry skin you may not, but I think it is very good for combination/oily skin types. So I'm not sure I could use it in the winter, but it's going to be my go to foundation for the summer since it's so lightweight and really gives that natural looking, glowing satin finish.

I'm always looking to try out new foundations, so what are your favorites? 

Style Crush | Rachel Parcell

All Images from Pink Peonies

Rachel Parcell is my ultimate style inspiration. She is the owner of the blog Pink Peonies, which is the first fashion blog I really started following religiously. I found her through a link on Pinterest and I instantly fell in love with her style. She just has a very soft, feminine and classic look that is both timeless and trendy. When I was in my first year of college I went through all of her blog posts and saved the pictures of my favorite outfits to a folder on my computer and pulled one up whenever I needed inspiration for an outfit. She really helped me define my style and help me be more comfortable wearing what I wanted to wear and not be so self conscious of what people would think. I've created some outfits that I think are similar to outfits she would wear. She's really good at pairing basics with statement pieces, so her looks are easy to take inspiration from!

Who's your ultimate style inspiration? 

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