Valentine's Day Outfit Ideas!!

Hey Lovelies!! I have a lovely (get it, love, like Valentine’s Day), posts for you today! I have 3 outfits for every occasion!! No need for a date to wear these outfits on the 14th, your friends, or maybe even alone time is exactly what you will need on Valentine's Day!! I love getting dressed up even if I will be watching the movie Valentine's day at home cuddled up with my dog!! You can wear these outfits everywhere and feel gorgeous!! So let’s begin…


Foreign Film Red Dress


This outfit is for a date night, maybe with someone special or your best girlfriends celebrating singleness!! Love It!! I like the color, and the longer sleeves, since we still are in the winter season it will keep you a little warmer. I like that it is body con so it will show off your curves. I like the V neck that isn’t too low but perfect for showing a little decollate skin! I would pair this with gold jewelry and nude heels.

Someday Sweetheart Strapless Blush Pink Midi Dress

Next outfit is a little more casual but perfect for date night like the first outfit. I like the sweetheart neckline, a very girly appeal. The color is perfect for everyone! I would wear gold or silver jewelry on this outfit, you can be daring and wear red heels also, or stick to nude for a very sweet look.

Red Cropped Pants

The last outfit is casual dressy. I would wear this to a movie date, or a less casual affair. It is girly but still gorgeous. I like that the red pants are incorporated to stay with Valentine’s Day colors. The black blazer is an essential and gives a more dressy appeal to the outfit. I would wear flats or go with wedges/ heels to make it more glam; nude or black is perfect. Like every look here, you can wear silver or gold jewelry. Whatever you think works well with your complexion and style!!

All the outfits here today are from LuLu's; a great store for everything girly and glam!!

I hope you liked all the outfits and try them out!! If you do take inspiration from any of these outfits, tweet a picture to me!!

-         AM

https://twitter.com/FashionForwardA

Fabulous Fitness!!

Hey!! So today I have a really smart workout plan for you! I love being fit and working out, it makes me feel so good about myself! Today, I have the smartest workout plan ever!! 2 of my favorite trainers, Karena and Katrina, the founders of the amazing fitness website, Tone It Up!, have made a 6 week fitness program for everyone wanting to shape up after the holidays and get ready to look fantastic for a special someone on Valentines day, its called the Love Your Body Series!! If you haven't looked at the calender recently then you may want to know that Valentines day, or the day of love, is in just 6 weeks!! Karena and Katrina have made a calender for the month of January that has a different activity/ workout for everyday! Better yet, they are giving away prizes from Victoria's Secret throughout the 6 weeks! You can join for free just by giving your name and email, and you will be entered in the series, easy, right! It really isn't that hard, I mean, you know you will not be alone, I will be doing it also, so why not do it with me! Get off your butt's and kick off the new year right with getting toned, slimmed, and looking/ feeling great! They even have full workout videos on YouTube that you can do in the comfort of your home!

- Tone It Up! Love Your Body Series Page: http://toneitup.com/blog.php?L-VE-Your-Body-Series-5657

- Tone It Up! Website: http://toneitup.com/

- Where to sign up!: http://toneitup.com/blog.php?New-Year-s-Challenge-...-What-could-it-be-5655

- YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ToneItUpcom

Hope you love it as much as I do! Thanks and Happy New Year!!

- AM
https://twitter.com/FashionForwardA

NYE Makeup and Hair Idea!!

Like my New Year’s Eve outfit Ideas, here is what I will be doing to my hair and makeup! I go for curls and smoky eyes! I have hazel/ green eyes so green complements them very well, so does mocha browns, gold and purple colors! If you have blue eyes then go for browns, earth toned shades, taupe, rose or purple shades. If you have brown eyes, then go for really any eye shadow but if you want your eyes to pop go for a green, blue, or gold color.  (This look is also my everyday curly hair and go to green smoky eye!)

Makeup: I am doing a green smoky eye and nude lip.



Tarte Clean Slate Poreless Face Primer, Tarte Clean Slate Eye Primer, Maybelline Baby Lips in Quenched



1.       Prime eyes and face and apply chap stick to your lips. By priming you ensure that your eye and face products will be locked in and stay in place.



(Left) Covergirl Intense Shadowblast as my base. (Center) Maybelline Sunbaked Nuetrals Quad as my shadows, I used the last 2 green shades on the far right as my lid and crease color. (Right) Maybelline Color Tattoo in Too Cool as my highlight for my brow bone and inner corner.

 

2.       Apply eye shadow base so that the shadows on the top will be vibrant and appear more opaque.

3.       Sweep a light green color all over lid.

4.       Put a darker green in the outer corner and crease and sweep it on the bottom lash line.

5.       Blend!

6.       Use a matte white color for highlighting the brow bone and the shimmery white to highlight the inner corner. By highlighting you lift and make the eye appear more bright and awake.



(Right) Revlon Colorstay Eyeline in Black Brown as eyeliner. (Center) Revlon Growluscious Mascara (lengthening) in Blackest Black. (Right) L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes (Volumizing) in Blackest Black.



7.       Apply liquid, gel, or pencil liner (whatever you prefer) in a complementary color or the same color as the color on your lid to the upper lash line.

8.       (Optional) apply a black liner to the lower lash line. This will make the eyes appear smaller and more defined. 

9.       Curl lashes and apply mascara to the desired look.

10.   Sweep the excess shimmer off below your eyes with a brush.




(Left) Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer as my under eye concealer. (Center) Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder in buff beige. (Right) Covergirl Clean Foundation in Buff Beige.

 11.   Apply foundation and concealer to the desired places and set everything in place with a setting powder.

12.   Define your eye brows to make a sleek defined appearance. By filling them in with a powder, gel, or pencil you lift and slim the face.




(Left) Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting. (Center) Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer. (Right) Sonia Kashuk Shimmering Highlighter.

 

13.   Apply blush to the cheek bones/ highlighter to the bridge of your nose, center of forehead, and tops of your cheek bones/ and bronzer to the high points of your face (forehead and temples, below the cheek bones, and on the jaw line) to give a natural tan glow.




(Left) Sephora Long Wearing Lipstick in Maniac, it is a nude with shimmer and pink undertones. (Center) Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume. (Right) Neutrogena Moisture Shine Gloss in Healthy Blush. (Drugstore and High end choose of lip gloss, I only used the smashbox and sephora lip combo.) 

 

14.   Finish the look off with a light pink or nude lipstick and lip gloss and you’re done!

Hair: I am doing loose curls!

1.       Turn on curling iron.

2.       Apply heat tamer spray and brush hair to distribute product all over; wait 5 minutes to let product sink into hair. Optional, apply gel to hair to hold curl more.

3.       Section hair off by clipping up the top of your hair from the middle of the ear up.

4.       Take 1 inch sections from the back and wrap around curling iron away from your face.

5.       Hold for desired time, I have somewhat easy hair to curl so I hold it for 10 seconds.  Then drop into your hand and hold for 5 seconds. (If you have really hard to curl hair, hold for a longer time on iron then pin curl to head and let sit till it’s cooled.)

6.       Finish sectioning off hair and curling the same way, then hairspray all the curls.

7.       (Optional) tease hair.

9.       I like to apply a finishing crème in my hair to add more hold to the curls and to make my hair softer.

Okay so you are done with your complete NYE look!! Have a great night and see you next year!!!

-AM

https://twitter.com/FashionForwardA

New Year's Eve Outfit Ideas!!

Hey!! New Year's Eve is just around the corner and many people (especially me, seriously) have no idea what to wear! When I think of NYE (new year's eve), I think SPARKLES and SEQUINS!! I love sparkles and sequins all year round but oh, I go cray cray during this fine day! All the pieces that I picked out are from Forever 21’s Holiday Glitz Section. They are affordable and easy to get, just perfect for a quick outfit find! So lets begin!

Outfit 1: Silver and Black! I love this outfit! The silver dress is body hugging and has a higher neck so it is perfect for a peter pan collar necklace. The bracelet is a subtle detail that just adds more to the look. I love that the clutch and the shoes match, in my opinion I feel like that ties the whole look together. I think this is my favorite look.

Outfit 2: This black body con dress with a v-neck back is perfect for people who don’t want to go all out like the silver dress but still want that pizz azz in their outfit. I like the gold that I added; I think that it adds a pop of glam to the outfit! I would add the belt where the sequined bodice ends and the plain skirt starts. For a plus, the belt will cinch in the waist. Now obvi you have to wear shoes, I was going with this gold flat that has the gold for the accessories but also has black to match with the dress. You could wear gold heels also if you don’t like flats. For a plus though you can stand for hours and your feet won’t hurt! The bracelet is also a subtle detail but does go with the mixing metals trend. Finally the bag makes the whole outfit work in my opinion, I love how sparkly it is!

Hair and Makeup: Seriously whatever you want to do/ feel comfortable with is fine. You can do an intense cat eye or sparkly eye shadow or maybe a bold lip, whatever you like! Just remember BALANCE! If you have a main focus on your eyes, then tone down the lips, same for the opposite, if you have a bold lip, tone down the eyes. Make sure you also don’t take away from the gorgeous outfit you pick! For the hair, you could also do whatever your little heart desires, a top knot would look good though or striaght or loose waves pined back to show your face wuld also look gorg!

Thanks! Have a great day/ new year!! Come back for more fun!

-          AM

Favorites: Fashion Edition!!

Part 2 of this series is here! Fashion Favorites! I love fashion so much! (I hope you can tell or I’m failing at this blog). It was hard to come up with my favorites actually, because I didn’t know the topics to choose and I just love so many of my clothes that it was so difficult to choose just one, but don’t worry I did! Success! So let’s begin!

Favorite…

1.       Pajamas: I love this pair of fluffy pajamas! They are so comfortable! The pattern is the best part to, I mean who doesn’t like pink and red! This pair is from Forever 21 lingerie line.

2.       Sweater: (1^st) I like to have a staple color when it comes to sweaters, but they have to be soft and not itchy! This sweater is the best because you can dress it up and down, and it will always look good. This sweater is from Forever 21. Also the Wildfox beach jumpers (2^nd) are the softest, comfiest sweaters ever! I love wearing them on the days where I don’t feel like working to look good but I still want to dress nicely.

3.       Jeans: These jeans are so comfy! They literally are perfect for the times where I have so much to do and I don’t want to be uncomfortable! They are the perfect neutral and are so easy to dress anything with. I got these jeans at The Denim Project – Easton (I have a blog post about this store, definitely my favorite store to go get jeans from, look in the side bar for the post, November 2012).

4.       Shorts: I love these high waited turquoise lace shorts! They are from Forever 21. They are just so different and that is probably the reason why I bought them!  

5.       Skirt: Body con, floral skirt… LOVE! This skirt is from Forever 21 also (I am realizing I shop here a lot)! Perfect for cinching in the waist! You can tuck your shirt into it and just let the band on top show or pair it with a belt for more of a sleek look.

6.       Long-Sleeve Shirt: This rich forest green color is perfect for me! I love the sheerness of it, so it is okay for all seasons! It is a high – low shirt with adjustable sleeves, which is my favorite so you can adjust them to a certain season if you want.

7.       Jacket: I love this denim jacket! It is rocker and girly and just cool! Lol! I got it at The Denim Project – Easton. I love dressing it up and down.

8.       Short-Sleeve Shirt: (1^st) Perfect for any occasion! I love the embellished collar which adds an edginess vibe to the shirt. (2^nd)I like just comfy light weight flowy shirts that are perfect for casual days. The 2 in the back are from Forever 21 and the gray one is from Pac Sun.

9.       Tank top: I LOVE muscle tees! They are the coolest tank tops ever! I always feel hardcore when wearing them lol! I like tees with patterns or sayings on it to add more pizzazz to the shirt! The gray one is from Pac Sun and the white one is from Forever 21.

10.   Dress: Girly comes to my mind when I see this dress. I like the belt that cinches in at the waist, it adds more to the whole dress. I like that there are sleeves and obvi I love the lace! This is from Forever 21.

11.   Shoes:

·         Boots: I like the wedge and the buckle detail, they are so comfy! I get leg pains if I don’t wear shoes with a heel or arch and I can walk in these forever and they won’t make my legs hurt after a while of walking! These are from Target.

·         Oxfords are the best shoes ever! I don’t like wearing sneakers to school but I wear these all the time! These are from Target.

·         Sandals: I like that this pair has a buckle that wraps around my ankle. I have really narrow feet and these sandals work perfectly for me!

·         Heels: I just like these! I like the peep toe so that if I have a pedicure for a special event you can see it and I love the height of the heel, just right for me. I am 5’10” so I can’t wear too high of a heel for everyday use, these are just right!

12.   Bag: I am not a crazy bag hoarder, I only have 2 bags and this is the only one I use really! This is from Nine West. It isn’t too big or too small for me. I don’t hold a lot so it’s perfect and I like the long strap!

13.   Scarf: I don’t own a lot of scarves but I just love this one! Its big and cozy and just cool in general. I just really like it!

Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays! Come back soon for the hair care, skin care, and misc. editions of the this series! Have a great day!

- AM

https://twitter.com/FashionForwardA

Favorites: Beauty Edition!!

I always am stuck with what I want to write about, so today I started to go through my closet and makeup drawer and I decided to make a post about what my favorites are! I will do 4 posts in this series, my favorite beauty products, hair, fashion, skin care. Today I am doing beauty! So let’s begin!

My Favorite…

1.       Face Primer: Tarte Cleanslate 12 Hour Perfecting Primer. This primer really keeps my foundation on and it makes it perfect (hence the name “perfect primer”). It really locks in my face products and during the day I don’t see my foundation smudge at all.

Eye Primer:  Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I love this primer, it really locks in my shadow and throughout the day it doesn’t crease at all, my biggest pet peeve is when my makeup creases or smudges, these 2 primers really help to keep my makeup staying in place.

2.       Foundation: Revlon Colorstay 24 Hour Foundation. This foundation is perfect for people with combination to oily skin. It keeps my face shine free, and it looks natural if you blend it in right! I highly recommend this foundation. People with dry or normal skin also rave about this product.

3.       Concealer for Under Eye: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer. This just camouflages my under eye dark circles. It can also highlight your brow bone if you bring it up to your cheek bones.

4.       All Over Face Concealer: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Duo. This can also be used for your under eye but I like to use it to hide redness, or blemishes on my face. It also comes with a powder in the duo that I like to set my concealer with, it really locks in the concealer.

5.       Setting Powder: Covergirl Clean Oil Control Pressed Powder. I hate when my face is oily, it annoys me so much so what I love to do is just press this into my skin on top of my foundation and concealer and it really just keeps everything matte and flawless all day.

6.       Bronzer: Nars Laguna. It is the perfect color for contouring, I love this product especially when I want an all over complete look. I think bronzer is an essential for every makeup bag because it can completely transform a look.

7.       Blush: Benefit Coralista. I just think any of the box powders are amazing! I especially like this one because it is shimmery and you can use just a little and get such a nice glow!

8.       Highlighter: Sonia Kashuk Sheer Shimmering Highlighter. Try to say that 5 times fast! I like that this highlighter is liquid based, I think it works well with my skin type (combo-oily). It also just is perfect for getting the perfect glow on your cheekbones.

9.       Eye shadow Palette: Urban Decay Naked 2 . This palette comes with 12 pigmented, high quality shades that are perfect for everyone!  I love this palette; it comes with a 2 sided eye shadow brush, all over lid brush and crease brush. I love this palette; it is perfect for traveling or anyone starting out with makeup. It may be pricy but it is such a good deal!

 

10.   Mascara: Maybelline Mega Plush. To me, this mascara is just perfect. It’s a gel consistency so it will last for a long time. I also like to put the Revlon grow luscious mascara on first then put the mega plush because, 1. The lengthening mascara holds the curl and 2. It is suppose to make your lashes grow and I have seen a difference in the length in my eye lashes. With the lengthening and volume I get the perfect type of lashes.

11.   Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24-7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. This eyeliner is pigmented, smooth, glides on perfectly, and it stays in place. They also have many different colors, so that is also a plus.

12.   Lip Balm: Maybelline Baby Lips. Baby Lips are the best lip balms I have ever had. Ok that is a little exaggerated, but seriously they are amazing! They last for 8 hours, seriously and they really keep your lips hydrated and smooth. Another plus, they are like $3.00 at the drugstore!

13.   Lip Balm Stain: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain: Hydrating, Great Color, and Long lasting. What else do you need? They are also inexpensive and from the drugstore! I wear the balm stains all the time on my lips and they are the best!

14.   Lip Stick: Mac Lip Sticks. I think MAC is known for their lip sticks, I really like them! They come in all different finishes and colors!  

15.   Lip Gloss: Dior Addict Lip Polish. Great color is what I just love in my lip glosses and Dior has it! Lip gosses are the topping on your lips so you have to make sure it is the best. I really like Dior lip glosses because they aren’t sticky to me and I hate sticky lip glosses.

Thanks! Have a great Day and Happy Holidays!

- AM