April Favorites

Hello my beauties!

Today I wanted to talk about things I have been loving in the month of April! I can't believe it is already May and that another month has flown by! If you want to look at prices or purchase anything the links are embedded within each title! I have found an eclectic bunch of things to love this month so let's jump right in!

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

If you read my post about my favorite foundations (click here to read it if you missed it) then you will know that one of my favorite drugstore foundations has been the Maybelline Fit Me foundation! I have been grabbing this foundation just about every day and I have been loving the light buildable coverage it has offered me and it gives my skin a nice dewy glow that I have been enjoying for this warmer spring weather! It never feels heavy on my face and I think it is the perfect foundation for the spring and summer when I want to be a little less heavy handed with my makeup base.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I own all three of the original Urban Decay Naked palettes and I usually find myself going through a rotation with them during the year and right now I am loving the original Naked palette! I have found myself going for Sidecar shadow all over my lid and then smudging Smog in the crease. Both colors have a bright metallic color but they blend together beautifully and just really bring out the green color of my eyes. Most brown shades tend to do that and I really have been loving this smokey eye look this month!

Hask Monoi Coconut Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

I have been LOVING this shampoo and conditioner! My bestie Amber and I discovered it on a Target shopping trip and it not only works great but it smells amazing! It smells like a beach day with coconut SPF except its shampoo and conditioner for your hair! This stuff is SO much more affordable than the other shampoo and conditioner I usually use and like I said it works great! I have been loving it this month and definitely plan on repurchasing it when I run out!

NuMe 25mm Curling Wand

I have found myself curling my hair pretty much every day this month. I got my NuMe curling wand on sale with an amazing discount code and I have been obsessed with it ever since it arrived! I have been growing my hair out to a slightly longer length (just above shoulder length) just to be able to curl my hair in loose waves because I think the style is really pretty and I have just wanted to be able to do it with my hair for so long and when I was able to snag this amazing curling wand on a discount I couldn't resist! I have fallen in love with the way my hair looks in this style and have been finding it hard to straighten my hair because I just want to have it curled all the time! I highly recommend this brand for any of their styling tools and just keep a look out for them to run a sale so you can snatch one up on an amazing discount too!

Swing Dresses

I have been obsessed with swing dresses for the majority of the last two months if I'm honest and I can't get enough of them! Most all of mine have come from American Eagle but the one in the link is the one pictured above. I love the way a swing dress is so flattering but also comfortable to wear. They look amazing but also don't take a lot of effort! I have enjoyed styling mine with a jean jacket for work and comfy flats or keds. These types of dresses can be easily dressed up or left casual and I have just been enjoying living in them! I have acquired about 5 swing dresses over the last 2 months and I can't wait to add more to my wardrobe for the summer time!

Troye Sivan

I have been obsessed with not only Blue Neighborhood but also Wild and all Troye Sivan discography. I have been listening to his music NON STOP. Any time I am in the car his albums are on and even now as I am writing this post I am listening to him. I have loved his music for a while but I have just been recently in love with it to the point of playing it non stop. If you haven't listened to his music before then you really need to! Listen to it on Spotify if you aren't sure you want to purchase but I promise you will listen to two songs and be hooked and want to buy and listen to it all!

Snapchat

I have been obsessed with snapchat and posting stuff to my story. I have loved snapchat since I downloaded it when it first came out but with the addition of many new snapchat face filters and trying to document more of my day I have been using it a lot more! It's a lot of snaps with my dog, rehearsals for the show I'm in, work, and my favorite music! I'm also in Disney when this post is going live so I will be snapping that the entire time I'm there as well if you wanted to follow along! :)

I have been loving a lot of stuff in April but these are definitely the most loved of all! What are some of the things you have loved over the month of April? Let me know by leaving a comment or tweet me (@thejesslauren)!

xoxo Jess

Spring and Summer 2016 Fashion Trends

Hello my beautiful readers!

Today we are going to delve into the wonderful world of fashion and some of the big trends that are here for spring and summer! I currently work in the retail fashion industry as a stylist for the store I work for and have been able to pick up first hand what some of the hot trends of the season are and I wanted to share them with you and also give some tips on how to style them for every day wear!

These trends are fun and flirty and perfect for the warmer weather and are perfect to pair with items that you already own in your current wardrobe.

The first trend I want to talk about is probably my favorite!

Tie Dye

Tie dye is BACK and better than ever and my 90's girl heart is squealing with glee.

This trend is fun and cute and can be utilized in many ways. By simply adding a few statement tie dye pieces to your wardrobe you can bring any outfit to life.

•  Find your favorite pair of jeans or shorts and pair it with a cute tie dye tank and some birkenstocks (yes, those are back too!) and you have a comfy outfit that looks effortless and adds some fun to an otherwise normal day to day look. 

• You can also incorporate the tie dye with some beautiful tie dye soft pants and a plain top 

• or even wear a tie dye dress or romper and dress it up with a belt, accessories, and floppy hat. 

The possibilities for the tie dye trend are endless and there are so many ways to incorporate this look into your style this spring and summer!

The second trend I want to talk about is more about statement and I think it is something that will be a bold but beautiful fashion statement.

Bold Prints and Bright Patterns

One of the best things about each season to me is the additives of fun bold prints and this spring and summer are no exception!

Again, my 90's fashion heart is a BIG fan of this trend for the season and honestly, who doesn't want to live outside of the box every once and while right?

This is definitely a fun way to add some spice to your wardrobe! It doesn't have to be as out there as some patterns and colors are but simply adding some fun colors and patterns/prints to your wardrobe will liven everything up.

Great outfit ideas can be found with any pattern and print and it can even be something as fun as a fun shoe pattern to spice it up. 

• Every good outfit can use floral patterns, that is a forever spring staple pattern that you can utilize in new ways such as adding it to your outfit with your shoes. One of my favorite ways to incorporate fun patterns and colors is by my shoes! It just gives a fun pop to an outfit!

• Boho is another huge trend of 2016 and boho tops with a fun pattern are something you can put into your wardrobe this season as a staple piece!

• Just picking a fun color palate on a classic favorite like stripes can add that hint of interest to your outfit.

With this trend you can choose to go big or take baby steps, either way it is a fun way to add some interest and brightness to your outfits!

The last trend I want to talk about is something that has emerged as a staple trend over the last year and it is something that I have found myself gravitating towards this spring 

Denim on Denim

Now, I'm not talking Britney and Justin circa 2001 VMAs, I'm talking styling chambray shirts with your favorite denim. It can be playing with different colored denim and even patterns!

• One of my favorite ways to style this look is by utilizing a slightly western chambray top with a pair of your favorite skinny jeans or jeggings!

• Another way to incorporate the denim on denim trend is by grabbing patterned chambray tops and pairing them with your favorite pair of colored denim jeans!

• Another variation of the above outfit is pairing a plain chambray shirt with a pair of pastel colored jeans (one of my personal favorites!)

These are just a few of my favorite trends of spring and summer 2016 and a few of my favorite different ways to incorporate and style them into your wardrobe! I hope you have grabbed some amazing style and outfit inspiration from this and if you try one of these styles please tag me on twitter  (@thejesslauren) or instagram (@thejesslauren90) so I can see you rocking this seasons trends! 

xoxo Jess

Lessons I have learned from being an only child

80% of people in the U.S. have siblings so being an only child is something a vast majority of people will never understand or experience. I am one of the 20% who have no siblings and I wanted to just talk about some lessons I learned from being an only child.

The first thing is probably something you may not think of if you have a sibling and it's probably something you would have wished for when you were younger but it's how to be content being alone.

What I mean by this is, for most of your life you are alone with just yourself and your parents. You learn how to entertain yourself because your friends are not always going to be readily available to see you or do things with you like a sibling would, especially when you are younger. For me, it has helped me to develop maturity at an earlier age because the people you get most interaction with are adults. (This also means that if something happens, you have no one to blame except maybe the dog and I doubt your parents EVER bought that.)

I learned how to be social. I am driven by extroversion and being surrounded by people and I do think that has to do with being an only child.

I had to learn how to be social because I didn't have anyone else in my immediate family besides my parents so I learned how to be outgoing and I think that also carries into my adult life today. I was very shy when I was younger but I had to learn how to make and keep friends if I wanted to have anyone around my age to play with. Fast forward to today and I am very extroverted and love meeting new people and I make my friendships a priority because they are my non-related chosen siblings if you will. If you are an only child like me, this is probably #sorelatable. I know that one of my best friends (who is also an only child) feels the same way because we have had this conversation before and we feel like our closest friends are so special to us because we don't have anyone closer to us than them.

I think being an only child has shaped my personality. If you know me you would know that I love attention which I think is something most only children learn to love because when you are an only child you are constantly in the spot light. Any big life moment or birthday is celebrated and you are thrown into the middle of it by yourself with no one else to share the limelight with and I think that is why I was so shy when I was younger but as I have grown older I like being in front of people and speaking in public as well as meeting new people and I feel that comfort has come from being an only child.

While I am happy being an only child now there is always a part of me that wishes I could have had a sibling. When I was younger for every holiday or birthday I would always ask my parents for a brother or a sister. That is all that I wanted and I don't think that want will ever go away but it just wasn't in the cards for my family.

I'm sure if you had siblings when you were growing up you learned important lessons such as sharing at an early age and I'm sure you who have siblings are probably WAY better at sharing than I ever was because you had to do it in so many cases and probably still do.

I learned so much and still do from being someone who doesn't have any siblings but I think the biggest thing I take away from it is the care and love I have for everyone who is in my life, related or not.

Are you an only child or do you have siblings? What is something you feel like you have learned from dealing with the struggles of either? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @thejesslauren

xoxo Jess

How to get over a case of the Mondays

It is the beginning of a new week and you had so much fun this weekend and you just don't want to adult. You know it's a Monday. Monday's for me (the feeling not the actual week day) can even sometimes come on a Wednesday or even Thursday. We all hate when it feels as if the week is rushing towards us and we just want to stay on the couch in our PJs all week and watch Netflix.

Today I want to talk about some things I have started doing when I get that Monday feeling to chase those blues away.

1. The first thing is to set my sights on something other than the mountain of work/chores/life that I have in front of me and focus my attention on something exciting such as a planned event or even just planning out a nice quiet night on my own. I find that when I can think about something else it helps make my Monday better. If I have a fun night planned with a friend or if I have decided I am going to have a relaxing bath when I get home I always try and focus my attention on that when I begin to feel like I would rather just lay on the floor than do what needs to get done (I know you have had that feeling before too, don't lie).

2. Whenever I feel like I am going to have a total Monday blah feeling I normally know it the night before and so I try and combat that by planning to wear an outfit that I am loving for the day. I think about wearing my favorite pair of earrings or a dress I am loving and just wearing something that you feel beautiful and confident in can make you feel less blah and help makes that Monday feeling get a little bit smaller.

3. If my Monday seems to be absolutely dragging and I start to feel as if I just cannot go on (I know, a tad dramatic but you know the feeling I'm talking about) I will get myself a pick-me-up. Normally this involves stopping by a Starbucks and getting my caffeine fix but it could be something as simple as getting a piece of chocolate or taking a few minutes and watching a super funny video to get yourself out of the Monday funk. Whatever it may be, rewarding yourself for all the hard work you have already accomplished can help motivate you to finish out the day strong.

I hope these few ideas help you to be able to conquer your own Monday blues no matter when they may hit you.

xoxo Jess