The Definition of Beauty: Shoe styles

"I like Cinderella, I really do. She has a good work ethic. I appreciate a good, hard-working gal. And she likes shoes. The fairy tale is all about the shoe at the end, and I'm a big shoe girl."
~Amy Adams

When you are looking for a certain type of shoes sometimes just calling it a high-heel will not cut it. However there are so many different names for shoes that it can be pretty confusing. SO I did my research and here are some of those confusing terms defined!

Mule

A mule is a shoe that has no fastenings around the back, basically backless, and is usually closed-toe

Stiletto

Refers to a heel that is very thin and high. 

Pump (Court Shoes)

Typically a high-heeled slip on shoe.

Sling back

A shoes that is backless and has a strap that fastens at the back of the foot around the heel or ankle

Ankle strap

Similar to a sling back except the strap must cross around the front of the foot as well as the back.

Espadrille

Casual shoes usually made of canvas on top and typically with a sole that is flexible and looks to be made of rows of rope or think twine.

Wedge

Refers to a heel that does not have a separated heel but has a platform under all parts of the shoe

Platform

Refers to the wedge of material found under the toe or heel regions. Modern shoes use platforms under the toe to make the appearance of super high heels without creating too steep of an angle for your foot. 

Clog

These are historically made of wood but modern clogs can be made of anything. They are similar to a mule except that back has a slight lip and is not totally backless. There is a high-heel version without the lip but still maintains the basic shape. 

Kitten heel

Kitten heels are shoes with very short heels, typically about 1.5 inches high.

 Ballet flat

A ballet flat has little to no heel and exposes much of the instep and has a short vamp, which is the part where the toe is

 Mary Jane

 A closed toe shows that has a strap across the instep. It originally had low to no heel but more modern versions can have large heels.

T-strap

A shoes that has a two straps across the foot in a t shape. One starting at the toe region and coming up and the other going across the foot.

 

Whew there are lots of different types of shoes!!! I hope this can clear up some confusion!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren


pictures from here,
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
here 
and here 

The Definiton of Beauty: Colors

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. "
~Marcus Aurelius

I am super excited about a new series I am starting called The Definition of Beauty. My goal is to make this series like a beauty and fashion encyclopedia. I will try to define lots of different aspects of beauty and fashion. The topic I am tackling today is colors! With pastels and neons being on trend right now I feel like we are all being exposed to new and different colors. Not sure what to call some of these new colors? Allow me to help

Chartreuse is a super hot color right now. It is a super bright neon yellowish green. I really like this color because it looks much better on many skin tones than a neon yellow would.

Magenta is a color that I feel like people are familiar with until they see the word on paper. For some reason the spelling seems to throw people off. Regardless it is a beautiful deep bright pink color.

Mauve is a hot color right now because it fits so nicely into the pastel trend. One caution on this color is that if it is not styled correctly it can look a little bit dated. Also be aware of your coloring because this color can wash people out BAD!

Lavender is a color that most people are familiar with. So why did I include it? Because most people confuse lavender, mauve, and lilac. Mauve is the light purple with gray in it, lavender has blue in it and lilac has pink in it.

Lilac is the last of the confused colors. I really really like lilac for this season because it is in the pastel trend but because it has so much pink it, it will bring out your tan, which is ideal!

Kelly Green and Hunter Green are both colors that are often just called green. This is kelly green and one of my absolute favorite colors to wear. It is both vibrant but somehow soft at the same time!

This is Hunter Green. See it is so pretty that is definitely needs its own name! This is not just 'green'.

Blush is a color that is really big in the wedding world right now. People are opting for the slightly pink hue instead of white or off white. Some people are opposed to wedding dresses that are not white.... I would not be one of those people.

Cerulean is pretty much the coolest name for a color ever. Just saying the word sounds pretty in your mouth. The color itself is absolutely beautiful. I love this color. It is not quite a neon but you could probably fake the trend with this color!

Ecru is a color that I feel like you never hear about unless it is in a movie when someone is being made fun of when they are debating between ecru, eggshell, and cream and what they are holding all looks exactly the same. HOWEVER ecru is a real color and it is distinct and honestly quite lovely.

Ok those are my definitions of colors! Be on the look out for my next Definition of Beauty post about show styles!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren

My Nyx Lipstick Collection!

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."
~Judy Garland

I started making the venture into lipstick about a year ago. I had tried to wear lipstick lots and lots of times but it scared me and I always felt like it looked so messy and uneven. Well after years of only wearing lip glosses and stains I gave it one more try. I am now addicted to lipstick. I wear it every single day. The key for me was finding the right colors. If you are not careful and you are buying drugstore lipsticks you can sometimes end up buying colors that are a little bit mature and don't follow the trends. I do acknowledge that some brands like Revlon have some really great colors, but for me I had to discover Nyx lipstick before I could truly appreciate the stuff. Nyx lipstick is very creamy and pigmented and the colors are fun and young. Also I can wear it all day long without it irritating my lips so if you have sensitive skin like me, you should be safe. Nyx lipstick is also super affordable it is about three dollars a tube!

I have several different colors so I thought I would just give you the run down of what I like and what I don't!

I'm going to list these in order of my favorites to my least favorites!

My ultimate favorite color is Watermelon. It is a very pretty orangey pink color. Watermelon is a misleading name because you expect it to be really dark and red. It has more gold and orange in the pink than it does red. It wears really nicely with some shine but not any glitter or shimmer.

My next favorite is called Paris. It is a dark pink that wishes it was a mauve, but it is too pink. This is a matte color so it wears very demurely. It is not a neutral color but it is mute enough to be an everyday color.

The next color is called Rose Bud. This is almost the color of my lips but has a pretty gold shine to it. Very pretty and very discreet. This would be a good neutral for people with yellow in their skin or with beige skin.

Jupiter is very similar to Rose Bud. It is the same natural lip color but it has blue undertones to it. It also has a good bit of silver shimmer in, not overwhelming but pretty sparkly.

I'm a little torn about the next color. This color is called Strawberry Milk and it is true to its name. It is a matter color that is highly pigmented. Straight up milky baby pink. I LOVE THIS COLOR. I have seen other people wear it and they look amazing. I look crazy when I have tried so far.This color is definitely better for people with pail skin, however I am not going to stop trying to wear it yet!

All of the lipsticks besides this one are just Nyx's run of the mill "lip smacking fun colors" lipstick. This one is from their Diamond Sparkle Lipstick line. The color is called Sparkling 24 Karat but I don't like that name. The color has some pink and brown it but mostly it just has sparkle. I fond this color a little bit hard to wear because it is sooooo sparkly. I do like it as a top coat on top of another color. 

The next color is called Iris. It is beige with some pink in it and some iridescence. I find this color very hard to wear. It is very very pale so I have to be careful to not let it wash me out. I can make it work with a pink gloss over it. 

I have a love hate relationship with next color just like strawberry milk. This color is called Gardenia and it is a bright deep pink. It is a very very deep magenta in the tube, but because it has some blue undertones when you put it on your lips it looks more like hot pink. I really want it to be the deep magenta I see in the tube but when it actually goes on my face it is a different color. I do like the color is applies as but I just want the other color. I feel like I have been duped.

The next color is called Nyx. I thought since it was named after the line it would be special. I bought it in the autumn when I was looking for an orangey pink.... Well this is just orange. Seriously this is just orange. I look ridiculous when I put this on and I have not successfully worn this color in public....yet.

My least favorite color that I have purchased is called Margarita. This is the most barbie bright pink ever. You would think this would make me love it.... no I do not. It applies this weird super bright iridescent color and it looks like Halloween makeup. It is just too bright. I admire anyone who can make this color work.

Ok that is my Nyx Lipstick collection! Go out and find your favorite!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren

March showers bring April flowers...?

"Earth laughs in flowers."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

So I am really digging all the pastel colors that are in this season. I have blonde hair, brown eyes, and beige skin.... perfectly bland and also a perfect canvas for color. Pastels are fun because they are easier to mix together than more bold colors. In honor of the pastel colors popping up like daisies all over the place I did a manicure that played with the theme!

To get this look I used one coat of my ORLY color Snowcone. I really love that color because it has such good coverage and it is such a bright pretty color! I then did one coat with my favorite top coat by Beauty Secrets. I get this polish at Sally's Beauty Supply. It is my all time favorite and the only one I even bother to use these days. My favorite one is the blue one, which is formulated for fast drying, but all the different colors are awesome. I then used my Bundle Monster plate in the number BM12 and my Wet n Wild polish in French White Creme. I then finished it off with another coat of top coat making sure to concentrate it at the ends to seal the color in and prevent chipping! I love the effect I got.

How are you gonna rock the pastel trend!?!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren 

Pictures from here here and here 

Pin a rose on your nose!

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. "
~Audrey Hepburn

The next product I am going to review is Smith's Rosebud Salve.

I had heard some people talking about this salve so when I saw it in Sephora I knew it was a sign that I needed this product. It comes in a really old-timey tin that reminds me of something you would see in like an old western general store or something. It is pretty cute though. 

The little container tells you that this product has a multitude of uses: chapped lips and skin, diaper rash, blemishes, detergent burns and rough cuticles. The only thing I actually use it for is my lips (and what the heck is a detergent burn.....?!?). I think they put all of those uses on there so they can call it a salve. I guess that is fancier than just lip balm. However since it was originally formulated in 1892 maybe they know something I don't. 

Regardless of all that, this is a superb lip balm.I use it every night before I go to bed and when I wake up my lips are perfectly conditioned. It stays on for a long time and it feels so good. I have said about a billion times how picky I am about what I put on my lips because they are so sensitive, but this did not irritate my lips at all. On top of all that I am completely in love with the way it smells. It definitely smells like roses but it is a little sweeter and less flowery than most rose scents. It is not so in your face that you can walk around smelling the stuff on your lips all day. In the pot it has a nice pink color but on your lips it ends up colorless.

All in all a very very good lip balm. It will run you about seven dollars at Sephora. Cccheck it out.

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings

Lauren

picture from here

I got pink chiffon on!!!!

"Beauty is truth - truth, beauty - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

~John Keats

Hi my name is Lauren and I am a Bath & Body Works addict.

. . . No but seriously I pretty much am. I have enough body spray to fill a kiddie pool. So of coarse when Bath & Body Works or BBW as the cool kids call it, put out their new Pink Chiffon scent, I knew that I must get my hands on it. 

Over Spring Break I was finally able to purchase some Pink Chiffon and I could not be more excited about it. The description BBW gives is "a light-as-air pairing of pink petals and vanilla chiffon icing". I really love this scent and that description is dead on. However they are not kidding when they say light-as-air. This scent is waaaaay lighter than what I am used to, but I love it so I am trying out this subtlety thing.

I actually ended up purchasing one of the sets in this scent. I almost always will buy sets just because they are always such a good deal. If I am going to buy a scent I think I will wear all year round I will buy the perfume instead of the body spray. My experience has been that the formulation of the perfume is just better and it stays on much longer. However BBW has just reformulated their body sprays to be more concentrated and stay longer so I may change my opinion when I try out the new formula. The full size bottle of perfume is around $40 but when it is in a set it is a slightly smaller bottle for a much more reasonable price.

The set I ended up buying it called the Mini Pink Chiffon gift set. It came with a perfume and a small body lotion. I really like the little lotions because they are the perfect size to put in my purse. I love the perfume and the lotion but I AODRE the packaging. The set came in the cutest little round box with polka dots all over it and a little pink bow on top. I now use the little box on my counter to hold my q-tips. All of the sets for Pink Chiffon were in the most adorable girly packaging.

If you are looking for a new sweet scent, check out Pink Chiffon!!!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren

Dare to Dream

"A person starts dying when they stop dreaming."
~Brian Williams

Another product in my spring break reviews is Maybelline's Dream Bouncy Blush. There has been so much hype about this blush. I read up a lot on this product when it first came out and I couldn't decide whether people as a whole hated it or loved it. The reviews ranged from best product ever to the worst product ever. This honestly just made me want to try it even more to see who was right.

The shade I purchased is called Pink Frosting. It is a really pretty pink color that I thought would be perfect for spring. The whole gimmick of the blush is the texture. When you touch it you can compress it and it bounces back. It reminds me of those stress reliever ball things that are balloons filled with flour. It is a really strange texture but the finish is very similar to a whipped blush or mousse blush. On the back Maybelline describes it by saying, "feels lightweight like a powder, yet melts into skin like a cream". I would say this is pretty accurate.

I was not blown away by this product. It is a fun concept and the color is pretty, but I generally don't like cream blushes.... and that is all this really is. The color is really pretty but it is really pigmented. I prefer blushes where you build up coverage because I feel like you have more control. The bouncy is part is honestly sort of irrelevant to me. I find myself agreeing with the class of people complaining about the hype. It may feel cool in the container but its not like it jumps up and down on your face or something. The color is nice and the finish is nice but I wont be repurchasing and I can't say that I recommend it. Not terrible but not great either. Perfectly ehhh.

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren

Picture from here