Stripe Dress And Green Jacket

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 10 Comments

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Happy Wednesday! It has been so cold lately, I think I’m actually going to have to dig my coat out! Lately I have been getting away with just wearing a jacket, but with the temperature being 30 or less on Thursday, I don’t think that will cut it. I bring that up because when I shot this look, it was a tad warmer, but you can still wear it during the winter! Just add black tights/leggings or OTK boots! Since it is a tad short, I always wear it to work with leggings underneath. So cute and comfy! If you need it to look a bit more business casual, you can add a blazer instead of the green jacket and a pair of heels.

You can also notice in this picture that I’m a lot tanner than what I normally am! Yes, I’m pretty pale. Well, a tanning salon where I live was having a free spray tan weekend special, so of course I had to give it a try! Yes, my first spray tan #amievenhuman? But I have to say I absolutely loved it! I think I’m going to get another one here in a week or two. But this time I will make sure I don’t wear jeans afterwards, because you can kind of tell on my calves where the jeans rubbed it off…

A little update on the blog schedule: The end of this week I will be sharing my hair care routine, and a few products that are perfect for color treated hair. Next week I’m going to have a Christmas outfit post featuring a dress I found for under $3!!! Yes, you read that right. Also, the week before Christmas I will be having giveaways for you guys! Mostly beauty related. Is there anything you would like to see in the giveaway? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great week everyone, and stay warm! As always, thanks for reading

Valerie

Black Friday Sales

November 22, 2016November 24, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 2 Comments

For the past couple years, Black Friday (or Gray Thursday?) has become a tradition for my boyfriend and myself. We start out Thanksgiving morning by looking at the online deals before heading out to dinner at my parents’ house. A lot of the deals you can find online in the morning, but they seem to go pretty fast. So we get everything we can, and then will get the rest at the stores. After we finish Thanksgiving dinner at my boyfriend’s parents’ house, we head out to do a little bit of shopping. With our tight budget, this is the perfect time for us to get most of our Christmas shopping done. Last year we got about 90% of it done on Black Friday!

How we plan:

We always look through all the Black Friday ads as soon as they start coming out. We make a list of all the items we want to get, and check the times the stores are opening or their online deals start. If stores open at the same time, we try and figure out which deal is the best and are priority over the others. Since both of us are not huge fans of crowds, we usually wait until the line goes inside the store, then we will go in. I noticed last year that a lot of stores had maps that showed you where all the deals were. Make sure you get one as soon as you walk in the door, and plan your route. It’s best to have more than one person with you, because you can split up to get everything if they are on opposite sides of the store. Once you have all of your items, expect to wait in the checkout line for a while, so wear comfy shoes! Last year it was about a 30-40 minute wait at Target, and the line was all around the back of the store.

Here are a few of my favorite deals I found so far (I will update this as soon as more are released) and what time they start. I also linked all the Black Friday ads so you can view them yourself!

Kohls:
Opening 6pm Thursday. Deals are also online (time not specified)

-Get $15 Kohls Cash for every $50 you spend.
-LC Lauren Conrad select jewelry, key chains (cute poof ball ones!), and trinket trays ($6.99 each).
– 10-20% off all fragrances for men and women.
-All Nike 25% off (they literally never have Nike on sale!)
-Select boots 50-60% off.
-60% off select styles of handbags and wallets.
-60-70% off all outerwear for women.

Target:
Opening 6pm Thursday, with some deals starting early.

-Tuesday November 22nd all beauty 25% off!
-30% off ALL apparel, shoes, and accessories.
-30% off all designer fragrances.
-Faux Fur Throw ($19.99)

Old Navy:
Online now, 4pm in stores.

-50% off EVERYTHING in store and online.

Nordstrom:
Online Thursday, in Store Friday.

-Too many good deals to list!
-View the women’s deals HERE.
-View the beauty deals HERE.
-View handbags and accessories HERE.

Macy’s:
Opening 5pm Thursday. Starts online Wednesday.

-Select shoes and boots 40% off.
-Select handbags starting at $19.99.
-Urban Decay Shadow Box Palette ($18).
-A lot of beauty sets on sale, see them all HERE
-Michael Kors Top Zip Tote ($149.99).
-View all deals for women HERE.

Bath and Body Works:
Online now. Hours vary by location.

-See the VIP Tote HERE ($25 with any $30 purchase)
-Entire store and website buy 3 get 3 free.

Ulta:
Opening at 6pm Thursday, online deals start at 5pm Thursday (central time)

There are SO many deals here, that I will just name a few. Click the link above to view all of them!
-NYX Box of Goodies Advent Calendar ($24.99) (this would make a perfect gift!).
-Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potions ($10).
-Philosophy Shampoo, Shower Gel, Bubble bath ($12).
-Select Lorac eyeshadow Palettes ($18).
-20% off Clarisonic Holiday Kits.
-OGX Hair and Bath buy 1 get 1 free.

Sephora:
Online now. Hours vary by location.

-Tarte Intro to Tarte Deluxe Discover Set ($10)
-Make Up For Ever Artist Palette Volume 2 ($25)
-Will update more once it is released.

Tarte:
Online now.

-Everything 25% off.

Kendra Scott:
Online now.

-20% off everything with code SALE20

Charlotte Russe:
Online now. Hours vary by location in store.

-Entire store $20 of less.
-Free shipping, no minimum.

Starbucks:
Online only.

-Entire website 25% off with code THANKFUL.
-$20 off $100 purchase
-Free shipping, no minimum.

Tory Burch:
Online now.

-30% off $250 or more with code THANKS.

I will update this list once more deals are released. What stores do you plan on going to? Let me know in the comments! As always, thanks for reading!

Valerie

Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

November 9, 2016November 9, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 8 Comments

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It’s that time of year! Has anyone started Christmas shopping yet? Last year I got all of my Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. It was the first time I have ever done that, and it was such a relief! I was able to spend the rest of the weekends leading up to Christmas decorating the house and spending time with family, which is really what Christmas is supposed to be about.

When I was younger, my little sister and I would always get stockings full of little items. My dad worked nights, so he would sleep in for the most part on Christmas morning. My mom would always let us open our stockings to kind of “hold us over” until my dad woke up and we could open the bigger gifts. They always picked the cutest items out, like nail polish, socks, candy. I included some of those items in the gift guide above. These are perfect gifts you can throw in a stocking for your mom, sister, friend or co-worker. All of these items are under $20!

My favorite item on that list is the gold pineapple candle. I have had my eye on it for months, but it was always out of stock! When I found out H&M finally restocked it, I knew I had to add it to this list. The Forever Red Bath and Body Works lotion is my favorite scent by them! My boyfriend got it for me for Valentine’s Day this year, and I wear it every day. A huge trend this year has been the poof ball key chains. I have three so far that I change out on my purse everyday. They are a cute accessory that any girly girl would love to add to her purse or key ring.

What was your favorite stocking stuffer when you were a kid? Let me know in the comments!

Valerie

Girls Night Ideas + GIVEAWAY!

October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 5 Comments

Sometimes you just really need a girls night. Am I right? But, what is there to do? Coffee? Drinks? Girl, I gotchu. I’m giving you a few ideas that are perfect for girls nights, plus a giveaway to have your very own girls night!

Movies in: I know it may sound lame, but this is the time you can watch all those chick flicks you haven’t been able to see because your boyfriend just isn’t about that life. Grab a few of your favorite snacks, bubbly (it can’t be a girls night without that), and your PJs.
Paint night: Whether you are painting at home or at a painting party, it’s a fun way to catch up, drink wine, and get a little crafty. My local coffee shop hosts these every few months, and I have it on my to do list to sign up!
Spa night: Manis, Pedis, Facials, you name it. Take this time to pamper yourselves and have a glass of wine… or 5 ;).
Shopping: This is an obvious one, right? But be adventurous and try on something you normally wouldn’t!
Comedy club: What’s better than having a few drinks with your girls, while laughing until your stomach hurts?
Coffee: Some of my best girls nights are sitting on the couch at a coffee shop, drinking a latte, while catching up.
Out for drinks: One of my favorite places to go and have drinks and appetizers is Elephant Bar. They invited me to try some of their new signature cocktails and appetizers and they are SO good! My favorite cocktail was the Jungle Colada, it literally tastes like ice cream! For appetizers you have to try their Parmesan Crusted Green Beans!

I partnered with Elephant Bar to give TWO Styled Muse readers the chance to each win a $25 gift card to have your own girls night! Head on over to Instagram to enter!

What are some of your favorite things to do at your girls nights? Let me know in the comments!

In partnership with Elephant Bar. All opinions are my own.

Sephora Play Review

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 2 Comments

Happy Thursday! Did any of you watch American Horror Story last night? Let me know what you thought! I’m excited to see what this season brings.

There are so many subscription boxes out there! Ipsy, Birchbox, Sephora play… which one do you join? I have tried SO many of these. If you are interested in Ipsy and Birchbox, see my review of them here. I decided to try out Sephora Play for a couple months. I will show you what I got in each one for July and August, and let you know what I thought.

July:

Contents:
1. Nest Fragrances: Citrine
2. First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay
3. Ouai Wave Spray (excited to use this!)
4. Smashbox Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer (not pictured, I used it all as soon as I got it! I love Smashbox primers)
5. Beautyblender Blotterazzi (so awesome!)
6. Too Faced Soleil Matte Bronzer in Chocolate

August:

Contents:

1. Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow in I-544
2. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara
3. Clean Reserve Blonde Rose (In love with this scent! I may have to purchase the full size.)
4. Lancome Energie De Vie Smoothing & Glowing Liquid Care Moisturizer
5. Caudalie Resveratrol Eye Lifting Balm
6. Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear Waterproof in Flirting Game

First of all, it was really hard to get off the waitlist for Sephora Play. I think I waited about two months before I received an e-mail, saying I was finally off the waitlist. Sephora Play is $10 a month and you get 6 samples, whereas Ipsy and Birchbox you only get 5 samples at $10 a month.

I’m not going to review every product I received (if there is a specific product you want reviewed, let me know!), otherwise this post would be extremely long! But how awesome is it that they sent a Beautyblender? The first box was well worth the $10 with that alone!

Every month, your samples come in this cute draw string bag. They are easy to reuse as a makeup bag, or a dust bag for your jewelry while traveling!

One thing that I really love about Sephora Play is that they send you a “Playbook” that includes a list of all the items you received, plus details about each item and how to use them. Attached to the front of the book is a “Play Card” that you can take to your local Sephora to get tips from the associates and also get 50 extra points if you make a purchase!

So far I really love Sephora play. Each item I have received is something I could use everyday. If I had to chose between Ipsy, Birchbox, and Sephora Play, I think I would still choose Ipsy. Only because I get mostly makeup products from them, and they tend to send full size items. The only full size item I have received from Sephora Play is the Beautyblender (which I’m still amazed about!). But, it has only been two months, so we will see what happens next month.

Have you tried Sephora Play? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

The Estée Edit Review

September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 6 Comments

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Happy Tuesday! Does anyone else think Tuesday’s are the worst days? After you spend the weekend relaxing, you are usually pretty well rested for Monday. But once Tuesday hits, you a worn out again, and realize how far away Friday is. I hate it! What always puts me in a better mood, is new makeup. Especially being able to review it. I was so excited when I found out Influenster was sending me four products from The Estée Edit, including Beam Team Hydrate + Glow, The Barest Lip Color, Pore Vanishing Stick, and Flash Illuminator. Here is what I thought:

Beam Team Hydrate + Glow:

The Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a double duty Illuminating Hydrating lotion with a flip cap at the end that contains a touch-on shimmer concentrate. The hydrating lotion is what I put on first, before my primer. It does a great job of hydrating your skin, while also leaving a subtle glow. I have it on in the photo above (I know it’s so hard to see it!). My face also didn’t feel greasy or oily afterwards, which is a huge plus for me! I have very oily skin, so I have to be very careful which moisturizers I use. (I will share a blog post in a few weeks, showing you my skin care routine that helps with oily skin). I used the shimmer concentrate at the very end of my makeup routine to add a little extra highlight. I have to say, it really didn’t show up very well on my face. It was a little bit of a disappointment.

Pore Vanishing Stick:

I had a lot of you asking me what I thought about the Pore Vanishing Stick. I tested it out for a few weeks before I decided to write this review. After applying the Beam Team Hydrate, I applied the Pore Vanishing stick on my face where I have large pores (my cheeks and nose). Keep in mind, I have VERY large pores. This product did minimize them quite a bit. The box says you can wear this alone as a primer or over makeup. Since I have very oily skin, I wore this and my regular primer at the same time, to give extra coverage. After I applied this product, I applied my Photo Loving Primer from NYX, and it almost made my pores completely disappear under my foundation. I was very impressed. I think this is my favorite product out of the four that was sent to me!

Flash Illuminator:

The Flash Illuminator is a high impact highlighting cream that instantly illuminates skin while providing skin care ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid. This is perfect for highlighting and strobing. I was really worried about using this, since I’m so used to powder highlighters, not cream. But this is probably my new favorite highlighter. I applied it over my foundation at the stop of my cheek bones, to give that perfect highlight. Also, keep in mind that a little bit of this product goes A LONG WAY. Which I really love, because this bottle will last you awhile! Just use a little dot, dab with you fingers, and blend with a beauty blender.

The Barest Lip Color:

I have to say, out of all the products I was sent, this was my least favorite. But do keep in mind, that I am VERY picky with lip products. The color has to be perfect, not a gross texture, and it NEEDS to be long lasting. I usually stick with matte liquid lipsticks. Hello, Colourpop! If you follow me on Snapchat (valzors), you saw how many lip shades I have from them, haha. I completely cleaned off my vanity and reorganized my makeup!

With this lip color, the color just did not look good with my skin tone. The box says you can apply a little for sheer coverage, or layer for full on color. But it looked the same on me both ways. I think the color was just way too dark. It also says it is a lipstick/lip balm hybrid, but I only got a lip balm vibe from it. It is also not long lasting at all, it wiped completely off with the swipe of a paper towel.

Have you tried any of the products from The Estée Edit line? Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!

Valerie

All products received complimentary for testing purposes from The Estée Edit. All opinions are my own.

How To Make Your Perfume Last Longer

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ Leave a comment

I’m really picky when it comes to my perfume. My favorites tend to be “fresh” smelling ones. Floral scents were never at the top of my list. They also need to be long lasting. By the time I’m finished with work, I should still have the scent on me. Especially if you are paying close to $100 for a bottle, am I right?

Influenster sent me this Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf perfume, and after reading that it was a floral scent, I was a little worried. But let me tell you, this smells SO good!

In my Flowerbomb box, I was sent the Precious Oil and the Eau De Parfum. In order to get the most out of your perfume (and make it last until the end of the day), you need to follow these steps:

Create a foundation with shower gel, soap, or foaming bath. If I don’t have the exact scent, I use a neutral scent (vanilla, for example).
Moisturize with a neutral or unscented body lotion or body cream.
Apply Flowerbomb Precious Oil to your pulse points. I like to apply it to my wrists, neck, and behind my ears.
Finish with your Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum.

After following these steps, I noticed that my perfume actually lasted longer! Do you have any tips for making your perfume last longer? Let me know in the comments!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Valerie

Products received complimentary thanks to Influenster. All opinions are my own.

Bloom VoxBox

June 5, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 1 Comment

Happy Sunday! Is everyone having a great weekend? I spent my Saturday in St. Louis at the Cardinal’s game! It is seriously my favorite place to be. Today I am grocery shopping and getting everything organized for the work week.

I received the Bloom VoxBox complimentary from Influenster with all these amazing products! I’m going to review each one and let you all know which ones I liked and didn’t like. Keep in mind that I let you know my honest opinion about each product. If I don’t like it, you WILL know. Haha! Now on to the reviews:

Cutex Advanced Revival Nail Polish Remover Pads: These are amazing, especially for traveling. The package says you can use it for 10 fingers or toes. Well this pad is SOAKED with nail polish remover, to the point where you could do all of your fingers and toes and also your friend’s fingers and toes haha! Totally worth purchasing.

Secret Outlast Xtend Invisible Solid: I always tend to have problems with Secret deodorant. Every time I use it for long periods of time, my armpits start to itch and burn. Since this was different from the normal Secret deodorant, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I still had the same problem. I gave it to a friend, and she didn’t have any issues. I guess it just depends on the person. I will stick with my Dove deodorant.

SinfulColors Nail Polish: Influenster sent me the blue glitter polish seen in the first photo of this post. But since I’m not super into glitter polishes, I used my Kylie Jenner collection nail polish by SinfulColors. I absolutely love this color! It’s perfect for this season. I painted my nails on Memorial Day weekend with this polish, and it still looks amazing! It is long lasting, especially when you put a top coat over it. I suggest using Essie Gel Setter top coat.

Sunbelt Bakery Granola Bars, Oats & Honey: When I get home from my full time job, I usually work on my blog before I start cooking dinner. During this time, I’m usually in need of a snack to hold me over until dinner, which tends to be fruit or cookies, haha! I know, so healthy. After trying this granola bar, I think this will be my go to snack. It tastes so good, and is a lot better for me than cookies!

Not Your Mother’s Plump For Joy: If you are looking to add volume to your hair, I highly suggest this. When I went camping last weekend, I took a shower and decided to put this product in my hair instead of straightening it (It’s okay, I was in a camper, not a tent, haha!). Once my hair was dry, it had SO much volume. But it was kind of uncontrollable volume, so I suggest styling it like you normally do instead of just putting the product in your hair and leaving it be.

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil: I absolutely love this stuff! If you have fly away hairs, just put a small amount into your hand and smooth them away. If you have dry skin, apply a small amount and massage into the dry area. I love how you can use it for literally everything. The downside? It’s $29 a bottle. Like, whoa. I’m sure there are similar products out there that do the same thing (coconut oil maybe?). If I come across anything, I will let y’all know.

Which of these products are you eager to try? Let me know in the comments below! As always, thanks for stopping by!

Valerie

All products received complimentary, thanks to Influenster. All opinions are my own.

My Weekend At Go Blog Social

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ Leave a comment

Happy Hump Day! It feels so good to be back. I know I have been MIA for awhile, but my boyfriend and I were going through a death in his family, and it was a really hard time for him, and I needed to be there. Things finally are starting to go back to normal, and I’m trying to play catch up with my blog! This week I will post a few of my most recent purchases on Instagram (so make sure you are following), and in this blog post I will tell you all about the weekend I had at Go Blog Social!

As soon as I found out that Go Blog Social was coming to St. Louis, I knew I HAD to get tickets. Being an introvert, I was really nervous about attending by myself, so my sister tagged along. This was good for her, because she is in the process of creating her own blog.

The conference was three days long, with days 1 and 3 being before parties, brunches, etc. Saturday was the actual conference. Sadly, I was only able to make it to the actual conference on Saturday. The conference started off with everyone registering, getting our swag bags/schedule and getting breakfast. The breakfast consisted of fruit, yogurt parfaits, and a breakfast burrito bar! The potatoes were my favorite… weird, I know. All meals were catered by 23 City Blocks Catering. The conference was at Lumen Private Event Space in downtown St. Louis. This space is seriously beautiful (you can see the photos below). I am going to keep this place in mind for when I eventually get married :).

Since my sister and I got there a little early (we wanted a good parking spot, haha!) we had plenty of time to check out the brands that were there. This was my favorite thing about the conference. Brands from every niche had a booth set up where you can talk to them about their products (even gave free stuff and coupons away!), give them your business cards and possibly discuss collabs. There was even a booth set up to create flower crowns!

There were a lot of speakers at the conference! My favorite one had to be Bianca Jade. She spoke about video, and how it attracts readers to your blog. She really inspired me to add video to my own blog! So you may see videos soon ;). You can see the rest of the speakers below on the schedule and what was discussed. Towards the end, we even had workshops where we could learn different things, like video tips!

23 City Block Catering provided a delicious lunch! Everything from quinoa salad, buffalo cauliflower, and chicken and avocado sandwiches. Soooo good! I was starving by this time, so I wasn’t able to snap a photo of my lunch, whoops! Here are some other photos from the weekend, including what I wore, and what was in the swag bag!

I learned so much from the conference and I’m really inspired to try new things with my blog. Pretty soon I’m going to be switching my site to a self hosted site, and adding a new theme!

I know I said I had big news to share, well here it is! The first one, I have some AWESOME collabs that will be happening in June, so keep an eye out! The second one, my boyfriend and I will be moving from our small apartment, to a house!!! I’m really excited. It will be a fixer upper, which makes it even more exciting! I have binge watched the show Fixer Upper on HGTV so many times, and now I get to have my own fixer upper! My boyfriend is also letting me take one of the smaller bedrooms and turning it into a closet/blog office! Pinterest will be my best friend over the next few months :).

Have you ever attended Go Blog Social? Let me know in the comments. Also, any tips for fixer uppers would be great, haha!

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

April 29, 2016April 28, 2016 ~ styledmuse ~ 12 Comments

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Happy Fri-yay, beauties! Hope everyone had a great week. Mother’s Day is a little over a week away, have you gotten anything for her yet? If not, I’m here to help you figure out what exactly to get your mom for Mother’s Day!

A notebook: My mom loves to write down notes for everything from doctor appointments to sermons at church. This one would be perfect for all of that while looking stylish at the same time.

Makeup: If your mom is anything like mine, she needs a makeup update! Right now I’m really loving Milani’s lipstick and blush! They finally started selling it at my Wal-Mart, and I got way to excited.

Jewelry: These Kendra Scott studs are perfect for her to wear to church and out for dinner. You can get her this jewelry tray to store all her rings, earrings, and bracelets when she’s not wearing them!

Picture frame: I feel like the perfect gift you can give your mom is a nice picture frame with a photo of you and her, or your whole family.

Perfume: This Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume smells heavenly! It’s perfect for every mom that loves a flowery scent.

Candle and bubble bath: My mom is constantly on the run. Getting her a nice bubble bath and candle can help her relax after a long day at work.

House shoes: These are probably the most adorable house shoes! The print is perfect for her to wear around during the summer. They also come in purple.

What are you getting your Mom for Mother’s Day? Let me know in the comments!

Valerie