2017 Goals

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Chambray Top  //  White Jeans  //  Ankle Boots  //  Crossbody Bag  //  Ring  //  Blanket Scarf

Happy 2017! I have many goals for this year. I always say goals, because when I think of resolutions, I always think of something that doesn’t last very long (like a month, if that). I also always set goals that are actually attainable, otherwise I would be super disappointed at the end of the year! Here are some of my main goals for this year:

  1. Take care of myself: This means by eating right and actually exercising. I know I need to lose a few pounds, but if I don’t set my goal to a certain number on the scale, then I won’t be disappointed. The older I get, the more I really need to take care of my body and listen to what it’s telling me. Right now I’m doing a 28 Day Challenge with Blogilates. It’s kind of like Whole30, but not as crazy. I’m really interested to see what foods affect my body. I will keep you all updated!
  2. Save money: This is something I really need to do. I tend to blow my money on things I don’t really need. This year my goal is to save up enough money to put a down payment on a new car (because mine isn’t going to last much longer!). Whenever I go to purchase something, I’m going to ask myself if this is something I really need, or if I can find something similar at a better price (especially with groceries and eating out).
  3. Blog more and be more organized: The past year I was really bad with juggling my time. I always had a goal to post new content at least 3 times a week, but time got the best of me and it ended up being more like 1 or 2 times a week. This year I got a new planner that will help me organize my time, you can see my new planner HERE! I also got a new white board for my editorial calendar! It’s so much easier than writing it on paper, because things seem to change a lot and it’s easier to erase! I will have a blog post up soon how I organize my time with my full time job, blogging, and social life.

These are my main ones for this year. Of course I have little ones like set a cleaning schedule for the house, and to attend church more. What are some of your goals? Let me know in the comments!

This outfit is one of my favorites for winter. The blanket scarf is so warm! I love wearing light colors during the winter, especially white pants. Don’t be afraid to break rules! I tagged everything above, if an item was sold out, I tagged similar items.

What type of posts would you like to see in 2017? Let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email at styledmuse@gmail.com. As always, thanks for reading! Have a great new year!

Valerie

 

Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet Review

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Happy Wednesday! Y’all, my birthday is tomorrow. I can’t believe I will be 26! I feel like I just turned 21 yesterday, haha. So far I don’t really have any birthday plans. It sucks when it lands during the week. Maybe I will go out this weekend or something? Who knows!

Anyways, Influenster sent me these Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet lipsticks to review. I always get so excited when Influenster sends me a beauty product to review, I love trying out new products and being able to tell you all about them! They sent me shades Four Hundred For All (the red color) and Second Skin (the pink color).

These lipsticks are said to be ultra-matte, weightless, and long lasting. I will say the product is pretty weightless. After it dries, it has a matte look to it, and I cannot feel anything on my lips, which is a huge plus for me! My biggest pet peeve is when a lipstick feels really sticky and gross, or feels like I have glue on my lips. The colors are also VERY pigmented, so a little bit goes a long way. I wore the red color on Christmas, and it truly is the perfect red lipstick. The pink is not as light as it looks, It kind of showed up like a light red on my lips, but it was a very pretty color!

The only downside is they aren’t very long lasting at all. Unfortunately, while I was eating, the product was coming off on everything my lips touched. By the time I was done eating, you could barely even see the product, it was just like a little stain. I even accidently got some on the sleeve of my sweater! Luckily a makeup wipe took it right off. When I think of liquid matte lipstick, I think long lasting and kissable.

Would I recommend them to a friend? Unfortunately, probably not. There are way better matte liquid lipsticks out there at a cheaper price point. I think Colourpop Ultra Matte lipsticks will always have a place in my heart, haha!

What are some of your favorite liquid lipsticks? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Valerie

Giorgio Armani Lip Magnets received complimentary for testing purposes thanks to Influenster. All opinions are my own! 

Christmas Outfit

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Dress: Loft (Similar)  //  Blazer: Similar  //  Shoes: Charlotte Russe  //  Clutch: Similar  //  Tights: ASOS

Merry Christmas! I am finally starting to get over my sickness. I planned to have this outfit post up a week ago, but I ended up being way too sick to shoot the photos for it. Of course the day I shot these, it was so gloomy outside!

Anyways, I picked up this dress (I tagged a similar one since the one I found in store isn’t listed online) for under $3 (yes, you read that right!) at Loft Outlet at the St. Louis Premium Outlet mall. They hosted a blogger shopping event for the holiday season. I found SO many good deals including a Kate Spade tote for under $100, Nikes for $35, and a Loft layered sweater for $20.

We were also given the chance to have a bra fitting with Jockey, and it was so great! I actually found out I was wearing the wrong bra size. Their bras aren’t your typical cup size, they run by numbers, and are kind of in a way custom fit. It is one of my new favorite bras! If you get the chance, I recommend stopping in there.

Now, on to the Christmas outfit. I always love dressing up around the holidays. I guess it’s because my full time job is so casual, I never really have an excuse to dress up. This dress is perfect for Christmas and even Valentine’s Day. Since the dress is sleeveless, I paired it with a black blazer, black tights, and my Charlotte Russe stud heels. Of course, I had to add my signature leopard clutch. I literally wear it with everything.

Have a great Christmas everyone! Also, I’m having a Christmas giveaway on my Instagram page, make sure you head over to enter!

Valerie

This post was in collaboration with St. Louis Premium Outlet Mall. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Styled Muse possible! 

Gift Guide: Mom

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Ladies, Christmas is a little over 1 week away! So crazy to think about that. I feel like this year has flown by. Sadly, this weekend I am going to start AND finish my Christmas shopping… so bad I know. Luckily there are a lot of sales going on! It’s just going to be SUPER crowded. Wish me luck! Haha. I’m going to head to a few places this morning before it gets super crowded, then again tonight with my mom. Her and I always do a little Christmas shopping together for my boyfriend and my dad. I love our little shopping dates! It usually includes Bread Co (Panera if you aren’t from St. Louis) and Starbucks.

Today I’m rounding up some of my favorite items to gift your mom on Christmas! I always try to get nice things for my parents on Christmas. Both of them were very hard working when I was little. My dad worked the midnight shift, and my mom worked 8 hours then had to take care of us after school, which included soccer practice, basketball practice, girl scouts, etc. None of them really had a break. This is a way for me to really show my appreciation towards them for everything they did for my sister and I when we were little. You can find the gift guide for your dad HERE.

One of my favorite items on this list is the MacKenzie Childs tea pot! This is perfect for my mom, she likes to collect tea pots, and this one is so cute! It reminds me of Alice In Wonderland (one of my favorite books/movies). Something my mom always loved receiving is a picture frame with a family picture. Our family doesn’t have a lot of pictures of the four of us, so this really means a lot to her.

Right now Neiman Marcus is having a friends and family sale, so you can get this Viktor & Rolf perfume (I have this and it smells amazing!) and Kendra Scott necklace for 20% off with code FRIENDME. This is the first time they are having this sale!

I really love to get my mom cozy things to help her relax after work, like this robe from Kate Spade and this Pier 1 Imports blanket! I have a faux fur blanket very similar to this, and it’s so warm and cozy! I also love giving her some of her favorite shower gels and lotions. This one from Philosophy smells so good!

What are you getting your mom for Christmas? Let me know in the comments! Happy shopping!

Valerie

Novel Babes Book Club Announcement

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This is more of an announcement than a blog post, but I wanted to let you all know that 22 other bloggers and myself have started a book club for our followers called Novel Babes Book Club! We have been planning this for over a month, and I’m so excited to finally announce it. The first book we are going to be reading is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. You can sign up by joining our Goodreads group HERE!

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Here is our timeline as of right now:

January 1st: Start reading (or earlier, of course!).
January 15th: Twitter/Goodreads chat about the first half of the book.
January 31st: Twitter/Goodreads chat about the last half of the book.

The Novel Babes Book Club is open to everyone! Make sure you use #NovelBabes when you post about it on social media, and make sure to invite all your friends! Don’t forget to sign up HERE.

Let me know in the comments if you plan on joining. Have a great rest of your week!

Valerie

My Hair Care Routine

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It’s Monday, y’all! Did you have a relaxing weekend? Since the past few weekends have been super busy for me, I decided to spend this weekend doing absolutely nothing (which is why this post is going up today, haha). I think I left the house once, just to grab something to eat, no joke! But, I was able to try a new face mask and hair mask and watch a bunch of Gossip Girl. This is the second time I watching it by the way…

I shared with you a few weeks ago my skin care routine, and I thought this time I would share my hair care routine with you all! Before starting, I’m going to share what type of hair I have, since a lot of these products might not work for you. I have somewhat thin, wavy, very oily, hair. My hair is also somewhat colored (I have blonde on the ends). When I was younger, I had very thick, frizzy hair. But as I got older, it seemed to thin out a bit and is not as frizzy. My hairdresser told me that every 7 years your hair and skin changes, which I have totally noticed with my own. Now, onto my favorite products!

Shampoo:
When my hair is colored, I use Kerastase Reflection Bain Chroma Captive shampoo. It really keeps your hair moisturized if it has a little damage from coloring it. It also cleans my hair really well, which is a huge plus with my oily hair. Since I do have oily hair, I have to wash it every other day, which can really dry the ends of my hair out, and this shampoo helps out a lot! Once a week when I need an extra cleanse from having a lot of products in my hair, I use Pantene Pro-V Weekly Deep Cleanse Purifying Shampoo.

Conditioner:
Since my hair is somewhat thin, I like to use a volumizing conditioner. What really works for me is Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume Conditioner. I apply it to the middle/ends of my hair (not my scalp), twist it up with a clip and let it sit in my hair while I wash my body, then rinse out at the end.

Hair Mask:
During the winter months I like to use a hair mask at the ends of my hair to give it a little moisture. My go to is the Kerastase Reflection Masque Chroma Captive. I use this in place of my conditioner once a week. It really adds the extra moisture my hair needs during the dry months. Once a month (usually on Sundays, see my Sunday routine here), I use coconut oil in my hair, and let it set for a few hours while doing other things around the house.

Dry Shampoo:
On the days I don’t wash my hair, I use Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo (the unscented one). This stuff not only gives your hair texture, but it gets rid of all the oil in my hair. This is a lifesaver for us ladies that have oily hair!

Styling Products:
The only styling products I use are heat protectants and texture sprays. My favorite heat protectant is the TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray. I spray it on my hair before I blow dry it and it makes my hair so soft!  If my hair is feeling flat, then I spray a little bit of the Not Your Mother’s Texture Spray. It not only add a little texture, but it also acts as a light hold for when you decide to wear your hair in a messy bun :).

Hair Tools: 
My favorite hair tool is my straightener. It’s so old (I can’t tag it since I’m pretty sure it’s not made anymore), I have had it since my freshman year of high school, and it still works perfectly! I can use it on wet or dry hair (but I never use it on the wet hair setting). On the weekends when I am going to dinner or out with friends I use my ConAir curling wand, which is also a few years old. Another one of my favorite hair tools are the ribbon hair ties. I take showers and straighten on my hair in the evenings during the week, so to keep my hair from getting super frizzy and oily while I sleep, I put it in a pony tail using these. It doesn’t leave a crease in my hair, and it’s super comfortable. And they hold really well! I found these in the dollar section at Target.

Vitamins: 
To help with my thin, volume-less hair, I decided to try out vitamins that I have seen a few other bloggers rave about. I went to Target and grabbed The Olly Undeniable Beauty gummy vitamins. They taste so good! Like grapefruit. I have been using them for a couple months now and they are seriously amazing. After my first month, I noticed my eyelashes were a lot thicker. Then the next month my hair had a lot more volume! Now, I can tell my hair is growing a lot faster. I cannot recommend them enough!

What are your favorite hair products? Let me know in the comments!

Also, I’m starting a book club with some of my other favorite bloggers! The first book we are reading is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. We will start reading on January 1st, and our first Twitter chat will be on January 15th & 31st! Sign up HERE!

Valerie

The Kerastase Reflection Line was sent complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster. All opinions are my own. 

Stripe Dress And Green Jacket

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Dress (similar) // Jacket (similar) // Booties // Choker // Ring // Clutch (similar) 

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

Gift Guide: The Guy In Your Life

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Did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? What about Black Friday Shopping? I got a few things (including that super soft faux fur throw from Target I mentioned HERE), but I still have a long way to go to have my Christmas shopping done! I have gone back and forth on a few things to get my boyfriend for Christmas. One thing I know for sure I’m getting him are these Marc Anthony button down shirts. Everytime we go to Kohl’s he eyes these, but he never wants to spend the money on himself. Luckily they are on sale for under $30, so I’m going to pick a few up for him.

These are ideas you can get for any guy in your life: your boyfriend, dad, grandpa, etc. My boyfriend’s dad loves this Polo cologne. Also, how awesome is this Self Stirring Mug!? My boss at work has this and he absolutely loves it! And it actually works!

Of course, another idea everyone always loves getting are gift cards. Uber gift cards are the perfect Christmas gift. You can literally use them for any occasion, like a ride home from the airport or a night out. Go HERE to order an Uber gift card for your loved ones!

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Valerie

This post was sponsored by Uber. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Styled Muse possible!

Black Friday Sales

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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

 

 

Thanksgiving Outfit

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Dress: Similar/Similar (Under $40!)  //  Faux Fur Vest: Similar  //  Clutch: Under $30!  //  Boots: Similar  //  Bracelets: Similar/Similar

Does it even feel like next week is Thanksgiving? The end of 2016 is just flying by. Didn’t 4th of July just happen like last week? Haha! This year for Thanksgiving we are doing the usual: visiting my family and my boyfriend’s family. Which means LOTS of food. Then of course doing a little shopping afterwards. I will have a post up this weekend with some of my favorite Black Friday sales! What stores would you like to see on the list? Let me know in the comments!

It’s always hard finding an outfit that looks dressed up but comfy at the same time. But this dress fits that perfectly! It’s somewhat oversized, so you can easily hide that full belly, while also staying comfy. I absolutely love the bell sleeves on this dress. They have been a huge trend this year, and I don’t see them going away anytime soon! I paired this dress with a faux fur vest (my favorite fall item) and ankle boots. If you plan on going shopping Thanksgiving night, just grab a pair of flats to change into! If it’s going to be chilly where you are, you can always wear a pair of black tights to stay warm.

Unfortunately, most of these items sold out really fast (I literally bought those ankle boots 2 weeks ago, and they are already gone…), so I tagged similar items. Both of the dresses are under $50! The leopard clutch is an exact duplicate to mine and is under $30!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you going shopping Thanksgiving night? Let me know in the comments!

As always, thanks for reading!

Valerie