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Fall Jacket

~ styledmuse ~ 7 Comments

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Jacket (similar)  //  Top (similar)  //  Jeans  //  Necklace (similar)  //  Clutch  //  Sunglasses  //  Booties (similar)

Happy Wednesday! I had such a busy weekend. We went to the lake with my parents, and when we got back we went apple and pumpkin picking with some of our friends! We went to Eckert’s in Belleville, IL and it is by far my favorite place to go in the fall! If you are ever in the area, make sure you make a stop there!

Fall is my favorite season, and October is my favorite time of year. I love doing all the fall things like apple and pumpkin picking, drinking apple cider, and finding my Halloween costume. I love it even more than Christmas! I think I picked more apples than I really needed, but that means I can make more apple pies and caramel apples! If you have any other recipes for apples, let me know in the comments!

We took these photos while we were there, and I had to show you guys this amazing jacket! I first found this jacket while the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale was going on. I ordered it immediately, which I’m glad I did because it sold out! It’s still currently sold out, BUT I found an almost identical one at an even better price point!

The day we decided to go apple picking, it was pretty chilly, so I wore this turtleneck underneath with these jeans and booties. I added my favorite accessory: a statement necklace! I found this exact one on clearance at Target, so it is no longer available online. But I did find one very similar one here! Also, my staple leopard fold over clutch is back in stock, so make sure you grab it before it’s sold out again! I of course wore my new favorite pair of sunglasses that I found at TJ Maxx. I cannot seem to find them online ANYWHERE, but I found an identical pair!

I know I haven’t talked about my boyfriend much, so I included a photo of him and myself! His name is Devon, and like most men, I basically had to force him to take this photo with me, haha! He’s the one that takes all my outfit photos, so he’s more used to being behind the camera. We have been together for 7 years and lived together for 4 years, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What are you favorite fall activities? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Valerie

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Affordable Workwear

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Top: Similar & Similar (My Fav) // Pants: Nordstrom // Bag: Similar // Shoes // Ring: Charlotte Russe

Happy Wednesday! I think today is the first day it finally feels like fall in St. Louis. Unfortunately, it won’t last long. It’s going to be 88 degrees again on Saturday, gross! This weekend we are heading up to the campground where my parents have their camper. They are throwing a huge Halloween festival with pumpkin carving contests, chili cook off, trick or treating and a haunted hayride! I’m excited to put my costume together and share with you all! Make sure to follow along on my Insta stories this weekend to see the full look! What do you plan on dressing up as for Halloween? Let me know in the comments!

I realized that I have never done a post about workwear, and decided that it was time! I luckily have a very casual job where we can wear yoga and sweatpants to work. That is one of the huge perks of my job! If I’m feeling extremely tired and don’t feel like dressing up, I can throw on a pair of workout pants and a sweatshirt and run out the door (after grabbing my coffee of course 😉 ). But I know a lot of you don’t have that option and are required to wear something a bit more business casual, so this post is for you!

I absolutely love this top for work! This exact one is sold out, but I tagged two similar ones! This one is my absolute favorite, and I have it in black! It’s on sale right now for $32! Of course if you want to hide your arms a bit more, you can throw a blazer over it.

I still love wearing white pants all year round (you can read my post about wearing white after Labor Day HERE). But of course you can always add black or gray ones to feel a bit more business casual!

This is the perfect bag for work! It holds so much, while looking the business part! This exact one is sold out, but I tagged a similar Kate Spade one! It even comes in black!

These shoes are perfect for warmer days, but once it starts getting cold you may want to wear a pair that covers your toes. I love these pumps!

What is your dress attire at work? Let me know in the comments! Have a great week, and thanks for reading!

Valerie

Body Care That Gives Back

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Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. Tonight I am attending a Fashion Show in St. Louis called Romancing the Runway! I’m SO excited to be attending. If you live in the area, you can still buy tickets HERE!

With all the bad things happening in the world right now, I seem to find myself wanting to help out in some way. Whether it be donating money or old clothes. When SoapBox contacted me and wanted to collaborate, I knew I had to jump on board!

SoapBox is a one-for-one personal care company that sells shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap and liquid hand soap. Their soaps are vegan, cruelty free, and made with thoughtfully selected ingredients. For every product sold, they donate a bar of soap to someone in need either here in the US or abroad! Their motto: Soap = Hope. BUT if you use code SBXSTYLEDMUSE317 they will give you 10% off AND donate 2 bars of soap for every product sold instead of 1! They are trying to get to their 3 millionth donation, so let’s help them exceed that! Here are a few of my favorite products they have:

Bamboo Strength and Body Shampoo and Conditioner: I LOVE the conditioner. After using it, my hair had so much body, even more than my Pantene conditioner! Also, they both smell so amazing! I can’t wait to see how strong is makes my hair after using it for about a month (it’s pretty brittle at the moment)!

Sea Minerals & Blue Iris Body Wash: My hands and elbows always get dried out once the weather starts to get a bit cooler. This body wash helped fight that! It’s a gentle moisturizer, so it’s great for sensitive skin, smells amazing, and lathers really well!

Vanilla and Lily Blossom Liquid Hand Soap: The same goes for the hand soap. It moisturizes my hands, and also smells so good! I’m the type of person that washes my hands more often than I should, so a gentle hand soap is a must.

Bar soap: I’m not really a bar soap type of person (I love my liquid body wash and loofah!), but this one smells so amazing just like the rest of the products. If I did use bar soap, this would be my go to!

If you would like to try all the products, you can buy a bundle that has 1 of everything!

My favorite thing about these products? They are all so affordable! This month, try switching out one or more of your body products, and help give back to those in need. Let’s get to 3 million donations! Just use code SBXSTYLEDMUSE317 to get 10% AND donate 2 bars to soap to those in need!

Have a great week, and thanks for reading!

This post is in collaboration with SoapBox. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Styled Muse possible! 

5 Foundations For Oily Skin

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If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I always complain how oily/acne prone my skin is. In today’s post, I’m sharing with you 5 foundations that are perfect for those of you with oily and/or acne prone skin. I have tried SO many different foundations, and so far these are the clear winners! These are for all price points, from drugstore to Sephora, so you won’t have a hard time finding one that fits your budget! Coming up next month I will be having a blog post sharing all of my favorite skincare products for oily skin as well, so stay tuned for that! Now, onto the foundations.

  1. YSL All Hours Foundation: This is the foundation I’m currently using. Influenster sent me this to try out, and I actually fell in love. I don’t always love the products they send me, which is why you don’t see a lot of them on the blog. I only share products I actually love and think you would love as well. This is a long lasting full coverage foundation. I put this foundation on in the morning (5:00 am, to be exact) and it lasts me all day. it never creases or gets cakey. By 2:30 pm my T-zone is a little oily, but it’s nothing that blotter sheets can’t take care of. This foundation is perfect for fall/winter makeup looks, but if you are looking for a light summer one, I wouldn’t pick this (see #3 for a light summer foundation). 😉
  2. L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation: This is also a full coverage foundation, but a tad bit lighter. It’s a great dup to the YSL foundation if it’s out of your price range. This one really is long lasting, and I usually need makeup remover to take it off! Just soap and water doesn’t cut it, haha!
  3. Covergirl Clean Matte BB Cream: This BB cream is light coverage, and perfect for summer. When it’s extremely hot and humid outside, the last thing you want to put on your acne prone skin is a heavy foundation (hello, breakouts!). This has enough coverage to hide acne and scars, but light enough for your skin to breath. This also is a matte BB cream, so it keeps your face from looking oily throughout the day.
  4. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation: This is a full coverage foundation that I always wear during the winter. It hides all my scars and large pores. It doesn’t crease or get cakey throughout the day. I have also never had an issue with this foundation breaking me out, which a heavy foundation usually does for me. You also can’t beat the $7.99 price tag!
  5. ELF Cosmetics Acne Fighting Foundation: This one is more of a foundation for my acne prone ladies. It provides a great coverage while also fighting acne when you wear it. It helps a tiny bit with oily skin, but I would recommend getting the other ones if that’s your main issue. It’s also only $6!

What’s your favorite foundation? Let me know in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!

Valerie

YSL All Hours Foundation received complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Styled Muse possible! 

Wearing White After Labor Day

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Top: Similar // Jeans: Nordstrom // Earrings: SUGARFIX // Shoes: JustFab // Clutch: Similar

Happy Wednesday! Even though this is a short week, it still feels like it has been super long! I can’t wait to have a relaxing weekend (the past few have been pretty busy for me). Last weekend I went camping with my family and friends for Labor Day (my parents have a really nice camper on a lake out in the country, so I guess it was more like glamping? Haha!), and we had so much fun! The weather was perfect. I can’t wait to go back once the leaves start changing!

One fashion “rule” I seriously despise is no wearing white after Labor Day. I never really understood that. But rules were made to be broken, right? 😉 I love wearing white jeans with a fall sweater and booties (my go-to during the fall season). I know the above look is a bit more summery, but summer isn’t over, right? I just had to get one more outfit out of my system before I start wearing darker colors, haha!

I bought this off the shoulder top from Shein, but it’s currently sold out so I tagged a similar one that looks almost identical. I ordered quite a few items from Shein, and I’m going to give you a review on what I thought about the website, the sizing, and if you should order from them. The post will be up next week, so stay tuned!

I bought the white jeans from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale last year, and wear them so much! The earrings are Sugarfix at Target, and they have so many colors! I bought the clutch from Saved By The Dress, but it’s sold out so I tagged a similar one.

One of my obsessions lately has been JustFab! The shoes I’m wearing in the photos are actually from there. I have been using it for a few months now to see how I like it and to give you a review of JustFab. It’s $39.95 a month for the VIP, but if you decide to skip that month, you don’t have to pay anything! The $39.95 goes towards your order. Right now they are having a sale where you can get your first pair for only $10! You can’t beat getting a pair of high quality shoes for under $40. Over the weekend they had a 50% off sale, so almost every pair was $20! I skipped this month because If I buy another pair of shoes, I think my boyfriend might flip, haha! But they not only have shoes, they carry handbags and clothing as well! Make sure you go HERE to check it out for yourself!

Do you wear white after Labor Day? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

Fall Staple Pieces You Need In Your Closet

~ styledmuse ~ 14 Comments

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Happy Wednesday! With the end of August near, that only means one thing: fall is almost here! My favorite thing to do lately is scour the web for fall items to add to my closet. But with buying a new car, it’s really hard to stay under budget. Until I found Zulily! They offer the best brands at the best prices! Y’all, I found a YSL bag for over 50% off! My favorite thing about them, is they have items that will fit everyone’s budget. I decided to do a roundup of my favorite fall staple items that I found at Zulily below!

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Cold Shoulder Tops: If you are looking for a top that will transition perfectly from summer to fall, then look no further than this one from Zulily! The long sleeves will keep you warm, while the open shoulders will help you stay cool on warmer days. The ruffle adds a cute detail, and is perfect to wear casually or to work. You also can’t beat the $11.99 price tag!

A Cozy Cardigan: For chilly fall mornings, a cozy oversized cardigan is perfect to have to throw over any outfit. I love this Lemoniade one I found on Zulily!

Dark Jeans: Jeans are so versatile that you can wear them all year round, but there’s just something about a dark wash that makes them perfect for fall. I love these by Silver Jeans Co!

Crossbody Bag: I love adding a crossbody bag to any fall outfit. This one from Isaac Mizrahi can be worn all year round!

Booties: You can’t complete a fall outfit without a pair of booties. I love the braid detail on these Frye Black Suede Booties I found on Zulily!

Fall Beauty Items:

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Zulily not only has clothing items, but they have beauty items as well! All of these items are under $20! You can’t beat finding Nars lipstick for $12.99. I rounded up some of my favorite beauty items that would complete your fall makeup look. Which one is your favorite? I love the color of that eyeshadow!

View my full fall roundup list on Maven! These items will only be on sale for a couple days on Zulily, so make sure you grab them before they sell out! If they do, don’t be discouraged though! Everyday Zulily adds more items for sale, so there will always be cute designer items you can find within your budget.

Head over to Zulily’s website, and let me know what you find in the comments!

Valerie

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

 

The Best Mascara Combination For Long & Thick Lashes

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L’oreal Voluminous Primer  //  Too Faced Better Than Sex  //  Lancome Monsieur BIG  //  Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes

Happy Monday! The question I always get the most is which mascara I use. I will admit, I feel like I have tried every mascara out there for the last couple months in order to find the best ones. I’m also going to share which vitamins I use to help my lashes grow longer and thicker (that actually works!).

First, I’m going to start with the vitamins. In order for the mascara to do it’s job, you need to have healthy lashes. I recommend getting a vitamin that contains at least 2,500 mcg of Biotin. I used to get the Olly Beauty vitamins, but it started to get expensive buying them (there’s only a month worth of vitamins in the package for $15). I found the Nature’s Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails gummie vitamins at Walmart and Target for half the price, and with more vitamins in the container! They seem to work exactly the same. I take 2 every morning after eating breakfast. I have noticed a HUGE difference in my lashes after taking Biotin vitamins. I seem to be growing more lashes, and they are longer!

Now, onto the mascara! I always prime my lashes before applying mascara. It adds more length and volume (you will seriously notice a huge difference when you start using a primer). The best one that I have found is the L’oreal Voluminous Primer. This. Stuff. Is. Amazing. It is better than any high end primer I have tried, and is less than $10. YOU NEED IT.

Next, I add a layer of the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara. A few months ago, Ulta had it on sale for $10, so I decided to pick it up. I’m so glad I did! It adds the perfect amount of length to my lashes. If you want even more length, just add a light 2nd layer. I then apply the Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara. It adds SO much volume. This is literally the best mascara I have ever tried (and I have pretty much tried them all…). If your lashes start to stick together, just smooth them out with the comb side of your eyebrow brush. Works everytime. If you are on a budget, and just want to splurge on the Too Faced mascara, then you can replace the Tarte mascara with the L’oreal Voluminous original mascara. It works just as good, and is under $8!

Now, for a little review. Influenster sent me the brand new Lancome Monsieur BIG mascara to test out. It does add a little bit of length, but that’s about it. It also smears and clumps pretty bad. It’s no where near the quality of the mascaras I mentioned above.

What mascara is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great week, and thanks for reading!

Valerie

Lancome Monsieur BIG mascara received complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own. 

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale – Plus Size Picks

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The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is finally open to the public! As I’m sure most of you know, the sale opens for credit card holders 8 days before it opens for the public, and let me tell you, this sale has been crazy. So many items sold out within the first few days of it being open to just card holders. Today when it opened to the public, it seems like they didn’t restock anything like they had said they were going to. A lot of people aren’t happy (I was on their Instagram page to get more info about restocking and WOW! I wouldn’t want to be their customer service right about now…). According to their customer service, everything they have available is stocked. If an item says it’s not available, then it has sold out. If they happen to get returns or someone cancels their order, then those items will put placed on the website.

Y’all I have been eyeballing these Halogen Calf Hair flats! Every few minutes I refresh the page to see if my size has been restocked, haha! They sold out in my size within the first couple days, and I’m so sad! This was one of the main items I wanted. I did end up getting this military peplum jacket and this cold shoulder top (but in a red color, which is sold out). I also noticed that Nordstrom started placing some items on backorder. This Sole Society bag I wanted was sold out at first, then was put on backorder, so of course I had to grab it! NORDSTROM PLEASE DO THAT WITH THE HOLOGEN FLATS! Haha!

This year for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I decided to do something a little different. I always see the same thing on round ups over and over again, but I never see plus size round ups! Depending on the item, I can either wear a regular or plus size. So I decided to include all plus size clothing items! I also included a few accessories and makeup items. If you aren’t plus size, a lot of these items are also offered in regular sizes, just check the website or shoot me an e-mail and I will send you a direct link! I was actually really excited when I saw that Nordstrom had a plus size section for the sale, way to go Nordstrom! 🙂

Like I said above, a lot of these items only have a few sizes left and WILL sell out, so make sure you order them fast! The Mac lipstick set is only $26 and the watch is only $15! Both are still available on the website. If there is a specific item you are looking for, just leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I will send you a link! Happy Shopping!

Hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!

Valerie

St. Louis Style Collective Meetup

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Above photos taken by Taylor Mobley of blondeandambitiousblog.com

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Above photo taken by Carmen Ramirez of frontrowstl.com

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Pictured above from left to right: Myself, April, Anna, Taylor, and Carmen. (click the names to see their blogs!)

On May 21st, the St. Louis ladies of Style Collective had our first meetup! But it wasn’t your ordinary meetup. We were celebrating the launch of Style Collective’s new podcast! Just search “Becoming Fearless” to give it a listen. I love meeting bloggers that are located in the STL area. It gives me comfort knowing that we are all doing this blogging thing together, and trying to figure it all out as we go, considering it’s kind of a new industry.

The meetup was held at Blo Blow Dry Bar in Chesterfield, MO. About 30 minutes from STL. Blo was nothing but amazing, and gave us complimentary blow outs. I decided on the style “Pillow Talk”. You can see in the photos above :). It was my first blow out, and the experience was SO relaxing. I cannot wait to go back! They were so accommodating and let us setup our snacks on a table in the back of the salon. We had cheese, crackers, grapes, cookies, and of course champagne!

We also had the opportunity to collaborate with some great local shops! They were kind enough to donate items from their shops for goodies bags for each of the girls. You can see in the photos below what they gave each of us. Thank you to all the shops who donated! I linked all of their websites and put their Instagram handles so you can check them out!

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Paperdolls Boutique @pdshopgirl: They have the cutest clothes! I’m in love with the scent of the candle they gave us. I also cannot wait to wear those bracelets!

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Christopher’s @christopherskirkwood127: This shop has the perfect gift items! Christopher’s was kind enough to give us Pink Pig Soap, and a tape measure (are you surprised I didn’t own one of these!? haha)

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CR Jewels @crjewels: Our very own Carmen Ramirez made these gorgeous jewels and was nice enough to donate a few to us!

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The Spotted Pig @thespottedpigstl: Another one of my favorite local shops for gift items! This would be a great place to go for Father’s Day gifts! They were super kind, and sent us this Lucky Penny key chain.

I had such a blast at our meetup, and I cannot wait for our next one! If you would like to join Style Collective to experience local meetups, and to pump up your blogging game, you can join HERE!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Valerie

P.S.: I have an exciting Instagram collaboration coming up with a huge clothing company, so make sure you are following me on Instagram to see it! I can’t wait to show you!

 

How To Get Rid Of Dark Undereye Circles

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Happy Wednesday! We are SO close to the weekend. I know I have mentioned this before, but, I have been working a lot of overtime at my job lately. I am in the process of searching for a new car, so I need all the extra money I can get for a down payment. But all of this overtime has been making me extremely tired! You can really tell under my eyes. I have never really had an issue with under eye bags/dark circles until now (I guess that’s what happens when you get older?).

I decided to take action to find a product to prevent this. I’m going to share 3 things I started doing to help get rid of dark circles, bags, and fine lines:

Drink Water: I know this sounds super simple, but it’s the truth. I have noticed that when I drink the proper amount of water I need, I always feel and look a whole lot better (I can really tell a difference with my skin!).

Cooling Pack: I found an eye therapy gel bead face mask at dollar tree one day, and decided to give it a try. I let it set in my fridge for a few hours, then put it on my face while watching Netflix. The cooling sensation helps my strained eyes to relax, since I stare at a computer screen all day.

Try an eye mask: When VII Code contacted me about their Oxygen Eye Masks, I knew I had to give them a try! They sent me a box of 6 pairs of eye masks. But these aren’t your ordinary eye masks. These you can leave on for up to 8 hours! Which means you can put it on before bed, and go to sleep and take them off in the morning. This was the first thing that made me fall in love with them. When I get home from working overtime, I cook dinner, take a shower then head to bed. I don’t really have time to put on a mask and sit around for it to complete the process. The VII Code Oxygen Eye Mask saves me a lot of time!

The material of the mask is gel-like, and has a lot of essential vitamins, antioxidants, proteins, botanicals peptides and essential fatty acids that work together to provide your undereye everything it needs to be healthy and prevent tired eyes, dark circles and fine lines. The eye masks conform to the shape around your eye. You can can apply the eye mask 2-3 times a week, with 3 boxes (18 eye masks) needed for a full course of treatment. On the days you don’t use the eye mask, you can apply the cool therapy gel bead mask.

After applying the mask for the first time, my under eyes felt very moisturized and more awake. I could also tell the darkness under my eyes start to disappear (and that was only with the first treatment!). You can purchase the VII Code Oxygen Eye Mask from Amazon.

What are your remedies for getting rid of dark undereye circle? Let me know in the comments!

Valerie

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