Happy First Day of October!

One of my favorite habits that my grandmother had was to wish everyone a happy first day of the month, every month, so it's no wonder that I've been walking around all day telling people "Happy First Day of October!" I made sure to send my mom a text, "Happy First Day of October" and now I'm telling all you readers, happy first day of October!

I'm really going to try and step up my blogging, and I'm taking a page out of other bloggers' books and am going to mass take some pictures of my Capsule Wardrobe. This will allow me to most more regularly and give you an opportunity to see how I work with a limited amount of options in my closet, instead of rushing through work days and coming home to take a picture each day. My bangs are too temperamental for that.

Also sometimes I just come home and immediately put spandex on. Because it's Fall.

 Here go some OOTDs for different situations, just to give you a general vibe of what my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is like:

 

1. **Flawless Work Outfit. Can you guys wear a plaid button up without thinking about Beyonce in the **Flawless video? I can't, and this green one from Madewell especially reminds me of Queen Bey. It's a great outfit for work because it makes me feel pulled together and professional, while still being casual enough to walk to work in. 

My black skinny slacks from H&M are high waisted and when paired with my boots, they create the illusion that I'm taller than 5'3. I think it's important to have nice pairs of black pants if you're working in an office - even one with a casual dress code - because they're an easy way to look polished. Jeans are great to wear sometimes, but investing in a nice pair of work pants is always a good call.

Also channeling this, especially when you have to walk a mile to work in heeled booties, is always a plus.

2. Monochromatic Mini. I have been scoping out this mini dress from H&M for about two weeks now, trying to figure out if I could work it into my Capsule Wardrobe or if I just wanted it on a whim. Finally, I decided that yes, yes I could work it into my 40 items, and in a variety of ways. First off, this mini is actually a perfect addition into my Capsule Wardrobe because it fits the monochromatic bill. The color blocking on this dress is also super flattering to a variety of body types, which is another plus. The dress itself would be easy to dress up for work, with black tights, flats and a sweater. It would be cute with my chucks and minimal makeup on a casual day out, and it would be fun to dress it up for a date night - with heels, bare legs and a bright lipstick.

                                                                                                    One of the things that I've learned since starting my Capsule Wardrobe is that it's important to be able to work pieces in a variety of different ways. Almost all of my 40 items can be used at work or home, dressed up or down. That's why I personally stick to a more monochromatic palette for my Capsule Wardrobe - it makes it easy to pair different looks and pieces together!

3. The Classics. With any Capsule Wardrobe, it's important to have a "go-to" outfit and mine is usually a variation of this - a black top, comfy jeans and a killer shoe. I wanted to pair my boyfriend jeans with these pointed nude heels, so I picked a bit more of a fitted black top over one of my go to oversized tees. The look is simple, classic while still being current and fun - I feel that it perfectly sums up the vibe I'm going for with my Fall Capsule Wardrobe. It shows I'm dressing with intention, without falling into trends or clothes that won't flatter my body.

So that's a sneak peek of my Capsule Wardrobe for Fall! What do you think? Do you have a favorite outfit out of these three? Have you given a Capsule Wardrobe a shot? Let me know in the comments!

Fall Lipsticks: Channeling my Inner Owens Woman

So now that we're all on the same page – it's officially fall! (Well not officially, but it's close enough.) While some girls flock to the church of Pumpkin Spice as soon as the temperatures take a dip, I'm more inclined to lean towards the patron saint of fall, Alice Hoffman.

This house though.

I grew up in a house where Practical Magic was pretty much a mandatory requirement, as it should be. It weaves a story of strong, interesting women and how much stronger women can be when they support one another rather than tearing each other down. Plus, the movie version has killer scenery. Who didn't want to live in that house? I still want to live in that house.

So basically, Practical Magic (and all Alice Hoffman novels) have a pretty solid influence on my life. There's just something cool about magical, sassy women. That being said, the Owens family does hold a special place in my heart, so this fall I decided to focus on channeling my inner magical feminist (is that a thing?!) with some dark lipsticks from NYX Cosmetics.

I fell in love with NYX when I was deep in the throws of a Target obsession, but I've noticed that Target has not been stocking their NYX supplies for the past few months. And I've checked multiple Targets – trust me on this. I've been dying to get my hands on two specific NYX lipsticks – the matte "ARIA" and the macaroon "CHAMBORD."  Unfortunately for me, Target wasn't coming through and my local Ulta didn't have them. So by the time I was ready to order them online, I had a 20% off coupon and they offered free shipping on orders of $25 and over.

Let me say that NYX cosmetics are definitely not pricey – so that's when things got a little out of hand. Four lipsticks, three lip pencils and an eyebrow gel (why not?) later, my stuff was set to arrive in 7-10 days.

From left to right: Chaos, Medusa, Aria and Chambord

The four lipsticks I wound up ordering were: Chambord, Aria, Medusa and Chaos. I actually already own Chaos and just needed to restock it – it's an awesome red-blue lipstick that appears super complimentary to pale skin tones. So today I'll just be discussing Chambord, Aria and Medusa.

First thing's first: CHAMBORD. I was so excited for this, I had read beauty reviews all over the place – including my beauty bible xovain. One of the general consensuses (consesi?)   about this BLACK LIPSTICK (!!!) is that it isn't super wearable on a day to day basis. This is true, I'm not going to be rocking this at work any time soon. But I was super impressed with how it applied, thick and solid – not at all patchy. I applied a couple coats and was pleased with the overall look. I kept the rest of my makeup pretty minimal because I wanted this look to be as wearable as possible. All in all, I love it! I love how it enhances my fair skin and seems to make my eye color pop. With my freshly dark hair, and uniform of all black, I feel like a cool girl who probably spends full moon nights making midnight margaritas vs. a very grumpy goth sixteen year old. I don't know how often I will actually wear Chambord, but I'd like to try and rock it on the one night per month that I wind up going out.

Cragged salt like a sailor's stubble, flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble!

Next up: ARIA. If you're on Pinterest, or follow any sort of beauty blog, you've probably heard of Aria. Think of it as an ideal MAC dupe. It's super flattering on a variety of skin tones, and it's matte style just adds a bit of edge. I definitely will wear Aria in a variety of places – the whole look makes me feel sort of like "Teen Witch gets First Office Job." It's fun goth without being too overwhelming, weird without being black lipstick, spooky but not so spooky that no one will hold the elevator for you. Basically, it makes me feel like Gilly Owens when she showed up to Back to School night and used her sassy-magic skills to make Sally the head of the Phone Tree.

"Yep, that's right, I'm back."

Finally: MEDUSA. I snagged Medusa on a whim, and also grabbed the corresponding lip pencil. I was surprised that Medusa isn't as matte as Aria, it's actually a bit lighter and a bit more sparkly. All's good though because out of all three lipsticks, Medusa is perhaps the most office friendly. It makes me feel put together while also feeling like I could turn dumb, dangerous dudes like Jimmy Angelov into frogs  – so a pretty good look for your work week.

"She's not saying they murdered him, just maybe they shook his hand, and then... he died. It's very mysterious."

All three lipsticks definitely capture the whole "adorably spooky" aesthetic that one of the ladies in my office blessed me with this summer. They definitely make me feel like a 2014 version of the Owens family – strong and in charge, confident in taking risks in my beauty routine. If you've been debating black lipstick, dark purple lipstick or whatever, I say – go for it! Why not? As Frances Owen would say, "My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."