Michelle Starbuck Designs

Something about a gaggle of freezing bloggers in the middle of a busy street inspired a few creepers in an adjacent building to bust out a pair of binoculars for a better look! Despite the shivering and the spectators, I had a delightful afternoon with these beauties. Laurie did our makeup, Jill tried out her new oval wand on our hair, Erin played photographer, Peggy wore a cute fox (cat?) shirt, and Michelle Starbuck Designs supplied the intricate jewels.

I was introduced to Michelle Starbuck's jewels when Jill gave me the Assymetrical Hexagon Molecule Necklace for the holidays. She said it made her think of my little molecule growing inside me. I also got to borrow these cool Mini Eye Drop Earrings (which you, unfortunately, can't even see). Visit Hallways Are My Runways, Hot Pink Style, and 312 Beauty for details on the other girls' outfits.

Michelle's line is delicate but cool and interesting, and her price point is awesomely affordable (most pieces are about $35ish)! Michelle is offering All Mouth and Trousers readers 20% off until the end of February. Just visit Michelle Starbuck Designs and use the code MSD20 when you check out. 

Michelle Starbuck necklace and earrings // J. Crew turtleneck // H&M jeans // Franco Sarto boots

   

Grey Jeans, Stripes, and a Messy Sock Bun

Uhoh, better post this turtleneck and coat before Spring FINALLY gets here! 

The most exciting (and, ahem, timely) part of this post is my hair. I have successfully gotten on an every-other-day shampoo schedule. Fresh shampoos are still greeted with my usual 45 seconds of bang styling and the rest is up to nature - but waking up on a non-shampoo day presents a slept on hot mess. Usually, I spent my unused washing time on a quick curl job with my flat iron. But sometimes, I still oversleep and other measures need to be taken: hence this bun. 

Yes, it is a sock bun, but I don't love the donut-y preciousness your typical sock bun creates. So my solution was to put my hair in a high pony with a band, slip the sock over the band, messily twist my hair around the sock, and pin at will. This gives the fullness of a traditional sock bun but with a casual edge.

So Your Clarisonic Made Your Skin Breakout?

LOTS of girls were "surprised" (aka told someone exactly what they wanted) with a Clarisonic this holiday season: the holy grail of skin care. If you're like me, you went bananas using it two or three times right away. And, most likely, your skin started breaking out like it was picture day in 7th grade.

Only after a small (okay, medium) meltdown over the giant waste of money and expectations, I finally read the instructions and scoped out the online boards. I managed to reel in my Clarisonic use and haven't had a zit since. Here are some of the tips that helped my already fairly breakout-prone skin, which will hopefully help you too:

• STEP AWAY FROM THE CLARISONIC. Yes, you. Put it down. I used mine 5 times in the first two days, like a psycho, and my skin did not appreciate it. The online boards recommended that you only use it once a day (either forever, or at least until you get used to it). I stepped away from it for a full 24 hours (which also gave me the chance to do the full charge they recommend. Oops.) and then started using it only in my morning shower.

• Don't push so hard! I, too, was super psyched to deep clean those nasty pores, so I was scrubbing my face for dear life. The boards said to gently let the Clarisonic glide over your face. It's really tempting to push harder, which is why I try to use as few fingers as possible to hold it.

• Use the lowest setting (at least for now while you are getting acclimated). I figured this one out on my own, but in case you haven't: The Mia 2 is set on low speed if the bottom LED half-oval is lit up. To change speeds, press the speed button while the Mia 2 is on.

• Throw away (or put aside) the little face wash that it comes with. Use your normal face wash for a properly controlled experiment. (Hot tip: I didn't use it, but Jill said that the Clarisonic wash made her face red, and she has sturdy Greek skin...) Once you've gotten your skin under control, you can start experimenting with other face washes.

• Wash your makeup off FIRST. If you are just soaping on top of your makeup, you are just shoving the makeup deeper into your skin. This is why I decided to use mine in the morning.

• Consider buying one of the gentler brush heads. Even though I've curbed the breakouts, I still feel like the standard brush is a little too hardcore for my sensitive skin. It looks like the Acne or the Delicate brushes are the most gentle.

• Realize that you might be going through a purging stage. Think about it: you are rustling up all the gunk that's been buried deep in your skin. Some people on the interwebz swear that this is normal and some say it's a gimmick so you won't return it immediately. Try the rest of these tips and see if your purging stage subsides.

• After trying all this, you may just realize that the Clarisonic is not for everyone. If you can't return it, try using it on your dry winter hands (maybe even feet, if you're sure you won't be using it on your face again!). Or, you could always buy a brand new brush head and try selling it on eBay.

Do you have a Clarisonic? What do you think?

Fancy Sweatpants for Nordstrom Trend Show

Not very timely post, but a great outfit nonetheless! This is what I wore to the Nordstrom Trend Show for Fall. This was outrageously comfortable, and I still continue to get compliments on these Vince Camuto shoes every time I wear them.

Summer Beauty Routine

I can barely be bothered to put on much makeup during the rest of the year, so my summer beauty routine is pretty sparse. I like to keep it really simple, so all I really do is make sure I wash my face at least twice a day with this amazing tea tree oil stuff, slather on some calming spf/moisturizer combo (it helps even out skin tone without actually being makeup), and toss on some mascara. If I'm feeling extra fancy, I'll even add a little sheer lip balm.

L Oréal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tube Mascara
$10

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer
$17

Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash Original
$10

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous
$9

Suncreen is also a beauty item, because if you don't use it, your beauty is diminishing quicker than it ought to!     My picks are this Dry-Touch formula in 55 for face. It doesn't upset my sensitive/breakout-prone skin and it doesn't feel gross on. For body, I usually just grab the store brand spray in 30.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen, SPF 55
$11

Walgreens Continuous Spray Sunscreen
$8

PINTEREST

I'm on Pinterest, hookers. Follow me!

http://pinterest.com/allmouth/

xoxo

Friday Night Strikes

If you've read/heard ANY NATIONAL NEWS this week, you know that the Chicago Public School teachers have been on strike. Our union color is red, so I've been wearing only a variety of red t-shirts and jeans/leggings all week. Finally, I decided today was the day to spice that picket line up a bit.

I mostly just wanted to bust out my (super comfortable!) boots to get away from the gym shoes and flipflops I've been rocking all week. And thus a cute outfit was born.

Remember Jill? She brought her awesome camera to the event, and during some downtime decided that I needed my first official Outfit Blog Modelling Session.  It was AWKWARD to say the least, especially since we were at a bus/train station (to hand out flyers). And doing anything for the first time IN PUBLIC, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT is weird! But Jill assured me that posing for blog photos is always weird (even a few months in, for her). So here are my very first Intentional Outfit Blog Photos:



So silly! Jill taught me the "shoes to the side, body to the front" pose that gives you guys the best view of what I've got going on.



Blue Steel. And what.



Jewelry detail. My modeling skills need work, but at least the merchandise looks good!  I could've just gone with black sunnies, but that felt too match-y. These white ones are still neutral, but less of an obvious choice.

Here's a sad iPhone picture of the purse I was wearing during the day:



Since it was Friday, and the boyf woke me up from a much needed afternoon nap saying I had approximately 4 minutes to get ready, I wound up wearing the exact same outfit out that night with only a shoe and bag change. I switched to ballet flats because we were hoofing it to a bar several blocks away AND it was still warmer out than anticipated. I also swapped the Union Red bag for an oversized clutch to make the overall look read more "evening".

• Vest: old Gap wool (buy it used here) (similar here) (faux fur alternative here)


• Blouse: Forever 21 [this came with a little "tie" attached, which I cut off and saved for later] (buy it here) (similar here) (similar here)


• Tank: old Agaci (similar here) (similar here)


• Jeans: AG "The Legging" (buy them here) (other colors here) (polka dot version here)


• Boots: old Kenneth Cole (similar here) (similar here) (similar here) (similar here)


• Necklace: Gift from Mom, source unknown (similar here) (similar here) (and here) (elaborate alternative here)


• Ring: old Loehman's find (similar here) (similar here) (understated alternative here)


• Sunnies: Gift from a friend from Target, probably in the Dollar Department (similar here) (similar here for $4!) (Ray Bans here)


• Nails: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Sonic Boom (buy it here)  and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Red Carpet (buy it here)


• Red purse: old Target (similar here) (similar here) (and here) (and here)


• Black purse: thrift store find (similar here) (similar here) (and here)


• Black ballet flats: Tieks (buy them here) (similar here) (similar here for $15)

Let's do this!

I've started and quickly abandoned several blogs in my lifetime. One was about my move from Philadelphia to Chicago. One was an ill conceived Thinspiration site. They always seemed to revolve around whatever I happened to be into at the moment, and as my fleeting interest feigned, the corresponding

One "thing" I've ALWAYS been into is clothes. And shoes. And bags, And jewelry. And hair color. And maniciures.  And writing.

My father told me about how when I was 2 years old, I would reach into my drawers, pull out the nicely folded items, and throw them one by one onto the floor in disgust. I STILL DO THAT.

My tastes may change, but I've always been obsessed with outfits. The way I feel about my look dictates my mood, so when I look fierce, I feel fierce.  I've wanted to start an outfit blog for a while, and my new friend Jill (hotpinkstyle.blogspot.com) finally inspired me to DO IT.

So here goes nothing...