Summer Cleaning : Donating Clothes

Happy Summer!

I am home for the summer and as I was putting away my clothes, I noticed that my closet has started to overflow.  I knew I needed to go through it and give away quite a bit.  I am aware that a lot of people have this similar issue since I helped out a few of my friends with their closets already this year.  It can be a little overwhelming but, hopefully some of the tips I share in this post will help you clear out your own closet.

First, start with one category of clothing at a time.  Separating your clothes into sweaters, shirts, pants, dresses, etc. makes it easier to go through every piece of clothing.  Dividing your wardrobe into groups also makes it easier for you to stop in the middle if you get bored or if you have something else you need to do.  You can finish the rest at any time.

Second, try on everything.  I know this takes a lot of time but, if you spend a moment analyzing each article of clothing you will get rid of a lot more.  Focus on the fit and also ask yourself these questions:

1.  Is it really flattering your body shape?

   - For example, I have an hourglass shape so I like to wear clothes that are not so loose fitting that I lose my curves but, I am also not a huge fan of skin-tight clothing either.  I always make sure that the clothing I keep either compliments my shape or can be used as a layering piece.

2. Do you wear it often enough to hold on to it?

   - For me, this question does not mean the number of times it has been worn.  Often enough, for me means how many different outfits or looks can be made with it.  If you can only think of one outfit in which it can be worn, either try to make new outfits or get rid of it.  You are trying to minimize the amount of clothing while also expanding your style.  Keeping pieces that can be worn in multiple ways will help your find your look and will make it easier to prepare outfits.

3. Would someone enjoy this article of clothing more?

   - This is the big question that hits home.  When you donate clothes, there is a possibility that this shirt or dress or pants or anything could become their new favorite piece in their closet.  If you do not feel comfortable donating your clothes, ask friends or people you know that are similar in size if they would like them.  You may feel more comfortable knowing exactly where your clothes are going instead of giving them to a random Goodwill.

4. Have you had this piece of clothing for a long time?

   - Does it really portray the style that you want?  If you are like me and are transitioning from junior clothing to women clothing, is it something that you would buy again if you saw it in the store? A lot of the time the clothing we hold on to is stuff that we wore a lot when we were younger and would probably never wear again. 

5. Did you even remember that you still had it?

   - This happens to all of us, we go through our closets and find something we haven't seen in a very long time.  What is your reaction to it? Are you happy you found it and you immediately want to wear it and think of outfits you can make with it or is there no emotion towards it? If you forgot about it, odds are you probably will forget about it again.  Instead of having it take up space in your closet, throw it out.


 Third, if the clothing has not fit for over a year, it may be time to just get rid of it.  I know this hard, but our bodies are always changing.  Do not assume that since you fit in it at one time that it will fit again.  Many people keep "goal" clothing around to try to motivate them into losing weight.  I am guilty of this because I am keeping around a pair of ripped up skinny jeans that I just recently purchased in the hope that I will fit into them someday.  This is a personal choice, but most of the time it is a great idea to get rid of them and just buy clothes that fit you now.


The last thing I am going to express is ways to make sure you keep around the clothing that you truly wear and love.

1. When you wear something, put it towards the back of or on one side of your closet.  This way you always see the items that you have not worn in a while first.  If these pieces of clothing do not move in a while and you never feel like wearing it, toss it.  Another idea, which is similar to this, is putting all of your hangers the wrong way with the opening facing you.  When you wear the item, flip it the right way.  At the end of the season, you can see which pieces of clothing have been worn and which you could get rid of. 

2. If you stack your clothes, whenever you wear something put it on top of the pile. This method requires you to move your clothes around quite a bit, but the clothes you don't wear will eventually end up on the bottom of the stack and will help inform your decisions when figuring out what should be tossed.

3. Get a closet app! I know this sounds silly but, if you are having problems with your wardrobe, there are many apps you can download that will help you organize your clothes.  I recently downloaded the app "Mirrow" and I have been loving it.  This app allows you to put pictures of every article of clothing that you own, has a feed that people post sample outfits on, and even has a dress me feature! The dress me feature puts together items of clothing from your virtual closet and dresses you according to the weather.  Here is a link to a youtube video which explains the app very well if you are interested I would definitely download it because it is free! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5E2kPqi1xI

Thank you all for checking our my blog and I will post again really soon! Good luck with creating your dream closet!


Maddie ♥

Product Review and Swatches: Revlon Color Stay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Hi all!
I am so sorry I have not posted recently but, being a computer science major keeps me pretty busy.  I have been swamped with homework and other commitments and finally I have some down time so I can update my blog more often.  Today, I am reviewing my current favorite lip product: Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains.

They are so comfortable to wear on the lips and there is a whole line of colors to match everyone's needs.  The cool thing about them is that they go on so smooth like a lip balm and stay that way for 2-3 hours, then turn into a stain, losing the shine.  If you apply these stains right after using chapstick, they will become more sheer and not as pigmented so if you want bright colors like I show below do not apply chapstick directly before applying this product.  These lippies range in price from $7-$9 (usually $7) and come in 12 shades (this is what they started with, I am not sure if some are discontinued since I did not see Precious or Darling in stores).  I own 9 of them and I might still buy Darling if I can find it online. 

The colors I own are: Charm, Honey, Cherish, Sweetheart, Rendezvous, Smitten, Crush, Adore, and Romantic.  So, lets get to the swatches!  Here is a picture of my natural pigmented lips for comparing the colors.

Charm

Charm is a light peachy nude color that has a bit of a shine.  The shade is nude enough to lighten your lips, but not too pale that is washes out your whole face.  This color makes dry patches on my lips seem more noticeable so I would recommend exfoliating your lips with a scrub or your toothbrush before applying.

Honey

Honey is a mauve-y pink color that is definitely a "my lips but better" shade.  It is pigmented, but not to the point where it no longer looks natural.  It is one of my favorite colors of the collection because it is so subtle you can wear it every day.

Cherish

Cherish is a very bubble-gum bright pink that is a bit cool toned so it can look a little lavender at times.  It is a gorgeous color that stains a little bit more warm, but is still pretty.  This is a nice spring and summer color that I will be reaching for often.

Sweetheart

Sweetheart is a bright magenta color that is perfect for spring and summer.  This color is a neon toned-down hot pink that stains a bit more berry colored but still very bright and pretty.  It is definitely a statement lip color so don't buy this if you don't want to be noticed.

Rendezvous

Rendezvous is a great color to buy if you want to try out orange lipsticks.  If you apply this with a lip balm, you get a light orange/peach color and without a lip balm you get an intense orange lip.  It is so pretty and I didn't know if I would like it, but I really do!

Smitten

Smitten is a semi-vampy berry color that is perfect for fall and winter.  This is my favorite color from the collection since I reach for berry colors very often.  It is a bit similar to Sweetheart but a tad bit more berry colored and a little more striking.

Crush

Crush is the most vampy color in the collection.  It is a tad bit darker than Smitten and is a reddish purple shade that is super intense.  I love this for when I want to look a more sultry or mysterious look.  So pretty!

Adore

Adore is an ox-blood red with a hint of coppery shimmer.  This color is a brown-red color that I am not a huge fan of.  In different lighting this color can look more copper than red and it does not flatter my skin as much as the others.  This color would be great on darker skin tones or people who have darker hair.

Romantic

Romantic is a great shade to buy if you want to find a red color that would flatter your skin.  When I apply this shade to my lips, it looks like a tomato red, no cool tones or warm tones.  If you are afraid of trying a straight up red color to your lips, I would try this color with a lip balm underneath to add a tint of redness to your lips.  It's so pretty and like the name says, romantic.

Charm, Honey, Cherish, Sweetheart, Rendezvous, Smitten, Crush, Adore, Romantic

If you have any questions you want to ask me, leave comments.  I will answer them as soon as possible!  Thank you all for visiting my blog and return soon for new posts!

♥Maddie


Update!! Here are more pictures of me wearing some of the shades.

Rendezvous with lip balm under it.

Romantic with lip balm under it.

Me wearing honey.

OOTD #9: Sophisticated and Sexy

Hi everyone! The outfit I am posting today is one of my personal favorites! I recently bought a plain black blazer because it is so easy to dress up or down.  This outfit is casual enough to wear anywhere yet it still looks very put together.  Every part of this outfit is affordable and re-creatable.  I recently have been loving blazers and other structured cover-ups instead of sweatshirts because they are just as comfortable yet they look a little more professional.  Also, a lot of the pieces in this outfit can be replaced with others and still look just as cute.

I picked up my black blazer at Forever 21 for $25 and it has black and white stripes on the inside.  I love rolling up the sleeves to have a bit of the pattern showing.  My neon pink camisole is from Tilly's and I believe I paid about $7 for it.  It is one-size fits all, it stretches a lot and it never rides up it's perfect!  My jeans are by the brand Decree and they are my favorite pair of skinny jeans ever!  I believe I paid about $25 for them. They just fit so good! Since it is winter, I put on a pair of black boots.  I've been showing these boots a lot lately but, that is because they honestly go with every outfit.  For this specific look I wanted to maintain the comfy professional style and these don't take away from that at all.  Lastly, I am wearing my turquoise leaf necklace that I have shown in my pleather pants post, but I turned it the other way to make it gold.  I think I like it gold better, but I am glad that it can be worn either way without being obvious that it is faced the wrong way.  I think I paid $9 for it at Rue 21. 


Overall, I think pairing a blazer with jeans gives a relaxed look and is casual to wear virtually anywhere.  To keep it from being too "sophisticated" I added a pop of neon to add interest to the outfit.  Another way to add interest is to wear a pattern on any part of the outfit.  What I mean by this is you could put on patterned skinny jeans, patterned shoes, patterned camisole, or even a patterned blazer! There are so many different ways to manipulate this outfit to make it your own.  To make this even more casual try putting a graphic tee on underneath.  There are many options and I will continue to create different looks with my new jacket.  Let me know if you want an article similar to the pleather jeans for ways to wear a blazer.  I am willing to do any kind of clothing article so if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them! Thank you again for checking out my blog! ♥Maddie

OOTD #8: My Inner Gangsta ;)

Recently my page views have sky rocketed and I am so grateful for all the attention my blog has gotten.  Since I now have many fans I will definitely post more often.  If anyone has any suggestions for what I should post in the future I will take every comment and submission into consideration. 

For today's post, I am doing another outfit of the day because what I wore today was a little different from my normal look.  I felt a little more daring and edgy today and wanted to see what kind of outfit that I could put together with my new jeans since I have not worn them before.  For my makeup, I kept it super simple with my Flamed Out mascara by Covergirl and a NYX matte lip cream in Ibiza, it is such a pretty shade! 

My Pluto sweater is from Kohl's.  I found it on the clearance rack for $10.80!! I love Disney so when I saw this top, I needed to get it!! The jeans I am wearing are the brand Blue Spice and I purchased them from TJ Maxx for $17! They are a little baggy but, I kind of like the relaxed look they give off.  The reason I bought these jeans was because I thought the random patches of stitching looked kind of like Frankenstein.  Plus, I love the acid-wash look because it is not super dramatic like some of the other jeans I have seen in stores.  My boots are by the brand Candie's and they used to be my sister's.  I love how versatile they are, you can wear them with jeans, dresses, skirts, leggings... anything! My gold chain necklace is from Rue 21 and if you want a better look at it, check out my last post, How to Wear Pleather Pants.  Lastly, I threw on a grey beanie that I purchased from Forever 21 for $3.80!! Overall, I think this outfit is edgy but also a little girly, I really like the way this outfit turned out!

Thank you for checking out my blog! Again, please leave comments on some suggestions you may have or even to just say something nice. :) I hope you all have a great day and stop back again because I will be posting more often!! ♥Maddie

How to Wear Pleather Pants

For today's blog post I thought it would be fun to do something different so instead of showing you an outfit of the day, I am showing you different ways to wear one item of clothing.  Pleather pants are really in nowadays and many people are afraid to wear them because they don't know how to style them.  I hope this blog post helps some of you out because I absolutely love my pleather jeans that I purchased at Forever 21 and I want other people to be confident enough to wear them too!

This first outfit is super simple consisting of a black graphic tshirt that says "I woke up like this", a black and red flannel a gold chain necklace and a cream pair of converse.  Both the shirts and the necklace are from Rue 21 and were all inexpensive! Love this outfit because it's simple and cute and also it is easy to recreate for anyone's closet. 

For a more "feminine" look I paired my pleather jeans with black ankle boots and a light blue furry sweater.  This sweater is so soft and is by the brand Eyelash which you can find at Kohl's.  Any sweater looks great with these jeans and I think they would look super cute with an off the shoulder top/sweater for a more laid-back look.

This next outfit is very "comfy".  I wanted to show you how easy making outfits is, all I did was throw on a white t-shirt, a tan cardigan and a pair of sneakers and I like the way it turned out.  My white tee is from Wet Seal, which is no longer in business :(.  My cardigan is from Tilly's and my shoes are black and white polka dot Keds.  Lastly, my necklace is from Rue 21 and is a pretty turquoise leafy pattern.  I love it!

This outfit is really simple since all it consists of is a white tee and a black and white cardigan.  This cardigan really packs a punch since the pattern is so busy.  It is by the brand Say What? and I purchased it at Kohl's last year on black Friday.  I love how comfy this is yet it looks put together.  I again wore my black booties since I love how they look with these pants!

So this outfit is a little bit fancier than the others.  I am wearing my black booties with an embellished tank from Maurice's that I got as a gift from my sister for Christmas.  I like how this looks because it brings a little more to the outfit rather than just wearing black skinny jeans.  I did not need to add jewelry since the top of it is shiny gold and it super pretty just on its own.  I could definitely see my self going out in this or even pairing a cardigan over it for class, it's just so pretty!

This outfit may be my favorite of the bunch... I love the shirt I am wearing, it is by the brand Decree and I have had this shirt for probably 5 years now.  It is a simple grey and black striped shirt and to make the outfit a little more interesting I paired it with a sparkly necklace that I purchased at Old Navy.  To keep the outfit casual I just threw on my grey converse and I love the way that it turned out!

Thank you all for checking out my blog! Let me know if you prefer my OOTD posts or if you like when I focus on how to style one clothing item because I am willing to do either! I hope you all have a great day and please check back for future blog posts!! ♥Maddie