My love note to Zenni Optical

I've been wearing glasses since I was in the second grade. The blinder I got, the more expensive my glasses became. It came to a point where I was spending $300+ for a pair of frames/lenses and that was a deal. Since I pay more for compressed lenses so my prescription can actually fit in frames, I thought I just had to accept my fate. Until I found Zenni Optical.

I swear this is not a sponsored post. I get asked a lot about my glasses and I am just so thankful for spending less than a 3rd of the price for the same quality, so I'll tell people about over and over again. I love wearing glasses, even with all the annoyances they come with. I don't have much of a choice in the matter either, since tiny eyeballs and thick contacts don't get along, glasses are all I've got.

Zenni has tons of fashionable choices, from basic to bold. As long as you're not into labels and don't mind the process of measuring your face, Zenni is great! I even ordered a pair of sunglasses.

So let all my four-eyed readers rejoice, cute affordable glasses for all!

Totoro Cosplay

Lately my outfits for halloween/cosplay have been furry creatures (Jake, Cheshire Cat, and now Totoro) and with all of them I turn regular outfits in their color into my costume. It typically involves thrift store finds, markers, sewing ears and a tail, and a little (or a lot) of makeup. Either way it's always fun. The best part is most of the costumes can be worn as part of a regular outfit!

For this particular one, I sewed a tail and ears, then pinned the tail to the back of my cardigan and used wire to attach the ears to the head band and hold them up. Add a few boomerangs to a cream colored tank top and BOOM! I became Totoro.

It was super great to connect with those who also were Miyazaki fans. And if they didn't understand who I was, they were all "nice cat costume!" and I promptly turned away as they did not deserve my attention. JK! I just said thanks; trying to describe who Totoro is was too much effort. More details on my first comicon to follow!

TTFN!

OOTD: It's hot outside

This weather requires wearing as little clothing and as light a cloth as possible. Connecticut is currently going through a heat wave with temps in the 90's to 100 and humidity is just gross. I was so happy to find this cute little dress in a thrift shop, Retrospect Vintage, on my vacation to Philadelphia. Good to know that they have an etsy too! (link below). This dress reeks of 1970's fashion so it pairs great with my fro :P. This dress happens to be from NPC Fashions based out of Warren, Pennsylvania. Pretty dope. The fabric is a super lightweight cotton so it's breathable and comfy without being see-through. Score!

I wore this outfit to go see a wedding venue with Fiancé and to run some errands. dressy enough to make a good impression, comfy enough to survive this heat. The venue we visited is a French tudor styled castle from 1898 and was absolutely beautiful. Fiancé is pretty much sold on this one.

D E T A I L S :

• Dress: Retrospect Vintage
• Belt: Goodwill
• Shoes: Payless
• Earrings: Reading Terminal Market
• Necklace: ???
• Alex & Ani Bracelets

M A K E U P :

• lol no too hot
• SPF 35 lotion!

Hope you all are staying cool in this heat! I'm looking forward to the fall now.

OOTD: Easter Sunday/Job interview

Heyooo! So as I mentioned in my last post I've got some catching up to do. I have all these posts just chillin' on the back burner of my mind that I'm finally able to tend to :) first up is this Easter outfit because I love it! I loved it so much that I wore it again for my job interview with the radio station (which I got. Yay me!) I was so proud that this outfit was entirely thrifted--except for the earrings, but I can't even remember where I got them :X. 

The dress has such flattering pleating detail in the front with a fun floral print. I told my mom that I was going to find my easter dress from a thrift store and she bugged out since it has to meet her approval. Every Easter my family takes photos, so it's a bit of a big deal (except not really). I found this at Savers for $11.99 and had to buy whether she liked it or not since it matched this blazer I got a year ago.

D E T A I L S :

• Jacket: Savers
• Dress: Savers
• Shoes: Savers
• Necklace: Goodwill
• Earrings: gift maybe?

LookSoup [dot] com

Recently I was contacted by the fashion blog research director of LookSoup.com to use their website because they were interested in the content that I was putting on my little corner of the interwebs. They offered to feature my posts on their homepage for a week, which was really a cool incentive for me to check it out. I've spent a couple of hours fiddling around and I have to say I'm really excited about it! That being said, this is purely my opinion; LookSoup didn't pay me or any business like that.

wowowow there I am! 

What is this LookSoup you speak of?

This is a new and growing community of fashion lovers and influencers. It's a place for the like to share their fashion, style, products, etc... to a community that would be interested. Likewise it's a great place to find inspiration, trends, products, and other styles you may not have explored yet. They're goal is to "Spread the good style!"

I love that they use the word "look." It may seem trivial, but "look" implies so much more than "fashion." That's why across my blog I use "style" and my fashion/style tumblr is called avelooks. "Look" covers the entire ensemble from head to toe. That means makeup, hair, outfit--everything that makes up the final look. "Fashion" kinda lends itself to just clothes and may not take into consideration the entire composition of a look. Trivial but important, I think.

What makes it different from other sites like it?

My first impression was like, alright, Pinterest/Tumblr thing for fashion only. But it has some key differences that really makes it special. Unlike other online fashion type communities that I've experienced, It's really focusing on personal style more so than what's happening on the runway. High fashion is cool and all, but I could really care less to be quite honest. Amongst all the shuffle on the internet it's hard to find real, normal, diverse people and what they are wearing and what they want. On LookSoup? Not so much so! You can find them much easier.

They also have this nifty thing called your LookSoup score. It's a way to measure the fashion influence you have on the site. You get points based on how many likes, collections and followers you get/have.  LookSoup breaks it down much better than I can right here.

___________________

If the site continues to go in the direction of predominately personal style, I will definitely be active on this site. I love to see what other people are wearing! I want to see user generated content ~ fancy way to say pictures (in this case) that people take themselves. If it turns into looking like a page out of VOGUE, they'll probably lose me there.

If you're interested in this sort of thing and have room in your digital life for one more community, I definitely recommend you check out LookSoup. I've added a button on the right sidebar towards the bottom if you're interested in seeing/following my page.


Big thanks to LookSoup for bringing their site to my attention!
TTFN!<3
-Avé

OOTD: Fall is coming

Fall has to be my favorite month. The mornings in CT are a becoming more brisk, so it's time for me to officially break out the cardigans *woop woop!* I wore this outfit to church, although I was originally going to wear this top out clubbing for a friend's birthday...but it rained, so we didn't go. I don't go out much so if I buy something for the night it has to be multi-functional.

D E T A I L S :

• Cardigan: H&M
• Top: Talbots
• Skinnies: PacSun
• Belt: Gift
• Heels: Torrid
• Necklace: Peabody Museum
• Hoops: who knows
• Purse: Urban Outfitters

I absolutely love these shoes. I have wide feet, and Torrid's shoes typically cater to that. Also they tend to be SUPER CUTE! I'd wear these to school if I could. They're comfortable but only for about an hour. Maybe if get some Dr. Scholl's....

M A K E U P :

• UD's NAKED Palette - toasted, hustle, sin
• Revlon Double Twist Mascara
• NYX jumbo eyeliner in black
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Sassy Mauve (463)

I got the top along with several other goodies from Talbot's because my friend added me to her list of friends and family for their mega sale. It was my first time shopping there so I wasn't sure what to expect, but there's tons of cute basics. The top retailed at $89.50 and I got it for $3.59. SERIOUSLY?! I'll have to do a post of the things I got from there. Huge thanks to Nicolette!

TTFN! <3

-Avé

OOTD: First Day of Class!

I may be entering my fourth year of college, but my first day of class outfit will always feel special. It's a new semester, new faces, new impressions. People do judge a book by its cover, so I guess I like to make sure my cover is representative of me. Today I only had sculpture and Chinese, but I can already tell this semester is going to be a doozy!

D E T A I L S :

• Animal print tank - H&M
• Blue collared tank - thrifted
• Dark skinnies - Kohl's
• Brown flats - Target
• Necklace - Target
• Spiked earrings - Forever 21

The collared tank top is from a new thrift store that just opened up near by called Helping Hands. Most of the clothes there are 99 cents! The bulk of the store is quality vintage furniture that made me so jealous that I dont already have a place of my own. I had my eye on this pair of orange ceramic lamps from the 70's that were $60 a piece. Alas, I have no place to store them until they would have become of some use....and i didn't have $120 to splurge....*le sigh*

Kohl's was generous enough to offer my readers a 10% off code too! You can use the code UBLOGTEN now through October 24th and stack your savings with one other department specific code. Woop woop! I'll probably pick up another pair of these jeans [Apt. 9]  in one of their fall colors. Can't wait!

M A K E U P :

• UD's NAKED palette - virgin, smog, toasted
• UD's Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• UD's Oil Slick Eyeliner
• Revlon's Double Twist Mascara
• Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Sweet Heart Valentine (025)

OK, I have to go freshen up my Chinese big time. Off to the books! 再见！

TTFN!<3
- Avé

Summer Thrift Haul

I realized after my latest thrift adventure that I haven't been sharing it with you lovelies! This week is tax free week in Connecticut, so I made sure I took advantage of it. I might do just a little more shopping before the week is over. All summer I've been working on adding prints to my wardrobe, if you couldn't tell from the majority of my finds. I think I'm most excited about the first one. It fits like a long jacket although I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a dress. I want to hem it right after the second to last set of buttons. It would then be the perfect length with a mini skirt and leggings, woop woop!

I'm also pretty excited about the red/chain/animal print top. 100% silk, 100% awesome. I already know the outfit I want to pair it with and I CAN'T WAIT. Possible 1st day of class outfit :O) Speaking of outfits, for the black and white skirt I wasn't sure if I had a top to match, so I went to the mall right after and found this rad neon "H!" tee. I thought it said "Hi" and thought it'd be perfect for the club fair since it's all about recruiting members....but then my sister pointed out that it says "H!" not "Hi"....woops! Oh well. Still a cute outfit.

From now on I'll remember to post them as I get them and not a whole lumpsome! I would love to go into detail about each and every piece but....that might be a bit much for this post. I'll probably save that for avelooks.


Have you found any thrifty treasures lately?
TTFN!<3

OOTD: Flowy Top, No Makeup

Although I love to wear, buy, obsess over, and play with makeup, I don't wear it every day. I've been working on clearer skin lately since I've got adult acne (probably from stress *le sigh*) I wore this outfit to run errands and go to the mall. I love the feel of this top, nice and breezy!

D E T A I L S

• Flowy top - H&M
• Tank top - H&M
• grey skinnies - Pac Sun
• Blue heart studs - Forever 21
• Dangle earrings - Forever 21

close up of my naked face :O)

Moose wanted in on the photoshoot. Isn't he adorable?

TTFN<3

OOTN: yellow and thrifty accessories

D E T A I L S

• yellow shirt - JC Penny
• skinnies - Dress  Barn
• Shoes - Payless
• Necklace - goodwill
• earrings - H&M
• scarf - savers

M A K E U P

• Revlon foundation
• Urban Decay eye liner
• ULTA mascara

I LOVE this shirt! I feel like I don't wear it enough. I got it earlier this year but I haven't worn it until recently. I particularly enjoy the little ruching near the shoulders. I know the sheer top is a trend right now, and this one suits me just fine! If you've never gone thrifting before or are a little hesitant, start off with accessories. You're bound to find something you like in this category.

I wore this outfit to my cousin's graduation party. Now she's off to UCONN *tear of pride in little cuz* good luck Kimber!

sidenote: I love how big my puff is getting!

TTFN<3

For more on my style, clickity here!

OOTD: Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were absolutely positively utterly FANTASTIC last night. I'll get to that in my next post, after I go to the second show tonight...

Details

• Red flannel - Urban Outfitters
• Red Hot Chili Peppers Tee - 14th birthday gift from my big brother
• Black mini skirt - H&M
• Taupe leggings - NY&Co.
• Black canvas shoes - Target
• Black hoops - H&M
• Makeup - Urban Decay, Dangerous palette: Haight (blue) and Virgin (white)

This is my staple recipe for an outfit. Tee, skirt, leggings, cardigan. I switch things up every now and then, like this flannel, but you get the idea, right? I love this shirt because my big bro got it for me; we bond over the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In fact, we named the two cars we shared Dani (california) and (so much more than) Charlie ('s wakin' me). They've been my number one band ever since I sneaked a peek at the music video for "Scar Tissue" back when I wasn't allowed to watch Vh1 at the lovely age of 9. 

You can see in my sidebar all my tweets from last night. I will probably be doing that again. Fiancé and I got some amazing pictures, too! I can't wait to post them :3. UGH I cannot WAIT for tonight! 

TTFN! <3

Review: Smashbox Reflection - High Shine Lip Gloss

Smashbox Reflection retails for about $18 which is kinda pricy for me. However, I’ve had the same tube for about six months already and apply it at least twice a day (as long as it’s not lost in the bottom of my bag :S) and there’s still plenty of product left.

It leaves the lips with just the right amount of gloss so you don’t look like you just downed a box of KFC. It’s not super sticky and works great over a lip stain. I will be sure to purchase this gloss again! 

TTFN! <3