green beauty favorites

Hi! Around these parts, I try my darnedest to treat the planet and animals and my body with as much respect as I can muster. However! Makeup and skincare and beauty in general have always been important to me. When I was a little girl, I used to love the way the blush my mother used for date night smelled. It had this musty, pretty perfume, and she had this red Lancome lip gloss (which I called glip gloss) that I loved . At some point along the way, I stole both items and they now live in my vanity in my childhood bedroom, to be preserved forever. So, yeah, beauty is important to me. 

My biggest rule for any products I use is that they can't be tested on animals. Gotta have cruelty-free products. Folks roll their eyes at this, but really it's soooo easy to find awesome cruelty-free alternatives to almost everything you use! Probably my favorite way to do this is just googling cruelty free <whatever product>, or typing a similar search into Amazon (I am consistently surprised by how many brands Amazon carries). 

I adore trying new things and am always on the lookout, but here are my 5 favorite products at the moment: 

 True Nature Botanicals Pacific Face Oil- I read a post about this skincare line on Cup of Jo, and decided to be non-committal and try the travel set. I absolutely love their face mist, but the true winner for me is this face oil. I apply 4-5 drops to my face before bedtime every night and wake up baby smooth.

iT Cosmetics Fan Brush #9- I've been a fan of bronzer ever since I was in high school and someone in the cafeteria said "Look how pale Allie's legs are!" Hashtag thanks guys. Don't worry, I only put bronzer on my face, but I do use it liberally. This brush was a recent find and very quickly, evenly distributes the bronzer. It's awesome! 

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer - Cruelty-free primer! I'm addicted to this stuff. It makes my face feel like porcelain, and a little goes a long way. Total convert.

Drunk Elephant Juju Bar  - I use this bar of soap to wash my face in the morning. It's an all natural way to gently exfoliate (bye micro beads). 

Keys Solar Rx Moisturizer with SPF - As we established above, I am fair skinned, and gotta keep my visage shielded from the sun (even in winter). My facialist (is that a word?) at CAP Beauty recommended this lotion, and I absolutely love it. No real bells and whistles, it just keeps my face from getting dry and has the added bonus of spf.

Questions? Any products I should try?

And that's all I've got for you today!

xoxo,

aok

successories

Well, hi! Is this week going by quickly for anyone else? I can't believe it's already Wednesday! The weather has been just bizarre here and I feel like I've been trapped in my boring puffy coat and snow boots all week.

If you've been here before, you might know that I'm a total minimalist when it comes to accessories. I rotate through pieces that I never take off, and while I like that I have go-tos, sometimes I want to switch it up. 

Currently I wear:

Catbird Hoops

Larsson & Jennings watch (xmas present!)

Vrai  & Oro bracelet (xmas present from Raven)

For some reason, I can only wear gold or silver earrings, so I switch between a pair of studs from my mom, my wedding present from Raven (emerald studs) and a pair of druzy studs from Etsy.

That's my current rundown. Here are a few pieces I'm loving, and you might love too:


Marni's jewelry line is insane. Talk about a statement! I love this bracelet because it could easily be worn everyday.

 

Nicely affordable, real gold, real diamonds. Again, file this under never take off.

 

I've had my eye on a Dannijo necklace for months now, but haven't pulled the trigger because they're so expensive. This one's on sale, which helps; you can justify a large purchase like this because all of their pieces are essentially LBD's in jewelry form.

 

Obsessed with this Etsy brand, and these hoops are so beautiful and unique.

 

I absolutely adore these rings. How fun would they be to swap out for or layer with your wedding band?

 

A fun and reasonably affordable initial necklace alternative. Also available in gold and rose gold!

And that's all I've got for you today!

xoxo,

aok

9 pieces for when mother nature won't make up her mind

Good morning, friends! 

First order of business, if you weren't able to tune in to Making It the other night, that's okay! You can watch on Youtube here forevermore. I had such a blast with Courtney; even though I was really nervous, she made it feel like we were just two friends hanging out. Awesome.

Next order of business, what does one DO with this weather? It's, Spring? But there's some snow on the ground, but it's hot on the subway, but my hands get cold...I am a winter-weather lover and I'm just a little sad.

This week, I've honest to goodness been pulling tees out of my drawers...I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to wear. You might be to? Here's a list of how to keep your wardrobe fresh this week! 

First things first, downgrade ya coat. Swap that puffy stuff for something a little lighter, a little more colorful, and a lot more fun. Wear it unzipped, because YOU CAN'T BE BOUGHT.

Next, bring out those sunnies. Nothing says "I'm embracing these bizarre climes" like a face full of lenses. 

Do put those heavy sweaters on the back burner for a few days and wear some of your more Spring-y long sleeved tees. 

Show off those ankles with some silky cropped slacks. Man, these ones look so comfy, am I right?

While you're at it, bust out those loafers. Why not? The snow has melted, it's time to treat your feet.

Also, heels! Heels can be worn this week without (serious) risk of death. I've got my eye on some neutral ones to transition out of winter (when Spring arrives approx mid way through May)

I love layering a cardigan like this cozy guy over a plain tee OR...in lieu of a coat, over a button down. This one is almost sold out, but I also love this one.

Fun socks to pair with your cropped pants and loafers or booties. This might be the easiest way known to man to elevate your outfit.

Last but not least let us all abandon black, purple and maroon manicures for a week in favor of Robin's egg blue and steely sky, yeah?

Links below in that HANDY DANDY widget. And that's all I've got for you today!

xoxo,

aok