Ain't Nothin but a Gangsta Party-Outfit and Makeup

Last weekend I had a few people over for some drinks. As a host I had to wear something awesome, but I also wanted to be comfortable. This is where sexy style meets the thug life.

Outfit:

Tupac/ Snoop Dogg muscle tee, a beer and my cat. 

Garter belt + thigh high stockings + DIY cutoff shorts.
And beautiful laughing Steph.

Classic black Chucks and a beer.

The muscle tee was originally a men's tee from Spencer's. I cut off the sleeves. 

The garter belt came from a Halloween store.

Chucks are from the kids section at Ross (size 5 in kids is the same as a 7.5 in women's)

Shorts were originally from Wet Seal. I cut them off, sprayed them with bleach, and then soaked them in coffee.

Thigh high stockings were clearance at Burlington Coat Factory.

Makeup:

For my makeup I did a dark smokey eye with a gold lid. I know my outfit was mostly black but gold seemed right for my outfit's theme. 

I hope this post inspires you to mix the sexy look of  garters with the edgy look of sneakers and a muscle tee.

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Industrial Glam - A Shoot by the Tracks

The only thing more fun than styling a photoshoot is styling a friend too. Steph made the perfect Barbie doll to play dress up with. She let me do her hair, makeup, and select all her clothes and accessories. It helps that she's beautiful.

I was also lucky to work with a photographer who lets me have a lot of creative freedom when selecting a theme, location, and wardrobe.

Look 1: Casual Glam

About the look: Steph and I have very contrasting looks. I decided to play on this by using complimentary colors. I chose gold accessories for both of us, but gave her big earrings and me a big necklace. For Steph's makeup I contoured her cheekbones using powder, filled her eyebrows, and gave her a heavy liner and false lashes. The lip color for both of us was added to complete the contrasting look. Unfortunately we didn't get any full body shots of this look, but I assure you we had cute shoes ;)

Look 2: Sequin Seduction

My Favorite.

About the look: As you can tell, the photographer was a little more excited about the second ensemble. I chose sequins because it was very sunny that day and I was hoping to achieve a sort of angelic/demonic feel with a lot of reflected light. But we shot in the shade. I once again played on the contrast between Steph and I by dressing her in dark and me in light. I chose thigh highs because I think they are a great way to add mystery and make an outfit sexy while actually covering up. As someone who is always cold, I can get away with a lot more on the bottom half when I have thigh highs to keep me warmer too. 

Wardrobe:

Look 1

On Steph: blouse - Ross, earrings - Burlington Coat Factory, Ring - Forever 21

On me: leopard tank - Ross, blouse-TJ Maxx, necklace- Burlington Coat Factory

Look 2

On Steph: dress - Ross, bracelet- Forever 21, stockings- Burlington Coat Factory, shoes -K&G Fashion Warehouse

On me: dress- H&M, stockings- Hot Topic, shoes- Ross, headband- Forever 21

All Photos Copyright Grafix51 

Thanks for reading! 

XOXO 

Paint Your Own Graffiti T-shirt Tutorial

Inspiration comes from everywhere. The inspiration for this project came from a combination of 2 things: working for a company that specializes in screen printing, and coming up with ideas for shirts that I don't have the capability to make. Until now.

Now I am not about to start tooting my horn about my artistic powers, because honestly I am not an artist in the conventional sense. I am not excellent at drawing, painting or sculpture, although I dabble for creative satisfaction. But this was something I knew I could do. 

Here's how I did it. 

What You'll Need:

• Fabric Paint-available at most craft stores. I actually picked this up at Walmart.

• A shirt of your choice. I used an old one I had laying around. 

• A piece of paper or cardboard- I used a paper bag from fast food. Classy, I know. 

Kitty!

• Brushes and a pallete. I used a plate covered with saran wrap. I would get chalk too, but I didn't have any.

What To Do:

• Figure out exactly how you want your design to look. Make sure to have the design handy so you can look back at it as you start your brushwork. 

My design. 

• If you have chalk use that to map out where you will be putting the paint. I didn't so I just had to be careful. I did a once over with very thin lines instead of chalk. 

• Go for it! It will probably take two coats to cover all the thin spots. Just be careful. Move slowly and steadily. 

• Let it dry overnight and wear it out for everyone to see! 

How I wore it. 

About My Design: 

You may be wondering how I decided on the design I chose. Well, my boyfriend is a graffiti artist, and he has taught me a lot about the specific art form, as well as the culture associated with it. It's all very interesting, but as someone who is motivated by the way things look (fashion!) I find it to be especially pleasing aesthetically. The entire topic of graffiti is an interesting one because as a whole, popular culture loves graffiti for it's aesthetic pleasures. Graffiti is highly glamorized in photography, fashion, and art. But when someone paints on the side of a building, everyone hates graffiti, and it is seen only as a crime. Like I said, it's interesting, because graffiti isn't about painting in a controlled environment, or even selling it for money. It's about spreading art in a rebellious way. I think our country could use more art, but there's a fine line between artwork, and just vandalism. If you're going to paint on something, make it look good! 

Anyway,  I chose a graffiti font for the letters because I find graffiti interesting, and fun to look at. But there is more to the story. I made the letter 'A' into an anarchy symbol, and the 'O' into a sad/sick face. This is obviously not because I have a poor view of fashion. Moreover it is because fashion is chaotic. It is a monster that consumes so many, especially those that try to resist it. On the inside of my left arm I have a variation of a quote by an American essayist and poet Logan Pearsall Smith:

"She who goes against fashion is herself its slave"

The quote really spoke to me, and I felt it was a perfect fashion tattoo. The meaning is that if you try to go against fashion, you have to know what is fashionable. This ideology played into the choice of the letters on the shirt as well. All in all, I'm happy with the way the shirt came out. I know the message is not clear to the person who just sees the shirt. It just looks like an oximoron: a fashionable girl wearing a fashionable shirt that appears to condemn fashion. But you and I know what it means ;) It can be our secret.

Thanks so much for reading!

Xoxo

Infinite Coolness: Galaxy Nails Tutorial

The Galaxy print is trending. Is it a fad? Who knows. I think it's nothing but fun. The galaxy print's popularity (in my humble opinion) is mostly due to the trendsetting cult brand Blackmilk which first made printed galaxy leggings. Since then, the print can be found everywhere on dresses, tees, shoes, and of course fingertips!
If you are a fan of the outer space look and want it on your nails here's how. Oh, and it actually isn't that hard!

What You'll Need:

• Makeup Sponge
• Scissors
• Foil or a piece of plastic
• Tweezers

• An assortment of nail polish colors including at least one very dark color and one glitter

• About 20-25 minutes

What To Do:

• Use the scissors to cut the makeup sponge into a bunch of small pieces. 

• Paint your fingernails with two coats of the dark color and let dry completely. I painted mine a few days ahead of time.

I chose black.

• Place drops of each color on your palette.

• Using the tweezers, grab a small piece of your makeup sponge to dab your first color onto the nail. Make some areas heavier than others, and don't worry too much about the shape. Just try not to cover all of your nail. 

Light blue

• Repeat this process with the second color.

lavender

• You can use as many colors as you like.

Pink

• Repeat the process for each nail.

• One of the best things about galaxy nails is that mistakes are easy to fix by adding more color!

Feel free to mix colors together on your palette too

• When you feel you have enough color on your nail, add the glitter. 

• Add a topcoat and you're done!

Out of this world nails!

Hope you get a chance to give this a try. It's sure to be a conversation starter, and somehow goes with many different outfits!

Thanks for reading ;)

XOXO

Ladies Night With The Blondes

Finally got out on Saturday night! As you may have guessed, my favorite thing about going out is getting ready.
We started by shopping around 4pm and made it to the destination around 11pm. It could have taken longer if we let it!
I snagged a dress at Ross without trying it on. When I got it home the fit was ok, but the skirt was a little long and ended at an awkward place on the leg.
An easy fix was to add an elastic belt and fold the skirt under a little bit, tucking it up, making it shorter.

I accessorized with new shoes, home made studded garter straps, a studded clutch, and lots of rings and bracelets. Overall my look was meant to be a little punk. I didn't try to match color at all, because the look worked together without it. It was more about coordination of style and silhouette than actually matching.

My completed look.

Jessica Simpson platfroms. Nordstrom Rack $38

My two blonde accomplices Cate (long hair) and Steph (short hair) also donned new looks for the evening. 

Stephanie likes to match, but stepped  a little out of her comfort zone by mixing bright colors. She paired her ultraflattering teal peplum dress with coral platform sandals and one of my chunky beaded necklaces. She added metallic rings and lots of attitude.

Cate fell in love with her shoes before she had found a dress, so she decided to make them her focal point. Black and white always makes color pop extra bright, and the look worked perfectly with her suede Sam Edelman heels. She played on the colorblocked bright blue and turquoise platforms by choosing a cascading necklace from my collection with beads that reflected blue tones. She also added bronze earrings, bracelets, and an armored pinky ring!

Ladies night

Confidence is the best accessory.

Such fun girls they are!

It was so lovely to step out with friends, and even better that they each let me have some input on their styling choices, hair, and makeup.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Coffee and Cupcakes Streetstyle featuring Wu-Tang Muscle Tee

Most outfits are designed for their destination. My sweet love and I went for Sunday treats and caffeine to keep our day going. I decided Wu Tang Clan was the best choice.

Streetstyle

Gold

Details.

Muscle Tee, rings, zip-up hoodie, diamond earrings: Forever 21

Shoes: Creative Recreation- Nordstrom Rack

Jeans, Varsity Jacket, gold belt: Ross

Hat: Rebel Eight- Karmaloop.com (borrowed from the boyfriend)

Purse: Kate Spade- gift

Light makeup was done on purpose for a masculine feel. Gold belt to tie in shoes with earrings. Shirt graphic was a bright yellow so I felt gold worked better than silver. A neutral grey was easy to add for warmth while still leaving the focus on the tee and gold accents. The varsity jacket was chosen on purpose to accentuate the urban feel. Rings, purse and earrings kept it girly.

Thanks for reading!
XOXO

Extreme Smokey Eye Tutorial

Maybe you'll never have a reason to wear an extreme black smoke eye. Maybe you'll do it anyway. Here's how I did mine:

You'll need: at least white, black, purple, grey, dark brown and beige shadow, black eyeliner, brushes and mascara.

Face and eyebrows done. Make sure you use eyeshadow base!

Add white shadow to highlight brow bone, a light matte grey on the inner corner.
Then cover the entire lid with purple shadow. 

Use a cream eyeliner above and below the eye.

Then use a brush to apply black shadow directly on top of the liner before it dries.

Add a very dark brown in the crease with a brush for more depth. 

Use a brush to add black shadow on the lid, in the crease, and underneath the eye. Lots of it.

I used two black MAC shadows. The mixed one added lots of sparkle. 

A nude lip is best with a heavy eye. I used Kate's nude for Target and MAC's Gaga gloss.

Add mascara. Done.

With most styles, I use a brush to clear away excess shadow. With this one, I use my finger to smudge the shadow around the outside corners. This is a look where smudging is good! If you have light colored eyes this will look completely different on you. You may want to wear false lashes. I decided not to this time though. 

Shirt worn throughout: DIY muscle tee from the men's section of Spencer's. 

Thanks for reading! XOXO