My Favorite Mascaras

         Today I decided to share my current favorite mascaras with you! And it turns out they are both from the same brand. That didn't happen on purpose, I guess I just really like Maybelline mascaras.

         One of the first mascaras I ever owned was a Maybelline Great Lash and I still love it! I have it in Very Black. I find that this mascara really helps to lengthen my lashes and also does a good job separating them. I do not usually like to go for a clumpy look. 
      The wand of this mascara is pretty small and straight. Since it is so small you can get pretty close to your eye and bash of your lashes without having to worry.  I also like my lashes to look "natural". As I have dark brown hair my eyelashes are already dark so if I apply mascara it may not always look like I am wearing it. It may seem like my lashes are already that long. I do always curl my lashes before putting mascara on. My eyelashes are pretty long but sometimes just stick straight out rather than up. Using an eyelash curler solves this "problem" though. I don't wear mascara everyday but if I were to do my "everyday look" than this is the mascara I would be using.
      I really recommend Great Lash if you are looking for a new mascara to try or if you are just starting out with makeup!

        My other favorite is Maybelline's Volum' Express The Falsies Mascara. Now you may be thinking "Emily, the word falsies, as in false eyelashes is in this mascara's name, and didn't you just say you liked your lashes "natural", didn't you just contradict yourself?" and to that I would reply "Yes and no"! Yes, it has the word Falsies in it and this mascara was designed to give you the effect that false lashes does, as in a lot of volume and length. It does a great job of doing so without being overkill. Yes, I like my lashes looking more natural than fake but, (here comes the "no" part)  but no I didn't contradict myself because my lashes can still look "natural" when I wear this. 
        When I apply this mascara  (or any for that matter) I do not glob it on and make it really obvious that I am wearing it. I want to point out though that there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that though and I don't purposely try to make it seem like my lashes are just that gorgeous without mascara,  I just simply do not like that clumpy and thick, thick lashes look on myself. 
       I love how volumizing this mascara is and that it holds a curl really well. It helps make my lashes curl up nicely. I think that the size and shape of the wand are key  factors in how it makes the lashes so voluminous. The wand is curved and also has bristles at the tip. This makes it easy to apply the mascara to each lash and get pretty close to the base of most of the lashes. And I like using the tip to apply the mascara to my outer lashes especially.  
     It is a mascara you can definitely build it up to make it really look like you are wearing false lashes or to intensify your look. I recommend this mascara as well, especially if you are going for a bolder look and really want volume!

Thanks for reading!

-Emily

Do you have any favorite mascaras? Let me know in the comments section!

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Tips for Clearer Skin

Hi guys, I hope your day has gone well so far. I thought that I would talk about some ways to work on clearing up your skin. I am a young adult so I do have to deal with acne and pimples as I'm sure a lot of you do as well. And although it is very annoying and we do not like having them it is a part of life and everyone goes through it. That doesn't mean that we don't want to speed up the process of getting rid of them though.

Here are some simple tips that I hope will help you.

Tip #1
Wash your face everyday at least at night time, but preferably twice

• Wash it in the morning
• Wash it at night before going to sleep

You want to wash it so your pores do not get clogged. During the day oil, dirt, makeup, and pollution build up on your skin. You do not want to go to bed with all of that there. It can irritate your skin.

Tip #2
Try not to touch your face a lot

• Refrain from putting your hands on your face. Your hands naturally have oil and you do not want to add any more oil or dirt to your face. Also think about all of the things you touch throughout the day (and that other people have touched them to). Hands harbor germs.

Tip #3
Drink water

•  Water has so many benefits and can help keep your skin clear

Tip #4
Work on eating healthier

• You are what you eat and the outside of you reflects the inside of you and your overall health and well being

Tip #5
Talk to your doctor

• If you think you have severe acne you can talk to your doctor about it and they may prescribe you something or refer you to a dermatologist.

I hope that you find these tips helpful! Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading
-Emily

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Winter Must Haves

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed your holidays.
I decided to share a few of the pieces that are my essentials for winter!

Winter 2015 Must Haves by emsessentials featuring red home décor

You can see all of my must haves above but I thought I'd choose a key few to talk more about.

Vests are a definite for me for winter and I find myself wanting to wear one basically everyday, I refrain though. Chunky sweaters are great for fall and winter so I like to stock up on these.  I especially like ones with high necks since they keep me warmer. Knitted headbands are a great accessory and very practical. I believe that Forever 21 probably has some but Etsy would have more of a variety. Over the knee boots are another favorite and as opposed to leather riding boots that are a fall staple I gear more towards suede tall boots for winter. The last thing I'll mention is nail polish. To me blue is a color I think of for winter nails, I like dark blue but some lighter blues also work for me for winter.

Thanks for reading!
-Emily
What are your must haves for winter?

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Fall Activities

Hi everyone, long time no see. School has been keeping me busy and I'm sure that is the same case for some of you as well!

I think that fall is such a great season. The leaves change amazing colors and the air is crisp and clean. This time of year it is so nice to be outside, it is a bit chillier out so it is perfect for wearing boots and sweaters. As well as it being the prime time for drinking tea, which I have recently umm, how should I say this... become more obsessed with. I drink it everyday now and definitely prefer it over coffee. I do like lattes and mochas though don't get me wrong, and being the common white girls that we are we know that fall also means certain Starbucks drinks too *wink, wink PSl*

In case you need any ideas for what to do to take advantage of this beautiful season I came up with a list of some ideas! I tried to break them down into categories as best as I could but some of them could fit into more then one since they overlap. I am also aware that I made up some words for the categories!

Outdoorsy:

• Apple Picking
• Pumpkin Picking

Make a whole day trip out of either of the two above and take advantage of the other things offered there like hayrides and the amazing apple cider and donuts I'm sure they make. Some orchards and farms even hard animals you can look at. Baby goats are very cute and the apple orchard my family goes to also has llamas and a donkey)

• Go for a hike, a great way to get exercise and enjoy nature and the beauty of the trees and weather
• Go canoeing or kayaking

• Go camping
• Take a drive through the country
• Maybe this means you go out of your way on the drive to a restaurant or something in order to see the foliage. Or just go for a drive for the purpose of seeing the trees

Crafty:

• Look up fall or Halloween Pinterest crafts and DIYs
• Decorate your room or house for fall using decorations you already have or items you just DIYed
• Decorate your room or house (inside and/or outside for Halloween)
• You can decorate the pumpkin you picked by painting it or by other means (there are a lot of cute painted pumpkins on tumblr)

Foodsy: 

• Bake some yummy pumpkin stuff (again you can use Pinterest for inspiration)
• Pumpkin pie
• Pumpkin bread
• For me what comes to mind for fall baked goods are things like banana bread, poppy seed bread, oatmeal cookies, things with crasins (possibly muffins), apple pie, apple donuts, goodies with cinnamon....now I'm getting hungry, I will definitely need to make some of these soon!

Halloweeny:

• Go to a haunted house
• Have a party
• Make themed treats

Shoppy & City:

• Outlet Shopping
• Really nice to do in the fall since you would be walking outside from store to store
• Go shopping in the city (same concept as for outlet shopping, plus the city is extra cute and tumblr-y in the fall)
• Go for brunch in the city
• Go to the park in the city or public garden to enjoy the day
• Attend a festival or craft fair or seasonal parade if there are any

Last But Not Least, V.I.R. (Very Important Random):

• Volunteer: do something nice for other people, maybe help at a food pantry or soup kitchen

 

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Outfit Of The Day

Hi everyone, I hope that all is going well for you.  I liked my outfit more than usual and decided to share it with you today! I had work this day and this outfit worked well for that. It is very versatile tough so it can be dressed up or dressed down for any occasion.

 

 

 

 

My maxi skirt is from Macy's. Since it has a bold pattern I paired it with a plain white shirt from Ann Taylor. Keeping with the simple and slightly boho vibe I decided to wear some brown leather strappy sandals. My go to purse right now is the one you see in the pictures above and it is a leather bowler bag which I got at Marshalls. As for jewelry I wore I silver with a some what linked design and on my wrist I had on a watch with a white strap and silver face. I also had on too other bracelets that I felt went with the watch.

 

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Outfit of a Day in Toronto

       Hi everyone! This summer my family and were on a road trip for a few weeks and on of my favorites places we visited was Toronto! It was my first time to Canada and hopefully not my last! Have any of you ever been there? Toronto is a very diverse city and there was a lot going on. I highly suggest going there if you have the chance. But anyways now on to the rest of the post.
       I thought I would share one of the outfits I wore while in Toronto with you guys. So here it is.

My sister and I pretending to hold the torch for the Pan-Am Games which were about to start

         I love this outfit because it is very colorful and looks like I spent a lot of time on it when in fact I did not. When I think of outfits I always start with the piece that is either the boldest or the most colorful so in this case my pants! These pants are from H&M and I actually did not have them when we first started the trip. I got them a few days before this picture was taken.  I had been wearing a jumpsuit which ripped on the leg seams and I was really sad about that because it was a piece I really liked. Luckily I had been near a mall and I went into H&M. It was really crowded and about to close but I didn't want to walk around wearing ripped clothes so I frantically looked for pants and I found the ones in the picture and they fit perfectly! (It was also lucky that I was wearing a tank top under my jumpsuit and I brought a sweater so I just wore them with the pants.)

        Okay, enough babbling. Back to the day this picture was taken and the rest of what I was wearing. My black flowy top is from Marshalls and is actually multiple layers. The bottom one is shear and a bit longer than the one on top of it which is lace. I chose to wear a solid orange tank top under to emphasize the orange in the pattern on my pants. My purple three-quarter length sleeve sweater is from Old Navy. As for footwear I wore a pair of low top black Converse. 
        This was a great outfit for walking around the city because the pants were super comfy, and stretchy. I was able to move around and they are lightweight so they are perfect for summer. It is great to wear layers because if you do get hot you can take something off or throw something else on, such as the sweater. Shoes-wise, you want something that will not hurt your feet. The most important thing is comfort. You would definitely not enjoy the city or whatever you are doing if all you are thinking about is the pain your feet are feeling. That is why sneakers are one of the best choices. We still want  to look put together though and don't want to have ugly shoes so that is another reason why converse are amazing. They are comfortable, practical, and the simple design makes them go with anything!


Here I am in the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. They had a section with some random shoes you could try on so I had to put on these silver sparkly platform shoes!

Barbara's shoes

          This museum was very interesting and is definitely not what you would expect. They have shoes going back to ancient Egyptians, shoes that were worn in Asia when women had to bind their feet, and there were shoes from European kings and queens. A section on Native American footwear covered in beautiful beading and embellishment. They also had shoes from modern times including a pair of Barbara Streisand's, Elizabeth Taylor's, Marilyn Monroe's and more. It was basically like the history of human kind told through their footwear!

Marilyn's and Liz's heels

        Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about these kind of snapshot travel recap posts.

-Emily

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