I was recently checking up on my blog and realized I haven't posted since January and I literally was so annoyed at myself that I let this blog go. So I am not going to let it go unnoticed and I decided to rename it and redesign it a little bit. I changed a lot over the summer and realized I wanted to switch up my style a little bit. No, I am not getting rid of all my preppy clothes, but instead I wanted to make it less stereotypical. I wanted to create my own style and focus less on the style I need to accomplish, if that makes any sense.
I also wanted to incorporate makeup even more into this blog, as over the years I have really developed a love for it. Here is me fawning over the Glow Kit...which I still have not purchased. Even more, I just want to write about random things and just make this blog a mish mosh of weird stuff. So, bear with me.
I renamed my blog, "The Pretend New Yorker", because really that is what I am..sadly. I also thought it was fairly clever and kinda funny, which you can decide for yourself. I am going to try to write as much as I can even thought I'm going to be suppperrrrr busy.I really hope you enjoy my new design and name and thanks for reading my ramblings. Happy new school year and for me, happy senior year;) (picture of me trying not to look annoyed that its my first day of school below)
Hi everyone! For a long time now I've been wanting to do a makeup post on my blog and I thought hey why not now? For many years now I've really developed a love for makeup and beauty and I'm a veteran of watching beauty gurus on YouTube. I think it's so much fun and I love experimenting with new products and looks. Most of these products were recommended by YouTube and beauty gurus, they really teach me all I need to know. Others are from my Ipsy bag, or products I just happened to set my eyes on in stores. So, here are my makeup favorites, (in no order of course), all of my favorites are a collection of drugstore and higher end products!
My favorite palettes consist of the infamous Naked 2 palette from Urban Decay, the Two Faced Natural Eyes palette, and the Urban Decay Ammo palette. I love the Natural Eyes and Naked 2 palettes for their beautiful neutrals consisting of coppers, golds, taupes, champagnes, matte browns, and glittery metallic browns. The Ammo palette is change of pace, consisting of some neutrals, but also of some plums, blues, and a green. All the palettes have stunning shades that have amazing pigmentation and colors that blend effortlessly on the eye.
For some of my more neutral lip colors, I have chose some glosses and lipsticks. My first favorites are the Lacome Color Fever lipstick in Fashion Crave and the Color Design lipstick in Sugared Maple. These lipsticks are such high quality and are such beautiful colors, the cranberry and mauve colors are also perfect for Fall. I also love the Laura Geller color drenched lip gloss in Cafe Au Lait (nude) and my Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in Perky Peony (light baby pink). These lip glosses are so pigmented and have a great creamy texture, I am not usually a straight up lip gloss person, but I really love these ones. I am really into the matte lip creme trend, I have been loving the NYX soft matte lip creme in the color Milan. The color is so natural yet just the perfect amount of color, it also is just genuinely really flattering on the lips. This color is also great if you don't wanna go all out on the brown/ dark purple matte lip trend. In the moisturizing category,I LOVE my Hanalei sugar lip scrub, which was in my Ipsy bag! It smells like lemonade and is overall sooo moisturizing and reviving, I would compare it to the the Lush lip scrubs.
Next for my favorites in face products and mascara, I am a die hard user of the Maybelline Fit Me foundation (Matte & Pore less) in Porcelain. It goes on so smoothly, isn't overally drying , and is super affordable. It also isn't heavy on the skin, while still having pretty good coverage. My Stay Matte pressed powder from Rimmel in Natural has also been one of my favorites for years now. It's not cakey, smooth, really affordable, and I am constantly repurchasing it. My Elf shimmering facial whip in Lilac Petal also falls under the super affordable category, even though it sounds so weird (lol). It's the perfect highlight when blended and is surprising high quality for the unbelievably cheap price. Another cheek product that I love is the Lacome oil-free powder blush in Cosmopolitan pink, it's such a bright flattering, neon pink. The pigmentation is incredible and the blush is very blend-able for such a vivid pink, it also looks stunning on fair skin tones. For mascara, which is one of favorite makeup products, I love the Sephora mascara favorites kit I received for Christmas, it came with so many great samples to try and one full size mascara. My favorites consist of the Benefit Roller Lash, Nars Audacious, and the Too Faced Better than Sex. These mascaras look great layered and both provide amazing volume and length.
For skincare, etc. I have been loving many products, some which are samples I received in my Ipsy bag! For a facial cleanser, I have been obsessed with the Befine exfoliating cleanser w/ brown sugar, sweet almond, and oats. I got the sample in my Ipsy bag and I was impressed with how natural and high quality it was! I haven't broke out very much since I have used it and I find it really makes my face very hydrated. Also in my Ipsy bag, I received the Clark's Botanicals deep moisture mask and moisturizer. I have frequent dry patches, specifically in the Winter months and this gets rid of them in one day. For makeup removal, I love the Lacome Bi-Facil eye makeup remover. It is fairly pricey, but gets rid of all my eye makeup, while being extremely gentle. For overall hydration, I love my Josie Maran whipped Argan oil in Vanilla Pear, the scent is simply intoxicating (in a good way) and it's the best lotion I have ever tried. The consistency is amazing and even though it is fairly pricey, it's definitely worth it.
For some more bright and statement lip products (which are my favorite,) I love my NYX butter lipsticks in Big Cherry (cool toned red) and Sugared Maple (dark plum/wine). Every time I wear these I get compliments and they're probably some of my favorite drugstore lip products. They look so beautiful and are so vibrant, while being fairly moisturizing.In that buttery, moisturizing category, I am a die hard lover of my Revlon lip butters, I have them in Lollipop (bright fuchsia) and Tutti Frutti (light orange/peach). Again, they are so vivid and fun while being wearable and not too drying. One of my overall favorite bright lip colors is fairly more expensive, but just an overall awesome lip product. This is the Too Faced melted lipstick in melted candy. The formula and color is so beautiful and vibrant on these and in all just looks perfect on.
In the eyeliners and single eye shadow category, I love my Bare Minerals lasting liner in absolute black, it really stays on the waterline and looks great as a natural everyday pencil liner look. Same goes for my Lancome Le Crayon Khol pencil in Black Ebony, it looks great on the waterline and over top of eye shadow for a natural look. For more affordable single shadows, I swear by my L'Oreal infallible shadows in Iced Latte ( champagne color )and Amber Rush (rose gold color). The pigmentation is incredible and is so stunning on the eye, I would compare these to the quality of Urban Decay shadows. I also love my Ck One eye shadow in Ambition it's so smooth and simply a beautiful rose gold on the eye. I also love my Mally beauty eye shadow stick in Dusk (dark sparkly brown) and my BareMinerals Highshine Eyeshadow in Moonshine (dark sparkly, smokey brown). These are more expensive, but have stunning pigmentation and beautiful formulas and colors. To keep these eye shadows vibrant and from creasing, I swear by my Urban Decay Primer Potion, the hype is so worth it for this product and does a simply amazing job at keeping my eye shadow from looking nasty (lol).
Again, thanks so much for your reads and encouragement on this blogging venture of mine! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will continue to try my best at blogging in the future! xoxo, Amelia My social media links: Instagram: @amelia_elaine
Christmas has passed and all the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over. Although, until New Years the season still lingers and the holiday hasn't yet disappeared. You're off school and with your family and that's the most important thing. My Christmas was very nice this year, my three past Christmases consisted of my grandpa getting sick and having to go home, my grandma being in the ER, and my whole family getting the flu on Christmas. This year NOTHING bad happened and my family and I had a wonderful time. We got to spend time together and even see a musical the day after Christmas. My Christmas was great and here's some things I loved about it.
The one thing I really look forward to in the Holiday season is going to the Washington D.C Mormon Temple with my friends. My friend is Mormon and she takes us to see the dazzling lights and Christmas festivities. It always puts us in the Christmas spirit and ends up being a fantastic night.
We have an amazing Holiday Spectacular show at my school and my friends and I always have such an awesome experience performing in it. Even though it can be really stressful, we always have a show that's to die for. Who doesn't love singing and dancing in candy cane dresses?
Vintage ornaments and decorating the tree is always one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time. I even have a little silver tree in my room where I put my own vintage ornaments on. There's something about the ornaments that just makes them so different from the rest of our other ones, I guess you could say I have a love for old things.
This was me heading to Christmas Day mass, going to church is a Holiday tradition in our family and it always brings me to the true meaning of Christmas. You always get caught up in the material things and bustle of the season that you sometimes lose sight of what the holiday all really comes down too.
Seeing Elf the musical was a present I received on Christmas which I really enjoyed. Let's just say I might be a tad bit obsessed with Elf..okay a lot.
Even though gifts aren't the important part of the Holiday...I do have a really great time gathering around the tree and opening presents with my family. I'm so fortunate to have such a loving and giving family.
As I'm writing this on New Years Eve, I hope you all had a magical Christmas or whatever Holiday you celebrate. Sadly, I'll be spending my NYE on the couch because of my wisdom teeth surgery, but I'm still very excited about 2016! Hopefully this year I will get to blog more than I have been. Thank you all for reading my rambles!
Xoxo,
Amelia
My links: Instagram: @ameliaelaine_
Twitter: @amelia_workman
@sassy_prepster
Pinterest: @ameliaworkman
Long time no talk! I apologize for not being able to blog as frequent as I've liked, my busy schedule has consumed me lately. I'm sure you're all feeling the same with school and activities, so you get the struggle. Awesomely, I've reached more than 1,000 views on my blog and I'm so excited that, that many people find me interesting enough to read my posts. Since October has passed and Fall has long begun, I decided to share with you some things I love for Fall and what events have been going on during these crazy months!
Everything about this picture reminds of basically why I love Fall. For one I love my Starbucks, most specifically a white chocolate mocha. There's something about sitting down and drinking a warm cup of coffee that really comforts me. Also, I love layering sweaters and button downs, as seen in this photo. In Fall, layering is essential and those two staples basically become my everyday outfit. I've also been loving my faux fur vest from Gap, it just makes everything look more polished and chic.
The beauty of Fall really strikes me when I witness the tree's vibrant leaves. This picture was taken on my to Morgantown, WV through the car window and I find it's colors so alluring. It's just one of those views that really shows how we should appreciate the beauty all around us. Can Fall be my favorite color?
My Homecoming was a few weeks ago and it was honestly the best one so far. I absolutely loved my dress (Dressbarn) and it was my first year getting my hair done. It was a lot of fun and getting to go with my best friends made it so much better. I'm a firm believer that in highschool you should try to participate in as much as you can, because you won't ever get the chance again.
For Fall, especially on rainy days, I love my Hunter boots. They are such awesome quality and are so adorable with anything. What I really love is how you can dress them down or up and they can really make an outfit.I like to mostly style mine with a pair of jeans and a print button down under a solid cable knit sweater
Lately, I been seeing a lot of Paisley printed clothes and I've been loving them. Both of these pieces are from Loft and they're perfect for Fall. The red and warm tones almost match the colors of the fall leaves.
Again I thank everyone so much for reading and I hope I can post as much as I can through my crazy schedule! Have a great rest of Fall and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
For me, school started two days after my birthday, yes a total drag I know. Most kids have already gone back to school and are starting to get back into the swing of things. Summer is ending and school starting automatically means endless stress, cramming, and drama. Wow that whole beginning sounded like a total bummer didn't it...sorry but as you all know, school isn't really somewhere we want to be for the next 10 months. Even though most of us dread the idea of going back to school, it doesn't have to be all that bad and I'm going to give you some of my ways on how to "rock" your year, or at least try to survive. I have also managed to throw in some essentials for the school year in there, because hey, who doesn't like cute clothes?
1. My Planner
Lilly Pulitzer large agenda in Wild Confetti
Yes, this is my number one essential and is way more important than you think. No matter what age you are, even if you aren't in school, I think you should always keep a planner. My Lilly Pulitzer planner is my Bible for goodness sake, it in all honesty keeps me sane. I write down all my assignments, when things are due, and important dates in this planner and it really keeps me organized to the max. Plus, a cute, bright planner really makes me look forward to writing things down in it. My Lilly Pulitzer planner has beautiful pictures, stickers, and happy little quotes in there. I am a firm believer that writing things down really helps you remember things and since I've kept a planner, my spastic brain doesn't forget much.
2. Optimism
Credit: Jasmine Dowling
Honestly, sometimes school can really put me in weird moods and places. I'm sure all of you have felt the same way, maybe you bombed that test or you didn't get into that college you wanted to go to. Also, school is a place where you can always find ways to put yourself down. You might feel stupid compared to that girl who was a 4.5 GPA, or you'll never look or have the clothes like "her." Really, you are going to have those bad days, but you really have to find that positivity deep down in you. No matter how much we sometimes want to be miserable, there's going to be some great memories made in school, that you can never forget. So just keep pushing on and I promise you'll make it, try to be your biggest fan.
3. Cute Binders & School Supplies
I know this sounds really typical girlish, but who wants to carry around a bunch of dull school supplies all year? No matter what your style is, there's always ways to perk up your binders and notebooks. You can print monogram inserts online, a free website I found that has free inserts is, chicfetti.com/monograms . I also put some photos I loved and taped them inside my binder, of course you can even make collages. Washi Tape also adds a really fun affect to binders, and you can use it to name your binders for your classes. Plus, you can reuse the binders later and just peel off the washi tape. I also survive off colored pens for note taking, color coding really helps me study and keep notes organized. If you want to really make your supplies kick butt, Check out this DIY video from youtuber, Aspyn Ovard.
School can really be a place to show off your outfits and clothes, so I recommend to do just that. Although, I rely on some classics to be comfortable and practical in. I love a good striped sweater and a decorated sweatshirt. They are both really comfy, plus you can layer and create so many outfits with them. I also rely on a holy grail pair of jeans that I can wear with anything, and a good ol' button down.
5. Good Friends
These essentials aren't in order, because some great friends would be at the top of my list. Lasting friends will get you through anything your going through and always be there through your stress. But most importantly, you'll make lasting memories with them, as I already have made so many. School is great in the aspect of meeting so many new people and learning from them. Without school , I wouldn't have made some of the great friends I have today.
6. Good makeup & Accessories
To make it through a long day still looking fresh and somewhat okay, I really need some good makeup. I love light coverage foundation and bright blush so my skin can look clear and bright. I'm also a huge fan of lip butters, because I'm a huge lipstick junkie and they come in really fun colors. I also love my Too Faced natural eyes palette and my NYX eye base to keep the beautiful shadows on.
Next, I highly recommend purchasing a watch if you don't already own one. My watch I received as a Christmas present and it is probably my most used present ever, you should always have access to the time in school. Especially if you have gym or dance (art school perks). I also would always keep a rollerball with you, so you can always smell good and not gross. Those pearls earrings are mostly just a me thing, but I recommend something, like a little trademark, that makes you, you. (wow all those commas though.)
7. A Sturdy Bookbag & Awesome Kicks
Taupe oxfords: Urban Outfitters Tan Loafers: Old Navy
Tan Oxfords: Wanted Shoes Black Loafers: Gap
Freshman year of highschool , there were always those kids that used one of those small cutesy bookbags that you see in Target. Well, halfway through the year, all of them blew out and were replaced. I bought a really well made bookbag by Vera Bradley that I've used for two years now, so go buy yourself a bookbag that lasts.
Now for shoes, I love almost quirky shoes that aren't really practical in anyway,sneakers just aren't really my thing. I love oxfords, because they go with almost anything and just look extra polished. I also love loafers, because they have that same effect and just really match my style.
8. Avoid drama & Be Confident
Drama is mostly unavoidable in school and sadly, it'll hit you sometime, no matter how much you try to avoid it. Most of the time it's out of your control, but you really have to learn to avoid toxic people and situations. People are going to turn on you and be rude to you, but you really have to learn to not be effected by it. Be confident in the person you are and the choices you make and focus on bettering yourself. I promise that what that person said about you or what they think about you, isn't important. What's important is who you are and what you want to be.
"It reminded me of the sound New York City makes...And I what I loved most about the city was the sound it made."
"I wish we could vanish into the sound."- Running with Scissors
All around you are obnoxiously loud horns, sirens, and the mass amount of people on the streets. Everyone is going somewhere and almost everyone is in a hurry, except for the tourists stopping every minute to capture one of many towering skyscrapers. This past week I got to visit my favorite place and I definitely got to vanish in the sound for a few days, but when I vanished I never felt more found. I fell in love with New York City and Broadway at a young age, I was young and never saw anything more glittering and impressive. New York City became a part of me, even though I don't live there or am from there. New York City is the opportunity to make yourself known, to find yourself, and refresh. Like many people, I have dreams of making New York City my home when I'm older, despite all the city craziness and many chances of getting hit by a taxi. It's not for everyone, but I am always willing to take on a challenge. Despite my plans for New York City in the future, I had an awesome time last week and New York was the best early sixteenth birthday present. I am so excited to share some of my pictures with you and I hope you enjoy them, if you don't..then sucks to be you.
My Dad snapped this one on the double decker bus on our stop to Bryant Park. I had never gotten the chance to sit on top of one and boy was it worth it. Although we almost died from heat exhaustion, so I recommend to bring some water, we were dumb and didn't.
I had the chance to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and I saw awesome original works from Andy Warhol, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Matisse.
MOMA also had a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden as well.
Next, I went to see the musical Something Rotten which was hilarious and full of amazing talent. It follows the Bottom Brothers in the 1500's trying to write a banging play. Although, this new guy named "Shakespeare" is writing all the plays and taking the spotlight. Nick Bottom, desperate to be as well known as "the Bard" sees a soothsayer to try to see what the next big thing in theatre will be in the future, which happens to be a "musical." They go off to write the first musical while stealing Shakespeare's idea that the soothsayer saw. Seeing all the actors doing what they love is so inspiring, as I hope to pursue a career in theatre as my job. Everytime I see a Broadway show I leave inspired and fulfilled and Something Rotten did just that, it gives me the hope that performing professionally can happen.
I also waited at the stage door to try to take a picture with the Bard himself, Christian Borle. You might know him from the tv show Smash, the musical Peter and the Starcatcher, or Sound of Music and Peter Pan live. I managed to take a picture with him and get his autograph, I totally didn't freak out or anything...
I also did a little shopping at H&M at Madison Square and got the chance to go in the biggest Macy's in the world of course. I didn't get any pictures in the stores, they were only on my snapstory. Although, I took many throughout the city. Below is a picture of my dream home in Greenwich Village, which most likely costs a million dollars. I felt creepy taking this picture of someone's house, but it was too cute not too.
I want to thank you again for your support and for reading my blog, we are almost to 1,000 views! I always love writing on here and sharing my adventures and fashion with you. It really has become something I enjoy and I have taken up a new hobby in picture taking.
My links
Instagram: @ameliaelaine_
Twitter: @amelia_workman
@sassy_prepster
Pinterest: @ameliaworkman
Tumblr: perfectinpolkadots.tumblr.com
Like Frank Sinatra sings, if I can make it there, I can anywhere, New York, New York. Oh and my little town blues are longing to stray, that's for sure.
