Wedding Update: Rehearsal Brunch

{ASOS / Rachel Rachel Roy / Tibi / ASOS / Zara / C. Luce}

I've been nearly silent about my upcoming nuptials lately. Perhaps because I can't believe how fast the process is moving and how soon the wedding day will arrive. I'm so ready for it to be here but we're definitely still tying up loose ends and fixing details.

In lieu of a rehearsal dinner, my fiance and I opted to have a rehearsal brunch. Brunch is a very New York event and is truly an institution in this city. Plus, one of our favorite brunch spots offers a cozy private room for just such an occasion. The fare is farm fresh and gives a nice little nod to my Midwestern background (hellllllo cast iron skillet cornbread and pumpkin pancakes!)

Once we had our brunch set my next task was figuring out what to wear.  I've been very selective about each of my outfits for every event building to our wedding. For me, these dresses represent memories and I want to look and feel my best. I fell madly in love with my bridal shower dress (I'll share that next week) but the right brunch dress has eluded me.

The lineup above is a narrowed down list of my choices. I tried the second one in from the left on already and was crushed to discover it was almost completely see-thru. A real disappointment since the detailing (you can't see it well here) and fit were perfection.

I don't want to go too sweet with my choice and of course I'm left wondering what I'll do with another white dress? Which is your favorite? Have you seen any other great dresses? Help me out!

Product Review: The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost

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There is a lot of buzz going around about Vitamin-C and suddenly Vitamin-C-infused products are everywhere.

This vitamin boosts skin's radiance by lightening dark spots of pigmentation. It's a stellar complexion fixer and new research suggests that when consumed (and used in skincare), Vitamin-C helps reduce wrinkles due to its collagen synthesizing abilities. So, this is the good stuff.

I've been in the market for a new daytime serum for a while and armed with a gift card I wandered into The Body Shop. This little baby, is apparently one of their current best-sellers:

I wasn't sure what type of results to expect, having used very few Body Shop products but I've been thrilled thus far. This product has a very unique texture. It's uber silky. It glides onto skin so easily and sinks in almost immediately. It has a beautiful, subtle citrus scent.

Almost as soon as the product melts into my skin I see a boost in brightness. Sounds crazy but after so many years testing so many products, I notice any little change. This product produces a lovely little glow on contact and I believe I can see improvements in my skin. I even had a dark spot that has faded immensely since I began using this serum daily.

The one thing I'm still figuring out is where I want to place this in my skincare routine. It has some properties of a silicone primer, due to its silky finish. So, it technically should be applied after your moisturizer. I may end up using it at night instead of under makeup during the day. I feel (possibly incorrectly) that I like my serums close to my skin (aka before moisturizer) no matter what. I'll report back on that!

Overall, loving this product and will let you know if I continue to!

Buy it here!

What I Want to Wear Now

Lately, matchy ensembles are seeming cooler and cooler. This little duo caught my eye just recently. Both pieces are easily worn together or styled separately.

{jacket / shorts / camisole / necklace (top) / necklace (bottom) / clutch / sandals}

Basically Awesome: The Non-Jean

When summer rolls around and I can no longer wear my beloved black skinny jeans without sweating profusely, I go in search of bottoms of a different color.

Jeans just feel too casual for everyday office wear (though my office is laid back enough for it). Plus, a little pattern or color on the bottom half just makes an outfit pop.

These perfect pairs from Joe Fresh are affordable and come in a range of colors and print. They are reminiscent of the JCrew Cafe Capri but at a much more palatable price of just $29. I plan to scoop up the blue pair asap.

What's even more exciting is that while Joe Fresh only has stores in NYC, the brand is now available at JCPenney stores nationwide and online!

Buy them now!

Wallet-Friendly Sandals

As much as I love the look of expensive sandals, I hate buying them. You see, NYC is a walking city and all my shoes get destroyed at about 10x the normal rate. Paying so much for so little shoe seems just plain silly.

Happily, this season the masterminds behind Sam Edelman shoes have partnered with Target to bring styles from their Sam & Libby line to your local store. All for fabulous prices of course. I am in love with the collection--they look expensive and have that signature Sam Edelman aesthetic of urban-cool. I already bought this pair and I may need these as well. 

Here are some more of my favorites. Check out the whole collection here.

{one / two / three / four / five / six}

Miracle Brows

OK, do not judge me because I'm about to wax poetic about eyebrows for several paragraphs. Have you ever had a really fantastic beauty moment? Perhaps a time you changed up your makeup and felt truly fabulous or the time you gifted yourself a new treatment and fell in love with the results? I have had exactly two of those moments and one occurred yesterday.

My brows have been bothering me for a long, long time. For the past five years I have let absolutely no one touch them but me. Yep, you heard me. No waxing. No threading. Nada. I've been trying to grow them into a full, gorgeous shape following every online tutorial along the way.

You see, when I was a teen my mom started letting me get my brows waxed to get a shape going (my mom is awesome). For most of the next decade I just let my brows stay the same shape with a little tweezing here and there. Since moving to NYC I've been in a battle with them. They seem to always be uneven--a pretty ridiculous problem since you can really tell when one brow is shaped quite differently from the other.

With my wedding approaching I decided it was time to take action. At the suggestion of the beauty editor at my day job (Ladies' Home Journal!) I booked an appointment with Sania. She's considered one of the top five brow shapers in NYC and has been featured in every single major magazine out there.

As I sat in her chair, Sania worked some serious magic. She totally made over my lopsided brows and gave me tips on growing them out--did you know you should NEVER put lotion/serum/makeup on your brows (aside from brow filler of course). Sania told me that the reason my brows have seemingly stopped growing in spots is because I get my various creams all over them and clog the hair follicles ..how did I not realize this?!??! She promises I'll see major growth if I keep my brows clean from now on. Genius.

After a lesson in filling in my brows and an agreed upon growing program I left the salon truly feeling like a new woman. If you're ever in NYC I highly recommend a trip to see Sania. I also recommend buying her brow pencil, it's the best one I've ever used. I plan to give you a photo of my new improved brows soon!

If you need help with your own brows, my colleagues at LHJ did some awesome brow makeovers and a shaping tutorial that are worth looking at!

What is your defining beauty moment?