Tuesday, May 31, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 84
Budget-Friendly Dupes for Dior’s Summer 2011 Collection Nail Polish
Dior recently released their newest collection for Spring/Summer 2011: Electric Tropics. As you can clearly tell from the name of the collection, Creative Director of Dior Makeup, Tyen, drew inspiration for this collection from “paradise.” The collection itself highlights the contrast between neon colors and sun-kissed skin.
Of course the colors are gorgeous, but can we, as college students, justify spending $26 for a bottle of nail polish? I’m thinking we can’t. So I decided to do some research and find some budget-friendly duplicates (dupes).
The first of the two Dior “vernis” being released in this collection is named “Aloha.” The name is so fitting with the theme and immediately makes you think of the bright colors in Hawaii. This bright orange color can also be replaced by OPI’s Brights Power from the Mod About Brights collection. Though OPI retails for around $8, you can easily find this polish for around $5 on Amazon. With Dior’s high price of $26, that’s over 80% cheaper!
The second Dior polish is named “Paradise.” Of course, this polish is the ideal color of the word because let’s face it, we all think pink when we think of paradise. The OPI dupe of this would be “Shorts Story” which is the prettiest pink you could ever lay your fingers on. Of course, if you wanted something brighter, you could go for OPI’s “Pink Flamenco” as well. Again, the OPI polishes sell for around $8 in stores, but you could always search the internet-world for some lower prices. But then again, anything’s better than Dior’s $26-a-bottle price.
So what do you think? Do you like the dupes, or would you rather pay the price for the real deal? Are there any other high-end products that you’d like to see dupes for? Leave me a comment down below and your new favorite item may just show up in my next article.
*This is an article I wrote for Her Campus Magazine: http://www.hercampus.com/school/ucf/budget-friendly-dupes-dior%E2%80%99s-summer-2011-collection-nail-polish
College Girl's Guide to Online Shopping
Not only do university girls have to stay on top of their studies, jobs and other obligations, but we also have to stay up-to-date on all of the latest fashion trends. The hard part is when do we have the time? Homework already has us pulling all-nighters and our jobs have us working doubles, so when are we going to have time to search through racks and racks of clothing to find clothes worth purchasing? The point is, WE DON’T. Thanks to websites like Top Shop and Asos all we have to do is click that magic "purchase" button and our new all-time favorite outfit will be delivered to our doorsteps.
Online Boutiques have made it so easy for us to purchase apparel, shoes and accessories. These boutiques even provide detailed pictures of each item. You can see what the item looks like on and off of a person, close ups of details that make each item unique and different color options instantly at your fingertips. Online Boutiques have eliminated the hassle of fighting the mall crowds at Waterford Lakes or Mall at Millenia, keeping us off the roads of the ever-busy Orlando traffic.
So watch out shopping centers and mega malls, because online boutiques are on the rise! Here’s a sneak peek at my online shopping guide.
Top Three Clothing Sites
1. www.gojane.com
The clothes here are not the best quality, but the shoes here are amazing. I have to point out that their customer service is impeccable as well.
2. www.lulus.com
Perez Hilton made this site infamous through the advertisements on his page. Lulus is more high-end than gojane, but it’s all up to your clothing preference.
3. www.asos.com
This site is based out of the UK, and I completely love it. One of my favorite parts of this shop is that when looking at the picture of the product you would like to purchase, you can click “Show Runway” and see if you still like the item after seeing how it moves. The fact that they have free shipping with no minimum purchase is also a plus as well.
Top Three Membership Sites
1. www.ideeli.com
A con is that shipping takes forever, but the site does have a large selection of designer products.
2. www.hautelook.com
Shipping sometimes does take a month, so don’t expect to receive your new product right away. Hautelook often cycles the same companies and products, and they have a large selection of items ranging from clothes, to shoes, to furniture.
3. www.gilt.com
Although the shipping time for this site is good (with high fees), you have to purchase knowing that everything is final sale.And if you are able to somehow return an item, they would simply give you credit to the site.
Top Three Monthly Sample Packages
I found this site months ago and fell in love with the idea right away. It was the first site I knew of that delivered a variety of samples every month at a limited price of roughly $10 a month. This site features brands such as Yuko, Cherry City, meet mark, and Jesse’s Girl.
2. www.birchbox.com
This is now my all-time favorite site. It’s the same idea as MyPrettyPinkBox, except Birchbox offers high-end samples. The only con I have about this site is that after purchasing my first box, I was automatically signed up for a year. With the products being so brilliant, I didn’t mind much. This site features brands such as blow, Laura Mercier, Korres, NARS, Stila, Sue Devitt, Too Faced, benefit, Erno Laszlo, and so many others. Now you can see why I love this site so much!
Eco-Emi is $15 a month, but of course, that’s the same with all ‘green’ items. This site offers “organic, green, all-natural and animal friendly products everything from herbal teas to lipstick, vegan bars to cute boots.” The brands this site offers include Pangea Organics, Eco Lips, Om Aroma & Co., and Chocoveda to name a few. There’s a goose bump-rising story on their site about where the name ‘Emi’ came from which I definitely suggest that you all read.
I hope you have all enjoyed this guide and hopefully found out about a new website to shop through while in your most boring, mandatory-attendance, lecture course. (Yes, that’s what you can find me doing.) Be sure to look out for more articles reviewing the best online shopping boutiques, as well as certain products too.
Happy Shopping!
*This is an article I wrote for HerCampus Magazine: http://www.hercampus.com/school/ucf/college-girl%E2%80%99s-guide-online-shopping
Sunday, May 29, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 85
Selina Christine
101 Days of Summer: Day 86
Woke up around 11:30am. Didn't truly get out of bed until 12:30pm. Made a bagel and egg sandwich for brunch. Went back to bed.
101 Days of Summer: Day 87
Meeting: 7:30-11:00.
Breakfast: Nothing.
Lunch: Wendy's.
Dinner: Nothing.
Yeah, I'm late. That's why I'm speeding.
Friday, May 27, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 88
I've been trying new combinations with my Naked pallette lately. Most of them include Sin though. Today's was Virgin, Sin and Hustle. Worked 7:45-4:15. I was a bit late. That never makes me happy. Breakfast was a medium frappe from McD's. Lunch was free: rice and pork.
After working all morning, I cleaned the house a bit. Threw away some random papers we had lying around the place. Organized my closet. Organized the coupons. Made two couponing shopping lists. Filmed a video. Put away a bunch of "new" things.
Chance came over. I was exhausted at that point. So I fell asleep pretty early (11).
I really could expand this and write more. But I'm writing it the next day. (That's what I always do.) And I'm not in the best mood at the moment. As you can tell, I didn't have dinner last night. And no breakfast this morning either. Oh well.
Until tomorrow,
Selina Christine
Thursday, May 26, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 89
I woke up early today because I worked 7-3:30. I had Starbucks for breakfast thanks to Chance. I love their Artisan Ham Sandwiches! Ivette made cakes today for people at work. Just because. She's so sweet. She wants to start her own business doing this. The cake was YUMMY too. (Picture of the exterior is above.)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
101 Day of Summer: Day 90
2. I have small hands, and it becomes a problem when trying to open my apartment door with one hand; or trying to squeeze a stress ball.
3. My career plans have evolved as such:
a. Psychologist
b. Attorney
c. Pharmacist
d. International Businesswoman
e. Corporate Event Coordinator
i. With the hopes of opening my own store for Weddings, Sweet Sixteens, etc.
ii. Now I’m looking into Event Management under Hospitality, mostly in a hotel setting.
4. I try not to wear gold because a fashion designer told me it doesn’t match my skin tone. She also told me not to wear black or white, and that I should wear bright colors. Crazy, sure, but she also helped me in realizing that I should not try to get emancipated.
5. I actually like busy-work, because I like being busy. I love running around and having something to do at all times.
6. Lately, I play tetris and check my email at least 5 times a day.
7. I miss GOYA and Dance. So far, I think those were seriously the best days of my life.
8. I don’t like the feeling of my wet hair touching my back after a shower, but I’m okay with it if it’s like at a beach or pool.
9. I would like to read more books for leisure, and write in my journal more often. I always come up with excuses though.
10. I know for a fact that I will name my daughter, which I will have, Melina. And I’m like 80% sure that I will name my second daughter Arianna, which is my two best friends’ names put together.
11. I used to cry during every movie. I used to cry every single night. For years. I even had certain pillows that I called my “crying pillows”. And then, just one day, I stopped. I don’t really know why. At first I thought I had become heartless. Now I think it’s because I’ve overcome the pain. But if I do start to cry… it’s hard to stop.
12. I save all my ticket/movie stubs, all my receipts, and all the fortune cookie fortunes, but never actually do anything with them.
13. I used to not like my last name at all because I thought that it wasn’t a part of me or who I am, but lately I’ve come to realize that it’s really a huge part of me. I still don’t like my initials, SCM, because they instantly remind me of ‘scum’ or ‘scam’. But I love my name.
14. I’m organized, and I cannot stand typos. I also use complete sentences when IMing or texting.
15. It’s been about five months since I came back from my summer vacation in Greece, and I still can’t look at the pictures. They’re online, they’re in my camera, but I can’t look at them because I cry every time I do. I miss everyone so much. I think the time there just flew by. And I can’t stand not knowing when I’m going to see them all again. I’m really happy and grateful that I went; I think it made my relationship with most family members a lot better. But now I miss them terribly.
16. I already know who three of my bridesmaids are going to be. ♥
17. I used to watch The O.C. religiously, and now it’s Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
18. When I think about being one of five kids, I sometimes get shocked. Growing up like so, I guess I’m used to it, but when I think about it, it’s really surprising.
19. It hurts my hands a lot when I try to open a bottle of water or something like that. And I don’t like opening medicine bottles or baby oil… child proof’s hard stuff.
20. I don’t like history. I almost failed out of high school senior year because of it.
21. I used to be afraid of dogs, for not psychological reason. I used to be scared that they’d eat me. No lie. But now I want to have Huskies, most likely Siberian ones.
22. I know that I have a guardian angel. I know there’s a reason I’m still alive. I don’ take life for granted, and I try to seize the day.
23. I get really sad when I lose a friend. Not only those that pass away, but those that I just stop talking to for no good reason.
24. I’ve wanted a tattoo on my inner right wrist of the word “hope” for about three and a half years now. I’m thinking about getting it in May for my 19th.
25. My mom is my hero. We’re not exactly the best of friends, but I think she is an extremely strong woman who has had to deal with more problems than any human being should. I try not to think about it too much because I feel bad for her when I think of how much her life changed after we moved to the States. I feel bad every single day for how I have treated her, but cannot get myself to apologize or even do something about it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
101 Day of Summer: Day 91
Monday, May 23, 2011
101 Day of Summer: Day 92
Carrie and I tanned from 9:45-12:ish. We got some good color. That I'm happy about. Then I lounged around in my suit while Carrie made me a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. I watched Wizards of Waverly Place while eating. Because of course, I have to occupy my eyes when I'm eating. Random.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
101 Day of Summer: Day 93
Saturday, May 21, 2011
101 Day of Summer: Day 94
Friday, May 20, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 95
Lunch: #5 (8 count) from Chick-Fil-A w/chocolate shake. Didn't finish the drink.
Snacks: 1/2 B&J Margarita cooler. McD Strawberry Lemonade.
Dinner: 2 McD plain burgers. B&J Margarita cooler.
I'm not sure why I thought that to be necessary to post. Maybe because it's all fast-food and possible because McDonald's was listed three times today. Or maybe if I post what I eat every day, I'll remember to eat better. Or save money. Not too sure yet, but it probably does have a purpose.
Work today was 7:45-4:15. But I stayed at Nickelodeon until 5:00. Then I went home to clean up a bit because my mom was coming over to bring my last pieces of furniture. Right as I sat down to relax, she called and said she was here. Michael was a big help with the furniture, and I now have a desk, vanity dresser and bed! (Trust me, that's super exciting!) Shock of the day: I found two more silver hairs!!!! I now have a total of 5. And they're blatently, loud, silver. =(
Carrie and I then got our coupons together and went to Publix. I was inspired by Extreme Couponing last night and spent a total of $3.49 for the following items (as seen in the picture above.) I think I spent too much money, but oh well.
- 2 Tostito's salsa
- 2 packs Chinet napkins
- 2 Cole garlic bread
- 2 Wishbone salad dressings
- 4 boxes Ronzoni pasta
After a relaxing shower, I fell asleep reading "We'll Always Have Summer". I'm so excited to be reading for pleasure again. Especially from this series. Though I'm sure it'll be over after this book, so that kind of makes me sad. But then I think about all the billions of books out there and I'm excited all over again.
Until tomorrow,
Selina Christine
Thursday, May 19, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 96 - Couponing
I started couponing some months ago and then stopped since there was so much going on with the end of the semester and moving and whatnot. Carrie and I started up again the first of May. And lately I've been teaching others how to do it so it's kind of consuming my life.
Today I read a few pages of each of the following blogs:
- http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/
- http://www.totallytarget.com/
- http://www.couponconnectionsnw.com/
- http://www.shop4freebies.com/
- http://www.mustlovecoupons.com/
If you know of any others, let me know! I check http://www.southersavers.com/ and http://www.couponmom.com/ weekly because that's how I create my shopping lists.
Then at night, I watched (for the first time) the two new shows of Extreme Couponing. I had read an opinionated blog (and it's comments) earlier that talked about how the show is wrong because it showcasts the people who clear isles for no reason and abuse store's coupon policies and whatnot. Those people have stopped watching the show and vowed never to do so. Oh, and they have been contacted to be on the show but have told TLC that they don't approve, etc, etc. I honestly don't remember which blog this information is from, but it's definitely one of the 5 listed above.
My opinion of the show, though, is a bit different. Yes, I agree with the above, in a way. But the people that were shown last night worked very hard to come up with the strategies and calculations possible to get what they wanted at the price they wanted. One person donated everything to charity. Another was trying to save money because 3 people depend on her income alone. So I mean, there are sob stories and there are people doing it for good reasons. Even though when I look at the guy donating everything (sure it's for ministry purposes) but why would/should he waste all his time couponing? I think the stores and manufacturers themselves should just donate, you know?
And of course, MerryBerry posted a video on youtube last night showing off her binder organization and some sites she visits. Though personally I don't think those sites are beneficial.
Until tomorrow,
Selina C. Mullenax
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
101 Days of Summer: Day 97
So again, I did nothing but work. Kind of. I woke up super duper late. Got ready at the speed of lightning. Worked. Had Starbucks for lunch. Got my HospitalityPerks Fun Pass to Sea World and Busch Gardens. Got ready at the speed of sound? Went to the Financial Solutions Seminar. Had McD for late dinner. Slept.
But for fun, I thought I'd fill out the "Fowler Questionairre" found here:
http://www.elleandblair.com/post/a-little-glitter-q-and-a-with-blair
If I were an animal, I would be:
A panther because of the speed and beauty.
If I had to wear one style of shoes for the rest of my life, I'd choose:
Wedges because you get the height and look of a heel but the comfort of a flat.
My favorite virtue is:
Trustworthiness. Loyalty. Dependability?
If a guy wants to make me laugh, all he has to do is:
Be funnyy. Do something silly.
I come up with the best video ideas when:
Reading magazines.
The most difficult adjustment moving to LA has been:
*Orlando: finding new everything (doctors, hair dressers, etc.) & realizing that I truly only have myself to rely on.
My all-time favorite pump-up song is:
Tootsee Roll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYfW53iE3Us
The best advice I ever got was:
In the end, you will only have your family. Also, you don't get to take your materialistic items to heaven with you.
Every girl should have ____ in her wardrobe and in _____ her beauty kit!
A LBD. Chapstick.
Upcoming movie I am most excited to see is:
Bridesmaids. Something Borrowed. Limitless. Fast Five. Hangover2.
My idea of happiness is:
Being with the ones I love. Carefree.
I am 5 feet 5 inches tall!
If I had to choose one beauty product to bring on Survivor, it would be:
Sunscreen.
I most admire:
My mother.
My favorite motto is:
Just keep smiling. =)
Until tomorrow,
Selina