Lanakin

Throughout my entire life, there’s only been one thing that I’ve been jealous of my brother for. It’s not that he’s smarter than me, that he has a better sense of style than me, or that his level of common sense definitely out ranks mine; it’s the fact that his eye lashes are so luscious. Ever since the day he was born, he’s had amazing eye lashes while mine have been on the more “stubby” side. It’s something that I’ve learned to live with and throughout my years living with him, I’ve learned that he will forever have the better genes in the eyelash department.

However I felt my luck in the lashes department start to change when Lanakin reached out to me asking if I wanted to test out their  eyelash lengthening formula. I was all ears/all lashes. Anything to make my eyelashes look more luscious and beautiful than my brother’s oh so perfect lashes is seriously right up my alley. These are just the before pictures, but in just a few short weeks I’ll be back with an update post letting you know how awesome my new and improved eyelashes turn out to be, and if it really is possible to pull through and have the best eyelashes in the undeclared sibling war.

If you’re interested in purchasing Lanakin, feel free to use our discount code to get 10% off your order! The code is POPCO10

Have you ever used anything to help your eyelashes grow? If so, I’d love to hear about your results! xox Chloe

Winter Outfit

There is currently a blizzard happening outside my window, and I’m feeling very lucky to be snuggled up on my bed watching old movies on Netflix. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been more content this year. Sometimes it’s nice to just take a break from the outside world and shut everything and everyone out. I’m not saying that I don’t love to hangout with my friends on the weekends, because I totally do, it’s just that sometimes, my bed and my computer are the only company that I need. Anyways, I decided to share a casual little winter outfit of the day. I find myself wearing this outfit, or versions of this outfit, very often because it’s so cozy, cute, and easy. I was on the hunt for a winter floppy hat for the longest time. I’m talking months and months of searching, and I finally found it at Urban Outfitters of all places. I think it’s such a nice addition to any outfit and it makes me feel like I could easily be Mary Kate and Ashley’s triplet, minus the brown hair thing of course.

sweater | boots | leggings | hat (similar)

What’s your go to winter outfit? Thanks for reading! xox Chloe

Morning Routine

My friends and I were having a conversation about whether we were morning or night people the other day, and it really got me thinking. What is is that makes us favor one or the other? I know that I love to wake up early, get my boring "to-dos" out of the way, and have the rest of the day left to diddle daddle and relax. Some of my friends would rather snooze all morning and then feel a sense of dooming pressure in accomplishing their "to-dos." I just think it's so weird how we're all wired so differently but all so similar at the same time. Anyway, this trail of thinking somehow got me inspired to share my morning routine with you lovely readers. I don't really think I do anything special, but I love seeing what products other people use so I thought, "what the heck."

And here we go..

+The first thing I do is lotion my body. I have extremely dry skin, and living in Colorado isn't doing my skin any favors. I absolutely adore The Body Shop's lotions and the Coconut flavor has such a subtle and clean scent. I would totally try this one out!

+Next, I apply deodorant. This might be TMI and you probably don't care, but I sweat profusely. I joke around and say that my armpits are geysers, but I'm not really kidding. They literally leak. This Dove deodorant works wonders and it smells great too! Plus, Costco sells it in a super size pack if you're into buying in bulk.

+I then move onto making my face look pretty. I usually start with curling my eyelashes, and I use the Shu Uemura curler. I swear it's the best eyelash curler out there. I'm clumsy, as you might know, so putting a metal clamp near my eye is dangerous, but I have yet to pinch my eye lid with this curler (I knocked on wood as I typed this).

+I then apply some eyeliner and mascara. Nothing too fancy happens here. I use Chanel's Noir pencil eyeliner. I change my mascara pretty often, but I love Maybelline's Colossal Mascara. +Next, I add a quick swipe of blush to my cheeks. I actually just recently started wearing blush and I feel like it makes my face look more awake and interesting. Dumb? Maybe, but whatever. I use Mac's Mable. If you have any suggestions for a good blush, let me know!

+The next step I take is spray a little splash of perfume on. I think if I had to only choose one of these steps to complete in the morning it would be this one. I don't know why, and I know it's weird, but I love smelling good. It's an instant confidence booster. Lately, all I've been using is this vanilla perfume from Anthropologie. My cousin and I tried it on randomly while shopping together and we both fell in love with it. Everyone smells something different when it's on, from marshmallows to hot fudge to fresh baked cookies. Everyone loves it though! This Anthro perfume is also a great option!

+Lastly, I brush my teeth because I'm human and I have basic hygiene. So go me, I guess. And that's all! I don't really do anything extraordinary different than the rest of the female population, I don't think, but I thought it might be interesting for you all to know what I do in the morning to make myself feel more presentable.

Do we use any of the same products in our morning routine? If so, let me know! What does your morning routine include? Thanks for reading! xox Chloe

Podcasts

Hello lovelies. I'm probably the furthest thing from a trendsetter. I'd definitely call myself a trend follower before I would dream of calling myself a trendsetter. I never know what "the next big thing" is going to be, and frankly I'm totally ok with letting other people do the figuring out. However, I totally called it that podcasts were on the rise. I knew they were going to be big, and they really are starting to be hot and trendy... at least I think they are. So go me for being ahead of the curve. For once. Pats on the back are well deserved in my book.

As you know, I just got my wisdom teeth removed. I haven't been able to sleep so well with all the medicines that I have been taking, so I popped on a podcast and it was an instant soother. It was also an inspiration kickstarter. I love listening to the radio (i.e. some segments on NPR) but being able to choose the topic of the podcast makes it all the cooler. I decided to compile a list of podcasts that I've recently discovered regarding blogging and creative inspiration. I haven't listened to all of them and some of them I just downloaded like .02 seconds before writing this post so bare with me.

Here's my list:

• The Lively Show
• How They Blog
• Elise Gets Crafty
• Smart Passive Income
• After The Jump
• Seanwes Podcast

I have an iPhone and simply downloaded these podcasts through the Podcast App on my phone. It was super simple and each of these podcasts listed are free which is an added bonus! Let me know if you listen to any of these podcasts or if you have any that you listen to currently that I should add to my list.

Also, just for the heck of it, let's play trend spotter. Do you know of anything that's going to be "the next big thing?" I'd love to hear it! xox, Chloe

TOMS

This might come as a surprise, but I’m super frugal. However, I absolutely love to spend money. It’s just that I love spending money on things that I know I'll love. Frugal, picky, stubborn. Call it what you want, but I have money in my bank account and cute clothes, so I’m winning in my book. A few days ago, my mom and I (side note, my mom is my all time favorite shopping partner in case you were curious) were browsing the shoe section in Nordstrom's. We first glanced at all the fancy designer shoes and then made our way over to the other shoes. The shoes that I can actually afford. As I was looking, I noticed a pair of absolutely adorable high top sneakers. I don’t know what it is about high top kicks, but I’ve been absolutely diggin’ them lately. Upon further inspection, I realized that they were Toms. Who knew that TOMS started making different styles? ‘Cause I sure didn’t. I absolutely loved TOMS when I was in middle school, and I love the fact that they give one when you get one. It’s such a cool concept and I feel like my money is going somewhere important and actually helping people. I was dead set on buying them, but when I asked to try them on they didn’t have my size. I was bummed out, but figured it was just a sign that I didn’t need them.

Well, I was completely wrong. It's a few days later, and I’m still thinking about them. Actually, I’m dreaming about them. This pair of shoes actually showed up in my dreams. I need them. I want them. I have to have them in my life. They are too perfect and too cool. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy them today, so fingers super-crossed that I go through with it.

Click here to see these TOMS for your self. 

Are there any shoes that you’ve had your eye on lately? What are your thoughts on high top sneaks?

Thanks for reading! xox Chloe

Post Wisdom Teeth Removal | A Rambling

As I write this, it’s 6am on a morning that I don’t have to be up for school. Parent-teacher conferences are a life-line from above, saving teenagers from having to do their homework last minute on a Sunday night after a very short break from school. So why am I up, you ask? Because yesterday I was lucky (jokes) enough to get my wisdom teeth out. I’m post wisdom teeth rambling, blame the drugs. For those of you who have yet to endure this life altering process, have no fear. It took, what felt like, five minutes. I got to the office, they injected me with some “blissful sleep meds” (as quoted by my doctor), and then I woke up and was wheel chaired to my car. I was planning on having my mom film a video of me, but I wasn’t funny, which was a huge bummer because I really wanted to be on the Ellen Show. I guess I can’t count on drugs bringing me to my fame and fortune.

Anyway, it’s 6 am of the morning after, and I was doing my hourly scroll through Instagram and came across a guy’s post (@seanwes and the link to his podcast is in his Insta bio). In it, he mentioned how he has a podcast that talks about all things creative. Because I had absolutely nothing better to do, and I’m interested in the spike of podcast content recently, I decided to take a listen. I started with one called “Topic Ideas So You Never Run Out of Things to Write About.” It honestly couldn’t have come at a better time, because lately, I’ve been feeling like blogging but I’ve also been feeling like I don’t have anything to blog about. Can I blame my Senioritis on this too??

So as I was listening — at the time I’m writing this, I’ve only listened to about 15 minutes worth, but it’s already that inspiring — I decided that I wanted to write a post every day for two weeks. Sometimes the posts might be crappy. Sometimes the posts might reveal how amazing of a creative soul I am (right?). Sometimes the posts might be flat-out dumb, but I think writing one post for fourteen days is totally do-able. I’m not putting a length requirement on. In fact, the only requirement is that I have to make (not find) a visual to go along with the post.

So there you have it, a promise from me to you that I’m going to actually be blogging again. Hopefully I’m not writing this in a drugged state of mind — back to my wisdom teeth — but even if I am I hope to keep this promise. And with that, I guess, I’ll ask if you have any post recommendations. Feel free to leave a recommendation or piece of inspiration (ie prom, awkward stories, DIY). If I end up using your  inspiration, and you want me to, I’ll link to your blog and social media sites so be sure to leave those in the comments! I'm just that kind of a soul.

Thanks for reading! xox, Chloe