Amalfi dreams

The weather has been warming up here in LA and has me dreaming of vacation time!  The Amalfi coast in Italy is on my European vacation hit list...it is so beautiful and the views and scenery are breathtaking.  My dream is to stay in the Sirenuse hotel in Positano.  If I could sum up my ideal coastal getaway in pictures, here it is!  I hope all my dreams come true :)

where is your dream vacation?

xx

The Sirenuse hotel...

the chic dress

tea time

shopping

the beach towels

the fragrance

the fun

sightseeing

summer nights out

the shoes (valentino)

and these! (chanel)

market

the vespa

Portofino!

The picnic

a blue door and window in Cetara, a small town along the Amalfi Coast.

the beach

the jewels

the crochet dress

the day trip

the end.

Gettin' Nautical

Obsessed with anchors lately for some reason.  I was coveting a teensy tiny diamond and gold anchor pendant necklace from Nordstrom for the longest time.  It was definitely out of my price range so I had to distract myself somehow.  Turns out I fell (almost) equally in love with a $6 pair of tiny gold-tone anchor studs from Urban Outfitters.  See what happens when you learn to control impulse buys!  

Also I am getting a husky puppy dog in the near future and am naming him Sailor.  I don't know if that is why I am subconsciously drawn to all things nautical, or if his name was a product of my existing anchor fixation.  Which came first: the anchor or the sailor?

While I figure that out,

Come sail away!

Madewell cotton shirt

madewell.com

J.Crew j. crew shorts

jcrew.com

Dogeared pendant jewelry

nordstrom.com

Betsey Johnson anchor stud earrings

betseyjohnson.com

birds icon ♥

papernstitch.com

Free People vintage tee

Take me aboard please!

pillow made from used sails

Baby slippers from Etsy

dog tag necklace, Etsy

ring, Etsy

monogram clutch, Etsy

Earrings, only $1.50 at Forever21

Shoes, Toms

x

My Little Photoshoot

My outfit today!  And it's cheap (except for the accessories).  I have a weakness for designer accessories -eek!  I find the cutest outfits are always a mix of low and high end.  I like to sneak some budget fashion jewelry into an otherwise expensive outfit or vice versa.  Sometimes I go head to toe forever 21 with chic handbag or sunglasses!  No one can ever tell the rest of your outfit is thrifty if you wear at least one nice item :).  Here is me and my outfit having fun with my new camera app on my phone.  I tinted all the pics! Enjoy

xNatalie

Striped baseball jacket-sold out! similar @Nordstrom

spike necklace-similar @Nordstrom only $8!

bracelet-Nordstrom only $12!

Sunglasses- Oliver Peoples

Striped hanging shirt-Joie @Nordstrom

Bag- Proenza Schouler Ps1 @Barney's

Chantecaille compact makeup review

My search for the perfect powder foundation for my oily skin is never ending!  No matter what I use my skin is an oil slick by the afternoon, and I usually do my first blot within two hours of application.  This doesn't bother me so much but the makeup tends to separate on my face throughout the day and look really cakey.  Primer does not fix this problem.  Also I have to powder it to keep the shine away and that just adds to the cakiness!  I am lucky enough to not suffer from pimples, but I have a lot of redness that I need to cover so I still need to wear foundation. 

After a long break from trying new products, I went on the hunt again because I got to the bottom of my bare minerals.  I looked on the Nordstrom website for the powder foundation with the highest customer ratings that I hadn't already tried.  I chose to splurge for the Chantecaille compact makeup because many reviewers had skin like mine and said it controlled oil pretty well.

Well I wore it for the first time today and I love it!  It does not provide a lot of coverage so I would recommend using it over something else if you need that.  However, it is somewhat buildable and I didn't put it on too thick because I just wanted even skin tone.  I am not wearing anything under it in the pictures FYI, just moisturizer.  I went a full three hours without blotting, and even then it looked light a slight dewy glow rather than oil slick. It also stayed intact when the oil came to the surface and it did not separate on my face!  The powder is very finely milled and it melts into your skin and hardly feels like makeup.  And the color matches my skin perfectly!  The color I am wearing is Bamboo.

The pic above in in direct sunlight, the harshest lighting.  It looks pretty good!

The pic above is in natural sunlight in my room.  My room lets lots of light in!

The pic above is in natural sunlight in my bathroom three hours after application.  My skin is hardly oily yet, just a soft glow!  This was before any blotting or powdering touch ups... I usually would have done two by now with other makuep!  It just looks like my skin but better.

Chantecaille @Nordstrom

xx

Natalie