Glo(B+B)etrotting

HUGE UPDATE

Buttons & Bouquets has relocated to Lille, France!

Make sure to like B+B on facebook, follow B+B on twitter, and definitely check out B+B on instagram for euro-pics like the ones below !

Finally all settled in here, so get ready for more posts and PotS streetstyle in Lille, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and more!

Bonne journée et bisous xx

B+B

Pastel Polish: A Different Take on Color Blocking

Chances are, if you've been flipping through the latest edition of your favorite fashion magazine, then you've heard about the huge trend that is Color Blocking.  This trend is one to be carefully executed, for fear of looking like you belong on a teaching mat in a kindergarten classroom.  I find the best way to work into this trend is to incorporate one solid color and work into adding up to four other colors.  Balance and accessorize with a neutral color, black, or white, and stick to one type of metallic with your jewelry.

Now, because it is getting into spring, I decided to experiment with my own fresh take on color blocking.  Instead of sticking with basics from the color wheel, I used pastels!  And here's how:

First, I picked my five colors for the base:

• Pastel Purple: Revlon (325 Gum Drop)
• Pale Pink: Fresh Paint (Pom Pom)
• Mint Green: *obscure polish from Israel that my friend has*
• Light Yellow: Pure Ice (Excuse Me)
• *Goal was Robin's Egg Blue*: Sally Hansen (The Real Teal)

Next, I found a neutral to act as the constant that ties together all of the nails:

• H&M Nail Polish (Beige)

My extra thin detail polish brush is missing, so I used a black sharpie for the definition.

Here's how you can achieve the same look:

1. Prep nails: file, buff, smooth, and wash hands
2. Apply one base coat of clear nail polish and allow time to dry
3. While that is drying, decide the order in which you'd like to paint your nails (organize the bottles so that you maintain your decided pattern
4. Apply one coat of polish in your decided order (for fun, I did the opposite order on each hand)
5. Allow your nails enough time to dry (this will depend on your polish)
6. Apply a second coat of the polish to your nails
7. Allow the second coat time to dry
8. Very carefully, use the neutral to create a semicircle along the cuticle so that the flat side is against the base of the nail
9. Now, allow the nails to dry completely (this may mean a few hours, so make sure you have a nice book to read or homework to type!)
10. Once the nails are completely dry, use a fine tip polish brush with black nail polish (or, if yours has gone missing like mine, use a black Sharpie!) to outline the beige semicircle, but only along the rounded edge (not the edge against the cuticle)
11. Allow the polish/Sharpie time to dry completely
12. Apply two coats of your favorite clear, sealing top coat to help your look last!

Please let me know what you think, if you've tried it, or any other questions/comments/responses that you have  in regards to this post and color blocking by writing in the box below

Thanks ~ Bisoux!

DC Fashion Week

~~The whole experience was so great!  We were able to meet recruiting agents and actually were asked about an interest in internships!  So many exciting opportunities achieved and great memories made ~~

Happy Valentine's Day!

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

**more about my Valentine's Day coming soon!**

Rehydrating Your Skin

Here is how I like to do a hard-core rehydration of my skin. I it is really a problem, do this before bed and apply your favorite richer hydrating cream instead of daytime face lotion, and preferably one that contains natural oils and lipids as opposed to being mainly chemical-based.

So Here's The Skinny- The Skinny CHALLENGE!

   After going through a pretty rough period in late 2008 and early 2009, I realized that the emotional stress I was going through lead me to gaining quite a bit of weight- I'll admit that at one point I was 30lbs. heavier!  Since my realization, I have had no luck with working out (mostly because I am so busy that if I don't see quick results, then I move on to the next thing).  Being a senior, I want to get back down to a healthy weight and regain my old energy before moving onto the next stage of my life.
   For the last few months, I have been toying with the idea of going vegetarian.  I have a very serious admiration for fruits, veggies, beans, etc. ... but there are just some days where a slider just sounds too good to pass up.  So, I am making a full-fledged commitment to going vegetarian.  Shile some may argue that vegetarian is for the "granola communities" or is "an excuse of an ating disorder", I do have strong reasons for deiding that this is the right choice:

• getting more vitamins/minerals/antioxidants than from chemical/hormone fed meats
• lessens carbon footprint
• easier on digestive system
• there have been enough gory movies and disgustingly-visual-poster-wielding activists to freak me out into buying humane mousetraps!
• healthier lifestyle/diet! (as long as sensible portions are still maintained- BUT I still make sure my body is getting all that it needs)

I decided to go vegetarian, rather than vegan, because #1 it's too hard to be vegan in school because you practically have to pack your own food to go to a party! #2 I feel like taking eggs and milk out of my diet would be doing more harm than helping.  I am also not going to beat myself up over having a sensible portion of fish (what do you think- maybe only special occassions?), as long as they are wild caught AND on MarthaStewart's/WholeFood's list of seafood that is acceptible to fish. (Something everyone should check out before you go shopping, to make sure that you aren't supporting the breaking down of otherwise sustainable underwater ecosystems)
   In addition to going vegetarian, I am also going to cut processed sugars out of my diet!  Crazy, right?  Well, actually, my mother and sister have bothalready done this and raved about how much better they looked and felt.  I will still be using natural sweeteners and treating myself to a sugar-free chocolate every now and then (FYI to anyone trying to cut sugar- limit yourself to 1-2 a day, as too many can have a laxative effect and that is NOT a healthy way to live!).  But, this will mean no more sugary cereals, cookies at lunch, or big bowls of ice cream!  And that's the problem: my biggest weakness IS ice cream, and I know from experience that store-bought sugar-free ice cream is nothing like the real deal.  Guess who's pulled out the old ice cream maker to make some natural-sweetener ice cream? Errr... Ice Milk? haha I'll give you a hint- you're reading her blog right now!
   Periodically, I will be posting about my progress, vegetarian/sugar-free recipes to try (great for bringing to parties!), and new things I learn from my diet experience on my other blog: Quelle Est La Cote.  Check it out to keep up and support my progress (please☺)!  My hope for this "experiment" is, after the 3 month test period, that I will be looking and feeling as well, if not better, than I used to.  And how great must be that extra kick of confidence when you try on a killer outift and you know that you look as wonderful as you've been feeling.  Since I hear that the early period of dieting can eave you in a bit of a fog, maybe, in my chocolate and met and chocolate meat drought, some incredible inspiration and fashion revelation will cometo me like wonderfully stylish manna from heaven!  All I can hope is that early period is very short lived and the fashion (slash fashion blogging) stays fresh, fabulous, and more fierce than ever before!
♥♥♥♥♥
Thanks to you all!