Barristers’ Ball 2014

I did this to my hair all by myself! I have no idea if I could recreate it. But I curled my hair, then made 2 ponytails, then used  A LOT of bobby pins to pin little chunks randomly. I put the pins a couple inches from the bottom so curly bits would hang out everywhere. Kinda cute? Or total mess?

Man, I love Oscars weekend. Naturally, I was dressed to the nines and posed for a lot of pictures.

Oh, not for the Oscars though. This was Saturday…for Barristers’ Ball. On the night of the Oscars, I wore a sweatshirt and fuzzy socks and sat on my couch. That’s how I roll.

Anyway, Barristers’ Ball. It’s prom night but in law school. Really, it’s more like a wedding reception, but the majority of the guests are incredibly stressed and badly in need of a night out. We’re also badly in need of an excuse to wear something fancy. Last year I wore a dress to Barristers’ Ball – which I wore again for NYE – but this year I went with a skirt and top in the hopes I would be able to re-wear them both separately multiple times.

The top, necklace, and skirt all came from ModCloth, which made for a kind of cute and quirky, quasi-retro vibe. You know, something Zooey Deschanel would wear. Maybe not to the Oscars, but definitely for spinning around and general frolicking.

Except for the crappy DJ who seemed to think every song could be improved by being shortened to a minute and a half and covered up by his own inane commentary, the night was fun. If you didn’t see them already, there are a few more photos on Instagram!

Have a good week, everyone. May you wear sequins and tulle every day (even if only on the inside).

Skirt // Top (on sale) // Necklace // Shoes (on sale) // Cape (on sale) // similar Earrings // similar Bag // Lips “Crush”

Matchmaker

Hat // similar Chambray (on sale) // similar Coat // similar Jeans // Boots // similar Necklace (on sale) // Lips (Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in Crush + Enza Essentials Lip Treatment*)

I hope some other 90s kids remember Carmen Sandiego and I hope this hat made the theme song get stuck in your head. You’re welcome.

I’m not usually much of a matchy matcher, but this hat and coat make such a statement I decided to kinda tie everything together by going burgundy with my jeans and lips, too.

Speaking of lips, for the past week or so I’ve been slathering mine with Enza’s Lip Treatment. It’s this stuff that’s made to boost collagen to plump up your lips and keep them nice and moisturized. Plus, my favorite part is that it goes on super smooth and it smells scrumptious! It’s clear, so you can put it over lipstick for a glossier look (which is what I’m doing here).

In honor of the upcoming kissing-and-other-mushy-stuff holiday, Enza is throwing an Instagram contest so you can win your very own lip treatment (a $30 value)! Here are the details…

How to Enter:

• Follow me (sarahsreallife) and Enza (enzaprgirl) on Instagram
• Instagram a selfie of your smoochy face – the cheesier the better (for my entertainment)
• Give it whatever caption you want, but end it with this jibberish: @sarahsreallife #EnzaEssentials #LoveMyLips

Be sure to enter by Valentine’s Day! Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen randomly.

And if selfies aren’t your thing but luscious lips are, you can buy your own lip treatment – today (Feb. 6) ONLY, the lip treatment is on sale for $10.

*Lip Treatment provided courtesy of Enza Essentials. All opinions are my own.

Let’s Face It {Giveaway Closed}

OK. So. I never planned on adding skincare tips to this here little style blog. Plenty of style bloggers do, and it makes sense because they have gorgeous, flawless skin, so who wouldn’t want to know what products they use? I, on the other hand, do not have gorgeous, flawless skin. Now hold up. I’m not trying to call myself hideous, I’m just saying my skin is not the feature that gives me the most confidence.

But then I got to thinking – maybe the girls who have good skin just have good skin, and it doesn’t have much to do with the products they use. And maybe girls like me would like some honest opinions from someone who isn’t perfect.

Recently I received (free of charge but with no condition of a blog review) a generous assortment of skincare products from Enza Essentials. After telling them my biggest issues (oiliness, redness, and breakouts), they sent me a customized regimen with instructions (pretty cool, huh?). I became a pretty big fan of two of the products in particular.

Enza offered to sponsor a giveaway (for 2 winners!) of my favorite product, so I figured why not give this skincare review stuff a try?! I picked 4 products from different categories to review for you. Product #4 is the one you have a chance to win! Giveaway instructions are at the end of this post.

1. Moisturizer: Philosophy Hope in a Jar

To be honest, I’m not terribly picky about moisturizers since dryness is not something I have a problem with. But, as I learned from my Enza representative, even people with oily skin need to moisturize! With the cold, dry air of winter approaching, I’m thinking of restocking my supply of philosophy hope in a jar. I used up a jar last winter and really liked it. My favorite part? It smells nice. Probably not what I’m supposed to focus on, but hey, if it’s the last thing I slather on my face, it might as well make me smell good.

2. Face Wash/Exfoliator: Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish

You know how when you get something from Sephora, they give you samples of other stuff in the hopes you’ll get hooked on it? Yep. That’s definitely what happened with this Laura Mercier Face Polish. I don’t use it every day because it’s one of those gritty, super exfoliating washes, and my sensitive skin might get a little too polished. But I do notice an improvement in dullness after using this stuff, plus my cheeks feel as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

3. Redness Treatment: Enza Essentials Rosacalm Skin Serum

I’m generally pretty skeptical of skin serums because I always assume they’re trying to trick us into thinking they do something just because they’re expensive and have snazzy packaging. But I have to admit this Enza rosacalm* actually does something. I tend to be a little blotchy and red on my cheeks. It’s nothing I can’t disguise with makeup, but it would be nice eventually to use a little less cover-up. This stuff doesn’t work right away (I used it twice a day for about a week before I started seeing a difference) but it did work for me. One day I woke up and looked at my clean face in the mirror and thought, “Why do I look so pale?” Then I realized it was just because I wasn’t so red.

4. Blemish Treatment: Enza Essentials Spot Extrator

Last but not least, let me tell you a little about Enza’s Spot Extractor*, which two lucky people will win! I’m one of those fortunate people who, at age 28, gets to hang on to my youthful skin…in the form of zits. I’ve used a zillion different acne cleansers and creams and none seem to make a difference. While I have still had new breakouts since starting to use the Spot Extractor, I’ve noticed they are healing much more quickly than usual and aren’t getting dry and cracked along the way.

I think the key to its usefulness for me is that it’s so easy to use. It’s a nifty little roller ball, so I can dab it on quickly; there’s no excuse to skip it. It’s also a clear liquid which means I can put it on in the morning under makeup and it won’t turn into a crusty white spot (not cute). Moral of the story: I’m a fan. I recommend it to anyone who gets pesky blemishes now and then. But because I know no one likes to shell out $25 for a skincare product they’ve never tried before, I’m excited to give you a chance to get one for free!

Giveaway Winners:

Congrats to Karen (@klcampy) and Ashley (@joyfulgirl86) – you have both won an Enza Essentials Spot Extractor!

*Rosacalm and Spot Extractor provided courtesy of Enza Essentials. All opinions are my own.

MWOPP & a Product Review

As usual, let’s begin My Week in Over-Processed Photos by talking about how adorable my cat is. She’s adorable. OK, moving on.

An improv comedy show at Comedy Sportz Friday night; Snack accompanying said comedy show; Fro yo from Orange Leaf with red velvet cake topping (I KNOW); The view from my balcony where I studied on a lovely day this week

On Twitter yesterday, I promised a review of this product. As everyone knows, a tweet is a binding contract* so here we go. First off, this is in no way sponsored by L’Oreal. I bought this product myself and I’m not getting any commission/reimbursement/free stuff in exchange for this review (although, L’Oreal, if you’re listening, I would not turn down any of those things).

I tried the free sample of L’Oreal’s new BB Cream that was in September Vogue. The shade (“light”) was too dark for me so I had to wipe most of it off before I left the house. But besides looking like I had an unfortunate spray tan on only my face, I liked the feel of the product on my skin, so I grabbed the coupon and bought myself the lightest version (“fair”). 

I’ve been using this BB Cream for about a week now, and I am happy with my purchase. I don’t know that I’d call it “magic” like the bottle says, but I do really like it. My skin is normally all over the place: some areas break out, some areas are just oily, and some areas are dry.

For some time now, my routine has been to use a light moisturizer (for the dryness), followed by my foundation (for covering blemishes and redness), followed by powder (to mattify). During the summer, I normally have to use an oil absorbing sheet midway through the day as well.

The BB Cream has moisturizer built in, so I’ve been able to skip that step. It also has pigment (although it comes out of the bottle white – tricksy), so I can also skip covering my whole face with foundation. The BB Cream does have very light coverage, though, so I still use a couple dabs of foundation on spots that need it. The texture of the BB Cream makes the foundation (or concealer, if you prefer) stick really well, which is nice.

Finally – and here’s the real kicker – the BB Cream keeps my skin matte (or very close to it) the entire day! And that’s without using any powder or oil absorber! This is by far the most impressive feature for me! You can tell by all the exclamation points!

The BB Cream claims to improve or “correct” your skin, and I can’t really speak to that. I haven’t noticed any change – good or bad – in the natural texture of my skin since starting use of the product. It does feel pretty nice when it’s on, though.

So there you have it! Overall, I give the L’Oreal BB Cream an A-. I will definitely continue to use it this fall, and hopefully it will still work great as the air gets colder and drier.

*It’s not.