Dressed for Time | Spring and Summer Style Tips from a Chicago blogger

Downtown Date Night

September 21, 2017

This post was created in partnership with Maggy London and contains affiliate links. Clicking on these links or buying items through them may provide me with a small commission. This is a small part of what keeps Dressed for Time going.

Hey there, you beautiful things!
We got a hint of the cool weather over the past couple days, and then it was 90 degrees again today. Le sigh. When we shot this dress it was 98 degrees, but I’m owning my glow! I had plans to meet Mark for a quick drink and then dinner downtown, but knew I’d have some time to kill before he got ready after work. Thankfully, my lovely photographer Holli was able to meet me to snap some shots (and join me for a glass of vino before the man of the hour arrived). I think Redlands, our city, is just so perfect for date night. I mean that for married couples of 30 years, or dreamers on their first date, and everyone in-between.
If you’re in the mood for cocktails, there are so many options, and I’d almost tried them all, but this was the first time I’d ever been to the District. When I heard “vape-friendly bar”, I’ll admit, I scoffed at the thought, because I’m not a fan of the vape. Thankfully, we had the place to ourselves, and the bar is actually REALLY nice, a little hipstery, but it’s Redlands, so there are touches of that everywhere. It was super clean and the drinks were very reasonably priced (1/2 off wine bottles on Wednesdays!), plus our bartender was so welcoming! He even allowed us to shoot pictures in the lounge area, which we greatly appreciated, so we could try to capture the vibe of this spot. I’m so thankful that Mark indulges me in these little dress-up date nights, even if they’re just in town. He knows I love to play dress-up, and I think he secretly enjoys it too!
I must admit that I look to Maggy London first when I am in need of a cute little cocktail dress. This one I love for the rich fabric with a subtle sheen, the off-shoulder/cut-out detail, and the pleated skirt for a little drama. I paired it with some neutral vintage accessories, (this pair of floral earrings that was part of a set acquired during Mark’s bday adventure up the coast this summer; a snakeskin clutch found at the Scarlet Threads consignment sale), along with nude pumps. Perfectly date-ready for wherever the night takes us!

Dress c/o Maggy London // Heels / Calvin Klein // Earrings & clutch / vintage

Shot by Holli Z Photography.

Fall Transitions with Simply Be

September 14, 2017

This post contains affiliate links. Clicking on them or purchasing items through them may provide me with a small commission. This is just a part of what keeps Dressed for Time going! 😀

Hello, my loves!
Happy Wednesday. It really does feel like the middle of the week right now, because I’m sandwiched between weekends full of events! It’s kind of a new feeling for me, but I’m not mad at it. If you follow me on Insta, you probably already knew that I attended OC Fashion Week and I had a blast! I met up with some of the other members of the SoCal Blogger Babes group, and we watched a handful of local designers show off their latest collections. This weekend, I’ll be attending a restaurant opening in-town, Fashion Week OC at Fashion Island hosted by Simply, and visiting my local Nordstrom to check out their Fall Beauty Trend event! Whew! I’m far from a social butterfly, but I’m having so much fun traveling around Southern California, and honored to be included in the festivities!
Back to the outfit at hand, I finally found a fall transitional piece that incorporates one of my fave trends from summer, pompoms! This was actually my first foray in to trumpet sleeves, and I love that this trend is following us in to cooler months as well. Some pieces just FEEL fun, and this is definitely one of them. I paired it with a grey tank (a fall essential), some distressed denim complete with frayed hems, and these TDF heels! I wish they came in white, because I’d already be on that train, but I’m searching for a similar pair to rock all fall and winter long. I love this look because it’s current without being a slave to the trends, do you feel the same?

Jacket / Tank / Jeans / Heels c/o Simply Be // Clutch / Nordstrom (only $45!) // Necklace / Kyle Chan Design // Watch / Nordstrom // Sunnies / Raen from the Box of Style

Shot by Holli Z Photography.

This post was sponsored by Simply Be. Items in this post were provided to me for reviewing and styling purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own, and I would never endorse companies or product that I don’t personally use and love.

Maggy London Fit & Flare and Longing for Fall

September 9, 2017

Hello, hello, lovelies!
I know I’m going to say the thing that’s on every other southern Californian’s mind right now.. Can fall just get here already!? Every time I’m on Insta nowadays, I’m seeing all of my blogging friends breaking out their sweaters and boots, even some moto jackets in the mix.. Any idea how quickly I would drop to the ground going outside in multiple layers right now? It’s still only getting to the low 80’s when M and I are getting ready for sleep, and I’m simply over it.
Alright, enough complaining about the inevitable… Let’s talk about this gorgeous dress I’m wearing from Maggy London. Give me a dress that has a pleated skirt, and guaranteed, you will see me twirling like a 6 year old at least a couple times an hour. I just can’t help it! This one has incredible movement, and I’m loving the print. It’s small and refined enough to wear to work, but a fun mix of red, black and white than can easily translate to a dinner date or a meet-the-parents brunch. I’m often a fan of a more modest cut, and this one hits at the ever-flattering knee-length, with a nice V-neck to keep things interesting. I paired it with this fantastic rhinestone bib necklace I got in a Box of Style from last year, a vintage clutch, and some slip-on loafers. I’m still not totally sold on this style of shoe, and I thought they’d be way more comfy then they are, but maybe I just need to break these guys in a bit more.
What are your thoughts on the open-back shoe trend? A little weird or are you feelin’ it?

Dress c/o Maggy London // Clutch and ring / vintage // Open-back loafers / Just Fab // Necklace / Dylanlex from the Box of Style

Shot by Holli Z Photography.

This post was created in partnership with Maggy London. Items in this post were provided for me to review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Beauty Mist Review

September 8, 2017

Hey, babes!
I knew I wanted to do a review of some of the beauty mists/waters/face sprays that I owned, but it wasn’t until I gathered them all in to one place that I realized how many I’d amassed over the past six months! These types of products have become so trendy recently, and I really do enjoy keeping one in my purse on a daily basis, but because there are so many different options, I wanted to put together a thorough review so you all didn’t have to test ’em out yourselves!
Some are just for refreshing the skin, others for setting your makeup, but there are a lot of multi-taskers out there too. I’m covering portability, packaging, makeup-setting ability, scent, and how well it refreshes the skin. I said thorough, right?! 😀
Hope you enjoy!

Mer Sea Coconut & Seawater Hydrating Water Mist, $32.
I purchased this as a FabFitFun add-on, but let me say I would never spend $32 on a facial mist, no matter how good it is. This spray has a lovely light scent, and was very refreshing when applied halfway through the day, however, it did very little to set my makeup. The bottle is gorgeous, but since it’s glass, it’s not very portable at all. All things considered, I rate this 3 out of 5.

Colleen Rothschild Beauty Water (c/o), $28.
Also, on the pricier end of the spectrum, this one has great ingredients like hyaluronic acid to help provide skin with moisture, which this absolutely does. Pros are the ingredients, the airy fragrance, and how refreshing it is. Cons are the packaging, (this did leak on me), and the spray is sometimes more like a squirt instead of a fine, even mist. Rating this 4 of 5.

Urban Decay All-Nighter Makeup-Setting Spray, $32
As far as I can tell, the packaging on this product changed, but the ingredients did not, so I still feel comfortable reviewing it. I got this on sale at Ulta, I’m assuming because they were changing the aesthetic of the bottle. I paid $19, a more reasonable price as opposed to full retail. The spray does not come out evenly, and at 4 oz., its not very portable. It does do one hell of a job at setting makeup, but would be too heavy to re-apply throughout the day for a refresher. Rating this one 3 of 5.

Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist, $24
Fantastic at setting makeup, surprisingly, and it also has some stellar ingredients, like rosehip and grapeseed oil. This one felt lovely as a perk-me-up mist after a full day of work, but the smell is a little off-putting. It starts off very rose-heavy, but dries down to have an unappealing “green” scent. At 6.75 oz., it’s not the most portable bottle, but I do like the overall packaging. Rating 4 of 5.

Feel Refreshed Hydrating Floral Mist, (c/o) $32
Obsessed with this bright and cheery packaging. This mist helped my eye makeup set, but not really my face makeup, which was weird. My blush was non-existent, but my eyeliner was on point! The scent is really nice, like a soft herbal aroma. It feels great to spray on and has such a fine mist to really cover your face in just a couple sprays. Overall 5 of 5.

Cinema Secrets Super Sealer, $24
This is actually the first mist I ever started using a couple years back, primarily because it is the SHIT at setting your makeup. Seriously, I’ve never used any other product that just locked makeup in place all day like the super sealer, it totally lives up to it’s name! Every makeup artist should have this in their back pocket. No smell, I don’t mind the packaging, and it does spray evenly. Low marks are for the mid-day refresh, because this mist is quite heavy on the face to be re-applying. I have it in a couple of smaller bottles for travel, too. If based on makeup-setting alone, it would be a 5 of 5, but for an all-around beauty mist, I have to rate it a 3 of 5.

MAC Prep and Prime Fix+, $25
I’ve mostly used this to mix with eyeshadows, and you can tell I’ve used it a LOT, plus this is my second bottle. As a makeup-setting spray, it’s pretty good but not great. I love the packaging, because you can twist the lid so that there’s no change of rogue spritzing, and it does have a pleasant smell, but the pump actually stopped working as I was writing this post. No bueno. Partially because of that, I’m giving it a 2 of 5, because you kind of need the product to spray 😉

e.l.f. Makeup Mist and Set, $3
Let’s be honest, the packaging on this one is the least appealing of the bunch. It’s quite portable at the 2 oz. size, but has a quite unappealing scent, kind of like expired chemicals? It has a really nice even spray, but also did nothing in terms of setting my makeup. I generously will give it a 2 out of 5.

Cinema Secrets Moisture Spray, $22 (larger size, different packaging)
A lovely fine mist sprays from this little bottle, and it does feel refreshing, but didn’t save my face through even half of the workday, and also has a not-so-great scent. Giving it 2 of 5 as well.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Cucumber and Green Tea, $7
Really enjoyed this spray and how it made my makeup look even more vivid somehow, and kept it set for hours upon hours. My skin felt less tight after a mid-day mist, and the slightly “green” scent is really uplifting. 5 out of 5 for sure!

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater, $7
Love the slightly medicinal-looking packaging, and it smells faintly of roses, but that’s where the good things end. This made my face feel really greasy, and my makeup didn’t look set at all, it actually looked more like it was sitting on top of my skin. It also leaked constantly when I was spraying it, not cool! 2 out of 5 stars here.

Overall, the top picks are the Feel Refreshed Spray and the Mario Badescu Green Spray. All things considered, and price is always one of them, if you’re looking for one spray to pick up, I would go with the Mario Badecu Green. It comes in a larger size as well, but I dig the more purse-friendly 4 oz.

I hope this beauty mist review was helpful!
What do you all think of them? Hype or worth the grab? I’d love to hear!