Top 3 Workwear Tips

It can be hard to express yourself and feel fashionable while staying within your employer's dress code, especially when it's as restrictive and casual as mine- jeans and sneakers required. But hopefully these tips will help you out. No heels? No skirts? No problem!

1. Work within the guidelines. Remember how I mentioned sneakers are mandatory here? Well, while everyone else is running around in tennis shoes, I prefer to interpret the rules in my own way.

My favorite Rocketdog "sneakers"

Sinfully comfortable, thankfully free of that squeaking noise sneakers can make against a linoleum floor, and far more expressive of my personal style than exercise sneakers. I'm so obsessed with these that I even got my gym teacher to accept them as sneakers, and I wear them so often that they are literally falling apart- the canvas is worn thin, the edges are fraying, and the red thread at the toe has unraveled. This beat up effect, along with the model of the shoe, adds a rocker/grunge vibe to any outfit. My style changes from preppy to boho to edgy depending on the day, so having these shoes is great for instantly changing the feel of an outfit while sticking to my dress code!

2. Use colors, cuts, and textures to your advantage. Although I love jeans, somehow being told I can't wear any other pants makes me resent them a bit. When I really think about it, though, the category of jeans is so expansive, I know I can't get bored! Especially with the trends this summer, it's so easy to incorporate jeans into your wardrobe. For a girly, flirty look try floral jeans, which have been everywhere this season!

Try these adorable jeans from Wet Seal!

Not into patterns? Bright solids are also huge right now.

These awesome jeggings from Delia's come in a bunch of pretty shades!

3. Use makeup to express yourself! First check what other people are wearing- if absolutely no one else puts on any makeup, you might feel awkward. But otherwise, it's a great outlet! Try a bold winged or cat-eye liner for an edgy look.

For a flirtier vibe, go with a fun lip color- as I said above with the jeggings, brights are all the rage this summer!

This bright pink is super daring and sure to make you stand out!

Hope these tips help you keep sight of your style within the restrictions placed upon you at work, and have a great rest of the summer! Back-to-school posts will be coming your way soon :)

NYC Kohl Brow/Eyeliner Pencil Review

As promised in this post, I'm posting a review of my daily eyeliner from NYC.

For $0.99, I couldn't help but be curious about this product, and I figured it wouldn't hurt my wallet to try it out. Of course, you get what you pay for, so I was pretty disappointed in terms of quality. However, for about three times the amount of product as my Revlon eyeliner at a fraction of the price, and a nice, subtle look, this eyeliner doesn't do too badly in my books.

You can definitely feel the price in the application. A bit rough and not very pigmented, so you have do several strokes to get solid color payoff. Pretty much useless for water and tight lining because of its texture. I did brave it once and it surprisingly lasted for about 8 hours, but the uncomfortable feeling on that tender part of your eye is just not worth it. On the lash line, the color starts to fade at around 5 or 6 hours, but doesn't smudge and therefore isn't really noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Left to right: one light stroke, one heavy stroke, three light strokes, three heavy strokes

Smudge resistance: After rubbing twice 5 times with a wet tissue and 10 times with a dry tissue

Overall, if you're looking for a very natural look and are willing to work with it, I would suggest you pick this up for its low price. However, due to the low quality, I would give it a 4 out of 10 at most. A seemingly great deal until you realize the waxy, rough texture and frustratingly low intensity of color.

I haven't tried this as a brow liner, but imagine it would be better for that task given it is waxy and the color would be easily controllable since it's not very pigmented.

Revlon Colorstay Pencil Eyeliner Review

I am constantly trying out new pencil eyeliners in an attempt to find "the one." I don't think I've come across it yet, but I've had a lot of fun in the process!

I mostly focus on drugstore ones so as not to break the bank, but if you are looking for a tried and true pencil eyeliner, Feline by MAC is as black as they come, deliciously soft and smooth, and quite long lasting, if a bit smudgy. Makeup Forever also has amazingly creamy and high quality liners (and products in general) but at the rate I go through eyeliner, I can't justify spending that much.

Fully Retracted

The most recent addition to my collection was the Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner. I was searching for a good retractable one and decided to pick it up after seeing rave reviews. It certainly doesn't disappoint. Not excellent for tight lining, but long lasting on the waterline and perfect for the upper and lower lash lines. It's extremely precise (I think an upside of being retractable), and will not budge or fade once applied. I have worn it for 12 hours without problem, and I believe the claim of 16 hours. Not the darkest black, but it applies smoothly and evenly for a look midway between natural and smoky.

From top: one light stroke, one heavy stroke, three light strokes, three heavy strokes

Smudge resistance: After rubbing 5 times with a wet tissue and 20 times with a dry tissue

It costs $6.49, at least at my local CVS, so it's reasonable for the amount of product (it only fills about 1/2 of the packaging because of the retractable mechanism) and the medium-high quality. Since I go through eyeliner so quickly, I prefer to use a less expensive eyeliner from NYC (review coming soon!) for everyday use, and save this one for two or three times a week when I'm going out. Here I'm showing a simple look, but this is also great for cat-eyes/winged liner.

Overall, I give this an 8.5 out of 10, and would certainly recommend it to anyone from a makeup beginner to an eyeliner junkie for its ease of application and good cost to quality ratio.