Beauty And Skincare Items I'm Trying At Home

Not sure about you guys but my skin has been acting crazy these past few months. Maybe it’s the lack of sun and fresh air or possibly due to wearing a mask when we are outside??? I noticed my rosacea (while it’s very mild) is acting up in and causing annoying bumps on my forehead and my skin is breaking out in places that have not seen a single pimple in almost 20 years.

I have always had really tricky sensitive skin. I can’t just use anything, no matter how pricey the product. I stopped using prescription washes, metronidazole gel and retinol cream from my dermatologist a few years back. For the most part, Ceravé and Neutrogena products seemed to keep my skin calm and breakout free.

In efforts to keep up my ‘preventative’ wrinkle routine I bought a few night creams last year from one of those Beauty Edits for ‘Best Drug Store Buys’ and my face completely broke out. So much for trying something new! I put them away and kept to my usual minimal products.

While I still get “you look so young” from most people, my usual routine is no match for whatever is happening to my skin these days. I even noticed the texture of the skin on my face has changed a bit. I’m probably noticing this now more because I’m so aware of myself and because I have more time to stop and stare at myself in the mirrors in our home.

I started researching online how to care for my gentle skin. Looking into what products to use but also concentrating on the ingredients in ‘said product’ when I came across one that is recommended as an over the counter option. Cross referencing active ingredients and vitamins that might help. It’s kept me quiet busy!

I am also starting to really wonder about the benefits of starting from the inside out. This makes sense to me and most of the research I came across reminded me of what my Derm. told me years ago - that removing certain food that cause inflammation and adding anti-inflammatory goodies to my diet might help my skin.

• I already drink TONS of water each day. I started drinking more green tea instead of coffee in the morning.

• I added fishoil and supplements to my daily vitamins.

• If I had a dollars for each blueberry I’ve eaten in the past few weeks….Not sure that I am any less inflamed, but I can say that frozen blueberries are delicious.

Next, I narrowed down to a few key products I was willing to try.

1. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

2. Crystal Contour Gua Sha Beauty Tool

3. DR. BARBRA STRUM, Hyaluronic Serum

4. Jade Facial Massager

5. /Skin regimen, Vitamin C serum

I got Mario Badescu Drying Lotion to suck the life out of pimples. This specific item I have wanted to try since 2007. There had been quiet the span of time when I didn’t really need a $17 a bottle spot treatment for a pimple. I can say that this lotion was pretty damn good. I put it on during the day instead of at night just to keep an eye on my skin. It worked really well. I can still see a red blotch where the pimple had been but there’s no more bump. I’ve used it a few other times and it definitely takes down I’ll for sure keep using this wonder.

While doing all this internet research I came across a few articles about helping blood flow - not so much linked to any of these skin problems but more to help with anti-aging and anti-puffy skin. This sounded very relaxing so I purchased Crystal Contour Gua Sha Beauty Tool and a Jade Facial Massager.

The Jade roller came broken so I never got a chance to try it. It’s supposed to be an easier way to get blood flowing in your face than the Gua Sha. I can’t use any oils on my face that are recommended with the Gua Sha, so this roller should be what I’ll use go forward when I re-purchase it.

After the first use of the Gua Sha I noticed my puffy under eyes were not so anymore. A BIG win. I had really struggled with this for so long. It’s a bit of a production to work into a daily normal routine, even in quarantine but is worth the $45 dollars and 30 min of time every few days to see even the slightest of improvement. I make sure to use light pressure because I’m not using actual oils with this tool. I decided to used it the other day while I was wearing my SPF while laying outside and that was a big help for the Gua Sha to glide nicely over my skin.

Lastly, during my nightly downtimes I stumbled on a few articles about this DR. BARBRA STRUM. I’m always curious about these celebrity endorsed doctors. I narrowed in on her Hyaluronic Serum. On the web it’s either GREAT or STEAR CLEAR in terms of Hyaluronic serums. So I concentrated on the benefits. It’s supposed to hydrate, reduce breakouts and give you young supple skin. Who wouldn’t want that?

This was a HUGE splurge for me but after all the research I did I was sure it would either do nothing or help but certainly not make anything worse. The first time I tested it on a small patch on my cheek. I didn’t instantly break out and my cheek felt so freaking soft after. Two days later I used it on my entire face and neck. Nothing is getting worse and I’m noticing the texture of my skin is getting a lot better. I am using it every other day and using a lot less than recommended on the instructions because I want the bottle to last as long as possible.

My skin feels a lot softer and it’s clearing up. It doesn’t get as oily throughout the day anymore either which is a win too! I will for sure keep using this product and might look into getting the lotion. I know that using a few products from one line is better than just one here and there.

Lastly, vitamin C is supposed to be great for skin and there might be some benefits for my quarantine acne. While looking at different Vitamin C serums, many didn’t have any information about their active ingredients. From what I googled (and correct me if I’m wrong) an important active ingredient in a Vitamin C serum is Ascorbic Acid. I landed on /Skin regimen. I plan to wait a few more weeks and then add in this serum to my routine. I want to give my skin the chance to settle in to these new products before I introduce anymore. I’ll write a part 2 after I’ve added /skin regimen and post that in a few weeks with my thoughts on her.

I guess the moral of this very long story is that I finally broke down and did a ton of research and tried some new things. If I can give anyone one piece of advice it’s “do your research before buying and trying anything”. Everyone has totally different skin and what one person said works for them might not work for you.

Hopefully I’ve given you a bit of inspiration and probably just confirmed to everyone to look at the actual active ingredients of what you are buying (just like your clothing).

If you want to check out any of the products I mentioned in this article click the below button and you’ll find the exact items I’ve purchased.

xx Yours in style,

Allie

Brightening Up Your Space

No in-ceiling lights? No problem. NYC is known for apartments that literally have limited lighting. We mostly get our lights from floor and table lamps which are fine but never seen to give off enough light. With so many now turning to creating their own at home office’s adding more light is never a bad thing.

Last week I somehow stumbled upon a video of a woman who used puck lights as recessed lighting in her living room. I was intrigued. I clicked the link to the product which is sold on amazon and watched a video about the actual product. Could this possibly be the most genius DIY lighting solve?

WATCH NOW

Yours in style,

Allie

Pesky Home Projects, How I Organized Our Coat Closet

Now more than ever I’m noticing certain areas in our home that just seem to feel CLUTTERED. Small areas that wouldn’t normally have bothered me so much if I wasn’t staring at them 24/7.

I asked my Instagram community what they would like me to organize next a few weeks back. I picked something really easy like a drawer and then something that would take a bit longer and something I assumed people had little interest in, our coat closet.

Boy, what a mistake! HA. Almost everyone picked organize the coat closet in our entry. I wasn’t sure that I was even going to tackle this at the moment but the more I looked at it the more it became clear that I had to do this. Between January - March of this year it exploded. Between all Bendels meds and things that started to show up at our apartment un-wanted it became a hidden dumping ground.

When everything arrived it was really easy to put everything that we had in it’s place and label each bin.

I knew this would take some time to do because I can’t just leave my apartment and pop over to the container store. Once I settled into that reality I was good to go.

I took everything out of the closet and laid it on the floor. I began sorting things (donate, recycle and keep).

I quickly arranged our coats so they are color coordinated and by length. I did a few measurements and planned out how many bins I needed and picked a few sizes.

I highly recommend these chalk labels. I used a few left over for some bins in our bedroom closet. You’ll find all the items below in the ‘home styling & organizing’ section.

Enjoy!

Yours in style, Allie

How To Set Up An Affordable Home Office

I was thinking back to the days when I had to transform the little nook outside of my kitchen to a home office. I had walls that were very light blue, almost white (tbh), and not much more than an idea that I wanted a white desk and a cute place to get S#%t done when I was working from home. I started my online search for affordable but cute options.

I found almost everything really cheap. I bought the desk, chair and polka dot decals in only a few days. I dound the lamp and white board too to round out my productivity corner.

I had purchased two outdoor wall hanging things for god-knows what at West Elm a few years prior and had them hanging on this wall over my bar table when this area was meant for eating.

I went down to the Marshalls in Tribeca sometime in the spring of 2018 and created the faux living wall that you see pictured here.

I would HIGHLY recommend a chair that has lumbar support vs. one that is only aesthetically pleasing. I ended up buying a seat cushion to sooth my back from this chair.

I was able to round up almost all the items I bought and then found some more options below. Simply click the MORE button below to see what other finds I chose so you can affordable and easily create your home office.

Yours in style,

Allie

I Found The Most Perfect Puzzle - Stylish and Pretty

When we realized TV just wasn’t the best thing to have on ALL the time we pulled out some puzzles. Started with a 1000 doosie that took a very long time but we finally finished. Mike opened another one so our coffee table that used to be styled so nicely with books and decorative items is now a rotate table for puzzle pieces.

SLOW DOWN STUDIO has what I like to call ‘aesthetically pleasing’ puzzles. If you finish one, and want to frame it they’re pretty cute.

Yours in style,

Allie

Working From Home - Brighten Up Your Video Calls In One Easy Step #wfh

Working From Home - Brighten Up Your Video Calls In One Easy Step

As most people pivot to a work from home lifestyle - zoom video calls are becoming the number 1 way teams connect daily. Watch below for my #1 tip for showing up clearly on your team calls.

So now that you’ve watched the video here are a few other AWESOME tips that you can all implement A.S.A.P.

Lin Marty of Lin Marty Photography, a California Based Photographer specializing in personal branding says:

Make sure the screen is at a flattering height (collar bone and full head, avoid breasts. Put your laptop on a stack of books if needed), face toward the window (no back light), avoid artificial light when possible, make sure to have quality audio by using a mic or headphones (think of hairdo option that work with your preferred method)..

Also, have fun, wear bright colors, accessories, etc. avoid earrings if you are using headphones for audio.

I know from being in the industry and having lot’s of experience with virtual calls that there is so much you can do on this topic to be visually pleasing to your co-workers.

• Buffer your “getting ready for work'“ routine. I always add in a few extra minutes of buffer time for my make-up. When you are on video (similar to taking pictures or being on stage) the make up you put on should be a touch heavier that it would wear normally. I don’t normally wear foundation or heavy make up at all…I’m a natural look kinda girl…but when I jump on a video I change how I do my make up. I also make sure to also always have some slight lip color on along with my video make up.

• Wear color to stand out. Most of your team will be in black, white or navy. Be the person who shows up in a color and looks great. You’re still working- and in some cases will get face time with a lot more people. This is your chance to get noticed.

• Consider your lighting and background. I.E. Light facing your face BUT it should come from BEHIND the camera. Pretend you’re being filmed for a movie. Jump on video before your call to take a look at what others can see behind you. If your background is white, don’t wear a white shirt. You will look like a floating head. This tip goes back to my previous point about wearing color. Try to minimize what others can see on YOUR screen. So think of clean space and the best lighting you can.

Let’s all be successful on your video calls!

Yours in style,

Allie

Secrets To Staying Productive And Feeling Good

Secrets To Staying Productive And Feeling Good

As a successful business owner and WFH’er of many many years now I know what I need to do to work at home and be productive.

For those of you who are new to this I wanted to share some of my tips and personal insight into this new world.

Yes, it’s amazing to be able to wear your off-duty, comfortable loungewear and pajamas more often. Your commute is now cut down to “already here” and you are now responsible for making your own lunch. You’ll be tempted to not get dressed in outside client facing clothing most days. The feeling of not having the right office outfit today will start to see like a distant memory because you assume you’ll be in your most amazing loungewear all the time and how cool is that!

I agree that sometimes a more formal item tends to feel a bit binding and restrictive vs. say a cashmere jumpsuit. The excitement of being able to wear sweatpants and comfortable clothing is novel and a welcome change for sure. But, proceed with caution here and do not overdue it. This feeling will eventually fade and you are left needlessly uninspired.

The saying “when you look good, you feel good” really does take on that meaning(and more). I can’t tell you how many times I forced myself to get dressed as if I was going into an office building, or meeting with a client to help life my spirits. Wearing comfortable clothing really does not do much for your energy level.

If I can give anyone one piece of advice today it’s ‘get up & get dressed’. Allow yourself one day a work week (Mon-Fri) to dress however you’d like. Anyone that knows what it’s like to work at home will tell you to put on work clothing. Dip into your closet and put on your favorite pretty top, brightest color dress or chicest button down shirt that you have been putting off wearing because the office is too cold, you don’t have the right coat or bag to go with it, or too many people have something like it. The weather no longer plays a role in wearing certain items. You control your office environment and you no longer have a commute that takes you outside in the elements.

This is a great time to wear the items in your closet that make you feel great!

What are other things you can do you ask? Here are a list of some best practices you should implement if you haven’t already….

• Keep a “work schedule”. If you got up at a certain time to get yourself to the office, stay with it. Holding yourself accountable for the same routine you had before you started working from home will keep you sane.

• Take breaks. You should schedule a few times a day to get up and remove yourself from your work area. Maybe it’s to eat lunch, have your daily afternoon smoothie. This is important to do because you won’t have anyone around you to distract you and you’ll end up burning out very quickly.

• Phone a friend. Other than team calls use one of these breaks to chat with a family member or friend. Maybe this is done on one of your mini sanity breaks :)

• Keep normal office hours. If your workday went from 9am-6pm than it should stay that way. When you normally finish work and close up shop to go home do the same thing here.

• Set up an accountability system. Put tasks as reminders on your calendar that notifies you what you should do and BE ACCOUNTABLE for them. If you think you’ll remember to do XYZ you are wrong. Gentle reminders are a great way to make sure you do something and don’t forget or push it off.

Oh…..and make sure to get plenty of natural light and if you can go for a walk or sit outside for a few minutes each day. Walking(even around your home) helps brain function and is when I’ve had some of my best ideas to date :)

Yours in style,

Allie

Spring Clean Your Winter Sweaters

SPRING CLEAN YOUR WINTER SWEATERS

Learn all my tricks to care for your natural fibers at home.

Now that you’ve invested(and worn) you precious knits all fall and winter long it’s time to clean them before you tuck them away for the season. We no longer have the luxury of saying “I’ll just drop them off at the dry cleaner on my way to work…” so here are my tips for cleaning them in the comfort of your home. If you love a video I linked a HOW TO video from my youtube channel at the bottom of the article :)

Make sure you have the items to do this properly. You will need the following:

1. The Laundress | Wool & Cashmere Shampoo. 1 bottle will last you months if not YEARS. If you don’t have this cleaner than my back up of choice is Woolite (a mild detergent) or baby shampoo.

2. A ‘delicate’ garment bag for your wash (wash bags). You can find these anywhere and they come in all shapes and sizes. Simply google “garment bag for washing delicates” and the choices will pop up quickly.

Now that you have what you need, here is how you can safely clean your items. Place one item in a bag. Don’t double up. Don’t overload the wash. I stick to washing at most, two sweaters of the same color at once. This will take some time but we all have lot’s of time right now.

If there are any special detailing on your sweater(s) that you are worried about - turn it inside out before placing the sweater in the garment bag.

Once you have one sweater in one bag place it in the washing machine. You can use the COLD cycle or HAND WASH if your machine has that option. DO NOT WASH ON HOT (bc obviously). Use your Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo(just a tiny bit) or the mild detergent as mention above of your choice.

Once your wash is done, simply remove the sweater from the bag, carefully un-wrinkle it and lay it fat on your dryer (preferably while running and drying other clothing but you don’t need to) or place on a drying rack so the sweater isn’t hanging or drooping while wet. This means when it’s on the rack make sure it’s well supported on the top rack. If you place it flat on a surface then just make sure to flip it so both sides air equally.

Voila! Your cashmere and wool sweaters will feel so much softer( and fresher) than ever before. Now they’re ready to be stored clean.

Yours in style,

Allie