Thanksgiving OOTD and Makeup

Hello lovelies!

I know it's been a while. To be honest, while I have been somewhat busy, I also haven't had much to write about the past week and a half. Monday and early Tuesday I packed and got ready to go home for Thanksgiving break. It's been awesome to spend time at home and see my family - I haven't seen them since August! I've also been doing some shopping for a special trip I'll be taking in about a month. (I'll tell you about that very soon!) I'll probably post a mini haul this week showing the stuff I picked up at the Black Friday sales.

Anyway, as most of you probably know, Thursday was Thanksgiving for us Americans. Most of my family went to my grandparents' house where we had a huge feast, caught up and celebrated, and of course finished off the night with coffee and pumpkin pie (my favorite). I just wanted to show you guys my outfit that I wore as well as my makeup look.

Sweater - H&M
Vest - Ya Los Angeles
Leggings - Theory
Booties - Stuart Weitzman
Crossbody - Forever 21

I wore a loose, burgundy sweater with a grey vest. I'm not really sure how to describe the vest other than that it's somewhere between fuzzy and shag-like, which sounds really weird, but I swear it's cute. I paired it with black leggings and grey, suede booties. Accessories included my black cross body bag, my tortoise shell Michael Kors watch, and a few gold and silver rings.

For makeup, I decided to do a neutral eye, with champagne on the inner half, brown on the outer half, and a deep olive-brown on the outside corner to help my eyes pop. Lately, I've been using Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On pencil in Whiskey, but I lost it so I used a dark grey (almost black) Rimmel pencil from my mom. Maybelline has always been my go-to for mascara and currently I'm hooked on The Rocket. For my lip, I used Revlon's Just Bitten lip stain in Midnight topped with e.l.f.'s Essential Lipstick in the color Gypsy.

I hope all of you had a lovely day with family and friends.

Em

Empeccably Polished - Behind the Name

Before I get accused of misspelling impeccably, I just want everyone to know that it was on purpose. My name is Emily (obviously) and sometimes people call me Em, so i spelled it empeccably instead of impeccably Clever right?

But that's not all - polished has two meanings, the first meaning refined, sophisticated, and professional. The second meaning nail polish/varnish/lacquer. (Occasionally, I can actually be witty.)

As my bio reveals, I am a struggling nail polish addict. (Don't worry ladies, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Although, I'm not quite sure this is an addiction I want to break.) I have over 150 nail polishes and I am continually buying more. Every time I go anywhere I head straight for the beauty section. My friends scold me to try and help, but it's just no use. If I want to buy another color, I'm going to buy it.

This is a picture of my nail polish rack. Not all of them fit so I've had to put some in bins, but it holds the majority. My dad got it for me two Christmases ago - one of the best gifts I've ever received! As you can tell, my favorite brands are Essie and Revlon. Although Essie's brush is a little small, I really like the formula and the range of colors. Revlon's formula and color range are great too and, in my opinion, is a lot harder to chip than some other brands.

I've also been getting into nail art. I'm not that good yet, but I've definitely improving. After following numerous nail Instagrams, I figured out the types of tools I needed to create various designs and bought it (cheap) from Amazon or ebay.

I'm really busy with school right now so I haven't done anything intricate lately, but here are some designs I've done in the past.

I'll probably start doing nail art posts soon, especially if they're requested. If you guys have any specific ones you want to see just let me know, I'd be happy to make a tutorial.

Until next time,

Em

1920's Southern Soirée

Hello readers and fellow bloggers!

I thought I'd start my blog off with a post about my fraternity's 1920's southern soirée semi-formal. For those of you who don't know what a fraternity is, here is a quick explanation. Usually, fraternities are exclusive to guys (while girls join sororities), but my fraternity is an co-ed honors fraternity, so it's open to anyone.

Anyway, back to my semi-formal. Semi-formals are generally less dressy than formal. Girls usually pick short, party dresses compared to long dresses or gowns, while guys wear collared shirts and jackets instead of suits or tuxes.

Here's a picture of me in my dress.

While the dress is beautifully beaded and fit the theme extremely well, there's something else that makes it so great. It was only $10. Yes, you heard right. I found this lovely dress this summer at my local Salvation Army for only $10. When I first saw it, I had no idea where I would wear it, but couldn't pass up such a deal. While the slit in the back had been ripped, I knew it would be easy to sew. As soon as I heard what the theme for semi-formal was, I knew exactly what I would be wearing.

I also had the perfect pair of Calvin Klein shoes that my grandma had given me a year or so ago. The black velvet, low, chunky heel, ankle strap, and rounded toe give the perfect 1920's feel.

Of course I had to add a head piece. I had originally bought a black sequined headband with a white feather attached, but realized there wasn't white in the beading until my mom sent it to me in the mail. (I'm currently at school and hadn't brought the dress with me.) But I still think this jeweled black headband worked quite well.

My friend curled my hair, I added a black smokey eye, put in some fake pearl stud earrings, and I was ready to go. After taking plenty of pictures, my friends and I headed to the bed and breakfast where the event was being held. There was a photo booth, southern style cooking, pool, and great music and dancing. Here are some pictures from the night.

My roommates and me.

We think we're hardcore.

Eating dinner at the venue.

Overall, it was a lovely night with some of my best friends.

Love always,

Em