You guys! Wedding season 2014 officially starts in less than a week and what better way to get the party started than by sharing some wedding inspiration! This has been my favorite shoot to date and was recently featured on Swooned! How exciting is that? Swooned is an amazing site for all you brides-to-be and so helpful when it comes to  inspiration and tips on the big day! Organic and romantic is always a beautiful theme for the big day and was the idea behind this shoot. Don't you love how crisp and classic the white is with the greenery and white floral arrangements? And that backdrop, how amazing is that? Rachael Affleck, from Rachael Ellen Events, created it from coffee filters. She's brilliant! Enjoy!

To wash... or not to wash?

It's the age old question. Shakespeare himself probably asked it a time or two. Should I wash my hair or shouldn't I? I used to be a serial washer, I mean every day! Some times, if I went even 28 hours without washing my hair it seemed like I swam laps in a vat of butter. I had what I like to refer to as butter head (not as cute as it sounds). I also had trouble growing my hair out. It just quit growing when it reached my shoulders for some reason. Probably because my hair was dry, and tired from all the scrubbing. So a  few years ago I set out on a mission to grow my hair PAST my shoulders. I was so determined you probably could have sold me a cup of dirt if you told me smearing it on my head would grow my tresses long and strong. The first step on my quest was not washing my hair every day. Yes, I felt like I was dripping with grease but the longer I went without washing my hair everyday (not consecutively, come on guys, gross) the less greasy my hair felt and looked. What was this miracle? Well, it started with my sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands secrete an oily substance called sebum A.K.A. the grease on your scalp which weirdly enough is a good thing. Sebum acts as our bodies natural conditioner by keeping our hair and scalp moisturized and healthy. When you start to feel like you're sporting the butter head look it just means your sebaceous glands have produced an excess amount sebum. This is due to washing your hair everyday. How? When you wash your hair everyday you are actually stripping away that sebum leaving your scalp and hair dry. When this happens your body's natural reaction is to create more sebum to replace what has been lost hence butter head. So the goal is to not let your sebaceous glands go into over drive and you can prevent this by NOT washing your hair every day. I myself like to wash my hair every other day and I don't even wear a hat on my non-washing days! I know right? This is thanks my bff, the holy grail, DRY SHAMPOO! It sounds like an oxymoron but its the best thing you'll ever use. Dry shampoo is a powder that comes in an aerosol or can be applied with a brush to your roots. Once its applied to your roots the powder soaks up the existing sebum without making the glands think they need to make more. Not only will dry shampoo give your existing 'do' a second life, but it adds body and bounce that might be lacking after a day of being awesome. By incorporating dry shampoo into my beauty routine I was able to grow my hair F O U R inches past my shoulder! Mission accomplished!!  My insanely creative friend Larissa, of Just Another Day in Paradise , came up with a HOME MADE recipe for dry shampoo you can make with things you already have laying around your kitchen! Bonus! It smells like chocolate! You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach... Take a short cut by smelling like chocolate all day!

Visit Larissa's blog for more recipes and crafty things!

Music is my boyfriend

In honor of Coachella 2014 kicking off this weekend I came up with my ultimate music festival outfit and makeup bag! For those of you who aren't familiar with Coachella let me introduce you. Coachella is the ultimate music experience where people from all walks of life, young and old, gather together to catch a glimpse of their favorite artists and sway to their funky beats. You'll find designated hula hoop spots, pin-ball machines, and a BEAUTY BAR. What? Is this real life? Yes, it is. There are a handful of music festivals happening this summer and you'll see lots of bohemian inspired outfits and wrists clad with earthy inspired jewels. Berry lips are going to be big as well! Here are my festival picks!

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Now that you've put together your ultimate festival inspired outfit lets talk about your makeup bag. Keep in mind you'll be outside in the glorious sun (thanks for showing up) working on your summer tan and although everyone likes a good glisten, you don't want to look like you went for a swim. That's where Clean & Clear oil absorbing sheets come in! Just swipe those babies across any area with excess oil and the shine is gone! I also like to keep a setting spray in my bag to keep my makeup looking fresh, especially when I'm going to be outside all day! Keeping a cute ponytail holder in my bag is a necessity and bonus, they double as a bracelet! Functional and fashionable, what more could a girl want? If you're going for the ultimate festival experience then you brought a tent with you! Way to go girl! Dry shampoo is going to be your life saver. Just a little spritz at your roots and you'll have the luxury of looking like you have freshly washed hair! People will probably ask to use your shower but the jokes on them. Last but not least, sunscreen! This little stick of magic by Murad is a dream come true and its a twoferI While it shields your gorgeous face from harmful UV rays it's also made with Vitamin C to protect your skin and slow down the aging process! Now you've got all the essentials to dance your booty off and look fabulous doing it!

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Christmas can be every month

Have you ever had buyers remorse after purchasing a product or longed to try it out before you commit? Well guess what? Your wildest dreams just came true! That is right, you can have the luxury of a beautifully packaged box set on your door step every month filled with the most talked about and up and coming products. Its like Christmas every month! Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites!

Birchbox- I first discovered birchbox on the sandy beaches of Maui in a Cosmo magazine (take me back) and couldnt stop thinking about what a great idea this was! I am always in the market for a new product and this was a great way to test it before buying. Signing up was so easy and only cost $10 a month. $10 a month for a totally adorable box filled with 4-5 different products was a STEAL in my opinion and I singed up right away! Whats more exciting about birchbox is they recently launched two new boxes, one for the men in your life and another filled with lifestyle goodies! You can sign up for your own birchbox here.

Ipsy- Ipsy's tagline is "beauty by you" and they hold true to that. What makes ipsy so great is they have designed a quiz that helps the company find products specifically tailored to your style for only $10 a month! You will find anything from Zoya fingernail polish to Benefit cosmetics all neatly packaged in a totally darling makeup bag! Double score if you ask me. Sign up here for your custom Ipsy bag.

Glossy Box- I love glossybox and the boxes are just that! GLOSSY (and pink)! Glossybox is the creme de la creme of beauty boxes. Every box includes 5 deluxe size products chosen from over 120 different brands for you to try. Here's just a few of the brands they are affiliated with: Butter London, Tarte and Redken. Because you are receiving deluxe size samples instead of trial size you will be paying $21 a month. Sing up here for your very own glossybox. You wont be sorry!

Now go out and get your trial on girl!

-Stay golden

Not all shampoo is created equally

Warning! This post is not for the faint of heart. What I am about to tell you may be disturbing for some. Please proceed with caution.

 Alright, if you're reading this it's safe to say you are a brave soul and I commend you for that. I want to talk to you about something crucial to that gorgeous mane of yours. Your shampoo might be doing it wrong. Yep that's right, what you're slathering all over your tresses every morning could actually be doing the opposite of what it said it would. Also it may be potentially harmful to your health if your are not purchasing your shampoo from a salon or specialty store.

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You may be asking your self, "why shouldn't I buy my shampoo at Walmart?" Are you sitting down? The majority of shampoos, especially salon brand, bought at a grocery store is made up of mostly water and who knows what else. If we were to analyze that Bumble and Bumble shampoo you just bought next to the same shampoo bought at say... a hair salon you could see that the formula is not the same and has been watered down and possibly tampered with. This is called diversion. Diversion occurs when a company purchases a product, in this case shampoo, and changes the formula (in other words opens it up, dumps out half the product and fills it up with whatever they can find) and sells it to other companies at a marked up price without stating the changes that have been made. Aside from having mystery ingredients your black market shampoo is filled with a plethora of parabens, a.k.a. preservatives and sulfates, a.k.a. cleaning agent. One sulfate to keep your eye out for is 14 dioxane which contains an agent directly linked to causing cancer! Can you believe that?

Next time you're taking a late night stroll down the shampoo isle and reach out for a bottle, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Seriously!

All purple everything!

Isn't purple the thing dreams are made of? Cotton candy, Lisa Frank posters, otter pops, the list goes on and on. Basically what I am trying to say is purple has always been up there on our list of favorite colors and its also Pantone's color for the year! Radiant orchid to be exact. If you aren't familiar with Pantone lets get you up to speed. Pantone is the "world-renowned authority on color" and  declared its first color of the year in 2000. Radiant orchid is a color that I am particularly excited about being the color of the year because its so versatile and a color I believe anyone can rock! Last year's color was emerald (if I told you I didn't have an emerald green manicure less than six times that year I would be lying) but lets be honest, unless your dressing as a peacock or the great and powerful Oz for Halloween emerald green is a little difficult to incorporate into your daily makeup look. That's why radiant orchid is so cool, you can put a hint of purple almost anywhere any day! Heck, you could paint your face purple and you'd be cool in my book. Here are some of my favorite ways to wear radiant orchid! Isn't Scar- Jo's makeup to die for?

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