JUST DO IT / words

I know it has been a bit quieter around here than usual. Well, the reason is that a big move is coming up. Soon enough I won’t be posting from Cleveland anymore so a lot of preparation is in place.

And now is the moment for me to get all gushy and tell you to follow your dreams and not let fear stand in your way. Fear is just a feeling that has no substance on it’s own. When something is not done just because of a doubt if it would work out, we never even give ourselves a chance to achieve our goals. You know what they say, JUST DO IT.

I’ve been, however, updating my instagram pretty regularly (@karinadejesus__), and here are a few shots.

Happy weekend, you babes!

Hairstyles for Spring 2013 / Beauty

tee - seen here

As promised, here are the hairstyles I’ve been loving and will be turning to through this spring:

- messy and middle parted

- half up in a messy bun

- fake side shave

- swept to the side



It’s all about letting your hair be natural and effortless, no straightening or curling, just blow-dry (or maybe not even that) and run.

Matte Lip for Spring 2013 / BEAUTY

When I first started blogging, I never thought there would be any beauty posts on here. I’ve never been very big about makeup, but lately, as my style and wardrobe has been reducing to more minimal selections and amounts, I’ve realized that hair and make-up can actually really change up the feel of any look. Thus, this week I’m sharing what I’ll be doing make-up wise this spring, and next week I might share some hair ideas.

As you can see, these are lipsticks that I’ve actually had for a while, but the detail I’ll be changing this spring - I’ll be wearing them matte. After a little bit of research, I discovered Mac Matte Primer that can make any of your lipstick look matte - just put a little bit on your fingers and dab over your usual lipstick. I’ll be wearing this look with a very minimal eye make-up - light shadow + a brown mascara just on the tips of my lashes.



Products I used:

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light/Medium and brown mascara

Bare Minerals Eye Brightener and eye shadow in Tres Chic

Rimmel lipstick in Pink Blush 006

Revlon lipstick in Violet Frenzy 027

Maybelline lipstick in Red Revival 645

Mac Matte Primer



As always, much love, babes!

What to do when nails start chipping? / BEAUTY

Remember my matte black nails? This is what I did once it started chipping - just painted the chipped parts nude. It stills looks grungy, yet neat.



By the way, I’m in NYC right now. Today is the second day of IFB Conference. I’ll be tweeting and live blogging @karinadej and make sure you also follow #ifbcon if you want to see some really insightful content.



Love you, babes!!!

Triangle Eyeliner / Beauty

This weekend’s beauty inspiration - triangle eye liner. Very quick yet bold enough to feel a bit more dressed up this weekend. I outlined the triangle with liquid eyeliner and then filled it with gel eyeliner. As you can see, I’m very into brown eye make-up right now, I just feel that even though it’s obviously makeup, brown still looks more natural than black. 

Huppy huppy weekend, my babes! 

DIY Black Matte Nails / BEAUTY

I don’t polish my nails often, but if I do, I’d prefer it to be matte. So after doing some research I found out that if you mix corn starch with your nail polish, that makes it matte. There is no specific amounts, you just kind of have to experiment with it, but I’m very happy with the result. My ordinary nail polish can now be matte. And to add a little more identity and texture to my nails, I pressed my thumb print on them.

Hope you’re having a great weekend, babes!

Gold dipped hands / BEAUTY

New Years eve is almost here and I know most of you are probably getting ready to celebrate with your loved ones. If your nails are not done yet, here’s a solution that will be extraordinary and add the perfect amount of shine to any simple and minimalistic outfit out there - spray paint you nails and a bit of your fingers golden. I’m not going to lie, this manicure will probably last only one night as the spray paint washes of pretty easily, but that’s all you need for now, right? And you don’t have to worry about your jewelry either - gold dipped hands are enough.



Happy New Year, my babes!! I’m extremely thankful for each and every one of you and wish you all the best. You know it. If you need any help setting goals and getting yourself motivated for the next year, just remember all the things you dreamed of after reading this post.

Much love, see you in 2013!!!

Simple Holiday Inspired Makeup / Beauty

If you’re like me, you’re not a big make-up guru and you like to keep it simple and natural looking. However, during holiday season there are all types of festivities going on, and let’s admit the truth - girls like to look a bit extra pretty during celebrations. It just adds a little something more to look forward to. Above you can see a makeup look for natural beauty obsessed minimalists in my interpretation. A very simple smokey eye in brown tones. Note I used brown mascara as well to keep it as monochrome as possible and a nude lip to create a really minimal look. But if you are going out at night and you want to be a bit bolder, you might want to add a dark lip as in the second picture. I chose purple (which, I think, I’m actually going to look for a darker version) because it’s not going to be as popular as the red lip, and I really like the contrast it creates with the brown eye shadow and mascara. Just carry 2 lipsticks in your purse and you can change your look in 2 seconds. I’m just all about efficiency, am I not?!

Here’s how I did the smokey eye:

1. Apply a nude eye shadow to your whole lid

2. Apply the darkest brown eye shadow you have close to your lashes and a bit under your eyes towards the corner of your eye

3. Use the second darkest brown shadow on your crease

4. Blend the eye shadow on your crease with a big brush

5. Use ivory eye shadow under your brows to highlight them

6. Apply brown mascara

I am a bit frustrated with youtube butchering the quality of the video. Have any of you also uploaded videos and the same thing happened? Do you have any suggestions?

Happy weekend, dolls!!

the face

jacket - thrifted (also seen here)  / pants - thrifted / bag - DIY / ear cuff - ebay

Keeping my promises - here’s my fanny pack incorporated into an outfit. This is what I wore yesterday to church and then after while hanging out with friends. I was not disappointed one bit, served as a big pocket that never had to be removed. I can easily get used to the comfort of not carrying around a purse.

How was your weekend, babes??

Color Tattoo / Beauty

top - H&M (old collection)

eyes - Maybelline (Color Tattoo in 40 Tenacious Teal) / skin - Maybelline (Dream Fresh BB) / Lips - Revlon (Matte 001 Nude Attitude)

As I have shared with you before, I am not very big on makeup. I do not have an hour long routine every morning. It’s more like a 2 minute routine - moisturizer+tinted moisturizer and mascara. Might be even 1 minute. But once in a while I like to experiment and use make-up more as an accessory, not a fix. For example, this teal eyeshadow. I remember having a blue eyeshadow in middle school, but once I was over it, I thought I’d never ever go back. It’s so tacky. Fast forward to, well… now, and here I am with my eyes as blue as they get. I’ve just fallen in love with the effect this eye shadow gives against an all black outfit. Obviously, I wouldn’t wear it every day, but once in a while it can work very well. Two other items I wanted to share with you is my BB tinted moisturizer from Maybelline, and Revlon nude lipstick. I’ve shared lipsticks from Revlon with you before as well. They are super cheap, but the color selection is perfect. Even the nude one. And you have probably already heard of all the hype surrounding BB creams. Mine is alright. Nothing spectacular, but then again, I didn’t buy the most expensive one. One tip I do want to share is that I always buy a shade darker tinted moisturizer and then before applying I just mix it 50/50 with a regular moisturizer. That way it’s more moisturizing and less like a foundation.

I hope you’re having a great weekend, my babes!! Love you!!!

samurai hair / beauty

sheer shirt - American Apparel

Lately I’ve been liking hairstyles that pull the hair off my face. There is just something so elegant and minimal about having your hair up. These two hairdos that I’ve been wearing a lot lately are inspired by samurais, my husband and football players. Sometimes men just know what is good.

  Françoise Hardy - Le Temps de l'Amour 

ps. i’ll be back to regular posting schedule very soon. a lot going on right now, but it’s all for the best.

Almost Copycat / Beauty

turtleneck, choker - H&M / rings - hardware store

Even though I remember wanting to become a makeup artist when I was little, ever since I started my blog, I never thought I’d have a “beauty” post on here. The reason is simple, I use very little makeup, and you all can probably teach me something, not the other way around. However, the other day I came across Janelle Okwodu’s blog Sans Artifice and instantly became more interested in beauty again. Janelle’s blog is unique because she writes about beauty, but she doesn’t forget to “give it a fashion spin”. The most inspiring for me are the amazing backstage shots on her blog, that are also the culprit of this post. Ports 1961 used a very minimalistic and “undone” look for their show, and Janelle’s presentation of it inspired me to recreate the look. Obviously it’s not exactly the same, and I didn’t use any mascara to give the look even more rawness.

Hope you like it! What are your favorite makeup routines or ideas?