Fashion – Page 6 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Beauty October 4, 2016

My New Makeup Routine with Beautycounter

A few months ago, I heard about Beautycounter through one of my best friend’s friend, Kelsey Wiley. I was intrigued by this company that “puts your health first” – not a claim I’d ever heard made by MAC, Maybelline, L’Oreal, Laura Mercier, etc. Kelsey included a link to the video below, and after watching it, I knew I wanted to try Beautycounter’s products.

Beautycounter’s mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone and lead a movement for better beauty. This is definitely a mission I can stand behind. While over 1,300 toxic ingredients are banned in personal care products in Europe, only eleven are in the US. Isn’t that scary? I had absolutely no idea which (potentially harmful) ingredients were in my skincare products, and I was ready to change that.

I will not lie – changing my tried-and-true makeup and skincare routine has not been painless. I had been using some of the same products since I was in high school! For about a month now, I’ve been using a majority of Beautycounter products (sharing honest reviews of each below), while ‘cheating’ every now and again with an old blush or eyeshadow that I love. As time goes on, I’ll buy more and more Beautycounter items when my old ones run out. So far, I’ve loved every single product – except the mascara, but I’ll explain why!

Fashion September 9, 2015

Five Favorite Fall 2015 Trends

Although it may still be 90+ degrees here in Houston, I can tell cooler temperatures are on the horizon. Summer fashion is definitely my favorite, as I love colorful shorts and breezy dresses, but I do have an appreciation for fall trends, as it’s nice to change it up after months of feeling very casual. This year’s Pantone colors are so gorgeous! I am very excited about the trends this season, and I’m sharing my five favorites below. What are your thoughts on the styles below? What is your favorite fall trend? Are you ready for the new season?

Fashion September 4, 2015

Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide (BBG) Review

Preface: This is by far the most nervous I have ever been to hit ‘Publish’ on a post before. As someone who never even wears two piece swimsuits, shooting and posting these photographs is definitely out of my comfort zone (serious understatement). I am not sharing these so that you compliment my progress, but instead to help motivate you to try this incredible workout (plus, I promised to get more personal here). Also, I want to quickly thank my dream team who made me feel confident during these photos – my photographer, Paige of Awake Photography, and hair and makeup expert, Britt Lais Williams of Butter Artistry.

So, let’s begin.

A few months ago, my best friend mentioned this “bikini body guide” she was doing and told me to look up @Kayla_Itsines on Instagram to better understand the reasons why. Well, it took about 45 seconds on Kayla’s account to know that I also wanted to try this seemingly miraculous workout. Photo after photo of before vs. after shots of women going from being regularly sized to becoming what-look-liked trim, toned fitness models had me convinced that it was worth a shot.

I started the guide (most commonly referred to as BBG) before we headed to Europe, which wasn’t ideal as I didn’t really want to take a multi-week break just 2 weeks into the 12 week program. Therefore, I started it again when we returned and have been working out using the PDF guide ever since. I just finished the first round of the program last week, and I am proud of this accomplishment (it’s not for the faint of heart, but you can do it too!). It’s now time for BBG 2.0.

In short, BBG is a 12-week training program that involves three resistant training workouts a week (plus three days of interval training). Each workout is 28 minutes long (which may sound easy, but you definitely work up quite a sweat during that time!), and includes two circuits that you repeat twice (sample below). The guide (a document that I reference on my iPhone on iBooks during workouts) shows step-by-step images on how to complete each of the exercises in the resistance training circuits.

Décor August 27, 2015

My Favorite ‘Small Shops’ (Giveaway!)

One of the greatest blessings that has happened this year is the newly formed friendships I’ve made with some incredibly inspiring women. I started my Instagram account almost one year ago, and through it, I’ve ‘met’ (and really met) very talented photographers, bloggers, makeup artists, event planners, and last, but not least, small business owners, most of whom are ‘mompreneurs.’ Being a WAHM (or ‘Work at Home Mom’ – so many acronyms to keep up with!) is not an easy task, as balancing raising children with running a business is no easy task.

I am such a big advocate of the whole ‘shop small’ and ‘shop local’ movement, which I believe was greatly empowered by the creation of Etsy. Although I would be lying if I said I didn’t love buying clothes from big retailers like Gap, Nordstrom, Carters, etc., I do make a very conscious effort to purchase a lot of our outfits and gifts from ‘small shops’ (this always feels like a funny term, since some of the stores below are far from small!).

Today, I’m sharing eight of my favorite shops, all of whom have kindly offered some of my favorite items in a giveaway (which, to be honest, I’d really like to win!). Enter using the widget below and make sure to read about each of the shops below! Also, make sure to check out my favorite Etsy stores post here for more small shop love!

PS This post was supposed to be published yesterday as part of the Shop Small linkup (here), but I had a nasty stomach bug! Make sure to check out some of the other posts in the linkup.

Shop Small Giveaway

Cuteheads: Esther, the owner of cuteheads, is one of my favorite mamas around – you’ll quickly know that from reading her #GIRLBOSS interview here. I’m sad that Isla no longer fits into her adorable cuteheads chambray pom-pom romper. It’s so cute! I am so excited to see the new collection, and I’m even more excited (read: jealous) that Esther is including a seersucker top in the giveaway.

Beauty August 11, 2015

Beauty Basics with Butter: Favorite Products (Plus, A Giveaway!)

Today, my super sweet friend, Britt Lais Williams, is announcing the launch of her new makeup and hair business called Butter. Britt is so incredibly talented (she glammed me up for these fitness pictures and Isla’s first birthday photos and most recently did the same to Kristina this hippie shoot), and I know she will do great things with her new business. She’s been working in the industry for years and years, and has lots of amazing credits to her name.

As part of the official announcement today on Instagram, Brittany is doing a giveaway (valued at over $325!) which includes a complimentary hair and makeup session, as well as a Tom Ford lipstick in the color of your choice and the entire Fave4 line of hair sprays. And it’s super easy to enter:

Follow @butterartistry on Instagram
Like the launch photo (shown above)
Tag three friends who would love to win these goodies!
You can repost Britt’s post for an additional entry (make sure to tag @butterartistry and use #butterartistry in your caption/comment)

The contest ends at midnight on August 14. The winner will be announced by August 16.

In addition to the launch, Britt is sharing 9 of her favorite products with my blog readers! She wrote descriptions for all of the items below. I’m going to be ordering all of them (or adding to my Christmas list, ahem, Sasha!).