Friday Favorites: Aztec Print

As some of you may know, tribal patterns became a worldwide phenomenon back in 2012. Call it Aztec, Navajo or Mexican, fact is that South American prints have left a permanent mark in the fashion industry - on the runway and in retail.

Recently, I've fallen in love with anything and everything Aztec Print. It doesn't matter if it is black & white or colored, I just love that it has a way of adding dimension and character to a look.

So after seeing this super cute pair of shorts with an Aztec print, I thought I should give it a try and do them myself. 

 I found these while I was looking for fun projects to do, revolving around summer shorts and skirts, but there was no tutorial so I decided to make my own.

Let's get started!

DIY: Homemade Remedies for Dry, Dull or Frizzy Hair

 Hair frizz. A very common complaint amongst people, especially those who are born with natural curly hair. Or you can give yourself the frizz by doing stuff wrong in your daily routine.

In this post I'm going to tell you three DIY conditioners that you can actually make yourself at home to help reduce the frizz. 

The very first recipe is my favorite! So here's what you need:

• limes (maybe one or two)
• one can of coconut milk

You can find coconut milk in the grocery store and pretty much everywhere. It's not actually that hard to find, haha :) Also: empty containers! Save these because they can hold the excess hair mask that is left over once you're done. Nutella jars are great, because they are big enough to hold a larger amount of product and have a quite large opening. 

Put all the coconut milk in the empty (and cleaned) container and then you need the lime juice. I recommend using actual limes and not some juice you find in the stores, because those are not 100% natural and therefore don't have all the proprieties you need. Add 4 - 5 spoon fulls of lime juice inside of this mixture and mix it well. 

In case you are wondering why these two, why this relationship, that's because coconut milk benefits the hair in so many different ways, it's really, really good for your hair and skin and lime juice is good for your hair as well, but when you mix them together, it can tame the hair. Not only it will tame your hair, it is also great for hair loss.

Now you wanna completely saturate your hair with  this mask and then pin it up. Put a plastic bag and cover all your hair with it, as it may be runny. Then let it sit. You can let it sit over night, depending on how frizzy your hair is, or just for an hour. But at least an hour! After you let it sit, use shampoo and conditioner like you normally do and then you might as well style it! 
After you are done, store the rest away in the fridge and use it next time you wash your hair! Do this until you feel like your hair is getting better. 

Good bye May, say hello to June!

And then there’s summer. Aw, sweet, sweet summer...

It's June already and even if it isn't officially summer yet -because the Summer Solstice is Saturday, June 21st- I am super excited to welcome the month of June!

Long, sunny days and balmy nights that call for midnight walks, star-gazing, and ice cream. Sandal season. 

Toenails painted  in vivid colors. Wearing your favorite sun dresses everyday. Lots of sundresses. All different patterns. Flowy, casual, strappy, bright colors, and lightweight.  Big, floppy hats and big sunglasses. Making your own shorts.

Clear skies and summer thunderstorms. Napping in a hammock. Staying inside when you’ve had too much sun, blasting the a/c, and watching movies all day long. Road trips. Driving with the top down. Day trips to the beach. Making sand castles. Swimming. 

Statement Necklaces

They come in many shapes and sizes, bold or daring, bright colors, expensive or cheap, chic or goth. For many years now, statement necklaces have been a big thing accessory-wise. They can be worn with every clothing item, from dresses to t-shirts or anything else you can imagine. You see all the celebrities doing it, models or even business women and every name in the design business has them in their collections. Below I'll show you some pictures with my taste in statement necklaces and soon enough, I'll do a DYI post  with the ones I created myself.

Enjoy!

 Ema Stone is amazing in this strapless brocade Lanvin dress, and she accessorized it with a dazzling statement necklace and brooch belt, all by the same designer.

If you're looking for a new way to wear your old boring blouses, here's the perfect way to do it. Above is a pretty silk blouse adorned with a statement necklace. It's fresh, modern, and totally ladylike, and can be worn with jeans and skirts alike.

SheInside review

I don't know if I wanna go that way and do reviews too often, but since I read so many terrible things about www.sheinside.com, I thought I could clear some stuff up. When I found sheinside, I was SO happy because they have wide varieties of gorgeous clothing and a lot to choose from.  I stumbled upon this website after seeing many different reviews from the people I follow on fashiolista.

They have so many options, from dresses to blazers, jewelry, bathing suits, winter jackets  and everything else that is in between. The styles are so unique and if you are looking for basic items, they also have great, classic, simple pieces. However, what I really loved were the quirkier items. They have a fantastic selection of vintage dresses, with some patterns that are like nothing I've ever seen and some dresses and shirts have with really interesting cuts and patterns. What I also love is that they seem to always come up with new designs, and I especially love their large collection of sweaters!

So, remember my post about those amazing sweaters ? I said I'd order one soon and I kept my word. Shortly after that post, I had to make a choice: which one do I want most? So I went for the pink one, with the floral print and the "Dior" writing on it. After I looked on a few sites, I found it on SheInside and everything just seemed right. It was even cheaper than on romwe and they have free shipping worldwide!

I have to confess that I did read some horrible reviews AFTER I ordered and I thought crap, I’m going to lose my money. But I got a confirmation email really fast, and after they received the payment, I was able to track my order online with no issues.   

So I am super happy I took the gamble. The sweater is absolutely gorgeous and it looks super cute on. It fits perfectly and looks exactly like the pictures on the site. Love the style and for the price, it is perfect! Very unique, and I am definitely not going to run into another girl wearing the same top as me! 

The shipping took a few weeks because it's coming from China, but the website says it takes 5-7 business days to process and then another 5-20 business days to ship. Well, that is about a month, so no reason to complain. To be more precisely, I ordered it on  April 28th and received it today. 

This is how the package looked.

Street Style: 3 awesome outfits that started with a t-shirt

Most closets are full with t-shirts, basic pieces that you might not think of as the building rocks of a truly awesome outfit - but they are. Honestly, great looks don't have to be complicated and you don't need a fancy blouse to make your ensemble noteworthy; it's all about what you wear with your tee. Below I borrowed inspiration from some well-known fashion bloggers. Scroll down to see some magic happening with a greatly styled tee.

 

Source: Instagram user juliahenge

 This is how a t-shirt is transformed, by being tucked into a full, feminine skirt.

Sweater weather

Before this week comes to an end, I thought I should do my first "Weekly Faves".  This basically means I will tell you about stuff I see and love in a week, whether it will be clothes, beauty products, looks, hair does, or what not.

This week I have been obsessing over sweaters! I know that summer is at our doorstep, but I came upon this gorgeous sweaters and if I had to choose one (and I'll have to, cause I'm ordering at least one very soon!), I wouldn't know which one to pick!

Let me show you a few examples of the ones I love, the ones I think are cool (but not sure I'd ever wear them) and the ones I loathe. Bellow every pic, you'll also find a link in case some of them appeal to you.
So here we go:

This is by far one of my favorite sweaters of all time! The print speaks for itself and the caption is also pretty great. I LOVE cupcakes and the pastel colors of the frosting don't just look delicious but how they complement each other and how well it goes from the dark cupcake body, to the colorful frosting and into the white background, is every bit adorable. You can find it here, but there are many sites that sell this kind of print sweater and the prices may vary from affordable to over priced.

A passion for DIY (Do It Yourself)

I've been thinking a lot about what topic I should pick for my first post on this blog, and what could be better than start with one of my passions ?

Ever since I can remember, I have had a keen eye for everything art-related. As a kid, I loved to draw (yeah, I know that every kid does that eventually, but I always stayed inside the lines, I was always very careful with the details, colors, patterns and so on) and I always was a perfectionist. Everything has to be in place, up to the last little detail. I remember being in elementary school, and having the teacher argue with me because I needed twice as much time finishing up a painting than the rest of the class. If we had to paint a landscape for instance, I HAD to paint every single leaf on a tree, or I used to spend too much time mixing colors, just to get the shade I wanted. You get the point.

Not much changed since. If not, it got worse. Up to the point where I sometimes think I have some mild form of OCD. Everything has to be perfect and maybe not everyone's perfect, but MY perfect. This goes with many things in my life, not just art related but that's a whole different story. :)

As I grew up, I never really found time to invest in my painting skills. There was constantly something on my mind, whether it were Barbies, cartoons, school or boys. So I never got the chance to practice more, get better. But I did sit down every once in a while, and accomplished something. I have a small collection of paintings, pencil/coal drawings, sketches of all kind and not to mention the DIYs <3

I did my first DIY projects when I was about 13 years old, but back then I did not know how they were called, and I didn't consider it to be "a something". It was just me, getting bored of my old clothes. So I used to cut the sleeves off of t-shirts, or cut my old jeans into shorts. Only years later, I found out it was becoming a thing and I discovered youtube tutorials. Faster than I would have imagined, it became a passion to recycle old clothes, revive them if you like. I started watching tutorials on "how to" everything! From transforming an over-sized man's t-shirt into a fancy dress, to making jewelry, shoes, bags and more. Of course, not every project was a successful one, but most were :D and I'm still wearing them today. I've got tons of t-shirts that I would have never worn again, but after I drew something on them, they became my favorites again.

Oh yes, back to drawing. This is the DIY part I love the most. Drawing on clothes. It may seem like something rather difficult to do, but practice makes perfect. This way, I got to have over 20 clothing items I drew on and I'll show some of the older ones here:

Fashion Fridays: Spring 2014 Fashion Trends

According to Pantone's fashion color report, this spring designers are taking a modern twist on the traditional, by pairing soft pastels with vivid brights to create a colorful equilibrium. Because the palette is based on colors we see in nature, they can easily be paired with any other color in the spectrum.

In case you haven't heard about Pantone, it's the world-renowned authority on color, provider of color systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of color across a variety of industries. The Pantone name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer. For more than 20 years, it has surveyed the designers of New York Fashion Week and beyond to bring us the season's most important color trends.

After reading a few posts on different blogs about spring colors, I was inspired to do one myself. What I am going to show you now, are some collages I've done to showcase each of the colors, using items I love and think that are perfect for spring.

If you have a favorite color, don't hesitate to let me know!

Blog introduction and about me

Hi there!

My name is Dora Guta. Yes, like Dora the Explorer, if you find that reference funny.

I'm a 25 years old enthusiast of all things "Beauty, Fashion & Life" related and I am currently studying journalism at Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg, Germany.

I've always been inspired by other bloggers and youtubers and this inspiration kinda led me to creating
my own little space on the Internet. And as I like to know a little about a blogger I follow, I thought I'd give a little intro about myself as well.



I was born in Ploiesti, Romania on February 22nd, 1989 and (partly) grew up in Nuremberg, Germany.

My family moved to Nuremberg when I was only 18 months old and we lived there for 6 years. After the late 90s, there was a constant back and forth between Romania and Germany, but then my parents decided it would be best to send us to school in Romania, since school was better rated there back then. So I went to school in my home town until the 10th grade, only to finish high school back in Nuremberg, where I stayed for good ever since 2008.

First post

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Besides the fact that there was a requirement in college to create a blog, in order to be admitted for an exam, this quote kind of moved me to finally do it. I wanted to do so for quite a few years, but never really thought I had it in me. Writing never was one of my strengths, I'd rather prefer well...anything else. And oh, the irony, I'm studying journalism*giggles*.

Thinking about a topic and a concept, fashion was the first thing off the top of my head. Not that I am necessarily a very fashionable girl ( I do try to be, in my own way), but I am very interested in everything fashion/arts/crafts related.

So starting today, I'll work on this blog and do my best to bring some interesting stories into the blogging world. Expect to see posts varying from fashion trends, to DIY-Projects, beauty tips and tricks, lifestyle or tutorials.

P.S. The quote belongs to H. Jackson Brown's mother, not to Mark Twain. (see page 13 in Brown's 1991 book: P.S. I Love You: When Mom Wrote, She Always Saved the Best for Last.) Had to say that, as I was about to misquote. #doublecheck (Yes, I used a hashtag :> )


Hope you'll like and enjoy it, as I'll pour my heart into it!

xo,

Dora.